Wednesday Wrap-up

Wednesday is done and it's one more day of work here and then off to Vegas so I can work some more!! LOL!! I'm so looking forward to eating though. I can't even tell you. So funny! I almost stopped and picked up some food tonight because I just wasn't in the mood to cook but I didn't because I needed to remind myself that I'm heading to Vegas and going to eat a little off plan so I had to be good today and tomorrow and most of Friday as well.

With that said, today's meals:
1) 2 cups puffed kamut with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk...okay, I got so carried away with this and how delish it was that I almost forgot to eat my protein! But I didn't forget and had 6 egg whites also.
2) Berry loaf cake (recipe from Chef Stef). Oh my...this is like berry pound cake! Crazy good! But next time I will make it with spelt flour because I think it will be even better!
3) Turkey burrito again! Same as yesterday and just as delish as yesterday if not better and 1 Jamie Eason Chicken Muffin
4) Kamut Salad with a KICK, 2 Jamie Chicken Muffins on the side
5) Cottage cheese mixed with Mexican style tomatoes and scooped up with red peppers - so ridiculously simple and super tasty
6) Chocolate Protein Cake with 1 T peanut butter!!! I'm in love all over again. Why is that such an incredibly delicious treat/meal? MAN!! DELISH!!!

My training today was good. I am just L-O-V-I-N-G my workouts! So great to have extra energy to workout. However, I must think I'm Wonder Woman because I just about kill myself with my workouts. Here's what I did.
Heavy Leg Extension - 3 sets of 12
Standing Ham Curl - 3 sets of 12
Walking Lunges w/ 10lb plate - 3 sets of 32
One leg jumps on sled - 3 sets of 15
Straightleg Deadlift with cable - 3 sets of 15
Medium Leg Extension - 3 sets of 8 regular speed then 9 negatives
Jump Squats - 3 sets of 20

Then it was onto cardio. 10 minutes incline treadmill 4.6 at 15%, 12 minutes stepmill speed training level 12, then 5 minutes fat burner level 16!! I only did the stepmill that way because I, being the foolish fellow that I am, pressed the wrong button and killed my stepmill workout at about 12 minutes! Aargh! Silly me!!

I encourage you to try new grains just for variety in your diet. I think it's so important to try different foods and see how your body responds. I have NO scientific proof but logically I think it makes you metabolize food faster as well because your body is constantly trying to figure out how to burn this new food. Maybe it's proven somewhere but I'm not about to do the research tonight. At any rate, it will keep you palate happy and you as well. The more variety you can have in your diet or meal plan, the greater the likelihood that you'll stick with it for life! So, try a new grain this week and let me know what you think! There are so many - wild rice, brown rice, brown rice couscous, millet, barley, kamut, wheat berries, spelt berries, amaranth, quinoa, bulgar, rye...there may be more. Try 'em all. Come one, come all to happy happy grainland! LOL! I'm delirious!!

Okay, night night!! Have a great day tomorrow!

Kamut Salad with a KICK!

Kamut Salad with a KICK 

Kamut Salad with a KICK

1 cup kamut

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped (about 5 cloves)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large bunch of fresh mint (or 1 pkg if buying at local supermarket)

1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, with the stem cut off (I used 1)

2 serrano peppers, with the stem cut off

3 scallions, roughly chopped

1/2 bunch of cilantro, trimmed and chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 English cucumber, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1. Rinse kamut in cold water then drain. Place in saucepan, cover with water and let soak about 8 hours or overnight. Drain and return to saucepan and add 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 30-60 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit overnight to absorb as much water as possible. The more water, the puffier the kamut.

2. Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add garlic to the hot oil. Stir just until heated. Allow oil to cool.

3. To make the dressing place the mint, peppers, scallions, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice in a blender. Blend on high. Slowly pour the oil and garlic in the blender to emulsify.

4. Add the cucumbers and tomatoes to kamut then add the dressing and mix.

5. Refrigerate until served. May mix in any protein just before serving.

This is a spicy salad bursting with flavor!

Jamie Eason's Chicken Meatloaf Muffins

Jamie Eason's Chicken Meatloaf Muffins

1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
2 tsp. dry yellow mustard
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. McCormick’s Chipotle Pepper Spice (spicy, but key to the recipe)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tbsp of garlic powder)
1 small onion, finely chopped (I get the pre chopped version or even the frozen - thawed)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 egg whites
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground chicken breast (I use 3 packages)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, add cumin, thyme, yellow mustard, black pepper, McCormick’s Chipotle Pepper Spice, salt, oats, garlic, onions and celery. Mix until well combined. Next add the ground chicken and egg whites and mix with your hands until evenly distributed. Make racquetball size portions and place in muffin tins, sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 40 minutes.

Yields about18 muffins

Nutrition: 1 muffin
78 calories
2 g fat
4 g carbs
11 g protein

Servings are usually 2 for women and 4 for men. 

~When I made these I only used about 1 1/4 lb ground chicken and kept all other ingredients the same. And next time I might even add more of the seasonings for even better flavor. 

Wednesday...cooling down...

Well, that is until I get to Vegas on Friday where it's supposed to be a lovely 100 degrees! Please! Ugh! I am so NOT a hot weather person - warm, yes...hot, no!!

What I have decided about HIIT. Well, I love it. I really do. It's quick and it gets the job done. However I know it's an incredible load on your CNS so I only do it 3 times a week max. But, MAN oh MAN does it rev up your metabolism? Yesterday I think I could have eaten a cow with a side of a vegetable farm!! It was crazy how hungry I was.

Meal 1) 1/2 cup oatmeal mixed with 6 oz Greek yogurt, 3/4 scoop protein powder, 2 T walnuts
2) Zucchini loaf
3) 1/2 cup millet & 4 oz chicken
4) Turkey Burrito on spelt tortilla - 4 oz turkey taco meat, 1/4 cup shredded Almond jalapeno cheese, Mexican style tomatoes, romaine, roasted hot peppers - SOOO GOOD!
5) Rice cake w/ 1 T peanut butter
6) Spaghetti squash with tuna and almonds on the side - yes, this was a weird meal even for me!!!
7) Protein shake with 1/4 cup oatmeal
8) Egg white pancake with kimchee

Trader Joe's Spelt Tortillas - Shall we talk about these a little? I love, love, love flour tortillas and these come really close. Yes, they're probably not the best thing for me but they're better than regular flour tortillas. And sometimes you have just got to eat something you've been craving and I've been CRAVING those tortillas! I LOVE that I can eat what I'm really craving now. THAT, my dear friends, is what life is ALL about!

So, yes, EIGHT meals and finally I was full. I don't know what the heck happened there but wow! I was super hungry yesterday. Today I feel a little bit back to normal. Curious to see what another HIIT workout brings. Yesterday I did only 15 minutes on the treadmill at 4.6 and 10% incline and then I did a back workout that was good, felt good. I was training a "client" and she did AWESOME! She really listens well and is highly motivated to learn so she's going to do great. It's fun to share my knowledge with others. Loved it!

