9 weeks and 5 days out...

Less than double digits now - time to get serious now!

As if I wasn't serious all along, right? :)

I had a down moment yesterday, as I was not happy with my comps, but I never will be every time.  Having them not be what I think they will be keeps me humble for sure.  It also refocuses me to the goal - and I had a great workout today.

What is new? Let's see...

I had a change in my diet this week - lowered the fat and carbs just a little for each meal, and that will bring me down about 150 calories overall.  I also added an additional 30 minutes of cardio to the week - it was my choice to either add a day at 30 minutes or add 5 minutes to each of my 6 days I am already doing cardio.  I opted to add the 5 minutes and keep a day off from the gym.  I will probably move to 7 days a week soon, but I'm holding out that down day for now.  

I have been practicing my posing, and feel that it is getting better.  I don't feel as awkward, so I can focus a little more on fine-tuning.  I am getting to the point where I need to come up with my pre-judging posing routine and my posing routine with music for the evening show, but the inspiration hasn't fully hit me yet.  I know it will and I have little bursts of it, so I will lock down on making that a priority next week.

I think I am in for my last really big hurdle, at least as far as traveling goes, this weekend.  JP and I are attending a conference in Charleston this weekend, so we will be taking the trusty monster cooler with us.  I called the hotel today and they have put a note to have a microwave in the room.  I hope they have a microwave in the room!  I can handle a few cold meals here and there, but the idea of all cold meals is just not appealing.  JP keeps arguing that they should have a microwave in a common area downstairs, but I'm not convinced - it's a Marriott, in downtown Charleston.  Somehow I can imagine that there might not be a microwave.  Either way, I'll make it work.  We have agreed no more hotels until after the show!

Oh yeah!  I picked out my fabric and got measured for my posing suit! :)  Obviously the measurements will be much different, but she wanted to get something on paper so we can follow-up in a few weeks, as needed.  I still have to pick out a style...which is harder than I thought.  We agreed for me to send her a few ideas, and having seen my body, she can give some feedback on what she thinks might work best for me.  Fortunately, my amazing OB/GYN gave me a low bikini C-section scar, so it will not be hard to cover up.  It's interesting to have people tell me how great my scar looks.  The advantage is my doctor knew I wanted to do this one day, and tried to keep that in mind when we had to go for the C-section.  The next question people usually ask is who she is - Dr. Janice Keeton, in case you are interested in checking her out (she really is an awesome doctor!).

I had my first moment of panic the other night.  I visualized myself on stage, doing a posing routine, and was overcome with sheer terror.  I've been told this is normal.  I have a few friends who are former bodybuilders who have given me some good advice, like practicing my posing routines over and over so that it is automatic.  I had Jamey mix my song for me and give me two versions, the first with just the track on it, and another with the track repeated 6 times in a row.  Our friend Greg told me to practice on the kitchen floor with oil on it, so I can get used to posing this way in case there is oil on the floor when I come out to pose.  It was also suggested that I practice posing with a heater so I can be comfortable with sweating like crazy because I can expect to be sweating like crazy. 

It's all so much to think about, but we still have time.  9.5 weeks is such a short time, but still such a long time.  And I realized this past week that I am not convinced that I don't want to do bodybuilding after this show.  We'll see how they judge me.

More and more, it seems as though Women's Physique is being judged like Figure plus muscle, rather than Bodybuilding minus muscle.  If that's the case, I may be too muscular.  Granted, we'll see what I have left at show time, as some muscle wasting is a natural part of the deal...

My brain is all over the place tonight.  I slept like crap last night because poor Boogie was crying out all night.  The lack of sleep is starting to show - at least to me!

Thanks to anyone who reads these random ramblings.  I'll post pictures in the next week.  Wish me luck in Charleston!

Julie :)

11 weeks out and more perspective

Sometimes, in looking forward to the goal I am trying to reach, I forget where I came from.  It is why I put the comparison pictures in the last post.  Especially with competition prep, it is easy to get bogged down in thinking about having to be in competition shape, rather than enjoying meeting the goals along the way.  This week has been a week where I have had a little of both.

