Figure Competition Latest

Remember back in January when I said I wanted to do a figure competition?  And I started eating lots more food?  And I worked out hardcore all the time? 

And have you noticed how I haven’t been talking about working out much lately?  And how I haven’t said anything about a fitness competition in awhile? Ha.  I figured it was about time I give an update on all of that.It all started with a desire to push myself out of my comfort zone, to do something I NEVER thought I could or would ever do.  Erik and I had been lifting for awhile and I was discovering that I was stronger than I thought I could be and I could push myself harder than I thought I could, and I loved it. 

After announcing to the whole world in January via Lesley Lifting Life that I wanted to do this competition, I was very excited with full intentions of competing.  But from the beginning, it also just kind of felt off.  I pushed aside those feelings for quite some time because I thought I might just be scared of stepping out of my comfort zone, and also because I knew I had a lot of time to mull around with all of this before I could actually compete anyways.    A couple things happened in life that kind of made us take a break from lifting (example: moving to a different house and working to get our other house rented out!) and after taking a step back and getting a bird’s eye view of the situation I was able to question my motivations and realized something.  I was no longer doing this competition for me but for everyone else and for all the wrong reasons.  I no longer needed to prove to myself I was strong or that I could do anything I set my mind to, I already had.  After all, I went from benching the 45 lb bar to 135 lbs, what more proof did I need??

I guess the more I got into the whole competition phase, the more I didn’t feel true to who I strive to be.  The more I got into it, the more it became all about ME, the more I started comparing myself to everyone else, the more it became about physical appearance and vanity.  Thus, my decision to forget about the whole figure competition scene and move on to things I feel are more important. 

I definitely appreciate all the work those who do compete put into workouts and meals each and every day but it’s just not me.

I don’t workout nearly as often (in fact, confession, I haven’t even really “worked out” in at least two months), but of course I still love staying active and all things health and fitness : ]

Have you ever said you were going to do something that you decided not to go through with?

Kona Grill

We spent our Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, as we had to go to Costco.

I stole some Pirate’s Booty out of Erik’s Originally Organic Vending van for an on-the-way-to-KC snack.  I like this kind, probably one of my favorites.

 

Kona Grill

We decided on Kona Grill for dinner.  We haven’t had sushi in awhile and Kona Grill is normally where we go to get our sushi fix.

It may be boring and simple, but I don’t ever seem to go wrong with California rolls so that’s what I got. And guess what? I loved them! Ha. Erik got spicy tuna and California rolls.

Along with our rolls, we split an asparagus salad.  I absolutely love their asparagus salad, such good flavor in every bite! Yum!!! We tend to get that salad every time we’re there because it never disappoints.

Kona got an A+ for us tonight! 

After dinner, we strolled around the Plaza and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the fact that I don’t have to work on Monday ; )

 

Tomorrow’s day-off agenda … back to Kansas City to stock the vending machines with Erik … yay!

Happy Easter! (+chest workout and Genghis Grill)

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has gotten to enjoy some good food and good times with family! I didn’t feel great this afternoon for awhile, but I’m feeling much better now so all is good ; )

I haven’t mentioned much of my working out lately, so I thought I’d share my chest workout from this past week. I haven’t taken any pictures in the gym because I just feel weird bringing my huge, nice camera in with me while I’m trying to workout, ha. Maaaaybe someday. For now, here’s some pictures from home … (to see progress in my muscle building, here’s some pictures from January and February for comparison) Monday’s chest workout:

• Bench press: 65lbs for 12 reps, 85 lbs for 8, 105 lbs for 4, 115 for 2, failed attempt at 125lbs, 65 for 17 reps (aka, to fail)
• Incline dumbbell chest press: 30lb dumbbells for 12 reps, 35lb dumbbells for 6, 30lb dumbbells for 6, 20lb dumbbells for 20 reps (aka, to fail)
• Decline bench press: 65lbs for 12 reps, 85lbs for 8 reps, 65 lbs for 10 reps, 45lbs (the bar) to fail
• Seated cable flies: 4 sets with 60 lbs (30lb cable on both arms) to fail (ended up being 6-8 reps)

It was a really good workout and I felt great when I was done.

