Victorious!

Its been a week since our bodybuilding competition and i have to say, for a first timer, it was a success! We werent very impressed with the show itself as our $100 tans ended up being a bad batch, my awards werent presented to me until after the fact and the show didnt finish until 1am! However, I won!

Unfortunately, i was the only one in the female bodybuilding novice division. I was hoping i would have some competition, but all in all it was a good experience. The best part of the whole thing was getting to compete with my husband and brother.

So, what now??? I have to admit that it is tough transition from being a bodybuilder to being "normal." My body is still rejecting "normal" foods like dairy, sodium, and bread. Im feeling very swollen and uncomfortable. I can literally feel my stomach muscles stretching from the change of diet and it is actually painful and tender to the touch. I have gained back 10 lbs this past week just from trying to eat normal...okay, and some junk food too:)

I started working out again on Wednesday; mostly cardio and some weights. It is such a great feeling to workout and actually feel good afterwords. But there is still that burning question in the back of my mind that i have been asked by so many..."are you going to do another show?" ??? Its a question i have a hard time answering. I love having a goal to work towards and i love following a regimen and especially enjoy seeing the hard work pay off...but is it worth the fatigue, the hunger, and the isolation? It almost feels selfish to do another show. And yet...the desire to take my body even further still lingers. So, to answer that question, i am simply trying to find balance in my life at this time. I simply want to be healthy and feel healthy at this point, and spend time with my family and friends!

Besides these changes, ive had a few opportunities that i didnt think would come about from this show. Ive actually been asked by a few fitness photographers to do photo shoots with them. I respectfully declined (because my body is "soft" from the weight gain haha) but it was a fun thought.

I will keep using this blog for all my fitness adventures. I will of course let everyone know if i decide to do another show, but seeing as having babies is a priority in my future, i need to maintain a healthy body fat percentage:)

Stay tuned for my next adventure in fitness!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

1 day left!

We made it here safely yesterday and have a great room with a full kitchen! We took advantage of this and started cooking immediately. Yesterday's meals consisted of mostly chicken and sweet potatoes with a few rice cakes thrown in here and there.

Today we get to load up on carbohydrates. This means a drizzle of honey in the oatmeal and rice cakes with a little jelly every 2-3 hours. Although this doesn't sound like much, it feels like a ton and is extremely delicious! Today's schedule is as follows:

6:30 am Breakfast, start drinking water and shower
8:15 am First spray tan application
8:30 am Eat :) and rest
10:30 am Eat again :)
11:30 am Second tan application
12 pm Eat every few hours, finish 3/4 gallon of water and practice posing routine and mandatory poses. Sip on water throughout rest of the day until...
5 pm Weigh-In!
Keep eating until a few hours before bed time
SLEEP

Tomorrow will be a little crazier and includes...

5AM wake up to eat! sip water, and get ready for the show!
7AM arrive at venue and get final tan application
8AM competitors meeting
9AM pre-judging begins!! Although I'm not sure when I will be on stage yet...
Eat salmon and asparagus back stage every hour or 2; sip water
Pump up 20 minutes before on stage
Eat Snickers 5 minutes before on stage... I can't wait for this!
Rock it on stage then rest until the night-show at 6 pm!
After show???? EAAATTTT!

Go Time!!

This is it. We are officially packed in the car heading to Vancouver, WA. This week has been the toughest of all. On top of having little to no carbs, and grueling workouts, its been stressful at work and on top of it all i found out last night that my uncle is dying:( So, we missed our workout last night and spent a few hours visiting with my uncle in the hospital. His spirits are high and it was wonderful to visit with him. It made everything we are going through seem so small.

In light of all this, I reached my goal of 103 lbs and our depletion phase went very well! Im looking very "dry" and tight. Today we start bringing back some carbs (oatmeal and yams) and tomorrow we will bring in even more (rice cakes with honey). This will help plump up our muscles without looking bloated. The best part of all is that we get to eat every 2 hours! At this point we are also drinking tons of water and taking natural diuretics to flush everything out of our system. This means potty breaks every few hours.

We are done with workouts, besides a light walk tonight. Tomorrow we get our tan painted on and then relax until the big show!!

More updates to come!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

This is it!

Alright my friends. We have officially made it to "peak week." As you have probably noticed, it has been weeks since my last update. This month has definitely been a test of strength and will power. I have really had to dig deep within myself to keep working out and keep dieting. But we are on the home stretch!! Here are my current body stats!

Weight: 104.8 (new record for me! I havent seen this number since my freshman year in highschool)
Body fat: to be determined this evening; my guess is between 9 and 10 but still shooting for 8!

