Keke’s BodyBlog

There’s only 5 hours left of today here on the East coast, so I’m not truly at ‘8 Days Left’. I’m actually closer to 7. By this time next week, I will have been on stage for both the pre-judging and the finals … and hopefully have collected my trophy!!!

The Thursday past marked the beginning of ‘the lasts’. It was my last leg workout before my 1^st show. Today was my last 1 hour Saturday cardio session before the show. Then Monday thru to Wednesday will be the lasts of some other body part workouts.

Who would have thought that buying peanut butter, jam and rice cakes could be such an exciting occasion? I was just excited when I was writing them down as extras on my weekly grocery list. I can not wait to mix up that natural butter and ‘niam’ (as in JA for eat) it with some jam and rice cakes!!! Yummy! That happens this coming Friday. Tomorrow also marks the beginning of some ‘firsts’ as well. I start taking my first dosage of diuretics tomorrow morning. My body transformation this week should be very interesting to watch.

All in all, everything is coming together for next week. I have my to-do list in my head and going to transfer it to paper once I finished blogging. My suits are fitting great, so I am really happy about that. Other than that … I just tired and somewhat cranky at times. I mostly take it out on merchants, so I have to watch that. Also yesterday, some poor girl at the gym got it. It started with her trying to figure out an exercise from a magazine that she had. So, I asked if she needed help. That was my error … what was I thinking about taking out an earbud and helping a poor unsuspecting sole when I am low on carbs and tired as hell … on a good day, that’s the kind of person I am … on a day like yesterday, I just needed to lay way low … anyhoo … the neighborhood ‘not so friendly’ girl here asked if help was needed and she asked if I knew where she could do ‘cable push-ups’. So I looked at the magazine and told her that unfortunately that this gym did not have that particular machine, but that regular push-ups would work just as well. To which she replied ‘I don’t like regular push-ups. They are hard, and I’m too lazy’. Really … at this point, I should have just smiled, replaced my earbud, smiled and gone about my business …. But no …. The Nke who has a problem with laziness came out and replied ‘Lazy is for sitting in front of your TV, and even at that, it’s questionable. There is no gain without some pain. There’s just no place to be lazy at the gym. You need to work it girl, or save yourself some valuable time, go home and chill out in front of the TV’.

WHAT ON EARTH POSSESSED ME TO SAY ALL THAT???? It was soo rude, and I had to go back and apologize to her … but when I went to do so, she was doing lunges like I’ve never seen anyone in my life do them before … they weren’t even lunges .. they were like ‘step forwards’. The new workout I guess … So with that thought running through my mind, I “u’ied” … and went about my business. I have promised myself to apologize for my comment the next time I see her. I had my second bout of rudeness yesterday afternoon when talking to this Christian bookstore about a bible I’d purchased and was getting engraved. It took two weeks too long in the first place, then when I went to pick it up they’d put an ‘n’ instead of an ‘h’ when clearly I’d written ‘h’ on the sheet. Even the person that worked there said that the engraver had clearly made the mistake. So they sent it back to get corrected and called me yesterday to let me know it was ready. So, I asked to speak to a Manager because the wait for the bible coupled with the error on the engraving was just too much for me and I felt I needed some compensation … if you did not know before, I’m totally about being compensated when ‘things’ are just not done correctly .. so the store associate asked me to hold on while they went to get the Manager. About a minute later, the same person came on the phone and said ‘your bible is ready to be picked up’, to which I replied very calmly ‘I know, that’s why you call me’. I mean, c’mon now, it was the first thing he said to me after hello. So, I said again that I’d like to speak to a Manager. He asked ‘Why?’, I replied ‘He /She I’m sure will tell you once we’ve spoken. Can I please talk to your Manager now.’ … all the while, I’m trying to be calm, because I completely revere this store. So, the Manager came on the phone and asked me what the issue was. I explained my discontent and she asked me what I’d like her to do about it. I said that I’d prefer to defer that to her as she is the Manager, but some type of compensation is in order and could be in the form of a discount, store credit etc … She said okay. Then went on to tell me that the engraving is not done in the store and they actually enlist the services of a 3^rd party. Which I knew already … So unfortunately, they can not guarantee the work etc. etc … so I had to bring my personality out just alittle … I asked her ‘when you take your car in for an oil change, do you really care how they change your oil or just that it gets done and when you drive the car nothing falls off’? I mean c’mon now, I don’t really care who engraves … Not only should the engraver check their work, but I also told her that the store has some responsibility to also conduct a check to ensure that the Customer request was fulfilled and that this should be done before calling the Customer. I suggested that she add that piece to whatever quality control process they have going at the store for engraving requests. She said that she’d most certainly consider it …..

