Hi Tori,

Wondering if FITbaby arrived yet… if not, I have a question for you since you’re the most hard core athlete I’m aware of.  Do you know much about CrossFit?  I went to a community WOD today, and it was pretty darn amazing.  I’m considering starting to go to the CrossFit gym, but it’s quite expensive.  The people who go really seem to love it and think it’s worth every penny.  I even have a friend who gave up cable to afford CrossFit.  What are your thoughts?

I’m seriously thinking CrossFit might be the BEST possible way for me to kick things up and really start taking my body more seriously.  I’ve lost 100 pounds through basic diet and exercise changes but seem to have some trouble lately really moving forward more… and that’s precisely what I need to do.

Yesterday’s workout was extremely difficult but left me feeling exhilarated and amazed at what I could do if I just keep going.

Michele @ Healthy Cultivations
www.healthycultivations.com

Michele blogged about her CrossFit experience here.  She has the best attitude about working out, working hard and life in general. I LOVE IT!!!!  We can all learn from her if we remember her words below!!!  Michele’s parting words on that post were……

My motto for the day was this: ”Though I can’t do everything, I can do everything I can.” And that’s a pretty good approach to life too.  We just can’t let fear hold us back…not from confronting physical, emotional, or intellectual obstacles.  —-Michele @ Healthy Cultivations

Image Source

SHORT ANSWER…..We love CrossFit! We are building a CrossFit gym in our new house! (I will be sure to tell you all about the equipment we get, from where, what you need and how to build your own CrossFit gym at the lowest cost…once we do it and I have some pics to share!) Check out Rogue Fitness if you’re building your own CrossFit gym before I get a chance to post on it!  We’re getting most [if not all] of our equipment from Rogue.

I have often said that I do not plan to compete in another physique competition, BUT I do believe in competitions to give people the drive to push through to their goals. I am not a runner. It doesn’t excite me. BUT FUNCTIONAL FITNESS totally does!!! I have often said the next competition you will see me enter will be a CrossFit Games. And, my FIThubby and I have talked about getting certified in CrossFIT as well.

April 14 2010 – FITori in the gym

What is CrossFit? Read about it here on CrossFit.com!!

I love CrossFit because it incorporates strength, endurance and flexibility. It is fun! It is exciting! It’s highly intense! It’s quick also! It’s straight and to the point! You go, work out hard, and you’re done. You rest. You work. You play. It’s fun. It’s not the same every day. Some days are really tough. Other days are easy. And your easy days may be my hard days, depending on our individual strengths and weaknesses but we do all the workouts!

Aren’t CrossFit workouts too hard for a beginner? Read Michele’s parting words on her blog post here [I pasted them above with her question.]  Do what you can! I believe this about programs like P90x also. People often say….”I can’t do P90x!” Well, neither can I then. I can’t do the hardest verions of all the exercises in P90x either!  Does that mean I shouldn’t even try??? NO!!! As with every workout….Do what you can. Do the best you can. Try the best you can. Work out the hardest you can.  And, next time…..you’ll get stronger and be able to do more!!! If you keep it up, you will get stronger!

Do I need to pay to join a CrossFit gym? It depends….on YOU! Some of our best friends own Cactus Crossfit in North Scottsdale.  [If you're in that area, check out Kevin's wife, Joy here at Scottsdale Mom's Blog.]  So, I totally believe in a GROUP fitness experience to push you to work harder. I work harder when someone else is there to watch and make sure I don’t give up. Also, a CrossFit gym can teach you technique and help you learn a LOT about fitness.  For example, you want to learn how to do a pullup? They can help! Many of us need others to motivate us. Others work well on their own. It just depends on you. If you know you will only get a GREAT workout if you GO to the CrossFit gym….do it! Join it! Pay it! Go! If you can build your own CrossFit gym in your garage or basement and invite friends over to join you or are motivated enough to CRANK up the music and do it yourself…do it! [Be sure you'll use it before you invest!]

