I love beets.
I’m still recovering from asparagus.
Despite my timidness toward asparagus, I was lured in by a $1.99 sale at Whole Foods. Whole Foods is the source of all temptation for me. Ok, ok… Whole Foods and whiskey. And chocolate cake. I’m weak.
Back to the topic at hand… asparagus and beets. They are both normal, but you don’t often see them paired. It’s a little strange to serve them together. Which is exactly when I did in this very good Lemon-Garlic Asparagus and Beet dish.
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When a big event ends it’s a little sad.
What do I DO if I’m not planning and prepping?!
Rest is a good thing, but it can be a hard thing to swallow. I’ve heard people talk about feeling down after races, weddings, babies… and competitions. This time around I’m feeling it more than I did before. I think it’s because I know it’s going to be a long time before I compete again (more on that below).
Today’s Work It Out is my attempt to get over it by focusing on lessons learned at Kentucky Muscle and The Rocky, and getting excited to make improvements.
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Having my trainer and 2 very good friends around throughout the process made it 100x easier. Surround yourself with positive people, even better if they can empathize. Heather and Lisa are versatile friends – they were the perfect partners-in-crime in Napa for my 30th and for competing!
Check out the transformation from July to November (photo-editing courtesy Heather):
From Napa to the stage
I’m not talking just the level of competition (though it is harder). I’m talking mentally. They are long, long days. The Rocky show was the most disorganized situation I’ve ever seen. They let too many people enter, causing the show to run so far behind that my group was just getting on stage for pre-judging when the evening show was supposed to begin. That show began 2 hours late… by the time we went to stage again I no longer cared even a little bit.
It was an exercise in patience, rolling with the punches. Thank you for the lesson… but never will I ever do a Colorado show again. In near-ish the future I plan to stick to smaller shows. If you chose them right, they are still competitive but you don’t end up wasting so much time. I get that they want to make money, but there needs to be a cut off for entries. It’s not fair to the athletes or the people who buy tickets.
Not placing Top 5 doesn’t mean you can celebrate the small victories. It’s no secret that I hate posing. It’s as far out of my comfort zone as you can get. Lisa, who has seen me almost since day 1, watched me in Colorado and said it’s the best I’ve never done.
Now I need to work on GROWING… 
I’ve gained a lot over the past 2 years, but I’m still too small. I feel like I look big in the gym lifting, but then you put me next to the other women and I look tiny. My trainer, Steve, has been telling me I need to take a year off to really grow. Competing every 6 months or so means I cut too often and lose some of the gains I make.
Steve and me
So I’ve decided to listen to Steve’s advice. I’m taking a year off to grow. This is contributing to the “blues” because I love having a goal line.
(I’m not always the best listener ← understatement of the year.)
My nutrition plan leading up to competition wasn’t so restrictive that I was miserable. You CAN compete in a healthy way. It doesn’t have to be tilapia and asparagus (click here for the “why” on asparagus) for months. You never need to be hungry (I stayed full!).
Towards the end you do need to keep with super clean and avoid anything that could bloat. For me, that meant a couple of weeks that were heavy on the white fish and asparagus. I cooked 2 pans of it for Heather and me the day before our competition!
Photo courtesy of Heather, whose spice drawer I could move into.
The happy part about a bulk year is that I get to have alllll the foods!
Heather’s husband, Kirk, help me kick it off right when he made smoked salmon and eggs benedict for us the morning after the competition. I am still dreaming of this:
#yolkporn
“I can’t wait to find out what happens on page number two.” ~Jennifer Nettles, Page #2
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Check out Heather’s Rocky recap here. I’m excited she’s already planning her return to the stage!
Have you ever experience the post-event blues? What do you do to cheer up?
Who is on your support team? Tell them how thankful you are this week!
Food, in the simplest of definitions, is fuel.
I missed that memo.
Food, for me, has always been entertainment. It’s art. It’s an experiment. It’s what I do when I’m sad, happy, grumpy, tired, bored… I love food. End scene.
