Countdown Part 2: 5 Weeks to Go

Not sure how 8 weeks got away from me! Clearly I've been horrible about providing regular updates. Unfortunately, I haven't been seeing frequent week-to-week changes like I used to during my last few contest preps. With my new diet plan, I'm focused on carb cycling, which is a slower, healthier and much less grueling process. I get to eat more and do less cardio, but the downside is very slow progress. But slow and steady wins the race, right?

To recap, I started my new plan in January and really felt like I was battling the same 1 to 2 pounds for the past 12 weeks. I still can't seem to break past 137 lbs. My metabolism doesn't want to cooperate since I basically destroyed it over the past two years by bringing my calories down too low and doing crazy amounts of daily cardio. You can see the progress I'm making in these pics:

April 2013

May 2014

Diet
Fast forward to today, I'm carb cycling 175g and 135g, three days low, four days high. It's nice to have some flexibility with my food choices. I don't feel deprived at all food-wise and I'm kicking ass in the gym.

Workouts
My weight training has also changed a bit. I used to work one bodypart a day, 6 days a week, 5-6 exercises per bodypart for 3 sets of 10. Now I either workout 3 days on, 1 day off or 5 days on, 2 days off. My workout days are: legs/calves, back/bi's and chest/delts/tri's, 2-3 exercises per bodypart, 5 sets -- two warm-up sets (12-15 reps) and three working sets (5-8 reps). Talk about a change in intensity!!! I leg pressed 250 pounds for 3 sets of 8 this morning!! Hmm, I think we might be onto something. In terms of cardio, I only have four days of cardio, two HIIT sessions of 20 min. and two steady-state cardio sessions of 30 min.

Goals
Originally I was working towards a May 10 show. Sadly, I'm not ready and won't be participating in that one. But my sites are now focused on June 7 in Elmwood Park, NJ. My goal is to compete at 130 lbs., which means I have 30 days (or 36 days) to lose 8 lbs. at a minimum. I was competing at 125 lbs., but I do think I packed on some muscle. I'm pretty sure I'd be okay at 128 to 130 lbs.

With all this change, I splurged and got a new posing bikini, shown in the photo to the right. What do you think?

Aside from some achilles tendonitis and my shoulder acting up, I'm feeling healthy and have actually been enjoying my contest prep. It's really been a physical and psychological journey. At the end of the day, it's all a giant science experiment!

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!

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!

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!! :)

10 Weeks to Go

I feel like I've been having a good run -- steadily losing weight and body fat. That is, until this week.

Sadly, my father-in-law passed away. He had been sick for a few weeks and we knew the inevitable was coming. It still doesn't prepare you. From trying to console my husband, to explaining it to our two children, having a dear family member pass away is an emotional, physical and spiritually draining event. Add the token unnecessary family drama, and you can probably tell how my check-in with Jodi went this week. I don't believe in excuses, but I do believe in cutting myself some slack.

Without further ado, I gained weight (1.2 lbs) and I gained body fat (1.7%). It made me sad to slide backwards, especially since it wasn't like I was dining on cake every night. I was trying really hard to be good. I did all of my workouts, but it just goes to show what stress and a not-so-tight diet can do in just a few days.

As she pinched me with the calipers, Jodi said "I can feel your stress. You're retaining water big-time." Back to the drawing board...

Here are this week's changes:

Diet
Lunch is now 4 oz. of sweet potato (weighed raw) instead of brown rice

Dinner is now 6 oz. of tilapia instead of chicken

Workout
Cardio is now 5 times per week for 45 minutes.

I think these changes will show drastic improvement. I'm just hoping it's enough to make up for last week and then some.

Cheat Meal
I felt so guilty about even having a cheat meal since I didn't lose. But I know the indulgences will go away in the next week or so.

- 3 Coronas (I can't even remember the last time I had beer. Needless to say, they tasted soooo good.)
- spinach & artichoke dips with tortilla chips
- flat iron steak with sauteed mushrooms
- 1/2 baked potato
- expresso milkshake (don't ask...)

