Should YOU Intermittent Fast??

Unfortunately, my mind has been ingrained that my muscles have to be fed every three hours to avoid burning muscle for SO MANY years that I had been hesitant to try Intermittent Fasting despite the abundance of reasons I SHOULD be doing it!!!

I do NOT have a naturally muscular body. The entire Mackid Clan has always worked EXTREMELY hard putting on QUALITY weight ;) This is why whenever I make it to say....hour 18 of a fast, I PANICK and sprint for the kitchen!! I just couldn't get out of my head, that I may burn the small small amount of muscle I've worked SO HARD for! HAHA

Surprisingly enough I don't find the fasts hard at all. I'm never really hungry, I just eat because I love it, and need it to fuel my workouts. Its my brain that made me fall short EVERY TIME!!!! Now that I'm not AS focused on muscle building, but rather maintenance and general health, it's been EASY!!!

Here is just a small list of the benefits of fasting....

Reduced:

-Blood Lipids (bad cholesterol decreases)
-Blood Pressure
-Inflammation
-Oxidative Stress
-Risk of Cancer

****When any of these levels are elevated, they cause stress on the body, and makes it VERY difficult for the body to release weight

Increased:

-Cellular Turnover/Repair (Recovery)
-Fat Burning (More of the fat burning happens at the end of the fast)
-Metabolic Rate (actually INCREASES at the end of the fast, stimulated by norepinephrine and epinephrine release)

Impoved:

-Appetite Control ( you'll learn the difference between HUNGER and CRAVINGS)
-Blood Sugar Control (body becomes more sensitive to insulin, VERY important for physique)
-Cardiovascular Function
-Effectiveness of Chemo Treatments
-Neurogenesis (protections against neurotoxins)

So why don't I do it more often....?? Well NOW I do, and I've never felt better!

Not only am I releasing weight, but I have a little more freedom in what I eat the rest of the week because of the calorie deficit created during the fast. Does this mean that the rest of your week is a free for all!!! Heck no!!! Keep it to a few healthy meals and a couple healthy snacks to see the BEST results. You can allow for more freedom once you have achieved your preset goals.....

Click link BELOW if you haven't already done so!!!:)

GOAL SETTING

Food prep has been so simple and it has left me more relaxed when it comes to what I'm putting into my body. Better yet, it has given me SO MUCH more quality time with my family!!!

WHAT IS IT EXACTLY??

Intermittent fasting is basically a predetermined stretch of time that you don't eat anything. You are giving your body a BREAK...Well, you're FASTING. This Break gives your liver some time to do things OTHER than assimilate the abundance of food we are always stuffing into our bodies. We technically fast every night while we sleep, but it's when we add the extra time to a fast that we see the benefits listed above...

When looking closely at the process, you could call it many other things as well....calorie cycling, reducing calorie intake, burning more than you are taking in, decreasing processed foods and chemicals, etc. There are many different ways to complete and intermittent fast, but this is the BEST method for me!

How do you get started???

First Watch this Video.....I guarantee you will relate!!

Now Check out this link....scroll down to the recommended 30 day system and you will find the most delicious and straight forward plan to your first month of Intermittent Fasting and Cleansing Experience. ALL BACKED by a money back guarantee! :) 

You have nothing to lose, except weight, Bloat, toxins, dull hair, sleepless nights and dry skin ;)

My Associate Website

Next?? Email me at operationlean@live.com to set up a time to chat!!! I can't wait to help you through this amazing process.

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Want to Learn More about IF and the MANY MANY ways you can approach it??

Intermittent Fasting With Precision Nutrition

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Carb Cycling-What is it and how does it work??

So you've heard all about it, but it sounds so confusing, where do you even start!!!???

I get questions about carb cycling ALL THE TIME...there are many different ways to plan a carb cycle, so like ALWAYS, it's about figuring out what works for you and your body....in this blog post, I'm going to tell When, Why and How I do my carb cycling...

I only follow a carb cycle when my calories are in a deficit, to lose that little extra bodyfat, that just doesn't seem to want to let go!!! Many follow when they are in a growth phase, to keep fat gains at bay, and others use this method all the time, just because it works well for them!!! It's up to you to decide how you want to use this method :)

So now to the why....the benefit of carb cycling is mostly, improved nutrient partitioning, (taking advantage of your body being more insulin sensitive on workout days) hormonal balance (balancing ghrelin and leptin levels which are effected by being in an energy deficit for too long) and hopefully improved performance in the gym while you are on a deficit in calories!

You will set your protein the same everyday..This will usually be set at 1-1.5g/lb bodyweight. Protein does become more important as a percentage of your daily macros, as your calorie intake goes down!!! Make sure you are getting that 1g/lb bodyweight to spare that hard earned muscle as much as possible.

The only two macros you adjust are your carbs and your fats....so here is an example....

for myself, my lagging body parts are my legs and my shoulders!!! So when I'm preparing a program for myself, I have those workouts at the beginning of my workout week!

Lets say my split is : Monday (quads), Tuesday (hams), Wednesday (shoulders and Calves), Thursday (Arms) Friday (Chest and Back) Sat (off), Sunday (off/active rest, exercise with the family)

ON LARGE (legs, chest, back) body parts days I'm going to pair with my HIGH carb days for extra fuel, and those extra carbs will be with my post workout nutrition, (shake and banana, or rice cakes, etc) and again in the whole food meal following my post workout meal. If I am having trouble sleeping, I find that carbs before bed can help too, so I may put some there depending on how I'm feeling..

ON SMALLER (arms, shoulders) body part days, and off days, I will pair with my LOW carb days :) All you have to do, is remove those carbs, added on your high carb days!....

So pair these together and you'll have: Monday (High), Tuesday (High), Wednesday (Low), Thursday (Low), Friday (High), Saturday (Low), Sunday (Low)

***NOTE: You can do this by keeping calories the same (replacing the high carb days with higher fat days) OR you can keep the Proteins and Fat's fairly consistent, and just manipulating your carb intake, which would cause a calorie cycle as well! I.E You would be left with Low Carb/Calorie days, and High Carb/Calorie days (this is great if you want a reprieve from being in a deficit all the time, and this works great for me!)