You might imagine that a limited diet is my worst nightmare. I’ve been trying to prove you can still be creative on a competition diet. You can… but the last week of cutting is HARD. You’ll notice from last week’s WIAW at 4 days out, I still had a lot of variety. This time around I decided to try something new. Being more boring traditional.
I cut fat and am sticking to lean proteins (mostly tilapia). My main veggie is asparagus. My carbs are oatmeal in the morning and sweet potato after that. I’m not hungry at all… but my palette is bored out of its mind. Food has become fuel.
Why am I doing this? Quite simply, to see if it’s necessary. I want to compare last weekend to this weekend. Will it make a difference if I eat more like everyone else the week before a competition? Only my abs time will tell!
The fascination with experimentation is what’s keeping me on track this week!
I almost feel like I should apologize for the repetitive nature of this WIAW. I am 4 days from my 4th figure competition. It’s the last one for a long while… I promise next week will be more interesting.
Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!
I still start the day with my Aminos and ACV morning cocktail. I swear it’s more energizing than coffee.
Breakfast was oatmeal with a ton of cinnamon, honey, and pomegranate atop a homemade Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties. I really do love the turkey “sausage.” It’s something I would make in the off-season too – they’re a great clean, low-sodium alternative to the store-bought stuff.
As usual, I ate it in the car on the way to work. Turkey-oatmeal coffee mug parfait!
Surprise, surprise. Tilapia. I did add some variety with cucumbers, red bell pepper, and purple sweet potato chips (with cinnamon).
Fish variety at lunch – I had Perch with my asparagus. The asparagus I sautéed during food prep with shallots, garlic, lime juice, and herb. I’m really loving the perch – it’s super mild.
Tilapia. Again. Added some variety in two ways: I used purple asparagus and I made it into ribbons! Purple asparagus is thicker, so it makes it a bit easier to shred into ribbons. Fuel can be fun. Ish.
Dinner was is my favorite treat – Sea Bass. It even makes asparagus taste better. Purple sweet potato is like dessert. I topped it with some nutritional yeast for a nutty accent.
It’s not really dessert anymore. Tilapia topped with a blend of Mexican spices and cucumber with salt-free mustard. Nom.
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I prepped all my food to take to Denver today for this weekend’s competition. Tilapia and curry-roasted asparagus are on tap for the plane. Others on the flight are going to love me. #sorryimnotsorry
Do you view food simply as fuel? Fun? Something else?
How do you keep it interesting in the kitchen?
Life gets busy.
I know this isn’t news to any of you, but it’s hitting me hard this week.
I’m 10 days out from my next figure competition. The asparagus (click here for the reason behind that) begins this weekend. I’m thinking next Friday’s #strangebutgood link up will take a twist as my diet gets to the most strict point… not-so-strange but good, anyone?
Balancing work with the competition preparation is not easy. In addition to my 7 meals and regular workouts, I’m running sprints every day. It’s a lot of fit in, especially since I dislike working out at night. I’m TIRED. Cutting a good amount of carbs and basically all sodium and fat leaves my energy level a bit low.
But I’m focusing on May 4th (competition day) and staying motivated. I don’t want to get on stage and have any regrets!
I’ve been taking a couple of products I received from GNC through a FitFluentiual campaign that have helped me maintain my level of activity: Ultra 25 Probiotic Complex and TriFlex.
The probiotics (said to replenish good bacteria needed for digestion) made a BIG difference. Those 25 billion active cultures kept my gut healthy (translation: I have no problem going #2). This make me happy and had prevented bloating! This particular pill also has “enzymes and ginger for additional digestion support.”
The TriFlex I think I need to take longer to say 100% whether it’s made a difference. It is supposed to “promote joint mobility & flexibility” and contains Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM – all of which are great for joint health. I have been taking it regularly. That, in addition to seeing a new chiropractor, I *believe* have kept my joints are feeling good despite some crazy workouts!