I picked up the bible today and not 100% pleased so I was refunded the engraving costs and also got a gift certificate for the store. That was satisfactory for me, so I smiled and thanked them for all their considerations. Hey .. this is what it’s like having limited carbs in your diet!!!!! Now you can understand why I keep to myself in these last couple of weeks before the show! I just don’t do well in public ….LOL!

So, my hubby and I are going clubbing tonight! That should be fun and I’m really looking forward to it!!! Have a great evening, and if learning abit more about me has not completely turned you off, I’ll see you back here tomorrow and if not, for sure on Monday!!! Cheers, Nke

With just 10 days to go, Wednesday’s are still proving to be a tough ‘dieting’ day for me. Not sure if it’s because it actual works out to be a ‘short day’ for me, with lots of time to kill and nothing really to do but relax. However, my struggle is trying not to dig for those extra cashews or pieces of chicken. I just get sooo hungry on Wednesday’s and I really think it’s because it is my most idle day of the week. Come 4 PM, I really have an open day. I’m not going to the gym to workout … which normally provides focus. I opt to leave work early … so I can take advantage of my rest day. I have nothing really to do, but relax and chill out … this lends to me thinking about my hunger and then actually going to dip. The worst is that I’m doing it consciously … but only admit to it after the fact … I’d be like .. ‘E, man I had some extra cashews’, and he’s like ‘Why’d you do it?’ … but then I have no answer for him except that I was hungry and gave into the weakness!!! Anyhoo … this close to the comp, it does not seem to do anything more than add guilt and a ‘false sense of weight gain’. But still …. I don’t like the fact that I lose focus.

With that out and said … I had a great cardio session this morning. I managed to get a bit more sleep than normal. I got 6 hours instead of 4-5 hours. So, that’s good for me. Going into next week, I’m seriously going to aim for 7-8 hours per night. No TV or any other distractions that will keep me up. I’m going to aim to start heading to bed each night by 8 PM. This way, I’m sure to be … head down on pillow by 8:30 PM.

My workout this morning was so good, partly because I tested out these new headphones that E got. We ordered them from the Apple store for his iPod. They are Bang & Olufsen Form 2. Wicked sound!!! I just might have to pick myself up a pair. I’ve always been partial to the earbuds, but these over the head ones are not that bad. They certainly lock in sound which is what I need at the gym to ensure my focus. I don’t like to hear anything at all when I’m at the gym.

That brings me to another topic … Is the gym a social place for you? It’s never ever been for me. I’ve never chosen it as a medium to meet people. The gym is purely for me, and where I am my most selfish! From time, the only person I can train with is Jully. I think I blogged about that in my early early blogs. The reason is that she has exactly the same mindset as me. We can talk for hours, but at the gym it’s about the workout and talk is minimal and restricted to the work at hand. I love that. For that reason it’s hard for me to train with other people. I did however meet my hubby at the gym. He’ll be the first to tell you though, that before he met me I looked very unapproachable. He noticed me from a distance for quite some time before we actually got to talking. I’m all business at the gym. It’s not that I’m rude, but more so focused. For example, I was on the treadmill at work the other day and a friend of mine was walking towards me to talk. I had my iPod on and just was not feeling to take an earbud out and chit chat … so I gave the nod of ‘not now … I’ll link up with you later’. He understood, and just kept walking right past. He was not offended in the least … partly because he knows me. It’s the ones that don’t know me too well, that feel a way. So I try to touch with them very briefly or let them know I’ll come by to talk once I’m done.

