Jennifer Lynn Abrams

My Diet/ Training

Preparing For Competition (16 weeks out):

Diet: (Weeks 1-2) The goal in the first 1-2 weeks for me is to clear out any sweets, juice, or starchy carbohydrates from my diet. (My family and friends know how much I love chocolate and ice cream). I begin to spread my food out a bit more throughout the day so I am eating about every 3 hours and I am eating about 5-6 times a day.

Diet: (Weeks 3-5) Time to go to Sam’s and buy my 6 ½ dozen eggs each week from now until show time. I am eating egg whites (7) with a slice of cheese and tomatoes with 1/3 cup of oatmeal (not instant) and a half a grapefruit for breakfast. From now on I am  allowed 1 day a week to increase my carbohydrates to maintain my internal furnace and keep my metabolism from slowing down. Usually after 5 days of my lowered carbohydrates I look a bit flat and can see it’s time for a higher carb day. I also have steak night once a week usually with my training partner Karen or my hubby. This is also when I remove all fruit (except grapefruit in a.m.), and skim milk from my diet. I begin using water in my protein shakes from here on out.

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Diet: (Weeks 6-9) I am now eating from a slim list of foods and I am eating to fuel. Food no longer carries any social weight. I must stay constantly focused on my goal. Breakfast remains the same but oatmeal drops to ¼ cup. A protein shake after my workouts (Isopure or Perfect RX) and before bed. My afternoon and evening meals are consisting of chicken steamed or boiled (everyone thinks it’s gross but the chicken stays juicy), green/ fiberous veggies and rice (sometimes white, sometimes brown for variety) or baked potato. I am cooking with olive oil and taking flax seed oil once a day.

Diet: (Weeks 10-14) My higher carb day is all I can think about by this point and I am looking great! My Nitrotech bars once a day, are like candy. They keep me sane. My grapefruit will disappear from my breakfast now and week 14 will be my last week for a higher carb (off-day). I am drinking at least a gallon of water a day. My husband says anywhere he goes in the house he can put his hand out and find a water bottle. This is all year long, not just during contest prep.

Diet: (Weeks 15-16) These two weeks are crucial! I adjust my diet as I need to every few days depending on how I look. My last few days before I compete I drop my sodium down and take in more liquid meals than solid. *I stop drinking water about 24 hours before prejudging.

*This is NOT something I recommend to anyone inexperienced or wanting to lose weight. This is used strictly before competition to remove excess water from the body. Exercising while dehydrated or maintaining a dehydrated state lowers your metabolism and can be extremely dangerous! Also ingesting anything that will mess with your body’s electrolite balance of potassium and sodium. I have seen competitors virtually unable to compete because of something they took to remove excess water.

DON”T DO IT! It’s not worth it! A win is only rewarding if you are healthy and alive to celebrate!

Day of Contest: After weigh-in I will snack on my special recipe of oatmeal, egg white, banana pancakes, but no water until after prejudging. I sip water from prejudging to the evening show to “hold” my conditioning.

© 2004 Jennifer Abrams
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