Hey! Im just getting on this site to start tracking my "cut" diet for a potentional show in Nov.. ( biting nails). If I bail on that one for either a. Wussing out or b. Not being ready, then I will for sure be doing one in April. The next 5 weeks will determine if I sign up. Im on week 2 of cut and its just crazy to me to think this will be my life over the next 10 weeks! I do all my training by myself except training one day a week (legs) with a trainer and picking his brain the whole time so maybe something like thar could be an option instead of hiring a coach? Find someone who knows shows and they will spill all their secrets in excitement! I have not even begun to look into posing or anything else for that manner so April may be a better option...we will see! - Codi

You KNOW I'm behind ya 100% Denise!!!! Anything you need...ask

Denise, I'm sorry to hijack your post but I feel that you might get something out of this too.

Hi, my name's Temple. I'm 7 weeks out from my first competition and it's as if my brain just can't take anymore. It's not a lack of motivation, I really do want this and I'm willing to do what it takes. Now I see why people use a coach. I just want someone to tell me what to do next. Things are having to change constantly now as I approach the date. I'm 35 and I'm not leaning out like I'd like to, I think (I don't even know). You can tell I'm lost, I'm sure. I'm reaching out in the hopes that you might be willing to take the time to guide me or help me design a nutrition schedule for these last few weeks and an easy workout schedule. I'm not asking for it to all be spelled out, just a general guideline.

Here's what I'm doing:

Meal 1
Oats
Egg Whites (usually with yummies like onion and mushroom and low sodium fresh salsa).
Coffee
Women's multi-vitamin
Probiotic
Magnesium Citrate
Shredded-X (a fat burner recommended to me)
CLA

Work out 1
M,W,F Weights (Chest/Back/Shoulders on Mon, Legs on Wed, Bis/Tris on Fri)
T, TH, S Cardio (HIIT in the AM and either TM on incline x35 min or Zumba in the PM)

Meal 2
Protein shake

Meal 3
Some kind of lean protein 4-8 oz
Some kind of non-starchy veg
Some kind of healthy starch (quinoa on most days 1/4cup, on leg day I'll do a sweet potato 4oz, I would love some rice but not sure if I'm allowed anymore).
CLA supplement

Meal 4
This is where I'm lost. It's probably too late to do any carb even non-starchy veg but I'm so hungry at this time of day. So I'll do tuna with mustard and cottage cheese, a salad with some kind of fish, or 2Tbps of almond butter, a quest bar...

Workout 2
I’m alternating days of doing 250 squats in the evening (my behind is the part that needs the most work). Incline TM for 35min. Or Just Dance (just like Zumba, but it’s a local group of people who like to dance).


Meal 5
I love salmon, is it too fatty this late in the game? I usually do 4-6oz
I add one of these options: Broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, green beans.
CLA supplement

I try to drink about 3Liters of water per day.

I think I’m reading too much, it’s all so confusing. Next time (and there will be a next time) I’m getting a coach. I just can’t afford it right now. My priorities are grad school, work, husband and 2 step-daughters and my health. I’m working this in for fun (LOL). I think I might be a little on the nutty side.

Finally, to make things more complex, the young lady who had offered to help me with posing has become too overwhelmed herself to fit me into her life (that’s totally okay, I understand, she was doing me a favor). I’m practicing everyday but I have no one to look at me and tell me if I’m heading in the right direction.

Please be nice. Understand that I’m doing this as a learning experience. I’m not going to win, I just want to see if I can do this thing. I want to test myself, I’ve never demonstrated this kind of discipline before and I’m very proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish so far.

I wish I had been more vigilant about measuring and taking progress pics. I’ll include what I do have. Also, keep in mind that my weight loss journey began in January but at that time it was not my intention to train for a competition. That decision wasn’t made until June.

Thank you,

Temple
This image shows from January 7th to August 20th:


This image shows from Juy 24th when I realized what my butt looked like (EEEEEK!) to August 10th after a lot of hard work (not much, I know, but it’s better):


This image is the most recent, I’m kinda proud:

never mind, no one needs to see any more of my butt. I give up.

Hi Denise
I have competed in a couple of shows and would be happy to have some friends on Fitness pal
I am in NJ, where are you from?

Jess, thank you so much! I’m going to address each point in somewhat the same order as you put it. This makes me feel better because I think I’m not too far off from what you’re saying.

I just changed up my upper body workout this morning in a similar way to what you are suggesting. I found an article in Beverly with some guidelines for training for a bikini competition.

For oats I do ¼ cup most days, except leg day when I do ½ cup. I am gluten intolerant anyway so I’ve been gluten free for a while.

I always have protein with my carb whether it be egg whites, protein shake or lean meat. For the protein shake I’m doing IsoPharm which was recommended to me by a friend who is also a trainer at Gold’s (He admits that he’s old school and he’s never trained a female for this type of goal).

I add fresh ground flax seed when my macros allow for that little extra fat. I love using it in recipes as a binding agent.

I love brown and black rice. YAY!

I would love to do more eggs as my evening protein; that would be easy.

The cottage cheese I just added back in, I’m not even sure why… (just missed it I guess).

The protein bars are for emergencies, for example, I work three 12 hr shifts over the weekend (FRI, SAT, SUN). So for that snack time I allow those bars. Otherwise when I’m not at work I try other things as listed above. I will try to come up with another way to snack on the go and not use those bars.

I so appreciate your feedback!!

oh Temple what show are you doing? NPC OCB?

It's an NPC qualifier. It's the first time NPC is coming to my little city in Roanoke, VA. What I'm told is that it is a great show for a first timer. I had been trying to do what I thought was carb cycling by adding sweet potato (4oz) and extra oats on say leg day and one other day per week. So that it goes Low, low, high, low, low, high. Is that correct? I always try to keep below 30g of sugar, but on the higher carb days there's a little more wiggle room.

Follow my hubby and I on our journey to the top!!! Our page we'll show our diets, workout plans and daily motivators!!> Like and Share please
www.facebook.com/teamobenchain

Thank you all for your help. I'm feeling much better. In fact, now that I'm not stressing so much, it seems that progress has restarted. I love this group, it is our support of each other and the feelings that come with better health that make this whole thing so worth while!