What’s On My Grocery List?

October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 / caitlin1011 / Leave a comment

Ok, so we’ve covered tons of IIFYM friendly recipes for you guys and gals to try at home, but a question I’m commonly asked is “What’s on your grocery list?!” IIFYM can be overwhelming at first, TRUST me..I know.

I imagine that macro dieting feels a lot like dating after you’ve been with someone for a long time. What you know is gone and you are faced with a world of infinite possibilities. That would totally freak me out, and so did macro dieting at first.

Well much like dating, here are some IIFYM (and life) guidelines you should live by:

Just because it looks good, doesn’t mean you should have it around all the time. IIFYM is often mistaken for “Eat poptarts as long as they fit.” No. You can have those some-times, but they aren’t built for long term commitment. A pop-tart or two are fun on the weekend, but most of the time are up to no good. Remember, macro dieting means 80% clean (the food pyramid) and 20% can be discretionary. Most of the time, stick to what you know is good.
Variety is AWESOME. Get out of your comfort zone! It can be tempting to run back to what you know, a meal plan with chicken and spinach every single day, but I promise that embracing variety with less restrictions will pay off. That meal plan just wants to box you in…and you are meant to run free!!!!

OK, so maybe this analogy isn’t working. What I’m saying is that although overwhelming, macro dieting will be better for you in the long run. That being said, it can be hard to know where to start.

When I first jumped in the shallow end of macro dieting, I focused on finding a balanced meal, a carb, a protein, and a fat. One from each category right?! Right-O.

This is NOT a complete list, rather just a sampling of a typical week in my house. I always like to start with these staples when I’m cooking. For example, I may choose to have a Low Carb Wrap with Sliced Turkey and a slice of cheese. It’s a good start to learning to create balance in meal prep. Once I trained my brain to identify these, it helped me to better diet while traveling. If I’m in a restaurant, I know I can get a lean filet (protein and fat), with green beans (carbs), or I can choose a salad which has veggies (carbs), with chicken (protein), and a balsamic dressing (fat).

Proteins	Carbs	Fats
Chicken Breast	Sweet Potato	Peanut Butter
Ground Turkey	Brown Rice	Avocado
Lean Sirloin	Cheerios	Laughing Cow Cheese
Lean Ground Beef	Beans (Black)	Cream Cheese
Whey Protein Powder	Fresh Fruit: Cherries, Bananas, Blueberries	Almonds
Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese	Fresh Veggies: Peppers, Spinach, etc	Cashews
String Cheese	Low Carb Wraps	Chia Seeds
Fage 0% Greek Yogurt	Tomatoes	Olive Oil
Egg Whites	Wheat Bread/ English Muffins	Walnuts
Lean Fish (Salmon, Tilapia, Tuna)	Almond Milk	Whole Eggs
Quinoa/Beans (Vegetarian)	Wheat Pasta	Dressings (Ranch, Italian)
Sliced Turkey	Zucchini	Coconut Oil
Turkey Bacon (sparingly)	Spaghetti Squash	Balsamic Dressing
Chicken Sausage	Butternut Squash
	Pico De Gallo
	Kodiak Cake Mix (high protein)

Once you’ve got these items down, start to mix and match them. Get crazy and branch out! Although I am not a proponent of meal plan dieting for lifestyle clients, I truly believe that this is a great start.

Of course you might be wondering what my favorite sweet treats are as well. Some of my favorite sweet macro-friendly treats are Halo Top Ice Cream, Fage mixed with sugar free jell-o mix, and Enlightened Ice Cream!!! YASSSS!

Again, the possibilities here are endless. There are a thousand fish in the sea…and I’m going to eat them all.

-C

Why Have I Stopped Losing Weight?

