GROWTH PHASE PROGRESS

Helllllllooooo everyone!!! How have your past couple of weeks gone? Mine, I've got to say have been very productive....I've updated my website, finished all my reading for my first mid term (have some loose ends to study still) and planned my meals for the last week and this week, and had many many KICK ARSE workouts!!! You've gotta love EXTRA clean food when it gives you energy results in the gym!!

So here is my update!! If you ready my last post, you know that I'm re-starting my favourite program MI40X , and it's going WAY BETTER than it did the first time. This is a MUSCLE BUILDING program, but the first time around I was in a caloric deficit because I was slowly increasing my calories after my competition...THIS time I'm following the meal plan guidelines as well, in a caloric surplus and hoping for some lean mass gains over the next 40 days of HARD WORK!!!

Love Warming up with my girls!! Do you look fwd to seeing certain people at the gym?? That's what gets me there on days that I just "don't want to"

The first week I planned 2050 Calories daily with 40%p/20%c/40$f. This is a great breakdown for me right now, 1. Because I LOOOOVE fats
and            2. Because I feel that I have become somewhat insulin resistant (carbs react by making me                  feel bloated, sluggish and I lose mental focus.)
                  3. Because the addition of extra fats keeps me feeling more satiated throughout the whole     day, no energy slumps.

My program was 6 days/week. Body part type split, with extra shoulder sessions over other body parts. One the 7 day (my day off) I ate an additional 600 Calories in Carbohydrates...you can say a cheat meal, or treat, however I ALWAYS choose healthy low glycemic foods!

My diet was uploaded on my newly updated website OPERATIONLEAN for any of you to download and use yourselves. I have yet to upload my next meal plan, but I will be adding it soon!!! Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any new diet updates!!! There's going to be LOTS of FREE meal plans and workouts added in the near future!! I just have to find some time to write them!!! For now, I'll just share mine :)

Here is one of my FAVORITE recipes for hitting my fat intake....this was added to my meal plan this week.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

It's made with coconut oil, PB2, cocoa and stevia to taste!!! SO EASY...if you need even MORE fats, you can use natural peanut butter instead of the PB2 :) Just finished a couple before I started writing this post!!! So delicious!

I was also doing warmups on the bike, and two higher intensity cardio sessions to keep the fat gain at bay and get the blood flowing.

Week 1 Results : Other than the fact that I felt great over my first week, I didn't gain any weight :( I WANT to be gaining a little bit of weight, sooooo

Changes for this week:
1. Increased my calories to 2200 with the same macro breakdown.
2. Kept my warmups daily, but eliminated my cardio sessions.
3. I have to do better with my water intake...it's starting to get chilly here in Calgary, so I'm not craving it like I normally do in the summer. This Hydrate Bottle is helping me get back on track!!!

Want your own Hydrate Water Bottle?? Be sure to check them out on Facebook!! HYDR-8 WATER BOTTLES

At this point I'm really happy with my diet. I don't have any cravings and I'm satisfied throughout the whole day! I always have a yummy meal to look fwd to, so I see no need to change much there. I do have to be expending fewer calories though, as I'm not seeing a weight gain. This is why I eliminated some cardio! I guess I have more time to study now ;)

Here are some things to keep in mind when working toward your own goals :
1. Make sure you have a way to track progress, so you know when to make changes.
2. EVERYONE is different, and there are NO COOKIE CUTTER ways to do things. It's about trial and error. If your results aren't what you want, something has to change
3. If you are wanting to gain, and you don't, you either have to BURN FEWER Calories, or EAT MORE Calories, it's as simple as that!!! The challenge comes from consistency. If you aren't consistent, you will have no idea what to change. AND patience. You may be lucky and hit the nail on the head the first week...you may continue to see progress for weeks (more common for people new to exercise and good nutrition) BUT
4. You will EVENTUALLY hit a plateau and need to use outcome based decision making to change things, and BUST THRU it!!

Good luck with your goals this week, and I will chat with you soon!!!

"you can't do what you've always done and expect a different outcome"

New Goals Put on Paper, FINALLY

After spending a weekend at the Olympia expo (something I've wanted to do for years) I have a new found motivation that is SO common after attending events like this. You are surrounded for a full weekend, by like minded fitness personalities who have worked HARD to get where they are. Some are just following fitness for fun and well being, others are making it a career. Most, like myself, are a little of both! I've been in a bit of a rut since my last competition. I've been staying on track with healthy eating and feeling GREAT, but I have not set any goals. This was a planned portion of time to "just be" as I call it!! So I've had my time to 'BE", but I think it's time to set some goals again....

