T-Nation, ranking among the 10 most visited ‘fitness’ and ‘weight-lifting’ websites in the world, recently posted an article called “6 Hard Truths That’ll Get You Stage Ready” written by some Gareth Sapstead.
As a former elite coach for 25+ years myself, and before my real awakening in 2018, I might have agreed with most of his “truths.” Now however, my main focus is health, life quality, longevity, and simply doing this ‘body transformation’ and ‘fitness’ stuff more efficiently with less harm to the body – and actually increasing your life span instead of drastically decreasing it.
No matter how good and cool you might feel in the moment with an awe-inspiring physique and/or the ability to push heavy weights in your 20’s, 30’s or even early 40’s, you will find it most foolish as you become older and all that stress and abuse begins to take its toll. Having daily bodily aches, not being able to do some simple daily tasks, not being able to play with your grandchildren, looking twice your age, and suffering from several “diseases” when you’re in your early 60’s with only a few years left to live, an age when you still should be fit and healthy and easily be making it into your 90’s or even 100’s without any major bodily complications, then is not a fun price to pay for those years of egotistic and vain fulfillment.
Still, I can see the attraction with sports and competitions, and with the self-discipline of training and having an outlet, a sanctuary in the gym — as I still lift weights myself for 30 to 35 minutes four times a week, and I love it, and I need it. However, with that said, any kind of repeated exercise is stress and it’s damaging to your body and to your health. It all comes down to the quantity versus your ability to handle and recover from that stress, including all other stressors in your life, such as consuming the wrong kind of food, exposing yourself to toxins, pollution, and other environmental stressors. While my short and infrequent training sessions help me to keep some protective muscle mass and strength, that help me in everyday life, I also know that it’s a balancing act between the amount of stressful exercise and my health and life expectancy. Doing less would likely tip the scales in my favor, while doing more would accelerate my aging. So, if you enjoy exercising, you better make sure you do everything to assist your body, as in following our species-appropriate, species-specific carnivorous way of eating, utilizing strategic fasting, and eliminate other stressors while optimizing your sleep.
Now, let’s move on to Gareth’s five “truths” for women who want to compete in figure or body fitness competitions.
1. Prepare to Bid Farewell to Some of Your Favorite Foods
“You know that ‘enjoy your favorite foods without sacrificing anything’ tagline you see everywhere? Well, achieving your best shape requires some sacrifices. Sorry to burst your bubble! While you don’t have to live off bland chicken and salad, you can’t indulge in pizza and ice cream every day either unless you want to see your hard work go down the drain.”
In the past, I would have agreed. However, if you are self-conscious and actually love yourself, you would not have “favorite foods” that are unhealthy; foods that poison and hurt you, food that cut your life short. That is just messed up! Why would you pay hard-earned money for something that stress the shit out of your body, something that is actually slowly killing you?
My favorite foods are just about any meaty and fatty cut from ruminant animals, especially beef, lamb, deer, and elk. I also love eggs, raw milk, butter, and organ meats. These are also the most nutritious, natural, and satisfying foods you can consume as a human being.
If you only consume foods that are species-specific, as in the healthiest foods you can find, you will never have to give up any of them, no matter what your goal is.
Being addicted to unhealthy, toxic, and deadly foods are just a mental illness developed through social conditioning. Once you return to your species-appropriate way of eating, you will be deprogrammed and only the thought of such “foods,” as in pizza, a sandwich, chocolate, or ice cream will make you gag.
“Focus on lean protein sources like chicken, turkey, and fish, and load up on veggies for maximum volume. Reserve your carbs and fats for sources that’ll keep you satisfied, energized, and nourished. Of course, a good coach can make adjustments, allow for cheat meals, and even incorporate diet breaks if you’re doing well.”
No Gareth, you are obviously trapped in the bastardized “nutrition science,” developed to line the pockets of the food- and pharmaceutical industries while keeping you weak, sick, and docile, and making sure you die way ahead of your natural lifespan (once you have reached the end of your usefulness as a slave and are retired and only cost money.)
You need animal fats! And “lean protein sources” should only be considered as variety to your diet. The bulk should always be fatty cuts of meat, and preferable some extra tallow, lard, or butter.
And again, anything plant-based is contraindicated to the natural human diet and is a toxic stressor. Do not consume any harmful vegetables or toxic carbohydrates, ever!
2. Embrace Cardio
“Most people can’t avoid cardio if they want to achieve that jaw-dropping, shredded physique. But don’t worry, it’s not all about mindlessly spending hours on the Stairmaster.
