ScrapBlog

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A Decision Has Been Made

Hi All,

So, I have some news... After thinking about it for a couple days I've decided not to compete this fall. This summer has been insane and my current theatre camp kids are testing the very limits of my soul. LOL! Yeah, not the ideal conditions for trying to contest diet. I just couldn't give contest prep the attention it demands and didn't want to come in to contest feeling rushed or not looking my best. Also, as much as I hate to admit it, with my PCOS, I think my body just really needs a longer prep time to get itself together and I just didn't have that time.

So, my goal right now is to get my body fat back down to around 20% which means I have 3% to lose. My workouts have been good but my food choices have been crappy. That WILL change starting Saturday. I just need to get through the rest of the week and then camp is over and my life goes back to being more "normal". I took the last 2 weeks of August off so that I can breath and regroup before dance and theatre classes start in September.

In other news, I've decided to start studying for my nutrition coach certification. There is definitly a missing nutrition link at the gym I work at and an abundance of women who are frustarted with their dedication to working out yet lack of progress. So, I'll keep you updated on how that's going!

I will continue this blog and keep you updated on my off season progress. Have great nights!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Carb Cycling Here We Come!!!

So, my progress has stalled. Well, it's actually non existent which is so annoying, especially since I upped my cardio this week. I lost and gained the same pound over and over this week and my progress pics look the same as when I was 17 weeks out!!!

So, yesterday I emailed Julie about my frustration and today she emailed me back. She's carb cycling me which is just what my body needs. I'm super sensitive to carbs and I have to take them really low in order for my body to really respond. I also have to cut out the cheat meals for awhile. Thursday Derrick and I leave for a long weekend away so I emailed Julie back and asked if a cheat meal for dinner on Friday and Saturday would be ok. I really hope it will because, as much as I want progress, I also want to be able to enjoy vacation food a little.

So, last time I carb cycled, I did 2 high carb days and the rest low carb. This time, Julie's starting me with an every other day cycle where I take out my 2 complex carbs every other day. Since I have more high carb days there's really no carb up on my high carb days. As much as I hate how uncomfortable carb cycling can be, I'm looking forward to the results.

Ok, that's it for now. Hasta la pasta :-)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I'm Baaacccckkk!!!!

Hello All,



I've been away awhile because I had nothing to write. But now I'm back in prep for 3 shows in a row, Oct. 24th, Oct. 31st and Nov. 14th. This summer has been crazyness! I teach theatre and dance camps in the summer and trying to start prep while entertaining 20+ children for 7hours a day is a lesson in futility (sp?). Right now I have a 2 week break from camp so I'm finally starting to hit prep hard.



I can't promise that I'll update you guys every day but I'll be on here frequently. I'm waiting on fabric swatches so I can order my suit. I've decided to order from Tamee this time around and then stone it myself. I just love the way her suits fit people.



Ok, have great days. :-)

Sunday, May 17, 2009

It's Over Already?

Wow, that was such a whirlwind of a day but so amazing and fun. I can't wait to do it again. If you didn't get to read my mobile blog last night, I placed 3rd in my class. There were 5 girls in my class and I'm very proud of my placing for my first show. I emailed the head judge this morning to get feedback. I also emailed the promoter to find out where and when pics will be posted online. We're getting proof photo packages in about 2 weeks but I'm hoping to see stage pics before then. Ok so I wrote about my expereince on the Oxygen Journal so I'm going to copy and paste it on to here...

Good morning Girls,Yup, I'm up early but I feel really well rested and I got the most consecutive hours of sleep that I've in the last few days. Ok, show details. Here goes... Oh, pics will have to wait until later today because our digital camera is horrible and they came out dark and very far away so I have to work on them and hope that some of them are salvageable. Anyway...The day could not have gone better or smoother. From Friday night when I got spray tanned to all day Saturday, there's absolutely nothing I can complain about. My tan, both full applications and my touch up between shows on Sat. went on great and looked really natural under the lights. A few weeks ago I emailed the girl who was spraying me and tried to explain to her how light I was for being black and she was like "oh, you'll only need like 1 coat or so..." Well, I get there and she's like "wow, you really are fair skinned So yeah, we sprayed me pretty heavily. Angie, (spray tan girl) was so helpful the entire time. She knew that it was my first show and that I didn't really know anyone so she kept checking on me and making sure I was ok and did my bikini bite and glaze and everything. She was soooo awesome!

In terms of the number of figure girls, it was much smaller than last year. Master's class was the biggest with about 8-10 women, Class A had 3, Class B (my class) had 5 and class C had 2. Oh, and bikini had 1 in tall and 2 in short. The tall girl won the overall in bikini and she totally deserved it, she looked like she had just stepped off a beach.

For Prejudging, I felt like I did a really great job, I remembered to smile the entire time, I remembered to thank the judges. I was 3rd in line so when we went to do comparisons I was in the center and they kept me there through quarter turns. They only moved 2 girls but I felt like I was in top 3 based off them not moving me. As for physiques, the 2 girls who came ahead of me were a little leaner (but not by a lot) and more hard and dried out. I emailed Julie after the show and told her that I felt like I was still holding some water throughout the day. Also, I was kinda timid in my carb up because I was so afraid of spilling over so I didn't feel that I was full as I could have been. Even so, I still had the biggest V taper.

The woman that one overall also won Masters and short class. She was by far the most muscular and the hardest so her placing was no suprised and much deserved.

It's so funny how totally different everyone eats during comp day. I pretty much stuck with goo for my carb ups (pp, honey, pb mixed together) and did a couple candy bars and sweet potato before the night show. Others were doing rice cakes w/ pb or goo with oats in it. What was really unexpected to me was how many girls went out for junk food in between shows. One girl did pizza, another did McDonald's quarter pounder and fries. The McDonald's girl said that she depletes all week and then starts loading up on crap food on Friday Hey,whatever works for you I guess. Then there were those who were eating chicken and asparagus through out the day and did basically no carb up. I dunno, just interesting.

As for my post comp eats....Can you believe that I from like noon on I was totally not interested in Ihop? I think this whole time I've wanted it because I couldn't have it and now that I could I was like "I've eaten sweet junk food all day, not as excited about it"....but we still went!!! HAHA! I got the smokehouse sampler w/ smokehouse sausage, 3egg whites, hashbrowns and 3 harvest nut and grain pancakes w/ sugar free syrup (I actually like sf syrup!). I didn't eat much of the egg whites because they tasted sooo salty after not eating salt for the last 3 days. Everything else was perfect! I ALSO had a lemon bar and an apple fritter.

Today, I'm trying to start clean things back up a little but still enjoying myself. For breakfast I had Kix w/ blueberries (an entire small container), sugar snap peas, and reduced sodium bacon. Oh, and 2 pieces of my Godiva Chocolate although they tasted a little too sweet for me. Soooo weird!

I had a blast competing and would probably keep going and do the other 2 shows I had planned if A-I didn't feel like my body needed a break B-I didn't feel like Derrick needed a break! So, the plan for now is to go on maintenence and not gain back all my hard work then to start prepping for Oct/Nov shows sometime in August. I'm definitly doing atleast 2 shows in the Oct/Nov. window.

Ok, question. How do I clean my suit? It's disgusting and I want to sell it but need to clean it first.

Once again, thanks for all your help and guidance everyone. I could not have done any of this without you guys and your encouragement, advice and support. I apologize for my whineness and hope it didn't annoy any of you too much :-) I think now that I know what to expect, and now that I'm NEVER starting 19 weeks out, ever again, comp. prep will go more smoothly.

Ok, can I just say how much I LOVE what is left of my tan after my shower last night. I actually look tan, not weird contest tan but just browned and sunkissed. I wish I could keep this color all the time because it looks perfect!

PS- I kinda want to go to the gym and just do a little cardio. I've been off for 4 days and I miss it :-(

Have great days all!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

3rd!
5 in my class they kept me in the center
Just testing my mobile blog

Friday, May 15, 2009

Holy Spray Tan Batman!!!

Spray Tanning was so fun and the girl who does the tanning has an amazing body! I'm so glad she's not competing tomorrow LOL. Anyway, I'm super tired and about to eat my last meal of the night and enjoy my glass of wine but I'll catch up with you guys tomorrorw before I leave for the day. Have great nights :-)





Thursday, May 14, 2009

Waterlogged!

So, for all of you who have competed before...if you did a sodium/water load and then a deplete, when did you start feeling "less fluffy"? this was my first day of no sodium and reduced water but I still feel so waterlogged. I'm afraid it's not going to go away in time. Did you see major changes between Thursday and Friday and then between Friday and Saturday. I'm trying to remind myself that I'm also carb depleted right now too so that's probably making me look extra smooth and watery or something ???RIGHT???Please say I'm right :-(

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Last Workouts Done! All Diet and Water from here!

WOOHOO!!! They're done, they're done!!! No more cardio, no more weights. (Can you tell I'm alittle excited???) I'm ready for a little break and don't intend to go to the gym for a week after my comp. I'm long over do for a gym break and I think my body will thank me.

My hamstrings are mega sore from my workout on Sunday. I foam rolled and stretched this morning and tonight so I'm hoping they start to loosen up. I have a massage scheduled for Friday morning and am sooo excited!!!

Tomorrow is my last shift at work until after competition. Unfortunately it's the 5am-10am shift so I have to get up at 3:45...no fun! But once it's done, it's done for while. I'm going to come home after work and take a little nap then go to get my nails done, come home and finish my suit (have a couple stones left, I procrastinate), then paint my toe nails, prep my food for Friday and start to pack my comp bag [making a list, checking it twice]. Ok, I'm starting to fall asleep and I still have chicken to eat. Hasta la pasta!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

4 Days Out and Still Drinking Water

Ok, I'm officially over water and kinda actually excited about scaling back the sodium starting tomorrow. At first, I was really happy about all the salt because I love salt but now I'm ok with moving on. (you just watch, by Friday I'll be begging for my salt!) Anyway, sorry I didn't post yesterday but I didn't really have anything to say. The day was kinda uneventful. I had to drive 45minutes away to go buy hair for the extensions I'm getting put in tomorrow. Actually, I already have extensions but I'm getting some longer ones in tomorrow. I also got my bikini wax done. I wanted to get that out of the way early in the week because someone told me that spray tan stuff doesn't always adhere to newly waxed areas very well.

