I am sooo excited. I guess good things come to those who wait. I have been in correspondence with different directors of BSN since 2008. And it seems each time one wants to hire me, they end up burning their bridge with BSN and I get lost in the paperwork.

Recently, a BSN sponsored athlete I've known since my days with Gaspari, referred me to BSN again and today I was hired as one of the lead promotional spokesmodels for Endorush (and their up & coming beverage line) starting with Las Vegas area coverage!  The great thing is the job is so freakin flexible that I can do this with all 3 my other jobs (personal training, acting and my weekend nightclub job).

Who knows, if I play my cards right, I might be the next sponsored bikini athlete (that would be even more awesome).

I finally built and published my training website. Please stop by and check it out

www.TrainerJo.com

I am so proud to brag that even after only 2 days to prep, I placed 3rd in the 2009 NPC Las Vegas Classics Bikini Masters Division. Pics coming soon.

I am wondering if my nerves cause me to retain water. Seems like every time I got a big photoshoot or competition, my body wants to retain water in my skin.. then shed it the day after! hmmmmm

Any thoughts.

How could I have not known this was coming. I stumbled upon the event flyer yesterday, called up the promoter, and made my decision to compete in the Bikini Masters division...
This Saturday (3 days from now) here in Las Vegas at the 2009 NPC Las Vegas Classics

gosh thus is so last second but just in time to water load tomorrow then deplete on Friday and compete Saturday morning! I'm excited!!!!!

Wish me luck!

Would LOVE to get other's opinions on this.

if an organization hide behind the protection of its country's borders and uses it to screw over those who beleive in it and continually does so because its victims are too scared of the repercussions of actually saying something... would you support such an organization? Then why is it such a sin to speak out against that organization? Why is is to wrong to voice one's justified, although negative opinion about an organization when it has done "so many" wrong? Is it because society punishes the whistle blower more than the perpetrator?

Why ? WHY ? why?

Sometimes I wish for the old days. Like when I was 22, didn't have to diet but sported a NPC Figure physique, back when there wasn't a Figure category. O remember being 135lbs solid (and no silicone) and prolly 9-10% bodyfat. People thought I was a star track runner. I wonder how much muscle I've lost over the years, despite that I still lift & train.... . Now I'm 133lbs, around 13-15% bodyfat with 3 -lbs of silicone.

135 * .90 = 121.5 LBM
130 * .85 = 115.5 LBM

wow.... 6 lbs of total muscle loss over 14 years. Assuming average of 50 calories per pound lost, that means my metabolism has decreases about 300 calories a day! Ummm that's alot. I think I need to go do some squats

Ok, so I think my decision to not enter the FLEX BIkini Model Search was a good one. After standing next to the winner (Amanda Latona) it was obvious my conditioning was well of. And to top it all off, the premenstrual bloat finally subsided today. In the final moments before the contest, I was only 2 lbs lower than my normal weight, meaning, I was holding onto too much water. I would have looked fat on stage

Anyways, now I have to set my new goals. Fitness Model International is October 21-24, and although that is not a contest, the conference includes 3 shoots with 3 amazing fitness photographer and I need to look great for those shoot. Also, there will be a handful of top agents scouting the 60 attendees, and alot of them are cute blondes so I gotta look my best

My next actual show goal is Ms. Figure America November 19-21 weekend here in Las vegas. My goal is to compete in Figure America AND Bikini AMerica, but if I don't get my conditioning right, then I can always focus on Bikini. Since it's 8 weeks out, i got plenty of time to get it all right.

Last goal is NPC Bikini at the Excalibur in LA, December 5.... a week after Thanksgiving. How many of you can say you want to compete after Turkey day?

Well this is the hour of decision. I am not liking my figure right now and am leaning more towards just watching the show versus competing in it. I woke up at 130.5 lbs, about to do 2nd coat of tanner and eat a high carb breakfast to see if my abs will come out more. We'll see. I've updated photos to show the progression over 24 hour period. From post water loading to morning of show. I'm sure I will shed a tad more water by then, but I dont think it will be enough. I should have worked a little harder those last 4 weeks.

---added at 12:15am---
I wanted to thank you all for the encouragement. But I know what I am doing; I coach bikini competitors and am also a well seasoned competitor (after 45+ competitions)

From here on I am taking a new stand on competing; rather than competing for the fun of it, as I have been since 2005. I am now competing to win and gain exposure. I have a name in the competition circles (not a big name though, but people tend to know who I am and remember me) so each time I get up on stage, I have to bring my best. I cannot afford to show up looking half-ass (for what I am capable of). It doesn't look good to potential sponsors, magazine editors, photographers, etc;. And I have a whole new generation of young girls to compete against; girls who don't have to work as hard as me to maintain their physiques (I am 36, not 22).

