Bikini Comp journey: Weeks 1-4 (meltdowns, diet changes + macros) - and the best plant based protein

 [title maintitle="Top five reasons why women should get into weight lifting " subtitle=""] (Written for Missfits Magazine by Vicky Hadley) For way too long, I’ve witnessed the saying, ‘weights will make me bulky or look like a man’, take effect on my clients. Women are so often afraid or intimidated by the weight section labelling it as the ‘men’s area’. Resistance, aka, weight training exercises when partnered with an adequate protein intake makes up the fundamentals for building womanly curves in all the right areas; yes, that is including bum – legs and bingo wings! For near enough 45 minutes of every single one of my personal training sessions I make it up primarily with weight lifting. It does not make you bulky – in fact, since I’ve been lifting weights I’ve never been smaller. [caption id="attachment_2441" align="alignnone" width="534"] Vicky training - back day![/caption] Weights can impact women’s lives in so many beneficial ways, combined with a healthy diet, a good source of protein and a balanced macronutrient split you can achieve the body you desire. So, without further ado, here’s my… [title maintitle="" subtitle="Top five reasons why women should start weight lifting"] 1.    Build the body shape you want As you build muscle, your body begins to take a nice hourglass shape. Though endurance exercise can help you lose weight, that weight comes in the form of both fat and muscle tissue. If you're losing both fat and muscle, you can lose your curves otherwise known as ‘gains’ as well and we don’t want that! However, resistance training can help create and sustain them. 2.    Quicker fat loss It may come as a surprise to you that weight lifting can burn fat even more efficiently than hardcore cardio. Running for hours on end is very detrimental to the body as puts you under serious stress. Swap to an...