When it comes to getting results in the gym, you need to start in the kitchen. Diet plays a crucial part in making all of your training efforts pay off. But it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here, some of our favorite top bikini and figure competitors share their secrets for eating clean and feeling great.
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Rule #1: Don’t make your food a big deal—or it will be “I’ve always enjoyed eating healthy, and how it makes me look and feel,” says Tiffany Gaston, our cover model and a top NPC figure competitor. “I don’t do anything extreme, because fortunately, I don’t need to.” But Gaston has more than just good genes on her side. “I’m quite consistent in my diet and training. When you gain weight only to have to drop it again, it takes a toll on your body.” Gaston has been active since childhood, taking part in gymnastics and track and field before competing on a national level as a figure athlete. Three years ago, she began following a Paleo diet. “The results spoke for themselves,” she says. Gaston now frequently blogs about her diet on muscleandfitnesshers.com and has an upcoming ebook (Painlessly Paleo). “I gather inspiration from meals I’ve enjoyed in restaurants or images that look appealing, but I try to clean up some of these dishes so I can enjoy them guilt free. It allows for my creative side to come out when I attempt to tweak a recipe for a healthier version!” She’ll sub in mashed cauliflower for potatoes, and uses shredded zucchini in place of noodles. (“I call them zoodles!,” she says.) Consistency is key, adds Gaston, who tries to follow a similar diet year round with the exception of a weekly treat meal or two that has no restrictions. “I have wine when I want,” she says. “I keep my food on point and it allows me to train hard, stay focused, and live life!” Keeping a well-stocked pantry is also important, including having a variety of healthy proteins, fruits, and vegetables on hand. Infused oils and spices offer up some variety. “Always having the right food available gives me a no-excuses approach to diet,” she maintains. “When you eat healthy day in and day out it’s not difficult to stay on track.” Tip: Many people salt their food before even tasting it. Using spices such as turmeric, curry, cumin, cayenne, garlic, and onion can give incredible life and flavor to your foods without adding extra sodium.
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Rule #2: Clean eating doesn’t have to be boring “I was an overweight kid and my family was full of amazing cooks,” recalls Lori Harder, a bikini competitor, who learned how to prepare her own dishes at a young age and enjoyed eating her creations almost as much as making them. As she got older, she realized her diet was contributing to her feelings of lethargy. She began working out, and with that started to change what and how she ate. But she also discovered something else—clean eating typically meant bland foods. “I refused to think I had to eat this way for the rest of my life in order to have a body I was proud of!” says Harder. She got back into the kitchen and got to work, crafting healthier versions of some of her favorite recipes. She served them at parties to friends and family. “Nobody knew the food was healthy—they were finishing every last bite! I knew I had a good thing that had to be shared.” Harder wrote a cookbook (Lori Harder’s Busy Girl Healthy Life Cookbook) that espouses the idea that you can get fit and stay healthy while eating great-tasting food—despite having a hectic schedule. “When you love the food you eat, it’s easy to stay fit and healthy!” she says. Her favorite go-to meals include Italian turkey sausage and her breakfast biscuits. Consistency in both training and diet is key, so you have to find something that works year round, adds Harder. “Your body loves variety, and your mind loves to feel satisfied. Having a diet that’s high in protein, vegetables, fruit, and complex carbohydrates will fuel the results you are looking for while giving your brain the fuel it needs to feel happy and function properly.” Tip: Don’t be scared of complex carbs: Women need more carbohydrates than men to feel good and function properly!
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Rule #3: Keep your eyes on the prizeWhen motivation starts to lag, or those baked goods start to call your name, remember why you’ve started your fitness journey in the first place. “If I’m in a tough place, I think about what my competitors are doing—they’re working harder than me, trying to look better,” says Siliana Gaspard, an NPC bikini competitor. “One of my favorite mottos is: ‘I’ll do what others won’t today, so I can do what others can’t tomorrow!’” Gaspard follows a similar diet throughout the year, including egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast, baked chicken breast and salad for lunch and a similar protein/vegetable combination for dinner. Off-season, she gives herself one cheat meal a week—usually Sunday breakfast. During competition prep, however, she follows a stricter program. “I have been on both ends, and trust me, it is not fun doing all that extra cardio for a few slices of cake. It’s so much better for you and easier on your body if you maintain a clean diet.” Most importantly, she says, you need to spend just as much time and effort on your diet as you do your workouts. “You can’t out-train poor eating habits. A proper diet will take you much further than you can imagine,” says Gaspard. “You’ll spend less stressing about why your body isn’t dialing in, as well as less time in the gym making up for poor diet decisions.” That doesn’t mean you have to approach your eating habits as a chore. In fact, a positive attitude will go a long way toward keeping you on track. “People think that diet is boring and can’t be fun, but it can be very enjoyable if you change your attitude. See it as something that you are doing for yourself, to be better and to accomplish something that is new and exciting!” Tip: To satisfy your sweet tooth, try drinking some water sweetened with Stevia. And avoid gum: All the extra air and sugar alcohol can cause bloat.
