re-hiring my nutrition coach

The best results I've ever had weightlifting was when I was working with a nutrition coach. Usually when a person loses weight they lose strength too. The crazy thing was I was losing 2-3 pounds every week and STILL making unbelievable speed and strength gains.

I asked my former nutrition coach Barry Schroeder if he'd be willing to work with me again after I'm done training for my new career. He agreed. The major change I'm going to ask for compared to the last time we worked together is I occasionally want to stop losing weight and get onto a diet to maintain my weight. Trying to lose 80 pounds nonstop was just to overwhelming. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. After a couple months I'd lost 19 pounds, which was great. But dieting and being hungry for another 32 weeks just wasn't going to happen. I decided  I'd rather give up than suffer through that. This time i want to diet for a month, then eat a maintenance diet for a week. That would be much easier. That would make for more frequent goals to work for with the reward of being able to eat more at the end of that successful goal. By my estimation if I lose 10 pounds a month with a week of maintaining in between that will get me to my goal of 235 pounds in 10 months.

calorie deficit and Discount Tires review

I hired a sports nutrition coach a few months ago to help more get better results from my training and to help me to get to the 105k weight class. Since getting help from him with my diet I've had the best gains I've ever had. Its amazing to me, I'm getting better results now at 40 years old than I did in my twenties. My only regret is I didn't hire a good nutrition coach sooner. In addition to performing better I've lost 17 pounds. Every couple weeks he's dropped my calories just a little more to see how my body handles training with the new caloric deficit. Thus far my training and performance has still been phenomenal. But this whole week I've been really hungry!

I've purchased my car tires from Discount Tires as long as I've been driving. 24 years now. I've never even thought about going anywhere else. When i need tires I go there. It's just habit. Over the years they've become more aggressive in their sales tactics. The last few years I've gone there it's like being on a used car lot. They'll do or say anything to force me to buy new tires immediately, even throwing out guilt tactics, insults, and outright lying. The last time I went there for a tire rotation they sent two salesmen one after another to try to talk me into buying. When that didn't work they sent the assistant manager. Then he sent his boss. I'm not sure if it's just the two Discount Tires here in Santa Fe that is like that or if it's everywhere, but i won't ever step foot in their store again. They've lost a life long customer.

logging and preparing food prevents sick leave use

My nutrition coach set a goal for me to hit for each of the 3 macro-nutrients each day. Right now my goals are 300 grams protein, 240 grams carbs, 115 grams fat. To hit each of these macro goals it's paramount that I log every meal for the entire day as soon as I wake up. Logging everything usually takes me 30-45 mimutes. That's not even including the preparation of those meals. One of the unexpected benefits of this is that it prevents me from using sick leave. Around noon on Thursday I wanted to call in sick that night. I wanted to hang out with the family, take an extra day off from the prison to prepare for the weekends weightlifting meet. But I'd already logged and prepared all my food to last until 6am (I work nights). If I called in sick I'd be going to sleep when my wife did, approximately 10pm. It would be way to much of a hassle and way to complicated to try to figure out what I'd ate so far, and what i'd need to change the next few meals to hit my numbers for the day. And even if I decided to attempt that, what would I do with the meals I'd already made with a specific amount of macro's in each one? Those meals wouldn't hit the days numbers because I'd be going to sleep 8 hours earlier. I knew hiring a sports nutrition coach would help me get into a lower weight class for weightlifting, help me perform better, and perhaps be sexier for my wife, but I never would of guessed that it prevents sick calls too.

update on calorie change

A couple days ago my sports nutrition coach changed my daily calorie allotment. It took a couple days for me to figure out what the new calorie regiment would feel like. On my non-training days it feels like I have lots of carbohydrates to eat at everyone meal. On my training days I eat the majority of my carbs before, during, and after training. The rest of the day I only have a dozen grams of carbs to eat at each meal. Even though my carbs feel low the rest of the day, I never feel hungry because I have 300 grams protein and 125 grams fat each day. I've always felt best eating lower carbs  and a little more fat than most people. On the occasions I've tried low fat diets I fell apart quickly. I lost strength, endurance, and energy. This diet seems perfectly suited for my body type. I'm down to 304 pounds. I've lost 14. Just 75 pounds to go to hit my goal of being a 105k.

change of calories

My sports nutrition coach is making some changes to my diet. On workout days I used to eat 390 grams of carbohydrates. On non-workout days I'd eat 190 carbohydrates. Now things are changing a bit. I'm going to be eating 250 carbs 6 days a week. Once a week, the day of my choosing,  I'm scheduled to eat 410 carbs.

