NPC Emerald Cup - 5 days out

So I'm 5 days out. Today I did legs. Just a few supersets, 3 x 20 major exercises to burn out the glycogen. No carbs in my diet now aside from what's in all the asparagus I'm eating to drop water. I've made some HUGE changes and progress and I'm super excited about that. It's funny people's interpretations or views on that. Some people think that people who make changes like that are on steroids or other things. Ignorance. Jealousy because they are not making their own progress. Probly eating way too many carbs and/or drinking. But also everyone has their own opinions. Yesterday a friend told me that the big buff tatted dude at the booth next to us said I was 'jacked'. haha SuhWEET! I don't always see it. I mean I do in the selfies when I'm posing but never sure how I look to others. Today I saw a colleague who hadn't seen me in months, since like 20lbs ago, and she was like 'you got skinny! what' going on?" And I told her I had a show on Friday lol. So as if you're not already going back and forth in your own head, you have all these different opinions being thrown at you.

I'm also chugging a TON of water! 1-2 gallons a day. And I'm still THIRSTY!!! This is the effect different foods and ratios have on the body. I wouldn't recommend trying it, just take my word for it ;) 

This is me a few days ago. Lots of progress. My back is my best feature and its starting to show. The lighting in this locker room is horrible and has not reflecting what I and others have actually seen in my progress but it is what it is. Quad separation is good, shoulders are more capped then before. I'm still crooked, yes I AM, not the suit or how I'm standing. Chest has more definition,...I've really been working on that and finally have a pec separation. Also a lot less boobs, HAHHA! They are 'manageable' now.  

So everyone thinks I look Awesome and I'm 'gonna win'. It's really hard to be nice and take a compliment when you know it's not true. THIS is my weak spot. And despite all my progress, and how lean everything else is getting, THIS CRAP is still there. I am embarrassed by these photos. 'Normal people' don't know how ROUGH the competition is, and yes, every little line needs to be where it should. So do I feel confident? lol nope.  

 

This is not the bootie of a Figure Competitor. Again, the lighting is awful and I'm not tanned, but still. Yes, there will be improvement as I drop my water and dry out. I will tighten up, but not to the extent I need to. But I have to remember my approach this time. Although I REALLY wanted this show, I also wanted BALANCE. I allowed cheat meals. I had a little flexibility. Because I KNOW I can diet like crazy. But I also know I can balloon back up quickly. And I do not want that. I don't want the mental struggle and rebound I usually have. So the loss of over 20lbs was almost painless to me. I dieted, yes. But I feel like when I made changes the weight came off. And I enjoyed my food. I'd rather be a lower trophy and be able to maintain it all year round than to win one show and gain 30lbs back after that.

It's ok. The work is done, the final stages are in place. I'm getting caught up on rest these next few days and prepping and packing. Sara and I will enjoy this adventure to WA together and then hang out in Seattle and enjoy food like normal people lol. I'm already thinking to my diet and training for the next two months as NPC San Jose is on June 29th. All I really need to do is tighten up and drop a few more lbs or gain a lil muscle. I can come in very lean. And I have  few special events planned already for my cheat meals. If I keep it tight I should be able to allow them and then I will have something that I can start to live with as a normal life.

Emerald Cup: < 2 Weeks Out

Ok, it's CRAZY TIME!! Everyone else thinks I look "Amazing!". Great. They are NORMAL. Meanwhile I am pinching the fat on my ass every hour waiting for it to get smaller. I am wondering whether I should even be on that stage AT ALL! Oh, damn.....what's that in the mirror? Whoa....my shoulders look great! Awesome improvement!! A chest line finally!!!! LOTS of HARD work! I turn around..nope...no glute/hamstring line. Nothing there. :( ugh. It's an emotional roller-coaster that I just can't explain. The level of leanness and definition I need to achieve is something most people just can't relate to. And if I complain to people, they just look at me like I'm crazy.

