Every Bite Counts

[LiaVT]

Hello Rx Girls!!

I am an NPC figure competitor, competing since 2007, I'm 25 years old, last year was my first year at the national level competing at Team Universe and Nationals.

My biggest focus this year (something that I think is keeping me from being my absolute best) is dietary compliance...I have a major picking habit. I don't have unplanned cheats per se, but I do eat "extras". Especially while I'm cooking/prepping food, I'm constantly putting something in my mouth...sweet potatoes, broccoli, chicken....good stuff, but at the end of the day I'm probably consuming a few hundred extra calories that I'm not accounting for and therefore prevents me from getting as lean as I could be. If anyone shares this problem and has found solutions, please feel free to share

I love to eat, have not always had a good relationship with food.

Ok, so here's my competition history up to this point, and my journey recovering from metabolic damage brought on by my initial years of competing.

I did my first competition October 2007. I was 20 at the time, a guy at my gym was competing in a local bodybuilding show that was 10 weeks away, and I decided to go for it. I had no idea how to prep for a show the "right" way. I researched everything I possibly could online, found a diet (that was very low in calories) and read that Jenny Lynn did 2 hours of cardio every day, so I of course did 2 hours of cardio. I busted my butt, got into the best shape I had ever been in and ended up winning my class at my first show. I did not have a coach or trainer or anyone helping me with posing, did everything on my own.

Post-show, I ate like a mad woman. I brought tons of junk food with me to the show, ate all the way home, then went out for dinner eating bread, butter, salad bar, appetizers, entree, dessert, and coffee. I have never been so full in my life, my stomach muscles hurt because it was distended so much. I felt so sick. Not too long after that I gained back all the weight I had lost and then some.

My second show the following summer was pretty much a repeat, low calories, lots of cardio, I didn't get as lean and didn't place as well.

Third and fourth shows were 2 weeks apart 1 1/2 years later, my body was starting to fight back, not responding. In between these two shows is the first time I reached out for help. Got hooked up with a "diet coach" from an online friend to help me lean out as much as I could before going to NYC to compete 2 weeks later. I ate nothing but protein and veggies and did as much cardio as I could fit in. The most I got in in one day was 4 HOURS!! I can't believe I did that! I ended up placing 13th out of over 30 girls, biggest show I had ever done. Post-show I binged and gained back a lot of weight.

That show was in November, gained at least 20 lbs and started prepping at the beginning of January 16 weeks out for the 2010 Jay Cutler Classic in Boston. I worked with the same coach, starting off on a keto diet, which worked for a couple weeks then I actually started gaining weight. He immediately switched me to a diet consisting of only 40g carbs per DAY, ZERO fats, and protein. I stepped on stage the leanest and lightest I had ever been and ended up placing 3rd, which I was thrilled with, also qualifying me for the national level. Post-show, once again and the worst of them all, I rebounded horribly getting to my heaviest weight ever later that year.

Through these years I developed horrible habits. I hated my body, I binged all the time and the guilt I felt made me hate myself more. My relationship with food was not good. I was working as a personal trainer and had gone to school for holistic nutrition, but I was not using my knowledge to my own advantage, and I was definitely not setting a good example for my clients and the people around me. I had skinny clothes and fat clothes, I didn't want to be seen by people because I was 30 lbs heavier than the competition pictures I had posted a few months earlier. I lost my period for over 3 years straight, I was crying all the time, and knew I kept going in the same direction I would not be competing for much longer. Going up and down in weight 20-30 pounds so many times was very taxing on my body and more so on my mental state and self esteem.

I came across some articles about metabolic damage and it totally described exactly what I was going through. I found my current coach Kevin Myles on Bodysport.com and read through all of his articles about metabolic damage and how to recover from it. First step is REST.

Breast augmentation had been on my mind every day of my life for years. That year, 2010, when I was at my heaviest, I had the surgery all set and I decided to use that time to also start my metabolic damage recovery process.

I have been working with Kevin Myles ever since, going on our third year working together. It was a long slow process, but I eventually got back on stage, not nearly as lean as I wanted to be, but I was still recovering from the years of damage I did to my metabolism.

Fast forward to the present, I have not binged in over 2 years, I have a MUCH better relationship with food, I feel balanced, healthy, I like the way I look, I don't feel deprived, and have not done more than 45 minutes of cardio in a day when prepping for a show. I'm still battling some hormone imbalances, but I am getting my period sometimes, so things are starting to regulate a little.

