COMPETE 2 WIN!!!!

Today I met with my trainer and for the first time in 12 weeks he really looked pleased with my progress!!!  All of this hard work has paid off!  After tomorrow it will be smooth sailing into competition day b/c no more 3 1-hr cardio sessions after Tuesday..I know I’ll feel sluggish when I start depleting my water on Wednesday.  But I can deal with that better than the cardio, that was pure torture!!!  

I’ve posted some new progress pics!! I’m 117 pounds.  Once I start depleting water I’ll probably drop another 2-3 pounds!  Anywho, I’ll probably post more pics Friday evening after I check-in. 

 Thanks to everyone who has taken this journey with me.  Your encouraging words have been a motivating force for me to stay focused, train hard, and stay on the diet!! Thanks again!!

I made it!!  12 weeks of dieting and 7 days left!  I’m so proud of myself right about now.  It’s been a long road, but like my mom always told me….I can do anything I put my mind to.  I definitely put my mind and body into doing this show.  Yes, I contemplated/talked about it for approximately 18 months, and a year ago this month I told myself that I would be doing this show in Nov. 2007.  By July 2007 I was meeting with my trainer to discuss my diet and what needed to be done to get off 30-35 pounds of bodyfat!! Thank God I had a decent foundation of muscle under that fat!! 

For me, this has been all mental…ur body will do just about anything you tell it to do within reason, but your mind has got to be in it in order to do this diet and train consistantly.  It’s funny b/c several people have seen me and said, “I thought you were just talking, I didn’t believe you were seriously going to do a show”.  So it feels great to prove people wrong. 

Week 12 felt pretty good except for Monday.  I have no idea what was going on other than that I felt bi-polar. I had so many highs and lows that day it wasn’t even funny.  I believe day 10 was the hardest day since I started.  By Tuesday I was feeling great.  I got my 1-piece custom suit in the mail on Tuesday also..absolutely stunning, breath taking, beautiful, the bomb, all that, and a dayum bag of chips!! And it fits like a glove!  My suits are beautiful and that’s one less thing I have to worry about!

This morning I weighed 118 pounds!!! 6 pounds down from last week!! Looks like I’ll be going in at 110-112 after all.  My waist is 25 1/2 inches which is great, great, great!!! I’ve worked so hard for these abs, (yes, that 6 pack) and I’ve promised myself I will not loose them in the off season.  I’m already planning my attack as well as goals to make sure I stay in order!  I said I’d luv for my waist to be atleast 24 on competition day and it might just be there.  And my poor hips..I’m down to 32 3/4, wow!! That’s where posing comes in…it’s amazing how if you hit the poses just right you look like u have curves, although I’m rather poor on the backside right now, lol!!  It’s all an allusion on stage…u can have the best physique, but if ur posing is off, someone who is lacking in an area, but can pose, can possibly place higher than you.

For my final week I’ll continue my 3 hrs. of cardio through Tuesday.  On Wednesday, I start cutting my water to a 1/2 gallon.  Wednesday will also be a beauty day for me…..Hair,nails, pedicure.  Thursday will consist of my waxing appt.,  then apply my first coat of Tan, and my last posing session for some final tweaks.  Friday will depend on how I’m looking, will probably still be at a 1/2 gallon of water..my body doesn’t respond well to that “carbing up”, we did a practice run at week 5…so I’ll maintain my diet.  Friday evening I’ll sign-in the last 15 minutes..in my previous shows I always went on stage last or close to last, and that seems to work best for me.  So as long as I’m towards the end I’ll be happy.  On Saturday I’ll start at 4 or 5am eating 1 rice cake w/jelly every hour on the hour until pre-judging, and maybe a piece of chocolate.  And that’s about it!!!

Well, I’m almost there!! Stay tuned for my figure goals for the 2008 season!!!

In 11 1/2 weeks of dieting I would have to say today is the worst day yet.  I feel like I’m Bi-Polar.  For those of you who don’t know about this psychiatric disorder: The major symptom  is going back and forth between Mania to depression…usually at one state or the other for days-weeks at a time. Well, for some reason my mood has been flip flopping all day long.  One minute I’m feeling great the next I’m asking myself why in the hell am I doing this!!!  One minute I’m telling myself I’m going to do the Arnold Amateur in February to can I even maintain my weight long enough to do that show!! What?  Of course I can….but I’m having self doubt.  I’m going to attribute these mood swings to no carbs and exhaustion!!!  I pray to God tomorrow is a better day or this is going to be the longest 9 days of my life!!!