When finishing up my workouts, I have been going to the yoga room at the gym and practicing my posing in the big mirrors there.  It makes a huge difference from the little full length mirror I have here.  In doing so, I see where I have made progress, but also where I have a long way to go (believe it or not, 11 weeks is a long time in competition prep, seeing as most people prep for 12 weeks prior to a show).  JP once told me he thinks I have less to lose in the lower half than I think I do and more to lose up top than I think I do.  When I am posing, I can see that this is true.  I have a tendency to think I have this ginormous rear end and thighs, and although I carry weight disproportionately in these areas, I wore shorts for leg day for the first time in years this week.  And with posing, I can see that my quads and hamstrings are going to be fuller than I thought they would.  On the other hand, although my arms, shoulders and back are starting to show more definition, they still don't pop when I am posing like I wish they would.  I can see that I have size there, I am just wanting to see the definition more.  Always more. Lol. But that will come in the next three months.

On the other side of the coin, most of what I previously considered my "skinny" clothes are now too big.  Even the jeans I thought of as my "skinny" jeans when JP and I started dating.  It was telling for me this week when I put those on they fit perfectly.  Perfectly until I actually wore them for a bit, then they stretched out and started sliding down.  So JP and I went to see if we could find him some shorts yesterday, as most of his are worn to the point of falling apart, and in trying on clothes, I realized I am down a pant size.  Scale weight has hardly moved, but I keep leaning out.  That's good.  JP keeps saying that his body comps of me have a lot of user error, but the evidence supports that I am losing fat body mass and gaining lean body mass.  I like that!

I am sorry if me talking about me, my goals, my progress and telling on my thinking gets old.  Save for one friend, I am not even sure anyone reads this.  But it is good for me - to get it out, to process it, to record it for reflection.

Speaking of reflection - or rather, should I say perspective:

From 4/9/11 to 6/10/12, I have lost:
A total of 41 pounds.
0.75 inches of of my right calf
1 inch off of my left calf
4.25 inches off each of my thighs
8.5 inches off of my hips
6.25 inches off of the smallest part of my waist
7 inches off of the largest part of my waist
5.25 inches off of my chest
1.25 inches off of my right arm
1.5 inches off of my left arm
1 inch off of my right forearm
0.75 inches off of my left forearm

For a grand total of 41.75 inches lost!

It will probably be a little more once I do my body comps today, but I have to write when I have a few extra minutes, and I tallied those numbers this morning before JP got up (actually, he is still asleep as I write this).

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddy's out there!

Julie

Perspective

Left picture is from 5/23/10 - the week before I found out I was pregnant.  Right picture is from 6/10/12 - 2 days ago:

Left picture is from 4/9/11 - my first day back in the gym after being cleared by the doctor, and 8 days shy of 2 months after giving birth to Jenna (her birthday is 2/17/11).  Right picture is from 6/10/12 - 7 days shy of 16 months after giving birth to Jenna:

A little under 12 weeks to go!

For those of you who don't know, 12 weeks is usually when most people start their real competition prep diet. Some 16 weeks, but most don't do it as long as I have.  As I have stated before, my nutrition really hasn't been all that restrictive thus far - as at 12 weeks out I am still eating 26g carbs, 24g protein and 10g fat per meal, 6 meals per day.  This adds up to roughly 1700 calories a day, which for a lot of people is a normal maintenance amount.  I am still doing 30 mins cardio per day, with one day consisting of run/walk intervals.  Not a true HIIT day yet, but in talking with David, I am hoping that will be some of the go to cardio as we get closer to competition time - especially if I am needing to lean out the stomach and rear more intensely.

There are many advantages to the caution we are taking in not restricting my nutrition too much.  First, it helps keep me sane.  David wants me to enjoy this process, and being too restrictive may be a set-up for failure.  Also, I am still leaning out - at least 1% BF each week - and I am putting on lean mass, meaning that I am still adding muscle to my frame.  All good stuff.  And the combination means helps with my metabolism.  Which brings me to reason number two why the plan I am on is good for me: my metabolism.  I have stated before that a lot of people wreck their metabolism in the process of their competition prep.  The body can only sustain so much caloric deficit plus cardio before the metabolism starts shutting down.  This is known as a metabolic crash.  Lots of seasoned competitors experience symptoms of serious digestive diseases, as well as things as PCOS.  I have read stories of women who have had a year or more metabolic recovery period post-competition.  I talked with David at length about my concerns with this before we ever got started, and we had another long talk about it yesterday.  As long as I am still making progress, there is no need to take drastic measures.  Which brings me to my final reason this is good for me: my skin (and sanity).  My skin is tightening up nicely with my weight loss at this point.  If I lose too fast, that doesn't happen, and I can't compete anyway.  The advantage to not starting a metabolic freight train is that it gives my body time to do what it needs to do - with my skin tightening, everything going where it is supposed to go.  Should I ever find myself in a desperate state of mind - wanting to hurry the process or lose faster than what would be healthy - this keeps me in check.  My body has its own version of a checks and balances system.  I don't cheat on my diet because I don't want to sabotage my weekly goals and I don't sabotage my weekly goals because I don't want to sabotage my overall goal.  Interesting that this happened this way. :)

Speaking of goals - after a plateau, I have seen steady decreases in scale weight, tape measure and BF% over the last two weeks.  The scale hasn't moved in proportion to everything else, as I have seen increases in lean body mass over the last two weeks, too.  As I said earlier, that means more muscle on my frame.  The changes I am seeing in the mirror are a little more subtle.  If you were to compare my week to week pictures over the last couple of weeks, you really wouldn't see any drastic changes.  My chest is leaning out.  My arms are starting to lean out more, although I still have some stubborn fat on them.  My back is starting to lean out, but I think I have a good way to go there (although my tattoo makes that hard to judge).  My shoulders are starting to show more.  My arms and shoulders really pop while I am working out, which helps me see how I am coming in.  I can already see that I will have to guard for being overdeveloped in the arms and shoulders, but we can judge that as we go.  My quads are starting to come in nicely and I can even tell that my legs are leaning out enough for my hamstrings to start showing a little.  As always, my calves are present, as I can think about them and they grow. Lol.

I did my first big posing practice last night.  My posing is rough, but I took pictures so I have comparison points as I go.  Posing overall is a lot harder than it looks, and holding poses over periods of time can be exhausting.  I also got my posing music put together this past week.  Much thanks to our friend, Jamey R, for putting that together for me.

Here are some of the pics from this week.  Like I said, my posing is rough, and needs a lot of practice, but it's a start.  Also, keep in mind that I am used to seeing myself in a mirror when I pose, so not being able to see myself gives me a lot to remember when I am posing without a mirror.

One of the biggest changes I can see over time is in my face!  I am post-workout here, so my hair is a mess. Lol.  You can see in this pic that my legs are leaning out more.  I also have a pair of shorts on that have a tighter band in the waste and I don't have muffin top.  Yay!

My midsection is definitely starting to lean down.  Thank goodness.  I thought that would never happen. :)

My hips and glutes are narrowing out some.  I still have some thickness to the back of my waist, but that is starting to lean out some, too.  You can see from this angle that my arms are staring to lean out more...you can see the outline of my triceps, which is good.

Everyone has a "strong" side.  Although posing from this side feels weird, since it is not my dominate side, my posing angles are better from this side.  I am not officially posing here, but I look leaner from this side than I do the other side.  Note the little munchkin behind me.  We tried and tried to get her out of the picture , but she was obsessed with standing there (and playing with my belly button when she could).

Whew!  I have been practicing this pose for a while now and it still needs a lot of work.  David tweaked me last night, so I am all awkward, trying to make the adjustments in my head.  I still don't look comfortable, so I will have to give it more practice time each day.

My lats are flaring, but I still need to work on looking more natural with this pose.  I also need to work on flaring my lats without bringing my shoulders forward.

