Next stop, Nationals!!

 

Well, it has been a while since the last time I posted so I guess I have a lot of updating to do! Long-story short, life has become crazy busy and I have let some of the less taxing activities fall by the wayside (ie- this blog). I am now back to it and hope to be a source of motivation and inspiration for others. Here goes nothing:

After a grueling and mentally draining last month of contest prep, I found myself at 7% body fat coming into the show. This was a little lower than we were aiming for but it was still acceptable. This low body fat percentage came with its little treats- irritability, breaking out in sweats when eating, only fitting clothes being those that were more than 30% spandex and regular bouts of insomnia. Having a support system around me throughout the whole process was what really got me through. I would have to say that having these people around was the #1 most important aspect of my ability to succeed.

I was so pleased with myself and my nutritionist for getting me where I needed to be for my show. I have to be honest, there were days (just like any other competitor) that I felt completely defeated and doubted whether or not I could really get myself to where I needed to be. With a little faith and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, my body came in better than I'd even imagined. I also performed on stage better than I thought possible and exceeded all the expectations I'd had for myself. I placed 1st in Bikini D class and 5th in Figure earning a double qualification for Nationals at Team Universe in July- unbelievable! I was not only so pleased that I placed well at all but to also have been up against 30-40 girls in each category and still coming out on top was a definite testament to my training and dedication.

It was quite a relief to get a few days break from the diet and exercise but I had an appointment with my nutritionist 4 days later to reign me back in and get me back on track to compete in two months. I also hired a trainer to bring me in with the body type that I need to compete in Bikini at a National Level. We are now working on losing some of my muscle mass (this is as painful a process as fat loss) and putting a little more body fat back on. I am very anxious and excited to see how I place at a National Level but I am keeping my eyes on the prize- Pro Card baby! Flights and hotels have been booked and training has begun- no backing out now. From this date, I have about 5.5 weeks until the Greater Gulf States Pro/Am show in New Orleans which will give me some good feedback on my physique with about two weeks left to tweak my body before Team U which is about 7.5 weeks away!

So, here we go again. Follow along with me as I prep for another monumental step in my fitness journey. I hope that if anyone feels compelled to delve further into their fitness or nutritional routines, that you would feel free to consult with me on any questions, fears or accomplishments you'd like to celebrate. I love hearing from you  :)

Crunch Time

Well, here I am two weeks out from the Texas Shredder. I never thought that I would get to where I am right now. I have never been this low in weight, body fat or in general ability to control my hunger pains in my life. Don't worry, you would be shocked to see how much food I eat daily. It's just that it's so clean and my body fat is so low that I actually break out into a sweat when I start feeding. It's a crazy feeling! I also have begun to experience interruptions in my sleep which my nutritionist had suspected I would encounter and has me on supplements to ease my body's stress hormones.

All in all, this has been a very eye opening and amazing experience. I can only imagine how my next two weeks will go- water loading, cutting sodium, carb loading, etc. I am patiently awaiting a huge stack of wheat pancakes and an ice cream sundae. I am very anxious for the show to get here as all this preparation has me on the edge of my seat as far as how I will measure up to the other competitors. However it does go, I have made some great friends along this journey and I'm excited to experience the fruits of our labor on April 14th. I will be back at my nutritionist on Monday to get a body fat update but here are pics from my last visit where I was in the 8% range.

Headgames

I have always considered myself to be a tough minded person. I never back down from a challenge and I have managed to achieve every goal I've ever set for myself. The choice to commit to my first NPC show was just another goal on my bucket list. I knew it was going to be difficult as I had experienced in my previous contest- the link between sanity and food is shockingly obvious. Don't believe me? Try restricting types and amounts of food and see if you aren't both hungry and moderately crazed. I have a whole new take on road rage, the inability to deal with barking dogs and impatience for grocery store lines.I am getting into the last month of my contest prep and it has started to really become difficult both mentally and physically. This past week was by far the most mentally challenging week of my life. Juggling a full time job that's in the midst of tax season along with 4AM cardio (every.single.day) and a full schedule of personal training clients and I am stretched to my limit. Diet and exercise changes are the icing to the cake that's cooking in my internal oven. It is in times like these that having people in your life who are facing similar challenges is very important. The commitment that has to be made to this diet and exercise regimen can cause life to become isolating in these last few weeks as taking part in regular social activities puts undue stress on a competitor who is hanging by a thread both physically and mentally. Friends in the competitive world are your sanity. Laughing about a near-binge or about how tired you are with someone who understands is comforting and full of hope.

