Today is Day 5 on the “Fighter Diet” and I’m ready for it to be over. The monotony that goes into the diet does not marry well with my short attention span and desire to be creative in the kitchen. But.. I have to say it helps you from thinking about food all the time, because you know what you’re having and not really that excited about the next meal. Sounds horrible doesn’t it but I can see now why competitive body builders and fitness pros use this method! I’m really surprised at myself though for sticking with it – I mean, I haven’t eaten a morsel of anything else outside of the diet, and bizarrely enough I haven’t even had any major sweet cravings, which I normally have when reducing my calorie intake.  I am feeling a bit drained though, not sure if it’s because of my tweaked diet or that I am in fact experiencing a burn out, as per my previous post.

On a more positive note, I was really excited to get my quark maker in the mail today ! Quark is a dairy product in the cheese family, but not quite a cheese. It is more like sour cream or a light yogurt, with a similar texture and flavor – milky and slightly tangy but with lower calorie content. Non-fat and full-fat versions are available. Quark can be used in the same way that sour cream or yogurt is, as a topping for food or for breakfast with fruit, as well as in both savory and dessert recipes. It’s a very European product, so almost impossible to get in stores here, which is why I decided to buy a quark maker and make it myself! All you need is the machine, around $60 retail, and buttermilk, and 16 hours of patience while the buttermilk coagulates. I got my quark maker from the German Corner Store online. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend!

I also got some more supplements and vitamins from AST Sports Science, I like to purchase my supplements here when I can’t get to GNC or the local vitamin store by my house.  I got some more BCAA (branch chain amino acids), glutamine and some protein bars. Most protein bars are loaded with both sugar and sodium and you might as well eat a chocolate bar, so I’m really particular about the bars I eat but have managed to find some low sugar, 32 g protein bars that feed my body the right amount of nutrients when I’m on the go. I have to drive 30 minutes to and from my gym so when I’m done working out, I am always starving after getting up early for a training session, so it helps to have a snack ready in the car to feed my muscles!

Tomorrow is lower body work out and hoping my shoulder will be ok because I work my shoulders on my leg days also. My trainer thinks chest and shoulders should be trained separately although I’m ready to not focus so much on my chest anymore. I’ve lost anything that can remind me of boobs, and so I don’t really need to look any more “buff” in that area, sigh… I want to work on my back more, and Wednesday I started doing wide grip pull ups instead of close grip (which really works more biceps than back) and boy can I feel that still today! I look forward to squats – I am squatting about 110 lbs now, which is almost my body weight (that was my goal when I started) – watch out! I feel I’m getting stronger, and I also love doing lunges with a 40 lbs bar on my shoulders. I am still feeling them as well from Tuesday!

I need to psyche myself up after 2 (much needed) days off from the gym – I can feel that I’m getting the desire back to get in the gym and work my butt off, thank God! Hopefully I can get some shots soon from me working out in the gym – look out for those soon!

In the spirit of the upcoming Arnold Fitness Expo coming up next month in Ohio, let me leave you with a quote from Arnold “I’ll be baaaack” Schwarzenegger:

“It’s in the mind. You stand in front of the bar and you talk to it. You have to
communicate with the bar: ‘You son-of-a-bitch, I’m going to rip you off my chest.
I’m going to throw you over my head, I don’t care how much you weigh. I’m the
man who’s going to take you out. I’m going to be the master of you.’ You talk
yourself into it and you picture yourself lifting the weights before you even touch
them.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger