Im writing again about my food as my stuff on my profile is a little old. I also offer nutrition plans in 6 week increments to get you on the right path. 

My food consists of different things depending on what part of the year it is. I have Nationals in less than six weeks so I am pretty minimal right now and don't reccomend this "diet" for the everyday person.

For a main tenance and maintain some semblance of leanness all year I do promote clean eating. This means nothing processed (except on a cheat meal, no ones is a saint of course) . I eat whole foods, rarely use protein shakes to be honest and try to keep my carbs and sodium to a minimum. I know some say low carb is bad, blah blah, blah but the simple fact is no one can seem to pinpoint just how many carbs a day is needed to keep your brain fuctioning and your energy level decent. Im aware everyone is different, but I keep my "grains and starches" to probably under 50 grams day. I do carb cycle, this means no carbs for a couple days then I carb up. Its hard to explain why I do this, but its always worked for me in maintaining lean. I use the term no carbs when referring to grains of potatoes or oatmeal. I of course, have vegetables, but thats a fibrous carb and doesnt count for much in the whole "carb" quota.  I don't believe that skipping vegetables just to be totally carb obsolete is necessary. 

My carb foods are pretty simple . I eat cream of rice (yes a white carb , oatmeal, ezekial bread, brown rice, white potatoes, whole grain pastas and minute rice has a new whole grain medley with millet, quinoa and barley thats pretty damn tasty.

I'm not much of a diet cheater, but I go for the worst like a mcdonalds mcdouble. Its probably about every couple of months. I can eat several of those !!  I know, its awful stuff, but after some time you just get a craving to grease up the system. 

I dont avoid all fats. I eat peanut butter and mayonaise too. I don't seek out food that are labeled low fat. I think they put other worse things in it to make up for the lack of sheer taste. Pick your evils !! Without fats, you skin will be drier and you will probably notice you hair starts to suffer as well.  Its important to be able to read what your body needs or you will do more harm that good depriving yourself. And I never go without cream in my coffee. I would surely go insane....

For proteins I am huge on fish. Its low calorie and high protein. I also have chicken, ground turkey and yes...BEEF. When dieting for competition I had to add 4-6 oz of beef due to extreme tiredness. I attributed it to anemia and added in the beef, a few days later I was fine.

For veggies I will eat most all of them. Veggies are super low calorie and I have at least a cup at about 3 of my meals.

For extra stuff you can get creative depending on what you will or will not eat. I make sort of a poor mans chili, using stewed tomatoes, green beans or other veggies, kidney beans, and ground turkey. Salsa actually contains only about 10 calories per 2 tablespoons, so feel free to dump some on there !!!  Also, throw in a bit of whole grain pasta and make it a nice soup in the winter.

Breakfast is eggwhites and oatmeal. Liquid eggwhites are available in any grocery store and are much cheaper than those fancy bodybuilding eggwhites. Its the same exact thing, only sold in quarts. Once a week or so I will throw in a yolk...cus I love the yolks, just dont eat them much in my prep.

For snacking you have to find stuff that can satisfy. I usually turn to rice cakes with peanut butter (and jelly sometimes). The crunch is pretty damn good.

Ive also taken up on eating Greek yogurt. I hated yogurt before I discoved Greek. Totally good and 14 grams of protein and only 140 to 160 calories. I will use them as a meal and feel like I did something bad when I in fact didnt

Other snacks can be almonds, baby carrots,apples....I find most things with a crunch that you can eat slowly and savor help satify hunger pretty well. Green tea with spearmint and a boatload of splenda makes you feel better if you crave eating bad stuff late as well....its kind of soothing.

One more thing....to control sweet cravings I do buy Halls Vitamin C drops, the sugar free variety. Only 5 calories each and they just help distract you with their seet tart kind of taste. Plus packed with vit C, you cant go wrong there.

Hope some of this helps.  In the beginning its important to be pretty strict with dieting, but after awhile when you are on target, you can afford to cheat a little more often...but you will probably find the cheats you think you wanted, dont taste as good to you as they used to. Mine was crunchy cheetos....now just salty and fake tasting to me. I was disapointed !!! 

For the most part, try to avoid stuff that was altered by humans. Thats where the problems lie....look at our pets, they were not fat until they ate man made dog food. Processed food is full of fillers to make it cheaper and to make you feel full, but so little nutritional value in it. You dont need to go all organic. It would be nice, but way too expensive for me. I do the best I can with what I have, thats all you can do.

Good luck!!! 

I got some nice comments on my legs, thank you for that. My legs actually are not much bigger than when I started out. They are only about 21 inches at their widest and I was probably 18-19  when I started....may hardest to grow bodypart.

I have absolutely KILLED them over the years to no avail. I lifted heavy, lifted light, mass repped, blah blah. I used to do them for up to 2 hours at a session and a couple times a week. I made up exercises for pete sake...still so slow.

 they look different this year only because my teardrops are a bit bigger and I was able to get a little seperation showing this season. I also started lifting less and doing more bodyweight exercises to increase range of motion and try to hit every little fiber I have

Often asked how I got so muscular as a female (only 5'2" and 125 and my only answer for that is 6 years training and up to 2 gym visits a day when I was bored. The ones who ask me are usually the ones who go for a month then quit.  I say "do the math. 365 days x 6 years is 2190 days. I have skipped here and there but like I said, did 2x a day sometimes. If I only did HALF of those times it would still be over 1000 visits.  Thats ALOT of gym visits!!!""

