Sunday, September 30, 2012

My thighs are no longer friends...

Saturday was my midway point. I began my journey 12 weeks out and as of Saturday I was 6 weeks in or 6 weeks out, depending if you are a glass half full or glass half empty type person. After taking my photos I decided it was time to share my transformation. After a very long off season and committing to competing at Sandra Wickham I had 12 weeks to put my noise to the pavement and adjust to my new crazy schedule. Up at 5:15, gym at 5:30, home by 7, work til 5:00, back to the gym at 5:30 and in bed at 9:30. Needless to say I see my man a lot in passing but he is busy and we make time for each other. I couldn't do this without him.
Training this time feels surreal. I am going through the motions of pushing my body past when it says it's tired and eat what my plan dictates but it still doesn't feel real. The first few weeks were frustrating because it took a while for me to notice results and to be honest I still feel like my body hasn't changed that much even with the scale saying I've already dropped 13 plus pounds. Looking at my 12 week photos and comparing them to now I can see I have come a long way but I still have a little ways to go.
The next 6 weeks will be very important to getting stage ready. With up-ing cardio and acting a little carb depleted life gets more and more challenging. All by choice of course. I live for this stuff. I am a competitive person by nature and having a goal that demands this type of self discipline and dedication is something that really challenges me and something I enjoy. Fitness has always been apart of my life but being involved in such a unique way has really changed my life. It all started in 2010 when I met IFFB Pro Natalie Waples who changed my life and competing is something that drives passion into everything I do.
In life, finding something that you are passion about is tres important. This thing may or might not be your job but an activity outside of work. Some people love their jobs but are passionate about their hobbies. For me, I love sales and I am good at what I do and my job challenges me and I am constantly learning and developing but I am also very passionate about people and fitness and my blog and training is an outlet for that. I feel so blessed to be where I am, growing as a person and I love sharing my experiences with others and it feels good to write how I'm feeling or what's going on in my head.
Writing also helps keep me on track because sometimes training can cause you to feel alone because you are always going to and from the gym and being strict on bed times or what your eating. It can definitely limit your social life if you let it. There is that famous saying, everything in moderation and it's true! I try really to make the best of every situation and surround myself with people that support what I do. I can go out for dinner and dessert with my friends except my choices will just be different but it doesn't mean I'm not drooling over your steak or chocolate layer cake...I am 100% happy with my decisions.
The next six weeks are going to be challenge and test my strength but I feel confident with the support system that I have that I will be able to finish strong. I am mentally starting to visualize myself on stage and practicing my posing and organizing tanning, picking a suit, getting my hair done and preparing for the trip to Vancouver which will be interesting. I can't forget anything! Anyways, here is to the next six weeks! Thanks for all your support and nice messages and of course my transformation pictures! Can you believe the changes?! Oh man, I can't believe I'm posting this......

Have a great Sunday afternoon.  Train. Eat. Sleep. REPEAT!

Nic out!

xoxo

Saturday, September 29, 2012

I OD'd on almond butter...I'm not perfect.

So it has taken me a few days to write this post because I felt guilty at first and being so close to my competition felt extra bad about my slip up. Writing this to all my followers was important because I am NOT perfect and I make mistakes too. Its how we handle them and move forward that counts.

It all went down Wednesday night...or should I say last Saturday when I purchased the almond butter from Costco in the first place. Wednesday night I was having protein with a tbsp of peanut butter but one spoon full led to another and without realizing I was in a trace and had more than 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter. This may not sound like much but each spoonful cost me 100 calories, 8 grams of fat and  1 gram of sugar. You can do the math...I was really disappointed in myself but I had to move forward.

Moving forward included throwing out my container of almond butter...darn you MaraNatha, you make the best NUT BUTTER!!! It's terrible that I can't even have it in the house. It's my kryptonite but now that I've gotten rid of the culprit, I feel so much better. Other than my mishap the other night I have been 100% committed to my training and my meals. It feels so much better to talk about it to everyone that has been so supportive of me and my training. I'm not perfect and everyone does have their moments of weakness. With 6 weeks to go as of today, I haven't been more committed to my goal of placing 1st at Sandra Wickham. This mistake has pushed me to mentally get passed what happened and continue with my journey.

This past week I had a great break through. I met my goal weight early but this was over shadowed by the Almond Butter incident. I should have been over joyed reaching my goal weight a week early. Now is the time when the little victories really help push you to reaching your goal. In the next 6 weeks I need to drop another 10 pounds which is a little more than a pound and a half a week. I really need to push myself for the next two weeks before my surgery on the 10th as I will have to take a few days off from training to allow my stitches to heal properly. My surgeon said that I need to be mindful of my shoulder and what types of exercises I'm doing but I can do a lot of body weight workouts and steady state cardio. Life happens and you have to keep on track.

Today I slept in til 10:30! I had been fighting a cold all week and after 9 workouts I think my body was trying to tell me something. After having breakfast and relaxing, I prepared my leg and tricep workout and it was off to the gym. I was dragging my butt a little but once I got to the gym I was 100% into my workout. Even though my workout was so late in the day I still have to get my second workout to get in so I am super happy to have a GBF, Jill. We are going to hit the gym later tonight for some gossip over cardio. Its always more fun to do cardio with someone because it makes the time fly by. Tomorrow is time for some yoga to stretch out from the week and time to sweat!

Now that my slate is clean and I aired out my dirty laundry about OD'ing on almond butter I can officially move on.  My goal this week is to loose 2 pounds and hide my scale. I am committing to weighing myself on Saturday mornings only.

Since I had a little time on my hands,  I took a trip down memory lane and pulled out my competition tub. I found my winning Whey Gourment bag and beautiful suit. After dusting off my clear slippers and bringing out all the stuff from my last competition I feel good. I'm excited to start practicing my posing and Saturday seems like a great day to practice because it is really quiet. Practicing posing is just as important as training and eating properly. I need to be able to hit each pose without thinking about it and without doing it in front of a mirror. The more I practice the better I know I will be on stage.

Anyways, I hope you all have a great Saturday! Today is a new day and I'm pushing on!


Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat!

Nic out
xo


Monday, September 24, 2012

47 Days OUT!

With less than 7 weeks until the Sandra Wickham Fall Classic, I am feeling good about my body and where I am. I've been training for 5 weeks now and the first few were a challenge but now, it's second nature. I was really hard on myself in the beginning because I didn't see changes right away but I did take 8 months off and had a busy off season. I am very happy that I decided to compete. Just after I got into my program I found out that there was a new rule implemented and if I compete and don't place (which I'm not thinking about - I am not training to not place, I'm training to win) I loose my exemption to BC's in 2013. The bottom line is everything is on the line and I will place.
My program includes weights and cardio but last weekend I started doing a Yoga class on Sunday to help stretch out my body and to have a good sweat. It feels awesome to change it up and I am going to continue doing yoga on Sunday with the girls.
With less than 7 weeks to go it's time to start organizing suit colors, hair and makeup appointments, tanning and everything else that goes along with the final week. This year is a lot different as I am travelling from Victoria to Vancouver (not a huge deal but lots of planning) for the competition. Luckily my parents will be moved into their new house the week prior and I will be able to stay with them. I'm also happy its a long weekend so I can take time to enjoy my birthday with friends and family after the competition.
Today Jill and I met at the gym, as planned, to do some cardio on the stair climber. We both looked at each other like, are we crazy?! Our legs were tuckered out from our cardio the night before...She pushed me through and we kicked butt for a solid 30 minutes of intervals on the stair climber and then did a cool down on the treadmill followed by 2 rounds of a 4 part glute circuit. Having a gym buddy is amazing! I don't know if I would be enjoying training as much as I am right now without her. As a competitor herself, she gets the food, the training the crazy prep and early nights. I never have to explain myself to her and that it such a great feeling.
This weekend was pretty busy with travel to Vancouver but it was amazing. I got to visit with my some of my besties Julie and Mariya and it was like old times. We caught up and drove around and it was like nothing had changed in the last 8 years. Just the three of us. It was great to spend some quality time with them and with my family. It was the last time I will ever be in my childhood home and it was a little emotional but I'm excited for the future and what it holds for my parents. The whole reason I went to Vancouver was to do a family portrait with my parents and sister Robyn infront of our old house and a few around the house so that we could have them to put up in the new house. I got to peak at a few of the photos and they look amazing! I can't wait to have them blown up and framed for my parents and their new house!!!
In two weeks I will be having a small surgery and have to take 4-5 days off from my training but it will be important for me to recover properly. My doctor said that I could walk on a treadmill at a low speed and no incline. She doesn't want my heart rate to get too high and my blood bumping and I definitely don't want any stitches to pop! The surgery is on my back to check for melanoma and my doctor wouldn't give me a choice to have it done now or later. Since my dad had the same surgery last year and it came back as melanoma she said it was important to do it now. Considering that will put me exactly 1 month out to the date of my competition I am a little worried about it but my coach said I will be fine and that we could work around it. My body and my health is my first priority anyways. In the mean time there is nothing I can do but continue training and keeping my diet tight.
Happy Monday my fitness friends!

Time to get to work :)
Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat! Nic OUT!

xo

Monday, September 17, 2012

Time to pick a suit!

