How I Diet & Cook

There are two parts to this post. I swear, my head is always full of random thoughts that I want to share and explain but sometimes it's hard to break it all down. I try, but I know it can all be hard to understand so feel free to contact me and ask me anything :)

I'm a flexible dieter. I used to believe in "clean foods" & "bad foods," until last year when I was introduced to a whole new world of flexible dieting, aka 'IIFYM' (if it fits your macros). Yes, that means I do count my calories/protein/carbohydrates/fat/fiber intake daily. I weigh and measure my foods. Yes, it can be a pain in the ass at times, but I've gotten used to it over the years. Yes, there are days (when not on comp prep) such as family events or holidays were I don't worry about it and just enjoy! I don't believe in meal timing and I believe in carbs after dark! When you have the mind set of "good foods" and "bad foods" it makes you have a horrible relationship with food. I've been to the point of feeling so guilty of eating a cookie or two, going and killing myself with cardio on an off day, restricting more calories, and binging. It's unhealthy. If you "eat clean" all week and go on a binge during the weekend, how healthy is that? It's not. Flexible dieting allows you to eat all your favorite foods, in moderation. It definitely teaches self-control. I have set macros each day, and I fill it with whatever foods I want. A carb is a carb, a fat is a fat, and a protein is a protein. However, yes there are more nutrient dense foods, meaning carbs from fruits/veggies have more fiber than carbs from a Poptart duh. You cannot hit your macronutrients eating fast food all day, Poptarts all day, etc, just like you can't hit your macros eating only spinach and fish all day. 90% is whole nutrient foods to hit that fiber goal- which I average about 20-25g a day, sometimes more depending on my food selection. 10% can be "fun foods" and favorite treats in moderation. My "fun foods" for now include Quest bars, Greek yogurt, PB, S'Mores gold fish, etc. Remember, I'm currently on comp prep, so I'm still a bit mindful so I don't get carried away, but if I weren't, everything would be a go :) 

I've counted calories for years, but still looked at food as "good" and "bad." Now, I feel a bit more FREE, having control of what I put in my body and not feeling restricted. I wish I had done more research before hiring my first coach, knowing that I could do flexible dieting while on competition prep! Ugh. I guess I had always thought competition prep was fish/chicken, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, spinach/green beans for 12 weeks. Then binging after your competition. But it's ok, now I know better. I remember at our first meeting (with my first coach), I said I had been counting my macros (probably was around 1700 then with 40%P-35%C-25%F). He said he didn't believe in that because they're inaccurate? Hmmm… Yeah ok. So when he started me on his meal plan, it was straight "eat this, at this time, no substitutions, no cheat meals." I was probably around 1200-1300 doing his "off season" trying to put on muscle… Ridiculous. Not a sustainable lifestyle, nor enough food to "put on muscle." He dieted me down too hard and too fast. My metabolism is definitely suffering right now. I cannot wait to build it back up with reverse dieting! 

Anyways, I love following these two ladies on IG- FIITNESSCHIC & 1FITASHMOM

They are two strong, beautiful women who are flexible dieters and proving that you can get shredded with a moderate diet filled with whole foods, and Poptarts ;) 1FITASHMOM was also eating over 2000 calories to maintain and started her cut (weightloss/fatloss for comp prep) from very high! Meaning, during her cut, she will be able to comfortably lose weight/fat, shred, and eat! 

Bottom line: Stop starving yourself and thinking of foods as GOOD & BAD. You want a starting point of eating as much as you can while losing fat and doing (working out) as little as possible. If you start with 1200 calories off the bat, start working out 2 hours a day, when your weightloss plateaus, where will you go? You will either have to 1. drop calories even lower or 2. workout longer/harder. Then when you plateau again, same thing. Do you get where I'm going here? 

BE SMART!! it kills me seeing girls eating 1000 calories or below, doing 2 hours of cardio. Your caloric intake is all individualized. Sex/weight/height/activity level/GOALS. If you're wanting to put on muscle, you will not be able to do it on low calories. You have to eat in a surplus! 

Stop trying to find SHORTCUTS, and doing it the healthy, slow, and MAINTAINABLE way. Make it a LIFESTYLE, not a temporary "summer body" fix. 

Need help? email me! suarezcoral@hotmail.com

**Another tip, DON'T EVER purchase "customized meal plans" from someone who is not certified and have the credentials to coach and guide you. Just because someone looks good and has found something that works for them, does not mean they know what works best for you :) Getting help/tips is one thing, but if you're going to put money down, make sure it is with someone that has their certifications/credentials and actually knows how to work with different types of people! 

Ok, part 2!! 

