Bikini competition journal 5 weeks out - We're hitting the home stretch!

Hey, peeps!

Thank you for sticking with me through my first bikini competition prep. All your support and engagement really pushes me and I'm so thankful for all your kind words! We're hitting the home stretch! The contest is just 5 weeks away now.

5 weeks is nothing, right? I already dieted for over 12 weeks, so 5 weeks should pass in no time.

I couldn't be prouder of myself at this point of the prep. I didn't cheat on my diet for the last 12+ weeks. I sticked to it from the beginning. And I will stick to it till the end.

Even when I do planned refeeds (which I do about every 2-3 weeks, but only if I really need them), I count every calorie and every macro. Macros count, especially on refeed days!

On those refeed days I eat around 2500 calories, mainly consisting of carbs. My favourite food choices are crumpets, white bread, gummy bears, jam, honey, rice and oats.

It gets more and more important to me to never lose control and to keep everything in check. That way I won't feel bad afterwards and can fully enjoy my carb high.

Big thanks to my husband. He's the only one who got to know my weak moments and fight with me through them (for example when I saw that they now have Oreo peanut butter sandwich ice creme - what a terrible moment for me).

Once you can control your mind everything gets much easier. But it's hard to get there. When I feel that my mind leads me in a direction I don't want to, it's now much easier for me to be strong and remind myself what really matters and what my goals are.

So, what happened the last 3 weeks? Routine. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved routine. Now it's not just that I like a certain routine, but I need it. I eat the same foods at the same time of the day. I do work tasks in the exact same order every day. Sounds boring, doesn't it. I'm not as spontaneous as I used to be. But it really helps!

Furthermore, I finally bought my bikini. It'll arrive in the first week of April. Stay tuned on Instagram as well, I will show you when it arrives.

Now to the most important question: Did I lose weight? Yes, I lost weight consistently the last couple of weeks. I'm now close to 55kg (btw, I started with 61kg).

All in all, dieting for me is pretty easy. Once you get the mindset you just don't want to cheat and don't need to. But working out gets harder. It's more difficult to stay focused and motivated, when you don't get stronger anymore. Often times I don't feel like training at all. But those are the days where you have to push yourself harder and do one extra set.

Diet consists of

1500 kcal
130g protein
about 120g carbs
37g fat

Typical meal plan

As I told you: I need a certain routine. Even in my meals. That's something I never thought I would do, because I used to be such a foodie. But now I'm eating the same meal every day. Only a few little variations here and there.

Meal #1 (Pre workout): 185kcal; 27.4gC/7.6gF/1.6gP

40g "Crazy caramel bar" (Tesco); 185 kcal

Meal #2 (Post workout): 172 kcal; 6gC/2.2gF/31.6gP

25g whey protein powder vanilla; 104 kcal
100g quark; 68 kcal

Meal #3 (12pm): 357 kcal; 34gC/3gF/38gP

130g mushrooms; 21 kcal
75g tomato; 13 kcal
50g basmati rice; 164 kcal
2 skinless salmon fillets, each about 70g; 144 kcal
50g fresh leaf spinach; 15 kcal

Meal #4 (3pm): 466 kcal; 60gC/9gF/38gP

32g whey protein powder vanilla; 128 kcal
2 egg whites; 34 kcal
1 whole egg; 83 kcal
5g raw cocoa; 20 kcal
90g banana; 83 kcal
optional: 170g nectarine; 102 kcal
optional: 135g strawberries; 45 kcal

Meal #5 (6pm): 256 kcal; 10gC/2gF/46gP

150g mushrooms; 24 kcal
180g tomatoes; 31 kcal
100g quark; 68 kcal
50g fresh leaf spinach; 15 kcal
1 can tuna chunks in brine; 119 kcal

Training split

Training split remains the same. I'm doing 5 cardio sessions per week (including LISS as active recovery on Monday). Depending on how the weightlifting went that day, I'm doing steady state or HIIT.

Monday: Active recovery/LISS cardio
Tuesday: Back (high volume) + 30min cardio
Wednesday: Legs (high volume)
Thursday: Arms/Shoulders (high volume); Abs + 30min cardio
Friday: Back (high weight)+ 30min cardio
Saturday: Legs (high weight)
Sunday: Arms/Chest (high weight); Abs + 30min cardio

Supplementation

Supplementation stays the same, too:

Vitamin C (twice a day)
Vitamin D3 (5000 IUs per day)
Creatine (5g per day)
Whey protein powder as needed
Magnesium (1g per day)
Fish oil capsules (2g per day)