Today is going to be a long day....last Friday I wrote out a day by day competition "to do" list and for Tuesday is just says "Get through the day". I'm about to go to the gym to do my 2nd out of 3rd full body workout of the week, 15minutes of cardio and then some posing. Then I have to come home, shower, go back to the gym to work the front desk until 2. Then drive to the other gym (since the one I work at doesn't have an arc trainer), do 30minutes of cardio. Come home, take a nap for 45minutes then go teach dance for 3 hours! But the light at the end of the tunnel is that Tuesdays are my hardest day so after today it gets easier!

Ok, going back to chugging water now! Have great days :-)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Peak Week Day 1- Last Leg Day!!!

Today is officially begins. I'm almost done with my 2.5 gallons for the day, I think I have about 2 more liters. I had 2 great workouts today, this morning 30min on the Arc trainer and this afternoon my last leg workout, 20min on the stepper, and posing practice. I have one more posing session to get done tonight. I also want to do a makeup run through. I may wait until Thursday to do my makeup run because I'm getting my extensions lengthened on Wednesday and that way I can do a hair and makeup run through. From all my years on stage I'm good with makeup and lashes and all that and have a nice collection of colors so I'm not too worried. For my fouundation, a competition makeup artist recommended ERA Face which is an airspray foundation. It was in of pricey but I think it will last awhile and it's water/sweat resistent which is always a good thing. My other makeup colors are MAC. I'm thinking purples for my eyes, they always look good on me and that's what I use for the theatre stage.

I'm so glad I'm done with work for the week after my shift at the gym on Thursday morning because I feel like I still have a lot to do. I have a little left to finish on my suit and am waiting for more crystals to arrive they should be here by tomorrow. I also need to buy an umbrella because they're calling for thunderstorms this weekend and the last thing I need is a runny tan.

Ok, I think that's all for tonight. More to come tomorrow :-)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

1 Week Out!!!




I'm sooo cloooosssseee!! I'm almost there guys...and I'm ready to be done. 19 weeks of dieting is enough for me. I'm so proud and excited and how far I've come. Yesterday was especially difficult and Julie ended up giving me the day off from training because I was just so totally drained. I'm feeling better today, still tired but better. Tomorrow I start water and sodium loading. I'm trying to figure out where I need to sit in church to make sure I have access to the bathroom since I'll probably going every 6 seconds LOL! Ok, I promise I'll be posting updates this week on what's going on during Peak Week. I can't wait to share this final week with you all!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

4 Days Out from Peak Week!

I'm getting so close girls. I'm really excited but training is getting harder and harder :-( I just got back from my 2nd cardio session at the gym today and it was a major struggle staying on the Arc Trainer for the full 45minutes. I just gotta put my head down and keep moving forward because I am determined to finish strong.

Ok, I know this is a really short post but I wanted to check in with you guys before I went to bed. Tomorrow's my early work day at the gym...3:45am BOOOOO!!!!

Have great nights! :-)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Peak Week Plan Has Arrived

Julie emailed me my peak week plan today, I'm very excited and very nervous about peeing the bed since I'll be downing 2.5 gallons of water for 4 days in a row. Peak week plan is pretty basic and straight forward, lots of steak, asparagus, grapefruit, and fish. I get to have a glass of red wine the night before my competition, WOOHOO!!!

So, for my during the day carb up, I'm trying to decide between mini candy bars (thinking fast break or twix) or "goo" which is a mix of honey, peanut butter, and protein powder mixed with a little water. I'm thinking I'll go with the fastbreak bars! Oh, I can also do trail mix but I want something sweeter.

After this competition I've decided to take a break instead of doing a comp on May 30th and June 20th. I've been dieting for almost 20 weeks and I'm tired and hungry and just don't feel like I could give anymore prep time my all. I'm going to keep working with Julie and then start preping at the end of August for a comp on October 31st. Hopefully in working with Julie I'll stay lean enough that I can pull off a shorter prep time.