It's so true that making changes to your body is 80% diet, 10% workout and 10% genetics. I could work out for hours a day and be perfectly happy. It's just so hard to control my hunger and cravings. I constantly need to be drinking, chewing or eating. I think that's why gum is such a crutch for me. I need to refocus on how great I looked and felt when I prepped for last year's show.

What's your trick to get (and stay) motivated???

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...

Countdown Update: 12 Days to Go!

Holy Moses smell the roses -- how the hell am I 12 days out. Pretty soon we'll be in single digits. I'm in the home stretch and things are not getting easier. Whew!

I had what was most likely the hardest week ever! My lower back was killing me due to how tight my butt and hamstrings were. I tried everything -- stretching, ibuprofen, Tiger Balm. It was brutal. But Jodi tells me this is all normal. It's muscle fatigue. My body is getting just enough calories to function, so repair isn't a high priority. On top of that, I was supposed to get my period this week. We ladies all know how that feels. You're like an engorged tick ready to pop, just waiting for that flow to start so you can resume some sort of normalcy. My lower abs are pouchier than normal and I just feel heavy. I essentially just had some spotting, so now my hormones are done with me and my low bodyfat. LOL!!

But we forge ahead...

I met with Jodi on Sat. for my second to last leg workout, posing practice and a diet check-in. I'm at 10.5% bodyfat (WOW!) My weight stayed the same (her scale says 133.6, mine says 132.0...it was also taken after I worked out. Regardless, I was very psyched that the fat is still somehow coming off.

Here are the changes for the week:

Diet

• Morning snack is a small green apple (woohoo!!)
• Lunch is back to 4 oz. chicken
• Evening snack is now 4 oz. chicken
• No more lettuce or tomato (both bloat and tomato has sugar)

Workout

• Cardio is now 85 mins. 6x/week
• Bleachers/Sprints -- 2-3x/week
• Keep daily deadlifts & walking lunges

Wed., June 20 is my last leg workout. I'm kind of nervous about that.

As you know, there is no more cheat meal. But my husband and I had our annual summer party and I ended up picking here and there on few forbidden items. I tried my best to keep it clean:

• A few strawberries
• A few spoonfuls of quinoa with avocado (I've been dying to try it and it's yummy!!)
• Half a brownie (I'm human, people!)
• A few bites of watermelon

It was hard to watch all my friends eat and drink. While I didn't eat as strictly as I would've liked, I'm back on track today (Sunday) and ready to work out hard this week. Bring it!

Stay tuned for my last update before the show. I promise to post a full recap with lots of pics, as well as contest info for anyone interested in checking it out.

Fitness Competition Countdown: 20 Days

Holy smokes, I'm counting down in the days!! June 30th can't come fast enough. I'm more hungry and tired than ever! (I'm literally hungry after eating.) All I think about it when I get to eat next -- not good!!! It's going to be a long 3 weeks...

I met with Jodi on Friday and trained legs. I'm down to 11.2% bodyfat (from 11.9% last week). While it's not a whole percentage point, I'm happy with my progress given my business trip last week. It was torture sticking to the diet and not drinking. I probably ate less than I should've and also only got in 60 of the 75 minutes of cardio I was supposed to complete. Regardless, I stuck to my guns and pulled through.

Here are this week's diet and workout changes:

Breakfast
- 4 egg whites & 1 whole egg
- 1/3 cup oatmeal

Night snack
- 5 oz. Tilapia

Cardio is now 80 min. 6 times per week

I bought my tanning stuff, posing gel and diuretics this week. I'll be doing a blog post soon on the ridiculous cost of competing in a figure contest. It's crazy!!! From supplements and clean food, to tanning and training sessions, it all adds up!

My strategy this week is to split my cardio between either morning and afternoon or morning and evening. Lots of sprints, jogging and bleachers or Stairmaster will be the cardio of choice.

