The Food

I started my workouts on a Monday.  My first phase of my food plan started Thursday.  Corey (Trainer) said to ease into a new program so it's not so shocking to the system.  The workouts were hard enough, believe me.  But I was anxious to get started and very motivated so I felt better once I had a food plan in my hands.

Corey had me log a few days of my eating - time I ate, what I had, etc.  I had to be very honest because how can he help me if he doesn't know what I'm doing currently?  Writing down my eating made me visually see how much worse I was eating compared to last year when I was at my lowest weight and also how much eating out is likely contributing to my weight issue.  Lots of eating out. 

Phase 1 - Entry into Healthy Eating

Pre-Workout: Vi Shape Shake

Post-Workout: breakfast consisting of eggs, oatmeal and berries

Snack: Vi Shape Shake or Nutra Cookie

Lunch: lean protein off of trainer's list and mixed veggies

Snack: Vi Shape Shake or Nutra Cookie

Dinner:  lean protein off of trainer's list and green veggies

No more eating after dinner.
Drink 1 gallon of water every day.
*It should be noted, when I drink a Vi Shape Shake I am using a double serving (4 Scoops of shake) in water only.  I add ice to it to make it exciting.  But that is the extent of my shakes this challenge.* 

This plan made me lethargic and very hungry.  Did I mention I was hungry?  How 'bout hungry.  I like this plan the least of all the plans (including Carb Cycling, which is saying a lot).

At one point he let me add a piece of fruit to my afternoon snack and that helped a little with how I was feeling.

Phase 2 - The Salmon Phase

I was on this diet for a longgggg time.  Or at least it felt like it.  I felt very lucky though because I really like salmon, so even though this is A LOT of salmon.  It just wasn't that bad!

Pre-Workout - Vi Shape Shake (yep, still double serving in just water)

Breakfast - eggs, oatmeal and berries.

Snack - lean protein off of trainer's list and veggies off of trainer's list

Lunch - salmon and green veggies

Snack - lean protein off of trainer's list and veggies off of trainer's list

Dinner - salmon and green veggies

Gallon of water daily.
No snacks after dinner.
Corey said the good fat from the salmon will help me feel better and it did.  I loved this meal plan and found it easy to stick to.  I did finally start to get really tired of salmon near the end of this phase.

Phase 3 - Carb-Cycling (this is a pre-contest diet)

This looks very much like Phase 1, except that carbs were eliminated for 2 days and then I would get them for 1 day and repeat and repeat.  I would always feel fine on Day 1 of No Carbs, but Day 2 of No Carbs was always very hard.  I would get very hungry and get a weird desperate feeling that must be a physical longing for carbohydrates.  Carb day was always much appreciated and I felt like it was a reset button for myself.  That went along just like that until my last carb day, about a week out from the competition.  By that point, every day, even carb day felt like Day 2 of No Carbs. 

I also added a second workout during this time - an hour of cardio in the afternoon/evening.

Phase 4 - Week of Contest (this is a pre-contest diet)

Bye Bye Carb Days.  All days are no carb days now.  Super.  Very hungry. 

Second cardio workouts still happening during this phase.