Hey Ladies!!

So, I’m trying to think of the title for a new section on my blog and who better to help me with a title than YOU my dedicated readers! Continue Reading

Its not over til the Fat Lady Sings….

Well, there is no fat lady in this case because she is GONE! Instead there is a hot new confident sexy woman in her place!

I didn’t start this journey to ‘place’ – my goals were slightly different – but then the competitive side of you creeps in there and you want it. But honestly, I know I did what I could and I got SO much more out of this than just placing…. Continue Reading

After a 16 week journey of dieting and training it was time to hit the stage….

Show Time

Continue Reading

Its over…..

A sixteen week weight loss journey of dieting and training and extreme focus have come to an end. Sixteen weeks of nerves, laughs, second guessing myself and growing have written their final chapter.

A sixteen week adventure that begun with a silly idea have ended in two spectacular shows. Continue Reading

I sit in Barnes and Nobles as I write this – my second stop of the day to get Wi-fi. No I don’t need to be connected EVERY day but when you haven’t had power or technology of any sort for 4 days – could be 5 – the urge to be connected to the ‘real’ world and your usual routines becomes necessary.

What happened? We had a HUGE storm on Saturday – rain from all directions – wind reaching up to 65 mph – according to reports only a few miles faster and it would’ve had a name – as a Hurricane. However, it remains the “Nameless Storm of 2010″ and one of the worst power outages in the history of my city. Continue Reading

Sitting on the couch…vegging in front of T.V…the perfect way to end the day.

Gym today was tough.

It was leg day – LOVE training legs – except for today. For some unexplainable reason I had a POUNDING headache. It started probably 20 minutes before I got to the gym and by the time I started the first set of my workout – I wanted to scream. Continue Reading

So, I just got home from the gym…after a week off!

Eep! I know I know – its not something I should be doing – especially when at least 10 weeks away from show time. But I promise it was necessary.

I spent last weekend in bed with the stomach flu – which is a GREAT way to lose 5lbs REAL quick. However, the lack of food for two days + a little leftover queasiness made it impossible to go to the gym Monday and Tuesday. I also made a promise to myself to take it easier this week as the excitement/stress of a new job last week + workouts led me to get the stomach flu.

Since health really is most important…I took it slow. A then snowstorm prevented me from going to the gym another day and by Friday I was too pooped to wake up early and get to the gym. SO, that leaves me to today…and my refreshed body that’s been WAITING to go to the gym!

I changed the workout up a bit – did a quick full body workout – just to wake up all my muscles and let them know its time to get back to business – haha. Let me tell you – a few of the moves were completely different and my buns are ALREADY burning! Haha…here’s today’s workout:

This was then followed by 20 minutes of intervals on the Stair Climber – 1 minute low speed – 1 minute HIGH speed. It was definitely the PERFECT way to get my body back into it! Can’t wait for Monday!!!

Just weighed myself this morning and I lost 3lbs! WOOHOO!

However, its not really anything to be TOTALLY excited about – considering I haven’t really eaten real food since Friday. I ended up getting a stomach bug this past weekend and spent the whole time in bed. Most people would LOVE a weekend like that – but when you have a list the length of the Mississippi of stuff to get done – spending all that time in bed can actually be frustrating.

But its a new month and a new week – I can’t change the fact that I got sick. So, instead of feeling overwhelmed – like I’m sinking into a hole and can’t find a way out – I’m going to breathe deep and take one task at a time. I have to figure out what is the MOST important thing that needs to be done AT THIS MOMENT – and move down the list from there. So if I don’t have a new blog post for you in a few days – I hope you understand.

In case you may not know – I’m a school teacher. I’ve spent the last year and a half getting my masters and finished my certification in December. I was suppose to spend from January to June occasionally going in as a substitute for other teachers and ‘maybe’ looking fora  job to get some experience on my resume. Well – my ‘maybe’ looking for a job – turned INTO a job – and now my whole life has changed.

Last week I pushed myself – I thought ‘So what if I have a new job – I’m training for a show – I can still do whatever I have been doing before’. However, I quickly learned through my sickness this past weekend that this wasn’t the case. I’m now trying to figure out the right way to ‘balance’ everything. I think its something that many of us have a hard time doing. Instead of balancing things – we either give TOO much and leave nothing for ourselves or give up on trying to do what we like and spend all our time on everything else.

Its definitely a hard thing to figure out – but I’m determined to do it. I have to figure out when/how I can fit in my training because THAT is not going to go anywhere. I’m 100% committed to doing a show and NOTHING will change my mind. I need to figure out what needs to be done at school – when do I have extra time to do those ‘extra’ things and how long I can stay at school without being TOO long.

I know I can do it – its just going to be a trail and error process. But, I’m determined to master it because I’ve started too much that I enjoy/care about to give up just because I have less ‘free’ time.

This blog had nothing really to do with my training – well kind of – but not really. Haha – I guess its whatever is on my mind at the time – and this ‘balancing’ of time has to be figured out in order to change and make my training successful.

In regards to training – since I still have not really eaten any ‘real food’ – there will be no gym for me today. Hopefully I can eat some chicken tonight for dinner or maybe a protein shake (last night both sounded SO gross) and make it to the gym tomorrow – next big decision – before or after school?

Have a great day and happy training!

