Sorry–again long time no posts.  I have been busier than a one-armed wallpaper-hanger, & none of my occupations at the moment let me anywhere NEAR a computer!  Things are going GREAT with my training, & I will be competing in just over TWO WEEKS at the Pittsburgh Championships!  This is a HUGE show, & I am very excited about the opportunity.  I have been working SO HARD–literally 3 workouts a day, 5 days a week, & 2 workouts over the weekends.  It is really paying off though!  My legs have NEVER looked this good–although I still have a long way to go to get them where I want to be!

I will try very hard to do a better job at keeping you updated on my progress.  My training business is really taking off, & I am so excited about that too.  I have discovered a new love—BOOT CAMP!   I am now teaching Boot Camps at my local gym & I am in love with it!  I have never taught group classes before, so this required me to step outside my comfort zone, but I am SOOOOO glad I did!   I have wonderful ‘troops’ & we are calling ourselves the “Buff-Armed Forces”.  We all should have the right to BARE ARMS! 

I have several things in the works, too, so I hope to be making some big announcements soon.  Stay Tuned!

I was forwarded this wonderful article by my friends at Sun Warrior, & just HAD to share it with you all!  Enjoy!

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Is Your Favorite Protein Powder Causing Cancer or Preventing it?

Protein is something everyone likes to talk about. Plant-based eaters, especially those who consume high raw and vegan diets, often find themselves on the defensive end of these conversations. This is unfortunate, but the tables are slowly turning. It is now common knowledge that cholesterol, found in all animal products, greatly increases the risk of heart disease, often leading to a heart attack or stroke. Eggs and red meat are notorious for being high in cholesterol, so some avoid beef and eggs and look to chicken or fish as protein sources. While lower in cholesterol than fatty cuts of red meat or egg yolks, poultry and seafood still contain substantial amounts of cholesterol. People are best served to avoid cholesterol altogether by eating a plant-based diet.

Most everyone is familiar with Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s landmark work, detailed in his book, The China Study. Campbell’s research dealt with casein, which is the primary protein component in cow milk and cheese. In his study, rats were fed casein above their protein needs, which caused experimental tumors in the rats to grow. The protein needs of a rat are similar to those of a human, about 10–12% of total calories.1 In Campbell’s experiment, the rats were fed up to 20% of their diet as protein. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2004, protein intake for Americans ranged from 13.4% of total calories in children aged 4–8 years to 16% of total calories in men aged 51–70 years.2 Additionally, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends consumption of 0.4–0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight for exercise levels ranging from sporadically active to very active.3 The high end of this protein range is about 15% of total calories. Considering these numbers, it’s easy to see the relevance of Campbell’s work regarding protein consumption.

Traditional bodybuilding and sports diets, especially those targeting muscle growth, typically far exceed the NSCA’s protein recommendation, often doubling it. One can simply search the internet for “macronutrient ratios” and they’ll find that countless people are eating 30% or more of their calories as protein. Whey protein is a popular product to supplement the diets of those aiming to reach this protein surplus. Whey is the byproduct of the manufacture of cheese or casein. While whey is the more popular of the two, both whey and casein are marketed as protein supplements. All animal-based proteins, including powders made from milk or egg whites, should be avoided because of the cholesterol they contain and their link to cancer.

The trend in sales of protein products indicates people are learning the truth about animal proteins. According to 2008 research from Global Industry Analysts, annual sales of protein ingredients are expected to top $18 billion by the end of 2010. While animal protein ingredients account for 69% of the market, the plant protein ingredients market was the faster growing segment, with a projected growth rate of about 8% through 2013.4 There are several plant-based protein powders on the market—rice, hemp and soy are all popular options. None of these protein sources have cholesterol, but there’s something very special about one of them. One of them has cancer-fighting properties.

While casein can encourage the growth of cancer, certain components in rice protein can help prevent cancer. Sadly, these beneficial elements in rice are greatly reduced, or removed altogether, by the time it gets to the plate. Rice bran is the brown coating between the rice kernel and its protective hull. Brown rice maintains a thin layer of rice bran around the seed, but in the case of white rice, this nutrient dense layer is polished off. This is why white rice is a nutritionally dead food.

