Hello everyone. I have always loved to drink wine. It has become part of my brand so much so that I even used wine in my photoshoot to show that I firmly believe in a #Moderation365 way of eating and drinking. #Moderation 365 means there are no diets to get lean in 12 weeks, there are no foods off limits and how one eats on Tuesday is how one should eat on Saturday. This concept was shown to me by a mentor and fellow fitness professional Jill Coleman.  Jill Coleman is the owner of Jillfit.com http://jillfit.com/about/ and has helped me adapt this moderation approach vs an all or nothing mindset when it comes to how I eat and train. But, this wasn't always how I lived my life. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I used to compete in Figure Shows. I did this for almost 10 years between the age of 26 and 36. During this decade of my life there was no such thing as moderation. I would stick to a strict meal plan all year, and an even more strict meal plan 12 weeks out from a contest. When you are dieting for a physique contest every morsel of food had to be accounted for. I diligently weighed, measured and tracked every thing I put in my mouth. If I wasn't prepping for a contest, I was still obsessed with my food. I would have wine on the weekends and count that as my "cheat"meal. I viewed food as good and bad, and wine was bad because it had empty calories and could contribute to fat gain. GASP..oh no!

I could go on and on about that decade, but I am not going down that rabbit hole. Today I want to focus on the transition I have made since my last show. Since 2014 I started trusting myself around food and slowly backed off my obsessive training and yes, I gained weight in the process. But after time my body weight leveled out and I am able to stay relatively lean while progressing in my strength goals. It has been 3 years since I stepped on stage and my weight jumped up from 114lb to 129lb, and now 3 years later I am stable at 120lb, right in the middle. I now eat foods I love daily including my beloved Red wine and it feels so liberating. It took patience, dedication and trust. ** and a lot of fuck ups along the way..trust me. I was a HOT mess**

I booked a photoshoot at the end of Sept 2016 as I felt it was time to re brand my fitness message from a ripped figure competitor to a curvier, sexier and healthier look which portrays how I believe a fit woman in her late 30's should be. I even included wine in my photoshoot as I had a vision. What would attract me to a trainer? Someone who had an unrealistic diet and crazy exercise programs or someone who allows a little freedom in their plans to create sane and sustainable results? Well, you know the answer to this one.

So how did I do it? How did I give up strict dieting and still get lean for a photoshoot?

I am writing this as if you and I are sitting in Starbucks having coffee by the way! Here are the steps that gave me success.

1. I created a calorie deficit by setting my calories slightly below maintenance. Once I had my calories and protein goals in check, I was able to just eat food that fit into these numbers. I had a coach to help me with this too! (I firmly believe even coaches need coaches too!)

2. I trained with heavy weights 4 days a week. Even though I was in a slight calorie deficit, I was training as heavy as I could, and I even got stronger throughout the 6 weeks I was preparing for my photoshoot.

3. I did metabolic conditioning 2 days a week. I love metabolic conditioning using dumbbell density circuits. I would do 4-6 compound exercises in a row for 15 min only resting when I had to. These were Short, Intense and Effective workouts.

4. I made sure to get a ton of sleep and I watched my stress levels. I had a bed time ritual. I would always shut down social media an hour before bed and make sure my body and mind were relaxed. If you're stressed out and not sleeping you will have trouble sticking to your calorie goal. Stress can increase your hunger and cravings, and when you are dieting on lower calories, you want to do your best to decrease hunger not increase it.

5. Once all of the above 4 steps are in place, THEN AND ONLY THEN I would add in wine. I would sub out 150 calories or 36 grams of carbs for a 6 oz glass of wine. ONLY if I got my workouts in, had been getting adequate sleep and if my stress was in check. I found sipping a glass of wine took the edge off my cravings and it helped me relax around food. I am not saying that wine is a magical fat loss food by any means, and for some people it is a trigger food. I am saying FOR ME, wine allowed me to chill the fuck out and enable me to stick to my lower calorie plan. For others they need a single serving of chocolate, a bit of bacon on their salad, or a few bites of a brownie.

There are no absolutes when it comes to fat loss. Every single one of you will have a different blue print. Every single one of you will have a formula that you need to find out on your own or with the guidance of a coach like myself who knows how to get you started. You see fat loss is really fucking simple. The diet industry likes to make it complicated to sell you the next shiny new plan to get you skinny in 30 days. DO NOT BUY INTO THE HYPE. There is a better way if you are willing to put in some work and do it right.

Here are some pics to show you the 6 week progress. Picture 1, August 15- 6 weeks out of my shoot. Picture 2, October 1 after my photoshoot. I tightened up a lot in my opinion. Pictures 3 and 4, well..the finished product as seen on this website..weights to wine!

So what am I doing now? Since October, I have raised my calories and am calorie cycling in order for me to still maintain a lean physique. My body weight is still stable at around 120lb. I train heavy, I sprint or do density circuits often, and I still allow myself to drink wine on most nights of the week.

I write this from a place of honesty and compassion. I have struggled with my body image and food anxiety for over 20 years. I finally have come into a place of moderation and balance. This didn't happen overnight but it is worth the time and effort I promise you.

Do you want to get off the diet roller coaster? Have you had similar experiences with how you view food and exercise? I am here for you. Leave a comment below or email me and lets talk!

Love, Fitbabe

#moderation365 #sustainability #likehowyoueat #weightstowine #actionoveranxiety