MichelleRisley

Well, it's been just over two weeks since my last post. To say that June was a whirlwind would be a huge understatement! My stress level and lack of sleep (since mid-June, I've been averaging only about 3 hours daily) really took a lot out of me, and totally derailed any chance of me competing next month. The week after my last post here, my weight dropped way too fast, and based on my most recent body comp test, almost of that weight loss was lean mass. I'm obviously in a very catabolic state right now.

I doubt if I'll be posting here very much for a while, at least not until I can get a better handle on things, and get my metabolism back to normal. But that won't happen until I can begin getting adequate sleep and get my cortisol level under control...Hopefully, that will happen sooner, rather than later...

I don't know when I will have to time to back-post my training/nutrition for the past two weeks...I may just have to pick up where I am at the time...

Despite numerous distractions and personal events which have occurred over the past two weeks, and in addition to my typical busy schedule, I'm pretty much on track. I did miss a couple of workouts, and there were a few days in which my nutrition wasn't exactly on point...But I don't think I did too bad, considering what my past two weeks have been like...

My weight was 109.2 lbs this morning, which is the (max) 0.5 lb per week loss I am aiming for (I weighed 110.2 on June 3rd). I just hope that the weight loss is mostly body fat, and not lean mass. I plan on having a body comp test done soon to make sure.

Wow...it's been an eventful and very busy week...I am just quickly checking in...I don't have time to post anything...I hope to get to it by the weekend.

I'll be in touch. All the best with your contest preparation!

 

Keep after it! Hope to see you in a couple of weeks.

Thanks!...Hope to see you, too!

6/3/12

Morning weight:

110.2 lbs

Training

Pre-meal cardio, low intensity, 20 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 264 gm

Protein 120 gm

Fat 44 gm

Water:

5.5 liters

6/2/12

Morning weight:

110.2 lbs

Training

Morning-

Zumba class (counted this as my cardio for the day)

Afternoon session-

Weight training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Body weight goblet squats

Superset:

Squats

x15, x12, x12, x10

Goblet squats, kettle bell

4 x 15

Bb Lunges

3 x 15

Cable glute kickbacks

3 x 20

Stiff leg deadlifts

x15, x15, x12, x12

Leg curl (one leg at a time)

4 x 10, static 5-second contractions on last 2 of each set

Calf press

3 x 20

Stretching:

15 minutes

Nutrition

Competition is 12 weeks from today. I will begin slowly decreasing macros and doing the minimum amount of cardio necessary to see a slow, but steady decrease in weight. In addition to weighing myself daily, I will also be using weekly progress photos, weekly measurements, and body comp tests (every 2-4 weeks) to monitor progress. As always, the goal is to lean out with as little loss of lean mass as possible.

New macro limits:

Carbs 265 gm

Fat 45 gm

Protein 120 gm

Total macros for today:

Carbs 266 gm

Protein 120 gm

Fat 45 gm

Water:

5.5 liters

Great work as usual!

 

I'm out in Alabama now making my way east. Here for a whole week and then in Nashville for a bit but will keep making my way out further and further east.

 

Have an awesome week of training!

 

All the best.

Thanks, Robert! I'm less than 12 weeks out from an August show. I've been deliberately hovering around the same weight range/body comp for a while now. But it's now time for me to kick it up a few notches...

Keep me posted on your travel plans, as well as when / if you may be in or near Raleigh.

You have an awesome week, as well!!

6/1/12

Morning weight:

110.4 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun salutations

Bb rows x12, x10, x10, x10, x8

Stiff arm cable pulldowns 5 x 15

Assisted pullups 3 sets to failure

Seated cable rows x12, x10, x10, x8, x8

Deadlifts x12, x12, x10, x10, x8

Cardio:

Stair intervals, 15 minutes

Stretching:

10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 276 gm

Protein 124 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5.5 liters

5/31/12

Morning weight:

110.4 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Giant set: 4 rounds

Ez bar curls

x15, x15, x15, x12

Skull crushers

x15, x15, x12, x12

Incline db curls

x15, x15, x12, x12

Tri overhead extensions

x15, x15, x15, x12

Giant set: 4 rounds

Hammer curls

x15, x15, x12, x12

Dips

x failure

Swiss ball, alternating tuck/pike

x20, x20, x20, x20

Stretching:

10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 276 gm

Protein 125 gm

Fat 51 gm

Water:

5.5 liters

Hi Michelle,

 

If you have time, would you be able to post some nutrition/meal detail?

