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This approach is typically effective as long as the correct number of calories is consumed. The huge drawback is the amount of time and the level of commitment needed to eat every 2-3 hours. A magnificent amount of organization is required. Meals have to planned well in advance. Food has to be purchased way ahead of schedule. The logistics make it unbearable tough to work an 8 or 10 hour normal job, travel, socialize, or in general get anything done that isn’t exclusive centered around eating exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.

But eating like this is a necessity, right? Even though figure competitors do not try to build the same muscle bulk as a bodybuilder, not feeding your hard-earned muscle is a sure-fire way to go catabolic. Also, your metabolism will plummet, and it will be more difficult to stay lean. These are all facts, right? This is what we’ve been taught. All figure athletes do it this way. Or do they?

In the last 5 or 6 years, there has been more and more discussion about intermittent fasting. This is where the dieter does not eat, i.e. fasts, for some period of time, before continuing on with more normal eating habits. Ramadan Fasting is one type of fast that is religious in nature, and is used for purposes other than losing weight or getting leaner. It is periodic in nature – generally the fast lasts from sunup to sundown. So this fits squarely within the definition of intermittent fasting.

As it turns out, reviewing scientific literature, and looking at actual studies where scientists have looked at some of these dieting beliefs suggest they are not factual, and that other methods may be at least as effective. By other methods, what I’m getting at is intermittent fasting.

In future articles, we will dig into more details about how figure competitors may be better served by adopting an intermittent fasting protocol, not just for contest prep, but also for bulking or maintenance.

Abrianna Taylor
Age: 30
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 126 lbs
Measurements: 32B-26-36
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde
Personal trainer, figure skater, figure competitor


Jessica Rinaldi
Location: New Mexico
Occupation: personal trainer, fitness competitor, mother
2011 IFBB Arnold Amateur (4th place)
2010 NPC USA Championships (16th place)

Jen Jewell
Height: 5’3″
Weight: 115 lbs
Location: Los Angeles
Jen isn’t one of those athletes who has found herself thrust into the modelling spotlight. If she had never picked up a weight or engaged in a fitness activity in her entire life, she would undoubtedly be a model. She is that gorgeous But alas, she grew up on a steady diet of Jane Fonda video tapes (her mom’s) and Oxygen Magazine.

Ronda Rousey has been getting more than her fair share of the press coverage. Part of the reason is because she’s the odds-on favorite to win. Ronda grew up being taught judo by her mother, and went on to win an Olympic gold medal. Not only can absolutely anything happen in the cage, with absolutely anybody winning any given fight, but also just being a judo expert doesn’t mean you’re a well-rounded martial artist who can triumph in the cage. But in this case, Rhonda already has 6 MMA wins in another division, and she has proven to be very good at what she does.

Now the other thing behind this is, as you can see, Ronda is kind of easy on the eyes. In a sport where people get punched and beat up, and top female contenders have occasionally been a bit more average-looking, Ronda looks to be very marketable by the UFC organization in the sense that she has broad appeal to a viewership that is predominantly male. How pretty is and how fit her body looks has no bearing on whether she wins fights, but its obviously something we take into consideration when we profile “fit babes” and post up their pictures. Ronda is famous for saying that to get exposure, you have to be willing to expose yourself, and we are affectionately falling for that honeytrap.

After watching a number of interviews with Ronda, it’s clear that she’s well-spoken, intelligent, and has sort of a raw and emotional charisma. She puts herself out there, and she hopes you like her, but in the end she won’t change regardless. She seems well-grounded, and she’s obviously spent a lot of time and worked very hard to get where she is. Some of here allusions to being unhappy in childhood and some of the quirks she displays suggest that she is to a certain extent “damaged goods.” To be at the top of your game in certain sports – like MMA and bodybuilding and maybe even women’s fitness for example – you may have to have a certain personality that lends itself to extremism. Where does that drive come from, the drive to conquer, to not stop, to cross very real barriers? Maybe it comes from trauma, hard times, unhappiness?

Amy is twenty-six years old, stands 5’2″ tall, and weighs about 121 lbs. She is from Perth Australia, and yes she does have that awesome, sexy Australian accent! Although she had never lifted weights before, she wondered what she would look like if she trained hard and dieted like she took it seriously. She did that for twelve weeks, and started winning contests.

She has been known to do plyometrics, and says doing fasted cardio first thing in the morning helps her strip bodyfat. Her abs and her back show off much of the hard work and genetic gifts she’s been given. She’s dabbled in HIIT, but says steady-state cardio is really what she loves, especially as it allows her some “me” time. Amy’s dark hair and skin, and her petite frame seem to make her a natural for strutting her stuff in a bikini up on stage.

Andreia does follow a carb cycle diet, where she eats several days of low carbs followed by a refeed day of high carbs. This type of cycle tends to keep the body aligned with burning carbs and fat, hopefully sparing protein and muscle as it leans up.

As you can see, Andreia’s legs are great, with some serious quads. She says squats play a huge role in her lower body training and development. She is thirty-four years old. She stands 5’5″ tall and weighs about 117 lbs. She and her husband run a body conditioning company, so they spend all of their time in and around the fitness industry.

Andreia says her favorite foods are almond butter and protein pancakes. Do you eat those two things together? She was born in Brazil, and currently lives in England.

She says she has particular interest in nutrition. It shows, as she always seems to be spot-on regarding her lean physique. She occasionally lifts heavy, and also tends to include plyometrics in her workouts. Emily’s blonde locks and stunning good looks may give her an advantage on the stage, but it’s clear she trains hard and approaches her diet with discipline and intelligence.

HIIT plays a role in her shape. She says she prefers High Intensity Interval Training to traditional steady-state cardio because it keeps her from getting bored and seems to be more effective in producing results. She does not like to take days off – this girl is a workout fiend!

With her dark hair and dark eyes and – wow – that booty, Maria is obviously going to go a long way in the world of fitness modeling. Maria says she works hard to stay in shape, and is super-disciplined when it comes to what she eats. Nutrition is about 75% of the equation, while training is 25%, at lest for Maria.

She describes herself as a single city girl, she’s not much for camping or macho guys. No question about it, her back and her butt are her two best body parts. Possibly not in that order.

You can always tell when a model is comfortable with her body. Alice stays in shape year-round and it seems to show in every single one of her photo shoots. The life of a fitness model is challenging, since you have to stay lean and be ready to shoot at the drop of a hat. Alice has obviously worked with her fair share of talented photographers, who have done a great job of capturing her incredible beauty and alluringly muscular physique.

With her looks and magnetic personality, one would think it would be easy for Ms. Matos to strike a television deal. We’ll keep our eye on her to see if she makes it “big” within the next few years – either in the US or in her native country of Brazil.