Mikiko’s BodyBlog

What a wonderful weekend!  Friday I drove down from San Francisco to attend the LA FitExpo.  I had never been to an expo before, and boy, was it worth the drive!  I hear the Arnold is a lot bigger, but I had a lot of fun at the Expo this weekend.

 I left the City at about 7pm and arrived at about 1am.  I stayed at the Comfort Inn at Manhattan Beach.  The room was very comfortable and quite.  There is a courtyard outdoor swimming pool and jacuzzi.  There was alot a microwave, big mini-fridge (the 3-ft tall ones) and coffee maker in the room…everything I needed to get my meals ready!   There was also a hospitality suite with a small continental breakfast, which is nice in case you need more coffee / tea / utensil / etc.  Costco and the mall are about 5 min away.  The hotel was about 15 min away from the Expo w/ no traffic, took about 45 min in heavy traffic.

 I attended the Ironman show Saturday night.  It was well-attended and the posing routines were fun to watch!  Everyone seemed like they had energy and was happy!

Sunday morning I met a friend for some early morning cardio.  I planned on driving back later that afternoon, so we met at the gym near the Expo.  24-hr Fitness and Gold’s Gym in the downtown LA area don’t open before 7am on Sundays.  We ended up training at the Gold’s.  It was very small, but the staff was very friendly and the facilities were clean.

I was at the expo by 8:30 am..there was already a long line!  They were holding tryouts for Amercian Gladiator, so I thought, what the heck…   It was FREEZING inside the Expo hall, so I found the House of Pain booth (yay!) and bought a cute and very warm sweatshirt for only $30.  I got back in line to fill out the 40-page questionnaire for the Gladiator tryouts.  There was also a fitness assessment test…max rep pullups for a minute, max rep burpees for a minute followed by an agility ladder, and 10 laps of sprints followed by a Q&A with a casting director.  It was a lot of fun!

There were lots of vendors at the expo, and a great opportunity to try all the products you’ve been seeing / hearing about!  I got a LOT of samples and t-shirts…including extras to take back to the office for my fellow fitness buffs!  All of the vendors were very nice and helpful!  I am planning on reviewing each sample of product I received at the Fitness Expo.  There were also a lot of IFBB’s about…I was too shy to ask any of them to take a picture with me, I was so starstruck!

I’m sad I can’t afford to go the Arnold next year, but will definitely go next year!

I am not recovering so well from my workouts.  My muscles are really sore, especially in my quads.

I found a chihuawa today.  It was running around the middle of a busy intersection.  I live in a neighborhood that is predominantly African Amercian, and is it me, or are they afraid of dogs?  Anyway…I see a bunch of people looking in my direction with horrified looks on their faces, and I look down…there’s the dog at my ankles.  The kids are leaping away like it’s a rat.  It runs in the street, and a lady asks if I am going to get my dog.  I’m like, that’s not my dog…but since no one is doing anything, I drop my stuff and grab it from the street.  Some a$$hole in an Escalade yells, "are you f*ing crazy??!!  Do you want to get killed?  Get your dog outta the street!!!"  I’m like, it’s not my goddamn dog!!!!!!!  I figure since I live just a few blocks away, I’ll bring it home, post an ad and hope the owner responds.  The thing is shaking and whining, and of course I’m feeling sorry for it.  I bring it inside, and as soon as I put it down, it starts to pee all over my brand-new bamboo floors, and all over the chair and table legs.  I’m like, WTF???  And bring it outside on the deck.  It starts pawing at the glass patio doors and whining.  By this time, I’m in pain from the dentist, hungry cuz she took 3 hrs, and thouroughly annoyed…I should have just minded my own business and let it be hamburger meat…why people want such an annoying pet is beyond me!!! Luckliy my roommate comes home and is nice enough to take it to the animal shelter for me. Boy…I am grouchy for hating such a helpless creature…I am still the same person that used to bury dead songbirds because I felt bad for them.

I bought a new food scale.  I got a digital one that is accurate +/- 0.01 grams that also provides detailed nutritional info…calories, carbs, protein, etc.  And….I found out I my old scale was off 2g!  Geez, no wonder I am hungry.

I just got back from the dentist…she is putting rubberbands across my top and bottom molars to help erupt them.  I am in total pain, and can’t chew my food…man this sucks.  I do not recommend getting braces while trying to prep for a show!  The bright side is I am supposed to get them out next month, I’ll keep my fingers crossed!

I’m down to 123lbs.  I think my tan looks good, I bake in the booth about once a week.  The products from Max Muscle I have been taking (Minus 10, Collagen) have really helped to repair my skin.  I’m also being extra anal about keeping my skin hydrated by drinking a ton of water, and using a lot of lotion and coconut oil after all my showers (I take 3-4 showers a day) and exfoliating every day.  I’m using Oil of Olay Regenerist lotion, the day lotion and night cream on my face.  I’m making sure to get monthly facials and I’m waxing my body hair vs. shaving.  I just bought the Pur Minerals foundation since it’s supposed to be good for your skin.  I DO see a difference…my skin looks really, really great!

I’m starting my Week 10 countdown.  The past two weeks haven’t been the best…I have skipped a few meals and I haven’t established a good routine yet. So far, the bulk of my nutrition is coming from egg whites (Thank God for Egg Whites International!!!), tilapia (Ranch 99 sells economical flash-frozen filets in bulk), chicken breast (I have been able to find these at Smart n Final for $2.99/ lb), green beans, yams, and oatmeal.

Breakfast: oatmeal cooked with hot water; after it’s softened I add my egg whites and liquid stevia flavoring

Morning snack: ground turkey with taco seasoning.  I make a sauce with canned tomatoes, onions and mushroom, and top my turkey with a spoonful.

Lunch: Tilapia cooked in the microwave for 1:20, seasoned with salt and pepper

Afternoon snack:  I grill my chicken on sundays on my cuisinart grill…I just cut the breast into strips, season with salt, pepper, and Herbs du Provence, and grill on the Cuisinart panini grill press for about 3 min each batch.

Evening snack: I make an omlette with egg whites and salsa in my microwavable omlette maker.

As long as I eat my meals on schedule and eat all of my veggies, I don’t feel hungry.

I have never been a water drinker…or any beverage of that matter.  Recently I’ve acquired a taste for Chai Tea (just from the teabags, sweeteened with Stevia), and will drink it by the liter now!