Many of you have been asking me about my diet plan and how I got to my bikini body in a short 8 weeks. I’m going to share with you a snapshot of my meal plan that you can tweak to your needs.
In short, my meal plan given to me by my trainer friend consisted of lots of protein and 6 small meals a day (200-350 cals each) to keep my metabolism up. Barely any carbs. That meant no fruit guys :(
I was so full the first day I went on it because I had never eaten so much protein in my life even though the meal plan measured to less than 1900 cals. I was also working out very hard, lifting weights and running 6 days a week (IN ADDITION TO TEACHING PILATES A MILLION TIMES A WEEK) so that’s why my intake was high. I needed ENERGY for killer workouts.
I wrote down how I felt each day in this huge poster chart thing. I also recorded my weight every morning and any other notes I wanted to give myself like “Great progress Cassey! Keep going!” Hahaha. I got my body fat % checked every 2 weeks to make sure I was GAINING MUSCLE and LOSING FAT.
(If you are trying to read my chart, that big pink blurb up in the right hand corner was something I wrote 2 literally days ago after I bounced back from my 2-week Feeling-Fat-and-Failing period. It basically says, “Today I am 118 again. THANK GOD. Working hard pays off. I have my bikini body back!!!!!”)
Here’s the meal plan…
meal 1
*egg white omelet (1/2 cup liquid egg whites) with 1 cup broccoli.
meal 2
*1 small can tuna with 2 cups broccoli.
meal 3
*9 oz boneless skinless steamed chicken breast and 1 cup steamed green beans.
meal 4
*1.5 scoops vanilla whey protein mixed w/ water (I was using Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey Protein Powder in Vanilla)
meal 5
*9 oz boneless skinless steamed chicken breast, 2 cups romain lettuce, 1 tomato.
meal 6
1.5 scoops vanilla whey protein mixed w/ water
For condiments I used lite soy sauce and tabasco. For dressings, basalmic vinegar or very light vinaigrettes. I also drank TONS of water.
That’s basically how I ate for 8 weeks.
I was suppose to carb load on Sundays to fuel up for the rest of the week, so the only difference here was that I did not take my protein and instead had sweet potatoes, black beans, oatmeal, and apple sauce. Apple sauce was the closest I ever got to eating fruit. I was allowed to sub the chicken breast for white fishes like cod. I could sub any of the veggies for other leafy greens.
This meal plan and lifting for about an hour followed by 15-20 min of intense cardio 6 days a week helped me go from 126 lbs and 24% body fat to 118 lbs and 17.5% body fat. I am 5’5”.
I’m not gonna lie, it was hard work but I LOVED every second of it. I went to sleep every night waiting to workout. I woke up every morning ready to workout. Results keep me going like a mad woman. How exciting is it to lose a lb every week for 8 weeks? It is one of the best feelings ever! I also loved looking at myself in the mirror and admiring changes like a conceited bi-otch. I know some people are all about the whole “don’t look at yourself until the end” type of deal, but for me, NO WAY!!! I wanna see that I look good and I wanna see it NOW! (Ok, kinda childish but hey, who doesn’t like a lil instant gratification?)
Just in case you haven’t been following this blog for a while, this whole 8 Week Shred thing was an experiment I was doing with my friend who is a personal trainer. We wanted to test out a specific meal plan and workout plan and record results. It was tough for both of us to be on such a restricted diet plan and yes I did have cravings. But I knew at the end of this, I’d have the body I’ve always dreamed of. So, that kept me going.
I am no longer on this meal plan and I have definitely added fruits back into my diet. I still however eat tons of protein and steamed veggies. And I still workout 6 days a week because I love it.
Disclaimer: PLEASE consult a registered dietitian, nutritionist, or doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet. This is just what I did. Do not follow it unless you know it is safe for you.
So i’ve been following this meal plan the last few days and today i measured out the calories of it and it only measured out as about 800 calories. Isnt this unhealthy? Maybe im measuring wrong?
Would I still eat this plan if I were only working out three times a week? Also how does this plan work along side your workout videos? How much/how often should i do which video while eating this diet?
You can follow her workout calendar! And yes still follow this plan if you workout only 3 times a week.
What if you don’t lik broccoli? :l
is the protein powder necessary?
Its probably not necessary, but it would defiantly be beneficial!
Hi. I just wanted to ask, the meals are they per day or all 6 meals on a day?
i think its all in one day because she said at the beginning that she had 6 small meals. “In short, my meal plan given to me by my trainer friend consisted of lots of protein and 6 small meals a day (200-350 cals each) to keep my metabolism up.” second paragraph hope I helped :)
Congratulations on achieving your goals, you look great. I’ve tried doing a very low carb diet similar to yours but found it hard to keep lifting heavy weight because i glycogen stores were depleted. With being so active, did you experience lack of energy? if so, how did you overcome it?
Hey!
so I just now fell in love with your diet plan! :) I noticed one of the days your meal was can tuna with broccoli. Can that be substituted with can chicken and any veggie or fruit? and did you mix the can tuna as tuna salad or did you eat it as is?
Thanks!
Kelleyanne
with what you can replace the whey protein shake