Are You Mutilating Your Lifestyle into a Diet?

This is the story of how "The Coach" got it wrong.

I have always enjoyed the process of scientific enquiry - that is to develop an experiment - ie develop a method and parameters for said experiment and to then record and analyze the results. I then draw conclusions about the results and compare them with previous studies that are similar in nature. Then I go out and apply them "in the field". This is called "evidence based" reasoning.

When I studies Human Movements I spent all of my free time applying all of the exercise physiology principles we learnt to myself. I participated in as many scientific studies as I could. I did endurance related studies (I did a study relating endurance based performance and iron consumption) and I did a strength training study, studying fibre type distribution and change with a powerlifting type protocol. When I was pregnant, I kept records and sent them to a professor in the US who was studying pregnancy and exercise. In other words, my experiences went directly into a bank of information that was being developed about certain protocols, performance etc.

After a great afternoon at Lindy's Bodytune workshop, a highlight for me was discussing how everyone is different in what works for them.

It has been the same for me with nutrition and after my Biosignature analysis( which showed my carb tolerance to be moderate ), I decided to give carb cycling a go. Now, for a bit of background, there is a big bank of evidence and studies that have been done that suggest in certain situations that carb cycling can be very beneficial, so I'd like to point out that I'm not knocking anyone that uses this method and enjoys it, I'm just having a chat about my experiences.

For a bit more background, as most of you who read this blog know, I am in maintenance mode, I'm not prepping for a competition, I'm focusing on recovery from surgery and getting my fitness levels back. When I prepare for a competition and my clients prepare for a competition, I'm averse to a low carb regime unless a) dietary fat is higher and b) said client is feeling fantastic with this type of regime. In my own preparations, I have never dropped my carbs below 35% of my intake.

Right now I am doing more endurance based exercise than strength work, due to injury,surgery eetc. I typically teach 4 RPM classes a week and run twice a week. I also am doing a fair bit of rehab and mobilization work and am now beginning to piece some strength training in.

So, off I went, low carb,high fat for 4 days and then a higher carb day. By day 3 I had turned into a raving, depleted lunatic. By the end of day 3, I was engaging in behaviours that I thought I had left behind years ago (eg head in the biscuit barrel, followed by sugary cereal, peanut butter and bread crusts...charming). Emotionally I have been a wreck.

Then it occurred to me that I have been mutilating my normal healthy lifestyle into "diet mentality".

What went so wrong?

1) Based on what I'm currently doing, there is no strong scientific rationale that suggests that carb cycling is a good thing for me right now.
2) I tried this at the wrong time (maintenance)
3) I tried it with the wrong training (mainly endurance based)

After having another session of overdoing it on the really high carb, high fat processed foods that don't do anyone any favours and feeling like a dog's breakfast because I was feeling like "I'd failed" I realized that I had unknowingly and unwittingly morphed my healthy balanced ways into a diet.

To conclude - things to look out for so that you don't mutilate (as Dave Greenwalt would say) your Lifestyle into a Diet.
You know you've mutilated your lifestyle into a diet when:
* you know you cannot sustain this way of eating for the rest of your life
*you cut out food groups with no valid reason (eg allergy or intolerance)
*you cannot involve your family in your way of eating (I rarely ate differently to my family when I comp prepped - my motto being, if you can't be balanced and be proud to do it in front of impressionable kids, especially my daughters, it is not good).
*there are all or nothing rigid rules - there is never any middle ground. For example, it's pretty obvious that eating a lot of artificial sweetener is no good for you. I like a can of Diet Coke or Pepsi Max once a day - I feel deprived if I don't have this.
*you feel deprived and look at other's food plates and wish you could have what they were eating
*you've turned into a tired, emotional lunatic who'd commit homicide for a piece of toast
*you feel like a failure every time you fall - you have to consider then that rather than you failing the plan has failed you.
*the shakes, supplements, pills and potions that are required cost more than your grocery bill
*you can never experience again the joy of eating...the odd croissant, confit of duck ...you get the picture.

Me, I'm back to my normal way of eating and about to put the paddle in to get rid of the weight I gained during my little experiment. I was almost embarrassed to blog about it, but having things not go your way is one of the best learning tools out there!

The other think I want to do, ala KatieP is to turn off the anonymous comments feature and invite any lurkers to delurk and say "hi". I switched my anonymous features content back on due to the marketing material I was receiving for all sorts of unrelated products, so we shall see.

Moving at the Speed of Light!

This week has certainly been a bit of a whirlwind, but not as stressful as last week - I think I'm starting to get used to the earlier starts and the combination of familiarity and the reminder to continue to honour myself first is helping a lot. When I say "honour myself", that is to ensure that I get my training in, eat well and make sure I take recovery when I need it. Today I taught RPM and was marvelling at how much my strength has improved on the bike since returning to teaching and I had a 30 minute window of opportunity to squeeze in a leg workout - goal is to be more committed to my strength training - I had a very productive session of box squatting and front plate step ups - doesn't sound like much, but I'm feeling that nice DOMsy sensation in my glutes already! With everyone else suffering from glute DOMS, I didn't want to miss out on the party. Recovery wise, I sat down for an hour and read the paper from cover to cover and had a nice cup of tea :)

Tomorrow I will squeeze in a run and some upper body work including deep neck flexor work, rotator cuff work and some gentle push and pull work. The neck work I have learnt from my physio - we had a minor breakthrough on Tuesday - my breathing patterns are activating my superficial neck muscles and giving me a lot of "tone" where I don't need it. I am working on my breathing!

Nutrition is going well - had a "I want to bake because secretly I'm after some sugar/fat" moment and realized that I couldn't have a moment like this because I had no suspect ingredients in the house to bake with and I couldn't be bothered to drive to the store. That's a round won to Liz and not the monsta Sugar Fairy.

What's going on?

Posting an update before I go to bed tonight - taught RPM this morning which was fantastic - had 37 (must be lucky number Shar!) in class this morning - I have been really focusing on this class - my goal being to get to know all of my participants by name which can be a tough ask when you're teaching four to five classes a week. However, taking the time to do this has really paid off as there is such an infectious energy in the room every Sunday and they're all getting pretty rowdy which is an awful lot of fun. Even though Group Fitness does not pay much, I have gained so much more from it than just some extra cash - I get a thrill from seeing everyone improve and look genuinely happy (except I thought I was about to pass out with exhaustion after Track 7).

Have got a lot of my online work out of the way and I'm ready to hit the ground running this week. I've got a busy one planned which includes meeting some of the girls on Saturday and giving them a Liz Style thrashing and catching up with Lisa for lunch in the middle of the week - a girl's gotta have some recreation you know :)

All about me!

Following on from my last post on "balance", what is really hitting home hard for me is the notion that I have to put myself first with all this work. Shannon, who is having a tough time with her long hours, and I have been saying that we have to make it "all about me". On Friday, I did make it "all about me" and did my training as soon as the gym opened as I had no early Friday morning appointments and I think I'm going to keep this slot permanently booked for myself. I did a run, some elliptical intervals and then managed a 20 minute simple lower body workout and felt good for it. Then I hit the steam room and worked on loosening up my shoulder with my "muscle mate". I started the day feeling more positive about everything and as a consequence was able to put more into the clients that I saw. My other challenge is not wanting to gnaw my arm off when I get home - I'm tired, hungry, cranky and starving which is no good for any gal staying on the straight and narrow with her nutrition so my plan is to have a decent sized snack, sit down and cup of tea on arrival before attending to online clients, housekeeping and cooking dinner.

Next week is looking pretty busy - have a fair bit to do and knock over (including thinking about other ways I can fry Shelley's glutes! ) . I also have another physio appointment. Louise (physio) thought that shoulder had improved overall but it is sure taking it's sweet time getting better. In that department I am soldiering on - it's difficult demonstrating any pushing movements but I will get there. I forgot to mention that I have some training (or recovery protocols) planned for every day next week! (see, still all about me!)

Hmm, what else? Met with a house designer today who has drawn up some preliminary plans of what our house may look like when it's finished. This took a couple of hours and was actually pretty helpful. When it comes to all things spatial, I'm, shall we say in the nicest possible way, "limited" (aka "thick as a brick"). Walking through an example display home and seeing the actual dimensions really helped.

Balance!

