Carb cycling: da fuq?

Carb Cycling is pretty ok! I've been doing it for a few weeks now, and I've seen some awesome results. I've noticed that my weight is not drastically reducing (a good thing!), yet my body is looking tighter and more defined every day! Here's a little info I've gathered to summarize carb cycling for those of you who might be interested.

What is it?

Carb cycling is an eating plan with alternating high-carb and low-carb days. It’s that simple.

How does it work?

On high-carb days you’re stocking your calorie-burning furnace so that on low-carb days your furnace burns fat, and lots of it! With carb cycling, the body is never deprived of carbs long enough to slow the metabolism, and is able to get into a catabolic fat burning state on the low carb days. Essentially, the high carb days act as “boost” days, increasing metabolism, and the low carb days act as “burn” days, when the body is an optimal state to burn fat. (Source)

What are the benefits?

-Some people choose to totally cut out all carbs while trying to lose weight, which is a terrible idea. With carb cycling, you never feel deprived of the foods you love! You can have your cake and eat it too! (As long as it fits your macros..hah.)
-Not only does it keep the fat loss moving, but it satisfies the mind – probably the most important part of any diet.
-It's sustainable. Since you aren't restricting any particular macronutrient, it's super easy to maintain! (source)
-IT WORKS! 

There are MANY different ways to carb cycle, the most simple cycle being alternating between a high carb day and a low carb day. They get more complex, but I'm not going to go into detail on this.

OMG 4 WEEKS OUT!

Today, I am officially 4 weeks out from my first competition. I'm weighing in right now at 137lbs (5'8"). I'm really happy with how I'm looking so far, and I'm only hoping to drop a few more lbs before my show date. It's really crazy to look in the mirror and see ABS.... never in a million years did I think I'd have visible abs. It's pretty awesome. After losing so much weight, I'm beginning to notice some sagging skin in a few areas, which had me feeling a little bummed out, but then I was like  "Umm....wait...who cares?! look at all these muscles and DAT BOOTY!", and I decided that I was ok with a bit of sag here and there!! 

My official suit came in the mail, and I'm absolutely in love with it. If anyone is looking for a beautiful, well fitting and affordable comp suit, I highly recommend Rich Bitch Bikini!  They did a beautiful job with my suit. I messaged them about concerns I had with the fit of the bottoms I had purchased previously, sent them some photos, and they made some adjustments to the fit of my new suit. It's perfect. :) Today is leg day, it's Saturday, and it's nice and warm outside. It's a good day!! 

IN DEFENSE OF MY SPORT.

"A well-built physique is a status symbol. It reflects the hard work you’ve put in.. You can’t steal it, you can’t borrow it & cannot hold on to it without constant work. It’s from dedication, discipline self-respect and dignity." - Ashley Horner

It has not been my intention to make anyone feel insecure or uncomfortable about their own bodies. In fact, it has been a goal of mine to inspire and encourage other women to make positive changes in their lives. I sincerely wish for every single woman out there to find the joy in something that I find in bodybuilding.

Let me begin by talking about the physical act of lifting weights. I LOVE to lift. I love the feeling I get walking into the gym, knowing that I can clear my mind of all the stress I carry around with me and focus on something that I love.  I love the feeling of accomplishment after giving it everything I've got. I don't do it to be better than anyone else or to look better than anyone else or to feel better than anyone else. I do it for me. I do it because of the way it makes me feel. Going to the gym doesn't feel like a chore to me. I look forward to it all day. Call it an obsession if you want, that's fine with me. I won't bore you by listing all the health benefits that weight training provides, as I'm sure you're all aware. (And if you aren't, I highly suggest you do some research. HIGHLY SUGGEST.)

When I downloaded the popular app, My Fitness Pal, it suggested to me that I consume 1200 calories per day to reach my "goal weight:." This is really disheartening to me, since so many women use this app as their guide to lose weight or get in shape. 1200 calories is entirely too low for the average woman. Being 5'8" and weighing 160lbs (at the time), I was working out 6 days a week and this app was telling me to only eat 1200 calories a day???! Are they nuts?! After consulting with an online nutrition coach and doing some of my own research on BodyBuilding.com, I came to realize how idiotic this whole "1200 calorie" thing really is. As soon as I began eating upwards of 1600 calories per day, I started to notice HUGE changes in my body. I went from looking flabby to looking fit in a matter of weeks. Again, not going to go into detail about my diet. I just want to be clear in stating that I eat PLENTY of food. I eat 6 well balanced meals per day. I don't deprive myself of my favorite things like peanut butter and ice cream. Instead, I make sure to fit those things into my daily macronutrients.