In 2012 I competed in 4 shows, getting better at every one, 2 of them National shows. My most recent competition was Nationals in Atlanta. I went in looking the best I ever have with the goal to place in the top 15. I placed 14th out of 30 which I was very happy with. I now have the confidence that I can continue to compete and do well. I'm enjoying the process, not fluctuating much in weight between shows, and loving myself again.

It's amazing to look back at my journey over the last 6 years, all the hell I went through physically and mentally, and where I am today. This year I'm going into every show to win, to be my best, for myself, working with my body, not against it.

My biggest goal as a personal trainer and coach is to pass on what I've learned over the years to help clients get in shape in a healthy, long lasting way, so no one has to go through what I went through.

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Here are my progress pics from last weekend, 5 weeks out. My weight is hovering around 127-128. Trying to bring in a tighter package while keeping the balance between my uppper and lower body.

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[Laurie Schnelle]

hey girl. welcome!! You have a great base and shape.. as far as picking, i have trouble with that too. I chew sugarless gum while cooking ..
Keep up the great work

[The Prodigy]

Hey girl!!!! So glad you started a journal!!!!!!! I am also glad Kevin was able to help you through a hard time in your competitive career. Look up Janelle's journals. She is currently working with Kevin to overcome metabolic damage as well! I will be following along! Keep up the hard work! Oh yeah.....gum works...but you can overchew that too! I would eat mustard and stevia when I was dieting....so don't listen to my advice when it comes to contest prep! lol!!!!!!

[LiaVT]

Haha...Gail, I remember hearing that you would eat mustard and stevia...not so sure about that, although I do love mustard and anything sweet!

I have found that chewing gum helps a lot, especially while cooking and putting meals together. I find that if I chew a piece right after I eat a meal it helps me not pick if I'm still a little hungry. Sometimes it's just the 20-30 minutes after I'm done eating that I just want more food, so keeping my mind and mouth occupied is key.

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So my workout today was shoulders, triceps, abs, and treadmill intervals for cardio. The manager of our gym was out today for the weekend, so it's just Dan (my boyfriend) and I running the place, working the desk, and training our clients. I opened this morning at 6am and will also be closing at 8, so it's a long day....

That being said, I had a great workout until I got interrupted in between a set of weighted cable crunches on a ball for about 10 mintues, and totally lost my ab pump, then had to rush to get my cardio done before my next client. oh well

My post-workout meal for the last couple weeks has been my pumpkin oatmeal protein muffins.

Here's the recipe for one serving. When I make them on Sunday, I just multiply the ingredients by 5 and throw it all in a blender and pour into a muffin tin. cook at 350 for 30 minutes...super easy and portable too

1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup pure pumpkin
1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 packet truvia
cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

[nic902]

Hey girlie! Welcome to the journals
Thank you so much for sharing your story, I know many other ladies who can relate with your previous struggles...myself included and I'm happy to hear you are in such a healthy place.

I too am a picker/licker lol and gum chewing junky!

I'll be following along and rooting for you!

[PFEPerformance]

Welcome girl and thanks for sharing your journey - you will find good company here and many who can relate to your struggles/battles/and demons! We ALL have them in one form or another!!

[LiaVT]

Thanks for the support ladies!

My boyfriend and I do a lot of dog sitting which can make things hard on us not being able to control what food other people have in their house when we stay there! This whole month, or at least the first 3 weeks straight we are over lapping dog sitting for people, right now we're at Dan's parents house, which of course is filled with junk! I've done well so far though, I don't even look at the food, just eat my meals and stay the course.

A few changes this week...

Diet: No more dairy, no more fruit or Quest bars, all starchy carb sources are coming from oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and occasionally brown rice/quinoa mix. So my half & half is gone from my coffee so I have switched to drinking mostly green tea, trying to get at least a few cups in a day.

Cardio: We added two more interval rounds to my cardio sessions, 30 seconds all out sprint and 90 seconds recovery, so it adds another 4 minutes. Keeping the weights heavy on upper body 8-12 reps, with some rest-pause sets. 15-20 reps for quads, and 10-15 reps for hamstrings.

I weighed myself yesterday and was at my lowest yet for this prep, 126.6lbs. This was also after sleeping for over 10 hours. I felt like crap Monday night with a headache and like I was coming down with something, luckily I didn't have to be in to work until 10am so I got to sleep it off. Felt much better yesterday after the headache was gone and had a great workout.

Chest, glutes, calves:
Incline DB press
Machine chest fly
Decline push-ups, feet on a big stability ball
Standing cable kickbacks
Hip Abductions
calf raises on horizontal leg press machine superset with short range of motion leg presses, feet high on platform, really focusing on just keeping tension on the glutes for 20 reps

I kinda had to rush through abs again on monday, so I did a few sets of abs as well.