Some don't even worry about the body parts or days, and just do three days low, one high...and rotate.....some use low, med and high days, which I find to be WAY TOO MUCH planning and a chaotic meal prep. I'm not organized enough for that!

So how do you set this up??? Well, it definitely depends on what method you decide to use....calorie cycle, or just a carb cycle, but this is basically what I do!!!

When I'm wanting to lose, I first set my calories to 12xBW(bodyweight) and NEVER go below 10XBW (I just find the cravings get the best of me, and I get too cranky on less that that, not to mention, it's not healthy.) Bring on the Intermittent Fasting Critics now ;) I just can't do it! HAHA

Then I set my High Carb days to 40/40/20 (P,C,F)
and I set my   Low Carb days to 40/20/40  (P,C,F)

If you want to Calorie cycle as well, you would just have to adjust the macros, to fit the daily calories! I really do feel that this easiest for planning, prep and organization in general.

Lastly, with ANYTHING physique related....just get started with a method, and adjust based on results! (outcome based decision making) If you aren't seeing the progress that you want, first be honest with yourself about whether you are following the plan close enough, if so, you will have to re-evaluate and adjust something :)

NOW GO GET YOUR CARB CYCLING ON!!!

Lots more blogs coming up this summer, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out!!!!

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email me about busy meal planning made healthy and simple : steph.laurendeau@sisinshape.com

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10 Weeks Out of UFE Vengence in Calgary

WOW,  has it EVER been a long time since I've blogged!! I find it easy to talk talk talk when it comes to competition prep. Seriously, everyday is a new challenge and experience. The off season though, it pretty darned boring! I was finding it really hard to think of anything good to say! HAHA

During my time off I've started an AWESOME 60 day challenge with my Sisters in Shape.

The first group through is just finishing up, and it went AMAZING!! What a great group! :) Many are continuing on with us for more amazing workouts, meal planning, education and support on making health part of your everyday lifestyle!!! If you want to check out the details, head on over here :)    

OPERATIONLEAN



I've spent November till now DESPERATELY trying to put on some muscle for this next competition in May. The judges notes from my last competition stated that I could use more size in my shoulders and legs, to make the appearance of a smaller waist. I KNEW I needed a smaller waist! I always struggle with that area. Since it was a much shorter timeline that I would have liked, I did a fairly aggressive building phase, and had to let go of staying lean!! Wow, do I ever have a hard time with this phase!!! I like being lean, hence my blog name ;)

This was in NO WAY an unhealthy REBOUND that you hear of with fitness competitors. It was planned and controlled. I had a lofty goal of putting on 7 Lbs of muscle, and I've already put on more than 8!!! YAY....this is the time that I wish THIS photo wasn't accurate....HAHA,

Do you think 8 lbs over my whole body will look ANY different?? I'm thinking not really, but I HOPE SO!!! I've been working REALLY hard, and even though I was able to eat a tonne of food, it was all still very clean! I didn't throw in the towel and eat junk.....

So, I'm now starting my lean out phase and have started a carb cycle. Low days are 1700 calories and high days are 1900...my days off are 2000 or 2400 depending on how I feel. If I feel like my workouts are getting weaker, I take in 2400 and HIGH Carb. If my workouts are feeling strong, I do 2000 calories and Low Carb. I have also added a couple of 10 minute HITT sessions and one 20 minute HIIT session with longer rest periods of course, otherwise there's NO WAY I'd be able to compete 20 minutes of HIIT! HAHA

My pictures at this point of prep compared to last prep are looking pretty soft, which kinda psyches me out!! HAHA, but I looked like a stick on stage last time, so maybe it'll be better if I don't get quite as lean this time! LOL And geeze I still have 10 weeks! I know now, that for me LOSING is the easy part...putting on muscle is my new challenge for sure!!!

Here are the progress pics!!! AHHHH, be gentle! ;) I swear I'm chubbier this week than I was last! HAHA, but the callipers say otherwise! Bring on the FUN, I love the lean out phase...other than cardio ;) Man, I can't wait to get my tan on! (sorry I forgot to pull the curtain, kinda distracting!)

A Lemon/day keeps the Dr. Away??

This past year I have been promoting starting your day with a litre of water with the juice of a FULL fresh lemon!!! More than once a day if you're up for it!! :) Why do I suggest doing this?? Well, there are LOTS of great reasons!

1. Lemon is and anti-septic
2. It's an internal cleanser, and helps prevent disease
3. Helps with digestion, heartburn and bloating
4. Helps eliminate waste more effectively and controls loose stools and/or constipation
5. It's AMAZING at stimulating the liver

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY it's one of the most ALKALINE foods around, and keeping your body alkaline is SUPER important.

Things that cause high amounts of acid in the body are stress, detox, exercise, metabolic rate and digestion, growth and repair, immune system functions, and inflammation...what does this make you think of???

YEEEESSSSSS, people like you and me who are working HARD on our bodies and expecting to see changes! BUT, if we don't counteract these acids by helping our body get back into PH balance, it will cause poor recovery, inflammation, and often results in disease....not to mention, we won't be seeing much progress!!!

So why do I suggest LEMON?....because it's one of the BEST sources of alkaline food and gives you the biggest bang for your buck....AND it's SO EASY to add to your diet!

I know, this sounds counterproductive when you think of a lemon as being an acid. But what makes a food alkaline, isn't the way it tastes or what form it takes outside of the body. What matters is how it acts/reacts once digested in the intestine. At that point lemon takes an alkaline state :)

What to look for at the grocer?? Pick a lemon that feels heavy for it's size! (these are known to be higher in mineral content)

What is the point of fish oils??

Fish oils have pretty much become the new superfood it seems, but why are they important and why do pretty much EVERYONE suggest adding them to your daily diet??