If you haven't noticed already through your own experiences, it's super important to SHARE your goals with friends, family, social media. (whomever you choose) This keeps you accountable and subconsciously, helps you stay on track and keeps you motivated!!! I've shared my goals with my husband, but like usual, I also want to share with all of you!!! I will also share my progress as I go along. Results more than likely, won't be as dramatic as training for a competition post baby, but we'll soon find out I guess!! :)

September 25th-November 6th (6 Weeks Bulk)

I've been on a caloric deficit for a while. I find that my body and energy levels are just better this way. I've been slowly increasing my calories weekly over the past few weeks, and should be back up to where I want to be (SMALL caloric surplus) by next week. This will be around 2100-2250 Calories (that's where my surplus has been in the past anyway, we'll see when I get there!) I'm already starting to feel a little sluggish, and sleepy...hopefully my body adjusts soon, because I MISS feeling full of energy! There's no better feeling than a post nutritional cleansed body!

Over the summer I completed an AMAZING program, designed by one of my mentors IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski.www.mi40nation.com This is a muscle building program, however I completed it while in a caloric deficit. I saw amazing definition coming in compared to what I usually have!! I am going to start this up again (40 Day program) next week...this time while eating more food!!! Can't wait to see what kind of changes I see! I probably won't see more definition with the extra calories, but I hope to put on some lean mass, especially in the shoulders.

I've learnt over the past year, that I don't REALLY care that much about symmetry. HAHA For my body to look more shapely, I had been working toward growing my quads and hamstrings....did I achieve that, YES...am I happy about it..hmmmmm, actually NO! I don't like the way they look now even though I achieved exactly what I had set out to do! I'll keep em like this for a while, maybe I'll warm up to them, but in the meantime, I'm going with my heart!!! ;) SHOULDERS!!! I've always wanted my shoulders to be at a point that they look muscular thru my shirt, so that's my next goal! ;)

Here is a pic of my shoulder inspiration...well, not only shoulder inspiration, but WHOLE body inspiration.. My absolute favourite all time fitness model Jessie Hilgenberg. I KNOW myself, and my problem isn't sticking to a diet, it's EATING ENOUGH FOR LONG ENOUGH, to but on some muscle!

How am I going to achieve a fraction of this??? FREQUENCY!!! Any many many cycles of this same type of plan. If your trying to grow a specific body part, you have to do more than what you were doing before!! More time under tension, more load and work that part more often. Another lagging body part has always been my triceps, so I'm alternating shoulders and triceps all week, paired with one other body part. All in all, I'll be hitting every body part each week, but triceps and shoulders 3x! Along with eating more food of course, but more about that later.

To keep the fat gain to a minimum, and keep the blood flowing, and just because I've been enjoying it lately.....I'll be adding three days a week of cardio for 20 minutes. Nothing crazy, just easy steady state or intervals.

My marco breakdown during this time will more than likely stay at 40p/40c/20/f MAYBE 40/30/30 if I'm feeling soft. I find my body adjust quickly when I decrease carbs and increase healthy fats.

For now, I have this as a 6 week time period, but if I'm staying pretty lean, I will extend to 8 weeks, and decrease my cut to 4 weeks :)


Nov 7th-December 19th (6 Weeks Cut)

After completing my program, I'm going to start a 6 week cut...or shorter depending on how much body fat I pack on....the goal is to see my abs...I'm sure I will lose them throughout my 6 week "bulk", so I will cut until they are in sight again....I have not yet decided what program I will do for this, but more than likely one of the hybrid workouts we use for our Sisters in Shape 60 Day Challenges. They are KILLER!!! I will obviously share with you the changes I make as I make them!

Calories will be lowered gradually starting at 15xbodyweight, and never going below 10xbodyweight! I will more than likely be following a 40p/30c/30f split or what has worked great for me in the past has been 50/30/20. As your calories get lower and lower, protein becomes more important for more than one reason. Particularly for maintaing the muscle you worked so hard for, and keeping you satiated!

Notice that I have set pretty specific steps to achieve my ultimate goal of bigger shoulders. It's got a deadline, and I'll be measuring thru pictures, weight and mostly how my clothes feel....hopefully having tighter shirts ;) It's realistic...am I going to put on a huge amount??..probably not, it's not enough time, but progress is progress!! :) Once I hit my deadline, it's time to reassess, maybe I'll learn the same as I did with my legs, haha, that I liked them better before!! But that's a win too right, starting to appreciate what you had to begin with! ;)

Over the next 8-10 weeks, I will share with you my diet, macros and progress in case you want to learn thru my challenge!! :) I always love having others on the journey with me!