Instead, take a strategic approach. By incorporating certain forms of cardio into your routine and adjusting your calorie intake, you can maintain muscle definition, fullness, and an overall improved physique. It’s all about doing the right amount of cardio to get the best results.”
No! I have never used cardiovascular exercise with my clients for fat loss. It’s an extremely unnecessary stressor. The energy expenditure is miniscule while the stress is enormous, especially if you follow traditional “diets” with energy restriction. Getting rid of body fat and becoming lean is all about keeping you nourished and utilizing fasting to create an weekly energy deficit. I have covered this many times.
3. Daily Weighing and Tracking of Food are Non-Negotiable
“There’s no escaping tracking your food intake. You need to account for every morsel. Tracking apps like MyFitnessPal make this process a breeze. Even your fish oil capsules must be accounted for because every calorie counts.”
Well, I would have agreed in the past. And weighing and tracking is required if you do not know how to maintain your body weight when consuming the right foods. If you recently transitioned to our species-appropriate, species-specific diet, you might need to weigh and track your food for a while to get an idea of how much you actually can eat, and need to eat – and also to get the right idea of protein and fat ratios.
With that said, if you use my approach to ‘fat loss,’ all you need to do is make sure you eat enough to maintain your weight during five days a week, to make sure your body gets all the nutrition it needs to work optimally, and then you fast for two non-consecutive days of the week. Extremely simple, a lot healthier, and much more effective than any energy-restrictive diet.
4. Get Creative with Your Food Choices
“Flexibility is key. With a finite number of macros to work with each day, you can get creative and have endless food options. This prevents your diet from becoming monotonous and helps you resist cravings.”
Again, if you only consume foods according to our species-appropriate, species-specific diet, everything you normally consume can also be consumed when cutting body fat, as all animal-based foods are healthy and nutrient dense. With that said, some might need to back off a bit on dairy, but that’s about it.
Those poor fools following restrictive diets, who are misled into consuming toxic and extremely bad-tasting vegetables and other plant-matter need to get creative with spices, sauces, and artificial flavors only to be able to get that vile slave-slob down their gullet without throwing up, but we who know better simply enjoy our species-appropriate foods. They all taste delicious.
5. It’s Not Just about Your Physique
“It’s not just about having a killer physique. Every detail matters, from your flawless makeup to your skin tone and texture and even what you wear.”
Yes, this is unfortunately true. Make sure to study competitions and get professional opinions on your bikini and which cuts/lines best suit your physique. Practice posing and moving with confidence and grace daily. Sign up for a professional spray-tan before the competition to get the right tan and color for your skin. This is where a seasoned coach might come in really handy.
And as for the quality and glow of your skin, that all comes down to nutrition, and especially getting enough animal fats and collagen from meat. There is nothing worse for your skin than plant-based foods with all their toxins, of which some need to get expelled through the skin. Same with carbohydrates and elevated blood sugar. Never consume such crap!
6. Expect the Unexpected in Terms of Weight Loss
“The scales aren’t everything, but they’re one of the most important metrics to track during your fat loss phase of training. If you think you need to lose 20 pounds to look your best, brace yourself for the reality that it might actually be closer to 25.”
On this, I do agree. Almost every newbie competitor, even a lot of seasoned competitors, underestimate how much body fat they actually carry, and how much they need to lose to look shredded on a stage or for a photo shoot.
Again, this is where an experienced coach comes in handy. Not only with using skin-fold calipers or Dexa-scans to estimate your body fat level during your contest preparations, but also by going with experience and simply looking at your physique. Taking measurements is mostly a way to keep you motivated and/or to show you in ‘black and white’ how the “diet” is going. A good coach only needs to look at your physique to know if you’re on track or not.
Final Thoughts
“Competing means taking your body to an extreme. At times, your muscles will be depleted and flat. At other times, you’ll start to see muscle appear where it wasn’t before. It’s a yo-yo of emotions where some days you’ll question your sanity, and others you’ll remember why it’s a sport you love. Be ready for it.”
Yes, indeed. However, if you do it the way I recommend, you will always be satiated, energized, and mentally on point. You will not experience hunger or cravings, and not any kind of fatigue in the same manner as someone following a retarded energy-restrictive diet.
However, you might experience variations in body weight as your body can get temporarily inflamed and hold on to some water weight, or you might feel a bit nauseous for a few hours. All that is from the fact that you store toxins in your fat tissue, and as you use that fat tissue as fuel, these toxins will be released and your body has to discard them, which will manifest as such symptoms. So, that is something to always keep in mind. If you wake up and feel bloated and fat while actually sticking to the plan, it’s simply detoxification. Do not panic, it’s natural.
If you need help or simply some guidance, I’m available for both coaching and consultation.