I see some people stand up and chat for time between their sets or throughout their workout … I just can’t understand how they feel like they’ve got a good session when they’re done and ready to go home. It just does not seem effective to me … but hey everyone is different. So, I just do my thang’ and call it a day!

Okay … that was all useless info for you … at least you know me slightly better now … ha-ha.

Anyhoo … off to work I go. Tomorrow is a vac day for me, so I’ve got a bunch of stuff to get through today. I just realized yesterday that we’re going into a long weekend and it’s even longer for me because of my day off!!!! Yipppeeeee ….. that all worked out well for me!

Have a great day, and I might see you back here tomorrow. Although off, I am attending a “Wealth’ course that came as part of the program I purchased at the Real Estate and Wealth Expo that E and I went to earlier this year.

Oh, I took some pics this morning. If after I upload and they look good, I’ll post a couple as week #20 progress pics. So, be on the look out for those.

Cheers, Nke

Man, tell me our bodies don’t look the best in the morning. It is truly the best time to look in the mirror and admire yourself! However, once you brush your teeth, or been on your feet for a about 10 minutes, it’s all over. Things start to level out, and gravity does its thang!

This morning’s cardio session was somewhat tougher to get through. I did not get the sleep I wanted, in fact I think in total it was about 4 hours. So, I started off sluggish. Finished strong tho’ … probably the last 5 mins or so …. Ha-ha.
My second cardio session will be this afternoon in the gym at my work place. This way, I’ll have the evening to chill out with E. We’ve got a couple of movies we’ve been sleeping through that I think we’ll try watching to the end today!! I tell you … Friday evenings, the intention is there to put a good flick in the DVD and watch it. You get all comfortable on the long couch … stretch out, get the comfortable, glass of water …. Or glass of something else … put in the DVD, watch the previews, start the movie …. And then next thing you know … you wake up and the movie credits are rolling … and you’re left wondering what the heck happened …. ‘You feel asleep is what!!!’ … Yeah, so we have two movies, which we had very good intentions of watching; one borrowed from two Friday’s ago, and another rented just this past Friday …. Thank God for ‘no late fees’.

I had a WICKED chest and delt workout yesterday evening, and then an equally accomplished 45 mins 2^nd cardio session on the elliptical. All in all, yesterday was a great focused contest prep day. During my lunch hour, I practiced my mandatory poses. Along with my sexy walk, and sexy wave!! Ha-ha. I’ve got the wink down pat! Watch out judges, coz’ here I come to ROCK your world!

Anyhoo … I’m not writing about anything useful today, so I think best to sign off.

Hope you have a great day!

“The secret of getting things done, is to act” – Dante Alighieri

Cheers,
Nke

I woke up this morning feeling very accomplished with my progress. My body is coming along, and I felt very strongly this morning that I will be ready so far as I remain calm, relaxed and focused. Today will be Day #2 of affirming that. It helped me push through the all the contest prep things I needed to do yesterday. I practiced my posing and worked on my glutes during my lunch hour yesterday. I got through a good back and rear delts workout. Lighter weights and more focus on both the positive and negative of each exercise and each set. Had a good second cardio session and really worked my abs afterwards. All in all, it was a great focused day and I feel great this morning because of it.

Today will be pretty much a repeat of that. I’ll be working on my posing, glutes and time permitting calves during my lunch hour. This evening, it’s chest and delts with my second 45 mins cardio session. Then home to get some good sleep. I did not get enough solid hours last night and need to catch up some.

Shaun altered my diet this week. So, starting yesterday I have only one carb meal. That’s the first meal of egg whites and oatmeal. After that, it’s purely protein and carbs through veggies. My last meal of the day is strictly egg white and veggies and funny enough, that’s been working out pretty well. Perhaps its being so close to the show has changed my mindset from a diet perspective. I’ll do whatever I need to do in order to get stage ready. So, it will be very interesting to see my transformation this week.