“Time is swift, it races by; Opportunities are born and die... Still you wait and will not try - A bird with wings who dares not rise and fly.” ~A.A. Milne

Whew! That was a long day!

Hey! Did you hear?!? My fine city of Los Angeles broke a record today. Yep, it was 113 degrees in L.A. today, making it the hottest day on record since record keeping began in 1877!!!! WOWIE!!! That's some doggone hot weather!! I'm soooooo glad I work in air conditioning. Yeah for AC!! What a great innovation.

Meals were spot on today and my workout was BOMB!! Amazing really! I'm feeling really good!

So my food:
1) 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ 1/2 apple grated in and cinnamon, 6 egg whites pancake style
2) 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup Voskos Greek yogurt mixed with 1 scoop protein powder, 6 walnut halves - BOY! This was super tasty!!
3) Caesar salad with 2 oz chicken, "garlic toast" - made of 2 kamut puffed cakes sprayed with olive oil spray and then grated Almond mozzarella and slap that under the broiler for a little less than a minute -- UH OH! May have found a new favorite!
4) Spaghetti squash with 4 oz chicken and chili garlic sauce
5) Protein shake (had errands to run after the gym so luckily I had a bag of protein powder ;-))
6) Mighty green smoothie (yes, I AM addicted to that) and then tilapia

And my workout was glutes and hams!
Lying Hamstring Curl (glute focus) - 3 sets of 8
Sumo squat with 25# plate - 3 sets of 15 then 15 pulses
Butt Blaster on Lying Ham Curl machine  - 3 sets of 8
Stationery Lunge with front foot on plate - 3 sets of 20
Lying Hamstring Curl (ham focus) - 3 sets of 8
Smith Machine Squat - 3 sets of 15
Sissy Squats - 3 sets of 15 then 15 pulses

Then it was on to the stepmill - 20 minutes speed training at level 12-14. Yep, the stepmill...apparently still my friend!

I'm off to bed now. Enjoy your evening and tomorrow is going to be great! Maybe not as hot as today so that will make me happy for sure!! GOODNIGHT!!

Good Monday Morning!!

Well, it's the beginning of yet another week! Let's get it going here! I had a great weekend and even though there was a lot of driving and I was busier than the proverbial bee I had a great weekend and woke up this morning ONE minute before my alarm was set to go off! So I must be jazzed up and ready to get this party started. I have a few days here and then it's off to Vegas on Friday.

 Yep, that's where I'll be! Now before all you Vegas lovers get excited for me, this isn't a pleasure trip, it's for work. :-( I DO however get to go eat at my favorite restaurant and I'm pretty sure I even know what I'm ordering but of course I will take pictures and share with you my entire travel experience. I'm going to be making several things to take with me on the trip to keep me on point. I will eat out a couple of meals and mix some hotel/meeting food with my staples but I'm going to still be on point.

So, onto Monday we go in this crazy ol' HEATWAVE that we're having in L.A.!!! I'm not a fan of the heat so I'm not all that into it but it's supposed to "break" on Wednesday so that's good.

Hope you all have a fantastic week! Looks like it's going to be an amazing week! How are YOU going to make your week amazing? What are you going to do to make it different than your last week? Do something that will stand out in your mind as hitting a goal, conquering a fear, or really "living" this week! HAVE FUN!!!!!

“Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.” ~Horace (Ancient Roman Poet. 65 BC-8 BC)

2 WEEKS IN!! Feeling great!

So here I am about 2 weeks post-competition. My weight is basically holding steady at around 130. I'm a little softer than I was for my competition but not by much. I feel GREAT and I'm really enjoying the post competition. It hasn't been bad at all. I think I was incredibly mentally prepared for it though. About 4 weeks out from my comp I kept planning in my head what I was going to do. I knew that physically I was going to try all kinds of different things and I have. Love that freedom! I also knew with my food that I would be mostly back on plan with probably a couple more refuels than usual. That has been the case too. And included in that would be 2 binges last week. You all read about the CHOCOLATE DESTRUCTION! But I haven't had a chance to share with you my Friday night BLITZ!! Yes, it was fantastic. I had a gyro sandwich on WHITE pita with the usual yogurt sauce, tomatoes and grilled onions and FRENCH FRIES!!!! Then I came home and went even crazier. I don't even remember for sure but I think I started with a sugar-free popsicle then headed into kamut flakes with almond milk. But that didn't quite do it so then I ate the TRIO OF JOY (dried cranberries, chocolate chips and raw almonds). I think I ate a good 30-40 of those and they were delish! I think that just about did it for me though so not terrible and truly I didn't eat anything really, really bad for me.

I worked out several times and when I have I really enjoyed it. I can't tell you how much I enjoy not having to get up and get my cardio in. I'm still doing it about once a week but I have been doing AM yoga for about 20 minutes and that has been really fantastic for me. I love slowly working into my day.

Yesterday I went to San Diego to meet up with my friend Traci. We had a really great time. We went to Worlds Gym down there and did a KILLER shoulder workout! It was so great and nice to have a workout partner since I always just do my own thing. It's nice to have someone there to spot you so you push harder than you would. Then we went upstairs to do cardio and they have 30% incline treadmills!!! INSANE!! They are a fantastic workout for the booty and hams! I wish we had that at my gym but of course we don't!! We also enjoyed a really nice dinner at Ki's. We ordered the Macadamia Coconut Mahi Mahi with Thai Peanut Sauce...YUMMY!!! So delicious!! They also serve white bread with butter and it's warm...uh, yeah, I'm not one to say no to warm white bread and butter so I ate an impressive amount of that. It was delish!! I enjoyed every minute.

I got home late last night and then was up early working on some training and meal plans for my 2 new "clients"/friends. I met up with them at the gym and we reviewed their plans and went over several exercises. It's going to be an exciting journey for both of them. I can't wait to see how they do and share their results with all of you.

I'm going to take a nap, cook a couple of things and call it a day. After all tomorrow will be here soon enough!!

I'll leave you with a couple of funny blog items from other bloggers. Since many of you that read this are gym rats in some way or another, you definitely know where these girls are coming from!

OneFitFoodie's "rethink before you walk in" to the gym list:

1. Zebra Pants: I have seen these way more than I thought I would. The truth is that there is a handful of guys that acutually wear these pants to workout---They do look comfy?

 (source)

2. Sports bras that look like real bras: Okay, although I wouldn't ever wear just a sports bra to the gym, I don't think just wearing a sports bra is THAT bad, but, I have seen women where sports bras that acutally look like real bras which just doesn't mesh that well.

Like this (source)

3. Jeans--Enough said. I still don't nor will ever get this

4. Flashy Jewlery- Unless you are Mike "the situation" I really find no need to wear chains, diamond necklaces, chunky bracelets or bangles. It must get in the way of your 'workout' right?