I must say that this last week has been a baptism of fire for me in the art of adaptation - balancing work and downtime has been much harder than I had ever anticipated and I'm only a week into the live one on one training!

Firstly there has been the early morning starts - most days I need to be at the gym before 6am to prepare for the day ahead - this, mixed with late nights watching the Olympics (my excuse being that it only comes around four times a year) has not been conducive to me feeling good, so I have learned the hard way and fallen into bed at 8pm the last few nights, sleeping through until 8.30am on our Public Holiday. My RPM class on Wednesday suffered and I've got uncharacteristic DOMs today - lesson learned - it's all about me - make sure you get enough sleep!

Secondly there has been the demonstration of exercises for me at what I call about 10% of my normal capacity - demonstrating any core stuff has been dicey and any sort of pushing movement is very difficult due to my shoulder - on the whole, the shoulder is much better but I'm still thinking another cortisone may be required - otherwise off to the orthopod.

Thirdly there is the actual getting back into the groove of teaching clients face to face - sometimes I feel that I communicate much better via the pen, so it's taken a bit of practice to start feeling more at home with the one on one option.

Fourthly there is that feeling of neglecting my own training - I've been pretty particular about getting my own stuff in and I'm hoping that Louise (physio) gives me more clearance for some strength training to balance out the 4 RPMs and two runs I am doing right now. Cardio queen indeedy :)

I've been really embracing a recovery protocol post RPM and yesterday enjoyed sauna, steam and Monsoon shower. I feel so much better when I take the time just to chill out by myself. I believe they call it "restoration for introverts".

Coming up for air

What a week - seems that the combo of the One on One PT and the Online stuff I am doing is leaving me a little short on time. Plus trying to squeak in my Olympics viewing is making me one tired pussy cat.

Have the day off tomorrow apart from my 10.10am RPM and hopefully can write something meaningful then.

Notes on Maintenance and the Offseason

I've had quite a few discussions with some of my clients lately about why maintenance is so challenging so I thought I would share a few thoughts on the subject.

From a client:
Why is maintenance so hard?

Maintenance can be perceived as hard initially because we are learning a new skill set. When you initially began the weight loss journey you probably thought that it was difficult at first but as you progressed you found you began to master the process and thus achieve the goal you had set. When viewed as the opportunity to learn a new skill which takes practice (all great crafts require practice!)

Another factor that can make maintenance difficult is a sudden lack of direction - all of a sudden the goal has been achieved with little time to think about "what next?", so it is a great idea to think about some new goals. Often focusing on a fitness goal, rather than a "looks" goal can work well. If you have been preparing for a competition, the thought of being nearly naked in front of a great big crowd is leverage enough to keep you on the straight and narrow, but maintenance? Different kettle of fish altogether.

That said, being "under the pump 24/7" isn't necessarily a healthy way to be - rather to be able to wake up and be doing it because you want to is the key. Maintenance is an excellent time to set boundaries (my favourite - don't eat standing up!) and look at your core values in regards to weight, size and fitness. An excessive fear of gaining weight is not healthy and often relates back to one's self worth. When I hear people tell me that "fat is disgusting", what I'm really hearing is "if I get fat, it really shows what a lazy, uncontrolled slob I am with no discipline and people who are undisciplined are disgusting , therefore what I'm really thinking is that I'm worthless and disgusting too". The day that you can wake up and like the reflection you see in the mirror regardless of your weight is the day you pick up one of the keys to the magic combination of maintenance.

Things that carry over from the weight loss journey and can hold you in good stead:

When you lost the weight initially, you probably eliminated highly processed sugary and fatty foods and foods that were a trigger for you - ie you couldn't stop at just one bite. The same rules still apply in maintenance - put this phrase into your head "No one functions well at all on highly processed package food and when one is maintaining this rule of thumb still applies." ie crap food is still crap food and doesn't do anybody any good regardless of current weight or size, so lose the "I'm missing out because I no longer eat x, y or z ". You're not, honest.

You may have kept a food log to track your calories whilst losing weight. Your food log now can be a good guide to prove to yourself how much you actually can eat, that you're not missing out and to also prove to yourself that you can squeeze in some favourite foods in there (just not the triggery sort) and still come out on top. The food log is very useful if weight creeps up - simply be vigilant with the eating (and maybe drop a few calories here and there) until the weight is back in line with your maintenance range. As soon as you become more confident that things are going right, you can reduce your usage of your log.

"

I am so scared of maintenance… what happens if one week you do overindulge and put on 2kg? Do you just make it longer until your next treat and try to lose those 2kg again? I know you are no doubt going to teach me all of this, but I am just a bit frightened and overwhelmed by it all! "

This is where you think, "uh oh, weight is creeping up a bit, time to be a bit more careful for the next few days, watch it come down and then re assess whether I feel like having a treat then - I must always remind myself that food is always there - I am telling myself "I can have it if I really want it, but do I really feel like it?"

This balancing act does take practice - I can attest to it taking awhile for myself to get this after years of being on the diet merry go round but if you keep working at it and being positive you will get there.

Tired!

Whew, I'm tired tonight - I have just realized that I've reached another milestone today - teaching an RPM class three days in a row and pulling up fine! The second injection has also helped my shoulder no end and today I did some heavier seated rows and bent over rows without any issues. Hooray!

Tomorrow begins my foray into the world of live coaching again. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by what I have to do but I'm just going to try and cruise as best I can. I have learned over the years that it is better sometimes to let go than to try and do everything. I must remind myself of this post when I'm next tearing my hair out over something I have little control over.

My current project of slapping the sugar fairy down is faring more successfully than last month. I am pleased to report no sugar breakouts though I've been having some rather ridiculous dialogue with my Inner Sugar Beast who keeps telling me that it is imperative that I bake "for the sake of my family". I've been whacking back with "my family are getting more enjoyment out of all the fruit I bought over the weekend. Really, I'm sometimes embarrassed by the what the irrational inner voice says, especially when I put pen to paper.

After a cup of tea and a piece of Koko Black chocolate (I bought myself a stash whilst in Melbourne) I am off to bed :)

Bit of the ol' Spin Therapy

Today I taught RPM HiPerformance and then followed up with the recovery/cortisol lowering protocols Krista suggested. The best part was having my post workout meal of quinoa flakes and whey. I must admit being pretty non plussed about the taste initially but after a few mouthfuls, it started tasting pretty darn delicious. Even though I missed Miss Shelley, I still had a very enjoyable class and felt so much stronger today. I enjoyed taking my time with recovery as well - DH has taken the girls all weekend so I can get business stuff done, so without further ado, I'm signing off for the weekend.

Meeting Krista S.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Krista Schaus in person - Krista is out from Canada at the moment working with Lisa ( www.lisastokes.com.au ) on Biosignature Evaluations and although I was apprehensive about having a pair of bodyfat calipers close to me, it actually worked out to be a good experience.

I'm in the region of 18% bodyfat which is not bad for a post operative sloth whose not really doing too much in terms of training at the moment and what came up, was what I have been blogging about - poor sugar management. I had already put into place a few protocols which have been working, but Krista and Lisa gave me some suggestions to really amp up fixing the issue. Cortisol is also an issue for me being so busy with online training, one on one and teaching classes - so I'm going to spend some more time doing recovery protocols (hooray!)

Then we had lunch which was just awesome - Krista and I both tried Israeli Couscous with Grilled Chicken, which is about 5 x the size of regular couscous and looks amazing on a plate and Lisa went for some delicious looking salmon with mixed greens. It was a great lunch - I felt like I "connected" with Krista immediately which is unusual for me - and Lisa and I agree on nearly everything which makes our working relationship a very easy one for me. Lisa, if you're reading this, I'm temporarily devastated about Saturday RPM, but we have to do what we have to do right now (big smile and I'm with you all the way!) I left our meeting with a real sense of energy for what the future holds for all of us - certainly I've gone in directions I've never dreamt as being possible!.

Had my second cortisone shot in the shoulder bursa today - this was pretty darn painful, but I feel like I've had almost instantaneous improvement this time around. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Stretching My Limits

Just wrapping up a pretty busy weekend up here in Brissy - taught my usual Hi Performance class on Saturday. I still have a long way to go before I can say that I'm really fit, but Saturday's effort was better than the previous attempt, so I am content. I think this is the hardest part to accept when you're coming back from a huge layoff - that you can't compare your "new" self to your old self - I am now choosing to compare myself to the baseline I achieved when I first started back to teaching RPM. The same thing will happen when I return to strength training.