MOST Fatty Acids can be synthesized by the body, BUT ALA (Omega 3) and Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) which are both polyunsaturated can only be obtained by the diet...ALA can be found in sources like flax, walnuts, etc. Omega 6's such as DHA and EPA are found in sources like algae and Fish Oils.

Fish oils keep the cells fluid, and helps increase Insulin Sensitivity by increasing insulin receptors in the blood! We all know that insulin sensitivity is important when it comes to maintaining a lean body composition! (when we are insulin sensitive our carbohydrate i.e gyclogen stores, go 10-15 % to our liver and 85% to our muscle VS if we are insulin resistant 10-15% goes to the liver and 85% goes to fat stores!) This being said, there are still a HOST of other benefits, including, helping with cardio function, nervous system function, and immune health. They encourage you to use your own fat stores as energy, increase leptin levels, help with recovery and reduce chronic inflammation! They SERIOUSLY ARE a SUPERFOOD!

I would normally take my fish oils in the morning in the evening. In general, if you are going to take them with a meal, try and take them with a protein/fat meal.

3-15grams/day is a general guideline for intake. (OR 1.5g/%BF, if you know it) It's highly unlikely that you will take too much, but they ARE a natural blood thinner, so if you take too much you may get a nosebleed!!!

When you are looking at the label on your fish oils, look for oils that have a higher ratio of EPA:DHA (EPA for inflammation, DHA for Brain Function) also look for the fish sources to be SMALL fish, i.e. sardines, which tend to be lower in mercury.

What I've been eating recently!! (BUILDING PHASE)

Hello Bloggers!! LONG TIME NO SEE!!! My blog has been falling too the way side the past while, but I've got a goal for the new year to get it more consistent!! :)

I've had a lot of questions as of late on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/operationcompetitionlean about what a typical day of food is looking like for me.  It's about time I take the time to share!!! It's hard, because my diet can change week to week depending on my progress! 

Before I go into my daily plan at the moment :

I can't express enough how important results based decision making is! If you are eating a certain way, trying to achieve a change, and nothing is happening, GUESS WHAT!!? Something has to change! You can't keep doing the same thing and expect anything to change. AND you have to be consistent. If you aren't being consistent, what are you going to change right??

Being in a building mode right now, I HAVE been seeing changes every week. I've been putting on weight slowly which is exactly what I want...therefore, my diet and supplement routine has remained the same for a while. I have to add, that I HAVE put on some fat too. (as much as I hate doing it) It is VERY hard to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. You can try, but I can almost guarantee that it will be such a long process that you'll lose momentum, and that in the end you'll just be spinning your wheels. I know now that I can lose fat, so I'm losing my inhibitions and just giving this building phase everything I've got, and I'll worry about the fat later ;)

Now for the diet:

I'm following a 40/40/20 split (Pro, Carb, Fat) and I'm keeping most of my carb meals after my workouts. I also have my last carb meal before bed to help with sleep! I have a macro breakdown for each and every meal, so calories don't matter as much as meeting those guidelines. HOWEVER, for those of you that must know, when I put everything into my fitness pal (my user name is smackid if you want to follow me) I'm usually in and around 2100-2300 calories /day. My weight gain is levelling off right now, so I'm thinking of upping the calories again!

I have a pre, peri and post workout nutrition protocol. This is eliminated on non workout days, which creates a bit of a calorie cycle. i.e I consume more calories on workout days than I do on rest days. If I workout 2x in a day....very seldom, but sometimes....then I double the workout nutrition meals. Each workout gets that fuel.

So here it goes!!! 

Each meal has 25grams of Protein, and the Carbs and Fat Vary depending on the meal. Each meal has two cups of veggies added! (usually green beans or broccoli steamed) Throughout the day I have 2 greens drinks, sometimes more. And my day starts off with a full lemon in a litre of water.

Meal 1 (Protein and Fat) Meat and Nuts Breakfast-Ground turkey, one full egg, 1/4 an avocado

Pre Workout Nutrition: 2 tsp of Coconut Oil, Coffee

Post Workout Nutrition : (Protein and Fast Digesting Carb) Protein Shake and Banana, Rice Cakes

Post Workout MEAL (Protein and Slow Digesting Carb) Egg whites and Oatmeal with Fruit)

Meal 2 (Protein and Carbs) Large salad, spinach, romaine, sautéed peppers,onions and mushrooms       and 4oz Chicken, dressing is usually balsamic vinegar...with rice, yams or rice cakes

Meal 3 (Protein and Fat) 3oz beef with veggies, OR 4oz chicken and celery with 1TBSP of almond butter with veggies

Meal 4 (Protein and Fat) same as meal 3

Bedtime Meal (Protein, Fat and some Carbs) Usually greek yogurt with Almond Butter, Cocoa and some sweetener OR Cottage Cheese blended with the same mix ins ( I probably shouldn't be having dairy at all, but this is how I deal with my sweet cravings!!)

Sorry I'm not better at taking pics, but you get the idea! ;)

When I start a cutting phase, I will post that diet as well!!! Please comment below or on my Facebook   page if you have any questions...if you are thinking it, then someone else will be too. Please share, the more people I can reach the better, but I need your help to do so! ;)

How to Eat Clean while on Vacation

Due to popular demand, I'm going to write a little bit about how I stay on track, with diet and exercise while on vacation. I DID do a video on this subject before I left on my current vacation this week, but it's part of a project I'm doing with a couple of other people (one that I'm pretty excited about, so keep your eyes peeled) and can't be uploaded till the beginning of August!!

So, I'll give you the plan I had for this vacation first followed by how I prepare for more strict vacations.  I was a little more lax planning for this vacation because I don't have a photoshoot or competition for a couple more weeks AND I'm staying with my parents, so have access to car and kitchen....then I will tell you how I planned for a trip where I had a photoshoot that weekend, and was staying in a hotel without a vehicle.

First and foremost I should say, if it's a VACATION and not business or a short getaway etc, don't stress too much about it!!! I'd bring some items for the flight/drive, but once you are there, enjoy yourself!!! Go out to eat, but just make the best choices you can. There are ALWAYS options, and don't be shy with your server. They are there to serve you, and should be responsive to requests to leave items off, or put dressings on the side etc.

