iPhone Bikini Girl Application Casting Today

Just got back from an all day casting for an iPhone Bikini girl application which was fun. I cut back my food yesterday evening, did alot of cardio/abs, then further cut back water/food today so my physique was tight. (By cut back I mean that I consume the bare mininum vs. consuming nothing).

So, the girls that showed up at the casting all had fantastic bodies (lean and long, I was the only muscular one as usual) and nice faces. I'm pretty happy with how I did as it was confirmed that I will be in the application.  The girls will be rated by the users with 1-5 stars.  After 2 months of the application release, the #1 girl will get an all inclusive vacation in Southern Europe.  The #2 girl will get a city trip to London and the #3 girl will get a gift certificate to go shopping.  We all got gift certificates to an online clothing shop as well.  Not a bad day :)

Funnily enough, I was thrown the camera a number of times to shoot the girls and had a bit of fun with that too! The photographer, Mark Windy, really respects my photography work and said that I'm the only person that he would trust to shoot the girls as well. What a compliment! All in all, it was a fun day but totally knackered.  Going to take a nap then get my workout in, then back to bed for an early night.  Tomorrow I'm going to be on a monster truck with Telihana for DJ Pole Folder, dancing to his tunes in the Liege Parade so I need to rest up.

Why Belgium is Awesome

The food here is ridiculous. When I first moved here the locals told me that they have the best of both worlds because their cuisine is as fine as the French but in German portions.

I'm going to torture myself right now by listing the delightful foods that I discovered only in 'ce petit pays'.

SPECULOOS
The best gingerbread cookie ever.

Speculoos, a specialty of Belgium in which flat gingerbread cakes are cut into different shapes, are the inspiration for this recipe. Similar cookies called speculaas are made in Holland, Germany and Austria. These are decorated with melted white chocolate and some pretty red sugar.



BELGIAN CHOCOLATE
When it comes to chocolates, there are the everyday candy bars we consume every day, the more exotic Godiva or Ghirardelli-style chocolates found in coffee houses and specialty stores, and then there is Belgian chocolate. Belgian chocolate is considered to be the gourmet standard by which all other chocolate confections are measured. Even the Swiss, known for their own high quality chocolate, imported the basic recipe from French and Belgian chocolatiers.

What makes Belgian chocolate unique is the quality of ingredients and an almost fanatical adherence to Old World manufacturing techniques. Even in today's world of automation and mass production, most Belgian chocolate is still made by hand in small shops using original equipment. In fact, these small chocolate outlets are a popular draw for tourists visiting Belgium today. Much like wineries, tours of Belgian chocolate shops include tastings and exclusive souvenirs.

My favorite brands are Neuhaus, Cote D'Or, Pierre Marcolini, Godiva.




FILET AMERICAIN
Are you familiar with steak tartare? Like steak tartare, this is a raw ground beef dish that is made with raw egg, shallots, mustard, worchester sauce, capers and parsley. The Belgians don't do much sushi but they do alot of raw meat dishes like carpaccio and filet americain. I could eat this stuff all day. It's often served either straight up on a dish or in a french baguette.

This picture is very typical with the fries. They are also a Belgian specialty, dipped in mayo.



I really need to stop this blog entry, this is torture. Just got back from the gym where I did an hour of interval cardio and abs, ate 2 slices of lean ham and broccoli after and that's it. I have a iPhone bikini girl application casting tomorrow so I'm needing to look lean and mean and this foodie stuff is not helping. Keep telling myself, "end of November I can have a day of binge!!"

Le Donne Belle Della Sardegna

Le Donne Belle Della Sardegna (the beautiful women of Sardinia).

Both models are very exotic ladies: half European and half Chinese.

I'm post processing pics slowly, more to come.

Song du Jour: Party all the Time

LA Muscle Sponsorship

After having recently worked with LA Muscle TV in London to film a segment covering a couple of days in my life as an international model and published photographer, the company today confirmed that I am now also a sponsored athlete.  Yippee!

