amydow24’s BodyBlog

I am back in the blogging game.  Yup…16 weeks out until the Atlantic Bodybuilding Championships in the Maritimes.  I am excited!  I went through  a bit of a rough time with my eating for the past 4 weeks after the competition.  I am up about 8lbs from my competition weight, which I feel is pretty good…but at the same time I loved the way I felt super lean.  I got the results from the last competition.. I placed 5th in the Medium Figure Category.  The judges said that I need to come in a bit leaner…8lbs lighter and I should be able to get into the top 3.  My nutritional coach last time didn’t want me to get any leaner/harder because he said that the judges were looking for more of a softer appearance…well apparently he was WRONG! hahaha…that is ok, I really would like to come in a bit harder.  My goal is to be around 115 - 118lbs on competition day in April.  Currently my weight is 130lbs…gained 8lbs post competition, but I am sure on week of dieting will bring it down quite a bit ( water weight).  Tonnes of time to diet slowly and safely.  This time I am planning to train heavier, and not do any high rep sets until 4 weeks out.  Last time I started way to early doing higher reps at 12 weeks out..insanity..too early!  For me, anyways!

I am really excited!  Going to get 5 inch heels this time, and add some more stones to my passionfruit suit that I bought for the last show.

I am actually happier now that I am on a stricter diet, I guess I work best with structure.  I am definitely going to have a REFEED on christmas…strict dieting until Dec 24th and then I am enjoying the feel-good food that my mother makes…mmmmm…I am in heaven just thinking about it! LOL!!

Talk later

Amy.

I am back in the blogging game.  Yup…16 weeks out until the Atlantic Bodybuilding Championships in the Maritimes.  I am excited!  I went through  a bit of a rough time with my eating for the past 4 weeks after the competition.  I am up about 8lbs from my competition weight, which I feel is pretty good…but at the same time I loved the way I felt super lean.  I got the results from the last competition.. I placed 5th in the Medium Figure Category.  The judges said that I need to come in a bit leaner…8lbs lighter and I should be able to get into the top 3.  My nutritional coach last time didn’t want me to get any leaner/harder because he said that the judges were looking for more of a softer appearance…well apparently he was WRONG! hahaha…that is ok, I really would like to come in a bit harder.  My goal is to be around 115 - 118lbs on competition day in April.  Currently my weight is 130lbs…gained 8lbs post competition, but I am sure on week of dieting will bring it down quite a bit ( water weight).  Tonnes of time to diet slowly and safely.  This time I am planning to train heavier, and not do any high rep sets until 4 weeks out.  Last time I started way to early doing higher reps at 12 weeks out..insanity..too early!  For me, anyways!

I am really excited!  Going to get 5 inch heels this time, and add some more stones to my passionfruit suit that I bought for the last show.

I am actually happier now that I am on a stricter diet, I guess I work best with structure.  I am definitely going to have a REFEED on christmas…strict dieting until Dec 24th and then I am enjoying the feel-good food that my mother makes…mmmmm…I am in heaven just thinking about it! LOL!!

Talk later

Amy.

Well I got through my first Figure show, and I am still buzzing from all the excitement! I had so much fun, it was soooo worth all the dieting and training ever.  I am so pumped to do another show.  I feel like a super star, that I finally got to my goal of being in the ultimate best shape I have ever been in.  It is a high that I want to keep!  The day started at 4:30, got up got dressed, got all my food packed for the day, and clothes for backstage, and after the show.  Make-up, tanner, extra fake nails…I had everything.  Got to my coach at 6:30 and got Dream tan rubbed on everywhere, and then off to my hair appointment.  Make-up was at 8:00…and I had to be at the venue by 9:00am.  Prejudging started at 10am, finals started at 6pm.  It was a long day, but I was pumped the whole time!  I wish my family came to see me, that haven’t been very supportive during this whole process…at first it seemed like they were embrassed or even a bit jealous.  It is weird, but I knew I was doing this for myself not for anyone else so it didn’t matter.

