Helenawf's 2012 Contest Prep Journal

[Cytrainer913]

There's probably more sodium in your 1st meal than anything n that adds up to more than a scoop of xtend n you could be getting chicken breast w injected sodium as well n what about the nut butters? Sodium as well.

Your body is missing vital nutrients from your lack of variety in your foods n non existent carbs at 11 weeks ou? That's crazy stuff there missin out in that n I bet this diet jacking in so many things has caused you to be sick more than anything else to blame.

You are on a dangerous road with this diet n lacking many things and just trying to look out for your well being.

The excessive cardio is also a mission for strength n muscle loss as well. The way you have this set up you are doing cardio with your weights as well which is a double down effect on the cardio n a way to lose lots of muscle with little retention help from your weights which is good to help retain muscle with heavier workouts.

I hope somehow you do ok but this diet n wo from this trainer is one I would really delve into and ask why n not just do it? Be well n wishing for the best in health n trainers like this, do they care what this could do to your body? Probably not

[FrmrHoss]

Yeah, this diet seems all kinds of deficient and is sure to wreck you hormonally as well. As Cytrainer mentioned above, lots of micronutrients are probably missing because there is no fruits/vegetables in there, and that level of cardio on what is basically <30g of carbs. And why are you worried about controlling for miniscule amounts of sodium? Like he said, no one is trying to be negative just voicing legitimate concerns.

[helenawf]

Today's MET:
Burpees 60 seconds
Pull Ups 60 seconds
Squats 60 seconds
Push Ups 60 seconds
Burpees 45 seconds
Pull ups 45 seconds
Squats 45 seconds
Push ups 45 seconds
Burpees 30 seconds
Pull ups 30 seconds
Squats 30 seconds
Push ups 30 seconds
Burpees 15 seconds
Pull ups 15 seconds
Squats 15 seconds
Push ups 15 seconds
All done with no rest; completef in 10:25 minutes

[Cytrainer913]

I guess you don't care about your health, we tried, I'm sorry you see this as the way to get on stage, and hope for the best for you! Good luck!

[helenawf]

There's probably more sodium in your 1st meal than anything n that adds up to more than a scoop of xtend n you could be getting chicken breast w injected sodium as well n what about the nut butters? Sodium as well.

Your body is missing vital nutrients from your lack of variety in your foods n non existent carbs at 11 weeks ou? That's crazy stuff there missin out in that n I bet this diet jacking in so many things has caused you to be sick more than anything else to blame.

You are on a dangerous road with this diet n lacking many things and just trying to look out for your well being.

The excessive cardio is also a mission for strength n muscle loss as well. The way you have this set up you are doing cardio with your weights as well which is a double down effect on the cardio n a way to lose lots of muscle with little retention help from your weights which is good to help retain muscle with heavier workouts.

I hope somehow you do ok but this diet n wo from this trainer is one I would really delve into and ask why n not just do it? Be well n wishing for the best in health n trainers like this, do they care what this could do to your body? Probably not

I do supplement with a green supp. Also, the nut butter is made from unsalted nuts and made by me. Since stopping the Xtend I have dropped over 3# of water weight in two days.

[Cytrainer913]

Just remember too low sodium can also drop water from an area you might not water dropping from, your muscles! your sodium for the day should at least be near 1500-2000 an approximate and basically the only place you have sodium is in your 1st meal then, and the whey you drink, which to me lucky if you hit 750 mg of Na+? This diet can hold onto fat eventually and the excessive cardio and circuits can drop muscle and give that skinny/fat appearance for sure as well. Need something to retain muscle.

you know what else retains lean muscle? Carbs-greatest muscle sparing nutrient out there, once protein needs are met!

