amysuds’s BodyBlog

So here he is again…8 years old and anxious to be a bodybuilder. On vacation I asked him to smile for me while I take his pic. He busts out these poses…I ask him about the back one. He says…"saw Layne do this at your show Mom".

I wanted to write this to share what it’s been like for me the past 8 weeks or so. Coming out of contest season has been a challenge. While my weight training has been fantastic…overall I give myself an F on cardio I should have done. I am kind of regretting that now. I also have not done a great job following Layne’s recommendation of slowly increasing my calories. My carb cravings were ridiculous. I partly blame this on my womanly cycle. It was once regular…to the day. It has been a trainwreck this summer….late and unpredictable. The normal "week before" cravings I normally had, seem to last the whole month….at full force…..comparable to the hunger I had when I was pregnant. So, with that being said, my weight has gone up more than I would have liked. The good thing is, that I definitely gained muscle. I can tell my legs and glutes filled in even more. I also can see that my body fat increase was evenly spread out through my body as I gained it….way different than before I weight trained. It always would go to just my hips /legs and butt for the most part. I also do not feel flabby…I feel firm everywhere except that rotten no good ham/glute tie in area For the first time in a LONG time…my upper body doesn’t look shredded…it looks much better in my opinion. I am about to start contest prep again for the fall comps. I have more work to do this time with less weeks to get it done. I have a feeling I will hit the stage at 135…5 lbs heavier than in the spring. I am good with that. That is why I worked so hard , lifting very heavy all summer. I also have a much better idea of how to make my body drop bodyfat this time around. Working with Layne Norton has been, and continues to be PRICELESS. So I am up for the challenge…it intrigues me actually. The past 2 months I have given my body what it wanted. It is now time to make my body DO what I want. I am refreshed after vacation and my determination is higher than ever. Let the games begin……..

Lately..I have been lifting very heavy. With only a few weeks til contest prep starts up again, I am so exhausted and skipping my planned cardio for the most part. Any encouragement is appreciated. It is SO worth the effort for us all to work very hard. It is also the truth that I will never give up, but I struggle just like everyone else. I WILL stay positive to get er done !!

Yup, this love goes WAY back as far as my memory goes. Growing up in a family with six children…my mom often times made meals I didn’t like. I love ya mom…but the tuna/pea casserole was unbearable. So, my dad and I always had the jar of pb. We kind of made it our thing….we ate it all the time. He would always tell me it was a food I could live off of. I don’t know if that’s true but as I was growing…I started getting muscular at about 15 or 16 years old. Peanut butter was my main dish. My dad is also very muscular…he has abs like a rock still. Anyways, I learned early on that if I was going to eat this stuff outta the jar, the white bread and jelly had to go. That combo means nothing but a quick way for me to get fat. I have done it way too many times, especially when I was pregnant.

As the years went by, I never grew tired of this taste. As my battle with the scale continued with the ups and downs, I couldn’t give pb up for very long. I did try I finally realized how I could eat it and not have a huge gain in weight. The secret for me…is that when my carbs are low or in control…I can eat a few spoons at a time…often throughout the day. Never do I eat alot at once. But…I do eat alot of it. I don’t know why, but it is a "mood enhancing" food for me. So when I tell people my muscles are actually pb…you now know why I say that!!

My dad always calls me now to check on my training. He laughed when I told him how during comp prep…I only had one tbsp of peanut butter a day usually. He knew how hard that was for me…he said "just eat it, it’s not going to hurt you". I said, "dad, you don’t understand how important keeping the diet is right now." He still told me to eat it! Love ya Pops!