The Diet

Looking good huh? So this is after dieting for 4 weeks. Not bad really, now I realize I didn't start out chubby, but I had some fat to lose and I did, it hasn't been too hard, although I still have more to go.  This is "a day in the life of Kristy". I am going to give you a general time, food (macro-nutrients), some supplements and then discuss particular meals and strategies for making them tasty in separate postings.

My diet contains lean proteins, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, whey and supplements.

My diet doesn't contain alcohol, sugar, snacks, dessert, soda, packaged garbage.

You are what you eat. 

Garbage in- Garbage out!

If you think you can eat dessert several times a week and still look lean and ripped, I hate to be the one to break it you you, but you cannot. Sure you can look good, and maybe even great, but you cannot even consider stepping on stage if you don't do the time with the proper nutrition. It's easy to cover it all up with jeans, t-shirts or spandex, a little more difficult in Underamour boy shorts. 

So...if you wanna look good naked......read on.

I don't eat like this all year, this is a competition diet, but I know some of you want to LOOK like you compete, so this is what it takes. Keep in mind my age, gender, size and activity level as that all makes a difference. 

This is a day I train in the morning (and to me, cardio isn't really training, lifting is training to me). It varies when I train with Roy at night.

I am up at 4:00 a.m. and I have a meal replacement drink (20 grams protein and 19 grams carbs) not just plain whey protein. I also have a serving of cooked oatmeal (not shown), 1/3 cup dry measure. It's just plain old cooked oatmeal, nothing fancy. If you eat steel cut they have a different carb measure so be aware of that. Much more carbs in the same amount of steel cut oats. I take lots of supplements but the ones you should really be concerned with are these:

5 grams glutamine

BCAA's in gel tabs

500 mg L-Carnitine

Green tea extract

multi vitamin

800 mg fish oil

I then dump 20 mg BCAA's into my drink to be consumed while training. I go through a lot of BCAA's.

Post training, within 30 minutes, (about 7:00am), another shake but this is whey protein (as opposed to a meal replacement shake) so it's almost all protein, but a few grams carbs. I have 1 & 1/2 scoops of whey protein blended in a blender with 1 cup water, a two handed scoop of ice, 1 SMALL (6 inch) banana and 5 grams glutamine. I like chocolate or chocolate-peanut butter flavored whey.

500 grams L-Carnitine

BCAA's (gel tabs)

Green tea extract

This is the most important time for quick absorbing carbs (the banana) and then the whey which is more easily digested than whole food. It is also important to ingest it right away, as soon as possible after training. Your body needs the nutrients to build and repair, even if you don't think so.  This post training meal is probably the one single most important meal you will ingest in a day! Make it a good one.

10:00 a.m. is my largest meal and the one I most look forward too! It is my second and last serving of starch (the first was at 4:00 a.m.) I have 4 ounces chicken breast, 4 ounces brown rice, 1 cup broccoli.

5 grams glutamine

BCAA"s (gel tabs)

1 gram CLA

500 mg L-Carnitine

800 mg fish oil

water

1:00 p.m. is 4 to 5 ounces baked tilapia, 1 cup asparagus and 15 raw almonds.

water

4:00 p.m. is a big salad (3 cups) of greens- spinach or super greens, something with nutrition not iceberg or romaine; about 1/4 cup cucumber, 1/4 cup sliced endive and maybe a couple sugar snap peas; 4 ounces broiled shrimp, 1 teaspoon olive oil, rice vinegar and sriracha sauce (hot sauce).

5 grams glutamine

water

8:30 p.m. is a scramble made with 3/4 cup egg whites, 2 ounces lean meat (steak or chicken), 1/2 cup sautéed greens (chard, kale, spinach), and 1/2 cup sautéed vegetables (red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes).  Salsa.

5 grams glutamine

BCAA's

1 gram CLA

800 mg fish oil

500 mg L-Carnitine

water

Bed time is a cup of herb tea, ZMA, Inositol, Night Time Herbs. RIGHT after eating! Who says you shouldn't go to bed with a full stomach!? 

Over the next few days I will discuss what I change when I lift at night (because I still go to the gym at 5:00 a.m. those days), what variations I make on the food, how I cook it all and the reason for such silly things as 15 almonds or 1 teaspoon oil! 

Did you notice all my plates had green stuff on them?

I will try to delve into the supplements too, but this can be a very personal issue. Some people are for 'em and some are against 'em!

Spiced Oatmeal

Some of the most wonderful things in the world are discovered by mistake. I made one the other day and loved the results, I have now made it a regular part of my morning.


When I lift in the morning I have a meal replacement shake and a small serving of cooked oatmeal (1/3 cup dry measure) before I go to the gym. That's a lot of carbs, some slow digesting (oatmeal) and some quick (the meal replacement drink). Combined with the protein it's what I need to fuel my body after a long night of fasting (sleeping).


