13 Weeks of Dieting
Progress Report
It has been a few weeks since I last posted here. Why? Because I'm exhausted and a little run down. I’ve been dieting for 13 weeks and I’ve got five more weeks until my show so it's time to grind a little. My cardio has increased, I'm walking more, and I'm just tired. I had writing a blog post on my to do list several nights last week, but I opted to go to bed early instead. But writing these posts is a little like therapy, and I'm probably in need of a little therapy, so here we go! In this week's post, I'll cover what a day in the life is like during the last month of competition prep. If I weren’t prepping for a competition, I would definitely stop dieting because 13 weeks is a long time to be cutting calories!
Five weeks out! This is THE SUIT I'll be wearing. It's a beautiful green and I love it so much!
I'll be honest, this was a frustrating week. Despite getting every work out in, sticking closely to my nutrition plan, avoiding restaurants, lots of walking, and feeling hungry all the time, the scale WOULD NOT BUDGE. In fact, some days it went up. I did land at an all-time low on the scale for this prep this morning, but only down about .8 of a pound from last week. FRUSTRATING! The goal is to lose about 5 more pounds, but the weeks are dwindling. I'm trying not to stress about it and to trust the weight will come off if I keep doing my part.
Typical Day
5:00 a.m. - alarm goes off. Aim to hit the snooze only once. Take thyroid medicine and other supplements.
5:30 a.m. to 5:45 - eat first breakfast (chicken sausage and sweet potato, caffeinated BCAAs w/ creatine)
6:00 to 7:45 - if my brain is working properly and I'm efficient, I lift for an about an hour (six days a week, alternating between glutes and hamstrings and shoulders and back workouts) and then do 35 minutes of upper body HIIT cardio.
7:45 to 8:30 - second breakfast (overnight oats with almond milk, oatmeal, and protein powder), second round of supplements, shower/brush hair/change. Take son to school if it's my carpool day.
9:00 start working
10:00 or 10:30: snack - usually involves egg whites
Noon - lunch break (lean protein, carb, and fat). Take a long walk around the block
3:00: snack (protein and veggies )
12:45 to 5:20 ish - work and then leave to pick up daughter from school/soccer practice. Walk while waiting for daughter.
6:00 - make dinner for family and myself. (protein and veggies + make a carb for the rest of the family)
6:30 - long walk with hubby and catch up on the day.
8:00 or 8:30 - Relax (writing a blog post, practice posing (my least favorite), talking to friends, reading, or nagging children about homework)
9:00 - final round of supplements and get ready for bed
10:00 - bedtime (aiming to make this earlier and some nights it's lights out by 9 p.m. - while the teenagers are still awake and doing their things)
As you can see, I'm spending a bit of time working out, walking, and making food for myself. Yes, it's a little repetitive and boring. I'm working from home these days so the one thing that I've forsaken for this prep is doing my makeup and hair. I'd be lying if I said I was even using dry shampoo. On most days, my hair is balled up in a sweaty pony tail. If I have a work meeting in which I have to make an appearance in a video call, I put on the bare minimum of makeup. If I'm feeling particularly fancy, I might change out of workout clothes into a pair of jeans. But that's really fancy. So if you're wondering what gives to make time for all the working out and eating: it's primping. I find that so ironic given that the grand finale of this project is full on primping: tanning, heels, makeup and hair extensions, and a bejeweled bikini!
Food and Workouts
These days the food is really simple. A lot of whole foods, prepared very simply and with minimal flourish. I usually grill up some chicken and pork tenderloin over the weekend and brown a couple of pounds of grass fed beef from my parents' farm. The protein is then paired with various carbs (brown rice, sweet potatoes, rice cakes, ) fats (avocado, almond butter, etc.) and a veggie (broccoli rice, zoodles, cauliflower rice, brussel sprouts, etc.), and dressings/seasonings (siracha sauce, mustard, various spices), depending on what macros I get for the meal. Not many frills, here. It's ok. Eating this way actually cuts down on a lot of cravings.
I discovered @lillieeatsandtells, https://lillieeatsandtells.com, a few weeks ago and she has changed my life. Her recipes are going to get me through this prep. I made her spring asparagus and grain salad for Easter lunch and I've made several of her bulk protein recipes and sauces/dressings. This week it was grilled chicken in apple cider/dijon marinade and grilled pork tenderloin in her greek chicken marinade. So I'll have plenty of lean protein to pull from the fridge when it's time to eat. Check her out if you need some inspiration!
For workouts, I'm still doing six days of weights with upper and lower body splits, but we've upped my rep count and decreased my rest time between sets. I'm also doing 35 minutes of upper body HIIT cardio after each weight lifting session. If I can get into an Orange Theory Class, I can swap one of those in for a couple of the HIIT workouts. My lower body is on point, but I need to lean out my upper body so this is the strategy with the upper body HIIT. It's a lot of working out, but I'm grateful not to have an hour of cardio everyday. This HIIT really revs up my appetite, and I'm eager to see how it changes my upper body.
Mind Games
This is the time of the prep where I have to be really careful what I'm telling myself. I'm tired, hungry, and cranky, so it's easy to go to dark places pretty easily. I KNOW that even a pinky toe into the lane of self-pity or victimhood, will lead to full on self sabotage. So I've been watching myself. I got the vaccine last week and felt HORRIBLE afterwards. I got Moderna and save for a fever, I had every single symptom on the take-home sheet: brain fog, nausea, headache, achy joints, etc. I powered through my workouts and my food, but by Saturday, I could not think straight and had a bit of a meltdown. Also, the scale WOULD NOT budge this last week. I texted my coach and she told me to take the day off to let myself recover from the vaccine and not worry about the scale. Thank goodness for a voice of reason.
So, I'm doing just that this Easter weekend. I have been getting my steps in because that feels good, and I think being in the sunshine is helpful. I'm also trying to remember my why: I'm doing this competition to see if I can do it with as minimal deprivation, white knuckling, and mind drama as possible. I don't actually have any desire to veer off plan, so there's no reason to throw a pity party over not getting to partake in the Easter candy, etc. The reality is that part of this sport involves getting to body fat levels that only elite athletes achieve. That's going to take a bit of work. And we've only got a few weeks left. I know I've got this. I know I'll love the results. I trust my coaches at Glam Girl Bikini (www.glamgirlbikini.com). So we're going full steam ahead, fueled by resolve and determination.
So there you have it - I promised to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of competition prep. This week was a little bit of the ugly in that I felt a little overwhelmed, hungry, tired, and frustrated. Friends who have done competitions keep reminding me that the last month of prep is hard for everyone, but that I'll love the results on show day so keep on going. So I send them progress pictures - especially of my booty and legs - and they cheer me on and tell me how great I look. This helps a lot. And with a few days of rest under my belt, I'll be ready to hit the gym at 5:30 tomorrow morning.
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