Back to the land of the living! After a fantastic holiday stuffing my face and gaining a wonderful 5kg (I weighed 10 kg heavier when I first got home, but was mostly water which has now gone!), and putting together a perfect little detox diet for the week when I came back of vegetable juices, fresh fruit/veg/ legumes, proteins, seeds and sprouted grains...blimey I feel better!

I’m back on show dieting and prepping my foods now too to get ready for the UKBFF British Finals 2015 in Nottingham. And am on it like a car bonnet!

I needed to gain some weight. The 7 weeks of maintaining weight between the last two shows was tedious! I need a start and a finish...I need to see progression and improvements rather than just ticking over. And with the weight I gained on holiday...I now feel motivated. And I sufficiently ate copious amounts of food to come back and look forward to dieting, and a routine with no cravings.

With lots of good food and rest I feel less emotional too, hormones a little more balanced. I knew I would. Everyone feels shaken up the weeks after a show whatever the outcome, and I knew my thoughts and feelings would change once I got back to being me, and flushed out my system.

The British Grand Prix wasn’t as bad as I had first thought for me. I was only 1 point away from the 3rd place lady. 1 point away from a potential invite to the Liverpool Amateur Olympia and Arnold Classic...but now rather than pull me down, that thought now is motivation. No experiments, use what I have learn’t works, and hammer out the next few weeks and bloody nail it!

I was asking myself in my last blog why I compete? Why I put myself through it over and over when it is so taxing on the body? Especially with me all year round being such a health and fitness freak. And the reason is....I simply love show day. Competing is my only vice! I don’t drink or smoke or have any other bad habits, the only things that does tickle my fancy is showing my wears on stage. 

And yes, it is for all that I mentioned before...recognition for hard work, some adoration, to show off, fulfilling my 25 year ambitions and to be unique or unusual.  All these reasons and more are what I do it for. It pushes my boundaries, proves my physical control of my body and mind and it motivates my off season training giving me something to work towards. I think it is an art; to sculpt your body, balance it out and work on symmetry, correcting your form and posture and the only time you get to see what you’ve been working on all year and all of my life...is when I am stripped of my fat and water, tanned, oiled, bikini donned and with the most revealing lights pointing straight at me...only then do I know if all that food prepping and training has paid off. That’s why I put my body through those tough weeks.

So I am going to continue with the great federation that is UKBFF...and continue to compete.

After all, competing is my only vice...

So, sitting here sunning myself in Egypt having a fantastic holiday with my sister, sat in a cabana after a snooze and a massive breakfast...I found myself reflecting on the show last Sunday which now seems a million days away.

For those who didn’t read the show reports, I didn’t place top 3 and came 4th out of 4 (last in other words, no denying it!) and I think it was my worst show to date. For two reasons, my worst placing to date, and my worst package brought to the stage to date.

What went wrong, you may want to know. I tried a different prep which, as I am already qualified for the British this year, was always my plan to use these early shows as a time to tinker with final weeks of prep, try some different things and see what happens. When I first booked the Bodypower and British Grand Prix show they were non qualifiers which were perfect for practice. But they became qualifiers over the year, which upped the anti a little, but I still went with the plan of experimenting.

Bodypower 2015, I was still happy with, as I felt I produced a good stage package, my mistake was not getting the posing right, and also I was told by judges afterwards I am too muscular for the Body Fitness and looked quite muscular on stage. I can deal with that, dust myself down and move on.

The UKBFF British Grand Prix 2015...I’m struggling to deal with. It was a fantastically organised show, with some great prizes and a high standard of competitors. Which was exactly what I expected from the UKBFF Panther Crew!

The day before I visited a pal who gives good honest opinions on my standard, and I got the thumbs up. Looked bang on he said. I thought so too. I had decided to try sodium loading and all that was left to do was to sodium load starting on the morning of the show. 5.30am - My tanning buddy who has tanned me on all my shows with Liquid Sun Rayz said she’d never seen my lower abs look so good.