Inositol hexaphosphate acid (IP-6) is a potent antioxidant found in rice bran. In addition to its cancer-fighting properties, many experts also believe IP-6 can prevent and treat heart disease, kidney stones and liver disease. The process isn’t fully understood, but IP-6 suppresses the production and activity of cancer-causing free radicals. It also reduces the abnormal rate of cell division that defines cancer and tumor growth, allowing cells to normalize and return to regular, controlled growth. Additionally, IP-6 enhances the body’s potential to kill existing tumor cells by stimulating the activity of the immune system’s natural killer cells, called lymphocytes.5

Arabinoxylan compound is produced by altering the outer shell of rice bran using enzymes from Hyphomycetes mycelia mushroom extract. This compound is a major component in a popular alternative cancer treatment called MGN-3 (known as BioBran® in Japan). More clinical trials are needed, but arabinoxylan has shown promise in improving immune reactions in cancer and diabetes patients. Also, pre-clinical experiments suggest that MGN-3 may also be of potential value in treating AIDS patients.6

Rice bran looks to have a very promising future not only as an alternative cancer treatment, but as a treatment for a host of other diseases and conditions. Whole grain brown rice also makes a fantastic protein supplement. There is a great protein product on the market today called Sun Warrior. Naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, Sun Warrior rice protein provides a complete amino acid profile. Their old world process combines the sprouted endosperm with the bran from raw, sprouted whole grain brown rice to offer a protein with a 98% correlation to mother’s milk and a 98.2% digestion efficiency. Sun Warrior is raw, vegan and GMO-free.

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Interesting info!  As you all know, I am a huge Sun Warrior fan, & more reasons are being added every day!  Click on the link to the right to order.

Be Defiant!!!

Christy

Here is the link:   Celery as Raw Viagara?

The title surely is an attention-grabber, but what really piqued my interest was the mention of the steroids androsterone and adrostenol. And it is high in arginine, which is the amino acid that creates great ‘pumps’ in the gym, and is in many Nitric Oxide supplements.   It makes me wonder just how powerful celery is as a body-building food? I knew its natural sodium was perfect for post-workout recovery, but maybe there’s even more!

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Defiance note:  I love my celery-kiwi-banana smoothies!   See the video HERE for an awesome post-workout celery smoothie.   Hmmmm….maybe there is another reason……

Be Defiant!

Christy

“Aging Disgracefully—and Proud of It!”

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I just wanted to share this with you! (I like to share!) As you know, I am a huge fan of Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Protein, and I sell it right here on my site–just click on any of the links.   I use it every single day and just love it, and what it does for my physique.    It’s very new on the market, having only been introduced a little over a year ago.   Apparently I am not the only one who likes it, as it just received a prestigious award.   I posted a snippet below. The link to the full article is here: Natural News Reader’s Choice Awards

Snippet from the article:

(NaturalNews) The votes have been cast: It’s time to announce the results of the NaturalNews Reader’s Choice “Best of 2009″ Awards!

These awards are given to the top companies and products in seven categories: Best Health Products Retailer, Best Herbal Product Line, Best Natural Protein, Best Skin Care Line, Best Superfood Powder, Best Multivitamin and Best Food Bar.

Reader’s Choice – Best Natural Protein = SunWarrior
SunWarrior protein was in the lead from the very start of this survey, and they never let go of their top position. SunWarrior is a raw, fermented rice protein that’s taken off among the raw foods community over the last 18 months or so. It has also been well accepted among the “natural” bodybuilding community (as well as with extreme athletes).

The top five winners in the Best Natural Protein category are:

#1 – SunWarrior
#2 – Nutiva
#3 – Vital Greens
#4 – Ruth’s Hemp Foods
#5 – Living Fuel

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Give the Sun Warrior a try!

I’ll be back with some interesting new developments when I have a little more time.  Right now, I have to run to the gym to blast my legs and booty! 