I've been very sore this week, through the weekend too carried over from last week. I usually take Thursday's off, but I'm debating taking today off instead since I have plenty of time to fit a workout in tomorrow. Or I may just do my intervals today and lift tomorrow. Shoulders, triceps, and abs are next up and my front delts and chest are pretty sore from yesterday. My back workout on Monday was apparently successful because my ENTIRE back is very sore, lower to upper and even up the sides of my neck.

I only have a couple hours to decide about switching my workout. I'll be back later with an update

[nic902]

As an animal LOVER, I thought dog sitting would be a great job but gee..I never thought about dealing with the food temptations You're focused, keep doing your thing and don't even let that stuff phase ya!

[LiaVT]

As an animal LOVER, I thought dog sitting would be a great job but gee..I never thought about dealing with the food temptations You're focused, keep doing your thing and don't even let that stuff phase ya!

For the most part when I am in the groove I won't even allow myself to think about eating the foods but it definitely is a challenge when it is there in front of you, especially if I'm tired or in a vulnerable place mentally. Out of sight out of mind!

So I made the right decision on Wednesday. I just did my intervals: 20 minutes on the arc trainer and then finished the last few intervals on the treadmill to mix things up. I think I ended up doing one more 2:2 bout than I was supposed to, but I don't think it will hurt me

Yesterday was a good day. Love those
I got to sleep in again and although my weight was up a couple pounds from Tuesday's low, I felt leaner and was starting to see little changes.
I got some studying done, it was a beautiful day warming up in the afternoon.
I had a great workout: shoulders, triceps, and abs and took my parents dogs for a nice long walk and got some sunshine and listened to muscle girls inc.

1) single machine overhead press: 4x8 reps
2) cable crossover lateral raises: 4x12-15 with a rest-pause set
3) rear delt fly machine: 4x10-12
4) BB upright rows: 2 sets light x 20 reps, 2 sets heavier (65 lbs) x 12 reps
superset with
5) rope tricep extensions- I can't do many overhead tricep exercises because it pinches my shoulder so I did about 10 reps overhead then right to a basic standing rope extension 4x 8-10
6) Dips- 1st set with assistance x 15 reps then with body weight I managed to get 4 sets of 12 with a rest-pause on the last set
7) hanging leg raises: 4x20 reps
8) weighted ab machine: 4x12-15 reps
9) bench v-ups: 3x30 reps

Finished the day with training a client, grilling a ton of chicken (just in time), a little more studying, sitting on the couch with my boyfriend for not long enough, a chia chocolate protein shake, and then stayed up too late looking at facebook on my phone in bed

My recent protein shake meal looks like this, I add a little coffee when possible.

1 scoop chocolate whey protein
1 scoop Emerald Balance Plus
1 Tbsp chia seeds
12 oz unsweetened vanilla coconut milk
4 oz coffee (optional)
Blended with ice if possible, simple and delicious

This is a protein/fat meal for me and also getting my "veggies" in through the emerald balance which is a superfood/antioxidant powder.

I've been noticing that my fat feels squishier, but thinner, which i guess is a good sign that the fat is mobilizing. I really really really want to get this last layer of fat off me this year. I still have never gotten the last little layer off and achieve the "ripped" look I'm after. My pooch (now much smaller) needs to be gone completely, triceps, and glutes and hamstrings as well...that's where it holds on tight.

Head in the game. Legs and intervals today!

[mooreve2]

Hey Lady! You are beautiful! Keep it up and don't give into food cravings. I'm sure most of us get moments of weakness here and there, but stay focused and keep going!

Just the other day at work, as I was eating my chicken, broccoli, rice cakes, and peanut butter, there were a box full of cinnamon rolls sitting not 6 inches away from me! Sure they looked absolutely delectable, but I stopped to think for a minute....I would feel like food defeated me, my hard work would have been inhibited, and I would have a horrible stomach ache, not too mention feel swollen for the rest of the day. Plus, I know this dieting will eventually end and when that time comes, I will relax. Finding a coping mechanism really helps for me

Good luck and maybe I'll see ya at Nationals this year!

[LiaVT]

Hey Lady! You are beautiful! Keep it up and don't give into food cravings. I'm sure most of us get moments of weakness here and there, but stay focused and keep going!

