Post Op. Contest

I’m shooting for a contest on the 8th of Nov. This gives me a little more then 12 weeks to be prepared.  I’m currently shifting my diet on a three day rotation, with either 300,200, 100 g of carbs and average about 290 grams of protein daily.

My original goal was a contest on the 13th of september, but the end result would have been to much muscle lost. I’m doing an updated picture session on Friday to compare the progress.

Others may come across this, but I hear it at work everyday. “I want to lose weight, don’t feel like exercising and I’m only twice a day” - Basically, the people I come across want to be thinner, more muscular but don’t want to take the time or energy to understand or better themselves.

Besides exercising, there are a few other ways to enhance the metabolism. It won’t work properly unless you use everything together and learn how to manage your own body, diet and mind set.

1.      Muscle Tissue: The more muscle you have the more calories you burn regardless of how active you are.

2.      Meal Frequency: Frequent eating while matching energy expenditure allows metabolism to elevate. In contrast, going too long between meals causes a significant slow down in metabolism. Fad diets also can cause a giant disruption in the metabolism and screw things up for a long tiem.

3.      Activity Level: This goes without saying…

4.      Food Choices: Eating quality complex carbohydrates from whole grain sources, leaner proteins and fresh fibrous carbs allows the body to become more thermic in nature, elevating both metabolism and caloric burn. Conversely, high sugary foods (including many of the “fat-free” foods) are considered “empty” in caloric value.

5.      Hydration Level: Low water intake can lead to poor organ function and additional stress on the body, which contributes to a slowing of metabolism. This will also cause you to frequent the bathroom more often.

6.      Stress: High stress causes elevations in the hormone Cortisol, which interferes with the body’s ability to lose excess fat, lowering metabolic function.

7.     Genetics:  Some people are born with better metabolisms, it sucks but it’s true.

8.      Hormonal Production: Some people produce more of the hormone of T3 and T4 are hormone. Most people just need to make the aforementioned adjustments and they’re on track for cranking up their slow metabolism. Eating frequently and exercise assist in the increase of the metabolism.

The basic deal is that people need to pay attention to their body and take the time to understand proper nutrition and exercise. Not everyone wants to be really 5% bodyfat, but knowing what the body needs to assist in losing weight is more important.

(bits and pieces of the post was taken from other sources, I was just in a hurry to finish the post so I could eat my 8th meal of the day

I had the biggest craving for anything sugary that I’ve had in about five weeks. The house is quiet and I needed a distraction so I turned to the forums and blogs. It definetly helped. So I’m not eating 12 egg whites with diced tomotoes and making myself believe it’s pudding.

:)

The overall effect of the diet is amazing, but it’s a struggle to finish my workouts and it practically saps my energy for the rest of the day. My diet is goes in a random cycle where some days are 300g of carbs, others 200g and 100g. This allows for a simple shock and awe effect to the body. Once a week (usually Saturday mornings) I have a binge day which will last until 2:00 pm. Pretty much anything is on the table.
Last week - 1/2 gallon of ice-cream, 3 waffles, 2 blt’s, about 10 home cooked cookies, fruits and I think a snickers bar was thrown in there. It totaled a little over 5000 calories, equaled a sick wife and son who wanted to try my waffle/ice-cream combo.

The theory in this madness is the supercharge the body, restore a balance in the system and allow for a very strict diet for the remainder of the week. It also helps me look forward to the weekend a little bit more.

While the diet is going through, the workouts are toned down a little. I’m not increasing the number of sets or reps - to me this is stupid. I was able to put on size and muscle due to workout habits before, they aren’t going to change much since it has the potential of ruining the whole deal. The workouts are now more straight sets - forced, dropped and supersets are done until the after the competition.

Most injuries occur during the diet phase and the body just won’t be able to recover. (added note - make sure to take multi vitamins and vitamin C) As the contest nears the diet will continue on the course. Within a two week time phrame, I’ve dropped about 12lbs and maintained a lot of muscle. Definition is increasing and the waist line is trimming down.

The entire process is a blast, but it’s difficult to maintain the energy and focus on certain days. Especially when you come home from work and your two boys want to play and you struggle through. (they don’t know I’m hurting, but that’s what tylenol is for)

So I’m eating about every 2-3 three hours and I eat the most of my carbs by 1:00. The most carbs in the afternoon are vegies (green). Otherwise, I’m up to about 300g of protein daily…

The diet overall is going great, but I’m feeling sluggish during the end of the day. Between the training and cardio, work and family I think it’s taking a toll. There’s 8 weeks left until the show… I’m hoping I’ll be ready for the contest. If things don’t pan out there will be another during the end of october.