So for this trip, I brought lots with me because I don't like to be cooking and running to the grocery store AS SOON as my parents pick us up from the airport!!! I want to be social for a few minutes at least! HAHA, JK.

Items that I packed:

1. Pre-portioned oatmeal- I measure into baggies exactly how I like it, with pb2, cocoa and sweetner already mixed in so I just have to dump into a bowl, and water and cook in the microwave. Since I don't want to be doing a lot of cooking, and I LOVE oatmeal, I don't do yams while I'm away and just eat extra oatmeal. Keep it simple!

NOTE: in the past when I've been in a hotel, I just brew coffee (without the coffee) so you end up with hot water, and either mix my oatmeal right in the pot, or in two seperate servings in the small mugs that they always have....I have also packed a couple glass tupperware containers that I use over and over. This way the container can be put in the microwave as well. ( usually you can get a microwave on request if they don't already have one in the room!)

2. I pack my liquid and powder stevia and PB2 so I don't have to buy more while away, or have to search for it!!!

3. For a last resort, grab and go, I pack QUEST protein Bars www.questnutrition.com PURE HEAVEN. Put in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating (if you have one around) and you won't miss dessert, I guarantee!!! I've found even gas stations turn a blind eye to using their microwave or hot water as long as you're buying gas or something ;)

4. Rice Cakes

5. Almond butter

6. I precook a bulk package of chicken breast and freeze. I freeze them so I can put them in my checked luggage without worrying about any leakage. By the time I make it to my destination they are pretty much thawed and ready to go. If you are going to be gone for a long time, separate into more than one bag so you can keep one if the fridge to thaw and put the others in the freezer to keep till needed.

7. Those tuna packets in the vacuum sealed bags work well also. You can usually find mustard and relish in airport and mall food courts. I use those condiments to mix into my tuna so it's not so bland.

8. Whey powder and shaker cup.

With all this packed, once we got to Winnipeg I was able to relax for a bit and didn't REALLY have to go for groceries for a day or so. When I did get to the store, I got cottage cheese, more chicken, some bulk bags of vegetables, egg whites etc. Everything I would normally eat at home!! :)

As for my workouts....I volunteer at the YMCA in Calgary (in the preschool dept) so this gives me a free membership :) It's a LOT easier to make it to they gym everyday while on vacay when it doesn't cost you 10$+ every visit!!! The YMCA also has free childcare up to 18 months, so even if my babies grandparents weren't able to watch her, I'd be able to bring her with me :) If your kids are older, there is always a drop in fee ( I know, that can add up!!!)

Now, things are a little more complicated when you are travelling on your own, in a hotel and without a car. When I went to FEM Camp www.femcamp.com in the spring I had to be a little more organized, but it was a shorter trip, so also do-able!!! Since I was going back and forth to camp during the day, I had tupperware meals packed. I know I know, not everyone can do it, but I ate everything cold. Pretty much every meal was the same as I'm used to, but cold.

Since I didn't have a car to go to the grocery store I brought all the same things as above, and in addition:

1. I didn't want to bring cartons of egg whites, so I hard boiled a bunch of eggs and sealed them up really well so they wouldn't smell.

2. I had to purchase bulk bags of broccoli and spinach in advance and bring them with me.

3. I like to rotate my protein sources though, so I precook and freeze lean beef as well.

NOTE : A great extra to bring along would be the Jamie Eason-Middleton muffins that I have on this blog in the "what I eat" section. http://www.operationcompetitionlean.blogspot.ca/p/recipes.html (Scroll down to Turkey Meatloaf Muffins) They are just as good made without the oatmeal depending on what your macro demands are at the time.

I wasn't able to get cottage cheese or greek yogurt, but I don't usually eat dairy before a photoshoot anyway :)

I booked a hotel that had a kitchenette. They are VERY common now, and usually not any more expensive than hotels without!!!

In regard to exercise, I ALWAYS do my research on hotel gyms. I've almost never been unable to find a hotel with a fully equipped gym AND a kitchenette! Worst case scenario, strap on the runners and find a childrens park nearby and make something up on the fly!!!

You could always keep a MOST FIT STRAP in your bag for a bring anywhere workout!!! It doesn't even take up the space of your makeup kit in your bag and can be attached pretty much anywhere for a kick arse workout!!! http://www.most-fit.com ( I'll will be doing a blog on this strap very soon as well!

So there you have it!!! This is how I stay on track!!! I'm probably missing something!! I'll post in the comments if I think of anything else!!!

Please, If you have any other ideas that I can add to my repetoire or that you would like to share, that would be awesome!!! Either post on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/operationcompetitionlean OR right here. I'd love to hear some new tips to help me out!!!

FINAL WEEK!!

Well, this final week ha FINALLY arrived!!!! I CAN'T WAIT to get on stage....

This past week, I have been on track with diet, water, weights and cardio....I was dragging my arse a couple of the days, but for the most part, I was super motivated, and keeping my mind on the final goal. I even had two REALLY good cheat meals throughout the week so I haven't felt too deprived!!! I'm looking forward to nixing the fish....don't care to ever see it again...but other than that I'm enjoying everything! :) As I had posted on my page, I used my cheat meals this week to see how my body would react to a load up on carbs, and the results were super cool! Before the meal, I looked flat and average...30 minutes after, I could see my six pack no problem! It's really interesting to REALLY see how food affects you at this point! :) Since this is my first competition, I obviously won't be able to judge exactly how much and over how many meals would be best, but I know what I did made me look better, so that's a start!

Even though I'm happy with my progress, and I'm not having much trouble sticking to the EXTREMELY clean diet, I have definitely been cranky. I feel sorry for my husband, and I'm sure he'll be happy when I can get back to the way I was eating a month ago. Am I going to go back to eating like crap....HECK NO!!! At least we will be able to go out for dinner once in a while though. I know he really misses that.