The doctor thought that my shoulder isn't behaving as if I have a labral tear, which is good news. Yet, I'm still booked in for another ultrasound guided cortisone shot and I have a referral to an orthopedic surgeon if Plan A (the cortisone shot) doesn't do the trick. My other shoulder is now starting to grumble so I am back at the physio ASAP.

With all this going on, it's been time to reassess my goals. I'm still keen on becoming a FHMF, but I'm going to have to take a few more steps to get there. Rather my goal is to focus on being consistent with both my nutrition and exercise (ie getting something done!) Last week, I'm pleased to say I achieved both aims, had to give my Inner Sugar Beast a bit of a smackdown yesterday - it's good to realize sometimes that a craving can be just a craving and not actually mean anything, and trained every day before the PT Induction.

I have a pretty busy week lined up and my goal again is to achieve consistency with both eating and exercise.

New Sponsorship

I'm really proud to announce that The Fitness Solution is now being sponsored by Canterbury clothing! Today I received my first set of compression wear and it is so comfortable and supportive! I also received some "heat wear" which is made of a technical material that draws heat away from the body. I will be trialling it in RPM tomorrow and can't wait to wear it! You can check out the website at www.canterburynz.com.au

A big thank you to Canterbury for your support!

On being a cruiser

Today we had a lecture on marketing yourself as a personal trainer, which was pretty interesting because I disagreed with a lot of the material presented - this initally made me feel anxious - am I terrible at advertising and selling myself? Is the way I do things "not right"? I think it made me nervous because I've never been one to be pushy about my coaching. Most of my clients have "found" me, rather than me aggressively going out there and marketing myself.

I was able to chew on this on the bus ride home from Lutwytche ( you gotta love the speed of the new Northern Busway) - and came to the conclusion that I'm a cruiser and that it simply doesn't suit me to be aggressive about hunting for live clients (I've just re read this and it sounds hilarious, so I'm leaving it in there hoping you all get a laugh). I'm going to continue to do what I do best and cruise and work with one on one clients in my own good time.

That said I always enjoy these 'self development' type of courses because they really make you think about who YOU are and why you act the way you do. That's why I find psychological testing so interesting and why I've put my Myer Briggs Type on my side bar - and I've just done a Caliper test for PN. I will get the results later in the week to share with you and find out just what sort of leadership style I have. Interesting stuff!

The other thing that I'm remembering that was brought home to me on the Melbourne trip that it is "all about me" so before the course started today I got into the gym and did:
Elliptical intervals 30/15/30/45 and 15 Tabata bike cycles - yes, what is good for my clients is perfect for me as well.
Shoulder rehab and bodyweight squats and lunges.

I've been quite the busy little blogger despite me supposedly being scarce this week (that's the recalcitrant streak coming out!)

Monday

Phewy, can't believe I'm posting tonight - made it through today after my 5.00am start - guess I am going to have to get used to that sooner or later. Got into FF Lutwyche and punched out a run and some elliptical/shoulder rehab work before going to the induction.

What I learned today - I'm a bit of a "cruiser" (no Shannon, not a "turner" if you're reading this). I produce my best results when I don't try too hard. Start thinking about everything and in my case it all falls to pieces.

Feeling a bit anxious about my shoulder and got a bit stroppy with one of the other PTs who wanted to try and "write me a program" in one of the practical sessions today - with the recovery from surgery and my shoulder combined, I'm really everybody's PT nightmare.

Sunday update

I'm just about to head off and teach RPM this morning at Toowong but I thought I would post before the week that is coming up totally gets away from me. I am going to four days of Fitness First PT induction which is pretty much 9 till 5 and on Friday am having the MRI I mentioned for my shoulder - so blogging is going to be put on the backburner this week I'm afraid. I've already been given my timetable for my first week of "green" hours where you basically help people out and do gym orientations etc. You're also supposed to use the opportunity to establish a client base. I have four clients lined up already so I'm just going to cruise and let the cards fall where they may.

I survived RPM Hi Performance yesterday morning as well as some shoulder work, but got really swollen and sore last night. Sometimes I "forget" that I've just had major surgery and this is a reminder to wind it back a bit.

Yesterday I received some fantastic news. I am going to have two new sponsors - a new supplement company and a well known sportswear company and I'm going to be able to pass the benefits of both onto my clients. I don't want to sound to clandestine by not announcing who they actually are yet, but rather want to stitch up everything officially before I make anything public. I was pretty blown away as I haven't been actively seeking sponsorship but I do believe everything happens for a reason.

Katie asked team FHMF about their favourite quote - I have so many, for so many different occasions, from Shakespeare to Van Halen - but seeing Miss Katie is getting down with the Pope this week I thought I'd send out a decidedly Christian one..

"The Greatest Commandment of All is to Love One Another as I have Loved You" - Jesus Christ.

To me this quote represents seeing the good and the potential for success in everyone. Sometimes we believe that we are "broken" and that there is something wrong with us, but it's so untrue. Everyone has the potential to do great things and I try and remind myself of this whenever I hit a coaching roadblock. Sometimes it takes a different perspective or someone else even to say the same thing a different way to make the penny drop. Which is why it's wonderful to have some great associates around me..but that is for a different post.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Win Win and "Sex in the Off Season"

Ha! You all really may have thought that I was going to discuss sex in this post (really I wouldn't know where to begin..) but I'm going to discuss what makes sexy toned muscle..so stay tuned.

First of all though, my win win for today. I had been feeling mildly discouraged by my lack of ability to really get in there and cane it being a MHMF, but today I improved on my efforts of last week and when I consider that 5 short weeks ago I was proud of my 4.5km/hr treadmill walk, I am really grateful for how well my recovery has gone really, shoulder and all.

Today I did 14 90/30 treadmill cycles and pushed the speed up to 10.2km/hr (running, yeah!) and increased my time on the elliptical to 12 minutes of harder work. Then I did some shoulder work that the physio has given me. It's very basic, yet very specific, which I love. I got to do some very strict seated rows and bent over barbell rows and I also got to do some serratus activation (which as Lisa would tell you, helps create a nice stable bench press). I am learning so much about shoulder anatomy and dysfunction and am going to spend a day with her in the clinic assessing sports injuries. I think if ever I went back to study physio could definitely be an option.

I also got an email from a dear friend today about coping in the off season.
"I want to be leaner!"
"I want to be stronger"
"I want to be bigger (gain muscle)"
"Do I need to cut back on cardio to get stronger?"
"Is thirty minutes of weight training enough?"

Many competitors often feel "lost" in the off season, once their competition was over. All of that focus that you channel into leaning out and preparation, posing and routine seems to have flown out the window. There doesn't seem to be any good reason to eat well or go to the gym because it's all over. Yet you want to compete again.

In saying that you want to compete again, you've already got another goal. And if you're anything like me, you will want the package you bring to your next comp to be bigger and better. If this is your goal, then listen up because the biggest changes in physique will come in the off season and reestablishing your goals is a must. Most natural figure competitors need to add more muscle so establishing a strong focus on muscle growth is a must.

Everyone asks me how lean you can stay whilst gaining strength. My own experience has shown me that if you are eating well and consciously eating more good quality food, that you can stay reasonably lean in the off season - this will vary from competitor to competitor of course, but it's usually in the ball park of 5-7kg over the weight you brought into your last competition. Focusing on improving your body composition rather than being too hung up about your weight is a good idea. For example, if you're maintaining roughly the same weight and gaining strength, you're probably adding a bit of muscle and losing a smidge of body fat - very positive. Stay too lean and restrict your eating comp style and you'll lose muscle - simple as that - the very opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

Aiming for increases in strength is an excellent idea as increased strength correlates with increased muscle mass - just check out our resident powerlifter Lisa Stokes (www.bodyworx.net.au ) . Off season is a great time to get rid of many of the useless isolation moves bodybuilders do - they may make you look pretty, but they are not going to improve the way you move anytime soon and replace these with big meaty compound lifts that use a lot of muscles, burn a lot of calories and have functional value in real life. I'm talking about pushing, pulling, twisting and squatting moves such as chins, deadlifts, squats and bench presses. These are a powerlifter's bread and butter and should be yours in the off season. If you are doing these moves and the bulk of your workout is taking 30 minutes (not including warm up and cool down), it's probably a good sign. These big moves fatigue you quickly.