Forget the scale … I can’t even sweat that anymore. With all that my body has been through I just have to accept that my hormones are just raging and focus on how best to counteract that. Unfortunately, the fight with Mother Nature is on!! Ha-ha.

I’m going to head of now, and get my day at work started. Have a great day yourself and see you back here again soon.

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt” – William Shakespeare

Cheers, Nke

Bright lights no more … Each and every morning (except weekends), my alarm goes off for 3:45 AM. I quickly rush to brush my teeth, get the contacts on and get on the treadmill. Then, I proceed to do my 45 mins cardio session with the lights in the room blazing … It wasn’t until this Saturday, when I woke up a bit later and natural light was shining through the windows that I had the thought to do my morning sessions under a candlelight type ambience. So, this morning I tried it out. It’s too dark out for any natural light, so I got a dim lamp, plugged it in thus creating a candle-like effect. It was heavenly!!! I so much prefer it to the bright lights at that time of the morning! I even left putting my contacts in. I’d have to say that this was one of the best morning cardio sessions I’ve had during this whole journey. The 45 mins were done in no time. I even contemplated doing an extra 15 … that’s how pumped I was by the end. So, bright lights no more!!!! 

With just 12 full days to go, I am feeling calm, relaxed and focused. I have no doubt in my mind now that I will be ready. That stage is calling my name, and I’m going to be more than ready! I can’t wait for my number to be called and walking on stage for that first time. I just want to get those initial jitters out of the way.  I’m going to walk on smiling; strutting, and once I wink and wave at those judges it SHOWTIME!!! I’m going to make sure that this is one of the best performances of my life. I’m going to perform like it’s the last time I’ll have the chance to! As Trump says, “To be a winner, you’ve got to act like a winner”. No matter what, I am a winner and I place TOP #1 …. 

As my journey ‘quickly’ comes to an end, and I sit back and reflect … and even read through some of the blogs I’ve written … I’ve truly learnt more about myself. I know more now about me than I did on Jan 2^nd. I also love myself more today, May 14^th, than I did Jan 2^nd. This has been a journey where I’ve not only learnt about myself but about others in my life. With some, I’ve had to ‘reposition’, while with others, we’ve just grown closer. It’s really taught me about who is truly in my corner and loves me pretty much ‘unconditionally’. Those will be lifelong companions as I continue on my journey through ‘life’.  On Sunday, E and I by invite visited my Aunt and Uncle’s church. It’s called ‘Above All Christian Gathering’. It seems to be a predominantly Nigerian church, so I felt much at home. The Pastor is Nigerian. The African outfits that people were wearing were unreal! Felt like my wedding actually with the colors and styles. I actually wished I’d worn one of mine. It was like being back home for real. Even E felt it was like being in his Grandma’s church in Jamaica! Let me tell you what a powerful service it was. An extremely life changing moment! I will definitely be attending again. 

All in all, I had a great weekend! Unfortunately, other than at church, I did not celebrate Mother’s day with any of my Mothers. My Mom lives in Montreal. My brother and his family took care of her this year. Ottawa is closer, so they made the drive and treated her to a day out on town. For my Mother in-law, the plans were to take her out for dinner which I had to unfortunately decline. It just does not make any sense, and I was too worried I’d be tempted to ‘taste’ something. So, I opted to spend the evening at home. It was a good reflection time for me and I got some things done. E said the nicest thing to me yesterday … that was ‘next year, you will be celebrating your own Mother’s day’. That’s right… God willing… I will be a Mother … or on the way to be one … this time next year! My faith is with God that will happen. He’s already informed us that it’s possible… that was the seed… now he wants us to focus on creating the proper environment so that next time, that seed when planted will grow!  Anyhoo … I feel I got deep in this blog. Wonder where all that came from… anyway, it’s not to ponder. That’s just how I feel today. 

I’m off to start my day at work! Hoping you have a wonderful day and I’ll see you all back here tomorrow. 

