Competition Time

My competition day is here! I am happy to be at the end, while I love the preparation and anticipation, it is a lot of work, stress, and time. Like any goal in life that is important, the work achieving it is long, arduous and stressful.

These pictures were taken on Thursday, two days prior to the show. I started my dehydration process, but the days where my body will really make dramatic changes are Friday afternoon and Saturday as everything tightens up.

I am pleased that I weigh one pound more (Friday) than I did last year at the same time, I felt I was too lean and looked it. The guidelines in Physique do not call for super ripped, super lean like Bodybuilding, although there will certainly be competitors there who are. it will be interesting to see if they are the ones who place (meaning the judges won't follow the guidelines established by the NPC), or the less ripped ones will. Only time will tell!

I never lost all the fat in my face as I usually do, don't get me wrong  it's still very lean but not gaunt as it was in the past. And my glutes, they still have ample padding, which is another odd thing. 

I took Thursday and Friday off to pack, shop, cook, and rest. When you are heading into the show it is exhausting. You have reached saturation point, you are tired, truly fatigued, hungry, thirsty, and in need of coffee. Tuesday at work I had a caffeine withdrawal headache all day, so I took 400 mg of caffeine the following days to ease that. I am looking forward to a really hot, black cup of coffee on Sunday morning. I will get up before anyone else and have my coffee and some sourdough toast with melted sharp cheddar cheese. Or maybe cheesecake.

Cooper is home for the weekend, so he and David have boys-night Friday while I am in my hotel with Sakura. Then on Sunday, Mother's Day I will be home with the family again.

Friday afternoon I will be heading to the hotel and will get my spray tan, this is what makes all of the definition show in the muscles. Then Sakura and I will hang out and just talk and rest. Resting is important for a few days leading up as it reduces cortisol levels.

Thursday and Friday there was no training allowed (rest is needed) so I went into the gym at opening each day and practiced posing and my routine. It's amazing how tired all that flexing makes you!

Below is a video of my posing on Thursday. The body fat is in check, low yet not too low, I am not hard enough yet but the dehydration will take care of that, but I think I am on track.

 

Thursday I did a little baking. I made my traditional cheesecake that I eat Friday night and Saturday morning and I made some Paleo brownies. David tried them and said they were good, not super chocolaty and lighter, more cake like than usual. The flour is replaced with blanched almond flour and the sugar is replaced with fresh dates. 

I dropped some brownies and cheesecake off for Roy about 12:30 on Friday and went home to finish packing and rest a bit before I head out.

Roy is coming to pre-judging to see me, so is one guy from work. David will be coming to finals and several of the guys from the gym will be there too.

No matter what happens, what the outcome is, I saw a quote today that sums it all up:

You see, I am already a champion.

Supporting Fellow Competitors

I have noticed that things can get ugly in the world of competitions. I am not quite sure why I never felt this way before, but I am seeing a lot more of the sides of things that I don't particularly care for. 

I remember when I first started, I was given this advice for backstage: "Keep your headphones in, just sit, listen to some music and chill. They can get catty".

I didn't take that advice, because I was too nervous, too anxious, too wound up. I ended up talking to many different women, some I have developed lasting friendships with.

I never really noticed it too much before, although there was always a "group" that would hang out together,  and they would all stare at anyone they thought might be competition to them, but I never paid attention, they could be in their own "small" world as far as I was concerned. 

I have always sought the friendship of fellow competitors  even though we are competing against each other, it really doesn't matter, because everything depends on me. On how I look, how I have trained and dieted, how I present myself at the competition. Ultimately there will always be someone who places better than me. I have been in competitions where one gal placed ahead of me, and the next year I placed ahead of her. It's very fluid and all of our life's events will mold our look for that one day.

I think that we should all encourage each other, support each other and offer help where we can. Really, it's "us" against the rest of the world isn't it? And it's a lot easier when you have someone on your side to commiserate with. 

Recently I saw a fellow competitor say something very negative about another competitor on Facebook. I was shocked, how could she do that? 