I have but 5 more weeks before the big show and I am fairly certain that my week of hell is now behind me. I have made it through the past 7 grueling days and now have a different attitude and expectation for the remainder of my prep. It's now or never, all-in or fail. Judges' decisions aside, I will take the stage looking better than I have at any point in my life and that's a good feeling. I also have joys to look forward to after my competition- photo shoots, time with family and friends and working on my business. I can also spend some time with my husband and pay him back for all the stress I've put him under during this time. I see lots of back scratches in the near future :)

Here are the most recently updated pics of my progess- they weren't taken at my last check-in with my nutritionist (I told you it was a bad week)so all I can tell you is that I am in the 9% body fat range. Wish me luck, just a few more weeks to go!!!


"Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one. " - Bobby Knight

Crossing into Uncharted Territory

Well, here I am about 7 1/2 weeks out from stage time and I'm feeling pretty good. My meals are still holding me over pretty well, I have escaped bingeing and have avoided most defeating thoughts and NEVER missed a workout. With my full personal training schedule, it has been a matter of perfectly planning my weeks. Morning cardio has been long and grueling but I am definitely seeing my legs thin out and lose a little bulk from the running so that's been a motivating factor. As of about a week ago, my plan to enter the Shredder as a bikini competitor was tweaked a little. After listening to the advice of multiple mentors who are active in the body building industry, I decided to cross over into Figure in the same show. This makes my preparation a little tricky as I need to be curvy and hard all at the same time but it will definitely give me an idea as to what area I'd like to further pursue even though I already have a feeling I know where I fit in. Basically, this has changed everything for the next 2 months. Instead of stopping right about here with the weight loss, I will attempt to get my body fat into the 8% range (it's a little high for figure but a little low for bikini). I have a feeling this is going to take every bit of discipline I have for the next 7 weeks as once you get your body fat this low, it tends to not want to let go of it. Anything under 12% is getting below the fat level needed to maintain survival so bodies tend to resist. I am also back to lifting weights again and I love it! I am lifting HEAVY on the upper body (shoulders and upper back are the calling card of figure girls) and I'm really enjoying it as it is a serious challenge. I'm embarassed to admit that I am extremely weak in the upper back and picturing myself doing pullups is almost comical but this is what I am set out to do for the remainder of my prep.

I will be posting up in the free weights section of the gym with all the boys lifting and grunting like all the rest of them :)



Because of this leg of my journey that I have set forth on, I have thought a lot about how we tend to work on or in areas that we are good at and tend to avoid those that we are weaker in. I can't do pull ups and I also can't tell you the last time I tried. How many of us are just running on a treadmill because that's easy enough and completely neglecting resistance training?? Weights are our friend. The gym is not a place to look like a Barbie and stand around socializing so why don't we mix it up a bit and risk looking like a fool attempting an exercise we aren't accustomed to? My body has 100% transformed from the time when I would just run around the block for 20 minutes and call it a day. Once I learned first-hand the value of weight training, I'll never go back. On top of the great visual changes you see with added muscle, extra food ain't half bad either (every pound of muscle added burns another 250 calories daily at rest).

Bottom line on my thoughts for the day are this, don't get too comfortable with where you are at now. Don't settle for average. This isn't just about your body but really about everything in life. You have no idea of what you're capable of if you don't go after it. That applies to pull ups as well as becoming the person you want to be. Sometimes, coming out of a dark time in your life can feel just as difficult and humiliating as watching me attempt to lift my pile of bones into the air :)



"There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going"

More than vanity

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body" Philippians 1:20

I would be lying if I said that I didn't, at times, feel a little ashamed over my passion for fitness and good nutrition. Sometimes it's my own doing and sometimes it's brought on by the judgements of others but, either way, it leaves me feeling icky inside. When I start to think about my real motivations for living the life I do, I quickly realize that what I am feeling ashamed about is just a tiny part of why I am living my life this way. It is brought on by our culture's view of figure competitors or anyone who has strict physical and nutritional discipline. "You're vain", "You're obsessed" are words that I hear most often and it certainly makes me feel better when I hear the quote, "Obsessed is a term lazy people use to describe the dedicated". Of course there is a balance to everything in life but I definitely think that, since I made the decision to commit myself to a clean diet and strict exercise regimen, my life (not just physically but also spiritually) has only improved.

Every day that I wake for my early morning workouts, it is my time alone. I clear my head and take time to listen to God's word and his wishes for me. This is time time of day that I can shut out the noise of the world and spend time focusing on what it is I'm really doing here. It's not about how long I run or how many stairs I climb. It's about ridding my body and mind of all the excess junk the world has to offer and honoring the gift that I have been given. My health, my family, my opportunities are all gifts from God and it's what I do with those gifts that honor or dishonor him.

I have never been clinically overweight but I have had struggles in my past with weight and nutritional issues as well as watched loved ones battle a lifetime with their obesity and I can certainly relate on a small level to those of us who really do struggle with health and self-esteem issues on a daily basis. It's extremely difficult to feel defeated and helpless about weight and health problems. It's not easy to wake up in the morning and already be exhausted and feel like your day is spent going through the motions. How would you like to wake up with vigor and meaning? How would you like to spend your day feeling powerful and useful? This is how I have felt every single day since the day I decided to commit to the health of my body and mind.

I invite each of you to really think about your current health situation. Are you filling your body with poison or are you honoring it with the fruits of God? There is no better time than now. I promise that there is absolutely no risk involved in cleaning up your life. What have you got to lose but stress, weight and shame?

Here's to hoping that some of you make the choice to live a clean life inside and out. Let's be kind and encourage one another instead of judging, afterall, you'd have to walk a mile in their shoes... and that person just might need that mile :)

If you fail to plan... you know the rest

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That is one of my favorite quotes and, in my current lifestyle, it is absolutely 100% true. I'm dieting down, so I'm obviously pretty hungry. I am not sure if I have a deeper relationship with food than the average person but I do know that if I don't eat exactly when I want to, it is not pretty. I can't concentrate, I get irritable and I will lash out at anyone who stands in the way of me and my meal! That being said, when I haven't properly planned my day and mealtime comes without a previously prepared meal, I will eat whatever I can find. This usually results in a binge. Realizing this cycle and putting an end to it has been my #1 priority through the past few weeks prepping for my show.

My most difficult test to date was a 5-day work related trip to Dallas a few weeks ago(week 1 of my diet). This is an annual out-of-town trip for my job so I had previous years experience with the constant fast food and client dinners that inevitably lead to weight gain. This time around, however, I wasn't only trying to avoid the weight gain but to kick off my weight loss so I knew it was going to take immense planning to stick to my nutrition plan.

At the suggestion of my nutritionist, I prepared meals and packed them into a cooler that I included with my luggage. As you could've guessed, this was searched by the FAA coming and going as I found their friendly little note tucked inside my suitcase. I wonder if they got a good laugh at my tupperware filled with chicken and veggies. This, for the most part, was my saving grace. When the food I packed had run out, I opted for the local grocery and for Pei Wei where I got steamed chicken and steamed veggies. I was the most high-maintenance employee that my boss probably ever had but it was worth it; at my 3 week appointment, I had dropped 4% body fat.

It doesn't matter how much of a pain it is to cook and pack all those homemade meals, when you see the scale go down, it is so worth it. I have learned to ignore all the crazy stares I get when I pull out my little packaged meals at work or in public- afterall, if we are measuring the harshness of our dietary habits to the general public, we are waaaaay off as the average diet is not a level of normalcy.

Keep up the good work everyone! Remember that the key to seeing changes is consistency, consistency, consistency. Real, lasting change happens slowly over time. It is those who want immediate results who will never maintain their physique.

Starting out and Eating Clean

Here are some pics I took to track my progress.So, here I am starting 12 weeks out at 15% body fat.





Also, I wanted to share some of the great recipes that I am using to spice my diet up a bit. I have fed some of my meals to non-competitors and they think they're delicious so maybe you should give them a try :)


Healthy Crab Cakes- 8oz real cooked crab meat, 2 egg whites, 1/4c fat free mayo, 1/8c diced onions, 1/4c diced celery, 2tbsp. dijon mustard,1/4c oats,dill weed to taste, cayenne pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients together and form into patties. For myself, this makes two servings. I cook in a pan with lemon juice (no butter or oil) over medium heat until both sides are brown and the patty is relatively firm.



I have also made this same recipe using canned albacore in water. This tastes just as delicious and the tuna is much cheaper.

Pumpkin Protein Muffins- 2 cups liquid egg whites, 2 cups oats, 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin MIX), 1 scoop whey protein isolate in any flavor (i prefer vanilla with this recipe), cinnamon to taste (i put a ton in here), 1tbsp. vanilla extract, 1tsp. baking powder. I distribute evenly into a muffin pan and cook on 375 for 12 minutes.

I really enjoy Tosca Reno's clean eating cookbooks as a guide when I'm not pre-contest. Clean eating doesn't have to be bland and boring. It's just about finding healthy alternatives to your favorite meals and condiments. For example, greek yogurt as an alternative to sour cream.

http://www.eatcleandiet.com/

I hope that following along with me through these next few months will give you an idea of the ways that you can clean up your diet and clean up your life. When you start honoring your body in the way that you should, you get a whole new lease on life and a whole new feeling of power and self-worth.