I weighed in at 123lbs on competition day, overall I think I had a good package, not to soft not to ripped.  The judges really stressed that they were looking for a softer overall package this year.  I didn’t place in top 3, but I am waiting to hear back where I am in the line up of 10 girls that competed in my category.  My coach was really proud of me, and thought that I did awesome, and is incouraging me to compete in the April show.  I really want to, but I don’t want to fully comment yet until it gets closer to the date.  But I will continue to train hard, and try to keep my weight down, no heavier then 10 lbs of contest weight.  I have been a bit bad with my eating the last 3 days..but I think it can be expected.  I have only gained 4 pounds since competition and I am sure that is mostly the water weight that I gained back.  I love being able to eat more now, I missed fruit and cheese, and just overall variety.

Next show I will be more prepared since I know what to expect, and I will be a bit tighter on my eating and not dip my finger in the almond butter as often.  I will add more stones to my suits and I want to get another pair of clear heels, I think 5 inches next time.

Yah!!! So happy that I have accomplished my goal!

A.

Oh my god!  I am only 5 days away from the competition!  I am so super excited, and nervous, and also excited that I can eat real food after this is all done.  I don’t want to binge or anything, I just need variety.  However I got my last week meal plan yesterday, and I am able to eat 1cup of egg whites with 2 pieces of toast for breakfast!  I haven’t had toast for 12 weeks! It was definitely a treat this morning…yummy.  I still have tonnes of energy at the gym, which is weird.  It was hard getting to the gym, but once I am there I am fine.  I am only doing 1 hour of cardio a day and abs, Mon and Tuesday.  Wednesday my trainer has me doing a curcuit, 4 sets/body group, 25 reps, light weight.  Thrusday and Friday I don’t have any gym, which I am excited to take a break for awhile.

I had a meeting with my figure coach yesterday and when I got to his office, there were a couple of girls waiting to see him as well in the waiting area.  No one wanted to talk, they were all bitchy like they didn’t want to talk with the enemy they were competing against.  But come on people….yes..we are all competing against each other, but being anti social and bitchy to each other won’t get you a win.  This is a journey for everyone.  Most of the girls were first time competitors like myself, so maybe they were just nervous.  My husband and I broke the ice a bit, and they started to talk.

I am so curious on how much my body will change this week, my coach says the last week is when all the magic happens and you drop your water. I am a bit nervous about dropping my water too…for the next 3 days I have to drink 4 L, then Thursday I have to drink 6 L of Evian water, Friday is only 1 L of Evian water, and Saturday is 500ml.  I hope I don’t faint on stage from dehydration..I wonder if that has ever happened??? :S.

Talk Later

A.

Oh my god!  I am only 5 days away from the competition!  I am so super excited, and nervous, and also excited that I can eat real food after this is all done.  I don’t want to binge or anything, I just need variety.  However I got my last week meal plan yesterday, and I am able to eat 1cup of egg whites with 2 pieces of toast for breakfast!  I haven’t had toast for 12 weeks! It was definitely a treat this morning…yummy.  I still have tonnes of energy at the gym, which is weird.  It was hard getting to the gym, but once I am there I am fine.  I am only doing 1 hour of cardio a day and abs, Mon and Tuesday.  Wednesday my trainer has me doing a curcuit, 4 sets/body group, 25 reps, light weight.  Thrusday and Friday I don’t have any gym, which I am excited to take a break for awhile.

I had a meeting with my figure coach yesterday and when I got to his office, there were a couple of girls waiting to see him as well in the waiting area.  No one wanted to talk, they were all bitchy like they didn’t want to talk with the enemy they were competing against.  But come on people….yes..we are all competing against each other, but being anti social and bitchy to each other won’t get you a win.  This is a journey for everyone.  Most of the girls were first time competitors like myself, so maybe they were just nervous.  My husband and I broke the ice a bit, and they started to talk.

I am so curious on how much my body will change this week, my coach says the last week is when all the magic happens and you drop your water. I am a bit nervous about dropping my water too…for the next 3 days I have to drink 4 L, then Thursday I have to drink 6 L of Evian water, Friday is only 1 L of Evian water, and Saturday is 500ml.  I hope I don’t faint on stage from dehydration..I wonder if that has ever happened??? :S.

