Week 5 Update!
10 WEEK GOAL: Train Insane & Eat to Grow. Increase Muscle Mass whilst maintaining a relatively low body fat percentage.Date: 26th June 2016 | Day: 35 of 70 | Current Weight: 53.8kgs
PROGRESS UPDATE:This week was far better than the last. My workouts have been good, I have loved adding in a few extra HIIT sessions to my training program and am feeling far better about my nutrition plan. I was finding myself able to eat every meal this week (even feeling hungry at times!)
I had a great coffee catch up during the week with my fitness idol Tanya. She is a fitness competitor so knows all about the "mental battle" that gaining (and eventually shredding) can bring. It was so reassuring to know that I am not the only one who feels these mixed emotions. One day I'm all about the gains and get excited knowing I've gained weight and then the next I want to cut out all these extra carbs and be lean immediately!
I'm actually super excited in knowing that I am HALF WAY through my 10 week transformation and that I have gained almost 2kgs (muscle and fat combo no doubt). I love that I am so close to hitting the next phase of my plan where I can start to "shred" and attempt carb cycling for the very first time.
THIS WEEKS EATING:
Positives:- I ate every single meal this week and actually enjoyed them. I actually struggled last weekend with the limited intake of carbs on my non-training days. Although I stuck to my macros, I could have easily have smashed another few meals... believe it!- I am LOVING my breakfasts (as usual) and actually LOVING my casein protein too (which for me is my second meal, around 10am with 50g of cashews!)- Due to social obligations, I had three meals out this week- 2 dinners and 1 lunch. I was able to stick to my macros pretty well, I tried to order as close to my regular meal as possible. One meal was grilled fish and salad, another was raw zucchini noodles with grilled chicken. It is so nice to be social whilst sticking to my meal plan as my goals are so important to me, yet I don't want to miss out on important celebrations also!
Negatives:- Really starting to get over basmati rice! At the moment my carbs are coming from basmati rice, black beans and sweet potato. I try to mix it up as much as I can by having a "mexican" lunch which consists of basmati rice and a black bean combo with green veggies and kangaroo mince. Then for my pre workout meal I have baked sweet potato and peri peri chicken and then a rice, veggies and lemon pepper fish at dinner! But I still can't wait for the next phase of my plan when I can have oats as a carb source too!
THIS WEEKS TRAINING:Positives:- I FINALLY got to have a legs PT session with Zac at Snap Fitness. My session was on Tuesday and it is safe to say my legs didn't feel normal again until Friday afternoon! I love how hard he pushes me, so hard in fact that I almost shed tears. That leg press really got the better of me, but I felt so proud and so much more focused after. It put me in a good mindset for the rest of the week.
Negatives:- I have this battle in my head wanting to lift heavier but I just can't seem to gain any strength! Or when I do, I can't hit the amount of reps that have been set for me. I never know whether to go hard and heavy and then just drop set to complete the reps (which is what I think I might trial next week).THOUGHTS/FEELINGS- I still feel that the weight I've gained is fat and not lean muscle mass. I'm definitely noticing the lack of definition in my stomach/core and the top of my hips.- I'm noticing that my jeans and tights are getting tighter... hope it's the booty and not the muffin top!- I am tempted to book in for another BioXscan in early July to see if my muscle mass has increased and body fat decreased... or at least BF stayed the same ready to shred in the next phase.
Next weeks focus is: To stick to my meal plan 100%.- I have no scheduled meals out, except for one birthday breakfast which is easy to fit my macros as I have salmon, eggs and veg every day whether it's a training or non training day!