Week 10 to Competition (start of diet)

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). 

And the smile is always hard, this get up isn't very comfortable! Besides the 5 inch Lucite heels that are mandatory, you have a custom made suit that is small. 

 Above is the front of the bottoms. High sides huh?

 Then the back (ha ha- its as small as the front!) with two plastic clips to hold the top back straps onto it, so everything gets cinched up together.

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! 

Competition Primer (Part II) Gluing the Suit

It's all about the butt! 

Seriously now, if there are two competitors who are close as far as physiques, the one with the best butt wins!

As it should be too.

I do work on the glutes a lot, I pay great attention to them as I think the most unattractive female trait is a saggy, fat, lumpy, dimpled butt. Sorry, it's one of my non-negotiables, I just cannot stand it!

You can make sure you have a firm set of glutes, but you have to do the right stuff. This means working the hamstrings, so that the entire glute and hamstring transition flows nicely (called the glute/ham tie in).

This is my back view from last week's competition. Not bad huh?

And, I made a great discovery! Actually Ann Wood Edson, the woman I am standing with introduced me to this competition life saver. 

Elmers Craft Glue

OK, we all wonder who on earth designed these competition suites and the 5 inch heels that you are REQUIRED to wear (did ya know that?!)

The suits are beautiful, but they really don't stay "put" if you know what I mean, especially the back bottom portion.

Now if you have a suit that covers your entire rear end, like a brief, it's not that much of a problem, but if you have one like mine, which doesn't cover much, it is a major problem. I cannot count the number of "wedgie" shots of my butt from previous competitions that are forever on the Internet, oh well. 

I met Ann as we both plopped down across from each other in the dressing room, and of course, started talking. It was her first competition and she had the goods!

She offered to "glue my butt"...actually it is the suit that gets glued to the butt. I should have asked her how she found out about this, but I forgot!

Most of the women use Bikini Bite, a roll on glue for this specific purpose, but even then it doesn't hold long and don't even think about bending over or it comes undone. 

Some women (not me) need to glue their tops too, and you can glue the sides  of the bottoms as they are supposed to be pulled way up high on the hips. Glue it all I say!

The Elmers' Craft Glue worked like a charm! It held my suit through both the Master's and the Open. 

It is very helpful if someone will glue it for you so they can see if it is straight. I have found that (for me)  it works best to glue it not only on the back "cheek" area, but right at the crotch, to keep the middle material from bunching and turning (I know, TMI). So I would glue my own crotch then ask someone to glue the back, you need to put the glue on, then press the suit against the skin for about 30 seconds. You cannot be shy in this sport, just go with the flow.

This glue did leave a small residue on the inside of my suit, unlike Bikini Bite, but I cannot see it through the outside. It left residue on ME for a few days! I kept sticking to the toilet and had streaks on my backside where the spray tan was streaked as it slowly wore off, the glue remained and it really didn't look very attractive.

But it worked, and I will use it again!

Thank you Ann!