<NOTE>

The Muscle Couple is taking a 19 year old Female Fitness Competitor/Model under our wing.  Our goal is to completely and entirely change her life to get her into the condition she wants to be in by next July.   The following email exchange is her first communication in which she outlines her diet, training and her goals.  The TMC reply is in italics.  We believe it provides an interesting analysis in learning about proper diet and nutrition.  Amanda is intelligent and supremely motivated.  We have no doubt her work ethic, thirst for knowledge and desire to succeed will transform her physique in no time.

——Original Message——

From: FUTURE FITNESS COMPETITOR

To: THE MUSCLE COUPLE

Subject: Diet and Other Information

Sent: Jun 15, 2009 9:45 AM

Here is a typical day: (I’m sure there’s plenty of room for improvement)

9:00A 1/2 C Grape Nuts

1 banana

1/2 C Fat Free Milk

Hi Amanda!  We are really excited to help you on your quest.  Jumping right in with an analysis of your diet meal by meal:  There is nothing in this meal choice that will allow you to put on skeletal muscle and avoid fat gain.

Fruits are usually bad.  We can discuss these as your knowledge of nutrition increases, but Fructose(which is the sugar in Fruit)is severely rate limited by the body in its ability to be oxidized and converted to energy.  What this means is that your body can only process so many carb grams of Fructose a day.  TMC recommends you avoid most fruits.  The only exception would be Small green apples and pears.  Some berries are ok too. The story with Fruit is it must be FIBROUS.  The rest is BUNK.  Eliminate it from your diet.

Replace with:

3/4 Cup of Oat Meal

1 Scoop of Whey Protein Powder(whatever flavor you like)mixed into the Oatmeal.

11:30A 2 eggs

1/4 C broccoli

1/4 C shredded cheese

This is much better with the only exception CHEESE.  Dairy products are a bodybuilder and fitness athletes MORTAL ENEMY.  Lactose(the sugar found in most dairy products) is also very difficult to digest and causes additional enzymatic food absorption problems.  TMC RECOMMENDS YOU AVOID MOST DAIRY PRODUCTS

Replace with:

4 Egg Whites

Broccoli

Salsa/Mushrooms

1:00P

1 sl. wheat bread

2 tbsp. peanut butter

2 tbsp. grape jelly

THIS IS BAD!!!!!  

“Whole Wheat” products are a giant scam perpetrated on America.  Excess whole wheat (and it’s VERY BAD BI-PRODUCT-GLUTEN which is found in almost anything in a box on grocery shelves)causes fat gain and often allergic reactions in the digestive system.  Human digestive systems didn’t evolve to digest wheat/grain.  This came from a shift to agriculture and staying sedentary.  TMC tells people all the time to drop grain based products from their diet for an entire month and see what kind of difference it makes to their figure.  Peanut Butter is a great source of monounsaturated fat with some protein.  Sadly, most Peanut Butter found in stores is laced with preservatives and replacement additives giving it a higher carb and sugar count.  Try and find some Natural Peanut Butter.  Grape Jelly is like eating powdered white sugar in purple blob form.  ELIMINATE.

Replace with:

Can of  White Water Packed Tuna-Tablespoon of Safflower Mayo

Salad or Green Beans

4:00P(pre-workout)

1 scoop strawberry whey protein

1/2 C orange juice

2 oz. aloe vera

1 tbsp. Udo’s Oil

1 tbsp. honey

This is not bad except with the timing of the Udo’s Oil.  This needs to be changed to a better assimilated and digested “Pre Workout” meal.  I think the Muscle Couple Mix is best.  Because you are a college student and on a budget, Whey Protein Powder and a Light Flavored Fruit Juice is fine.  The goal is to drink 1/3^rd pre workout, a 1/3^rd during the workout and 1/3^rd after the workout.