Doing too much cardio can be detrimental to the goal of gaining muscle but it is a contentious issue as to how much is too much. I usually don't recommend more than 30 minutes a day, 4-5x a week if you're trying to gain muscle. If you do less than that,even better. However, I love a bit of cardio so I have to watch my nutrition to account for this. If you're planning to do more, eat appropriately for recovery (this is where a good post recovery drink such as Surge can be incorporated).

The other thing to work on is your mental game. Walk into the gym with the goal of becoming bigger at the forefront of your mind and don't take any prisoners when you train. You get out of it what you put into it.

images of inspiration

My image of inspiration today is Jelena Abbou at the Houston Pro where she came 4th recently. I think Jelena has awesome glutes and has done some amazing things with her shoulders.

Today I managed to squeeze in RPM, despite being horribly busy and delighted in some post workout Surge. It is better than I remembered!

Tomorrow I have plans to do some running and shoulder rehab and maybe some leg work. Even though I'm moving at snail's pace, it is nice to work out. My next plan is to put together some more meals for next week as I will be away all week on PT induction.

Good news and bad news...

Well firstly the good news. As an inaugural member of FHMF, I got organized today and did some training and had my eating plan all laid out nicely. In fact I even did something new for dinner tonight - I stuffed a chicken breast with a mixture of low fat cream cheese and sundried tomato pesto. I smeared the mixture on the top as well so it wouldn't lose moisture and I covered it in foil and baked it in the oven. It was delicious served with cauliflower mash, steamed greens and carrots...mmm. Perfect muscle chow!

Training wise I did 90/30 run cycles for 20 minutes today, most I've done since pre op. They were Cliff Young shuffles, but a RUN neverthe less. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and in the interests of getting jiggy with the brazil nuts did some static lunges (super slow..ouch!)

The bad news is that my physio now feels that I may have a labral tear in my shoulder which if true will require repair surgery which means I will be walking around the gym with a sling on for six weeks. What a charming example of a healthy specimen! Next appointment with the sports doc is next Friday. How can one tear their shoulder labrum and not even remember? I don't drink, so I can rule THAT theory out. The good news is that I'm doing some shoulder rehab exercises so I can rebuild my massive traps and get a glidin' glenohumeral joint happening again.
I'm down, but I'm not out.

Hey Hey Hey! Team FHMF are in da house!

By now a few of you may have seen team FHMF being posted on various blogs and wondered what the heck we're all banging on about. After our weekend at the All Females; Shelley, Shannon, Katie and I are committed to becoming fu*kin' huge and packing on the muscle. My goal is to be able to crack macadamia nuts with my glute cheeks. Or am I the one who's nuts :)

Gosh, I had such a fantastic weekend I don't know where to begin. Shannon picked Shelley and I up from her place on Friday and armed with a couple of huge salads we hopped on our flight to Melbourne where we met up with Katie, who had arrived from Sydney at the airport. We cabbed it to our accommodation at the Milano Apartments which had a rather interesting water feature in the foyer. Then we cased out the joint and decided to head off to Lygon Street for dinner. We had a fantastic banquet dinner at the Balti Indian Restaurant and then headed over to Koko Black for post dinner chocolate. I felt like I was going to explode at this point, so I opted to just buy some chocolate to take home.

Tossed and turned a bit after I went to bed - I must have been dreaming of RPM 38, Track 5 as I apparently woke up and said "hey! hey! hey!". We went to RPM Hi Performance at the Fitness First at South Yarra and did a bit of training beforehand. It was there we met up with Lisa S and Wendy and I had the pleasure of meeting Kerryn for the first time. It didn't feel at all like a first time meeting as after about 5 minutes of meeting I was pushing her to pump out some chin ups at the gym and generally being a big bad boss. Shannon hit the pull ups hard and I feared I had given poor Katie a massive headache. But she pulled out a stunning effort in RPM and I had Shelley next to me encouraging me all the way. We had a great instructor and I left feeling very accomplished and starving (this is par for the course for me).

Had an awesome breakfast courtesy of the cereal aisle of Aldi and headed over to the show venue where I got to head out backstage and meet Erica for the first time. Glued her in and helped her to pump up whilst the official barked out that Figure Novice were about to go ON.
Erica looked great and had a lovely big smile and I thought she'd done a great job on her back.

Saw all of the other competitors, Rae, looking thicker through the back than I remember and Shar, who looked stunning in green and really nice symmetry. Then there was Hilde who was the most stunnng sportsmodel I've seen - I don't know what the judging criteria for sportsmodel is but I thought Hilds should have been the winner - she looked curvy, lean and athletic all at once. I think Di and Ursula had the toughest line ups of them all in Open class - Di came in the best I have ever seen her (with a nice set of RPM legs I might add) and Ursula was breathtaking (I want to have as much muscle as her after I get heeewge).

I got to meet Magda, Kerry, Cheryl, Irene, Lindy (who I've already met but don't want to leave out), Lia, Rae, Shar, Di, Combatgirl, Jadey, Wendy and Charlotte at the show and some of us went around the corner and had a great lunch at a cafe in Caulfield. We had a look around Chapel STreet whilst waiting for the evening show to start and had a great time watching all the routines and posedowns. A highlight of the evening was Shelley winning one of two lucky door prizes - a $300 pair of sunnies.

We had a late dinner at a Thai restaurant on Lygon Street and I realized that with much pride that everyone at the table was actually a client of mine - I haven't really thought about it much, but the decision to focus on coaching has been very rewarding for me - I am lucky to have the privilege of being able to learn from my clients as well as helping them.

Rolled into bed after midnight and I think I was too tired to do the hey hey routine. Had breakfast and checked out of the hotel. The four of us went to Bridge Street and had a great shop - I hadn't planned on buying anything but with the help of my personal stylists Miss Shannon, Shelley and Katie, I was soon stylin' with a pair of new boots and two jackets. Then it was lunch at this great Vietmanese place where we ate buckets of veggies and talked and laughed some more. In fact I haven't laughed this much for a long, long, time.

Sadly it was off to the airport to say goodbye to Melbourne - Katie headed off first but not without a little massage first and then as I didn't want the shopping to end, picked up two handbags and a scarf from a store at the International airport.

Got home late but very happy. I think I've developed jaw DOMS from talking so much and a taste for the Melbourne cold - I have been roasting here in Brisso today.

I got a lot out of the weekend too - I feel so lucky to have become involved in such a great circle of friends through my blogging, I feel like I've known you all for years. I felt a quiet glow of pride that hopefully we've all started a quiet revolution in the bodybuilding world with our commitment to eating well and maintaining a sense of balance and I simply had a great time being more of a girly girl.

Making the commitment to my team to keep training and to do what I can in the light of my injuries and rehab, am committed to carving out time in my schedule for me to train hard and eat well also.

Ripsnorter of an RPM and a RUN!

Two excellent reasons to celebrate today - firstly I RAN for the first time today - I did 15 minute intervals - 1 minute running and 1 minute walking and felt fine. Made a note to myself to buy some more supportive sports bras though - not used to having any "bounce".

Secondly I did the one of the hardest RPM classes I have done in ages with John this morning. He managed to take away any feelings of cockiness I had about my magnificent return to teaching with the pasting he gave me this morning - talk about expose all the old weak points. We basically kept adding resistance here there and everywhere (with recoveries in between) until I thought I was going to be sick in the best possible way.

Also saw the physio today - still not cleared to strength train but slowly improving. I may be able to start some "pull" type of work next week.

I have managed to keep the sugar fairy at bay as I witnessed the miracle of menstruation. I marvel at how consistent my menstrual patterns are down to the intensity of the day of cravings beforehand. I've enjoyed one of Shelley's therapeutic dark chocolates with a cup of tea this afternoon and feel more "even" than I did yesterday.

Slaying the Sugar Fairy

Today I am still plodding along attempting to slay the sugar fairy. It is amazing how your inner Beast can tell you all these lies about why you need to eat bunches of sugary crap. Today I have witnessed this terrific internal argument between my rational self and my inner sugar fairy. It goes something like this:

Sugar Fairy: "It's cold and raining and the kids deserve cookies. Why don't you go down to the shops and buy some chocolate chips and some sugar and you'll be set to bake all afternoon."

