Personal Responsibility

It leaves a sour taste in my mouth when members with 75+ pounds of weight loss are suddenly wagging their fingers at others for not jumping on the personal responsibility train and dismissing the idea of government and the food industry should have culpability in this.

This was a message posted on a discussion board the other day. The discussion was revolving around government regulation for foods and display of candy. It sort of blew me away and I wanted to talk about it for a minute

As you can see the person who posted this is disgusted that people who have successfully lost fat are telling others to accept personal responsibility for what they eat. I can’t be the only one who is in disbelief over that. I used to be obese and someone thinks it is wrong that I am telling others to control what they eat.

How does this person think we lost weight? Did we spend a bunch of time picketing the government, Hershey or Coca-Cola? No. Did we sit around blaming the government and food companies for forcing cheeseburgers down our throats? No. We accepted personal responsibility, it worked, we are passing it on to others.

Companies are forced to put food labels on packages (although they aren’t always as straight forward as they seem). Restaurants and fast food chains have nutritional information online. There are TONS of resources to learn about nutrition. You have to accept responsibility to do the research. I don’t think very many people are completely clueless that they shouldn’t eat fast food for every meal or half of a pizza for dinner.

I don’t want the government telling companies they have to reduce fat or sugar because it means they have to replace those with a bunch of extra chemicals to keep the taste decent. I don’t want the government taking away my choices. I am responsible for what I buy and what I eat. If I want chicken and broccoli for dinner with a pop-tart ice cream sandwich it is up to me to make sure that’s an appropriate calorie and macronutrient intake for me. It’s up to me to make sure that I fill my micronutrient needs as well. That’s personal responsibility. You are not forced to buy a Snickers just because it is there.

My final words on this is something a friend told me long ago.

When you point the finger and blame someone/something else you give up control. When you take the blame you take back control and you can do something about it.

I KNOW that eating a box of Swiss Cake Rolls is not appropriate for my goals and health. I’m not going to blame McKee Foods for making them tasty, that’s the point, they’re a tasty treat. I’m going to accept the fact that one (not a box) is an appropriate amount in combination with a day full of nutrient dense foods. It is not the company’s fault if I eat the entire box because I could not exercise self control.

2014 APWC-WPC World Cup

Thursday I was in Idaho Falls, Idaho competing in the 2014 AWPC-WPC World Cup. This event is one of few where people can set world records in the World Powerlifting Congress. At my meet in March I qualified to compete in the World Cup. I also tied the AAPF American record for deadlift only for my weight class at the March meet.

On Thursday I was competing in deadlift only for the shot at breaking the AAPF American record and setting the AWPC World record. At weigh in on Thursday morning I was over weight by .3kg/.6lb. Although I competed in the 82.5kg/181 pound class in March I was going to have to do this meet at 90kg/198 pound class.

My opening attempt was 303 pounds because it was just under what I have been pulling for one rep twice a week recently. I didn’t want to blow a lot of energy on the first lift, but I needed to see 300 to give me some confidence for my next lifts. I of course nailed it and picked 325 pounds for my next lift. I felt confident in this weight since it was slightly higher than what I work with in the gym and just five pounds lower than my previous PR. It came up with decent speed, but my knees definitely caved in during the pull.

My third selection was 341.5 pounds (155kg). The selection was a 10 pound PR and would have beat the American record for the weight class I just missed. The bar came off the ground easy, but slowed at my weak point. There was some serious knee cave. I knew that I simply couldn’t miss this lift and dug deep to put all I had into the lift. Once I got to my sweet spot I easily locked it out and sealed the deal on the 90kg class new AWPC World and AAPF American deadlift only records.

Then I was told to pick a 4th attempt weight. I did not anticipate another attempt, so I selected 352 pounds (160kg). I was towards the end of the flight (the list of lifters) and there were only a couple of 4th attempts, so my rest time was very short. I set up and pulled, but when the bar hit my weak spot I was stuck. Next time.

Now I’m torn about where to go next. I’m good at deadlifting, so it would be great to stick with that. I feel like doing deadlift only doesn’t make me a powerlifter. I like bodybuilding, but I’m still small. For now I’m just going to eat and lift. I’ll enjoy the process as I sort out my future goals.

August Update

I haven’t been around much lately. Lots going on in my personal life and I’ve been dedicating more time to MyFitnessPal.com (look me up under usmcmp). I wanted to give a quick update on training and competitions.

After my powerlifting meet I decided to call it quits on that for a while. I enjoy hypertrophy programs far more than strength programs. I switched my focus back to bodybuilding and at my last weigh in I have gained almost 10 pounds of lean mass since last October! For a woman who is not on steroids or any other performance enhancing drugs that’s a really good gain rate.

