Where I Got My Menu

17 1/2 weeks of 20 weeks

weight today: same

total lost: 12 pounds in 17 1/2 weeks

1/2 cup of oatmeal: 150

6 egg whites: 96

1/2 grapefruit: 40

total: 236

3 1/2 oz chicken breast: 122

4 oz tomato:40

3 egg whites:48

total: 210

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running total:446

5 oz chicken breast: 175

2 cups of spinach: 10

cucumbers: 8

green peppers: 10

carrot pieces: 10

1 tbl of Newman's Own vinegar and oil dressing: 75

1/2 cup of brown rice: 85

total:373

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running total: 819

post work-out meal:

chocolate protein shake: 110

1/2 cup of brown rice: 85

total:195

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running total: 1,014

5 oz chicken breast:175

1/4 cup of brown rice: 43

2 cups of spinach: 10

cucumbers:8

carrots: 10

green peppers: 10

1 tbl of Newman's Own olive oil and vinegar dressing: 75

total: 331

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running total: 1,345

4 egg whites: 64

1 cup of celery and green peppers: 40

total: 104

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running total: 1,449

Today's victory: I stayed on plan and was able to get in a work-out in the afternoon. We decided to sleep in this morning.

Actual fitness: 2 1/2 mile run, 50 minute chest, triceps, back and biceps work-out, abdominals

Note on picture: This is what one of my big spinach and veggies salad looks like. It's quite delicious and with the oil and vinegar dressing is only 113 calories.

Where I Got My Menu

Hi y'all!

Thank you for all of your kind words and supportive comments on me losing four pounds in three days. It really is exciting.

A few of you have asked me where I got this menu plan.

This is actually a menu that I took and then modified from a magazine that is published by a company that sells supplements to people who are training for body building and figure competitions. The company is called Beverly International and their magazine is free. We are on its mailing list because a few years ago my husband ordered supplements from them because he competed in a body building show.

You can order this magazine yourself. It's nice to be able to walk around and read a hard copy. Or they also have a website with the same articles that are in the magazine.

For example, the menu that I took was taken from a story about a gal who trained for a figure competition. In the story, they had two different menus that she used in the course of her competition. The menu from phase 1 and the menu from phase II. I picked out the menu from phase II that had about 1,150 calories in it. I felt I needed a few more calories in my diet, so I added about 250 calories.

If you would like to check out their website and find out what kind of sample menus that their female competitors are using it is http://www.bodybuildingworld.com/. After you get onto their main website, you can click onto their past articles on female competitors and browse through there to see what they're eating.

One thing you want to keep in mind with the type of diets that you will be reading about, is that they are tailored to reduce body fat and increase muscle. Consequently, these are diets that are high in protein and have a controlled level of carbs and fat. In fact each diet breaks down the macro nutrients into a certain percentage...fats, carbs and proteins.

So, some diets may have a higher percentage of carbs than others. What I have found is that the closer the female competitor gets to her show, the less carbs are found in her diet.

In this magazine or website, you will see many references to the type of supplements that they sell. As of yet, I have never used any of their supplements. The only supplement that I currently use is the chocolate protein powder that I picked up at our local grocery store.

I think its good to know how body builders eat to get their bodies as lean as possible. The truth about body builders is that the way they look is controlled 15 to 20 percent by their work-outs and the rest by their diet.

I believe that the biggest key to me losing this extra weight so quickly and suddenly is probably directly related to the fact that all of these diets have no sugar, no white flour.. and it's all very, very healthy, whole foods.

For example, there is no Smart Balance light butter on my brown rice.

There is no sugar or creamer in my tea.

I don't eat peanut butter, however, I probably could if I wanted to substitute a tbl of natural peanut butter with 1 tbl of Newman's Own vinegar and oil dressing.

If I wanted to, I could add more variety in my diet. Instead of 5 oz of chicken, I could eat 5 oz of tilapia, salmon, tuna, or lean ground beef.

Perhaps instead of brown rice I could eat a sweet potato or a white potato. In the Phase I of the contest diet that I didn't chose to follow, I could eat a small apple in the morning.

But notice, that all the foods are whole foods and not dressed up with anything extra on it.

Also, this diet has you eating six times a day to keep your metabolism running strong.

For some of you, this type of diet may not work in the long term because it doesn't allow for any type of cheat foods. But I would say that unless you're actually training for a figure competition, occasionally rewarding yourself with a cheat food once a week probably isn't going to completely throw off all of your efforts.

Take for example, my desire to have that chocolate covered cream filled bismark doughnut on February 7...will that throw off my diet?

Maybe. If I ate the whole thing. I'm still trying to decide if I should eat a quarter of that doughnut or a half of it.

What do you guys think I should do?

After three weeks of no sugar, I'm wondering if eating a white flour, sugar bomb like that just might make me throw up. Ha, Ha. It could be risky.

So, anyway, I hope this will help with some of your questions. If you're really interested, I would suggest ordering their magazine and reading it with a cup of tea.:)

Have a good weekend.