Fast-forward to this weekend:

Yesterday Erik and I ventured to KC to hang out and enjoy the nice weather. I LOVE this time of year : ) For food, we decided on Genghis Grill in the Power & Light District. It’s build-your-own Mongolian stir fry. They had tons of options and basically you build your own bowl by going through a buffet and picking a protein, your seasonings, your veggies, your sauce, and  putting it all in a bowl. They then add your starch and cook it for you.   I decided upon (if I can remember it all) …

Sliced beef seasoned with granulated garlic and pepper with cabbage, a few mandarin oranges, onions, squash and zucchini with roasted tomato sauce, a little ginger citrus sauce, and garlic water. And for my starch, I picked Udon noodles. This picture was taken from the outside window, hence it’s quality, but there’s an idea of how they cook it …  I love the whole build-your-own concept that seems to be prevalent in emerging restaurants these days, because it makes knowing what you’re eating much easier. In fact, you can even put in your ingredients online and you’ll get the nutritional facts. Here was my bowl:

I tried to get most of the low sodium ingredients, because when eating out, if you don’t watch it, salt adds up QUICK. I probably could have done better, but for eating out, 600 mg isn’t that bad. (Especially considering how a serving of most of their proteins have 400-600 mg alone)

I really liked my combination but decided I put a little too much pepper in. Ha, and poor Erik couldn’t even finish his because he underestimated how hot (spicy hot) it would be.     

Have you ever been to a build-your-own stir fry restaurant and did you like it??

I was pretty picture happy yesterday in Kansas City, so I’ll have more to share later : )  Have a good one!!

 

P.S. My blog layout is having some technical issues today, so if you noticed it looks a little “off”, that’s why;)

Protein: How much is too much?

Hey all!

Have you ever done something you love so much, got stressed about it and felt like you had to do it so much that it wasn’t fun anymore? Ha. That’s what I’ve been feeling lately, hence why I haven’t blogged the past few days.  I sort of burnt myself out and needed a break!

Since I started lifting hard on top of work and blogging every night, my days have been jam packed, I haven’t been getting enough sleep, and I still haven’t been getting everything done I want/need to get done, and Erik and I haven’t been spending as much time together as we need. My evenings after work consist of two hours working out, then making dinner, and  then blogging and after all that, it’s already past my bedtime.

I really wasn’t thinking because sleep is even more important right now, as I’m exerting myself even more in the gym than my body is used to.

But, lifting and blogging are both things I love to do so of course I won’t be stopping them. I just need to figure out a better way of going about them. Therefore, I probably won’t be posting quite as often, as I don’t want to feel pressed to blog every single day (in fact, I’m not sure why I felt that way in the first place??)  I decided I’d rather have more quality posts not as often anyways … and this way I can breath more!  I’m sure you all understand ; ).
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Moving on ….  RE my last post …

Glad you found my current figure competition diet interesting ; )  And thanks for all your input!

A few questions came up along the way and I thought I’d post the answers for all to see:

Thankfully, somehow I don’t find it that hard to add foods and eat more. Honestly, I just love food and I love to eat it! Ha. If anything, I’ve always had problems eating too much food. And that’s a perk I find to eating clean. I’m able to eat more of it without gaining weight. If I ate a lot of “junk food” I’d be in trouble because I’m horrible at eating “junk food” in moderation. It’s sort of all or or nothing kind of thing for me. While some people can eat whatever they want in moderation and still maintain a healthy weight, I cannot! If I’m eating cookies, I don’t just want one! My body type gains easily and my appetite wants a lot of food ; )

As far as working out is concerned, yes, I do work out everyday but for the bulking phase, I have decreased my cardio significantly. I’m currently just doing 15 minutes of low intensity cardio before and after my lifting session. So far, I have no stomach complaints ; ) Other than feeling really full at times, everything is in order. With a high protein diet, I drinking plenty of water! However, with large amount of water consumption, I’m thankful for a job that allows me to easily use the restroom often! ;)

I find the easiest way to get in protein is meat. I eat a lot of chicken breasts and lean ground turkey. I plan on incorporating more fish into my diet as well. In most other meatless meals, there will likely be eggs or protein powder involved.

Last but not least … the issue of protein. How much is too much??

 
And anonymous responded with:

After reading both of these responses, it caused me to do some research of my own and I found this topic of protein can be very controversial. One article in particular that I found interesting was this one, called “High protein diets affect on muscle gain and weight loss” by Paul Johnson

Here is an excerpt from it that I found interesting:

The part most interesting to me is that half of the Polish powerlifters, when doubling their protein intake past the recommended daily allowance, were still not getting an adequate amount and still has a negative nitrogen balance.

All in all, it’s evident that bodybuilders, powerlifters, and other high intensity athletes do consume large amounts of protein, way more than the recommended daily amount.  And for those athletes, large amounts of protein are essential to achieve certain size/strength goals.

This is all very interesting to me because I’m currently consuming a little less than 1.5 grams protein per pound, which is definitely higher than the recommended amount. However, through research and looking at others experience and education, I don’t believe this amount is unhealthy due to the amount I workout, how hard I workout, and what I want to achieve.