5. See through Spandex- I think there should be a throw away time limit on spandex-much like toothbrushes. You replace toothbrushes every so often and the same should go for spandex. The pants themselves are really quite thin and most don't have a shelf life over 5 or 6 years if you wear them 2-3 times a week. I like to replace my spandex capris after they go through the wash and become 'pilly' this is when I know, my backside is usally going to peek through! No thanks!

6. Please wear underwear- This goes especially if your spandex have gotten to the 'pilly' point. Men always need to be wearing underwear especially those in short shorts. 

7. Sandals, high heels, crocs- It is unsafe, and well, I would recommend you wear something you can actually workout in comfortably

8. Bandanas- Unless you are a close friend, or family member of Bret Michael's or Matthew McConaughey, no need to sport the bandana

 (source)

9. Gym bags, laptops, ipads etc on the workout floor- If you are that scared to leave your stuff in the locker, maybe try leaving it up at the front desk or bring a lock next time. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want you to have your stuff stolen, but walking around looking like you are packed up to go to India just doesn't seem that efficient.

10. Don't wear the same workout clothes everyday- I see multiple people who go against this rule. They wear the SAME shorts and shirt everyday for a week and they workout HARD, meaning they are covered in sweat. Unless you are washing those clothes everynight, I would suggest bringing in some more workout clothes to your repetoire.

 

AND this video from Rachel Wilkerson.

OH MY!!! Newfound freedom can be DANGEROUS!!!

Do you ever get a little too involved in the internet and think you can stay awake all night? Well, I did just that last night!!! I'm out of control! And in case any of you smart alecs out there want to know how my AM fasted cardio went this morning?!? Yeah....not so much!!! LOL!!! I just don't know what to do with myself and my newfound freedom. I'm losing my mind!! Eating chocolate cake, batter, and frosting wildly and out of control and then staying up till 11?...NO!...12?....LOL! NO!...1?....ALMOST...1:45?!? YES!!! 1:45!!!!! Somebody help me!!!!

But I was very smart because this morning before I even stepped out of bed I put a BIG HUGE SMILE on my face to see how it felt! I actually felt just fine and here it is past noon and I'm not DYING of being tired but I do have a sneaking suspicion that my ham/glute workout is going to be a little painful today!!

So, yes, lesson learned? Well, only time will tell!!! More about my day later! Have a grand ol' day! Hope your eating and workout is going well...SOMEBODY'S got to pick up the slack for me!!

Wednesday...just keepin' it real!

Yesterday was a pretty good day for food and workout. I did my same workout as last week, Back and Plyo Legs, and then followed it up with 15 minutes of speed intervals on the stepmill - level 15 (unfortunately the stepmill that has the "speed training" is broken).

My meals today:
1) 6 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal
2) 1 cup kamut flakes with chocolate protein almond milk, 5 walnut halves, 1 small apple
3) Erin's Cranberry Orange Cereal Bar & 1/3 cup Voskos yogurt
4) Shrimp with spaghetti squash and more kochujung, dessert of Cinnamon Raisin MOCHI!!! Yes, dangerous!
5) Creamy chicken salad with grapes on celery sticks
6) Now this is where things went haywire - um...let's see I had one little Chocolove Cherry & Almond in Dark Chocolate ...then it was on to finishing off the mochi from earlier...from there I needed protein, right? So what do you think came next? Yep! CEREAL BAR!!! Oh, no, don't stop me now I'm on a roll...next came me making a cake for my boss's birthday which meant frosting and cake batter (just to clarify - REAL CAKE BATTER!!!) ...well, I'm no fool and I know when I should be licking the beaters, spatula and bowl (for those of you that don't know when that should happen - anytime you bake a cake, boxed or otherwise, in your own kitchen!!!)...then when the cakes cooled it was slicing off the tops to make them flat for stacking and frosting so why not eat those too?!? What? I have leftover frosting! Better put those on the sliced off tops!!! OH LORD!!! Somebody try to STOP this speeding bullet!!!!!! But then I was finished. Nothing left to eat but crumbs. I know, I know, you want to know if I ate the crumbs that were left from the slicing off of the tops? What's your best guess? Hmmmm? Okay...NO! I actually was a little tired of the whole cake thing by then. Isn't it pretty?

Happy Birthday Boss Man!!

Shall we assess how my food was today? Let's...OH LET'S!!!!! Well, I would call today a BINGE!!!! Ha ha ha!!! No, really, it was. But it's so funny to me how I'm not ashamed of that and I know I'll be right back on track tomorrow. No doubt!! Yes, I got out of control and could see no end in sight. Now see the funny thing is that I actually am riding the Crimson Wave and when that happens my appetite is usually suppressed. Was that the case today? Uh...NO!!!! A resounding NO!!! Absolutely NOT!! NOPE!!! And at least I helped out my readers by outlining what a TRUE BINGE should look like!!!! Feel free to thank me later!

Speaking of the ol' Crimson Wave, this article I had printed a while ago resurfaced during my "home organization week" last week. I find it INCREDIBLY interesting and would love to hear any of your opinions on this. Here is the link: http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/menstrual_cycle_pms/features/33 If you're a man you might not be that interested in this unless you're a trainer then you SHOULD be! LOL! I find the article fascinating and the information is unusual and confirms some suspicions that I have had myself about training and eating during my menstrual cycle. I'm going to try to adhere to the advice in the article and see how I feel. I'll keep you posted!

Well, tomorrow is another day so I better prepare myself for that. It's going to be off to the gym in the early AM! I have GOT to do some fasted cardio tomorrow morning. There's just no other answer to today's binge! Honestly it was fun while it lasted and it tasted delicious!!!! No regrets, right?!? The ONLY way to live!

Tuesday - Let's keep it going!!! WOOHOO!!!!

I'm trying to pep myself up a little here. I went to sleep LATE last night. I can't fall back into that bad habit!! Oh....NO!!! But I did that and that was a bad choice. Today I'm paying for it. It's my own doggone fault! "Admitting you have a problem is the first step..." LOL!!!!! HAHAHA!!!

So, moving on. I thought I would share my yesterday with you since it was my first day back to reality, back to full time work and back to working out my way.

My meals yesterday:
1) 4 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ 8 walnut halves & 2 T blueberries
2) Kabocha protein pudding, 1/2 cup oatmeal
3) 6 oz tilapia and spaghetti squash with kochujung (Korean spicy red bean paste)
4) Creamy chicken & grape salad, 1 slice Julian bread, 1 cucumber
5) Appetizer of Erin's Cranberry Orange Cereal Bar then Asian chicken soup with guy choy, mushrooms, and shiritaki noodles, grilled asparagus on the side
6) Chocolate Protein Cake with 1 tablespoon NuttZo!!!

Meal conclusion: This week my goal is to have 6 meals instead of 7. It just seems better for me to not have to eat 2 times in the morning at work. However, since my metabolism must still be raging I'm very hungry on that schedule. I'm thinking I might need a little half meal sometime in the morning. It's just not enough food for me right now. The other thing is those ridiculously delicious cereal bars. I must just say no!! I came home from my workout last night and went right to the freezer to get one out and eat it. Was it delicious you ask? Why yes!!! Even straight from the freezer. My point of freezing them was so that I wouldn't just grab and eat! LOL! I can't even trick myself. So maybe even as much as they're not bad for me I think I have little self control so I may have to be rid of them all together.

