HELL WEEK - "Miracle"

  So I was behind for this show, the Iron Man Magazine Naturally NPC Competition. I never diet through the holidays and this was very rough for me. I also had gained a lot after San Jose. Coach told me not to do this show, but I'm not a quitter. These pics are taken 9 days out, Wednesday.

 

I went through 2) 3-day carb depletions, with very little carbs in between and leading up to the show.  It was crazy. I dropped a lot of water, and NEVER want to have to do that again. SO glad I have that behind me and 8 more weeks to train for Gov Cup. 

The back pose was very painful for me to see, as I was shocked to see it this obvious at a heavier weight. I need to keep building muscle but I'm worried about how much more my body will shift, and how it will affect my spine. 

Quick pre-blurb of Iron Man Magazine & Fit Expo

O_M_G! We had SUCH an AMAZING weekend! Although we did not bring home trophies, we have made some GREAT progress! I personally made eye contact with each judge and did NOT shake! First time ever. I did notice the changes in my body have definitely made my scoliosis more apparent and I am dealing with it as best I can.

The Expo...I have no words. I learned a LOT from the Pros who were helping & prepping us backstage, UNHEARD of at the amateur(NPC) level. Totally changing my Tanning procedure. Also, we got to meet and take photos with Jay Cutler(also learned a lot at his Q&A!), Ronnie Coleman, Alicia Marie(and got a sneak peak at her new Booty book which isn't even out yet!), and I got to meet one of my heroes Jim Stoppani, PhD from Muscle&Fitness and Flex Magazine and score some awesome 6-pack coolers from him! I can't wait to post pictures on my Page tomorrow, www.facebook.com/nmtfitness We took a LOT of great ones!

Well, now 8 weeks until Governor's Cup in Sacramento, March 24th. Crock pot is going and Im ready to Lift like an ANIMAL!!!! See what I got cookin' below.

I will follow up with separate blogs over the next few days covering the Competition, and the FitExpo and all our experiences.

Mashed Cauliflower: cauliflower, chicken stock/broth, garlic clove,
garlic salt. Crockpot low overnight, mash&mix.

 

Chicken Soup: chicken, short grain brown rice, broccoli, chicken
stock, garlic salt, paprika. Crock pot Low overnight

 

Ironman Naturally, -3 Days

Well, they're comin'....want some DEEP cuts for the next Comp!

Wow, today! I had originally thought I would be okay working through this week. I'm even teaching my classes, at least through tomorrow(Wednesday). But there were a few things I needed to do so I thought I'd give myself breathing room, boy did I NEED IT! I took today of and first item was SLEEP! I woke up at 11am. what?! Already behind. Guess what? I had forgotten to move my food from the freezer to the fridge or leave out to thaw. I needed to workout, but needed to eat food first. So, off to the store I went to get fresh tilapia and chicken for today.

Got my 4oz of chicken on my new scale. (Haven't unwrapped it yet, lol)

So I did a lot of cooking, did my YouTube blog for Today, went to the gym with mom, went to the chiropractor(I think she got my shoulder back even with the other), got my eyerows waxed, then came home and did some more cooking while doing a little Zumba in between. I vacuumed and am aiming to put some clothes away and pack a lil. Or add to my packing pile.

Looks like my spot's been taken... <3

My "Packing Pile" - Hmmm....what to wear. to party w/the girls after the show? ... ;)

I'm trying to catch up on meals. I am just about finished with my 2nd fill of my water jug(2.2L) This is Day 1 on my second carb-depletion. I won't have to do this again. I can NOT get behind and go crazy. I need to stay where I am at and continue my fine-tuning and progress from here to the next shows.

(2.2 Liters) x 2 !

Tomorrow I will go to work, then teach cycling @ Bally Total Fitness, then back to work, then back to Bally to teach BOSU, then back to Ray's Built Tuff for posing practice with Robin and train Leslie for her last workout. Tomorrow is the last workout day. Thursday and Friday we rest. Thursday I JUST go to work. Sounds SO simple! :D We do go to check in with Fatima at Ray's Built Tuff after work. Then we should be able to have some carbs to fill out. Friday we fly out. There will be me, Leslie(we are the 2 competing), Cori, Brenda(my former client and Bally class member) all on the same flight. SUPER fun! Becky might also be driving down, and my dad should be driving down.