 

The macros are great, though some vegans who are new to counting macros (like me) sometimes have trouble with expanding their food choices beyond the staples. Seeing how others reach their targets would be a huge help.

 

Kind Regards

Frank

Hi Frank. Thanks for your question. If you read my journal from the beginning, you'll see that I initially tried to include what I was eating at each meal. Unfortunately, I was only able to keep that up for a few days. At some point, I hope to have the extra time to be that detailed again. Unfortunately, it's quite time consuming to go back after the fact. Most weeks, I'm so busy that I have to post multiple days at one time (like I'll be doing today for the past 3 or 4 days).

In addition to my time limitations, I'm currently less than 3 months out from a competition. Most of my meals during this "pre-contest" phase are extremely simple, and the majority of what I eat on a daily basis comes from the following foods: beans and legumes, dark leafy greens, most vegetables, fruit, nuts and nut butters, seitan (which I make myself from wheat gluten flour), quinoa, sweet potatoes, brown rice, bulgar wheat, steel cut oats, hemp seeds, chia seeds, sprouts, and protein powders (from pea, brown rice, &/or hemp sources). Occasionally, I will also have tofu, edamame, sprouted grain bread, and some of the faux meats. At this time, white potatoes, white rice, bread (other than sprouted/flourless), and pasta are off-limits, as are any other foods that are not nutritionally dense (or not listed here). Depending on how lean I get in the next 6-8 weeks, the occasional sprouted grain bread and faux meats may be further decreased or eliminated (and those macros will be replaced with other complex carbs and seitan / protein powder).

Hopefully, this will help you. The main thing about getting your macros to fit a certain ratio is time, experience, and preparation. I can do it on the fly now (meaning, I don't have to plan my meals and pre-cook for the day or week like I used to have to do). But in the beginning, pre-planning was the only way I knew that I would hit the right ratios every day. But now, since I've done it for so long, I know what types of foods and amounts I need to have every 3 hours to hit my daily limits. It also depends on exactly what ratio you're trying to hit. Some people have to do a lower percentage of carbs; some can get away with more. For me personally, carbs are always the majority of my total calories, and they will continue to be so even as I continue to lean out for the upcoming competition.

Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. It just takes time and practice.

5/30/12

Morning weight:

110.6 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Bench press

x15, x12, x12, x10

Incline db press

x12, x12, x10, x10

Pushups on inverted Bosu

4 sets to failure

Plank on two medicine balls

4 times, 30-45 second holds

Giant set: 4x12, plus 1 drop-set

Arnold press

Side lateral

Rear lateral

Upright row

Cardio:

20 minutes, low intensity

Stretching:

10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 274 gm

Protein 125 gm

Fat 49 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/29/12

Morning weight:

110.8 lbs

Training

Session #1:

Pre-breakfast cardio, low intensity, 25 minutes

Session #2:

Warmup:

Body weight squats

Leg extensions (3 different leg/foot positions, x 5 each)

4 x 15

Bb squats

x15, x12, x12, x12, x10

Narrow-stance Smith squats

4 x 15

Stiff leg deadlift

4 x 12

Leg curls

4 x 15

Seated calf press

3 x 20

Standing calf raise

3 x 20

Stretching:

15 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 277 gm

Protein 126 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/28/12

Morning weight:

110.6 lbs

Training

Rest day

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 276 gm

Protein 123 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/27/12

Morning weight:

110.6 lbs

Training

Rest day

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 275 gm

Protein 127 gm

Fat 49 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/26/12 (cont'd)

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Ez bar rows 4 x 12

Db rows 4 x 10, plus 1 set to failure

Decline pullovers 4 x 15

Lat pulls 4 x 15

Assited pull ups 4 sets to failure

Deadlifts x15, x12, x12, x12, x10, x8

Cardio:

Stair intervals, 20 minutes

Stretching:

10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 274 gm

Protein 125 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/26/12

Morning weight was 110.8 lbs.