Lots of posing practice is another time suck. I try to spend 20-30 minutes everyday in my posing bikini and heels. Speaking of posing bikini, here is a progress photo in my posing bikini:

I also officially sent in my entry form for the contest. YIKES!!! I'm really doing this!

We stopped by a farmer's market today and I discovered something new and wonderful that I can actually have on my diet -- gourmet balsamic vinegars! I may have mentioned that I've gotten to the point of being able to taste the difference between cheap and quality balsamic vinegar. This gourmet stuff is out of this world. I bought one bottle of fig balsamic vinegar and one white balsamic pear. Now the key is I can only use one tablespoon because there is a little bit of sugar/carbs in these. But you only need a little for the incredible flavor. If you're interested in checking out this vendor, they're called www.JDGourmet.com, and other flavors were jalapeno, chocolate and cherry. I can't wait to try more of them!!!

Fitness Competition Prep Update: Day 26

Saturdays are my weekly check-in with my trainer, Jodi, at Premier Fitness in Nanuet, NY. I was very excited to see if there was any movement after last week's standstill.

I lost another pound and almost a whole percent of bodyfat. Woohoo!!! Very exciting!! To ensure I keep making progress, Jodi is making some tweaks to my diet and exercise:

• Eliminate the 100-calorie bread in the morning and replace it with 1/2 cup of oatmeal
• Increase cardio to 35 minutes, 5 times per week
• Keep training heavy with the weights
• When doing squats, focus on going deep (and less on the amount of weight used). This will help perk up the butt (which is much needed, might I add.)
• Begin practicing posing (eek!!) 

I've been devouring YouTube videos on NPC Fitness/Figure/Bikini contests so I can see what looks good when it comes to posing. You can definitely tell which girls practice...I want to make sure I nail it.


What would a weekly update be without this week's cheat meal? I felt like I was going to throw up after this. I don't look forward to them like I used to.

Cheat Meal

• Lots of guacamole and chips (I had a fierce craving for Moe's homemade guacamole and couldn't stop eating it once I started. LOL!)
• T-bone steak lovingly cooked on the grill by my hubby
• Fresh asparagus
• Sweet potato tater tots (did I mention that I could just about finish a small bag by myself?)
• Rita's gelati -- cherry ice with vanilla custard -- I had about 8-10 bites before I handed it off to my husband. 

I felt like a fat mess after eating all that! It tasted so incredibly good, though. *Sigh* 

So I have about 13 weeks to go -- yikes. I still need to drop a good 10% of bodyfat to get there. If I can show a decrease every week, I should be okay. 

Depending upon how fat I feel tomorrow, I may post a photo. I'm interested to see if there's a significant difference in one month. 

Fitness Competition Prep Update: Day 20 & TRX Review

I'm just about at the three week mark, which seems to have flown by! I was diligent about my diet and workouts all week. Needless to say I was very excited to meet up with Jodi to get weighed and measured. Before we met up, I tried something new...

Saturday Treat: TRX Class
On Saturday, I was pumped to join my fellow Fit Mom, Janine, to take a TRX class at Premier Fitness in Nanuet, NY (where she also introduced me to my trainer, Jodi). She forewarned me that this class was not for the weak of heart and the instructor would have no problems getting in your face to push you. (In a sadistic way, this made me even more excited to attend! LOL!) You may remember last year I wrote about wanting desperately to see what TRX classes were all about in my April 2011 post What is a TRX Suspension Trainer?

Here's a great video with 25 of the best TRX exercises so you can see exactly how it works:


The class had about 20 people, a mix of men and women of various ages. I was shocked to even see a woman about six months pregnant. The class paired up so one half of the class did one exercise, while the other half did something else. You were cued to change exercises by the music, when a whistle would sound every 2-3 minutes.