I have my oatmeal cooked and weighed out already, so I just add a bit more water to loosen it up and then microwave it to warm it.


I get up at 4:00 a.m. though, so sometimes I am not quite awake as I do all this. I like to get my shake and oatmeal, and sit at the computer and check email, Facebook, make sure my blog fed properly, and eat and wake up.


Saturday I heated my oatmeal and started to sprinkle in the cinnamon (my sprinkles tend to be more like pours). As I looked at it I noticed that my cinnamon was a lot darker than usual. Damn! I used chili powder!


The containers look the same! I buy both spices in bulk because I use so much, but store them in small store bought spice containers for ease.


I took a spoon and managed to remove most of it, but didn't want to lose too much of the oatmeal so I figured once I added the real cinnamon and the sweetener it would be OK.


OK? It was fantastic! The sweetness and spiciness together are a match made in heaven! Have you ever had chocolate with chile? It's the same premise, the richness, spiciness and sweetness all combine to make a spectacular burst of flavors in your mouth.


Sunday, I am making the same thing! Give it a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Vacation

The other day a friend asked why I started my diet so early when I can lose body fat in only 5 weeks. I do want to clarify that it was a past trainer who coined the name for me, based on her observations of my dieting skills. In addition, although I can lose the fat quickly, a fast loss is never the best way to go, it's far better to do it slowly. I thought I might explain a bit about the reason though.

So this is what I did on vacation.It all started on Friday evening before I even left town- I went to Henry's Hi-Life and had a martini, bar-b-qued ribs and wine.

Then the bar in the airport in Los Angeles between flights.

Then the plane from Los Angeles to Mexico, I was in first class, so that means all the free alcohol you want, and you know what happens when alcohol is free? You drink more! They served a hot croissant with ham and melted cheese, it was good.  Probably not the best quality, but the last time I had a croissant was in July of 2010 in Paris when I stayed with my brother.

By the time I got to Mexico I had already blown my diet for two days! ha ha



Chaise lounge, sun, sand, water and wine by my side, and a few really good books! All day long.

My only exercise was running on the sand for 20 to 30 minutes everyday, before anyone else was up. Or so I thought. One day a man walks by me and says "how was your run this morning?" Hmmm....THIS morning? Does that mean he has been watching EVERY morning? I wonder....

Yes, it was 10 weeks (or maybe 11) before a competition, but that is why I started a diet earlier than usual. I enjoyed myself, and when you are a competitive athlete in a physique based sport, it is often difficult to do this, you constantly feel you should be depriving yourself.

It really isn't healthy, emotionally speaking that is.

Anyone who competes knows why this is a huge deal, those who don't are thinking I have some major issues..I mean I have 10 or 11 weeks to lose a few pounds- isn't that almost three months?!

Yes it is, like two and a half actually. But, when you diet down to lose fat for a competition, you don't just lose weight to drop scale weight, you need to carefully lose the fat, retain the muscle, and still look healthy and firm.

All this while maintaining a full time job (for most of us) and training just as hard as usual, sometimes twice a day. Once the diet starts, you cannot go on weekend benders or it will show in your physique, you really have no where to hide the flaws when you are standing in stage under bright lights, almost naked to the world. And believe me, the world IS looking at you very, very carefully, scrutinizing everything, even your skin tone!

So while I had a great time, I still struggled to eat properly because I couldn't easily have the small meals with the complex carbohydrates, lean protein and massive amounts of fresh vegetables (plain) that I normally would, so I was hungry quite a bit, I mean trying to get by on 3 meals a day when I usually eat 6 is hard. And if I ate 6 meals at a restaurant, I would be rolling myself along the beach!

Whats a girl to do? TUNA!

Yes, I went to the store and bought several cans of tuna packed in water, and it had pull tops! Unfortunately my wine glasses tended to smell fishy afterward, but that's OK, I love fish!

Beach, sand, sun, water, red wine and tuna, a great combination. The tuna ensured I got the protein I needed, and I wasn't so hungry.

I brought some meal replacement bars, but those were emergency only since all of them, no matter what they tell you are really glorified candy bars with a hefty price tag. I ended up eating 2 only.

Me and David.

Check out the glutes! They are growing at a steady pace and soon will have a life of their own! I read an article where someone was discussing how your glutes grow and he made a very intelligent observation, when training the glute muscles, they will grow out (as in behind you), not sideways, and so many women are afraid to train them heavy as they think they will get big butts.

I am living proof that your butt will keep growing out behind, and stay slim on the sides if you lift right and eat properly, I mean it's almost comical in this picture!

Glory to the butt!