The end of June I decided that I missed doing deadlifts (I had cut them out of my programming completely after March), so I went into the gym to find my one rep max. It was only a few pounds lighter than what I pulled at the competition. The deadline for submitting an application to compete at the AWPC-WPC World Cup was the next day.

I called the coordinator up and told them I’m in. August 28th I will be competing at the event doing deadlift only. I only had 8 weeks to get ready and there’s no telling how I will do, except that I will do my best. After this one I am done for sure.

Anyway, that’s about all I have been up to since my last post. I will definitely be writing again more often.

When 1 becomes 10

I am a binge eater. I am also a general over eater. These aren’t things that magically disappeared as I lost weight. They are easier to control now, but these are still things I face from time to time.

As most binge eaters know we don’t just decide to go on an eating spree. It’s starts with a cookie. One cookie was good, so two cookies are better. Two cookies become five and five cookies become ten. It’s not even the sugar that spurs me on. It’s the fact that I can feel that comfortable pressure of a full stomach, so I keep eating long after I’ve finished off the cookies.

I’m the kind of person who currently chooses to not keep certain foods in my house. I can’t buy a box of Swiss Cake Rolls because by the end of the day I will have eaten them all. I used to be this way about most dessert type foods, but slowly things have improved as I learned balance and moderation.

I can finally eat a bowl of ice cream after dinner without finishing off the pint. I can avoid the treats in the break room when I am really determined to not eat them. I can freeze half of the cookie dough instead of baking it all (then eating all the cookies) or eating it raw. I don’t even touch the open bag of chips in the cupboard.

It’s a tough process telling yourself to just be satisfied with a serving (or sometimes two if you have the calories for it). Making sure I eat lots of lean meat and vegetables through the day helps keep me full, which means that I’m not using that treat to try to fill me up. When I have a binge day (usually 6000+ calories) I don’t beat myself up or vow to make up for it. I remember that those days are getting fewer and that I gave myself extra fuel for the next few workouts.

I might never be able to keep Swiss Cake Rolls in my house or eat cereal after dinner because those are binge triggers. I will keep trying though because avoidance is allowing the food to control me still.

My first powerlifting meet

Hi everyone (the whole two of you who still check this). It’s been a bit of a busy year and I have been distracted from writing blogs here. Let me update you on what I have been up to. This is the first of many posts today.

Powerlifting
I had my first powerlifting meet on March 1st. After driving 5 hours I arrived at Elite Performance Fitness (Jeremy Horn’s gym) in West Jordan, Utah for weigh in. Due to being sick all week and the strong desire to not cut weight I landed in the 165-181 pound weight class. I picked my starting weights for each lift, had my gear checked and headed out for dinner.

That night was a rough night of sleep filled with nightmares of not making squat depth. Very reasonable fear since I do struggle with it. At morning check in I dropped my starting squat weight to something I knew I could hit for depth to make sure that I didn’t red light all 3 attempts (can’t drop the amount of weight after you’ve attempted it). The meet uses a monolift, which I’ve never even seen in person, so I got permission to lift it and walk out like I was in a normal rack.

I was first lifter in the second group because my starting weight was the lowest of the group. After watching how the first group was run I was pretty confident walking up to squat. First attempt I nailed at 187.2 pounds (the pounds aren’t even because the meet goes off of kilograms, I just converted the numbers for you). I didn’t think I hit depth, but I got it according to all 3 judges. Second attempt I nailed at 198.2 pounds. Third lift I hit at 214.7 pounds, even though I was sure that I didn’t get low enough I got it according to all 3 judges. I had been worried that I would struggle without my music or that I would over think it, but focusing on not double bouncing at the bottom and listening to the spotter cheering me on from behind really helped.

Next up was bench press. Once again I was the first lifter in the group since my starting weight was the lowest. I was very confident in my first lift number, but I worried about bench height and my feet moving. My trainer’s bench is a bit high and the one at my gym is a bit low. I kick my feet out on the heavy bench sets, which would have gotten a red light. Thankfully their bench was the perfect height and I was able to anchor my feet well. First lift was good at 110 pounds, second lift was good at 115.5 pounds. Should have gone a bit heavier for the last one, but I hit a very solid 126.7 pounds.

Final lift is my favorite and my best. Unfortunately the warm up area was small and didn’t have much equipment, so my warm up for deadlifts (and all lifts) was less than adequate. Because my starting attempt was higher than most of the other women I wasn’t first for deadlift. First attempt was easy with 275.5 pounds. Second attempt was solid at 303 pounds. My latest PR was 315 pounds, so I decided to bump it up and go for a new one of 330.5 pounds (150kg). I nailed it without much struggle and many people said I should have gone for at least 15 more pounds.

