Did You Turn Your Clocks Back? I Forgot One...

The first thing I do when I get up and it's Daylight Savings Time is spring into action fixing every clock in the house, my watch, the clock in the car...I was fairly sure I updated them all. I forgot one important one. My alarm clock. That would be why I'm writing a post at 3:30am on a Monday morning. I'm still trying to get past the fact that I just lost an hour of precious sleep in my cozy bed.

I'm not sure how two months quickly escaped since my last post. Not too much has changed. I'm still trying my best to eat clean and train consistently. I visited with Jodi about two weeks ago to check on my bodyfat level and get some direction for my off-season training.

I was thrilled to be at 17.6% bodyfat, which means I'm maintaining (last time I was 17.4%, which was in July). My weight is up 5 pounds. I'm hoping it's muscle, but it could be some water weight. My period is still screwed up from coming off the pill and the creatine I'm taking is known to cause water retention. Jodi pulled back on my cardio and had me add Ezekiel bread at lunchtime. Here is my current diet:

Breakfast -- 5 egg whites, 1/3 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup berries
AM snack -- 1.5 scoops Core Post-Workout protein powder
Lunch -- 3oz protein, 1 slice Ezekiel bread, 1 cup veggies
PM snack -- 1 scoop protein, 1 Tbsp peanut butter (or 10-12 almonds)
Dinner -- 3 oz protein, 2 cups veggies, 1/3 cup rice
Evening snack -- 1 scoop protein, 1 Tbsp peanut butter (or 10-12 almonds)

Cardio -- 20 min. 4x per week
Weights -- 5 exercises per bodypart, 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
Supplements -- added 1 scoop creatine back into my glutamine drink during my workout. I'm taking a multi-vitamin, CLA, BCAAs, biotin, calcium, and fish oil.

My goal right now is to add muscle. The plan is to do the same show I did last year, which is on May 10. I'm about 6 months out. The competition diet will start right after the holidays on Jan. 5.

Here's to an easier adjustment to the time change! Do you have any Daylight Savings stories to share? I'm all ears. ;)

3 Weeks 'Til Figure Competition -- Yikes!

We're getting down to the wire and I'm happy to report this week's results:

Bodyfat
14.9% (down 1.3%)

Weight
129.2 lbs. (down 5.0 lbs.)

Diet Changes
Morning snack is now 3 oz. chicken and 2 oz. sweet potato

Workout Changes
Cardio 65 min. 7x per week
Keep 45 seconds of plyometrics between sets

Here's what my diet now looks like:

Current Daily Diet

Breakfast (eaten before workout at 4:45am)- 5 egg whites, 4 oz. sweet potato

Post-workout (approx. 7am): - 3 oz. chicken, 2 oz. sweet potato

Lunch (noon-ish) - 6 oz. tilapia, 1 cup green veggies, 4 oz. sweet potato

Afternoon snack (3:30ish) - 3 oz. chicken, 12 almonds

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

Evening snack (9pm) - 4 oz. tilapia

I submitted my entry forms and fees for the April 27th show, and I'll finish the April 13th paperwork this weekend. Now it's starting to feel real.

After I even out my tan lines from my tanning booth mishap, I promise to post some pics. Until then, eat clean and train dirty!

5 Weeks to the Tri-Cities Figure Competition

I'm still chugging along as the time winds down. This week my bodyfat was 17.1% (down 0.8%) and my weight 133lbs. (up 0.6). While I'm always secretly wishing for at least a drop of 2%, I'm just glad that I'm going down.

To come in at around 9-10% bodyfat, I still have a good 7+% to go! EEK! I should also note that I'm bigtime PMSing. Jodi thinks I'm retaining water, which is why my weight is slightly up. It could also be why I didn't drop more bodyfat. With that, here are this week's changes:

Diet
My evening snack is now 4 oz. of tilapia, and the nuts are gone. (My only source of fat now are the almonds during my afternoon snack.)

Workout
Weight training stays the same. Still doing plyometrics between sets.

Cardio is now 55 min., 7 days a week. Still doing walk/run intervals. Currently, I run 4.0 mph and then 8.0 mph. If I start to drag, I change the 8.0 mph to 7.0 mph.

I also ordered a new posing bikini, which should be arriving any day. I'm very excited!! It's emerald green and has more bling than my current suit.

I began tanning this week, too. It helps to get a solid base tan before they make you super-dark before the show.