In a nutshell...obsession and dedication builds muscles. I competed alot, ate clean foods, rarely gained more than 10 lbs in my off season. This life is not for everyone obviously so we cant compare ourselves with others. We dont all have the same bodytypes or metabolism and some hard to train harder or less hard than others of course.

Anyway, have to run. I did train today, little bit of legs, nothing crazy this close to competition. I dont always have the best luck before a competition and sometimes injure myself. Like I said, a bunch of bodyweight lunges and a little machine work like leg extensions at 65lbs and curls at 70. Some reverse lunges on the smith as well.

Talk soon xoxox

Hello

My 6 year anniversary is coming . I get alot of " how did you get like that"? questions and lots of times its from someone who came back to the gym after being gone a couple years. Frankly, I used to go 5 times a week on AVERAGE, so even if I went only 300 times in one year, thats 300 more workouts than the person who is asking who took a year off.

I have my slacker moments of course, This is the first winter I have taken alot of time off from the gym in at least 2 years. I went off my diet, although its not like I was eating junk everyday, but I also had some lean body mass which is a body that burns calories more efficiently than someone who is unfit.

 I will start my new competition diet Feb 12th, which will give me 12 weeks until my first show. We have to requalify for Nationals for NPC Womens Physique even though we debuted at nationals. Oh well, more experience. But I really wanted to gain a few lbs of muscle if I could.

The short class has always been difficult for me, coming in at under 5'3" I either end up next to a small compact woman with shorter limbs and I look like a skinny gazelle or the super petite ones who make me look like a monster. I have long arms and legs which makes it harder to get volume I think.

My first show is May 6th in Boston, the Cutler Classic. I have done figure there for the past 2 years but physique is new with them this year. Ive ordered a new suit and am now looking for a posing song. We get 60 seconds at the night show if we place top 5. My best in Nationals was 7th, so I have yet to do a routine in front of people..unless you want to count my youtube post

Thats about it for now. Prepare for some first week dieting woes. I am currently down with a cold and not eating much because I cant taste anything, so hopefully that will help when I reduce my caloric intake !!!

See you and keep on dreaming

(My daughter and I)

Ok, Im a little lost with the new format. I couldnt find out how to see my comments at first and when I try to add friends, its so slow and I cant respond to thw comments there. Im sure they will work the bugs out soon enough. I think we are all messed up due to being over used to our facebook formatting

Im aware I have slacked on this site recently, but I do want to thank everyone for being brave enough to join and put it all out there. It makes a world of difference when you feel like you are not alone. Im currently in my first off season in a couple of years. Im feeling like such a slacker and I know I have to do this to sort of reboot my system and get a little more muscle for next season. Its not easy because Im so addicted to being tan and in competition mode pretty much all year long. I have to let it go and step away a little bit. Im still about a size 4, so I dont plan on packing on too many pounds just to have to take it all off again. I hate cardio too much to do that!

I dont think I have any competitions until next July but I do photoshoots all year and I will be doing one soon as a softer female.  I suppose it could be good for me to see myself differently. Keeping superlean has been a habit of mine, but you cant really add much muscle while doing it because you strength is always down when you are lean.  Its hard to consume enough calories and carbs to get some good energy going for a good workout as well. 

Next up for me is the Arnold Expo. I wont be competing, but I do plan to go. I competed at one before, so I didnt get to do alot of meet and greets or go to any booths.  I was working while in Vegas at the Olympia as well. Doing some shoots and I did a focus group with Optimum Nutrition as well, so I only got to check out the expo for an hour. All work and no play, you know?

I want to wish everyone a fantastic New Year as well. Please don't get discouraged if your resolution only lasts a month and then you mess up and eat a whole cake...it happens to everyone. I can eat some serious food myself.  I walked around at every holiday party looking 6 months pregnant. I hear it takes 3 weeks to get bad food to actually show up on you. I cant say its absolutely true, but it does help with the guilt

Good luck!!!

I get asked often for diet and workout plans, but here is
the problem with it. There are many, many factors that must be taken
into consideration such as :

1. Your bodyfat % &  Your Body Mass Index "BMI": this
tells me how much of you is made up of "fat" and how much of you is
muscle. This will tell me if you are 50 lbs overweight from being %
percent bodyfat (not possible, but bear with me) and are now at 25% and
want to be in the 12% range......that tells me you have to lose at least
25-30 lbs to reach your goal. Its not an exact science...but it gives a
general idea. If you have the ability to gain some muscle and muscle
weighs more than fat, your weight loss numbers may not be as high. Its
always ideal to try to build muscle while losing weight as a person with
lean muscle mass actually uses more calories than someone with less. 
You become more of a "calorie burning machine"

2.Your metabolism : If you haven't worked out in quite some
time or have been known to binge or yoyo diet, you metabolism may be
quite off and sluggish.  There are 3 standard body types /genetic
factors that play into this. Ectomorph: this is the person who looks
lean & /or skinny who can eat all they want and not gain a lb....but
sometimes have some decent lean body mass., mesomorph: this is a middle
range person who has the easy ability to build some muscle, isnt
technically overweight but may not have the best lean body mass due to
diet and lack of exercise. & endomorph: These people put on fat
easily and have to really work to keep it off. They may have some
fantastic muscle mass but carry alot of bodyfat over it. 

How much weight you need/want to take off...your 'want of muscle building'.: Do you want more muscle ? Do
you not care if your physical size gets smaller or do you want to build
certain areas up? For males and females, this can be quite a different
idea. You can have the woman who wants to be "bikini skinny" with her
idea of "toned" or a male who wants to be "ripped" with a decent amount
of muscle. You have to also decide on a realistic goal contingent on how
much effort you can/want to put into it.

Your heartrate while resting (RHR) : This will let me/you
know what cardiac range/intensity to need to target while doing cardio
to get the most "burn" for your fat loss goal. I do not want anyone
trying to lose weight by doing 2 hours on a treadmill. Id rather have
you do a tough 20-30 minutes  at 60-80% intensity and save the rest of
that two hours for a workout that will burn more calories and help you
gain some lean muscle. We want to increase your metabolism as well as
your overall health.

You normal daily activity levels: So....do you have a desk
job? Do you get up frequently? Is your job very active like a laborer or
busy bartender that is constantly on their feet and running all night?
If you have a desk job, then go home , have dinner and sit in front of
the TV until bedtime.....this is not a good thing but rather common.

Your ability to visit a gym or workout at home (how
often/long) Some people have children and a busy schedule, some have no
obligations after their work day. How many days a week can you dedicate
to exercise and for how long is going to be important. You can still
reach your goals, but expect it to take longer....be patient

Your gym experience: Have you EVER worked out? Do you know
proper form if I were to give you a "routine" to follow? Do you know
what your "lats" are? Without proper form during an exercise you can
experience injury or just not get the results you are looking for
because you are doing it "wrong". This is a MAJOR factor with online
training. If you are shy or uncomfortable at the gym...running into the
weight room and doing everything super fast and self conciously so you
can get out as fast as possible is not conducive to a workout with
results. Some of this is psychcological and we have to to work to get
you past it. I did it, so can you

AND any medical conditions you may have : This part is VERY IMPORTANT. Do
you have risk factors that put you in danger such as asthma, high blood
pressure, cardiac issues, diabetic, hypoglycemia, bad knees, previous
injuries, thyroid issues, back problems etc etc?  I have to calculate
your risk factors. The plus side of exercise is some things are
improved/ "cured" with exercise. Taking off extra weight and building a
stronger midsection (core) improves back problems and lessens some knee
problems you may have from carrying too much weight.  High blood
pressure can be improved with regular exercises as well as losing weigh
can reverse a weight induced form of diabetes. Diet also plays into
these as well.

My overall plan is to get you to you goal and not just "hand
out" a simple form letter with a schedule.  I like to educate you. I
don't like to put anyone on a "diet" and I find the word "diet" to
scream "TEMPORARY!!!!"  With your education comes a knowledge of how
food works on your body, things to avoid and to strip you of that "3
square meals" a day. I also don't like to give a target calorie range.
If I said 1600 calories a day, this does not intend to mean you can eat
less food, but bad food and count it as your calorie intake.  It in no
way means you can eat a couple decent things and end up eating 2 bags of
100 calorie "snack packs" with no nutritional value at 11pm I
believe in teaching good habits to everyone and retarining you on what
good food tastes like. Long gone is the Kashi that taste like cardboard
mixed with dust.  If you live near me, we can do a home visit and I can
clear out your junk and take you shopping.  I know what tastes good and
how to
prepare it to make your life easier and even more resistant to binging. I can change your mind on what tastes good

I'm aware and you must be too, that this takes
time....sometimes alot of time and you have to be patient and
realistic.  Your bodytype and lifestyle plays a huge part. Your attitude
and motivation does too.  Goals have to be set, such as target dates
and if you fail to reach them you have to set new ones.  I have failed
at goals myself. Im not asking for miracles, Im not judging you...life
happens to everyone.  You cannot even walk into a store without junk
food staring you down. Your family and friends may not be helpful so you
will need a mentor and some support from someone who believes you can
do it....but most of all YOU need to believe you can do it.

xo

Fern

ps. I had a closing paragraph but accidently deleted it

So I am competing in 5 days and my ankle is acting up really bad. I am pretty sure its where I broke it as a kid, but I was about ten so Im not positive. Once in awhile it just starts to hurt for so reason. I wasnt running, wasnt working out or wearing heels...........
I have a couple places in my physique routine when I go up on my toes so this will have to be modified if it still hurts. I could deal with just pain but this actually doesnt allow me to do that, it just locks up with shooting pain and isnt physically possible. SO, with that being said....this is going to possibly be Hell week for me
I wont quit, my routine may suffer but Im still going to do it. How can I not? All the time and heart I have invested in this show, the time I invested making up my own routine with no help just so its all me........just not possible to back out now.
Plus I cant do cardio so what you see on stage is going to be lacking a bit of what I could be. That could be a blessing in disguise because maybe Im too lean...you never know this. Ive never done muscle poses on stage before and have no idea on how that will look on me either. They look good at home, but stage is so different.. Now if you did it once, you can go back and say "this is what I need to fix, this pose looked weird or maybe I should extend the leg or tip the arms so the judges can see better"!!! You are, at your first show or first time doing anything "FLYING BLIND".
The last I checked I was at about 120lbs. This was too big for figure at my height, but any more lean and that would have harmed me too in my placing. I would have been great for it 2 years ago, but I have grown, my back isnt huge but every muscle is well defined and developed. I look at the other figure women and theirs are more smooth across, concentrating on shoulders, a small waist, hips and leg volume. An HOURGLASS essentially....never have I or will I ever have an hourglass shape. My proportions are 36/26/35 or so and the hip 35 includes the upper part of the glute so that isnt even hips really. My waist is thick with these obliques and I still have the abs, though I barely train them (not quite as thick as they used to be ) they are still pretty big. After doing figure at Team Universe a couple weeks ago I knew I was in the wrong division. I placed 13th and 16th, which with huge classes wasnt horrible...but it just pointed out the obvious. I dont belong anymore. In my first 2 shows this year I placed top 5, but probably due to conditioning and posing. The women are so tiny and I was never one who said I can go backwards and drop some muscle to fit in. Drop muscle is a dirty word to me!
So like anything, we try to fit in and there comes a time where we need to realize we never will. Its the same with many people and their fitness goals. if you have to pick someone to motivate you or to try to look like, please pick someone with a similar build so you know it closer to what you can achieve. Mine was Monica Brant and Michele Flake. Monica because she has great size without going tooo far and Michelle because she has 3 kids and was a figure pro as well. Now, granted , both have many many years ahead of me in training, Monica has no kids, but their frames are not too different than mine. Ok, Monica has a waist to die for....but not many have the same rib deformity as I do....but you get the idea.
I used to look more towards skinny models when I was just skinny, but those women have hips, they are 20 something...if that! What the hell was I thinking? I made myself ill over trying to look like something I never could. If you are not 5'10" and stick thin with DD implants, Victorias Secret is not happening!!! You will fail and you will hate the way you feel.
So, taking that into perspective....you have to find the you that looks best on YOU. For most people this is work and its not easy to rebuild yourself....but the reward is great. To slip on a pair of jeans and button them without laying on the bed does wonders for the soul. By the time I fit into my old jeans, they were high waisted and out of style to be honest. Im about a size 3, used to be a 5 because of the fat roll that would squeeze out over them when buttoned. Now the waist is too loose and they tend to be too tight in the thighs so I wear leggings often.
Ok, Im just babbling now. I just want to lend some support to those of you just starting out and having doubts about your success or feeling like you are failing. You are not failing....life and lifestyle habits are hard to break. Sometimes our families sabotage us, sometimes friends and co workers too. You have to look beyond that and do what makes you happy and you will be a better person for it. Its not just about looking good but if you feel good it shows in all aspects of your life and the way you are treated and treat others.
Im still shy, but I try to say hello to everyone, smile, wave....and I know some are thinking "friggin cheerleader, whats she so happy about?" and hate me...but I still do it anyway. It makes me feel good and more often than not....people smile back.
Thanks for reading
F

Im pretty nervous about my debut. Nationals are huge shows and if it was state level I feel I could jump in on a smaller scale and feel less nervous. I have zero problem with being on stage after doing it so many times, but this whole routine thing is kind of throwing me for a loop. I have the song I want (I think), but I have no posing coach and frankly I dont think I could remember a routine given to me by someone else. I could never even line dance or do the electrc slide without going in the wrong direction and bumping into people. I can dance like a freak, so its kind of what I am going to do I guess.........WING IT.

Im ok with my conditioning but I want more leg definition and I dont want to have to dehydrate to get my definition either. I have skinny face as it is and at 43, dont need anything making me look older up there. I always hate my stage photos and think I look better in person anyway. Ill post some from Team Universe figure last weekend. Im pretty lean but it doesnt always look that way in stage photos. I also did some video posing for a guy out there....I post that too.

Im trying to get in my cardio but its been well over 90 degrees everyday so I am lucky to get in 15-20 mins before I feel faint no matter how much water I drink. I have really low blood pressure and am low carbs, so its really draining me. Its not all bad...not like I fall asleep every few hours, but its a little annoying to not have energy. Plus I have all my other stuff like housekeeping, cooking, laundry, the gym and I still havent found a job. I had issues with my car, my plumbing and several other things went wrong. This is called life and I would know what to think if I didnt have something going wrong at least once a week. Id be waiting for something bad to happen I suppose.

I didnt do well in figure. I got 13th and 16th. I like figure but I can admit when there is nothing I can do to fit into it anymore. I have thick obliques, too much muscle in my back, well developed rhomboids, traps and teres major and minors. Im always hoping for bigger legs to offset some of my larger muscles for better balance but Ive been killing them and its not in my genetics to have bigger legs I guess. This is part of the reason I dont like going too lean in the legs as well........they lose size.

As far as physique....I have never seen me doing the mandatory poses on stage so I do not have a clue how I will look or what I need to fix. I think this will be my last show of the year so any corrections will have to wait until next year. The only other nationals (I think) is North Americans in September and physique as I have said...is at nationals only for its debut.
Ok, time to get ready for the gym.....more posing, more legs, more shoulders!!!!

Im pretty nervous about my debut. Nationals are huge shows and if it was state level I feel I could jump in on a smaller scale and feel less nervous. I have zero problem with being on stage after doing it so many times, but this whole routine thing is kind of throwing me for a loop. I have the song I want (I think), but I have no posing coach and frankly I dont think I could remember a routine given to me by someone else. I could never even line dance or do the electrc slide without going in the wrong direction and bumping into people. I can dance like a freak, so its kind of what I am going to do I guess.........WING IT.

Im ok with my conditioning but I want more leg definition and I dont want to have to dehydrate to get my definition either. I have skinny face as it is and at 43, dont need anything making me look older up there. I always hate my stage photos and think I look better in person anyway. Ill post some from Team Universe figure last weekend. Im pretty lean but it doesnt always look that way in stage photos. I also did some video posing for a guy out there....I post that too.

Im trying to get in my cardio but its been well over 90 degrees everyday so I am lucky to get in 15-20 mins before I feel faint no matter how much water I drink. I have really low blood pressure and am low carbs, so its really draining me. Its not all bad...not like I fall asleep every few hours, but its a little annoying to not have energy. Plus I have all my other stuff like housekeeping, cooking, laundry, the gym and I still havent found a job. I had issues with my car, my plumbing and several other things went wrong. This is called life and I would know what to think if I didnt have something going wrong at least once a week. Id be waiting for something bad to happen I suppose.

I didnt do well in figure. I got 13th and 16th. I like figure but I can admit when there is nothing I can do to fit into it anymore. I have thick obliques, too much muscle in my back, well developed rhomboids, traps and teres major and minors. Im always hoping for bigger legs to offset some of my larger muscles for better balance but Ive been killing them and its not in my genetics to have bigger legs I guess. This is part of the reason I dont like going too lean in the legs as well........they lose size.

As far as physique....I have never seen me doing the mandatory poses on stage so I do not have a clue how I will look or what I need to fix. I think this will be my last show of the year so any corrections will have to wait until next year. The only other nationals (I think) is North Americans in September and physique as I have said...is at nationals only for its debut.
Ok, time to get ready for the gym.....more posing, more legs, more shoulders!!!!

Ok, so I decided to go straight to nationals and skip the next "local" show. Im going to really bust my ass this time and go all out. I havent gone this crazy since...Masters nationals 2 years ago and I was very lean but lacked volume so I thought I just looked skinny and missed my butt. 

So this time I am fuller and my legs are fuller as well so I think my final outcome will be better. Whether the judges will like it is another thing but hey, Im doing it anyway. Funny cus I know some figure girls with what I see as more muscular than me switching to bikini this year. I say funny because in both of my shows this year it seems anymore more muscular than me was out of top 5 and I squaeked in at 3 5th places and a 4th placing. I was happy with my upper and lower symmetry this year so far, just want to get leaner without losing balance and bring out my quads/hams more.

I am also going to move in to the womens physique division towards the end of the year. I think I might be a better candidate there. I wasnt keen on the whole no heels thing but I tried some of the poses and I think I can do it. Im a little nervous about being on stage alone posing for a whole minute but maybe I can do a couple shots and I wont care....just kiddin! Seriously, thats my only isssue. I have to get past it though cus like I said I think the new division suits me even better than figure.  They only have it at nationals so far and I am hoping to see it in state level before the end of the year, perhaps at the new englands in Boston. I was thinking of writing a letter to the commissioner of the NPC to find out if they were adding it anytime this year. I dont think I want to wait until next year.  The longer I wait the more I will psych myself out.  Sure competing at nationals and shooting for a possible pro card could be a good thing but nationals are HUGE and have even HUGER crowds. I may pass out being on stage alone!!!

I will keep you posted on that part.  For nationals, team U...i have until July 8th and 9th. I think I am 7 weeks out and want to drop 5-8 lbs and step on stage at about 115. The problem is I know physically I will be pretty skinny for my clothes and that is going to mess with my mind a bit. Ill be wearing a zero by then...yuk! Oh well, we will see what happens when I get leaner, maybe it wont be so bad.

I trained tris and did some leg lifts and assisted chin ups today. It was an easy day because I wasnt due for anything really. Tomorrow I think I am going to hit up legs again. 2 x a week for me now...not heavy though, just moderate to tighten things up and burn some calories working them. I am also shooting for an hour of cardio a day. tough because its so boring I amy have to split it up to two 1/2 hour sessions.