Today is our last leg workout! (Thank the sweet lord). After today we will NOT be doing anymore leg work as the muscles in your legs need atleast 5 days of recovery to really stand out on stage. Monday through Wednesday we will being doing upper body circuits at 80% effort for 15 reps and 3 sets along with interval cardio. Pair this up with little to no carbs and tons of water and our bodies should be mostly rid of glucose. On Thursday we will start to add carbs back in and only do 30 minutes of walking. Friday there will be no working out. Only rest, relaxation, and mental prep for the showdown Saturday!

I will post more details and photos this evening and hopefully before the show! We have worked so hard for this and I am beyond excited to show off my hard work and celebrate with family and friends after the show!!

P.S. big thanks to all those who have supported/encouraged,advised us on this crazy journey. It means so much more than I can even describe!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Coming out of the darkness...

As I have mentioned in my last few posts, bodybuilding is an intense journey; physically and mentally. You can find thousands of resources to prep you physically for a competition but nothing can prepare you for the grueling challenges of the mind.

I have been sinking lower and lower into my own little black hole and although I can see the light, it still seems so far away. Yesterday I reached an all time low. I went completely backwards with my diet and didn't even workout. Needless to say, after stepping on the scale this morning and receiving a call from my suit designer to set up a second suit fitting, I had an "oh crap" moment. I needed to get my mind straight!

After having such a rough day yesterday, I finally sat down for a good hour and just thought about why I really wanted to do this competition. I wrote down every reason why I was doing this. After establishing that I still want to compete despite the struggles, I wrote down everything I am struggling with. Then I wrote down ways I can overcome these issues. Here they are....

1) PRAY. I have found that God can help you with anything. Even a bodybuilding competition. I pray for strength to get out of bed in the morning. I pray for peace and happiness. I pray for productive workouts and I pray especially hard for the strength to resist temptation. Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 

2) FIND YOUR INSPIRATION. This can come in so many different forms, whether it be images, bible verses, or quotes. You need to find what inspires you and keep it with you at all times. I have my "inspiration board" on my fridge. I keep it here because the kitchen is where I face the most challenges (eating what I shouldn't). I wrote down a few of my favorite quotes that really get me going and make me want to keep fighting. The first one reads, "YOUR COMPETITION IS TRAINING RIGHT NOW." But the one that really speaks to me, is this: " THE SUREST WAY NOT TO FAIL IS TO DETERMINE TO SUCCEED." One thing I understand very clearly about myself is that I hate giving up. Therefore, I am determined to succeed. I also wrote these quotes on a piece of paper and put them in my car so each time I am driving anywhere I will see this.

"PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTS AND JUST DO IT" resides on my nightstand so when the alarm goes off at 6:30 AM I will read that and get out of bed and do my cardio. 

Another source of inspiration for me is music. When I am feeling really low and ready to give in, I listen to religious music. It picks me right up and reminds me I can do all things through Christ. I choose upbeat tunes for my cardio sessions and some good rock music for weight training. 

Lesson Learned: This is not a journey that should be taken lightly. It tests so much more than your physical strength. It tests your faith, your will power, and your mind. Find ways to fight back! Keep your inspirational items close and God even closer. Mind over matter!

One of those weeks....

Well, I definitely had "one of those weeks." The type of week where I felt like I just couldn't keep up or get back on track. I struggled this week with just about everything. I struggled with drinking water, sticking to my diet, getting my cardio done and just daily tasks in general. I felt myself slipping away this week and I am sad to say that I started to give up a little.

My body is feeling "flat" yet bloated at the same time. "I'm tired, I'm sore, I don't feel good, and I'm sad." I must have said this string of words a million times this week. My energy is little to none and I feel like crap on our low carb days. My first instinct in this case is to eat something to get the energy back up, but this isn't an option and it kills me! I need to get my heart rate up higher when doing my evening cardio but I can't seem to get my legs to move. I need to be doing 2 cardio sessions a day but can't seem to get out of bed in the morning.

THIS IS SO HARD

Thankfully, I have an amazing support system to pull me out of this hole I keep digging myself into. My husband gives me the motivation I need to "stay the course" as he says. Always assuring me that if I stick to the plan there is no way I can fail, even if my body doesn't feel like it should at this very moment. He keeps reminding me not to give up and that we are in this together!