I had 3 small amounts of salted nuts (about 10 peanuts) before stage over the morning...then started to swell...and swell......

Got on stage and looked horrid next to the fantastic other competitors. I deserved to lose. I did feel gutted. I don’t do this to lose after all. I am always egging for a win. I feel embarrassed and wished I never got on the stage, I should of re-assessed the situation beforehand, and pulled out rather than making the fool of myself, which is how I feel right now.

Trouble didn’t stop there. I swelled...and swelled...my eyes swelled, I felt very unwell and couldn’t sleep or eat properly, and my heart was trying to jump out of my chest. Because of the de-hydration process and the sodium mix, I drank 6 litres of water through the night as my mouth kept drying out. And although tired was glad when it was time to leave for my holiday as it took my mind off how I felt, although was starting to feel better.

I have been having to sleep and sunbathe on holiday with my legs raised to stop myself from swelling up. Each day I am feeling better. Great to be properly hydrated too. Lots of good (and bad!) food and did do stair intervals and do some weights yesterday as felt the urge to train.

I’m 44 years old this year. I have a passion for fitness, health and nutrition. I believe food to be medicinal and can fix and repair...and clearly can poison too if used in the wrong way.

It has left me wondering why I do shows. Adoration? Recognition for my hard work? To show off? To fulfil a 25 year ambition? It’s unusual/uniqueness? I’ve always loved being on stage since my singing/acting days, so maybe a need to return to it? All of the above?

 The prep is tough ...and very unhealthy. I spend all year eating to improve my skin, hair, bones and joints and go shopping in the best fish and meats suppliers, eating and discovering new superfoods to improve my immune system, slow the aging process, to keep my heart, lungs and organs healthy and generally keep a spring in my step...to then poison myself for a show just to be the tightest, least watery, most vascular, driest, most defined, most serrated, the lowest in body fat....and all that on show day jargon that you hear.

Body building is in my blood. It fascinates me. I love the way it makes me look. Visibly fit. I can sculpt and shape my body and get rid of annoying parts of my body, change its shape, and re-design my look, over time, slowly...with training and diet. I look in the mirror and I’m happy. Do I need to do the shows? It’s the un-healthiest part of what I do. To be physically at your peak for a matter of days, but at the cost of being at your un-fittest for that period of time?

A decision I am still toying with.

I have 3 more days of holiday. One more week off diet when I get home, before I start prep again for British Finals in October. Got a lot of thinking to do....and another blog in between, as I also know emotions are high. I think it’s good to share my thoughts and feelings during these times. It hopefully gives you an honest insight into the world of being a body builder.

You might think ‘I know exactly where she’s coming from’ or ‘I didn’t realise that it can make you feel like that’ or ‘Sodium loading worked for me so she’s wrong’ ...whatever it is, it’s good for me to share my feelings, thoughts, emotions and physical awareness during this process with you as it might help you somewhere along your journey too. Or help with a decision you need to make during your journey.

My great friend and advisor said ’Put it down to a bad day at the office’. I liked this thought process. Just that phrase has helped. Shit happens...learn from it. Will it make me even more of a looser if I give up? Or will giving up make me a winner in keeping my body fit and healthy all year round?

Or am I over-thinking...was it simply a bad day at the office.....

So, show day was yesterday, The Body Power UKBFF USN Classic Body Fitness over 163 cm and I understand that I was 4th out of the 8 line up. You may think I’m disappointed, but I am actually really quite happy with the outcome of this show. Why? –

1.       There is no masters in this show, so I am in with everyone (all the fitty youngsters!), and I felt I held my own and fitted in nicely.

2.       Looking at the photographs, I am so pleased with my progress in my glutes and legs. I have achieved what I set out to do, and have now got a tight butt and legs that match the muscularity of my upper body, and so look more symmetrical and balanced than I ever have.

3.       The check in was easy, and the show was really enjoyable, backstage was friendly and the staff were so helpful and just great.

4.       I lost to worthy opponents, 1st and 2nd place had physiques to die for, and 3rd and mine I hear were a close call.