People always ask for my recipes, saying they don't know how to cook and this and that. Well, let me tell you something… I don't either! I don't follow any recipes (hate them), I don't use a lot of ingredients, and I just have the basic meats, veggies, and carbohydrates usually cooked in bulk for a few days and I throw them together and use different seasonings. 

Favorite seasonings: 

Favorite sauces:

Favorite sweeteners:

Proteins:

All can be combined and used in sooooo many different ways. I like simplicity! I like easy and fast cooking. So don't think I'm some whiz in the kitchen.

I hope this was somewhat helpful :) 

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6 Weeks Out

It's easy to become a bit obsessive (too dedicated? is that possible?) when you're in competition prep, especially as you get closer and closer to show. You constantly check your body out, looking for change, definition of muscles that you've spent hours and hours trying to build, and fat loss from diet and cardio. You check out the other competitors and think "shit, they look so good." You sometimes doubt yourself and over-think little situations. I sometimes wonder if I jumped into competing too soon after having Sylas and should have just enjoyed myself took my time. I think of how sick I am of dieting, since I've been doing it since November. You just want to see the pounds on the scale drop and your body fat disappear. Sometimes I find myself obsessing and stressing out about the little things… even the amount of veggies I eat! I will research everything on the computer and try and compare my situation with others. Deep down, I know every body is different, every situation is different. Weight/height/activity level/genetics/metabolism, everything can come into play with weightloss/fatloss. My coach always tells me to relax, not stress and stop weighing myself every day. Old habits are hard to break, competing or not. 

This week, my new goal is kill it in the gym and nutrition… everything 200%... and during my down time, not constantly research, and just RELAX and enjoy the process. When I look back, I don't want to think that I was miserable- instead, look back at everything with a smile on my face, knowing that I enjoyed the changes and challenges. I will not give up, dammit. I have been dedicated for way too long to just let things go by. The show is coming whether I'm ready or not. I will not just say "oh well, next show" again, and then look back with regret. I may or may not place well at my first one, but all I can do is give it my all and know deep down that I did my best. I will learn from this first show and use the experience to keep doing better and better at shows to come. It won't always be this hard. My future preps won't be as long. I know better from now on. I'll also "off-season" the right way and come into season the right way. After these shows this year, I'm taking my time to reverse diet correctly, BUILD my metabolism, physical and mental strength back up and go into the next season full-on, unstoppable.  

A couple changes this week:

1. I've started two-a-days this week- I will be adding in morning fasted cardio. This topic is really debatable and a lot of people have their opinions on it, theres scientific research for the pros and cons- I'm really not going to get into it. I've done it in the past, and I've felt it worked for me, so I'm going to utilize it again. I drink my Scivation intra-workout BCAAs while I do it to preserve muscles and I do it at a low-intensity, still getting in a sweat. For now I'll stick with 30 minutes. We bought a stationary bicycle for the house, so that will be my morning cardio equipment. Later, I will hit up weight-lifting for 1-1.5hrs followed by high intensity cardio for another 30-45 mins. Depending on my time/ how I feel. 

Lifting: 5x a week, 2+ body parts a day, supersets and triple-sets. 4-8 sets, 10-15 reps, depending. Lifting heavy and keeping that heart rate up, sweating my ass off!

Cardio: morning fasted cardio 5x week & HIIT/steady state at the gym 6x a week, pushing myself and getting in a sweat session. I've learned staying in "heart rate zones" are crap, and you should just PUT IN WORK. 

2. Coach has changed my macros around (still around the same calories) but will be carb-cycling with no/low-carb days and a high-carb day. The no/low days will consist of carbs from vegetables and trace carbs from nuts/nut butters, high protein, and high fats coming from egg yolks, lean ground turkey 93/7, extra virgin olive oil/coconut oil, almonds and peanut butter- almost like the Keto life. On the high-carb day, carbohydrate grams will be very high while fats are very low, and protein grams remains the same. Honestly, when I got the plan, I was like OMG, I can't have oatmeal!! It scared me. I don't think there's been a day in my life that I didn't have any starch lol! It's been a few days now, and although I miss it, I get a lot of peanut butter so I'm remaining pretty sane ;) I haven't had a high-carb day yet, but hoping it comes soon! MMMM carbs :D 

That's about it. I'll post progress photos next week and a bigger update... Just always remember, do something today that will HELP you towards your goals and get you CLOSER, not further. Only YOU know if you are truly giving it (whatever your life goal is) 200%! You cannot be upset at the results you don't get with the work that you do not put in!