I am also so thankful for my family and co-workers who are backing me up on this journey 100%. It's those "you can do it" phrases and hugs that mean the most to me. I just have to BELIEVE I can do it. BELIEVE I can get up in the morning and do cardio even when I'm tired and depleted. BELIEVE I can do those last 5 reps on leg extensions even when I'm shaking so bad I can barely move. BELIEVE I can stay true to the diet even when faced with everyday foods like peanut butter. And BELIEVE THAT I CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT I SET OUT TO DO!

Thanks to God, and my family/friends/co-workers, my motivation today is higher then it's been for weeks. I can and WILL come out of this slump. As my co-worker/female bodybuilder told me today, "just think about what your competition is doing." Is my competition eating out of a cereal box? NO. Is my competition still in bed when they should be doing cardio? NO. Then I need to step up my game!

I want to BE the competition. Therefore I need to dig deep, find my inner strength, and JUST DO IT!

Ice Packs and Heating Pads

It looks like my most recent leg workout did a little more damage then I thought.

I felt a twinge in my hamstring while doing lunges on Saturday but thought nothing of it at the time and kept going. I didnt feel anything too unusual after the fact or the next day until I was doing my 60min cardio session. My leg felt tighter than usual but again, I thought nothing of it. I didnt even notice the bruise until posing practice that evening. And thats when it started to hurt!

Not a terrible hurt, but enough to make cardio uncomfortable and icing neccessary. I have caused a very minor strain on my hamstring. I was laughing to myself last night as I lay in bed with an ice pack on my leg and a heating pad on my back (tight/sore back from posing).

The closer we get to the show the more risk we run for injury, due to lack of energy. This makes "focusing" a top priority. We really have to focus on doing every exercise with precision and control.

Lesson learned: focus in and dont rush exercises!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Down Goes Frazier!

Just 20 minutes ago, I felt like Joe Frazier in his fight against George Foreman, only my opponent was "the leg workout."

I was doing great at first. I did all my sets of squats and had even made it through the brutal superset of walking lunges and leg extensions... or so I thought. After completing my last set of lunges and preparing to do deadlifts, a gentleman at the gym started talking to me. We got to talking about weight lifting and gaining muscle and the fact that he still had 13 personal training sessions to use up! Through my leg workout I picked up another client, sweet! And then it hit me. The cold sweat, eyes crossing, seeing stars and then everything was starting to go black. I've fainted before and I knew that's what was going to happen if I didn't lay down soon. Mid sentence I informed the man that I needed to "use the restroom." I ran around the corner (where he couldn't see me of course) and laid down immediately and brought my knees up to "stretch" but mostly to get the blood back to my head. Phew, situation "pass out" averted. So I caught back up with the gentleman and got him scheduled for next week (I should make him do this workout haha). Directly after putting him in my schedule I started seeing stars again. Great. I tell him I can't wait to start working with him and shout "See you Tuesday!" as I race into the fitness room to lay down for the second time. Situation averted yet again.

After the second close call, I decided to call it a day and head home before I actually passed out. So what  did I do in my workout differently that would make me feel this way? Nothing. I did everything the same. The culprit? LOW CARBS. That's why experts recommend eating complex carbs before exercise. Bodybuilding is not easy my friends. As you can see, it's hard enough to make you pass out, and many people actually do. So I listened to my body and decided that that was enough for today.

On a good note, I am down to 107.8 today! YEHAAAAA

So close....

After some hard work the last few days and getting back on track, I am down to 108.6. I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Im hoping to hit 107 by Sunday when I get my body fat tested again and do some more posing. Im really interested to see where my body fat is. Ive stopped having my menstral cycle which probably means my body fat is around 12%.

The past few days have been a struggle. My energy levels are dwindeling and its getting harder to push through the workouts. But tomorrow marks 4 weeks until peak week and we are definitely at crunch time now. Knowing this gives me the motivation to get pushing hard and really zone into my diet. My goal for the next 4 weeks is not to cheat, AT ALL! This is going to be a huge challenge for me but it needs to be done. The more our carbs are dropping the more my body reacts (negatively) to anything outside of our diet.

Time to buckle down and get it done!!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

I'm Losin' It!

I am officially starting to lose my mind. The combination of low-carbs and high intensity workouts is starting to affect my brain function. The last 5 days have been very interesting to say the least. What seems to be happening most is that I am becoming increasingly forgetful. Here are a few "for instance"s:

Saturday: Couldn't remember where I parked my car and looked for it for 10 minutes. It was on the opposite end of the street.
Sunday: Forgot it was Sunday and missed church. Later that day.... got done on the cardio machine and couldn't remember what to do next
Monday: Thought it was Sunday and missed cardio session before work. Forgot water...big mistake
Tuesday: Couldn't remember if I had taken my supplements in the morning and then proceeded to forget to take them in the evening
Wednesday: Forgot to shut the front door to the house! The screen door was closed, luckily, but the front door was wide open for a good 2 hours.

And this is only the beginning of the madness! Besides losing my sanity I'm losing other things, like my boobs! They disappeared and barely fill in my sports-bra. This is a sad day for a woman indeed. Now I completely understand why professional bodybuilders and figure competitors get fake ones. Will I go this far? Highly doubtful. It's a lot easier to run and jump without two balloons popping you in the chin. Although, I don't see anything wrong with them either....

It's a Christmas Miracle!

I shouted these words this morning after stepping off the scale (startling my sleeping husband and puppy). This line was from a movie, although I can't remember which one at the moment. I was at 109.8 this morning! There is hope my friends. That's almost a pound difference from yesterday (110.6) which tells me that I was probably holding on to some water weight.

Oh sweet relief. It is such an amazing feeling to be surprised with a lower number then what you expected. My motivation is high, my spirits are renewed and I am ready to rock this week and hopefully get down to 107 ish by week's end! BUT, I need to remind myself also to pay more attention to how my body looks and feels and not get discouraged if a weight shift isn't happening as fast as I think it should.

Patience and Perseverance are my 2 words to live by for the next 6 weeks. In the meantime, here are some goals I have for this week...

Weight goal: 107ish
Workout goals: Hit each weight session hard! Complete 35 minutes of cardio in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening EVERYDAY!
Posing goals: Run through mandatory poses everyday and keep flexing legs everyday
Diet goals: Keep track of all food consumed! NO MORE CHEESEBURGERS! My cheat meal will now consist of either a protein bar, protein smoothie, or small piece of chocolate :) Preferably before the last cardio session. Drink all water!
Personal goal: keep the faith, be patient, and keep a positive attitude :)

Reflections of the Week

We are officially 5 WEEKS out until peak week! I have a million emotions going through me at all times ranging from excitement, anxiety, frustration, and even sadness. For most of this week I would say that I have mostly been anxious and frustrated. With the shift in workouts and not keeping track of my diet, I actually went up to 112 but have since then come back down to 110.6. Although I did not hit my weight goal this week (109 lbs), I am still happy because I finally broke through 111 (phew). This tells me that my metabolism is picking back up and my body is finally responding to our new workouts (higher reps/ drop sets/ and 2 cardio sessions per day). And of course the whole diet thing makes a big difference :) Besides the weight on the scale, I'm noticing a lot of changes in my body. My abs are more visible without flexing, the lines are starting to come out more in my legs, and my veins are showing more often. My body is getting leaner even though it hasn't shown much on the scale and I need to embrace this and move on.

I'm not sure what my body fat percentage is at this point, although it feels like it's gone from a high 14 to maybe between 13 and 12. I will find out for sure next weekend when we visit with our posing coach. Other changes in our workout have included a 30 minute cardio session in the morning (low intensity) before eating or drinking anything. This is done to help burn more fat. We have also added a 30 minute cardio session (moderate intensity) in the evening after our last meal, before bed, and no eating afterward! This is done to burn up any excess carbs so they aren't hanging around while we sleep. We are still weight training 6 days a week with a rest day after leg workouts, but have increased the rep range from 8 up to anywhere from 10-20 reps depending on the muscle group and have added in drop sets, super sets, and shorter rest periods. It is exhausting to say the least, and the muscles are constantly on fire!

Besides the workouts we are also posing every night, or trying to anyways. We are getting more comfortable with our mandatory poses (done in the pre-judging phase) and are discovering our best poses. This part is starting to get really fun because we can actually see our hard work paying off. Next weekend I will start practicing my night routine and will have to add that to our nightly posing regimen.

At this point in the game, changes will begin to happen more rapidly as we lower our carbohydrate intake and up the cardio and workout intensity. It will be exhausting and painful but we are so close!

There's no turning back now! The only thing left to do is keep eating, sleeping, training, practicing, and staying consistent. BRING IT ON!

Heart Stopping Leg Workout

Ok folks, here is the leg workout we are doing for the next 5 weeks before the show. All exercises are done for 3 sets of 15 reps except where it is noted other wise. The trick is to increase the amount of weight you lift with each set (except for lunges and possibly deadlifts). Rest no longer than one minute between sets and exercises. Here it is...

Barbell Squats (weight I used: 95, 115, 135lbs) 

Superset (do exercises back to back): Barbell walking lunges (15 lunges each leg with 40lbs) then Leg extension machine (50,60,70 lbs for extensions. 