**I personally believe that there are certain areas where it is WORTH your hard-earned money. In our house, we spend money without question on health, fitness, nutrition and education.** We believe that those things are worth the money. We spent a TON on my competition. We decided it was worth the money for my health and the long-term lessons I would learn. We were right. It was worth every penny. For the new house we’re building, we talked about adding a theater room or a gym…we could only choose one. To us, this decision was simple….we can build a room to make us fatter and lazier [no offense to those who have a theater room...we love movies, but we had to choose only one!!] OR we could build a room to make us healthier, fitter and happier and  show our daughter what our family truly values. And, how much fun is this for her?! CrossFit incorporates a lot of gymnastics so we’re going to add those elements for her to have some gymnastics equipment in her house! What fun on rainy days!!   So, does that same principle translate for you regarding canceling cable for CrossFit??!!

Beware if you try to CrossFit at your regular gym…..Many gyms are NOT supportive of CrossFit.  Think of the regular weight room. People wandering around. Chit-chatting. Easy listening music on in the background. If this is your gym, they will NOT be kind when you are running around the gym like a crazy person, trying to keep your intensity UP to get a GREAT workout! And, YOU won’t get as much out of your workouts because you’ll be self conscious about being weird. Some gyms have even banned it. Others have special CrossFit facilities and rooms to keep you crazy CrossFitters away from their calmer clientele! You have to decide what will work for you!!! But I believe CrossFit is worth a try! We love it!

But I’m pregnant….I’ll have to wait until after pregnancy…NO!! CrossFit MOM is amazing!!!!!  Check it out!!! I have to admit that I have not worked out NEARLY as much as I should have during this pregnancy. I was working two jobs and preparing for our future. This is the biggest year of our lives [I'll share more about this later.] But, when I did workout with FIThubby and on my own I most often used CrossFit MOM for my workouts! It is a modified version of the CrossFit workout and there are different levels and tips for each stage of pregnancy.  CHECK IT OUT! I’ll probably start there when I start lifting postpartum and work my way back up to regular CrossFit….we’ll see how I feel!

For Michele, I definitely think CrossFit is a GREAT way to kick it up a notch! You’ll have fun. It’ll keep you motivated. You’ll learn a LOT about your strengths and weaknesses. You’ll get stronger in many areas. You’ll be learning something new which will help distract from the menotony that often creeps up after months of the same old boring workout. If you like the group you worked out with at the CrossFit gym and you felt amped and pumped and excited after your workout…..I think you have your answer!!! Try it for a while!!! CrossFitters are often really supportive of each other. And, there are TONS of resources to help you learn how to be stronger and better at those exercises which will leave you feeling even more self confident!! And, Michele, you MUST report back!!!! I want to hear all about what you decided, why and how you feel about it!!!! I’m so excited for you to reach your next goals!!!!

So, what do you think about CrossFit? Have you tried it? Is it work the $$ to join a CrossFit gym?

Before I tell you how to identify if you’re overtaining, I want to tell you a bit about what I think about training and fitness….just in case you’re new here or haven’t read EVERY word of this blog! And, to be honest, my opinions have definitely changed in the last year after my Fitness Competition last year.

Photo taken by Renee Booe Photography & edited by FITori

That being said, overtaining usually occurs when you’re working out too many days in a row, not getting enough rest, or doing too many days of “two-a-days.”  I normally recommend losing weight slowly enough, that you do not get so burn out with the training program that you quit and take MONTHS off before you decide to get back into your workouts.  I think fitness needs to be enjoyable so you’ll keep it up! It’s about a lifetime of fitness not a 12 week weight loss plan! BUT, there are sometimes that I do recommend training that hard! Sometimes, it is necessary for functional fitness or to meet a goal of a competition, a race, etc or to break through a plateau!

There are some important warning signs to recognize:

• My main one is always: lack of sleep!  I will be totally restless and unable to sleep and be exhausted at the same time!
• Increased tension, anger, irritability or loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities
• Loss of motivation to train, cutting sessions short, loss of performance, unusual tiredness and fatigue all the time, during or after workouts
• Getting sick often, body aches, decreased appetite, elevated resting heart rate or blood pressure

As always, it is very importnat to listen to your body! If you suspect over training, identify this early! It is far better to “recover” from overtraining early than to catch it too late and have to take a week or more off to recover.

Listen to your body. Take a full day off.  Feeling better? Ease back in!  Do only light cardio the next day.  Not feeling better? Take another day off!

What are your symptoms of overtraining? What do you do to recover? Have you learned from that for later?