I realized that I look at the competitions differently than she does. I look at it as competing against myself, to be better each time, to be better than I was before, to be better than ever. She looks at it to win, pure and simple, and at any cost.
 
I think their motivation for competing will tell all. I compete because I train. I train hard and I want a way to showcase all of my hard work and effort, someplace outside of the gym. Training is my passion.

Many people train only to compete, the training is not their love, but the result is. They don't enjoy training, would prefer to do other things, complain about it and the diet all the time and if they could compete without training, that's probably what they would do.

Of course, placing above someone else, and winning is fantastic, it makes all the hard work a bit easier to accept. But not placing does not mean I have failed. I was still the best I could be at that time. I still have the knowledge that I look absolutely stunning, ripped, healthy, fit and amazing and am very proud of it. I work hard everyday to maintain this, and no plastic trophy (or lack of) is really going to change anything about that.

If I had ever gone into a competition and hadn't prepped my very hardest, that may change the way I feel about it all, but I have never done that. My attitude has changed a bit about them all, I know that. I think I am more easy going, less stressed, less worried about it  all, but that doesn't mean I am not busting my butt day in and day out still. I am just doing it without all the whining and complaining! I am still doing everything I should be to create the physique that I want, and hopefully, that the judges want too.

But my own interests are most important, that's why I decided to go into Physique. The Figure look was becoming softer, more feminine, less muscular.  Although I do not want to look like a Bodybuilder, I also decided that I wanted more than the Figure competitor look, I wanted more muscle and to be leaner. 

I do it for myself. I also do it for the interaction and wonderful people I meet. I have developed many friendships with women I have met at competitions, or because of competitions. 

I love helping others reach their potential, or at least believe that they can. I want to surround myself with happy, successful, beautiful friends who are proud of their accomplishments. I don't want to be standing on an island, alone  holding my plastic trophy. 

It's all winding down, or winding up! I guess it all depends on how you look at it! I feel like I have gotten a second wind, I have a new found energy that had been lacking for several weeks. I am sure it's the strain of the diet, the two a day training, the constant wondering about how I am doing, how am I looking now? Am I getting too old for this? (NEVER!!) ha ha ha 

It's 11 days till my competition, I am looking forward to some good, quality food. Once a day at the gym, and mostly, training just for the fun of it! Roy, if you are reading, I want to push the sled! Or use the battle ropes. Chains, oh we did that, and they were hard, but I will have more calories soon, I will have more energy. Hmmmm, the heavy bag is gone, maybe we should just spar? 

I know going into it that I will meet many new faces, some I will connect with and continue the friendship, others I may only see again at another competition. 

I know going out of it that I will be stronger, have more confidence, feel accomplishment and quite a bit of happiness. The feeling of sticking through something so demanding and strenuous, something that has a definite ending date, a final chapter, is difficult to describe. 

And then, then the cooking and recipes shall begin!

Three Weeks Out till Women's Physique Competition

Yes, I am still here! Busy, busy, busy! When I post this it will really be only two weeks from my competition, but I just got around to doing this. It's been a fast and furious few months in preparation of my first Women's Physique competition, I almost feel like it's my very first show, but it's not, I should be calm and collected, but the thought of this new REAL posing and a dance/posing routine to music is starting to make me a bit anxious. 

I spend as much time as possible practicing my posing, videoing it and critiquing myself. There is always room for improvement. Luckily I have some awesome people nudging me along and checking in now and again. It's exciting that my friend Sakura Barrientos and I will be sharing a room the night before. We have our tans scheduled together and we can talk and laugh all evening long. Usually I am all by myself, posting pictures on Facebook of my cheesecake that I am eating, which drives all the other competitors absolutely crazy! I get lean, super lean and that's my "secret" to filling out the night before. That  along with a huge baked potato and steak. Then I eat the same thing in the morning. The fun is just about to begin.....

I have maintained my weight higher than usual on purpose. In these pictures I am 124 pounds, but as I write this I am at 122 and have been for almost a week. I will drop only a little bit more and hopefully, will look perfect once I dehydrate. That will make the skin tight and hard looking, it already looks thin. In fact, Wednesday night as I sat attempting to breathe (after Roy had me doing squats with a whopping 162 1/2 pounds!!!!), he looked at me and said "Your skin on your arms and chest is paper thin" yes, it looks white, translucent, delicate and....thin now. The only part left is the abs and upper hip area a bit, but it will go shortly.

I have not curtailed my lifting, at least not intentionally. No weights have been lowered, but Thursday at 5:00 a.m. as I trained hamstrings and lower back on my own, I felt so fatigued, that at times I wanted to crumple to the ground and just cry.

Then I thought of my dad who has been struggling with real fatigue, brought on by his Acute Myeloid Leukemia (bone marrow cancer). His will not go away when he rests or eats a cheeseburger, mine will. It made me cry a bit thinking how selfish I was being and reminded myself that I hate whiners. I pushed on and finished my training, at the dictated reps and weights. I know I was making a lot of noise as I performed set after set of back extensions on the Glute Ham Raise, while holding a 50 pound dumbbell to my chest, people were looking, but I didn't care, I never do.

I have been training two, and sometimes (often) three times a day. I don't do a long bout of cardio, the 20 minutes on the stairmill or treadmill has turned to 30 minutes. Then the stairs at work, usually 3 times a week, but not for long, I don't have the energy to run up and down, and jump rope for more than 20 minutes.

So any free time I have is spent grocery shopping, preparing food, eating or sleeping. That's about it. 

And there is the lifting, the part I love, every single day, sometimes twice a day just to fit it all in. My shoulder training has changed a bit and I have added in cables to round everything out. So on Tuesdays I have to go back to the gym after work to finish up shoulders. Then on Fridays after I train shoulders with Roy, I eat and make sure I have fuel, then it's back into Gold's to finish on my own. It's not a good idea to train for a long extended period of time, just like fasted cardio - you are just making your muscle eat itself all up!

My suit bottoms should be back to me Saturday, so Sunday I have to take some video of myself posing in my suit. It does make a difference and I haven't had it this whole time, so I am only guessing how I will look. I sent it back to Celeste Harsa of Suits by Celeste who made my suit for me because....my glutes have changed. They have gotten bigger (this is a good thing) and more muscular, so when I lost bodyfat they pretty much stayed bigger than usual. My suit did not care for that, it wanted to be a permanent wedgie and those are forbidden in the rules! The funny thing is, most of the suits look like wedgies anyway!

So I have been wearing some "boyshort" undies when I pose. It doesn't seem to bother anyone and allows me to see my body better.

I am also very fortunate to belong to a gym where so many people support me. It's almost all men, there are very few gals at the gym (who lift) first thing in the morning. But they're all encouraging, tell me how great I look, offer advice and are generally fun guys to be around. 

Below is a video of my posing, if you are an email subscriber you will need to click on the blog link at the top to go directly to the blog to view this (that means you dad!)

My Day!

I changed my plans, cancelled my hotel and decided to come home after registration. After all, my tan was super late- 5:00 pm and then registration at 6:30 pm and I wouldn't have to be back until 10:00 am the following day.

I thought I could eat hot food, sleep in my own comfy bed and not haul so much stuff to the theatre. Turns out they told us later we had to be back by 9:00bam for another athlete briefing...Oh well, I was up early and had time for this!

I kept my hair simple, as you age I think simpler is more attractive, too much spray and fussiness makes you look like "mutton dressed as lamb" as my mother in law would have said!

Actually I was aiming for a look I saw on Larissa Reis, I love her look, and decided if it worked for her, it could work for me! I am liking the way it flows and moves.

 I've had my breakfast of champions: Steak, one and a half baked potatoes with lemon and cheesecake. Only enough water to take a fish tab and a caffeine pill to ward of the lack of caffeine headache. Can't wait for a hot cup of coffee tomorrow when I wake up!

I'm off! Lunch will be Fuddruckers for a burger with Roy and a friend of his, I might sneak a sip of iced tea in there!

Future Plans

My competition is in a few days, I have worked very, very hard to get where I am today. Most people will never understand exactly what that work was though.


I train every day, year round. It's not a "once in a while" hobby for me, or some event on my social calendar. It's me. It's a big part of what makes Kristy, "Kristy".


The prospect of spending the day without any type of weight training is not something I would look forward to, ever. To me, training is not only essential to maintain my lean and muscular physique year round, it guarantees that I will think clearer and avoid unnecessary stress, and it assures that I will age comfortably and shouldn't suffer many age related diseases and ailments that most folks have.


It's really a non-negotiable and necessary if I am to thrive.


When I start prepping for a competition the intensity is kicked up a notch. The training might become a bit more strict, I incorporate regular cardio even when I may not want to and I adhere to a very strict diet.


People ask "Are you in training now?" or "How is your training going?" I know they are trying to be supportive and show interest, and maybe just start up a conversation.  I am always (I think)  polite, but you see, the training never stops! And it always goes well, so this is nothing new. I am always in training, always.


The competition brings a whole new twist to it all though, it's all in my head. It's like a little jack hammer running day and night, a constant nagging in the back on my head. I am thinking about my diet, thinking about every single thing I put in my mouth, thinking about the amount of cardio, thinking about the grip of my lift. 


So when it's over I look forward to the hammering stopping, I look forward to some idle time in my head, time to lift just for the fun of it. And eat too, for the sheer enjoyment of it instead of the nutritional aspect, to enjoy being with other people and laughing and sharing food and drink together.


Tuesday I was walking across campus to pick up my produce, and since I work in Housing, there are always lots of students sitting around outside our buildings. As I walked toward my office, bag of produce in hand a student calls over to me "Excuse me! Excuse me!?" and I stopped and turned towards her. She was sitting with another woman and a male, they all looked at me. I was dressed in loose, baggy, army pants, black tennis shoes and a bright gold tank top, I didn't dress for anyone today. She asked:


"Do you do special training? I mean a special program? To look like that"



I walked over and smiled and explained what I do, that I had a competition in a few days and I lift weights, a lot of lifting. And run stairs. They sat there looking up at me.


"It's looks good" she said. And the other two nodded their heads in agreement.

I am taking a few days off to prep. I have nails to get done, hair to get cut, food to cook and a tan to get applied. I have to pack up and stay in a hotel and won't have my computer. I probably won't be writing again until Sunday morning to give you the results....


I say "probably" because I never say never.

1 Week to Competition (week 9 of diet)

It's Sunday, I have 6 days to go, 6. I am ready, I am finished, I am where I need to be. Friday I got to Gold's and the scale said 120. That means I lost a pound. Now, some of this is water weight due to stopping creatine and foods high in sodium such as egg whites and shrimp. But, I haven't even started to cut water yet and have been maintaining the correct intake so I shouldn't be dropping yet.

Saturday the scale said 119. I panicked a bit, at this rate I would weigh even leas than last time and I am probably dipping into muscle.  I skipped cardio and had a rice cake and peanut butter, that's an extra 165 calories, 8 grams fat and 14 grams carbs.

I woke up to go to the gym Sunday and had my steak, sweet potato and another rice cake with peanut butter. The scale was back at 120 when I got to Gold's.

Front looks good, I look full and not skinny, bodyfat is still low though. I think after dropping my water the abs will be more defined.

Back is looking great, well defined, nice taper, waist looks small and the "smileys" are almost gone again!

Practicing the side pose so the serratus muscle is clearly visible. Delts look good and when I am tanned and glazed they will really pop. 

This side needs a bit more practice posing. 

I am eyeing the food on the counter! ha ha  The ribs are showing, I need to remember to lift up my rib cage.

I look good, ready to go!

And did you notice the quads? Still looking full and bigger as I had planned!

Positive Energy

I have been waking up early, in fact, the last two weeks I have been waking earlier than my alarm (and that's pretty impressive when the alarm is set for 4:00 a.m.)


I feel good, most of the time. Physically I feel wonderful, it's the emotional and mental state that are a bit questionable every now and then. 


