Hungry

Oh, and miserable.

America's Best Mac Crew

The San Diego competition made it clear that I need a bunch of fans to root me on in May. Those girls are tired, hungry and nervous and the ones who had a big cheering squad obviously fed off of it.

My folks can't make the trek from back East, so I'll need at least a dozen people to make up for the noise my mom would have made for me!

So clear your calendars for May 22 folks! (And if you really love me May1 as well. I'm doing a warm up show that day.)

The info for the show is in my links list below. Who's making the posters?

I'll start working on the route for the food crawl I'm going as soon as this is over!

Weekend Wandering

I've seen the most change in my body during the last five days compared to the rest of my training time. My mid section has gotten smaller, so much so that I had to shop for new jeans. It was surprisingly easy to find a pair that fit (guess I found the upshot to my downsized backside.)

The Oakland Marathon runners breezed by my building this morning and there were a ton of them! You could see participants around the city with their medals and numbers throughout the day. They must have been riding a terrific high having been a part of such a tremendous event. Congrats to them.

You Asked For It

Ok kids. I've gotten requests for updated photos, so here we go.

I took some earlier pics that Daddy Mac said looked "scary." Thanks, dad. So I toned down the flexing and here's what we get.

And Nike, if you're reading out there, "I think Nike has the best workout products for women. I love wearing Nike gear!"

Seriously, thanks for the support so far everyone!

Workin It Out

I got a mini workout rockin' with Jay-Z at his concert Wednesday night, but unfortunately, that's not enough.

I've updated my workouts page. My workouts have ramped up significantly in the last couple of weeks. My "favorite" new exercise is the sumo deadlift. It works the butt, quads, and hamstrings at once.

Here's the other stuff I have to get done today before I can have my carbs:
free motion pulldowns, close parallel grip pulldowns, 45 degree reverse grip bentover rows, cable lat pushdowns, shoulder blade pulldowns, chin pulls, lying cable side laterals, hyper extensions. Plus 30 minutes of cardio.

If you wanna join me, I'll be at the 24 hour fitness by the lake.

Veggieful

Because I've plateaued as far as weight loss and because I have a stress fracture in my foot (that happened about three weeks ago) I have to continue the 6-days no carbs, 1-day light carbs regimen. This way my cardio doesn't have to be as intense on the cardio day. Also, my weight loss should become more steady.

It's much easier this week than the first time and its Friday already, so you know what that means -- pretzel chips!! Yum!!

The other days, though, I'm pretty much only eating veggies and protein. Here's what I had yesterday for instance:

2 eggs
1 c. spinach
1 scoop protein (after workout)
1 cup steamed carrots
1/2 c. leeks
4 oz chicken breast
steamed collard greens
salad greens
cauliflower: steamed, blended with garlic and parsley -- pretty convincing "mashed potatoes"
1 scoop protein powder (before bed)

I'm trying to vary my veggies. Any suggestions?

Progress Makes Perfect??

Fat report: Jan 28 I was packing 20.5 % body fat. By Feb. 22 I was at 17.5 %. Just got measured today and have made it to 15.5%. Progress? Yes. On track? Not sure. To be competitive I should be around 12 percent. And remember, the more fat you lose, the harder it gets to lose more.

Onward we go...

Power of the Parents

Yes, I'm almost 30 years old. Yes I live 3,000 miles away from them, but make no mistake, Mama and Daddy Mac still have some serious veto power.

When I decided to do this competition, I figured my folks wouldn't be too pleased. They're no prudes, but having their only daughter prancing around on stage in a bikini is probably not their favorite idea.

So I waited almost a month before telling them and went with the make-them-think-the-worst-then-hit-em-with-not-so-bad-news tactic. Here's how it went down:

Mac: OK. Listen. I've got something to tell you that you probably won't like, but I've already done it, so it's too late to stop me.

Daddy Mac: Yea...?

Mac: I'm going to do a bikini competition. (Give them the general details)

Mama Mac: That's great! Exciting! I'm proud of you.