Normal Liz: "The kids don't need to eat cookies all holidays to feel worthwhile or loved"

Sugar Fairy: "But it's something for them to do!"

Normal Liz: "In reality you're just giving me another excuse to overdo the sugar/fat by putting me in a situation where I'm feeling weak (PMS) and in front of my big trigger (home baking).

Sugar Fairy: "But you keep saying you're in control"

Normal Liz: "I may be in control but I know at certain times of the month my boundaries need bolstering".

And on and on it has gone all morning. This phenomena, I am sure, happens to a lot of people. What many of us do is remain clueless about the fact that we're not beholden to our inner sugar fairies - we have the option of saying "no" at all points. We're not helpless against the onslaught of food cravings - we need to face them squarely as see them for what they are - cravings - and let's face it, whilst a craving is uncomfortable, I've never seen a craving KILL anyone.

I've just polished off a piece of salmon and some greens for lunch - it was delicious and just what I needed to give that fairy a good smackdown for the afternoon.

PMS beast

I hope you enjoy the cartoon - I thought it was hilarious!

Now onto more serious matters, the PMS beastie. It seems that as I get older that each month I am plagued by ever worsening PMS symptoms (I'm sure I could be a poster girl for that 30 Plus supplement that Lisa CurryKenny promotes) and cravings for sugar. Not only that, acne rears its ugly head around this time and as well as monthly development of a charming personality (not!) my looks just go into overdrive.

This month I have decided to fight back. I have been eating almost to 100% Precision Nutrition compliance and have been quelling the raging sugar cravings by adding more fat to my diet and focusing on "protein first" . I am also taking some glycine which has been recommended to me by Lisa and Krista. After eating some more good fats, I have been able to keep myself more even emotionally. If good nutrition strategies begin to wear thin, I employ my "phone a friend" strategy. It's a bit of work fighting the beast, but I know how much better I will feel in a week's time, so the discomfort of not giving into my cravings is a small price to pay for a clear head and a bit of sanity.

I have been reading some interesting posts about wheat intolerance and I am not surprised. From an evolutionary standpoint, our bodies' aren't designed to digest highly processed grains and I have seen so many digestive complaints which can be traced back to "grain intolerance", especially those grains which have had the life beaten out of them and reside in a packet, known as cereal. A few years ago, I spent six months in and out of hospital with undiagnosed digestive problems. As soon as I drastically reduced my grain/cereal consumption and replaced these foods with more fruit and vegetables, my digestive issues improved out of sight. I can cope with the odd sandwich here and there but for the most part I tend to stay away from overly processed grain sources.

Saturday Ramblings

I can't believe it's Saturday already! This morning I taught half of RPM Hi Performance again which was great fun - this week was a bit harder - seemed to take longer to warm up and I used more complex choreo - which I must revise again before I teach tomorrow. I don't have issues learning it but I like to break each track down and add a bit of my own teaching focus to it, which is the hardest part for me. Once I know what I want to focus on, I seem to be able to teach in a much smoother fashion.

I enjoyed a nice Crunchola Recovery meal (lotsa starchy carb) which was nice as I have been very PN compliant this week and only had starchy carb post workout. The problem is that most of my workouts lately I haven't considered "real workouts" - but I am very proud of being able to walk at 6.5km/hr on the treadmill comfortably. I've been experimenting with more fat and nuts, seeds etc - really it is just an excuse for me to get stuck into the Smoked Trout!

I'm slowly stitching up what I need to start at Fitness First from the personal training perspective in August. Yesterday's task was to redo my CPR, which is a once yearly thing for us fitness professional types. Then I met Shelley at FF Indro where I ran through parts of the new program I have written for her. It was actually good practice doing a bit of one on one (you were a great guinea pig Shelley ) and seeing just what I could do comfortably in the gym given my surgical limitations.

Next week marks the 12 week post op mark (Friday) and from this point I have been "cleared to do whatever I like". I may still phone the doc again and confirm this, but I'm looking forward to lifting a few weights and going for a run. I did have a little jig from the bus stop to the car and it felt good! The swelling that I have been complaining about has gone down a lot and I wake up pretty much flat in the mornings and I'm finally used the the shape of my top half. I definitely have no regrets about either surgery now, but the recovery has taken much longer than I would have liked.

Shoulder pain is diminishing and when I lift my arm, the impingement that was there has nearly gone. Neck vertebrae are still stiff, but that doesn't scare me as much as the rotator cuff issue.

To sum up this rather lengthy post - it's all good. I'm really looking forward to beginning the next phase of my journey and becoming really fit, strong and toned again. I can't predict the future past that though!

The diagnosis is in..

I've had a pretty busy day - I went to the sports doc who decided to book me in for an ultrasound and luckily I was able to get into the Radiology Clinic within half an hour of my appointment. The ultrasound itself was fascinating - I had a great chat with the technician about shoulder tendons and he showed me the bursitis that has developed in my shoulder as well as some tendinopathy in my supraspinatus. It's not massive, but has definitely been contributing to all of my shoulder pain - the Radiology Clinic has two Radiologists on site and after consultation with the sports doc I had an ultrasound guided cortisone injection right into the bursa. Unfortunately the local is wearing off now and it's all a bit painful but hopefully everything will settle down in the next 7-10 days. The pain was nothing compared with the abdominoplasty needle :)

I skipped RPM this morning as I was still pretty blocked up, but tonight I am feeling much better. I took the girls to the park instead which was great - the temperature and sunshine were just right.

Now for question and answer time:
Gillian asked about ITB tightness and knee pain in her comment to me - are they related?

Gillian, yes, ITB tightness and knee pain are definitely related - if the ITB is tight then it can literally pull the knee cap out of alignment and you then start to get patellar tracking problems. If it goes on long enough it is common to get overdevelopment in the vastus lateralis (outside quad) and develop weakness in vastus medialis (the muscle that runs on the inside of the thigh). ITB tightness can be relieved by foam roller work and it is often worth finding out why the ITB is tightening up in the first place - often the problem comes from hip alignment or foot alignment - this will give you slightly altered biomechanics and cause a consequential tightening of the ITB.

Still lurgy-fied...

Still battling along with the dreaded lurgy. I was able to teach RPM yesterday though and it was nice to be back, with most of my participants saying after the class "did you think you were going to die?" Charming! I must have started looking a bit green around the gills by Track 7 but I was able to hold on and bring it home. It was quite an exhilarating feeling to actually teach an entire class by myself and it was a pretty big class for a Monday (30 participants). I can never tell how the numbers are going to go for that class - I sometimes have a big class and then other times I struggle to get 10 participants through the door. I am taking on an early morning Wednesday class in a few weeks - which apparently only had 3 RPMers in it last week. I find teaching to lower numbers a challenge, but I've often taught my best classes and learnt the most with a small group.

Have my sports doc appointment tomorrow after a bit of a catch up with the physio today. She is young (only 25) but oh so intuitive about this old injury of mine. I won't be a bit surprised if the ultrasound shows up a slight tear of the infraspinatus which is what she has been guessing. It hasn't healed as fast as she would like, but I'm feeling so much more optimistic about it. We're going to sit down after the results come back and nut out a strength training plan. After injury it is so important to go right back to the basics of movement - I must say I see some personal trainers doing some pretty scary moves with people in the gym sometimes - they expect all of this high level stuff whereas the basics have never been taught.

Off to bed now!

Dreaded Lurgy

Good news and bad for me tonight. Firstly the good - yesterday I managed to teach the first five tracks of RPM on Saturday morning and lasted through the entire Hi Performance class (yay me!). I was having a look at my blog and realized that I attempted my first post operative RPM class only TEN days ago. I've amazed myself by my comeback!

The other good news was that I managed to release quite a bit of shoulder spasm by using our vibrating massage machine on it (no, not THAT sort of vibrator) - my physio reckons that vibration at a certain number of hertz releases muscle spasms - I got stuck into it, then some "muscle mate' manipulation of my teres minor, a heat pack etc. I woke up this morning, tilted my neck and "CRACK!" released everything. I still have a bit to do but the improvement today was dramatic.

The bad news is that I've come down with a horrible cold and I am teaching RPM tomorrow for Leesa - the snotbag rides again! Today has been pretty quiet but tomorrow will be busy fitting in clients, RPM, school holidays and making some Precision Nutrition friendly meals. I've got trout, pecans and steamed veggies listed as one of my meals tomorrow. I always think "trout" has quite an air to it!

Best turn in now for an early night and hopefully will feel better in the morning.

Blogger Searches - one for Kek!

I have a Site Statistics program linked to my blog and often you can see where my blog comes up in Google search - I've had a few doozies lately, namely under....
"caning your athletes" and "big boobs and bikers".

I need to get out more...

Training Wheels Clipped On!

Today I participated in RPM today - wasn't my best class - never felt like I had the chance to warm up properly if you get my drift. The most exciting thing is tomorrow - I am teaching my old High Performance Class with Leesa - I am going to do the first 5 tracks and she's going to bring it home. I'm really looking forward to it though I feel pretty rusty right now. Tomorrow morning I will be up bright and early revising my tracks and trying to remember how to teach a class.

I also spent some time organizing my official "one on one" start at Fitness First. Officially I am going to start on the 4th August. The plan is to start work early and finish work early so I can still pick up the girls from school and be a mother. I am looking forward to doing more face to face coaching and am looking forward to doing some Biosignature work with Lisa and Rod (www.bodyworx.com.au) . I always marvel at how everything really does fall into place when you let it and how things evolve.

Hmm, what else - ready for a big grocery run and food prep Sunday, but apart from that weekend will be pretty quiet. I'm not complaining though, I love nothing more than curling up in my favourite chair with the Sunday papers and a hot cup of tea.

The Food Continuum

Had a great training session today - Shelley and I met up and did John's RPM class - I was able to thoroughly cane it for the first six tracks and then by Track 7, I thought I was going to be sick (in the best possible way). Had a few stops and starts during that track, but with Shelley's encouragement beside me, I was able to bring it home strong (and Shelley missed out on me giving her a complimentary dial turn!)

We had a great morning tea at the Vietnamese deli and got onto having a really interesting conversation about the point at which there is absolutely no benefit to cleaning up your eating more than you already have. I have to admit that when it comes to eating, my tastebuds absolutely rule - I am pretty adventurous in trying new things but if I don't like it, I simply won't eat it. My latest case in point - Vital Greens. A Greens supplement is a strong recommendation in the Precision Nutrition plan - I think the premise behind the supplementation is strong, but when it comes to application of the premise, I am just not there - WHY - because I can't stand the taste of Vital Greens. The dread factor in chugging down a drink with this puppy in it is high.

For me, I need to weigh up the risk/benefit with the Vital Greens - is my performance whilst taking it any better than when I am not taking it? How long do I need to take it for to determine the difference? I don't believe I have taken it long enough to notice a difference but then again I make a conscious effort to get in lots of veggies during the day and usually always have vegetable juice in the mornings. At this point I don't think trying to get past the taste is going to make me any healthier than I already am.

On the supplement side, I'm a bit of a zealot with what I will and won't take. When I was practising pharmacy, I got into evidence based complementary medicines, that is looking at naturopathic/herbal supplements and finding supported (and replicable ) studies that support their efficacy. If it has an effect on the body, positive or negative, it becomes a drug - interesting stuff (and many prescription drugs are derived from plants which is why I have a cackle when someone tells me they only take "natural" stuff) . I'm really interested in the idea of nutrition playing a supporting role in medicine. I take very few supplements and try to get most of my nutrition from food, though in order to get in good fats, I try to remember to take my fish oil.

We also talked about eating plans that take out major food groups on the grounds of "health". I think that as soon as whole food groups or macronutrients start disappearing from eating plans, said plan has morphed into a diet, and diets suck out the enjoyment of eating! Unless you are lactose intolerant, why completely eliminate dairy products? This doesn't mean licence to eat cottage cheese topped with yoghurt for every meal, but losing my yoghurt, cucumber and tomato salad that accompanies my tandoori chicken tonight in the interest of "health" takes away the inherent pleasures that the right accompaniments bring!

To me the notion of being in "good health" means having a healthy sense of balance between the ying and the yang so to speak - being overly obsessive about healthy is just as unbalanced as not giving a damn. It's all about finding the middle ground, not always sexy, but constant :)

What does "good health" mean to you?

Food Intake - for Jacque

In my last post Jacque left a comment about seeing what I eat on a daily basis for inspiration. I think my choices today reflect what a busy woman on the run (who didn't pack an esky today) eats - probably not "perfect" but the basics are there - protein with each meal, good fats, plenty of vegetables, starchy carb post workout etc etc.
Breakfast:
oats, whey and skim milk, V8 Veggie juice, Sydney Breakfast Tea
Workout:
RPM - Caned it :) 750ml water
Post Workout:
Vietnamese Prawn Rice Paper Rolls (3) with Shelley
Lunch:
Chicken Tandoori Salad from Sumo Salad with 1/2 serve of dressing, 1 small bottle Pepsi Max
Snack:
Leftover Smoked Salmon and an apple, green tea, water
Dinner
Tandoori Chicken, salad - tomato, cucumber, coriander and yoghurt, eggplant relish, saffron rice.
(I have an Indian friend who often does my RPM classes and she kindly made me a beautiful Indian meal).

one workout stronger

Today I passed another little milestone, I went on the elliptical for the first time since the surgery and surprisingly I felt fine. I only went at Level 5 and for five minutes, but the most important thing is that I did it! I also walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 6.3 km/hr - hard to believe that I was struggling doing 4.8km/hr two-three weeks ago.

I also saw the physio again and had my C6/C7/T1 vertebrae thoroughly mobilized as well as some pretty painful infraspinatus release. Ouch! The vertebrae mobilization seems to be really improving the shoulder range of motion which is a plus.

Hmm what else? Tomorrow Shelley and I are getting together and doing John's RPM class and I think Leesa is also going to join us. How is John going to cope with three female instructors in a row staring him down? I think he's going to love it :). We're going to follow up by going to Phuc Viet (Vietnamese Deli Cafe) afterwards and having some prawn rice paper rolls. It's really fun being able to participate together and push each other. The best part about today is that I don't have any ill effects from attempting to cane Monday's class. Once I get on that bike, I really want to feel that pedal stroke and put the resistance up. It actually feels uncomfortable riding with little resistance.

I'm tired tonight - time to go and watch Gordon Ramsay flame someone in one of his kitchens!

Game On!

Don't you just love the T-shirt Shelley got me from Vegas, baby, Vegas! Maybe that's one to wear it out to my next 'do at the Inlaws, who I don't think have noticed the increase in size of my beautiful chest yet. Yes, indeedy, I do love this shirt - just hilarious:) Miss Shelley and I met up today and did RPM together this morning and today's effort was definitely the best yet. I was able to catch up with all of my participants and show them my belly (I have had a "flat day" today) . I'm getting stronger and stronger with each ride - it's so exciting. We have another RPM "date" on Wednesday, followed by lunch - can't wait :) It's fun being able to participate together. Go and visit her blog, because she's the big bad Birthday girl today.

In the interests of nutting out more about Biosignature, we did each other's skinfolds after the class and Shelley took some photos of me. We have "coach" and "non coach" talk - firstly it was non coach talk:

"I can't believe my butt is sooo flabby" which I then had to change into "coach" talk - "this is my starting platform on my journey to get strong and kickbutt again!". aah, even coaches have their insecurities!

Did a big cook up tonight and made my own sushi rolls for dinner tonight which were very popular with the family and made chicken korma curry in my slow cooker, though you could easily do it in a casserole dish.

Chicken Korma:
2 big heaped tablespoons of Patak's Korma Paste
700g chicken breast, diced
1 big onion, chopped
3-4 tomatoes, chopped
1/3 -1/2 bag baby spinach
200-300g Natural Yoghurt.

Serves 6. Cook onion in a bit of water then dump everything in a casserole dish or slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 3 -4 hours.

Stats: 209.0 cals, 6.8g fat, 29.6g protein, 8.9g carbs Add a bit of rice to this dish and you have a terrific meal that not only tastes darn good but is also good for you

Friday

Am pleased to say that I was able to participate in another RPM class today and was a little bit better than I was on Wednesday. It's actually good checking out other instructor's classes - without "being under the pump" so to speak, you can evaluate their performance and your performance against theirs and take away both good and not so good experiences and hopefully roll the really good bits into your own teaching.

My weakness is definitely during the standing climbs and transition through to the seated position but I'm sure after another few weeks, I will iron this issue out.