As we waited for the award ceremony I checked in for drug testing. At that time I was informed that I tied the national record for my weight class APF raw deadlift. Got two first place medals for my weight class for both federations I competed in. Made some great friends at the meet and got to watch a female Olympic lifter set 3 new national records for her weight class. If you’ve ever thought about competing I highly suggest giving it a shot. My teammate competed in novice and even though she red lighted multiple lifts and was disappointed in most of her numbers she still placed second and is planning on doing the fall one. I have decided that I may do another, but instead of going for a world record in August I want to focus on bodybuilding.

Are you screwing around?

This is not intended for people who are starting out or struggling with the basics. This is for people who have been at it a while (I won’t call you out by name). This is also really a note to myself (otherwise I’d be a hypocrite).

Are you just screwing around?

You know how to count calories. You have the hang of weighing everything and being accurate. You probably know the calorie and macro content of your most frequent foods. You have a really good idea of what your maintenance calories are and what an appropriate deficit is. Yet you are getting no closer to your goals.

Why? Are you just screwing around? Your food diary isn’t accurate, you went over your calories a few times this week, you half assed your workouts and you didn’t stick to your macro goals. It’s like you don’t even care.

Are you bulking? Are you cutting? To me it looks like you are maintaining on accident. Do you really want to reach your goals? Are your goals appropriate for your current intake, level of fitness, workout schedule or even your body fat percent? Do you know how to determine if your goals are appropriate for you and what your real current goal should be?

Listen. I know it’s not comfortable to stick to the plan 24/7. You’re used to eating what you want, when you want. The longer you mess around the longer you’ll have to wait to have a bit more freedom.

There is so much more satisfaction from reaching your goal and feeling good about how you look than there is from eating an entire pizza (chased with a pint of ice cream). I’m not saying you have to give up pizza or ice cream along the way, but moderation and success feel better than the binge that you went on this weekend. That horrible feeling you get when the scale is up 5 pounds and the sight in the mirror makes you want to cry. You don’t have to go through that anymore.

The time has come to get back on track and stop screwing around. More restriction isn’t the answer. Find balance and you will be successful.

Perspective

With just under two weeks to my powerlifting competition I have been very frustrated with my lifting stats. I know I’ve come a long way from where I started in 2011, but the competitive side of me can’t help wanting more. I think I spent too many years accepting the minimum from myself that I now expect excellence.

A long talk with a friend a few days ago reminded me that we need to consider perspective. Those of us involved in physical activity (whether lifting, walking, running, cycling or any other activity) are doing more for ourselves and our health than about half of all people. Those of us who are pushing our limits in any fitness category are probably better than 95% of all people.

We shouldn’t feel bad for not being in the top 1%.

I tend to lose perspective of where I am in relation to the population as a whole. I also forget that this powerlifting meet is something I wanted to do for fun. All the hours I put into lifting, mobility work and rehab made me lose sight of the fact that this is something I should enjoy. All I cared about was beating the deadlift record and putting up some other big numbers. Some competition is good, but not at the expense of making me feel bad about myself.

After this meet is over I will be going back to hypertrophy. I will start doing the training I love again. I will be in the gym working towards a long term goal, but I will also be lifting for the love of lifting again.

Training and Our Comfort Zone

THE AXE

There was a lumberjack competition in the Northwest and competitors from all over the world came to compete. One of the competitions was an endurance test to see how many logs each competitor can split in a 12 hour period. Each competitors got one axe and a huge stack of wood.

When the competition started, all of the lumberjacks were feverishly splitting logs. One man in particular held a blistering pace and maintained a comfortable lead.

About 50 minutes into the competition, the man with the strong lead stopped, grabbed his axe and walked into the woodshed which served as a makeshift locker room.

The other competitors were a little surprised that he needed a break, but they continued to strike away and reduce that lead. Some even caught up to him.

Ten minutes later, the man returned and started splitting logs again, using the same pace and extending his lead once again.

Like clockwork, at 50 minutes pas the hour, he took his axe and returned to the woodshed. The other competitors were too concerned with catching up that they never even bothered to wonder why he went into the woodshed for 10 minutes of every hour.

The fascinating thing about this individual was not just the pace he kept but the fact that how much power he used and the ease that each log was splitting.

At the end of the competition, the man had won by a considerable margin. The one question that was on everyone’s mind was:

What were you doing in the woodshed during that time?

