Shalom Yentas! I have missed you. The kids were home from camp this week and well, sometimes the time just slips through my blistered hands.
All things body have been progressing. Here is the update:
NUTRITION:
I have upped my carbs and lowered my fat macros per advice from Kim Tosoian. Now, I want to make it clear that I do not take advice blindly. Just because someone is a pro bodybuilder, doesn’t mean her regimen is right for me.
A yenta questions everything. This is one part of Judaism that I am down with. Question. Debate. Figure it out on that cellular level. Thirst for the truth and leave no stone unturned.
The internet is vastly helpful for sorting wheat and chaff, but ultimately it just adds to the confusion with tons of contradictory information.
Which means it all comes back to me.
What’s my hunch? How does this new nugget of info sit with me? Is it worth exploring first hand? In this case, I think it is. And if I wind up building more muscle from eating more carbs, and losing fat, I want in. Plus, I love rice, potatoes, quinoa, sprouted toast and even oatmeal as long as it’s sweetened. I use Trader Joe’s organic strawberry fruit spread these days.
In my effort/experiment to lower my fat intake, I gave ground turkey breast a whirl. Boy is it DRY! But I came up with two ways to eat it that satisfy my craving for tasty food.
First, I pan-fry about 4.5 ounces in a skillet with salt, pepper, herbs du Provence that my niece brought me from France (Merci, L!) and EVOO. Then I match the carbs, ounce-wise.
Version 1—with steamed asparagus, sweet potatoes and organic ketchup. 332 calories. 43 carbs. 1 fat. 43 protein.
Version 2—with short grain brown rice, half an avocado, roasted asparagus, soy sauce, rice vinegar and Sriracha hot sauce. 430 calories. 48 carbs. 14 fat. 36 protein.
Obviously I am not giving up fat entirely. I love fat and know how nutritious it is. I still cook with bacon grease as long as it’s pastured. But fat has 9 calories per gram, versus protein and carbs, which each have 4, and a mild calorie deficit is mandatory to lose bodyfat.
While I ate, I roasted a bunch of boneless chicken thighs (not ready to trade thighs for breasts, nor might I ever be) in the toaster oven with EVOO, salt & pepper, les herbes, garlic and onion powders. I will cut up the thighs with scissors into bite-sized morsels to eat with more body bowls. I’m calling these concoctions body bowls. Eh? Eh?
TRAINING:
Every Saturday morning I lift old-school with my trainer and pal Michelle Collier of Performance Fitness LLC. The routine is simple, but challenging and fun. Deadlifts, back squats, hip thrusts and dumbbell step-ups. Here I am thrusting 95 pounds for 3 sets of 20.
Squatting 95 pounds for 3 sets of 10.
Deadlifting 105. 17 pounds shy of my own bodyweight. I like how proportionate I look in this pic. Growing those lats and delts. Slimming those hips. Who knew that all it took to achieve a body I love was just a ton of consistent, hard work? NOT starvation. NOT running hundreds of miles. Just eating healthy with a SMALL, sustainable calorie deficit, lifting a lot of heavy shit (kettlebells, my own body, dumbbells, barbells, children of all ages…), and sprinting, jumping rope, and hava-nagila-ing through agility ladders a couple times a week.
PERSONAL TRAINING CERTIFICATION:
I am now certified to perform CPR, so if you happen to be choking or having a heart attack near me, I can save you! In order to register for my personal training exam I must be certified in CPR and AED. The day I got certified, I registered for my exam. I’ll be holed up in a room for three hours taking a multiple-choice pass/fail exam on October 18.
Here is the defibrillator. That’s the thing where on TV they shout, CLEAR! I can do that too.
If you haven’t liked the Body Yenta on facebook yet, please do! If you have, then you know I recently posted this text pic from a friend of mine who actually took my advice, and—gasp—achieved results. It made my day and is worth repeating, so here it is.
FIGURE COMPETITION:
If you’re really into bodybuilding, you can now find me on bodybuilding dot com. I bit the bullet and created a bodyspace page for myself. A couple people have complimented my progress and friended me, and that definitely makes me feel good.
I also started a new Pinterest board for figure competition ideas, for the showgirl in me. I’ve got my sights set on a competition in Burlington, New Jersey May 10, 2014, the OCB Natural Open. It’s 6 months away—plenty of time to build my lats and upper body even more, lose 4% bodyfat (I’m at 14.8% now), and gain all the knowledge and practice I can about posing, tanning and competing. Very excited about everything.
Shalom my good yentas and see you soon, with a new, simple training video.
XOBY
