I had some muscle, but I was way too lean and underweight – actually putting my body into a semi-anorexic state for many years. A doctor eventually told me that if I didn't bring my bodyweight and fat percentage up to a healthy level permanent damage to my bones and reproductive system could occur. It took about a year of easing off cardio and increasing my calories to bring my bodyweight up to a healthy level. Fortunately at that time I had moved back to Ohio and was living with my brother, who happens to be married to a woman that makes these amazing sugar cookies and this white cake with raspberry frosting…anyway – back to my story…

I've always admired the full, strong, muscular look of bodybuilding women. I'm genetically blessed with wide shoulders and narrow hips, but I'm also fairly tall and " stringy" – a definite hard-gainer. It was about 6 years ago that I started to really push toward the vision of what I wanted to look like. I started to pound some heavy iron trying to add mass to my body and create the "V" shape that I have always admired. I wanted to acquire the look naturally though, with nutrition - not with steroids. I definitely didn't want to lose my femininity.

I began eating more frequent meals and increasing my protein intake and it made a huge difference in the amount of muscle I was adding to my frame. Although I would never be huge naturally, with consistent heavy training my vision was beginning to take form.

As I started to achieve my goals, I began getting encouragement from people to enter bodybuilding competitions. My main issue with competing was the fact that natural women bodybuilders often have trouble maintaining muscle mass when they diet down for competition. What's the point of pouring money into supplements and pounding yourself in the gym to add mass, then dieting and losing it all in a couple of months? I had come a long way and didn't know if I could achieve the leanness necessary without sacrificing my hard-earned muscle or my health.

However, their comments made me think. So, I attended a few bodybuilding competitions to see what it was all about, and I got pumped. I decided to give it my all and see if I could "hang."

Eight weeks out from my first show I started dieting hard and doing cardio every day. My body changed drastically in those 2 months, and even as I started to acquire a look that I felt was too lean and not healthy looking, I was told I still was not lean enough to compete. I continued to diet and ended up, as I feared I would, back to my unhealthy weight. My body systems again shut down. How much more could my body take?

Luckily, I had quite a bit more muscle on my frame than I did before, but I still encountered many looks of shock from people who knew me, as well as more than a few comments concerning my health. I knew they were right – I didn't like the way my body looked either.

I was determined to keep my femininity for this competition
– no extreme dieting –
just sound Beverly International supplements and nutrition principles

The night before my first competition, I looked at myself in the mirror and felt like the "Anorexia Poster Child"! I didn't even want to step on stage in that condition. I was devastated inside, but being a competitive beast I was determined to follow through. If that was the look they were going for, I guess I had it. It evidently was, because I did three shows taking 2nd, 1st, and Overall and 1st and Overall. Not bad for my first shot at competition. But I couldn't wait to get my body back. I immediately started packing in the calories and training like a beast. It didn't take long to resume and then surpass my weight from the previous year. But I also went a little overboard with the bodyfat level and acquired what I lovingly dubbed the "Buddah Belly"!

As the 2000 contest season approached, I once again began contemplating the dieting process. I decided that if I had to look emaciated, I would simply stop competing and LIKE my body. I needed to maintain my health more than I needed another trophy. Yeah, it was nice to win, but I didn’t feel like a true winner inside because I wasn’t pleased with my overall appearance.

Then I went to the Arnold Classic Expo and picked up some newsletters and information from the Beverly International booth. Inside were many testimonials from both men and women, stating how Beverly International's products had brought them into competition a full 10 pounds heavier… but in as good or better condition than before!

They were able to accomplish what I had been unable to do the year before - hold on to their muscle mass while dieting. This, I hoped, could be the answer I was looking for. I sat down and wrote them a letter explaining what I was trying to accomplish. Steven Wade contacted me, we discussed my goals and I scheduled an appointment. After speaking with Steven, I was encouraged; feeling my goal could be accomplished with the help of Beverly International.

June 10th was the beginning of my healthy transformation. It was the day I made the trip to the Beverly International Nutrition Center – just sixteen weeks out from the Ohio Governors Cup. Steven took my bodyfat and calculated it at 11.9% weighing 144 lbs. We discussed my current nutrition regimen and what my goals were for this next competition. With all that in mind, Steven formulated a diet for me to slowly start dropping some fat and keep and build new muscle.

He explained that during the entire dieting phase, the biggest secret to retaining and or gaining muscle is proper amino acid supplementation (i.e. Ultra 40, Mass, Muscularity, Muscle Mass). He continued by saying, “Yes, nutrition is key; but there are a lot of people out there following similar or identical plans or programs prescribed by a so called ‘nutrition guru,’ that aren't getting the results like Team Beverly.” The missing ingredient for most people is the supplements - both the right kind at the right time and the proper quality. He said a lot of people will read diets in the newsletter and follow the diets but leave out half of the equation – the Beverly Supplements! This is just as bad as using the supplements and leaving out the diet.

The meal plan I received was different than what I was used to, but I decided to try it and see what would happen. Happen it did. What a huge difference from the year before! With the added nutritional help of the Ms Power Pak vitamins (which is the only pak I've ever actually "felt" when I take it), Ultra 40 Liver, and various aminos including Mass, and Muscularity, I went through the pre-contest dieting process with more energy than I ever thought possible.

