Detours BODY

Being into bodybuilding and fitness there are certain things that have become mainstream and the norm and a lot of people stick to them because it seems to work. But what if you stick to a diet sheet to the T and just because it works for some people, if it doesn’t work for you then you think you’re doing something wrong..you may not be!

We all have very different bodies and I think everyone has to learn to listen to their bodies and tap into what it is trying to tell you - somedays you need to eat more carbs..listen to that, some days you need more protein..listen to that too, if you don’t know it’s simple, if you are real sore then you may need a little extra ( I mean prolonged soreness) Sometimes your body craves more fat and you may need to just eat more of it (especially women and TOM), there has to be reason but all the conventional ideas do not work with everyone and shouldn’t have to.

The eating every 2 - 3 hours doesn’t work for everyone either.. I don’t always feel like eating that often but have forced myself to. The end result is an overloaded stomach and slowed digestion which is not good for your system..the liver has to cope with the influx of all this food, if my body needed it that often then it would get broken down quicker (notice how breakfast always seems to go down fast?) Your body has fasted all night and needs the food, so the digestion process is not as sluggish. A lot of people have 4 meals a day, 5 to 6 some even 10, I just don’t think that is always needed - listen to your body, it sends signals for a reason! I do believe some people need to be real frequent, but if your body is fighting against it so much and it is all very uncomfortable then why force yourself to live that way everyday - I don’t have the time to eat that much or the need.

There are other schools of thought that even if you have a huge buffet meal - you still need to eat again in the next 2 - 3 hours or you run the risk of muscle break down. I say you still run the risk of gaining fat, simply because the fact is if you eat more than you burn, fat will occur over your hard earned muscle..also your body will be working hard to be breaking down the last meal which will put your liver under a lot of stress, if you then eat again you slow your liver down even more and make things even harder and slower. If the whole point is to increase your metabolism then eating lots of food in this manner is actually doing the opposite.

It can get confusing because most people want to stick to a diet sheet even if it is obvious that things are not working for them.
Lots of people will jump on the low carb craze but I know plenty of people who have plenty of carbs even during competition prep. Low carb works for some people but if you notice that you just can’t function and the weight doesn’t seem to drop off as quickly as some people, maybe that system isn’t meant for you.

Other factors can have an impact obviously like genetics and activity levels outside of the gym, exercise form, etc etc…

Workouts too doesn’t have to be like everyone else, some people believe that in order to get big you have to lift big, but I have seen people who are hugely muscled and they use light weight but high volume. Looking at what your body does, being your own judge is more important that just listening to a trainer who says you must do this and eat that because I do blah blah blah..

There are so many different methods out there because they work for different people, my take home advice is that you have to take responsibility for yourself, you have to pay attention to what your body does and you have to listen to the signals.. your training log tells you to train today but you are so tired and can’t even keep your eyes open. Take a rest and know that you can go to the gym tomorrow with more grit and determination because you are more refreshed and ready to do battle.

I’ve learnt to listen to my body to understand what works for it, through trial and error I assure you, and from there I can devise my own plans to achieve what my body can achieve. I know I’m not there quite yet because I have gone through doing what other people have told me to, only to be disappointed with the results to realising what works for ME and that is high volume training, lots of sets and reps. Getting a good pump, short rest breaks between and really working hard. Eating adequate amounts of food to refuel is real important and I also believe that it is better to eat what the world produced rather than what someone produced in a lab (don’t get me wrong, these things have their place but not needed everyday)  I understand that when you really don’t know, start with basic training ideas, but after a while start to pay attention to your body, how it recovers, if you notice certain effects about doing certain systems - use your instincts we have them for a reason. I don’t think I have to conform to what is considered the norm because it never worked for me the way I wanted, doing endless low intensity cardio never really made me leaner, I just lost muscle, low carb and real high protein didn’t make me ripped, still was high calorie, being sensible in my training methods has been the only real thing for me and by that I mean learning to understand what my body tells me. It’s helped to control my anxieties somewhat and in 2 weeks I have sculpted in a way that might take some people one month, listen to your own system, use your inner voice and pay yourself back with good real nutrition!

Peace xox

Noticing a problem I seem to have.. ladies you may know what I mean..

Just before that time of the month I get real hungry, I crave fatty foods and chocolate so I sometimes give in. The problem is for 2 weeks in a month I can be disciplined and work real hard and then my hormones shift and I get real tired and just need to eat - my brain says eat protein but my body says no eat peanut butter and chocolate. The yo-yoing has me losing weight for 2 weeks, then piling it back on when my cycle kicks in or just before. I know our hormones make us hold more water during that time etc but with my diet going wrong for a good week I know that is adding to blurring my definition..
It’s getting to me because I see gains and then they disappear, maybe I’m looking too hard, my man says I look the same but I’m not sure.

What I want is to be able to maintain an eating plan through my cycle so it doesn’t mess up my energy or make me over-indulge when my body gets tired. Is it a mum thing, a woman thing or that I just work so hard that my body is screaming for nutrients so I burn out??? Or, all three…HELP!