To all things, there is a season

To all things, there is a season... tax season, that is. I am the proud recipient of a Certification of Public Accounting from the Texas State Board. Along with that honor comes great responsibility. Who am I kidding??  Along with that honor comes a massive workload! I have literally been working 7 days a week for the past couple months and am a mere day away from the end! One thing that is different this year than in any of my previous tax seasons, I am in better shape at the end of it than I was at the beginning. How did this all happen when I have been sitting in a chair for 12 hours a day? A promise to myself that I wouldn't let the stress and demands of my job and life get in the way of what I really wanted. I woke most mornings and headed to the gym before the rising of the sun. Then, I left from work after the sun had gone down and returned once more to leave my stresses of the day on the gym floor.

Through these past couple of months, I have learned many things. The importance of accountability to yourself, motivation and balance. The trouble I have encountered in past busy seasons at work were directly related to my stress levels. The old me would not only bury my feelings in a 100 calorie pack of mini-oreos (don't mind the fact that I would scarf down 3 at a time) but would finish off a hard day with some much needed wine. The first problem is, these stressful days last for two months straight. The second problem is that food doesn't really ease my tension, it only masks it for a while. My consistent exercise throughout this season directly resulted in a calmer work and home environment and a healthier outlook in general.

Accountability- I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't miss a single day of some kind of exercise. It didn't matter how long my day had been or how lazy I was. I knew deep down that I could muster 20 minutes for a jog or even 10 minutes for some plyometrics in my garage. Because I was honest with myself and wouldn't allow any excuses, I was able to hold strong to the commitment that I had made.

Motivation- Everyone needs something that motivates them. For me, it's always been about competition. I'm a competitor at heart. What works best for me is to find someone (it doesn't matter if you know them or not) whom you admire. It could be admiration of their figure, their workout regimen, their eating habits, their attitude. There's no formula for what motivates someone, you just have to find it yourself. When you have found it, you should make it a visual motivation so that you merely need to see it and you're in that mindset. I like to keep clips from magazines of workouts I'd like to be able to do or of figure models that I'd like to mold my body to be.
Balance- I am only beginning to appreciate the importance of this aspect of my life. For those who don't know me too well, there's one thing I can say about myself. I am all-in, all-the-time. If there is a goal I am working towards or something I am interested in, I eat and breathe it. When I was studying for my CPA, training for my first competition, or competing in sports growing up. This is great in achieving my goals but things are often forgotten or neglected. What I am most referencing, at this point in time, is my overall level of health. It was a good decision to visit the Institute of Eating Management. I decided that I wanted to take my body to the next level and knew that a lot of the fitness stars that I look up to currently use or have used IEM to reach their goals. Off the bat, I was informed that I wasn't getting enough nutrition to counter my workouts and that my body was in starvation. As soon as my diet was altered, I saw a difference. I was also ordered to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night and to cut out the coffee. After just three days, my body was responding incredibly. In fact, I have ended up leaner than when I started...which is something that we are trying to remedy as I am much too low for a non-competing time of year. I bring this all up to say that I am starting to see the importance of hitting it hard and then letting your body rest. Through my studies for my personal training certification, I have read over and over how mixing up your workouts are key to improvement. I suppose that I never considered this when it came to diet. Turns out, it's exactly the same thing. I am looking forward to being rested and lean for my wedding (3 1/2 weeks and counting!) and then taking a break through the holidays.... not too much of a break, it's all about balance :)

To all things, there is a season. A season for work and a season for rest. The rest makes the work worth it, and the work makes the rest!

Getting Back on Track

 Pasta and crackers and waffles, oh my! Since my first show, I have taken a break from my super strict diet to let my body recover and to spoil myself with some deliciousness. A month has gone by and I have some photoshoots and my wedding coming up so it's time to get back on track. I intend to jump back into my eating and workout plan with vigor. This will be a true testament to my mental power as this will be the most stressful time of my life thus far. With a huge busy season at work, photoshoots and wedding events coming up, this is the time when the "old me" would reach for a box of triscuits and do work. However, this time, I intend to approach life's challenges with a new frame of mind and a new discipline. Exercise!

Since my show, I have been extremely committed into taking my body to the next level. Waking up at 5AM to get on the stairmaster and lifting weights during my lunch break have been my routine for the past few weeks. It has been exhausting but I have seen a change in my personality and stress level that I believe is directly related to my exercise regimen. As a side effect of this dedication, my fiancee has been motivated to get in the gym and is seeing results as well... this is a win-win people!

The exercise regimen has been more demanding than I was previously used to (this is a good thing!) but the real challenge for me is the diet. I have always been a "foodie" and intimately attached to my inner fat girl. My fiancee has been kind enough to point out that I hum like a happy little bird when I'm eating something delicious. However, I am the type of person who loves a challenge. I am easily bored with activities that don't require a good load of brain power. For me, saying "no" to a dinner roll smeared with cinnamon butter is the ultimate challenge.... damn, that makes me hungry. Back to the point I'm trying to make, this next week is the beginning of my clean eating regimen in preparation for the events coming up in my life. My hope is that by making this declaration publicly, I will be held accountable for my progress (sometimes, it's great to have a little fear of God in your mind when staring at the chocolate pudding in the fridge).