~Melissa

Read my Other Training journals

January 22, 2010

Woke up this morning and decided to step on the scale to see how my progress was going for the week. I’m usually a big advocate of not relying on the scale to determine your weight loss success and progress – as their are a variety of reasons as to why one day you have lost lots of weight and the next day you may have gained a few pounds back.

Well, I should have taken my own advice and not stepped on the scale this morning. I was only down .2 pounds since my last weigh in on Monday morning. My honest to goodness initial response – WT*!?! I have been eating really clean – proud of myself for sticking to it and saying no to the sweets that seem to be in an endless supply around me. My workouts have been good and I’m kicking my butt at cardio.

I calmed down after I told my trainer/nutrition-diet guru – Jimmy Smith – about my weight – I was definitely bummed. By no means is it the end of the road, but who doesn’t want to see continued success and see numbers drop? I know I do. Its definitely a silent way to say WOOHOO – you’re doing a great job – keep going! Seeing that weight go down is my own little cheerleader! Haha….oh well, its only week 2 – time to stay focused and keep rocking it!

Speaking of cheerleaders – the responses and comments I received from my first blog/journal entry about doing a competition was AWESOME! Thank YOU for all your support and encouraging words – you guys are AMAZING! You definitely know how to keep a girl excited and motivated to working towards a goal!! SO THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

But its time to get ready for day….I’m ready to ROCK mine – are you ready to rock yours??

Oh – and dinner last night was GREAT – and I thought I should share the recipe as anyone can use it no matter what you are trying to do.

Christmas Chicken

(not the real title but all the ingredients were green and red – so why not? lol)

4 oz chicken breast

Red, Green Peppers (diced up)

Spinach + Asparagus

*Put 1 tbsp olive oil and garlic in the pan – once heated add vegetables (my chicken was already pre-cooked) – sautee for a few minutes until they are warm and have a bit of a bite still – add chicken. I also added a dash of lite soy sauce for some flavor – something I will not be able to do in a few weeks – but took advantage of the ability to have flavor now! It was honestly SO tasty and beat my usual chicken and beans (which has been pretty good – but my staple of the week)

This is a great meal for anyone – you can add brown rice to it or even put it over pasta if you can have those extra carbs – it was a low carb day for me – rice was not an option.

Until next time…

Happy Training )

Melissa

Its been a week and a half of dieting – not just watch what you eat dieting so its okay if I have a chocolate today or maybe some pasta because I went to the gym – I’m talking HARDCORE dieting. Like carbohydrates and I are those friendly neighbors that you see once or twice a day. However, I honestly don’t really mind. Just like not seeing those neighbors so often, you get used to it and when the rest of your meals are right – I honestly don’t miss them.

What I have learned though – planning is ESSENTIAL. I mean I know I need to plan my meals, but I’m talking – REAL important. Example – I didn’t have enough meat cooked the other day – I came home from the gym and wanted to make my own pasta sauce. It took took long, I got hungrier, more frustrated and broke down into tears due to the lack of food and nutrients in my body. After some oatmeal and a protein shake I was absolutely fine. But I’ve kept in mind that I need to make sure in ADVANCE of being hungry – on the verge of starving – it is imperative to have food ready – in order to avoid a breakdown.

It is also at those moments of hunger that the potato chips or chocolates or the dip seem to talk to me. They really do. They seem to stare at me as I walk around the kitchen getting the vegetables from the refrigerator or as I cook my chicken on the stove top. Its like they are testing me – they want to see just how serious I am about this whole dieting thing. I’m serious – they know it now – lol – I haven’t taken the bait! WOOHOO!!

Honestly, the most exhilarating moment was when I was at a friends house last week. I sat a foot away from a fresh plate of funfetti cupcakes (my absolute favorite).  I was there for at least an hour and was offered the cupcakes more than once – however, I refused. I honestly had no desire for them. I had just eaten and was full – plus peanut butter is my dessert now – haha – its such a sweet tasty treat. I have a feeling that after this me and peanut butter might not get along so well – haha.

I guess I have been blabbing for a while now and really have led to no explanation as to what is going on. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook – you may know already – but to my awesome readers – here is the news – I have decided to take my commitment to fitness and my body one level further – I have decided to compete – for the first time – in a Bikini Competition (like figure competitions of the wonderful Monica Brant – but on a different scale). The look for a bikini competition is softer when compared to a figure competition – which is the appeal to me.

The first question that I’m sure pops into your mind is – WHY? Well – the physiques of women like Monica Brant, Jamie Eason, Stacey Oster-Thompson and Ava Cowan have ALWAYS been something I LOVE and have aspired to be. (Well – back in the day I wanted to look like Britney Spears, but we all grow up a bit – hehe).  I’ve worked out thinking that I would be able to get there, but honestly, never fully committing. Since I never fully committed I never REALLY got the body I wanted.

So, I decided its time. No more dilly-dallying – its time to make it happen. What’s the point in waiting. I may love the experience, I may hate the experience, but at the end of this journey I look forward to the memories I have of the whole experience.

It is on here that you can follow my journey to my FIRST bikini competition. Watch as I figure out what I’m doing – how to eat, what to WEAR (oh goodness no clue!), how to walk in those clear high heels (this could be hysterical), and the emotional rollercoaster that preparing for anything you want in life brings. I look forward to sharing this adventure with you – as maybe I can inspire you to go after your goals.

This is it for today – I’m typing this as I lie in bed…it was a tough day of training….I’m pooped…
Goodnight

Melissa )