Bison Meat Helps to Create Body Building Champion

Every so often you come across someone whose dedication and determination is so great that you just have to sit back in total admiration. Carman Unger of Steinbach, Manitoba is just such an athlete.

By following a strict diet of wild meat and brussel sprouts and devoting countless hours each week to working out may not sound like some people's idea of a good time! This 5'3" champion whittled and literally shaped her body from a stocky 167 pounds down to a rock-solid 125 pounds with a five to six percent body fat. carman states "you can't maintain that level of complete leanness because it isn't healthy."

In order to achieve competition form Carman follows a precise combination of sport and science, she maintains the key ration for her food intake is 70 per cent protein, 20 percent carbohydrates and 10 percent fat. Her workout schedule is also very strict, using weight training for hours at a time for two consecutive days and then one day off. She also does some sort of cardiovascular activity twice a day for six days a week, allowing one day totally off cardio.

Her diet is religiously followed for nine months each year. Each day she begins with oatmeal and a protein shake and after that she enjoys the same mini meal every two to three hours. The mini meals consist of a four ounce serving of a variety of wild game, bison, elk or moose and a cup of broccoli or a cup of brussel sprouts. For variety she says she sometimes would substitute a salad of cucumber and lettuce for the cup of veggies. "I have to do this in order to keep a constant amino supply in my system to keep the muscle level up," she states.

Carman does have a "cheat day" but even then her cheat consists of splurging on a few chocolate chips or roasted peanuts. She points out that the cheat day is necessary, "it puts your metabolism into a state of shock so it maintains a high burn rate and continues to burn carbs and fat as fuel."

As a reward for this tremendous dedication Unger has to her credit two Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association light weight champion titles for 1996 and 1999, a third place finish at the Canadian Nationals in 2001. This season she competed at the Canadian Bodybuilding Championships in Toronto, Ontario and won her second Canadian National Title in the women's middleweight class.

As a strong advocate of the merits of bison meat Carman has been tooting the bison horn for us at every opportunity. While talking to the other contestants at these competitions she's always recommending that they add bison to their diet. During interviews she contributes the consumption of bison meat as one of the major factors in her success.

Back