5.       Feedback from judges was that my posing was tense, and I need to relax a little. And they were right. I felt awkward at times, and it shows. Just goes to show practice means everything. And I didn’t practice enough, or understand how to pose Body Fitness style, until the day, and until I saw the other girls in the photos make it look so natural. I am so used to the tense compulsories of the Physique class.

6.       My opinion..if it was just judged on rear shot ...I would of won! Lol!

So, what does loosing mean?  I have 6 weeks to prep for my next show on the 5th July in Uxbridge for the British Grand Prix. Going in armed with new posing practice regime, and different peak week prep after practising with 2 and still not being quite happy, I know what I’m going to do next time now.

People always think you would be disappointment when you loose. You absolutely shouldn’t. It should just fire you up to be better next time, look at the photos, listen to feedback, correct your mistakes and get back on it.

A question I often get asked is ‘Why do you do it? All that work for either nothing or, if you’re lucky a trophy to show for it?’ Of course that not all you get from doing this! Look at the pictures...I get to live with a fit and healthy body, that makes me proud to look at and see in the mirror, if gives me confidence, a strong heart, strong joints, delays ageing, endless energy, deep sleeps, encourages me to learn about good food and nutrition and the shows drive my ambitions and gives me something to look forward to. I am proud to be a 43 year old female UKBFF British Body Builder, and enjoy every minute of the process. So until the next time..enjoy some photos. xx

SO...when I first returned to competing in 2013 I came back and joined the brand new class that had been added and slotted between Bodyfitness and Bodybuilding. This class was one of the reasons I came back. UKBFF Miss Physique. It seemed perfect for my shape and amount of muscle! And then went and straight away winning my first UKBFF show at Leamington Spa and again, two weeks later stood on stage at the British was mental! I didn't expect to get placed as the line up was amazing, and there was weak parts to my physique that needed to be worked on, but I felt blessed. And the judges said I placed 8th...which I was more than happy with on my first year competing. 

Then off to Stars of Tomorrow Miss Physique to try and qualify for the following year and another regional 1st place..I was on a high AND I had found my class.

I took a year off competing just to prep and gain size for the following years British. I became obsessed in that year. Training and training and training...and over training...and not really getting where I wanted to...size gaining was slow..I couldn't think why, I stopped socialising, my business suffered...until in August I recognised the side effects of exhaustion..and had to simply lay down....for 4 days solid...I soooo needed that time off. Doors closed, no calls and most of all ...no training! I hadn't been growing due to my ever increasing amount of stress I had been putting on myself. Cortisol to the MAX!

During the year a lot changed at UKBFF. Ladies Body building category was scrapped. Which caused a bit of upset obviously amongst some of these ladies. I felt for them. All that hard work? What were they going to do? Where were they going to compete? They can't just stop nor would they want to?

Then the British 2014 came along. The day I'm spent a year killing myself for. I was excited. I went backstage...I was small!! There was some big girls in my category. I recognised some of them as body builders from the previous years. My thoughts were...maybe the judges will think they are too big as they did the year before? And I am more what they are looking for. Wishful thinking me thinks! I also had massively over trained, over dieted and over depleting and couldn't pump up...all carbs I was eating were just getting gobbled up and disappearing through eating too little for too long. I got it massively wrong. My training..as well as in the year off I had taken, UKBFF had slightly changed in that they were looking for the Physique girls to be bigger than the previous year. We needed to be in fairness...to have any chance of winning in years to come against the overseas professionals! Bums....I thought.

Annoyed, frustrated, a year of training for what?...Not sure what to do I left the theatre saying I'm done. Towel officially thrown in....

A couple of friends, and people in the industry then said 'Why not compete in Body-Fitness Category? As with the Physique girls growing..it seemed so did the Body-Fitness category. I then looked at the published picture above of what a Body-Fitness girl should look like and thought...oh...maybe I should? 

Then I had a photo shoot a week out with the beautiful Chris Bailey...who mirrored what everyone else had said. Go and do another show ...but as Body-Fitness. So I did UKONE. And won 1st place...again..qualifying for this years British Finals for the 3rd year running.