Have you noticed how I have this planned out??? YES, I have my cut ending right before xmas festivities...my calories will be increasing again, just on time, to not feel deprived over the holidays...yeah I know, BRILLIANT!

Are my only goals fitness related?? Absolutely not!! We have SO MUCH going on here in Calgary Alberta, and I'll give you some tidbits here and there!!! We have expanded mine and my husbands company, (working thru the growing pains as we speak)  I've been working hard on my coaching business and website, operationlean and I've also decided to go back to school!!! All the while my daughter had JUST become potty trained, and it seems like school is just around the corner!! ;) Holy moly, please slow time down! HAHA

Until next time my fitness friends!!!

Steph :)

Post Competition Reflection

Wow, what a week, what a prep!!! Now that it's all over, I don't even know where to start. New goals, relief, confusion, success, disappointment, excitement, etc, are flooding my brain, and I don't really know what to do with it all??!

To be honest, ever since my last competition in October of last year, I had planned on competing ONE MORE TIME, before planning on expanding family. I stuck with my plan and my training, despite, never being quite as motivated as I was last year. I always want to see improvements, but my HEART wasn't in competition prep this time around!! :(

I took the judges notes (build shoulders, and bum, to make the appearance of a smaller waist) and more volume in my hair to heart, and worked my ARSE off all winter trying to put on as much mass as possible!! Doing all of this in such a short time period, DEFINITELY added to my fat mass as well! Even though I was meeting my goals, I have NEVER been so down and out. I REALLY don't like the growing phase, and was beginning to wonder why I was doing all of this, what am I REALLY achieving??

About two months ago, after putting on a whopping 9 lbs of muscle in 7ish months but struggling to get the added fat off, I looked back at progress pics leading up to my October show. I couldn't BELIEVE how amazing I looked!!! Why had I not been happy with my physique in that show?? Was it because I didn't place as well as I would have liked?? Is it because I DID want to be more muscular?? Was it because the judges had a different idea of what I should look like than I did?? I really haven't pinpointed my feelings on this, but I know I would give pretty much anything just to look like that three week out picture again!!! I wish I had appreciated it when I had it! I basically improved my body all winter, just to look like someone else wants me to look. This is one of those important things to understand when you are going into a prep for competition. Use it as a goal to get your physique where YOU want it to be, to get yourself out of your comfort zone, to make new amazing friends, to inspire others and much much more. Don't get caught up in how you place. I think the the first time around, theres so much excitement and learning going on, you just want to get thru it, but as you become more experienced, you put that added pressure on yourself to place, and it takes the FUN out of it!

Am I proud of my achievements?? ABSOLUTELY, I worked REALLY hard, and made HUGE gains. I learned a tonne about my body through ups and downs with hormones, ups and downs with alkalinity, ups and downs with energy levels, ups and downs with sleep quality etc!! If I hadn't gone through this journey, I wouldn't know how to fuel myself to feel INCREDIBLE!!!
Not to mention, this journey has made me some of the BEST friends anyone could ask for!!! It's really incredible how many people I have met through social media (some I have FINALLY met in person) that I feel an amazing connection to! I've been able to do photo shoots, with amazing photographers, have had pictures and articles published in magazines, attended amazing camps and SO MUCH MORE!!! An actual trophy and pro card is such a small part of the experience, and I really have cherished every part of it!!!

So what now???

It's time to re-evaluate what I really want. I've got to make a new vision board and create new realistic, timely goals....and obviously fitness will always be part of this journey. I'm planning on completing MI40X, concentrating on CEP training. (more blogs coming on this) http://www.mi40x.com and focusing on slow and steady improvements!! I know now, that I like to be lean...I'm not sacrificing leanness to grow. Realistically, I won't get much bigger taking this approach, and that's ok! If I EVER hit the stage again, it's not going to be until I look like a different person. (watch me get the itch again before the end of summer! HAHA) If it doesn't happen, that is ok. Hopefully I will be INSPIRED by a new program like I was by Ben's last program http://www.hypertrophymax.com/welcome-offer.php (only comes out twice a year, so keep your eyes peeled!!!) This is where I learned pretty much everything new this past year! It's incredible and well worth the investment!

When it comes to diet, I plan on taking the "flexible dieting" approach. If I need to get lean, I know how to do it, but I'm happy with how I am now, and want to enjoy family outings, ditch the tupperware and baggies, and not worry about nutrient timing or missing meals. Flexible dieting is BASICALLY IIFYM (if it fits your macros) but I find most IIFYM camps thrive on how much crap they can put in their bodies while still meeting their macros. Feeling GOOD is important to me, so I WON'T be taking that approach...still good healthy, alkaline forming foods, that fuel your body, and prevent disease! Here is a pic of the food I ate the day after my competition.