This last week has been about trying to organize and finish projects I have on my TO DO LIST!  I found a new MAC APP for to organize my To Do List that I’ve been using for a week. It syncs with my iPhone and I plan to share it when I’m sure I’m keeping (and buying) it!  It’s not free

I saw this bunny when I parked at a friend’s house for a Scentsy party on Saturday.  BTW, found a new Scentsy scent I love!  Honey Pear Cider (it’s autumny and homey!)

This  weekend I also spent some time re-organizing my FIGURE LESSONS post!! That has been on my TO DO LIST for almost a year! Sad….yes! But….done! And, I edited a new pic for it!  What fun! Those pics are hard to edit b/c of my Oompa-loompa skin! WOW! I looked like I had a skin disease along w/ being orange. So, I was playing with different actions to see what I could do. I like this one!

Photo taken by Renee Booe Photography & edited by FITori

We had our 33 week appointment with the big ultrasound and some 4D pictures today!  I’ll share those soon!!

WHAT’S YOUR BEST ORGANIZING TIP/ADVICE?

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Find other Project 52 Bloggers Here… Did you join in? Link below in the comments! I want to check out your photos!

Cyan Baby Bliss ■  Healthy Cultivations ■  McBabyBump ■  PE Burgess ■  Phreckle Face Photography Blog ■  styleberryBLOG ■  wickedkate

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I’m a little late with this since July (the 7th month of the year) is almost over, BUT this year has flown by!  So, it’s PAST time to revisit our annual goals and see how we’re doing!  I want to reassess….what can I check off my list?  what can I take off my list? what can I add to my list?

NEW GOALS FOR THE REST OF 2010

• Blog every day to every other day…inspiring and sharing
• Stay in touch w/ my blogs using NetNewsWire
• Update our budget/transactions on Mint.com daily — NEW!
• Finish my masters degree (by Thanksgiving)
• Continue working on organization & simplifying my life & home (one space at a time)
• Continue with health and nutrition as my #1 goal for my diet
• Work out every day to every other day to stay in great shape for pregnancy
• Read through my fertility/pregnancy books and maybe get to first year baby books
• Start shooting in RAW and working with my new Canon DSLR & new Adobe Photoshop

How did I do on my 2010 goals so far?

• Get and stay more organized —- Work In Progress
• Compete by the end of the year —- CHECK
• Read all of my pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and baby books —– Work In Progress
• Work on maintaining weight and eating a healthy pre-pregnancy diet —- Work In Progress
• Learn about my new camera and Photoshop — Work In Progress
  • I just started shooting in RAW yesterday!  :)  I’m finally finding the time and patience to really work on this so you should see some gradual improvement with each post as I work on my photography!
• Complete my Masters Degree by end of 2010 or Feb 2011 — Work In Progress (projected for Nov 2010)
• Blog more often…INSPIRE OTHERS!!!  —– Work In Progress…you can be the judge of that!
• Keep up with reading my favorite blogs — Work In Progress
  • I switched from using my “Mail” app to using NetNewsWire for Mac and I’m liking it so far!

I’d say that’s pretty good…..NO FAILS!  Although if there were it wouldn’t be the end of the world! Life is a journey! If we are meeting all of our goals, are we making hard enough goals for ourselves? Are we really challenging ourselves?

How have you done so far on your goals for the year?   Can you add or delete some?  Have you changed and decided some things aren’t important to you?  Have you found a new passion?  Can’t wait to hear!!!!!

(Sorry this has taken so long…I have been sick off and on since the show, my computer has been acting up for a month, and I have been a really busy girl, living the life that I missed out on during contest prep.)

I learned SOOO much during the preparation this past year for my Figure Show.  Life is about the journey, not the destination. That is a very true statement regarding this show for me.  The goal was to get in the best shape of my life before we had kids and to achieve the goal of getting on the Figure Stage…well, I didn’t quite make that goal because I ended up on the Bikini Stage, but my goals kind of changed during the process.  Please do not take offense to any of this. 

This is my personal journey and what I learned and gained for ME during MY journey. I personally do not think I will compete again and hope that I do not offend any of my competitor friends!  I still support you in your decisions and your goals…and may change my mind, but for now…it’s just not for me. I hope you understand after reading this post, but again, please do not take any of this personally since it is simply my personal opinion and inner conflict.