This. This is what dreams are made of.

What I don't understand is  that there are women out there eating 1200 calories, basically starving themselves and slaving away on cardio equipment, and that's considered acceptable?? Nobody bats an eyelash when they take out their salads with "fat free" dressings at the lunch table, add packet after packet of unhealthy artificial sweetener to their drinks, or even worse....drink nothing but "diet shakes" in order to drop a few lbs. Eat 1600-2000 calories of HEALTHY WHOLESOME food and lift weights 5 days a week, and people lose their shit calling it unhealthy.

Yes, currently I am on a relatively restrictive diet while prepping for my first competition. No, I will not give you the details of this diet, but I assure you, I am still well above that 1200 calorie mark. I am  a bodybuilder. We have bulking phases during which we eat an insane amount of calories, and we have cutting phases where we make adjustments and cut back to shed the extra fat we gained during our bulk. What people don't understand is that during the bulking phase, we're eating WAY above maintenance, so when we "cut", it isn't necessary to dramatically reduce the amount of food we eat. A bodybuilder on a cut probably eats twice what any normal person eats while "dieting."  I completely understand that this isn't a lifestyle that everyone should adopt. I have specific goals in mind, and in order to accomplish these goals, bulking and cutting have become a part of my life.

Let's talk about goals for a minute. Some women want to be thin. Some want to be curvy. Some want to be muscular. It's all good in the hood! My goal is to be muscular and compete in figure competitions. Here's an example of what an IFBB Figure Pro looks like.

Ohhhh Candice Keene....How I love you! Keep in mind, these photos are taken during/after what would be considered a cutting phase. Candice weighs a good 10-12lbs more during her off season. If you're looking at these photos totally grossed out, I'm cool with that. I know this isn't everyone's goal physique, and I'm ok with that too. But...I mean...look at those shoulders. Those strong quads and ridiculous lats! Yep....someday, that'll be me! If you think this woman is "unhealthy"...you are mistaken.

"But, that lifestyle isn't sustainable!" Oh, it isn't? Is it not realistic that I would continue to make time in my life for the gym? (FYI, if you think I spend 3 hours a day in the gym, I don't. I'm in and out in an 60-90 minutes.) Will something wild happen that will prevent me from having the few hours on Sunday afternoon to prep meals for the week by tossing some chicken and veggies in the oven or crock pot? Will it be hard in the future when I have children? Sure! What ISN'T more difficult after starting a family? Also, that's not even something I'm considering at the moment, so I'll climb that mountain when I get there. Will I be a figure competitor for the rest of my life? Probably not, but why would that stop me from competing here and now?

Another goal of mine is to get my personal training certification. I'm all ready to take the NSCA exam! I also hope to gain enough experience while competing to be able to coach aspiring competitors in the future. Like I said before, I would love nothing more than to help and inspire others the way that I've been helped by various trainers and coaches along the way.  I'm super proud of anyone who shows the desire to make positive changes in their life, and at the same time, I respect that others are completely happy with where they are in their lives. In fact, most of my friends drink alcohol, eat pizza and burgers, and skip the gym most night. I don't love them any less..But you can't blame me for trying to encourage them to be healthy! :)

In conclusion, I would like to thank the large number of people from whom I receive an enormous amount of support. The comments, messages, emails and texts help me to stay on track and motivate me to push even harder to reach my goals. I love logging into facebook and having messages from people I haven't seen in years telling me how inspired they are by my story and how I've motivated them to get healthy. I try my best to keep  up with it and answer everyone's questions as soon as I can, because I know how much misinformation there is out there and how difficult it can be to figure out where to begin. So, if you're one of the few folks who have expressed concern for me, thought I was "too skinny", or that I spend too much time at the gym... I hope this made things a little more clear for you.