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Sun Warrior really is a godsend, and an incredible product. I highly recommend it. I use it several times a day! Even if it weren’t raw vegan, it is still far superior to whey or other proteins out there on the market.
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And the incredible Raw Beauty, Lauren Michelle Kinsey, also known as Sweet Raw La-La on her VERY popular blog, Awakening Raw Beauty, was kind enough to include me in her “Raw Built Body Project”. Her site is wonderful and extremely informative. Here is the link to my post:

http://laurenkinseynaturalbeauty.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/an-update-from-christy-duffell-seguin/

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Today was a three-workout day, but comparatively very easy. Rob and Shannon said they want me to recover and rest this week, as I have done all I can do to prepare my physique, and they want me rested and on my A-game come this Saturday. I did really bust it on back and arms, though. I was jelly by the time I was done. The cardio was a piece of cake!

We leave for Florida on Thursday morning. I will keep you as updated as possible!

And THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! To all of you who have shown interest in Team Defiance and have sent me some incredible comments. My heart is filled to bursting with gratitude for each and every one of you, and just knowing that I somehow make a positive difference in the life of others is the best gift I can get. I am humbled and honored to be a part of your life. And I promise to keep working hard and hopefully inspire others to be the best they can be.

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Today, I started with a Spirulina Smoothie made from 8 oz coconut water, the meat from one Thai coconut, handful of spinach, 1 tbs coconut butter (Artisana–yum!), 1.5 Tbs Spirulina, 1 Tbs raw carob, 1 tsp Elements for Life Blue Green Algae, 1/2 tsp Elements for Life Cordyceps, 1/2 tsp Elements for Life RevitaPhi, and stevia to taste (I used 2 packets), and blended it all up.  Not too bad, but definitely not as tasty as my normal addictive spirulina treats.  Can you tell this is a major superfood smoothie?    I figure I need the superfoods to preserve muscle while cutting the calories, sodium and sugar.

Lunch was broccoli, coconut water and a little pineapple blended into a smoothie.  It was OK, even though I was wishing I could use more pineapple and a banana.  Then it would have been really tasty.  I got really hungry in the afternoon, and ate a LifeForce Cacao bar, which is delicious and fairly low fat, sugar, and sodium.   Next week I won’t be able to do that, though.  I also had a tablespoon of UDO’s oil for pre-workout energy.  I am taking a tablespoon of that every day now.  They did a study where the athletes lost bodyfat and gained muscle by using the oil so that sounds good to me, and the body still needs SOME fats no matter what.

I worked out with intervals tonight, alternating shoulders with high rep leg intervals, like lunges, step-ups and leg extensions.   After the workout, I made a ’savory’ smoothie, which is really more like a soup.  I used a few cherry tomatoes, a few baby carrots, spinach, lovely fresh basil, 1/3 of a red bell pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 2 large celery stalks, 1/2 lemon peeled and tossed in whole, and water.  It was pretty good, actually, but would have been a lot better with some Celtic salt or Nama Shoyu!   

My assessment of my condition is that I am definitely improving in definition.  I can see more abs, and more veins are coming out.   Practicing posing last night, I felt I could definitely see more cuts.   It’s hard to tell, as the lighting differs so much from one place to another.  

Next week, I plan to carb deplete Sunday through Wednesday while drinking a lot of water to flush my body of any water-retaining substances, and then slowly carb load until the contest.  This protocol is supposed to shed the water from under the skin which obscures muscle definition, and force the muscles to ’suck up’ the water to make them nicely full and pumped.  I have been studying material from several books and former competitors, and I am attempting to take their suggestions and adapt them to a raw foods protocol.  For example, where they cut carbs by eating a lot of chicken, I plan to eat a lot of leafy greens, spirulina, superfoods, and Sun Warrior protein.   I feel nuts would have too much fat, plus my body doesn’t do well on too many nuts.   I will most likely be a salad-eating fool next week!  (And the savory green smoothies of course.)  For carbs, I plan to sprout some grains like barley and quinoa and use those to carb-load.   On Friday night,  I will eat a special meal to try to get the muscles as full as possible.  The suggested meal is a steak with Heinz 57 sauce for some sodium, so I am thinking I will make my Living burgers, which are kind of like a hamburger and have Nama Shoyu in them, which would do what the 57 would do.   My biggest fear is coming in flat, and retaining too much water. 

