TaraLynn1973’s BodyBlog

I posted the new progress pics despite the fact I am disappointed and upset in the way I look at the moment. I can see I’ve gained some muscle but it is covered by what I see is a tremendous amount of fat. I like my arms,and the size I have gotten in my lats but thats it right now. I have 14 weeks before the first show and I am hoping to see some drastic changes over the next few weeks. Last year I was weighing in around the 130 mark and Tom would like to see me step out at around 140 this year, bigger yes…..but I am not sure about the lean factor and no doubt , that is my biggest concern.

20 weeks out, my weight is upm to 151 -152 depending, and strangly enough it must not be as bad as I think, I have gotten more compliments in my figure now than when I was thinner!! Maybe BIGGER is better, LOL…..I have definately put some decent size on and granted its not all good, but I think when we strip me down this time I will have a much fuller look. Trainer Tom Lite is like a mother hen, checks on me and tells me like it is, basically I have to stop whining and cryin like a sissy and suck it up, deal with the weight, I’ll look better in the long run. I am stronger than ever lately, lifting more than my usuall so thats pretty cool, theres nothing better than grabbing a heavier weight than the guy next to you…(not the big guys…)

Question: How much muscle weight can you put on in a months time and at what ratio to fat weight?? anybody???

what else can I say, lift heavy, train hard and have a bad ass day!

OK I’m over it, got together with my original trainer Tom Lite and am making the necessary changes to drop this weight off my a** and get into the pre-contest mode. September….yeah that puts me at 21 weeks on Monday, I’m bigger, leaner and most certainly meaner. I’m qualifying this year and failure is NO option. For those of you that check in and see whats up, thanks for all the love and support, being obsessive, compulsive over diet and training is no easy task, but knowing there are other insane people out there defiately makes the ride smoother!

This will be the longest I am dieting for a show, but the goal is to tighten up more now so I dont have to do that AWFUL cardio 90 times a day for the last few weeks, it’s be a dream come true. I’m eating a ton of food now, so much in fact I can barely choke it all down, and I mean it, I’m sick of meals…now I say this now and I know what you all are thinking, ha ha haaaaa wait a few weeks and you’ll wish you were eating and full. I’ll be tired, I’ll be hungry, so what - suck it up! I feel a win coming on this year.

Have a blessed and healthy day!

Well I am one pissed off bit*h, I saw the pics from the West Texas Classic ( congrats to the ladies that worked thier butts off to be there!!! )  and I should NEVER have dropped out two weeks before, I would have made it. A lesson learned though, do NOT listen to the discouraging words from anyone, do what you want to do. I am more mad at myself than anyone right now, but bottom line is I AM MAD!!!!

Since coming off the diet, my weight is all sorts of messed up, I am heavier now than I have been in 2 yes TWO years, I put on almost 11lbs and can’t stand the way I look, has this happened to anyone else???? Give me some insight here, I’m freaking out! I am still eating healthy but looking worse than ever, WTF???

Jeeze I sound like a raving lunitic, then again, I am a woman so F it, I’ll rant and rave and not care anyway. So whats next ?? I dont know, I am thinking about saying screw Figure and go head on into BB, see what happens, any thoughts??  

Well for those of you who don’t know, I am not - I repeat am not doing the West TX Classic, my weight and bodyfat didn’t drop enough to get me up there. Patrick ( my nutritionist/trainer at Fit Life Studio ) made a great point, I dieted from August 2008 to Nov 2008 for my first show, and things went beautifully. The show was over, I never did change my diet, I still refused to eat cake, etc, and then what 6 weeks later in January started a pre contest diet…..mmmmmm maybe way too soon!!! Thing is now, since deciding not to do the show and resuming natural eating habits I have gained MORE, I am now heavier than I was in January. I topped out at 147, and today was 145.2, still high for me. I am hoping and praying some of that is lean muscle…..whats a girl to do??????

Been a strict diet of protein shakes for the last 7 days. It did finally start to drop my weight! I’m at 139.8 this morning, so it’s creeping down, but down just the same. I’m going to visit Patrick and Sondra of Fit Life Studio in San Antonio this upcoming Sat so we can determine whether or not I’m ready for this show. I will say that this has been a HUGE learning experience of what NOT to do in your "offseason", I tried so hard to stay lean that my offseason diet consisted of the exact same foods only more of them as my pre contest season, PLUS I still wasnt taking any supplements!! Since getting with Patrick, I feel healthier, look better ( may not be show ready but trust me the rest of what I say today accounts for a lot) and I no longer get that horrible lethargic feeling mid-day (funny since I’m "pre-contest" I figured I should feel like shit) Come to learn that my body was so nutrient starved I was doing more harm than good in efforts to stay so lean. In retrospect, had I known what I was doing was bad for me OR that it would make the attempt to drop body fat harder NOW, I never would have been sooooo strict with myself. I think most of us have the desire to look "stage ready" all the time, but its at a huge risk mentally and physically. We need to feed, and we need to indulge and enjoy, you cant spend every minute of every day saying "I can’t have that" it’s pure bullshit.

