David

So I said I would see you in a week but here I am blogging from my phone.......David is sitting next to me, on alaska airlines in first class already relaxed....and when we get to Mexico (after the somewhat tense car drive north) and a big Margarita, he will be totally relaxed.

Me? I have been relaxed for hours!!!

Vacation Time!

It's almost "that" time. 

Diet Time

And the very, very odd thing is, I am looking forward to it! Can you believe it? Seriously! 


What I am looking forward to are the changes I will see in my body, this is the time when all of the hard work starts to show and become evident. I will start to lose the extra body fat that I have been carrying and the muscle will really start to pop! But of course, that won't be for several weeks will it?


I am in one of my favorite bikinis, that are made by Pin-Up Stars, an Italian company. I just tried it on today (Friday), before training with Roy to be sure I could still wear it on vacation, I think it looks fine don't you? I own 15. I know it's a bit overboard, but they make the most amazing suits. Each is unique, in limited editions every year;  covered in Swarovski crystals, sequins, feathers, beads, tufts, you name it. I have "Nemo" "rainbow", "hot pink", "targets"......This one has polka dots all over the string bottom, and then small cloth petals sewn all over the triangle top, they flutter in the wind.


They aren't cheap, but worth every penny in my mind. If you have been reading a while you know the story of one year during my annual trip to Mexico, many many years ago, my one Pin-Up Stars bikini was stolen during the night!  I was shocked and so upset. The hotel owner very kindly offered to give me one from the shop (I mean it certainly wasn't her fault was it?). As I waived my arms furiously in the air I was telling her that "it must be a very tiny, very small, very nice swimsuit because I don't bust my butt in the gym every single day to wear some old frumpy granny suit on vacation. 

It was plain brown, size large. hmph!

It has been an ongoing joke with the regulars, they all ask if I have locked my suits up in the safe deposit box every evening now. 


So when I returned home I started collecting them in every beautiful pattern and color I could find, hence the "15 Pin-Up Stars", and I am still collecting but only when I see a super hot one!


Here I am last year at this time, I like to compare my physique year to year. I think my shoulders are broader and my back wider now!

Every year at this time I go on vacation, I spend the week lounging on the beach in Troncones, Mexico at the same hotel, Hacienda Eden. Take a look at the link, yes it is right on the beach as the picture shows. I can see the ocean from my ground floor room, lounging in the hammock on the 14 foot patio (room #4).

I will lay on my chaise in the sand, (under a palapa, I am no fool!), drinking margaritas, wine or rum, eating whole red snapper, lobster, shrimp, taco's, and I will wander down the beach to The Inn at Manzanillo Bay for a couple pina coladas. 

I will try to eat healthy most of the time, but I will also enjoy myself, and not fret too much because I know as soon as I return home, the diet starts for the next 9 1/2 weeks.

When I return I will look a bit puffy since I don't typically drink alcohol everyday for a week, but getting right back on track will soon clear all that up.

One of the great things about Mexico is you really can make some good choices and still enjoy the food, but you can make some bad choices too. Like when we go to to Dona Nica's restaurant (no website, in fact, no floor, it's dirt), I will have her fantastic breaded and fried jumbo shrimp. And they are dipped in mayonnaise...and a beer or two. I sit with my feet in the dirt (hard packed), looking at the beach and just eat and sit. She makes great chile rellenos stuffed with mashed potatoes too.

I can also walk down to Marta's in La Majahua, a neighboring town and have fresh caught lobster- it takes a while because the divers go in search of the lobster after we order and start in on the beer!

I can drive to Cafe Sol to see Christain and have some fancy taco's (his are about $2.50 each whereas the stands sell 3 for $1.50). 


Mostly I will lay around and read though, I have a few good books and my new Kindle Fire loaded with all sorts of nutrition, diet, strength training and Milo journals. 


I have scheduled my massage with Anne, she lives in the U.S. half of the year and in La Majahua the other half, she sets up her table on my patio and I have a fantastic massage with the hot ocean breeze caressing my body. Did I say hot? Yes I did. The lows will be 71 degrees and the highs 88 degrees, perfect in my book!


My son is staying behind this time, it will be the first time in almost 18 years that he hasn't gone with us, but there really isn't anything to do so I can understand why he doesn't want to go. 


I will exercise, every single morning though. I wake up before everyone, well, not really, there is usually one or two surfers out at the point when I am there. I run along the beach and do plyometrics. I will actually be able to do my conditioning in the hard packed sand, it is low tide when I get up. After about an hour, coffee is ready, guests start to stir and I grab my spot and start reading until it's time to eat.


Then it is read, eat, rest, repeat. All day long.