November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 / caitlin1011 / Leave a comment

A lot of you have written me about “breaking plateus” in fitness. We’ve all been there. One week you totally nailed your food and workouts. You step on that scale and BOOM. No movement. This happened to me when I was about 140 lbs, size 8. Know why I remember it? BECAUSE IT WAS TRAUMATIC. It took WEEKS, I mean WEEKS to figure out what the hell was going on. I cut alcohol, I increased cardio, I tried weights. NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING. If you’re facing a fitness plateau, here are a few things that might be hindering the process:

*You might not be eating correctly: So you’re killing it with salads, fish, lean meats and protein. First off, why? One issue you might be having is you are not eating enough food. When your body starts to feel like it’s starving, it adjusts itself to regulate, meaning it is saying, “Hold on to this fat, because you’re going hungry!” (There’s more science to this, but you get the point) Make sure you are hitting all your macro nutrients. If you don’t know what yours are, there’s a free calculator here. Or maybe you are following your diet, but it is only about 50% clean food. Here’s the thing, IIFYM can only work to a certain point. At some point, maybe the last 4 weeks before a competition, you may have to get pretty “bro.” Oh and did I mention they took away booze? How the hell am I supposed to deal with life NOW?! I’m doing a photo shoot for charity right before Thanksgiving and am about to go on another cut. Goodbye booze, goodbye fun. The suffering is temporary.

Be sure you’re eating the correct foods in the correct amount, at the correct time, and for the love of god, EAT CARBS. They are delicious and without them, it is hard to build muscle. There are some times when it is appropriate to slash carbs, but 99% of the time, it’s not a good time.

*Your workouts aren’t changing: I’ve seen people drop a TON of weight just training on the elliptical or treadmill. They get on and go, and lose more weight than you can imagine. Here’s what eventually happens though; they hit a wall HARD. When your body starts adjusting to your workouts, it’s not working to burn calories. Sometimes it needs a shock to the system. This week, I slowed it down and did Hot Yoga and my poor body went into revolt. But most importantly, I saw changes.

Please don’t be a slave to the elliptical. Another important thing to know about cardio is that it won’t build the muscle up under the fat so it’s important to integrate some type of weight or resistance training into your workouts. Too much cardio=saggy butt.

*You’re not pushing yourself: THIS is the reason I have a trainer. My trainer Tracy makes me do the stuff I don’t want to do. For example, I do NOT like training triceps. Because mine are weak and take forever to change. Tracy makes me do em. I don’t love in studio training because I get distracted, so I have an awesome app where she uploads my workouts. I can do them remotely and I get everything I need. I also try to switch up my cardio by going to classes at Title Boxing Club or Orange Theory. My point is you must make yourself uncomfortable. If you get through a workout and go, “Hey that wasn’t so bad,” it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Also, having an instructor will make you work the parts of your body you don’t like. I have a terrible time with triceps. If it was up to me, I’d train legs all day every day, but I’d look like a weirdo.

*You’re focused on the scale: I know I’ve pointed this out before, but the scale really is just a number. Make sure you have other benchmarks of progress like selfies or taking measurements. You’re going to need this when it gets down to the wire. I’m serious. Battling the scale is a constant struggle for me. Again, I’ve included progress pics to hammer this into your head.

*You’re being unrealistic: Set benchmark goals. Get off instagram, and stop comparing. This is easier said then done for me. *Eats donut and cries over Paige Hathaway’s Instagram* In that second progress picture, I was pretty f*cking happy. I had no goal to compete or to have professional photos taken; I just wanted to wear a damn tank top. You have started this process, so your only competition is YOU. Bodybuilding is an art, it is about consistently and slowly making progress with what works for YOUR body. Embrace your own struggle and own that shit.

Got any other advice for those trying to break the plateau? Drop it below!

Protein Ice Cream: So Good It’s Scary.

October 31, 2016October 31, 2016 / caitlin1011 / Leave a comment

ERMERGERD. TREATZ

HAPPY HALLOWEEN YA’LL! I know there are a lot of you out there dieting and right about now you’re eyeing that candy jar thinking, “Just one…” I know I am. I can’t even keep it in the house to be honest. Instead of candy , I think I’ll give kids life advice. Ya know, stuff like “Make sure you put at least 6% in your 401k,” etc. Ladies and gentleman, meet the most hated girl on the block. 🙂

Anyway, since you guys aren’t visting my house, I thought I’d give ya some advice via blog: Halloween doesn’t have to derail your diet! One of the reasons I love IIFYM, is that (1) you can have candy if you want and (2) there are plenty of hacks to make fantastic treats that won’t break the calorie bank.