Looking at the above comparisons..I am definitely a UKBFF Body-Fitness competitor. And I can't WAIT till show season starts. 

I feel less pressured this year, I am back socialising..trying to win lost friends back, and family and business as body building is not the be all and end all. It is my hobby. And I love it...but I also love my friends, family and business.

Two weeks later...I am competing in BodyPower USN Amateur Olympia Qualifier...wouldn't it be nice to qualify for both at the end of the year in my new category. Fingers crossed!

The pictures show me a week out of show 2013, and a week out of show 2014..and in my over depleted state in between.

I fell into the dangerous area of over dieting during my show prep last year. I was 61.5kg on stage at the British Finals 2013, and 58kg on stage in the same category a year later. It wasn't a good loss. I looked smaller than the year before, I also couldn't pump my muscles at all all day as they were so over depleted, and had been for too long. I simply got itwrong. I had been fixated on loosing pockets of muscles and was over-training and under-eating to remove them...forgetting that I was loosing a lot of muscle during this process, and the fat pockets?..no, they were in fact skin and water which had covered my previously filled muscles.

When I finally managed to fill out these areas again when I started eating properly, these same area were so tight, all I could pinch was paper thin skin. I should of eaten more...much more during my prep.

A friend recently told me she was prepping for a show in Bikini class, she stays lean and is already looking good and then she told me it wasn’t until the back end of the year? She was already eating minuscule portions. She would disappear by then!

It is so easy to get lost in what needs to be done in this sport. The diet is a science, not simple starvation. You rarely get it right first time. There is no secret. You have to keep trying different foods, macros, and workouts and keep fine tuning. There is no one definite rule that works for everyone. And also, sometimes even when you find one that works...it may not give you the same results a second time, as our bodies are forever changing.
It can be frustrating and de-motivating to know this..but you need to be prepared.

It is about finding out what YOUR own personal body needs nutritionally, to maintain your muscle you spend years building, and finding a way that works for you to burn fat at the same time, whether that be by simply your diet in some cases, or walking, or HIIT or fasted morning cardio alongside a macro counted diet and for it all to come together..hopefully on the one day you are on stage showing yourself in your crowning glory.

You learn so much about yourself every time you show prep. Mentally and physically. It never ceases to amaze me the power of nutrition and a healthy fitness regime. How it can effect your work rest and play. Prepping reminds you how strong you are, how determined you are, what an individual you are, that you have ambition and are in control of your temptations, and have a reason and a goal and a plan of action for you to achieve a dream.

That's why I do it. Over and over again. I have a lot of dreams to achieve.

Have a great weekend. Terri x

I have a tendency to just throw my diets together, without having to think too much about details. Even when I want to change up my diet to try something new like I have this year, with my nutritional knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, I roughly work things out to suit me in my head.

I did decide this year (2015) to play with Carb Cycling, Back loading and Carb Nites, things I haven’t really tried before. I back loaded off season and all through the start of my diet, so ate all my carb later in the day and only proteins/fats in the morning, and every 7 – 10 days threw in a carb nite. And it worked, I liked it. (More to come on those). And for the last few weeks of show prep I thought I’d carb cycle too, doing it for the last 3 weeks. It was only when I asked a couple of pals, and researched online what they would consider a Low/Med/High carb day. And there response was far different to what I was doing. BUT my way IS working. So, I am going to go through the traditional way of carb cycling and what it is...and then going to share with you my way.

What is Carb Cycling, and how does it work?

Carb cycling is a diet that works by rotating low/medium/high levels of carbohydrates, shaking up your metabolism and helping speed it up by not eating the same old stuff every day, and incorporating low carb days with low calorie deficits to increase fat loss.  

There are three types of days when carb cycling-

High Carb days

Medium Carb days

Low Carb days

Some go with No carb days on the lows, but I am not a great believer in athletes running on no cars at all, so I advise low everytime.

