Oy, it’s been SIX WEEKS since my last update – sorry about that!
Here’s the thing about prepping for a bodybuilding show… it takes a lot of time and energy. Which means vlogging/blogging about the journey doesn’t typically take top priority.
Training does. Meal prep does. Sleep does.
You know, the things that get the results…
Oh and posing SHOULD. Speaking of… I don’t know how much better I’m getting, but I’m trying.
Here’s proof from my last posing session with the ah-mazing Heather from GoFitGetFigure.
If you’re new here, I’m competing in the bikini class of The Natural Viking in Bloomington, MN on 9/30/23. This is the same show I did last year, but different than the first one I did in 2018.
THE NUMBERS
Since I’ve competed twice before (and did a mostly okay job of tracking important metrics), I have some data to compare my current prep journey to.
For reference, I round up to 5’9. Part of my strength training goals are to maintain my height, ha!
- 2018 – 8 weeks out: 155.8 pounds, 20.9% body fat
- 2022 – 8 weeks out: 154.6 pounds, 21.3% body fat
- 2023 – 8 weeks out: 147.9 pounds, 19.6% body fat
I feel good when comparing this year’s #’s to my previous two shows, but my coach feels like I should be further along… I’m trying to convince him I have more muscle… All will be revealed come show day!
THE DIET
I’ve continued to dial in my diet and would give myself an A- for the last 7 days – I went over my macros one day and frankly it wasn’t even something that good (some organic popcorn, a few dark chocolate chips and a small bowl of super healthy, not super tasty cereal with unsweetened almond milk…).
Like most people, the week is structured and scheduled and much easier to stay on track than the weekend, which tends to be more social, with more space and time to eat. This continues to be an area of opportunity of growth!
My current macros look like this:
- 130 Carbs
- 40 Fat
- 135 Protein
This equates to roughly 1,420 calories per day, which is ~500 less than my last update, woofda! My goal is to eat 90%+ whole foods (ideally 99.99%) and focus on food being fuel, rather than a source of pleasure (easier said than done!).
I’m not starving, but am also not quite seeing the expected results, so the best course of action is to KEEP ON KEEPING ON! Ideally, I’ll lose another 10+ pounds prior to show day, so there’s NO room for error at this point.
It’s GAME TIME!
THE TRAINING
I hired that author of Bodybuilding: The Complete Contest Preparation Handbook, Peter Fitschen on a wild hair that he might be the thing I need to get me to my Pro card goal. I share more about our work together/his thoughts on where I’m at in my prep journey in the above video update.
I completed three weeks of training with him via my customized plan. It’s 5 days per week of strength training and then the goal is to hit at least 10k steps for cardio.
Not gonna lie, this is SUPER hard to do unless I proactively plan walks into my day during the week as I sit in front of my computer most of the day. It’s probably good for me to take a break mid-day anyway, so in addition to continuing to bookend my strength sessions with ~30 minutes of cardio (incline walking/stair master), I’m shooting to get an afternoon or evening walk in everyday.
That’s the update for this week – I have every intention of returning for ‘7 weeks out’ and hopefully with a new low! After all, this is contributing to my overarching goal of getting my pro card by my 40th bday and we’re now T minus 293 days away!
Have you checked out my guide to help you answer the question: Why am I not losing weight? The answer might be different than what you think!
While I don’t coach other competitors, I am a weight loss coach for hire and my approach is different than any of the fad diets/workout programs you’ll find online. Learn more about my approach, based on life coaching, here.