I will see you all in a week!

Diet Worries

Friday- I met Roy for shoulder training. The usual chit chat and then I told him I had to start a diet soon, for my next competition and I was a bit concerned. "Why" he asked "Are you afraid of losing muscle?"


And, I hope you can see, I have gained quite a bit training with him, quite a bit! Take a look at these shoulders!

The legs? Looking good too! I actually weigh more than I have in ages. I was at 131 pounds this morning, although I was at 133 earlier in the week, it was due to the carbs I ate- I had a blast on Saturday and ate all sorts of goodies as I tasted wine with David. As you know, your body holds onto water when you consume starchy carbs, so the more pizza I ate, the more I would end up weighing a few days down the road.


But back to my conversation with Roy. I explain : "I am not worried about losing all my new muscle, I am wondering how I will be able to diet. I have cut out so much starch already, I am not sure what to cut out now!"


This was necessary to gain all this weight and keep the body fat low. I weigh 13 pounds more than my last competition weight, but it's really not a great deal of fat. I did a good job in the "off season" I think.


His response?


"Yeah, but you have been going out with your family right?"


Bingo!


That's the kind of stuff that gets you into trouble, but the great thing is, it's also the easiest to remedy! Going out and having wine and food at a restaurant is big calories, I mean BIG! And the reason why it tastes so good is all the butter, oil, salt and fat they add to the food. 


Then I admitted I still have a problem with Peanut Butter- I should join PBLA (Peanut Butter Lover's Anonymous), but I am not ready to let go of my addiction.


Luckily, the diet won't start until after my week in Mexico, which is coming up soon, and I shall enjoy it and not worry- the diet will be ready and waiting for me when I get home!

Travelling During Contest Prep (Fitness Blog World post)

Today is a Fitness Blog World post. The question all of us are to answer is this:


Travelling during contest prep and or maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. How do you pack for vacation during contest prep in order to ensure success? What food do you take, how do you make sure you stick to your diet, what are some tips or tricks you have developed?


Yuck! (picture above). That is my "2nd lunch" as my husband calls it. Doesn't look good but has what I need and so, I eat it.

We were taking a drive, leaving someone else's home and I had the chicken, the cauliflower, the black beans all in nice bags weighed out. Separately. 

I knew I would need to eat at one point on the road and since my most favorite food in the entire world is a cheeseburger, driving for a few hours without food is a very, very, very bad idea for my body and brain.

I dumped everything together into one bigger bag, splashed copious amounts of Tabasco on it and zipped it up!

In the car, as soon as I unzipped the bag my son says from the back seat very loudly "Ew, what smells?!"

Sheesh! It's just cauliflower and maybe the Tabasco that could possibly smell offensive.

It wasn't gourmet, it wasn't that great, in fact it was cold and my hand got all messy trying to scoop that itty bitty spoon in there.

But it worked. And it did what it was supposed to. Just because you forgot the travel containers, or cute lunch box doesn't mean you have a valid excuse to ditch the diet. Heck, I even know people who spend money on giant food organizers disguised as ice chests! I guess they do what they need to do, to each his own.

Me? I usually go for baggies or small glad containers but was short on space this trip and didn't want to haul back containers to wash. I would typically bring at least one container to eat from, but forgot it. 


Travelling can turn something very routine into a production though. Funny thing is I have been doing it this way year round for almost three years now, so I am used to it. They are ALL used to it!


So, as far as vacationing during prep, I have never done it and I won't. (To me, vacation is a trip to Mexico, or Europe, not a visit to the family). I don't think that is fair to me or my family and those we are spending time with. For some it isn't an option, perhaps those who compete at a higher level than I do and do not have control over their vacations as I do! I will be anxious to read how they do it and still enjoy the trip.


I eat "healthy" year round and can always find some perfectly good choices wherever I go. I honestly think that if you have the nutrition knowledge then you have no problems in this area. People who don't know what a starchy carb  is compared to a non-starchy carb will not make such good choices, but then these people are obviously not competing in a physique based sport are they? 


I will certainly take short trips though, and I am an expert at those. I do food prep whether I am at home or going away, its all the same really. First I start out by making a note as to how many meals I need. Here is a note from a recent overnight trip to visit my father-in-law. I knew I would leave my home after breakfast and we would be taking him out to dinner, then staying the night.

I start by preparing my vegetables and rice or beans and chicken. I eat a lot of vegetables!

Then into small bags it all goes. 

And those small bags go into larger bags to keep it all neat and tidy.

Then at my destination I can select what vegetables and starch I like, combine with my protein and voila! I can eat with everyone else or in between everyone else.

