Finding The Balance

Its been two whole weeks since my last post and a lot of exciting things have happened on my fitness adventure.  

First, I want to talk about how hard the Holidays are and trying to stay away from all of the goodies people have been laying out at my work. Whoever set out those cookies, almond bark and cake... 



Moving on... I have been falling into a much better routine the past two weeks. I wake up at 4:30 am hit the gym for cardio and lift weights on my lunch hour.

Thanks to my Coach Jeremiah I was recommended a preworkout made by Metabolic Nutrition named E.S.P. I never knew I could perform so well at 5 am and the best part is I don't "crash" or feel sick when I take it. I was also recommended to start taking a daily multivitamin. I take 1 Animal Pak and a Vitamin C tablet everyday. I choke down these babies every morning, it takes a good 5 minutes, haha!

 

Getting on a routine I mentally feel so much better, I don't experience the anxiety during the day dreading the long workout I have to look forward after work. I am also sleeping better and am generally in a better mood.

 

As far as progress, the pictures below speak for themselves. I was given great news tonight that not only did I lose fat, I also gained muscle! Currently I am at a rate of losing 1% body fat per week.

 

Here I am sitting at 12.4% body fat! I FEEL AMAZING. No I am no starving myself I eat almost every 3 hours, yes I do watch what I eat and exercise consistently but most importantly I am happy and enjoy my healthy lifestyle. I lost inches off my waist, hips/butt and thighs/calves all thanks to a motivational coach and hard work.

I have 109 days (April 16th, 2016) until my first show in Missoula, MT. All I can say right now is BRING IT!

Day 10 into my new Adventure

It has been 10 days since I started eating clean and incorporating my new workout plan. The new variety has been nice and I am more eager to workout now since I know it wont be the same thing I have been doing for the past 2 years!

A couple Sunday's back I took my Bikini Posing Intro 101 with some of the other girls on my team. I have to say my teammates are some hotties and I am honored to be going through this with other supportive women.

While posing you have to tilt your hips out and I had no idea how sore my lower back would be, but BOY OH BOY was I hobbling around like an old lady for the next couple of days.

Before my workout tonight, (I train with my coach every Monday) we took my measurements again. This time is was more accurate as I was back to normal from my period and the water weight gain that occured over Thanksgiving.

I had my roommate take some progress photos of me and here I am, accurately measured at 14% body fat! My dog Roxie even wanted to show off her physique too!

I also had my second one on one training with my coach tonight. It was leg/booty day and I was eager to learn some new moves and techniques. To keep it short, he kicked my butt, it was AWESOME!

This previous week I was feeling a bit anxious about taking on too many projects at once. I work 2 jobs, workout 6 days a week, started volunteering for a local hospice company, try to maintain a social life and also take care of my 3 puppies. It is overwhelming sometimes but I will not create any excuses for myself.  I have found that making a schedule has calmed my nerves and actually shown me that I do still have free time to hang out with friends and relax. I even had time during the week to go on a fun photo shoot with my dear friend Becky. Here I am all glammed up, a nice change from my sweaty posing pictures!

 So, if I can achieve my goals just remember you can too! Don't ever give up because at the end of the day you will always be with yourself and loving who you are and feeling good is what life is about!

The Beginning

 

I have always been one to push my self to the limit. I strive to be challenged. Looking back on my life experiences that have pushed me to my max, I realize those are the moments that have shaped me into who I am today.

 

I am in a new chapter of my life and still trying to figure out what exactly I want. I go through ups and downs just like anyone else and when I find myself on a downslope I try to find a goal to focus on to push aside the negativity.

 

So here I am writing this blog to document my most recent adventure, competing in my first NPC Bikini Competition.

  

I have always been an active person ever since I was younger. While my nutrition may have not been up to par alongside with my active lifestyle, the past few years I have been able to find a much better balance of the two. I wanted to achieve something that went alongside with my passions in life, so it was a no brainer putting nutrition and fitness together.  

 

One week ago I decided to seek out a coach to see what I would be committing myself to for the next 5 months. Through social media I found Jeremiah at Team Fit Physique. Scrolling through photos of the competitors he had coached my eyes were glued to the screen and I instantly knew I wanted him to be my coach.

 

During our meet we talked about the general details, took my weight, body fat and a few before photos. Here I am at 16.5% bf, not too bad, eh?

 

At the end of our meet he let me know if I wanted to shop around for a coach he understood. I felt no pressure from him what-so-ever and he made me feel comfortable, which can be difficult when you are posing for a stranger in your itty-bitty bathing suit. Without hesitation I said yes, sign me up!

 

I am truly excited to share over the next 5 months my thoughts, frustrations, as well as any other emotions that accompany this new journey of mine.