But The Size Four / Six Bikini I Just Bought Is Tight!
I look like I'm going to whack the kid!
Time to move on to a diet phase...
On the up side, last year’s size eight / ten is loose! (See side bar photos of me last year in the orange bikini and this year in the turquoise bikini).
After a six week break from weight training (I did some aerobic workouts and other activities) and a three week carbohydrate and calorie loading phase, my weight this glorious morning is 123 pounds, body fat percentage is 23%, body fat in pounds is 26 lbs, waist measurement 29 3/4 inches. I is fluffy. And I’m going out to eat!
To put these statistics into some perspective on December 30th 2007 (at 5 foot ½ inches tall) I weighed 112 pounds, had a body fat percentage of 20.4 %, my body fat in pounds was 23, and my waist was 29 1/2 inches. My lean mass was 89 pounds.*
Between January 22nd and May 8th, I went through an intensive weight training program mixing Power 90X with Power 90X Plus, Bosu workouts, and classic weight training with free weights and machines. At the end of this period, my weight was 120 pounds, my body fat was 20.9 percent, my body fat in pounds was still 23, and my waist was 28 3/4 inches. My lean mass had gone UP to 97 pounds (this is my main goal, to add muscle). This means a gain in lean mass of 8 pounds (usually a combination of muscle, bone, water) while my body fat stayed the same and my waist size went down ¾ of an inch.
The real advantage to the added lean mass is a higher metabolism and more calories burned every day. And frankly, lean muscle is sexy.
On my three week carbohydrate and calorie load I ate foods like pizza with a bottle of white wine, cheese burgers with the bun, bacon, hash browns, and an English muffin with butter for breakfast, potato chips with dip, Key Lime pie (I don’t want to even see another Key Lime Pie again-too sweet), a McDonald’s Southern Style chicken biscuit with orange juice, Taco Bell taco and bean burrito, Sonic Toaster Breakfast sandwich with a Blackberry Sprite, imported cheese and Carr’s crackers, homemade lasagna, homemade spaghetti, both with red wine, Mexican food with the rice and beans and beer, two “Cowboy Breakfasts” at Terrible’s Como Café of steak, eggs, hash browned potatoes, and sour dough toast, and this week a different pizza every night with wine. My last high carb meal will be something delicious at Chili’s this afternoon.
I continued to log all my foods at Fitday during this loading phase to see what was what. If the experiment doesn’t go my way I’ll know why. My calories went as high as 2500 plus, as low as 1550, and averaged out at roughly 1800-1900 most days. I ate more carbs than normal – as much as 250 grams on a few days. And I ate a little less protein - 50-100 grams a day - while my fat intake stayed around 40-80 grams a day. Although I took a break from weight lifting I stayed active, mostly doing household and ranch chores. See my post on “The Benefits of A Busy Life” for an example of my daily activities.
You may be asking “why did she eat more calories and carbohydrates for three weeks? She was not lifting weights! Aren’t you supposed to carb load before and after weight training workouts? Aren’t you supposed to eat more calories when you’re lifting heavy and trying to build mass? And almost no aerobics…what is she, crazy?”
Hopefully I’m crazy like a fox. The answer to why I did this unconventional loading during a break is three-fold. First, I wanted to change things up to rest my body and metabolism after an intense weight training workout phase (four months) while I was also on a somewhat strict diet of eating clean (25-100 grams of carbs a day) at least six days a week.
Second, I wanted to take a break for the mental, emotional and psychological benefits it offers. (Don’t try this if you’re one of those dieters who stress out over any perceived cheating). Permission to eat whatever you want whenever you crave it can be freeing and uplifting. Your body perceives it’s no longer in “diet” or “starvation” mode, depending on your dieting style. And now that I’ve had my extended “cheat” I’m mentally, emotionally, and physically ready to go at another intense weight lifting and clean eating tour of duty.
Third, I wanted to see what would happen if I ate anything I wanted, and I wanted to see how this loading would affect my next bodybuilding phase. My glycogen stores will be full and my muscles loaded for bear. I should be able to lift heavy. And because I didn’t gain much body fat during this three week relaxed eating phase my metabolism must be good.
And there is a fourth reason I did this. While I was trying ‘The Cheat To Lose Diet’ I discussed here, here, here and here my results were less than stellar as far as fat loss. I DID gain muscle and did NOT add any body fat. Because the “Cheat To Lose” diet is based in scientific research, I was curious, what would happen if I extended the ‘cheat’ day to several weeks and then extend the “low carbohydrate” “low glycemic” and “higher glycemic” phases also?”
So the great “three week cheat” is over and the great “low carbohydrate, high protein, heavy weight lifting” phase of this experiment begins Sunday. Later I’ll be cycling the macro-nutrients and calories again. The goal is to gain more lean muscle mass and hopefully lose a little body fat. I’ll be adding aerobics into the mix to aid fat burning. At the least, I want to build mass without adding much, if any, body fat.
Bruno will be joining me in this dieting experiment seeing as he’s been on a nine month long “loading” phase (not planned), and clocking in at 93 pounds at 54 ½ inches tall (4” 7 ½), waist 29 ½ inches. His body fat is 29.2 percent and he has 27 pounds of body fat! (School food is bad! No more school food! And no more high carb snacks!)
I’ll post updates as this experiment progresses and will see if that size four / six bikini will fit perfectly by the end of summer. And if I can hold Bruno’s weight steady maybe he can grow into it. Crosses fingers.
*All body fat percentages, body fat in pounds, and lean mass is measured by an Omron Bio-Impedance Meter.
