Bikini Competition Prep: Week 14 Update

Hi Beautiful Human!

Last week I started sharing prep updates on here and it seems to be something people are enjoying / are curious about! In case this is your first time here, welcome! I’m Emily - a health nut / physique sport junkie / online fitness coach / Ben & Jerry’s ADDICT.

I am currently on bikini competition prep numero three in pursuit of my qualification for nationals. My goal is to earn my pro card from the NPC, which means my first stop is a nationally qualifying competition. If you’re interested in seeing more of what a day in the life looks like on competition prep, let’s be friends on Instagram! I share tons of meal ideas, workouts, mindset posts, and client transformations on there. 

PS- Please do NOT read through my training and diet regimen and think this is what you should be doing to lose weight or reach your own fitness goals. This is for my body, time commitment, goals, and metabolism. If you would like help with getting started on a plan that is special to YOUR needs, schedule, likes, and dislikes, I would be more than happy to help you HERE.

Check In Update with Coach

I had my Week 14 check in with my coach on Monday and things are going swimmingly! We are right where we need to be for my September 29th competition. It's a good feeling! Many competitors who struggle to be ready as their show approaches start jumping through unnecessary hoops to tighten up. Because we have timed everything correctly, we are able to manage my prep regimen in a very healthy way - no shortcuts or extremes to come in stage lean. I wouldn't have it any other way!

I am currently sitting at 125 lb. My starting weight being 136.7 lb. This is my lowest competition weight to date by 4 pounds (so far!) We are continuing to drop weight. We have added a significant amount of muscle to my lower body - especially that booty, ladies! If you're interested in seeing some glue workouts from me, I'd love for you to join the mailing list and hit that reply button to let me know! 

What's Changing this Week

As we approach the show, my macros (and therefore, my calories) have continued to drop to tighten up that last little bit for the stage. However, cardio is also decreasing! 

Whether you are someone that is looking to lose weight, burn fat, compete, build muscle, restore your metabolism or whatever the goal may be, your macronutrients/calories and your cardio are tools to be used and manipulated to achieve a certain result. 

As we drop my calories to their lowest (as to be expected at the end of competition prep), I start to feel a bit more tired physically and mentally. It's a lot for your body and mind to handle! Competing is extreme, as the goal is to reach a very low and unsustainable body fat level. That being said, taking away some of the cardio I've been doing restores some of that energy. 

Cardio

As for cardio, we just dropped from 16 minutes 4x per week to 14 minutes 4x per week and switched from stair master to incline walking. So there are two factors here that are helping me preserve energy - less time overall spent doing cardio and lower intensity exercise. As I have definitely started feeling more drained, switching to a brisk treadmill walk has SERIOUSLY helped me feel my best. 

Training

I am still weight training 5-6 days per week but leg training has switched from weighted movements to mainly bodyweight exercises and plyometrics. For anyone that doesn't know what plyometrics are, it's bodyweight training that involves explosive jumping movements as a way to strength train and get your heart rate up at the same time. Think of it as your muscle building and cardio combined. It is VERY challenging but holy moly! If you're looking to up the fat burn while building muscle, plyos are a GREAT solution!

If you're interested in seeing a plyo leg and booty workout from my own training, you can find it below from my personal Instagram. Use the arrow at the middle right hand side of the image to swipe to the next exercise video or just click the video to view on Instagram: 

My Diet Friendly Meals

This competition prep, I have finally started to enjoy the creativity of making easy to prepare, macro friendly meals. I am not someone who is ready and willing to spend hours making something extravagant to continue my weight loss.

Not only that but for the first 8 or so weeks of my prep, I had NO access to a stove or oven - just a microwave and toaster. Proof that you CAN achieve your fitness goals no matter what the circumstances are! Sometimes you just have to improvise a bit. ;) 

So... that being said, if you're like me, here are a couple of the meals I have been loving. FYI- All of these images are pin-able if you hover over them you'll see the pin button in the upper left corner along with a couple other ways you can share and save them! So feel free to save these for later!

1 g Fat / 33 g Carbs / 35 g Protein

281 calories

2 Cups Publix Italian Salad Greens

3 oz Eat Smart Vegetable Medley

4 Tbsp G Hughes Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce

87 g Crystal Farms Simply Potatoes Diced Potatoes with Onions

2 oz Boars Head Everroast Oven Roasted Chicken Breast

14 g Kraft Natural Shredded Fat Free Cheddar Cheese

5 g Fat / 25 g Carbs / 13 g Protein

197 Calories

2 Cups Publix Italian Salad Greens

1 Patty Al Fresco Chicken Sausage Breakfast Patty

2 Tbsp Heb Spicy Brown Mustard

78 g Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns

3 oz Eat Smart Vegetable Medley

21 g Fat / 47 g Carbs / 40 g Protein

537 Calories

71 g Ben and Jerrys Caramel Cookie Fix Moophoria Ice Cream

.5 Cup Fresh Blueberries 

1 Tbsp Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter

1 Scoop Cytosport 100% Whey (Vanilla) Protein Powder

.3 Cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk 

2 Tbsp Log Cabin Lite Syrup 

1 Whole Egg

5 g Reddi-Wip Fat Free Dairy Whipped Topping 

Mix protein powder, egg, and milk until consistency is a thick pudding like mixture then cook until golden on both sides.

Top with ice cream, blueberries, lite syrup, peanut butter, and non fat Reddi-Wip

0 g Fat / 32 g Carbs / 19 g Protein

204 Calories

1 Cup Driscoll's Strawberries

126 g Banana

8 g Jello White Chocolate Sugar Free Pudding Mix

225 g Dannon Light & Fit Nonfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt

10 g Reddi-Wip Fat Free Dairy Whipped Topping 

Combine pudding mix and yogurt. Top with your choice of fruit and nonfat Reddi-Wip

I Hope this Was Helpful for You!

Your food and your training don't have to be boring! I switch up my meals often and the ones that I'm totally obsessed with (like the ones above!) I switch up toppings and dressings to keep things interesting. I truly believe the key to getting the results you want is to pursue your fitness goals in a way that is fun and enjoyable for you.

If you LOVE the food you eat and you ENJOY the way that you workout, you will adhere to the plan and see results 10x quicker than if you're going to extremes and trying to stick to a plan that makes you feel miserable! 

As you can see from the above, I get my nutrients from a variety of sources. I eat veggies but I eat ice cream too. I don't cut carbs or fats. My diet has a good distribution of protein, carbs, AND fats, which allows my body to function optimally even in a caloric deficit! 

All in all, my competition prep has been FUN. How often do you hear someone on a diet or new workout plan say that? If you need help losing weight and building muscle on a plan you ENJOY, you can apply HERE to work with me on an individualized training and nutrition plan tailored to YOUR particular needs. 

To Your Good Health & Success,

Emily