the skinny on diet

Well, I`ve been doing a lot of experimenting lately with diet.  This is what I`ve concluded thus far:

1. eat real food.  Food that isn`t processed.  Grassfed beef, whole eggs, fresh fruit, green vegetables, real carbs such as sweet taters, oats and root vegetables.  Avoid artificial anything.

2. avoid carbohydrates in the morning.  It just makes me bloated and increases my cravings for sweets for the rest of the day.  Eating a breakfast high in protein keeps me satiated and stable.

3.  IF doesn`t seem to work in my favour.  I tried it, and failed.  I retain water.  I get excessively hungry, and it did nothing to reduce my body fast percentage.  So, my motto is: do what`s right for your body.  A hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, steak or what have you serves better for me than nothing.

4.  Give carb backloading a try.  So far, I like the results.  Still experimenting with it though.

5. Don`t be afraid to eat.  My maintenance calories are in and around 2500.  It`s a daunting number.  But I find that when I go below it, I get lethargic, moody, my performance at work goes down and my strength in the gym is hindered.

There`s so much to learn and experiment with in the diet world.  It`s very intimidating.  eat this, don`t eat this.  do it this way, not that way.  It comes down to listening to your body and doing what feels best for it.

This is an example of what I ate today:

Meal 1: coconut pancakes (5 eggs, 2 tbsp coconut flour, cinnamon); 2 tbsp coconut cream, a few blueberries, some greek yoghurt.

Meal 2: 1 piece quiche (12 eggs, 1 cup cottage cheese, kale, green onion, sundried tomato, spice), cucumber, greek yoghurt with blueberries

Meal 3: 1 cup cottage cheese, 10 oz grassfed steak, kale, cucumber

Also lots of homemade chai and coffee :-D



It`s been a while since my last post, but will definitely make a point of posting more often.

Also, in the midst of a Madcows program.  Stats so far:

Bench: 125 PR, 115 x5
Squat: 185 x5
Deadlift: 270 PR

Until next time!

Stay strong, beast mode on,

The Iron Rose

DEAD LIFT!!!

Ahhh, the deadlift.  My favourite lift.

Nothing beats a good deadlift session to get out any anger, frustration, madness, or simply excess energy.  I know anytime I am in one of the aforementioned moods, I turn to my friend, the deadlift, as therapy.  And I ALWAYS feel better.

Back in March (on my birthday, to be precise), I took a video of my new deadlift PR of 260 lbs.  It felt great to lift that much weight off the floor.  However, I have taken a new approach, and reduced the weight for the time being, as I would like to start training RAW.  Raw, as in, sans belt and straps (and gloves technically, but seeing as I'm a massage therapist, I doubt very much my guests would enjoy a callused massage...I digress.).  Thus, I am aiming for new PR's done raw.  So far, I can only lift 205 lbs raw as my grip simply can't sustain higher than that.  It is, as anything in fitness, a work in progress though.

The deaflift is an excellent compound exercise that, when done properly and with correct form, targets the legs, glutes, core and back, and even the upper back and arms.  You use so many different muscle groups when performing this lift that it's honestly one of the best movements you can incorporate into your routine.

There is a science to it however, and one that I'm still in the midst of perfecting.  And I have the shin bruises to prove it.

I came across a rather detailed and informative video on youtube that illustrates the perfect execution of the deadlift rather excellently!

So, without further adieu, here is the link.  Let me know what you think!

Happy deadlifting!

IR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dit4w7T7PoY&feature=share

Real, Whole Food

It has been said that part of any fitness program, diet is 80% of the game.  That's a massive percentage.  I have found, in my day-to-day minglings with gym-minded folk, that many people do not put such a high emphasis on diet as they do exercise.  But I see it time and again...ladies grinding away at glorified hamster wheels (aka elliptical/treadmill/whatever), yet still with a high body fat percentage.  Why?

Diet.  (I could throw in lack of weight training too, but that's for another post on another day).  And when I use the term "diet", I don't mean "I'm on a diet", I mean eating as a lifestyle.

As I mentioned in one of my first posts, I have experimented with all sorts of eating plans.  I have been exposed to many of them, and I have researched many of them.  What I am about to delve into here is based solely on my experience and my opinion.  You may disagree, but that's ok.

Over the past several months, I have been bombarded with options for supplements, powders, replacements, enhancers, blah blah blah.  Bottles and jars filled with various powders of various consistencies and pills upon pills upon pills for this, that and the other thing.  On a simple level, I have whey protein isolate.  On an advanced level, I have creatine monohydrate, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, msm, waxy maize and the list goes on and on and on.  Anyone exposed to the fitness and especially body building industry knows exactly what I'm talking about.

And this got me thinking.

What happened to REAL food.  You know, fresh picked or caught or laid or plucked.  I'm talking about fresh spinach and greens, fresh berries, a real hunk of meat, whole eggs.  Why so many synthetically-produced, isolated, refined, fractionated things on the "must-eat" list?

