kjrosenb’s BodyBlog

I’m graduating soon.  It is final exams week.  I have only one more exam left EVER!!  It’s a good feeling.  Tomorrow night by 9pm school will be a part of my past. 

My workouts have been great.  Last week I had a day or two where I messed up my diet (with some Reeses), so I hadn’t weighed myself in a while.  I decided to go for it this morning and I was 121 lbs!  Yay…very good.  I feel like my body is a lot firmer than before.  It’s amazing how quickly the body can change when you start lifting heavy!  I feel great and my confidence is high!

Well, I should get back to the studying.  Blehhh!  I need to make some dinner though first: chicken breast and broccoli!  I LOVE CHICKEN AND I LOVE BROCCOLI!

It seems like a lot of ladies on bb.com are into competing.  I’ve been thinking that perhaps this is something I should work towards.  The first thing I wonder, is what is the difference between figure and fitness competitions?  The kind of body that is my goal is a LEAN look with toned muscles, rather than large muscles like some of the bodybuilding physiques.  Anyone have some advice for me as far as how to get started and what I need to do??  Thanks for your help!

-How far out do I need to sign up for a competition (like how long should I give myself to get cut)?

-What all do you actually do during a competition?  (like dance or just pose, or what?)

-What are the judges looking for?

-How do I learn the poses/where to buy the outfit/etc?? 

—>Bascially, I don’t know anything, but I WANT to know! 

Here’s something to try for your sweet tooth:

NUTRITION FACTS: ~250 calories, 41 grams of protein!! 

1/4 cup egg white liquid

1/4 cup splenda

1 low-carb yogurt container (80 cal, 12 g protein)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (110 cal, 23 g protein)

3 tablespoons sugarfree strawberry jelly (10 cal per tablespoon)

–> Put in a blender to make it foamy.  Then put in a container and into the freezer.  Take it out every 30 minutes to stir it up until you reach a ice cream-like texture.  It’s really yummy!  It tastes like a treat but has high protein and VERY few carbs!

Today was a wonderful day.  The weather was great…it is beginning to feel like summer here in the Midwest!  Today was a hiking day.  My significant other and I went to a state park and hiked on the "very rugged" trails all afternoon.  It was a perfect day to be outside and enjoy nature!  You know what I thought about and realized today while hiking?  Well, there was a couple who was coming from the opposite direction, and they were in their 30s or 40s.  They were both overweight and huffing and puffing.  The exhausted wife said to the husband: "I’m beginning to feel the thirties."  The husband, who was struggling as well, laughed and replied: "I’m beginning to feel the forties!"  Eric and I politely smiled and said our hello’s as we passed.  Nothing more, nothing less.  But, this caused my brain waves to get moving.  I was thinking, how can people who are out of shape and overweight ever be HAPPY with their lives?  I mean, if you can’t even do the basic functions of life (like enjoying nature while walking through the forrest), then what is the purpose for living?  Seriously, walking is one of the basic human functions, but so many people are so out of shape that just WALKING gets them out of breath.  People in the US need to take some pride and show some self respect.  Our bodies are our temples…we only get one body and it’s 100% our own choice as to what we do with it.  Everyone on this website can probably relate to my feelings.    We’re passionate "gym rats" who workout not just to look good, but also to have more energy and FEEL better in our daily lives.  If only they knew how good it feels to be in shape.

I am now finished with classes as a college student.  I have final exams next week and then graduation in 2 weeks.  But I’m officially done with all of my classes.  This is GREAT!  Everyone keeps asking me how I "feel"…but it’s sort of like on your birthday when people ask: "do you feel older today?"…no of course not!  I don’t feel any different.  It will feel different when everyone goes back to college in August without me.  Then again, I’m moving to Colorado in August, so that will be the huge life changer for me!  That, and I’m getting married on July 26…so lots of changes coming my way!  So no, right now I feel 100% the same.  But in 3 months, things will feel quite a bit different!

Speaking of my wedding, I really want to be in the best shape of my life by then.  I’ve been making progress lately, so I know that it is possible.  But no fear…I am not one of those girls who is just working out to look good for a big event.  OH NO…not me.  You see, I’m graduating from a major of Health and Fitness, so starting in August when I move to Colorado, I will be working as a certifed personal trainer.  Now as a trainer, you have got to keep a certain body going.  Very good motivation to keep me in check!

Well, enough for one post.  Thanks to anyone who reads!

I feel great.  I can’t believe how I could have spent so many occasions BINGING on food and feeling like crap about myself when I know how good it feels to be successful.  I have been so faithful to a clean diet and working out HARD lately.  I am really beginning to notice changes and positive results.  WHAT A GREAT FEELING!  Now see, I know I have it in me to look good because I’ve done it before.  It’s just a matter of staying disciplined and keeping focused on my goals.  I have always wanted to be the girl with the body that other girl’s are jealous of and that makes guys squirm.  Well, I’m not built that way, so to get my body into that kind of shape, it takes a lot of hard work.  I’m beginning to feel more confident about myself.  It feels so great to eat right and exercise…I feel like I can do ANYTHING!