And bottom line, I trust my husband (aka my trainer) because he has both done bodybuilding and trained athletes and I trust his judgment! : )

I’ll end with one more excerpt from “High protein diets affect on muscle gain and weight loss”:

The answer to a near optimum amount for muscle gains, yet still also being a healthy amount for the kidneys and liver, is probably somewhere in around the 1.5 grams per pound mark.

Hope all this wasn’t too boring and long! ; )

Any more thoughts on protein??

P.S. Have a fantastic weekend!! :D

My figure competition bulking diet

Happy Wednesday! January is almost half over, can you believe it??

Thank you all for the nice comments concerning my nervousness. I didn’t know I could be so nervous for something  that’s so far away, ha, but I’m sure it’ll be here before I know it. I’m looking at two different figure competition shows, one in September, one in October. So … we shall see!

Anyways, I thought it would be a perfect time to share my current diet. Right now, I’m focusing on growing my muscles and bulking up. Around 3-4 months out from the show, I'll then cut down to loose body fat and hopefully keep all my muscle ; )

When switching up a diet for a show, I hear it’s all about trial and error. So for now, per my trainer, here’s what it looks like … I already eat pretty clean and I actually have to eat “worse” than normal during the bulking phase of my contest prep (ha, it’s weird!)  The basic differences in my diet are as follows:

• Lots of water. I aim for at least a gallon a day.
• More carbs. Right now I’m at about 300-350g carbs a day.
• Faster digesting carbs. I’ve been eating:
• Spelt bread instead of sprouted bread

• Whole wheat cereal instead of oats

Btw, I really like this cereal thus far! For cereal, the stats are pretty good and it’s really cheap for a healthier cereals. Low sodium and all ; )

• Regular potatoes instead of sweet potatoes.
• Organic white rice instead of brown rice.

• More protein. Right now I’m at about 200g a day.

It’s been really weird eating “worse” than normal but I don’t mind eating more food ; ) Haha.

Here’s a sample day of bulking diet eats …

6:30 a.m. breakfast: 1 cup Honey Nut Toastie-O’s, 1 cup Sweetened Wheat-fuls (see above) in unsweetened almond milk with 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1/2 banana, and cinnamon.10:00 a.m. snack: Toasted peanut butter sandwich on Rudi’s spelt bread with 1/2 banana and a little stevia    12:30 pm. lunch: 1 cup rice with 5-6 oz chicken breast and 1 cup veggies, little 2% cheese, balsamic, and agave nectar sweetened ketchup 3:30 p.m. snack: 1 cup Honey Nut Toasty O’s w/ half piece of fruit

6:00 p.m. post workout shake: Includes protein, dextrose, maltodextrin, cinnamon, water, and ice (approximately 480 calories … this baby packs a punch! haha)

7:30 p.m. dinner: 1 large potato, 8-10 ounces lean ground turkey (or chicken), 1 cup veggies

9:00 p.m. snack: 1 cup 1% cottage cheese with a few almonds, stevia, and cinnamon

And there you have it : ) I definitely stay full at all times, haha.  This is all new to me so I really don’t know how much figure competitors usually eat at this stage … I’m just trusting my husband and doing whatever he tells me! He’s been right about everything fitness/diet related thus far so I trust him about this too! :D I’m glad to have him, that’s for sure!! 

The official Lesley Lifting Life video gym tour

Hey guys!

Hope you had a fabulous Monday! (Mondays CAN be fabulous, I promise ; ) 

Last night, Erik and I shot Lesley Lifting Life’s very first video! It’s the official new gym tour. More on that in a minute … first, tonight.

One thing I LOVE about working out at home is that we can be complete weirdos and no one but our dogs are there to care, haha.

We’re good at being weirdos so it’s a nice fit ; ) 

And that brings us to the video! Here’s some things to keep in mind, ha:

Firstly, I’m video shy! Erik had to tell me to pretend like I was talking to my friend at work because I was nervous and didn’t know what I was going to say.

Secondly, I apologize for saying “and we’re thankful for that” … I didn’t realize how “thankful” I was for everything, haha, until I watched the video and noticed I said it after juuuust about everything. Oh well … it’s true.

Thirdly, I was forgetful and lost several words I was trying to say. You will see.

Without further ado …. here is the official gym video tour …

Hope you guys enjoyed it! You’ll have to let me how you liked it and if you’d like to see more Lesley Lifting Life on video ; )

Have a great Tuesday!!! We’re going to Blue Bird Bistro tomorrow night with some friends and I’m looking forward to some delicious carbs in the form of a stuffed squash with quinoa :)