Tamar Cohl Gluten Free Fit Guru

I had a great dinner last night.  A little bit off of my contest diet, but it had the same principle.  I have to switch things up ocassionally or I will go INSANE!  Eating Tilapia 4 x day can be brutal, so last night I had…..SNOOK. 

For those of you that live in Florida, you know that SNOOK are only legal to keep at certain times of the year and they have to be between 28″-33″.  I know this because my husband is an FWC State Police Officer (Marine Patrol).  We have a friend that goes fishing and he caught a 29″ snook and decided to keep it to EAT IT!  It was good.

Here is what I had and how I prepared it:

Snook Filet: Broiled with a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Then I had a yummy salad that I came up with while strolling aimlessly through Publix last night…..

Arugula ( I am Italian and I LOVE the more bitter lettuces and baby greens)
Pecans
Dried Cherries
1/2 Fresh Peach
1 tbsp ground flax meal

To top off the salad, I made my own Lemon-Lime Vinagrette:

Extra Virgin Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Lime Juice
Greek Strained Yogurt
Stevia Leaf to sweeten

It was OFF the chain INSANE GOOD!    My husband loved it, too.

For dessert, I had:

1 cup ***e 0% Greek Yogurt
Dried Cherries
1/2 peach
A few Pecans
Agave Nectar to sweeten (just a tad)
A hint of lime juice

Can I say DELICIOUS????

I am totally dedicated to LIVING A GLUTEN FREE lifestyle and all of this was GLUTEN FREE!    If anyone tries this, let me know!  xoxo Tamar

Well, it is almost time…..for the biggest stage show of my life!  The 2009 NPC Bikini Nationals to be held in Hollywood, Florida on November 20-21st!  I am so excited!  On October 10,  I competed in the NPC Fort Lauderdale Cup.  It was a beautiful IFBB Pro and NPC show.  I qualified to compete at Nationals and I am going for it this year, especially because Fort Lauderdale is just a stones throw away for me.  I have been busting my ass dieting since March 2009 under the guidance of my coach, Hany Rambod.  I have had to lose some muscle mass, mostly in my legs, and have been working out hard!  With the knee issues that I have, that has been difficult at times, but I am bound and determined to get on that stage in November.    I have made great progress and need to lose about 5-7 more lbs…mostly muscle….and lean out those legs.  But I can do it.    That is my brief update on what I am doing!    God Bless!  xoxo Tamar

This evening I wanted to make a healthy, gluten free dinner that was balanced in nutrition value, but that was also very delicious.  I succeeded and was even complimented by a restaurant owner/chef on my presentation.

Being that I have to live totally gluten free and that I am contest dieting, I chose to make this meal because it is well balanced and nutritious.  I hope that you find it just as tastey as I did!

Ingredients used:

Fresh Tuna Steak (4 oz portion)

1 oz dry weight organic Quinoa

1 tbsp Ground Flax Seed Meal

3 oz raw weight fresh asparagus

1 oz fresh Avocado

Can of Extra Virgin Olive Oil cooking spray

Chopped garlic

salt, pepper, italian seasoning

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Nutrition Value of the Whole Meal:

Fat: 14.55 grams

Carbs: 31.2 grams

Fiber: 7.4 grams

Protein: 32.6 grams

Sodium: 51 mg (naturally occurring)

Total calories:  386

Directions:

Take 1 oz quinoa and rinse thoroughly in water.  Add 1 cup water, salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste.  Add in 1 Tbsp Flax seed meal near end of cooking time.  Fluff in the pan.

While cooking the quinoa (that takes about 10 minutes), steam asparagus in the microwave, then when softer, add to a sautee pan with 1 tsp. EVOO, EVOO cooking spray, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.  Cook on high to crisp the asparagus!  I love them a bit crispy when cooking them this way.  Otherwise, just eat them steamed.

I love my tuna RAW, but for the purpose of this article, I cooked it rare to medium rare.  In a sauteed pan, add in the EVOO spray, chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste.  Heat the pan high and place tuna in the hot pan.  Sear lightly on both sides.  Does not take long to cook, so make sure you wait until the asparagus and the quinoa are finished.

For a bit of healthy fat, just quarter a Hass Avodao and place on the plate!  It tastes great ON the tuna, off to the side as a creamy green treat, or mixed in with the quinoa!

