Something pissed me off today.. and I don’t use that word, or get in that state of mind very easily.. or maybe it made me sad.. I’m not sure.
FITNESS
I love fitness. I love working out. I love getting up on stage. But what I really love is what fitness has done for me in the bigger picture. Fitness taught me, or perhaps reminded me, of how to be healthy; how to take care of my body; that food is nourishment. 75% of the year I would consider myself a healthy, clean eater. There is variety, lots of veggie, lean protein and whole grain carbs. The rest of the year I am getting ready to compete. Dieting down for a show generally means no cheats, less variety, more protein, less carbs. Competition dieting is not meant to be done for the long-term; that would not be healthy. But for the shorter-term, it may not be pleasurable, but it can be done without doing too much damage to one’s body and metabolism.
I don’t believe in Fat Burners or crash diets. To me those things are the opposite of what fitness represents. To me fitness is about being healthy, and showcasing what you’ve worked for. The ‘showcase’ aspect does require dieting in order for all that hard work you’ve done the rest of the year to be more visable, but unless you treat your body right leading up to that point, no dieting will result in a desired outcome.
We are also different in how our bodies respond to the dieting, increased cardio and stress that comes to prepping for a show. There is no one right plan for everyone. The only right thing in my opinion is doing it in a healthy way. Because truth is, after that show is over, you’re stuck with what you’ve done. If you’ve taken the extreme dieting and fat burner route, which tends to completely jack up (the nice way to say it) one’s metabolism and results in ugly post-comp rebound (& binges), you’re going to have a whole other battle in front of you as soon as you step off that stage.
It makes me so sad that girls think they need to take extreme, unhealthy measures to compete in this sport, and it pisses me off that there are people out their that not only condone but recommmend and push such tactics on girls who just want to reach their goals and will do whatever they’re told in order to do so. Those people are dangerous and selfish, in my opinion.
And know what’s funny about what I’m saying?.. I’m extremely competitive! I’m the type that generally will do anything & everything to reach my goals. But sacrificing health for the long-term in order to get on stage in a month is not on my agenda. In fact, I sort of see it as a cop-out. Because there is another aspect of competitive fitness that is often overlooked, and perhaps is what I struggle with the most, and that is patience. It takes working out, getting in your cardio and eating clean, every single day to see results, and those results don’t come overnight if you’re doing it healthy; they come over an extended period of time. Taking hand-fulls of fat-burners, doing 5 hrs of cardio and eating 500 calories a day is not commendable to me.. it’s the inpatient route.
Some people don’t like that fitness is a subjective sport. But to me I’ve always found an odd comfort in that. It means that no matter what, the only thing you can do is your very best. If the judges opinions and what they’re looking for change from show to show, then why are you stressing about what they might want this time? All you can do is everything in your power to be your best! And your best involves health & happiness over the long-term, and no one else but you can make sure that happens.. not the judges, not a trainer/coach, not a magazine cover.
gahh, I feel like I’m not articulating my thoughts very clearly with this.. but I think you get my gist/frustration/sadness..
So moving on to happier things..
Leg day with lots of Deadlifts and Squats in various forms followed by Boxing.. one of my favorite combos 
NUTRITION
What a lovely food day it was..
Blueberry Breakfast Awesomeness
Pancake perfection.. in blueberry form:
1 scoop Cake Batter Protein Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 c Egg Whites
1/4 c Oats, ground to flour
2 tbsp UVAB + 2 tbsp H20
~1/3 c fresh Blueberries
Topped with 0-calorie maple syrup (I promise it wasn’t as much as that pool makes it look :p) .. <3
Unpictured mid-day snacks involved Parsnip Fries with Artichokamole and Tilapia with Hummus. Why unpictured?.. Because I ate it straight out of the Tupperware, while standing up in the Kitchen.. just how I role with snacking sometimes
Favorite Salad appearance! Baby Spinach + grilled Chicken Breast + Strawberries + Walnuts..
Frozen Dessert..
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
6 oz plain non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 c Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Breeze
1 tbsp Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
Blend everything together for a couple minutes. Pour into an Ice Cream Maker and let it mix for 25 minutes.
And I know ya’ll want the stats..
This deserves a 2nd view..
I was in the mood for baking tonight, so I prepped snack-worthy Protein Pancakes and Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bites.
Oat Cake Protein Pancakes
4 scoops Cake Batter Protein Powder
1.5 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 c Oats, ground to flour
Cinnamon, to taste
3/4 c Egg Whites
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 c H20 (the new PP is super thick)
Blend everything together in a large bowl with a Hand Mixer. Cook stovetop over medium heat. Makes 7 pancakes.
Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bites
1 Sweet Potato
Cinnamon
Calorie-Free Sugar Substitute (I used Stevia in the Raw)
Mix Cinnamon & Sugar to desired combination (ala Cinnamon Toast style from when you were a kid.. and if you have never had Cinnamon Toast.. go do so immediately!). Peel Sweet Potato and slice into rounds. Lay rounds out on a Baking Sheet. Lightly spritz each side with Coconut Oil. Dip each side of rounds into Cinnamon-Sugar mix. Spread out on baking sheet and bake at 450 F for 15 minutes. Flip rounds over, and bake for another 1o minutes.
Sweet loveliness..
FUN
2 words: GO USA!!
1) Are you following the World Cup? Any fun, non-Futbol, weekend plans?
2) Thoughts on my rant above? Really, anything & everything goes..
Fun Links
Alyson, who the heck was it that was recommending the unhealthy contest prep?!
I 100% agree with the rant! I was plagued for over a decade with an eating disorder and I am s sad I wasted that time and I dont even know what my goal was. I love this post! You are awesome and inspiring!
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
ahh thank you so much!
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!
O and I forgot to mention, I fo the "straight out of the tupperware" all the time! thats why I dont think I could blog about every morsel I eat
I'm not watching the World Cup. I'm not a sports person per se.
I hear you loud and clear on the rant. It "P's" me off too. I also don't use that phrase unless i'm really mad
Sure I could take my cousin's Adipex or my neighbor's Adderall. It will make me thin but what happens when I come off of it? What happens in 20 years when I look back and ruined myself for what? For a judge to pick apart my appearance and award 1st to someone else? Some people use this sport because they think they are famous or something. Have you been to the Arnold? It's funny to watch those who think they are celebrities.
Hey girl – I get you on the rant. You articulated just fine. It's sad that it's that way with all types of sports. I can't even begin to tell you some of the crazy stories I have heard from ballet dancers!
I'm not watching the World Cup. I'm not a sports person per se.
I hear you loud and clear on the rant. It "P's" me off too. I also don't use that phrase unless i'm really mad
Sure I could take my cousin's Adipex or my neighbor's Adderall. It will make me thin but what happens when I come off of it? What happens in 20 years when I look back and ruined myself for what? For a judge to pick apart my appearance and award 1st to someone else? Some people use this sport because they think they are famous or something. Have you been to the Arnold? It's funny to watch those who think they are celebrities.
i completely agree with you. i can't tell you how many times i've been told i "need" to take fat burners. I tried them for 1 week and took a good look at myself and realized ummm..NOT worth risking your health for this. I don't even believe they really work, so it's a waste of money anyways.
I totally agree with your rant! Being healthy and looking fit should be exactly that- being healthy! Not doing some crazy crash diet or killing yourself with working out! And mmm those sweet potatoes look great! Do you include the calories of the spray?
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
For the spray question.. yes & no, haha.. I am pretty much always low on fats, so I count it to the extent that I know it's there and going towards my fat macro amount.. but that's it.
Oh god I feel like you must have read/seen something that REALLY has you pissed. I cringe to know what it was. But I am nosy and want to know
As a very newbie person in this sport, I have no idea how I can ever fully "make it" to the bigger leagues b/c I refuse to eat things against my values and against what's healthy for my body, i.e. allergic to lots of stuff, and when I see and hear about girls eating a certain way or taking certain things to make themselves bigger or smaller…it makes me sigh. All I can do is control me. But…if I am being judged against girls who have different values and think certain things are ok that I dont think are ok, then I will always lose in the judge's eyes b/c I cannot on my path achieve what they are on theirs. Anyway I could go on and on too. It all saddens me. Just wondering what the recent development is…
xo
I missed this.. what is UVAB oin the bluberry pancakes? Loved all the recipes!
As for the PO'd.. I hear ya! I stopped the bodybuilding after 2 years back in my late 30's. Too hard to compete against people taking drugs…. I was NOT going to take them!
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
UVAB is just Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
I totally see your point…I was interested in training for shows a few yrs back but I had a "moment" where I didnt see my addictive nature lining up with the ideals of some individuals in that industry. My focus like yours is one of health and happiness:) I have some acquaintences that have got to pro levels in figure/fitness and it is truly heart breaking to learn about some of the avenues they are going down to "enhance" their look and/or performance. Anyways, you are a shining example that you can still be true to yourself and not go to those unhealthyself-depreciating measures:) Good luck at your show!