2nd post for May 28th!!!

WOW, two posts in one day - I must be feeling good, or maybe need to unload some stuff that's been rattling around in my head for a bit now to make room for new fresh stuff!

What I've been thinking a lot about lately is how I had SO much free time to do whatever I wanted like work-out, work on my fitness routine, work on my business, etc. before having my baby. Now I have Zak, and it is super-awesome but as most of you know or can imagine having a baby is very time-consuming. Many mothers complain that they don't have enough time to work-out on a regular basis and that they'll never get back into shape. Well, I want to be their inspiration and show that it can be done. I have totally looked towards many fitness competitors like Jennifer Nicole Lee, Mindi O'Brien, Fran Dennis, and others for my own inspiration. They have babies and come back strong onto the fitness scene sometimes looking even better than before their baby/ies! When I first started thinking about the less time to yourself idea I thought, 'I really had it made all those years before I had a baby... I had all day to work-out and eat 5 clean meals a day, etc.' And while I did compete in fitness competitions here and there, and was generally fairly fit, I never really took it to the next level in the time I really should have (when I was younger and had time for all of that stuff). But, then I got thinking I feel way more focused and determined now than I ever did back then. Maybe it's because I have less time and energy, I need to really make my gym time count, I really need to get up that extra hour early to squeeze my early-morning cardio in before Zak wakes up, and of course I want to show everyone it can be done with a baby no less!!! Also, I think it's a matter of we sometimes don't realize how precious something is until it's taken away from us or not available all the time (like work-out time). So now when Zak actually cooperates and sleeps for a few hours and I can bring him down to the gym with me and get an awesome work-out in without interruptions it's like gold! I definitely took it for granted before baby! This should be a lesson to people without kids who can totally focus on their training 100% all the time(oh, and I know all the child-less people are going to say, but I have work and relationships, and social life that always seem to take all my time away from the gym - but just remember, I've got that all too as well as the baby), but I know to really understand some things you need to live them sometimes (unfortunately - it's like one of those 'I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger' moments! I have a lot of those, like I wish I could go back to high school knowing everything I know now - ha ha ha!

Before I had a baby people who had kids would tell me "oh, you can get so fit and work-out so much because you don't have any kids - just wait...", now I have a kid and some of those people see I'm getting into shape and they're saying "ya, but you only have one - wait till you have more!" Throughout my career as a dance instructor, I've also had similar people say "You can do that because you're so young - just wait till you get old like me!" I'm starting to not be so young so I feel like they'll quiet down on that, but there always seems to be something... these people will always find a reason not to achieve their goals and blame is part of the game. They're always more hard off than anyone else. I have vowed not to ever become like this no matter how many babies I have, or how old I get! Will this never end? I guess not, I just have to forget about haters and hope I can inspire others!

OK, end of rant session! Thanks for listening!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Today I had lots of great news! First of all I weighted myself this morning and I was just under 150 finally - that was awesome! So now I have 10 pounds to lose this month before my first competition. That's crazy - just a month left until my first competition - getting nervous (mostly about my routine, but also my body) but I'm feeling really positive about it! I hope to lose even more pounds (maybe 5 more) to get ultra-ripped for my second competition on July 11th! I've been trying to focus on my back and glute training more than ever and tons of cardio to blast all the fat leading up to these competitions as I feel these are my weak areas!

I'm so addicted to fitness and bodybuilding podcasts lately... I just listen to them all day around the house to keep me inspired and motivated! AND, I'm planning to air my own anyday podcasts (both for fitness & bellydance) now - I'll keep you posted on that!

I also got the good news this morning that one of my fitness articles is going to be published in Physique Magazine (a bodybuilding magazine from Dubai)! I've been busy writing quite a few new fitness articles and hopefully they'll all be published all over in the next little while!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Had an awesome long weekend full of fun, but also full of fattening un-fitness-y foods!!! I hung out with some friends Friday night, went to an awesome wedding Saturday night, a BBQ on Sunday, and worked on my fitness posing and routine with my girls on Monday, then hung out with family afterwards. I also got to check out the IDFA Novice Classic competition on Saturday! Wow, after seeing all those insanely conditioned physiques I thought I'd be able to stay clean through all my social stuff, but no - too much beer, cake, ice cream, pasta, and bread this weekend, but I did manage to workout every day and eat totally clean throughout the day (just splurging at night). And Monday (yesterday) I was back ON! We even ended up at my fave Greek restaurant and I just had a salad with chicken breast instead of my usual deep fried seafood, bread, potatoes, and rice!!! I think I often use the excuse of the fact that I don't want to be the girly girl who just eats salad and doesn't drink beer, etc. But I'm starting to realize that no one really notices that as long as you don't make a big deal about it, so I don't really think I have to shovel 3 slices of cake into my mouth to be fun!!! I can't believe my first competition is in less than 6 weeks!!! I must must must be super-strict from now on, and just keep envisioning all those crazy amazing muscular backs at the IDFA show this past Saturday - they were AWESOME!!! Bye for now!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

OK, so last time I wrote I was all over the place and feeling like I had totally hit a plateau. This week is the polar opposite! I overcame my weight plateau - I'm now at 155 lbs - yay! My goal for the Ms. Fitness COmpetition on June 27th is to be 140, so I have 15 to go in 6 1/2 weeks which is do-able. Then I plan on losing a few more pounds to get super-ripped for the IDFA FIgure competiton 2 weeks later on July 11th! I got so used to losing up to 15 pounds a month at one point when I was at my heaviest and I think it's taking a bit of a mindset adjustment to get used to the fact that it will just get harder and harder the closer I am to a normal healthy weight (when I don't have s SO much excess to lose)! I managed to stay clean with my eating all weekend (which is always hard for me). I just have to keep thinking about my very favourite quote... I don't know whose it is, but it goes "What's more painful in life... discipline, or regret?" SO SO true! I know I'm gonna compete in less than 2 months so I'd better just get as good as I can! I worked on my routine a bit yesterday and it's still a mess, but at least I'm working on it now!!! I've altered my diet to include less carbs and more protein (and definitely less peanut butter and honey - my weaknesses even when eating clean) and I've added an extra early morning cardio at 5am (sneak down to the gym before my 2 guys get up!)so I'm feeling like more results will be on the way!

Monday, May 4, 2009

This past weekend was a bit of a challenge for me fitness-wise and life-wise in general. I was a bit all over the place for so many different reasons this weekend... Friday we hung out with some friends and had a happy time eating bad foods (nachos and a few sips of beer!) Saturday I was back on the fitness train - eating totally clean, teaching all day, and working out lots, then Sunday started out awesome with a nice sunny 10K run with my good friend, a nice healthy breakfast, long luxurious shower (very infrequent lately with a baby!), then I got all dressed up in some new clothes I bought this week (not my usual sweaty workout gear) for my day off. Me and my hubby were house-hunting. Despite finding an awesome house we both agreed on, the day went a little sour, next thing you know, I'm shovelling all sorts of bad white carbs into my mouth for the rest of the evening (which of course usually makes me feel even worse). I woke up this morning feeling really exhausted and mentally worn out. Slept in a bit and decided not to work out this morning. I got back into my clean eating and I will be meeting up with my fitness girls later at the studio to work on posing and routine stuff. I know that will re-inspire me! Plus, I think I'll run to and from the studio to sneak in an hour of cardio!