Strength Of Mind

I have become more and more engrossed with the bodybuilding and fitness industry, and with it has come watching videos of Arnold, discussing his past and how his vision lead him to set his eyes on a goal and never give up- to keep pushing when others told him he was crazy or would never achieve it- and allowed every barrier to strengthen him and fuel his desire. His life is truly inspiring, and his videos are motivating. I would truly recommend watching them all because he is a martyr for setting your eyes on a goal- WHATEVER that may be- and not giving up until you reach it. I believe that is what makes a champion. 

Arnold Motivational Video Link (Youtube)

I started thinking about my own experience and how far I had come. One thought in particular was to do with me being an anomaly of my family- casual thought of the day. Now my great-uncle used to do bodybuilding competitions in Malta (something i didn't learn until recently), now other than that ONE RELATION, no other family member- close or distant- has a faint interest in exercise, nutrition, or having a healthy lifestyle. I come from a maltese family who believe eating in abundance is a sign of health, and gaining weight (albeit not huge amounts) is actually a good thing. My grandma on my mum side loved to cook, and was always in the kitchen setting up 3 course meals for them all, and so my mum recalls this as being the norm. All her siblings are overweight- 2 had anorexia as teens, and the other had bullimia. My dad used to be skinny, but in his 20's was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2 and thereafter the weight has piled on. This has not been helped by his carbohydrate-laden meals, and sedentary lifestyle.  My whole extended family are sedentary- no exercise AT ALL. Me, my sister, my mum and dad live in England whilst the rest of our family live in malta so i will stick to just discussing us. 

My family  set their meals around eating carbohydrates. The portions are excessive, and it is normal for my dad (who does the cooking) to make huge amounts so that they (i don't eat his food- never have) can go back for more servings. My dad loves cooking- particularly baking and bakes loafs of bread every day including home-made pizzas. 

Now i have always been different. From a young age i took a real interest in health, and wanted to be slim and lean. I loved exercise and i liked looking a certain way. I have always been the anomaly of the house- even in my personality i can often be introverted and after a day out, i do love to have some "me time", so often at home you'll find me in my room with my macbook. Now in terms of eating habits, i have always cooked or prepared my own meals. My family are so amazingly supportive of everything that i do that they never made any comment or anything. In fact my mum would ask me to make a list of "my foods" and she would do the food shopping for "my foods". It was always obvious in the kitchen fridge or cupboard which foods were mine and which was the rest of the family's.

My main point is that despite my kitchen smelling of a bakery 24/7, or the treats that i see around the house i have never been tempted. In fact, it actually fuels my desire because i LIKE and ENJOY being different. I know that my will power is exceptionally strong- always has been. I always did what i wanted- more in a focused way rather than a spoilt-brat/princess way. During ALevels my friends would still go out to clubs etc, but for me and my goals i knew i needed 3As in my Alevels and that meant making sacrifices. I used to have comments made my friends about this but it didn't phase me. I am very all or nothing, and with my 'all' mentality comes tunnel vision 
I do believe if you want something enough, and are in-tune with what exactly is required of you and what you must sacrifice, then temptation won’t phase you. Psychology plays a huge part- i always said "i want to achieve *this* so i must do *that*" as opposed to "i can't do *this* because i have to do *that*". If you are looking for an excuse to break away from a goal- i.e. it is one you don't really care about or that was inflicted on you by your parents, friends, peer pressure etc, then the willpower you can force will only take you so far. 
When people asked me about why i was so healthy and never used to indulge, I found the easiest way to answer that was to tell people i was “brought up around health”. The truth is i wasn’t- my family sometimes resembles "fat families"- as much as i do love them, they have zero care in the world for nutrition or exercise. No one would understand why i made the decisions i did, chose to put workouts as a priority, and chose to ate the way i did, so It was a lot easier to tell that lie, because then suddenly people understood. I think the strength comes from within, because my goals are different to my family's- my vision is to do with turning my body into a personification of my mental strength. I overcame a lot of demons in my past, and each made me stronger. 
I hope this motivates at least one person to stick to their goals and find the strength within. Everyone has their struggles, and not everything comes easily- i would love to have a family that ate the way i did and would even go to the gym with me- but that is life, and you have to face whatever challenges or rocky paths are set forth. They will only build your character and strength, so embrace it and congratulate yourself on your achievements wherever you are in your journey/path towards your goal. 