Other than that I feel good though about my food and my mealplan! I'll keep you posted about it!

Celebrate other people's successes!

While I couldn't fall asleep last night I started thinking about this. As I try to continually better my life and I think I'm getting better and better at it, I continually find myself  in a more and more positive state of mind and have very little tolerance for negativity. In that same vein, I wrote myself an email last night so that I could read it this morning and see if I should post it. I definitely should. It was a great reminder for me and hopefully it will help some of you as well.

Celebrate the accomplishments, successes, joys, achievements of others. Forget their demise, failures, downfalls, sadnesses, diseases, bitterness. Delighting in other people's misery and pain, that kind of so-called happiness, can only fill you with grief and despair, hatred. It's not a positive way to live life. It's not healthy nor will it make your life fuller. It will drag you down. Yes, someone may have wronged you in the past but why give them that power again? Why let them have that energy when that is energy you could actually use toward something positive for you? You could use that energy to better your life and celebrate your own or someone else's success! Wouldn't that serve a much better purpose? Yes, definitely!!

When you think of it that way, it just makes more sense to let go of those people that don't represent happiness or joy. Why hold onto them or even stories of them? Let them go, let the situation go, the company, the people, the anger, hatred, disappointment, basically anything that won't help build you up. Let it go. In so doing and replacing it all with happiness, joy and celebration of good, you have just had a major energy shift and that energy shift can only take you closer to your goals whatever they may be. Don't fall into that toxic trap of hatred, jealousy, envy, retaliation, resentment, and disappointment. Just move forward in peace and love. Be happy and loving and enjoy that. Cuss less, love and enjoy more, live and breathe happiness, gratitude and wonderment. Give praise and watch your words. The more negativity coming out of your mouth, the more you "hear" since it's coming right out of your very own mouth. Put a stop to it and see if you aren't happier and more grateful for the good things you have in life.  Let go of ALL that is not moving you to a higher plane! Let's all move up together! Today try to live life without anger or resentment. Live it with joy for what's good. Forget the bad and forget those that have wronged you. That's the past. Move forward continually ascending to that place that will bring you even greater joy and satisfaction! Join me, won't you? Let's all make this world a more peaceful and loving place to live and experience life!

I actually caught myself today tossing about some hatred and pretty unkind words and cuss words. I had to stop myself but it was a HUGE step for me because I was supremely aware of it and reined it in. Both of those are big for me. I really am more and more positive and when I catch myself sounding like a sailor and putting other people down I really have to stop myself. I also have to stop myself from wishing and/or delighting in bad things happening to people that have wronged me. I've gotten MUCH, MUCH better at that. But there's always room for improvement there. Definitely! But I'm human and I'm living and growing as much as I possibly can and am in such a much better place today than a year ago. It's been a fantastic journey.

So again, do not delight in other people's pain, discomfort, misery, discontentment. None of this should make you happy. If someone wronged you and now they are finding supreme discontent what does your celebration of that discontent do? Who does it benefit? Why join in that? Forget it and find someone else that you admire, like or adore and share in their joy and success instead. Healthier for you, better for the planet!

Very fun and challenging track workout!

So after my excellent meal Saturday midday I knew I better work out so I headed to the track with my BF/coach/workout patner! It was such a pretty, sunny day but the track is closer to the shore and by the time we got there the marine layer had crept in so it wasn't sunny but I was still warm enough doing this workout. This is how it went down!

Warm up was just a simple jog around the track. Then it was on to the bleachers.
Run up, jog across
Run down, jog across
Run up 2 at a time, jog across
Run down, jog across
Repeat all one more time
Lunge/step up going up
Lunge backward going down
Jump up 2 steps at a time
Down sideways, right leg lead
Lunge up 2 steps, hop one more step on same leg then switch legs (challenging!)
Down sideways, left leg lead

Down to the track and did all these for about 25-30 yards:
Run one way, jog back
Lunges & Run back
Side Squats switching sides halfway through and staying low & Run back
High knees & grapevine back
Skip (with height) & grapevine back
Step squats with medicine ball - step sideways then step sideways again and squat, then repeat
Jump up/Squat touch the ground - jump as high as possible then squat to touch the ground and repeat moving forward (these were RIDICULOUSLY hard. I couldn't got the whole 25 yards!) & jog/walk back
Side shuffle and tossing med ball to each other down and back
Jumping Lunge Squat Combo (all turning to right)
     1) Lunge left foot forward
     2) Jump to squat facing sideways
     3) Jump to lunge right foot forward
     4) Jump to squat facing sideways
Double Jumping Lunge Squat Combo - same as above but double jump each lunge and squat

All told I think this workout took about 40 minutes and it was awesome! It was hard yet fun and stimulating! GREAT workout!! Hope you'll try it and like it!

Motivational Video - Jim Rohn

Hope this gives you a little inspiration and motivation to start your week out strong! Enjoy!!!

ONE WEEK IN!!!!

Yep, one week ago today I was stepping on the stage! Wow! I can't believe it's already been a week since that exhilarating moment! So, my week in summary has been some of what I expected and some that I didn't. I mostly stuck to my mealplan but at times was a little off. For example, yesterday I had one of my Cranberry Orange Cereal Bars and 1/2 cup Voskos yogurt and then promptly turned around and had another bar right after it! Yep! I'm a CHAMPION!!!!! LOL! My workouts were nothing like I expected actually. Monday and Thursday I did cardio only. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I did weights and cardio. My weight is holding fairly steady, today around 129 which is basically where it was the week of my competition. My energy level has been pretty good. I've been catching up on sleep as I posted earlier in the week. Generally I feel pretty great though! So yeah for me!

My meals yesterday then were as follows:
1) 5 egg whites and 1/4 cup oatmeal (measured dry)
2) Zucchini loaf and peanut butter
*Somewhere between 2 and 3 or 3 and 4 I had a snack of 8-10 Cocoa Roasted Almonds mixed with 8-10 Sachi Inchi seeds...TASTY!!
3) "Smoked" tilapia and asparagus egg white scramble
4) TWO Erin's Cranberry Orange Cereal Bars and 1/2 cup yogurt
5) Quest Bar - Almond Vanilla Crunch
6/7) Mighty Green Smoothie (2 Persian cucumbers, 2 small stalks celery, 1 green bell pepper, 1 handful fresh mint, 1 1/2 cup spinach, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup aloe juice, 2 droppers of stevia, juice of 1 lime, and ice) - SO GOOD!! (Even my BF liked it...what does THAT say about it?!?)  and a pork chop then the grazing continued...kabocha with almond milk and cinnamon...finished off with Cocoa Roasted Almonds! Yep! I was an animal in the kitchen!!

