Eating for My First Powerlifting Meet

Last week I shared with you guys about my workouts and workout schedule for the my first powerlifting meet and one thing I mentioned was that sleep and food are my most important things.  So today I want to talk more about what I am eating and why…

As I mentioned previously, the training volume of the workout schedule is quite high and I am not only lifting and doing metcons six days a week, but it’s a lot of stuff. I mean the workouts take me 2.5 hours at least, a day, to get through.

My BMR is 1400 calories a day and my total daily energy expenditure before I factor in my activity level and workouts is just over 2400 calories a day.  I calculated this online and  I’ve worn my heart rate monitor enough times to know this is pretty accurate.

So I set up my fitness pal (you can add me on there, my name is KyrawilliamsCF) to have me eat around 2400 calories a day as I do not want to lose anything.  I used IIFYM to set up my macros to have me hit 40% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fat.  This is the hardest part for me because I used to only eat about 30% carbs, 30% protein and 40% fat – I like fat. The days I eat more fat the better I feel, but I need more carbs to help me make gainz in my strength.  Fat does not yield muscle growth and strength – carbs and protein do.

A lot of people have questions about where their macros should be. You are going to have to play around with it just like they say on the IIFYM calculator. I knew right off the bat I wanted to be at 40% carbs because my training is performance based, and I knew for this (I have this knowledge, I’ve studied nutrition for years) I would need more carbs. If you don’t want to work with someone to help you, then you are going to have to play around. Even if you work with a pro you will still have to play because rules for one person do not apply to others.

So these days my food looks something like…

Breakfast – banana, protein shake in my coffee, 3T nuts and more or regular peanut butter

(this is non-negotiable – Ive eaten this for breakfast every day for about two years and it’s not changing)

Snack/ Lunch – 2 eggs and 2 whites with broccoli and turkey sausage or some kind of meat and veggies

Pre-Workout Snack – About Time Protein pancake (use the code KWF for 25% off) or 2 rice cakes with pb2 and honey

BCAA’s all up in my workout!

Post-Workout Snack – protein shake mixed with unsweetened coconut milk and 2.5 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Dinner – meat and veggies

I could honestly use more carbs, but like I said, I am not a carb-a-holic.  If I can get about 35% I am happy with that because it’s been a huge adjustment to me.

Also, my goal here is 95% performance based. By that I mean, I want to perform well, feel good and do well in my meet, BUT, I have to live in my body 100% of the time so I’m not okay with putting on fat just to get a bigger squat. I also have to weigh in at or below 138 the day of my meet so I want to stick around 140 pounds through my training and have visible abs all the time.

So, do you have any questions about my eating or how YOU could eat to perform well while also LOSING fat? Leave a comment below!

Your Coach,

Kyra