Posing is going great....My Bikini T-Walk is looking much more energetic, and my lats are showing ALMOST every time for my fitness model posing! HAHA. I'm hoping for the best this week, and that by at least Wednesday they show up EVERYTIME!!!

This week is going to be super busy, hair needs to be dyed, extensions tightened, manicure and pedicure, the all important shaving/waxing...haha. Get my bag packed (dark clothing, sewing kit, dixiecups, bikinibite, muscle sheen, dreamtan, a pillow or something to sit on, towel, bikini, shoes and extra shoes, pastic gloves, clothes for afterwards, business cards if they are ready on time, ipod and headphones, camera, phone and charger, photoshoot clothing for the afternoon, FOOD!!....hmmm, that's all I can think of right now ;) All my appointments have been confirmed so that's ready to go!!!

The plan with diet and exercise this week isn't going to be too drastic. A little manipulation of water and carb levels, no hocus pocus!!! Monday and Tuesday will be the same diet as usual, Wednesday High Carb, Thursday Low carb, then I'll decide from there based on how I'm looking! :) Water will stay the same till the day before I think?? Ahhh, not too sure what to do really! LOL I'm happy with how I'm looking, so I don't think I'll change much. No point in coming in looking worse :) I'll be working out hard till Thursday and taking Friday and Saturday off to rest up....and as to not ruin my tan with sweat! Probably sit in the house on Saturday with the AC pumping since this warmer weather is bloating me! Me and heat DON'T MIX!!!

Here are the pics for this week!

Most Fit Suspention Strap Giveaway!!

This giveaway is with MostFit Suspention Straps and www.AndrewGavigan.com MostFit is one of the first sponsors of the #mompowerteam weekend coming up in October, and we CAN'T WAIT to have this strap with us so we can get our WORKOUT ON pretty much ANYWHERE!!!

The strap can be used by anyone, anytime, anywhere! It is designed to strengthen your core, while improving balance, flexibility and total body strength and it easily mounts in any doorway, and to most heavy workout machines, furniture and stationary structures.

I can't wait to get mine and start trying out the MULTIPLE new exercises you can do with this convenient apparatus!!:)

#GIVEAWAY, #MOMPOWERTEAM

Start Collecting Entries Below!!! You can return and get additional entries everyday by posting to your twitter accounts :)

GOOD LUCK!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you tried Energy Bits??

I was sent these energy bits to try!!

Energy bits are 100% organically grown spirulina algae...30 tablets are said to boost energy and remove brain fog. It also helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, helps reduce the risk of heart disease, balances blood sugar, helps reduce anemia and curb hunger. It's also found to help correct brain related disorders depression and more. They are 64% protein, have a high concentration of antioxidants, beta carotene, omega 3's and contain 40 vitamins and minerals.

Each tablet is only 1 calorie, but is is suggested you take 30 at a time. Since I just cut calories for my leanout, I didn't want to lose 30 calories (even though that's next to nothing) so my husband tried them after a LONG worknight. He was super tired and unmotivated to go to the gym! He was also out of his normal pre-workout supplement, so there couldn't have been a better time to test them out!

I had heard from others, and Energy Bits even states it in their advertising, that they aren't the most tasty bits, and they momentarily turn your teeth green! HAHA, so I had to try one!! I've gotta say, I actually kinda liked the taste. It reminded me of the taste of Nori. (Seaweed that they use to make sushi) Nori is one of my favorite parts of eating sushi, so I'm a fan....but maybe not after 30? My husband took as directed and just swallowed them with water since he wasn't quite as big a fan of the taste!

The Review....He got quite the same effect of his pre-workout, with no jitters. He said he somehow felt healthy, if that makes any sense?? He left the house feeling completely unmotivated and ended up pulling out a good workout! It's hard to say with just one dose whether it was really working or all in his head, but I'd say it was a success! :) Having only one serving, I'm not sure what the long term effects would be, and can't comment on the claims on bloodpressure, anemia, hunger, brain disorders, etc. BUT worth a try! Find them at www.energybits.com

8 Weeks Out

A week ago, I tried to incorporate cardio into my regime, and it didn't go well!! My knees were in agony after very simple steady state cardio :( So this week, I only managed to get two 15 minute cardio sessions in! To keep the downward trend going, I figured I had no choice but to lower my calories more which I didn't originally want to do!! The plan was to stick with this till I feel contest ready...hopefully early, and then just maintain till May. So this week I was eating 1200 calories (which is the absolute minimum I will go to) and low carb. I was doing a little bit of a carb cycle you could say! I'm had two high carb days, one for leg day, and one for back day. (These days I basically just added oatmeal in the morning and removed a serving of fat later on to compensate for it) You know you are eating clean when having a bowl of your once upon a time, everyday oatmeal is the best taste you could imagine for your tastebuds!! HAHA

I was originally planning on having a cheat meal or day, but I think I'm just going to put that off till after my photoshoot in a couple of weeks! The monday after my shoot I'll have a good cheat day, I PROMISE! LOL I thought the week was going well, but I'm really not happy with my pics as compared to the last few weeks :(

TOTALLY out of the blue I'm starting to see that my quads and abs have started to show.  I'm SUPER happy to see this happening FINALLY!!!! (this didn't seem to show up in my pics this week? I just look skinnier) My energy level has still be REALLY good considering the cut of calories!

I've REALLY started to focus on posing....10-15 minutes everyday...if I don't get my body where I want it to be, I will at least be ready for stage presence...I HOPE! As far as my body goes, I'm pretty sure I'll have no problem getting lean enough. My worry is, in order to get more defined I'll start to look too skinny because I didn't build enough muscle before starting the lean out process! :( I'm already excited for off season!! I can't wait to start building some beautiful muscles! ;)

I've had a little fun this week putting all my outfits aside for the photoshoot in Toronto. I want to have lots of options to choose from depending on how things go!! :)

Here are my progress pics for the week! Despite the big cut in calories, I didn't really lose anything. Not being able to add any cardio isn't helping any!!! To me, the pics appear to look better last week
 :( Makes me want to RUN back to what I was doing before!!! At least I know there has been a consistent trend of that working. I'm thinking I will stick with what I was doing before, until I'm not seeing any progress anymore. I will experiment with cutting calories and carb cycling after the photoshoot! I don't want to look flat for the pictures ;)

Until Next week my fit friends!