Talk Later

A.

I don’t know what is wrong with me, I am having a lot of negative thoughts.  I have to keep positive.  I have been training still 5 x a week and have added more cardio to try to get the body fat% down.  I do about 45 mins of cardio in the morning still and I am going to try to do another 30mins of cardio after work, with steady state cardio.  I am just so worn out lately….blah!  I am trying to keep my focus and not look at the other girls in the gym that are competing, many of them are ripped…they could step on the stage tomorrow.  I can’t let myself get scared, and look at other competitors..I have to trust my coachs that they are happy with my progress.  They keep telling me they don’t want me to peek to soon…but man I am getting nervous!

I praticed posing last night in my new suite.  Spent an hour doing quarter turns in front of the mirror..haha.  But I have to get it perfect.  I just have to keep up the work and stay focused and who cares if I don’t win..the point is that I did my best.  For the first time in my life I am in the best shape ever, and that is an accomplishment in itself.

Ok….now that I got that out of my system…

I am 3 1/2 weeks out, I am meeting my coaches on Friday for posing and critiquing.  I think I have another 2 more weeks on this diet I am on, and then I am being switched to another diet the week before the show.  I am going to use I think Pro-tan and a coat of Dream tan for the show, and I have to remember to buy some bikini bite so my suit doesn’t creep up in my crack..lol.  My current weight is 127lbs…only 2 lbs away from my goal.  I have been feeling a bit bloated from drinking sooooo much water and eating so many veggies.

I will be taking some 3 week out pics this Saturday so visit back and see my progress.

Cheers!
Amy.

So… I am 4 1/2 weeks out from competition.  I feel pretty good, workouts are good.  My trainer and coach have started to limit me on certain muscle groups because they don’t want anything too over developed. So I have to work more on my legs in defining them, high reps.  No more working my bi’s and tri’s..because they are ready as is. Still doing higher reps on back and chest and abs twice a week.  I have to up my cardio to 40mins x 5 a week in the morning and 30mins x 3 a week in the evening.  I hate cardio..blah.  But it must be done..and I will do it!

Diet is still the same as it has been the last 4 weeks, not much variety but I have been putting curry in my rice and on my chicken so it all taste good!

I got my suits yesterday from Passionfruit Designs and they are AWESOME!!!! They are so beautiful!  Definitely worth every penny.  They are a bit snug but that is good…since I am not stepping on stage tomorrow.  They should fit perfectly the day off.  I have my hair and makeup appointments made for competition day, bright and early in the morning.  This is just like a wedding day…have the outfit, get my hair done, make up and nails.  I should compete next year for sure, just to get pampered.  However this has been pricey for the bank account, but my husband is all for it, so it is good.  I will post my 5 week out pics tonight.  There isn’t much of a difference from 7 weeks out, however I notice my butt is much more perky.

Thanksgiving weekend is this coming weekend ( I live in Canada) and my mother is making all the goodies.  I told her I am limited to turkey, sweet potato and every green vegetable.  She better not tempt me with her damn delicious pumpkin pie.  I will be strong and resist!  I will have the pie…or better yet…cheesecake after the competition .

Talk later, and thanks for reading

A.

Well I am about 6 weeks out, and I am getting nervous that my body is not where it should be at this time in the game.  My trainer and coach assure that I look great and that I am progressing nicely, but the scale has not budged…it has actually gone up.  I am drinking 4 Litres of water a day, I feel bloated all the time, which sucks.  I hate drinking so much water because it wakes me up throughout the night to go to the bathroom.  Last night I only got up once throughout the night, but usually I get up 3 or 4 times. I have been trying to get the majority of my water in before the evening.  One litre in the early am, one litre before lunch, one litre after lunch to mid-afternoon, and then one litre for supper until 8pm…maybe 8pm is a bit late…hummm.  I am lucky that I work alone most of the time, so eating during work and drinking water constantly and running to the bathroom hasn’t been a problem at work.  When my boss is here though she is always wondering why I eat lunch at 12 and at 3…but she doesn’t say anything as long as I look like I am working and eating and not taking a second lunch break.  I have been taking a fat burner with my morning coffee to give me a little edge to my gym workouts, and it is helping.  I was feeling soooo tired but today I did 50mins of cardio no problem…it was great.  I am trying to do at least 30mins of cardio 5x a week, but I would like to get in 40 -50mins, I usually have to cut my cardio short because of work.  I might add another cardio session on Saturday to make it 6x a week, but I don’t want to wear myself out.  I just hope I get lean enough for the show.