Currently, I’m trying to figure out what “diet” works for my body. I’m trying to slowly get back to a place where I can eat “normally” rather than on a contest diet.  That “normal” diet is a healthy, balanced diet not a “normal American diet.”  I am still taking what I learned about losing weight and trying to apply it to maintaining weight which is a totally different world that I know nothing about!  And my body is not responding all that well.  According to my trainer, for me, for now, 1100 – 1400 calories is “maintenance” until I get my body back the way it was….used to the normal 2000 calories. BTW, that is with continued exercise!  So….not “normal” and not a whole lot of food.  My body will be adjusting back to a “normal diet” for while!

PHYSICALLY, from the process….

• I learned a lot about what to do (and what it takes) to get in shape and stay in shape.
• I learned about portion control and meal timing.
• I learned how to season my foods without butter or oil but instead, exploring herbs and seasonings.
• I’ve experimented with healthy meals, making healthy breakfast pancakes out of egg whites and oatmeal.  I’ve made really tasty, low fat and low cal fish recipes.
• I discovered that I can remove things from my diet that I never thought I could!!!
• I added in diet soda (bad idea) and then later removed it (after thinking I’d be hooked forever).  I still drink it more than ever before (which was never) so this was a “taste” that I acquired that I am NOT happy about!
• I learned to drink herbal tea.  This is a new STAPLE in our diets! We love drinking herbal tea at night! So glad I discovered this!!
• I learned that cutting out salt and caffeine is possible.
• I learned to drink coffee black (though I only did that out of necessity…my creamer is a luxury I’m not yet willing to give up long-term).
• I learned to listen to my body and truly understand the cues it is giving me. I truly know low blood sugar and hunger and what that feels like. I truly know when it is time to eat and when it is a time that I am just eating to eat.  (Don’t get me wrong…I am not perfect….this is still a learning process, even for me.)  I now know what being tired feels like and how taking a nap is way more beneficial than trying to eat my way alert.
• I learned that when you are STARVING you have little control over cravings and are much more apt to “binge” than if your body is “balanced”!
• I learned that I will always have to watch my portions…..for the rest of my life. (At least I think so now, just after contest, when my “maintenance” calories are still well below the average person due to what I’ve put my body through.)
• I learned that during contest prep (or hard-core dieting) I am starving around lunchtime or the few hours later, sometime between 1 and 3 pm every day I will want to eat everything I can get my hands on!
• I learned it takes me 20-30 minutes to feel full so I have to portion my meals out before I sit down with my meals, eat, drink water and wait or I will always eat more calories than I need.
• I love to eat. I will always love to eat. I even love to eat healthy foods. Food is so fun and exciting……all the great combinations and new tastes and flavors!
• I will always have to pay attention to how much I am eating and be mindful of that or I will gain weight

I WANT TO EAT HEALTHY NOW. Most importantly throughout this process, I changed my mindset.

• I WANT to eat healthy now!
• I choose healthy versions of foods over unhealthy ones, for the most part.
• I prefer healthier options. I prefer fruits over cookies…most of the time
• I don’t look at cookies anymore with a “whoa is me. why can’t i have those cookies. when can i have those cookies. as soon as contest prep is over i can have those cookies.”  Instead, I think, “cookies sound good. maybe next week i’ll make something similar with oats and raisins.”  Or, even better, it doesn’t phase me or I think about having fruit instead.  That is probably the best thing I took from this.
• I also learned that I am not always in control when I start eating crappy.  I have a hard time stopping.  I am better off not starting at all!  Or picking healthier options that actually fill me up! When I eat garbage (simple sugars that do not trigger satiety) I feel like a bottomless pit that cannot be filled up and since those foods are already calorie dense, I eat a tremendous amount of calories in one sitting.  I have to not start.  And, that is getting easier.
  
• It is a lifestyle shift that we have had to make in our home to not have those things in the house…at all! And we have learned through trial and error how we feel when we eat crappy foods.
• We enjoy the taste of real foods and we enjoy how we feel when we eat them. Profound!

I LEARNED THAT FIGURE COMPETITIONS ARE NOT FOR ME!

