The road to Nationals is more than just getting in the gym and working hard.  It takes preparation in all facets of your life… physical, mental, emotional, and financial.  During the 16 week training for Nationals I have really focused on three things:

1)      My physique which includes coming in hard and tight as well as focusing on the areas which the judges noted I needed to work on. 

2)      My diet, ensuring I have the correct balance between proteins, carbohydrates, supplements, vitamins, and hydration.

3)      My mindset.  Mental preparation is the most important part of getting ready for any competition, if you are not mentally ready your will not be able to physically prepare for anything, not just a competition. 

As I focus on the various body parts throughout the week I am not focusing on building size, I am focusing on getting tighter and harder.  I do not focus on what the scale says, but what the mirror is telling me.  Through posing and feedback from various coaches, I am able to identify which areas I need to work, which areas need to come out more, and/or which areas I need to maintain to continue the level of definition I currently have.  These techniques coupled with my diet are moving me closer and closer to my goals going into Nationals. 

Though various competitions and working with different individuals I have learned that diet is the most important part of the training process.  Each day I measure out of each of my meals to the ounce.  It is necessary to ensure that I stick to my routine and allocated meals to make certain I am burning and storing what I need to fuel my body.  My diet is not exciting, the same thing day in and day out, but I think of it as a means to an end, not to satisfy me as most think food should do. 

With regards to my mindset this is what will make me better or keep me where I am at. Mindset is your ability to mentally prepare and sustain including the capacity to personally motivate, achieve and succeed.  I have to keep focused on my goals, even on the hardest of days.  Having what Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset”  means I continue to monitor internally where you I am at, how I can get better, and how to ensure I exceed my personal expectations. 

Preparation for any competition is never easy.  Preparing for one of the biggest amateur competitions makes it even harder, but the hardest thing is exceeding the personal goals we each set for ourselves.  I look forward to ensuring that my work today greatly impacts my results tomorrow through physical, mental and emotional preparation.  I believe that with this focus the only person I have to fear is myself.

Visit Eboni’s pictures page here.

Phrases like, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” make us think that there is one way to ensure our health and well being is where it should be in order to live a long a prosperous life.  But in actuality there is no one way to keep our bodies running at tip-top shape, but yet it come from a combination of things that we all can do.  These key techniques are ones we can remember to help us work toward our goals and that shape, we all dream of.  I call it the H.E.L.P. regime.  Now I’m not talking about the Beatles song, I’m talking about the four things you need to remember when working towards your health, wellness and fitness goals.

Regardless of if you are trying to lose weight, maintain your current weight, gain weight or get cut up using H.E.L.P., you will get there.  Here’s how:

H– Hydrate:  Your body is made up of 55-60% water.  Understanding this you must give it water to continue to function.  Without considering your goals you should drink at least 64 ounces of water (if not more) a day.  Now I know some people do not like it, they would much rather have the sweet flavor of a nice bubbly beverage or the hot froth of your favorite café drink and that’s fine.  If you choose to indulge great just add 16 ounces of water for every 8 ounces of non-water liquid you drink.  This will flush your system and ensure you are hydrated.

E – Exercise:  Yes, exercise.  This is the basic principle of health and wellness, you have to burn more than consumed to loss, burn the same and consumed to maintain, and burn less than consumed to gain.   But more importantly incorporating some type of exercise helps more than just your waistline but your heart, blood circulation, lungs and breathing, stamina, as well as your ability to stay focused.  Even if it’s parking a few spots further or getting off the elevator a floor early and walking the steps, these little things add up.

L– Lasting:  Whatever you do, plan to keep it going.   A well maintained routine will benefit you more than on-again, off-again ways of life.  Find something you like and stick to it, and I am not just talking about the machines in the gym.  If you like South Beach because it works, go for it. Jenny Craig, great.  Weight Watchers, perfect.  Or just good old counting calories, fine.  Just pick one, like the cardio machine you picked today in the gym.  Skipping around will get you nothing but an increase blood pressure and a lack of results, which is not what you want at all. 

P – Positive:  Staying positive is half the battle.  We did not get away from our goals in one day and we will not accomplish them in one day.  Reminding yourself that if it’s worth having it takes time and hard work.  We all have our bad days, but staying positive is necessary to keep pushing yourself and working to achieve whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.  Your attitude is your altitude, remember that. 

Your goals are just that, YOURS.  Using the H.E. L.P. regime will get you moving towards your targets and ensure you stay on track.  Take it day-by-day and before you know it your goals will be met and you will have new goals to work towards.  H.E.L.P. is an amazing thing, if you just ask for it. 

As the holidays approach the fitness season is on the rise.  Summer has come and gone and now as the cold weather approaches, fitness facilities all across the country will start to fill up.  Gone are the days where you will be able to walk into the gym and see lines of free treadmills and Smith machines.   Understanding this, many forget one of the most important parts of getting to shape (or maintaining that shape)… what you put into your body… also known as your “diet”.

Many believe that your fitness goals will be met if you are in the gym pushing yourself on a regular basis, a part of that may be true, but the reality is that more than a large majority of meeting your fitness goals has to do with not the physical part, but the nutrition part of your regimen.  When thinking about a “diet” most turn to counting calories, grams of fat or even using points or prepackaged meals to stay on course.  The truth of the matter is that you do not have to do any of that.   Consistency and understanding your body will get you better results than points, shakes or writing monotonous logs of everything you put in your mouth. 

So, with that being said… it is not about “diet”, but lifestyle.  A “diet” is short term, but a lifestyle is long term… a change in mindset, meaning creating meals for yourself that are tasty but healthy.  For example: Breakfast could be a cup of oatmeal, two eggs, a small piece of steak;  Mid-day snack might be a cup of fruit; Lunch could consist of a turkey sandwich on wheat (eating only half the bread, but the whole sandwich), a half a cup of baked chips, and a small salad or cut up vegetables; Afternoon snack could be a protein bar or shake; Dinner might be an 8 ounce chicken breast, three quarters cup of rice and mixed vegetables.  Remember there are variations of this and substitutes can be made.  Oatmeal could be grits or Cream of Wheat, fruit could be a small cup of yogurt, chicken could be lean steak or fish.  Somethings to think about when creating your diet:

1)       Carbs (fruit, sugar, bread, rice, pasta, etc.) turn into fat, so if you must eat them do so early so you can burn the carbs during the day.

2)      Why put more fat in your body, use low fat or fat free products.

3)      Dairy is often full of fat, so if you want cheese on your eggs, salad or sandwich make it fat free.

4)      If you have to have a dessert or evening snack make sure it is one that has no sugar.  There are many products out now that are sugar free and taste great.

5)      A treat every once in a while is not all bad.  If you have been doing well on your lifestyle for a week or two, a burger or some pizza won’t hurt, it will actually kick start your metabolism to burn more when you go back to your lifestyle.

6)      Remember you did not gain those pounds over night and you will not lose them over night.  But stay consistent and they will disappear.

7)      Water is the catalyst to overcome your weight obstacles, try to drink a gallon of water a day to stay hydrated, full and to fight the bulge. 

Stick to these rules and you will be slim and trim for next summer before you know it. 

Dr. Eboni Wilson

Our athlete Eboni Wilson is 12 weeks out from competing in the Nationals here in Atlanta. 288 pounds and already shredded to the bone…can’t wait to see how he will look in October! Thanks to Eboni for representing Redefine Nutrition at the PowerShack Classic!