I am holding steady in hopes I do make this show, but it I don’t I will NOT be upset or beat myself up, there are other shows. I will be looking to some time off either way, to re-group and enjoy some of the little things I have neglected to the last few months. I also know that if this show doesnt happen, and I take that time to eat and train, y’all better look out at the next one, I will be a leaner, larger force to be reckoned with. There is no doubt that after Patrick sets me up for the next phase I’ll be in that top five. I have seen what good nutrition and training can do, and we changed me in only 9-13 weeks, imagine what I’ll be in 6 months!!!

Learn from my mistakes, get a good nutritionist / trainer on your side, it will make a world of difference in your health and training!!!

WOW this is it, the final curtain…..my weight is still a cause for concern, I’m 144….per Patrick I should be in the high 130’s, I’m trying not to freak out, and he has made sure that I dont stress, says stress is bad for me anyway. We have fed me, held calories back, and now am going for the extreme, all liquid, for 6 days, good thing is I wont have to cook a blessed thing - not that I cook that much these days anyway…sooooo it sure will be easy. I think I’ll have the hardest time just not eating, like actually chewing on a meal…aw hell who are we kidding - this will be a breeze for me.

Patrick has concerned himself more for me than I think I have the last few weeks, truth be told, it’s hard to impress me, but he really takes great care of me. His easy going nature is offset by this desire to make you succeed without the stress of pre-contest…it’s hard to explain, but I cant remember being this calm before the last show. His concern is ME, and that my friends is awsome, every trainer out there - including myself could take a lesson from the way he treats his clients.

What else can I ramble about today you ask…lets see…I’m sure I can think of something but I wont bore you any longer. In the meantime, I’ll post more often, see what happens when I am eating only protein shakes, I have a feeling Ms Hyde will be out to play, she may not play nice…… 

Ok been awhile, but I have been swamped at work and maintaing the usual hectic schedule of training. I weighed in at 142 this morn which is a good sign, it’s FINALLY dropping. Spoke to my nutritionist ( Patrick Hopkins ) and he said that since my body was finally being fed ( last trainer had me on a version of my pre contest diet for off season ) that my body actually loved the idea of eating nutrient rich, good food for a change and is trying to hang onto it. Upside is, I have seen my shoulders grow, and my pant/jeans barely fit around my legs so my hammies have grown!! No complaints there. Question is, will I make the grade for March 28th? I’m on double cardio a few days, which doesnt really bother me either, nor does being hungry, except at night when you lay down, I hate goin to bed hungry. Anyway I am not worried about making this show, and will say this, if I don’t LOOK OUT cause I’m gonna train my ass off w/ Patrick and Fit Life Studio and slam dunk the next show!

Ok been a few days, it was superbowl weekend and I got a little side tracked! Workouts are on track and I took FULL advantage of my cheat day Saturday by indulging in Oatmeal Raisin cookies….with a HUGE glass of milk ( skim of course - it’s like having a cheeseburger and diet coke…) anyway…..I made a kick ass dinner too, roast chicken ( WITH skin) and a side of veggies, not bad since the week before I went into sugar shock hell with all the crap I ate.

Went out for a bit Sat night, didn’t drink but did some dancing ( love these cowboys down here!!- good times) got in about 1am, wanted to eat more but decided against it and went to bed. Entertained for Superbowl, all I cooked I couldnt eat.

All that aside, we are 8 weeks out, and I plan on knockin em dead up there in Lubbock…

Fri I hit the gym for Chest, Shoulders, bi’s & abs, felt pretty good too considering the stress at work all day. Funny how that crap melts away once you hit that gym floor. I swear the gym is like happy hour….and I’m Norm Peterson. Its all good. I feel better than I have in weeks, and I’m pre-contest, it’s still hard for me to believe, even my mom commented on how different my attitude this time around, her words were " wow you were so short n bitc*y last time" LOL, makes me laugh, gotta love mom, only she can say that stuff and NOT offend you.

Anyway, got dairy BACK in the diet again, Patrick says I’m moving along just fine, AND I;m eating MORE this week, and increase in calories, thank GOD ( and Patrick ) cause by that 3rd hour I have been starving, starving like my stomach is eating itself, so I’m happy about eating more food. I can’t wait to see how I come in at this show, if I would have known you could feel this good going in, I would have found Patrick (Fit Life Studio)a long time ago and got on that stage! Have ag reat day, eat healthy - lift hard!