Ok, on my way to sleep. Hope you all have great night! :-)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

2 Weeks Out




I just ate and I feel like I could eat an entire restaurant right now....such is 2 weeks out I guess. Not gonna lie, this week was hard and kinda sucked. All week I've been like "why am I doing this? What's the point? I'm hungry and tired....food tastes good and I love it!" This week Julie told me to stop anything with caffeine in it because I was having such a terrible time sleeping...big mistake! Apparently, caffeine was the last thing separating me and a walking zombie so basically now I'm the zombie. So, I'm going to add back in 1/2 the amount that I was taking before, just so I can get through my workouts and my day. Lifts have been so pathetic, I'm embarrassed in the weight room. I actually picked up an 8lb dumbbell for bicep curls the other day :-( I'm only breaking like 140bpm on my cardio. Diet has been 90% but I know it needs to be 100%. I'm totally rethinking a 2nd and 3rd show, I'm just hungry and ready to eat and ready to have a raspberry framboise! (or 2...3...4)




Ok, now that I've gotten my rantings out here's the great stuff. I only have 2 weeks left!!! And I can't believe how much my body has changed in the last 17 weeks. (Oh God, it's been 17 weeks). I do want to do another show, either in the fall or next year but this off season, I'm going to make sure I stay lean enough that I can start no more than 12 weeks out, I will never ever start 19 weeks out ever again. I'm also trying to decide right now if I want to keep Julie on as my trainer for the off season. I kinda really like having someone write my diet and training plans and email them to me every week and, when I figure it out, she's less than my weekly voice lessons which I've taken a hiatus from. I still have awhile to think about it. I'm going to keep her on until atleast the end of July so that she can help me transition into the off season.




Ok, I really need the gym to open so I can go workout and not eat my house! Hope all is well with you guys :-)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

3 Weeks Out!!!


Wow, I'm so excited and can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. Last Saturday I went to a competition prep camp where we did some posing. It really helped and I'm finally starting to feel ready. I also have a session with a posing coach on Wednesday so hopefully I've got those bases covered. Nothing all that new to report. My life has been crazy the past few weeks and the lack of carbs is effecting my sleep. Julie, my coach, recommended I cut out caffeine but some days I feel like that's the only thing keeping me running. I'm going to try to cut back and see if that helps. I was able to get 8 solid hours of sleep last night which felt soooo much better.

I start a new training program on Monday but Julie hasn't emailed it to me yet, I so want to know what's next. Ok, have great days! :-)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Major Blog Slacker







Hey Girls,

I'm totally a major blog slacker I know but I thought you'd forgive me if I came bearing gifts of progress pics. I still can't figure this stupid image thing out so I was only able to get my front pose on here. :( Ok, so in a nut shell, here's what's been going on....


1- Julie changed my diet a bit 2 weeks ago, I get fruit every day and I have 3 high carb days now!! WOOHOO. I also got a 600 calorie a week cheat meal back!!!

2- My cardio is up to 7 sessions of 36min each.

3- Last week I hit the competition low energy wall and last week was really really hard both diet and training wise. I expect to have a better week this week.

4- Lots of people are noticing my progress

5- I bought 2 skirts from Lord and Taylor and they were a size 2!!!

6- My suit stoning is going great!

7- I'm 6 weeks out from my show!!!!!!

So, I've already decided my after show eats. In my bag I will have Kix cereal and a twix bar. My family and i are going to Ihop and I'm going to have pancakes, sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns. I'm so excited, I even called the Ihop in Allentown (where the competition is) and asked what time they were open until on Saturdays (midnight). Sunday I'll do some yummy eats and then Monday is back in full gear because I'm doing a 2nd comp on May 30th and also one on June 20th.
I promise to post more often and I hope you are all doing well. :-)


























Saturday, March 7, 2009

My Suit IS HERE!!!

It arrived in the mail today!! I love the color, I tried it on and instantly felt like a stuffed sausage who will never be ready to wear it in front of ppl in 10 weeks! (talk about motivation to stay away from the donuts :LOL:). Anyway, I have no clue how to wear it and, is it supposed to have safety pins in it? I'm soo clueless, please help!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

How Time Flys!

Wow, I can't believe I've crossed over the 11 week threshold. I've been on this journey for 8 weeks now, stumbling and picking myself back up again. I really have to admit that I'm so proud of myself for sticking with this and working as hard as I have been. I haven't been perfect but I've been trying and I think, especially in the last few weeks, I've finally started to have more successes than failures. I just started working on a scrapblog of my progress pics from start to now so when that's up and running I'll let you know and I'll continue to update it weekly.

This week there was a lot of progress. I think carb cycling is agreeing with me. I was really concerned about feeling out of it and generally "ikky" on my low days but, since veggies are still unlimited, it hasn't been bad at all! In fact, I feel like I stick to my plan better on my low days because the complex carbs on my high days just make me sooo hungry!

Ok, I'm gonna go try to figure out how to add pics that you guys can actually see to this blog (last time they were too small). Have great nights everyone!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Carb Cycling Update

Hey Girls,

Ok, I'm almost done with day 3 of carb cycling. Monday and today were low days, Tuesday was a high day. So far, very good. I've lost 4lbs! Some of it might be water weight because carbs retain water and my sodium has been a little lower lately but I'll take it! My clothes, especially skirts and pants are getting way too big so that's a lot of fun. The only down side is that my lifts have not been as good; not as much strength and power. Hopefully that will return. Well, I have to be at work at 4:30am tomorrow so I'm about to head to bed. Have great nights!

