Filling Up

I don't eat oats very often at the moment, but when I do, I have steel cut oats.



These are whole oats that have been chopped into small pieces. They have a firmer texture than rolled oats (which have been steamed and 'rolled').

Because they are less processed, steel cut oats take longer to cook and require more water (see some recipes here). But this means they are also much more filling - gotta be happy with that!

On a related note, the last couple of days I've tried to convince myself that I would be OK with whey if I had it in hot things (pancakes, oats) instead of shakes, but this morning my stomach disagreed. So back to no whey for me.

Pancakes

For Jacque

Gluten-free, dairy-free pancakes


40g quinoa flour
6 egg whites or 200ml liquid egg whites
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp xylitol
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp coconut oil
5g agave syrup
50g raspberries

Place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with an electric beater, or place in a blender and whizz up.
Heat a large pan to medium hot and add coconut oil.
Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure out batter for individual 'hotcakes' or just pour the whole lot in to the pan to make one large pancake.
Flip when the batter has bubbled around the edges and is almost set in the middle.
Once cooked through, remove from pan and add syrup and berries.

364cals: 6.9g fat, 26.7g protein, 41.6g carbs, 27.2g of which is starchy carbs

I get Lotus quinoa flour from Greenline or Evelyn Faye (cnr Bourke & Elizabeth St) in Melbourne. The agave syrup, coconut oil and xylitol are also available at Evelyn Faye but I've seen the coconut oil and xylitol at other health food stores. If you are having trouble finding agave syrup you could try here.


Today I subsituted the quinoa flour for 1 serve (37.5g) of Orgran Gluten Free Buckwheat Pancake mix (available at Coles), and liked it better as the mix has a raising agent in it, and a milder taste than the quinoa.


Buckwheat pancake
338cals: 5.3g fat, 24.9g protein, 42.9g carbs, 28.5g of which is starchy carbs.

***Edit: Kek has suggested as an alternative to the pancake mix, you can use buckwheat flour, rice flour (about half and half) and a little gluten-free baking powder. See her blueberry buckwheat pancakes here***

67 days to go

Monday 28 July

After finally getting into a routine last week I slept in both days of the weekend, so found it a bit hard to get up early this morning.

After saying I wasn't having any whey at the moment, I realized yesterday that wasn't entirely true. I have a drink after training that contains hydrolyzed whey, but it seems that since it is so refined it doesn't bother my stomach. I did try some whey concentrate last night though, and my stomach definitely registered that (lots of gurgles and a slight feeling of discomfort). Not as bad as the cheese though.

Tried the whey again tonight, but with a dairy digest tablet, and it wasn't so bad. Still felt bloated and a bit gassy, but no real discomfort. I'd rather minimise my intake of dairy than pressure my digestive system by having it and 'helping' things along with tablets though.

More Comparisons

For my last 2 shows at about 10 weeks out I was sitting on about 1400 cals a day (about 50% protein, 20% fat, 30% carbs), rotating carbohydrates - so on day one I would have one starchy carbohydrate meal (about 25g carbs), day two I would have two, day three I would have three, then back to one again and so on. This rotation would happen regardless of whether it was a hard training day or a rest day, and regardless of how I was feeling. I would start out doing 4 30-minute sessions of cardio a week. At about 4 weeks out, things would be ramped up, with some 0 carb days included in the mix, cardio increased, and food groups decreased.

I must admit to feeling a bit apprehensive about doing something different this time round, just because I knew what to expect in the past. But over the course of this week I've come to realise that I need to treat this comp preparation like most of this year has been - an opportunity to learn more about how my body works. So even though I don't know what's coming up, I know my body better now than I've done in the past, and Liz is helping me to listen to it even more carefully. Filling in a log each day is helping me to work out what I need when. So at the moment I'm averaging about 1700 cals, but some days are higher in fats, lower in carbs, and other days are higher in carbs, lower in fats. This is based on the demands of my program and how I'm feeling. I'm doing more cardio than I have done in the past, but I'm eating more too. I know I'm going to come into this show bigger, leaner and healthier.

