funkyfit’s BodyBlog

I have been having major issues since my competition. I am continuing to eat pretty clean and still working out like crazy.  I was trying to lift lighter weights for higher reps to burn more fat and calories.  I have introduced more running and pilates.  The scale only says that I am 4lbs heavier than when I competed, but yet I am noticing that I can not fit into a few pairs of pants that I bought last summer!  I was heavier weight wise last summer! I know I should relax.  It is muscle and maybe water weight, but I know myself and I hate when something is getting too snug.  I already have my wedding dress and it was actually too big for me when I bought it, but I was proud that it was a hard earned size 6 and I just do not want it to be too tight.  I need to stop obsessing about the number on the scale and maybe there will be some areas of my body, my butt in particular, that when more muscle is added to it, it may not fit in my old pants.  I am so new to a lot of this stuff and just want to maintain my muscle for now and shed some fat, for the wedding.  I really need to focus on leaning out and not trying to see how much weight I can lift, like I tend to do at the gym.  I do at least 5 days of cardio and am working up to 5 days of pilates too.  My damn DVD player broke this morning, so I am not sure what I am going to do to remedy that.  I am also nervous about not eating meat because I do not want to consume too many carbs.  I am a control freak and I am rambling.  I still go back to writing down what I eat everyday and my workout routines.  I am constantly fearful of losing control and beat myself up when I get on the scale or if I miss a day at the gym.  I need to focus on what is right in front of me and the wedding in October and worry more about competing come January.  I am just always afraid of slipping and getting off track.

So, I have stopped eating meat and dairy 11 days ago.  I still have my egg whites everyday and will have a regular egg now and then.  I wanted to do a meat detox after my first show because I have read stories about how long meat can stay in your body.  I also just finished reading "Skinny Bitch" and even though I do not agree with all parts of the book, the chapter on killing the animals is heart breaking and this has really opened up my eyes.  I was not a huge meat eater before, but had been recently during my competition.  I do not really miss the meat and I am eating other things and drinking my shakes to get in my protein.  The thing I am worried about it getting too many carbs.  I still want to drop about 10 lbs and build more muscle.  I also want to be able to get in my essential vitamins and nutrients and not take a lot of supplements.  Anyone have any advice for a new vegetarian?  Also, I am avoiding dairy, but LOVE cottage cheese.  Are there lactose free cottage cheeses or even yogurt?

It has been a month since my first show and I am still working out hard at the gym.  I am back to doing cardio two times a day and have now lifting 4 days a week and taking cycling.  The competition was a big eye opener for me and lately I am kind of freaking out about what to work on and what to eat. I am noticing that even when I eat clean, I need to be really careful of my cheat carbs.  I do not eat a lot of junkie foods, but I think that even the little amounts of sugar or simple carbs I am eating are making it harder for me to lean out.  I know that most people gain a few pounds after the show, but lately I am really feeling bad about  my body.  Some days I feel fat and yucky.  So, I am back to a stricter diet, cutting back on even fruit, and really working out hard.   I want to do this for 8 weeks and see how it goes.  I am just to the point now that I do not know what all to do to switch it up and get over the plateu.  So, for part of my cardio that I am doing twice a day, I have added cycling 2-3 a week.  It has been a long time since I have done cycling, but it feels really good to get back into it.  I think I am becoming obssessed with working out and worrying about what to eat. But then again, maybe that is the type of dedication it takes to really tranform my body.  Man, I wish that I could afford a trainer right now.  Maybe I can at least get like 3 sessions to learn some new routines and talk about nutirtion.  Some times I get overwhelmed with all the details and just want a little bit of guidance.  My immediate goal is to keep working the cardio and cycling,, doing lower weights and high reps.  I really want to burn some more fat and get leaner.

I have been in the funk about myself and my body after the figure show. Introducing regular foods again seemed like it was going to be great, but I do is worry about what to eat and how it is going affect my body.  I have still been hitting the gym hard and for the most part thought that I would keep up my similar routine of lifting 5 days a week.  Well, I have hit a plateu, hit a big wall.  It is time to mix it up and focus on  a new goal.  I am going to eat clean and get in more fruits and veggies and healthy carbs.  My body is not getting results lately and I really know that I need to do something new.  I found a 3 day split routine online and I am going to give that a try.  I am going to do lighter weights and really work on cardio, melting away my thighs, and focusing on my abs.  I will lift 3 days a week and cardio and abs those days and the other 2 day I am very happy to say I am going start cycling!  I can finally start taking classes and have shorter days at the gym and focus more on my cardio endurance.  My biggest focus now is my wedding in 5 months and 28 days and I just want to be more lean, thinned out in some places.  I will worry about heavy lifting and whether to compete again after the wedding.  I really need to focus on my wonderful fiance’ Chris and starting a new chapter of our lives. I think mixing the cycling in and doing weights 3x a week will be great for me and I will have more spare time in my day.  My goal is to really get lean thighs and hips and to have a killer upper back in my wedding dress!