My WIAW meals were still pretty good, despite and lack of yummy, yummy fat. Mmmmm… peanut butter… I digress.
Check out my 7 low-fat, low-sodium, protein-laced meals below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how more normal people are eating!
My day began with my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, and Aminos), as always.
I was going to go ahead and run sprints before breakfast, but my metabolism is out of control lately… I am STARVING all the time. Breakfast had to happen before I entertained the idea of working out. I wanted everything at once… so I had it! It was PB&J-ish… with a coffee flair! After adding baking powder to my Mango-Coconut TVP Oats, I’m hooked. I used it again here for an especially voluminious bowl.
Bring TVP, oats, coffee, and water to a boil. Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Add in remaining ingredients, adding additional water if needed.
Allow to simmer until water is absorbed and your TVP oats reach your desired level of thickness.
Note: I add 1/2 the berries at the end of cooking and use the other half to top because I can never decide if I like them better cooked or as a topping.
First, I ran my sprints like a good kid. Then I put a Mexican Sweet Potato Pie in the oven to bake. It only made me wish I made a second one for myself. This was to take to a good friend who is a new mom!
Finally, it was food time. And my continued bison obsession. As part of my Sunday food prep, I made up several burgers to be able to grab quickly.
I ate this one atop a spinach, heirloom tomato and cilantro salad. With red pepper flakes, obv.
Lunch was my current favorite – sea bass. This is even better than swordfish right now… and that’s a big thing for me to say since I consider swordfish the “steak of the sea.”
Eaten post-workout with a giant mound of lightly sautéed kale and a super-fast sweet potato and shiitakes with rosemary and garlic.
Clean chicken salad made from the “naked” (nothing added) Whole Foods rotisserie chicken, a little Greek yogurt, vinegar, cumin, and diced cucumber.
I couldn’t totally cheat on my favorite fish. Steak of the Sea for dinner (swordfish)! Served with my BBQ Roasted Cauliflower and eggplant chips.
Evey time I post eggplant chips on Instagram, I always get a billion questions about how to make them. It’s the easiest thing ever, so I felt silly blogging it… but even simple meals can count a recipes, right? The “secret” is at the bottom of this post. 🙂
This was a hodge-podge. I had a little chicken left and a little Monchong (fish) from last night. So I made a combo to get my protein in. I had celery sticks and sugar peas on the side. I adore sugar peas – the dessert of vegetables!
My favorite meal of the day is desert. I took some non-fat Greek yogurt and mixed it with cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little stevia. Then I melted some frozen cherries in the microwave with some ginger so my “sauce.” Then I topped all that with homemade popcorn and more cinnamon. Paradise.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut eggplant into thin slices (~1/8 in thick). Spray with olive oil and spread evenly across a foil-lined baking sheet.
Place in over and bake ~10 mins. Remove from oven, flip slices, and top as desired. Return to over for another 5 mins, or until crisp.
Note: These can be stored in the fridge – simply place them in the oven under broil for 2-3 mins to crisp back up.
I’m linking these up to Heather’s MMAZ – check out all the eggplant love!
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Protein count for the day: 163g
What was the best thing you ate yesterday?
What keeps you motived when you’re tired/busy/etc?
You don’t want to go to the bathroom after me.
Anyone else having Ace Ventura flashbacks?
In the final week before my figure competition, I’ve cut out all that is good. My only vegetable is asparagus. Asparagus is like body building super food. It is low in sodium and sugar, high in protein, and a natural diuretic. My pee stinks. I don’t think I’ll ever eat asparagus again. Until the next competition.
See my veggie drawer at the bottom? That’s nothing but asparagus. I spent $40 on asparagus. Other items in the fridge include sweet potato, spaghetti squash, chicken (5 ways), swordfish, and tuna. All of these are pre-cooked so I can eat in a hurry.