• I do not plan to ever compete in Figure or prepare for another Figure Competition again.
• I thought I was competing in Figure until the night before the show. I signed up for and paid for both Figure & Bikini but found out the night before that I had to choose. My trainer and the judge that I asked both agreed that I was better suited for Bikini. I did not get lean enough for Figure.
• I had a cross-road (a few of them) where I had to decide…..am I willing to push my body this hard to get to be leaner than I feel is healthy?
• For me, it was a huge decision to make!!!
• I entered into this wanting to put my very best package on stage and look like a competitor in Oxygen Magazine.
• I ended up wanting to put MY very best package on stage, but knew that would NOT look like the girls in Oxygen Magazine because I was not willing to get that lean, not right now, and not that quick.
• I didn’t understand what it meant to get that lean when I originally set out to get on stage.
• I learned what that meant during this process.
• By understanding that process, I now have a greater respect for my body.
• I no longer WANT to look at those Figure Girls (no offense to anyone)
• I no longer WISH I could look like those Figure Girls. (what a freeing feeling, BTW!)
• My opinion of what I want to look like has changed….probably because I now understand what it takes to get to that level of body fat and I also have adjusted my opinion of what “healthy” means for me.
• I no longer look at those girls and berate myself with internal dialogue…thinking how lazy I am for not looking like them.  I no longer look at them and beat myself up for not looking like that.
• Instead, I look at them and I am happy for them. I understand (for the most part) what it takes to get there and more power to them! But, it’s not for me and that’s okay!!

AT WHAT COST?! SACRIFICES.

• For me, it took too many SACRIFICES.
• I felt like I was sacrificing everything, for what? To look good? It became a huge conflict for me.  I
• felt like I was giving up things that were truly more important than looking good!
• It took 2-3 hours a day at the gym that I could be spending with my husband, my friends and family, working, working on my masters, enjoying “me” time, working on my hobbies, etc.  That time commitment doesn’t include the time to practice posing, research posing, order all of the products needed for the show, book makeup, hair and nails, etc.  It goes on and on. The time commitment was rough!
• Even when I had the time I didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t have any energy. I gave half of myself to everything – family, friends, work, school.  It was a struggle to function.
• I had a trainer tell me at one point that “you will feel bad during this process. It is not normal to push your body this low in body fat.”  Whaat??!!! I wish I had known what that meant a year ago, but I had to learn it myself by living it….and that I did!
• Money.  Ouch. Also, I knew it would cost money but didn’t think it’d be that bad!
• It was really expensive!!!  Suits, hair, tan, NPC card, entrance fees, shoes, etc. etc.  It cost more money than I thought was necessary.
• There were other things I would have liked to have spent that money on.
• I missed out on going places with friends because of food or I went anyway and had the focus all on me because it was hard to blend in and I was focused on the food in front of me because my body was literally starving.  I tried to blend in not eating and it was awkward. Then, I had to talk about the show, which I didn’t want to do.  I feel, in part, that I lost out on time. I was waiting for the contest to be over so that I could enjoy living my life again.
• Now, I’m enjoying my life and trying to enjoy every invitation I get so I’m overbooking myself a bit trying to make up for lost time!  Toward the end, all the signs were saying this is not for me and stop this!
• I finished it out but I am glad it’s over and I do not want to go back to that time!  I felt like I was being untrue to myself to finish that goal and I’m glad I finished it but it was really hard mentally toward the end when I truly felt as though I didn’t believe in what I was doing but I was doing it anyway.

WHAT IS HEALTHY….for me?!

• I learned that the things that competitors put into their bodies to make them lean isn’t always healthy.
• I learned that fat burners are not healthy.  I lost sight of that when I started getting obsessed with meeting my goal quickly and when trainers were telling me what to take, I started following blindly at one point. I felt HORRIBLE though after taking fat burners for a few days – I couldn’t sleep, I felt awful and figured out that it wasn’t worth it!  It didn’t make any sense!  Why would I ingest something that would make me look good and feel bad?! It made no sense, so I stopped!!
• At that point I decided that I would be as healthy as I could for the remaining month or so until the competition and then I’d be done!
• I also decided that if I ever did this again, I’d do it on my own time schedule.
• I decided that I wouldn’t ever plan to get as lean as a Figure Competitor but might do Bikini again.
• I learned that, for the most part, competitors choose to use artificial sweeteners and artificial butters, rather than just a little of the “real” stuff.  Which is healthier? You be the judge.  It is a personal decision that we each have to make for ourselves and for our families!
• Is it better to carry an extra 5 lbs and be eating real foods than be extremely (unnaturally maybe) thin and be eating chemicals to stay that way? For me, yes!  What is healthy?  Healthy, to me, means a lot of things and I have a lengthy blog post coming on this. As I mentioned before, I do not believe that adding chemicals into our foods is “healthy” in order to stay skinny. I would rather be a little heavier and eat real foods. I find it hard to ingest chemicals for vanity.  That’s just me!