I plan to eat a lot of celery and asparagus, as those foods are awesome for diuretic effects.   This is just what I am thinking.  Again, this is an experiment.  If I see something not working, I may call an audible and change the protocol.   And I may find that in the future, I may want to add some nuts and that the ‘good’ fats in nuts don’t react in the body like what we normally ingest as fats.  But, knowing how I have reacted to nuts in the past, I will most likely be avoiding them like the plague for the next week.   But I plan to eat the heck out of a nut-based dessert on Easter Sunday when this contest is over!  I may eat the whole thing–with lots of dates, nuts, fruits, etc.  Maybe I will make my White Chocolate Cheezecake, maybe a Pecan Pie Cheezecake, or maybe something chocolate–who knows?

I have to share these two videos with you.  They were sent to me by a Facebook friend, and they are powerful.  The journalists didn’t pull any punches and they definitely called out some big brand names who are knowingly exposing our most vulnerable babies and toddlers to very harmful chemicals.  And all in the name of a germ-free, clean house……

Part One

Part Two

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DEFY these chemicals and toxins.  Buy holistic, chemical-free cleaners.  And not from big name brand companies, either.  Do not support them in their efforts to ‘look green’ when they are still just profit-crazed toxin-mongers.  Look for the truly organic cleaners from companies who truly care about your children and the earth, while still creating products that clean.  Many of the ones I use actually work a LOT better than the toxic stuff. 

More updates to come!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Today, I started with hosting the Senior Alliance this morning, serving Mexican Quiche and Apple Cobbler to people who had no idea what Living Foods are, and probably didn’t really WANT to know.  But I converted quite a few!  I met some wonderful people and enjoyed the meeting very much.   The Senior Alliance is a networking group that I created many years ago for businesses that serve the seniors in our communities to gather, meet each other and create referral relationships to help grow their businesses and help more senior citizens.  It’s a lovely group of caring people.

Then at lunch, I had the distinct privilege of speaking at the Shaw Industries plant’s Lunch and Learn.  What a wonderful, large crowd we had, and everyone was just delightful.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone, and made some great new friends.  I really appreciate the opportunity to share about raw foods, and was blown away by the interest in raw foods, and how receptive the employees were to the idea.  If nothing else, I hope everyone starts making their own Green Smoothies!  There’s literally nothing healthier than Green Smoothies on the planet.

Right after lunch, I had a real estate listing presentation.  I was in competition with other agents, but I won!  Yay!  So I have some delightful new clients and a wonderful home that will be going on the market at a great value. 

Then I finally got to eat — I made my favorite pre-workout meal:  An avocado blended with water, raw honey, chocolate Sun Warrior protein, and raw cacao nibs.  Yum!  Gotta love a muscle-building chocolate mousse!  Michael and I worked back and biceps today, although I am focusing more on just cutting right now, so I was doing much lower weights and high reps, with super-slow reps to really FEEL the muscle contraction.  Then I did cardio afterward.  I did the stair machine for a while until my ADHD kicked in, and then I had to get off and do something else, so I went in the empty aerobics studio and just kickboxed to some rockin’ tunes for a while.  That’s much more fun! 

Then for my post-workout smoothie, I actually made one without fruit.  It wasn’t terrible.  I used a couple of carrots, cilantro, collard greens, parsley, red bell pepper, a lime and celery.  If I had garlic on hand it would definitely have been better.  I resisted adding sea salt, even though I wanted to so badly.  I have to cut down on sodium and fruit sugars for the next week and a half.  My whole goal now is to get rid of any water retention to ‘harden up’ and get ripped for the contest.  It’s now 11 days away!