I am second guessing myself, and that is unfortunately part of the "competition" game. I did not want to get as lean as last competition, I think I started to lose lean mass, I didn't like the look, nor was it healthy for me, so I have deliberately maintained a higher weight. 


Every once in a while I wonder if I overdid it. I could have lost one more pound, and that would make a big difference on a small frame such as mine. But then again, according to both David and Roy, I am bigger, not fatter, but more muscular.


Wednesday I had my bodyfat checked and it came in low, 5.2% which is more than "respectable" it's phenomenal. It really helped me to wrap my head around what's going on and made me realize that I should be fine, who the hell should complain about bodyfat of 5.2%?! I was sure I would drop at least one more maybe two more pounds and hopefully it will all drop right off my butt! 


I stopped in at Courtside to meet with Monique, she took a half hour out of her day again to review my posing, talk to me about stage presence and gave me a great talk, she is quite the motivational stud muffin! 


She gave me some great tips and reinforced what we had previously discussed, made me promise to chant my "saying" in my head as I am standing on stage, looking directly at the line of judges all staring up at me. It's what ever I want to say to myself, but it needs to convince ME that THEY want me to win; it's designed to pull them into me. It's another head trip. I am not going to tell you what I am saying over and over in my head but anyone who cares to guess can send me an email or a reply to this post. It's a little risque...


I walked out feeling good, feeling strong, feeling capable. I needed her motivational talk, it really helped me. I think it is very important to surround yourself with the right people, people who are supportive and positive. People who make you feel GOOD! I know a lot of people like that, I tend to cut loose those who don't fit that criteria, my life is too short to keep an albatross around my neck. I don't try to "make them come around", I just... walk away.


The sport of Figure is as much a psychological sport as much as a physical sport, maybe even more. Your head will get in your way every time. I know my head stops me from heavy, heavy squats, just as it tells me I am too "fat" when I am close to competition time.


Friday I was training with Roy and not feeling a great deal of energy, this is not typical for me. I told him that I thought I was just "done" ready to be over with the preparation for the competition. He said he could tell, it wasn't like me to cut my set short (one rep! Geez!!)


I was also down one pound from Wednesday, just as I suspected, and I will probably drop another soon.


I tried to finish strong, we discussed the upcoming days training, it must be modified due to depletion, fatigue and the fact that I am doing mostly circuits now as I always do just prior to showtime. It throws his stats off, but oh well, we have plenty of time to make new ones.


After we finished, I started thinking about the new training we would embark on, my goal to gain even more muscle, at least another 2 pounds! I told Roy I would be back the Monday after the competition, I am not taking any time off. "None?" he asked. I said that I would probably skip the gym Monday morning, and just train one that day for a change. He kinda shook his head and smiled, I think he said something about German Volume Training....

2 Weeks to Competition (week 8 of diet)

I am so close I can taste it! My body is going through so much right now it is rather bi-polar I am afraid. One minute it looks tight and hard, the next, soft and flabby. I am a bit nervous as I am hell-bent on not getting as low in body fat as I did in October, but I keep looking at myself and wondering if I am losing enough fat. I really cannot lose much more and I have hydro-static bodyfat testing on Wednesday so I am really anxious to see how it compares to October, especially as I am up a few pounds. 

At lunch on Saturday I told Roy that David said I was bigger than he had ever seen me. He said my legs were 'huge" and my shoulders "massive". Well...I don't see this, none of it. It doesn't mean I don't believe him, but my head and my eyes don't. 

Roy looked at me and said "You really don't see that?" "No, I don't. I can't, I have been looking at it all way too long and too intensely, that's why I need someone else to tell me".

It's the screwy games that your head plays when you fixate on something like this for so long. 

I have smileys again, they weren't here last week! I am guessing it is due to the cheat meal I had at a restaurant, lots of sodium in there, so I am holding onto a lot of excess water. It will be gone in a couple days. 

I am much more comfortable with my side pose, I do prefer my arm hanging down lose instead of crooked back, as Monique said "Don't worry, they can still see your butt no matter where your hand is".

