A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about hot chicks who eat carbs. The post was a HIT and we’ve been getting a lot of great responses from women who love their carbs but want to be lean too! Eating fun foods and rocking a hot bod is totally doable…when you know how to do it! Check out April’s addition to our Hot Chicks series where she not only gives us the low-down on her diet, but she also interviews an NPC Bikini/Figure, and a Powerlifting Pro.
Who: Shelly Cannon, National Level NPC Bikini and Figure Competitor
How would you describe your training?
- Meal 1 – kale omelette + coconut oil
- Meal 2 – whey isolate + coconut oil
- Meal 3 – chicken breast + asparagus + sweet potato
- Meal 4 – (pre training) tuna, kale, and rice casserole
- Meal 5 – (post training) ground turkey breast, rice, 1/2 c blueberries
- Meal 6 – grilled salmon, cucumber salad
When do you eat your carbs?
Lunch, pre, and post-training mostly.
What’s your favorite cheat meal?
Hmmm…fried anything, including Krispy Kreme donuts or hot McDonalds fries.
How has this style of training and eating changed your figure?
I have added a good amount of lean muscle and made substantial strength gains while staying relatively lean for photo shoots or events for my bodybuilding sponsors.
Training successes:
I am a national level NPC bikini and figure competitor, having placed top 15 in each division the last 2 years. I just began training to compete in powerlifting in June and beat 4 national AAPF records on October 5th with a squat of 259 and overall of 689 in both open and submasters. I plan to hold records in all 3 events and total before I am done 🙂
Who: Caitlyn Trout, Powerlifting Pro.
How would you describe your training
I am a powerlifter so I mostly train the big three lifts: bench, deadlift, and squat. I do this through a variation of a method called block periodization that includes a high volume of reps (around 75 barbell lifts plus assistance) per training session. It takes around 1.5-2 hours to complete each workout.
How would you describe your meals?
Throughout the day I eat mostly protein (9 oz) and green leafy veggies (4 oz) per meal each containing a high level of fat until after 6pm when I can add carbs into the mix while cutting out the fat at that point. I try to get around 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass each day.
What do you typically eat in a normal training day?
Before 6pm: Coffee with heavy whipping cream, pretty much any kind of protein, and then veggies such as asparagus, salad, and broccoli. After 6pm I’ll add in rice, protein shakes with carbs added in, and sweet potatoes on limited carb nights. When I’m backloading for a training session I’ll eat a little dirtier like cookies, pop tarts, or cereal.
As stated earlier, always after 6pm.
What’s your favorite cheat meal?
Pizza or Reese Puff cereal.
How has this style of training and eating changed your figure?
While gaining lean muscle, this diet has allowed me to lose body fat and become stronger in the process.
Training successes:
I now hold the All-Time World Records for the Raw Squat with wraps (370lbs) and Overall Total Raw (920lbs) for the 123 raw weight class while reaching Pro Status all within 2 years of competing.
Who: April Harper, Powerlifter
I train as a competitive powerlifter , my last training cycle was only 3 days a week. However, I prefer to train 4-5 days and plan to do that the next go-around. On those days, it’s all heavy lifting for me. I’m still working out the details on my next training cycle and I plan to train with my husband from here on out, as in, he will be training me 🙂 But it will be generally something like this: I will be having a speed day and a heavy day for squats and deadlifts and also for bench with accessory work after my main lifts. I typically don’t plan any cardio at all, but because I love cardio, I sometimes do a 20 min HIIT session or prowler pushing, jump-roping, or sled dragging if I have spare time, for fun!
I always have carbs….I am so in love with food. I work in Dietary so food, especially cake, is always available. I usually just eat whatever I want, but I did follow carb backloading last training cycle and kept my carbs at sweet potato, rice or oatmeal. And I typically only had carbs 30 min before, during and after my training. However, if you know me, you know I totally stuffed everything cookie dough, peanut butter waffle, or cake into my face here or there. My body really loves carbs…I feel better and have energy and just function much better with them. I’ve noticed if I feel like crap, if I eat a bunch of “dirty” food, I feel AWESOME the next day.
I usually skip breakfast and have coffee and coconut oil instead. Then lunch is typically chicken and veggies and cheese or nuts. I also repeat that meal two hours after lunch and then 30 minutes before training I have oatmeal and peanut butter. During my workout I drink BCAAs and Glycofuse. After , I still have two more meals, one with chicken veggies and nuts and then red meat , rice and veggies. A whole cup of rice mind you. That’s a lot.
I will be changing my nutrition based on my goals which are to drop 15 pounds to get into a smaller version of muscley me and to compete lighter without dropping weight or without dropping much weight. So, I will be eating carbs all day 🙂 And losing fat….
Can I have more than one? Do you have all day to talk about this? Bean dip and doritos, long johns, CAKE, cupcakes, moes, zaxbys, taco bell, CAKE, candy buffets, SODA, ….I’ll stop. KFC!! Cookies.
I’ve put on a lot of muscle from training alone. I did notice that I got a bit leaner this last training cycle with CBL. But, I put on A LOT of muscle. I don’t look like a man, unless a man has a vagina, breasts, hips, and a hot ass and legs.

I absolutely love that you ladies did this article. I am a bodybuilder and I always get the big question…..How do you eat carbs and not gain weight? This article is essential for women everywhere. CARBS are the shit!!! Lol!!!
When my body is restricted from carbs All I want is more. It just isn’t practical for me. So, I choose moderation and eat pizza as my splurge! I like rica and quinoa too for my daily eating.