Dieting 101

June 23, 2011
I am now part-way through my second week of my final diet, and it’s been quite a ride! I was just skyping with my trainer about the last few days, how I’ve been feeling, what my energy levels have been like so far, etc…All I can say, is that I’m very, very glad at this point that I took the time in my off-season to do a practice dial-in. Going through the experience of dieting so recently made all of the feelings I’m having now much easier to deal with. For example, I knew going into it how my body would respond to carb-cycling, and I knew that I had an extra 2 weeks to prepare for my show following this program, so there was no anxiety in terms of questioning the diet. I also knew that the first 2 weeks would be the toughest as I broke away from all the old habits like reaching for a latte or a piece of fruit between meals, or not being super-conscious of ratios of macros when I was making my meals. Also, there is an adjustment period that I go through in the beginning as I switch metabolic pathways…This is what I’ve just been going through over the last few days. My energy has started to be effected by the drastic cut in dense carbs, and I’m starting to feel some lactic build-up and a slight endurance. I am able to push through it, but I notice that I have some cramping in my muscles in yoga class, and the first 8 minutes of my workouts I feel like I’m trying to move an elephant, (once I get the engine started though, I’m fine again). I have, however, started to feel very clear-headed and focused. I’m getting a lot of things done that have been on my priority list for the last several weeks, and that feels incredible good! I’ve finally figured out how to use my amazing Lieca camera that I’ve had for 2 years and have never used. I’ve been taking care of emails, writing more, getting back to people. And I put together a vision board for the summer and business cards to take to the 3 shows I’m in this year…So in that respect, cutting way back on carbs has been a big bonus. The ketogenic diet was actually created to help people suffering from epilepsy, as it drastically reduced episodes…For some reason, a high carb diet can mess up your ability to think straight…maybe that’s why the high-sugar diet many kids are on goes hand-in-hand with the increase in ADD we’re seeing…hmnn…
The other big effect I just went through was a day of “bloating” and feeling negative and anxious about my physique. This happened two days ago and yet I had a great workout and posing session, and one of the best classes of my life. Luckily, I remembered the exact same phenomenon from the April dial-in, though back then I didn’t know how to deal with it, and my trainer had to counsel me through it. I think that is the moment when I really switched metabolic pathways. I had cramping and stiffness going into my evening Bikram class, and yet was able to easily drop into all of my postures with incredible flexibility and no pain or tightness whatsover. (In all my contest preps last year, I noticed that the week before getting on stage I was at my most flexible. Last year, I was following a different diet protocol that kept me on a 5/day starch program right up until the week before the show…) The next day all the bloating was gone, I felt a deep sense of clariy, I was absolutely starving in the morning, and since then it’s been, “Game On”! I made it through the wall, came out the other side, and now I’m in the tunnel racing towards the end date, July 16, SAF in Gatineau, then July 23, IDFA in Toronto, and at the end of the summer, WBFF!