Last Friday I ended my improvement season with three of my favorite things, pizza, cookies and a movie on the couch with John. Moments where we can kick back and indulge on all things high fat, carb, sugar and delicious are few and far between, so I enjoy every minute of it when we can.
Entering in to prep isn’t this big shift for me. We’ve built a routine that is so consistent that it makes moving from improvement season to prep a seamless transition. The biggest change, which doesn’t seem big at all, is being extra precise and diligent with my macro amounts. During improvement season we do allow for some flexibility. I’ll macro match meals which can throw off my amounts a bit, I’ll have extra veggies if I feel like it, and have a free meal almost every week. So, there is a certain amount of calories that aren’t accounted for compared to what’s actually written on my plan.
Once prep starts I want every variable to be as precise as possible. I stick to the exact foods and amounts on my plan. No more macro matching or eating extra servings of veggies and there’s certainly no free meals. If it’s not on my plan, I’m not eating it. To me, this makes it so much easier than if you’re given a macro amount and have free reign over matching those macros. Especially when you’re getting deeper in to prep, hunger increases and you’re more food focused. I personally want to be told what to eat and when to eat it. It takes all the guess work out of the food portion of prep and allows me to put all my focus on my training and recovery.
John will be joining me in prep here shortly as well. Last year we were on completely different schedules. When he was in improvement season I was in prep and just as soon as he was in prep I went in to improvement season. I’m actually looking forward to being on the same schedule. Instead of enjoying pizza and cookies on the couch we’ll be enjoying chicken and salad! But we’ll be doing it together and that’s all that really matters!
Think bigger! Train Hard!
Renee Jewett IFBB Pro