Comparison pics

Pic 1 is 10 weeks out 2007 (58kg)
Pic 2 is 10 weeks out 2008 (56.5kg)

69 days to go

After writing about agave syrup yesterday, I asked my husband to pick me up a bar of Loving Earth raw organic dark chocolate on the way home last night. It's sugar-free (sweetened with agave), gluten-free, dairy-free and low GI, but contains 72% raw organic cacao. I only wanted a small (40g) bar to have when my hubby and his mates were sharing their chocolate tonight. Needless to say, I wasn't very impressed this morning when I found out that hubby had eaten more than half of it on the way home, leaving me with just four squares! So I got another one from the health food store this afternoon.

I also tried having some cheese today after not having any dairy (including whey) for two weeks (apart from a bit of lactose-free milk on Thursday). I had 5g of Parmesan cheese (yes, I weighed it!) with my eggs this morning. About 10 minutes later I had a sore stomach and felt tired. Same thing happened to me last time I had dairy, on the day of the All Females, which is what prompted me to try going without it for a couple of weeks. I will keep experimenting to see what I can tolerate. I've still been eating mostly gluten-free - not difficult in our house since hubby is a celiac - although the bread rolls our guests were eating tonight looked very nice. I knew that once I started eating one I would find it hard to stop, so just concentrated on my steak and salad and looked forward to my chocolate instead.

Today I also had some pressure point treatment on my left quadratus lumborum, which was feeling a bit tight from posing practice this week, and sitting curled up on the couch yesterday.

Improving chin-ups

Kek and I are working on increasing our chin-up reps at the moment. Co-incidentally, I've read two things today about increading chin-up reps.

The first was at Alwyn Cosgrove's blog:

Chin-ups are interesting to train. It can often take six weeks to get a client able to do a single chin-up. But at that point - you can usually get them to be able to do two chin-ups in about six days! Then it's just a process of working with diminished rest intervals until you can perform multiple sets and reps.

Here's a basic progression:
A: Band assisted chin -ups: 2-3 x 6 reps - 90s rest between sets.

B: Negative chins: 2 sets of as long as possible - 90s rest between sets.
Once we can lower for over 30s in a single set or over 45s in 2 sets combined we add a set. Once we can lower over 45s in a single set or 60s in 3 sets - we go back to 2 sets and add external load.

C: Lat pull-down with the same chin up grip: 10 sets of 2 reps explosively - 60s rest (use around a 4RM)

Each week we cut 15s rest from this until we attempt 10 sets of 2 with 15s rest.
The following week (week five) we do one set of as many reps as possible with the original load. Usually we get 8-10 reps.

I'd repeat this program a second time through. Then test your chin -ups. Most people at this point can get at least one or two reps.

Now just perform a high number of low repetition sets for the next four weeks.
e.g. (let's assume you got 2 reps - we'd then work with sets of 50% of your max)
1A: Chin ups: 5 sets of 1 with 90s rest - paired with:
1B: DB Bench Press: 5 sets of 5 with 90s rest

Week five I'd retest your max and repeat the cycle again using multiple sets of 50% of your max again.


The second was by Charles Staley:

The typical trainee who can do 4-6 chin-ups and who wants to do 10. Typically, he’ll simply try to add another rep every time he does chin-ups (increasing quantity).

Better way: to decrease quantity by dropping down to sets of 1-2 reps. You’ll be less fatigued, and therefore more able to recruit your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have the best potential for size & strength gains.

70 days to go

You know you're getting into a routine when you wake up before your alarm clock.

This morning I was scheduled to do some HIIT and long slow cardio. I followed that up with 30 minutes of yoga when I got home. I used the Baron Baptiste Unlocking Athletic Power DVD. Haven't done it for a few months now so was pleased to discover I could still get into and hold the crow pose:




It actually looks a lot harder than it is. It involves some upper arm strength but it's mainly a balance posture. My abs were a bit sore after doing prone roll ins on a ball on Wednesday, so could really feel this in the same place!

I was getting a bit irritable and hungry by the end of the yoga so think I will do it on my day off next time instead of after my cardio. That way I can relax and enjoy it without distraction.