Here were some of the grueling exercises that had me drenched in sweat and trying to catch my breath:

• Jump squats
• Chest presses using the TRX straps and your own bodyweight
• Lat pulls with the TRX
• Decline push-ups
• Planks
• Burpees
• Jump lunges with TRX

The preggers gals was instructed to do modified exercises to ensure her heart rate didn't skyrocket. On Sunday morning, I was sore in very odd places -- armpits and lats, sides and backs of knees and abs. I was convinced my legs would be mush. But I really think the BCAAs are a huge help.

Saturday Weigh & Measure Results

Drum roll please...my weight and bodyfat stayed the same <insert deflating balloon noise here>. UGH! All that hard work to not move either way. I tried really hard no to get down. But as you can imagine, it was hugely disappointing. However, I'm trying to take that down-and-out energy and get fired up to work harder. I'm only at the start and have a long road to go. 

Here are some of the changes Jodi had me make for this coming week, in an effort to drop some fat and keep building muscle:

• Cardio: moves up to 5x/week for 30 min. Heart rate should be at 135 (no intervals or HIITs)
• My fat-free Greek yogurt evening snack is now one scoop of protein powder with water for a shake

Fingers crossed this works! I'm scared to think what 2-3 weeks out will look like. Something tells me I'll be doing closer to 2 hours of cardio. EEK!!

Happy St. Patty's Day Cheat Meal

I'm going to start posting my cheat meals to ensure I'm having a cheat meal and not a binge-fest. I was tickled pink that St. Patty's Day landed on Saturday -- the coveted cheat meal dinner. Woohoo!! I thoroughly enjoyed my husband's corned beef, cabbage and potatoes dinner. I made sure to grab fresh Irish Soda Bread, which I had with butter. A few glasses of wine and some Thin Mints, courtesy of the Girl Scouts, topped off the meal. We also had a fire in our outdoor fireplace in the evening (the weather was crazy-beautiful this weekend), which means one roasted marsh mellow was also on the dessert menu. ;)

Stay tuned for next week's update. I'll also try to get a new bikini shot *gulp* so you can tell me if it looks like I'm making any progress.

Competition Prep Update: Day 13

Starting point (25%) & where I need to get to -- 15%

Without further ado, let me share my progress for this week. I gained two pounds of muscle and dropped 1% bodyfat. While it's hard to watch the scale go up, knowing how well I've been doing on my diet makes me realize it's a good thing. My clothes are definitely looser and I need to grab size 4s versus size 6s when I try on clothes. I'm not complaining at all!

I started my journey on Tuesday, February 28, which means today is luck day #13. So far so good. I've learned a lot things about my relationship with food (or should I say obsession with food?) Here are a few:

• Unconscious eating -- I never realized how often I would pick from my children's plates while cleaning up dinner. It's become so obvious since I'm very limited in what I can eat and at what time. No more picking a noodle hear or there.
• Eating out of boredom -- I actually have to really think about whether I'm hungry, bored or thirsty. More often than not, it's usually not actual hunger. The only time I do get hungry is when it's time to eat, so every 3-4 hours.
• Eating out of convenience -- After taking my daughter to a friend's birthday, I was offered pizza and birthday cake. In the past, I would have gladly scarfed a slice of pizza and cake without a second thought. Again, being incredibly meticulous and cautious of everything I put in my mouth, I had to make an effort to decline.
• I'm surrounded by "fat heads." -- A fat head is a person who pushes food on you, even after you'd said no at least once. Beware of fat heads!!! They're everywhere, and they want you enjoy food with them! I used to be a fat head. If I was enjoying something tasty or fattening, I always wanted company. You're not a bad person if you decline food.
• Eating right takes effort. -- It's definitely not torture to eat clean, but it takes a concerted, dedicated effort. If I wasn't training for a fitness competition, I'm not sure I could be this committed or focused.

I met with my trainer, Jodi, on Saturday (and will keep meeting with her weekly). She was very happy with my progress. I'm sticking with the same diet and workout for one more week, and then she'll start changing things up depending upon what my body does. Fingers crossed for dropping another percentage or more of bodyfat. Stay tuned...