Stomach looks pretty flat here too. 

Roy and I are now working a bit more on rounding out the shoulders, the front seems a bit flat. 

I never seem to have issues with my rear delts, so many people do, but mine always seem nice and developed. 

Two weeks, I am ready, it feels like it went by way too fast. But, I am also ready for the after party. And I know how to party! 

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Ready In 5 (Weeks) survey

Week 3 to Competition (week 7 of diet)

I got butterflies in my stomach when I typed the post title. 3 weeks! Oh my goodness, it has gone so incredibly fast, I am feeling rushed now, like I'm not ready. Time is supposed to drag on, I am supposed to suffer endlessly and whine and complain. I don't think I did! I think I was too busy to even think about it all, good thing I have done this many times before!

I got a great laugh taking these pictures, David and Cooper weren't home so I was alone and the doorbell rings. I walk over in my heels, carrying the camera and open the door to a very astonished man. "I was just taking pictures" I said, like he would have ANY idea what on earth I was talking about. He wanted to sell me something but quickly changed his mind, he really couldn't speak. He left quickly. 

I am at the stage where I feel "small", I have lost a lot of bodyfat and I look flat and stringy because my muscles are not full of glycogen, and full muscles are happy muscles. It's temporary, as soon as I start eating my starches I will fill out. I had a "cheat meal" on April 11, it was a plate FULL of gnocchi and sausage and cream, I looked great 20 to 30 hours later!

I weighed 3 pounds more the following day due to all the glycogen and water in my muscles, then the next day I was back down to my same eight of 121, right where I was before my cheat meal. 

Below, I think the front looks good, once I cut my water things all tighten up.

The "smileys" on my lower glutes are just about gone! Yahoo! The back is fine, it's always fine.

Finally the stomach is flattening, I have been practicing posing differently, Monique met with me and suggested some changes, so I am going with her expert advise! Leaving the arm hang loosely at my side, it does look better. 

This side pose needs some work, I will practice every single day now. 

 I am feeling more comfortable here, legs look good too!

This side pose looks better, my stomach looks flatter, the hair, it's a mess though! I have been cooking and cleaning all day, and worked all Saturday so it wasn't much of a weekend.

Tuesday will be another cheat meal I think, I have to make sure I don't drop lower, I do not want to go below 120 and I could see the huge scale at the gym was closer to 120 than 121 this morning. 

Week 4 to Competition (week 6 of diet)

It's all coming together! I have 4 weeks left until the competition, I have been dieting for 6, and I am at 121 pounds, I lost 2 last week and 1 this week. I need to be careful as too much more and it will just dip into the muscle, I really don't have a lot of fat on my body.

See the bikini line, where the suit rides on the hips? That fat is finally starting to leave, it's always there as the suit kinda squishes everything around! But finally, it's not as prominent as it has been. Quads look awesome too!

The glutes are coming in too! The tie in still needs some tightening up, and when I drop my water intake everything will tighten up. I notice that my erector spinae seems much thicker     than before, and I am not sure if I like this or not. I need to discuss it with Roy, I am not sure what it is that may be causing this, I haven't changed Back training much. 

Ribs are even starting to show through here. Shoulders need a bit of work, they look a little flat, not full; but these pictures were taken at 7:00 p.m. and my last starch meal was at 11:00 a.m. so I look fairly flat all over.

I have made a promise to myself to start practicing my posing, I need to find a good side view. 

I am standing a bit straighter in both of these "model" poses. It is important, but difficult to keep the hands looking relaxed instead of "claw like"

Legs look good, I would like to see more definition, but again, after I am not drinking a gallon of water a day, all of the muscle will show through. 

That's the goal! When you can bend over and not have rolls of fat, you have succeeded!

1:00 P.M. Meal

I love this one too! Have you heard me say there is a meal that I DON'T like? ha ha nope!


My previous meal at 10:00 a.m. was the last of the starches, in fact it was only one of two meals with starches. I had 1/3 cup dry measure of oatmeal in the morning (at 4:15 a.m.) and then 4 ounces brown rice at 10:00 a.m. The rest of my carbohydrates will come from vegetables. 