My show is about 3 months (13 weeks) from today. I'm going to keep my macros where they are for another week, but add a few more cardio sessions, as well as vary the type of cardio (adding some intervals & pre-meal cardio). If my weight drops too quickly, I'll either decrease the cardio or slightly increase carbs.

5/25/12

Weight: 110.8 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun salutations

Ez bar curls: 5 x 15

Incline dumbbell curls: 5 x 15

Db hammer curls: 5 x 15

Close grip db presses: 5 x 15

Cable pressdowns: 5 x 15

Ez bar skull crushers: 5 x 15

Cable crunches: 5 x 20

Cardio:

Low intensity, 20 minutes

Stretching:

10 min

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 276 gm

Protein 126 gm

Fat 49 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/24/12

Afternoon weight: 111 lbs

Training

Warmup:

5 min on treadmill

Giant set: 5 rounds

Alternating push-up/pike on Swiss Ball x 20

Seated calf press x 25

Bench step-ups x 15

Plank on two medicine balls, about 30-45 seconds

Box jumps x 15

Standing calf raise x 25

Side plank, 45 seconds

Burpees x 20

Cardio:

Intervals, 15 minutes

Stretching:

15 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 275 gm

Protein 123 gm

Fat 51 gm

Water:

5.5 liters

5/23/12

Morning weight:

111 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Bodyweight squats

Squats

x15, x12, x10, x10, x10

Inverted leg press (Smith machine)

x15, x15, x12, x12, x10

Good mornings

x12, x12, x12, x10, x10

Reverse lunges with bar

x15, x15, x12, x12, x12

Calf press

5 x 15

Stretching:

15 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 274 gm

Protein 125 gm

Fat 49 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/22/12

Morning weight:

111 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Incline db presses 4 x 10, plus 1 set to failure

Flat db fly 3 x 15, plus 1 set to failure

Push ups on inverted Bosu, 4 sets to failure

Decline db pullover

4 x 15

Giant set: 5x12

Arnold presses

Side laterals

Upright rows, ez bar

Rear db laterals 4 x 15, plus 1 set to failure

Cardio:

20 minutes, low intensity

Stretching:

10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 275 gm

Protein 124 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/21/12

Morning weight:

111 lbs

Training

Ashtanga yoga, ~90 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 276 gm

Protein 126 gm

Fat 49 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/20/12

Morning weight:

111 lbs

Training

Rest day

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 275 gm

Protein 124 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/19/12

Afternoon weight:

112.6 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Arnold press

x15, x12, x12, x12

Clean & press

x10, x8, x8, x8, x6

Superset: 4 rounds

Upright row x12

Side laterals x15

Combo pushup/pike (feet on Swiss Ball)

4 sets to failure

Core balance with Medicine Balls (both hands on one; both feet on one)

4 x's; about 30-45 seconds before losing balance on each

Cardio:

Low intensity, 25 minutes

Stretching:

10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 274 gm

Protein 126 gm

Fat 50 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/18/12

Afternoon weight:

112.4 lbs

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Body weight goblet squats

Deep squats

x15, x12, x12, x10, x8

Parallel squats

x15, x12, x12, x12, x10

Front squats

x15, x12, x12, x10, x10

Calf raise

4 x 20

Calf press

4 x 20

Stretching:

15 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 271 gm

Protein 124 gm

Fat 51 gm

Water:

5 liters

5/17/12

Morning weight: 110.8 lbs

As of Saturday, I will be 14 weeks out from my show. I'm going to slowly increase daily carbs back to 275 gm and increase cardio (if needed) over the next two weeks.

Training

Warmup:

Sun Salutations

Superset:

Bb rows

x15, x15, x12, x10

Rope lat pulldown

x15, x12, x12, x10

Superset:

Assisted pullups

4 sets to failure

Stiff arm cable pulldown

x15, x15, x12, x12

Deadlifts

x12, x12, x10, x10, x8, x6

Superset

Rear delt rope cable rows

x15, x15, x12, x12

Rear laterals

x15, x15, x15, x15

Stretching: 10 minutes

Nutrition

Total macros:

Carbs 266 gm

Protein 124 gm

Fat 49 gm

Water:

5 liters