[font="]What you think is a clean diet may indeed be one as compared to most Americans. However a clean “fitness” diet is so hard to maintain. Even the most celebrated fitness model or competitor cannot keep her bodyfat as low as she is able to at competition time...it is just not doable nor healthy for the long term. Magazine shoots are done at comp time or done with much preparation. Not to mention the carb depleting and dehydration that occurs for days beforehand. Don’t forget, photo retouching, lighting and angles does wonders to hide the flaws that we all have.
For details on dieting, be prepared to post several days worth of food choices. Be honest and be ready for nit-picking critiques. There is a difference between eating “clean” and eating “healthy”. Healthy is good – but it won’t necessarily get you lean. Diets are trial and error – what works for one won’t necessarily work for another. Everyone reacts a bit differently but be honest with yourself about how your daily diet varies from these -- very often little tweaks make big pay offs in the figure.
Clean diets include lean protein sources, healthy fats, and complex carbs. It does not include processed foods. If your food has a list of ingredients as long as my arm – don’t eat it. Processed usually means high in calories, low in nutrition – plus it is harder for your body to break down and use.
Carb Choices – Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Yams, Red Potatoes, Brown Rice, Veggies (green), Legumes (good for protein too)
Fat Choices – Olive Oil, Flax Oil, Almonds, Egg Yolks (sparingly)
Protein Choices – Chicken, Turkey, Egg Whites, Salmon (good fat there too!), Tuna, Orange Roughy, Halibut, Lean Cuts of Beef (most seafood is pretty good….)
Other Good Foods…..Cottage Cheese, Protein Powders, Low Carb Tortillas, spices, cinnamon, Splenda, No Sugar Jello (yum!), most Nuts, Protein Bars (very sparingly), Bran, Natty Peanut Butter
I am sure I did not list all good foods – these are just some choices. If you have a question about a food –ask!
Now -- back to overall muscle vs. defined muscle. Overall muscle is muscle you gain during a cycle. Defined muscle is that same muscle AFTER you diet down (cutting). It is very rare for a male (doable but rare) to be able to bulk and lose bodyfat at the same time....which of course, makes it that much harder for a woman to achieve both successfully.
In order to build/add muscle (whether using [/font][font="]AAS[/font][font="] or NOT) is being able to [/font][font="]EAT[/font][font="] to build/add muscle. This is called bulking. Usually, one will need to eat for mass so as not to cheat your body from the necessary nutrients for effective and successful muscle building. Cardio done too often and too strenuously while trying to build robs the energy your body needs for muscle building and repair. This is why building muscle often comes with the addition of bodyfat. It is possible, if eating clean, to add minimal bodyfat – but near impossible to add muscle without adding ANY bodyfat.
In order to get that muscle to show, you will need to diet down, also called cutting. This requires a calorie deficit to help lose fat while making sure not to sacrifice too many protein calories (so you can keep more muscle). Most often, along with fat, you will lose some muscle. This is due to the calorie deficit. Cutting is the stage where eating clean is most important. It is near impossible to cut without eating clean. Diet will be the number 1 factor in cutting. Not cardio, not drugs. DIET. Now there is some success with dieting down and taking [/font][font="]AAS[/font][font="] to help preserve that muscle however it works for some women but not all...and even so, you still need diet to lose fat -- there is NO MAGIC [/font][font="]PILL[/font][font="].
And let me add in addition to dieting, cardio is the only other tool for fat loss. Not easy cardio .... but sweat breaking, chest heaving, side-stitch, "I think am going to die" types of cardio in shorter bursts. Long easy cardio is great for cardiovascular health but not all that effective at burning fat and not muscle. Sprints or intervals (HIIT) are great explosive bouts of cardio to help burn off fat and not disturb too much muscle mass. The more steady-state long distance cardio you do, the more likely you are to burn muscle. A reduction in muscle will cause a reduction in metabolism. HIIT preserves muscle mass while burning fat.
Do I even need to mention how important lifting weights is? Lifting – heavy and hard – is essential. Don’t mess around with high reps of the pink dumbbells – that will get you nowhere. Lift heavy, using compound exercises. Give your body time to recover – that is when muscle is built. Don’t be afraid of getting bulky. Bulk is built through diet. While we are all put together differently, muscle is ALWAYS smaller than fat – on everyone.