Clean Bulk: Week 2

Clean Bulk
I met with my trainer on Wednesday 18th September, and since then have begun a clean bulk. Now the reason i use the word 'clean' in reference to my bulk is that it is not me eating all the food i desire all in the name of muscle. It is a controlled diet with the aim of being in a caloric-surplus, providing my body with optimum conditions to grow muscle. Particularly my glutes ;) . This means
-Having a diet plan and sticking to it every day
-Weighing my food.
-Sources of food: Carbs: Oatmeal, Brown Rice. Protein: Chicken breast, Tuna, Salmon, Egg. Fat: Avacado (Salmon included in the meal as it is a fatty fish).
-Week to week review so to STEADILY increase my calories in a CONTROLLED way.
The goal is to increase as much muscle as possible, and minimising the amount of fat gained. Now some fat gain is inevitable, which is why i am not lifting up my top frequently to check my abs. The muscle is there- I CAN FEEL IT- it is strong and tight, but the 'ripped abs look' wont be apparent until i start cutting/my body fat % is low. I weigh myself every week- today was my 'weigh day' with my brand new scales (Amazon UK) and i am 49.9kg. This is good, because the idea isn't to put on weight drastically over the next few weeks- that would just mean i was putting on mainly fat. Any weight gain above 2lbs is most likely due to fat NOT muscle. You will REALISTICALLY only put on about 1-2lbs dry muscle in a month.
After years of eating erratically, i am PRETTY SURE i have caused some issues with my metabolism. I mean, it isn't too bad because i haven't gone up to like 60kg in a day, but what i mean is that the concept of increasing things slowly is really important. Some days i wouldn't eat till 4pm, and then go through a binge-starve cycle, other days it was just binge, other days it wasn't. If some of you had gone through this, just rest assure that the damage isn't permanent- and if you're young your body will adapt more quickly- but it will take time to get your metabolism to its optimal fat-burning state. Now the idea behind using your metabolism to your advantage is to be able to eat as much as possible (particularly carbs) without gaining weight. As your body is adaptive, after a few weeks at a certain number of calories-per-day diet, your body will get used to it. This is why if trying to lose weight, you reach a plateau and have to drop a few more calories, and if you are trying to gain muscle you have to increase a bit more. Now if you can maintain your body on a 2000 kcal diet instead of a 1200kcal diet, you have more leverage to work with. This is the importance of not rushing a process- sometime you have to step back in order to leap forwards.
Photo from this morning:

Protein Discount Card

Discount? I like the word Discount. It isn't too dissimilar to the word free AND WE ALL LOVE THE WORD FREE.

So £239423904832423 of my money these days seems to be spent on either Food, Supplements, Gym Clothes and.. nope just those 3. They're totally worth that investment, but sometimes a little help in the financial support of them is always appreciated ;). So i came across "Protein Discount Card" on Twitter, and at first i had my doubts because.. well.. WHO is that nice to offer a discount on protein!? But i went on their website and there really is NOTHING to lose. It is completely free to set up an account and completely free to get a discount card sent to your door- which arrived around 4 days after i applied for one. 

Me being skeptical I always try to look for a possible reason behind such nice-ness, and i suppose that when you get given a discount you're more likely to shop. January sales anybody? I mean, you don't even WANT or NEED that top, but £10 off? OKAY. So the same goes- you may not NEED to top up your supply of whey (who am i kidding.. you ALWAYS need to top up your supply of whey!).. but you get the jist. And in order to buy the products (only a select few have the discount, whereas if you pay for a VIP card then you get more for a discount)- good business minds ;). And thirdly, my other suspicion was that not only is it advertisement for the brands- you have to go onto the website of the brand and then checkout, but whilst on the website you may see another product you "NEED". OVERALL, if you have some self control and would like some assistance in saving money on your fitness journey, then definitely sign up to this!

Money needed to be saved after my shop in Nike Town yesterday XD

My card 

Brands Include: #ProteinWorks #MuscleFood #MyProtein #USN #MonsterSupplements #GoldStarSupplements #Pro10 #Kinetica #BikiniBody #UrbanCelebrityClothing #SmartShake #MensFitness

Review: Restaurant: GymsKitchen

GymsKitchen  

http://www.gymskitchen.com

Place: Leyton, East London. New one opening in Essex.

