Vacation

Today is day 5 of my vacation to Myrtle Beach. We are having a great time. I have been challanged by my kids to get out of my comfort zone and climb on the monkey ropes. After a short panic attack that I was going to die, I sucked it up and followed my 7 year old out on the ropes. We were strapped in to a harness, which held 2000 pounds, even though I didn't think it could hold me. The rope obstacle changed depending on the direction you went. One course was tight rope walking, others were moving beams. It was a lot of fun but I won't be doing that again anytime soon. Also, my oldest son wanted to go on the 360 degree bikes. You had to be 58" and weigh less than 200 pounds. We were harnessed in like a roler coaster. The harder that we pedaled, then more 360's we did. We went upside down and around at least 5 times. Now that was so neat that we did it again. My diet has not been good this week. We are eating breakfast in everyday which keeps me on my egg whites and spinach. However, lunches have been out. I go into a restaurant with the goal of eating clean but then look at the menu. Its hard to avoid a cold beer and wings. The kids have been wanting ice cream everyday. One day we did frozen yogurt which was really delicious. But I can't seem to avoid eating the kids left overs. That is what is killing me. I try not to eat it but I cave. Everyday is a new day. Lets see how today goes. I will not eat anything I shouldn't. On the flip side, I have been working out everyday. The resort has an excellent gym where I can continue training heavy. Then I do a half hour of cardio. Tomorrow I think I might go for a long run to try to burn extra calories.

Posing

Monday night was our first posing class. There were about 20 men and women standing and looking at themselves in the mirror. Most women wore 5 inch high heels, me included. The heels are there to show off the muscles in the legs more. Others wore no shoes. The men get to pose bare foot. They are lucky. There don't need to learn how to walk in 5" heels.

We preceeded to stand in front of the mirror to watch our posing technique. We started with the front pose. We rolled our shoulders forward and then back, trying to keep the shoulder blades flat against the back. Squeeze the lats, chest up, flex the arms while keeping the hands relaxed, push the legs out and flex and hold. Oh yeah, and smile. It is very hard to keep all the muscles flexed and smile at the same time. We continued to practice our quarter turns and back pose. At least with the back pose, we don't have to smile.:) My back was definitely sore after this session. I will need to continue to practice holding these poses in front of a mirror to find the best angle to define the muscle.

After the posing for judging, we have to perform to music any poses that makes us look the best. That is not going to be fun. More posing practice!

During posing I was able to see where I needed work. I like my legs and triceps, they are nice and cut. However, I need to build my back and shoulders more. I met with my trainer last week to change my program. I am now working on back 2 times a week and shoulders 3 times a week. Shoulders are alternating between heavy, medium, and light days so as not to over due it. I am doing pull-ups everyday I am at the gym. I am now up to 6 pull-ups unsupported.

After months of having a knee injury, I finally can run again. I ran the Great Bay race last week and rocked my time. After running, I was still able to walk. I woke up the next day and still no knee pain. I ran several more days that week and no pain. I am so relieved. I was able to sign up for 2 half marathons this year. I can't wait to complete it, especially Disney in January. But I am going to continue to build muscle and work toward my July competition and maybe compete again in October.

I am struggling with my diet a little. I am not eating any bad meals. I am eating everything that I should however, its the bite here and there that is killing me. I have to do extra cardio to burn it off. I am still 7 pounds away from my competition weight. I am on vacation next week and I hope to continue to eat well. When I get back, I will have one month before the pre-competition to loose all the excess weight. Its going to be cutting it close. Atleast I have more time before the July competition.

First Picture

Here is the first of many pictures to come. I am doing awesome. I was stagnant and cheating a little too much, but now I am back in control with God's help. I pray to be kept on track and not let my cravings get out of control. I am down 19 pounds since January. I love to look in the mirror to see my muscles flexing. I know I sound concieted by I am very happy right now. I went on the scale this morning and I am 133.4. I never in my wildest imagination thought I would get this low. My goal was 145. Looking at myself, I can still see plenty of fat especially around my waste. 9 Weeks to go before my competition. Stay tune for more pictures.

I went for my fitting for my bikini. It is going to be green with star burst patterns. I also ordered my 5 inch heels. They should be coming in in a couple of days. I will have to do a lot of practicing to not fall with these shoes on. Normally, I might wear 2 inches, but never 5".

Weekend Blues

After working hard all week to eat clean and exercise like crazy, I lost more weight. I am feeling good and love the look ov my arms. I will post a picture soon. However, after one night out on the town with good friends, I am back up. Everything that I lost this week is back. I don't know if I will ever learn. Now that it is getting closer to show time, I really need to stay clean. Try, try, try again.

I made an appointment to get measured for my competition bathing suite. I am excited and nervous that the show is getting closer and closer. Some days I don't think I will be ready. I feel like I have a long way to go, especially when I gain it back on weekends. Ugh! 