What you consider a good cardio, good training or good diet may be that way as compared to others you see. However for the body you want that stands out, many sacrifices need to be made BEFORE you even consider a cycle of anabolic steriods....WAY before.[/font]
For details on dieting, be prepared to post several days worth of food choices. Be honest and be ready for nit-picking critiques. There is a difference between eating “clean” and eating “healthy”. Healthy is good – but it won’t necessarily get you lean. Diets are trial and error – what works for one won’t necessarily work for another. Everyone reacts a bit differently but be honest with yourself about how your daily diet varies from these -- very often little tweaks make big pay offs in the figure.
Clean diets include lean protein sources, healthy fats, and complex carbs. It does not include processed foods. If your food has a list of ingredients as long as my arm – don’t eat it. Processed usually means high in calories, low in nutrition – plus it is harder for your body to break down and use.
Carb Choices – Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Yams, Red Potatoes, Brown Rice, Veggies (green), Legumes (good for protein too)
Fat Choices – Olive Oil, Flax Oil, Almonds, Egg Yolks (sparingly)
Protein Choices – Chicken, Turkey, Egg Whites, Salmon (good fat there too!), Tuna, Orange Roughy, Halibut, Lean Cuts of Beef (most seafood is pretty good….)
Other Good Foods…..Cottage Cheese, Protein Powders, Low Carb Tortillas, spices, cinnamon, Splenda, No Sugar Jello (yum!), most Nuts, Protein Bars (very sparingly), Bran, Natty Peanut Butter
I am sure I did not list all good foods – these are just some choices. If you have a question about a food –ask!
Now -- back to overall muscle vs. defined muscle. Overall muscle is muscle you gain during a cycle. Defined muscle is that same muscle AFTER you diet down (cutting). It is very rare for a male (doable but rare) to be able to bulk and lose bodyfat at the same time....which of course, makes it that much harder for a woman to achieve both successfully.
In order to build/add muscle (whether using [/font][font="]AAS[/font][font="] or NOT) is being able to [/font][font="]EAT[/font][font="] to build/add muscle. This is called bulking. Usually, one will need to eat for mass so as not to cheat your body from the necessary nutrients for effective and successful muscle building. Cardio done too often and too strenuously while trying to build robs the energy your body needs for muscle building and repair. This is why building muscle often comes with the addition of bodyfat. It is possible, if eating clean, to add minimal bodyfat – but near impossible to add muscle without adding ANY bodyfat.
In order to get that muscle to show, you will need to diet down, also called cutting. This requires a calorie deficit to help lose fat while making sure not to sacrifice too many protein calories (so you can keep more muscle). Most often, along with fat, you will lose some muscle. This is due to the calorie deficit. Cutting is the stage where eating clean is most important. It is near impossible to cut without eating clean. Diet will be the number 1 factor in cutting. Not cardio, not drugs. DIET. Now there is some success with dieting down and taking [/font][font="]AAS[/font][font="] to help preserve that muscle however it works for some women but not all...and even so, you still need diet to lose fat -- there is NO MAGIC [/font][font="]PILL[/font][font="].
And let me add in addition to dieting, cardio is the only other tool for fat loss. Not easy cardio .... but sweat breaking, chest heaving, side-stitch, "I think am going to die" types of cardio in shorter bursts. Long easy cardio is great for cardiovascular health but not all that effective at burning fat and not muscle. Sprints or intervals (HIIT) are great explosive bouts of cardio to help burn off fat and not disturb too much muscle mass. The more steady-state long distance cardio you do, the more likely you are to burn muscle. A reduction in muscle will cause a reduction in metabolism. HIIT preserves muscle mass while burning fat.
Do I even need to mention how important lifting weights is? Lifting – heavy and hard – is essential. Don’t mess around with high reps of the pink dumbbells – that will get you nowhere. Lift heavy, using compound exercises. Give your body time to recover – that is when muscle is built. Don’t be afraid of getting bulky. Bulk is built through diet. While we are all put together differently, muscle is ALWAYS smaller than fat – on everyone.
What you consider a good cardio, good training or good diet may be that way as compared to others you see. However for the body you want that stands out, many sacrifices need to be made BEFORE you even consider a cycle of anabolic steriods....WAY before.[/font]