REBOUND!

• Since the show, I have realized that some rebound HAS to happen due to the extremes we put our bodies through during competition prep.
  
• I find this ludicrous.
  
• I have taxed my body so hard that I am unable to maintain the body that I worked so hard for without continuing my 2-3 hour workouts and 1100 calorie diet?
• In order to maintain my current weight I need to still be eating around 1100-1400 calories and keep up those workouts. It’s tough after 1.5 years of dieting to consider that to be a healthy option for me!
• I am struggling with this right now. I’m wondering why I did that to my body when this is the outcome.
• I am trying to maintain, though I’m 10 pounds heavier than I was on stage, and 5 pounds heavier than I’d like.  Those last 5 pounds were from my recent travels – I was only home 2 days/week over the last month.
• The thought of dieting off those 5 pounds scares me though….because I’m concerned it slow down the process of trying to get my body back responding to food like a normal person’s body would!

HEALTHY AND BALANCED.

I am enjoying eating healthy and balanced. I will enjoy working out again once I am better. I have been sick every other week since the show and these last two weeks I have been REALLY sick with a cold/sinus infection that is rough, so my workouts have not been the best.  I have been trying to rest and get better and hopefully get my immune system functioning properly again.   Being this sick is a sign!!! A sign of what I did to my body!!!

I want to be a more balanced me and I know I will find that when my body starts responding to treating it with respect again.  I am living a truly balanced and happy life now and am letting my body come back to balance when it is ready, hopefully sooner than later!

I took the following quote from a blog entry by Erik Ledin of Lean Bodies Consulting.  You can find the article here….Metabolic Mind Games.…

“As Scott Abel has repeatedly said, ‘force the body and it reacts; coax the body and it responds’. Huge difference. Starving fat off is not the same as burning fat off. Working against your body is not the same as working with your body…”

Food for thought.  Thank you all for your continued support. I hope my reflection helps some of you in your own journey.

I’m selling my suit on diva exchange or to any of you who want it!  Let me know if you’re interested. I have the boob pads also that can be put in there. I had it made w/ pockets for them. The link below should link you to my ad.

http://www.divaexchange.com/detail.php?id=6402

It’s a Merry Christine!

B to C cup top, 250cc to 350cc top

Fits 5’6” to 5’9” (is stretchy so would fit someone taller too)

Aurora Borealis Crystals all over suit

Peacock Green Velvet – gorgeous!

Never  been worn – Never been cut

No, I didn’t win it all, but I did win a little trophy!  I placed 5th out of 11.  And, top 5 get a trophy, so…there’s my little cup!  And, yes, we are in the parking lot of the Outback and it was fabulous. And, no, I did not get sick. Just more bloated after the carbs & water than on stage.

Short story with the long one to follow shortly….

I showed up for weigh/sign-in’s and was told I had to choose between Figure & Bikini! :-O

Both my trainer and one of the judges said Bikini – Bikini it was!  (I now have my Figure Suit for sale though – FYI) I wanted to do Figure all along but knew I had not leaned out enough and was ok with that but still holding on to feelings of disappointment for not following through with my initial goal of Figure. I was actually most upset in that moment that I hadn’t spent more money on my Bikini Suit!!!  I didn’t have any padding in it and there was no pocket for it and I knew that mattered. Darn!  It was too late….so I was going on stage as ME and would see what happened!  Nothing I could do at that point!

I placed 5th of 11…honest win!  I’m totally happy with that.  I had a GREAT time. I enjoyed my time on stage.  I enjoyed myself throughout the day and I did well.  I could do better on my next one….if I ever decide to do this again. If I did it again, I would only do Bikini. I have realized the Figure is NOT for me…that’s too lean for me and I’m totally fine with that. (More to come on my realizations and the journey to the stage for me.)  I would do it on MY time schedule and MY way though if there ever was a next time!