My workout yesterday was great. I finished organizing my place (YEAH! Small celebration for me...ha ha ha!) late in the day and headed out to the gym around 7:30pm on a Friday night!! I know! I need help!!! But I went in there and did one of Gina's workouts - a combo of dumbbell swings, side lat raises, and squats holding a dumbbell above my head with a straight arm. Who knew THAT would be so hard? Oh, the warm-up was jumping jacks and sit ups with a 10# plate. Great workout and hard! Then I thought I had better get in my cardio as well. I went to the stepmill but guess what? It was BROKEN!!! Well, nothing new there so I went to the treadmill. The problem with the treadmill now is that it seems super easy and monotonous. So I was on there for about 15 minutes at 15% incline and between 4.6 and 4.8. I got off of it at 15 minutes and went upstairs to use the stairs (about 14-16) and the track (I think that track is about 135 yards or so). And this was the best part of my workout!!! Here's what I did:
Round 1:
Run track 2 times
Descend stairs backwards 2 at a time
Run up stairs
Descend backwards 3 at a time
Run up stairs
Descend backwards 2 at a time
Run up every other
Descend backwards 3 at a time
Run up stairs
Descend backwards 2 at a time
Run up every other
Round 2:
Run track 2 times
Descend stairs one at a time
Run up stairs
Descend stairs
Run up 2 at a time
Descend backwards every other
Run up
Descend backwards 3 at a time
Jump up stairs
Descend forward
Run up
Round 3:
Run track once
Walk track fast once
Descend forward
Run up
Walk down
Run up 2 at a time
Walk down
Lunge up 3 at a time
Lunge down backwards 3 at a time
Jump up with a pause on each step
Walk down
Run up
Walk down
Run up 2 at a time
Walk track fast once
Walk track slowly (cool down)

I LOVED THIS cardio!!! LOVED it, I tell ya!! I just love feeling free and moving my body according to ME and not a MACHINE!!! LOVED it! Did I mention that? HAHAHA!!!

The other thing I've realized this week although I already had a hunch is I'm not such a morning person. I would rather go to bed at 10:30/11 and wake up around 6 then work into my morning and worry about my workout later. We'll see if this still holds true next week when I go back to work. Who knows?

Today I got to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law who are in town and we went out for what I like to call "Big Bad Breakfast". So could I have made smart choices? Yes. Did I want to? Uh...NO!!! No, no, no!! It was so delicious! Are you ready for what I ate? You're going to DIE at the amount of food I ate. First of all, let me just say that at 11:30am this was my THIRD meal of the day. 1 1/2 hot links (SOOO good!), 2 overeasy eggs, almost 2 pancakes with butter and syrup, 2 slices rye bread with butter!!! Oh, yes, life is GOOD!!!! And food is fantastic!! Don't worry though. I'm going to go work out this afternoon. I'll let you know what I end up doing but it will probably be outdoors!!! Have a great weekend!!

Enjoying food and fun!

Well, last night I got into some fun and food!! Those of you that know me know that I'm about the biggest FOODIE ever!! Those of you that don't really know me, let me tell ya...I'm the biggest FOODIE ever!! LOL! I love good food, particularly ethnic food. I'm sure you can tell by my blog that I love food. I used to even have a favorite and that was Thai. But now, gosh! I don't even know because I love food so much so deciding what to eat on any given day is kind of crazy making! But last night I went out and hit up some Asian hot spots in Monterey Park and Alhambra. Well, they were hot for me anyway.

Don't ask how I didn't take pictures of dinner but I didn't. But Yelp helped me out a little there! At least I got me on the dessert! You'll see...

Dinner was at Dean Sin World. Here it is on Yelp: Dean Sin World. This is a little hole in the wall. And let me tell you how incredibly delicious their food is!!!! Oh man!!!! I really enjoyed it! As an appetizer they serve peanuts with seaweed and sugar - CRAZY good combo!!!

Seaweed peanuts

We ordered 3 things: spicy wontons, shrimp wontons (soup), and pork bean and egg noodles.

Pork Bean and Egg Noodles

They were all such simple dishes but the flavors were light and intriguing! I wish I could go back right now!!! They are that good. I don't know if they make their own noodles right there but they sure taste like they do. They're incredibly fresh tasting and ridiculously sublime!!! At any rate, this will not be my last visit to this restaurant as it is definitely divine and I clearly need to eat my way through the menu. In the future there will definitely be photos!!!

Then it was off to 168 Market to purchase my best friend KABOCHA!!!! Or as they write on their sign KAPOCHA! They had a lot of funky looking ones so I just made out with the 3 best looking ones!! And some seaweed of course! And guess what I made at 8:00 this morning? That's right! Roasted kabocha!!! My old friend is back...YAY!!!!!

After the Asian market it was off to find some dessert. I thought I wanted something chewy and lightly sweet but what I ended up with was some chewy things to be sure and sweet. Oh, yes...this is where Phoenix Dessert comes into play. We ended up ordering Iced Mango Dessert (at least I think that's what it's called) - an incredible combination of shaved ice, custard sauce I think, mango puree, and tapioca.

Mango Goodness

First Bite - Do I look HAPPY or what?!?

We also had the variety pack of mochi (green bean with black sesame seeds, mango, taro, and red bean). I thought for sure that my favorite was going to be the mango. It definitely wasn't.  The other 3 had fillings and the mango was just a chunk of mango in the middle and the actual mochi part tasted like flour and that was it, no flavor at all!  Of the other 3 the green bean and sesame was my favorite! It was so delicious! I don't even like red bean but that was actually pretty good and the taro was delish! I love that stuff!

Photo from Yelp, not mine but wanted you to see how pretty they are

Yes, I started eating them first!!! L to R: Mango, red bean, taro, green bean

 So it was a fantastic night and so much fun to eat food I really enjoyed! No, I don't plan on eating like this every week but have been dying to try some fun Asian flavors so that is what I did last night. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Also I did end up working out yesterday. I trained shoulders and then did about 30 minutes on the elliptical which was really nice for a change. I really enjoyed it. And I also did fasted cardio this morning at 6am!!! Yep, that was early for me so I needed a nap later.

Today's food hasn't been nearly as exciting as yesterday but it's been pretty good.

Meal 1) Erin's Cranberry Orange Cereal Bar and 1/2 cup Voskos nonfat yogurt

2) 5 egg whites, 1/4 cup oatmeal and kaboch

3) Pork chop, spaghetti squash and kabocha gnocchi

4) Kabocha pudding and Kamut flakes cereal (how much? I don't know...but more than I should have had :-))

5) Salad with tilapia (any minute now)

6) Either a veggie omelet or Chocolate Protein Cake...hmmm?

That's about it! I didn't do weights today because I wasn't in the mood. How about that? Besides there's always tomorrow...hee hee!!

"No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut." ~Channing Pollock

“Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.” ~Socrates

Ahhhh!!!!!! My muscles are SHOCKED!! LOL!!!