It's recognition like this which keep my motivation up in this sport.  Living the competitive fitness lifestyle proves that the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.

A Fitness Minded Fridge

All very healthy foods which I'm proud of:

• Skim milk
• carrots
• cucumber
• mushrooms
• sparkling water
  
• pickles (the tartness kills appetite)
  
• 3x500g of fat free fromage frais (high protein like Greek yogurt)
• fat free plain yogurt
• V8 for cooking
• spray fat free balsamic vinegarette
• brown rice
• crystal light
• 3 dozen eggs
• tofu
• lean ham
• baked chicken breast
• salsa
• fat free mayo
• homemade 9 grain protein bread
• tupperwares of my veggie casserole
• spray butter
• hot sauce
• dijon mustard
• bell peppers which I eat like apples.

No junk in this fridge! How about yours? Is it time for some cleaning? If there's no temptation in here, it's hard to cheat.

Cheesy Veggie Casserole Recipe

No oil and I use powdered cheese sauce mix so it doesn't have the fat of real cheese. It was absolutely delicious, my perennial tester, my colleague Sarah, loved it. :)




- 2 zucchini
- 2 eggplant
- 1 onion
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 packet of powder cheese for sauce (Knorrs brand here in Belgium)



Set oven to 425F or 230c. Chop up the veggies into chunky pieces and toss into a baking pan. Pour the canned tomato over it and mix well. Sprinkle the cheese powder packet over the veggies as well and mix. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.


-- Posted from my iPhone

SMD: Day 4

Day 1: 132lbs
Day 2: 127.2lbs
Day 3: 128 lbs
Day 4: 128 lbs

Holy crap I feel like crying today just from the fatigue from diet and exercise.  It's not a voluntary kind of crying I feel like doing, more like my mind is completely blank and the body wants to do that because it's unhappy.  (although writing about my body in the third person is actually giving me a little laugh though). 

I got to this same point mentally last year in the last two weeks when I prepped for the MuscleMania Italian show, just demolished myself at the gym and lived on salads and protein.  Let's just say that my boss wasn't too happy about my work output as I couldn't remember much during this time.  Actually, it's kind of like living in the movie Memento, the dude with the short term memory who has to write himself thousands of notes, take Polaroids of everything, and tattoo the most important things in his life to his body.

Yesterday I did 45 min cardio (30 min HIIT stepper and the remainder on the treadmill) followed by 4x15 straight legged deadlifts and some chest work (I think, can't really remember!).  Came home at 10pm ish and baked all of my food that I bought.  Got some great recipes to share with you in the next few blog posts!

Probably had about 1200-1300 calories yesterday, all very clean. 

Weight is holding steady for the last couple of days however I see my abs clearly leaning out.  I'm holding water for the next few days until my cycle is over so no worries there. I bought 12L of SPA water which is a very light water, minimal minerals which I will drink during my last days.  Starting to plan out the depletion phase that will occur during my last week before the show.

My favorites during this time are:

• B-50 complex: keeps me awake.
• Coffee. Ditto
• Glutamine: Recovery
  
• CLA, BCAA, L-Carnitine: Fat burners and aminos to process protein more efficiently.
• VPX Clenburtrx Hardcore: This is a recommendation from Rob. Crazy energy on only 1ml. FYI, this is an OTC product, not real Clen!  All of my federations are natural only and all athletes go through doping control.
  
• Metamucil Sugarfree smooth fiber: I take a huge spoonful in the morning and it keeps me full.
• iPhone: got all my music in there, Facebook, etc to keep me entertained.
• Sugar free Werther's Originals: a couple of these a day keeps my sweet tooth at bay.
• Spearmint sugarfree gum: nam nam nam
• Photoshop: endless hours of creative entertainment for this photographer.
• Sparkling water: helps me down all of the pills
  

There's been a pickup in Italian interest as well, getting more messages from other fitness people, mags, etc related to my attendance of the show.  When I go into a show, I do treat it professionally with the intention to do alot of networking.  So exciting to meet all of the friends and fans who come out to support.