What really sparked this delving into whole-food territory, was when it was recommended to me to eat egg whites.  Lots of them.  So many, that I couldn't justify throwing away all the yolks, so I purchased egg whites in a carton.  Yes, EGG WHITES IN A CARTON.  Does anyone else see anything wrong and mildly disturbing about that?!?!  These egg whites, which by the way don't taste or look anything like real, fresh ones, have been processed, refined and pasturized to the point that I doubt there's anything even remotely nutritious about them.  It made me really question what i was eating.

What is wrong with WHOLE eggs?

"oh, they're full of fat and cholesterol" is the typical rebuttal.  But, is that a BAD thing?!

Which leads me to the next segwey of the emerging "paleo/primal" eating lifestyle.  It's all about whole, real food and all that goes with it (and yes, that means the fatty, cholesterol-laden yolks, the saturated animal fat, etc. etc.).  Is there truly anything wrong with this?

I'm a firm believer that nature provided us with absolutely everything we need (from food to medicine), in the most perfect package with which we need it...so perhaps there's a reason that eggs have yolks and meat has fat.  Perhaps it's because we're SUPPOSED to eat it that way.

At least, I believe so.

So, concluding, I have this to say:  enough with your whey isolate and waxy maize and green powder and egg whites in a carton.  I want my food real, I want it whole, and I want it untouched.  So bring on the fatty slabs of grass-fed beef, the cholesterol-laden whole eggs and the chicken pieces WITH the skin on.  I like my food whole and real.

Wouldn't you agree???

Getting Back in the Game

As many of you know (I think?!), I recently had a pretty major, last minute life change where I changed jobs, and cities, within a mere 5 days.  It was hectic, insane, crazy, busy, tiresome and stressful, but I can happily say that I'm more or less settled now.

This is a great move for many reasons...career, opportunities, social life, but the sudden change definitely set my gym and nutrition routine a little "off".

I am happy to say that I've found a new gym to call "home", where the likes of Lyzabeth Lopez and Dorian Yates have either trained or taught, with a great "raw" vibe and absolutely stellar old-school iron weight plates.  So far, I'm the only chick I've noticed that lifts more than a 5lb dumbbell and stays away from anything bouncy or stretchy.

It's amazing however, that training and eating can be so easily disrupted during a time of change.  I admit, my eating was terrible, and I'm still trying to get back to my regular routine, and exercise fell by the wayside.  I've learned though not to stress, that your body craves breaks such as these, and it's an opportunity to refocus your training goals.

I'm still currently following the Leangains protocol to great success, and think I finally found a program that I can stick with and enjoy.

I promise not to take such a long hiatus from my next post.  Until then, lift heavy, eat meat and enjoy the odd cheesecake!

Peace,

IR

Lift Heavy. Eat Meat.

I have tried every diet and training plan out there.  I've done keto diets.  I've done low carb diets.  I've done low fat AND low carb diets.  I've tried vegetarianism, veganism and raw foodism.  I've done the typical 6-meal-a-day body builder style diets.  I've tried cycling my macronutrients.  There's just so much out there to experiment with until you find what works for you.

Most recently, I was introduced to the world and philosophy of IF-ing, or, "intermittent fasting".  Popular diets such as the warrior diet, eat-stop-eat diet are all forms of IF.  Specifically however, I have been delving into the research and writings of well-known Martin Berkhan and his "leangains" approach.  You can check out his blog at http://www.leangains.com/.

The premise is to fast for a 14-16 hour period, and feed for an 8-10 hour period.  You typically skip breakfast (a lot of interesting research has been done on the benefits of skipping this meal), eat your largest meal post-workout with a higher amount of carbs, typically at night.  You also cycle your macronutrients, eating a higher percentage of carbs on training days, and a lower percentage of carbs and higher fats on non-training days.

Along with this eating methodology, your weight training is high weight, low rep, low volume, with little to no cardio (as cardio destroys too much muscle tissue).

It  has only been a short period of time that I've been following this protocol, but I can confidently say that I've definitely noticed some benefits and changes already.  And as a person who normally couldn't go an hour upon waking without eating something...the idea of skipping breakfast was a difficult one to fathom, but I have been successful at it and feel great.

Check out his info, and get back to me when you're done.  It's truly eye-opening and thought-provoking.

My favourite article of his is this one:  http://www.leangains.com/2011/09/fuckarounditis.html.  It's a hoot to read and very, very true.

Until next time, stay fit and fierce!

My Progress Thus Far...

I started hard core into the world of lifting in August of 2011.  

At that time, I could barely deadlift 35 lbs/side, I couldn't jog to save my life, I didn't even know what a bench press was (well, I did, but never did one), and I could barely squat with 25lbs/side on the smith machine.

Now, my personal record is 260 lbs deadlift, I can just about bench press 135 lbs 1RM, I can jog until the day is done, and I can squat my body weight with relative ease.

I have lost 35 lbs, and reduced my BF by 10%, all in 8 months.

I look forward to this continued journey!  Thanks everyone for your support!

My 260lb Deadlift

On my birthday, I decided to engage in one of my favourite activities:  deadlifting!  My goal was to go for a new personal record of 260 lbs.  My form isn't amazing, but, I was able to lift it for certain!  I will try for a new record in the next few weeks.  Until then, enjoy, and stay tuned for a personal record bench press coming soon!