Like everyone else in the business, I will probably rely on this pose as my strongest pose.  I need to bring my elbows up and in some to make my shoulders pop a little more and cap out my biceps.  Obviously I will need to uncover my abs a little more (i.e., shed some more fat from my midsection) to bring the abs into the equation. I also need to work on pointing my left toe slightly out and pulling that heel up a little to bring my quad out.  

This is a bodybuilding side chest.  I won't actually be using this pose in competition, but David has me practicing it and then bring my arms out into the women's physique side chest position.  It just helps me practice popping all of my muscles so they show in my posing.   Also, a lot of people keep their leg extended, but the rules only no flat foot, so I am probably going to keep the leg in, like this, to downplay the rear end from this angle.

I need to pull my back shoulder up and in a little to help make my pec pop up.  This looks easier than it is.  It feels quite awkward, and the way I need to tilt my hip tweaks my muscles in my back.  I will have to practice this one a long time to keep my back from cramping up.  I can also see here that I may need to take it easy on my triceps.  That bottom part is all tricep, and may need to be brought down a little.

This pose is also harder than it looks.  I am working on making the mind-muscle connection, as I don't feel I am close to hitting this one yet.  However, hips don't look as wide as I thought they would, which is encouraging. Lol.

Ok.  So there it is.  Let's see what 12 weeks can do! :)

13 weeks to go!

I have officially completed 8 weeks of competition prep and it really is flying by.  I think that feeling will change in the next few weeks, when I start restricting the sources of my macros, but I will take it for now.

Last weekend we were in Pennsylvania visiting family, and it was a challenge stopping every 2-3 hours on the way up and back to heat up my food, but I made the entire trip without cheating.  I was happy with that.  We also got our workouts in on a travel pass to the local Gold's Gym up there, so I stayed on track on all accounts.

The scale weight didn't really budge (just a few ounces) but the tape measure and BF% did, so I was happy with that week's progress overall. I'll do this week's comps on Sunday, but I can see where I have continued to lean out, especially in the area of my chest that women carry the most weight - that upper and outer area.  My arms are leaning out, as my back (a little) and I am starting to see some shifting in the way my legs look.  I still am carrying that baby sack in the stomach area and I always have lots to lose in the glute and hip area, but I am making small, incremental progress in those areas, too.

Here are my pics from last week.  We were at the Gold's in Pa when we took them, so it's hard to compare because of the colored wall behind me and the fact that the capri-style pants automatically make me look leaner than the shorts I usually wear:

  

I am still gaining strength overall, which I love.  I can see my chest coming in nicely and my arms and shoulders are starting to show more and more definition.  I will probably have to lighten up on those areas as we progress, as a common issue at competition is coming in too defined in the upper body, especially in comparison to the lower body.  I anticipate I will have to scale back on my upper body training as we get closer, and pick up on the lower body training.  Although, I am happy to say that my quads are finally start to come in, too.  That is as much about the fat loss as it is me gaining a little size, but I have definitely put on some lean muscle in the last few weeks.

Changes I am anticipating soon: I have been eating a slice of Ezekiel Bread and a slice of turkey bacon at breakfast.  I will get to do that for about another week, and then I will cut those out.  I also have been eating Feta cheese and black beans on a salad once a day, and I will probably cut those out in a week, too.  I have been putting a little bit of almond milk in my coffee in the morning - I will cut that out in about a week, too.  I will keep using the Stevia in my coffee for now, but will plan on phasing that out altogether by 8 weeks out, and I will stop using gum and other things with artificial sweeteners at about 8 weeks out.  That is when the cravings for food will probably kick in. As of right now, I feel good and I really am not struggling much.  I honestly can't remember when was the last time I had fast food, a soda, or even sweets.  It's been over 8 weeks on all accounts, and longer on some (soda and fast food).  This feels good.

JP just asked me if I am writing a novel, so I will wrap it up here.  13 weeks really isn't a lot of time, and I still have a long way to go.  I am excited to see what can happen in that time period!

Have a great weekend!

Julie