ok, chat soon

F

This is my third time doing this show. The first time I won Masters, second time I didn't place and this time I got 4th in masters and 5th in Open. I can't say thats too bad considering both classes with pretty large. Masters might have had 20 women, it was a big class. So far this year, 2 shows and 4 trophies....not to shabby for an "old chick"....especially in open and even in masters because the starting age is 35 so I could technically be nearly 8 years older than some I have gone against. I do know how it feels to not place though........it SUCKS. I tried to come in a bit harder for this one and I stopped training abs with weights awhile ago and rarely train obliques so my waist may appear smaller. I saw a couple not so good stage pics and I swear they get me before I am in a complete pose. I know I dont pose with my arms so far away from me or my butt looking that low...jeez!!! Stage pics can be scary anyway. Sometimes we all just look like deer in the headlights and the ladies are usually much prettier than in photos....it looks like we are not even wearing make up yet in person we look like drag queens.
The show was another one that, like the WBFF, was run very well. There was a huge turnout...but let me just say this first..."IF YOU HAVE AN INKLING, A GLIMMER. OR A PRAYER OF COMPETING THIS YEAR...PUHLEAZZZEEE GET YOUR NPC CARD THRU THE MAIL!!!!" Check in for athletes was at 10am and the people who didn't have cards and who didnt pre register set us back quite a bit. I didnt even get to the dressing room until after 11am and the show was set to start at noon. I don't get there in full makeup or hair or in my suit. I dont want to put on my makeup at 8 or 9 am to be seen 3-4 hours later when my face looks like a cracked desert surface with clotted eye make up.......and if the hair is curled...forgetaboutit....curls are gone.
With that being said I met some awesome ladies in the dressing room! I suck at names but please find me here. I know none of you have weird names like me but I remember seeing Amber, tracey and Alesha. Im also on facebook under Fern Assard. Then there was that poor girl Renee? Who didnt place but she had a rocking little body and her back was awesome. Its me...Fern who helped you with your PAM spray. Nothing like meeting a woman by gluing her suit to her booty, but hey, it is what it is....no time for shyness
I didnt drop water this time, just loaded up and went normal for a day really. I felt much better and my daughter said my tummy was nice and flat. I dont have pics, just some little video clips if I can edit them.Video for stage isnt much better than photos. Like I said, people look better in person.
I have to say I always wonder if I even belong in figure. I was thinking I was going to try for size and go into bodybuilding, but bodybuilding for women is a dying sport now and I know I will never get that big. My initial issue was being too small, now most of the women who place above me are small. . Ill see if I can find a photo to show you how skinny I really am and maybe you will understand what I mean. The winner are very often tiny even when they are taller. One woman was in the over 5'6" and she got on the scale just for fun...109!!! I think she did good too....if I had to guess my weight it could be anywhere from 120-125 right now. I am once again a "TWEEN".
Now they are coming out with womens physique but I want to see it before I do it.They are starting it at nationals this year. 5 poses. open hand, no two flat foot poses, no lat spread....as follows. front double bi w/ a twist in torso, back double bi, abdominal thigh, side chest/bi and side triceps pose. No where should you be referred to as "cut,diced,shredded,grainy,hard or bulky" and you should look about a normal weight a month out from a contest. Sound easy? Hell no! Ok, fine...I can look that way, I always look that way actually, but at first they are having one class so it will be hard to judge with different heights and weights. Plus I need to see how the posing routines go to get a better idea. Some thing I like to go first for, but not this...Im chicken, yup I said it...CHICKEN. Id rather give a speech in front of hundreds than screw up a posing routine.
Ok, thats it. Im tired. Didnt train today cus I am posing sore....and my feet hurt. We didnt get in til midnight as my GPS wouldnt work and we hadf to wing it and go the long way home.
Talk soon

Allrighty, today was all beef, supposed to be all beef and
protein shakes, but Im trying to cut calories, so I skipped the shake. I
may have one later on. I got a good deal on these little steaks so I
just pop one in the microwave much to any onlookers horror...regarding
microwaved meat. It doesnt bother me to microwave and I know if I put it
on the stove top then I will have to use some kind of oil or fire up
the grill when it hasnt been used yet this year...nah! The steaks are
about 3 inches across and I put them on for 2 minutes and leave the
center pretty raw. Sorry vegetarians, I'm an obvious omnivore

My back/glute is still tweaked so I went in for a Thai
massage. She literally stood on my glutes and it was a bit scary but Im a
tough case and need a tough massage. She stretched me, she rolled my
muscles, cracked my toes and it was great. Im still a little tweaked but
I need to heal and dont expect an instant "cure".

After that I had an appointment about 40 minutes away and on
the way to both my brain is firing away and Im remembering that I forgot
to eat. Totally distracted day for me. A friend got ahold of the suit
lady and I am supposed to have it by the 14th, we will see about that
and no, I will not be content til it is in my hand.  You must understand
that competitors are always a bit freaky about having all their ducks
in a row before a competition. I have done this numerous times and still
I write out my checklist.  Today was also more tanning and I just did
my roots myself. Black has to be done a few days ahead of time and I
need time to make sure the stains on my ears and forehead have time to
fade. Im sometimes a little messy doing it myself. Im sure Ill go in the
bathroom and find some on the floor turned purple like my tub.

