Melda’s Body Blog

So yes, I am officially entering the 3wk challenge for Last Man Standing and 6wk challenge for Baby Got Back. … My goals: Eat Clean the whole 3wks (no cheats) and kill the entire backside. I am talking about the back itself, glutes, and hammies. I am more conerned with seeing some changes in the glutes & hammies because I want a fab booty, but want to kill the whole thing. I will be judging my progress through pics & weight loss. Diet portion is pretty easy for me to follow because I have a whole page that tells me what I’m allowed in categories. It’s pretty flexible.

So it was unofficial (official results to hit soon ) as of yesterday afternoon (July 24) @ 3pm that I have passed the NCLEX and will be getting my nursing license … Scary thought, scary thought, lol. A huge weight of stress has been takin off of my shoulders and relief has set through. I literally started crying as I held a picture of my mother at my chest and punched in the info for my debit card so I could get the quick results to look for the word pass or fail. PASS, PASS, PASS is what’s up, lol. Yeah, I know I’m really emotional about this but it has been a long journey for me trying to get this done. Commuting over an hour away and holding 2 part-time jobs while working nights absolutely sucks. I am currently broke as can be (of course found money to buy comp suits, lol) but it will be worth it in the end. So on to more good news. I start my position as a new grad on Monday, the 28th of July. I will be on days for about 7-8wks and can totally change things around with having a regular schedule, sleep cycle, and being able to hit the gym after work without feeling like I’m gonna fall asleep on the way home … I am as nervous as can be but really excited … I won’t actually step on the floor until next Friday, so I have time to look over anything I might have forgotten, but nothing to stress about in that department. Met my day preceptor and have heard really good things about her and that she likes to teach. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. On to killing the workouts and diet without having my mind on things in the backburner …

Okay, just posted my dream figure of what I would like to achieve. I would like to have a little bit more muscle definition and thicker legs but overall I love her figure. I posted her pics under my idea pics for transformation, no where else to post them. Am still undecided about the October 11 comp but am positive about the November 1st comp. I will do whatever it takes to step on that stage. Gives me 15wks to get there. Feel a little bit more positive because now more focused on fat loss then gaining a ton of muscle. I want to get more muscle but am not as obsessed about it. The girl’s name is Michelle LaGasse and it’s a figure I can picture ME having and loving it. Plus it goes hand in hand with my body figure and about where I was when I was smaller but she is obviously in better shape then I was. I love figure but some of the women have more muscle definition then what I would like to get although I think they are amazing and love their tone, just not on me though. I have to be realistic of what I want in the end and she about sums it up. So no, that’s not me in the pics. But damn, from far away, lol. You will have to take a double take 15wks from now, lol.

Well, yes I am still here and ticking away. Maybe not as well as I should be but I’m ticking. I’ve continued to go through ups and downs but that’s what’s up with me anyhoo. Went through a phase about questioning whether I should compete this year and looking at waiting until next year and then having the fire burn again because I don’t want to wait that long to step on stage. I have been eyeing several programs through Cathy Savage Fitness and decided to enter her summer challenge which has some crazy workouts on it which I think are going to work wonders for me . The meal plan brought me back to my basics which has helped a lot because I think I tried to go gung ho to quick and was not ready for it quite yet. I will talk over a comp later this year with her and see what she says. If I decide to still do the comp I was looking at, I will be 12wks out, but I am also eyeing a comp on Nov 1, Monster Mash, which just added a bikini category also. I decided that I am looking for a figure between bikini and figure at this point and I guess even later down the road. I love muscle on other women (figure wise) but I don’t necessarily want it for myself and love the look of bikini competitors who have a little more muscle and definitiion to them. So yeah, I want to try and cross btwn the two. So that is the one I really want to hit and to cross btwn bikini and figure. I will be 15wks out as of this coming wknd, so hopefully she okays everything. I have been having a really hard time with nights, sleep, and putting everything together lately. I thought once I was done with school everything would be much better but it hasn’t. I just went into the pay bills mode and added more hours into my work schedule. Sucks when your doing nightshift. I take my boards next wk (please lord let me pass )).. and then start my new grad program on the 28th of July. I will be on days for about a couple of months which will help tremendously with my meal planning and getting my workouts in right after work. No stopping just heading straight to the gym … So that is when I am going to make the biggest changes, when I hit days. When I was in the military that’s how I did my gym time and I had no issues. I will be a few wks out by the time I switch back to nights, so I just need to stay dedicated at that point. Well just catching up on here … Will post again soon, especially after I finish taking my boards …

So today was Legs, I swear I feel like a little weakling when I do them, especailly my quads. Really need to push farther past that burn and get them reps in. Hammies are okay when I do them, but the lower weight quck reps he has me on totally kill my quads, which is good but I’m not getting all my reps in…so need to push it farther. Today overall was a really good workout. Did my 20 minutes on the Precor afterwards and managed to make it up the stairs to my car (gym is downstairs), lol. So all is well. I know I am definitely going to feel the soreness tomorrow …

So am definitely beginning to feel leaner, don’t always see it in the mirror or pics…but I am feeling it. I am hoping to take my next pics at 16wks out and am thinking I am going to see some positive changes there. Will probably do pics every week thereafter to stay on point with changes and also practicing my posing. Just got my back up suit in today, so will try that on..May use it for posing also in pics, but we’ll see how it fits first. Still have lots to lose so may not use it until the last 4 wks before comp. My 1pc is also on the way this week and I love it. Not anything majorly fancy, but the price was right and I think with a tan, the color is going to look really good on me. So suits are complete now…Hopefully everything fits right by comp time. May also look at getting a back-up 1pc, but that depends on money situations though. May just stick with what I have. Don’t comp for 4 months, so if I see a really good deal, I will snatch it up …

Okay today was Chest, Shoulders, and Tri’s. Was supposed to do it as soon as I got home, but I was so exhausted…my bum went to sleep. One of the first things I did once I got up though, which is a good thing. I am known to put things off and then not end up doing it. It was an AWESOME WORKOUT. I had a feeling I would like it. It still had the heavier weights, but had the lighter weight quick reps that give me the burn I was looking for. I am really thinking I am going to see some good results at the end of these four weeks . My shoulders and tris especially were feeling it Eek. I also did abs this am. Gonna see about doing abs daily x5, we’ll see. Don’t want to overtrain them either, but there are quite a few people who do abs daily. Think I mentioned it before but I bought a abs video and absolutely love it. It has 8 different videos so well switch the exercises out. First three are beginners, next three are advanced, and then ball exercises (my ball deflated, not sure if it’s broke) and then pilate like moves. They all look great. I did the kickboxing abs today and it rocked. Last time I did the abs vids, I was still feeling it three days later. Hehehe. Also did cardio today (20min). I am doing my run/walk program since he did not give me a certain cardio program except for the HIIT. Was going to try and do the Falmouth road race in August and opted out of it because I will never be ready. Just got the letter this morning that I did not get in the lottery so it did not matter anyways (goes by lottery for those who do not live in Falmouth). I still want to gradually increase with my running though till I get to a easy 3 or 4 miles for me then increase with speed. So off to a good start with my new 4 wk training & diet . Legs tomorrow .
Oh, found a pic of whose body I would love to maintain offseason. Actually a girl from here (who to choose from). In this pic, she actually looks like she has more muscle then the rest of her pics. I might end up being a little thicker then her but in general where I would like to be. She still has a decent amount of bodyfat, still has her curves, and has some good looking muscles. Has good quad size for and so forth. She would also not have a hard time getting ready contest prep, because her bodyfat is not too high. Not only that but she has the type of body that could cross between bikini and figure competitions which is what I am looking for. There is a competition called Fitness Atlantic that I want to do next year and would like to do the figure and either bikini or fitness model portion. We’ll see .