Today I had a really hard workout. 2 hours and 20 minutes of %60-%90 of max. I needed the fuel to get through a workout that intensive. Before training i had two cups of white rice mixed with 1/2 cup of skim milk,  coffee with 2 TBSP half n half. During the workout i drank 2 servings of Gatorade and a half scoop of whey protein. Post workout i drank a shake with 1 cup skim milk,  1 scoop protein, 1 banana, 2 TBSP peanut butter, BCA's, & glutamine. The rest of the day I only had 70 grams of carbohydrates left to eat. I had enough protein and fat to keep me from getting hungry, but eating only 70 carbs the rest of the day made me grumpy. I'm not sure if it was my bodies blood sugar levels dropping or what, but i turned into an a-hole the rest of the day. As long as I don't lose my strength and speed gains I'll be really happy continuing to lose weight,  get thinner, become faster, & feel better about myself. Today I keep trying to remind myself that my nutrition coach is the bomb, plus he's a serious weightlifter too. So I know he understands what it takes to lose weight without losing performance. But I'm like an old grumpy man. I freak out about changes. I'm trying really hard not to freak out,  because like i said, my nutrition coach has a life time of eating healthy and competing seriously in athletics to base his reasoning on. I've even seen it first hand the last month. I've lost 14 pounds while recovering faster and making greater gains than I ever have before. Both my weightlifting coach and nutrition coach are ALWAYS having to remind me, "trust the program Cody". So right now I'm doing my best to simply focus on trusting the program and ignoring my fears.

pre-workout meal comparison and weightlifting belts

After trying every food imaginable I've found the food that gives me the most energy to sustain my energy through an entire weightlifting workout is white rice mixed 1/2 cup skim milk, sugar, and  one or two cups of coffee. After Thanksgiving I had a pumpkin pie and thought,  "this has lots of calories and is high in the glycemic index. I bet pumpkin pie will work great as a pre-workout meal!" Just in case your wondering,  pumpkin pie does not fuel an athlete well. Not only did I end up running out of energy half way through my workout, i felt like crap the rest of the day. And the pumpkin pie used so much of my daily allotment of carbs and fat that I was hungry the rest of the day. No bueno.

Every 4-6 weeks I tweak my back doing back squats. It's never an injury severe enough to make me miss training,  but it's serious enough to bug for a week of two while it heals up. I've tried everything to stop this from happening: changing my form, tightening my belt REALLY tight, squating slower.... nothing seemed to stop it. A few weeks ago I had to order a different weightlifting belt. The one i had been using the last couple years wasn't legal in powerlifting meets. Bada Bing bada bang, problem fixed! Turns out I was needing a different weightlifting belt. The one I'm using now gives my back perfect support!  I haven't had any problems at all since lifting with the new belt. It's an Ader 4 inch weightlifting belt. Its a miracle worker and a back saver!

There's a funny 105k+ story to go along with this belt. I ordered the belt based on their sizing chart. When I got it in the mail I thought they had to have sent me the wrong sized belt because this sucker was huge! I'm sure it would fit around two normal sized men twice with plenty of room to spare.  I started packing it in the box to return it and my wife said, "why don't you try it on so you know how much smaller of a belt you'll need to replace it with." Great idea! I tried it on, not only did it fit,  but if I was a half inch bigger around the belt would be to small. Ah, the life of a super heavy weight. Every day in the shoes of a 105k+ is an adventure!

eating before and during training

Since hiring a sports nutrition coach I've been eating smaller healthier meals. I almost never eat until I'm full. The good news is my stomach has shrunk so I get full sooner. The bad news is my stomach can't handle my normal pre-workout meal anymore. I used to eat two cups white rice,  one cup milk,  and coffee. If i eat that now i feel overly full and uncomfortable while training. Now that I'm eating less for my pre-workout meal I'm running out of energy during my workouts. I've started sipping on a 16 ounce Gatorade with a half scoop of whey protein during my workouts. That seems to have fixed everything. I'm no longer overly full and I have energy to finish training.

week 3 with a sports nutrition coach

I started working with a sports nutrition coach almost 4 weeks ago. So far I've lost 4 pounds, which is amazing because my main goal is weightlifting performance. Of course I want to lose some fat, but only if it's done in a way that doesn't jeopardize performance. Also,  I started taking creatine monohydrate a little over a week ago. I usually gain at least 5 pounds when i start taking creatine. No weight gain this time. More importantly my clothes are fitting differently. They are tighter in the legs, chest, and shoulders, and looser in the waist. I feel like I'm healing quicker now from training than I was before. I'm sleeping better too. When I hired my nutrition coach he surprised me by keeping my calories the same. But he raised the amount of protein I'm eating- by a lot! Before I probably ate around 180 grams of protein a day. Now I'm eating close to 300. I'm averaging 125g of fat and 290g of carbohydrates on a non-training day. On training days my carbs go up to 400g and he has very specific directions on what I eat should before, during, and after training. I'm really happy i hired a nutrition coach. My only regret is not having done it a couple years ago. I'd have made more strength gains and I wouldn't have become as fat as I did.