Recipe: "Funfetti" Protein Mug Cake

Who doesn't love cake? I LOVE me some cake. Here's a healthy little treat that I like to whip up when I'm craving something sweet. "Funfetti" protein mug cake with blueberry cake batter frosting. 

1sc. Cake Batter Whey (I used Cellucor's Cor-fetti Cake Batter!)

2 egg whites 

2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

1 tbsp green yogurt (I used Dannon light and fit Greek Blend Blueberry)

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

optional: a dash of sugar free sweetener of your choice

Directions: In a small bowl, set aside 1/4 of your scoop of cake bater whey.  In a mug, mix together all remaining ingredients. Microwave for 1.5 - 2 minutes. For the icing, mix together about a tsp of greek yogurt (again, used the Dannon light and fit Greek Blueberry), a few drops of almond milk, and the 1/4 scoop of cake batter whey. Keep in mind, this is is a healthy protein mug cake...it's not going to taste exactly like a cake made with your usual ingredients! The texture is a bit more spongey. STILL....this is delicious and super easy! 

I really need to start measuring more exactly when I bake...I'm great at the whole "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" stuff! My estimated macros for this mug cake, including the frosting, are listed below! :)

~142 Calories

~1.1g Fat

~4.2g Carbs

~2.2g Sugar

~25.8g Protein

Bikini Competition

A lot of people have asked me why I want to participate in a Bikini Competition. I think a lot of those questions come from folks whose idea of a bikini competition is a bunch of college girls on a boat in cancun wearing thongs and flat brim Volcom hats and shaking their boobs and bums in everyone's face. This is NOT what I mean when I talk about competing.

Bikini Competitions in the fitness world are quite different. They are judged by officials with years of experience. The women who compete are not meant to be "skinny." Most of them have been working out and training for months. The pro's have been training for years. The ideal bikini competitor has a good amount of muscle without being overly muscular. She has abs, not nothing too extreme or "dried out" looking. She looks toned, fit, healthy and well proportioned. Training for a bikini competition isn't as simple as losing a few pounds or spending an extra 30 minutes on the treadmill every day. You have to train harder, lean out, clean up your diet, practice walking in 5 inch clear high heels and perfect a few key poses.

So, why do I want to compete? Well, I have a few reasons. 

1. I want to complete my journey from fat to fit. I want to go from 225lbs, totally unhappy and unhealthy to 135lbs of lean perfection. 
2. I need a goal to work towards. What's to stop me from skipping the gym a few times this week? If I'm not training for something, I might not pass on that chocolate lava cake after dinner. I'm not perfect. I struggle with my diet every day. I am a firm believer that setting a goal is a great way to keep yourself on track. 
3. I want to prove to myself that I can achieve this goal and prove to myself that I have what it takes.
4. I want to show other women how far hard work and dedication can take you. I want to inspire them to make a change and show them that it is possible. 
5. I want to show off the body that I've worked hard for. Damn right! I spent a long time hiding behind babydoll dresses  and black clothing. I want a chance to step onto stage and into the spotlight looking amazing in my ridiculous and gaudy sparkly bikini. 
6. I want to take the photos from that day and display them in my room as a daily reminder of how far I've come and that I NEVER want to go back to my old habits. 
7. I'm going to be a personal trainer, and I would LOVE to be a competition prep coach for women who need help getting started or need a goal to work towards. I believe that in order to be a coach, you have to have some experience competing yourself. If my client tells me they "can't" wake up at 5 am to do fasted cardio, i want to be able to tell them that if I can do it, they can too. 
8. It's going to be fun. Yeah. despite the cardio (which I already hate), the high heels (which I've never worn before in my life) and the "dieting"...It's going to be really fun. I can't wait to meet other women interested in health and fitness! I can't wait to have hilarious clown make up on and a spray tan that makes me look like a sweet potato! It's going to be great. 
9. Sponsors. I use a TON of protein powder. I buy a TON of workout gear. It wouldn't hurt to have a company or two sponsor me and provide me with some of this stuff! Competing is an awesome way to get yourself seen by these companies!

