Three weeks of my diet

Things are moving along right on track! I have lost two pounds in three weeks, I don't have a lot to lose so I want to take it slowly. Losing it too fast results in a look that can be haggard, and your skin can look loose instead of tight and smooth.


Shoulders are looking good! I am starting to get a nice cap, but it will never be enough so I will keep working on them.

The abs are looking better and better as I lose the body fat, as I said before, I never let myself gain very much fat, I don't believe in the old theory that to gain lean muscle you need to pack on the fat. There is no reason to do that. Science has proven that you need to ingest more calories than you expend so you can gain, it has also proven that you don't need to ingest hundreds more calories that you expend resulting in a great deal of unwanted (and un-needed) fat. There is a happy medium, most people just like to use it as an excuse to pig out.

My V taper is looking better as my waist comes in, and I can see that I don't have as much fat on my upper back, an area where many women my age will start to store it.

 

I think the next thing I need is a new camera!

So, I have 12 weeks to go and honestly, I think I may be a bit too lean to start now, so it's a good thing I am going on vacation and plan to enjoy myself, I won't go crazy, but I will eat one of my favorite dishes that Dona Nica makes for me: Camarones empanizados con mayonesa (breaded, fried shrimp with mayonnaise) and a cold tecate!

And of course a few margaritas while watching the sunset on the beach.

Post Exercise Eating Part I

Whoa Nelly!

One look here and you are thinking "Damn...she got big!"

Yes I did thank you very much, and that was and still is my goal. It's all a cycle, just like life itself. There is a starting point, changes, backslides, moving forward, nothing is constant.

In the sport of figure, you have to get very, very lean. You also need to sport some pretty impressive muscle. You cannot stay on a diet all the time or you start to look haggard, you lose muscle and you look old and tired.

You may also be interested in doing this even if you don't compete.

So life goes in cycles. Gain and lose, gain and lose.

You bulk up part of the year. You don't have to get fat, in fact, that's not a good idea at all, but with muscle gain comes some fat gain, they sorta go hand in hand, but you can control how much of each if you eat properly.

Eating post exercise is critical because your body is better prepared to receive and store carbohydrate that at any other time during the day. I shudder when I hear women (mostly) talk about how they exercise on an empty stomach, then they don't eat anything for hours, just to make sure they have "burned off all those extra calories".

What they have done is ensure they will look like helpless, skinny, emaciated waifs for a long, long time. Yuck!

Timing is critical. At no other time during the day is your body as receptive to nutrient intake as it is immediately after training. Research shows that the restocking if the muscles' carbohydrate stores is two to three times as rapid immediately after exercise as it is a few hours later.

In the same way, other research shows that the repair of muscles damaged during exercise is more effective if protein is consumed immediately after exercise.

Tomorrow, exactly what and how much to take in?

127 and holding

It's Friday, I am heading to the gym for cardio after work. It's also one week before Christmas...

I say "holding" only to make sure I have the right mindset, you see, I am trying to gain muscle, but it will be way too easy to gain a lot of fat in the next couple weeks , so I tell myself to "hold".

It's easy to let go and say "it's the holidays", I mean there are parties, celebrations, wine and champagne tastings, and all sorts of good things to eat. Even today at work a co-worker wanted me to try the fudge he made, I was trying to be polite, I didn't want it, if I am going to eat calories, it wont be fudge, it will be something good (I am not really a fudge fan). So he gave me a homemade biscotti instead and said it was healthier....right....

So while the average Joe will definitely gain weight over the holiday season, this average "Kristy" doesn't plan to...

I will maintain where I am, I will stay focused or I will only get frustrated with  myself, I don't want to deal with a set back. I have worked hard to gain this much weight and still look good. I am 7 pounds over competition weight, and it looks like a pretty solid seven pounds to me, a little fat here and there but that is to be expected. I can get rid of it easily when I start my diet.

I will enjoy some great food, and have a good time. But I will keep my goal in mind, which right now is "127 and holding"

So, each time I am presented with some goodies, I will say to myself "127 and holding, 127 and holding" and some treats I will bypass, some I will not. I am sure I may gain a little more fat than I would like, but this way I will gain less than I could...

Till January, then it's "get bigger" a little bit longer...these legs still need some work!