 

I go to the store which seems pointless with aisles of food I can't have, people eating all these things, munching away 'whenever they feel like it'. How unstructured!! (I realize I am the outlier, they are 'normal'). I wonder if I can ever eat normal again. BALANCED I mean. Last time I went nuts and had to lose this 30lbs! I'd rather not even let myself do it. I do like my food, I mean I've really learned how to cook! :)
 
SO, what to do? Well I started carb cycling last week. That means I have different servings of carbs depending on my day. More for the day I teach 3 classes and lift, medium for the other days, and low for the days I am not teaching or am resting. Big changes, but I need more and don't want to risk it. So I will do my high day tomorrow(Monday when I teach all those) but then I will do a full carb depletion cycle. With no carbs my body will be forced to burn fat (although slower, and less efficiently) and I will also drop water. REMINDER: What I am doing is NOT for most people! There is a whole series of things I have done up until this point for this to happen, it's not just something you do, it doesn't work for everyone it's NOT a 'healthy option' and I don't recommend it. I am doing it to look SCARY LEAN ON STAGE. They I will have a carb-up day and see where I'm at. I am thrown off a little having a Competition on Friday where it's normally on Saturday. So I will have to start my Peak Week a day earlier, on Saturday. So I can only do one cycle before I do my Peak Week Depletion Cycle.

 
What would a cheat do??
- I get asked this a LOT. "How big a deal is it, really??" A HUGE DEAL right now! I have been training and dieting for MONTHS. I am dropping every ounce of fat I can while preserving each tiny bit of muscle I have worked SO HARD to gain. I am playing with my carbs to trick my body into losing more fat and water retention. If I were to splurge right now, with sugar or carbs...it would all go back into my muscles and do so carrying 3x its weight in water. I'd be back at square one almost. I'd fill up, I'd puff up. My definition would be gone, and I'd look 'soft'. So NOTHING is worth that right now. Not when I am THISCLOSE! ;)

 

 

When it's close . . .

Many will start the journey with you, but few will finish it. Ones that start as your biggest supporters, sometimes turn against you. The words of encouragement turn to words of dismay, disgust - just to name a few. I know when I am close to my competition (ie: 4 weeks out or less) because of the remarks I get. At your weakest time, people abandon you. Sometimes because they can't stand that you've made such drastic changes while they've made none. Or because they can only be around people who drink or eat junk. While that's fun, you would really think a true friendship should have nothing to do with those things. People think you are 'too skinny', 'too muscle-y', unfeminine, just to name a few. You can feel so AWESOME about your body, your improvements, how far you've come, just for some selfish ignorant person to tear you down in a few seconds. At the time when you are most in your own head, full of nervousness and doubt. In our society people think this is ok, but you don't see us going around saying how 'fat you are, I don't think it's pretty, you look unhealthy, you should eat better..". I would never do such a thing, and I love helping people, but it's so amazing how the opposite seems to be acceptable, maybe because they think we can handle it. So the last few weeks, you pull back, concentrate on you, keeping yourself together and mentally focused and cling to the few around you who just GET IT. Who understand, and don't judge and help you keep your sanity.

 

  

12 Weeks out - Emerald Cup, May 3rd

Ok, So I am starting out at approximately 133lbs, and 19% Body Fat. I am adding my cardio back in(I had given up my bike in Cycle class so that more members could take my class) and cutting my cheats down. I have gotten tired of chicken so I am switching those 2 meals to 1) Salmon and 1) Tilapia. Because the Salmon also has fat, I will be cutting the fat serving(either almonds or avocado) out of that meal.

I just peeked at my new workout plan! I am now starting Month 5 of the Advanced Muscle Tone & Firm on the Workout Trainer by Muscle & Fitness. It is a LOT of stuff I do NOT do, which is also why I like it. It challenges me, teaches me and pushes me. This month there are Plyo's and Olympic Lifts. It looks like HEAVY on the legs(and other areas) because there are some SHORT sets of SHORT reps! My legs need it! My arms are pretty 'big' now, I'm happy with my shoulders...abs need to lose the fat a bit more over them...the legs are getting lines just want them to be a little fuller. I don't want to lean out and just look 'stringy' if that makes sense?

