Weekly Updates Include:

• Progress Pics
• Changes to diet
• Changes to Workout and cardio
• Video diary

Also check out:

• Cut phase 2014
• Build phase 2014
• Contest prep 2015 – Calculations and initial plan
• Competition Guide Articles

**Week 12, 4 weeks to contest **

Cut Phase, March 21st – 27th 2015 

NPC Gopher State Classic on April 18th, 2015

Mr and Mrs Natural MN Contest May 15-16, 2015

The demons have set in and are in full force

3.5 weeks out to the Gopher State Classic. This may be a typical time frame when you obsess in the mirror every time you pass one over those last fat patches  that need to disintegrate. You are tired, working hard, getting just enough to eat to not starve but not really satisfy. I feel like I won’t get lean enough, I feel like I am wasting my time and money, I feel like my body type is so square and I am so flat chested that I won’t look feminine enough on stage for bikini and don’t have the muscling or leanness for figure…. What am I doing!?

This is the time that separates the neurotic from the level headed. This is the time to decipher whether or not this is something you should keep pursuing in the future. Do you have what it takes? Do you have the strength? Do you have enough sense to keep your head on straight? Can you put your family and your health first? It is all possible, but challenging. There is a dark side of competing which keeps many from doing it again. It can exacerbate internal issues people already struggle with- eating disorders, body image issues, trying to get results the wrong way wrecking their metabolism for months and months afterward.

Sure, everyone has their demons, their insecurities, their doubts but you have to have the strength and confidence to be smart about training and competing. You must  always prioritize your health and make sure your program encourages a healthy, balanced method of prepping. (See How to Choose a Great Contest Prep Coach)

Also see: The Beautiful Ugly Truth About Competing

This is where having a supportive group of people that also compete around you as a resource. This is when you need supportive family and friends. They can guide you and ease your worries. Even the most experienced pro has doubts. Now, attributes I don’t need from my supportive group of people (fam, friends or competitors) to sit there and tell me I look perfect and that I don’t need to change a thing when I full well know my lower half needs some serious leaning out to be stage ready. I want the truth. What I do need are motivating people that can help me push through the struggle, give me coping mechanisms, know that I am not the only one struggling.

Who are my support groups? Family and friends of course but I also need some people who compete. I am a part of local bodybuilding facebook groups, bodybuilding forums like SimplyShredded.com and my former prep coaches facebook team page. I am lucky enough to still be on it even though I am not paying for their services this year. Trying to save money. 🙂

Week 12 Weight range:

I don’t know. I stopped weighing myself as it was driving me crazy. I am at the point now where the mirror will be my guide. I know where I need to lose fat and those fat patches are evident… like my love handle area and my lower half.

Workout Schedule:

Lifting plan is the same as last week.  Workout Plan – Week 11 – 2x a week.  I still think my cardio is too high at this point and don’t plan on adding anymore. From here, I hope to reverse cardio a bit.

• Refeed – Saturday:    Heavy Pull + 11 HIIT
• High- Sunday:              30 min MISS,   Heavy Push
• Med- Monday:             AM 45 min LISS /  PM Heavy Lower body + 11 HIIT
• Low – Tuesday:            AM 45 min LISS /  High Rep Pull + 30 MISS
• High– Wednesday:    AM 45 min Liss / High Rep Push + 11 HIIT
• Med- Thursday:          AM 45 min LISS/ High Rep Lower body+  30 min MISS
• Low – Friday: 11 HIIT

Diet: Week 12

During Week 11, I was eating 83 grams of carbs on average Sunday – Friday (this does not count refeed day). My next step is to drop my average carbs for this week.  I have some bodyfat that has to come off and some weight to drop. I still have some love handles that are noticeable when I pose and my butt needs to shape up more! 😀 The plan… to keep the refeed, and taper carbs off twice during the week. I will have a refeed day, then a high, med, low, high, med and low day. I also changed the amount of carbs I get on these high, med and low days. On low days I will now get 30 grams of carbs. I then upped my fat and protein to 35 gram of fat and 190 grams of protein. I want my total cals to be at least 1200. We shall see if that does anything- other than torture me.

• High day: 135g carbs, 120g protein, 30g fat
• Medium day: 70g carbs, 150g protein, 30g fat
• Low day: 30g carbs, 190g protein, 35g fat
• Refeed day: 250g carbs, 120g protein, 30g fat

 Saturday March 21: Refeed Day

Refeed days just Eff with my head at this point… when my carbs are getting low, it just messes with my mojo and it takes me all of Sunday to get back in the game! crap… I feel super full right now and super fat. I know I am not fat but I have a goal to lose some more L-B’s and I feel like I went backwards, even though I know I didn’t. I know my metabolism needs the refeed days to stay up and running! But seriously, my stack O pancakes with strawberries were so fabulous!

Some take refeed days out all together at this point and just cycle in high, medium and low carb days. Every prep for each individual can be so vastly different, even season to season for the same person due to muscularity, leanness, metabolism and lifestyle. 

Tuesday March 24th: In need of a detox

I wrote a post on feeling a little toxic after utilizing fake sweetener food to fit things into my macros. (Article: In Need of a Detox) The above pic is how I would occasionally curb an after dinner sweet tooth… 2-3 strawberries with 1-2 TBsp of Walden Farms Chocolate syrup. But, there are artificial sweeteners in all these supplements I take like protein powder and BCAA’s. It all adds up… bleck. I am taking a break from the added calorie condiments for a while.

In lieu of eating all these toxic inflammatory foods and supplements, I then decided to write a post about joining the Real Food Revolution. 🙂

 Thursday March 26th: Just grab a handful

My low carb days (less than 30g) aren’t so bad. I like when push comes to shove. But on the high carb days, you have to really make a point to stop eating. So what if I didn’t portion it on my plate, there is still more in the kitchen! Must chew gum, drink water, go for a walk. If I say to myself- you are done eating, you don’t need it and it won’t help you reach your goal, I can make it. Its when I think, well, I have 15g of carbs left for the day, I’ll just grab a handful of __X___. Then it starts.  A few handfuls of somethings can really add up. Just like a bite here or a bite there.

Trying to get it all in- one sick kid

My oldest kiddo has been sick for the last few days. I do love the extra snuggle time …. but, this makes it very hard to get my workouts in. I  can’t take the kids to the gym daycare, but getting a good workout in at home while I have one well kid under my feet and another sick one that needs lots of love isn’t easy. I have been getting up early every morning to get in most of it and then I will do a bit more after the husby is off work or I will just hit the gym then. But, when I or my husband has an evening commitment, hitting the gym in the evening doesn’t work either. You just got to do your best to put family first and then get in your fitness.

Friday March 27th, the end of Week 12

I am happy with the leaning out that has been happening over the last 2 weeks. My weight isn’t dropping a ton but I am burning off that fat and gaining some muscle. I have been using body fat calipers 1x per week at this point and not weighing myself regularly (maybe 2 x per week as opposed to everyday.)

Got my shirts!

Progress Pics

Let’s do a little eval. On the bikini poses, of course, as a woman, my upper half is leaning out nicely but the lower half is a little “thick” for bikini right now. I have to lean that out. (aside from the fact that I have no boobs which I keep getting the feeling that really does matter in bikini.. but oh well.)

For figure, I need much more shoulder muscle to be top notch as well as much much leaner. I need to be able to see the muscle lines in my legs. Not shredded but be able to see the separation between the quad muscle groups.

I’ve got three weeks to get on the stage…. hopefully I am somewhat ready.

Some posing session excerpts from March 28th 2015.

Bikini individual presentation poses…

Figure poses….

and just a little back action for fun 😀