I am sitting here trying to remember everything that happened in the month of March it all seems like a blur to me. I feel like a lot happened, but also nothing super significant. Oh! I know! I got to have weekly refeed meals!!!!! But I will get to that in a minute.
At the beginning of March I was 8-ish weeks out from my May 4 show. I started off the month with a new meal plan and a new workout program. My meal plan did not change too much in terms of portions, but I was still carb cycling with 4 days high carbs and low fats and 3 days with high fats and low carbs. This season is my first time carb cycling for this long and I don't mind it at all. I am still eating a wide variety of food and I don't feel starved.
On March 23, my coach reduced my food intake a little bit to help shed more fat, but I am still carb cycling. Overall, I still feel full and that I am not in too big of a deficit yet. I know it's going to get harder, but I am mentally prepared for it as this will be my 4th time competing but 2nd professional show.
My workout program changed as well! Last month I was doing a lot of lower rep moves and trying to build internal muscle basically to set a strong foundation so when I begin to cut I will have more internal muscle. This month I changed to a drop set workout program. Each workout day focused on a specific body part, for example, Monday was chest/tricep, Tuesday was leg day, etc. Each workout move I did 3-4 sets and I would start off lifting as heavy as I could and each set I would drop one to two plates to a lower weight. All of the moves were on workout machines to make it easier to drop the weight compared to using dumbbells. Overall, I really like the workouts and they are not too long either.
Also, my coach added in HIIT cardio on the treadmill for 45 minutes 4x-5x a week. She said she hated to do this, but my quad muscles are still overpowering in my front pose and I literally need to burn off some of my muscle. The cardio is fasted which means I don't eat before hand. By adding this cardio in that mean my weight lifting workouts got pushed to night so double workouts everyday of the week. The first few days were hard. I am getting used to it, but it is still challenging as I am very tired by the end of the day.
Okay, so lets talk about these refeed meals! OH MY GOSH. It was literally the best meal of every week. My coach gave me one meal a week that I could have any day at any time. I could eat up to 700 calories and the fat/protein/carbohydrate combination did not matter. I just had to keep it under 700 calories. Well, 700 calories sounds like a lot, but once you start food dreaming about everything you want to eat the calories can start to add up really fast...but I made it work to my advantage! I always had it on Saturday and I had one each weekend in the month of March. Here is what I ate (pics below!):
Refeed Meal #1- A stack of vanilla protein pancakes from Wake Up Waffles topped with banana and drizzled with Wild Friends Chocolate Coconut Peanut butter. It.was.pure.bliss! <3
Refeed Meal #2- Babe and I went to dinner at the local diner and I got a three egg omelet stuffed with veggies and wheat toast. Then I came home and made a cookie sundae with a Quest Nutrition Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie, Halo Top Almond Crunch Ice Cream, and drizzled with Walden Farms International Chocolate Syrup. Again, amazing!
Refeed Meal #3- We went to a BBQ at a friends house and it was SO nice to be able to enjoy the food there rather than having to pack my own food! I felt normal! I had a burger with no bun, no mayo broccoli salad, mac and cheese, veggies, iced tea, Quest Nacho Cheese chips, and one of the homemade brownies I made. It was a true BBQ meal!
Refeed Meal #4- I went classic on my last fun meal. A classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich with homemade plum jam from the Old Town Farmers Market and a banana. For dessert, I made a chocolate mug cake using All American Nutrition Beast Mode cake mix topped with coconut Oikos zero yogurt and Walden Farms Chocolate Sauce. I treasured every bite.
In between all of that change up if you remember in last months post I brought up that I was traveling again this month. I had a work trip to Baton Rouge, LA. Thankfully it was a short two day trip, but you can bet I packed healthy snacks for me to have while traveling or in a pinch! When I went out to dinner I ordered a blackened chicken salad with a side of veggies, hold the cheese and croutons please. I really wanted a million other things on the menu because I mean come on, I was in the south and it was all good cookin down there! But I stayed true to my meal plan and did not deviate once.
In other exciting new I officially registered for my May 4 show!! The OCB Atlantic Supershow in Richmond, VA! Also, I scheduled my tanning appointments and hair and make up! AHHHHH it is so exciting knowing that each day it gets closer and closer! Right now I need to stay focus on those consistent tasks each day that will get me closer to my goal.
Next month (April) I know there will be a lot of changes because I will be 4 weeks out from my show and it is all about dialing in the nutrition and workouts.
Stay tuned for my April update!
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