Deadlift (stiff legged or regular): weight used: 95, 115, 115) These are pretty rough on the low back so it might be better to go lighter and focus on form.

Superset: Lying leg curl machine (60, 70, 80 lbs) then calf raise machine (20 reps at 100 lbs)

Seated calf raises: 20 reps with 35 lb plate. Focus control: 2 seconds up/ 2 seconds down

*Finish this off with 30 minutes on the stairmaster and you're sure to fall over. 

P.S. you may want to stretch after this one :)

Bodybuilding= Stressful?

Before starting this crazy journey I never would have imagined that it would become so stressful! Having to prepare food everyday and remembering to not only bring it with you, but eat at the correct times can become quite the ordeal. Doing the "right" workouts and the "right" cardio for the "right" amount of time and progressing those workouts the "right" way takes an incredible amount of planning and research. Combine the outrageously low carb diet with 2-3 workouts a day and minimal sleep and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. I've been so stressed in fact that I have terrible heart burn!

Because I have no previous experience in bodybuilding I am at a disadvantage because the workouts and diet are pretty much an "experiment" to discover what works best for my body. I've learned that there is no "right" way to prepare for bodybuilding other than being consistent with diet and exercise of course. Everyone is going to have their own opinion because that's what has worked best for them. But I am not them! Therefor, this journey will mostly be a learning experience for me and I will be pleased no matter what the outcome. But there is that little voice in my head saying, "You know you want to win." :)

The plan for this week was to be at a weight of 109. I am stuck. Stuck at 111 and weigh-in in 2 days. I'm not going to lie, this bothers me. It really bugs me when I'm not seeing my hard work show up on the scale. You start a dialogue with yourself; "Am I eating too many calories?" No. "Did I complete all my workouts." Yes. "Then what the heck is going on!" You start trying to figure out every little detail that may have gone wrong and it drives you to, well, heartburn in my case. My husband mentioned to me that I need to be patient (not a strong suite for me in this case) and let my body adjust to the new workouts and reduced calories.

So what's my solution? A big fat cheeseburger and relaxation. I feel like I've been driving my body to the ground lately so I took the opportunity yesterday to have my cheat meal early in the week and take off my second cardio session of the day. Will this help? Maybe. But at this point I'm realizing that I really just need to relax and stop obsessing over this so much. I'm back on schedule today with cardio/ weights and diet so we'll see what happens in the next 3 to 4 days. Worst comes to worst, I'll enroll the help of our posing coaches who also do diet plans for competitors. Another expenditure, yes, but one less thing I will have to worry about.

Remember, be patient, do the best you can, and don't worry about the rest!

Gooooooooooals!

I am constantly helping others create and achieve their goals through my job as a personal trainer. Making goals are the only way to assess and measure your success. So of course, I have to create my own goals! Here they are:

Main Goal: Compete in bodybuilding competition April 2, 2011
Main Weight Goal: 103
Main Body Fat Goal: 8%
Main Personal Goal: more definition in legs and have fun at the show!

Weekly Weight Goals: Drop 1.8- 2 pounds per week
Weekly Body Fat Goals: Lose 1-2% body fat each week
Personal goals: stay on target with diet and practice posing everyday

Writing down these goals gives me something to constantly work towards and measure my success. And it KEEPS ME ACCOUNTABLE. If I don't reach my goals each week then I will have to work even harder the next week. This journey is hard enough as it is so I refuse to make it any harder!

I also like making other goals besides weight loss so I don't get caught up in the "number's game." Usually by achieving my personal goals I will end up achieving my weight loss goals. Not to mention, achieving ANY goal increases your self-esteem and motivation!

New Workouts!

We are 7 weeks out from the show and only 6 weeks until "Peak Week!" Joe and I have both gone down almost 2% in body fat in 1 week and we both hit our weight loss goals! This is a huge source of motivation for us! Here are my stats this week:

Date: 2/12                                          Date: 2/6
Weight: 111                                       Weight: 113
Body Fat%: 14.73                              Body Fat%: 16.3

It's about that time to switch-up our workouts again as our bodies have gotten used to the last set of workouts. We have been doing a 3-day split that Joe used for his last show; Chest/Back, Shoulders & Arms, Legs (3 sets of 8 reps).

We are going to start upping the reps now to 10-15 reps to increase the fat burn and to start bringing out muscle fibers. After meeting with our posing coaches yesterday, I learned that I really need to focus on my legs. Your legs can actually make or break your standing in a competition and although I have good "shape" to my legs I really need to bring out the definition. The definition will really start to come in the last few weeks because this is the last place I will lose fat (dangit). In the meantime, I need to do more reps and work on contracting/posing on my legs EVERYDAY! I need to make a mind/body connection and really FOCUS on contracting every single muscle fiber during each rep and every time we pose.