NPC Emerald Cup - 8 weeks out

Well, we're at 8 weeks out! This week I took some progress pics finally and also sent them to Sara. She asked if I was still having fruit which I am. 1/2 banana on my hard days and 6 or so strawberries on my lighter days. She told me no more cheat days except for my Birthday. Which I needed her to tell me. This is going to be a BIG show and I want to present at my best EVER. So as of today, I am down to 131lbs, approximately 17.7% BF so down about 1%. My goal is approximately 12% at 125lbs. (Lower % if possible, my first year I was 9% so I'd like to see what I look like there.)

 
March 5th 2013                                                                   March 8th 2013

So I need to KILL myself the next few weeks because I have a fitness conference Thursday - Sunday. So instead of my normal 2 days rest, I need to start RIGHT OVER tomorrow to get all 5 lifts in before the 4 day conference(which is all workouts) and then RIGHT back into Day 1 lift on Monday. So about 19 days straight. Right now my back is locking up and I should be going to the chiropractor. When it locks up I can feel my spine, it cracks a lot, and my low back is tight. I can't move my neck/head that much. I am in pain around T4(thoracic) and my neck. I don't like to take meds, but I'm taking some now. I try to stretch a lot, hang to decompress my spine and roll on my foam roller.

 
Our Mantra                                                                             This week's food

So I did my lift...it was short, and hey, I'm not stupid so I didn't do my Cleans or Jump Rope. My back was trying to give out on the BB Front Squats and I tried one clean and I could hear my back crunching. I did a nice 30mins on the stairs instead of the treadmill.


Makin' it happen

< 9 Weeks out - NPC Emerald Cup

So the last time I checked, I was 132lbs and about 18% BF. STILL. Ok, I did drop a bit last week finally after cutting the carbs our of meal 5. But it was a ROUGH week, and I got fed up. So, I kinda acted like a "normal" person this weekend. :O Like my bad day is probly someone else's good day but in the Bodybuilding World, and in prep mode, it was HORRIBLE. Of course, I actually filled out and felt like I looked better. LOL. So I am all back on track and KILLING it this week! Today I taught my 2 Aqua classes, then subbed PowerFlex, then did my own lift. (Cycle I taught off bike as the class is just so packed I give up mine).

So, now I am feeling my back. Today, lying on the bench teaching class I could FEEL my right shoulder blade was farther back as it was pushing into the bench. Every movement was finding knots and my shoulders kept wanting to slip out. (They sublux/partially dislocate). My low spine is acting funny...even doing a plank, I can feel my vertebrae clicking as I breathe. My low back, everything is TIGHT and off. Basically, I'm totally twisted. Time for an adjustment but I'm worried how/if this will continue and if it will affect/impede my workouts.

  

Meal 5: Changing the veggies, stir fry mix from #safeway with chicken.
Meal 3: trying to like turkey again using the 15% for my fatty protein. With brown rice. Used minced garlic and onions with garlic salt.
The rest pretty much the same. Pre-workout #bodyfortress NOS blast or #bsn no-xplode, post-workout #isagenix Isalean Pro and #vitargo

So, I'm not perfect. I've done this for 10 years on and off. I've dieted myself like crazy, I've been super strict, and I've had to lose the same 20lbs (25 this time) over and over again. I know my body. I know it stopped responding last year. This is MY journey and I can choose my own goals and approach. I'm already way ahead of where I was last year. I let myself cheat and now I'm happy to be back on track. I have 7 more pounds to drop in the next 9 weeks. Not counting what I drop the last week with water. I wish the numbers would go down more, but I can see the difference. And so can everyone else.

12 Weeks Out Emerald Cup - Diet

Ok, so here's my new diet. Mostly similar, just a few slight changes.

