"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin
It was a very successful on-ramp week. This past Saturday marked 16 weeks out from my show and my 'official' start to this competition prep!
The Importance of Preparation
I got back into planning and tracking my meals, ran through an entire week of my initial workout plan and made getting at least 8 hours of sleep a priority. It may seem redundant, but I believe while working towards any goal (fitness related, weight loss, competition, etc) it is incredibly important to understand what you need to accomplish in order to reach your goal. This doesn't mean looking weeks or months in advance, this is as simple as planning out your week. Easy actions like planning out what you will eat, when and where you will workout or packing your gym clothes the night before are things that can make succeeding a whole lot easier!
Nutrition
Before explaining how I planned my meals, I should explain my approach to nutrition for this point in my prep phase. Currently, my pattern of eating is Carb Backloading mixed with Intermittent Fasting. Essentially, this means I eat my meals between 12pm and 8 pm each day (fasting for 16 hours) and eating carbohydrates only on days I am weightlifting, and only in the evenings after I've lifted.
In addition to these patterns of eating, I'm also tracking my food to make sure I keep within my macronutrient goals (aka macros) for each day. You may have heard of the acronym 'IIFYM' which stands for If It Fits Your Macros. The advantage of tracking macros is that I have no set meal plan saying "eat 5 oz of chicken and 2 cups vegetables". Instead, I can eat whatever I want within my macro allotment. Think of it like a game of tetris!
I use the app MyMacros+ to track all of my food throughout the day. This also means I weigh my food to ensure I'm eating the proper portions. So often we underestimate the amount of calories we are actually consuming. Tracking what you eat is by far the easiest way to achieve a weight loss goal.
Opting for Simplification
Planning out every meal daily can be a bit overwhelming, which is why I opt for simplification whenever possible. Personally, I don't have a problem eating the same thing for lunch everyday. I can figure out the macros and serving sizes once and then I'm on autopilot for the rest of the week. This is a huge time saver. Each Sunday I prep the bulk of what I'm eating for lunch throughout the week so that I only spend time in the kitchen in the evenings each day making my dinner and assembling my lunch for the next day.
This week for lunch I made my Crunchy Asian Slaw (with the addition of broccoli) and Roasted Chicken.
For dinners, I take a slightly different approach. I buy certain base ingredients and then eat those in different ways throughout the week. Pretty much the same macros, but different combinations of flavors! This week I went for eggs, chicken breakfast sausage and sweet potatoes on my lifting days and for my non-lifting days I had ground bison with lots of veggies. For my 'breakfast for dinner' combinations I had:
- Egg white omelet, sausage patties, sweet potato hash browns
- Breakfast tacos on corn tortillas with sweet potato, scrambled eggs, crumbled sausage and avocado
- Breakfast burrito in a gluten free tortilla with sweet potato fritters
You didn't think I was going to forget dessert, did you? One of my unofficial goals of this prep is to have a treat every day; whether it be dessert, a glass of wine - anything outside of my necessary nourishment. I never want to feel overly restricted. This process isn't a punishment and I'd like to enjoy myself, all within moderation of course! Going back to IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros), I planned ahead to fit dessert which meant holding back a bit of fat and carbs from dinner. For me, this pumpkin protein mug cake and chocolate coconut ice cream is worth it. (Grab the recipe from my Instagram post!)
Progress
It has only been one week but I already feel (and see) changes! This first week was a great reminder that THE SCALE IS NOT THE FULL STORY. All too often we get hung up on the number on the scale (myself included). Yes, it is a perfectly good indicator for weightloss in the big picture sense, but weight can fluctuate very easily for women. I've been known to fluctuate 5 lbs in one week! There is no possible way anyone can actually lose or gain 5 lbs of fat in one week - it is highly influenced by water weight.
What are better indicators? Photos and body tape measurements.
Measurements - 16 Weeks:
- Weight [lbs] - 150
- Waist [in] - 27.75
- Abdomen [in] - 30
- Hips [in] - 39
- Thighs [in] - 22.5
- Upper Arm [in] - 11.5
- Bust [in] - 33.5
Measurements - 17 Weeks:
- Weight [lbs] - 150
- Waist [in] - 28
- Abdomen [in] - 31
- Hips [in] - 39.25
- Thighs [in] - 22.75
- Upper Arm [in] - 11.5
- Bust [in] - 33.5
As you can see, the scale stayed the same but I'm down inches already! Of course, this is just my body shedding some of the water it is holding. Regardless, I am feeling great and off to a good start!
For this week I am going to keep my macros the same and see how I progress.
Non-Training Day Macros:
- 1600 Calories
- 160 g Protein
- 55 g Carbohydrates
- 82 g Fat
Training Day Macros:
- 1890 Calories
- 155 g Protein
- 182 g Carbohydrates
- 60 g Fat
That's all for this week's update! Have anything you'd like for me to discuss? I'd love to know!