I got an email from Passionfruit Designs last night and they are finishing up my suits.  I hope to have them next week.  It will get me excited about this whole process when I get them.  It seems like I have been dieting forever.  I have lost 22lbs since last December…I still can’t believe that I did it.  I have been trying to loss weight forever, but only managed to yoyo back and forth about 10lbs.  Everyone is noticing that I look so much slimmer.  Some people don’t even recognize me when I walk past them on the sidewalk, which is so bizzare.  I guess it is because I live with myself each day and the changes don’t look so drastic.  All my pants are way to loose on me, I went to get new clothes and it turns out I am now a size 3!!! That is NUTZ!  All my pants in my closet are either a size 9 - 7…no wonder none of them fit and they are falling off of me. 

This is the first time in my life where I went on a diet and stuck with it.  I guess the goal of competing definitely put me into the mind frame.  I like my diet, it is consistent and easy and I know it is working, I am just impatient. 

 Thanks for listening .

 Amy.

I don’t know, but my relationship with my husband is just not the same lately.  All he does is talk about work..work..work..work.  He is a personal trainer and I love health and fitness.  I love talking about the gym, but all he focuses on is work.  The scheduling, the image blah blah blah.  I am tired of it.  I think if I had some more carbs in my diet I probably wouldn’t be so irritatable, but since I started dieting I get annoyed so easily.  I am always a women on the edge.  I miss being my old self, but now I don’t have food to self medicate myself.  I am left dealing with my problems.  I am sure my husband and I will get closer soon, we probably just need some time together that doesn’t revolve around the gym and work.  I wonder if anyone else going through a competition prep has had problems like this with their family.  Even my pets bother me!  I need a vacation!  I haven’t had a cheat meal or treat for weeks…or months.  

 I am going to take progress pics this weekend, I am excited to see the differences.  I am definitely losing bodyfat even though the scale isn’t dropping much week to week.  I just got to remind positive and not lose my focus. 

 Talk soon A.

Hey, so I thought competition prep would be hard..but I am loving it!!  I love my new diet plan, although I am only eating 1500 cals a day, I am eating all solid food and limited protein shakes, and I am eating every 3 -4 hours, so i feel like I am constantly eating.  My co-workers see me eating my second lunch around 3pm and wonder how i am still losing weight.  I am a little hungry before bedtime, but I have a chai tea and it helps me deal with cravings.  I am not hungry really, just wanting to eat out of habit. 

I am not doing tonnes of cardio like a lot of competitors, and I think that is why I am not so burnt out.  I do about 3 hours a week, 1/2 hour to 45 minutes 5 times a week.  Weight training 5 days a week, doing a upper/lower body split.  My husband is a personal trainer and my training partner so he is helping me out a lot.  He is the one that really got me into muscle building.   

So many people at the gym and friends around me have been commenting on how great I look, and it is keep me motivated!!! I am so happy and proud of myself that I am doing so well.  I am down to 129lbs this morning, and my goal for the competition…set by my coach..is around 122lbs..but that is after I am water depleted and everything.  I feel ahead of the game, since I have 8 weeks left.  This competition prep is definitely a journey.  I haven’t seen my family for 4 weeks, and I won’t see them until Thanksgiving.  By then I will be 4 weeks out.  They will be shocked by the changes I’ve made.  I have lost a total of 21lbs since last Christmas, this is the leanest I have ever been.

 I hope I keep this positive energy, since have 8 weeks to go