I know that there are mixed opinions on competing, and I'm fine with that. I know competing isn't for everyone. I know some people are going to laugh at me and say nasty things. I am well prepared for that. So, to all the haters BRING IT ON. But remember, I don't judge others who spend their nights at the bar or on the couch smoking pot. Different strokes for different folks, right? I am lucky enough to have a great support system, a family who supports me and a wonderful boyfriend who knows how to keep me motivated (and tells me to cut myself a break when he knows I need it).  I have some great gym buddies who push me harder and make sure I don't slack. I've also found great support and tons of love from strangers who stumble upon on my blog or my Instagram, which is totally awesome! I can't wait to get on stage this spring and begin a new chapter in my life. Sarah E: Bikini Competitor. 

15.5 weeks out from my first comp!

Answers

Recently, people have been asking me a lot of questions about my weight loss and lifestyle change. I figured I'd dedicate this post to answering some of those questions! Keep in mind, I am not a medical professional nor am I a dietician. I can provide you with the tricks and techniques I used to get in shape for use as an example, but every body is different and every body requires different nutrients and foods based on the individual's goals and activity level. :)



Q: Do you eat clean?
A: What does "eat clean" mean? There are so many definitions floating around the internet of what eating clean means. For this reason, I don't necessarily claim to be a "clean eater." On the other hand, I DO avoid processed foods. By processed, I mean things that come in boxes, bags etc. Sometimes, processed foods are unavoidable for me since things like Oatmeal and rice come in a big 'ol container! When purchasing processed foods, I look for the brand with the fewest ingredients and the appropriate balance of carbs, fat and protein that fit into my daily allowance.

Q: Do you eat carbs?! Even after 6pm?!
A: Yes and Yes. Carbs are not the devil Carbs do not make you fat. Consuming more calories than you expend makes you fat. That being said, I do carefully track the amount of carbs I consume. If you're eating 1000g of carbs per day while trying to stick to a 1400 calorie diet, chances are you've eaten all your calories in carbs leaving no room for healthy fats and protein! It's all about balance.

If you want a booty, You better eat your carbs!

Q: I really want to lose weight in my legs/belly/arms/back/feet/whatever. What do I do??

A: Spot reducing is a lie. Those little articles in women's health that say things like "5 moves to slimmer thighs!" or "10 ab exercises to get you a 6 pack by summer!" ...all lies. Your body stores fat where it wants to store fat, and it loses fat where it wants to lose fat.  Trust me...the number of lower body workouts I've done FAR outnumbers the upper body workouts, yet I still have jiggly thighs and somehow ended up with a fit and muscular upper body. What you CAN do, is focus on building muscle all over your body. A muscular body burns more calories throughout the day. More calories burned = more fat lost. More fat lost + muscle gained = you're toned and fit! OMG!

Q: What do you do for your arms?!
A: Lift heavy.

Q: What do you do for your legs?!
A: Lift heavy.

Q: What do you do for your butt?!
A: Lift heavy. ...see a pattern?

Q: What about abs?!
A: Lift Heavy and eat healthy. Before I started lifting like the boys, I was doing ab workouts 4-5 days per week and not seeing the results I wanted. I also wasn't weighing/measuring out my portions and was eating things like pineapple greek yogurt (23g of sugar?! Huh?!) I know you've all heard it before, or at least seen it on some silly fitness meme, but it's true...Abs are made in the kitchen. Clean up your diet, and start doing things like deadlifts, squats, pistol squats and pushups. Anything that engages your core or uses your abs for balance will help you on your quest to that coveted 6 pack. (Or at least a 4 pack like Arnold.)


Q: Can you send me a list of exercises to do?!
A: No, because I am not your personal trainer. I can direct you to my FAVORITE website ever, BodyBuilding.com where you will find everything you need to get started! There's a section where you click on a muscle, and a list of exercises that work that muscle will pop up! There's even instructional videos so you won't feel lost when you walk into the gym and try these moves out. There's also a nifty feature that will set up an individualized exercise program for you based on your goals! Totally cool!


Q: How much cardio do you do?
A: Barely any. I'm lucky if I squeeze in two 20 minute HIIT (high intensity interval training) sessions per week. When I do cardio, I prefer to stick to machines that focus on the booty, like the stepmill, arctrainer, or incline walking on the treadmill.