THIS is flexible dieting for me, everything was healthy, I didn't feel deprived at all (quite the contrary actually, my tastebuds were in heaven!!!)

I'm going to continue to change lives with the sisters in shape 60 day challenges, where our ladies have created AMAZING friendships, while achieving incredible results, and learning the tools needed to change their lives. http://smackid.wix.com/operationlean to sign up!!! Next challenge will be starting SEPTEMBER 1!! We have sold out every challenge, so get yourself on the list now!!!  :)

I will also still be doing one on one training, whether it be training for a competition, or wanting more guidance in changing your lifestyle, I can help get you there!!! :)
I KNOW how amazing the experience of competing is, and I understand the excitement. I don't regret anything I learned from the experience!!! Just KNOW, that I do take the healthy approach to training, and you will have to give yourself 16 weeks at least. Slow and steady wins this race!!! ;)

I want to do more things non-fitness related that I used to enjoy so much....like photography!!! :) Maybe fitness photography??? LOL Anyone willing to be my fitness model to start my portfolio??
Contact me if you are in the Calgary area and are interested steph.laurendeau@sisinshape.com

I want to expand my business....so if you are a trainer, who has clients ROCKING it in the gym, but LOSING it in the kitchen, please contact me @steph.laurendeau@sisinshape.com I want to create a group of trainers working together to help our clients to remain more compliant with their diets!!!

I have SO MUCH more to talk about fitness and nutrition related, so I have set a goal to produce at least on great article/blog per month. This is realistic, and if I can do more, I most certainly will!

Most importantly, I'm looking fwd to concentrating on something OTHER than myself for a while. I plan on being a better wife, mom and friend. Competing is a very selfish sport, while being a great role model, especially near the end, you can't help but be looking out for number one WAY TOO MUCH to feel good about yourself.

Until next time all you wonderful people! Keep exercising and eating healthy!! Feel free to message me anytime either at my email, here in the comments, or on my Facebook page!!! I love hearing from you guy!! :)

~Steph

7 Weeks out, and Prep for Photoshoot next week!

This week, I did low carb Monday-Saturday and included a high carb and higher calorie day on Sunday. Last week pictures were looking so flat that I was hoping the carb load on Sunday would make for better pics this week, and it appears it worked!! I am much happier with these pics...progress is still humming along! I'm still panicked that I won't get lean enough on time, but I'm continuing to go strong! My knees have been treating me pretty good this week during cardio, and long as I keep it really low impact, so I'll continue with that next week too! I've been working so hard in the gym, I've had a couple of "why am I doing this again?" moments...but there have been more good days than bad! I'm determined to stay motivated!

My plan for this week is the same as I've been doing the last couple of weeks! I'm going to be eating low carb till Saturday where I will start to introduce carbs back into my diet. This will HOPEFULLY fill out my muscles nicely by the time I have the photoshoot on Sunday. The beginning of the week, I'll be ingesting AT LEAST a gallon of water/day. Come saturday I'll be just drinking what I need, and after dinner on Saturday I'll just be sipping water when really needed! After tomorrow I won't be working legs for the rest of the week, it's said to retain water when you work legs...(I'll go easy on myself when we are doing legs at FEM Camp) I'm going to be going lighter on the weights, higher reps. Taking a bit of a break you could say.

There's lots to do this week!! I have to start making a diet plan so that I can prep all my food for the trip by Thursday. (I booked a hotel with a kitchen, so that's eased my mind a little about prep!) I have to pick out some outfits for the shoot, get a manicure and pedicure, figure out what I want to do with my hair, etc...I have no idea what I want to do there, I'm a ponytail girl! I have a spray tanned booked in Toronto to hopefully make those muscles pop a bit more too...not to mention hide my cellulite ;) I'm pretty darned EXCITED about FEM CAMP!! I wish it was closer to competition time so my body would have looked better, but what can ya do!!! I'm ACTUALLY getting to meet a few people there, that I have only chatted with so far through my page. They have helped me so much along the way! I can't wait! Oh, and I guess Monica Brant is kinda a big deal too ;) ;)

Anyway, I will be kinda MIA over the weekend, but will be taking LOTS of pictures to post when I get back!!! Wish my husband luck with the baby by himself for 4 days!!!! AHHHHHH LOL

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!!!