Lately for my breakfast I have been having quinoa pancakes - quinoa flour, egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla, xylitol - topped with berries and organic dark agave syrup. I don't eat artificial sweetener, so sugar-free maple syrup is out for me. Agave syrup is similar in calories to maple syrup, but the glycemic index is much lower (19 for agave syrup, 54 for maple syrup), and it's also very thick and sweet, so you don't need much.

Post Comp Diet

Here is an example of a four-month recovery diet outline that will help your metabolism recover by adding some much-needed calories. This works great not only post-contest, but for anytime during the year that you're overtrained and overdieted.

Weeks One and Two
Stay at your pre-contest diet calories with very low carbs, and remove stimulants and other hardcore supplements from the diet. However, Flameout should still be consumed liberally, as well as your multi-vitamin of choice. Exercise should be restricted to walking and other non-training-related activities.

Weeks Three and Four
Increase calories slightly by adding carbs such as Surge back into the plan as part of your post-weight training meals. Weight training should be introduced three times a week (or four if you just can't help yourself), with light cardio on the off days.

Month Two
By now, your appetite should be catching back up to you, which is a good sign that another increase in calories is called for. Add roughly 200 (or slightly more) calories each day, in the form of carbs and protein, and a little bit of fat.

All of your more hardcore supplements should be added back in with full force. They'll now serve to increase your metabolism and muscle mass while your food levels increase.

Things like Creatine , BCAA's, Hot-Rox Extreme, Se7en, and a whole host of other staples should be taken regularly. Think of them as useful for building and recovery, instead of fat loss. Your energy levels will go up, thus enabling you to train harder. This will set you up for then next increase.

Month Three
Start out with an additional 200 calories between the two meals following training on weight lifting days. An additional 100 calories on cardio days is also a good start. It may be time to add some interval training at the start of your cardio sessions again.

Just be careful not to over do it. In the off-season, there's no reason to do more than 10-15 minutes of intervals at any one time.

Month Four
By now, you'll have added roughly 500 calories back into your daily diet. You'll be gaining a sense of pride about how you've trained your body to want more, and you can actually feed it without losing your hard earned results.

Your appearance will not be the result of a post-contest rebound, or a long drawn-out diet that resulted in post-burnout binge. Your mood should be fantastic, and mentally, you should be stable and satisfied! At this point, you can increase your activity levels and food even further, depending on when your next event is.

The Most Important Part

Once you get to this point it is crucial that you don't turn around and diet again. You should revel in this new state of homeostasis. Let this be a time to increase PR's in the gym, eat lots of clean foods, and maintain your bodyweight over a period of time.

Let your body enjoy being "normal" for at least a month before going back to a more strict diet. This will serve as one of the best physique decisions you ever make. And that, my friends, is a promise.

Full article

71 days to go

Only got to bed a little later than planned last night. The cat and dog were both waiting on the bed for me. They both know when it's bedtime, even if I don't, LOL.

Woke up with sore back and shoulders this morning, so thought getting through my chest and arms workout today would be interesting. Enjoyed it though. Did a couple of tricep exercises I haven't done before and got a good pump out of them. That was the good part of my day. The bad part was that I had low blood sugar afterwards, which makes me shake and sweat and then mucks around with my hormones so I'm teary for the rest of the day.

On a related note, my Dad (who is a type 1 diabetic) had to go and visit his eye specialist today. One of the complications of having diabetes for so long (over 30 years) is that the fluctuations in your blood sugar can damage nerve endings and eyesight. He has had laser treatment on his eyes several times but today STOP READING NOW IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH












he had to have an injection in his eye. Here's what Mum said about it:
Dad's eye appointment was rather stressful. The specialist assured Dad that the procedure would be uncomfortable rather than painful once he had local anaesthetic. It turned out to be very uncomfortable, probably not helped by Dad having a sore neck, making it hard for him to cooperate with the procedure. I ended up feeling really faint and had to lie down for awhile to recover (due to hearing Dad's discomfort - I was standing next to him but not watching the procedure).

So I really feel for Dad at the moment. If Mum felt faint just listening to him, I would hate to think how Dad felt.