Cheers,  Nke

I was on the treadmill this morning, and thinking … hot damn, I just have one more 1 hour Saturday cardio session to do before my 1^st show! Really and truly … time surely does fly! This was one of the easiest sessions to get through. Perhaps I am so near the end, that I’m mentally willing May 26^th to come along, and come fast …. Just not fast enough that I’m not 100% stage ready tho’. 

I’ve got a somewhat busy day ahead of me…. Took my braids out yesterday and about ready to go wash and treat my hair. I have a 9 AM appointment to get it re-braided and then a couple of errands to run afterwards. At 1PM, I’m meeting up with my posing coach for our session. I’ll be trying on both suits for her to critique me in today, so that should be interesting. 

I definitely believe in a little too much, so I will probably take tomorrow off from training completely. No cardio, no nothing … just focus on my diet and rest up for the next week. The upcoming week will be my last full weight training week. Shaun was taking me through how the last week before my show will work. Essentially, I stop training on the Wednesday just before my show. I wonder how I’m going to feel. I can’t remember that process from the last time. I think I remember really welcoming that break and that even though I was not training my body continued to transform. 

Then the whole water depletion process begins. It’s going to be interesting for me, coz’ my body is still stabilizing from the pregnancy. My hormones are just going crazy, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. It’s Mother Nature, and you just have to let her run her course. Hopefully, my body will react well to the diuretic and release a lot of the fluid it is holding onto now. 

If anyone at all has trained for a show, gotten pregnant, lost the pregnancy, and continued on training …. PLEASE holla at me, and let me know how you got through it. I was going to search a couple of forums to see if anyone has experienced this and could help a Sista figure out how it will all work out in the end. Perhaps I’ll still try and see if I get lucky. As I said … please holla if you, or you know someone who has experienced something similar or even close to it.  Anyhoo … time to go and wash my hair and get ready to tackle the day.  Have a great one … and if I don’t see you back here tomorrow, have a GREAT weekend! 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the special and phenomenal Mother’s out there!!! You are the seeds of the earth, so bask in your glory …Tomorrow is your day … everyday is actually … but tomorrow is specifically reserved for you so enjoy it FULLY!!! Cheers,  Nke

My gosh, tomorrow puts me at exactly 2 Saturdays before my show. On the 3^rd Saturday, I will be on stage …. Wheeeeewwwwweeeeee …. We are getting so close.

I felt very good on the cardio machine this morning. I got through my 45 mins session in record time!! Today was ‘L’ day. I listened to all the songs on my iPod that started with the letter ‘L’, and got me jamming. The scale unfortunately continues to play tricks with my head. When I started this journey on Jan 1^st, I’d just come back from vacation and got on the scale with all the water retention and what not at 160 lbs …. From Jan 1^st til now, if I were to realistically allow for 1lbs loss per week, I should be at least 19 lbs lighter… the scale should be reading 141 lbs…. well it’s not… I’m hovering about 5 lbs more than that. The weird thing is that I look lean, and feel lean. Perhaps my scale is jacked up!!! I should have heeded Jully’s advice from time, and bought an analog scale.

Mr Fedex arrived with my one-piece posing suit yesterday! It is absolutely stunning and looks nice on me. It fits okay, but not perfect just yet as I still have some leaning down to do. I love it, and can’t wait to strut my stuff on stage and show it off.

Passion Fruit Designs is DA BOMB!!!!! I totally recommend Berns Bedard and her team. They are such excellent people to work with. Berns holds a real special place in my heart. Thank you Berns …. You know why … Thank you for ALLL of your support, kind words, and understanding. You are truly a PHENOMENAL woman! I’m blessed to have met you. I owe that to Shaun ‘Muscles’ Campbell, who suggested that I contact you for a suit. Thank you Shaun!!

If you’ve never checked out their website, I suggest you don’t waste a minute more and click on the following link; http://www.passionfruitdesigns.com/. All of the big names State side in this industry for Fitness and Figure work with Berns and her team. When you check out her suits, it’s a no brainer as to why they do.

The suit fits soooooo comfortable and it’s not even a perfect fit yet. I don’t even feel like I’m wearing anything. To be quite honest, I wish I had also gotten my two piece suit from her as well.

