19 Weeks Out

This week marks the end of my fifth month of training with Team Bombshell.  I have 19 weeks left to get ready for my first competition!  

This month wasn't as hard as I expected once I made sleep my priority.  The first week of morning cardio and evening training was brutal because I was only getting about 5 hours of sleep per night.  I was an emotional wreck by the end of the week.  The 2nd week I made a major adjustments to be in bed by 9:30 every night, and on Tuesday and Thursday in bed by 8:30.  This gave me the rest I needed to power though my hour of morning cardio and my hour to hour and a half of evening weight sessions.

The food this past month was the best yet; I actually wish I could be on same food for another month.  Even though I think I am pretty disciplined about eating when I need to and not just when I have a psychological craving, this past week really made me realize how much wanting to have the taste of something drives me.  My son and I went shopping last Saturday and I swear everywhere we turned there was candies and sweets.  At the mall; we went into Gertrude Hawk and I had to turn down sample chocolates; they smelled so good.  Then of course at Autie Anne's they were giving out free pretzel samples.  Oh, how I love soft pretzels.  I bypassed them too and stuck to my plan.  I was thankful that I carried my food/water with me for the day.  I had what I needed when I needed it.  Fuel the body!!

This week is Thanksgiving.  Since I am still 19 weeks out I will enjoy a nice 'treat meal' with my family, but I am still going to keep it very balanced.  I plan to enjoy a giant plate of greens, with some white meat turkey, and maybe one kind of starch.  I know that reaching my goals is up to me and up to me alone.  I am responsible for the decisions I make.  

I am happy with how my body is progressing, but it's still odd to me how certain areas of my body seem so lean when other parts seem to be really holding onto stored fat.  I can see amazing definition in my chest, back, and mid section while my triceps, area above my butt, and quads seem to be very resistant to change. I know I have plenty of time and I will get there.  It's funny because whenever I begin a strict diet, there’s some irrational part of me that always feels like after 5 days of strict training, I should already look like the cover girl on a fitness magazine.  If that was all the time it took, then everyone would look like that!

20 Weeks Out

My Competition Prep - 20 Weeks Out 

I started working out quite some time ago.  In 1998 after I had my first child I knew my body wasn't just going to bounce back to the way it was before.  I purchased my first piece of workout equipment - A Bowflex Home Gym.  While I have always been in decent shape I really had the desire to take it to another level.  In July of 2013 I started my journey with Team Bombshell.   When I began this journey I had no desire or intention to compete – EVER!  Three months into the program I was shocked by my progression.  Thoughts of ‘maybe I can be good enough’ began to enter my mind.  Well, since then I have committed to doing my first competition in New York, New York on April 12th, 2014.  I am also committed to doing a second competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 3, 2014

My coach, Rebecca, is amazing.  I feel so blessed to have her, She has taken me from this ‘sheepish’ individual to a ‘confident’ woman.  Without her I never would have imagined I could step foot on a stage.  In December I will be traveling to Daytona Beach, Florida for a Bootcamp.  At the camp I will get the opportunity to meet my coach, exercise with the team, and learn more about posing.  I can hardly wait!

The more I see results the more driven I am.  I must admit though I thoroughly look forward to my cheat meal every single week.  Pre-competition prep indulgences are so much fun, but I know they aren’t nearly as important as getting my head in the game.  Everything has become about planning for me.  My husband hits the grocery store for me every Thursday morning.   He also spends every Friday prepping my food for the following week.  I am so thankful to have his full support!

Getting my head right so far has been the hardest part.  There is a quote I’ve come across recently that I have saved for moments of weakness:

There is inside you
all of the potential
to be whatever you want to be,
all of the energy
to do whatever you want to do.
Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
doing what you want to do,
and each day, take one step
towards your dream.
And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
hold on to your dream.
One morning you will awake to find
that you are the person you dreamed of,
doing what you wanted to do,
simply because you had the courage
to believe in your potential
and to hold on to your dream.
-Donna Levine

So far, this has been such a huge learning experience for me.  I am learning more about myself everyday.  I am beginning to understand that there are going to be moments that I will feel hungry, I will feel tired, moments of physical and psychological weakness, times that I may slip up, times that I may feel down, times that I may feel angry, but through it all I can and I will persevere.

I’m excited to see my body change from now until the time I step on stage.  I know there will be people that judge me.  I have already encountered criticism about my age, about the food I eat, and about bikini competitions being nothing more than a beauty pageant.  What I have realized is the amount of hard work and discipline required is tremendous, and not something just everyone could understand.  I know the only person standing in my way is myself.  This battle is a battle that is within.  And the feeling of conquering myself makes me feel like I am truly capable of achieving anything.

It’s GAME ON!