12 Weeks and Counting 'Til Fitness Competition Time

I met with Jodi yesterday and I'm down a little over half a percent (20.4%) and my weight is down 1.2 lbs (135.6). I'm happy that I'm still making progress.

The change in weight training (4 exercises per bodypart, 4 sets to failure) has made a huge difference in terms of intensity.

My motivation: pre-contest 6/30/12

This week's changes:

Diet
Evening snack is now 1 scoop of protein with 12 almonds (no more Greek yogurt)

I need to take my morning snack and divvy it into a pre- and post-workout snack. Since I need a combo of carbs and protein, I'm going to order Beverly International's Muscle Provider. It had more carbss and is more easily and quickly digestible than my Ultimate Muscle Provider, which I use as my daily protein source.

Workout
Weight training stays the same

Cardio is now 35 minutes, 5 times per week

Stairmill -- every other day with intervals -- 2 min. hard, 1 min. easy

I bought a Groupon for Snap Fitness and finally registered, so I'll really be able to go super-heavy in my training. Stay tuned for more details on how that goes.

I also talked to Jodi about another contest two weeks after April 13. Since I'm already contest ready, why not do two shows?! It sounds good in theory. We'll see how that pans out.

It's been a crazy month and tougher than every to stick with my diet and workouts. We've been having some family health issues with my father-in-law and my dad. All the more reason it's so important to eat clean and train dirty!

Cheat Meal
My cheat meal ended up being lunch on Sat. We were visiting my father-in-law at Jersey Shore Medical and stopped by one of our favorite restaurants -- 10th Avenue Burrito in Belmar, NJ, which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives. Here's what I indulged in:

- Homemade tortilla chips and homemade guacamole (YUM!)
- Lobster quesadillas
- Chocolate flautas with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

This wasn't half as bad as some past cheat meals. But boy did I feel like sh*t the rest of the day. We had lunch at 2pm and by 7pm, I could barely eat my evening snack. Blech. I was more than ready to go back to my clean eating plan.

I'd love to hear what you think about this diet and exercise program. Too restrictive, not restrictive enough? Any tips you'd like share.

Until next time...

Fitness Competition Update: Four Weeks to Go...

Wow, I can't believe it's just four short weeks until the show. Lots of updates for this week...

I met with Jodi on Sat. for a 30-minute leg training session and then posing practice. I'm now at 11.9% bodyfat (holy sh*t!!!) and Jodi's goal is 8% (WOW!). I can't believe it just keeps going down!

Here is the latest diet (breakfast, morning snack and evening snack changed):

Breakfast
3 egg whites with one whole egg
1/2 cup oatmeal

Morning snack
3oz. chicken

Lunch
5 oz. tilapia
1 cup string beans

PM snack
3 oz. chicken
4 oz. sweet potato

Dinner
6 oz. tilapia
1 cup green beans
Evening snack
3 oz chicken

Workout
75 minutes of cardio
Sprints/bleachers 2-3x

I also received my posing bikini this week (thank you, Ebay) and now I really feel like it's all coming together.

This is going to be a tough week since I'm away on a business trip Sunday through Wednesday. Eating everything I'm supposed to will be tough, especially with these new changes. But I'm going to do the best I can. I packed supplements, almonds and protein powder. I'll also have to fit in my workouts between meetings that run 7am to 7pm each day. I worked out on Sun. (my usual off day) just in case a workout doesn't seem feasible.

Now for the last cheat meal before the show. I nearly threw up after eating all of this. My stomach still doesn't feel right, and it's Sunday night.

Cheat Meal
2 red velvet cupcakes
3 glasses red wine
1 warm ciabatta roll with butter (glorious bread!)
1 bowl artichoke soup with truffle oil
3 soft shell crabs over eggplant with some amazing red sauce with capers
Vanilla bean creme brulee
1/2 avocado (from my husband's salad...he hates avocado)
2/3 of one large movie popcorn
1 small bag Reese's pieces
1 red velvet cupcake
1 small rice pudding

My meeting with Jodi is on Friday. Stay tuned for the next update...I'll try to include a pic with my new bikini.

Fitness Competitions Prep Update: 9 Weeks Out

I'm pleased to say that my meeting with Jodi this week went splendidly. I lost two pounds (now at 136.4 lbs) and lost 1% bodyfat (now at 20.1%). I will be so excited when I break that 20% mark!

She's happy with the progress, so the diet is staying the same. However, we do have a change to the workout:

• Cardio is 6x per week for 50 min.

I'm beginning to get bored with my daily 10-incline, 4.0 mph  treadmill walking. So I'm going to start doing my Insanity DVDs to jumpstart things. I just have to be careful with my heartrate. I still need to keep it at 130-135. The reason is because to get rid of those last stubborn pounds of fat, I'll have to break out the heavy cardio artillery -- HIIT -- high intensity interval training.

Next week's meeting will also be the first time Jodi sees me in a bikini. Yikes! She'll be able to gauge where I need to focus my efforts and whether I'll be competing in Bikini or Figure. I have my heart set on Figure since I think it's more competitive. But I'm going to leave the decision to the expert. It's all based on how muscular or soft I am. The other difference is posing. Bikini doesn't have any side poses, just front and back, shifting your butt to the side.

I was definitely more tired and hungry this week, which Jodi seemed please to hear. I've been downing kale chips, salad with balsamic and celery with salsa. I'm so thankful there are "free" foods I can eat.

My protein shakes are beginning to wear on me. They just taste nasty and I can't doctor them up with anything without adding calories or fat. I threw a scoop of decaf coffee in my evening shake. It was a tad bit better. I may just start adding coffee to everything -- at least I know it's calorie-free and flavorful.

This week's cheat meal involved trying out a new restaurant that just opened -- Smashburger. While I'm a die-hard Five Guys fan, this place definitely gave them a run for their money.

Cheat Meal

• The New Jersey Burger -- an amazing beef patty with bacon, blue cheese, fried onions, grilled onions, mayo, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard. All I can say is oh...my...gah...
• Sweet Potato fries
• Haagen-Daz Oreo milkshake (split between myself, my hubby and two kids)
• Handful of Reese's pieces
• Dove dark chocolate mini eggs from Easter
• Sangria (impromptu Mom's night out)
• Chips, salsa, and guacamole

Needless to say, I was beyond ready to get back on track after eating all that. It's so interesting to me how the cheat meal keeps you focused.

I'm trying to practice in my heels 20 minutes each day. For some reason this evening was sheer torture. I think my toes were actually falling asleep from the pressure put on them. Should make for a very interesting competition...

Stay tuned as I get closer to June 30th...