Why is it that eating right and exercising empowers us?  I know why.  Because eating right and exercising are one of the HARDEST things to accomplish!  If being hot and sexy (ie being fit) was easy, then the whole world would be hot and sexy and have six pack abs.  No, it’s ROUGH!  Because it’s rough and I am managing to stick with it, this makes me feel amazing.  If you are reading this and are struggling to stick with it, I know how you feel.  I’m a binge eater.  But, I haven’t had a binge in a week and a half, which is a success.  Every day I remind myself WHY I want to eat right and WHY I don’t want to stuff a bunch of unhealthy (yet yummy) foods down my face.  I think: If I eat this whole bag of trail mix AND carton of ice cream, I will only feel disguisting about myself and be farther away from my goals.  I just got to constantly remind myself of WHY I want this so bad, and how great I feel when I have a sexy, strong, and lean body.

PLEASE stay true to yourself.  That is one of the most important things.  I can hide a binge if I want to, or I can lie and say that I worked out when I really didn’t.  BUT WHY??!  All that matters is that I do it and prove to myself that I can stick with it.  It feels great.  I love this website because it helps me stay on track and to be motivated by the other gorgeous bodies of members of BB.com to be inspired.

I’m ON MY WAY to the body of my dreams!  I weighed myself this morning and I was 121 lbs.  I’ve been doing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach and lifting in the afternoons.  I’ve been trying to limit my carbs to the first half of the day, and keep my protein intake high.  When I first began lifting more and eating so much protein, I actually secretly feared that I was going to GAIN WEIGHT…but I am DROPPING weight faster now.  I feel like my body fat percentage has decreased for sure in the past month.  I need to get my skinfolds checked.  Maybe I’ll do that next week.

Have a great weekend.  Sorry this is so all across the board and not well put together!

I have been exercising for three years now.  What a difference it has made in my life.  I am truly a different person because of exercise.  I currently work at a fitness center at the university where I attend.  The late founder of the fitness center, A.H. Ismail’s famous quote is: "Exercise is nature’s medicine."  -A.H. Ismail

Isn’t that so true?  No matter how rough your day is, you can always count on feeling uplifted after a session at the gym.

Anyhow, on to other things.  I though I would write down my training split.

Monday: Legs, Abs & 1 hr cardio

Tuesday: Chest, Back, Biceps & 1 hr cardio

Wednesday: Legs & 1 hr cardio

Thursday: Shoulders, Triceps, Abs & 1 hr cardio

Friday: Abs & 1 hr cardio

Saturday: REST

Sunday: 45 minutes cardio & upper body lifting (whatever I feel like) 

I have realized that I missed out so much when I took a break from lifting.  Doing endless cardio gets you NOWHERE!!  In January and February, I was so obsessed with cardio that I would do 1 hour in the morning and then go back in the evening for another 30 minutes of cardio.  I just thought: "I have to burn calories!!"  Well, I think in the process of all that cardio (and no lifting what-so-ever), I burned a lot of muscle tissue and slowed down my metabolism.  When I was doing all that obsessive cardio, I was burning 800-1200 calories per day just through exercise.  Shamefully, I was only consuming 1000 calories per day tops.  No wonder I slowed my metabolism down!

Currently, I try to eat between 1300-1600 calories per day, with a 40/40/20 ratio of macros.  40% protein is amazing because it keeps me satisfied!!  When I was eating only 1000 calories per day (or less) with probably only 10-20% protein, I always was hungry and felt the urge to binge.  Now I eat 5-6 balanced meals throughout the day, and it makes me feel like I eat all day long (a great feeling)!  I think my metabolism is speeding up, because not only am I seeing changes in my body, but I also notice that my stomach begins to growl if I haven’t eaten in 3 hours.  Good sign, right??

Joining this website has been a great experience (already!) for me.  Who knew that there were so many supportive and encouraging people out there?!  This is definitely motivating and makes me inspired.  SO GLAD I JOINED! 

Well, I am new to this site. 

My name is Katy, I am 22-years-old, and about to graduate college.  In fact, in just a few short weeks (May 10, 2008), I will be a college graduate!  My major is Health and Fitness, so I hope to get a job in corporate fitness management.  I’m not actively seeking employment yet because I cannot work until August.  I’m getting married (to the LOVE of my life) on July 26, and then moving out of state in August.

The reason why I want to join this site is because I want to keep myself on track with my body.  Because I am going to make a career out of fitness, I want to perfect my body.  In college it’s tough because so many people are out of shape.  Just working out 5-6 days a week sets you WAY ahead of most people.  Now that I’m going to be a professional, I feel like I want to decrease my body fat percentage and really have a body that other people admire.

I got out of the habit of lifting and was only doing cardio for the past few months.  I started lifting again last week because I want to increase my lean mass and decrease my fat mass.  I not only want to look super lean and strong for my wedding in July, but I also just want to achieve the body I’ve desired for my whole life!  I’m excited and motivated.  REAL motivation.  I have less than four months until my wedding, and four months until my fitness career begins.  That is a good reason to want to get into tip-top shape.  I am very excited for what I will be able to achieve!!