kjhalter’s BodyBlog

Ok,

Today’s blog is a short commentary about how changing my lifestyle over the last few years has changed my life and views  of things around me.  So as you guys that are reading this can see, I have lost a few lbs over the last few years.  In doing so I have also tried to SLOWLY adapt the rest of my family to my way of eating and more healthy activity. (Don’t tell them, but it’s working! ) So anyway, before taking on the "figure competitor lifestyle" I believed in portion control and moderation.  This is also the concept I instill in my family and especially my clients.  Let’s face it, unfortunately this lifestyle is not one of moderation, at least not for me.  It is a pretty focused, clean eating with a few cheats in the off season, kind of life.  Now my family, friends and clients, though very supportive of my goals, do not care to live like I do.  General health and well being is what they are aiming for, not single didgit body fat and shredded abs.  So therefore they are able to have a little McD’s every once in awhile if they want it.  That means that an hour in the gym is good enough for them.  That does not make them lazy or fat slobs because they live in moderation.  In fact I envy their freedom. 

I compete for myself.  I compete against myself.  Standing on the stage is the end. The true competition is the 12 - 16 week prep period of tight diet and exercise.  The sword, trophy, plaque etc. is the icing on the cake, but I truely believe that I am not competing against the girls with me on that stage, but myself.  I am proving to myself I have the will power to avoid the foods that I love, if even for a limited time.  I am proving to myself that I can push my body past the comfort point.  This is what I love about this game.

The moral of this is I will NEVER forget where I came from.  I chose this lifestyle, but refuse to judge people because they don’t live it and love it the way I do. 

ok,

I am  back on track now.  Only sidelined by one evil little product call Peanut Butter.  You know before I started this clean living, healthy living, weight loss stuff, I could care less about peanut butter. Blah, Blah, Blah. My how things change!!!  All I want anymore is this stuff.  Today while running into the local grocery store to pick up a roasted chicken after work I had some crazy reason to go down the PB aisle.  Now I need to tell you all that I have decided to clear this product out of my pantry for lack of restraint with it.  As all of my friends and even clients will tell you all I had longed for after this recent comp diet was PB and chocolate in any form whatsoever.  Now mind you they all took good care of me.  C especially!!  She made for the 1st time the most delicious buckeyes known to man. (ok Karen, snap out of it)  Anyways, I even went to the extreme of buying the new dark choc flavored PB.  (don’t get excited it sounds better than itn really is.)  So anyway, back to my grocery story - while trotting down the pb aisle, I look over and see cinnamon and raisin pb.  Now this is not so bad I say to myself.  Sounds good for a little morning meal of ww toast.  Yah, sure……didn’t even make it to morning.  After dining on my skinless roasted chicken I opened the jar to take a small taste.  Needless to say - it’s gone!!!  I ate enough to make me feel guilty (that amount shall remain unspecified) and I threw the rest away!!  All I can say is thank heaven that I am not in prep mode or I would need to be checked into the mental institution for all the crazy things that would be running through my head!!!! Now I just told myself "we’ll just call it extra power for leg day tuesday!"  It’s just to bad that muscle can not be built on PB alone!!! Better Luck tomorrow!!! 

Well I am 2 weeks out of my first competition.  I had an AWESOME time and cannot wait to step out on that stage and do it again!!!  3 days after competing my husband and I took a MUCH needed vacation alone (wow, no kids) to Las Vegas.  We went to the Olympia and we stayed at the Orleans which was the host hotel for the event.  It was AMAZING walking down the hall to our room and wandering among the pro’s.  It was a great 4 days.  I did allow myself some freedom while I was there.  After 16 weeks of very consistant dieting, I figured if I wanted a cheeseburger or an ice cream cone, this was the time to do it.  So I did. Bye bye 6 pack.  It’s now 4 but I knew that it wouldn’t last forever.  I think that is the hardest thing about the "offseason".  The mental game is BAD!!!  So I am adjusting the best way I know how.  Trying hard not to freak out and think that I will never be stage ready again.  I am not competing until March, but with me I feel better when I am still journaling my food and counting my macros.  Call it OCD if you will, but if you have seen my pictures you know where I came from.  I have a fear deep down inside of falling back into that rut.  But in all honesty I LOVE this lifestyle and can’t eat the way I did back then.  But then again I LOVE my chocolate!!! ;o)  So anyway, I had my 2 weeks of freedom.  I didn’t keep track  of anything, ate clean 75% of the time, and didn’t measure anything out.  Now I am refreshed and ready to go back to my "normal".  My plan is to eat clean 90% of the time.  I will allow myself 1 cheat meal and 1 cheat snack a week.  Mainly to make sure I am not in a calorie deficit because I am wanting to gain some muscle before going into prep mode again in January.  I will be doing 4 shows next year (2 spring, 2 fall) so I will be "dieting" most of the time.  So I will allow myself some slip ups now rather than later.  I believe in giving 150% when you are preping, because you can never know how hard the competition is working.  I don’t want any regrets when I stand up on that stage.  To me, if I plan on doing this, then I make sure I do it right!!  Oops, there goes that OCD again!!!!  Check back in and I will try to update often.

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