72 days to go

Sleep wasn't the greatest last night. Went to bed later than planned, then the cat woke me at 5.30 this morning. I've now set my alarm for bedtime, so I have to stop what I'm doing and get ready for bed, LOL.

I'm enjoying training in the mornings again. Even though it's freezing cold outside, I like walking to the gym - it's so peaceful. The gym is quiet and I can use whatever equipment I want without having to wait. The members that go at that time are regulars and we all recognize each other and say 'hi' but get on with our training as we're all there for a purpose at that hour of the morning. I was training in the afternoons for a while in the off season, but think I will stick with mornings from now on.

Did back and shoulders this morning and got a great pump. Managed to get out four chin ups on my own, which is great considering my weight at the moment. Can't usually do these until I'm lighter and leaner.

I am enjoying this recipe at the moment. Mum and Dad made it for me when I went home recently. It's yummy and so easy to make.

Huntsman's Chicken
1 large onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 400g can diced tomatoes in juice
400g skinless boneless chicken breasts

2 tsp instant chicken stock powder
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup red or white wine
1-2 tsp sugar or sugar replacer
2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup sliced olives
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, if available

Turn a fairly large slow cooker to LOW. Place onion, garlic and mushrooms in the cooker and mix together.
Spoon tomatoes and their juice evenly over the onion mix.
Place whole chicken breasts on top.
Combine next 5 ingredients in a measuring cup or other small container and pour over chicken.
Cover and cook on LOW for about 8 hours or HIGH for about 4 hours.
The chicken should be soft enough to shred with a pair of tongs or fork without removing from the crockpot.
Stir in olives, parsley and basil, and serve.

73 days to Go

Fish is banned! From the supermarket that is. I have had food poisoning twice from fish bought at supermarkets in NZ. I bought some nice-looking fresh tuna from Safeway last night, got it out of the bag this afternoon and it smelt...fishy, which fresh fish is not supposed to do. I thought it might have been smelly from sitting in the plastic so decided to cook it anyway. First few mouthfuls were OK, then had one mouthful that tasted NQR. I wasn't about to get food poisoning again so spat it out and didn't finish the rest. :-(

First day of new program today (legs) and it went pretty well. Haven't done some of the exercises for over 12 months so had no idea what weight to use for some things. Was a bit of trial and error. Am doing it again on Monday so should be able to hammer it then. I didn't do any food prep last night and ended up being a bit pushed for time doing everything this morning between getting home from the gym and starting work, but it should be all good from now with my new schedule.

Also spent too much personal time on the internet today when I should have been working. It's not so bad now as work is a little bit quiet, but come mid-August it's going to get busy so I need to get my behaviour sorted out now so I have a nice routine happening before I get caught up with full-on comp prep and work.

Meals have been a bit all over the place the last couple of days while I've been trying to get my eating back into comp mode. As I'm hungrier a bit more now, I need to give myself a rough guide to meal times so I don't eat most of my calories by midday, LOL. So I'm thinking something like this:

6.15am meal 1
7-8.30am training: weights, cardio, stretching
8.30am PWO drink
8.45 recovery method: hot/cold shower
9am meal 2
9.30 start work
11.30am meal 3
2pm meal 4
4.30pm meal 5
5.30 finish work
5.30-7pm prepare food, clean up, organise for next day
7pm meal 6
7-8.30 internet time
8.30-9.30 read
9.30-6 sleep

Rest and Recovery

I need to spend more time recovering and sleeping. I'd also like to spend more time reading (as I find it very relaxing) and less time on the internet, so I'm trying to schedule these activities.

Tues, Wed, Thurs
7-8.30am training: weights, cardio, stretching
8.45 recovery method: hot/cold shower
9.30-5.30 work
5.30-7 prepare food, clean up, organise for next day
7-8.30 internet time
8.30-9.30 read
9.30-6 sleep

Fri
7-7.45 cardio
8-8.30 recovery method: yoga
9.30-5.30 work
5.30-7 prepare food, clean up, organise for next day
7-8.30 internet time
8.30-9.30 read
9.30-6 sleep

Sat
recovery method: massage/accupuncture/beauty therapy/Epsom salt bath

Sun
cardio (incl recovery method): walk (sun exposure)

Mon
7-8.30am training: weights, cardio, stretching
8.45 recovery method: hot/cold shower
9.30-5.30 work
5.30-7 prepare food, clean up, organise for next day
7-8.30 internet time
8.30-9.30 read
9.30-6 sleep

Lets see how it goes...