Daddy Mac: Will there be pictures taken? (Read: Will I potentially be going home on everyone's camera phone?)

Mac: Yes, Dad, there will be pictures.

Daddy Mac: Uh huh. Well, if that's what you want to do... Watch out for the weirdos.

Dad has since warmed up to the idea.

Carbs Sweet Carbs

I had carbs Friday night for the first time in a week and it was a beautiful thing. When I say carbs, I don't mean I was able to eat a plate of pasta and a loaf of bread, so don't get too excited. I did, however, eat what I thought were the tastiest rice cakes and pretzel chips I'd ever eaten. Make fun all you want, it was delish. I also had a handful of french fries and a half cup of ICE CREAM! Well, it was low fat ice cream, which would probably make it ice milk, but you get the point. I was in hog heaven.

Like I said before, the point was to deplete the body of carbs until the night before the competition, then load up on carbs that night. Your body should peak the next day, but the timing is different for everyone. I actually peaked on Sunday. I looked leaner and my muscles looked fuller, so I'll have to adjust during competition week for that extra day.

And for the ladies...

So like I said, the whole crowd was there to see the men. Not just the ladies scoping out the eye candy, but for the actual competition part of it. Go figure. I didn't stick around for the heavy weight dudes, but these lightweights were real easy to look at.

The men all pose at the same time on stage and have these elaborate methods for making individual muscles pop out to the fullest. After all the poses are called, the whole group gets to do a 15 second "pose off." It's the most enterataining thing you've ever seen. Enjoy!

Recon

Here are a couple pics I took at the San Diego competition. The ladies came with the heavy competition. This was one of my favorites. (Although, she came in second in their class). Every contestant has nice photos taken of them when they pose onstage.

As more women find out about the bikini division, the more compete. Let's hope the these gals don't wanna make the trek to Oakland (hopefully for my sake, these chicks believe the neg hype about the town.)

All of the women I talked to were really nice, actually, answered all the questions I had and even wished me luck on my mission.

Warning: Future Bikini Pro on the Loose

I'm back from San Diego and have a much better idea of what I'm getting myself into. The atmosphere was full of energy and several people there asked me if I was competing that day!! That felt great.

There was a lot of competition in the bikini division. So many girls that they had four classes (depending on the number of entries, they break the division up by different height groups). Each class has a winner, then an overall winner is named as well. There were almost 75 girls competing in bikini!

An expo was set up outside the auditorium with booths selling everything from protein gel and supplements to posing suits and workout gear. Check out the tank I got!

Things You Learn at a Bodybuilding Competition

1. You (well I) have a looong ways to go. The girls there were fierce.
2. Arrive early. It gets packed and/or sold out and you can't see squat in the back of the room.
3. The crowd is actually there to see the men.

There were caravans of campers, lots of big hair and tanned bodies, and more protein products than you can shake a stick at.

I'll share lots more (along with pictures) tomorrow. Stay tuned!

San Diego Here I Come!

Tomorrow I'm headed to SoCal to check out the NPC San Diego Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Championship. I'm excited to see exactly what I'm getting into -- you can only learn so much from YouTube. The vibe there is sure to motivate me, and who doesn't love a weekend in San Diego!

Water water everywhere and I have to drink it all

Two gallons today, folks. If you're thinking, "dang, that a lot o' water," we're on the same page.

The idea is to get my body used to getting rid of all that water, so when I cut water consumption way back the night before the competition, it won't hold onto that water. And since I'm doing a test run this week (see post "Ground turkey and other evil things") yesterday and today have been like an unglamorous showing of Cirque's O.

If you need me, check the ladies room.

Oh Where Oh Where have my goodies gone?

Listen up ladies. If you wanna keep your curvy boobs and butt, this ain't the lifestyle for you. Yes, I knew they'd shrink -- being mostly fat and all -- but not this fast! This is supposed to be a family friendly blog, but, I gotta tell you friends, the good 'ole T & A is the first thing to go.

It wouldn't hurt as bad if my tummy fat was departing at the same pace. I know, I know, belly fat is the hardest to lose, but dang Mother Nature, do you have to be so cruel?!

Food Rant No. 1

I know I just talked about food, but it's really on my mind this week, so I'm going to tell you about the temptation that is around every corner. It's only Tuesday night, but I've encountered some of the biggest tourmenters.

First, from the boss there was "I just got back from Spain and brought chocolate for everyone." Followed shortly by a helpful co-worker's "it's so-and-so's birthday, there's ice cream in the freezer." Another exceedingly annyoying co-worker (soley because of his unhumanly high metabolism despite downing several bakery sticky buns a week) makes sure I'm aware of every treat in the office, just before saying "oh, right, you can't eat that."

To make matters worse, I had to attend a banquet tonight. What was for dinner? Bar-b-que!! The good stuff.

Besides the 'cue, there were rolls, baked beans, potato salad and cookies. Oatmeal, white chocolate macadamian -- I even saw a chocolate chip one that was dipped in chocolate -- are you kidding me?! I'm not talking about those crunchy, semi-stale, store bought cookies either. These suckers were the ones that obviously have 17 sticks of butter in them and soak through your napkin. Yea, those kind.

You'll be proud to know that I didn't partake. The progress I'm making pushes me to stay strong.

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day though and I am Irish girl after all. Guess I'll just have to add a few drops of green food coloring to my egg whites.

Ground turkey and other evil things

I used to kinda dig ground turkey (when it was mixed with ground beef as nature intended) but now it’s just a light-colored, odd-smelling substance that I eat several pounds of a week.

This week I'm actually doing a "test run" for the competition week. That means that since Thursday I've had no carbs except fibrous vegetables, and let me tell you, it sucks. Not only am I tired and grouchy, but I’m bumping into stuff and dropping things like I’m drunk.

The point is to deplete the body of carbs until the night before the competition, then load up on carbs that night. Your body should look its best the next day, but the timing is different for everyone, so this week is the test.

I’m really looking forward to the fun carbs I get to eat Friday night, like pretzel chips, rice cakes and low fat granola! I know, I know, doesn't sound exciting, but hey, when the only thing you look forward to eating each day is the one tablespoon of almond butter you’re allowed, pretzel chips are like crispy treats from heaven.

Other evil things;
DHA fortified eggs -- taste like fish and not in a good way
Psyllium husk -- edible sawdust
A cheese-less life -- no explanation needed

Cutting the Fat

So, right now my biggest obstacle is fat. At the beginning of the year I had a body fat percentage of 21%. By mid-February, I was at 17%. I still have a looong ways to go, though. To be really competitive, I need to be in the 10-12% neighborhood. Problem is, the leaner you get, the harder it is to lose fat. Your body goes into survival mode and starts holding onto that junk.

There are many ways to calculate your body fat. A fairly accurate and accessible way is by measuring skin folds on several body parts and inputting the amounts into a formula. For a general idea of your fat percentage, try this at home test. You'll need a tape measure.

The average body fat of an American male age 31-35 is said to be between 17 and 25 percent, but the ideal percentage is between 13 and 17 percent. For a woman age 31-35, the average body fat is between 26 and 33 percent, while the ideal is between 21 and 26 percent.

The Skinny

So what is a bikini competition, you ask? Well, bikini is a very new division in the bodybuilding family and began just last year. 2010 is the first full season there is a pro bikini division. I'm starting off as an amateur of course, with the hopes of qualifying for a pro card. To get an idea of the different levels check out 2009's overall 2009 NPC Nationals winner, Jessica Anderson. The next level up is figuure. These competitors have more muscle definition and less fat than the bikini competitors. Mindi Smith won the 2009 NPC Nationals overall in Figure. Finally, the last level before bodybuilding is fitness. These women are even more toned and tight with even lower fat percentages. That division must also perform a choreographed routine along with the typical poses. Adela Garcia is said to be one of the most accomplished fitness competitors ever.