Tuesday, June 30, 2009

YAY!


Woo-hoo! I'm back from Ottawa from my first competition. It was an awesome experience and I ended up (much to my surprise) placing second in both categories I competed in (sports athletic model and figure) I am working on a whole article about my experience this past weekend so I won't blab on too much here yet. But, I did learn a few things from this weekend... one of the big things was that I really need to work on my walking and posing (and knowing what different shows expect you to do, as they're all a little different) I had been practising my walk and my quarter turns in one way and then they were different for this association! Plus, I always think my big problem is going to be my actual body, but I think my main weakness at this show wasn't my body, but more about my posing and walking! That's something that can be fixed easily by practise! I took it easy and ate really sinfully for the past 2 days and now I feel totally ready to go back at it strong to get ready for my next competition on July 11th (less than 2 weeks away!)

Monday, June 22, 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009 - ONLY 5 DAYS TO GO UNTIL COMPETITION!!!

YES, 5 days until my first competition!!! I had some major diet blunders at the end of last week due to going a little too low carb and ending up maniacally binging on any white carb I could get my hands on late at night two days in a row! So, Saturday I added a real whole grain carb in my mid-day meal (instead of just limited vegetables as carbs all day) and yesterday I was at my mom's for brunch so I allowed myself a slice of quiche with all it's carb-o-licious crust (but that was as bad as I went all weekend) and it really showed on the scale this morning - I had lost 2 pounds (after having no change whatsoever on the scale all week!) So, because of all my diet mishaps Thursday and Friday and my carb-bloated belly Saturday as a result of those bad days I was feeling a little depressed thinking 'how will I ever be ready for this show in less than a week?' which was a new feeling for me as up to that point I had been SO excited and didn't even worry very seriously about looking bad and embarrassing up on the fitness stage. But this morning I feel like a new woman ready to compete on Saturday!!! Soooo, this week I am cutting all salt out of my diet, upping my cardio time and intensity (even more if that's possible!), changing up my weight routine a bit to be even more sweaty circuit training style than it already is, working on my figure poses and routine, putting the final touches on my bikini and costumes, and... the fun part... getting beautiful!!! I've got beauty appointments booked all week (finally some relaxation payback for all this work) - hair, waxing, mani/pedi, massage, tan, etc. YAY! I've been down for my early morning cardio this morning (think I really need to stop reading fitness magazines while stair climbing or biking and kick the intensity up a notch - god I'm obsessed with fitness mags and have to buy every one as soon as they hit the stands including heavy-duty men's ones like Musclemag and Flex! I tell myself, soon I will be in them!) I'll be working back, biceps, and abs in a bit, plus a little more cardio. Then running to the studio with Zak in the jog stroller, practising posing, routine, etc. with my girls at the studio, and maybe running home (depending on if hubby picks me up at the end of the night, or not). I love Mondays - WOO-HOO!!!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thursday, June 11, 2009

OK, so I just officially registered online for the competition I'm doing in two weeks from this Saturday in Ottawa (OMG!) I made the decision to compete in Figure instead of Fitness as well as the Athletic Model category. I was having a lot of difficulty with my fitness routine (cause I'm so not a gymnast) and even though I don't usually like being too realistic, but I was trying to tap into some sort of rational thinking the other day after I worked on my routine and realized I only have 2 weeks left to polish it... The Neutron Figure category requires you to do a figure routine (which is a little less acrobatic and more free than the fitness routine) which means I'll still get to do a routine, but maybe I won't look like a total geek. So today I will be re-working my routine to include less acrobats and more poses. I feel so excited about my new decision - I have renewed energy as I feel I have a shot at this now! In addition to the quarter turns in the physique round of this Figure competition I'm going to have to do 5 mandatory bodybuilding type poses which I know nothing about so I've definitely got my work cut out for me! On the physique front, I have been trying a high protein and way lower carb diet and it has been going really well! I got to 146 pounds this week, with my goal for tomorrow being 145 - so we'll see if I make that! My upper body is responding really well to my strict diet and heavy workouts, but I really need my lower belly and thighs to catch up now!!! I'm thinking positive about it and think I might be seeing a tiny bit of progress in my upper legs now that I'm doing low/almost no carbs - yay!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

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

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

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!