Watch "3 weeks Until NPC All Military Forces Bodybuilding" on YouTube
My VLog 3 weeks out from my next competition. I will post more details a bit later! This was just a quick update :-)
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Info on Maltodextrin
Should You Avoid Maltodextrin? http://news360.com/article/184604474
Check this brief article on maltodextrin. I try to avoid eating additives myself, but it is good to know!
Do you eat a food that has maltodextrin in it? What is it?
Sunday, February 10, 2013
8 Weeks Left!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Nine Weeks Left to Go!
My stats for the month are as follows:
January 7th -->February 3rd:
Weight: 126lbs--> 122.8lbs
BF: 17%-->15-15.5%Hips: 35.5"-->34.5"
Waist: 25.25"-->24.75"
Thighs: 21"-->20.25"
Think that this week I will add in afternoon cardio on Monday, Wednesday, and maybe Thursday as well. During this competition prep, I'm trying to see how high I can keep my calories, and still lose body fat. I spent A LOT of time hungry during the last cut, and I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible.
My goal for February is to reach 120 lbs, although it looks like I may exceed my goal!
So I have completed my first 4 weeks of competition prep. Be sure to watch the video to hear about how the month went! I'll have weekly video and photo updates from here on out. Here are my progress photos!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Tasty Protein Pancake Receipe
Here's the receipe:
3 egg whites
1/3 cup of oat bran
1 oz skim milk
dash of sea salt
dash of cinnamon
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
Whisk it all together, and cook in a pan like a big pancake. Top it with 2 tbsp of nut butter. I used all natural PB.
I used almond milk instead of skim milk, and butter toffee cream protein instead of vanilla, since I didn't have either of those. I think I'm going to try flaxseed meal instead of oat bran next time, but it tasted pretty good, and I was super full when I was done!
Nutritional Information:
Energy: 281 calories
Total Fat: 4.7g
Sat Fat: .9g
Cholesterol: 7.5mg
Sodium: 273mg
Potassium: 235.5mg
Total Carbs: 31.8g
Dietary Fiber: 6.8g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 34.3g
Vit A: 1%
Vit C: 0%
Calcium: 15.9%
Iron: 13.4%
3 egg whites
1/3 cup of oat bran
1 oz skim milk
dash of sea salt
dash of cinnamon
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
Whisk it all together, and cook in a pan like a big pancake. Top it with 2 tbsp of nut butter. I used all natural PB.
I used almond milk instead of skim milk, and butter toffee cream protein instead of vanilla, since I didn't have either of those. I think I'm going to try flaxseed meal instead of oat bran next time, but it tasted pretty good, and I was super full when I was done!
Nutritional Information:
Energy: 281 calories
Total Fat: 4.7g
Sat Fat: .9g
Cholesterol: 7.5mg
Sodium: 273mg
Potassium: 235.5mg
Total Carbs: 31.8g
Dietary Fiber: 6.8g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 34.3g
Vit A: 1%
Vit C: 0%
Calcium: 15.9%
Iron: 13.4%
Monday, December 31, 2012
How Does Alcohol Affects Fitness?
Whether you are a hardcore fitness buff, or just someone trying to get in
shape for a special event, alcohol can slow down your fitness results. There
are a few main reasons why:
Alcohol has little to no nutritional value. It is also high in calories at 7 calories per gram. As these calories are empty, they get converted into a fatty acid, which has a high chance of being stored as body fat.
Food is fuel, so whatever you are putting in your body, you have to weigh the calories with what you are getting out of it. For example, a sweet potato can be 100-150 calories, depending on the size. However I get tons of vitamin A, which is an important antioxidant, helps with eye, skin, bone, and immune system health. I also get a good amount of fiber and potassium with is an important electrolyte. Potassium may help counter the effects of excessive, artery constricting, sodium intake. So you see, eating the sweet potato is worth the calories.
Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes the body to dehydrate, which is bad for someone with fitness goals. The circulatory system is the body's transportation, and it needs water. When you are dehydrated, imagine your blood moving like syrup. If you are hydrated, it moves like, well, it moves like water, which is much faster than syrup. Dehydration means headaches, and slower muscular recovery. Who wants to go to the gym feeling like that?
The body perceives alcohol as a toxin, and because of that, the body works very hard to eliminate it. It puts everything else on hold to get rid of the alcohol. The reason alcohol puts such stress on the liver is because most of the alcohol elimination will occur in the liver.
Along with nutrient breakdown and storage, detox is the most important job of the liver. The liver decides what foods get disposed of, and which ones get broken down into glucose to be used by the body. The liver also breaks down nutrients to disperse throughout the body. Iron, B12, and glucose are also stored in the liver.
So continuing on, the enzyme necessary for alcohol elimination, "alcohol-dehydrogenase", is expensive as far as nutrients are concerned. The most valuable nutrient used is zinc, with is used in over 300 bodily reactions that we know of. So if you use up all your zinc getting rid of alcohol, there are a bunch of other bodily functions that are now trying to find work-arounds. The body is a trooper, but this is why excessive long term alcohol use can have lasting harmful effects.
In closing, it is understood that most people will have the occasional drink or two, but drinking heavily every weekend, or every day will, internally, cause everything else to take a back seat to repairing all the damage done by the toxin you chose to drink.