Hope you enjoy!!!!!  God Bless!!!!!  xoxo Tamar
 

Well, I am on my way to the Dexter Jackson Classic in Jacksonville, FL on Aug. 1, 2009!  I am stoked!  It will be the first show of 2009 where I showcase my new NPC "Bikini" body instead of the stockier physique that I had when doing Figure.  Hany Rambod is my trainer and Coach and I absolutely love him!  He is great!  For those of you who do not know, Hany is the trainer to IFBB Pro Bodybuilders Phil Heath and Jay Cutler, IFBB Pro Figure Kristal Richardson, NPC Athlete Mark Alvisi and more!  He used to train Jenny Lynn for Figure, too.  I am in GOOD hands with THE PRO CREATOR!  I have been implementing his FST-7 method of training and have really lightened up on the weights.  I am actually trying to lose some of the muscle density that I created in my arms and legs.  Seems to me that Bikini is shaping up to be muscular girls with great bodies that are not overly dieted down. Looks like many of them are ex figure competitors, too.  They are looking great, especially at the National Level Shows. 

So, I have been dieting for 3 months and am finally making some progress in my legs.  My legs are HARD to train for 2 reasons…..1….I have bad knees (both are bad) and 2…..they are stocky, so I have had to re-train them and really work hard on leaning them out.  They are just toooo stocky.  LOL  SO, it is working and I am happy with my progress.

I picked out my new suit for the BIKINI competitions I am choosing to do.  I am going to buy a cute suit that I am going to add some BLING to myself.  I am wearing that suit for atleast all of the Regional/Local shows and then probably get a new one of the National shows that I enter.  Hopefully I only have to enter 1 National show.  LOL  But, I am not banking on turning PRO my first time out….I just hope that I do.    I am getting a new hair style as well.  I need to do something different with my hair.  I need to look younger and more sophisticated and I think that my LONG hair is making me look OLD!  LOL  So, I am having my hair done this Saturday and am having a photo shoot at the gym.  So, I will be uploading some cool training pics/artistic physique pics sometime next week! 

Everything is going pretty well, I cannot complain.  I am eating 7 meals a day and sometimes 8 with a protein shake (i really do not count that as a meal though).  I am still LOW carb but am keeping the healthy fats higher to make up for the loss of carbs.  Naturally I eat a lot of lean protein and veggies…mainly asparagus, spinach, and broccoli.  I am upping my cardio to atleast 1.5 to 2 hours per day now.  Starting Monday (tomorro) I will be getting up at 5:30 AM every morning during the week to do cardio on an empty stomach, then train, then eat, then more cardio in afternoon.  Some of that depends on my work schedule, too.

Well, that is my life in a nutshell.    I am enjoying the process and am looking forward to getting on stage!  wooooo hooooo! 

Well, I became totally reinvigorated after watching the Arnold Classic NPC Bikini competition today on the internet.  I wanted to see what the competitors came out and looked like!  They were all lovely ladies and I feel that I will make a great splash into Bikini!  I loved the fact that they were muscular, but not to hard and dry looking….hard enough (some of them) that you could still see abs and veins!  I am naturally very veiny in my arms and abs, so when I lose some more weight and bodyfat, I know that my veins will be popping back out in no time flat!

 I am also excited to announce that Hany Rambod (those of you in the business know him as the Pro Creator) is going to be my trainer!   We have spoken on the phone a few times and we are going to get started within the next 2 weeks.  In the mean time, I am going to go back on a super strict eating regimin of 7-8 times a day and super small meals.  Only about 100 grams of carbs per day….most of them in the AM/afternoon hours. 

 I cannot wait to get on stage in July!!!!  I am hoping to get onstage before July though…..I am in good shape now, and seeing that Bikini girls tend to be muscular but with more bf, than that is good for me.    I think I will do just fine!  Bikini is not going to mess up the face either, with all the extra dieting and water depletion.

Well, stay tuned for my progress.  I am going to start posting pics asap!!!!!  From what I look like today every week until I get on stage.  Hany will be prepping me to WIN each time I go on stage, not for 2nd place or less…but only God knows what place I will actually get in my shows.  I know that I am going to go in with the determination and will to WIN!    So….look out NPC Bikini!!!!  Here I come to light a flame on the NPC competion circuit!!!!  Yeeeee Haaaawwww!!!!!!