74 Days to Go

I didn't sleep very well last night. Woke at 4am, got up to go to the bathroom then couldn't get back to sleep. I start back with Liz this week. In the meantime I was wide awake at 6am so decided to get up and do some cardio to give myself a head start. Will try and give regular progress reports from now on. Hopefully some pics this weekend.

Mind, Body & Spirit

Accomplishments this week

Mind
Even though I was apprehensive about using Calorie King again, I started this week and it's been interesting to track my body's response to different amounts and types of food and exercise.

Body
PB standing BB shoulder press 70lb (32kg) for 1 rep
PB barbell bentover row 55kg for 1 rep

Spirit
I am getting lots of sleep and feeling very relaxed

Motivation

'Do, or do not, there is no try.' Yoda

Inspiration

Make it Happen

I will step up to the plate every day. EVERY day.
I will squeeze every ounce of potential out of every cell of my body.
I will not make excuses.

link

Inspiration

Seize the Day

By Craig Harper

G'day Groovers. Happy Thursday! Today is an amazing day because it's the first, last and only July 17, 2008 that you and I will ever have. Ever! I'm pretty excited about that. So perhaps you and I should make the most of this once-in-a-life-time day. Waddya think? I'm up for it. Yes, it kinda looks, feels and smells like other days but that's just our mind getting in the way of our possibilities. Again.

Change-Your-Life Thursday


Sure we've had lots of Thursdays before but we've never had this Thursday have we? Imagine wasting another day. And another opportunity. And a bit more of our potential. Or even, wasting a life. As if we'd ever do that. That's not how you and I are wired is it? In many ways, today could be spectacular and unique if we choose to make it that. It could be a defining day for us. A life-changing day. It could be a cross-road where we stop and make that turn we should have made years ago. Or it could be just another typical Thursday. Before another typical Friday. In another typical life.

It's a Choice

"But Craig, it's Thursday and I don't really do spectacular or amazing on Thursdays. I usually save spectacular for special occasions. Christmas or maybe New Year. At the very least, it's gotta be a Monday. Definitely not a Thursday. Besides, I'm busy. Today's not so good for me. I wasn't really planning on doing or being anything special today. I thought I'd take a quick peek at your site and then continue on with my average, not-particularly-special day. Just like every other Thursday. I didn't really expect this kind of full frontal assault. My head's not really in the right place at the moment and to be honest, I'm not feeling that great. And I'm kinda busy. Did I mention that already? And my therapist said I should pace myself and not to put myself under too much pressure while I work through my issues. Anyway, if a good or bad day (and life) is determined by 'me' then who can I blame and get mad at for all those bad days I have? You know that blaming and getting mad is healthy right?"

What if...

A great day is not about what happens to us or around us on a given day, but about what we do on that day (today). The decisions we make (and don't make), the mindset we adopt, our conscious behaviours and how we deal with the events of that day.

"It's not what happens that matters, it's how we react to what happens that matters. "

It's about the attitude we consciously take into every situation, circumstance and conversation for that day. I can have a great day every day by choice. Even on a Thursday. The quality of my day will not be determined by things over which I have no control. I can't control what other people think, say or do. I can't control the weather. I can't control most of what happens around me. I can't change what happened yesterday, last month or last decade but I can change how I let that affect me today. The quality of my day will be determined by me. Today will be a good day because that's my choice.

An Opportunity

Today you and I have an opportunity to choose to do something we've never done. Doing different to create different. We can choose to face that fear which has held us captive for too long. We can stop waiting and procrastinating and start doing. We can stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We can stop justifying and rationalising all that destructive crap we do. We can get responsible and proactive instead of offended and hurt. We can stop being victims and start being warriors. We can work through the uncomfortable stuff and grow, learn, adapt and change in the process. And we can consciously, strategically and courageously change our life.

Or we could do what we did last Thursday. And the one before.