Monday, February 23, 2009

New Diet Plan

Goodmorning All,

Ok, I know I'm always popping in here and giving you the shortest blog ever...sorry about that but I'm about to do it again :LOL:,

I just got a new diet plan from Julie yesterday and it starts today. I'm carb cycling now. It's my first time cycling so I'm nervous and excited all in one. She also added a thermo to my diet. I had been taking one when I was working with Tracey, I liked it but I went off it when I started working with Julie. Well, Julie recommended a different one but I'm going to go back on the one I already have since A-I liked it and B- I still have 1-1/2 bottles left.
I don't sleep well when I'm on low carbs so I just ordered Black Ops, which is a night time fat burner that's supposed to help with sleep. I hope it works. I also tend to feel woozy when I'm on super low carbs so I'm making sure to eat a ton of veggies (which are still unlimited) to hopefully offset the wooze.

I'm off to the gym now. I have progress pics that I have to post but I'm not sure I'll get to them today. Hope you all are having great days! :-)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Great News!!!!

I ordered my suit today!!!! I kept going back and forth between 2 different colors but, after consulting with my husband, I decided on a medium toned sparkly cranberry in velvet! It's really pretty and I'm super excited for it to get here. The ppl at ccfitwear said that it should be 2 weeks or less! Wow, that means I gotta really bust my butt so I can fit into the thing :LOL:

Ok, I know this was a short blog but I have to go teach dance and order sample stones and stuff. I'll give you the longer low down later. Have great days!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Waving Farewell to our Friend the Cheat Meal

So, my cheat meals have been taken away indefintly :-(. I gotta say I'm really sad and now have to start pumping out some new diet friendly but fun receipes to get me through. Part of me is very ok with the removal of the cheats. I am not at 13 weeks and so close to being in the teens, body fat wise, I just want to bust through that door and see what I can do within the next 3 weeks before I hit 10 weeks out.

Oh, I made an awesome trade with the massage therapist who works at my gym. She's giving me 4 massages in exchange for me stoning her comp. suit and buying the first $50 worth of stones. I'm so excited about this trade because I really need a massage but with all the money contest prep is costing me, I just couldn't see spending anymore, and now I don't have to!

Ok, I just ate, I think I'm going to head to the gym to get in glutes/back/and 15min on the stepmill. Have great days everyone!

Friday, February 13, 2009

One More Day

I'm really craving carbs today. Not at all actually hungry, just want some good, cakey, can't possibly be good for you, sugary, carbs. My cheat meal is tomorrow so I'm working very hard at keeping it together today. And it doesn't help that everyone is throwing food at me! On Thursday one of my dancers gave me a hung bar of Hershey's Chocolate for Valentine's Day. Very sweet of her but not what I needed. So, know what I did? When my teen class came in, I opened the bar and handed out pieces to everyone LOL! I know I should be teaching them good nutrition but alittle chocolate now and then isn't bad for you right? And it was better they eat it then me! Then, today, one of the regulars brought me in a homemade cranberry muffin. Ok, so I broke off a small piece of that and ate it but then I threw the rest in the garbage so I wouldn't be tempted. I felt really bad about throwing it away but there was no way that thing was going to make it to my house to give to Derrick, I would have eatten it before then.

So yeah, here I am now, trying to not think about the cereal above the fridge or the high protein Tri-o-plex cookies in the cupboard or the Dunkin Donuts Down the Street :sobbing fake tears: I hate this feeling! But just think, tomorrow night I will be enjoying a nice, much anticipated, worked for cheat instead of some spur of the moment, thrown together "right because it's right now" crap. Ok, I can do this...One More Day!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

So, today I had a tooth taken out :-( I'm not in pain so that's good and so far no major swelling (alittle that I notice but none that other ppl would). But, the dentist said that I can't lift or do any cardio that would elevate my heart rate past 120 for 48hours. That SUCKS!!! So, I'm going to email Julie and figure out how to modify my lifting schedule for the week so that I can get atleast most of my remaining workouts in. Tomorrow I'm just going to do some steady state treadmill walking and make sure I keep my heart rate below 120 (but just alittle below!).

Oh, great news, my body fat is down another 2% as of today! oh, I think I posted that as a comment earlier today in my blog but oh well...I'm super excited! That's 7% I've lost since November 24th when I first took it. What's really interesting is that a 7% fat loss has only resulted in a 5lb weight loss. I hope that means I'm building some quality muscle or something.

In other good news, I got a new personal training client today. Well, he starts with me tomorrow but he hired me today. I really like training guys because I feel like I the way I work out is more comperable to the way guys want their workouts to be. Does that make sense? Like, sometimes, when I show females deadlifts or clean and presses they're a little more intimidated than guys are. So, I'm excited to aid in the tranformation of another person. It's an awesome journey.

