Tamar Cohl Gluten Free Fit Guru

my progression for the Southern States!

 OK, I am going to start off with the Fitness Universe Pageant in Miami this past weekend!  It was GREAT!  For one thing, I got to spend time with my beautiful friend and the 2nd place winner of the short class figure division, Ava Cowan!  Ava looked amazing and should have won!  The show was well put together and my husband and I had a blast working the booth!!!!! 

 Working the booth for bodybuilding.com was a lot of fun!  People loved us!  They were coming up to us and telling us how much they loved us and Bodybuilding.com!  We had one of the best booth’s there, especially as far as what we were giving people!  We were hanbing out free protein packets, muscle cell volumizer, protein bars, towels, key chains, iPod Nano holders, car air fresheners, and more.  People wanted to come up to us and just tell us how much they loved Bodybuilding.com!!!!  It is GREAT working for a company that people LOVE!!!!    Even my husband had a blast dealing with the people and helping me out!  Thank God he was there helping me! 

 I love going to Miami, but I love coming home, too!  Everything is SO expensive over there!  I have no idea how peeple do it all the time!

 I got to meet some awesome people, too!  I met Debbie B. (Natural Muscle Magazine), Lou Zwick (Promoter of the FAP), Yaxeni Oriquen (Miss Olympia 2005 and Miss International 2006), and others! 

 OK, so, how am I coming along for the Southern States????  Well…..we will have to see later….I will do some updating about that by the end of the week!  This Friday will be the 2 week out mark.  I am supposed to get my suits tomorrow from Suits You Swimwear in Tampa!    I am excited!  Talk soon.  XOXo Tamar

Well, what can I say other than the fact that I still have about 4.5 weeks to go and am TIRED as HECK!  Taking fat burners, drinking coffee out the kazoo, and eating regularly and I am still TIRED!  I never realized how many carbs a day I must have been eating to maintain a "non-tired" state of being.  If I go to long, I do not feel like working out.  I woke up at 6:45 AM, but did not go to the gym yet….I cooked hard boiled eggs all day, chicken, tilapia and turkey.  I feel like all I do is COOK, train, eat, sleep, work, and do computer stuff.  Even the computer makes me tired.  LOL  I LOVE training, but I DREAD hitting up the cardio area for 1.5 to 2 hours a day!  I naturally HATE cardio and for 2 hours a day…..holy smokes I am dying….and then SUPER HUNGRY afterwards!  I am working on video number 2 and article number 2 as well.    Talk to you later…..if you have any anti-tired suggestions I would LOVE to hear from you!  XOXO Tamar

Hey all!  My first article on Celiac Sprue Disease is on the main page of Bodybuilding.com!    I am sooooo thrilled!

If you go to this link:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tamar.htm

You can view my video or read the article or both! 

 Let me know what you all think.  I am going to be submitting article number 2 very soon!  I feel honored to be working for and with bodybuilding.com and also to be sponsored by them for my first figure show. 

Well, have a great weekend…….XOXO Tamar

I am OFF to the GYM to TRAIN!!!!  Need more coffee, too!  haha

Well, as you all know, I am training for my first ever NPC Figure show….the 2007 NPC Southern States in Fort Lauderdale, FL on July 13, 2007.  Not only am I NERVOUS, but I am scared and excited at the same time! 

I have been training with weights for atleast 20 years, seriously since I was about 20 (so about 10 years consistently).  Now I am competing! 

Generally, I do about 1 hour of cardio a day.  For this show, I am doing atleast 1.5 to 2 hours of cardio daily.  Normally I do cardio first thing in the AM after my weight training session.  I am not going as heavy on weights as I am already “thick” enough with muscle.  I am using the cardio to help shed off the excess bodyfat that accumulates on my thighs and glutes.  Other than the fact that I had a HUGE gluten episode over the weekend (it was my own fault….I should always read labels when someone else is cooking for me),  I have been doing well on my diet.  OK, so I have cheated!  I feel horrible about it, but I lose body fat quickly and have not really noticed anything bad happening from it.  But, as of this past weekend, I will not be putting anything bad in my mouth until the show is OVER!!!!

Here is what my actual training looks like:

Monday: Legs/abs/glutes/cardio-Cardio in the AM and PM

Tuesday: Back/calves/Cardio-Cardio in the AM and PM

Wednesday: Chest/abs/Cardio-Cardio AM and PM

Thursday: Biceps/Triceps/calves/Cardio-Cardio AM and PM

Friday: Hamstrings/Glutes/Abs/Cardio-Cardio AM and PM

Saturday: Delts/Calves/Cardio-Cardio straight for 1.5 hours as my gym is open limited hours

Sunday: As of now I am taking off one day a week, but I need to throw in that 7th day for sure!!!!!  Cardio is a must!

As for reps/sets I am still using about 15-20 reps for upper body at a lower/moderate weight and 15-25 reps for legs and glutes.  I cannot train heavier for legs as I have a torn medial meniscus in my right knee and I just got my 4th shot of cortisone this past Friday.  My orthopedic surgeon said no more cortisone shots.    I have to have surgery the next time around. 

I LOVE training…but I hate dieting and I hate cardio!  LOL  It is like pulling teeth to get me to do cardio, but I do it.  As of today, I have not worked out, but I will be going to the gym when my husband gets home from work.

I have been tanning, watching posing videos, and am practicing the posing.  It is funny.  Well, I will see you guys soon!  XOXO Tamar

Well, I have been doing soooo well avoiding anything with gluten!  Not to mention I am dieting for the NPC Southern States!!!  Well, a few nights ago I accidentally had gluten!  It was not intentional and my stomach has been killing me ever since!!!! 

 As some of you many know, I have Celiac Sprue Disease.  CS (Celiac Sprue) is a disease in which your small intestines cannot absorb nutrients from any food when gluten is present.  Gluten basically destroys the villi in the small intestines, therefore making it impossible to properly absorb nutrients.  I have known about my CS since the beginning of March 2007 after a few years of troublesome health problems that never went away. 

Well, I just wanted to get that off my chest.  I feel like CRAP!  I am tired, hungry, and my stomach HURTS!  I look like I am pregnant due to the abdominal distension and I have a headache from you know where. 

 Normally I do not feel this bad.  Actually, I had been feeling super well since my diagnosis, but having a gluten episode is not fun.    I will explain more later.  I am going to journal down some of my recipes that I have made for my diet that are gluten free and some other tidbits of information that I have learned…..see you guys later.  Tamar

Update:  See my first article on Bodybuilding.com about Celiac Sprue!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tamar1.htm