I've learned that bodybuilding (and weight lifting in general) takes so much more than just "lifting weights." It takes FOCUS, DEDICATION, and REPETITION.

My motivation level is high and I am determined  to get my legs to "pop."

6 weeks to Peak Week!

We are a mere month and a half from peak week: the week that matters the most; where every minute in the gym counts and every calorie and drink of water makes all the difference. We are continually working through the trials and triumphs of the diet and workouts day in and day out. I have learned a lot about myself and my eating habits through this process and I am hoping that realizing my little quirks will help me to continue to reach my goals.

A common mistake many athletes and people in general make is binge eating. I am no exception to this problem. After eating the same things every single day I am continuously fighting my mind not to give in to every temptation. My biggest fear through doing this competition is developing poor eating behaviors. After struggling with the diet every day, I am all too aware that I could go completely overboard once the show is over. With this fear aside, I have learned to listen to my body and learned when I need to eat foods that are outside of my diet.

We usually allow ourselves one cheat day a week, where we eat foods that have more fat and carbs. My cheat of choice is a cheeseburger. I usually end up having my cheat meal at the end of the week when my body feels like its starting to shut down. I chose to have my cheat day today as I was feeling very light headed for most of the day, a sign that my body needed some fat and carbs. I usually feel ten times better after this meal, however, I am still struggling to keep the cheat meal to just one food item. For instance, today I found some chocolates in our house and have had a hard time eating just one (or 5).

I refuse to feel guilty about any extra cheats I may have had because I will still be working out for 2 hours tonight (weights/cardio) and because tomorrow is a new day!

I have to eat that again??

As most seasoned bodybuilders know, eating can be one of the most depressing parts of this sport; you eat the same things day after day. I am finding this out first hand and go through phases of not even wanting to eat (even though I'm hungry often) because the food is the same and the supplements are the same and they are eaten/taken at the same time EVERYDAY.

So, I have taken it upon myself to try some different cooking methods. Tonight I am going to make baked sweet potato fries with just a splash of olive oil and Johny's seasoning (see recipe link below). I'm not much of a cook so let's hope this turns out ok! I am hoping that this will make it easier to eat sweet potatoes when I'm busy or on the run. The sad part is, I won't even get to try them until tomorrow as I have just finished my final meal for the day and am out of extra calories (another depressing fact).

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Sweet-Potato-Sticks-2/Detail.aspx

In other news, after meeting with our posing coach this weekend and not only going through our poses but our body fat as well, we decided that for me to look my best I should be at 8% body fat and around 103 pounds. This will be a huge challenge for me. After adjusting my calories to lose about 2 pounds this week to get on track with this goal, I am at a mere 1400 calories while still working out twice a day (lifting weights/ 50 minutes of cardio). We'll see where I end up on Saturday morning!

Bring On the Definition!

I am finally feeling back to a normal size and am comfortable with my body once again. I can see a lot more definition in my muscles now and it is a huge source of motivation for me! Although I have pretty much lost my boobs, I have replaced them with muscle which has actually given a false look of cleavage (see above picture far left). Yes, the picture on the left is muscle, not breast lol. Among other changes, my abs are finally making an appearance and I can usually see a small vein in my biceps when we workout upperbody. The whole vein thing used to scare me; I really thought it was repulsive on a female. But when I see it barely show through during workouts I embrace it, because it means that my blood is pumping hard where it needs to and vascularity is important come show time!

I have also finally seen a change in my weight on the scale. Yesterday I weighed in at 115.6 (stuck around 116.6-117 for 2 weeks). Today I actually weighed in at 113.8! I have a feeling this is just a water weight drop as I had a bout of diaherrea yesterday (that's what you get for eating broccoli before a tough workout).

The above picture are some of my most improved muscles. Biceps have really grown, shoulders are getting more cut, and I am starting to get striations in my inner chest. And of course, my abs are finally coming back. Goodbye layer of squish around the middle!

With this decrease in body fat has also come uncomfortable side effects. I am cold ALL THE TIME. It takes me 15 minutes wearing heavy sweats, sweatshirt, and beanie, just to get warm during a cardio session. Also, my joints were aching constantly (until I started taking Omega Cuts) and it is extremely difficult to sleep through the night. My muscles are always sore and they fatigue much faster without all the extra calories. But the progress I'm seeing in my muscles is all worth it!