Below I’ll chronicle the 7 exciting meals I have to shovel down… but first a little inspiration. Monday I asked what quotes or songs inspired you to push through, and Alexandra shared to following quote:
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” – From “The Last Lecture”
This really resonated with me, and inspired me to keep pushing all day. If it were easy everyone would be doing it!
This Halloween-themed What I Ate Wednesday is downright scary. Repetitive meals terrify me. That’s exactly what today’s post is. Sorry.
Check out my freakishly boring eats below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see some more exciting Halloween treats.
In effort to shake things up, I have been drinking my morning cocktail out of champagne glasses. It’s almost like a mimosa. But not.
For breakfast I am allowed a protein (chicken or white fish), oatmeal, and 10 blueberries.
Yes, I said 10.
Thank god for last week’s Cinnamon-Flax Chicken creation. I think this is the only way I can eat breakfast protein.
Served with oatmeal, which I flavored with almond extract, vanilla, and an ass-load of cinnamon (that’s a technical term). And 10 blueberries. 10.
Asparagus. Protein. Spaghetti. Squash, that is. I only get carbs before 2 pm now (at meals 1-3). My carbs can be oatmeal, sweet potato, or winter squash.
Here I roasted some asparagus to go with my spaghetti. While that was cooking, I made a quick sauce of lemon juice, rice vinegar, cilantro, and 1 drop of lemon Stevia (a little goes a long way). For my protein, I had a serving of my pre-cooked chicken. This one was done on a grill pan with a Mexican spice blend (sodium-free, obv).
It wasn’t half bad!
I swear I don’t know what I’d do without Swordfish. The asparagus I could do without. At least I get 1/2 tsp olive oil at lunch. I drizzled my meal with Sweetwater Growers‘ Habanero-infused olive oil, and topped it with fresh basil.
Since it is Halloween, I decided to get festive for my carb at lunch. No candy for me this year, but who needs that when you have sweet potatoes? (I’m totally lying – I’d kill someone for a Halloween cookie right now.)
I turned my ‘tater into a pumpkin dessert by mashing it with a little water, lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and maple extracts, and a few drops of liquid Stevia. His face is made of oats and his stem is – what else – an asparagus tip.
Seared tuna steak with a green onion, ginger, and lime sauce. More asparagus. This time in soup form. I’d like to work on this recipe and post it… it’s not ready yet.
Surprise! More asparagus, this time sauteed with garlic and red pepper flakes. Topped with 1/2 tsp Sweetwater Growers‘ Rosemary-infused olive oil. And Swordfish. I miss nighttime carbs.
More chicken, this one grilled in a Mediterranean spice blend. And I shook things up with… WHITE asparagus. Eaten raw with a sprinkle of cumin. Despite its phallic appearance, I normally love white asparagus; however, at this point I hate all things asparagus.
White asparagus is nearly identical to green nutritionally speaking, but it is white due to having been kept out of the light. The flavor is slightly milder then green, and it’s a little softer. They sort of taste like endive to me.
No more dessert for me. Sort of.
Dessert chicken, anyone? In the South people eat chicken and waffles for breakfast sometimes. Gladys Knight has a famous restaurant based on the concept! With this in mind, I tossed this chicken with a little maple extract and cinnamon before baking. Then I sprinkled everything with more cinnamon… even the asparagus.
Not bad. Would be better with a waffle. And syrup. Mmmmm… sugar…
It’s also Foodie Penpal reveal day!!!
Emily sent me a delicious box of goodies. At least I think they are delicious… since it’s not asparagus, I can’t eat it until after I walk of that stage Saturday night. 🙂 That chocolate granola is coming with me though!!
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The protein count for the day: 192g. The sodium count: 602.8mg (all from the protein!). The sugar was 17.7g.
Driving home from posing practice last night I was stuck between a Krispy Kreme truck and a Pabst Blue Ribbon truck. I subsequently gave the universe the finger.
Do you like asparagus? Does it make your pee stink? I heard it doesn’t affect some people!
What is your favorite Halloween candy? I like Reese’s. Or Snickers. Frozen.