On the whole recovery front, the chest is looking fantastic and the tummy is also looking a lot better and less swollen. It does tend to get swollen and hard at night, particularly after exercise, so I am just slipping into my compression garment and drinking plenty of water. The swelling I am sure is contributing to my weight gain. Three days of eating with more focus but no scale joy yet, that will come - failure cannot handle persistence :) I am happy with how the scar is healing.

My shoulder has improved a lot with the physio, but is still causing a bit of grief. My physio feels like there is more going on in there than should be, so I am booked in to see a Sports Doc up here and have also booked an ultrasound.

The RPM Milestone!

I reached a little milestone today - I participated in my first RPM class since before surgery! I was nervous and apprehensive before the class - would I be able to make it through the entire class, and I'm happy to say that I did (just!). I had to modify a few things - my transitions from standing to sitting were a bit nervous, but the best thing was that I was able to whack on a decent amount of load from the get go and even though I could feel my core working it didn't hurt. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm pretty unfit, but it's onward and upwards from here!

I also got a nasty little scale surprise this morning - seems like I have picked up a bit of weight over the past few weeks (2.5kg), so it's time to put that paddle in and start logging my food and being a bit more particular about my eating. The exercise side of things for me remains a huge privilege, so keeping my intake really clean is the best thing - even with plenty of exercise, you simply cannot outtrain an atrocious diet. Sadly the evening indulgence of Lindor balls will be disappearing for awhile.

My scale increase got me thinking about how people cope when they gain weight - some get all or nothing over it and other people pretend that it's not happening. After feeling a bit pissy about it, and formulating a quick plan of attack, I'm rather looking forward to tightening everything up again - perfect opportunity to come back fit and really fabulous!

treadmill slayer

Yeah, that's me, now slaying the treadmill at 6.0km/hr! I'm really pleased as it was only two short weeks ago I was struggling to do 4.5km/hr! After my stint on the treadmill I went into the RPM room and did Tracks One and Two. Needless to say I probably sounded like a seal with a snorkel after that little effort. Wow, have I lost fitness...BUT..I know what I need to do to get it back.

Tomorrow I will be participating in my first full RPM class. I will just do what I can manage and take it easy for the rest of the class - each workout is one step closer back to my previous level of fitness.

I saw the physio today and the shoulder is improving in leaps and bounds. I am due to start pilates in a few weeks and I may also get in the pool if I have time.

I have also made the decision to do some face to face training and nutrition work (I am also stitching up my PN licence) and will be based at Fitness First at Indooroopilly. It provides me with a "base" to work from and I'm looking forward to freeing other people from food jail.

What you may see on a comp prep eating plan from me?

I get heaps of questions, does a comp prep diet have to be hard? Be restrictive?

Here's what a fairly typical day could be like for one of my competitors.

Breakfast:
35g oats, 1 scoop whey protein, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 tablespoon sultanas, 1/2 banana

Snack:(post workout)
Crunchola 20g, Protein Crunch 1 scoop, 200g low sugar yoghurt, 100g raspberries

Lunch:
Turkey and Cranberry Salad with mixed leaves, cranberry sauce, carrot, tomato,cucumber

Snack:
Chilli Tuna Coleslaw - 2 tins of light flavoured tuna, 1 tbsp Sweet Chilli sauce, 1/2 packet of dry coleslaw mix

Dinner:
Beef/bacon red wine casserole with broccoli

Post Dinner Snack
1 tablespoon peanut butter, 2 tablespoons cottage cheese, 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder (mix together for a delectable gooey treat)

This day clocks in at 1495 calories 20 % fat, 42% protein 38% carb

Who said competitors had to live on tuna, protein shakes and lettuce leaves?

end of week wrap up

Wow, it's been a long week and not much blogging going on in my corner of the Universe. Things on the fitness front have been progressing, albeit slowly. I am up to walking on the treadmill at 5.6km/hr and yesterday I went into the RPM room and did a Track 2 by myself - I was huffing and puffing by the end of it - I have really lost quite a bit of fitness. The plan is now to attend RPM three times a week and sit up the back of class and do what feels good and ditch the rest. I estimate it will probably take about six weeks before I feel ready to teach again, but we will see.

Have had two shoulder treatments this week and am achieving much better range of motion. Still have to book in for MRI scan though! I have high hopes of being able to start training with weights again in 4 weeks.

It is amazing how much condition one can lose when you don't consistently exercise - I feel flabby and weak now, but know in the fullness of time, this will be a distant memory. I think achieving a fit body is akin to a small miracle unfolding - it is exciting to progress and get better and better.

Seems like I am PMSing with everyone else in blogland right now - had an unusually large sugar hit yesterday which has seen me pay for my indiscretions with an upset tummy and hangover type headache this morning. Sometimes an ugly eating episode can make you feel so glad you eat well the rest of the time. I feel ordinary now, but in another 48 hours I will be back to my old self. It takes three days to detox from a sugar blowout. I'm sitting here sipping a post dinner peppermint tea - I enjoyed grilled salmon and veggies - a favourite here.

Day Five, Day Six - One Workout Better

Day Five: "training" involved a walk around the block with my two girls doing a bit of "sightseeing".
Day Six: Shannon and I decided to meet up for coffee and chat and I made sure that I whipped into Fitness First and put in 25 minutes on the treadmill. I started off at 5.4km/hr but had to drop to 5km/hr. I am officially the "Treadmill Slayer" - over 5k/hr goal achieved! I had a ball catching up with Miss Shannon. After hubs picked me up we went looking at display villages for new house ideas and I did a lot of walking and going up and down stairs - definitely an active day had by all.
Eating: Have eaten really consistently all day :)

Thoughts about today: The hardest thing coming back from injury or illness is comparing your current self to your pre injury self - this happens to me all the time in the fitness arena. What has really hit home to me is to focus on celebrating the now and the milestones that you achieve in the current journey. Rather than thinking of myself teaching RPM HiPerformance, I am celebrating that I am one step further into my recovery and fitness than I was yesterday - after all, today I made my "treadmill slayer" goal. I had been thinking about when I would next compete, my next marathon, my next adventure race and realized that I had been thinking too big. It is just too much to think of right now - the same feeling I had when I was looking down the barrel of losing 30 odd kilos. It is amazing, however, how much progress you make when you break things into smaller chunks. Tomorrow I see the physio - I have a little less pain in the shoulder now, so things are looking positive there - still a long way to go, but yes, I am one workout better than I was yesterday.

Day Four -Fighting Back by Eating Well

Training today: incidental exercise around the house
Eating: oats, whey, veggie juice, milk, Sydney Breakfast tea
Meal 2: slim secrets bar and small banana
Meal 3: balsamic tuna salad - 2-3 cups mesclun leaves, cherry tomatoes, slice cheese, carrot, cucumber, tuna with 4 star balsamic vinegar. 1 slice Burgen pumpkin seed bread. bunch of grilled asparagus
Meal 4: 170g Dairy Farmers light yoghurt with1/3 scoop whey, 2 cups steamed veggies with cottage cheese
Meal 5: left over risotto and greens
Meal 6: ?

Am not as swollen today but not thrilled by the prospect of the exercise making the swelling worse. Tomorrow's plan is to hop on the spin bike and work those legs again. I knew the TT recovery would take awhile, but when you're actually doing the recovery, it seems like time is moving too slowly for my liking - yet I'm running out of time everywhere else in my life right now. Too weird.

In other news, I've been amazed by the influence of the blogging world. A few weeks ago, folks from Powerade contacted me, asking me if I would like to try their new sports drinks (pre exercise with caffeine, regular powerade and a recovery Powerade with protein) gratis. I took them up on the offer and sure enough a box of Powerade is gracing my desk right now. I'm looking forward to trying it when I'm training hard enough to warrant a sports drink.

Day 3 Back to Base and they call it "Swell Hell"

Today's training: 25 minute walk outdoors. Today I felt like I could walk a bit faster and I enjoyed being outside in the fresh air.
Eating:
Oats, Whey, tomato juice, skim
Stuffed Mushrooms x 2
Turkey,cranberry, tomato melt on Burgen bread
Stuffed Mushroom, half cup Special K (felt like something crunchy)
Risotto with chicken breast, mushrooms and steamed greens
Apple with smudge of cottage cheese.