Then when I got home, I was thrilled to find an awesome package in the mail.  My competition swimsuit and costume had arrived!!!  Kira Jones of Vandella Costumes (www.VandellaCostumes.com) made them for me and just did an AWESOME job.  I was thrilled.  The costume is adorable and the swimsuit is absolutely fabulous.  I would put it on any stage in any competition.   She truly did a professional, outstanding  job.  I will post pics when I don’t look like something the cat dragged in, like I do right now.  The suit is a shimmery purple fabric overlaid with teal-blue glitter and trimmed in Swarovski crystals.  It glitters like nobody’s business!  I love it.  I LOVE to ‘glittah’!!!

I am off to get some much-needed sleep now.  I love you all, and I am so happy I get to share my fabulous, beautiful day with you.  Blessings, love and light to you tonight and tomorrow.

Until next time, Be Defiant!

Christy

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Now I don’t know what he weighs and I don’t know if he does either.  The gym we used to go to had one of those doctor’s scales (with the little slide bar) right at the front entrance.  You couldn’t keep him (or anyone else) off that stupid thing.  It seemed that people were drawn there like a  moth to a flame.  Not me.  He had to make me get on it.  I couldn’t care less what a scale says.  All it measures is the pull of gravity.  It doesn’t know if gravity is pulling on fat, muscle, bone, or heavy cross-trainer shoes.  

Pivotal has scales somewhere, but they are the small kind that looks like a bathroom scale.  So now he doesn’t jump on it every day.  And he is making such great progress!   I have never forced him into being totally raw like I am, but he has gravitated more and more to it, and now is really into it.  And it shows!  He is very, very lean.  His little love handles are totally gone, and he has definitely put on muscle.  I am completely biased and have always thought he was totally hot anyway, but he is definitely getting hotter! 

But I digress….back to the shoulder workout.   I will outline the whole thing in a minute, but have to tell you about ‘crybabies’.   A couple BIG guys at the gym were telling me about a great delt developer which is basically an isometric (meaning static, or just holding a weight in one position) exercise.  You stand up with a heavy dumbbell in each hand, and then with arms straight, lift the bells out to the side just about 1/3 of the way up to shoulder level—and hold them in that position for 30 seconds.   That may be the longest 30 seconds ever!   We did 3 of those to burn out at the end of the workout.  I know why they call them ‘crybabies’.  We were crying for the 30 seconds to be over with!

Tonight’s Shoulder Blast:

• Warmup on recumbent bike
• Hammer Strength press, 4 sets, 1 warmup, 3 working sets.  I got 45’s on my last two sets, for 10 & 8 reps.  Yay!
• Smith Machine front presses, 3 sets, 50-60-&60 lbs. with the last set dropping to 50 for a burnout
• Superset of lateral dumbbell raises and Overhead ‘pulses’, 3 sets with 15 lb bells.  The pulses are a limited range of motion press that really keeps the pressure on the lateral deltoid
• Arnold presses, 3 sets, 20 lb bells
• Superset front raises with a 25 lb plate and upright rows with 40-lb bar, 3 sets, 10 reps  both exercises.
• ‘Crybabies’ 3 sets with 25 lb bells.   Ouch!

Simple post workout smoothie tonight was spinach, banana, kiwi, pineapple, L-glutamine, & Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein.

I made a heavenly superfood smoothie for lunch today.  I believe this would be served as breakfast in Nirvana!  1 & 1/2 Tbs Spirulina (of course!), 1 young Thai coconut flesh and water, 2 bananas, 1 tbs carob, 1 tbs raw cacao, 1/2 tsp Cordyceps, 1/2 tsp Blue Green algae, 2 droppers of vanilla liquid stevia–blend until a creamy concoction of pure bliss!

My breakfast green smoothie was awesome as well—-mango-strawberry!   Yum!  With dandelion & laciniato kale, & fresh aloe vera.

I can definitely tell I have dropped some bodyfat.  I can see it in my lower back, particularly.   I have seriously cut back on nuts and fats.  I am not in full precontest deprivation mode yet, and I may not go too drastic.  I am feeling my way through.  If I feel I need to drastically change before the contest then I will change my diet even more.  The contest is April 11th, so I am about 3 weeks out now.  I have upped the cardio a lot too.