[Rypt1]

Just remember too low sodium can also drop water from an area you might not water dropping from, your muscles! your sodium for the day should at least be near 1500-2000 an approximate and basically the only place you have sodium is in your 1st meal then, and the whey you drink, which to me lucky if you hit 750 mg of Na+? This diet can hold onto fat eventually and the excessive cardio and circuits can drop muscle and give that skinny/fat appearance for sure as well. Need something to retain muscle.

this x 1000

Seems like a ton of cardio and cardio more for a distance runner/marathoner. I speak from experience in that in my first prep I did way too much cardio and didn't have enough variety and carbs. Although I was quite lean, I did lose a lot of mass. I also screwed up my hormones for a while. As this is my third round of prepping, I've found that more carbs, more variety and letting the diet in general shed the weight (versus tons of cardio far out from a competition) are the way to go. As you get closer to the comp, dial in cardio slowly to help the fat burn along. Just some advice for future preps if you do that.

[offroadatv200]

In!

[Cytrainer913]

Anytime a trainer gives you this stuff to do?(diet and exercise routine) ask him why he says to do it this way and really see if he knows what he is doing, but he doesn't seem to have your health in mind that's for sure.

Don't just listen to them, ask look on the internet and find out if you can about the styles of diet he has you on the exercises being done the cardio being done?

Just to use a few guys like, Dr. Joe and Layne, and 3DMJ, ask them why they tell you to do this exercise or this many carbs or this much protein, you will get an answer to all of their questions with backed research as well.

[helenawf]

This will be my last post on here.

Last week was a very trying week for me in so many ways. First, after months of working long hours 7 days a week, my work climaxed with the closing of the books. My family life was hitting some rough spots. As many who follow this know, I was dieting severely, training hard and loggin on miles. Then, to make it even worse some of you felt the need to hit me with questions about my training and questioning my trainer's "best interest in me". I was very upset by this, but I am sure those of you who were speaking up thought you were being helpful. I was in no condition to address you. However, I am now.

First, if you take the time to research, develop a relationship and trust a trainer enough to give them your hard earned money, you better stay focused and follow through. Yes, I do question things, but ultimately it's people's tendencies to follow the crowd and listen to others that messes them up. They loose confidence in their trainer, in themselves and basically loose sight of their goals. I know you may not understand this. but if someone has hired you. They better be listening to you and no one else. Yes, they should question you and research things, but ultimately you have built a trusting relationship with your clients and they will follow your instruction. I will not go into detail why my trainer does what he does or what his creditials are. Rest assured he and I have built a strong, trusting relationship.

Finally, I am in a positiion to argue one other point with you and that is HEALTH. No one enters bodybuilding contests with the idea that their health is the goal. The diet eliminates food groups. Not healthy! The training requires more time and effort and with the diet makes you more conducive to injuries. Lastly, getting a woman's bodyfat below 10% is not healthy ever! So competing is not about health, it is about a short period of time where you do extreme things to look a certain way and then you gradually re-introduce the missing food groups; you give your body a break and rest, and you allow your body to heal.

There are a million ways to get lean, ripped, shredded, or cut. Each body is different and each requires individual approach to getting there. You may not agree with my trainers methods but have the curtosy to not undermine his work and please stop underminding my goals. Everyone has a right to their own opinion but no one has the right to judge and criticize others without walking in their shoes.

[FrmrHoss]

First, I'm sorry that you have tough things going on in your personal life. It makes prep, which is already difficult enough, much more trying.

I don't want to pretend that I speak for everyone, but I suspected that this may have been coming - one reason I didn't say anything until Craig had posted something was that people tend not to be able to take what is both constructive criticism and with your best interests at heart well in these circumstances for these reasons. You've built up a relationship with this person, are paying them money, etc and you don't want to question that maybe it was a poor decision. You're right in that contest prep is not really "healthy" by its nature, but there are ways that are "more healthy" than others. When you have people who are as qualified as Craig and who have also gone through many a prep, you may want to consider whether or not they are on to something.

That being said, no one is trying to undermine your goals. You're an adult and can make decisions for yourself and you don't have any obligation to defend yourself to anyone on the internet, but if you let what are helpful and innocuous comments (I feel pretty certain that no one in this thread posted with anything but the best of intentions) bother you on this level, then maybe there is more than a little discomfort with what it is you are doing and putting your body through.