Replace with:

16 Ounces of Light Fruit Flavored Beverage(not to exceed 40gms of carbs (preferably only 15-20 be Sugar)

2.5 Scoops of Whey Protein Powder(50gms Total)

7:00P (post-workout)

1 scoop whey protein in water

3 oz. grilled chicken

Vegetable

This is your most sensible meal choice.  Always try and eat a clean protein for Dinner with green vegetables or salad.  Chicken-Salmon-Turkey-Lean Red Meat and Egg Whites are all great.  Green Beans, Broccoli, Asparagus, Lima Beans- equally great as green carb sources.  Pull out the Whey Protein and just eat the solid meal.

9:00P

1/2 C cottage cheese

1 rice cake

BAD CHOICE!

The Cottage Cheese is Dairy and hard to digest especially before bedtime.  The rice cake is a fast burning-insulin crashing carbohydrate you want to avoid. It’s way too high on the Glycemic index and a poor choice before bed time and your sleep fast.  One rule of thumb which we’ll talk much more about in the future is the “Protein Feeding” at every eating concept.  You should strive to consume protein every time you eat.  Even if it’s trace when snacking.  Peanut butter, nuts, protein bar, protein shots etc.

Replace with:

1 Scoop Whey Protein

1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter or Udo’s Oil

Blended together into a shake.

I have one cheat day a week. (Usually Sunday’s) I have been running 3-4 times a week and am trying to make that 5-6 times a week. I’m planning on increasing the distance by .5 mile every 2 weeks. I’ve ran 3 miles a day the last two weeks and will be increasing that to 3.5 this week. I’d like to be able to run 15 miles by July.

Amanda, because you are young, your body can handle the running.  But we’ll be very honest with you.  Hard Surface outdoor running takes a serious toll on your soft tissues-tendons and cartilage in your later years.  TMC recommends shifting your cardio to something LOW IMPACT but HIGH INTENSITY. Bike-Elliptical or Stairmaster.

You have to decide if you want to be a Fitness Athlete with low bodyfat and hard toned muscles or an endurance athlete with a lot of slow twitch cardio built muscle fiber.-This is exactly what is to going to happen if you keep running outside and training for distance.  Another thing not to underestimate about running is its impact on muscle degradation.  We don’t really know your metabolism yet or how you respond to cardio conditioning, but many people who run often and for distance, struggle to maintain hard earned muscle due to the caloric burn of the running.  Remember the higher the impact on your core musculature, the more it takes a toll on that system and the easier it is for your body to respond by burning it off.

I have been lifting 5 times a week broken down into chest, shoulders, legs, back, arms.

Your workout routine is too specialized for your experience level. TMC will write a program for you.  For now, you should be focusing on training your body as single unit and developing neural muscular coordination and muscle memory to program your body for the next 35 years of training and living a Fitness Lifestyle.  You want to concentrate on building a solid base and then moving to more of a specialized routine where you can focus on lagging body parts or muscular imbalances in your physique.  Until you develop, hone and refine your base physique, you can’t specialize.

I got the opportunity to speak with a fitness competitor and she recommended that I started my hard training in January (not through the holiday season) and give myself 6 mo. I’d like to compete next July. I got a caliper test two weeks ago and was at 26%. I’d like to be around 11% by the competition. I’d like to be below 20% in January. I weigh 138 currently and would ideally like to be around 120.  In the next 6 mo. I’d like to focus on getting that body fat % down, stronger, and my routine down(being able to do the split and one-arm pushups). After January, I’ll have to focus on toning up and slimming down.

TMC believes this is entirely possible, but we’ll need to first get everything else squared away.

• Your Diet
• Your Training
• Your Cardio
• Your Supplements
• Your sleep patterns
• Your bodies uniquely individual response to all of the above

I hope this gives you a little better picture of what I want and where I am.

It absolutely does Amanda!   We are just as excited to offer you counsel and instruction.  Nothing is more exciting than working with someone who shares our passion for working hard to improve their health and fitness!

Ain’t nothing to it but to do it!

Are you ready to “MAKE-IT-HAPPEN-WEST-COAST-STYLE”?

<NOTE>

We will be following Amanda and chronicling her exploits on the site with pictures, updates about her training, her diet, her life as an 19 year old college student and her overall progress as she attempts to step on stage next July.  And trust us, we will push her like she’s never been pushed.

We encourage all of you to come along for the ride!

MIHWCS