I’ll be using the same one I used to compete in 2005. They are expensive, little things, so I chose to maximize the purchase. While my 2005 suit is nice as well, it’s really not as comfortable as Bern’s suit now that I have something to compare it to. That suit was made for me State side by another notable designer and the work she did on it was impeccable. You can see a pic of it in my profile pictures. The biggest difference for me for comfort between the two is the material. My two piece suit is somewhat scratchy on my skin. The material of my one piece is smooth.

E has taken pics of me in both suits, but for now I’ll only be sharing with a select few … for all you others, you’ll have to come out to the show to see my final physique transformation!!!! … or wait for the pics from the show if you don’t live in the Toronto area or not able to come.

Now, the next step is to continue to train and diet hard so that both suits fit me like a glove!!!

Have a great day, and see you back here tomorrow.

Cheers,
Nke

PS: For those looking to read some tips and tricks, I have to apologize for not having provided any for some time. These last few weeks unfortunately have been very trying and the next few are going to be extremely busy … so once I am done with my shows I promise to inundate you with stuff. Hopefully for now, you just enjoy reading about my journey!

Man, I forgot how hard these last few weeks are. Energy levels are low, cravings increase and the mind starts to wonder …. ‘will I be ready’. I’m at the point where I want to wake up in the morning, look at myself and say ‘I’m stage ready’ as well as being able to look in the mirror at the end of the day … with water retention and all and say ‘I’m stage ready’. 

So, all I can to do is continue to focus on the dieting … yum yum egg whites and spinach, and pound the cardio … loving my new ascics I bought … until me and Shaun are both saying “Gurl!!!! You are stage ready!!!!”  What a journey this has been ….. 

On another note … people stop the glimmity diets!!! Those fad diets just don’t work. Use that money to purchase yourself a gym membership, or a personal trainer / nutritionist, or even walmart ‘tupperware’ so you can carry your own cooked / prepared food!!!!  Your new definition of diet should be one that you create for yourself. If you choose a diet of bad food, then so be it … eat it .. .and don’t complain. 

Once again, I had a microwave convo yesterday with someone at work that went something like this … I’m at the mic heating up my meal #3, and this guy is snacking on a chocolate bar. He looks to me, and says “Looking at you reminds me of when I was living abroad and used to be sooo muscular and really watched what I ate”. So, I bluntly said, while looking at the chocolate bar … “what happened?”… To which he replied … “I just don’t have the time. My life has gotten so busy and I’ve put on soo much weight” … all said while patting his stomach…. To which I replied … “No disrespect, and pardon my ignorance as I don’t really know the daily happenings of your life, but the way you eat, look and choose to live you life is by choice”. I went on to say, “wanting to live a healthy lifestyle is a choice, and once made it comes down to the choices you make to achieve it” … this is all said while I’m thinking that the chocolate bar he’s munching on is probably not a great indication of how hard he’s trying to ‘get back on track’. From that point onwards, he started talking about being on Berstein, trying Atkins, reading ‘The Zone’, and all the weight he lost on those diets but got sidetracked, stopped them and then gained weight … probably more weight than what he started the diets on …. Anyhoo, the mic stopped, and I took out my food and felt it was time to cut the convo off … so I cut him (which was rude .. and I apologize …) … I said if I could offer some advice it would be to stop the ‘fad diets’ and focus on creating a ‘me diet’. I went on to say, that if he changes his mindset, he’ll find that time to work out and eat better. Whether he heeds the advice is up to him, but hopefully if anything, he stops funding those ridiculous diets …. 

