Many pageant girls concern themselves with calories and do not know the proper amount of protein, carbohydrates, and/or fats they should consume.  When training for a great swimsuit body girls are “afraid” of carbs or fats and feel that eating them will make them gain weight and get “fatter”.  This is not true.

They are called “macro”nutrients for a reason.  You need to eat them!  That being said based on your goals and how your body reacts you may need less of one than another.  The best way to determine how your body reacts to macronutrients is to log your food, weight, how you are feeling, and body fat % if possible.  Some pageant girls do well with a higher carb diet, while others need less carbs and more fat.  In my 15 plus years in the fitness industry I have found most do well with a high protein 35-40% of their daily caloric intake, with moderate carbs 35-40% and moderate fat 20-25%.  Women in particular I have found feel better and see better results with a higher protein, lower carb diet.  I feel it is important for you to understand what each macro nutrient is and the minimum amount to consume daily.

3 Macronutrients

Protein-is what your body prefers to use to build muscle and is 4 calories per gram.  Lean sources of protein include: fish, chicken breast, turkey breast, low fat cottage cheese, protein shakes, egg whites, buffalo, lean red meat, etc…  I suggest my pageant girls to consume .8 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound they weigh.

Carbohydrates-are the main source of energy for your brain and body and have 4 calories per gram as well.  The glycemic index is a great tool when determining what type of carbs one should eat and when.  The glycemic index is a tool to measure how quickly foods affect your sugar levels.  The higher on the index, the faster your blood sugar will rise.  It is best to eat low glycemic and keep your blood sugar levels in check.  When blood sugar is raised it primes your body to store fat.  Low glycemic choices include: vegetables, whole grain foods, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, etc…  I feel you need at least 50 grams a day and for most approx .8 grams to 1 per lb you weight.

Fats-your body will use fats for energy when the carbs are depleted and fats help with skin, hair, nails, brain development, etc and are 9 calories per gram.  Fish oils and fish (especially Salmon) are great sources of Omega 3 fats.  Olive oil, walnuts, cashews, almonds are quality Omega 6 and 9.  Avocado, coconut oil, and mct oil are good sources of fat as well.  Most women do well with 30-40 grams of fat per day and men 60-70 grams.

Again, I can not stress enough that you should track your food (contact me at scott@scottstrainingsystems.com) and I will set you up with a temporary account with our diet software program that will allow you to track your calories and macronutrients if you would like or you can use a program such as FitDay, Spark People or you can purchase a calorie counting book.

This is a guest article written by Scott of Scott’s Training Systems. Scott has an online weight training program for girls who are located out of state. Contact Scott for a consultation: scott@scottstrainingsystems.com or via phone (480) 820-0835. Let him know that you read this article and the consultation is FREE!

You’ve decided that you are going to participate in a pageant.  However, you feel you need to “tighten” up your body before the big pageant competition.   You may be asking yourself, “Should you do cardio?”, “Should you lift?”, Or is it both? These are questions that I am asked on a daily basis from individuals looking to lose weight and keep it off as well as several woman who already are lean, but want to get leaner.

Benefits of Cardio in Pageant Training

Most individual have a hard time getting into a gym let alone making the time to lift, stretch, do cardio, etc.  That being said are limited with time what should you do when you do make it in?  If your goal is immediate weight loss cardio is your best bet.  You will burn more calories in a cardio session then you will during a resistance training workout.  A 155 lb individual can burn over 1100 calories running in an hour while vigorous weightlifting for an hour will burn 422 calories.  Comparing the numbers one can easily see that if you need to drop weight soon cardio along with healthy eating is the way to go.

Now if we are talking about a lifestyle change and what is best to keep weight off the winner is weight lifting with aerobic activity incorporated throughout the workout.  Cardio is great for the cardiovascular system and burning calories while doing the particular activity.  However the metabolism will not stay elevated for days to come once you are done.  Lifting however builds lean mass and the more lean muscle you have you the more calories you burn.

Fat Burning Workout Tips

1 lb of fat burns approximately 8 calories a day.  A pound of muscle burns 20-100 calories a day.  By placing greater stress on the body then it is accustomed to by adding resistance training the body must adapt and build more lean muscle.  So if you want the weight to come off and stay off and you can only lift or do cardio, I recommend you to lift weights and throughout the workout incorporate cardio as active recovery to help keep the heart rate elevated.   This can be done by doing jumping jacks, jump rope, getting on a piece of cardio equipment, etc…

Pageant Fat Burning Workout

I recommend weight training with cardio throughout the workout (this helps keep the heart rate elevated and weights build lean muscle that burn more calories).  The ideal situation is to lift for ½ hour to 45 minutes and then do ½ hour to 45 minutes of cardio along with a sound nutrition plan.  Even better would be to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach then lift later in the day.  The most important thing one can do is, something!  At least move and be active.  Watch what you eat and find something you enjoy doing.  If you don’t enjoy it, you will not stick to it.

I do recommend you consult with your physician before starting any type of exercise program.  If you are new to exercise we suggest you invest in a certified personal trainer for at least a couple sessions to assure you are on the right program for your goals and you are familiar with the movements you will need to perform.

This is a guest article written by Scott of Scott’s Training Systems. Scott has an online weight training program for girls who are located out of state. Contact Scott for a consultation: scott@scottstrainingsystems.com or via phone (480) 820-0835. Let him know that you read this article and the consultation is FREE!