My Engineered Prep | My Engineered Nutrition

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Going through contest prep over the holiday season can be tackled one of two ways. First, you can keep your head down and choose not to take part in the holiday celebrations. You can carry all your food around in plastic containers and politely pass on the delicious treats your family and friends are sharing.

OR...

You can find a balance and continue to enjoy the holiday season. This takes a bit more planning and a bit of "give and take", but in the end you are still able to enjoy these special times that only come once a year.

I don't know about you...but I choose Door #2!

My Thanksgiving Experiment

Last week, I told you I was going to be doing things differently with my nutrition in preparation for Thanksgiving. I was a bit more restrictive in the days leading up to/following Thanksgiving, all so that I could enjoy the holiday with my family and friends and not miss out on this once-a-year celebration.

(SPOILER ALERT: I STILL manage to make progress this week! Read ahead!)

To make the week even more of a challenge, my sister and her boyfriend were in town from Wednesday - Sunday. While I may have wanted to let my hair down during their entire visit, I kept my ultimate goal in mind and was determined to not lose progress. I was extremely diligent Sunday through Wednesday. I made sure I hit my macros perfectly and that I gave it 110% in the gym.

Thursday came and I got up at 6:45AM to head to the gym before getting the day of cooking started. I had my 1st meal just like usual for the day, high protein + moderate fat. When it came time for dinner, because I had planned ahead, I knew approximately how much to eat of all the dishes. Here is what I'm most proud about: I didn't touch my food scale or measuring cups ONCE during dinner. I laughed, I drank wine, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Thanksgiving feast - rounding things out with TWO pieces of pie :)

Something I did not want to do was to regret enjoying myself. Why dwell on the past? I've done this before and there is no benefit in doing so. One meal is not going to throw your entire diet off course. Plan ahead, enjoy yourself, and get right back on track the next day.

This is exactly what I did this year and you know what? I was able to still lose 2 lbs when I weighed in on Saturday, just 2 days after Thanksgiving!!

Staying Active

It would have been so easy to blow off my normal workouts this week with my sister in town. I put my prep first and foremost, however. Luckily I have an amazing family that supports me with my goals and my sister completely understood that I needed to squeeze in my normal workouts.

I began a new phase of my training this week. It was perfect timing for an on-ramp week, learning the new programming while not going completely overboard with the weight I was lifting. Monday and Tuesday I was able to lift on my normal schedule. Wednesday and Thursday I woke up early and completed my workouts while she still slept so it wouldn't interfere with our day. Friday we chose to get OUTSIDE and work off all that Thanksgiving turkey!

Hiking outside at Point Reyes National Seashore is so much better than cardio inside the gym.

Nutrition

Even though I was more restrictive with my nutrition leading up to/following Thanksgiving, it didn't mean I wasn't going to be eating well! I modified what I made for my sister and her boyfriend to fit my diet. Wednesday afternoon we had a big brunch to celebrate their arrival. I had this egg white, sausage, spinach, mushroom and cheese frittata.

Thanksgiving was incredible this year. My meal included a brined and butter basted turkey, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts with pancetta, Whipped Cauliflower with Caramelized Onions, Ham, Leek and Sourdough Dressing, and cranberry sauce.

I also couldn't resist a slice of my Apple Cranberry Pie and Pumpkin Pie!

The day after Thanksgiving I was right back on track with my nutrition. I packed leftovers to eat during my hike (turkey and celery sticks) and then we finished out the day with fresh oysters.

Progress

I managed to drop 2 lbs this week, even after totally indulging on Thanksgiving. Ultimate win.

I'm starting to get a bit nit-picky about my symmetry and posing - I know I need to work on my left shoulder. I like the way my right delt is shaping and I'd like to get the left side to match.