Thurs. August 26, 2010

Hey!!!!!

It's been a while since I posted here!  A lot has happened and I wanna update you all first... SOOOOO, I have decided to take some time off from competing in fitness and figure competitions.  I was prepping for one in June and it just was not feeling right.  I think I've screwed up my metabolism and mind a bit from doing too many in too short a time as well as not maintaining my weight throughout... I tend to lose quick for a competition, then gain it all back right after.  This is definitely not a healthy practise I know, so I have decided to take at least 6 months off from competing and work towards a more healthy and balanced lifestyle.  So far it has been ok, but I feel I let myself off the hook a whole lot when I don't have a scary deadline like a competition looming, so I have put on a bit of chub.  I am now working at losing that chub slowly and consistently by exercising (though not 3 times a day anymore) and eating right (my biggest challenge)!  I have come to the realization that I really just need to take my own advice that I give clients/students who want to make lasting changes to their body and life!  Summer has been awesome and I've been filling my life with other things to fill the void that competing left... playing with my son more, planning my dance and fitness classes, performing with my dance troupes, writing articles, working on a new site for my studio, and more!  I plan to keep you all posted on how my journey goes.  Someone said something wise to me when I said I'm trying to be LESS goal oriented in terms of competing (like not having a date for an upcoming competition so I don't have a bad type of pressure), and he said you just need to have a longer-term goal - like competing in a year and start working slowly towards it now (not a month before the competition how I tend to!)  I will keep this in mind as I set goals for myself and really stop procrastinating! You too?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

So, my eating has been clean and my workouts have been hardcore for the past two weeks which I'm proud of... BUT... I'm experiencing something very new and irritating - very very slow results :<  Usually as soon as I start eating right and cut the junk I see huge fat loss results right away, but this time I'm just not getting the rewards I want for all this hard work.  I only have three weeks until my competition and I'm so far from my goal for it.  Maybe this is the universe giving me a few hard lessons 1) don't procrastinate! 2) don't let yourself get so far out of competition shape ever - eat clean year round! 3) be more understanding that lots can be going on with people's bodies and not everyone loses weight the same way even if they're doing everything right, and 4) it's not always playing the blame game when you try to figure out other factors (other than diet) that could effect fat loss. 

So, I'm trying to stay positive through this difficult time and realize I'm learning and growing through this process!  I have tightened up my diet even more this week by cutting carbs further and adding a bit more cardio.  I'm trying to think that if I don't make my ultimat goal for Aug. 7, I want to know that I did EVERYTHING possible to try to get there - no regrets (other than starting too late I guess)!  A little worried that I'm overtraining and undereating and that could be the cause of slow results - hmmm.... what can I do at this point though? I'm not gonna sit around doing nothing and eating more!  I am trying to take naps so I get some rest that way!  I'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

OK, this week's vlog is up:

and if you've watched that already, this might bore you a bit...

sooooooo, last week was a bit of a write-off (other than a learning experience for me I guess). Yes, my eating was all over the place... some days would be full of junk, others were totally clean - it really was a mess! Then around Thursday I started feeling a bit unwell... my tummy hurt (and instead of taking a cue from this and eating well, I convinced myself I NEEDED carby carbs to settle my stomach) and I was feeling really exhausted especially in the morning when I usually hop outta bed for a good workout. I think it turns into a vicious cycle when you get off your regular healthy routine and start feeling yucky and then wind up not feeling like doing healthy things. I also was very busy over the log weekend with dance performances at festivals, classes, rehearsals, reno work at the studio, plus a bit of hanging out with friends and family. I managed to dehydrate myself pretty bad due to long hours of work over the weekend... I was going 8 or 9 hours without food and little water (which is VERY unlike me!) and I knew something was very wrong when on Sunday afternoon I started feeling dizzy and shaky! I started cramming all sorts of fruits and glasses of water down my mouth and was feeling better, still a little nauseous, but much better after that!

So my weight has not changed - I'm at 157 pounds still, but I have made a promise to myself that I WILL get to 155 by this Saturday no matter what!!! I got up early today and did a killer lower body workout wit da boyz in the gym and followed it up with 30 minutes of cardio. Will run to the studio tonight to teach my classes.

Feeling so much better today!!!

June 29, 2010

One of my body transformation programs just ended (a few ladies from the business upstairs from my studio were doing a private 12-week program together, then at the end of that three of them continued on with me for an additional 8 weeks to get further to their ultimate goals.) I LOVE to witness the change people go through not just physically, but in all aspects of their life, when they do a program like this. Yes, tons of pounds and inches were lost (one superstar lost over 40 lbs!)but more importantly, I hope my programs show participants that they have the power to change anything in their lives if they really put their mind to it! I am always super-stoked by all my student's progress - it makes me get all goose-bumpy when I feel like I'm helping people make real positive changes in their lives and of course it also keeps me totally motivated seeing them all working so hard towards their goals and dreams - LOVE IT!!!  If you wanna make changes like I've talked about here and work towards your dream body this summer, I have a new 12-week body transformation program starting next Saturday, June 10 - check out www.flowfitness.ca for more info! Or check out my 4-week free online transformation site with forum at http://www.mayada.ca/4-weektransformation/online_4_week_body_transformation%20main.htm

I just made a new vlog! In it I discuss a bit about my weekend, the power of positive thinking, as well as give an at-home upper body workout for you all to try!

