Dairy of competition prepping
#3weeksout
It’s not me it’s YOU………………
Seriously the amount of questions to me about coping with the food is ridiculous!
Going into a competition like this requires a plan, backed by information as to what’s involved in the plan, including training, nutrition, the reasons for the nutrition plan, the natural supplements for dietary requirements, preparing your body for the weeks when you strip your diet back. So for me the food is fuel for the body so it can cope with what’s ahead. I like the food I eat, I have always maintained a good diet, yes I do have dark chocolate and lollies at times, and I love the protein balls with more natural sugars instead of the refined sugars. However eating vegetables, chicken and fish is always a part of my diet anyway. I must admit it’s the variety of vegetables I miss, but knowing this is only for a certain time I am ok with this. I just wish others would stop the second questions, the negativity, and the look of concern when they ask and the pause after I answer them as if waiting for me to break down….I won’t because I am ok with this, “it’s not me, it’s you”.
This week I discussed the fibre issue with a client of mine and she is currently seeing a naturopath in Melbourne and she advised me to have pure vitamin C powder, which has no sugar, or preservatives and is an absorbency acid. It is great to have with iron so as your body absorbs iron to its best ability. Vitamin C is not readily available in your body and therefore needs to be replenished on a daily basis. Most people don’t get enough in their daily diet. Not only does Vitamin C help heal wounds and tissues in your body, it helps ease upper respiratory infections and helps breathing with allergies and asthma, Vitamin C also suppresses your body’s release of cortisone. Cortisone is a hormone released from your body whenever you are under stress (hello that’s what’s going on with me with all the weight training and the mind games to lose weight). Cortisone ultimately decreases your testosterone level (which women hardly have any in the first place of course) and then throws your body into a catabolic state, therefore your body with begin using your muscle for fuel. Taking 1 – 3 grams a day is of great health benefit, I take a bit more but the side effects can lead to diarrhea (but I’m needing a bit more for bowel movement), so I just monitor on a daily basis.
I found this week my head was better for the introduction of Vitamin C, I shifted my numbers game to days not weeks and I started to see more leanness in my legs. I lost 1.6kg!! I’m now only 1.4kg off my goal weight with exactly 3 weeks and 6 days until the comp. I will still push as much weight as I can in my weight sessions, explode throughout my cardio sessions and give everything I do to replenish straight after a training session. I am hopeful that come peak weak I have more weight loss through the water depletion stage.
I am still maintaining the weights as I did 12 weeks ago, but a few exercises I have had to drop for the last set, but I still push to failure. My weight sessions are a mix of 4 x 10-15 reps or I superset some exercises with a little bit less in weight, combining 2 – 3 exercises within the superset. My cardio is increasing to hopefully improve the leanness in the body. I mentally push through the pain and the exhaustion the best I can because there is an end date, and it’s not far away.
Temptation of food is controlled; I don’t have cravings for sweet foods as my blood sugar levels are staying level due to the frequency of my meals. This would have to be the most positive effect within this whole journey. To be able to pass this onto my clients and show them how a weight loss journey can be so successful by eating on a regular basis, not starving at all, but being aware to be eat very clean foods.
My body is feeling the soreness more, so my rest day this week included a massage and an Epsom Salt bath to help my muscles relax and rejuvenate for the week ahead. Throughout this journey you need to reward your body, and look after it. You cannot expect more out of it, if you do not rest it when needed.
When I trained for marathons a great friend of mine explained the obsession of running and the risk of running “junk Km’s” to just get another run in. If your body was tired or you had completed enough Km’s for the week, why run on a rest day just because you had time or you thought you should. This run would take away “repair” time and not be of any benefit, and for some can spur on stress fractures and tendonitis issues. This applies in all sports and this is when in body building you need to rest a day or two a week to help your body repair and grow, to ensure the next training session you can give it your all and lift the weights with the right technique to get the gains in the right muscles etc. Why do a training session with only half a tank of energy and not gain any growth.
My wonderful friend came into the gym this week with her camera to take some inspirational pictures of me whilst training. I was truly blown away with how I looked, how my definition in my muscles are showing. It put into perspective 12-16 weeks of hard work, focus and has given me one hell of a drive for the last 3-4 weeks of training. I really don’t mind whether I walk away with a medallion, to me I have already gained one to my inner self.
This week has been a positive for me in many ways than one. I am looking forward to social events soon, but until then I will continue to keep a low profile, get early nights, eat very strictly, train hard and be proud of myself for what I have achieved on the journey so far.
Remember unfortunately there are some haters out in this world, who say and insinuate some silly things to you no matter what you are trying to achieve…..stay away from them until you are mentally ready, as most of the time it’s not the strength you have to lift things, it’s the strength you have to stay away from them….. It’s not you, it’s them!