My Incredible Experience with Iridology

Today was my Iridology appointment, and I was soooooo looking forward to learning what it's all about. I wasn't going because I had any concerns about my health, but I DO believe in Natural Medicine, and everyone can make improvements in their health right??

I met a WONDERFUL Korean lady who owned a healthfood store I went into randomly one day about a month ago. (found out she's going on 70, and I thought that she was MAYBE 50) I went in looking for a good fish oil, and left inspired! I could have talked to her all day about totally random health topics. As we were talking she mentioned a few stories she had thru her practice of iridology. Iridologists believe they can use the charts to distinguish between healthy systems and organs in the body and those that are overactive, inflamed, or distressed. Iridologists believe this information demonstrates a patient's susceptibility towards certain illnesses, reflects past medical problems, or predicts later health problems. I'm so interested in practices like this that I'd thought of it MANY times since meeting her. I finally made an appointment after discussing it with my mom, who offered to pay for a session :) I believe this lady WANTS you to be healthy, as the $ 120 session fee is waived if you follow her advice...now on to my experience.

She started by explaining the practice to me, and showing me many examples of differen't eyes and what certain colors and "designs" shall we say, meant. Did you know that ALL eyes are either Brown or Blue?? Splotches, area's of discoloration, straiations, etc, all mean something!! After this she put a tiny magnifying glass up to my eyes, one at a time with a flashlight, and just started spewing information!! I WISH I HAD BROUGHT A TAPE RECORDER!!!! The first 10 minutes were so dead on with my personality and minor problems that I have been experiencing! Problems that seem miniscule right now, but as my body fights with them, would have become worse and worse, and would start to affect my body in different ways. Apparently I've been born with extremely good genetics for fighting ailments, which has helped...or not, depending on how you look at it I guess! ;)
She was such a wealth of knowledge, on why certain things happen, how it affects other systems and how to rectify the problems naturally!

Without going into too much detail ( I don't want to bore you) I'm basically very acidic, and don't produce enough digestive enzymes. She suggested diet changes to help with my bodies acidity and I'll be taking a digestive enzyme (which I'd been planning to do for the longest time, but just never got around to it!) These changes should help with my excema as well. I also have quite a bit of yeast in my system and an underperforming thyroid. The thyroid, if you knew me well, explains a lot of what I've struggled with the past few years!! I'm SO EXCITED to start making the changes that she suggested. YES, I did end up spending just as much as the appointment would have cost....but I really have a good feeling about this.  I'm looking forward to having more energy, a thyroid that works (weight maintenance will be a lot easier) and having a darned POOP everyday! HAHAHAHA

All in all, she said that I was pretty healthy. These are just things that if I clean up now, I'll feel good a whole lot longer, my body has just been doing a good job trying to fight the inbalance so far! This was an amazing experience, and I would HIGHLY recommend it over going to a DR., who can't really diagnose anything until you're already feeling symptoms enough to go get checked out and you're already sick! This is like seeing into the future and rectifying problems before they happen!! I know, I know, it sounds like a lot of Hocus Pocus....the same thing most people thought when I saw a naturopath several years ago....but I'M A BELIEVER!! ;)

11 Weeks Out/ 4 Weeks till FEM Camp

Here are my progress pics for this week!! This past week I was eating 1600 Calories/day with a 30%Pro/40%Carb/30%Fat Macro Split. I did Week 8 of the James Wilson Body Earned Program, which is circuit training. Like Usual, no cardio! I'm saving the cardio for a last resort! Just like the previous week, I lost another LB and a tiny bit of Bodyfat, which is awesome! I'm glad that the losses are happening, but at a super slow pace! I do feel weaker since lowering my calories a few weeks ago, so I want this weight loss to be as slow as possible! I'm hoping to maintain as much muscle as I can through this process!

For this week, the plan is pretty similar! No need to cut anymore calories since I'm still seeing a downward trend! YAY. I will be making a few changes though. I'm doing week 9 of the Body Earned program, and from next week on, I think I'll go back to lifting as heavy as I can, one body part/day. I had a great chat with a friend who used to compete, and she suggested I start replacing my post breakfast carbs with more veggies. I WILL keep my sanity by having my Favorite meal of the day....OATMEAL, but after breakfast, i'll be replacing complex carbs with vegetables. Along with that, I'm going to TRY to get my water intake even higher! I've been drinking a gallon/day, but I'm going to try and add a litre extra for a few days...then add another hopefully!! Bring on the bathroom breaks! HAHA I'm increasing my protein a little, and decreasing my carbs...fat will stay the same. (40/30/30)

I'm toying with the idea of a cheat day...my friend suggested just trying a cheat meal since it's scaring the crap out of me! HAHA...guess there's no hurt in trying it for a couple of weeks just to see what happens! Not sure if I'll follow thru with that or not....I have been craving popcorn like nobodies business(no butter)...that's a farely safe cheat no?? HAHA

Anyway, here are my progress/accountability pics for this week!! Until Next Monday my fitness Friends!!....Well, I may actually post about my iridology experience tomorrow!! :) I can't wait!!