"The first and most important step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed." By: Nelson Boswell

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." By: Aristole

“Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.” By: Rabindranath Tagore

Hello All,

I made it through week 3!!!!  Maintained the plan and all went well.  I’m down 4 pounds from last week so I’m right on target.  The 3 hours of cardio is definitely working.  I weighed 123 pounds this AM, 6-8 pounds to go, which is very do-able (is that a word?) in 13 days.  My trainer believes I’ll go in at 115-116 which is still heavy compared to most gurls my height who weigh in between 105-110, but I know I just have entirely too much muscle to get that low and look about something!!!  I could go in at 110 but I’d be way too depleted, if not near death!!!  

Mentally all is well.  I’m irritable but I’m making sure to control it as much as possible.  I’m also a tad bit forgetful (that’s what lack of carbs will do to you).  I got really upset yesterday b/c some how I’ve lost my IPOD, (well I think I left it on the treadmill and someone took it) so now I have to do cardio listening to whatever is playing  in the gym.  Only thing that makes me feel ok is that it’s not my new IPOD I’m planning on getting for Xmas.  I had maxed this one out so I was looking to get the 80GB anyway.  I’m just trying to rationalize the situation so I won’t be to stressed, but I’m still pissed!!!

My friend called and asked if I needed pics taken, so I’ll probably be posting a few in the next few days!!

20 days out….I can’t believe it.  In 20 days I’ll be on stage doing quarter turns and smiling.  I spent this weekend trying to mentally prepare myself for week 3.  I’ve been told by my trainer and posing coach that week 3 usually makes or brakes people.  Well, I plan for it to make me! 

My plan for this week is to continue to do what I’ve done last week.  Three hours of cardio, continue to train (which is the easy part), maintain the diet, and continue to hit the abs.  I can’t remember how long ago it was that my trainer ordered me to do 800 crunches a week, and I thought he was absolutely crazy.  Now I’m doing about 1,000 different ab moves a week.  Some would think that ’s over kill, but for me I’ve seen tremendous results.  I also need to keep up water intake. 

This morning I weighed in at 127.  I still have another 7-10 pounds to go!

My workout partner has been taking pics of me while I’m lifting…so today I decided to practice my posing.  I’ll be 3 weeks out the day after tomorrow…(Sat. Oct. 13, 2007)  I’m currently at 128 pounds, sitll have 10-12 pounds to go. 

Wow, although this has been painful at times, it doesn’t seem like I started this diet 9 weeks ago!  Here I am at 4 weeks out from my competition.  Last week was crazy for me.  The 3 cardio sessions a day just didn’t do well with my schedule.  I worked my part-time during the day so it left me pretty exhausted.  I spoke to my trainer and we decided to just add an additional 30 minutes onto  my 60 min. AM and PM session for a total of 3 hrs. day.  I started this on today and it actually felt pretty good.  For my diet we decided to take out the chicken and switch to talapia…so now I have 2 meals w/ talapia, which is fine with me.  Everything else stayed the same.

Other than that things are going as well as can be expected under the circumstances.  I’m hungry, irritable, and I have to constantly bite my tongue b/c sometimes a nasty response just isn’t at all necessary.  I pretty much have everyone trained at the gym now, so they know to keep the conversation short and not to be too intrusive with all the questions.  But, I make a conscious effort to speak to everyone who speaks and I try to smile!!

I’ve tightened up tremendously this week especially in my midsection (that’s where I’m holding all of my water).  The posing sessions are making a world of difference in my physique also.  It’s absolutely amazing how little techniques can make u look 2-3 inches smaller.   The plan for the next 4 weeks is to stay focused, stay on the diet, maintain the cardio, and keep up with the high reps on the weights.

I doubt I post anymore pics until after the competition.  

Today I had my first posing session.  It was amazing to see how posing correctly can bring out the best in my physique.  I can’t wait to see how I will look after I drop these last 13-15 pounds.  I have to say posing for figure is just as challenging as bodybuilding.  And the stripper shoes don’t help!  My session was only 30 minutes, and after 15 minutes I was sweating the clock b/c my feet were absolutely killing me!!

I must say the session improved my overall confidence.  My posing coach commented several times on my physique and felt I definitely had great lines (as he said it) and a good structure.  And I could actually see the difference in my physique when I hit the poses correctly.  Anywho, I’ll be doing posing sessions 2x a week until my show on Nov. 3.