Lesson Learned: TRUST THE PROCESS. These changes DO NOT come over night or even in a week to 2 weeks. My weight loss is very slow and controlled. The changes are small but significant, but you have to trust the way you're training and the way you are eating will get you ready right before the show!

BELIEVE THAT!

Competition Suit!

I woke up drenched in sweat early this morning after a horrifying dream. It was the day of the show and everyting that could have gone wrong, went wrong. I had NO COMPETITION SUIT and NO ROUTINE! What a stressful dream! Luckily, today was the day of my consultation for a competition suit (wiping the sweat off my brow). Read on below...

I met with Christie Skelton of Cedara, a body wear designer, for my first competition suit consultation! She took a variety of measurements including some of the basics; bust, waist, hips, and other measurements for the width and height of the front and back of the bottom of the suit. The amazing part about the suit creation is that Christie has to adjust the measurements to what size we think I will be come show time; wow! After the measurements came the fun part, color and fabric selection. I am attracted to the brighter colors so I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted coming into it. After pulling out a few fabrics and holding them up to my body to see how they would work with my, skin, hair, and eye color, Christie pulled out the above fabric and we both knew it was the one! It is a beautiful shade of blue and is a velvety material which kind of changes color in the light. YAY!!

This is a huge source of motivation for me. I put this swatch up on our fridge so I can see it and feel it everyday and visualize myself in it on stage. Having it on the fridge will also remind me that I need to fit into it properly come show time which will help keep me from eating what I shouldn't :)

Choosing my suit color has also inspired my music selection for the night show posing routine (a 60 second routine that shows off your best poses). I chose "Kiss" by Prince because to me, this color says fun, flirty, and confident!

Now that I have a suit and a song, I can really start to visualize myself on stage! And hopefully no more bad dreams...LETS DO THIS!

Falling Off the Diet Wagon

After my previous post of claiming to stop messing things up in my diet, I totally fell off the wagon, or more like dove head first. The day started off with my weigh-in. The number I wanted to see did not appear on the scale and I became discouraged. This was my first mistake.

I ate my oatmeal as usual and completed my strength workout and had my supplements. I then went to visit my folks where I lost self-control. My parents have all sorts of goodies at their house; cheeze-its, tasty cereal, chocolates, cookies, and pop-tarts, all of which I later ate. I started off good with a nice big salad with ground beef on top. Then proceeded to have 1 chocolate (just one can't hurt, right?) 1 turned into 3 then a cookie here and there then a handful of crackers then a pop-tart. I totally lost track of my goal and my mind was constantly on food.

After leaving my parent's house, I thought about the bland food I was going to have to make for dinner and stopped at McDonald's for a McChicken and small french fries! AHHHHHHH! I totally blew it for the day BUT, tomorrow is a new day and knowing that I don't have any food at my house that I can cheat will make it much easier to stay the course.

Lesson Learned for the day: Don't let the number on the scale discourage you. As my husband reminded me, the number will continually fluctuate with differences in water intake, various foods, timing of eating and monthly cycles. Remember what you are striving for when faced with adversity and trust the process. Stick with it, get back on course, and don't beat yourself up when you fall.

KEEP THE FAITH!

2 Weeks into Dieting; 10 weeks until Show Time!

Entry forms are going off in the mail this weekend... it's official now. I am entering into the Women's OPEN bodybuilding class in the Light weight division (under 114.5 lbs). I could enter into the Novice division but  entering into open class gives me the motivation to work harder and stick to my diet.

I'm not going to lie, I have cheated on my diet a few times ( 5 frozen chicken nuggets here and there and a few saltine crackers after some nauseating workouts). I have been blessed with a high metabolism and have generally been able to get away with eating most things while maintaining a healthy weight. This has been the WRONG mentality for me going into this diet, therefor this post is my final straw against thinking this way! So, how do I combat my cravings for crackers and chicken nuggets? I've come up with a game plan. Thus far my diet has been lacking variety which has set me up for failure. So I've done some research and come up with some new meals that will keep me on track. I've added more vegetables into my diet and have recently added Rosarita non-fat Salsa refried beans (delicious).

Currently, my new favorite meal is 4oz refried beans mixed with 2-3oz brown rice and 4oz ground turkey. I try to eat this around lunch time because of the higher carb content, but it is delicious!

My goal weight this week (weigh-in on Sunday) is 116lbs; 1 pound less than last week. I am currently hovering around 116.6 so I have adjusted my calorie intake and no more crackers this week! Today is a cardio day, so I plan on running to burn more calories. My body fat percentage is roughly 16.9% and I am shooting to get down between 11 and 12% by show time. If I get too low, however, I run the risk of amenorrhea (loss of menstrual cycle) which could reduce my chances of pregnancy in the future. I want to be lean for the show but it is more important for me to be able to have babies in the next year or so!