Next up is mani and pedi. I always do french and have real
nails of which are not terribly long right now. I broke one awhile ago
and had a fake once of which totally grosses me out so I needed to cut
the others to match. Ill probably get this done tomorrow. But another
pothole is my 10 year old lost a filling today and now I have to get him
to the dentist asap. Poor kid had strep and scarlet fever as a baby and
it affected all the enamel on his baby teeth. 4 kids and of course one
has to be a dental nightmare, right? Im sure something else will go
wrong over the next four days so prepare to hear about it.  After that I
have to just make an appointment for my custom spray guy. I never go to
the booth people or use anyone else. Eric from Sunsation has been
spraying women for over 20 years and it took him a visit to a show to
understand how dark we have to be. After he sprays me I wear it for
about 6 hours, then rinse with no soaps or lotions. Sometimes I add a
coat of jan Tana  the night before but the new formula doesnt really
need it. 2 coats of the new stuff and I think you are dark enough. I
have seen women almost black but I dont ever go that far. I may go a
little darker seeing as my hair isnt platnum anymore and wont look so
freaky, but Im not sure. This look is new to me....plus I still have
green eyes so it may still look a little odd.  I remember reading about
how other women would put several coats on during the week and not
shower.....no way I am doing that!  OMG you stink so bad and I have to
be freshly shaven. Im not a waxer, never have been. God bless if you can
go long enough in between to get re waxed. it takes me 2 minutes to
shave, no biggie. Ive tried other products but the jan tana is the best
and I dont use the dream tan cream anymore either. Its just so damn
messy and gets on everything, including your suit. We are not supposed
to use oils, but many women do not listen and use glaze....there is a
grey area here with rules depending on your organization. ive never seen
anyone kicked out for breaking the rules, but I always follow them
myself.

What else? Still super hydrating. I felt great last night.
The water is really taking away some fat. I start cutting my water
tomorrow. Ill stop when I see what I want to see and I usually still
drink coffee as its a diuretic. Tomorrow I also switch to chicken and
brown rice.....whoopie, the most boring meal on the planet for 3 days!!!

Ok, time to fly and dry my hair.

Only 9 left until I make my WBFF debut. Im pretty nervous but I havent competed in 10 months or so and I think thats why I am. Other than that I feel pretty good. I started drinking extra water and tomorrow I really start my waterload. I want to be a tad leaner in the legs and this helps me flush out excess and then see if I want to do a little dehydration to push myself a little leaner. Ill be honest and admit I drink coffee before my show....no way I am going into that kind of stress without my morning coffee. Im too set in my ways for that. I used to do everything by the book and now have learned that it isnt worth it if you dont place anyway...love my look or hate my look. proverbial crapshoot like I always say.

This will also be my 5th year at the gym. You know I still get alot of people wondering how a female gained so  much muscle, but damn, it has been 5 years and I figured if I went 300 days a yer to the gym...then I more than likely have been to the gym 1,500 hundred times. Probably more seeing as I sometimes went twice a day last summer due to sheer boredom. You get some people screaming steroids, but how many times have they been to a gym in the last 5 years and do they just flat bench when they are there? I eat right and dont cheat too much and when i do cheat, its not like other peoples cheats. Cheating for me is a bowl of mac and cheese when my kids have it or a taco salad if I am feeling crazy. I may eat 1/2 a pizza but its not cus Im a food freak, Im just not a fan of pizza and never have been. I dont like greasy or salty much anymore and this helps too. One of the best things is my 10 year old asked for ground turkey and brown rice for dinner last night. All the kids ate it and loved it....I made 3 lbs of ground turkey!!! See, kids will eat healthy if you train them right

Now also, this is my 4th year competing and yes, I bitch about the changes in figure...but you must understand that the figure I fell in love with no longer exists and yes, this bothers me. Its like saving up for a beautiful dress and suddenly its discontinued when you finally get enough money for it. I liked Monica and Ginas look...they got jacked and still looked "streamlined" and not bulky. Glittery and glam and supertan...was something I wanted.  Well now they are cutting out female bodybuilding from competitions....I never felt big enough to go into it even if they had lightweight. I didnt want to step on stage with my little legs and knew that you really would get your ass whupped if you went nationals with some of the ladies who were 5' tall and in your weight class who were able to obtain mass when I couldnt. So that was a dead end for me there.  Now with the introduction of the new womens physique division I am truly intrigued. The rules can be found on http://www.npcnewsonline.com  but you know things will be modified as it is a new class and things change as they go like anything else. Thus far we are looking at 5 mandatory poses. front double bi,back double bi, abdominal thigh, side bicep and side tri. All open handed , no flat foot and no heels. a 60 second posing routine to house music is my biggest concern here, not knowing my music and learning a routine....how would I keep to tempo? The womens physique overseas in Brazil and such wears heels and is a little racier with thongs. THank God no thongs here!!! Thats a little too on stage naked for me. Ill do photos in a thong, but thats not in front of people in an audience with the possibility of gibbly bits hanging out and my kids in the audience......

But the new division was just announced and Im going to wait to see how the kinks are worked out. No graininess, no hardness, no overt leanness...any reference to BULK and you are out. I admit I like getting lean and feel I have to being my age and after kids, thicker waisted than I want to be on stage and the only way to pare it down is to get leaner. They kind of said it was like being a month out from a show kind of body and its an open class. Hopefully this will change to a weight class when there are more competitors. I cant imagine being on stage next to someone 6 inches taller with 50lbs over me. Lots of time, its all about who you are standing next to and I know Im a peanut in real life and often people comment on how little we are when they meet us in person.

Anyway, got to run. 1/2 a gallon of water and Im all bathroom every 20 minutes.

So I decided to go with the WBFF for my debut show. This is in no way a slight to the NPC. I just like to expand my horizons and then I can share what I learned and then share with anyone who asks. The decision is totally unpolitical in any way.

