Cori Baker

This IFBB Bikini Pro champion proves that you can be an elite competitor and a mom all at the same time.

- Mike Carlson

Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry?” The same could be said for looking at Cori Baker’s Instagram account. Baker posts more pictures of delicious-looking food than Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray.

“I have always been a foodie,” Baker says. “As much as I am a competitive adrenaline junkie, I love food. My grandma was a pastry chef and my mom loved to cook. I grew up in the kitchen. I have a lot of memories tied up in food.”

Unfortunately, her memories of food haven’t always been good. A former college athlete and fierce competitor, Baker got up to 208 pounds when she was pregnant and then spent several years in a vicious cycle of restrictive dieting followed by binge eating. She would eschew a slice of bread but gobble down handfuls of almonds because she heard they were healthy. If a bite of pizza passed her lips on the weekend, she would devour the whole thing. It wasn’t until she began competing in Bikini when she learned about the concept of eating for your macronutrients needs, known as flexible dieting or IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros).

“Flexible dieting 100 percent saved my life,” she says.

Now a Mr. Olympia-seasoned veteran, online nutrition coach, author, and mother of two, Baker wants to share her experience with others who may be as nutritionally confused as her younger self.

Mike Carlson: How did you get into Bikini competitions?