Ok, sorry, I'm getting all phylosopical (and I can't spell- LOL!). Hope all is well with you guys.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Progress- (Pics to Come)

Hey All my Blog Followers,

Sorry I've been a slacker lately. I will try to work on posting more frequently. Things have been going well with training. I took a new set of pics the other day and I look leaner and tighter. The only issue is that my weight has gone up by5lbs in the last week. I emailed Julie and we're trying to pinpoint why. She wanted me to skip my cheat meal for this week to see how that would work but it's Valentine's Day on Saturday and Derrick and I made plans awhile ago to go out for Thai food. So, I emailed her and explained and told her that after Saturday if she wanted to take my cheat away for a couple weeks, I could do that.

My meals today were very tasty and very creative. I made a blueberry loaf based off of one made by Genie, a fellow blogger. So good. It was like a big blueberry muffin (with 1t of sf blackberry jelly on top). Then, for my 4th meal I had a single serve container of 0% greek yogurt mixed w/ a container of sugar free dark chocolate pudding, mixed w/ 1scoop BSN, 2oz blueberries and 80g of strawberries...so good!!! And it's a total meal.

Speaking of meals. My small group is having a pot luck on Sunday at our house. I need to stay on plan and am trying to think of what I can make that I can eat. I think I'll do a veggie tray and maybe some baked chicken or low carb turkey meatloaf. Any other suggestions. I'd also like to figure out a dessert that I can do so that I'm not tempted by the brownies that I know will be there...Ok hope everyone is doing well. I have to get up early tomorrow to lift so I'm heading to be. Have great night!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

I Feel Fluffy

So, this is the first full week of my prep with Julie and, it's weird...my body fat is down by almost 1% but I feel more fluffy then I did last week. I have been working my butt off in the gym and, speaking of butts, have finally (in the last 2 days) starting seeing a difference in the glutius maximus area. But, my obliques had started sticking around for most of the day...they're now just there in the mornings again. Maybe I'm holding water because of sodium? It's no where near my TOM so that's not it. It's just frustrating because I've lowered my cals, am intense in my workouts and feel fluffier. What gives?

Anyway, on a brighter note, Julie's workouts are killer and I love them. Today I did a upper body plyo drill that included explosive push ups....ummm yeah, first tried it on my toes, fell on my face, then tried it on my knees, fell on my face, finally had to do it against the wall :blushing: so totally embarrassing! But my workout was so fun and my arms are still screaming at me 2 hours later!...Ok, I'm going to drink more water and hopefully get rid of the fluffy feeling.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

News and Stuff

Goodmorning Girls,

This week has been wonderful diet wise. I'm so excited about working with Julie and I love my meals and that I have so many choices. Today I get a cheat meal. I've been having trouble deciding what to eat because I'm not really craving anything (which is definitly a good thing). I've finally decided to sesame chicken w/o rice, extra broccoli, 2 raisin cookies, and 3 sugar free dark chocolate cherry cordials. The raisin cookies are so amazing. I get them from a bakery at the farmer's market and they're basically cookies that are stuffed with raisins. Sooooo good!!!

Yesterday was the first day I did Julie's weight training plan. It kicked my butt!! But I'm not as sore as I thought I would be. Yesterday was quads/back/abs and 35min of interval cardio. Today is delts/abs/plyo. My weight has been steadily dropping all week. It's nice to see big changes on the scale each day. Tomorrow that will probably not be the case because of my cheat meal. I'm worried about the sodium most of all so I'm really hitting the water hard today.

In other news...I am NOT pregnanat!!! LOL, let me explain. So, there has been this weird stomach flu that has been going around our area for like 2months now. It's like a 12-24 hour thing where you feel like crap and then you're ok, but lots of ppl have been getting it 2-3 times before it's finally really over. Well, as you may remember, I had it on New Year's Eve. It came back!!! Friday morning at like 2am, I woke up feeling really weird and weak, sometimes my blood sugar gets low so I thought it was that. So, I woke Derrick up and asked him to get me 1/2 an orange and some water. By the time he got back from the kitchen, I was puking in the trash can :-( , I felt better and then I fell back asleep. I had to be to work at the gym at 4:30 in the morning. When I first got up I felt ok but as I started getting ready I started feel nauseaus again. I didn't throw up but I was like, there is no way I can work 6 hours. So, I went into work and started calling ppl to see if they could sub for me (yes, at 5am, I'm now their favorite person). No one could come in so I finally called the owner and he ended up driving in to work the front desk. Derrick was so worried about me that he followed me to work and stayed with me until my boss came so I could go home. I have such an amazing husband. Oh, so back to why I'm not pregnant. So yesterday, I had to work and instantly ppl were like "you've had this stomach thing 2 times this month, maybe you're pregnant" and I keep saying "I'm not pregnant". Finally, this one woman I work with would not take no for an answer, she was like "how far along do you think you are?"....even though I know that A-I'm on birth control B- I have PCOS C- I have a bicornuate uterus, all of which makes it really difficult for me to get pregnant, it still started freaking me out a little. All I could think of was "I do not want to have to start contest prep all over again in 9 months" LOL, isn't that terrible???! So, this morning I finally went to the store, got a pregnancy test and peed on the stick. Sure enough, I'm not pregnant!!! Derrick and I want to have kids...eventually but he's in grad school and working full time right now and I have like 80 jobs so there's just no way right now.