A little more from Cala Luna, Sardinia ITALY

My Favorite Articles from Bodybuilding.com

There's 3 components to a healthy lifestyle: cardio, weights and diet.  Of these three I find that the toughest part to lock down is the nutrition.  I read these links below to help keep me motivated and focused.

Summer Six-Pack and the Importance of Nutrition by Linda Cusmano

Motivation and Fat Loss: A Nutrition Program for Summer Fun! by Ava Cowan

Bodybuilding.com's Female Transformations.  The best place to get weekly inspirational stories of how women get into the best shape of their life.

Four Friends at a Party

Four friends, who hadn't seen each other in 30 years, reunited at a party.

After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest room. Those who remained talked about their kids.

The first guy said, "My son is my pride and joy. He started working at a successful company at the bottom of the barrel.

He studied Economics and Business Administration and soon began to climb the corporate ladder and now he's the president of the company. He became so rich that he gave his best friend a top of the line Mercedes for his birthday."

The second guy said, "Darn, that's terrific! My son is also my pride and joy. He started working for a big airline, and then went to flight school to become a pilot. Eventually he became a partner in the company, where he owns the majority of its assets. He's so rich that he gave his best friend a brand new jet for his birthday."

The third man said: "Well, that's terrific! My son studied in the best universities and became an engineer. Then he started his own construction company and is now a multimillionaire. He also gave away something very nice and expensive to his best friend for his birthday: A 30,000 square foot mansion."

The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned from the restroom and asked: "What are all the congratulations for?" One of the three said: "We were talking about the pride we feel for the successes of our sons. ...What about your son?"

The fourth man replied: "My son is gay and makes a living dancing as a stripper at a nightclub."

The three friends said: "What a shame...what a disappointment."

The fourth man replied: "No, I'm not ashamed. He's my son and I love him. And he hasn't done too badly either. His birthday was two weeks ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand new jet and a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends!

Muscle and Fitness UK Online Feature

Check me out on Muscle and Fitness UK's website!

Lunch

This is pretty typical: 100g chicken breast seasoned with steak spice, 1/3 cup cooked brown rice with soy sauce, baked green beans with balsamic vinegar and chipotle pepper.





-- Post From My iPhone

SMD: Day 3

Day 1: 132lbs
Day 2: 127.2lbs
Day 3: 128 lbs

The weigh in is still very reasonable to me as it's a 4 lb change over three days. I did my morning and HIIT cardio as usual and finished off with some ab and chest work. My diet was pretty good although I deviated from the SMD a little bit in the evening to have another 2 slices of protein bread (total of 3 slices instead of the one prescribed by SMD) and 200g of fat free fromage frais (Belgium's version of cottage cheese but smooth and much easier to find). All in all I estimate that I had 1200 calories and a huge volume of exercise.

The main point that I got from the SMD is to keep your calories very low, carbs and fat low, protein high. I estmate that I'm burning 600-800 calories a day with exercise and my resting metabolic rate is around 1300 calories. It is normally recommended that I consume 1800 calories while on diet. Please note that this is certianly NOT a long term not sustainable program, like the SMD said. Most importantly, I'm listening to my body and making adjustment accordingly.

I practiced my walks in my competition bikinis as well, everything seems to look ok. Have to continue studying my routine for my themewear - it's going to be very special!

After the gym I worked pretty late on post processing the pics from Sardinia until 1:30am. Damn fat burners are keeping me awake!

This morning I overslept my alarm and will have to move my morning cardio into the evening for one long session. I typically try to break up the cardio into segments because > 1hr straight followed by weight training is just dreadful.

Breakfast today was 1/3 cup All Bran, skim milk, stevia, and cinnamon (so yummy) followed with 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg fried with spray oil. As usual, I got a new idea for making my eggs and kind of replicated a bearnaise tasting creation. It was pretty tasty!

