goforitnicks’s BodyBlog

I am starting to wonder if I am a grinch or something. It’s getting cold and darker and the invites are waning. I have 2 more eating fests to go to and a wedding, then after that there are no more BBQs! Yes! 

I know the bigger issue is my lack of resolve but the best strategy for me right now is not to be at these events rather than rely on willpower. This weakness is quite strange though, because I used to be a champion at resolve and willpower.

Anyhoo, I am really superpumped because God has revived my faith recently. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a story non related to fitness…

Last week I lost my engagement ring at a street festival called buskerfest. It was over a period of 4 days and it was reported that 1 million people attended the event. I was devasted. I had to keep my composure because I was overseeing a large fundraising event at my church, but after that, I just broke. I spent Sunday night in bed asking God why he has allowed so much negativity in my life. Everytime I move one step fwd, I am catapulted as far back as possible. I was so down and I ate. I didn’t care. What was the point?…every time I got my body to a good size, I get sick and miss out on the gym for months at a time. I always return to the crapshoot of 124lbs and a belly full of fat. ANYHOW…

On Monday, I sent the general inquiry e-mail address an embarrasing e-mail about my ring. "Surely they would think that I am mad" I thought…but within an hour I got the reply: "We have your ring!"

 Oh my GOD! I was jumping out my socks. My ring costs upward of eight grand…you do the miracle math.

 My faith has now been renewed and I have been stronger in my eating habits this whole week because of it. I feel like I am finally back in control of my life. The physcial pain has also subsided, so I can’t wait to go to the gym when work permits.

I just thought I would share this story to let you know that God still does miracles and he cares.

Have a good long weekend everyone!

Ok, I will get it out of the way: I haven’t been doing my Operation Baby Plan as poor health and an interview for a new job have me standing still on my tracks.

Could someone’s metabolism change over the course of their life? I don’t want to jinx myself but I think mine has dramatically changed (for the better). I used to eat a grape and it would show up on my thighs,but for the past 2 months of summer frolicking and no self discipline whatsoever, I have only gained 5 lbs. Yea, some people would die over this but knowing me, it usually would have been 10-15lbs. So I am thankful! I know this revelation is also contributing to my sloth but I am thankful.

People are sadden that summer is over. I am thankful! No more bbqs! Back to structured days of cottage cheese. Since I can’t seem to turn down an invite or eat salad while the cajun shrimp passes by, I have to retreat into fall/winter. During this time, it is too cold to sit on a patio and drink, so the gym it is.

Anyhoo, I am going to attempt to work out before work this morning. Wish me luck.

Darn Tree!

The pain is back again. I have been crawling around, not being able to lift or excercise. booo. I will be seeing my doctor again today and hopefully he will recommend a specialist.

I was really looking forward to ripping this body to shreds but it seems like I am still on the "fight for basic health" platform.

Anyhoo, I am thinking of seeing a natauropatic doctor. I am not comfortable taking so much drugs. I actually have a chart of when to take what drug when. shyzer!

Anyway, I am not losing hope on Operation Baby. I will do what I can, when I can. My plan is to eat clean as much as possible and hope for the best! I really really miss the gym. Working out. Sweating. I feel so depressed not being able to squat that booty…

Anyway, it is, what it is for me. I just have to work through it.

Sometimes I feel like a small fry compared to you guys, (last man standing and all) but I need to find a way to look at my own achievements. However small they may be.

Anyhoo, peace out. I am off to wait at the doctor’s office and drool over all the new moms and their babies.

Hey all,

I am alive. I haven’t been able to come to the site, even though I think of it daily. Some of the major culprits: Nursing myself back to health, busy campaign this summer, out enjoying the sun with friends and family and one of the biggest reason is that I don’t work with a computer at all. I don’t even have a desk at work. So my time on bb.com is always on my time at home like now at 4:30 in the morning or very late at night, so since I have been ill, when I found my way home it was the bare essentials, then sleep. Anyhoo, I couldn’t stand it any longer since I was dreaming about you guys, so I decided to cut sleep short and catch up…I am also feeling a whole lot better! Yea for good health.

