Let the conditioning begin!
I am officially "on the diet" and counting down (or is it up?) to my next competition on May 5, 2012.
That's 10 weeks away.
For those of you who have not followed me on the journey, I will explain the process. Each weekend I will take photos of all sides in my competition suit and I will post them on Tuesday. You will see me from start to finish.
This is much different than most people on the Internet. Most only show you pictures when they are at their best, when they have dieted down and are photo-shoot ready.
Not me! I take new pictures every week, so you see me as I look in the moment! I think it is very important for people to understand that we all have to work to get where we want, and if you can see me make changes every week then you can do it too!
In these pictures I am still holding onto vacation "bloat". I just spent a week in Mexico eating and drinking every single day, and when I say "eating and drinking", that means fried foods, chips, guacamole, alcohol, fatty meats, you name it. I did not adhere to my usual clean diet and my body reflects that. And...I haven't been dieting!
Actually, my second night back I started to adjust, and the water just kept releasing, I was up all night long peeing- I think I must have gotten up at least 10 times (seriously). My body had been retaining water and as I got back to no alcohol and a clean diet, and very little starches, it started to release the water and toxins.
These pictures were taken Sunday, February 26, 2012. I am at 126.8 pounds.
I will discuss my new diet over the next few weeks, and although I am not making drastic changes I am making changes. Each competition and the months following I learn more about my body, what works and what doesn't.
Here you can see that the waist needs to come in, abs need to show, right now they look fine for "walking around" but not for standing on stage!
Again, you can see the stomach, it needs to be flat and concave, not convex! Ribs really should be more prominent, glute and hip area are holding on to a small layer of fat.
I will have to start in on the back twice a week again, while I have some broadness, the V taper is not where it should be, although when the waist comes in that will appear more prominent. Some back fat will need to be shed also, I don't see any definition. The glute-ham tie in isn't as bad as the start of the diet from my last competition, once I drop the fat it will look smoother and tighter, I am pleased to see I don't have big "smileys" , I think I have Roy to thank for that- we have been working on my hamstrings quite a bit!
The delts will need some more work to really pop (but don't forget I was off lifting for a week).
The top, well I suppose these are bigger for some gals.....
That's it, I am so excited to be launching into another adventure and to have you all following along!
That's it, I am so excited to be launching into another adventure and to have you all following along!
Missed you, Mama! Let the transformation begin! Im thinking about the fact that by the time you're 2 weeks out, I'll be finishing school! Woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait. I'm really hoping to be able to make it to the CC to see you in all your beautiful glory. :)
Sakura- School will be over??!! How exciting, that means a HUGE celebration! I hope to see you too!
ReplyDeleteStumbled onto your blog a few weeks ago and love it. Your daily posts make my day!
ReplyDeleteMay I ask please how long had you been training before you entered figure competitions?
Anonymous- I started training with weights when I was 40, that was starting. I didn;t get serious until probably 5 years later, and then I started compting at 47. So I would say serious training, meaning devoted a great deal of time and energy to it for two years prior. I have actually lost ove a pound this week since this picture, in 5 days, next weeks pictures should be quite different.
ReplyDeleteKristy - Thanks so much for your reply above to anonymous! Decided to use my name :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm about one month into it and am going to use you generously sharing your pre-comp journey to gauge whether or not I would have the stuff to do this.
Recently, I've seen examples on bodybuilding.com and other sites of women in our age range who have gone from out of shape--some quite a lot--to competition ready in 4 to 6 months. Is that possible? I mean, I'm 5'0, 105 pounds, weight training 4x/wk and doing 40 min. of cardio 3x/wk and am definitely seeing changes already, but 4 months????? YIKES!!!! I was planning on training at least a year before ever even coming close to a stage and even then maybe first as just a spectator.
Can't wait to see next week's pics!
Phil! I thought you left me. I know the pictures you have seen and they are not typical, I can tell you that. I think that a fairly fit person can get on stage in 4 to 6 months but not an average person or anyone who needs to drop a lot of weight or fat. Most of those people are devoting their entire life to the pursuit at the moment, and are also taking unhealthy steps such as using fat burners and starving themselves, only to rebound later back to their old self. If you lose it too quickly you end up with saggy/baggy skin.
ReplyDelete105 pounds is pretty tiny though so it doesn't sound like you have a lot of fat to lose, so it sounds more like you are trying to build the muscle? That takes much longer, especially for women as we don't have the testosterone. I personally think that you should be realistic and allow yourself the time to train and enjoy the process, feel good about where you are headed and learn to develop a passion and interest, and let it become part of your life.
When YOU feel ready, then start looking at a competition. I think I started "thinking" about months before I actually ended up really making the decision to do it, and at the time when I did make the decision, I was on stage in a couple months, but that wasn't my choice, I had actually planned to do one 6 months later.
I never went to a show before I entered one and I really regretted that. I say take your time, and go to a show first.
I am giving myself 10 weeks to lose only 5 to 7 pounds of fat. Thats quite a long time for a small amount of weight. It a much safer and sane way of doing it.
Here is an old post that may be of interest.
http://readyin5weeks.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-third-trainer-huong.html