I am eating every 3 hours, and I am hungry every hour! I think a lot of it is in my mind, but maybe not, I mean if I am losing weight, even if it is slowly, that means I am expending more energy than I am taking in right?


To drop fat you need to eat less than your body needs, but it is really important that the foods you choose are good, quality foods that will give your body the nutrition it needs. This has 4 to 5 (and you can bet I lean towards the 5) ounces of baked tilapia, 1 cup of steamed asparagus, and 6o grams fresh avocado.


That's protein, non-starchy carbohydrate and good fat.


You can have 15 raw almonds instead of the avocado if you like! I love spicy foods so this tilapia hase been coated with ground black pepper and Vindaloo Curry I bought it from Whole Spice Company . I then bake it at 400, without turning until done, depending on the size of the fish, it can be 10 to 20 minutes.


I have the fish and asparagus and I really love the richness and creaminess of the avocado, along with my favorite Sriracha sauce and rice vinegar.


The fish can be made with curry, paprika, chili powder, anything you like really. 


So why the avocado? Besides the fact that avocados are one of the most amazing foods known to the gods I mean?


Fats are needed when carbohydrates are taken away. Fats do a lot of good- that is if you eat good fats, which is why I have some form of good fat at every meal. Some are in the form of supplements, and some are avocado, nuts, olive oil, flax seed.


Fat is needed to allow the body to absorb fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K); fat slows the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream (you have heard of combining foods to lower the gylcemic index right? That's why you must ALWAYS put peanut butter on your toast! ha ha)


Ingesting fat with each meal makes sure the blood sugar levels are kept at a constant level, and not spiking, so this keeps energy levels constant and your body burning fat for fuel. 


I would eat this again and again and again even when not dieting, but I could eat twice as much....

Registration

It's On! 

This is always a big day for me, it solidifies everything, it confirms my commitment and it's a huge milestone for me. What the heck am I talking about anyway?

registration for the competition! 

I know it all seems rather silly to go through all this when there are more important things going on in the world, but we all have our hobbies and passions right? This happens to be one of mine.

So many people say they will enter a competition, so many train for them, so many diet. Not that many actually end up on stage. It takes a lot of hard work, determination, patience, hunger, stamina, focus, support, rest, and, last but not least: money!

It costs a lot of money to try to win a small plastic gold trophy of a half-naked woman you know!

I already renewed my annual membership in the National Physique Committee (NPC), that is the sponsoring organization that holds the competitions, and the annual fee is $100.00. I got my membership card in the mail already at the start of the year.

Today (Sunday) I made my hotel reservations $89.00 plus tax. I only stay the night before, registration and tanning occur then so you really need to. I will drive home about midnight the evening of the event, I just want to take a long, hot shower, eat and get in my own bed then. Of course that will be after a few glasses of real champagne with David, and some pinot noir with my big juicy steak sandwich on sourdough bread.


I paid for my spray on tan and the touch up back stage, along with glaze before going on stage, that was another $130.00.


I paid my registration for the competition, and it is $90.00 per class. I compete in two classes- Masters 50+ and Unlimited, which is all ages and is grouped my height, so my fees were double! $180.00. I also got one ticket for the finals for David, add another $35.00.


So, before taxes, and not including my suit or food I need to prepare and bring, the night costs me $534.00, it's not cheap!


You can see these things add up when you also consider the personal training, gym memberships, supplements, copious amounts of food...!


But why is doing this so significant to me? It means I believe in myself, I know I will be ready, I am on track to succeed.


You would not believe the number of people I see the night of the competition standing there to pay their annual NPC fee, and to pay the registration for the show (and there is a $40.00 late fee for registering at the show too). Not only does this create a huge wait for the rest of us, but what does that say about their own confidence about their abilities? Why did they wait until the very last minute to register? Because they knew they could drop out at any time and not lose any money then, that's why. They weren't committed.


Me? I could not have committed to anything more than this! There is no backing out now! It helps me just that much more along the way, along the journey that is coming to an end!