I hurt my wrist weightlifting a week ago. Every time i lift it hurts a little worse. Of course I'm doing what any manly man does. I'm ignoring it, not telling anyone, hoping it'll get better on its own, and assuming that as long as I don't get it diagnosed that means nothings wrong with it. So far ignoring my wrist isn't working. So of course that means I haven't ignored it long enough or put enough effort in pretending nothings wrong.

eating to train and recover

My sports nutrition coach is having me eat 400 grams of carbs on a heavy weightlifting day. 1/3 to 1/2 of my carbs should be eaten in a block of 2 hours before, during, and two hours after my training. When I first started I found that I perform best if I eat 2 cups white rice with a cup of milk and a little sugar before my workout. It wasn't until a recently I found I workout best if I drink orange Gatorade with chocolate whey protein during my workout- tastes like an orange-cicle!

I'd always struggled with energy after my workouts. I'd feel wiped out for hours. This week I tried a new post workout shake. It's made with 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 1/2 scoops whey protein, BCA's, Glutamine, a banana, and two tablespoons peanut butter. Within minutes of pounding my post workout shake I feel unbelievable. The most ignored aspect of training is recovery. Hopefully this'll jump start my lifting. 9 1/2 weeks left until the last shot at qualifying for the Masters National Weightlifting Championships.

first full week with a sports nutrition coach for weightlifting

I decided I wanted to lose 74 pounds to be able to lift in the 105k weight class, but i didn't want my weightlifting to suffer, so i hired a sports nutrition coach. After my first full week with a sports nutrition coach I've lost 1.8 pounds. When i had tried losing weight on my own my workouts would suffer, I'd fatigue quickly during workouts, I'd lose strength, and get overly hungry. So far i haven't felt any of those problems. I guess that's why it's better to hire a professional. 1.8 pounds down,  72.2 more to go. So far so good. I'll continue to keep you updated.

nutrition coaching day 2

I hired a nutrition coach.  Today marks my 2nd full day of being coached by him. Lot's of new things.

-This weekend i attended my father-in-laws 75th birthday party. There's no way i could have ate healthy and in moderation if i wasn't being held accountable by my nutrition coach.

-Planning out what I'm going to eat before i eat it and logging it makes a huge difference in the quality of food i end up eating. 

-higher quality foods are much much more filing

--I'm having a hard time eating as much as I'm supposed to, especially the 300g protein. 

- left on my own i eat WAY to much fatty foods

- once i log and eat my first meal eating healthy the rest of the day is easy but the first meal is the hardest for me. I love to eat crappy food in the morning, corned beef hash, burritos, grilled cheese sandwiches with green chile, etc. And after i eat one unhealthy meal i have a tendency to want to eat poorly the next meal,  then the next meal. It's the fat man's snow ball effect. 

sport nutrition coach update

I've hired a nutrition coach to help me lose enough weight to get down to the 105k weight class while still making performance gains in olympic style weightlifting. We were supposed to start next week. Yesterday i received an email from him saying he was so excited he was willing to start coaching me early for no additional cost. Seriously? How often does that happen? Awesome! He analyzed the last week of my diet and sent me almost 2 pages of observations and suggestions. He sent me info regarding what to eat before,  during,  and after my workouts to get the best benefits from training. How many carbs and what percentage of my daily carbohydrate intake should be consumed within a two hour block of training. He sent me suggestions on what to eat, when to eat, and why it'll benefit my performance. Since getting his email I've probably emailed or Facebook messaged him a dozen times. He always responds within moments and spends the time answering whatever question i had in great detail. I can't believe all the work this guys doing for me for only $75 a month. I doubt he's making minimum wage coaching me at this point. I'm thinking hiring this guy to be my sports nutrition coach was the best decision I've made in long time. My only regret is not hiring him earlier. If i had I'd already be a 105k and would have qualified for the 2016 Master's National Championships weightlifting meet. With Coach Shane Miller as my weightlifting coach and and Barry Schroeder as my sports nutrition coach I'm certain I'll be making unbelievable gains. Current weight, 309lbs. Next stop, lighter, stronger, and faster baby!

exercise nutrition during strength training

Now that my training sessions are getting longer I've been struggling to complete my weight training workouts. I've tried drinking juice during my workouts. That helps a little but a lot of the juices upset my stomach. So today I tried eating a Power gel half way through my workout to see how my energy levels were at the end of my workout. It worked AMAZING! I progressed from me struggling to finish my strength training to me feeling like I had so much energy I could have done a cardio session after my strength workout!! What a difference! From now on I'm eating a Power gel half way through all my weight training sessions!

And today I set PR's in the snatch, front squat, and deadlift! My snatch PR was 1 kilo higher than the superheavy weight state record for my age group!!!!!!