Bearnaise Style Eggs

3 egg whites and 1 whole egg fried on medium heat with spray oil, sunny side up. Sprinkle with black pepper, garlic salt and terragon. Pop the yolk, pour in 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, and smear over the egg whites.

Packed lunch, gym bag, and then it was off to work.






-- Post From My iPhone

What To Do With All Of The Egg Yolks...

Today's dinner consisted of 3 slices of protein bread (my creation based on 9-grain flour and 4 big scoops of casein protein) and 4 egg whites seasoned with oregano, ground chipotle pepper, garlic, and ketchup (tastes kind of like a pizza).

I go through a ton of eggs and at times feel bad for chucking all of the yolks so today I decided to make something special for when I'm off diet:

Bearnaise Sauce!



* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons minced shallot or onion
* 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 4 egg yolks
* 1/2 cup hot melted butter or margarine


DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the vinegar, shallots, tarragon, garlic salt, and pepper in a small saucepan. Boil over medium-high heat until the liquid is boiling. Remove from heat.

2. Have the egg yolks beaten lightly in a cup and ready to roll.

3. Stirring the whole time, pour the melted butter into the mixture. Next, slowly beat in the egg yolks. The mixture will thicken and turn a pale yellow color.

Since I can't really have any while on diet, I let it cool, spooned it into a plastic sandwich bag, and stored in my freezer. Otherwise, if you are normal you can serve this on salmon, steak, etc. Delish!

IPhone Applications

My favorites:

- Whole Foods recipes
- Lose It! Diet and exercise tracker
- Facebook
- Shazam
- Blog Press
- IM+
- AOL Radio: only way to get US music over here
- photo FX
- photo Filters
- Tweet Deck
- Skype



-- Post From My iPhone

Song du Jour: Sexy Chick by David Guetta

Scarsdale Medical Diet (SMD): Day 2

Yesterday morning (Day 1): 132lbs

Did 30 min stationary bike in the morning, 30 HIIT Stepper in the evening, 45 min of fast paced full body workout using 8kg dumbbells (walking lunges, shoulder press, tricep kickbacks, bicep curls, etc).  Diet was pretty tight, drank about 7 liters of water.

This morning (Day 2): 127.4 lbs

Go go go go go ...!

Scarsdale Medical Diet

Back from Sardinia and put on 5 lbs in 3 days. WTF. I think it's a number of factors: I ran stairs and hills while there (normally I do not do high impact) and I can feel myself swelling, monthly cycle, tasty cheese, and alot of carbs and salt in the meals.  Basically all the things that you shouldn't do but made an excuse for.

Regardless, I'm 3 weeks out from show and this is freaking me out.  The best thing to do to catch up is to cut the calories via low carbs and fat, keep protein relatively high, and drink alot of water.  My calorie intake will be very low for the next few days while I maintain a regular workout schedule. 

I heard about the Scarsdale Diet from Telihana and she had some quick success with it.  It's very close to what I'm doing today but with MUCH less calories.  This diet has one on about 800-1000 calories.

You can find all of the diet details here.

Government esearch shows that a reduced calorie intake is the key to losing weight.  This study compares numerous diet tenets and came to this conclusion.  It's mathematical: 3500 calories = 1lb of fat.  

OK, gonna suck it up today.  I'm going to follow as close as I can but it probably won't be exact.  I'm expecting to cut about 500 calories from my regular diet and keep up the cardio/weights pace.

Cala Luna, Sardinia ITALY

A Little Bit of Sardinia

Just spent a too short weekend out in beautiful Sardinia and already back in Brussels. I'll be uploading a few blog entries on this trip as soon as I get more pics from my other cameras.

Flew out on Ryanair on Friday to Calgairi.



My main day there was Saturday where we went to Cala Luna, a seclusive beach on a private reserve and you have to take a ferry to get to. The pictures that I made there were outstanding but they are on the big camera.





I have a couple friends with homes there, each had an outstanding view from their properties: one on a beach and the other off the edge of a cliff.







-- Post From My iPhone