10 Weeks to go before competition

Since losing the 12 pounds, I have felt great. I have decreased my pants size and have gone shopping, again. This time for shorts and a bathing suite. Whenever I go to put on a new pair of shorts or pants that are a size 6, I still doubt that I will fit into them. I hope I can get them buttoned. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the new size. It is nerve racking but exciting. When trying on bathing suites, Scott had me try on a bikini. He said I looked good in it, but I don't think I'm ready for it yet. I did buy it, and definitely by the summer I will be flaunting my new bod.

After a couple of weeks of being stagnant in my weight, I am getting really bummed. I need to lose at least 10 pounds and get my weight below 15% body fat for the competition. I knew that this day was coming. I wish I could have pushed it out father, but I need to do it. I need to start cutting out my vices. I eliminated my rice cakes and peanut butter. I am cutting the sugar down in my coffee, and only having a half a glass of wine. I started to add in 20 minutes of cardio 4 days a week. Finally, my weight has decreased again. I was getting worried that I wouldn't be able to lose any more. I am very happy where I am and how I look, but I am not competition ready. Soon I will be. Keep on pushing on. My goal is finally visible.

12 Weeks to Go

I had my official weigh in and pictures taken on Monday. The trainer measured my body fat and metabolism. My metabolism was pretty good. I burn 1600 calories doing nothing. I need 2300 calories just to live my day to day life. My trainer put me on a 1600 calorie program to lose a pound a week. I need to be around 125lb for competition weight. I now weigh 140lb with 19% body fat. I need to lose at least 5% more body fat to compete.
After two weeks of being at 140ish, I started to hit the diet hard again. The last few weeks I was slowly adding little treats in again. I didn't mean to, it just happened. I bit of Logan's left over hot dog, a taste of the Alfredo noodles to make sure they were done, pizza crust, an extra glass of wine, drinks with friends, going out to dinner, etc. All the little things added up. I didn't gain any weight back, I just didn't lose any more. So back to being strict again. I lost two pounds again this week from not cheating. I went out last night to Buffalo Wings for wings and a beer, and back up I went. I didn't work out yesterday to try to counteract the effects. I planned on it but realize that my license expires on Sunday, so I had to do that instead. We will be going out again tonight to celebrate my birthday and I will make sure I get an extra work out in.

Since I started this journey, I was about 25% body fat. Now I am down to 19%. My weight started out at 170 after the birth of my last child. I was able to get down to 152-155 and could not break the 150 lb mark. After hitting it strong in January and February, I lost 12 pounds and kept it off. I went from a size 12 pants to a 6. I feel great. I can't wait to lose more and compete in June. However, I am not looking forward to parading around in a bikini in front of strangers judging my body. Talk about getting out of my comfort zone.

Shopping

I finally decided that I couldn't wear baggy pants anymore. My new jeans that I bought in January were literally falling off me. I had nothing to wear to work that fit. After a week of trying to get to the store to buy pants, I finally made it. I went to TJ Max because I wanted "cool" jeans. I liked the stone wash look or riped look and TJ Max had these. I went with Scott and the kids. Scott went to the men's section, I to the women's, and the kids to the toys. I figured I went down a size. I was in a size 10 at the beginning of January when I went shopping then.  I proceeded to scan the size 8 rack. I searched up and down the pants racks looking for black work pants. I found black, white, and gray striped. I also grabbed a couple of nice shirts to try the pants on with. I went to the dressing room to try on the pants. I put one on and took it off. Then another and another. The pants did NOT fit. I was shocked. I did not fit into an 8. I thought I went down a size. My heart started to race. I scurried out of the dressing room in a panic. I asked the sales lady to go and switch sizes. She gave me the all clear and off I went. I went to scan the racks for the same pants but in the correct size. I went back to the dressing room. I tried on the different pants size. I was shaking. I could not believe it. I started texting Marcia while I was still changing. I redressed in my original clothes and stepped out of the dressing room. I found Scott. I told him my heart was racing. He was worried. He asked me what was wrong. He thought something happened to the kids. "No", I said, "Look, Look". I held up the new pants. He looked. "What?" he exclaimed. "Look. Look at the size!". He looked and saw that I was in a size 6. I still can't believe it. After thinking I went down one size, I actually went down two sizes. I could not fathom that. I was so excited I emailed my trainer that night, called my mom, and Marcia. All my hard work has finally paid off.
The next day when I had to get dressed to go to work, I was hesitant to put on my new pants. "Would they still fit? Was it just all in my head and a dream?" I put them on and they still fit. I was relieved and excited. I looked good and felt good. I am ready to keep this weight off and continue to lose to reach my goal.
I can't tell you how good it feels. You can only experience it. Dieting is a mind game. You have to defeat it and stay strict to the diet to drop the pounds. Diets do work if they are followed correctly and if they become a lifestyle, not just a fad.Try it and see. Be the person you want to be. There are no excuses. Just do it. I am doing it at home every day with 4 kids whom I homeschool. I find the time to work out and plan and pre-prepare my meals. So can you.