A TOAST!!..... to MEAT!

As I sit here with my second glass of my favorite sweet wine, I ponder on the next 12 weeks. I have 2 clients that I'm training for their first Figure competitions and I've completed their diets and workouts for the first 3rd of the diet cycle. I was nervous enough about training myself without Lisa, but now I'm training others! At some point I would have to have my first bodybuilding client but .. already!? I have to admit that 1/2 of me is scared to death and the other 1/2 is excited and can hardly wait to start seeing changes in them! I'm sure I'll keep you updated on all of that.

So how is this Paleo diet thing going to work into my body building diet? I don't know! I'm not sure I want to eat bread. I haven't had bread for 2 months and I really don't miss it. Bread, as you may recall is one of my weaknesses... remember Easter? Can I really substitute gluten free crackers and rice cakes for ALL of the bagels and sandwich thins on my menu? I think I'm going to give it a try. I'm also going to try to eat dinner with my family. We are eating paleo together for dinner so it's meat, wild rice and veggies of some combo or another. It's really clean, very low fat, no processed anything and lots of protein. I'll give it 2 or 3 weeks to see what happens on the scale. As of this morning, I'm 136. Only 3 pounds lighter than when I started the diet last year. I was hoping for 134 (5 pounds less than last year) but I've also put on some additional muscle, so I suppose it comes out in the wash.

So diet is on the mind, and I have to tell you about a funny story about a vegetarian client of mine. She asked me for nutrition advice and because she is a vegetarian I just decided to give her the book "The Paleo Solution" to do the arguing for me. It's a great read, by the way (even tho I'm only on chapter 5, Mike has given me the 4th grade version). So she returns the book to me at the end of the weekend and says, "I agree with 98% of it. All except the part about the meat." Hmmmm... it's a PALEO diet! It's 98% ABOUT THE MEAT!! So she kind of missed the point and I had to just laugh and tell her that I hope her massive amounts of pasta get her the body that she wants and that she gets a proper amount of protein from excessive amounts of spinach! ((can I just say... YUCK!?)) I guess you can't help everyone, but in the mean time, I'm working the crap out of her and I'll do whatever I can in the gym to help her get at least half way there.

So, COME ON PEOPLE!.. don't be stupid with what you put into your mouth! (Please ignore the fact that I've had a half a bottle of wine tonight and 5 pieces (one serving) of Dove Dark Chocolate to celebrate the start of another 12 week diet.)

ARMAGEDDON!!

It feels like armageddon in the Sian house today. Mike got home from his TDY to the states and while he was there he took a sports nutrition class. I was very excited for him to teach me the things that he learned and for him to come home and take over the meal plans and cooking. (he cooks a lot normally anyway because it is my number 1 most disliked chore) let me just cut to the chase with the background of today's blog by saying that in the end, the diet that we are about to embark on is a Paleolithic one. I can safely go beyond calling this a diet and just say that I'm pretty sure this is going to be a lifestyle change.

As we were driving home from the airport and mike was telling me all the reasons and benefits for going Paleo I was shocked and amazed at how we could all still be alive right now! (( just like my generation should have all died because our mothers let us sleep on our tummies as infants and if that wasn't bad enough, we were never made to wear seat belts!)) Anyway, although giving up my coveted breads and pastas was scary, I was, for the most part, on board to try it out.

For dinner Mike made green bean "spaghetti" (sub green beans for pasta and add extra meat to the sauce) it was good and the kids liked it. Ok so far so good. Then I added the dinner to my food log and realized that 1cup of green beans only gave me 7.8g of carbs! Please tell me how I'm going to get thru 2+ hours of workouts a day on the number of carbs I will get from vegetables? "No! no!" Mike says, "You get lots of carbs from potatoes! We just didn't have any to make tonight." Ok, whew! But wait! How do I feel about eating potatoes 3x a day for the rest of my life? After my first competition I was so sick of eggs that it's now been officially 9 months since I have eaten eggs and they are still unappealing to me. And that was only a 3 month diet! So now I'm getting nervous. THEN I learn that I also can't have dairy! Giving up dairy for 3 months was one thing and I still haven't gone back to milk since I drink muscle milk on my cereal (one of my life long favorite meals BTW) ever since and I love it! But I love cheese and yogurt and so do my kids. The kids and I will keep some dairy at least for awhile.

So I finished off the last serving and a half of chips (whole wheat pita) while Mike showered yesterday. Then this morning I told the girls that if they wanted anything from the snack drawer they better pack it in their lunch today. After a full understanding of what was going to happen to the "processed" food supply in our house they proceeded to freak. It was quite entertaining actually to watch the panic as they packed an entire extra bag of fiber one bars, fruit snacks and pudding (along with an entire box of reduced fat cheese-its) into their "Feed the starving children in Africa food bank" as they were calling it. I know Mike is not going to be pleased that I allowed this to happen but they promised to ration it all and when it's gone it's gone. If a cold war happens in the next month at least we will have a secret food stash at the school. I even snuck a Fiber One bar into my bag this morning and it tasted so damn good. That's when my breakdown happened. It was my turn to freak out. After venting a bit to Jessica I felt a little better. I guess I don't handle food changes very well. The body building diet scared the crap out of me but in the end, the food was good and with the exception of a few bad moments, it was all ok. I'm sure this will be ok too. I'll tell you this however... As of today, I'm not giving up my cereal or dairy. I don't eat a lot of dairy anyway but the kids will get to keep that for now at least. That should help the home life a little. Mike also said we will be able to eat bown rice and rolled oats and we will look for gluten free bread and stuff. Maybe I can handle that. After all, I just, got a recipe book called 75 ways to love your oatmeal!!!

Got pump??

Have you ever heard body builders or muscle heads talking about getting a pump? Pump iron, get my pump on, pump up, pump-itude :-) Of course you have!! Feeling a pump is an actual thing. "What causes the pump is that blood is forced into the area by the action of the muscles and the pressure of the cardiovascular system, but there is no comparable force drawing the blood out of the muscle. Therefore, this extra blood stays in the muscle for some period of time swelling it up to a much bigger size." - Arnold S. Well... this little lady has never felt the pump before, just exhaustion... Until yesterday. I felt the pump in my shoulders yesterday and it was pretty darn cool. And, indeed, they felt and looked huge! (relatively speaking :-) I've been really excited about lifting the last couple of months and I'm pleased at the results.

Today, as I was catching a ride on Sissy's back as she buddy carried me across the gym, I couldn't help but think "I love my job". It's great to push people to work harder than they thought they could and watch the results happen. But who is going to push me when I don't think I can go harder? This week I have been very tired. I'm not sleeping well and I have to dig deep to find the energy to have a good workout. I have to consider the beginning signs of over training. As it is, I didn't run on Monday, and today was supposed to be 5 miles and I slogged out 2.2. Granted, I was limited on time with an incredibly busy day today, but still.... 8 miles on Saturday is not going to be fun at all. I sure hope Jenny can run with me. The company and accountability is an enormous help to me. In the process, my new friend is finding that she can run more than 3 miles... and with relatively little pain and agony! (unlike me, who talks her poor ear off the whole time to distract myself from my own pain and agony!!) And I've decided not to lift tomorrow between my two classes. I'm currently lifting every body part 2 times per week (except for legs - only once) so I can afford a day of rest. :-) ((that is...if you consider a 1 hour kickboxing class followed by a 45 minute spin class a "day of rest" :-))

So there you go.... Have you gotten your pump on lately?? If my little muscles can feel a pump, I know yours can too! Or run across the gym with a buddy on your back! Do an extra set of everything and leave the gym knowing that you pushed your body.