THE 'TRADITIONAL' RULES ARE -

If you do three days the three days are rotated, or cycled, equally, but there are many ways people set up a carb cycle. You can also do low/high or low moderate high. An example would be -

Monday - Low Carb

Tuesday - Med Carb

Wednesday - High Carb

Thursday = Low Carb

Friday = Med carb

Saturday = High Carb

Sunday = Low Carb

OR

Monday - Low Carb

Tuesday - Low Carb

Wednesday - Low Carb

Thursday = Med Carb

Friday = Med carb

Saturday = Med Carb

Sunday = High Carb

You play with these to find one that suits your body, and routine.

Traditionally, the most common way to carb cycle around your training is where you will place higher carbohydrate days on your heaviest training days and then lower carb days on off/low-intensity training days.

Plans are normally based around eating six times per day. You may decide on  5 meals and more food per meal and less food per meal if you do 7 for instance.

Protein is the foundation of a carb cycling diet. Normally 1 lb weight = 1.2 g Protein for woman or 1.5 g for men.

Keep dietary fats consistent throughout your plan. You will need to raise your fats on your low carb days and lower them on high carb days to make up some calories.

To achieve maximum results, you must calculate the ratio of carbs to fat and proteins for each low/med/high cycle day.

LOW CARB DAY - 

 Your protein intake is higher during the low carb phase.

A woman during carb cycling will multiply her current body by 1.2,  men will multiple his weight by 1.5. This number reflects the grams of protein required per day; multiple this total by 4 for your number of calories consumed by protein sources.

E.g. 9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 1.2  = 163.2 g protein x 4 (Calories) = 652.8 calories of protein needed.

To calculate your grams of fat, a woman will multiple her weight by 0.5 and a male by 0.8. This total number times 9 will reflect your fats calorie consumption.

E.g. 9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 0.5 = 68  x 9 (Calories) = 612 calories of fats needed

Find carbohydrates by multiplying a woman's weight by 0.6 and a man's by 0.9. This total multiplied by 4 will reflect total calories consumed through carbohydrates.

E.g. 9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 0.6 = 81g carbs x 4 (Calories) = 326 calories of carbs needed.

Totalling 1590.8 calories per day 

 

MEDIUM CARB DAY -

The medium carb day is worked out the same way but increase your protein and carbohydrate (slightly) intake while decreasing your fats. To determine the grams of protein, a woman will multiply her weight by 1.3 and a man by 1.6. Carbs, a woman will multiply her weight by 0.9 and a man by 1.2, Fat grams are found by multiplying 0.4 by a woman's weight and 0.8 by a man's weight. SO -

9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 1.3 = 176.8 g protein x 4 (Calories) = 707.2 calories of protein needed.

9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 0.4 = 54.4  x 9 (Calories) = 489.6 calories of fats needed

 9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 0.9 =  122.4 carbs x 4 (Calories) = 489.6 calories of carbs needed.

Totalling 1686.4 calories per day 

 

HIGH CARB DAY -

The high carb day is worked out the same way but increase your protein and carbohydrate intake while decreasing your fats. To determine the grams of protein and carbohydrates, a woman will multiply her weight by 1.4 and a man by 1.7. Fat grams are found by multiplying 0.3 by a woman's weight and 0.6 by a man's weight. SO -

9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 1.4 = 190.4 g protein x 4 (Calories) = 761.6 calories of protein needed.

9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 0.3 = 40.8  x 9 (Calories) = 367.2 calories of fats needed

 9.5 stone woman = 136 lbs x 1.4 = 190.4 carbs x 4 (Calories) = 761.6 calories of carbs needed.

Totalling 1890.4 calories per day 


You may choose to do no carb day. I personally feel no carbs isn’t the way to go for athletes. A small amount of carbs will help with better workouts and energy, and will be worked off quite easily and can still leave you depleted if required.

 The carb cycle examples below are standard but can be adjusted to fit your needs. You can take the ratios given and increase them to make them fit your training regime, lifestyle.