This week, I'm going to be gathering forms, practice posing, finalizing my music for the T-walk, and nailing down the T-walk. It's been awhile since I've sported those 5-inch heels, so I need to get comfortable walking around in those again.

While I'll be doing the 2013 Tri-Cities Bodybuilding, Figure & Bikini Competition on April 13, 2103 in West Nyack, NY, I'm also planning on doing another show two weeks later. The OCB Jersey Natural Open is being held in Burlington, NJ on April 27th. I figure if I can get even leaner by that time -- all the better! This show is also a IFPA Pro & Masters Qualifier. Woohoo!

Stay tuned for next week's update. I'm hoping to post a pic of my new suit!

6 Weeks to Competition Time

Tonight was judgment night -- another reason to hate Mondays. Only kidding, I actually had a great meeting with Jodi. I'm making progress, but just wish it was a bit faster.

I'm now 132.4lbs. (down 1.5 from last week) and my bodyfat is now 17.9% (down 1.3%). This is all great news, however when I prepped for my last contest, I was at 14% six weeks out. I can either let it get me down, or I can let it get me fired up and fight even harder. I'm choosing the later.

Needless to say, to keep things moving, this week brings lots of changes to both diet and workout:

Diet

• Breakfast is now 4 oz. sweet potato (instead of oatmeal)
• Afternoon snack is now 3 oz. chicken and 12 almonds (instead of protein shake)
• No more berries with shake

Workout

• Cardio -- 50 min. 7x/ week (I talked Jodi out of 55 min. 6x/week...which will probably be next week)
• No more steady state cardio -- interval running everyday (0 incline, 1 min. hard/ 1 min. easy)

I also need to start tanning. As a refresher (and to help me keep it straight), here's my daily diet:

Current Daily Diet

Breakfast (eaten before workout at 5am)- 5 egg whites, 4 oz. sweet potato

Post-workout (approx. 7am): - protein shake

Lunch (noon-ish) - 6 oz. tilapia, 1 cup green veggies, 4 oz. sweet potato

Afternoon snack (3pm) - 3 oz. chicken, 12 almonds


Dinner (6pm)- 6 oz. tilapia, 2.5 cups green veggies

Evening snack (9pm) - protein shake, 12 almonds

I think all of these changes will really start moving the bodyfat. Now I need to focus on getting a new bikini, picking my music and practicing my T-walk.

Have any tips or tricks you'd like to add? I'm all ears!! :)

I'm Baaaaack!!!!

After a long hiatus, I'm finally back! I originally thought I was going to do another show in October, but I flaked out for a few reasons: my heart wasn't into it, my brother's wedding and one Tough Mudder. I didn't feel like I could give 100%. But after so much time and a diet that's gone awry, I'm ready to train for another competition, and I'll be, once again, outlining my journey here. It will be interesting to compare notes to my first go-round compared to this one.

I met with Jodi today and I was bummed to learn that I'm back to square one. In Feb. 2011, I started out at 138 lbs and 25.1% bodyfat. Today she measured me at 138 lbs. and 24.9% bodyfat. Clearly the ice cream I've become accustomed to as my nighttime snack has caught up with me.

Here is my kickoff diet:

Breakfast
1/2 cup oatmeal
5 egg whites
1 tablespoon peanut butter

Morning Snack
1 small banana (approx. 6 inches)
Protein shake using 1 scoop of protein powder

Lunch
4 oz. chicken
1/2 cup brown rice
1 cup broccoli*

Afternoon Snack
Protein shake using 1 scoop of protein powder 

Dinner
4 oz. chicken
2 1/2 cups broccoli*

Evening Snack
6 oz fat-free, plain Greek yogurt
12 almonds

*Any green veggie, including green beans, cauliflower, spinach, zucchini.
Free foods = lettuce, cucumber, celery, peppers, salsa

Workout
Cardio -- 4x/week, 30 min., steady state (keep heart rate around 130, no intervals)
Weights -- 3 exercises per bodypart, 3 sets of 10 reps, heavy as possible


I'll have a cheat meal on Xmas Day where I'll be able to indulge in our annual tradition of eating Xmas cookies for breakfast. My next weigh and measure will be on Sat., Dec. 29.

The show is April 13, 2013, so I have 16 weeks to get my butt in gear.

Tomorrow the journey begins. Stay tuned for more updates. I'll also post a before pic compared to when I started out last year. That should be interesting...