My feedback from one judge was to build my shoulders and lats for Figure…agreed!  I would love bigger shoulders and lats!  I will work on that!  Feedback from the Bikini judge (btw, they knew my blog and read it!!! ) was leaner booty and more padding in my suit.  Again, got it!  That’s honest feedback and I totally agree and couldn’t be happier with my “critique” and my experience.

I am proud of the package I presented!  I enjoyed my day. I enjoyed my time on stage. I enjoyed my brief time with our friends who came in town to visit.

I can’t thank my friends and family enough for ALL of their support!  I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I can’t wait for the next phase of my life.  I am so excited to start trying out new, healthy recipes for all of you!

Full blog post to follow on my entire experience and what I really think about competing & health now…..after it’s all over……

^May 7, 2009 ^

^ May 8, 2010 ^ (2 weeks out from my first Figure Competition)

Still quite a bit away from where my lower body needs to be….but damn proud of how I look!!!!

Don’t think you can make a change in your life?  You think you have too far to go?  You think you’ll never be happy with your body?  Make the change NOW and you’ll start the journey toward a happier you TODAY!

Can you look back a year ago and say…if only I’d made the change then?  Imagine where I’d be now!  Don’t waste another day thinking about it. Start your journey to a healthier and fitter life now!!!  Enjoy living your life!  “Feed” and “fuel” your body!  Treat your body with the respect it deserves.

The photos  above were taken 366 days apart.  The first set in 2009 was taken when I was finished “bulking” and had ballooned up to over 165 Boo.  The second set I am at 143.  What a different 20-25 pounds of fat makes!!  Amazing!! It didn’t need to take me a year, but that was part of my journey. And I successfully gained more muscle (I think) and maintained all the muscle I gained while bulking (I think).

My before picture is to the left here – before the bulking at the beginning of 2009.  You can see the changes I made in a year and a half. You can make MORE changes than I did! You can do this even better and faster than I did!! Start today!!

I really do have to keep a picture of myself on my iPhone to remember what I look like because I can’t remember that it’s me that looks like that!  It doesn’t feel like me when I look in the mirror. I can’t believe that’s actually ME!  It’s surreal.  It feels like I’m looking at someone else’s body. It feels too good to be true.  It isn’t! It will take some time for me to get used to feeling like I’ve earned every bit of this……

<<<<<<———————January 10, 2009

You deserve it too!

Make ONE small change TODAY that will get you one step closer to your goal!!!

Definitley could have taken a better pic of my suit but oh well….here it is! No time from now until the show and after the show you’ll get pics of ME in the suit!!!

I love this suit. It’s a masterpiece!  It’s stunning!

Thank you Merry Christine for such amazing work!!! She is a suit designer to the pro’s and was SOOO incredibly kind, helpful and encouraging to little ‘ol me!!

Yes, Brooke, the sizes go by cc’s for the tops!  When you get this lean your boobs are gone. I had to get all new bras and I NEVER anticipated that I’d lose that much boob.

Stay tuned after May 22 for pics of me in this suit…..only a select few of you will see the progress pics in this suit. The rest of you have to wait for the whole package on May 22!!!

Oh, and I think I’ll do Bikini also since I’ll be there and I might as well. I got this suit from Flirt Catalog.

I don’t have the boobs for Bikini but oh well (neither does she). I can’t get those by May 22 and don’t want to.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about google IFBB Pro Bikini and you’ll see the winners!

This is the lean body I’ve worked for and I’m proud of it, every inch of it, all the imperfections and even the small boobies

So if you don’t like it, you can kiss my a$$!!!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

UPDATE – I am definitely doing the show in TWO weeks!!! TWO WEEKS!!!!!   I may not be ready for the pro stage and hell, I may be last place but who gives a $%&*??!! Not me!  I’m getting up on stage to fulfill and complete a personal goal. I have learned SOOO much through this process (check back for a post-show reflection post where I’ll tell you all of that) and it has been SOOO worth it. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything and it has been one of the toughest, if not the toughest experience of my life thus far.  What a great lead in to the next phase of my life – motherhood and childbirth (God willing!)!!!