My goal was to be 130 by the end of September and after a solid last week of keeping my diet tight and workouts strong and high intensity, I've seen some solid movements on the scale. I've almost hit my goal and that means I get to pick a suit color!!! I'm so excited about this and having been dreaming up all the different options I have to play with. The last week is probably my favorite where I get to do my tan, do my hair and have my makeup done. It's an early morning on competition day and very hard to sleep the night before. It's like getting ready to get on a plane when you are 8 going to Disneyland or at least that's how I would describe competing.


Yesterday I was wiped and didn't feel like doing my cardio in the morning so my friend Jess and I went to a morning yoga class and it felt great to stretch and sweat. After yoga I need to do some serious prep work for the week as it is going to be a busy one. I am getting very efficient with my prep...lean ground turkey in one pan, chicken in another and tilapia on the Barbie-Q. It takes my about an hour and a half to cook, weigh and sort my meals for the next few days. I need to hit Costco this week as I am almost out of asparagus and the worst thing that can happen during a week is not having food prepped or in the fridge ready to be prepped. Messes with your mind and you start looking at other things in the fridge. Dun Dun Dun. I think I will be prepping Sunday's and Wednesday's. It's what works best for me but everyones schedules are so different.

During my lovely food prep, I got a text from my GBF and she was dying to do some cardio and it was literally the last thing on my mind. I was sluggish and tired but nothing beats the buddy system so I told her to be at the gym for 5 and we could do some cardio together. Five o'clock rolled around and Jill and I met at the gym and both looked bagged but by the end of our 45 minute cardio session we were gabbing away with all this new found energy. It's amazing how good working out makes you feel. It felt so good to burn some extra cals and have a buddy to workout with. We chatted about competitions, life and food prep. It's so nice to have someone to talk to that understands this crazy world I love.

In 8 weeks from now I will be standing on stage and I have a lot of work to do. I need to practice my posing and pull out the glass slippers and march around in those heels until they feel like they are flats. I want my posing to showcase my shoulders which I am working very hard at filling out and my classic side pose booty pop. It's my favorite pose. Then there is the suit!!! Fingers crossed I make my goal weight early which would be amazing. I don't know if I am going to reveal the color of my suit or wait until show time. I think I will keep it a surprise!

Anyways, one workout, one meal, one day at a time! 54 days - crazy time :)

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat.

Nic Out
xoxo

Monday, September 10, 2012

9 weeks.....63 days...I like that better

Over the weekend I had a total melt down...I was over tired, over trained and down right exhausted but it was my own fault. I had been doing extra cardio, bumping up weights plus work and things were bound to take a turn for the horrible. After waking up Sunday, I was in the worst mood and the day was not off to a good start. Brett and I went for a walk and when we returned I called my coach to talk to her about how I was feeling. I really didn't have the words or the sentences to explain how I was feeling and didn't even know how to put what I was feeling into any kind of sense. It was gibberish. After an hour of talking me off a ledge and being very difficult, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Thanks Leigh, you rock! I decided that my body needed to rest so I took the rest of the day to do just that.

With it being Sunday, the day of rest I had been pretty worked up considering it wasn't even noon. After the call with Leigh, I decided to go for a drive and do some grocery shopping and clear my head. List in hand and food prep in the other, it was off to Costco and Save On to get groceries for the week. I figured it would give Brett some time to relax and watch golf while I was out. He had a busy first week at school and work and then had to deal with my nutzo self but it all worked itself out in the end.

After a few hours of shopping I returned home and relaxed with Brett for a bit and watched golf, did some laundry and decided it was time to prep. I reviewed my meal plan for the week and now that I am 9 weeks out and haven't been dropping the lb's quick enough, we are adding in more protein and dropping protein shakes. Protein shakes have a lot of additives and sugar in them to make them taste good and since I cannot have dairy, I use Vega Performance protein which I love but it has now been replaced with protein. One of my other concerns is that I was getting home so early from the gym that I would be really hungry between my first and second meal so my meal plan has been adjusted
accordingly and some extra supplements have been added and others removed.


It was late afternoon and I decided it was time to PREP! I lit some candles, poured myself a Coke Zero and fired up the elements on the store. First I prepped a bunch of Lean Ground Turkey Breast (only!!), then I started cutting up my flat of chicken from Costco and started to steam some asparagus. Prepping food takes a little bit of effort and to reward myself today I bought new Ziploc containers! LOVE! So after getting all my food prepped and let it cool, I got out the scale and started weighing all the meats and putting them into containers and then had a brilliant idea on how to label each container....
I grabbed my Dry Erase Marker and tried writing on one of the lids and rubbing it off and it works! There are so many options you could use this for. You could write the day you cooked the item on, or what meal is in that container or what is in that container! Brilliant. I am totally stoked on this because it simply washes off after you have eaten that meal. Check it out... Pat on the back.