I hope you have an awesome day.  Make it a great day!  You can choose to be happy, no matter what, and you will attract good things.  Make a difference in someone’s life today.  Ask yourself, “How can I make a difference today?” and it will change your focus completely, and new opportunities will open for you.  

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Here is the question:

Christy,

I’ve been dabbling in raw foods for a few months and I really feel this is where it’s at! I really want to develop into a raw vegan bodybuilder, but there is no information on EXACTLY how to do this.

I’m 5′2″ and weigh 130 which is about 20 pounds over what I should weigh. How can I go about getting the fat off without sacrificing the muscle I built?

I guess what I’m really asking is how do you develop an eating plan based on raw foods that really supports muscle growth? I have a supply of the Sun Warrior protein, but other than downing green smoothies every few hours, how do I structure what I eat?

You are the ONLY female raw vegan bodybuilder I have run across and I would love to be able to do what you are doing with the raw food lifestyle.

How should I go about getting started?

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My answer:

Wow! Your answer would require a book! Let me see if I can sum it up for you. First of all, thank you so much for such a great question. Your are correct–there is very little information on raw vegan bodybuilding, especially for women. I am experimenting myself, as I have no guidance either. This is new ground we are breaking and new trails we are blazing!

You will definitely shed the bodyfat on the raw diet. You may lose some muscle at first also. There will be a detox process and muscle may be lost. I did lose some at first while I was detoxing from my former diet and lifestyle. Be patient with yourself. Give it time and trust your infinitely intelligent body! Your bodyfat has come from years of eating cooked and processed food, and your body is most likely acidic. It doesn’t turn around overnight. Your body must flush out all the toxins and become healthy to begin to build quality muscle.

Some people do really well just getting all the protein they need from food, and they have no problems with large amounts of nuts for great protein. That doesn’t work for me. If I eat too many nuts, I have really bad facial acne breakouts. I still eat them, but in moderation. The Sun Warrior has been great for me! I needed some supplementation, I believe. I talk to other raw bodybuilder females who don’t use any supplements at all, and vehemently oppose getting nutrition from anything but raw food. I am in the middle on that issue. I found that the Sun Warrior triggered an immediate improvement in my physique, and continues to do so, and definitely has helped me increase my strength. You can find a few RVFB on various raw forums. Search around–Alissa Cohen has one, and Steve Pavlina is another.

The key is to find out what works for YOU. You are completely unique from me or anyone else. I had to experiment to find the right nut level (which is much lower than I would like it to be, as I love nuts more than a squirrel!). If there is one absolute, no discussion, no argument class of food that you MUST consume, it is LEAFY GREENS! The leafy greens are very high in protein, iron, calcium, magnesium, vitmains, minerals, phytonutrients, and even Omega 3 fatty acids.

You already have a good start with the green smoothies. I am big on salads with mixed greens and veggies, and I add various nuts and seeds–walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds are my favorites. All are high in protein, especially hemp. I make my own raw salad dressings, and strategically add ingredients I know I need, like olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, avocados, etc. I even try to build muscle with desserts! Like my Sweet Potato Pie, for example, which has pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, and Sun Warrior Protein in it. Tonight, I am experimenting with a mocha fudge ‘brownie’ made with figs, sprouted barley, chocolate Sun Warrior, carob, raw cacao, coffee extract, and (yes I know this isn’t technically raw!) very strong brewed Teecino for the liquid. There’s only about a cup in the whole thing, so I don’t think it’s enough to make a difference. I will let you know how it turns out!

I make a lot of my raw entrees based on nuts and seeds, also. Earlier this week I made Taco Wrappers, which are made up of several items, such as Taco ‘Meat’ made from walnuts, Cashew Sour Kream, Brazil Nut Cheeze, My ‘World Famous Stupendously Awesome’ Guacamole, all wrapped up in purple cabbage leaves. Yum! That’s a lot of nuts, but each wrapper has such a small amount in it that I don’t have any problems. I also make ‘meatballs’, ‘meatloaf’, ‘burgers’ and ‘barbecue’ from nuts and portobello mushrooms.