12 Weeks out/5 Weeks till Photo Shoot

Well, this past week, I had my calorie intake at 1700 Cals/day, and my P,C,F Macronutrient Breakdown was 30/40/30. Once again, just under a LB lost, and VERY little BF....not even worth mentioning.. sooooo, not too sure what I should do this week!!! I'm thinking my diet's going to be at a calorie intake of 1600 and same macronutrient breakdown. I'm going back to the James Wilson Body Earned program which has active rests to keep my heart rate a little higher. I'm going to start at week 8, because that's the point where I found it got pretty challenging last time. I'm currently at 121.6 Lbs...for as long as I can remember, this has always been the point my body doesn't want to pass!!! It just wants to STAY PUT when I get to the 120 range. This is going to be a mind over matter period, and it's going to be really challenging! I'm am determined to see this through!!! :)

Since it's only 5 weeks till my photoshoot at F.E.M Camp in Toronto, I've decided to do a "Trial" lean out period. The next two weeks are going to be pretty similar gym wise, but for the last three weeks, I'm planning on adding three HITT Cardio workouts/week as well (we'll see how my knees do after nine months off cardio! HAHA) I will probably do some manipulation on complex carb intake and fat intake as well, but I still have to do a little more research on this aspect first!!! I have a lot of reading to do in the next couple of weeks!! I've had company from out of town here for the past two weeks, so as of tomorrow night, I'll have a lot more time for that kinda stuff :) I love having visitors, but it's nice to get back in the groove too!!!

I think F.E.M Camp is coming at the perfect time...I will be able to do a little trial and error on leaning out...if it works well, I'll be ready in plenty of time for my competition, and if it doesn't I'll still have a month to try something else!!! I'm hoping for the former, but I'm sure there will be tweaking required regardless!!

Anyway, here are my accountability pics for this week!!! I really hope to see some leaning out soon!! 12 Weeks!!! It's getting REAL now!!

Cleaned up Twice Baked Butternut Squash

Do you see a lot of recipes you'd like to try, but find that they just don't fit into your clean eating regime?? It's SO simple to Clean Up ANY of your recipes...they may not be perfect in the end, but you can replace a lot of the ingredients with healthier versions!

Recently I found a tasty looking Twice Baked Acorn Squash Recipe!! I've been sick of the same ole Broccoli, and green beans, so I thought I'd try and Clean up the recipe a bit, and spice up my vegetable intake...get out of that "RUT" for a few days shall we say! :)

The original recipe had-
Butter and oil which I eliminated
Regular Bacon, which I substituted with Turkey Bacon (leaner)
Parmesan Cheese-Substituted with Nutritional Yeast (used a lot by vegetarians...High in Vitamin B and has a nutty cheesy flavor)
The grocery store didn't have any Acorn Squash this day, so I just substituted Butternut Squash...use whatever you'd like!!! :)

 

Ingredients-

Large Butternut Squash
5oz Frozen Spinach (1/2 of the usual frozen package)
Two Slices of Turkey Bacon, cooked and crumbled
... 4Tbsp of Nutritional Yeast, (three TBSP in Mix, reserve one TBSP to sprinkle on top before Baking)
2 Tbsp Thinly sliced Green Onion
1/4Tsp Salt
1/8Tsp Cayenne ( I used a lot more than this...I like spicy!!)
Cut squash in half; discard seeds. Place squash upside down on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until tender. Scoop out squash and mash until smooth. In a large bowl, combine squash pulp, spinach, bacon, 3 T. Nutritional Yeast, green onion, salt, and cayenne. Spread into a greased casserole dish; sprinkle with remaining Nutritional Yeast, Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown.

 

Try it out!! It may not be as decadent and sinful as the original version, but it was still SUPER tasty!!!

 

Here is a helpful Chart with common Ingredient substitiutions to "Healthify" otherwise poor recipe choices :) haha

 

 

 

 

 

#FITFAMFEB How are you keeping your family and friends involved in your Healthy Lifestyle??

Myself and the #mompowerteam have dedicated February to #fitfamfeb. Our goal is to spend the month encouraging our direct family members, and "friend" family members to jump on board with the healthy lifestyles that we are creating for ourselves!! :)

We have been posting pics online of families exercising and eating healthy together. Seeing others participating shows how much fun it can be!! If you want to participate, include the hashtag #mompowerteam and #fitfamfeb, so we can see your pics as well!!! :) Here is the pic I took of me and my daughter trying to do chinups in the basement!! :) I couldn't complete one with the added 15lbs on my back, but instead I worked on trying to hold myself in position as long as I could!!! LOL Pushups were easy and fun...I think my daughter was confused at what we were doing more than enjoying it, but if you start them young it can't be bad!! HAHA

What do you do to keep your family active??

Here is another pic of my family on Vacation! We took the weekend off from the gym, but that didn't mean that we didn't stay active! Here we are on a hike, enjoying the scenery and fresh air in Palm Springs! Not to mention LOTS OF SHOPPING!!! New runners to invigorate my workouts when we get home??? I say "YES PLEASE!!!"

Do you participate in a bookclub?? I'm hosting this month, and this was my idea to get my "friends" family interested in Clean Eating and Working out!!! (Not to mention, giving me time to catch up on the future readings;) Instead of choosing a novel, I instructed everyone to read a fitness magazine and come to bookclub ready to discuss one healthy habit they learned!! :) We always do a food theme...because who are we kidding, bookclubs aren't about reading, they are about friends and FOOD!!! Everyone this month will be bringing a recipe found in the magazines :) YAY, I will be able to eat the majority of the food at bookclub!! FINALLY! HAHA

 

So far, this is how I've embraced #fitfamfeb!!! I encourage you all to jump on board...there's nothing better than having a happy, healthy family!!! Making small changes and keeping it fun is the key!!! :)

13 Weeks Out

Well, this was a weird week!! Two weeks ago I was at 2000 calories/day and losing....really slowly, but I was losing! The following week I lowered my intake to 1900/day and was still losing....This past week I was at 1800 calories/week. I'm basically trying to get myself to a point where I'm losing a pound/week consistently. When I weighed myself in today I was all of a sudden up 2lbs, and 3mm's in my belly caliper measurement!! Not sure exactly where that came from!!??

So, the plan this week is going to change up the macros a little. I WAS doing 40/40/30 (P,C,F). This week I'm going to change that to 30/40/30. I have already determined I don't do great with High Carbs, so I'm going to try Higher Fat and see what happens!! I haven't decided as of yet whether I'm going to drop to 1700 Calories or remain at 1800??