It's really hard to believe that I am 9 weeks out from my competition and I was kind of freaking out about it. I should know better and that and that if I focus, like I tell myself all the time, I will get to where I need to be. My coach definitely believes in me and my training and sent me some extra workouts that I am going to throw into the mix this week. She also told me to tone down my cardio right now because I am over training and there is no need for it. I need to TRUST AND FOLLOW THE PROCESS!!!  This is my moto for this week. I am very prepared and my goal is to eat all my meals and do all the workouts I'm told to do. And relax! I'm excited to go into this week with this positive outlook and a refreshed view on my training.

Last night when I was cooking I was thinking about the fact that I have 9 weeks until I compete and when you look at it in terms of weeks it feels so short but when you look at it in terms of days it leaves me 63 days until I compete. I am definitely going with days. It sounds much better. 63 days seems like a lot of time versus weeks. Today I feel like I am off to a great start. I missed my cardio buddy this am because she is off on vacation but I kicked my own butt with a HITT circuit on the stair-climber for 30 minutes (SWEATING!) and then did a 30 minute glute circuit. I'm feeling much better today and ready to conquer this week. One day at a time! I need to focus on this...today is your day! I love listening to that song by Shania Twain every day when I start my workout.

Anyways, here is to today and this week and getting down to business!  No more melt downs. Time to trust my coach, my team and myself. I can do this. I have the most amazing support system and the most amazing boyfriend who is always there for me and supports me 150% - he is AMAZING!

Off to the races people! Have a great day everyone.

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat!

Nic xoxo




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Rack of abs please...sans dressing

This weekend was a great chance to train like a maniac and let my body recover and relax. These sound like two very different things but when you have the house to yourself for 3 full days and are as efficient as I can be...it leaves a lot of spare time. I prepped food, worked out and wasn't rushed to be anywhere and had lots of time to relax and let me body rest. Come Tuesday, I felt great. I'm down to 135 now which I am happy about but it's getting surreal that in less than 10 weeks or 70 days I will be back on stage. My body is filled with nervous excitement and after discovering my new rack of ab (only 2 nuggets) I'm pretty excited. Now I just need to find my other 2 racks and some lines and I'll be good to go...
The next few weeks I know I need to up my cardio. My original goal was less that 130 (my curse weight) by the end of September because I wanted to be realistic with  myself. I know my body well enough that it will take a few weeks or a more to notice results which is why I am just enjoying the process and literally going one day at a time and focusing on eating right and training to my full potential. If I do that each day, I know I will not only enjoy the process of prepping but will be successful.
To be super honest, even though the weight isn't coming off as fast, which I accept, it was so motivating to see my abs starting to form again and hear other people notice that I've lost some weight. It's the hardest to notice it on yourself and this makes me understand the importance of photos even more. I told my coach Leigh that is was the worst taking photos when you have just rolled out of bed, no makeup, and under horrible apartment lighting but it is good to have them to look back on and compare week to week to see where you are really leaning out. If I grow a set I promise I will post my photos 8 weeks out. It all depends on what kind of hair day I'm having...
Oh! And I forgot to mention that I took my "cheat meal" last night even after I said I didn't feel like I needed them but after Brett was away for the weekend, I wanted to get a little dressed up when I fetched him from the ferry and go out for dinner. I was thinking of all sorts of things like burgers or dairy-free gelato from Qoola but when it came to ordering (we were at White Spot - holla) I wasn't craving anything and ordered......a...Salmon Spinach Salad dressing on the side! So bizzare right?! The salad had pecans, salmon, strawberries, blueberries and was De-LISH! It will also probably be my last cheat meal considering I have to cut some serious LB's this week. Did I mention I had a small size of fries....talk about a cheat. Anyways I was up early and at the gym to meet Jill and she and I did a crazy stair workout and I'm pretty sure I burned my food off from last night. My shirt was a little sweaty to say the least.
Not as exciting as a burger but it sure tasted delicious and I enjoyed every bite! It's so weird that I think I want to eat all these foods but when I don't eat them, I don't feel any different. I might feel a little proud that I'm not craving them but I think my mind is very into training and prepping (minus the fries) and I look forward to focusing on things like developing my quads and abs and filling out my shoulders instead of curling a Burg. Don't get my wrong I like a Burg just as much as the next person but I think I'd rather make one myself so I know what's going in it and I can make it a clean meal.
Anyways, this week is going to be busy. It's a short week at work and I have lots of workouts to get in. I am jacking up my cardio and doing an additional 20 - 30 minutes after my weights. I'm really starting to notice my shoulders filling in and my back is starting to get toned again and I'm feeling great. I think my weekend of R&T (Rest and Training) really paid off.
Here's to less than 10 weeks!

Have a great week,

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat!

Nic out!