So, who’s ready for ice cream?! Here’s my all time favorite ice cream recipe. Play around with your favorite toppings and stay lean all winter!

Macros Roughly: Protein: 17.0 Carbs:10.2 Fat 8.2 Total Calories:185.5

This is all you’ll need:

1/2 scoop 1st Phorm Vanilla Ice Cream

1 tsp Buff Bake Snickerdoodle Almond Spread

Ice

1/2 cup almond milk

Fat free whipped cream

Sugar Free Caramel

Blend protein, milk, and almond spread with ice. Add desired topping. Done.

That wasn’t hard was it? It would have taken you the same amount of time to make regular ice cream. Don’t have time to eat healthy treats? LAWYERED. I ate this my entire prep up to like two weeks before my show.

So while everyone snacks on their kit kats, enjoy a huge bowl of this and thank me later.

Be safe!!!

Five Hard Truths of Extreme Weight Loss

October 29, 2016October 29, 2016 / caitlin1011 / Leave a comment

Starting weight-Mid Progress-Current (photo credit on right @TonyCurtis)

Well, I asked you what you wanted and here you have it. I tried to think of the best way to describe my journey, and I know a lot of my followers like discussing the tough stuff. From body image to learning acceptance, here are five hard truths I learned when dieting. Feel free to share.

1. I lost friends: When I took time off from drinking and partying, many of my friends did not stick along for the ride. When I wanted to do a show, there were some that questioned it. I learned about “complisults,” which are the old”compliment insults”. The “Oh I could NEVER do that or wear that,” or “you’re braver than me.” Whatever. What I learned is that people are like crabs in a bowl. When one tries to crawl out, they all grab and try to drag the successful one back in. I have talked to men and women who have spouses who try to derail their successes or those of you who talk about friends who get upset because they won’t go out and get messed up. Understand this, you will never be a success in the eyes of a failure. People simply are afraid because your successes are a direct spotlight on what they themselves cannot do. Cut your losses, move on. The people who are worth loving will take the high road with you, a much tougher road, but worthwhile.

2. I faced demons: It was only when I really cut out alcohol and bad food that I realized how much I depended on it to cope. Just thinking about a stressful day at work makes me want bacon cheese bread. No shit, dieting is kind of like rehab. Your body wants to die and shake on the floor, and the only way not to relapse is to face all the crap that made you start the addiction in the first place. It is critical in dieting to understand why you are eating and face it head on. It sucks, but its necessary.

3. I learned acceptance: Competing is a harsh sport. Being judged on your body is like OMG IM DYING. I remember riding in the car on the way to my show and saying, “Well I don’t want people to judge me just on my appearance.” My husband replied, “You know you literally signed up for a show where people are judging you on your appearance right?” Oh yeah. My bad. When I received my judges comments back, they said things like “lean out,” or “be way leaner.” Being a formerly heavy, it hit hard AF. My default is to cry hysterically while running uphill on a treadmill, but it’s not healthy. Next time, I will try different workouts and tighten my food, but my package is my package. You may look at a girl and say “Oh my gosh, I wish I had her arms,” but I guarantee she’s wishing she had your legs. At the end of the day, whether you are in a bikini on a stage or in a suit in a board room, people will judge you. Deal with it.

4. Being unhappy with your appearance doesn’t change when you reach “goal weight”: I remember specifically saying the phrase, “I’ll be happy when I weigh…” DONT EVEN GO THERE. Because you won’t be. Another level brings another devil. Competing has given me some body image issues, I’ll be honest. When my abs left, I almost held a funeral. I know staying “show lean,” is what I want, but it’s not sustainable. I’ve only gained 4 lbs from my competition, but my head feels like its 15. The fat version of myself would tell me to go jump off a bridge because I would have killed to have abs like EVER. Offseason is meant to grow and rest, so I have to understand I’m not Beyonce right now. In order to combat these awful feelings, I like to focus on other goals aside from appearance. I set new benchmarks, like perfecting boxing combinations, hitting PR’s in weightlifting, or trying a new activity. I eat foods competing won’t allow; in fact, this week I had a butternut squash ravioli that would bring you to your knees. Most importantly, I’m always f*cking Beyonce, are you kidding?