Just the other day at work, as I was eating my chicken, broccoli, rice cakes, and peanut butter, there were a box full of cinnamon rolls sitting not 6 inches away from me! Sure they looked absolutely delectable, but I stopped to think for a minute....I would feel like food defeated me, my hard work would have been inhibited, and I would have a horrible stomach ache, not too mention feel swollen for the rest of the day. Plus, I know this dieting will eventually end and when that time comes, I will relax. Finding a coping mechanism really helps for me

Good luck and maybe I'll see ya at Nationals this year!

Thanks for the support! It definitely helps to just stop and think before giving into a temptation that is right in front of you.

Here we go, 3 weeks out until I kick off my 2013 season!


I was debating whether or not I should have a cheat meal this weekend, so I asked my coach (that is afterall why I hire him) and he told me to see how my weight was by the weekend and if I was looking and feeling. I woke up this morning and weighed 125.6, which down almost 2 pounds from last week I think. I did legs yesterday and intervals right after. I did them on the arc trainer again and the last sprints on the treadmill. They were definitely tough to get through, and my legs and glutes are nice and sore this morning.


I'm dog sitting again at the place where the lady makes really yummy granola. I had my normal meal this morning, my oatmeal protein muffins, and then made a spontaneous decision to have some granola as my cheat. I should have portioned some out instead of just standing at the fridge eating it out of the bag (brings back bingeing episode memories), but oh well.


I went to the gym and did my back workout, then taught my Zumba class (which I had tons of energy for, thank you carbs) then I finished my weights after class doing biceps and abs. Had my post workout meal, turkey sweet potatoes and broccoli....and then I had more granola so good!


So that will be it for carbs for the day...kind of unplanned which I don't like to do, but I was considering having that for a cheat anyways, so I'm trying not to feel guilty about it. Such head games!


Sorry to ramble! Time to enjoy the weekend. So happy the sun is shining today in Vermont!

[LiaVT]

So my habit got ahold of me again yesterday while cooking. I starting nibbling on veggies, then ate almost a whole can of artichoke hearts before roasting them with broccoli and eggplant, then the sweet potatoes came out and had a few of those, then few more. I was due for another carb meal within an hour so I just decided to give in and eat them (not measured, ate too much) and then have my protein to make the meal.


Then I drank some water and wow was I full! I was bloated for the rest of the day and felt horribly uncomfortable this used to happen weekly during food prep...too many veggies at once. It makes me feel out of control and it's hard to stop once I get started. The gum failed this time. Moving on...

[nic902]

Sorry your munchies got the best of ya, I know it's a frustrating feeling. Here's hoping today is a better day for you

[LiaVT]

Yesterday and today have been better, just managing the bloat workouts have been great.

My energy levels have been pretty good. I'm still taking a pre-workout supplement which helps me power through my workouts not only physically, but I also notice it mentally, helps me keep good focus, especially during cardio after weights.


The other challenge with dog sitting is having to adapt to different kitchens to do my food prep. Different tools, ovens, grills. I burned my broccoli this week it cooked really weird. All of the broccoli sprouts were burned but the stems were still crunchy, it's like the oven just sucked out all the water but didn't roast them evenly. I cooked a bunch of frozen Brussels sprouts yesterday and those turned out pretty good


My legs are still a little sore so I may hold off working them until Thursday and just do my intervals again tomorrow like I did last week on Wednesday.


I'm trying to really prioritize getting enough sleep, and with my slower work schedule this month I get to sleep in quite a bit more. On that note...it's past my bed time. Good night! Trying to stop pinching my little bit of pooch fat I have left

[LiaVT]

So here are my progress pics from last weekend, 3 weeks out. I actually took these photos Monday, so my stomach is still bloated from my veggie and sweet potato overload on Sunday. I ended up splitting up my leg workout and cardio between yesterday and today. Did my leg workout yesterday and also went to hot yoga last night, sweat out some of the water weight I've been holding this week. So glad I went, it felt really good to sweat that much and get a good stretch out. I did my intervals today, figured it would also be good to spread it out and get the metabolic benefit from each on separate days. Had a great session, lots of energy through it, split between the arc trainer and treadmill. I took my pre-workout drink before the intervals so that helped get me through with full power. My weight has been up this week closer to 128-129 (obviously water), this morning it was back down to 127, so we will see where is settles by this weekend. I'm feeling leaner, more vascular during workouts. Really trying to visualize my glutes, hams, and abs the way I want them to look on stage, especially during cardio Can't wait for back day tomorrow! It's a good sign that I am 2 weeks out from a show and still look forward to my workouts. I've learned to listen to my body more and more over the years and after going through metabolic burnout and now recovered from it, I definitely notice the benefit of working WITH my body to see changes, not FORCING it by doing everything possible.

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