Now, taking Pop out for his 80th birthday really wasn't a problem. When dieting for a competition, you shouldn't eat at restaurants for about three months prior. The reason is simple - you cannot control them and may not be able to control yourself! Really, you cannot control the portions, oils, salts, flavorings, anything.

David and his Dad at dinner. Happy birthday Pop!

I ordered plain steak, their smallest 7 ounces, cooked rare. I love rare meat, I can eat it raw actually. Plain steamed broccoli and lemon wedges to squeeze all over it. Mustard on the side. I got the garlic mashed potatoes that came with it but asked for it on a separate plate and then promptly handed it to Cooper.  Water to drink.

On the way home, the boys stopped at their usual taco truck, outside of Gilroy. I think these two know every taco truck from here to Ixtapa, Mexico!

Me? I had my food in a container this time, and enjoyed the sun as I snagged some of the hot sauce from the truck!

Don't be afraid to speak up in a restaurant and state very clearly what you are expecting. If you don't get what you ordered, then send it back. At dinner last time I was with Pop at this same restaurant I ordered vegetables, steamed, no butter, no oil, no salt.

The vegetables were dripping in butter. I explained to the waitress that this is not what I ordered and I cannot eat it, I do not owe her an explanation as to why. She apologized and said the only vegetable they can give me plain is broccoli. I happen to love broccoli, and I said that was just perfect, but if you don't like broccoli then you had best get used to things like this, and perhaps start liking broccoli!

The main thing to remember is always bring more than you need, don't ever be a pain in the ass to your hosts by complaining about your diet or the lack of diet food they have and don't make a big deal at a restaurant or no one will want to spend time with you. You have made this your deal so as they say "build a bridge and get over it!"

I carry raw nuts and tuna in pouches or pull tops everywhere. In my gym bag, my purse, my car, my office. I have ready to drink meal replacements too just in case, and I always carry a gallon of water in my car.

Egg whites in a carton are great, they are the best source of protein and you can mix them with any vegetable for a scramble. 

Remember, creating a beautiful body can often be an ugly and tiring job.

But the rewards are well worth the effort!


Please take some time to visit the Fitness Blog World to see what my other fit friends have to say about this subject!

5 Weeks of my Diet

I bet you didn't think I would post pictures this week did you? I mean, I have actually NOT been dieting for a week, I have been indulging as a matter of fact.

I do think it is important to show you just how one week of eating and drinking like "regular folk" can damage a tight physique.

I took these pictures on Sunday morning, my first day back in the gym lifting weights in 9 days. All I did in those 9 days was run on the beach, anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes a day, that's it.

I ate though, and drank quite a bit, several glasses of wine a day and at least one margarita each day too (no beer, I don't care for it).

From the side my stomach looks fine, but in the first picture you can see It is soft, and round. Many women would be absolutely thrilled to have this, but I am not and it won't win any competitions, nor would I even dream of stepping on stage looking like this, it is not the best I can be.

Even if you do not compete, this is proof that you really can change your physique in a very short period of time, either in a positive way or a negative way!

You can even see it in my back, the fat is hanging over the back of my bra, when last week it was not.

So, I feel really good getting back to my usual. I haven't had any alcohol since the plane on Thursday, and I won't until May 7th. I may make one small concession and perhaps indulge in a glass of real champagne on April 11, that will be my 50th birthday. I will be sure to keep you posted though.

I have been eating well, I cooked up a huge amount of vegetables today (thanks to David for chopping them): asparagus, mixed peppers, zucchini, broccoli rabe, mushrooms. I also made two different soups which I froze in individual servings so I can eat them for dinner, I will be starting to go to the gym to do some cardio a few days a week after work now, back to the "two a days"

Life detours

 

I had a few hiccups this month. I went on vacation, and I could have attempted to stick to a diet but I didn't choose to. That is what is important to remember, we all make our own choices.

I think that many people are not successful in their endeavors because they choose to blame external forces instead of turning and looking internally.

True, sometimes one person may be dealt a worse hand than others, and this hand may go on for quite some time, but it can be dealt with, it's all how you look at the cards.

I enjoyed my vacation, I ate, I drank, I slept, it was nice. I gained some body fat, I can see it and feel it. Oh David will tell you it is all in my head, but it's not.

I will lose it too, I am a focused person. Don't get in my way or you will get run over.  

I am retuning home early, but cannot yet get right back into the gym, but that's OK, the gym will always be there, and I can make it work.

I can adhere to my diet at my father-in laws (easier than in Mexico) and can always go to a local gym for a few days, weights are weights, I can lift them all!