Wow!!! I am beyond sore today. Every muscle in my legs hurts today and this is even after my stretching and lots of glutamine!! Oh boy!! See what happens when I'm left to run amuck in the gym? I just get out of control. So, earlier in the day I did my circuit workout and my legs were already feeling that from my skating the day before. Well, silly me and trying to keep up with the 2-a-day cardio I went back later in the day and did some running on the treadmill. *Sidenote* I am NOT a runner!!!!! So I ran about 18 minutes on the treadmill and then finished up with some fast walking on the incline. I don't know what I was thinking...or perhaps I wasn't? Ha ha ha!!! At any rate, I'm sore today and definitely not doing 2-a-day today. Maybe one or maybe none!!! But I'll keep you posted.

So as I mentioned yesterday, I shouldn't be left alone in my home with my Cranberry Orange Cereal Bars. After I got home from the gym I had another one. And believe me! Right now I'm thinking of having another one but I'm resisting that urge. They're soooo good, a little too good!

This morning I didn't wake up till 8:00!!!!! What the heck? Oh, boy...next week is going to be a little bit hard for me!! I guess my body is just screaming for some rest and yesterday I didn't nap and worked out like a fool. I guess I might nap today or at least get to bed fairly early again!

So the question has been asked a few times...WHAT'S NEXT? I have a few things that I'm working on but they are all in process and I still have to solidify some things as well as figure out other parts of my life but for now this is what I have.

1) Selling my homemade caramels for the holiday season! Yes, if you've ever tasted these, you know what I'm talking about. They are delicious and would make great gifts! If you haven't tasted them then lucky you, I'm going to be sending out free samples in the next month or so and you can taste and decide for yourselves. These are by NO MEANS healthy but they are incredibly delicious and once a year they are just fine to have!! Since I'm a big believer of "everything in moderation" these would definitely fall into that category.

2) I'm going to start guiding others to their fitness and nutrition goals. Yes, I'm going to be a personal trainer and also a nutrition counselor. I have a few "clients" already set up and we will begin their journeys in the next couple of weeks!

3) Along those same lines I am going to branch out to do some personal chef work and cook great food for others so if you know anyone in the area that wants to eat better just let me know! Or if you are in the area, please feel free to contact me about cooking for you.

4) Finally, and this is my biggest goal for now...increase my weight a little to a maintainable weight and then keep on track and maintain my weight so by my 45th birthday next year (12 1/2 months away) I'll be sporting the best ME ever! And I will do it all in moderation - food, cardio, training, socializing, etc.! Here's to MODERATION and ME!!

There's more than just those goals but those are for now and what I want to focus on. I have other personal things that I don't feel a need to post. I don't need the world knowing everything about me...just enough!

Oh, and I haven't forgotten that I owe you all before pictures and those are coming as well! Hopefully by the end of the week I will have those up!

Have a great day! Have you set some new goals recently? Anyone care to share? Would love to hear about them!!

Tuesday already!

I went to sleep a little too late last night. Tonight I'm getting to bed early...PROMISE! I'm telling myself 9 so I'll be in bed by 10!!! Yes, I actually CAN trick my mind! LOL!

My meals are pretty good today:
1) 5 egg whites with salsa - ooh, so good! and 1/4 cup oatmeal
2) Zucchini loaf
3) 1/3 cup oatmeal and 4 oz tilapia mixed together with Parmesan Garlic Gold and some Bac'Uns with a side of seaweed - VERY odd I'm sure but incredibly tasty actually and very satisfying!
4) Erin's Cranberry Orange Cereal Bar and some yogurt on the side for some extra protein
That's it for now...

The cereal bars are spawned from the lean cereal bar recipe that is in Oxygen magazine. I did a lot of substituting though and they are really good...perhaps too good and should be kept out of my house!! LOL!!! Really, they're that good! And the breakdown isn't too bad. I think you could actually add more protein powder to pump up the protein. The way they made it in Oxygen, they came up with per serving: 200 calories, 7 g fat, 19 g carbs, 15 g protein. The way I made it came up with per serving: 177 calories, 9 g fat, 19 g carbs, 9 g protein. The only problem is they are a little too sweet for me so I would cut down the honey and/or agave next time.

I have a few more meals and some more organizing to do. Let me just say though that I'm really, really glad I took this week off of work to just get back into the swing of things and to completely unwind!! It's been great! And I couldn't ask for better weather! Low 70's and sunny!! FANTASTIC!!

Great workout!! - Superset back and plyo legs circuit

So today I was FREE in the gym!!! LOL!!! And it was midday which makes it sooooo much better for working out! I love it when it's not crowded. Although this would have been a great workout even if the gym was crowded. So weird to not have a "set" workout or split. So I needed something that was going to get me excited to be in the gym since it's a really beautiful day outside. This is what I ended up doing:

*All back exercises were sets of 15 and the plyos were sets of 20 (or 10 each side)
3 of each Superset:
Wide grip lat pulldown and jump squats
Underhand grip bentover row and jumping split lunges
One arm row and straddle jump up onto board (10 staying low in squat basically and 10 with height - getting air)
Seated cable row and straightleg deadlift with plate (only 15 NOT 20)
Lat pulldown with rope and side step squats returning to center each time

Finished off with some ab work:
3 sets of 10 jackknife on ball and 10 pikes on ball
1 set of 15 hanging leg raises
1 set of oblique hanging leg raises (10 each side)
1 more set of 15 hanging leg raises

This was a great workout! And I put it together all by myself! LOL! It was fun and kept my heart rate up! I was so proud!!! Let me know if you try it. It's fun!

Hmmm...today...an update of sorts

Today was my down day...not mentally down but my body finally had time to recoup and regroup. I just listened to it and did what it told me to do. I slept in and then I got up and ate as I posted here. I started doing some much needed organizing of my home. Since I have the week off I'm just doing a little at a time so I don't get overwhelmed!

Then as I said I was going to do, I went inline skating. Well, let me tell you...my plan was to go skating and then later go to the gym or do some weights at home. But I had underestimated the POWER OF FRESH AIR and forgotten how hard skating really is, especially when you go for 50 minutes!!! I finished skating around 3 or so and got home and ate and then decided I needed to take a nap. This was at about 4. I fell asleep and didn't wake up for THREE hours!!! About 7pm!! I guess my body really needed some rest, huh? I was quite surprised. So I missed a meal or 2. So these were my meals today:

Meal 1) 5 egg whites, 1/4 cup oatmeal
2) Spelt protein waffles with almond butter
3) QuestBar Vanilla Almond Crunch
4) 1/2 cup Voskos yogurt and 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 white peach with cinnamon and stevia - TASTY!!
5) Salmon and asparagus and a puffed kamut cake
6/7) Mighty green shake followed by Chocolate protein cake with NuttZo!!!

My timing of my meals was all off too. Tomorrow I'll stick more to the plan I laid out for myself. I'll do 2 30-minute cardio sessions as well as weights. And I'll eat my 7 meals. After this week though I think I'm going to see how I do with 6 meals since that just makes more sense to me. We'll see what my body's screaming for though.