2 years ago I misinterpreted the standards for the Flex Bikini contest. I thought I looked ok in the mirror at home and in the dressing room of the show. But when I showed up on stage, I was too soft. Stage lights add an additional 10lbs and that is why we competitors go though the whole process of water depletion, carb loading and tanning. I know my competition weight, and each year it gets harder and harder to attain that weight.

So instead of doing the contest, I am teaming up with an established fitness photographer to do some shoots. ALthough not quite up to parr for the stage, definitely look good for some fitness & bikini pics. Since he is staying with me and Geoff for the week, I will have those photos before he leaves and will be posting a few here.

Well this is the hour of decision. I am not liking my figure right now and am leaning more towards just watching the show versus competing in it. I woke up at 130.5 lbs, about to do 2nd coat of tanner and eat a high carb breakfast to see if my abs will come out more. We'll see. I've updated photos to show the progression over 24 hour period. From post water loading to morning of show. I'm sure I will shed a tad more water by then, but I dont think it will be enough. I should have worked a little harder those last 4 weeks.

So I tried the Taraxatone Extreme over the past 3 days... OMG ! That stuff works ! ! !

Just stopped my water intake at noon today. Did my first layer of tan (Mystic tan cos it's easier) and doing some photos at 6 hour intervals to see how my cuts are coming along. Like always, I am not too happy with my physique. I always wish I had another 2 weeks to diet/cardio. But I do with what I got. And let me tell you.. it seems every year, the tricycle tires (lower belly fat & saddlebags) get more stubborn. I guess that is what I get for trying to stay sane by being as natural, and no-so-extreme on my diet and workout routine as possible. I am startng to wonder if I can pull of entering Figure America this year. , even with 9 more weeeks to go.

Anyways, I will decide by the time I get up tomorrow whether I am going to bother entering the FLEX Bikini contest or just prowl around the Olympia expo with my camera and videocam.

It's Monday. Tonight is the season premier of Heroes but I am gonna eat my cottage cheese and fruit as usual. Friday is the Flex Bikini Model Search and it's a bad time fo the month.... the week I retain water thanks to female hormones UGH !!!!!!!! Of course, I have been down to those last 5 lbs all month and unless I go on a strict chicken breast & salad greens diet, I'm losing fat about about 1/4 to 1/2 pound per week. So I am assuming, I am starting the week and staying at 133. I am now 4 days out. I really should start doing photos morning of as I go along in my 'week of' program. Maybe I will !

Monday- normal diet, no salt for rest of the week
Tuesday- water load & carb deplete
Wednesday- water load & carb deplete
Thursday- competition tan, drop water & up carbs
Friday- drop water & up carbs... compete
Saturday... compete if I make top 10

OMG, I am sitting here at my computer on Sept. 11, 2009 at 11:07 PM and I went to the Flex Model Search website and realized I just missed the deadline... I could have sworn the deadline was tomorrow... and to top it all off..... it's a mail in type registration... not online registration

THis is what happens when doctors tell you to take Ritalin... and you resist !

Wow, it's now 2009 and I am still not over this issue. After 4 years of competing in fit bikini, fitness model & Miss Hawaiian Tropic contests... I'm still torn if wearing my hair its natural color of black is to my disadvantage. I've had this issue since my days in Iowa when I noticed that people ignored, avoided and even sneered at me when I went natural (even did experiments where I'd visit a store before my salon appointment then after, only to prove over and over again... bastards don't like my hair black)

When I competed in Hawaiian Tropic, every time I wore it black, I didn't place. Didn't matter what shape my body is in. Always felt prettier with darker hair but seems the judges didn't think so.

So now, I am contemplating going back to a medium chocolate brown hair color I sported this past year, just in time for the Flex Bikini contest. I know this subject shouldn't matter, but to me... it does. I mean, blonde is always the preferred hair color in these TnA type contests and it's apparent that blondes do tend to have an edge.. and I did the best when I myself was blonde. But I don't want to spend $100 every 2 weeks for root maintenance.

So do I go chocolate brown or stick with my natural Filipino black ?
Dilemmas dilemmas !

Oh, I'm such a procrastinator. So I've been dieting and doing my workouts... maybe not quite the 2 a days, 5 days a week like I always planned, but purdy close. And here I am 2 weeks out from the FLEX Bikini Model Search at the Olympia Expo... and I'm stuck at that 134 lb mark... but on a good note, I have increased definition. Maybe it's just water weight. I've been soooo bad at keeping a log of everything (welcome to my world....I'd be that one who ends up dead if the doc says my life depended upon keeping that log up to date)

So maybe, it's time to make the last 2 weeks extreme and follow the diet plan that helped me win my FAME Pro card a few years ago. THe one I won after 5 weeks of this diet and no cardio cos my left ankle was in a cast after a bad break & tear. Mostly chicken breast and greens, some carb in the morning and I upped my fat intake a tad to counteract the blood sugar drop

Or should I just not bother? UGH, I am so not looking forward to all this