Q: I'm eating x amount of calories a day and working out 5 days a week but I'm not losing any weight! Help!
A: Are you SURE you're eating exactly that amount ? Are you measuring everything? Do you even own a food scale?? Chances are, you're consuming more than you think you are. Keep in mind that things like sauces, dips, cooking spray, condiments etc...these all contain calories and whenever you use them, you should be accurately measuring out a serving size. I don't care how good you think you are at "eyeballing" it,  I promise that a nice set of measuring spoons and a food scale will do you (and your body) good.

This is the food scale I use. You can find it at Target or on Amazon.com

Have a question that I didn't address? Still not sure where to begin? Email me! In case you don't know, I'm studying to be a personal trainer and I need some guinea pigs to torture. :)

Healthy Choices at the Grocery Store

I get a lot of questions about what kinds of food I eat, so I thought I'd share with you guys my typical grocery list. Keep in mind, some of these items last me a few weeks, so I don't necessarily buy everything on this list EVERY week, but these are the foods that you will always find in my house!

Fruits:
Bananas
Honeycrisp Apples
Strawberries
Frozen blueberries

Veggies:
Fresh Zucchini squash
Spaghetti squash
Green peppers
Onions
Sweet potatoes
Long hots
Frozen green beans
Frozen broccoli
Frozen stir fry mix

Protein:
Chicken breast
99% Lean ground turkey breast
Steaks (I splurge on some good quality filets occasionally!)
Frozen Tilapia
Frozen Mahi Mahi
Applegate farms all natural uncured Sunday bacon
Turkey Pepperoni (Hormel, usually)
Salt and Vinegar Almonds
Jif Whipped PB
Liquid Egg Whites

Dairy:
Chobani fat free plain Greek Yogurt
2% Small curd cottage cheese
Unsweetened vanilla Almond Milk (Almond breeze brand)
Crumbled goat cheese
Part Skim Mozzarella

Carbs:
Old Fashioned oats
Tumaro brand multi-grain wraps
Ezekiel Bread (regular and cinnamon raisin)
Instant Whole grain brown rice

Other:
Reduced fat Veganaise
Low sugar Marinara (or other pasta sauce with less than 4g sugar)
Various hot sauces  ;) ;)
Low sugar BBQ sauce
Fat free/sugar free cool whip
Sugar Free Maple syrup
Mrs. Dash salt free seasoning

If you're interested in the list of items I keep around for protein baking, here's a quick list!
Sugar free mini chocolate chips
Coconut Flour
Almond meal/flour
Truvia Natural calorie free sweetener
Various whey proteins
Extra oats to blend into oat flour
Calorie free cooking spray
Coconut flakes
Dates
Chopped nuts

I could spend HOURS in the grocery store. More specifically, I could spend hours in Wegman's. I love their selection of store brand organic products, natural baking ingredients, and gluten free selection! I find their prices to be slightly below average as well.

I find that making a list is really helpful to keep me on track and stopping me from picking up little extras that I wouldn't normally buy.

 If your local grocery store or market doesn't carry some of these items, you can find most of them on my favorite website, Vitacost! Seriously, check it out....so many awesome healthy products at excellent prices!  Hope this helps you guys make some smarter choices during your next trip to the grocery store! :)

TIPS AND TRICKS

So, I'm going to introduce you to something that changed my life. Ok, maybe not THAT drastically, but it definitely made a difference and saved me lots of time scrubbing out shaker jars. I used to leave the house in the morning with 3, sometimes 4 shaker jars. One for my morning shake, one for my pre-work out and one for my post work out protein. Until I discovered the Hydracup.  This little piece of genius is one shaker, with TWO separate sides. Each side has it's own labeled lid, one with "pre" and one with "post." Why didn't I think of this!!?? Anyway, using the hydracup not only saves me space in my already overflowing gym bag, but it saves me from scrubbing out an extra shaker jar every day. Oh, and speaking of shaker jar, this is one of the only jars I've ever dealt with that doesn't leak at all when shaken! (I can't tell you how many times I've ended up with peanut butter marshmallow flavored whey powder all over my legs...ew.) So, If you're like me...and you hate washing out your shaker jars and you enjoy fancy new gadgets that make you look super cool at the gym, then do yourself a favor and pick up a hydra cup.  Ya dig?