If you're hungry.. or on one of those juice cleanses i have recently blogged about.. look away now, LOOK AWAY NOW!!

If not, then LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL FOOD!!!

Scrambled egg, Asparagus, Mixed Salad, Bean Salad, Sweet Potato, Chicken breast

Tofu, Broccoli, Asparagus, Bean salad, Mixed salad, Scrambled egg

The colours, the presentation, the HEALTH that is radiating off the plate, through the computer screen, into my eyes, my mouth and my stomach. Ok.. too much i know, but it's almost time for Meal 3 so i apologise for my taste buds doing all the talking in this one.

This place is really amazing: the people who work there and run this business are so lovely and friendly, the food is just incredible and there is a lot of satisfaction that comes with knowing you've eaten out in a restaurant (and the prices are excellent), and it was healthy! Plus if you take time to peel your eyes off your plate, and look around, a lot of people there are good looking with amazing bodies. That being said, don't be intimidated because there is a real big range in the customers! Young and old, all sizes, but all really friendly.

This is my favourite restaurant because, like i said, i love the fact that it is so healthy. They even have the calories and macronutrient (carb,protein,fat) breakdown on the menu!

Ok i saved the best picture till last....

Protein Pancake with Apple&Blueberries, Chocolate flavoured Protein ice-cream, Peanut butter

yoooooooou're welcome ;)

Twitter: @Gymskitchen

Instagram: @Gymskitchen106QE

Learning Points: Nutrition

Nutrition

This is to provide things I have learnt through experience and an avid interest in fitness and nutrition, aided by the fact i don't do anything half-heartedly and love researching the hell out of science-proven theories. 

- One of the most important facts that i was told time and time again, and really only grasped its importance until i followed through is that your nutrition is paramount to your results, both interms of the energy you have for your workout and the nutrients to grow muscle and lose fat (Fuel and Refuel). If you are under-eating, or your nutrition intake is inadequate then your results will either be short term or negligible, or - if you were as unlucky as me- result in weight gain and blaming it on "but exercise increases my appetite".

Lets take it back to school-days science:

Carbohydrates --> Glucose. 

Protein --> Amino Acids. 

Fats --> Fatty Acids. 

Glucose is required for energy and it's release into the blood following a meal leads to a surge of Insulin; Glucose will either be used as energy or, particularly in its excess, be stored as Glycogen. Amino Acids are the building blocks of Protein and Protein is the building block of Muscle. 

The 2 forms of Fatty Acids are Unsaturated and Saturated (bad) and are calorie dense so 1g of Fat provides 9 calories (as compared to Carb and Prot which provides 4calories). 

Calories are unit of energy.
Also, do not underestimate the importance of fibre. It is also a macronutrient you must be eating in adequate quantities. 

There are SO SO SO many diets out there, and so many guides to how you want to implement Carbohydrates, Protein and Fats into your diet. To name a few:

Ketogenic Diet: High Fat, Adequate Protein, Low Carbohydrate

IIFYM: Working out your macronutrient requirements according to BMI and activity level and dividing it, for example, 40/40/20

Clean Eating: Definition kind of unknown 

Paelo Diet: a diet aimed to mimic the diets of cavemen (meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts)

Eating Small Frequent meals e.g. 5 or 6

ITS GIVING ME A HEADACHE JUST THINKING ABOUT THEM ALL

I personally do not have time to analyse every single diet and i abide by the simple fact that If your calorie intake is more than your calorie output than it will lead to weight gain.

In order to build lean muscle you must have an adequate intake of protein (1- 1.5g per lbs weight). I have experimented in the past where i have probably consumed 2309482349234g per lbs weight, and it didn't get me "lean muscle", it got me fat. It is not as simple as "consume a whole load of protein and your muscle will use it ALL", and studies have shown this. There have also been studies to show that consuming a bolus of protein after a workout is not more beneficial to lean muscle growth as having it throughout the day.

