Every so often the body could use a change in routine, both when it comes to diet and exercise. I’ve been following the Fighter Diet for a long time and I will continue to apply these principles in both the aforementioned areas, but will try to mix up a few things. This game is all about trial and error – with little body fat to lose and focusing on “perfecting” a physique, one sometimes have to resort to some extreme measures and be willing to fail and learn along the way to find out what is best for YOUR body. Everybody is different, so everyone’s body will react a bit different to both adjustments in training and diets. I feel I’ve hit a plateau right now, the body isn’t “shocked” anymore and no longer doing any big changes so I figured, why not try something else for a month? My changes will be as follows:
DIET:
I will eliminate dairy from my diet for now (normally I’ll have non fat cottage cheese in the afternoon along with non fat greek yogurt before bed). I will include some more fats (avocados and nuts/almonds) and a bit more protein. I will incorporate some brown rice, quinoa and more rice cakes with every meal EXCEPT my last meal at night (most likely dinner). We are not talking major amounts (30g) but I want to see how this will affect my body. This means I won’t have a “refeed” day as I will have a decent amount of carbs every day. Iwill still be working with major amounts of vegetables of course, and now that spring/summer is on verge of arriving (hopefully! Still a bit chilly in NY!) I will be consuming a lot of dark, leafy greens, salads and fresh vegetables – can’t wait!
So will try this for a month to see what happens. I’m shooting for a show in October now – there are two shows in my area, one on October 22dn in Poughkeepsie and another on October 29 in Tarrytown that I’m hoping I will be able and ready to do. So I’ve got about 5 months and some change, and adjust my diet/ training as I get closer. As far as training goes, I’m incorporating three days of cardio (with a fourth optional day) of HIIT exercises, 30-40 min per session, in the morning, and then I will do weights in the afternoon. Some days I might have to do cardio right after weights in the morning, depending on my schedule. I’ll incorporate some biking, running track /sprints, jumping rope and the step mill. I’m excited as I know my body responds really quickly to cardio and I lean out very fast once I get active like that. Additionally I’m also very active in general as I’ve got two huge boxer puppies who require their daily walks and I am always on my feet for work walking and lugging heavy things around.
My goal is to post some pictures this weekend so I’ve got a starting point for you guys so you can join me in monitoring my progress over the summer. I also need to get some color on this pale body as I”m pretty see-through right now after the winter (it’s that Scandinavian skin!). I hope I’ll have enough time to be more attentive to this blog as I know I’ve been terrible lately! Thanks for checking in on me and I will be back soon! Happy training !
sunnyandfit.com 
Yes, post some pics, would be interesting to see how much your body has changed. Me I am going on the fighter diet next week, all the stress from the past few months made me revert to my sugar and booze diet so my belly and boobs are back. Funny though, it is my boobs that bother me the most, go figure. Anyway, going to be so much easier to be on the fighter diet here as I can get all the ingredients and have more options with my protein. Also, the farmers markets have awesome veggies for so cheap.
Do have a question though? Where do you buy your gaspari from? I ended up ordering online as I haven’t found any shops here, there used to be a GNC but no more. Kona might have some but it is on the other side of the island.
Hi Mikaela – it’s great to hear from you! And yes, now that you live in Hawaii you have no excuses, you probably have a much better access to fresh produce even than myself! 🙂 I am actually following a different diet myself now (will blog about it later today when I post pictures!) – although I always install the FD principles. I am just in the “experimenting” mode to see what fits my lifestyle best, not to mention what is the best plan for my body!
I buy all my supplements from bodybuilding.com – it’s the best and cheapest out there and they ship it to you SUPER fast! So check it out! I will try to take some photos at the gym later, I am SO pale now it’s hard to see any outlines of anything but will do my best!! 🙂
Cool that is where I ended up ordering from too. Which multi vitamin are you taking?
I have some color still left from the NZ summer and now here even with the cloud cover I am sure I am getting some rays still. So I am luckily by passing that horrible pale body this time around. So nice being back in the warm climate, I started my runs this week and they have been suprisingly decent considering everything. Going to buy a bike soon and start working up on that as I am planning on biking to school and back. Going is easy as it is down the volcano but then coming home well….But after sitting all day in class it is going to be good.
Hi Mikaela! I’m sure you are loving being back in Hawaii! I take MultiPro32X by AST Sports Science, but I’ve also used Anavitae by Gaspari. I’m excited to try Gaspari’s new cookies and cream protein powder too, that’s next on my list! Enjoy your Sunday and I’ll be back posting soon!