Despite the exercise, I've been on a real downer today - the cause - what they refer to on plastic surgery forums as "Swell Hell" has set in. My poor old belly is very very swollen today. Apparently this can happen when one begins to exercise, though I don't really count going for a 25 minute amble, barely breaking a sweat, exercise. I certainly hope that lots of mushrooms help!

I am happy to announce however that I purchased my very first T Shirt bra in a 12 C. I remember trying on one in a 10 A and being embarrassed that I couldn't fill the darn thing as I think they give boobs a nice shape. I may think I look massive, but the mirror distorts the true image of your body. Taking a photo is way more honest - made sure I have the spin bike in the background for good measure.

Balsamic Tuna Stuffed Mushrooms

Balsamic Tuna Stuffed Mushrooms - Protein Packed Appetizers!

2 tins Greenseas Capsicum and Tuna 98% FF
250g Low fat cottage cheese
50 g grated reduced fat tasty cheese
10g Sharp parmesan, grated
3 shallots, finely chopped
4 star balsamic vinegar
9 large mushrooms

Drizzle mushrooms with balsamic and then fill with mixture of cottage, tuna, shallots. Top with cheeses and drizzle with balsamic again. Cook in 180 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

These little babies are really filling - 80 cals 2.7g fat, 10g protein and 4.2 g carbohydrate

Back to Base Day Two

Training today: Spin bike - moderate pace, easy to moderate load 15 minutes.
Walking around Uni of Qld and through Indooroopilly 20minutes.

Training Notes: Enjoyed the bike - felt the beginnings of a small glisten of sweat and felt like I could turn up the resistance further. Toyed with the idea of trying a standing climb but told my inner wild child to calm down a bit. Riding the bike felt really good, my core feels really strong and I almost fell into a trance like state as I got into a steady rhythm. As my physio is at UQ, I had a nice long walk from the Athletics Oval and up to the Biology Refec, which is very different from my University days. I always love being over at the Uni and have hopes of doing my Masters in Exercise Physiology one day.

Injury Update and Notes: Saw my physio, Louise, who seems to think that most of my pain is being referred from my tight thoracic spine and rib cage - a common problem in people with a lordotic posture (me!) - there is inflammation in the shoulder capsule, but we are going to treat the spine and see if the shoulder comes into line. After some pretty heavy joint mobilization, I was getting much better range through both a front raise and a full lateral raise, so I am cautiously optimistic. I may still have an MRI just to be sure.

Feelings: Have been feeling rather despondent about my majorly swollen belly and trying to fend off the "I feel fat" thoughts that have been creeping in. I find the best way of dealing with unhelpful feelings and thoughts is the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy style approach - basically proving the inaccuracy of such thoughts and feelings. In the case of "I feel fat", which we all know is not a feeling, I recommitted to eating well today - in my situation, if I'm eating really well, logic tells me that I cannot be overweight.

Food today: Not logged. Unless I need to do some uphill paddling, I don't log my intake too much these days. There is little point in me counting calories, the focus is on my healing and return to health. I am simply eating what I need to be satisfied and eating what is good for me.

Here's what I ate today:
Oats, Whey protein, tomato juice, 1/2 serve vital greens, skim milk, ice,
2 cups mixed veggies and cottage cheese melted on top
Sumo Salad - Thai Beef and a bite of bread roll
Bio Dynamic Yoghurt with raspberries, 1/2 wheyprotein shake
Mushrooms stuffed with tuna, cottage cheese, balsamic and capsicum finished with Parmesan.
Roasted Lemon Thyme Free Range Chicken
Small quantity of mashed spuds (prepped low fat), 2-3 cups of cauli, broccoli and carrots
2 squares Lindt chocolate.
2 Cups Sydney Breakfast tea with dash of milk
water!

It's all about me - back to "base" Day One!

Today I went one step further towards reclaiming my "normal" life with my first workout at the gym. I was actually pretty nervous, believe it or not, about what I would actually be able to do there. My goal is over the next six weeks is to return to a level of movement where I can start building a solid aerobic and strength base - around week 12 -13 post surgery. I have also decided to spring clean my eating and focus on some new dishes. I am taking this time to recharge and focus on myself, hence the title.

Today's training:
20 minute walk on the treadmill at 4.8km/hr (don't laugh, I tried 5km/hr and my belly didn't like it one little bit)
Shoulder/thoracic release tennis ball therapy
Pilates:
TVA /pelvic floor activation 16 full breaths
Telescope x 2
Side Lying Clams 1 x 8

I finished the workout feeling like I could do a lot more and decided that if I am finishing these rehab style workouts like this, then my progression is appropriate.

Eating:
Not dreadfully consistent at all today. Started off OK but was invited out to lunch and had little control over the menu. Dinner - Latina Pasta that has been sitting in the fridge for ages and expires tomorrow.
Breakfast:
Tomato juice
Oats, whey protein powder, skim milk
M2: Slim Secrets plus small banana
Lunch: small serving of Peking Duck, small serving Calamari, Pad Thai with prawns - ate slowly and stopped when full (about 1/3 of the serving)
Dinner: 1/2 a regular serving size of Latina Pasta and sauce - it's amazing that when you eat slowly and listen to your body you don't need as much as you think.

Needless to say I have a lot of veggies planned in tomorrow's menu. I ended the day feeling frustrated that my clean eating plans got waylaid, but in the whole scheme of things it is just one day. The secret is focusing on putting those good days together and creating some positive energy.

In other news, I'm off to the physio again for my shoulder. I have been having problems with my rotator cuff, pec minor and a tight thoracic spine (all common in someone with a lordotic posture such as yours truly). As rest has not improved it and physio hasn't been super helpful, I'm thinking of sending myself off for an MRI to make sure I haven't got a tear. There's one thing that really rattles me and that is carrying an injury. So fingers crossed I will get some good news tomorrow.

Tools for Success and Self Motivation

I thought I would post a few ideas that work well for me in regards to eating well. I often get told that "I eat well no matter what". For the most part, I do eat well, but like everyone else in the universe I will occasionally overeat for a multitude of reasons eg the food tasted so good etc etc.

But after the comp is over or the transformation is complete what steps can you take to make sure that you are actually living a lifestyle and not a diet? First of all check that the way you are eating is not similar to a diet.

Being really rigid about food choices and keeping a list of "SAFE FOODS" - diet mentality.
Seeking perfection - DIET MENTALITY
Being open to trying different foods and experimenting with what works for your body - LIFESTYLE mentality.
Going with the FLOW but being CONSISTENT overall - LIFESTYLE MENTALITY.

What helps me maintain a good LIFESTYLE:
1) Eating for flavour/taste. I recommend eating similar amounts of carb and protein with each feeding for most people, but the other evening, I craved risotto. So I made the risotto per the recipe which was mostly carbohydrate, but then decided to add some poached chicken breast to the end result which was delicious. The ratio of carb to protein was definitely not EXACT or PERFECT, but the end result was CONSISTENT - always a bit of carb/bit of protein. Next meal was heavier in protein and lower in carb - at the end of the day - JUST RIGHT.
2)As outlined above, CONSISTENCY, NOT PERFECTION. One or two off the plan meals won't make any difference, competing or not - if this were the case, then there would be no hope for any of us in maintaining or achieving a lean physique.
3) Acceptance of where you are and intuition. Knowledge is power - if you know you're going to experience a few eating wobbles whilst things smooth out, then they are less frightening than if you're back into the gym and clean eating with your teeth clenched and eyeballs popping, lest you make a "mistake". Be intuitive about what you want. If you're craving an English Muffin with honey, don't eat your way around it - have what you want and balance out the next meal.
4) Eat slowly and eat sitting down - no fail strategies here!

Knowing WHY you want to live lean and love life is always at the cornerstone of a good transformation plan. Having this internal motivation will keep you going when external motivation fades (except for a humungous leverage). Internal motivation, when properly encouraged is never going to leave you. You're no different on the post comp side of the fence as you are on the pre comp .Be prepared to be consistent, no matter what. Failure cannot handle persistence. In other words, if you stumble, keep going anyway.

Keep working towards a LIFESTYLE frame of mind. You will fit and free!

All up to me now

I went for my checkup to the surgeon today and he has given me the all clear to resume light training. I have never been so excited at the prospect of walking on a treadmill in my life! I can't wait to get back to full strength!