Off to bed I go! Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day full of sunshine and goal setting!! Oooh...how exciting!

My food from the competition till now...

As I wrote previously I had Korean food right after my show that included Kalbi (barbecued beef ribs), white rice, kimchee, salad, Chap Chae (Korean glass noodle dish with beef, peppers, onions, spinach). Then I came home and to ward off any stomach issues I threw down some 7up (about 16 oz) and about 8 Gin Gin Boost candies. And about a quart of water.

Love these for warding off gastric distress!

I woke up around 7am (even though I didn't go to sleep until 1:30am!) and was starving so I had this:

1 egg & 2 egg whites, black plum, 2 slices Julian bread with NuttZo and raspberry jam

I headed back to bed after I did my morning blog. Then I woke up and got ready for brunch with friends and family at The Cheesecake Factory where I ordered the Baja Chicken Hash which came with hash browns (the shredded kind - YUM)! I also ate 2 pieces of white bread and 1 piece of brown bread, all with BUTTER!! I also had about 10 fries or so - SOOOOO delicious!! And then followed all of that up with some cheesecake ordered by the table that included Red Velvet, Dulce de Leche, Vanilla Bean, Snickers, and Tuxedo. Definitely the Snickers was my favorite!!

Baja Chicken Hash - chicken, chicken sausage, 2 fried tortillas, 2 eggs and hollandaise sauce

Cheesecake CARNAGE!!!

Then I came home and lounged comfortably in my food coma!! LOL!

Then I had some (maybe 15-20) Emerald Cocoa Almonds, more Gin Gin Boost candies (about 10-15) and about a gallon and a half of water.

When I finally got around to dinner it was about 7:30 or 8:00pm. I listened to my body and guess what it wanted?!? TILAPIA!!!!! Are you joking? NO! I'm not! So this was my dinner:

Tilapia seasoned with 21-seasoning salute, garlic & onion powder, chopped veggies (1 yellow pepper, 2 Persian cucumbers, about 8 cherry tomatoes)

I know! I couldn't believe it either but it tasted really good and the vegetables were fantastic! Then at about 10:30 or 11:00 (yes, I was still up) I ate a Chocolate Protein Cake and spread some almond butter on it.

Chocolate Protein Cake with Almond Butter

It was super delicious too! Then it was off to bed!

This morning I got up and started my morning off right. I had 5 egg whites and 1/4 cup oatmeal. A couple of hours later I had 3 spelt protein waffles with about a tablespoon of almond butter. Tasty meals!

Most recently I had a QuestBar Vanilla Almond Crunch. Oh yes, it was very tasty too! That wasn't really on my plan but I really wanted to try that flavor. So far I've had about a half gallon of water. I'm getting ready to head out for a bit of inline skating!!! Can't wait! Until later. I'll keep you updated as to what else I'm eating today but I think it's going to be some things like salmon and salad and I have to get to the store for more eggs and NuttZo!!! Yes, I'm out!! Wha-what?!? I know. I'm a crazy nut!!!!

Also my weight a few days before my comp was 128 1/2 and then on my comp day was 124 and then yesterday was 127 and today was 130. I'll let you know where that ends up settling. Woohoo! I'm off!

My take on my experience

So, I posted the Play by Play and now I will let you know how it all went down for ME, how I felt and what I thought of my experience of my First Figure Competition.

As my day started out I was tired. I got very little sleep the night before, going to bed around 11 or so and then awakened at 2 till 4 and then slept about an hour and then awakened again and then slept about 1 more hour. I woke up feeling good and excited but not great. As my morning progressed I felt better and better and more and more excited about stepping on stage.

When I arrived at Gina's hotel to meet with her and get my hair done I was starting to get pumped and feeling a little free/silly! Gina instantly said "we need to feed you". So I got some more food in my system ASAP. Traci did my hair which I love having done and it looked amazing!! I saw Gina on my way out of the room and got a pep talk from her and was ready to hit the stage. I was still not nervous, just excited. I went to the venue and met up with Kim (another of Gina's girls) and went through the athlete brief. Even then I wasn't nervous. I got sprayed, made up, and hair touched up as well as eating more and I was ready to hit the stage. STILL not nervous, just excited really. I guess excited and overwhelmed. Thank goodness I had some veterans to help me out or I would have been lost! It's weird how unprepared I was mentally for the backstage final touches. Then they called us out of the dressing room. We gathered in one hall and then we walked to the other side of the stage where we were going to enter. We're standing there in line ready to go and right before they call us on stage the competitor in front of me decides that she needs some Bikini Bite for her suit since her boobs are WAY too huge (oh I'm sorry...in her words "my top is too small")!!! Yes, this right before we're going to step on stage. Well, that's when my nerves kicked in...waiting for someone to find some Bikini Bite for her and then her having to apply it and then wait briefly for it to dry. It just didn't help the nerves at all! So there I was ready to go on stage and then I started shaking from nerves. If I had gotten to step on stage right at the time we were supposed to be called I wouldn't have been so nervous but that's not how it went. So when I finally walked out on stage I was shaking like a leaf!!! Luckily no one in the audience could tell and I still nailed all my poses just like I was supposed to do. Even with my shaking and crazy nerves I managed to feel GREAT about my presentation. It was fun and exhilarating.And then it was over...lickety split!!

Then it was backstage to wait. It was fun backstage with all the other girls and just the underlying current of excitement. There were some fun girls back there and it was just funny to listen to everyone. After a couple of hours I was back onstage again. I was definitely not as nervous as the first time but then I also didn't get to pose again, just walk out and stand basically and then up for comparison. I knew I didn't make the top 5. At that exact moment, when I knew I wasn't in the top 5, I was surprised/shocked and disappointed. I'll be honest. It's a lot of work and when there are only 7 girls in your class and you're not one of the top 5 it's kind of frustrating and maddening...ESPECIALLY when you know your posing was much better. I really believe that there should be better judging criteria for Figure. There should be deductions for things like 1) not posing correctly, 2) walking like you're doing Bikini, 3) not smiling, 4) being TOO muscular, etc. As stated on the website "The judges are looking for the best package of symmetry, stage presence, overall skin tone and femininity." Well, I definitely think in my competition that they overlooked the femininity side of it!! LOL!!!

So I returned to the dressing room and then headed out to the audience to meet all my FANTASTIC supporters!! It was so great to see all those familiar faces and just to hear them being so excited for me, my journey and my experience! I was lucky to have a VERY big group of supporters and they had made my time on stage even better so THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you that not only showed up but showed me your VERBAL support!!! You are all AWESOME!!!!!

Then it was back home for some R&R and reflection. While at home I mulled over the fact that I knew I wasn't top 5 and also had no idea where I had landed in the Masters. I just became okay with it. As I said in my previous post, I brought the best possible me and did everything I could so if I couldn't have done any better then I just had to resign to the fact that this is a subjective sport and where the judges place you doesn't indicate your journey or your own personal growth. After that I could finally sleep and that I did for a little bit. When it was time to get ready to return for Finals I was NOT amped at all. But I went there anyway and just looked forward to hanging out with friends and family afterwards.