Actually just getting back to chugging down copious amounts of water feels good! Tonight we all went out to dinner, I think the waiter thought I was a nut. While David ordered steak and fries (no vegetable), Cooper ordered chicken fried steak, country toast and baked potato, Pop had liver and onions, I ask for the following:

salmon, charbroiled, no oil, no butter

baked potato, plain

vegetables, steamed

lemon on the side

salad, only vinegar

It was good, it was healthy, it was on my diet. We had a good time joking how Mum would have had a french fry sandwich, with butter. (Don't know if it's part of growing up in Wales, or just a Mum thing!)

I may take detours, but I always find my way back to the main road and eventually, back home.

Life Interrupted

 

The manager of the hotel I am staying at came knocking on my screen door last night (Tuesday) at 3:00 a.m. David's dad was on the phone.

Davids mother has left us, it happened very suddenly and unexpectedly. We all know that our loved ones will leave, but we are never, ever ready for it.

Margaret was like a mother to me too, in fact I called her Mum. I have known her since I was 17 years old, that's a very long time.

She welcomed me into her family with open arms, never judging, never critical. I was the daughter she always wanted, yet never had until I met David. She spoiled me rotten! In fact, she gave me a key to her house, not David and said "If you two ever divorce, Kristy can come home, but not you David! ha ha

You really couldn't want a better mother in law.

Its very hard being in another country, I was able to change our flight, but we cannot leave until Thursday, one more day later. Paradise has suddenly become prison.

Through the tears and frustration we talked all day on Wednesday. We sat in the sun, drank way too much wine and walked over to have lunch at the restaurant next door. I sat looking at the ocean, sipping white wine and eating lobster with garlic. Even in sorrow I tell the guy to leave out the butter.

He senses something is not right, he fills my glass "on the house" and softly walks away. 

I emailed a friend who lives across the street from my in-laws, I met her through my blog. I ask if she will check on my Dad, Alicia wonderfully goes to spend time with him. She assures me she will check on him until we can get there, and her husband, Solomon will go see him when he returns from work in the evening, it is a great comfort to know there are others you can count on.

Actually being here another day, stranded has allowed us some time to come to terms with Mum's sudden death, to relate to one another, to talk our way through our own fears and pains. When my mother died 2 years ago, also in February, I had been caring for her with hospice, we talked daily about her fears of dying, my fears of her dying, our intertwined lives. It was not the same with Mum, we never got that chance.

I was always fortunate to have two mothers, and now I have memories only. But very good memories that I can cherish forever.

I love you Mum.

Balance Life and Competitions

 

I have been on vacation since Thursday evening at about 5:45 pm, when I finally left my office. Life can become so complex and difficult, yet whenever I start thinking that, I realize that it is my reaction to things that is making it all difficult.

I started my diet four weeks ago in preparation of this annual vacation, I did not want to go to Mexico and not enjoy myself. I have found myself not enjoying things because I am afraid I will gain body fat and weight.

That is not healthy. Am I first a competitor or am I first a person? There are competitions all the time, like clockwork, they happen. The promoters make way too much money off people like me not to hold them.

I have been trying to keep things in a good perspective, but it all seemed to fall apart today, or maybe it didn't.

I have been coming to this same very small village, same tiny hotel, same room for 13 years, every February. I enjoyed time in the airport with other regulars, all heading back for a week of sun and relaxation just like me.

I emailed Annie ahead of time. She is a massage therapist who lives here eight months out of the year with her two daughters and husband, they run a surfing school. Then four months out of the year they live in Oregon. I told her I would like a 90 minute massage on my patio, she was there today, in the warm breeze, greeting me like an old friend.

The hotel we stay at has a small restaurant, Christian was the proprietor, but he left this past winter and now has his cafe in the village of Troncones. We have thoroughly enjoyed the new restaurant, Jean Paul is French, his wife is Mexican so the mix of foods is spectacular.

But we missed the old Christian, and his dad, Paul. 

We headed down the road today towards Troncones and saw Paul outside Cafe Sol, we stopped and hugs were abundant. We said we would come back for dinner.

I was so hungry, I made the guys leave earlier than they should have. I am not used to eating so infrequently and the fats and carbs are not doing my body good....

We ended up at Dona Nica's, it is a restaurant on the beach, she knows us from all of the years we have been coming here. It is a dirt floor, open air restaurant where food is cooked on a comal outside. She greeted us with warm smiles and laughs, I asked if she could make Chile Rellenos the next evening, and yes, we were told to come back then. They are made in the tradition of this area, stuffed with real mashed potatoes, and albondigas (meatballs) on the side.

You never know if they will be open or not!

