Tawna Eubanks is preparing for her first trip to the Arnold and she’s facing the roller coaster of emotions that often come with preparing for a show. In her latest Hardbody Road to The Arnold, she shares her recent freak out with her scale weight and how it helped her take a second look at everything in her diet. Find out how obsessing with the scale helped Tawna make a needed adjustment to her nutrition plan.
Tawna Eubanks – 2013 Bikini International Contender
So, this week has been battle of the scales. When I started my prep for the Arnold I was dropping pounds like nobody’s business! Nothing like waking up to a nice low number on that S.O.B… I think most of you would agree with me calling it that. Then out of nowhere, BOOM, up 4 pounds. What the hell?! No matter how many times I’ve done this, how much I know my weight is going to fluctuate. It pisses me off beyond belief! What a let down, I feel so discouraged and frustrated. I have been sticking to my diet, hitting it hard every workout, every cardio session. What could it possibly be? I mean it can’t be just water weight it was 4 pounds not a couple! I started stressing out thinking of all the possibilities, running through every single one of meals down to the ounces, over and over and over again. You can forget me being amped up in the gym; my motivation is well I have none at this point. It’s all I can think about, I was totally letting it take over.
After a day or so of beating myself up, literally obsessing over the number, jumping on the scale after every restroom break, and annoying my poor trainer and boyfriend about how I don’t understand! I was mixing my carbs that I drink during my workout, when I realized I put in a whole scoop. “Whoops, I do half a scoop… OOOOO crap!!!†I had added an additional 25 grams of carbs to the 25 grams I was already supposed to use, so over the course of the week I had almost 300 extra carbs! We changed my diet for a couple of days, and I got after it in the gym and on my cardio. I got back on the scale 2 days later and my weight was lower than it was before the added weight.
OK, so I had a blonde/dieting moment. The moral of the story for me and anyone else who has had the same “catastropheâ€, is don’t freak out when the scale sends you a wild card! There are SO many variables that can cause your weight to fluctuate and the only thing you can count on is the fact that it WILL fluctuate. I do have to say though that the scale is a powerful tool when used correctly. Had I not monitored my weight I never would have seen the increase and I never would have figured out the extra carbohydrates I was using in my workout. Use the scale to you advantage and know that it is a “guide†not the end-all-be-all to your success and your progress!
Taking it one day at time,
Tawna Eubanks
Follow Tawna on twitter at @TawnaEubanks and like her Facebook page. Check out her competition photos on Bodybuilding.com.
For more information on the Arnold Sports Festival visit www.arnoldsportsfestival.com and use #ASF2013 in all your tweets.
Editor’s Note: This is from Tawna directly and she shared what works for her. It may or may not work for you.
