Welcome back to my diary. And we’re into the second, third week, sorry. Gosh, it just goes past like the wind and I don’t often do everyday blog due to the fact that it’s actually quite dull. All I do is eat and sleep, do the gym and work, which is absolutely fine. But if you’re reading it, you probably want to bury your head under your pillow and fall asleep very, very quickly. So, what’s been going on with my routine? I feel like superwoman. My body wants to go and my brain is like, “Hey, hold on a minute. Let’s just get up and have a nice cup of coffee before you start the day, Sarah.” But my body is ready and it wants to move. Really weird. And so, I am on the way to the gym as we speak, doing a video recording. And I’m able to talk to you while I drive to my destination, which is going to be doing glutes today.

So, lately I’ve been doing body pump. It was really weird because Aaron did a video call with me on Monday and told me that I’m smashing it. So that gave me massive purpose. And I was like, “Yes, I am doing this.” I am creating this body without actually overdoing it. It feels unbelievable. So, since she told me I’m doing well, my brain is just going into overdrive and it’s making me feel like I’m invincible and able to do everything. So, there’s me thinking I can do everything and asked her if I could get into competition. Luckily, she knows what obviously most people do when they start out on bodybuilding, they want it all now and they think it’s going to happen now. So she put me back in my place and told me that I need to wait. So now I am doing my calorie deficit for the next six months.

I am doing it to the T, except my carbs are 220g a day, my fats 41, and my protein is 138g a day. Now, I can get my protein nearly and I can get my fat very easily. It’s like so easy. I can just eat a bite of cheese and I’m already there, but I cannot get my carbs. I cannot get to the end with my carbs. I have no idea what I’m doing, why I cannot get my carbs, because before this bodybuilding, I was eating pasta, I was eating rice and every single thing in the world. But I was over-compensating with the carbs. And it’s really weird because now I can’t get the carbs. Because I’m eating fish, vegetables and things like that. There’s hardly any carbohydrates in it. So now I’m going to have to eat like extortion amounts of pasta today just to get my carbs up.

So that’s not something I like to do because it makes me feel bloated. So it’s a catch-22. So you’ve got to work out what’s right for you as well as listening to your coach. But you’ve got to also listen to your body. So, anyone who wants to do bodybuilding or wants to lean up and do well, and I hear this all the time, I’m fat, I’ve got muffin top, I’ve got a little bit of this and a little bit of that going on on their stomach, the only way to do this is exercise and calorie deficit. And also sticking to your macros. You know you’ve got to eat protein. Protein is key. So if you’re not eating any protein and you’re not eating proper food, you’re going to end up in a right mess with your body because you’re not going to know what’s right and wrong.

So, making sure you do your calorie deficit, make sure you get your macros correct, and then start your plan. But most people, including myself, have always been taught not to eat to lose weight. It’s absolutely insane. I am 11 stone now and I’m curvier and stronger than I’ve ever been. So, how does that work? It’s down to food, and it’s down to eating the right food. We can eat all day long, but most of us are eating the wrong food. So, it’s really about discipline, pleasure of what you can gain out of your pain of changing your lifestyle, and doing it, and showing up, make it happen. If you’re moaning about your body day in, day out, do this something about it. Do something about it today, because what is the point of people saying to other people, “Oh, I’m fat.” Yeah. If you’re fat, fricking sort it out, get yourself sorted, get yourself a calorie deficit, get yourself a plan and get going.

Because if you don’t do it, nobody else is going to do it for you. None of these quick fixes are going to do it for you. None of these diet in 30 days, and you’ll lose 10 pounds, do this in 10 days and you’ll lose 50 pounds, don’t eat and you’ll lose weight but you’ll put it back on again in a week. You know it’s so simple. Eat your calorie deficit. Eat your macros. Exercise, don’t be a lazy bastard, and get out and do it. Excuse me for the swearing, but it’s that simple. I’ve been striving most of my life. I’ve been to the gym every day. Most of my life I’ve been to the gym and I never understood it until now. I never understood that I had to eat until now. So, eat well. Do your exercise, stop moaning and get your ass out there and get your ass moving. That is key. Have a great day everybody.

Chickpea San Choy Bow

SERVES: 4

TIME: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp coconut oil 4 scallions, finely sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 37g cashews, finely chopped 37g almonds, chopped 375g mushrooms, chopped 2 x (400g) tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed 175ml tamari 2 tsp sesame oil 1 long red chilli, sliced 8 leaves cos lettuce 10g coriander, leaves picked

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large frying pan, heat the coconut oil. Add the scallions, garlic, ginger, cashews and almonds. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Next, add the chickpeas and mash them up a little bit with a wooden spoon. Add the tamari, sesame oil and chilli and heat through for another 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the individual lettuce leaves and garnish with coriander.

MACROS

Calories: 363 Protein: 16 Carbs: 23 Fat: 23