I posted some pics of my first show.  It took me a few days before I would even look at them.  All I see are soft abs and thighs.   I really know what I need to work on and for the next show I am going to work with a good trainer.  I had such a good experience and want to do it again, but will wait until after my October wedding.  I don’t think I can plan and train and diet and not be a cranky B**ch, so I better hold off!  LOL  I am pretty proud that I did it and it really puts a lot things in perspective for me.  I hit the gym 2 days after my show and have revamped my routine.  My short term goals are to blast the hell out of my thighs and glutes.  I want toned, lean thighs, and high and tight butt!

I posted some pics of my first show.  It took me a few days before I would even look at them.  All I see are soft abs and thighs.   I really know what I need to work on and for the next show I am going to work with a good trainer.  I had such a good experience and want to do it again, but will wait until after my October wedding.  I don’t think I can plan and train and diet and not be a cranky B**ch, so I better hold off!  LOL  I am pretty proud that I did it and it really puts a lot things in perspective for me.  I hit the gym 2 days after my show and have revamped my routine.  My short term goals are to blast the hell out of my thighs and glutes.  I want toned, lean thighs, and high and tight butt!

I finished my first ever figure competition.  I placed third and got a nice trophy. There were only 3 girls in my category, but at least I still felt like a winner for getting up on stage and trying it out for the first time.  I had fun and met some great people.  The whole expereince was pretty awesome and I promise to post some photos soon.  My nerves got to me in the pre-judging round, but I am pretty proud of me since I do not really enjoy being the center of attention.  I made it through and I will most likely compete again next year, after the wedding.  Time to get back to planning that!  I am still eating broccoli and oatmeal, believe it or not, but I think I am going to do a protein detox, especially meat!  It felt great to eat fruit again and my pancake feast was damn good!  I did splurge on cheese nips and m&m’s Saturday night and had my feast on Sunday, but for the most part, I am going to keep it clean.  I am even trying to give up coffee and dairy.  Yeh, coffee, you read it right.  I cannot wait to get to the gym tonight.  I am going to switch my routine and see if I can really put on some muscle! Who knows, maybe I will say "Screw the high heels and makeup" and do bodybuilding instead!

I have not been keeping up with the blog.  I have no time and all the training and lack of carbs are keeping me tired and crabby.  I have been practicing my poses and waiting for one of my suits to get altered.  I will most post pictures of the show next week.  Saturday is the big day!  I am nervous and excited and glad to get the show on the road.  I miss my fruits and vegetables, but for the most part the dieting has not been bad.  I am down to 130 and was around 144 when I started.  Since I am not with a trainer or nutritionist, I do not really know what my body fat should be at.  I should have had it checked at my gym, but I just have been going by what I see in the mirror.  My diet has been clean and the next time around, I am going to search hard for a good trainer and nutritionist.  I definitely want to see more muscle and definition and being new to this, the whole bulking on carbs and then cutting back, was challenging for me.  Also, the huge amounts of protein are making my stomach sick.  Next time I will know what supplements I should be taking and can hopefully change up my diet some.  I guess I will know the outcome on Saturday.

So, I am officially 2 1/2 weeks out and have really made progress in the past week or so.  I found a girl online that owns her own gym and met up with her and practiced posing together.  Part of the problem I was having was looking too stiff and not looking comfortable and confident when I was walking.  She gave me great pointers and helped me a lot.  I have been really pushing myself and now have even been going to the gym without even my fiance’.  Yeh, I have always worked out solo and don’t really need someone for support or motivation.  I started relaxing more and just thinking about the competition and how far I have come mostly on my own.  Meeting with Christy and having help with the poses really made me feel more comfortable and that more confident in what I am doing.  At times I get a  little discouraged because I do not have many people around me that have any idea what I am going through or the ones that I talk to, I feel like they just do not get it.  Part of me is too worried about other people and what they think about me.  I need to stop and focus on me and well, try to anticipate the competition. This site is good for feedback,but I found after I posted my first pics of me really posing, not a single person responded.  I was kinda surprised and saddened.  Hey, I can take criticism and it is always good to hear feedback from others. I see my body everyday and do not notice the changes that others may or I may not be able to see all of my trouble spots.  So, last night at the gym I thought about how I wanted to look on stage and imagined being lined up with the other girls.  I know I look good enough to be up there so I am going to hold my head up high and act as if I am the only one up there.  Of course I am doing this for the judges approval, but I am doing this for no one other than myself!

Okay, so I finally photographed me doing some poses.  The suit is being altered, it is too big in some areas and I just started tanning.  I am keeping my head up and realizing the best way to learn how to do figure is to do the show in 4 1/2 weeks and learn from there.  I am proud that I workout 5-6 days a week on my own and push myself all the time.  I have been eating super clean and I really thinkt that it shows. I have no idea what my body will look like when I deplete water and have a dark ass tan.  I am nervous and excited.  After I looked at the pics of myself I thought, "Man, I can not believe that I am going to be on stage".  I am kinda embarassed and see I have a short amount of time to do a lot more work on my throble spots.  I have been practicing the poses and felt pretty good, but it is quite an eye opener to see yourself in photos.  I have to keep telling myself to just get up there and be confident.  I want the audience to think that I do this all the time.  "Yeh, I live in this swimsuit and these spike heels"!  LOL  I keep telling myself, that I am learning more everyday and that despite not having a trainer, I can make it.  I am well on my way and the show is 4 1/2 weeks away!  If all goes well, I will know a lot more for the next show!