On a brighter note, my workouts have been DA BOMB...and I'm happy with how my hamstrings are looking!!! I can see the definition a little in my abs again, my suit gets looser and looser every week, and I still have energy to spare! Even though I've hit a little setback, I know I have lots I can do...I have a lot more calories I can cut (just don't want to do it too fast, for fear of losing VERY HARD EARNED muscle) and I'm saving the cardio that I can add at some point. It's been 9 months now that I haven't done any cardio. The proof is right there that proper diet is 80% of the game. I just have to figure out the little tweaks in my diet needed to keep things running smoothly!! :)

I'm still doing a 5day split workout from Fitness RX Magazine. I still can't sit down after the leg workouts...and it's the third week!

Until Next week,
I hope I have some good news to share after some extra yummy fat this week ;)

Keep up the good work everyone and thanks for helping motivate me!!~Steph

14 Weeks out!!!

I missed progress pics last week since I was so sick and didn't work out. I'm was feeling MUCH better this week, and I was working REALLY hard at the gym!! I'm noticing that I have to focus a lot more on my triceps. My diet this past week was 1900 Calories and a 40/40/20 Macro Split. I've noticed just looking in the mirror at the gym that I'm looking better, but these pics don't really reflect that?? I seem to have lost all definition in my abs (could be as simple as what I ate yesterday I guess) And I had to take the pics by myself this morning because my photographer is out of town ;) Did a lot of running back and forth from the camera to my spot trying to get the positioning as close to the last pics as possible!!

I spent a lot of time this week emailing Hair/MakeUp for quotes, and shopping around for tanning! I think I've settled on using Cherry Dolls for my Tan (they seem to be the most hassle free) and I'm pretty sure I've pick my hair and makeup professional as well :) I was originally planning on doing all this stuff myself, but I see myself being SO NERVOUS that I want to have as little to worry about as possible.  For future competitions (if there's a future competition) I will be more comfortable trying to do these things on my own!

I haven't been practicing posing, but I HAVE been walking all over the place in my heels just getting used to them!! They are slowly but surely getting more comfortable! THANK GOODNESS!!! HAHA I have a couple of workshops coming up, and hopefully I'll get tips there to REALLY start practicing my posing routine!

I have to get even MORE focused on the food intake this week. I'm going to do 1800 Cals a day and stick with my 40/40/20. I just realized that I do have a photoshoot the first week of April, so I should be counting that as my focus for now!!! This means, I have half the time I thought I did!! HAHA I want to look a little more "Natural" for the photoshoot though, so it should be good timing!!

Until Next week's Progress Pics!!! Have a great Week!!!

Week 23, 16 Weeks to Go!!!

This past week, I changed up my program a bit, just to spice things up a little. It was a 5 day split from Fitness RX Magazine. There weren't any active rests so my total caloric burn for the week was less than normal....the only day I got a CRAZY burn was the lowerbody circuit on Saturday!! I burned double what I normally do, and felt for the first time in a long time, that I had to barf! HAHA It's now Monday and I still can't sit down without pain! LOL

As for pics and weigh in today I gained a bit :( Which means, I'm gonna change my diet again this week. 100 calories less per day. So my plan this week will be to eat 2000 calories a day and stick with this 5 day split for another week. We will see what happens next Monday and work from there!! I'm not crazy concerned that things aren't going in a downward trend just yet. I will get really focused on that 10-12 weeks out! I'm sure you are getting sick of collage after collage of pics that look pretty much exactly the same, but I'm going to keep posting for accountability!! LOL

I'm going to be playing a bit of catch up too, as I'm REALLY feeling under the weather today, so I stayed home from the gym today. My daughter had the flu shot on Friday, and has a runny nose and such, so I'm assuming I'm getting something from her :(

Happy Workouts and Clean Eating Everyone!!! Keep up the hard work!!!

Week 22 Progress and 17 Weeks to go till Competition!!!

I'm back from family vacay just over two pounds lighter...oooops. I knew that I wasn't getting in my whole 2100 calories per day but was hoping the fact that I wasn't working out at all, would balance everything out! Ah well, lesson learned.  At least I know now, with little changes in intake it'll start coming off easily!! (for a while anyway)  I missed progress photo's and weigh in last week because we were away, but I won't be missing any updates from here on out!!!

(Aug 1st, Jan 7, Jan 21)

I just finished the 12 week James Wilson Body Earned Program (without cardio) and it was recommended to take a full week off before going on to something else! I'm glad that landed while I was on vacation because it was SO HARD to take time away from the gym!! I did end up going the day after we got back for a speedy "sanity circuit". I know I know, I have to learn to rest!!! Other than that, I took the entire week off ( it sure did a body good!!!) and I'm READY to get back at it today!! :)

As for the plan this week....

I'm sticking with 2100 Calories as I seem to be losing little by little with that. I don't want to get too ahead of myself! I will REALLY evaluate at 12 weeks out! I'm going for a VERY slow lean out as I want to keep as much of my muscle as possible!!! I'm not to worried that I won't be able to get lean, I'm more worried that I will look scrawny once I do! I've found it SO HARD to put on good muscle!!!

It's funny!! As a woman, I've always wanted to be lean..and I was so excited for this upcoming leanout phase, but now that I'm saying goodbye, all I can think about is, after this competition is over I CAN'T WAIT to get back to trying to gain more muscle mass!!!

I've been reading more and more about protein consumption. I've been eating 40%protein, and at this higher calorie intake I'm pretty much consuming really expensive carbs. I don't need that much!!! However over the past few months, I've noticed my body doesn't react well to a higher carb diet either! (or I feel bloated on it at least) The solution?? I'm going to try increasing fats instead and see what happens! So my breakdown this week will be 30% Pro, 40% Carb, and 30% Fat.

On another note, I started sleep training with my daughter and she's in her own crib and doing great!!! More sleep for me should REALLY help things out as well!!! :)

So I'm Signing out till Wednesday!! A little birdy tells me that there will be an awesome giveaway announcement that I WISH I could have gotten in on!!! Keep your eyes peeled because you won't want to miss it!!! :) Hopefully it will be ready to start by Wednesday!!!