Meal #1 is the same: 1/2c Lana's Egg Whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2c Oatmeal, (I changed the fruit) 1/2 banana 4 frozen strawberries. I made a double-batch so I can use the whole banana, it has good consistency for the pancakes but wanted the strawberry flavor. It's actually a LITTLE more fruit but that's ok to me because I am working out a TON and I can burn that off in my AM workouts.

Meal #2 is my Post-workout shake. Still using my IsaLean Pro but now added in the 1 scoop(that's a half serving) of the Vitargo so that I can have a better carb:protein ration. (2:1).

Meal #3 is 4oz Salmon and 6oz Butternut Squash. I took out my fat serving(almonds/avocado) in lieu of having a fatty protein source. So I still have my carbs with the squash, and the fat and protein are in the salmon. I may change this with meal #5 depending on how my day is going.

 

Meal #4 I just swapped the chicken for Tilapia. 4oz Tilapia, 1/2c brown rice, 4 asparagus(they are fat), 10 almonds. (a lil les fat as the salmon had a bit more)

Meal #5 Is my IsaLean Shake with Ionix (for combatting the effects of stress). I like this meal here as I can down it in-between clients/class at night.

Meal #6 is the same. My omelet: 1c egg whites, spinach(2c or handfuls), 1/2 avocado.
  
If I feel like it either I need it mentally or I had a heavy workout day I will have my IsaDelight as a treat. It's a little chocolate square infused with green tea. That's not a daily thing though.

This is for my training days which are Mon - Fri. I lift 5 days a week and teach 8 classes, but don't do all the classes depending on their capacity. My plan is about 1933 calories: 51g fat, 177g protein, 187g carbs, 29g fiber. I aim to drink 1 gallon of water a day. I also added CLA with some of my meals each day.
 

Training Week 2 of 2013

I ended this week with a check-in: Down 3lbs from last check-in!(135lbs) NOT only that, but my body fat went down over 1%(20.6%). I was comparing my measurements with a few months back, when I was 135, and I am SMALLER! That means I gained muscle!(at... least 1lb back from before my hospital visit) Which confirms my readings. I am now 109lbs of Lean Body Mass, and my estimated comp weight for myself at 12%BF (IF i maintain the current muscle) would be 124. If I could get back down to 9%, like my first season, I would be 120 like i was last year, but MUCH leaner. ;)

This week I found some crazy ab cuts!

 

I am still on my diet, just have my Chili's Guiltless Grill 6oz Sirloin steak with broccoli on Sunday evenings with my mom(250cals, 38g protein, 8g fat). It fits in my plan. If I have a sweet tooth I have my Isagenix IsaDelights with green tea extract. That helps a lot. My body is responding like I am used to, really well. Last year it just wasn't. I have more lines and cuts than I am used to seeing even at 10lbs less, so I am really excited to see how I look as I lean out.
www.coachnict.isagenix.com

 

Training Week 1 of 2013

 

Here it is, January 4th, 2013. This is the first week of my Official Training. What does that mean? That means NO EXCUSES! No cheating, no missed workouts. GET IT DONE. I started my lifts on Monday, so today was my 4th lift, and 3rd DOD. (Day Of Diet). I am ON POINT!

I've posted my full meal plan. Now this is based on me, currently at 138lbs. This is also my plan for my TRAINING days(on these days I have 300-400cals extra). My food is logged in MyFitnessPal (CoachNicT).