In mid July, Steven changed my diet and supplements one more time and this was the basic diet that I followed all the way up to the show. I stayed on Ultra 40, Mass, Beverly L-Glutamine, and Muscle Provider the whole time and added GH Factor, and Energy Reserve towards the end. I didn't stay on the EPH (or other thermogenics) all the time to keep from becoming dependant on them. I cycled them only when I needed them for energy, or close to the show for an extra metabolic kick.

I was able to maintain heavy training through the whole process, and even increased my weight on some lifts. Of course I was often hungry, but I didn't suffer nearly as bad as I had before. I only did 30-40 minutes of cardio 3-4 days a week even in the last weeks of the diet. I was not dying of starvation between meals, and my personality didn't go completely down the toilet from calorie deprivation.

The night before my competition, I looked at myself in the mirror and this time I was pleased. I had to smile. My body looked much healthier and felt a great sense of confidence and accomplishment. The muscle I had worked so hard every day to gain was still looking back at me!

The comments I received this year were that I looked great, my muscles looked full, I looked healthy. I had achieved my personal goal. I was in the best condition of my life. I had proved it to myself, now it was time to prove it to the bodybuilding world.

I came into the contest a full 8 pounds heavier than last year, at a bodyfat percentage of 6% and 129 lbs. For a natural female (or anyone else for that matter) that is phenomenal! And most importantly, with my body systems fully functioning. We shouldn't have to sacrifice our health in order to compete. Hopefully, with the new guidelines for women's bodybuilding and the nutritional boost of Beverly International vitamins, supplements and nutritional advice, we won't have to.

I won my class at the 2000 Governor's Cup Natural Bodybuilding Contest and copped the Overall trophy as well! Now, I'm looking forward to working with Beverly International to help me stay lean, but still gain mass in the off-season – no "Buddha belly" this year! Hey it was cute, but losing it was no piece of cake!

So there you go, another testimonial that THIS PROGRAM WORKS. I’m proof that the proper nutrition and Beverly supplements really make a difference. Don't diet for a competition without it!!

Marci’s Initial Beverly International Diet June 10, 2000 Meal #1 1 whole egg + 4 egg whites 4 oz. ground turkey ¾ cup oatmeal before cooking 2 teaspoons Flaxseed Oil Meal #2 Protein Drink: 2 scoops Muscle Provider, 3 TBS heavy whipping cream, 5 frozen strawberries or 6 frozen peach slices and 12-oz water Meal #3 6 oz. chicken (before cooking) 6 oz. sweet potato or ¾ cup cooked brown rice 1 cup vegetables (broccoli, etc.) or salad with 2 TBS. Low Cal Dressing Meal #4 (Same as for meal #2) Meal #5 6 oz. 93% chicken, turkey, or salmon Salad or 1 cup vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, spinach or zucchini) Meal #6 8 Egg Whites, 1 cup omelet vegetables or 1.5 scoops Muscle Provider mixed with 2 tsp Flaxseed Oil Supplement Suggestions Vitamins: Ms. Power Pak – 1 with meal #1 Lean Mass Support: Ultra 40 – 4 with each meal Mass Aminos – 3 with each meal Fat Mobilization / Utilization: Lean Out – 2 with each meal Alpha Lipoic Acid – up to 1000 mg for health/longevity – 3000mg for insulin mimicking *Training Recovery: L-Glutamine – 2 tsp (10 grams) after training Bev Antioxidant – 2 after training for more supplement info in PDF format: Muscle Provider | Ms_Power_Pak | Ultra 40 | Mass Aminos | Beverly L-Glutamine | Advance Antiox Compound

Here’s Marci Vincent’s Beverly International Nutrition and Supplement Program July 22, 2000 – October 14, 2000 Meal #1 4 oz. turkey breast 5 egg whites 1/2 grapefruit Meal #2 Protein Drink: 2 scoops Muscle Provider, 1 tsp Flax Oil, 3 strawberries, 12 oz water Or 6 oz can tuna, 3 egg whites, 1 tomato Meal #3 5 ounces chicken (weighed prior to cooking) 1 cup green vegetables 1 Tablespoon Flaxseed Oil Meal #4 Protein Drink: 2 scoops Muscle Provider, 3 strawberries, 12 oz water Or 6 oz can tuna or 5-oz chicken or turkey breast, 1 tomato or ½ cup green vegetables Meal #5 5 oz lean meat (chicken breast, turkey breast, or 6 oz Cod Fish) 1 cup vegetables (green leafy is best here – spinach, asparagus) Monday and Thursday: Eat in place of your 5th meal at the end of the day: 1 cup oatmeal (precooked) or 1 cup cooked rice, 6 oz. sweet potato, 4 oz. banana, 1 cup vegetables, 1 TBS. butter Supplement Programs Ms Power Pak w/ 1st meal 4 - Ultra 40 and 4 - Muscularity with each meal 4 – GH Factor, 2 – Energy Reserve tablets and 2 grams L-Glutamine three times throughout the day on an empty stomach – 1st thing in the AM, mid morning and 30 minutes before training 5 – Mass Aminos at the beginning and 5 more Mass every 15 minutes throughout your workout

Here I am with Adam Berkovitz, the overall Junior champion at the “Drug Free” Governor’s Cup – another “Beverly Believer”

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