Body Renovation in Progress...

I started training on January 2nd with a new trainer...some might call him the best in the industry. I sure think so.  I'm on a quest to get my body back.  I had a whirlwind last few months of 2011 and my body and health took a back seat to my stress.  Well, I was tired of feeling gross and so I made a commitment to myself to Renovate my Body!

I'm 5wks into my training and happy with the results.  I was beating myself up for letting myself gain so much weight, but you know what?  Weight goes up.  Weight can come down.  I knew what I needed to do to fix it and I'm fixing it one meal and one workout at a time.

At the end of my training period, I will post up my before and after stats.  Right now I'm way too self conscious to put that on the interwebz, but in 8wks I'm sure I'll feel differently!

Happy Training everyone!

Reinvigorated to train

Sorry I haven't updated my blog in awhile.  Life, as I'm sure you know, has a way of distracting you and keeping you so busy that any free time you have gets away from you before you know it.

I've been struggling with staying on my diet and fitness regimen because of having a hectic work schedule.  But on Tuesday I finally sat myself down, gave myself a pep talk and made a commitment to myself to get back on track.

It's amazing what eating clean can do for you!  I feel better, I'm not hungry all the time and my craving for sweets has almost vanished! I knew this would happen, but sometimes finding the motivation can be the hardest thing in the world.

I had a thought the other day.  Our bodies, and our training mojo is kind of like the seasons.  A tree is beautiful not only when it's green and fresh in Spring and Summer, but also in the Fall as the leaves change color and fall.  The bare branches in the Winter are still beautiful because they create a canvas for the snow as the flakes fall and become a tapestry of white.  Our training can move in cycles too: times when we are invigorated like the Spring and times when we relax our training or fall off the wagon as in the Winter.

I want to think of my body in terms of IT'S seasons.  As much as I'd like to be in "Spring" all the time, it's ok that I'm not.  In my body's "Winter" times I know exactly what it will take to move into "Spring"...and it will come sometime!

After the 7 Day "get ripped with food" plan

I successfully finished Chad's "Get Ripped with Food" plan on Friday and it felt so good to be able to say that I stuck with it for the whole 7 days.  I really needed something strict like this to get my diet back on track.  I mean, I used to eat strict like this all time during contest prep and even after shows when I was determined to stay lean.  But you know, sometimes life happens and the jar of peanut butter or handful of trailmix is just too good to resist. 

I didn't get any drastic results like some people on his blog mentioned.  No drastic weight loss.  No huge change in my clothes fitting, although they did fit a tad looser.  But I felt better and more in control of my diet and my state of mind was better...those I will take over anything else!  Mental stability with any diet or lifestyle is the key to success.

Luckily I didn't stray for too long so getting back on track was as easy as eating as many veggies as I wanted 4x a day with some protein. Really, it helped me get reaquainted with veggies and now I'm having a blast in the kitchen stir frying, steaming and grilling up all kinds of my favorite veggies that I had been neglecting.  It's easy to get stuck in a rut, but now my fridge is full of veggies:

• Yellow, Green and Red Bell Peppers
• Eggplant
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Onions
• Squash
• Peas
• Kale
• Spinach
• Tomoatos
• Snap Peas

 So now it's just a matter of keeping up with the diet, not straying and not getting frustrated that I'm not seeing drastic results.  It takes time. But I'll tell you that my body feels better eating all of these healthy veggies and my cravings have taken a huge nosedive.  Things I couldn't resist before are easy for me to turn my nose up to now.  And after fasting on nothing but vegetables and protein (no fruits, no nuts, no carbs) for 7 days, the fact that I can have Oatmeal in the mornings or yams with my 3rd meal is like having a treat.  Oh and how can I forget how much I missed Grapefruits!

If you need to redirect yourself after falling off the wagon, or you want to get started on a new diet to purge you of old habits, then I highly recommend this one. 

I'm doing Chad Waterbury's Get Ripped in 7 Days

My diet has been all over the place the last few weeks and I decided that I needed to get serious about getting back on track.   I know I have the discipline of a 10 men and an iron will stronger than the hammer of Thor once I decide to put my mind to it.  My problem has been having the drive and motivation to stick to something.  For me, it's all about control and stress causes me to exercise less control over what food I eat.  I'm a work in progress.

So I came across Chad Waterbury's diet "Get Ripped with Food , A 7 day plan" and I love veggies so I figured this was just the challenge I needed to snap myself out of my downward spiral.  The plan hinges on veggies and gradually progresses towards protein towards the end of the 7 days.  You only eat 4 times a day (I'm used to eating 6 times) and you can eat unlimited amounts of any veggie you want (the cruciferous kind, not the starchy kind like yams, etc.). 

Day1:  All veggies at 4 meals.  Boy was I hungry.  Eating every 4 hrs is a lot different than eating every 3.  Eating veggies only is a lot different than having veggies be the side dish to protein and carbs.  But I made it through.  Good thing I love veggies!

Day 2: Now I can eat protein (3oz) at 2 meals.  It makes a difference.  I'm feeling sluggish and moody, but I'm not a raging hunger beast.  Weird.

Today is Day 3:  Again, protein at 2 meals, and meals every 4hrs.  Surprise again..I'm not famished. 

I didn't weigh myself before I started, but I feel good so that's positive. I figured this couldn't hurt me and would at least get me back in the right mindset.  Training while on this plan is minimal and mostly cardio.  I trained a bit last night, but it was probably too much for being so depleted.