So for excercise I have been doing a lot of this with the hubby…

I have been enjoying long bike rides and soaking up the sun when we have it. I tried mountain biking, but after the bumps and bruises I figure it’s not for me yet.

Anyway I am going to try for another baby again next month, so I have 4 weeks to prepare. I’m calling these upcoming weeks: Operation Baby! I need to lose about 15lbs in total. (I wish I had julofthenile’s luck, 14lbs in one week?!!). Anyway, I am going to stay off supplements except for protein powder and greens powder up until week 4. I may try hydroxycut one or two days if I am really lacking in energy, but I am trying to keep my temple pure for  baby.

My goals are:

-Drink Water, water, water

-Work out at least twice a day, 3 times a week (cardio am, weights p.m). Work out 6 days in total

-Eat every 3 hrs

-Up the protein intake to 120gr/day (I think this is a good goal, any advice here is good

-Visit BB.com every day

-FOCUS!

I missed you guys, I am going to catch up on the rest of you later today! I am so pumped to find out who would be the last man standing!!!!

Hello, Hello, I am back   As you know, I have been battling some health demons for the past month (who am I kidding, for the past 4 years). In the last month, during the fight the fluff challenge I was hit by an ailment that was defeating the battle of the bulge. Needless to say, I was pissed that all my hard work to reduce my midsection was drowned in a pile of medical mystery bloat. I didn’t want to see a gym ever again. What was the point… 

Today is day 4 on antibiotics and since I was feeling a bit better I decided to go on a bike ride. It was a gorgeous evening after some torrential rains so I really wanted to soak up the opportunity. About 15 mins into my ride, savouring each moment, imagining the trek ahead, I bend the corner to come to a screeching halt. A fallen tree laid in front of me.  “What?! bleep, bleep, bleep”  I muttered. My exhilarating ride was cut short by branches and tree bark strewn all over the pathway. There was no way I could have ridden over the trunk of the tree.  All the negative self-talk came over me like a flood. I felt defeated. After about 2 mins of beating up myself for even trying, it dawned on me that this fallen tree is a metaphor for life. Every time we decide to take a path to happiness there will be something to challenge our stride. An obstacle to test our faith, our will, our dreams. In my relatively weak physical condition, I picked up my bike put it over my shoulders and stumbled and bumbled across the maze. I finally made it over, knee scrapes and all, and mounted my bike for the rest of the journey. Suddenly something sparked in me to return to my love of bodybuilding; to dust myself off and try again.  

The funny thing was that as soon as I was about to push off on the other side of that tree, an elderly lady was coming down the hill in the opposite direction stopped with perfect skill, picked up her bike and crossed the messed. No hesitation, no grumbling, very little stumbling. It was just one swoop of a movement, as if she had expected it or she had done this time and time again. So I hope one day I will be like that lady. As an obstacle or disappointment presents itself on my path to happiness, I would welcome its fangs as part of the journey and make my moves strategically. No quitting, very little hissy fits but instead unflinching tenacity all the way through. 

Nicky   

It’s over and it was sweat, blood and tears to the every end. I thank everyone who supported me and especially to those who went the extra mile this week with me! Yea for you!

Unfortunately, there will be no stats this week as I am going to use the end of week 5 as my last week. I didn’t have a fighting chance in week 6 so after attempting the gym once and passing out, I raised my white flag and surrendered. 

In the last two weeks I have been complaining of unexplainable abdomen swelling, nausea etc and fought the fluff with every trick in the book. After 5 hours in the hospital this past Tuesday, dibilitating pain and the contuined rise in fluff I realised that something was internally wrong. Very wrong. I won’t go into much details, but do know this people, while we fight fat and become focused on body image, some people are fighting for their lives and would just like to have a body. I am now the latter.

This challenge has really helped me to tap into emotional strength and it has brought a few of us closer together and I love that. I will take those positives with me. Now I am just trying to get through another day of excruiating pain while I place the power in the doctors’ hands.

Am I mad? Very. I am so upset that all my hard work is gone. I look like I am carrying a 3 month baby with all the swelling. What upsets me is that I had surgery for this type of thing already. Why are they back?!! (Men have it easy, I’m now convinced).

