It’s bikini competition diary week 11 and Healthista’s Vicky Hadley who has signed up to a five month journey to compete as a bikini model at Miss Galaxy Universe’s is looking amazing. Here’s how
I can not believe that it is week 11 of my bikini diary already, meaning that there is only a few weeks left until I step on stage at Miss Galaxy Universe‘s pageant. My shape has started to change now and my calories have been lowered again, so here’s a run down and where I am at now.
In case you missed my journey so far you can catch up week by week of my bikini diary here:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4
Week 6
week 9
What am I eating now?
My calories are now down to 1405 a day
During my last bikini diary entry i was consuming 1500 calories on training days and 1300 calories on rest days. I kept struggling with this and over-eating on rest days because I would forget that I’m not training so after consulting my coach, Bodybuilding.com Lee Constantinou we agreed to change the diet plan so I eat slightly lower every single day but the same amount each day. My calories are now down to 1405 a day with 130 grams being carbohydrates, 120 grams being protein and 45 grams of fat.
For fitness tips and advice follow Lee Constantinou on instagram and snapchat: leetino
Is it hard to hit your protein intake as a vegan?
As a vegan people often ask ‘is it hard to hit your protein intake?’, but honestly for me, the answer is no. If I eat out then it does become harder because most restaurants that serve vegan dishes are high in carbs and fats but lower in protein which means that in the evening my dinner will likely be broccoli and tofu, or if I am super low in calories then it will be Reflex Nutrition Vegan Protein
, mixed with boiling hot water which turns it into what reminds me of a thick creamy dessert, topped with some fruit and seeds if my calories allow it.
My diet has become a lot more flexibile over the last two weeks as I have downloaded the app: MyFitnessPal and learnt how to count macronutrients. Macronutrients (known as macros to those in the fitness world) are made up of the food groups: fats, carbohydrates and proteins, and by eating the correct amount for your body you can get into optimal shape. The MyFitnessPal app has a barcode scanner within the app in which you can scan the packet/container or tin of food you are eating and it will automatically enter the nutritional breakdown and calorie/macronutrient information in that product so you can log your daily food intake properly. Now that I have learnt how to macro count it means that I can be a bit more flexible with my diet and factor in the occasional treat such as a Trek Cocoa Coconut Flapjack Bar
, because I know I can just lower the rest of my macros to fit around it.
What I eat in a typical day:
Morning: 30 grams of chocolate protein powder from Reflex Nutrition £31.68 mixed with 30 grams of porridge oats and boiling water
Snack: Two rice cakes and 25 grams of hummus and an apple or maybe a trek bar or soy latte
Lunch: 150 grams of butternut squash spaghetti with kale, 150 grams of tofu and 25 grams of hummus.
Dinner: 200 grams of Cauliflower rice or 100 grams of sweet potato butternut squash with 50 grams of cooked lentils, 200 grams tofu and broccoli.
Pre-Bed Snack: 30 grams protein powder mixed with water
My exercise plan…
As I explained in my last Bikini Diary Entry, my exercise plan is now broken down into four days of weighted training: A ‘pull day’, a ‘push day’ and two ‘lower body’ days. Pull day consists of exercises that draw the arms into the body, this will therefore target the back muscles, Lee tells me.
Push day consists of exercising all muscles in the upper body. The exercises include pressing a bar, machine or a dumb-bell away from the body, this will work the arms and shoulders, Lee reveals.
The ‘lower body’ days target all the muscles in the legs and glutes, normal exercises tend to be squats and lunges.
Along with these trainings days I also do two days of low intensity cardiovascular exercises such as a 30 minute walk on the treadmill on a low incline, or a yoga class. As well as two days of core workouts and three days of HIIT (High intensity interval training workouts) that I can do as a ten minute workout at the end of any of my training days.
In this week’s diary entry I am going to show you the typical exercises I do in my ‘Core Day’ workout, I will show you a different training days exercises in each diary entry.
I have five different ‘Core’ exercises to do and I typically do four out of six on one training day and then do the other two on the next core training day that week.
Follow my journey on my instagram: @fitness_foodie_vicky
My Core Workout
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGHeipaDfk9/?taken-by=fitness_foodie_vicky
The first exercise I do is called a ‘Cable Crunch’. Which is where I pull down a weighted rope whilst sitting on my knees then let it pull back up before pulling in back again as a method of doing a weighted crunch. I do 20 reps of this exercise for four sets. It is quite intense on the abs so I would suggest stating on a lighter weight of about 10kg before moving up to a heavier weight. Currently I start on 25kg and work my way up to 30kg which I find quite strenuous but I really can see the results.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGMAO80BkwP/?taken-by=healthistatv&hl=en
The next exercise I do is an ‘Ab Roll Out’, during the ab roll out using an ab wheel, or two dumbbells if your gym doesn’t own an ab wheel I sit on my knees and let the wheel or dumbbells roll out in front of me until I am parallel to the ground before using my core muscles to pull the wheel back so I return to my kneeling position. I do this for ten reps for three sets.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFt8eDpjflD/?taken-by=fitness_foodie_vicky
Side plank hip dips are another exercise I practise on my core days. Lying in the plank position on one side with my hand flat on the floor and my arm propping me up I raise my hips up and down for 15 reps. This really works the sides of the waist toning and helping to get rid of any excess weight around the waist. I do this for four sets.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGMBMDoBkxp/?taken-by=healthistatv&hl=en
The last ab exercise I do are hanging knee raises. This exercise is actually a lot easier than it looks, I had been terrified by the idea of hanging in the air, ‘there is no way I will be able to hold myself up’ I had initially thought. However, surprisingly as long as you have a decent amount of upper body strength you will be able to accomplish this exercise. Holding on to the handles of a pull up machine you simply raise your knees in the air and crunch them into your core before lowering them again. I aim to do ten reps for three sets as it is quite intense on the core muscles.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGMA5cKBkxS/?taken-by=healthistatv&hl=en
What exercise I do in a week:
Monday: Pull Day + HIIT (One hour and ten minutes)
Tuesday: Lower Body Day + HIIT (One hour and ten minutes)
Wednesday: Core day + Low Intensity Cardio (One hour)
Thursday: Push Day + Core (One hour)
Friday: Low Intensity Cardio, for example incline treadmill walk + Core (One hour)
Saturday: Lower Body Day + HIIT
Sunday: Rest day
Previous Bikini diary entries:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4
Week 6
week 9
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