My weekend in brief: Niagara Falls was great - so glad we weren't here for all the G20 stuff! I did stray a tiny bit from my clean eats, but nowhere near as bad as I usually would be on a weekend at the Falls or even a typical weekend here! There were no sugar binges or pizza or anything too crazy... I did have a burger at T.G.I.Fridays - yum! And I tried those Dippin Dots for the first time too! I feel a bit bloaty and gross now after that day, but it wasn't too severe! I do feel like I'm finding a lot more balance in my eating (not being way to severe and strict and not eating pure garbage) so that's exciting to me as I'm usually such an all-or-nothing type of gal!

here's a pic that made me happy:

This pic was from Friday (Brasil-Portugal soccer game)... And it is an action shot of me dancing samba... I was a little worried about seeing the dancing pics as even when you're pretty fit you can look rolly and fat in movement shots where you aren't pulling up, everything is all loose and jiggly, and crazy twisting motions in samba make it really bad sometimes... but none of them were terrible, and I can even see a bit of ab definition in this one (I know there is still a little belly, but seeing improvement for sure!)

YAY!

Talk soon!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

I was very good diet-wise and workout-wise yesterday probably a lot of my success was because I was very busy and stayed home working all day. Of course being in surrounded by healthy food is easier usually than being out in the real world with all sorts of tempting stuff everywhere. I actually didn't even get all my meals in yesterday cause I was so busy trying to get lots of work done on the computer! Plus I got 2 workouts in! My food stats for yesterday were 1098 calories - 29g fat (24%), 140g carbs (50%), 70g protein (26%). So, the calories and protein were a little low, but still ok!

This morning I knew my condo gym would be closed again so I got up early and was all ready to run and workout outside again, but when I got down, it was pouring! I thought about going out anyways or doing a stair workout, but instead came back up and got a lot of computer work done instead! I will hopefully be able to run to the studio and do a workout there before teaching my noon-time boot camp class.

Tomorrow I'm gonna be in a little samba bikini for the Brazil soccer game so that's my short-term goal to stay on track this week, plus this weekend we're going away to Niagara and I wanna rock my bikini at a waterpark while there! I find I really need to have weekly small goals like this to keep me going! My goal for next week is to start teaching all classes with a midriff-baring top (starting Monday) - this is really motivating to stay on track daily! As well as being great diet-wise, I think I'm gonna need a Mystic Tan too - lol!

Check out my latest vlog including a at-home workout you can do:

Monday, June 21, 2010

So it's the first official day of my free 4-week challenge! I just finished taping a little vlog for day one where I discuss my workouts planned for the day, a quick breakfast idea, and how I use tea to curb sweet/treat cravings throughout the day. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcAJfasaOqk I'm so excited that a few of you are already on here with your starting point pics, and I expect a few more within the next few days. You can all tell your friends and family to do it with you (they can start anytime really, as long as we're all serious and committed to making a real difference and achieving all our goals!

So, today I will probably go shopping with my mom before my PURE SWEAT class at the studio... this is always a challenge for me... I find malls and being out with people really makes me wanna eat every bad food out there. It's day one of my new life so I'm sure I'll be fine, but I will be packing my tuna and chicken breasts to make sure I stay on track! I have decided to take the guess-work out and eat the same thing every day this week at the same time... here's what I'll be eating every day this week without fail:

egg whites & oatmeal

tuna with cucumber

broccoli & cottage cheese

chicken breast & rice cake with peanut butter

egg whites

I find this keeps me super-clean and I never talk myself into eating something I kinda shouldn't. There's no question about what you're eating next with this type of plan! And I'm going to try to get my whole day of meals prepped in the morning so it's just waiting there in the fridge for me! Try it out if you want!

4 WEEKS UNTIL IDFA COMPETITION!!! I need to lose 5 pounds per week for 4 weeks!!!

June 4, 2010

So, I'm back in training for my next competition (IDFA on July 17). I feel totally inspired and excited about bettering my body a lot from the last competition. I definitely wasn't in my best shape for May 15th, but I still wanted to get back in there and compete just to get back into competing as well as motivate me to do way better next time which it totally did! I have been experimenting a lot this week with various workouts and am planning a new plan of action in the gym that I will start this Monday. I have decided to stop weights (except for my problem areas like my butt and hamstrings) and do crazy intense workouts of plyometrics, intervals, lots of bodyweight stuff, etc. Only problem now with that is I have a bit of a shoulder injury so a lot of that stuff is out - guess I will be focussing alot on lower body stuff for the next few days (and hopefully it gets better quick!) Thanks for helping me win the Status Magazine fitness model online competition last month - that was incredible - woo-hoo! Now, vote for me in the FLEX Magazine Bikini Model Search online until June 15 at http://www.flexonline.com/flexmodelsearch/vote/ - I am in the middle of the page (Meagan H.), click on circle by my name, then scroll down to bottom of page and click vote! Thanks guys! I have so much more to write about, but I will save it for when I have a bit more time on my hands! Talk soon!

Check out my VLOG of of May 15th competition: