I am soo sad......

I am soooooo sad. I read A LOT about nutrition and weight loss and check out different sources. In an e-book that I purchased - Feed the Muscle, Lose the Fat I came across some disturbing news. When you eat fats in combination with sugar, your body is primed to keep that food combination as body FAT.

My MOST favorite fat/sugar combinations that I can think of are ice cream (thus being really, really sad) and chocolate! Oh hell! Now what are we gonna do?????

So I have been aware of this for a few months and kinda filed it in the back of my head as "gonna try to ignore". Not working! Especially since today I can across a post on a weight loss discussion board that was talking about this very thing and referenced an article in the New York times. So I guess this is not something to be ignored!

So sitting here thinking of all the yummy parts of my day that will be effected - coconut milk flavored creamer in my coffee - sugar/fat, dark chocolate bits - sugar/fat. It is everywhere - in all the occasional indulging cheat foods - ice cream, cheesecake, peanut butter (if it is not no sugar added), donuts, and on and on and on.

My solution?!?!?! I am researching any and all yummy stevia recipes that will allow me to have my ice cream and not the body fat! I already have a favorite chocolate coconut milk ice cream that I make sugar free - guess that is the answer for today. Do you have any favorite sugar free dessert recipes made with stevia?

On a happy note:

I just got an email from one of the fitness guru's newsletters I receive. It has this link in it:

http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/how-to-lose-10-pounds.html

It talks about how to lose 10 pounds. It is good, simple advise that we all can follow - no matter how much weight you need to lose or not! Check it out!

S A B O T A G E, self

Wow! I have really been eating LOTS and LOTS of crap! I finally have reigned myself back in (partially) and did my measurements this morning. What a wake up call! Since July 9th - just 2 weeks - I have gained 1.8 lbs :(! And that must be 1.8 of pure FAT because I have increased 5 inches. YUCK! I can tell by the way I look and feel. I realize that I like to feel lean!

So not to just drown my self in a vodka tonic (part of the issue HA HA) I am using this to vent and clear my head!

So I do the show, get skinnier than I have ever been in my adult life and then get pissed and rebel at the hard work that it requires. Here's the conversation in my head "I look great! Why do I have to lose more? What do you mean I didn't win! Don't these people realize where I have come from? Why have I chosen to do this and make what I have achieved not enough?" And on and on and on. These thoughts go great with a glass of red wine and bread dipped in olive oil!

So 5 freaking inches - it has come from the cookies I ate at break everyday when I was out of town, all of the alcohol I have consumed lately, the bread things like sandwiches, bagels, and muffins. I could go on and on and on!

I have managed to set a gym schedule and successfully complete it each day so far! That is progress in itself. And I am managing my food a bit better - we have lunch at a Pita Jungle today and I have been scouring their nutritional information to see what I can eat to be within a good range.

My other ah-ha moment is I require goals! The first goal that got me started on the weight loss path was wanting another baby and not wanting the complications in pregnancy being overweight can contribute. That was a HUGE goal and I had a ton of motivation to keep me going! And then I had Matthew and the next goal was a half marathon. That was good for a while until my knee decided that it was not for me! And then the bodybuilding show..... And I did that before I really should have - wasn't quite lean enough. So what's next???? I have chosen another natural bodybuilding show in October! The ABA show October 23 in Yuma, AZ. I want to be at 12% body fat and place in the top 2! So there it is! And as a reward as I melt back down, I am going to pick 3 new swim suits for the competition! I already have one in mind! So a chance to strut my stuff combined with shopping and a few nights out of town just might be the motivation I need!

So the goal is to weigh 135 and have 12% body fat by October 16th, 2010! That is a safe 1.13lbs to loose a week!

The steps to reach my goal I am taking this week are working out (3 day split strenght training & Cardio) Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Cheat meals are allowed in 2 meals and alcohol is allowed during those cheats ONLY!

Publish Post

Stay tuned.....

I did it! Part 1

Wow! What a weekend! I am finally sitting down to record my reflections and details about the competition last Saturday. I have run the gauntlet of emotion - anger, disappointment, excitement, joy and on and on and on........ And the lessons I have learned!

So the whole spray tan thing is really ODD! Thursday I went for coat one - I have NEVER been that dark. At the tanning I learned that I could only have one more shower before the competition - gross! But that is just the way it was. Friday morning I woke up with nice finger prints on my chest, color all of my hands and feet! I took the last shower and washed my hair. This was a big deal because I had everything all planned out - this is based off of beauty too, right? And now I had to go with day old dirty hair! The comfort was everyone doing this would have the same! And on we went for coat two. Holy cow! I felt freaky!

Saturday came really fast! I was there bright and early for the athletes meeting (added a new way of thinking about this to be called an athlete :)). Registration presented a new option! The show had 2 competitions in one - the first everyone was automatically entered in for the division they had chosen and then you could pay to compete in the lesser known Arizona State competition. So I thought it would be cool to sign up in one of my divisions knowing if no one else did I would be the default winner and hold the Arizona state title.

Drug testing was a new experience! All of us women were herded into the bathroom and took our turn to pee in a cup in front of the ABA representative. OK - never had to do that before! But the ABA/INBA are very proud of the fact that they are very strict on being drug free and all of their contestants are natural!

There were two rooms back stage and of course you had to walk through the area for the men to get to the women's area. I am not normally intimidated by much, but it was WAY weird to have to walk through a room of men wearing only Speedo like suits, lifting weights and greasing up! I kinda squinted my eyes, put my head down, held by breath and ran through! As the day went on, it got easier and felt less weird!

All was great getting ready - Pam is an excellent body oil evidently, so in true show fashion I got greased up! Felt like a muffin pan, but boy did I look good! HA HA! Getting on stage for the first time was scary! I had my heart pounding almost out of my chest. But it got easier and easier every time I went out! The expediter - can't remember her name - was awesome! She really coached us, pointed out what we needed to do and corrected us on stage to help improve our appearance! I was surprised and very thankful for all of this coaching!

We had two shows - the AM prejudging - and how misleading is that - It was all of the judging! And the the evening show - complete with music and more entertainment style!

The evening was more fun for me! The music really helped me feel more relaxed, and knowing what to do and expect helped a ton too!

This is getting really, really long so Part 2 coming soon - the JUDGING and results, plus pictures!

This time next week.....

I will be in a carb, wine and fat induced food coma! LOL I dream about red wine, pizza, hot wings, eggs & bacon!

This is my last carb day - affectionately named Toast day! A whole total of 110 grams allowed! I have been loving me some apples and corn tortillas! And then back to 50 grams for the duration! 6 days and counting.

I have been concentrating on cardio, cardio and more cardio to get that fat gone! Lost 1/2% of body fat this past week to put me at 16.5%. Looks like I will fall short of my 15% goal, but I am proud of my accomplishments!

Here are this weeks progress pictures! I am surprised at the

changes. It definitely makes staying on the eating plan more manageable.

2 weeks to go!

What a trip this 10 weeks have been! I have had HUGE obstacles that have almost deterred my goal! BUT the application for June 5th has been faxed, shoes & suit purchased (gulp!) and training with Scott continues.

And let's not leave off the dieting & exercise! This is not fun or easy! For my last two weeks it's down to no dairy, no wheat, no nuts or nut butters, no salt, no anything with taste! HA HA! Boiled chicken, rice protein and fish are now my protein staples. Cardio is the exercise focus now. Twice a day! Fun, fun!

Here are some recent pictures from trying on my new suit!

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!