 On a good note, my cheat morning is tomorrow. I’m slated to eat about 6000 calories before 2:00 pm. I’m thinking it’ll recharge the system and kick start the metabolism again.

kt

Made some modifcations to my contest diet, I was losing weight too fast and lost 8 lbs in three days. Changed several egg meals to chicken, since it’s higher in calories and should slow the process down a little.

 On a good note, I’m finished with my final for school and have two more classes to go until I have my economics degree.

kt

In making sure I lose the least amount of muscle possible, the diet has been broken down into seven meals with the amount of carbs depleting throughout the day. There’s about 300 grams of protein per day, which is divided into seperate meals - this includes chicken, egg whites and fish.

Included in the diet, multivitamins, vit C, caffeine, aspirin, 1 gallon of water and so fourth.

cardio is limited to a fast walk first thing in the morning - before breakfast.

workouts will become less intenese, but focus on muscle seperation. Muscle building will be non-existent during the next nine weeks.

I’m a big fan of the muscle magazines and all things that relate to bodybuilding. The only gripe I would have is the consistent notion that all workouts are all for one and one for all - or Cookie Cutter Training. The common thought would be every person can increase their muscle size by increasing the number of exercises or repetitions to build muscle and it has to be through a consistent high rep/double split workout routine. 

This type of program works for some, but not all bodies are created equal. The body does not remember or count the number of times you bench or the number curls you do for biceps. The body will respond to the microtrauma of an intense workout by building a bigger muscle, this can be through short workouts with extreme intensity or high reps. The problem I have with the more reps and increased exercise is the body’s ability to recover from the workouts.

The following are side effects of the increased workouts and not allowing the proper time to recover.

• More muscle fibers are torn (microtrauma) and the body does not have time to recover.
• Possible protein deficiency - most people have issues with the proper amount of food intake for their diets. An increased need for more amino acids needs to be considered.
• Followed by an increased need for additional calories that most people lack
• The body moves into a catabolic state instead of anabolic, due to lack of proper dieting.

Looking on the boards for the past few years, some of the side effects below are very common.

• muscle soreness
• fatigue
• injuries - more frequent
• depression
• lack of motivation
• decreased appetite
• decreased sex drive
• weight loss
• decreased strength

This isn’t a bash on the high rep and sets crew. There are places for these workouts, but from looking at the magazines and other advice there isn’t a notice about other issues that could appear with the workouts.

Since increasing the amount of protein in my diet over the last three weeks, I’ve noticed several changes.
There has been increased vascularity, the recovery after workouts have increased and an increase in muscular growth.

I’m eating approximately 290 grams of protein daily and my weight is about 220 lbs. This would average about 1.31 grams of protein per pound and 41 grams of protein per meal.

Instead of beating a horse to death, I just reposted other common thoughts of protein intake, which I agree with entirely.

Info Below Taken from Steroid Encyclopedia:
http://www.steroid-encyclopaedia.com/ezine.php?story=43
1. Protein is the only nutrient directly responsible for building muscle.
2. Exercise increases protein needs.
3. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein (.36 grams per pound of body weight) is woefully inadequate if you work out on a regular basis.
4. Studies by the world’s top protein researchers such as Dr. Peter Lemon, have determined that .8 grams per pound of body weight should be your minimum for protein if you exercise regularly (more than double the RDA!)
5. Optimal intakes for hard-training athletes, such as bodybuilders, are still unknown and may be even higher. In one study of Polish weightlifters, 50% of the subjects were still in negative nitrogen balance, even while consuming 250% of the RDA

Protein Intake and Gaining Muscular Body Weight

You need more calories to gain weight, but if you only add the extra calories from fat or carbohydrate, you would probably find yourself getting fat - and fast! As bodybuilders know all too well, excess carbohydrates, especially in the presence of a calorie surplus, can easily cause fat storage. The same goes for dietary fats. A high calorie diet with 70% of the calories from carbohydrates might be ok for a long distance runner, but chances are, a bodybuilder would get as smooth as a baby’s butt eating like that!

There will come a time when work may place obstacles to obtain proper dieting while training. I’m coming across issues in trying to manage an office and making sure I’m getting the appropriate intake of protein throughout the day.

I recently brought an old blender that’s been sitting at the house. It’s set up in the office kitchen. I have my protein pre-measured and ready to mix, along with fruit and milk. This makes it a quick 1-2 process in keeping everything timely, so I can continue my work.

Also, I have a stash of other protein supps for easy access if I’m in a meeting and need a quick snack.