Ok, that's the end of my stories for the day. Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great day!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Totally Focused Ready to Smoke This!!!!

So, I got my new plan from Julie Lohre today. I've already emailed her my list of questions. Thankfully, most of the foods in my "Julie Diet" was stuff that I already have in my house so I was able to start the diet today! Things are going really well, I was only hungry once and it was my own fault because I waited too long in between meals. But, I ate as soon as I got home and made sure to eat a lot of extra veggies :-)

I took today off as a total rest day and tomorrow I'm only doing cardio. I'll start Julie's training program on Friday. I'm so excited about working with her, I think she'll be a perfect fit.

Ok, going to eat my berries and ff coolwhip now. :-)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

So Excited!!!

So I have some exciting news to share....I just hired a full contest prep coach...Julie Lohre!!! I'm so excited and feel so good about my decision. Even though I'm a personal trainer and can do my own training and cardio plans I just want all of the guess work taken out of it for me. I talked to Julie on the phone today and she is exactly what I need, so positive and receptive to questions. And I get to eat oatmeal for breakfast! I have complex carbs back in my life!!! I'm so excited to work with her. She said that she definitly thinks I'll be ready for the May 16th show and that I should do a couple other shows within that month or so window since I'll be in shape and ready anyway. In the long run she'd like to see me build more muscle, especially in my upper body so, I'll probably make my last show sometime in July and have August- January or so to build some nice muscle for the next season...wow, I'm planning really far out, but working with Julie now it just all seems so much more possible.

In other news, I had an awesome 2nd workout today. Awhile back I found this Jamie Eason workout on Bodybuilding.com and I used parts of it and changed parts of it for my workout today. It's great when you can't bring yourself to do another treadmill workout...

(12 reps of each exercise)
1- Pop Squats
2- Jumping Jacks
3- Butt Kick Runs
4- Jumping Switch Lunges
5- Mountain Climbers
6- High Knee Runs
7- Crunches
8- Push Ups
9- Kettle Bell Swings

Do entire sequence as a circuit. Rest for 1-2min and repeat. I did 4 rounds which took about 25-30mins. including a 3min warm up. My heart rate was at 80-90% max for almost the entire time!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Progress Pics

So, I'm posting them, keep in mind that I lose very slowly and I have my period...

Ok, first my starting pics from December 22nd, 2008




Now, my current pics from today, Jan. 25th, 2009














































































































Saturday, January 24, 2009

Hey Girls,

So, major victory today. I had a crazy busy day, it's my TOM and I just lowered my cals by 100 per day; so, a lot going on. Anyway, I sang at a church service tonight and afterwards they had refreshments. Soooo much good tasting, non contest friendly food....like 12 feet worth. I went right to the veggies and ate those, did not even touch the lmon bar that was whispering my name :-). I'm very proud of myself. I'm most likely taking up date pics tomorrow and, if I get the courage, I'll post them. Have a great night all!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

WOOHOO!!! I made it to my goal of not cheating for 5 days! That means I'm going to get my nails done tomorrow. Today at 6pm my young adult small group from church is having a pot luck dinner. I'm making cranberry-pineapple sugar free jello mini cups, low carb korean turkey meatballs and a ceasar salad. Even though the pot luck is my cheat meal, I don't want to go overboard so I figured I would make stuff that I know is cheat friendly so no matter what else is at the pot luck I know I can eat that.

I didn't get to church today because we got some unexpected snow last night and my husband called me and said that the roads were not really good. Our church is 25min from our house and it's up on a hill so I decided not to risk it. I've already put in my 45min of cardio and I'm going back to the gym this afternoon to do legs and plyo and train a client. I don't usually work on Sundays but my client is going on vacation on the 22nd and I'm trying to get her started on a good program before she leaves. She's lots of fun so I don't mind the Sunday training session.

Ok, well, I'm off to cook. Hope you all are having a great day.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Sorry I haven't added to my blog is way too long. To be honest, I had about 4 really tough diet days in a row and didn't want to fess up to them. But I'm on a roll right now and doing really well. I've found that bribing myself really helps my motivation. For example, this week, if don't cheat until my scheduled cheat this Sunday, then I get to go get a manicure on Monday. Next week, if I'm on plan on week then I get to buy new nonstick cookware (which I desperately need), the week after that it's a massage! I think right now it's just hard because 17 weeks of prep is just such a long time so staying motivated only by the fact that in 17 weeks I'll be on stage has just not been enough, I need smaller goal markers.

I have also tweeked my plan so that I stay within my macros but have more variety in my meals. I hate boring food and so eating the same thing 7 days a week will not work for me. But I've found ways to be creative while staying on plan.