The last two weeks before the contest I will really cut down on fruits and fats more than I have already, and I will do a Green Smoothie cleanse. They will be more ’savory’ smoothies which are based on non-sweet fruits like cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as more veggies. I like to throw in garlic and onions to make them more of a green “Energy Soup”. But I keep my body fat low anyway, so I don’t have huge amounts to lose.

This is my first contest since going raw, so all this is still an experiment for me! I have found little, if any, guidance on how to prepare for a contest with raw food only, so I am basing my protocol on what I know has worked for me in the past. I notice that I put on fat when I have too many nuts and nut-based desserts, but I shed it quickly when I cut down on the nuts. I don’t have a problem with avocados, though, so I keep those in my diet, just not as many. I find a Green Smoothie cleanse strips bodyfat like magic. Basically, you just drink a Green Smoothie for every meal, or when ever you want one. I also read how Apple Cider Vinegar helps flush fat, so I am adding a tablespoon to my water bottle in the morning and evenings. Also, squeezing fresh grapefruit juice. Again, I am experimenting, so please don’t take this as set in stone. Plus your body may react completely different from mine! My concern is cutting out too much fat and then coming in ‘flat’ for the show, instead of having nice full muscle bellies.

One major point to remember is that muscle growth is in response to the stimulus of resistance from weight training, not really from the food. You can eat perfectly, but if you aren’t challenging yourself to lift heavier each time (still keeping great form of course!), then the muscles won’t grow. You must lift heavy and tear down those muscle fibers so that the body will be stimulated to rebuild them bigger and better.

I know this is a short answer to a deeply involved question, so I hope this is helpful. I am also posting it as my blog entry tonight. I appreciate your question, and I think the information may be helpful to many people. Thank you so much for writing. I wish you all the best on your raw journey. It is as much a personal development and spiritual journey as it is a food journey. You will detox not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Be prepared, be tough and Be Defiant! You will come out a champion on the other side!

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And here is another great Green Smoothie for you today!  Mmmm…..Mango-Pineapple!

Be Defiant!

Christy

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wow, did we ever kill legs today!  I am already sore, but that’s partly because I was doing plyometric leg exercises last night for my cardio intervals, so my legs were already pre-exhausted.  I still got my heavy leg press, though!

Leg Workout:

• Warmup on recumbent bike for 12 minutes
• Leg press:  4 sets:  1 medium intensity with 385 for 15 reps, then 2 sets of 475 for 8 reps.  Last set was 475 for 8 reps, and then drop to 385 for 8 more reps.  What a burn!
• Stiff-legged deadlifts, 3 sets of 12 with 95 lbs
• Smith Machine lunges, 3 sets increasing weights, reps at 12 to 15 each leg
• Hamstring Curls on the isolateral Hammer Machine.  I needed a spotter to get through these!  Definitely left it all out on the floor today.
• Calves–ouch!

MAKE it a great day today!  Misbehave, cause a ruckus, and Be Defiant!

Christy

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The site will have a great new home page with links and pictures, and I will be able to add much more content and links to the pages.  I hope to be offering you some great products–both free information and for purchase–in the near future.   So please bear with me as I learn and experience growing pains, because it will all be worth it in the future.

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We were supposed to get a great snow yesterday, and it didn’t happen here.  I was so disappointed.  I have always loved the magical beauty of that beautiful blanket of white snow.   Of course, living in the South where it is generally 60 degrees all winter, snow is a fun novelty.  I completely understand how it can be horrible if you have to live with it much of the winter.   My nephew is 10 and my niece is 6, and they finally, for the first time EVER, got to see a truly great snowfall yesterday.  They live just outside of Athens, GA, and it snowed 7 inches there.  They went sledding for the first time and had a blast.  Unfortunately, they also lost power and heat, so that part wasn’t fun at all.  I wish I could have been there to see them, and do some sledding myself.  I used to go crazy when I was growing up and it snowed.   We had great hills near our house and I would play all day.  It sure did snow a lot more back then.  I remember that 3 years in a row it snowed or ‘ice-stormed’ on my birthday when I was growing up.  