Day after day I wonder where this whole figure and fitness thing will take me. Sometimes I get a little down and think I will stick with some general figure competitions and try and continue working out. Other days I remember my passion for dancing and joy and excitement every time I watch it (not a trained dancer by any means but I love to dance in general). I used to cheer in highschool and I was decent but as the years went by I realized how much I miss doing routines and so forth. My passion was initially for fitness competitions and would record them on a regular basis when I was in the military and just sit there mesmerized. I’ve always had a vision of me doing that. I decided once I had gained a ton of weight and started to lose how much I really enjoyed the figure portion of competitions. Looking at the symmetry and tone of these beautiful women. I don’t necessarily want to be as defined as some women but look at them with amazement and envy just the same. I have an idea of what I want my body to be and as much as I want the body of others I see, I will eventually realize what I want for myself and continue on from there. The other day I was looking at the Cathy Savage Fitness website and basically found exactly what I was looking for. For me, my look almost seems to be between a figure competitor and a bikini competitor. I do want the nice muscle definition with the nice quads and round glutes but have found that as you begin to look at the pro and some national level girls, they are a little bit too muscular for me. They look amazing just the same though but it is just not what I am trying to achieve. The women in some of the pictures though were exactly what I aspired to eventually gain as a body and it totally had me excited. I looked through many of the pics and realized how much I really would like to do fitness in the future and how much I want to make this figure and fitness world a mainstay in my life. No to do the things that go with it. In order to live out your dream, you must conquer the path that leads to it. My path has already started and my first competition date is still tentatively set for October 18, at the OCB Cape Cod Naturals as long as I get the time off from work and my body cooperates with me, lol.

 So yes I eventually see fitness competitions in my life but for the next year I will be focusing on figure competitions and gaining the body that I need for that. As I increase in strength, strength moves, stamina, endurance, and flexibility, as well as work on stage presence and dancing ability/technique I will look at a date for a fitness competition. I am leaning towards the fall of 2009 though. That will give me a year of figure competitions under my belt and help me to feel more comfortable onstage as well as get the input of other fitness competitors. That date may totally change but is just what I am looking at right now.

Well school is officialy over, yippee. I had my graduation from nursing school yesterday and am so happy for everything to be over with. There is such a sense of relief that has totally come over me and I feel at ease right now. I still have to get prepared and start studying for the NCLEX but that will take place starting tomorrow. Today is all about relaxing and enjoying my day with no worries. Tomorrow I will also be kicking it in gear with my diet and workouts because will I still continue to be up and down with everything. Although I have not lost a lot of my progress, I have not made much progress either. It will be all good from here though. No more excuses. It is all about training, passing that NCLEX, and getting ready to start my new job at the end of July. I am unsure if I am going to do the Falmouth Road Race at this point, I would rather focus on my figure comp and look at doing more sprints and hill training, but will see about doing both. I also will start blogging more again, then again I think I’ve said that before, lol. But like I said No MORE EXCUSES.

Well, things are on the right track right now. I haven’t been posting or updating as much as I should be because of being on/off with things, but this last week has been good and will continue to be that way .

All my clinicals and regular lectures are now finished. Less than one week and will finish with my finals. Two & 1/2 weeks and my graduation date will be here . I have to really work the cardio in the next couple of weeks if I want to fit into something cute though. I’m not looking to drop crazy weight but maybe another dress size by then. Still waiting to hear back about the interviews that I went to so it’s a little bit difficult in that department, but I’m getting over it. I have decided that if I don’t get any of those jobs, I will take the NCLEX and go nuts looking for a job after that. Something will eventually come up. I just have to make sure that I renew my CNA cert. so I can keep working at the hospital and pick extra time there.

Speaking of which, I have been working quite a bit, but its a necessity right now but don’t feel like I’m overdoing it though. Added another night, which will make it 6 of 8 nights tonight and will get me in a much better state financially between school, bills, car breaking down, and not being able to work as much as I should have with my commute & school. I will catch up with things in the end though and things will get back on track. Hearing "you have the Job" would make things much easier in the financial and "sanity" department but, have other things I need to stress over right now, lol. Like those finals and that NCLEX, lol.

Training & diet are going much better now. Trainer started me on a new program for the next four weeks and have been making it to the gym after work on a more consistent basis. Have also been better with my diet which was also switched up, so I’m happy.

Long a** blog and yes, sorry boring, but just updating:)

New Competition Date for me. Will put this in before my coach/trainer changes his mind, lol. My new first comp date will be on Sept 27, 2008 at the OCB Maine event. This comp will be kind of like my "prep" comp for the Oct 11, 2008 comp date. I really want to do well in both, but you can get your Pro card for the one in October. My focus will be more on doing well though. After October I will go into bulking & adding on muscle phase and come out with avengence next year where I really do hope to possibly get that pro card in the OCB Spirit of America event. We’ll see what happens. Just gotta do the day to day stuff right now. Dreams are fantastic, but you also have to do the steps that lead to them also for you to achieve them.