EPIPHANY – I had an epiphany last night while I was lifting biceps and watching how vascular I’m getting….it was like looking at someone else in the mirror. It was a very weird experience.  During that time I was thinking. I had the gym all to myself on a Friday night doing my cardio and my lifting.  No men that I had to give the evil eye to tell them to mind their own business. Anyway, I was thinking…..Now most of you who know me know that I’m a realist!  I like definites.  I HATE hypotheticals.  And, I don’t speak in terms that I KNOW I will do something unless it’s really a sure thing….like this show. I’ve said that I “plan” to compete on May 22 because it hasn’t been a sure thing until now and so I was just planning it.  Well, I’ve also said MANY times that my PLAN was to get in the best shape of my life before I got pregnant……

I DID IT!!!!  I did that!!!  I AM!!!  I am in the best shape of my life and I am 27 years old.  I’m not planning it anymore. I’ve busted my ass and I did it!  What is the best shape of my life???  I have low body fat, yes. And being vain (which I am) and insecure, that was part of the goal. I wanted to get as lean as I could so that selfishly I could try to “control” some of the pregnancy weight gain process to ensure as much enjoyment over my pregnancy as possible. BUT also I wanted to “train” for the marathon of pregnancy and childbirth and really be in great physical shape to carry around an extra 30 pounds and to give birth (the toughest workout of my life!!!)  I DID IT!!!  I’m in better cardiovascular shape than I ever have in my life.  I hate cardio and I’m doing it TWICE  a day.  I bought a bike to make it fun and keep it up. I found a cardio combat class that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!  I’m still lifting moderately heavy – ok I’m still the strongest chick in my gym (a status I hope to ALWAYS hold)…I welcome you all to join me in the ranks of lifting the big weights and I will welcome any girl into the club who wants to join me….THAT is a huge source of pride for me….maybe it shouldn’t be, but it is. (Side note – It’s a sense that I am doing what others say I shouldn’t be able to…lift w/ the boys…I’m a woman but I am a strong woman and I am SO proud of that accomplishment.)  Anyway, I am in the best “shape” of my life in ALL aspects!!!  Ah, and add mental “shape” and the fact that I don’t crave cookies and cakes right now. Sure they taste great but I am craving healthy sweets like raisins and smoothies!!!  I am able to look at unhealthy foods now and say “I don’t want to put that in my body” versus “Whoa is me, why can’t I have that?” and “When can I have that again….after May 22?”  THAT is a profound place for me and my mental health and eating disorder issues.  I am viewing my life in a manner of HEALTH and it is SOOOOO FREEING!!!!!   What freedom to CHOOSE to pack my own meals because the ones out in the town are not good for my body versus feeling trapped like I have to pack my meals for this stupid show.   Wow, the power of our thoughts…the power of our mental perspective!!!!

So, I have pages and pages and pages of things to write that I have learned through this process and will do a huge post.

Also, a sneak peak to the NEXT CHAPTER OF FITori……..

• HEALTHY RECIPES - healthy pancakes?  What? You ate healthy pancakes and muffins during contest prep?  Yes ma’ams and sirs…..I want to play with the recipes though and offer you both an option for contest prep that includes artificial sweeteners and natural ones.  So, I’m waiting on that. ALSO, I want to play with my photography and use those recipes as a way to play with my camera and photography skills!!!  I have been waiting soooo long to try out a TON of new recipes that I want to try, tweek, photo and share with you!!! I can’t wait!!!
• Sharing my own diet (once I’m not paying for it) and continued progress after this show – depending on how soon I am able to get pregnant.  But regardless, I hope to share some “diet” ideas with you all to help you all (who want it) with the tools needed to succeed in your weight loss and health journeys!!
• Fertility Nutrition
• Pre-pregnancy and Pregnancy Nutrition
• Nursing Nutrition
• HEALTH vs body image/fat/skinny
• Hopefully my own pregnancy progress pics – both getting big and then trimming back down again

I have been doing a TON of research – to the point of overkill, but luckily, you all will get to reap the benefits of that!!! AND, the beauty of pregnancy nutrition is that what’s good for a pregnant woman…hello, it’s good for all of us!!! I have learned SOOO much about glycemic index and blood sugar through that research and I can’t wait to share it with you.

SO EXCITED about what the future holds!!!!!!!!!!!!  And, as always, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of your support!!!! Without your support I couldn’t have done this and probably would have quit.

THANK YOU!!!!