One Week Out & Final Show

My apologies for skipping a week. I had all these great intentions of posting, but between work, workouts, kids sports, and a host of other things, it was like I had monkey wrenches flying at my head all week. On top of depleting, I'm surprised I even know my name anymore. LOL!!

One Week Out
I met with Jodi the Monday before the Saturday, April 27 show, so it was actually less than a week. I weighed in at 128.8 lbs. (down 1.2 lbs.) and bodyfat was 10.1% (down almost 2%!!!!) She tweaked my diet, and my workouts were ending:

Diet

• Monday's night snack changed from 3 oz. of chicken to 3 egg whites.
• Wednesday's breakfast was now 4 oz. tilapia (no more egg whites...buh-bye favorite pancakes).
• No condiments, spices or gum (i.e., the start of Allison's 72-hour hell...you can take my food, but don't take my gum!!!

Workouts

• The Friday before (Apr. 17, 10 days out) was my last leg workout.
• Continued one-minute plyometrics in between sets.
• Wednesday, April 24, was my last workout (weights and cardio)

I began taking Expel (i.e., depleting) on Wednesday, which also meant drinking one gallon of distilled water Wed. and Thurs., and half a gallon on Friday. Friday at 5pm, I stopped drinking anything.

Friday
I definitely tried to pack too many things into the day before the show (note to self). I really wanted to take the day off, but things were so crazy at work that I couldn't. I had a mani/pedi scheduled, still needed to pack, practice posing, and, most importantly, get hand-tanned by Jodi and check in one last time. Jodi won't weigh or measure the day before a show. Most of the weight lost is water and she doesn't like to get caught up in the numbers. She can read bodyfat by just looking. She guessed me at "high 8s", so I'm going with 8.8%. LOL! It's definitely lower than last time when I came in at 9.5%.

My instructions for Friday and Saturday included some unexpected treats. Friday dinner was 3 oz. chicken and 8 oz. asparagus. My evening snack was 2 oz. of cooked lean beef (or 3 oz. raw). WOOHOO!!! I did weight myelf when I got home out of curiosity, and I was at 126.5. I think that's the lowest I've been since 11th grade. LOL!! My weight measured 26 inches.

Saturday -- Show Time
Boy, did I miss coffee on Saurday morning!! Good thing I packed lots of Excedrin and Advil.

Here's what I ate the day of the show (although the pre-judging and finals timing threw me for a loop):

• 4 oz. tilapia, 4 oz. sweet potato
• 4 egg whites, 4 oz. asparagus
• 2 oz. beef, 4 oz. asparagus, 2 oz. sweet potato
• 3 oz. chicken, 3 oz. sweet potato

As I mentioned, the show was in Burlington, NJ. My good friend, Janine, who graciously joined me as my trainer backstage, trekked over 90 minutes to attend. It was such an organized, well-run show -- what a nice surprise. You knew what time you were going on, no surprises. Lots of room backstage. I loved every aspect.

I entered two categories -- Novice and Open. Drum roll please...I won 4th place in the Novice group!!! I was on cloud nine all weekend. Even the T-walk, which I was so nervous about, was easy-peasy. I just loved every minute of it.
 
Final Thoughts
I honestly can't believe I placed. It was a very large show, and the other girls blew me away. They were gorgeous with bodies to match. But everyone is so friendly and approachable. I love the sportmanship of the sport and I'm really excited to do it again. And yes, I am thinking about doing another show. I may test out the bikini category, even though I just love the muscular look.

One important lesson I learned, there is no off season. You have to embrace this as a lifestyle, not I'm on/off my competition diet. It was incredibly hard for me to get to this point, much harder than last time. And I'll be damned if DQ is going to mess it up. LOL!!

That said, I did go out for a celebratory meal afterwards. Janine, my parents, my mother-in-law and I all went to Friendly's. I had an awesome burger and an even better Oreo ice cream treat. Plus, my family insisted the staff sing "The Trophy Song." What a great way to end an awesome day!!!!

NOTE: Having some technical issues. I promise to post pictures very soon!

Figure Competition 2 Weeks & Counting

With the first competition originally scheduled on April 13th cancelled due to lack of participation, all of my focus is on the 27th.

Just two short weeks left, here are this week's changes:

Bodyfat -- 11.9 % -- Down 1.3%!! Can I get a woot-woot?? Very excited to be nearing single digit country. Fingers crossed that I can bust through 10% before April 27.

Weight is now 130.0 lbs even -- down 1.4 lbs!! Yippee!

Diet Changes
- Morning snack is now 4 egg whites instead of tilapia (did I mention how tired I am of tilapia??)
- Lunch tilapia is now 5oz. (down from 6oz.) and no more green beans, now it's 8oz. asparagus
- Dinner tilapia is also now 5oz. (down from 6oz.)

Check out my new green bikini.

Evening snack is now 3oz. chicken (no tilapia -- woohoo!!)

Workout Changes
- Cardio is now 80 min. 7x per week
- 1 min. of plyos between sets
- Bleachers & sprints as much as possible
- Wed. is my last leg day (10 days out from the show)
- Fri. is my last day of walking lunges and deadlifts

This Week's Focus
- More tanning
- More practice -- need to focus on the walks and turns
- Create my pack list and start gathering
- Make a mani/pedi appt. and take a half day off work on April 26
- Mentally start prepping...lots of visualization :)

Until next time, eat meticulous and train ridiculous...

3 Weeks "til April 27th Figure Competition

Sadly, the April 13th figure competition was cancelled due to a lack of participation. Somewhat of a bummer, but also sort of glad since I don't feel quite ready.

I had a great visit with Jodi this week, and the progress -- and changes -- continue...

I weighed in at 131.4% (down 1 lb.) and bodyfat was 13.2% (down 1.2%). Woohoo!! Jodi and I were both very happy with these numbers.

This week's diet and workout changes:

Diet

• Morning snack is now 5 oz. tilapia and 4 oz. asparagus (buh-buh chicken, hello morning fish -- blech)
• Afternoon snack, the almonds go away (boo!!)

Workout

• Cardio is now 75 min., 7x per week
• 45 seconds of plyos stay put
• Try to do as many bleachers/sprints as possible this week. 

This week is Spring Break, so I'll be off Wednesday through Friday. With the warm weather finally here, I'll hopefully be able to get 3-4 times in. We're heading to Great Wolf Lodge with the kids, so the Thursday workout will be interesting. I may split my cardio into 3x on that day (25 min., 25 min., 25 min.). I'm hoping the gym is more impressive than what it looks like online.

I posed for Jodi with my new green sparkly bikini. It's growing on me and I think I may end up using that one after all.

Also, I found out the show has a dedicated photographer, so hopefully I will get some great pics to share!

It's hard to believe only 19 more days, 2 more appts. with Jodi and it's go-time.

Until next time, eat clean and train dirty, Fit Mommas!!

Figure Competition Countdown -- 4 Weeks Out

After having a run-in with my kids' Easter candy, I was nervous to see what today's weigh & measure appointment would bring...

Bodyfat
14.4% (down 0.5%)

Weight
132.4lbs. (up 3.2 lbs.)

I'm glad my bodyfat went down, not happy about my weight going up. I could be retaining water from my little candy splurge. Back to the drawing board. Here are this week's changes (there are a lot of them): 

Diet Changes
Morning snack is now 3 oz. chicken and 4 oz. asparagus (sweet potato is gone)
Lunch is now 8 oz. green beans (vs. 4 oz.); sweet potato is gone
Afternoon snack now includes 3 oz. sweet potato

Workout Changes
Cardio 70 min. 7x per week
Keep 45 seconds of plyometrics between sets

There were so many change to my diet, I need to repost what the whole looks like again. I can't keep track! Here's what my diet now looks like:

Current Daily Diet

Breakfast - 5 egg whites, 4 oz. sweet potato

Post-workout - 3 oz. chicken, 4 oz. asparagus

Lunch - 6 oz. tilapia, 8 oz. green beans

Afternoon snack - 3 oz. chicken, 12 almonds, 3 oz. sweet potato

Dinner - 6 oz. tilapia, 8 oz. (2 cups) asparagus

Evening snack - 4 oz. tilapia

Whew! Let's see what these changes bring. I'm still working on my tan lines. I ordered my Expel (diuretic for the last few days before show). I need to order Jan Tana tanning gel and see if I can find foundation to use on competition day. I was contemplating hiring a make-up artist, but the one recommended by the show is booked solid.

I thought it would be interesting to see how much food I'm consuming in a week. Food shopping is a regular occurrence -- at least 2x per week. Here's what I need to buy and consume in a typical week (7 days):

• Tilapia -- 14 pounds
• Chicken -- 2.6 pounds
• Sweet potato -- 3 pounds
• Green beans -- 3.5 pounds
• Asparagus -- 5.25 pounds
• Egg whites -- 3 dozen eggs
• Almonds -- 84 almonds

As promised, here is an update pic. I'm on the fence about the new green bikini. I'm feeling a bit self-conscious in it. It will really depend on what I look like closer to the show. I'll work on posting a pic so you can tell me what you think.

Until next time, eat clean and train dirty!