I got to the venue and met up with Kim again and also got to meet her mom. Then we went in and watched some of the bodybuilding before heading backstage. They were moving the show along quickly and I was out on stage again before I knew it. I knew most of my supporters weren't there though because it was so much earlier than I thought it would be. No problem. I still went out there and did my thing, got my photos and then it was offstage again. Back in the dressing room I went. Then sitting and waiting and sitting and waiting. I think in those 2 hours I grew a lot!! A LOT OF PATIENCE!!!!!! That was a pain in the neck and honestly I was kind of ready to just bolt and not even worry about making my final appearance where I would just walk across stage, wave and then stand some more while others did their model poses. It just didn't seem worth the wait. Here is where they need to make another change. The Finals are way too long and you already know who's in the top 5. So to me, why make all the non-winners wait around for hours to do nothing? They should just have everyone from every class in every category make their final appearance and then at the end have the top 5 and award trophies then. It just seems silly. Hmmm....well, actually I still would have had to wait around though because I did get 4th place in my masters group. Oh well. Anyway, it's just a thought.

So after it was all said and done these are my thoughts on the experience and answers to questions I've been asked:
Q: Will you do another one?
A: Not right now but maybe someday

Q: Did you have a good time?
A: Yes! It was a lot of fun the first and even second time on stage. But the Finals oddly weren't much fun at all and kind of a drag. To be honest, I didn't really care for the finals and was really ready to go home after going out for my Masters category. It's a long day and really loses its excitement when you go home, settle down and then have to get all amped up again for the Finals.

Q: Will you continue with your regimen?
A: Yes and no. I will continue to eat clean and continue to find new recipes and fun food that make my maintenance enjoyable. I will continue to train with weights and I will continue with cardio. I will decrease my amount of cardio and weight training though. I will take many of the tools I learned from my experience/journey and put them to use every day. So yes, I will continue it as far as doing all similar things but the reins will be loosened and I will be able to enjoy it all a lot more. I can incorporate activities I love and keep a lot more variety in my workouts AND food and that will keep me happy!

In summary, I enjoyed my journey to the stage IMMENSELY!!! I'm extremely proud of what I have done, setting my goal and NAILING it!!! I've met some amazing people along the journey that I'm very grateful for. I have a sense of self that I have never had before! I know I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I love to cook and it's fun to find new ways to have the foods I love! I am more aware than ever of where I want my life to go now and what's important to me. I am very glad and grateful for the experience of stepping on stage and I enjoyed it in general. I would say to all that whatever your dream, whatever big goal you have, just go for it!! MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR ALL THE SUPPORT I HAVE RECEIVED HERE AND ELSEWHERE!!!

Play by Play of my First Figure Competition (TOC 2010)

2:00am - woke up starving in the middle of the night
4:00am - big car accident outside my building and I'm still awake and hungry but fell asleep shortly thereafter
5:00am - awakened by cleanup of said car accident
5:15 or so - fall asleep again
6:15am - woke up and ate my breakfast of tilapia, mostly dry oats and almonds
7:30am - met with Gina for one final check and posing practice and got my hair done by Traci - Gina told me to eat a bunch more rice cakes and almonds that weren't originally on my plan
8:35am - left for Tournament of Champions venue (Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City)
9:00am - Athlete brief for figure and bikini girls
9:15am - got spray tanned again
9:45am - got makeup done
10:15/10:30am - ate more rice cakes and fish and Traci touched up my hair
11:00am - pumped up
11:15/11:30am - hit the stage for Masters 35+ class
11:33am - stepped off the stage (it was probably that quick anyway!)
hung out backstage till "round 2"
1:00/1:15pm - hit the stage again for Overall Figure Class D
1:30pm - left the venue and headed home for some R & R
5:30pm - started getting ready to head back to the venue
6:30pm - back at the venue
7:00pm - headed backstage and got sprayed one more time
7:20pm - hit the stage for Finals for Master Division
7:22pm - back off stage
stayed backstage for HOURS!!!
9:30pm - back on stage for Overall Finals
9:35pm - dressed and back out into the audience in a flash!
10:30pm - ordered my Korean food and was waiting for my order to come up while sitting, laughing, talking to my friends/family and reflecting on my day and accomplishment

I DID IT!!! The Morning After...a short update

Well, here it is the morning after. I'm tired but I woke up because I was hungry and I thought I would just put something up here for you all to see. I will go into much more detail of the show day in another post. Last night's first meal after the show ended up being Kalbi plate and Jap Chae from Gushi in Westwood. Sorry but no photo because I forgot my camera in the car and really was too tired and hungry to go get it. MAN!!! It was the best Korean food I've EVER had!!!! This was my breakfast - 2 egg whites & an egg, black plum YUM!, Julian cinnamon raisin bread with NuttZo and homemade raspberry jam (Thanks Deb!).

Breakfast the day after

I feel AMAZING today! I was worried that what I ate LATE last night might be a problem for me but it wasn't. My body is an incredible machine. I went out there yesterday and knocked it out. I was very proud of the package I brought to the stage. The judges though? Not so much. I placed 4th out of 4 in my Masters (35 and over) class and don't know where exactly I landed in the overall for my height but I know it wasn't the top 5. SOOOOO...what did that mean to me?

Hmmmm...good question. I'm just going to be honest here. When I came out for Masters they didn't even move us around and we weren't on stage for long at all. So I had no idea where I placed. When we came out for overall I knew that I wasn't in the top 5. Well, I really couldn't believe it, to be honest. It stings a little at first!! BUT...and listen up because this is VERY important!! Even if the judges placed me there it started to become okay with me. I knew that I did EVERYTHING I was supposed to - ate what I was supposed to, trained, did my cardio, slept, blogged, took pictures, bought lots of groceries, practiced my posing, cooked, cleaned, decreased my social life, etc. SO...no matter what, I brought the ABSOLUTE BEST package I could to the stage and that was the best I could do so yes, I had already won! Just as everyone kept telling me! It's true! And the truth of the matter is that there were A LOT of girls in that competition that did the same. They didn't miss their training or cardio, ate the right food at the right times, practiced their posing...we were all winners back there. And the other thing is that we can't all be 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Someone has to pull up the rear...and I was JUST the girl for the job!!!!

So, placing aside, it was an INCREDIBLE experience. I learned so, so much about myself and met some pretty amazing people along the way. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I will go into great detail in another post but just wanted to update all of you and post a couple of pictures from the show. There will be many more pictures later as well as my "before" pics that I promised all of you! By the end of the day they should have all my pics up here: Tournament of Champions 2010

Until later, have a great Sunday! Make it a fun day! I'm going back to sleep and then it's off to brunch with some of my greatest supporters! WOOHOO!!!