Alcohol has little to no nutritional value. It is also high in calories at 7 calories per gram. As these calories are empty, they get converted into a fatty acid, which has a high chance of being stored as body fat.
Food is fuel, so whatever you are putting in your body, you have to weigh the calories with what you are getting out of it. For example, a sweet potato can be 100-150 calories, depending on the size. However I get tons of vitamin A, which is an important antioxidant, helps with eye, skin, bone, and immune system health. I also get a good amount of fiber and potassium with is an important electrolyte. Potassium may help counter the effects of excessive, artery constricting, sodium intake. So you see, eating the sweet potato is worth the calories.
Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes the body to dehydrate, which is bad for someone with fitness goals. The circulatory system is the body's transportation, and it needs water. When you are dehydrated, imagine your blood moving like syrup. If you are hydrated, it moves like, well, it moves like water, which is much faster than syrup. Dehydration means headaches, and slower muscular recovery. Who wants to go to the gym feeling like that?
The body perceives alcohol as a toxin, and because of that, the body works very hard to eliminate it. It puts everything else on hold to get rid of the alcohol. The reason alcohol puts such stress on the liver is because most of the alcohol elimination will occur in the liver.
Along with nutrient breakdown and storage, detox is the most important job of the liver. The liver decides what foods get disposed of, and which ones get broken down into glucose to be used by the body. The liver also breaks down nutrients to disperse throughout the body. Iron, B12, and glucose are also stored in the liver.
So continuing on, the enzyme necessary for alcohol elimination, "alcohol-dehydrogenase", is expensive as far as nutrients are concerned. The most valuable nutrient used is zinc, with is used in over 300 bodily reactions that we know of. So if you use up all your zinc getting rid of alcohol, there are a bunch of other bodily functions that are now trying to find work-arounds. The body is a trooper, but this is why excessive long term alcohol use can have lasting harmful effects.
In closing, it is understood that most people will have the occasional drink or two, but drinking heavily every weekend, or every day will, internally, cause everything else to take a back seat to repairing all the damage done by the toxin you chose to drink.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Prepping for My Next Competition!
Sweet potatos.... Check
Low Carb Tortillas.... Check
Greek Yogurt.... Check
Grapefruit.... Check
Quinoa.... Check
Steel Cut Oats.... Check
Rice Cakes.... Check
And the list goes on and on and on. What all this means though, is that I'm getting ready to prep for another competition. Going figure this time, and I'm trying a different organization. The SNBF (SuperNatural Bodybuilding and Fitness) is a southern organization, so if I end up at Ft. Meade like I plan to, I won't be able to stay with them forever. I've heard really good things about this organization. Apparently the politics are less, which was a huge factor at the NPC Coastal USA. I don't really see myself competing with them again in the near future, at least not with out more experience under my belt!
I've begun incorporating cardio back into my workout regimen, along with circuit training to keep my heart rate up. I've been scoping out Clean Eating Magazing and Oxygen for new snack ideas, and I did find a couple :-)
One of the biggest challenges I'm going to face is learning the posing for figure. Another plus side to the SNBF is that they hold workshops. I've registered for the first 2013 workshop, which is on January 26th. My competition is on April 6th. I'm hoping to do another competition in October. I considered July, but I'm supposed to be in the Advanced Leaders Course (ALC) starting July 29th. I suppose I might be able to fit one in, but lets see how April goes first.
I know my posts have been few and far in between lately, but I'm getting ready to go on another journey, and I'll be posting at least weekly again. We are approximately 14 weeks out now, so I have 2 transition weeks, until the official start date of my prep. For my last competition, I did a 16 week prep. This time, I'm going to do it in 12 weeks, with a goal of about a 1 lb loss per week.
My first set of progress photos will be taken on January 12th (aka minus 12 weeks!)
Low Carb Tortillas.... Check
Greek Yogurt.... Check
Grapefruit.... Check
Quinoa.... Check
Steel Cut Oats.... Check
Rice Cakes.... Check
And the list goes on and on and on. What all this means though, is that I'm getting ready to prep for another competition. Going figure this time, and I'm trying a different organization. The SNBF (SuperNatural Bodybuilding and Fitness) is a southern organization, so if I end up at Ft. Meade like I plan to, I won't be able to stay with them forever. I've heard really good things about this organization. Apparently the politics are less, which was a huge factor at the NPC Coastal USA. I don't really see myself competing with them again in the near future, at least not with out more experience under my belt!
I've begun incorporating cardio back into my workout regimen, along with circuit training to keep my heart rate up. I've been scoping out Clean Eating Magazing and Oxygen for new snack ideas, and I did find a couple :-)
One of the biggest challenges I'm going to face is learning the posing for figure. Another plus side to the SNBF is that they hold workshops. I've registered for the first 2013 workshop, which is on January 26th. My competition is on April 6th. I'm hoping to do another competition in October. I considered July, but I'm supposed to be in the Advanced Leaders Course (ALC) starting July 29th. I suppose I might be able to fit one in, but lets see how April goes first.
I know my posts have been few and far in between lately, but I'm getting ready to go on another journey, and I'll be posting at least weekly again. We are approximately 14 weeks out now, so I have 2 transition weeks, until the official start date of my prep. For my last competition, I did a 16 week prep. This time, I'm going to do it in 12 weeks, with a goal of about a 1 lb loss per week.
My first set of progress photos will be taken on January 12th (aka minus 12 weeks!)
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