I plan to eat nothing but lean protein (fish, turkey, egg whites), plenty of veggies (my favorites are squash, spinach, zucchini, broccoli), carefully measured complex carbs (oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes) and water water water! Five or six small meals a day, a few hours apart, will keep my metabolism roaring and keep my blood sugar level. I know that these meals don't sound too terribly delicious but I'll share a few things that help these choices still taste delicious for me. My secrets to having delicious, exciting meals are as follows:

1. Cinnamon! Cinnamon on everything! I put it in my oatmeal, on my eggs and even in my coffee!
2. Onions and peppers, they add flavor to your meals with hardly any caloric content.
3. Tabasco! This has been my lifesaver while switching from regular eggs to egg whites.

The most important thing in my quest for eating healthy has been the planning. I now have a cooler that I cart from home to work and back daily filled with my prepared food for the day. This ensures that I never eat out of the vending machine in desperation. If I am absolutely starving for a snack, I am prepared! I like to cook in bulk for the week. I'll make a few filets of tilapia, a pound or two of ground turkey, a pot of brown rice or quinoa and I'm set. I include lots of fresh vegetables in my cooler that are easy to slice and put on a plate. Lean and mean, baby!

Every day is a new opportunity to test yourself. Do something that isn't in your daily routine and see how it affects your life. Make this new change something that challenges you, whether physically or mentally. As soon as something is easy, it's not as effective so step it up! Start some healthy habits. They will be inconvenient and challenging at first but they'll become part of your routine after time passes. I hope my words or the struggles I share may do something to inspire a fire in you.

Habits are safer than rules; you don't have to watch them.  And you don't have to keep them, either.  They keep you.  ~Frank Crane

En Vino Veritas

There have been times in my life that I swore I was meant to be a European. Sitting on the piazza sipping red wine and reading a magazine sounds like a better way to spend an afternoon than almost anything else (if there was Ben & Jerry's involved, that would be even better!). As I embarked on my journey to get in the best shape of my life, I was faced with the cold hard truth. Alcohol is the enemy. I have always read that the single most dramatic change you can make in your diet is to cut the alcohol. I always assumed that this was just because alcohol is ridden with sugar and carbs and would embark on a "I'm skipping dinner and just having this bottle of wine" evening. Not only does this set me up to be a fantastic date (alcohol and no food is never a good combination) but I was only on the cusp of understanding the detrimental effect that alcohol had on my lifestyle and the hours in the gym to follow that were, in essence, wasted because of alcohol's effects.

I'm not against having a good time, in fact, I am all for it but I have had to come to terms with what I am sacrificing when I decide to have myself a little drinky. For me, except on special occasions, the trade-off is just not worth it. Not only does alcohol consumption allow you to take in empty calories that are processed like pure sugar, alcohol also becomes the first thing in your system that your body burns. Until the alcohol has been metabolized, all the other nutrients (i.e.- calories) your body could've been burning at this time have been put on hold. Also consider that, when under the influence of alcohol, it is often seen as a good idea to get a Whataburger taquito (yuck!). This combination is a double-whammy to your physical fitness.

Perhaps the most important factor in avoiding alcohol consumption when trying to build muscle and lose weight is the fact that alcohol consumption affects testosterone production. Women, when compared to men, have a fraction of the testosterone in their body. Because of this, alcohol consumption is even more detrimental to the physical fitness of women. The importance of testosterone production is that it enhances growth of muscle fibers and also increases fat metabolism. We're not talking about being a body-builder here, ladies. When it comes down to it, if you want your body firm and tight, you want muscle tone. When alcohol is consumed, it increases the breakdown and removal of testosterone from the blood while, at the same time, decreases testosterone production rate. These effects can last as long as 24-48 hours after alcohol consumption. When understanding these facts, it's no wonder that many people aren't too interested in busting their butts in the gym and not seeing the results they're working so hard for all because of alcohol in their system.

 My way of avoiding alcohol in social settings or when I've had a stressful day at work is to make myself a sparkling water with a dose of lime. It's a fabulous "trick" to play on yourself and it tastes so similar to a vodka and soda it's not even funny. My personal experiences in my fitness since I drastically reduced my alcohol intake have been too evident to deny as well as resulting in my Friday night restaurant tab declining significantly. At the end of the day, alcohol consumption is everyone's personal choice. However, I suggest that these facts be kept in mind when in Rome  ;)

My First Blog Ever

I never thought I'd be writing a blog. I have seen Julie & Julia about a bazillion times and never had the tiniest inkling that I'd be blogging at some point (not at all saying that I'm even half as interesting as "Julie"). Why am I blogging do you ask? I find it hard to answer that question in a single thought but I'll try my best. I have discovered a whole new world and I want to share my experiences along the way with everyone.

I have been active and moderately healthy my entire life thanks in majority to my parents. Although my parents may not have had the healthiest of habits in their lifetimes, they were enlightened enough to instill the values of health into my sister and I. So how have I suddenly discovered a world where my active lifestyle was shocked by the introduction of such an intense challenge? That's also an answer that is hard to come up with in a single thought.

In April, I was introduced to a personal trainer through a friend of mine. I was in good shape but couldn't figure out why I wasn't seeing the results I had expected after 5 mile runs and P90X on a normal basis. I also couldn't come to terms with my less-than-ideal eating habits. After encouragement from my trainer and some seriously challenging work over a two month period, I entered my first fitness competition (something I NEVER saw in my future) and won! Along the way, I have learned a lot and have developed a hunger to learn more. My aim is for this blog to be a diary of my journey and allow others to have a glimpse of the everyday challenges and accomplishments that come with a fit lifestyle.