When it comes to getting results in the gym, you need to start in the kitchen. Diet plays a crucial part in making all of your training efforts pay off. But it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here, some of our favorite top bikini and figure competitors share their secrets for eating clean and feeling great.
Rule #1: Don’t make your food a big deal—or it will be
“I’ve always enjoyed eating healthy, and how it makes me look and feel,” says Tiffany Gaston, our cover model and a top NPC figure competitor. “I don’t do anything extreme, because fortunately, I don’t need to.” But Gaston has more than just good genes on her side. “I’m quite consistent in my diet and training. When you gain weight only to have to drop it again, it takes a toll on your body.”
Gaston has been active since childhood, taking part in gymnastics and track and field before competing on a national level as a figure athlete. Three years ago, she began following a Paleo diet. “The results spoke for themselves,” she says. Gaston now frequently blogs about her diet on muscleandfitnesshers.com and has an upcoming ebook (Painlessly Paleo).
“I gather inspiration from meals I’ve enjoyed in restaurants or images that look appealing, but I try to clean up some of these dishes so I can enjoy them guilt free. It allows for my creative side to come out when I attempt to tweak a recipe for a healthier version!” She’ll sub in mashed cauliflower for potatoes, and uses shredded zucchini in place of noodles. (“I call them zoodles!,” she says.)
Consistency is key, adds Gaston, who tries to follow a similar diet year round with the exception of a weekly treat meal or two that has no restrictions. “I have wine when I want,” she says. “I keep my food on point and it allows me to train hard, stay focused, and live life!”
Keeping a well-stocked pantry is also important, including having a variety of healthy proteins, fruits, and vegetables on hand. Infused oils and spices offer up some variety. “Always having the right food available gives me a no-excuses approach to diet,” she maintains. “When you eat healthy day in and day out it’s not difficult to stay on track.”
Tip: Many people salt their food before even tasting it. Using spices such as turmeric, curry, cumin, cayenne, garlic, and onion can give incredible life and flavor to your foods without adding extra sodium.
Rule #2: Clean eating doesn’t have to be boring
“I was an overweight kid and my family was full of amazing cooks,” recalls Lori Harder, a bikini competitor, who learned how to prepare her own dishes at a young age and enjoyed eating her creations almost as much as making them. As she got older, she realized her diet was contributing to her feelings of lethargy. She began working out, and with that started to change what and how she ate. But she also discovered something else—clean eating typically meant bland foods. “I refused to think I had to eat this way for the rest of my life in order to have a body I was proud of!” says Harder. She got back into the kitchen and got to work, crafting healthier versions of some of her favorite recipes. She served them at parties to friends and family. “Nobody knew the food was healthy—they were finishing every last bite! I knew I had a good thing that had to be shared.”
Harder wrote a cookbook (Lori Harder’s Busy Girl Healthy Life Cookbook) that espouses the idea that you can get fit and stay healthy while eating great-tasting food—despite having a hectic schedule. “When you love the food you eat, it’s easy to stay fit and healthy!” she says. Her favorite go-to meals include Italian turkey sausage and her breakfast biscuits.
Consistency in both training and diet is key, so you have to find something that works year round, adds Harder. “Your body loves variety, and your mind loves to feel satisfied. Having a diet that’s high in protein, vegetables, fruit, and complex carbohydrates will fuel the results you are looking for while giving your brain the fuel it needs to feel happy and function properly.”
Tip: Don’t be scared of complex carbs: Women need more carbohydrates than men to feel good and function properly!
Rule #3: Keep your eyes on the prize
When motivation starts to lag, or those baked goods start to call your name, remember why you’ve started your fitness journey in the first place. “If I’m in a tough place, I think about what my competitors are doing—they’re working harder than me, trying to look better,” says Siliana Gaspard, an NPC bikini competitor. “One of my favorite mottos is: ‘I’ll do what others won’t today, so I can do what others can’t tomorrow!’”
Gaspard follows a similar diet throughout the year, including egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast, baked chicken breast and salad for lunch and a similar protein/vegetable combination for dinner. Off-season, she gives herself one cheat meal a week—usually Sunday breakfast. During competition prep, however, she follows a stricter program. “I have been on both ends, and trust me, it is not fun doing all that extra cardio for a few slices of cake. It’s so much better for you and easier on your body if you maintain a clean diet.”
Most importantly, she says, you need to spend just as much time and effort on your diet as you do your workouts. “You can’t out-train poor eating habits. A proper diet will take you much further than you can imagine,” says Gaspard. “You’ll spend less stressing about why your body isn’t dialing in, as well as less time in the gym making up for poor diet decisions.”
That doesn’t mean you have to approach your eating habits as a chore. In fact, a positive attitude will go a long way toward keeping you on track. “People think that diet is boring and can’t be fun, but it can be very enjoyable if you change your attitude. See it as something that you are doing for yourself, to be better and to accomplish something that is new and exciting!”
Tip: To satisfy your sweet tooth, try drinking some water sweetened with Stevia. And avoid gum: All the extra air and sugar alcohol can cause bloat.