More and more, I’m beginning to feel that my calling is to be a lifestyle coach. Actually working with people to make the necessary changes to a healthier lifestyle, helping and keeping them motivated and just having a part in their mindset change would be so rewarding to me. More so than personal training and nutrition planning … With a proper mindset change, laying the groundwork, they’d even be able to figure all that out themselves …that then becomes the ‘application of the knowledge….’ – true to my quote in April 25^th blog … 

Have a great day, and see you back here tomorrow! Cheers,  Nke

I’m feeling good this morning! Got up at my usual godforsaken hour and hammered through a great 45 minute session. The first 20 minutes flew by … I was busy responding to emails on my blackberry and the time just flew. Then, I played Russian Roulette with the songs on my iPod and jammed right through the remaining 25 minutes. I even did an extra 2 mins just for the heck of it! Actually, I wanted to hit a certain amount of calories …. Hehehe 

Yesterday, I had every intention of getting through 3 sessions of cardio. However, after finishing my Chest, Calves, Glutes and 30 mins posing, I was just too damned beat. At least I got my two sessions. The third was a bonus. Today, I’ll make up for it, and get a second session in even though it is supposed to be my off day. I plan to be in and out of the gym in less than 1 hour. Then it’s home to rest and relax.  The evening egg whites and spinach meal are working out alright. I add mustard just to spice it up abit. You should try it!!! 

Today is going to be quite an exciting day. I will be receiving my one piece posing suit. I just checked fedex.com and it is en route from Mississauga. The only problem is that I won’t be home to receive it … so, it actually won’t be an exciting day … tomorrow will be the exciting day … Hmmmmm … I probably don’t want to have them leave it outside either ….. That suit was pricey, and I can’t chance it being left outside … Okay, gotta figure this one out … forget about the excitement for now!!! Ha-ha I’ll have to get back to you on that one.  Well, I am off to start my day. It’s a busy one at that too! 

Have a great day, and see you back here tomorrow.  Cheers,  Nke

With just 19 days remaining until my first show, I finally feel that I have my competitive spirit back. To be quite honest, it had been lost abit since the time I had my miscarriage. I was committed to compete again, but I was not truly committed. Yesterday, I opened up to a really close friend about how I’d been feeling about the pregnancy and then the subsequent loss. That whole experience has really changed my mindset, and got me rethinking about my priorities. It changed me more than I knew, and I came to realize that yesterday. In doing so, I had a complete revelation which in turn just shifted my gears and got me going in a direction that I know now I want to travel in.

Sounds all confusing huh … well no worries, I completely understand what I’m saying and feeling … and that’s most important.

I have a renewed focus. I back on track and ready to win. Over the past couple of weeks, I was speaking the words “I want to win”, “I’m going to place top”, “Bring it on” … but I was not really feeling them. Ever since I allowed myself to unleash my feelings yesterday, I’m feeling renewed and ready. The first order of the day, is to compete on May 26^th, and June 9^th and WIN! Following that, I’ve got a new plan / journey all mapped out that I am just pumped to get started on. I’m back and ready … Now I can say with true conviction … “Bring it on”!!

So, first order of the day is to focus on the diet. I slipped a lot more than I’m willing to admit. It was a cashew here, an extra piece of chicken there … now, it’s all about getting on the right track with the meal plan. My food prep over the next couple of weeks will have to be the blandest yet. No seasoning what-so-ever and my new best friend will be mustard. The good thing is I can get E to cook me up my breast on the bar-b-cue, so that will add some flavor there. My last meal of the day will be egg whites and spinach from here on forth until I am completely stage ready. I’m throwing in one extra cardio session on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during my lunch hour. I tried it out yesterday, and it worked out okay. In the end, I did 50 mins in the morning, 30 minutes at lunch, and then 45 minutes in the eve. It seems like a lot of cardio, but I really need to make up for what my body was holding onto during the pregnancy. I’d rather be ahead of the game by end of next week, than still struggling to get stage ready a week out from the show.

As I said … I’m ready … my competitive spirit is back. No matter what.. I’ve won this one. Some serious challenges have been thrown in my path during this 21 week journey, and I’m still here battling it through. That’s gotta say something for my faith and spirit! It may sound like I am singing my own personal praises, but trust me… I did not do this alone!! Hell nah! I had some seriously STRONG forces in my corner in the shape of Family and Friends. They all know who they are! I could not … and I repeat NOT have done this alone. You’ve all been with me every step of the way, and I am TRULY grateful for that!

I feel accomplished today!!!

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a great day, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Cheers, Nke