I'm not expecting drastic results, but it would be nice to see the pants fitting a bit looser by Saturday morning!

Long live vegetables!  And I can't wait for Peanut Butter Mochi on Saturday morning as my treat!

Self Esteem for the Figures Competitor

Nancy and I at Stage Might 2010

Nancy Georges is an IFBB Figure Pro who coached me for my 2010 Figures show where I took 5th place in Class E.  

March 2011: Contest Day!

I trained with Nancy for 6mths of which the first 3 months were spent working on my self esteem and body image issues.  My time with Nancy completely transformed the way I viewed myself, my body and my weight.  Without her, I would be in a completely different mental state than I am now...and not for the better!

Each month Nancy sends out a newsletter addressing health, fitness and competition topics.  This month's article really struck home with me because it deals with Self Esteem both Pre Contest and in the Off Season. You can view the article here: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Figure-Bikini-Competitor-Tips--April-edition.html?soid=1101120263600&aid=sPL-Mu457EM

I think we competitors do tend to have better self esteem in our off season than a few weeks pre-contest.  During our pre-contest training we don't seem to take the time to appreciate and enjoy our physique at the time because we are trying to get even leaner, more vascular, more muscular, drop water, etc.  We are focusing so intently on being perfect for our big show day that we lose the ability to enjoy the beauty of our physique in the moment.  I know this has been the case with me.  I would look in the mirror and only see flaws: I'd see where I needed to train harder, areas that I knew were my trouble spots but couldn't do anything to change my genetic build, fret about being able to fit in my cardio session when I knew I'd have to work late, etc.  I think we as competitors tend to get so focused on our body and what we want it to look like at week 4, week 5, week 6, etc that we don't realize how great we look right now!
 
When I look back at my progress pics leading up to my shows I think to myself, 

"what on earth was I ever complaining about back then?  I looked great!  I wouldn't complain if I looked like I did at 4 weeks out right now."  

But then when you 're in pre-contest and you ARE at 4wks out you're thinking,  

"I don't look good now because my glutes are too big, my arms aren't cut enough, etc. etc."   

Being in the off season is a better phase for me and my self esteem because my focus isn't on perfection. It's on enjoying being healthy and fit while having flexibility with my diet and training. I know that I'll look more "normal" than during contest but it's ok because I know that no one will be judging me.  

October 2010: 7mths Post Contest (Off Season)

I am the only one judging my off season body compared to my contest body and that's not fair to myself.  The contest body takes 3mths of hardcore dieting, training, tanning, water manipulation and oil to achieve.  It's like comparing apples to bananas. Sure, they're both fruit, but they are completely different types.  I try my best to focus on having the best off season body possible, not trying to turn an off season body into a pre-contest body year round.


Thank you Nancy for bringing up such important points that we all should consider regarding our self esteem and our phase of competition!

The Athlete: Perfect Bodies

I stumbled across an article online a few days ago that discussed a photo shoot called "The Athlete" by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein.  The entire shoot can be seen here (it's towards the end) http://www.udel.edu/....0sportsS09.htm .

I was blown away at how the photo montage was put together and by the underlying, but loud and clear, message that was being communicated. The images are of Olympic athletes and represents the perfect body for each athlete based on their sport. What I find so interesting is how much of a difference there is in each body based on what sport is their specialty. All these bodies represent athletes and yet a volleyball player looks nothing like a gymnast who looks nothing like a shot putter. Their bodies are unique to their individual genetics and their individual sport.

What I thought was the most powerful thing about these images is that it shows the wide variety of body types and how each one is perfect for it's particular sport. I can't speak for all women, but I know that many times I am unhappy with my body and wish for the body type of someone else that I've seen on TV, in a magazine or walking by on the street. But we are all made different and we will never have the exact body type or shape as someone else because we have different genetics.

Unrealistic Goals are Sabotaging your Happiness!

Our goals should be to focus on making OUR body the best it can be. That's really all we can do!

Smart Choices in tough situations

I was in the mall shopping and time got away from me and before I knew it, it was meal time.  My meal was neatly packed in my ice chest in my car way out in the parking lot on the other side of the mall.  I really didn't want to have to walk all the way there just to come all the way back and finish what little shopping I had left.

What do I do?!  I'm in a mall for crying out loud.  There is nothing but sugar, salty, fattening, greasy snacks and foods all around me.  Should I just call this a cheat meal and give in because my tummy is growling?  Do I just go without food even though my crakiness is directly related to how much time has gone by since my last meal?

I finally couldn't take the hunger anymore so I walked over to a kiosk in the middle of the mall.  It was right next to Dairy Queen and another shop selling all kinds of candy.

"May I help you?" the clerk asked?
"Yes, may I have a........."

Wait for it....


Wait for it.....


Drumroll please.....



" a BANANA please?" 

That's right! I had walked up to a juice bar that had real bananas for sale, not frozen or packaged ones.  So I grabbed one for $.60 and finished my mall adventure.  When I got to my car, my salad with ground beef and olive oil was waiting for me!

The moral of the story is that we should always try to make as healthy of a choice as we can if we're faced with tough food choices.  Don't give in just because your ideal healthy option isn't there.  Get something that is nutritionally sound and continue with your plan on your next meal.  Small choices like this add up!