I just love my friends!  I love making new friends and I love my old friends!  Today I had the pleasure of meeting up with a few people in my neck of the woods that I know whom are all NPC competitors.  Erika Wallace (5th place Open Figure Short Class NPC Hurricane Bay 2008), Cat Griffith (1st in over 30 figure, Masters Overall Figure Champion and 2nd in Short Open Figure in the 2008 NPC SouthEastern USA’s), Lloyd Dollar (15th out of like 47 Bodybuilders in the 2008 NPC Nationals in Heavyweight), and myself (2nd place Open Figure Class D 2008 NPC Zena Collins Classic) and my hubby all had a blast at Mel’s Diner in Cape Coral just shooting the breeze!!!!  We had laugh after laugh, traded industry stories, hope, and inspiration!!!!  What a group of positive and fun loving people!!!!!  I love the friends that I am making in this business and I look forward to making more!!!!  We are all getting ready to start our 2009 Season!  Erika and I are going to be doing the 2009 Europa NPC Figure show in Orlando in April, and then I will be doing the Junior USA’s and then maybe Junior Nationals.  Cat is definitely going to do Nationals and maybe Southern States (as I am) and I know Lloyd is going to start off 09 with Junior Nationals.  So….we have our work cut out for us, but it will be fun getting there!  I am looking forward to making MORE friends with Team Bombshell AND Tight Curves, too!  Well…I will keep you posted…until next time!  xoxo Tamar

OK, I wrote a Blog a couple weeks ago about these cravings that I have when contest dieting.  Now that my contest season is over, I had to indulge in some decadent treats before resuming my contest dieting (which I started today).  It is going to be tough, but I have to stay in the shape that I am in and not gain any Bodyfat before really hitting it hard in December.  I think I will be dieting for a few shows that are starting in March!  YIKES!  Thankfully I still get a cheat meal once per week. 

Well, here you go…this is what I have eaten thus far (though yesterday was the last day).  Starting Saturday at the show I carbed up on GF chocolate chips, Organic Cherry Preserves, and Gluten Free Granola (all of which was gone by the end of the night).  Oh, I forgot that I ate a half jar of White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter by the Peanut Butter Company.  www.ilovepeanutbutter.com is their site.  Then on Sunday I went out for sashimi in Fort Lauderdale and after that I went to the Whole Foods Market and bought a Gluten Free Pecan Pie.  YUMMY!  I ate the whole thing (it is small…about 5 inches in diameter).  Then Monday I got back on the diet thinking I was going to Nationals.  Good all day Monday and Tuesday until at about 11 PM Tuesday night I found out I was to late to go to Nationals cause I missed the deadline.  Poo…..so I ate a WHOLE jar of White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter!  Yesterday I went to a local whole foods store called Richards and I purchased a 77% Dark chocolate bar, a bag of raw cashews (about a half pound) and a half pound of raw mixed nuts.  I also bought a brick of Gorgonzola Blue Cheese for the steak I was going to have it on.  I proceeded to go to the restaurant that I work at and had a 14oz EXTRA RARE Ribeye steak with Blue Cheese melted on top.  THe steak had been marinated specially for me by my special friend, Nick (the Owner and Head Chef of the restaurant), in extra virgin olive oil with fresh garlic, salt, and pepper.  It was grilled to perfection (like he always does) and then he sauteed me up some asparagus spears in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.  I also had a baked potato with melted butter and melted cheddar cheese!  YUMMY!  I ate almost all of the nuts that I had bought as well as the chocolate bar!  I was stuffed……….needless to say I was on the commode ALL DAY today!  hahaha!  I go ALOT people and it needed to come out!  haha

Now it is back to business.  I am eating a VERY CLEAN diet again.  I have to stay lean for my shoots and everything else that I want to do!  Besides, I really like my body a lot smaller than I have ever been!    Thanks for reading!  xoxo Tamar

Wow!  What a show!  I had a blast!  Promoter, Frank Dalto, puts on a nice show!  I attended the 2008 NPC Zena Collins Classic and Florida Gold Cup with some of my Bombshell Teammates and our trainer, IFBB Pro Shannon Dey!  I just love Shannon!  She really knows what she is doing and she is so wonderful in the way she helps everyone out backstage.  Shannon Dey is also the Chairperson for Figure and Fitness for the state of FL, so being under her guidance is exceptionally important to me.

The pre-judging was long and I was really nervous the first time out on stage.  I had butterflies in my stomach so bad that I almost slipped when walking off stage after doing my model turns.  Getting back out on stage with the other competitors all being evaluated at the same time is actually a lot easier for me.  I was moved to the 2nd place spot in the 2 piece round.  Then comes the 1 piece round.  I was placed in the middle, meaning that I won the 1 piece after that round was over.  At the end of the show the judges told me that no-one touched me in the 1 piece round (must be my strong point…to bad they are doing away with it next year).  Then we had a break and got to rest for a few hours after pre-judging.  I took about a 45 minute nap and woke up to the Florida Gators KICKING South Carolina’s BUTT!  It was like 21-0 in the first 8 minutes of the game!  The Gators ROCK this year baby!  Knowing that my team was putting a whoop ass on the Gamecocks, I went to the evening show with a renewed vigor!  My team won, and then I was able to birng SEXY to the stage along with an even tighter physique.  To bad I did not work it in the AM like I did in the PM!  I would have won the Class!  LOL  I gotta admit, the girl that one the overall show was incredible!  Her legs were so awesome NOBODY could stop staring at them!

So the evening show went smoothly.  Team Bombshell cleaned up in the trophy department.  We got the TEAM award for earning the most trophies.  I qualified for Nationals by placing 2nd in a National Qualifier, and I was HAPPY!  The first 2 shows that I did did not count in my opinion.  The Southern States last year I had no idea what I was doing.  I was not with Shannon and Rob back then.  When I did the Coastal USA’s in GA back in August, I had only been contest dieting for about 2 weeks when I got onstage.  That was just for practice and to meet Reg Bradford, Ropeman, and other people.    It was fun.  NOW that I know that I can actually do well, I am looking forward to getting on that stage again.  I NEED to stay on a strict regimented diet so that I do not lose the shape and leanness that I have achieved. 

Stay posted….this is not the last you will see of me!  I love competing, I love the NPC, and I love training, dieting, and working hard to achieve a goal!    THanks to all that support me, love me for who I am, and accept me for who I am!  You all rock!  xoxo Tamar

OMG….this is hilarious and I thought I would share it.  When I was driving home from the gym today (just a few minutes ago), I came up with an idea.  Well, I know it is not a new idea, but it is funny.

I can only imagine what I must look like to other drivers on the road when they see me inhaling food from a plastic container with no utensils, eating like a ravenous animal!  So, I figured I would compose a little list of you know when’s….for your entertainment and for mine (cause I seriously entertain myself).  LOL  I laugh at my silliness all the time!  Hope you enjoy.

You know you are a figure competitor when:

You leave the gym and cannot wait to enter your car to inhale your food out of a cheap tupperwear using your fingers as utensils (and you did not wash your hands…..GROSS!).

When you go to bed wearing Neoprene waist bands, shorts, and slather yourself with preparation H  and Icey Hot to help keep your skin tight!  No fun for your hubby!  LOL

When you get angry at people who are eating lunch at the gym….and it is pizza and you can smell that CRAP the whole time you are training……that is EVIL and should be outlawed!  LOL

When you get mad at the TV’s in the gym for always seemingly to be on infomercial channels talking about how to make yummy food items with weird appliances or you see some chick slowly eating a dark chocolate bar and you know they played that ad just to TICK YOU OFF!

OK…those are just a few.  Can you see a pattern here?  Mine are mostly about food….I wonder why?  Hmmmmm….could it be cause I dream about peanut butter, cake icing, and dark chocolate while dieting?

Hope you all have an awesome day!  Thanks for reading!  xoxo

Well, I am doing it!  I am doing pretty darn good, too.  I did not think that I could do it!  I have these insatiable food cravings at times, but they are getting fewer and farther between.  I still get a cheat meal once a week (not with bad sugars), but thankfully it is something other than my 7 meal a day torture!  LOL

My training routine is killer!  Figure Training is so much more different than bodybuilding trianing.  Most people do not understand that until they do it.  We still go relatively heavy with weights, we just do not have rest periods between our Giant Sets of exercises!!!!  It is killer!  My arms, legs, lats, delts…or whatever get so pumped that sometimes I think my veings are going to burst right outta my skin.  But, thankfully that has not happened yet. 

Well, I just wanted to give you a brief update of myself and what I have been doing.    I am getting leaner and tighter, even in the legs, which is good.    Following a clean diet really does work!  WOW! 

Talk to you soon!  xoxo Tamar