HELL WEEK - "Miracle Week"

So it is the Sunday before the competition. This is when we start playing with our carbs and drinking tons of water. It is SO crazy! I usually take them out today....but I was behind. I need a "miracle".  Coach told me the only way to make it was to take out my carbs. OK! Call me masochistic, but I will do what I need to to make it happen! I did not come all this way to fail. So when people complain about their diet to me right now, I'm not very understanding. But when my girls complain, I can totally relate because I have done it ALL. I did something I NEVER do and bought fat-burners to get through the day. If not, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed with no carbs. But today I am hitting the wall hard. As per the instructions I upped the dosage....and then fell asleep! Craziness!

So far my nails are done, we got our hair done yesterday, and our makeup the Saturday before, so really just need to pack. I got a new roller suitcase for my comp stuff and sponges for the ProTan and GemTac glue for the stones that have come off my suit.

It's hard with all the stress in life, the holidays etc. I started out with a team of 5 girls. Things happen and people don't always make it. Times are tough, people lose jobs, travel, get sick etc. So now there are two of us actually competing. We were a little down at first, but we are doing this for ourselves. And we have accomplished a lot! Cori is still coming and it's actually gonna be awesome because she can see first-hand how everything goes the day of a comp. Also, she can help us and I'm VERY relieved about that! I am excited for her to do my hair! Also the show is earlier as it is part of the Expo and sharing the stage with other events so we can actually SHOWER and THEN go eat and continue out at night looking hott and being CLEAN!!

I am documenting my prep for this show, so if you would like to see more, check out my YouTube Channel at:
www.youtube.com/coachnict

Things to do:
Full body shave/Jantana hair remover
Cook Food
Protan: Wed, Thurs, Fri night
Pack
Tanners, makeup, suits, heels, FitStars Warm-ups
REST!

Closer...

 

Well, The Eye said I looked better but she wants some BIG changes by next Saturday. I need to do another hour of cardio tonight so that'll bring my total to 5hrs this week. Of course, I also subbed 4hrs of Aqua and while not a workout persay, I definitely was actively moving around and my shoulders are sore!
Im definitely hitting the wall and a bit down today. Ups & downs. Gonna go get my cardio in at Ray's before I have posing practice with Robin. After the girls' session tomorrow we are goin to MAC for our makeup prep and next Saturday getting our hair done so that'll be exciting and hopefully help me feel ready. But the legs def more defined then before. Lines, triangles, hehe ;)

 Here you can see my crookedness show in the shoulders & waist.  

SAME weight. Holding due to lack of sleep & stress. But much more definition! Crazy how the body works!

Ironman Mag Naturally - 3 weeks out

So I had my check-in and took pics. I know I'm behind. Fatima says I'll be ok, but I'm mad at myself. Of course, I NEVER would have tried to diet through the holidays, but since they are over its been easier. I doubled my cardio (not much for most but from 2hrs to 4hrs / week). And I've been on my 3wks out plan for the last month so aside from the cheats, I've been super clean. And have been good one week, lol. So far I lost the weight from the cheat, +3lbs so I am 128lbs, 17.6%BF. I took pics and felt like I had less muscle and more fat than my last pics at the higher weight. Thank god I have a coach to filter for me.

I've had a lot of stress at work, and my Oma has been in the hospital this week. She's going to be needing a pace-maker. She doesn't really know whats going on. Other than my SF mints, while I'm visiting, I haven't cheated. SO I'm feeling good about that and I just keep telling myself what I tell others: "Just do the work, and it will happen". It's hard, and I totally understand the mentality....people feel hopeless so they cheat, and because they've screwed up they make it worse. But you gotta stick with it. I made this commitment, and I am NOT a quitter. I knew I'd have to work harder when I made the choice to cheat. The GREAT thing is, I'm an instructor! SO I picked up another permanent cycling class at Bally's, so now I'm getting PAID for 3hrs of that cardio a week! Also what that means is its scheduled so there's no way i can miss it. All I need to do is squeeze another hour in(I have another instructor who's class I'm taking cuz she's awesome and I'm learning from it!) so then if needed another 30mins here and there on the stairs. Again, I drop weight quick, so many of my clients need to do a lot more cardio depending on how their body responds.

I also launched my YouTube Channel this week. So far I have my Intro video and one on my ProTan process. Helps a lot for showing my girls how it's done. I can't paint them all! ;)