Gotta have that support system!

I have been eating relatively "Clean" for almost 4 years now. I was working a temporary position at Central Arizona Project shortly after we moved to AZ and was VERY luck to meet their wellness counselor that came weekly. It was a "perk" to the employees and had monthly meetings about various health topics, one-on-one sessions and a weight loss group - Be Lean! The wellness counselor is Romy Nelson!

Check out her sites: http://www.4naturalfitness.com and http://www.romynelson.com/

She is the one person that helped me on my way to where I am today! I participated in Be Lean and I was on my way! It is a 12 week weight loss program where we met once a week. We learned about how many calories we really need, what were good calories and about exercise! She has written a book "Be Lean" that explains her program and her adventures with weight loss! I attribute so much of my knowledge, passion and success about health, exercise and eating to her!


So what got me on this blog topic today is an email from Romy, innocently "Checking In" since I did not make my March show! And boy was that timely! I have been really, really disappointed in not doing the show and was really shooting myself in the foot with my eating and exercising by way of a pretty good pitty party! HA HA! In Romy's knowing way - from her own experiences - she knew what was going on :) So she offered to monitor my food logs for 2 weeks to get me back on track! Food log monitoring is the best way to stay on track, but requires a good dose of integrity! I am not a good liar! So I genuinely log everything that crosses my lips!

So I have committed and been sending! My only tweak so far is to lessen the gluten and keep it to Ezekiel bread being the only source. 3 days sent - so far so good! I am feeling more on track and better about self control!

My new favorites at her suggestions are Better 'n Peanut Butter from Trader Joe's - less fat than organic peanut butter, a little more sugar but tastes really good and Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle bars! Yummy! Need I say more??? I did at her urging try some Greek yogurt, and while the taste is OK, the texture I cannot handle! I don't do slimy foods!

More on the exercise front later!!

12 Weeks to ABA Figure Competition Here I go!

OK - I have not done a lot with this blog, BUT... this is going to be my online journal to the ABA Competition in Phoenix, AZ on June 5th, 2010!

I am throwing my hat in the ring to compete as a Ms. Figure competitor! My bikini goal for March 27th has been derailed from lack of extra funds at the moment, so I am drawing a line in the sand and using the next 12 weeks to train hard building lots of muscle and burning lots of fat!

So here are my pictures from March 7 that I am calling my starting point. I will update them weekly to post my progress!

My plan of attack for training is to use a 4 day split with one day rest in between. I will do biceps, triceps and abs for day 1, back and abs for day 2, legs and abs for day 3 and chest, shoulders and abs for day 4. 35-45 min cardio after each weight training and a once a week spin class!

For diet, I am going to be eating 6 meals a day - including some "good" carbs to begin with and tapering off closer to the show. I will continue avoiding sugar and junk food! Eating lots of green leafy vegetables, etc! And of course lots of chicken, fish and other forms of lean protein.

My weight as of March 10, 1020 was 143.6, 19.8 % body fat and 43.4% muscle mass. My goal is to take measurements and weight on Tuesdays and Fridays to really track what is going on. Tomorrow will be scary and I expect to see a gain in inches and weight after my Atlanta trip and eating fest!