Well, that's all for today. I'll be back on Sunday to share my latest stats with you :)

The Supplement List Grows!

As you can see, our pantry has more supplements than food. Each one has a very special purpose and is taken consistently on a daily basis. We get everything from GNC in Woodinville (ask for Jake.)
Heres the list:

Arsenal: promotes energy, increased metabolism, and better mood. Taken before breakfast and before workouts
Omega Cuts: contains essential oils and promotes muscle definition. Taken before breakfast and before workouts
GNC womens active vitamin: taken with breakfast or after
Pump Fuel: pre-workout supplement
After Glow: post-workout supplement for muscle recovery
Amplifiy Vanilla Flex protein with Flax seed: for muscle recovery taken after workouts and sometimes with breakfast

All of this has cost us 200-300 dollars every 8 weeks or so. Ouch!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Diet at 10 Weeks

I started dieting a week ago today and have lost 3 lbs (mostly water weight). I drink A GALLON of water a day. This is a must! If I do not drink all my water 1) I will retain more water, 2) I will get muscle cramps at night, 3) my muscles will not recover properly. Also, I try to eat every 2 to 3 hours to keep my metabolism up (also a must).

Here is my diet at 10 weeks out from the show! At this point I can still afford to add brown sugar to my oatmeal and throw in a light yogurt during the day; however, once my weight plateaus the sugar and yogurt are the first to go! (tears). I need to work on adding more greens such as broccoli and salad but am having a hard time finding the strength to shove another 4 ounces of blandness in my mouth. It's a work in progress!

8 AM

½ cup oats with 1tbsp brwn sgr

1Scoop shake

10 AM

3 egg whites/ 1 whole egg (I used to gag on all these eggs but after 1 week they taste like heaven)

4 oz brown rice

Siracha hot sauce for flavor

12 PM- 1 PM

4 oz 99% lean ground turkey (I use ground turkey because in my opinion it has more flavor than chicken and it's easy to get down)

4 oz yams or sweet potatoes

2 PM - 3 PM

4 oz 99% lean ground turkey

4 oz yams or sweet potatoes

PRE-WORKOUT

4 oz Activia light yogurt

1 medium banana

1 scoop Pump Fuel

POST WORKOUT

1 scoop AfterGlow

2 scoops Amplify protein

All of this comes out to about 1757 calories compared to the 2300 calories I was at 2 weeks ago. I go to bed hungry every night but I constantly remind myself that this is what it will take to be comfortable on stage... practically naked. YIPES!

The 12 Week Diet Begins

Or the end of my freedom as we know it. Last night I went through all of our cupboards and got rid of every temptation including chips, sweets, pasta and even cereal. Im not going to lie, the next 3 months are going to suck but I'm excited to start leaning out and being able to notice the definition of my muscle.

As I mentioned in a previous diet post, the method behind the dieting madness is to lose as much fat as possible without losing muscle. My calories have been cut back from about 2200 to about 1700 to lose about 1 pound per week. If i can maintain most of my muscle I will compete in the women's lightweight class (under 115lbs). However, if I lose too much I will enter into the figure division. My heart is set on bodybuilding so I'm going to work as hard as I can.

Besides the change in diet, our workouts will change as well. But I'll save that post for another day:)
P.S. I discovered a Blogger app for my phone and am using it now! When I get into my 60 min cardio sessions this app/blog will be my lifesaver. So excited!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Biggest Accomplishment at 2 months

The increase in my back muscles has been my greatest size increase so far. I feel pretty unfeminine, as I've complained to my husband over the past month, but it's hard to complain after seeing the hard work pay off!

2 month photos

Although it has been awhile since my last post, I figured I should post my 2 month training photos before I post new ones this weekend. I have gained a lot of size as you might be able to tell. My training program has proved effective but it has also taken a toll on my body.

My immune system has taken a hit from training so much and life stresses and as result I have been sick off and on for the past month. But there are no sick days when prepping to go on stage half-naked! So I worked through the coughing, sneezing, headaches, sinus pressure, and overall fatigue (sounds fun, right?). I'm healthy now, but the stress of life can also take it's toll! I am adding increased Vitamin C to my supplements, being more conscious of my water consumption, and will be adding a yoga/pilates workout to my weekly training schedule for stress reduction.

I will add our 13 week training photos tomorrow!

Until then, I will be destroying the gym tonight during my leg workout!