5. Losing weight is a journey, not a destination: You will never look exactly the way you want. If you pull up a photo on Instagram and say “I want to look like THAT,” you’ve already screwed yourself over. During my prep, my body changed every two weeks. Some weeks I hated what I saw. I had worked harder than ever and NO CHANGE. Ever seen someone hold their own arm fat and cry? Come on over. I would beat the crap out of myself wondering where I went wrong. Hindsight is 20/20, and yes I did change, but you have to trust the process. Follow a plan and don’t focus on weight or “trouble spots.” My legs did not come in until the final week.

But I’m not going to be all talk here. In an attempt to be as honest as possible with you, I am going to drop in UNEDITED and UNFILTERED pictures of my check-ins during prep. Understand that these were taken 1-3 weeks a part. (There are too many to include all of them) I didn’t have pics in the beginning, so the first is a picture of about my starting point. I also want to point out that my starting weight was about 135 and my finish weight was 124. Trust me, I still felt too heavy to go to stage (which is absurd) but I want to give you some perspective here.

I also want to point out that I would love to show you my progress from the back, but unfortunately some gentlemen (or not so much) seem to think this is for their personal enjoyment. There are plenty of great, awesome guys that follow me, but the pervs have now ruined it for everyone.

I truly help these help you on your journey. If you have any advice, questions or comments, drop them below.

Stay Awesome,

Battling the Binge

October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 / caitlin1011 / 3 Comments

So most of you saw that post the other day where I lost my mind and binged on chili. Let me be clear that chili is not the only thing I’ve binged on before. You name it, I’ll eat it. What’s most important when dieting is to learn what triggers you and make a plan to combat it. In business we do it all the time; we look at competitive threats and make plans to get around them. Same concept here.

To be honest, a lot of my binges happen after drinking. When we drink our inhibitions go down, and desire to eat like crap go up. There’s also a lot of scienc-ey stuff involved here, but we’re not going to get into that. If I have two glasses of wine, by the second I’m already scheming about who will drive me to get tacos. So really, what causes you to binge? Think hard. Is it having a few cocktails? Is it stress? Boredom?

I’m also notorious for what I like to call “the ambien effect.” Remember those stories about people who took ambien and would literally drive places not knowing they were going? I do the same thing with food/stress. Sometimes I’ll be eating and not even know it! I’ll be on a conference call and realize I’m halfway through a bag of chips. When I started my competition prep, I really had to learn what made me tick. Nothing will make you face down demons like a bikini competition.

Remember that diets are made up of small changes. My old boss used to say that life is much like a compass, you can change a few degrees and end up in an entirely different place. Take this approach. Take small, gradual changes and you will soon be in an entirely different body!

Here are a few strategies you can take to address binging:

*If you’re stressed at home: Keep healthy snacks nearby. If you crave sweets, swap out the sugary treats for sliced apples or fruit with fat free whipped cream on top. You can also make bomb smoothies with vanilla protein powder and fruits. If you crave salt, try zucchini chips with popcorn seasoning on them. Make your body think it’s getting a treat.

*If you’re drinking: Make sure you’ve eaten before you go out. Eat plenty of fibrous foods (veggies with chicken for example) and drink water in between drinks. Really know your limits and hold yourself accountable. Try to avoid sugary drinks, and if you must drink, stick to a vodka soda or red wine. Beer is a surefire way to bloat.

*If you’re hungover: So you didn’t listen to the above? I get it. The important thing about this is not to give into the little demon that’s telling you to order a Papa John’s Pizza RIGHT MEOW. In fact, a lot of bodybuilders believe it’s not necessarily alcohol that hurts diets, but what people do during/after. Swap out the pizza for toast and egg whites AND HYDRATE. Thank me later.

*If you’re bored: Anyone else a boredom snacker? I seriously love snacking while I watch TV. Swap out chips and popcorn for baked cauliflower. Make zuch. chips! The important thing is to measure things and put them in a bowl. A bag of chips is a recipe for disaster in our house.