What i personally do, and it works for me, is i have calculated the number of calories i need in a day, and i use the IIFYM calculator because i like to stay on track with how much macronutrient i need to consume. I combine this with a 'clean eating' plan, because i like to eat healthy- it is easy for me as i have been brought up on healthy foods, and so i am not/never tempted by fast food etc. Some days your calorie expenditure is more, other times it is less so there are obvious flaws, but as long as i know that my intake is sufficient to fuel my workout, and to grow lean muscle without storing fat, then i can deal with that. Now everyone is different, and your metabolism may be slower or faster than the IIFYM http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ accounts for, but this is why you need to own a mirror, and asses your progress through pictures/clothes/reflection/weight WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOOOOOUUU - and adjust accordingly. 

I also split my meals into 5 per day, because i like the concept of eating regularly because i like food and i don't feel bloated. It is a personal preference. The theory behind splitting your meals is that it prevents a hormone (Ghrelin) being released which is responsible for your appetite. Also, it is supposed to help regulate your glucose levels. A lot of people will argue against this. A lot of people also can't find time to eat 5x a day. Hence why you need to find something that WORKS for you, because if it doesn't feel convenient/manageable then guess what, 5 weeks down the line I BET YOU you wont be sticking to it. 

So i have breakfast around 10am, meal 2 around 12.30, meal 3 around 2.30, meal 4 5.30, Exercise, and then meal 5 straight after. 

PWO: Protein shake and banana

I ensure i have sufficient protein in meal 5, along with a fast-acting carbohydrate such as brown rice; there has been research done to prove protein uptake is faster and more effective if eaten with a fast acting carbohydrate. I also do not eat fats (my source is usually avacado) in meal 5 because it is believed that consumption of fats slows the uptake of protein, which your muscles require STAT after a workout. Remember, when you workout you are "damaging" the muscle, but thereafter the muscle hypertrophies (increases), providing there is sufficient amino acids. 

There is also a belief that fruit (-->fructose) is not regulated by insulin i.e. there is no insulin surge after you eat it, and thus many in the industry avoid fruit. Insulin is considered a pro-synthesis (anabolic) hormone for muscle. Also fructose must be broken down in the liver to be converted into glycogen first, and this delay means a greater chance of it being stored as fat. 

My Top Food Sources

Carbohydrates: Brown rice, Basmati Rice, Oats, Rice Cake

                          Quinoa, Mixed Grains

Protein: Tuna in spring water/brine, Chicken, Turkey, Egg [whites], Cottage cheese, Quark (if on the go: Protein bars, Protein shakes- will review in a later blog)

Fats: Avocado, egg Yolk

Fibre: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Pepper, Carrots, cherry tomatoes 

I enjoy green tea, fruit teas, normal tea, coffee which i have with skimmed milk and almond milk.

Water is your friend.

I do not use sugar, i rely on sweetener without Aspartame as there is a lot of bad press about it (my sources include Stevia, Splenda, Truvia, and i believe Candarel have a new one also)

Over summer, I sat and went through the whole process of working out calories, grams of macronutrients in all my favourite/usual foods and i have set meal plans for me that fit my requirements. Some may be able to pay a nutritionist for them to do this, but I didn't feel i needed to, being all Miss Independent and all. I did this because i had a really poor concept of portion-control and i knew something wasn't quite right in my portions because i had odd cravings and low energy at times (which lead to over-eating at naughty times). This, by the way, took a whole days work, and you will feel a little ridiculous googling the information/looking through packets and the back of tins etc, but once its all calculated ITS DONE. It eliminated a lot of guilt and guess-work i had, and it helped me 'trust the process' a lot more, because i knew i wasn't under-providing for my body or over-indulging (when you calculate things, you realise it is extremely easy to do). It also helped put food in perspective as a nutrient-provider, and some things did shock me like how much carbs are in one thing, and how much protein in another ETC. I also prepare some of my meals in advance, like if i know i'm going to get home after my gym workout and want food THEN AND THERE. 

I found this site particularly useful for my calculations: http://www.fatsecret.co.uk/calories-nutrition/

--> If you want something extra-ordinary you've got to do something that other people aren't willing to do

--> If you fail to plan, you plan to fail

--> 100% effort put into training, 100% put into your diet

--> Abs are made in the gym, but exposed in the kitchen.

--> It is a lifestyle.

NB: Source of science papers: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

A good read by someone i respect greatly in the industry: http://www.biolayne.com/nutrition/is-a-calorie-truly-a-calorie/