A Little Change of Plans...

So I was originally planning on competing in the Figure Competition in about 9 weeks, March 17th. However, after meeting with my trainer last week, we decided that it would be best to continue training and compete on June 9th instead. She informed me that she is sure that I can get lean enough for the show in March BUT to come in with a competitive edge it would be best to compete in June since I will have a lot more muscle on by then. Being that I  have been an athlete my whole life and am extremely competitive there was no hesitation to her advice! I want to feel 100% confident on that stage and I want to truly be a competitor and my goal is to place!!

This does not mean that I get to eat and drink whatever I want for a little while or lighten up on weights and cardio at the gym. This means that I continue to work my butt off and stay focused and dedicated! This should almost make it a tad easier since I will be able to move somewhat slowly through the next 20ish weeks instead of rushing to get my body prepped for the show that is 9 weeks out. I compare it to studying for a test...would you rather stress and cram (ie. do the March show) or have time to study, work on things, and truly understand what you're getting yourself into (ie. June show). I am a firm believer that it's not about the destination, it's about the journey!

I will be working out with my trainer Monday-Wednesday at World's Gym and working out on my own two other days. I will continue to do cardio 5 days a week for 20 minutes on the stairmaster as for me, this burns about 250 calories.

So here are a few pictures. The first picture is from right before I left down for Christmas. I had already been training for about 6 weeks prior to those photos. The one below it is from tonight...21 weeks out from the competition at The Scottish Rite Center in June. Here is the link to the rest: http://my.bodybuilding.com/photos/view/type/progress

                                                                 

9.5 weeks out!

I realize it has been awhile since I last posted so it's time to update!

I have been asked to post pictures...I will get some up this week.

I started this journey at 127 lbs. I currently weigh 123.8.

Matt and I were out of town for the last week so there was A LOT of prepping to do! I made about 40 turkey balls, packed rice cakes and baby food rice cereal, cucumbers and celery to munch on as snacks, lots of protein powder, BCAA powder, CLA pills, etc...Needless to say I toted a cooler and a carry on suitcase of JUST food and supplements on to the plane. TSA at the airport wasn't too pleased with this on the way out of San Diego. They took my suitcase apart and sent over a woman to "inquire" about what everything was. Do I really look like someone that would blatantly smuggle drugs on an airplane?! Apparently!! Luckily, we made it through security and on to the plane with everything I needed!

We did go out to eat a couple times while on vacation but I was able to order a veggie egg white omelet for breakfast and a filet or fish for with veggies for dinner. Matt and I also made it to the gym several times while in Pennsylvania. (It truly helps having a motivating gym partner!)

We arrived back home yesterday and now it's game time! 9.5 weeks out from competition and I'm sure the time is going to fly by!! I'm currently lifting 5 days a week and doing enough cardio on the treadmill to burn 350 calories each session, 5 days a week. I will be meeting with my trainer next Tuesday and we will start working more on posing for the show! Time to order some clear heels...yes, I'm serious! It's kind of funny if you think about it...you spend money and lots of time on training, you then spend A LOT on a suit for the show, you get a really really really dark tan, doll up your hair and face and then throw on some clear stripper heels...hey, why not?!

I will probably order my suit at some point next month. There are people that make the suits custom to your body. Suit can range from $150-$900+!! It all depends on how bedazzled you want it. Bedazzling is a MUST!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to order a plain suit and bedazzle it myself! I think this will give me something fun to do (in my infinite amount of spare time) as well as keep me focused. I'm also going to order a few different types of dark tanning solution and test them out because the tan for the show can normally cost upwards of $100+!! I think I got the tan covered!

As you can see, these shows aren't cheap! The workouts aren't easy! And the diet is tough! But as long as you stay focused and prepared, you can make it through!! I...will make it through!!

                                        
                                                                It's pretty simple...

                                      
                                 Our airplane snacks: Cass-Turkey Balls/Matt-Cinnamon Roll