*If you’re strapped for time: This is my all time screw up. I think I am going to an hour long meeting and end up out all day. This is a surefire guarantee I’m driving through Chick-fil-a. Keep snacks on you. Seriously, and not like sugar loaded Clif bars. Some of my favorite snacks are Quest Bars, Ostrim Jerky, or a Protein Shake. Even if you’re going to a short meeting, pack something in your purse.

Look, these are just a few triggers that I’ve had to combat in this long process we call dieting. You might screw up, but the important thing is to get back on track. Don’t keep pushing it until tomorrow. Learn from your mistakes, drink water, and lift heavy. Got any other strategies? Drop them below!

Yours Truly,

Cait

Five Important Pillars of Weight Loss

October 6, 2016October 7, 2016 / caitlin1011 / Leave a comment

Myth : Lifting heavy makes you fat

First off, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. The response has been completely overwhelming! I love hearing everyone’s story and of course I will do anything to help along the way. Many of you have reached out because you would like to start your fitness journey, but have no idea where to start. Oh lawd, trust me I was there.

In the past two years, the things I’ve learned about fitness have blown my mind. I never realized how much I was cheating myself in the past by not learning some of these critical facts. I hope these help you on your fitness journey. If you have any others, drop them in the comments section!

Throw away your scale. Take it and recreate the scene from office space where they smash their computers to bits. The scale is total bullshit.So many women say, “well I
Left: 135 lbs Right: 125 lbs Science is amazing

think I’d like to weigh 125 lbs. What they don’t realize is that you can weigh 125 lbs and be a size 6 or 125 lbs and be a size 0. Muscle is smaller than fat. See the pic to your right. In the left I weigh 135 and was about a size 8. On the right I weigh 125 and am a size 0. 10lbs…7 sizes. Measure your progress by inches or my personal favorite, selfies!

Note to Self: Be like Rhonda.

2. You’re gonna have to lift heavy. This message goes out to a lot of my girls: get in there with the boys and lift heavy. “But I don’t want to gain or get huge!” The truth is, you will gain, but it will be lean muscle. If you don’t tone that muscle under the fat, you’ll be flabby. Many people who lose a lot of weight struggle with loose skin. I don’t because I get in there and throw those weights around. I was so scared at first, but don’t be intimidated. We all need to start somewhere. Don’t get me wrong, I do cardio but you have to strength train. My team mate Rhonda teaches Zumba, but you’d better believe she can hold her own in the weight room. Rhonda has a motor in the back of her Honda. Because she lifts.

3. You’re going to have to eat more food. A lot of people actually don’t lose weight because they aren’t eating enough or enough of the right foods. So many girls tell me about how they drastically slash their carbs. Carbs are good for you when they are the right carbs. My diet is full of carbs like zucchini, english muffins, sweet potato, and more. When you deprive your body of carbs for too long, you will sacrifice your muscle. Also, if you aren’t eating enough, your body could feel it is in starvation mode and hold fat longer. If you don’t know how much to eat, check out IIFYM.com or even better, sign up for this 90 minute class that comes with a set of macros. Still confused? Check out my blog post on IIFYM.

4. Drink Water. Water has amazing benefits. Not only does it create healthy skin, but maximizes physical performance and prevents bloat. It also has many health benefits from fixing constipation to prevention of kidney stones. (I had them. Lort, you don’t want them). You should at least be drinking a gallon a day. Before my competition I had over 2.5 gallons a day. Now, that’s not an everyday practice, but I was lean AF. You’re going to have to go to the bathroom more, but hey…small price to pay?

5. Change your mindset to “You can have it all, just not all the time.” I know so many people say things like “I just workout so I can eat.” Welcome to the hamster wheel of dieting my friends. When I was heavy, I would do nearly an hour of spin class then go smash some wine, wheat thins, and cheese because it was “healthy.” If you are just trying to change your lifestyle, maybe drink one day a week instead of 3, and swap out the wheat thins for cleaner carbs. Don’t get me wrong, I can still eat an entire pizza like a snake devouring a rat. (your welcome for that image) A method like IIFYM allows you to enjoy yourself, but in moderation. Remember, dieting is simple…calories in vs. calories out!

Boss Babes

Own the grind

WEIGHT LOSS