So there it is. I had 5 weeks of luxury, thinking that I control my body and I can shape it and bend it however I want. Look at me now, in a hospital gown humbled just hoping to get a fighting chance….one thing for sure now is that I would stop turning my noses up at "fat-looking" people. (Yes I admit I do that with my smug self anytime I am physically fit). You never know what bigger demons people are dealing with other than fitting into a smaller pant size.

So Peace out everybody! Go spend a little time with someone who really matters. When you are fighting for your life, the gym is not the place you would want to be…it’s in the arms of someone you love.

See you in another challenge…I will be back.

First I apologise for missing in action in responding to blogs last week. I haven’t been feeling too well and I kept putting it off for the next day, which turned into a week! That, and I wrote a long-ass response on Jules blog. Duty called, we had to support her last week right?

 So week four I took an intentional mini vacation and loved it. Week 5 I had a vacation alright but hated it. I am trying to listen to all the mothers in my life who thinks I work to hard and I need to rest. So instead of pushing myself as I usually do, I skipped the gym and ate carbs. I have never had an aunt flo like this since I was a teenager. Maybe it’s my body adjusting back from the last pregnancy, I don’t know but I have been dragging my behind all week, just wanting to sleep. If this week is the lead up, can’t wait for next week when it is actually here (boooooooooooooo).

So there folks. Week 5 was a flop. I am hoping to go to the gym this weekend to finish strong in week 6. Pray for me, cause I am not sure how that will look.

I hope all is well with others. My stats are below. My behind feels like a duck and I am carrying a large pail of bloat on my stomach, so thank God the actual stats are not too bad.

Congratulations to everyone who has finished this race!! And let’s rock on to the ones who are going strong. See you all in the next challenge.

I lost inches, but not pounds. I did not do much in week 4 so I am just happy that I didn’t gain. I had to measure several times because I couldn’t believe that I lost inches during a week when I ate whatever and hardly excercised. Right now I am totally bloated because of aunt flo’s impending visit. We will see how week 5 turns out!

Uhmmm, I have nothing to report really. This week I took a fitness break as I totally enjoyed my family, friends and a full day of sleep (sleeping aid). I didn’t weigh food, count calories or used food combination methods. I totally took a break from all things fitness except for two days which I did go to the gym for cardio.

I will update my chart tmr after I measure. I just came home from a cookout so I don’t want to shock myself.

Life this week was just amazing; I needed the rest/timeout. This minibreak probably would have been better after the challenge but I think I needed it then. As each day unfolded and presented itself with the opportunity to rest and just hang with family, I took it.

I’ll be back into the swing of things with a vengeance from tmr. I am already craving sweet potatoes and asparagus. I can’t explain it, but I feel rejuvenated.

What is wrong with Wednesdays? In week 1 and 2, I buckled on Wednesdays and struggled through Thursdays. This week was no different. I went hard and strong until these past two days when trauma set in. A combination of missed workouts, and soul food for Wed and Thurs dinners have soiled my fight the fluff regime. However, unlike the previous weeks, when I felt devastated because of my slip ups, I don’t feel that way now.
I’ve come to realise that some of us are dealing with some hardcore issues and trauma that most times supersedes 2hr workouts and baked potato and asparagus. I realised this week that eating soul food is more of a comfort of my home, my precious loved ones who I left behind when I came to Canada. It is not really about the taste of the food. It is really the comfort of my loved ones I seek by cooking these Sunday favourites anytime I am down.
So with this realization, I am giving myself a break.  I am not unhealthy and if I need some corn soup to cheer me up, then so be it. I also need my sanity along with a hot body.
So that was Wed/thurs drama…Apart from that I have been working out like crazy and even doing ab exercises (go figure), I was feeling that my weight was down by the fit of my clothes so I weighed…yea… Today I worked out, mainly focusing on my butt and abs. I know…what a combination but I felt like doing something different, so I did
I hope everyone has come through this week alive, bumps, scrapes, bruises and all! We are in a fight…so let’s roll up our sleeves and finish this thing! I wish none of us had to deal with aches and pains, but this is life, we just need to figure out how to live it, setbacks and all!
Much love to my defluffing friends. I hope you are well and down an inch or two.