Beet juice and strength training attempt #2

Aparently what bothered my stomach was the beet juice. I tried drinking nothing but water and and small amount of beet juice and it jacked my stomach up for 18 hours!

beet juice for long streangth training sessions?

When I was a hard core triathlete I used to eat Power gels and drink Gatorade mixed with a little whey protein to make sure I didn't run out of energy during long workouts. Now that I'm training in Olympic Weightlifting and the weights I'm lifting are getting heavier its taking me longer to complete my workouts, and now I'm struggling with fatigue the later part of my workout. Rather than trying gels and Gatorade again I decided to try some fresh beet juice mixed with a little whey protein. It worked ok. I still had a little fatigue by the end of the workout, but not nearly as bad. The problem I had was by the end of my training session my stomach was upset. The stomach ache stayed with me until the next morning. I'm hoping it wasn't the beet juice that upset my stomach, but me drinking a combination of water, beet juice/whey protein and coffee- yes I drink coffee when I strength train. Coffee while training is something I started doing a decade ago, now I just don't feel worth a darn while lifting unless I have a hot cup-o-Joe to sip on in between sets. On Saturday I'm going to try the whey/beet combo again this time without the coffee. If I complete the entire workout without fatigue or a stomach ache I'll know beet juice was a good idea. If I still get a stomach ache then I'll know I need to switch to Power gels, Gatorade with whey protein, and yes of course..... coffee.

less overtime, more sleep and calorie inceases equals olympic weightlifting increases

Last week I hit my max lifts in a few exercises and have been obsessing on ways to start getting stronger. I've decreased the amount of overtime I've been working at the New Mexico state penitentiary from an average of 30 hours a week to around 3 hours a week so that I get more sleep. I've also slightly increased my daily calorie intake which will slow my weight loss but increase my strength gains. Those things have worked. Last week I could only get an 82k bench press 3 reps on my last set of the day, this week I was able to get a full 5 reps with 1 kilo more weight. I was also able to get faster on the cardio workout coach Miller has me do at the end of my strength training by a full 45 seconds. The only thing I didn't make significant increases on was the power snatch.

eating after olympic weightlifting

I know how important it is to eat after a workout. I always did when I was a hard core triathlete. It made a huge difference in my training and recovery. I hadn't yet started the habit of eating after  strength training.  I knew I should have been eating after strength training for glycogen replenishment, the protein window, etc. Yesterday was the first time I ate immediately after Olympic weightlifting. I feel much better today than I have been used to feeling the day after strength training. Well, I'm a slow learner, but this lesson has been learned... again. Refuel immediately after working out. Duh!

post workout food

Today I swam 2500 meters & did an hour and a half of speed work on the bike. After I was STARVING! My favorite post workout meal is a PB&J sandwich with coffee or chocolate milk. I've been trying to cut out all sugar from my diet so today I ate a PB & banana sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised. It was DELICIOUS!

unexpected weight loss!

Back in early July I was given some great advise on training for Ironman & my body weight. I wanted to lose some more weight but was beggining to struggle with hunger. A few of my triathlete buddies told me to STOP trying to lose weight, just try & maintain my current weight &concintrate on Ironman training. I've dome that & I've never felt this good in my training.

I've been eating my bodies metabolic rate plus any calories I burn in exercize for the last 6 weeks. At first my body stayed at 186 very easily. But this last week I unexpectedly dropped another 3 pounds. I was suprised but also very happy. Light is fast in triathlon.

I believe my body dropped the weight because I was concintrating on giving my body all the calories & nutrition it needed while doing some fairly difficult endurance training. Have you ever been on a diet & got stuck at a weight & just couldn't seem to drop below that weight, then all of a sudden your body drops 4 pounds in less than a week? Those are called sticking points. I think I was at a sticking point & that my body finally realized it was getting all the calories it was needing so there wasn't a drought on food, so it was ok to drop that weight. I also believe my body is trying to adapt naturally to the training I'm putting it through. In the past if I trained like this & tried to lose weight by restricting my calories, even if only a small amount, I'd struggle with my training AND weight loss. I think I've finally accepted that I need to eat when training! My body is happiest & I respond best.

new body weight new nutrition needs

For years my bodies nutritional needs were around 300-350 calories per hour on my long bike or run days. If it was a cold day I'd use 400-450 calories per hour.

This year I've felt bloated on my long days so I tried adjusting how many calories I consume during training. After a few weeks of experimenting I've found that I only need 200-250 calories per hour. I believe my nutrition needs has changed because I'm training at a much lower body weight than the last time I trained for an Ironman. 50 pounds lighter actually. Since I weigh less it makes sense that I use & need less calories during exercise. Now that I feel better on my long days I'm able to bike & run longer at a higher quality. I never stop learning when triathlon training!