Again, I just wanted to say GO CHECK OUT ISOLATOR FITNESS! They have some awesome gear and great meal bags for amazing prices. You can't beat it. With summer coming up, you'll need it extra for not just work days but beach/pool days and even family outings. We just got a 3 meal one and I love that it fits even my son's big bottles and snacks along with my shakes, water, meals and goodies :) If you like what you see, feel free to use CORAL10 for 10% off your entire purchase! 

Find me on IG: loveliftdrift

If you have any questions feel free to email me! 

suarezcoral@hotmail.com

xoxo

7 Weeks Out

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My debut feels like it's right around the corner! So crazy. I'm nervous, scared, and so UNPREPARED! Since starting with my new coach 1.5 weeks ago, I can definitely feel a difference in lean-ness, but my weight is not dropping :/ He cut my cardio in half, added more calories and his workouts are absolutely KILLER. I love it. He will probably adjust a few things this weekend such as nutrition/macros. I know I have at LEAST 12lbs of body fat I need to drop prior to show. I definitely feel happier, stronger, and so much less stressed out than I was. Still worried/stressed about the show, but I am happy with my new coach! It makes a big big difference :)

1: 9mo post partum (136lbs)

2/3: 10.5mo post partum (130lbs)

6 week difference 

It's always pretty nice when I compare like this. I always see that I AM making progress. But, I need to make more, faster. Competing kind of gets to your head because you make soooo many changes, yet you can always do better. I guess it's a good thing- you're always striving to be a better you and challenge yourself. If it's something you enjoy that is. I may not do the best at my first competition, but there are plenty to come- they aren't going anywhere. All I can do is continuing to better my package to bring and keep pushing, keep trying, and doing my absolute best. 4 years ago when I got into fitness, I would dream of getting my Pro Card, helping others achieve their goals, being on the cover of fitness magazines and being a fit icon ;P That was even before I had even competed and lived in Okinawa, Japan. I stalked my fitness idols on fb, did their workouts and did so much research haha. I dreamt BIG. I still will. I'm far from my dreams, but I won't give them up. 

Things I need to do:
1. Register for an NPC card
2. Register for my show 
(Not sure if I'll just do Open A or Novice as well)
3. Buy suit(s) 
(I'm still losing so I've been putting it off)
4. Decide on spray tan or getting lotion to have hubby apply
5. Posing practice - I am terrible!
6. Book hotel for night before
(We are 2 hours away, but I'd rather not rush and have a place to do everything)
7. Buy foundation
(Cousin in-law will be doing my hair & make-up, thank goodness :) But I still need to buy the dark color to match the competition tan.)
8. Silicon inserts
(Need some 'oomph!' and cleavage!)
9. Get simple pedicure/manicure 
10. Buy earrings and bracelet

I think that's it?? It's definitely an expensive sport. At least for a first time competitor. You can always use most of these things such as suit/jewelry/shoes/makeup/inserts for as many times after, if you choose to. Which I definitely would… Ha. I cannot wait to buy my suit(s)! I won a raffle from Ravish Sands for $125.00 back in Nov/Dec on IG and will be using that towards them! Yes, I'm purchasing 2, not only to have a spare "just in case" but if I do more comps,  I have a choice as well. I have the colors and connectors chosen, just waiting to see what my measurements and weight may be… It's hard to tell right now. Oh, I haven't decided on 'micro' or 'brazillian' as far as the booty cut goes… I'm scared of both! They are so freakin teeny weeny… Your ass just sticks out and that's that… Guess that's why the bikini division is so big on glutes! Mine is coming along though, so in 7 weeks I will be able to put on that teeny weeny bikini and flaunt my hard work LOL ;) 

One of the things that helps most to stay on track is BEING PREPARED! If you work all day long and are one of those people that waits until their starving then grabs the first thing they can get, then you definitely need to change some habits! These isobags come with so many cute or badass designs and they have 3 ~ 6 meal bags. All YOU have to do is prepare your meals, pack and go! They stay fresh and you will stay on track all day- I guarantee it. Failing to plan is planning to fail! Use code CORAL10 for 10% off entire purchase :) 

YOU are in charge of your now and future. If you're unhappy about whatever it is in your life- relationship, body, job, major, color of your room, etc- DO SOMETHING. You have the power to change anything you want! It may not be easy, it may be a slow process, but taking small steps into making those changes will make a big difference in the end. Just do it! Even if it scares the shit out of you, do it! I know it seems like all I care about is fitness- but it's not true. I enjoy getting out of the house, the little things in life (my son's smile), traveling, learning, photography, and cars!! There is SO much I want to do. Right now my main focus is this, but eventually I will start adding more goals and things I want to accomplish. Nothing feels better than accomplishing hard goals you set for yourself! The ups and downs make it that much more sweet! 

xoxo

Follow me on IG: loveliftdrift