 I lift (ideally) M-F, and teach 8 classes throughout the week. I am doing no extra cardio(7hrs is quite enough thank you, lol). If I miss a day during the week, I hit the gym Saturday(which will be this week). I will post when I have my off day. My 'cheat meals' are TBD. They will most likely not be a binge or junk of any sort, but like my lunch today(Chili's Lighter Choice 6oz sirloin & Broccoli, 250cals) - a healthier option I can choose and be able to have my dinner with family. Any real 'cheat' or 're-feed will be determined by my progress....and sanity ;)

My starting goal weight is 125lbs, 10% Body fat. I haven't been down to 10% in a while so I'm giving myself plenty of time. Our first show, Emerald Cup, is 17 weeks away. Typical leaning phase/prep starts 12 weeks out, but I'm heavier than usual and I don't want to worry at the end. And, if I need to do an earlier show to qualify, I'll have a shot at that as well. My birthday is also in between, and last year I did a show literally for my birthday. It was 4 days after, so ON my actual birthday, I was on my 3rd day of carb depletion. Then the show got sold out and my Dad and my Best Friend didn't even get to see me at Finals, or get my trophy. :( So, I really wanted to do something fun this year, lol. Maybe I can have a cheat meal lol. Looking good ROCKS, so there's that!




Meal 1: 1/2c oatmeal, 1/2c Lana's Egg Whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2c Pure Pumpkin, spices to taste
Picture 2: All ingredients, mixed & microwaved 2-3 mins for bread pudding/bread
Meal 2: Isagenix Isalean Pro w/Ionix Supreme(this is a high protein meal replacement shake I use for post workout.
Meal 3: 4 oz chicken breast, 4oz sweet potato, 15 almonds
Meal 4: Isagenix Isalean w/Want More Energy (this is a meal replacement shake.)
Meal 5: 3 oz chicken breast, 12c brown rice, 6 asparagus, 1/4 avocado
Meal 6: 1c Lana's Egg Whites, 2c Spinach, 1/2 avocado

November 2012 - Training

After coming back from the NPC Sac Show on the 3rd, I realized I was in one of my 'non-eating' phases. Basically I've always had a cycled eating pattern. I'll eat more for a few weeks, and then I'll basically have no cravings or desire to eat. So I decided to use that to my advantage. Even though I'm building right now, I just don't feel comfortable at this high of a weight. I was at my all time high of 144lbs. (My previous high was always 140). The stress and mess I had to deal with in the last few months took a toll on my eating and working out.

I decided to tighten up my diet and drop a few pounds. I didn't plot it out, I just modified what I was already eating by cutting my pre-workout PB&J in half, and replacing 2 of my meals for super clean ones: tilapia & asparagus, and salmon & asparagus. It ended up being high protein and low carb, about 105g carbs. I will also say I did have a few add-in items. Monday I had my friend's leftover bread pudding she had made from scratch for me. Tuesday night I had my 2 mini sliders leftover from Chili's. Small bites, made me happy. If i run out of food I throw in a Lean Cuisine at the end of the week. So, I'm down 3lbs. I would've liked another to be down to 140, but I'm pretty happy. I took my measurements and photos. I'm guessing I'm down about 1 lb of fat, and 2lbs of water. I feel better about how I look, though I definitely have a long way to go. But I'm happy to lose it slower and keep the muscle I am working SO hard to build. I most likely will bring the food back up this week to my 'maintenance' level and continue. I would like to do another drop week at the end of Nov/Beg December. I am guessing my competition weight will be around 125. We will see how much I can actually build and what that looks like when I lean out.

I am still using the M&F Trainer for my workouts and loving it! I lift 5 days/week. I don't do any 'cardio' per say, but I teach 2-Cycle classes and 5-Aqua classes per week, so it's there! ;)  Yesterday was legs & shoulders and my butt is definitely sore today! I really had to force myself through that workout last night. My basic diet for the last week, my drop week, is below. It's about 1400 cals. If I had sat down and figured it out the ratios would have been better, I just wanted to drop and didn't mind going strict, especially because I let myself keep my favorites.

 

Current stats: 141lbs, 22%BF (31lbs), 110lbs LBM.
 - I take this all with a grain of salt, because the BIA measurements fluctuate greatly, and unfortunately some fat caliper measurements you just can't take on your own. At the higher weight it read i was 112LBM, which I'm sad about because I was working to 115, but now looks like I'm back down to 110. We will see, I just HAVE to keep my lifts in, even though I am completely SLAMMED at work!