Ugh, I can’t even imagine the # of chemicals floating through my body right now, and I’m not too thrilled about it. I generally like to eat much more ‘whole & clean’ than I am at the moment. But with my limited diet and carb-cycling, in order to 1) stay full enough to not eat my arm, and 2) to make what I eat eatable without adding and carbs or cals, I’ve resorted to eating many chemically laden products. I have mentioned the Walden Farms brand on here a few times, and for a fitness/figure competitor their products are lifesavers, but really they are just flavored chemicals (and some of the products tastes like it too). Same with all the Sugar-Free syrups I’ve been consuming lately. I don’t know what I would have done if I wasn’t allowed to drink coffee through this whole process and the syrups make it a much more enjoyable experience.

I know I could avoid these products, after all, they’re really just easing my ridiculous sweet tooth, but having my coffee in the morning with my Unsweetened Almond Breeze and Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice Syrup makes me feel a little more like I’m taking part in the holiday festivities.  I feel like I’m balancing so many things right now that I don’t have time to conduct trial & error with recipes, and even more importantly I don’t have time for error with any changes to my diet. My cut is going quiet well and you know what they say, if it’s not broken… After these two competition are over and I have time to do more research and experimentation with my diet, I’m excited to come up with combinations and recipes that meet my nutrition and training needs at any stage of contest prep.

So I suppose this turned into a bit of a vent, but I really am thankful to live someplace where there is such a variety of products that make the cutting diet easier. BUT I’m also looking forward to natural, clean, fresh, out of the ground or off the tree eating post-competition.

So that leads me to this fantastic addition to my diet:

When I posted about a coffee-substitute, my mom recommended this. It is made from barley,  has 1 carb per serving and tastes awesome! For my first try, I didn’t add any almond breeze but just a tbsp of Sugar-Free Cookie Dough Syrup, and was very pleasantly surprised!

I am now on my 2nd cup as I work on the take-home Final for my Negotiations class… clearly focus is an issue since I’m blogging :p opps!

But first, most importantly and excitingly, not only was today carb day, it was also measurement day with my trainer. And though I knew my weight hadn’t gone down too much, just ~0.5lb, my body fat did, and I am now at 9.6%!! I’m really excited to break that 10% barrier and it’s just SO nice and encouraging to see changes each week and know my hard work, and sometimes hunger, is paying off!

So now for the fun stuff.. Yay, it’s carb day! For the last 4 weeks I’ve been carb-cycling in order to cut body fat to prepare for my fitness competition in (now) 5 weeks. The first couple weeks weren’t too bad, but then the monotony and cravings started getting a lil more serious. To say the least, I greatly look forward to carb days! Currently my cycle is:

3 Days Low= 25-30g  Carbs, 200g Protein, 1 tbsp coconut oil for added Fat on lifting days

1 Day Moderate= 125g Carbs, 200g Protein, no added fats

On low days I get most of my carbs from Spinach Bars and occasionally a 1/3c of Pumpkin for my Pumpkin Souffle. Moderate days, like today, I get to enjoy the good stuff! For me, like many of you, this means the pleasure of enjoying the amzingness that is OATMEAL! My other acceptable carbs of choice are Sweet Potato and Pumpkin. I’ll also let myself have the tastier protein powders that have a few carbs.

I was sooo looking forward to Breakfast this morning:

Protein Pumpkin Oatmeal

1/3 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup Pumpkin

1/2 scoop BSN Cinnamon Roll Protein Powder

Pumpkin spice & Cinnamon

I’m looking forward to adding a lovely nut butter & chocolate post-competition season

My lovely breakfast.. with my beloved red coffee pot

Stack o' Pancakes

Snacks during school and between workouts weren’t quite as interesting. Just chicken breast and a couple protein pancakes I whipped up last night (these were more successful- used Cake Batter Protein Powder from All The Whey and added quite a bit of coconut extract).

But post workout, it was time for my next carby meal!

Cheesy Sweet Potato Tuna Mash

4oz Sweet Potato

2.5-5oz Tuna (depending on how much more protein I’m needing that day)

1/2 cup Cottage Cheese (I go for the Lactaid brand)

Zap it in the microwave until the sweet potatoes are warm and the cheesy is just starting to get melty.. Yum yum

Not the prettiest thing.. but tasty for sure!

Finished up the day with a 2nd serving of oats and leftover Coho Salmon from last night.

Just got back from Michael’s, Target and Best Buy with some new toys I’ll explain (and you’ll see tomorrow)! Now for the best TV night, Grey’s Anatomy & Project Runway await.

No school, just work tomorrow for me. Do you have any fun Friday plans?