And as a final thought, I know plenty of people who contest prep without eliminating food groups at all or cutting sodium or trying to manipulate water levels. Yes, there is some elimination in the amounts of food you can eat by its nature but that is one of many things that we were trying to get at.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

[Rypt1]

First, I'm sorry that you have tough things going on in your personal life. It makes prep, which is already difficult enough, much more trying.

I don't want to pretend that I speak for everyone, but I suspected that this may have been coming - one reason I didn't say anything until Craig had posted something was that people tend not to be able to take what is both constructive criticism and with your best interests at heart well in these circumstances for these reasons. You've built up a relationship with this person, are paying them money, etc and you don't want to question that maybe it was a poor decision. You're right in that contest prep is not really "healthy" by its nature, but there are ways that are "more healthy" than others. When you have people who are as qualified as Craig and who have also gone through many a prep, you may want to consider whether or not they are on to something.

That being said, no one is trying to undermine your goals. You're an adult and can make decisions for yourself and you don't have any obligation to defend yourself to anyone on the internet, but if you let what are helpful and innocuous comments (I feel pretty certain that no one in this thread posted with anything but the best of intentions) bother you on this level, then maybe there is more than a little discomfort with what it is you are doing and putting your body through.

And as a final thought, I know plenty of people who contest prep without eliminating food groups at all or cutting sodium or trying to manipulate water levels. Yes, there is some elimination in the amounts of food you can eat by its nature but that is one of many things that we were trying to get at.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Very very well said.

Definitely best of luck to you.

[Cytrainer913]

"And as a final thought, I know plenty of people who contest prep without eliminating food groups at all or cutting sodium or trying to manipulate water levels. Yes, there is some elimination in the amounts of food you can eat by its nature but that is one of many things that we were trying to get at.

Best of luck in your future endeavors."

There are many out there that can make a prep so much healthier without eliminating many of things you are talking about and I am sure things can be done in a much better way with what we know today, but the diet and the cardio and the workouts you were doing is no way for anyone to really go about doing a comp and yes what you were doing was very unhealthy, but by learning to track numbers and getting your foods in a much better way through learning what you body can handle maximally in terms of carbs can keep you healthy by including fruits(yes), and veggies(lots) variety for sure can be made and nutrients can be kept in with those varaitions.

I do wish you the best but I didn't want to see you go down such a rough road and I hope things get better for you, and I wish that you could look at some great article by these groups to see more that is being done in this industry:

Dr. Joe Klemczewksi- thedietdoc.com

Dr. Layne Norton- biolayne.com

3DMJ crew- someone has this site sorry Berto.

But so many now showing a very healthy way to do things!

Feel better and know that if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask, lots of people are very good on here and can help you out.

[FrmrHoss]

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/

Since I trust them with my nutrition .

[Cytrainer913]

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/

Since I trust them with my nutrition .

thanks Man!

[helenawf]

thanks Man!

Thank you all for your concern and helpful information. I completed my competition journey and although those weeks of my last posting on here were tough they did not last. I stuck with it. The diet was only altered for one week to that extreme that I posted. I placed in both my contest and now am getting ready to add more muscle. I did not lose any of the muscle I gained over the last off season. I weighed in 8 pounds heavier than last season and just as lean if not a tad more. I do appreciate you clarifying that your intentions were not to hurt me. Keep training hard! Hugs, Wendy

[rangr65]

Thank you all for your concern and helpful information. I completed my competition journey and although those weeks of my last posting on here were tough they did not last. I stuck with it. The diet was only altered for one week to that extreme that I posted. I placed in both my contest and now am getting ready to add more muscle. I did not lose any of the muscle I gained over the last off season. I weighed in 8 pounds heavier than last season and just as lean if not a tad more. I do appreciate you clarifying that your intentions were not to hurt me. Keep training hard! Hugs, Wendy

you are absolutely gorgeous and whatan internally focused person you are just plain adorable @.......49 this man is dealingwirh a very strong CRUSH!! on you!