Other competitors and spectators assumed he was taking some kind of performance enhancing drug, using some concentration techniques or getting a massage.

When asked what he did during that time, the lumberjack answered very calmly:

I was sharpening my axe.

Regardless of what sport you are participating in you have to keep your skills sharp. Set goals and push your limits. Training at your current level may keep your ax sharp, but pushing your limits will make it more effective.

Powerlifting vs Bodybuilding

When I first started lifting I didn’t realize that powerlifting and bodybuilding were different things. They seem to be different words used for the same thing. I mean people who lift heavy weights and have some size call themselves one or the other. So, what’s the difference?

Powerlifting (PL) is lifting for strength. The actual sport of PL and PL meets are centered around three lifts. These lifts are squat, bench press and deadlift. The goal of a PL meet is to lift more weight than the other people in your weight class. There is a weigh in period of about 24 hours and where your weight lands dictates your weight class. Each lift has some rules. On bench press the bar touches your chest and you are given a signal to lift it from there. For squats you have to reach parallel beyond a shadow of a doubt before being allowed to stand up. Deadlift has to be a clean lockout at the top before being allowed to lower. There are usually three attempts for each lift, you are allowed to increase weight, you can’t decrease weight and your max weight for each lift is added to create your total. Some powerlifters are lean and some are built very big. There are even some tiny female powerlifters who have incredible stats.

Bodybuilding (BB) is for size and aestetics. In BB the goal is to develop large symmetrical muscles in a balanced proportion (meaning biceps are blanced with chest, tricep and back; quads are balanced with back, glutes, hamstring and calves). BB competitions require competitors to reduce body fat to very low numbers in order to show true muscle size, muscle striations, vascularity and overall development. In the actual BB category competitors are divided into weight classes. In physique, figure and bikini the competitors are divided by height. Contestants are judged on size, symmetry, development, leanness, display and presentation.

Here’s a visual difference of the competitions:

Bodybuilding on the left and powerlifting on the right

Good vs bad food

First, I am flattered that I get lots of people who check out my blog. Everything I post here can be found other places on the internet, but I hope to give some good quality basic information to those starting out. I know it’s a daunting task to sort through all the information out there on fat loss and try to decide what information is right or wrong. This isn’t a blog for advanced people who have done their research. I’m not going to reveal anything new or exciting.

Many of us have been lead to believe we get fat eating bad foods. I see it all the time in magazines, “Cut this one food to lose belly fat” or “Lose 100 pounds by eliminating these foods” and these claims drive me up the wall. The reason many people fail at their fat loss goals is that they think some foods are bad and they can’t eat them at all. There are some reasons we SHOULDN’T eat certain foods ALL the time, but success comes from balance.

Instead of thinking about foods as good and bad here are some ways we should really view foods.

Nutrient dense
Vegetables, fruits, lean meats, natural fats, low glycemic carbs and even some dairy offer nutrients that our bodies need. Vitamins, amino acids, fiber and all the macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat). Natural or whole foods have greater nutrient density than processed foods. If you are getting lots of whole foods in your diet you can eat a Twinkie to meet your calorie goal knowing you have fueled your body already with the nutrients it needs.

Satiety
When you get use to eating whatever you want whenever you want there is rarely a time when you feel hungry. When you start counting calories and eat at a slight calorie deficit it is normal to feel hungry sometimes. This is where how filling a food is comes in handy. I know that some chicken and greenbeans or eggs or oatmeal will keep me from being hungry for around 3-4 hours. I know that eating the same amount of calories in chocolate or cake will leave me hungry again in about an hour. I like to plan my day in advance to mix filling foods with less filling foods.

Macronutrients
I know I mentioned macronutrients (macros) in the nutrient dense section, but it deserves a category of its own. Counting calories helps us know how many calories (how much energy) we are consuming. Once we get the hang of that we need to focus on ensuring we get good amounts of protien to aid in muscle repair, carbohydrates for energy and fats to aid in important metabolic processes. There are a variety of suggestions for each of these (which I will talk about in my next blog post), but for now I will leave these amounts unspecified. When we plan our calories for the day we should look at how the macros of each food fit into our overall plan. If you have filled in your protein and still have room for carbs and fat go for some ice cream to fill your macros.

Combining all these
I fill in the main part of each meal with lean protein, fruit/vegetables and high fiber carbohydrates. This makes sure I have nutrient dense and filling foods covered with my meals, so I am helping my health while keeping from feeling hungry. After that I fill in the rest of my calories with yummy foods that help me meet my macros. I get the best of both worlds and I can still lose weight eating ice cream or sweets.