Adrenal and Cortisol Support

"Lets go lets go lets go".......as we rush out the door off to Mekaella's school and myself to work...at this point I have already been awake for 2hrs....did morning cardio, caught up on the never ending emails and paperwork....made Mekaella's lunch...let the dog out...usually put a load of laundry in (seriously where do all these dirty clothes come from) and tidied up the kitchen. 

This is my life....always on the go....high stress, also with a job in sales that is performance based and 100% commission I have to be on my game. Raising a 6 year old, rushing her to Soccer practice, games, french lessons and gymnastics there never seems to be "downtime", and even my weekends are spent catching up on paperwork and working shows or events.... 

 One of the reasons my coach Darren and I believe that this year my body would not let go of the extra weight was my stress and coritosl levels were so high. I just obtained my new Management Role and my desire to prove I can handle it, give my all, combined with all the training and life stress resulted in my body basically not responding.

Adrenals produce Cortisol which is the hormone responsible for how your body responds to stress. This hormone can effect sex drive, mood, metabolism, blood pressure, inflammation and many other things. So when you are stressed cortisol levels will rise and can react in these different various was. Mine was a slower metabolism, which in prepping for a show was not conducive for bringing in a tight lean package.  

 So after the Nationals I started supporting my adrenals twice a day with SD Pharmaceuticals Rhodiola Rosea. One of the principal effects of Rhodiola is to reduce the secretion of cortisol. It is also known to increase mood, libido and energy. In 2010 the Swedish Institute of Herbs in Sweden did a study and found that subjects taking Rhodiola Rosea experienced neuroproductive, cardioproductive and anti depressive effects as well as reduced fatigue and increased lifespan.  

 What I have noticed right away is I feel more relaxed, within 15 min I can feel Rhodiola taking effect, like the edge has been taken off and with no negative effects from the amazing herb I am going to continue to keep Rhodiola twice a day as part of my daily supplement routine. That combined with at least 10-15 min a day of meditation to calm my mind, be present and breathe is also another tool to reduce stress. 

There will always be stress in life, we all have things to do, places to be, unexpected events, combine that with taking fat burners, pre workouts and stimulants this can all be hard on your adrenals. However,  learning how to manage it and knowing what supplements can support you such as Rhodiola Rosea can help to reduce the negative impact on the body.

                                 For more information about my diet and training and supplements

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Week 3 Carb Back Loading...

Well...This is week 3 of my Carb Backloading....

To give a brief history:

At the World Qualifier (Aug 9th) I weighed 146...could not seem to get any lower, my body was fighting me every step of the way, I raised my cardio to 2 hrs a day, infrared sauna's, Turkey and Tilapia was the choice protein, low carb rotation days, quality high fats, but even after a water depletion and Ripped Freak Diuretic it was not budging.

First Monday (Aug 11th) after Nationals I bounced up to 156lbs...with the sodium and water and all the goodies Sat and Sunday night I actually did not even want to get on the scale but I made myself.
I started my Carb Backload experiment that day, consuming 150grms of protein a day spread out over 6 meals, with roughly 75grms of fats. I have coconut oil with every meal along with nuts and nut butters. Progressive Organic Coconut Oil is my first choice for a fat source as it gives me immediate energy,  I am clear headed, I have great workouts, and I overall feel much better, I also consume 4 litres of water a day and still enjoy my sugar free Monsters:)

Following Friday (Aug 15th) my birthday I was 150lbs, the water retention from the previous weekend had subsided.  I used my birthday night as my first carb backload day with candies, popcorn, cake, wine so not the best Carb Backload but still something.
That Sunday I left for my sales conference which throw's my training for a loop, as the gym is super prehistoric but I managed to get in there everyday. I kept to no carbs all week except a glass of red wine with dinner. I also allowed myself to have vodka/soda water for my drink of choice, aged cheddar for dessert, continued by having really high fats all week, raw coconut and nuts for snacks in the meetings and good quality protein and vegetables.
The surprise is I was getting tighter and tighter...and more vascular, I even commented to Scott that I felt tighter than I did at Nationals.
When I got home I weighed in on that Friday (Aug 22nd) and I was 145lbs!!! So.....I was able to have  goodies that week... wine, lots of nuts, cheese, coconut oil, protein, reduced my cardio, was not even able really to train that effectively and I lost weight????

Sunday (Aug 24th)was my first real Carb Backloading day, I ate my regular fats, protein and veg during the day then at 4pm we went to IHOP where I had pancakes, real syrup (to get the glucose pumping into my system) and 4 pieces of turkey bacon. It was very interesting to watch how my body responded as time went on, I became super vascular, full and tight.
At 9pm I made Organic popcorn with coconut oil with M&M's and Nibs. Now usually on a "cheat" night I go crazy but this is different now, I am watching my body and really taking count of how I feel...I stopped when I became full.

Monday I went right back to high fats and no carbs, I trained legs on Monday and had a killer workout, again I left that day and was on the road all week in the interior for work, however I stuck to my diet. On this past Sat I weighed myself and I was 146lbs, so I am up a pound, what that means to me is I need to cut back on my Carb Backload's, so this past Sunday I had 3 homemade pancakes (lower in carbs) at 2pm, then my regular fats and protein meal in between and at 8pm with homemade popcorn with M&M's and Nibs.

Now I must admit this past week I was not 100% perfect on my diet either we did go for a date night on the Friday,  I had no starchy carbs but I did have some wine and cheese (actually a little too much wine truth be told),  I also have not been able to goto my HIT classes either three times a week.
But overall I am loving this experiment and did I mention I quit 2hrs of cardio and I am only doing 45min?!?!

So far I have only have gained one pound from my contest weight, I have been eating, having some drinks, I feel energetic,  lifting heavier, and reduced my cardio by 1:15hr.
Pretty sweet if you ask me...
I am excited for the next couple weeks.... I will continue to experiment with lowering my carbs on my backload as I am preparing for a photo shoot in Vegas at the Olympia.

I am fascinated with really having an understanding about how my body works and responds,  I am excited how my body keeps responding, and the biggest thing is I am not looking at this as a "diet" which makes it much easier to do...this is my experiment....

So I will continue to tinker with this, but so far so good,  my end goal being slowly reducing my cardio, training harder, increasing my metabolism, eating more food....and loving my body...stay tuned...


                                               My Veins after round 1 of Carb Back Loading

 

                                                    Carb Back Load Round 2    

                                       For more information about my diet and training and supplements

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