Carb Cycling Program Macronutrient s

Men:     

High Carb – Protein 1.7 g               Carbs 1.7g           Fat 0.6g

Med Carb – Protein 1.6 g               Carbs 1.2g           Fat 0.7g

Low Carb – Protein 1.5 g                Carbs 0.9g           Fat 0.8g

** All recommendations shown in grams per pound of bodyweight

Women:

High Carb – Protein 1.4 g               Carbs 1.4g           Fat 0.3g

Med Carb – Protein 1.3 g               Carbs 0.9g           Fat 0.4g

Low Carb – Protein 1.2  g                Carbs 0.6g           Fat 0.5g

** All recommendations shown in grams per pound of bodyweight

MY OPINION IS THE ABOVE STATS SHOULD ONLY BE USED FOR THE LAST 3-4 WEEKS OF SHOW PREP IF YOU ARE NOT ON TRACK. THESE ARE VERY LOW CALORIES, LOWER THAN BMR'S WHICH i DONT GENERALLY RECOMMEND. 

NOW TO BREAK THE RULES.

Now, how I work mine. I want to show you this so for you to understand that these things are not written in stone. They are guidelines for you to work with. You would generally start trying it this way. Then next time change it up depending on your lifestyle, training and metabolism.

When a friend of mine heard my levels of carbs, they were amazed. But it works for me. I often get up at 4.30 am, do my cardio, drive 3 hours to work, run my business during the working day, drive back, do my weights, eat and do more cardio before bed, then do it all again. I would not survive on 80 g carbs. I would be living in a state of depletion which could effect my growth and state of mind.

My low carb days are 120g, my medium are 170g and my high are 190g. I still lose weight, lose fat and grow. I currently weigh 136 lbs during my show prep. Based on this my carb days are –

 

High Carb – Protein 1.5g               Carbs 1.4g           Fat 0.3g -

136 lbs x 1.5 = 204g protein x 4 (Calories) = 816 calories of protein needed.

136 lbs x 0.3 = 40.8  x 9 (Calories) = 367.2 calories of fats needed

136 lbs x 1.4 = 190.4 carbs x 4 (Calories) = 761.6 calories of carbs needed.

Totalling 1944 calories per day

 
 

Med Carb – Protein 1.3g               Carbs 0.9g           Fat 0.3g

136 lbs x 1.3 = 176.8g protein x 4 (Calories) = 761.6 calories of protein needed.

136 lbs x 0.3 = 40.8  x 9 (Calories) = 367.2 calories of fats needed

136 lbs x 1.25 =  170g carbs x 4 (Calories) = 680 calories of carbs needed.

Totalling 1808 calories per day

 

Low Carb – Protein 1.3g                Carbs 0.9g           Fat 0.5g

136 lbs x 1.3 = 176.8g protein x 4 (Calories) = 761.6 calories of protein needed.

136 lbs x 0.3 = 40.8  x 9 (Calories) = 367.2 calories of fats needed

136 lbs x 0.9 =  122.4g carbs x 4 (Calories) = 489.6 calories of carbs needed.

Totalling 1618 calories per day 



On my low carb days, I never go under 120g. It works for me. It is high for a cycling diet. But I can deplete in 6 days on the above macros.

It shows how different we are. And you need to play with it, until you get it right. What's right for one isn’t right for another.

And there is no secret to getting it right. Trial and error is normally the name of the game.


Another way to try, is sticking to your BMR recommendations, but playing with the breakdown of macros. As follows -

My active BMR was 2382. This is what I should eat off season on a daily basis. To loose 1lb  a week, I subtract 500 calories which equals 1882. To continue to grow you need to keep your protein high. So you could do something like this in the early stages of your diet -

Low Carb day - 1882 made up of 45% Protein, 25% Carbs, 30% Fats, 
Med Carb Day - 1882 made up of 45% Protein, 35% Carbs, 20% Fats
High Carb Day - 1882 made up of 30% Protein, 50% Carbs,20% Fats 

You have kept to your body's BMR, just played with the macros. I find this works well too.

You will learn what works for you over time. Practice makes perfect! 

Happy carb cycling. xx
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