So, Im happy with my current condition but that doesnt mean much really. Ive been leaner, Ive been softer, so I just have to be whatever and hope for the best. I did a radio interview with the promoter Brian Cannone and Sebastian for the Fitness Atlantic and had a great time. As I told them, winning or losing doesnt define me as being successful. I keep plodding along regardless. Sure there have been times I was totally pissed at losing when I liked my body better, but also times when I saw other women and was like "holy crow, she is going to smoke me".  I did a big show in which I was last callouts with other women who I saw and thought would surely smoke me and was thinking "are they doing judging from worst to best?". Not speaking to be mean, but I honestly believed they had the best bodies of the bunch and were all AFTER me. I thought the same at the Jay Cutler when I won. I was one of the smallest in the group and was in awe at all the great legs on stage with me. So you NEVER know :0

In my journey of 20 shows , give or take I have only won 2. does that make  me a less successful model, blogger or fitness advisor? Nope. I actually had a pro card with FAME/WNSO at one time in fitness modeling and my ultimate goal is not a pro card. I like to compete and a pro card would kind of limit me more in the way of shows. I wouldnt turn one down, but ultimately...its not a key to the city so to speak.  Ive gotten free supplies and supplements from writing, gone to the Arnold and worked for Gaspari, competed in some of the biggest shows out there and have done modeling all over and gotten paid for it...not to mention all the.  This is certainly a tough business to get in to. Most of us will only ever get as high as nationals and there is nothing wrong that at all. I have met tons of great people in my travels...this is all priceless stuff. Im not monetarily rich from any of it....just rich in experience.

A great friend and I are combining our brains and our knowledge and experience to open a new kind of fitness studio. I cannot give all the details at this time, but good things are coming!!!

Im going to post a photo of my current condition if I can upload one. Im waiting on a second suit and am freaking because the one I have is a smidge tight and I wanted the 2nd option if I dont want to be leaner or if I am holding water. the women who made it has not responded to my email after I paid the balance so I am a little worried

First show?  It took me awhile to figure out what to bring with me to a show. I have a designated rolling suitcase that I usually leave partially packed all season long.  This makes life easier.  You have to prepare as you will not be at home and you have to act like the worst can happen. Nothin like forgetting suit glue and having a buitt cheek exposed on stage.  The other ladies will help you if you ask, but if you do not know anyone........it can be hard.

Here are some basics;

tanner with an extra pad

bottle of glosser (better than oil) stay away from the PAM. It makes floors slippery from overspray and most shows have banned it.

scissors/sewing kit

extra shoes and an extra suit if you have one. Yes, Im into overkill

baby wipes and a towel

Obvious things like your makeup, a handheld shaving mirror and a door mirror if you can travel with it.  Some shows provide extra, but if they dont...youre lucky to get to check your suit before hitting the stage cus sometimes dressing rooms are overcrowded.

Hair curler and/or straightener. though outlets may be few and far between

non latex gloves for tanning

suit glue or 2 sided tape.  I prefer the tape as it does not ruin suits!!!

Moleskin or inserts for shoes.

Band aids/nail file/clippers

safety pins just in case

plus your food and drinks for carbing up and sugaring up. I always have rice cakes, peanut butter and jelly and peanut butter cups.

exercise bands for pump up.  I dont like them but I have hand dumbbells stolen before. They are better than nothing.

\I think thats it.  I may have missed something of course. If you think you may need it, just briong it.

Good luck!

So I had been on FB for quite some time, got shut down 3 times initially and all I had at those times were some competition photos.  I was shut down again and all my new photos deleted systematically and reported as pornography. I would like to know when standard triangle bikinis became pornographic.

The thing about Facebook is that someone in your friends list can report any photo you post and have it taken off.  Often times these are people who build fake profile to do this. I have gotten mail from people telling me that it has happened to friends of theirs and we are not allowed to know who the person who reports us is.

I suppose it doesnt really matter, haters will be haters no matter what.  The great thing about bodyspace is I have had photos reported....NORMAL photos, no different than sports Illustrated Swimsuit and admin here does NOT remove them if there is nothing inappropriate about them. This is more fair.  The fact that my FB was slated as over 18 only just to be on the safe side, doesnt matter to them. If someone over 18 cant view a bikini photo in this day and age, there is a serious problem with our society.

We all work very hard on our fitness and being proud of our accomplishments is why we are here. If I cannot be seen in a dress or skirt because its "too sexy", shall we all go back to being overweight and hiding under Burkas? It sounds like Afganistan and their rules against women!

Let me say this.............you will NOT stop me from my goals no matter how much you harass me. I didn't come this far to cave in to bullies. My life was the same before FaceBook and it will be the same afterwards haha...still smiling

Ive added a new show with the WBFF...Fitness Atlantic April 16th in Wallingford CT.  Im doing Masters Figure as usual. Im still a member of the NPC, but many people are either switching or doing both now. I dont think there is a huge difference in posing or anything major I need to know about. The show is about 5 weeks away?  Maybe less? I took a few days off from the gym and now I have to take my sick kid to the Dr, so I may miss it again tonight.  In the very least I will get in some cardio to keep my guilt at bay.

I still have my fanpage or like page or whatever that is over at FB.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001053075723#!/Msfitfern or my twitter account:

http://twitter.com/#!/msfitfern

I am always posting links to workouts, diet tips, etc.  Stay tuned