But we got SHAFTED here!  No snow at all.  It did start coming down in big flakes last night, but they only lasted 20 minutes, and didn’t even stick.  But in the typical panic mode of Southerners faced with snowfall, all schools, government, businesses, etc had already been canceled.  So we wasted an entire beautiful sunny day.  It’s hilarious.   The folks here absolutely lose their MINDS if it even thinks about snowing.  They run to the grocery store for milk and bread (horrors), and if it actually does snow, it seems that they implant their heads firmly up their behinds and then attempt to operate a motor vehicle.   South Carolina drivers are bad to begin with (Note to those unfamiliar with SC:  turn signals are optional equipment on the vehicles, and a red light is merely a suggestion), but the incompetence reaches a crescendo if a flake of snow falls.  Ordinarily, they would be out like on a Sunday drive, creeping along and holding up traffic, usually in the fast lane of the interstate.  But if it starts to snow or really get treacherous with ice, that’s the time they pick to do their best NASCAR imitations, speeding and trading paint.  That’s why Michael and I stay home.  We know how to drive in snow and ice.  We just want to keep the cars in the garage to protect them from the demolition derby that is a South Carolina snow day.

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As usual, Michael and I hit a hard back workout, since it’s Monday.  I love working back on Monday for some reason.  Maybe it’s because I usually rest on Sunday, but I did intervals on the stationary bike last night, with dumbbell shoulder exercises during the recovery periods.   And last Sunday, when I flashed back to high school and ran sprints and bleachers, I pulled an ab muscle.  It was better by the weekend, but I pulled it again helping my father put out hay for the cows on Friday.   And then I strained a hip flexor doing my bodyweight workouts Saturday.  Hmmmm….I think my body is telling me I am 40!  Ha-ha!  Not really, I have always managed to hurt myself over the years.  That stupid ab pull is aggravating.  It hurts every which way I move.   I was afraid I would have a hard time working out, but the back exercises didn’t bother it at all.  Now tying my shoes, that’s another story.  Go figure.

Back workout:

• Warmup on elliptical, until the pulled ab muscle screamed enough to make me quit
• Pullups, wide grip for three sets and neutral grip for three sets
• Seated close-grip rows.   I actually got 100 pounds for 6 reps on my last set!  That was a benchmark for me.  Four sets of 12, 12, 10 and 6 reps with increasing weight.
• Wide-grip lat pulldowns, 3 sets of 12
• Dumbbell rows, 50 lb bells, 3 sets of 10 each arm
• Rear delt flyes, 3 sets of 12
• Reverse-grip low rows on Hammer machine, 3 sets of 12, 10 & 10 reps, increasing weights
• Cable bicep curls, isolateral, 3 sets of 10
• Hammer dumbbell curls, 1 set with 17.5s, dropping to 15s, and then 2 sets with 15s

Wow, that was a long workout tonight.  It was good too.  I really felt my back working.  For our post-workout smoothie, we had banana, mango, vanilla Sun Warrior protein, fresh-from-the-farm organic spinach and water.  Yum!

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This morning, I tried a superfood smoothie that Mike Adams posted on NaturalNews.com.  It was an avocado, raw cacao powder, carob, green ’superfood’ powder, stevia, and an Asian pear.   I also added cordyceps mushrooms (from Elements for Life), coconut water, and chocolate Sun Warrior protein.  It was surprisingly delicious.  I love avocado and chocolate, though.  One of my favorite pre-workout meals is to blend an avocado, chocolate Sun Warrior, and honey or stevia to taste with enough water to make a thick pudding.  Yum!   Chocolate pudding that builds muscle and burns fat—cool!   Try it sometime!  Avocados are SOOOOOO good for you.

I will miss you all until I can post again.  Please be sure to visit and see the new look for the site.   Please give me your feedback and suggestions. I would love to hear from you!

Have a fabulous day, and misbehave until we meet again—Be Defiant! 

Christy

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