We stayed only for a drink, I had my first pina colada, the boys had a beer. Once I was done, the fellow was right back and filled up my drink again, seems he couldn't make a small drink, and he wasn't ripping us off, we are old friends of Dona Nica.  My two pina coladas, and the two beers was 100 pesos, less than $10.00 us dollars.

Tourism is off, badly. Christian and Paul say that it has been very slow, Annie also said the same. They all say that regular guests are here (like us)  but there are no new people. they are all scared about gunmen, drugs and narkos. We are fine where we are.

We enjoyed a great dinner at Christians although it took forever because first Paul was chatting, then Christian, and we couldn't order! In the end I had a ceasar salad and then a hangar steak with onions and mushrooms. David had the same, Cooper? He has a fantastic cheeseburger, then three skirt steak tacos, and half of David's steak (I ate all mine).

I am still feeling that I may be blowing it for my next competition, but I am having a great time with my family and that means more to me.

Did I tell you about the whales we watched breaching off the beach this afternoon? Probably not.

I have been having a hard time balancing the desire to enjoy my vacation with the need to adhere to a bodybuilder's diet, not an easy task at all where I am.

The lesson all comes down to this. I am reading a book on vacation called: FLOW the psychology of optimal experience. In this book one of the components of happiness is competition, and this is what it has to say:

One simple way to find challenges is to enter a competitive situation. Hense the great appeal of all games and sports that pit a person or team against another. In many ways, competition is a quick way of developing complexity: "He who wrestles with us" wrote Edmund Burke, "strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper" The challenges of competition can be stimulating and enjoyable. But when beating the opponent takes precedence in the mind over performing as well as possible, enjoyment tends to disappear. Competition is enjoyable only when it is a means to perfect one's skills, when it becomes an end in itself, it ceases to be fun.

So I shall challenge myself upon my return. I will work to be the best I can be, that is what I strive for. It is not to beat others, but to beat my personal best. I am in competition with myself, and I am one of the most worthy and difficult opponents!

Cupcake

So what does a 49 year old Figure competitor take on vacation? 10 of the most beautiful, sexy, skimpy bikini's known to man! And the autobiography of Keith Richards....

I call the suit I am wearing "Cupcake" because it is soft, white covered with small delicate rounds of fluttery fabric, in pink, blue and white. They are like soft feathery scales, and they look like the pastel sprinkles on white cupcakes!  

These suites are all made by a company called Pin Up Stars in Italy. They are each quite unique, covered with swavorski crystals, sequins or beads. There is one David calls "Nemo" because the top is all sequin scales, and the bottom is a big orange clown fish, right across the butt.

There is the beautiiful pink one with purple glass beads and white flower petals on the top, and the bullseye patterned one with swirls on the strings.

I strated collecting them one year after my bikini was stolen while drying on my patio in Mexico. I told the owner of the hotel "I don't work this hard in the gym to wear just any old baggy suit!". I then bought as many as I could find and afford, they are not available very often and they are not cheap.

The joke at the hotel now is that everyone else locks up their wallets in the safe deposit box, Kristy locks up her bikini's!

I must say, weight training does fill out a bikini well doesn't it?

Four weeks of my diet

It's been four weeks, don't my shoulders look GREAT!? I love this look. I realize this is supposed to be about my diet, and where I have gotten in four weeks, but it all gets rolled up into one big mess.  I do have to say, my shoulders look better than ever, and this picture was not taken on a shoulder training day either!

Your whole body starts taking on a different look as you slowly lose the fat, yet keep hitting the muscles hard with training. I have not lost any more weight, I am actually still just 2 pounds less than when I started four weeks ago, but I am sure quite a bit of that is stored glycogen.

As muscles become better trained, they are better able to store glycogen, resulting in the ability to swell up with water storage.

My back and lats are massive, shoulders huge, everything is looking great in my opinion. I have to keep up the training and dieting though.

 

The biggest issue for me at the moment is I am sitting on my patio in Mexico, vacationing. These pictures were taken Friday, and it is now Sunday. Gone is the ripped look, I have been eating, eating normal food and drinking cocktails! GASP!

I plan to continue enjoying myself. I will see what I look like later, and so will you! Don't expect a tight body at the next showing!

Reading materials on the plane

I love reading and even mote exciting is reading about weight training.

I have my e"book The Poliquin Principles. That and a few glasses of wine in First Class and the ride is quite pleasant.

Vacation

It doesn't appear as though Cooper is having much fun but it is only 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Waiting at the airport is pretty boring.

I was sent through the full body scanner and David was sent through the regular scanner. I told him they only want to see the beautiful bodies. Hee hee