Right now I'm at work eating greek yogurt mixed with Nectar Protein Powder and 1/2T sugar free pistacio pudding mix....SOOOO GOOOODD!!! I just finished a great upperbody workout and then 45min of cardio split evenly between the stepmill, treadmill and bike. My arms were so hard and pumped after I finished it was awesome. Ok, I have 10min. to get ready before my last 2 clients of the day arrive. Hope all is well with you guys.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Fun Cardio Today!!

I just got back from an awesome cardio session. Who knew fasted cardio could be so fun! But I felt great, had so much energy and totally kept my heart rate up the whole time.
I did 20 minutes on the stepmill at level 5, followed by 15minutes on the elliptical, followed by 10minutes of run/walk intervals on the treadmill. Now, I'm eating my first meal of the day...oranges, eggs, and veggies, then getting ready to go to work at the gym.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Goodmorning Everyone!

Meals went really well yesterday. I did not add the extra almonds like I said I would, I did add 1/2 and orange to Meal 1 and 1/2 to Meal 6 and switched my first meal from 6 eggwhites to 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg. Much better! And, I lost .8lbs yesterday! Today I have upperbody and cardio this morning and on Monday night's a take an adult hip hop class. So, here's the deal with me and hip hop..I absolutely SUCK!!! But I love it because it's a challenge. I've been doing ballet, tap, jazz...all those styles for so long, and you get used to all the "rules" that those styles have and then I started taking hip hop where it's totally about breaking all those rules...it's really hard to just stop following all the things that it took you years learn. But I still love it. My mom is really excited because she gets to see me in my recital (yes, our class is in the recital) and since I'm 27, it's been awhile since I've had a recital.

Ok, so, I'm eating my 2nd meal of the day and then I'm going to continue being lazy for awhile (today is my day off from everything work!), and then get up and get my butt in gear for the rest of the day. Hope you all are having great ones!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Day 2...Could Be Better

So, yesterday, the official start day of Comp. prep went really well. There was one meal where I waited a little too long to eat and my blood sugar went low and I felt a little shaky but after I got some food in me I was good today.

Today, I had another blood sugar issue. My diet is low in complex carbs (or any carbs for that matter) because of my PCOS. However, I think I need some fruit carbs in the first meal of my day, after my 1st cardio session, because by then my blood sugar just feels really low. So yeah, I was at work and started feeling kinda queezy and shakey again. I thought it might still be the stomach flu but when I think back on it, I think it was more likely a dip in my bloodsugar. Well, of course I didn't have anything sugary with me (who needs the temptation) so I drank a snapple iced tea from the vending machine and had 2 small christmas cookies (ok, 4 cookies!). I immediately started feeling better. I really trust my coach but I also know how my body is. I went back into my old diet journals and looked at my meals even then, when I was losing at a really nice pace, I didn't take all fruit out. So, for now, I think I'm going to have 1/2 an orange with my Meal 1 and 1/2 with my Meal 6. I'm also upping my almonds from 1/3oz to 1oz per day because I think I do better with a little more fat. If I try this for a week and I'm not losing then I'll pull 1/2 the orange out and 1/2 an ounce of almonds but I think this will work and keep my blood sugar more level.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Day 1 of Figure Competition Prep....Maybe Not

Goodmorning and Happy New Year to all reading this! I'm so excited about starting my journey towards my first competition. I am working with Tracey Greenwood, 2008 2nd Place Finisher of Miss Figure Olympia. She lives close to me and teaches at the university that my husband is getting his master's degree at. My competition isn't until May 16th but we're starting early because 1)I have a lot of work to do in order to be ready and competitive 2) I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which produces multiple symptoms, among them weight gain, hard time losing weight, insulin resistence. She's doing my diet, cardio and posing practice for comp, I'm doing my weight training because I'm a personal trainer and am confident that I can put together a program that will work for me. I did find a local figure comp. team that I will be meeting with from time to time for workouts and extra posing practice but most of it is on me, which is how it should be.

So, right off the bat most of my complex carbohydrates are gone, except my beloved PWO rice cakes! Also, I'm doing 4 days a week of 2 a day cardio...I need a good book. The reason for the crazy cardio is so that, hopefully, it will shock my body into losing a good amount of fat the first 4 weeks and then we can ease up on the cardio...I cannot be that girl that does 3hours of cardio a day.

Right...so, the reason there is a "Maybe not.." on the end of today's title is because, last night, right after stepping foot into Texas Roadhouse for my last big cheat before contest prep, I started feeling really queezy, I thought it would pass but it didn't and I started getting concerned about throwing up in my booth and freaking out all of the New Year's Eve goers around me. So, I asked my husband to ask the waitress to make our food "to go" and I went a curled up in a ball in the car. For the next 5 hours I had the miserable stomach flu. I HATE THE STOMACH FLU!!!

I'll save you the details but sufice to say I did not get my first taste of my cheat meal until 3am this morning when I finally started feeling better. Oh, and my husband had bought all of the ingredients for chocolate fondu :-(. So, now that my stomach and I are starting to feel better, I'm going to enjoy my cheat meal the way I should have yesterday and start tomorrow, January 2nd! That will still be 19weeks and 1 day away from my competition.