some progress pics

i debated quite a while on where to put these.. and as much as i would like to put them out there on facebook i don't really want to offend anyone, especially those people that aren't quite aware that competition suits only cover half your ass :) they say bikini is won from the back, and we all know that i definitely have dat ass! so, for now i will post these on here, and maybe later, whether it be a few minutes or next month, i'll be brave enough to move them on there. so here's an overview of the past 5 years.

first there are the p90x pics from summer 2010.

i did great for a while and kept the weight off and then come december 2011 it had snuck back on... well really it didn't sneak at all, it was just BOOM im here. so these pics are from december 2011 (the fat ones) to last month, june 2012.

which brings me to today, july 13, friday the 13th!!! these next pictures are taken in an actual competition suit, hence it being smaller and a lot brighter.

and that's all i have for now! i have to be honest, i've been very relaxed on my diet these past 3 weeks so i could look a lot better if i got back on the bandwagon. hopefully in 2 weeks there is a difference in the picture. i won't go into details on what all i am doing because im sure if you are on facebook then you probably have a pretty good idea. and last, i am sorry for the hideous plaid shower curtain in the background. believe me, i did not pick that out.

you live you learn!

so i am breaking the rules and being a REBEL. why, you ask??? because im up at midnight!!!! YAHOO!!!!!! for some reason i am loaded with energy right now, to the point where i had to just make myself a sleepytime tea loaded with some melatonin to help me fall asleep. do any of you drink sleepytime tea? this stuff is the BOMB. 

it helps me to relax and doze off within 30 minutes of drinking and another thing i love about it is if it's a low carb day and i am a bit hungry at night it helps fill me up right before bed. you should try it! it's sooooooo good! anyways, although i'm in a great mood now, you can rest assured that i am going to be a freaking bear in the morning. and not so much this kind of bear:

but more so this kind:

yep, that's how i am when i don't sleep as normal. usually im in bed by 9 and up at 5. i can tell you this though, no matter what time i fall asleep i won't wake up until 8 or 9 hours later. this probably doesn't seem like a big deal until i remember i have a dog that is used to peeing at 8am, and i don't drag my butt up until 10am and she looks at me like she hates me hahaha! so then i have to set my alarm to let her out, and then im up, and the result is...... ANGRY BEAR! :)

anyways, so as i drink my sleepytime tea i will fill you in on my day and we will just pray for the best for tomorrow and my attitude. overall, today was a good day, but i definitely had a few brain farts. because i stayed up late last night, i didn't wake up and get going until 10am, which is very late for me. i took it all in stride though as today i didn't really have and major plans happening. (it's funny how i say that. when i come in town to see family, i keep my schedule wide open for them and don't end up planning anything, but somehow family keeps me busy running around all day every day to the point where im pooped!). i had promised my grandmom that i would help her with decorations, and yes, this would be the same grandmom i mentioned helping yesterday but she decided she wasn't really in the mood so it got pushed to today. can't say i blame her though, because to do christmas decorations you really do have to be "in the mood" ya know? or else you end up cursing at branches sticking everywhere, lights being tangled, and ornaments breaking! :) so, i called my grandmom on the way to the gym and it turned out she still wasn't in the mood, so i left to go and get a good workout in.

my time at the gym was quite frustrating i might say. it seems i completely didn't plan at all for this workout, and man did that affect me. first off, all i had to eat prior to the gym was peanut butter on a slice of bread. that was it. what was i thinking???? i mean, i was going to the gym for a lifting session. normally i would have had 2 meals in already. the funny thing is that i didn't even realize this until halfway through my workout when all at once i felt completely zapped of all energy. all i can think is that maybe i went to the gym thinking i was doing fasted cardio (because that's what i usually do at 5am before work on my normal schedule) but in all reality i was there for weights and cardio. upper body and sprint intervals. ugh. so anyways, i jumped right into my workout with no protein in my system. nice. talk about pointless. so, to be honest i was EXTREMELY PISSED at myself. it was a puny session and i was jello halfway through, and that was with lifting half the weight i usually lift. here's what upper body looked like:

3 sets 15-20 reps with dropsets on last set and jumprope 5 min in between sets:

lat pulldown

upright row

lat row

shoulder press

5 min break

3 sets 8-10 reps with dropsets on last set and jumprope 5 min in between sets:

bicep curl

lying tricep extension

incline dumbbell curl

triceps dip

i was JELLO halfway through this workout. i knew what my mistake was. 1) i had no fuel in my body. not enough protein, carbs, nothing. 2) i hadn't refueled from yesterday's leg workout and i was so so sooooooooooo sore this morning. in fact, i woke up all throughout the night from being so sore. it should have been on my mind to eat first thing when waking up to help my body recover, and it never even crossed my mind! grrrrrrrrrrrr....

once i was finished working out upper body i immediately packed up and headed home to get some food in my system. i had a protein shake while prepping my meals for the day and decided to take it all in stride, live and learn, and move on with my day. then i made myself a nice big meal of asparagus, orange roughy, and half a sweet potato (hoping that the extra carbs would give me a break from some of the soreness. have you ever had orange roughy? if not, you should try it! it's a bit pricey and sometimes hard to find, but it's a great fat loss friend! seriously, you should google it! it's one of the few fishes i will do, because  i am a very anti-fishy (taste) person. it almost was less fishy to me then tilapia!

haha looks creepy!

the rest of the day i was pretty lazy, and i was okay with that. my legs and butt are soooooooooo sore. it's a great feeling though, because i have a lot of work to do on my booty and legs! for dinner we had asparagus, salmon, and brown rice so i managed to keep my nutrition pretty clean today. and plenty of fish oil! i usually completely blow my diet when i am home visiting the family and although i definitely have had my treats here and there (nachos, milos, etc) i am proud that i am at least making an effort to get in the gym and keep a few meals here and there clean. the last thing i want is to go back home sunday and feel like i have all this work to make up. work will be pretty stressful the week i get back and then i only have a couple of weeks until im back in birmingham for christmas break! YAHOO!!!!!!

okay, now my sleepty tea is starting to kick in so im about to have to hang it up and get some rest so this soreness will calm down a bit. but overall lesson for today is: DO NOT EVER DO WEIGHTS WITHOUT HAVING A GOOD PRE-WORKOUT MEAL IN YOUR SYSTEM! IT'S POINTLESS! :)

tomorrow i'll write before midnight and hopefully have a bit more useful information for you. i am excited for two things tomorrow: 1) i get my hair did and believe me it needs it! and 2) i have a day off from the weights but i get to knock out some serious cardio! believe it or not i am missing the cardio! let's just hope i can walk by then... :) here's another motivational pic! actually it's my screensaver on my phone!!!!

GOODNIGHT!

(side note: for some reason my blog is not letting me comment back to you guys on it.. i will try again tomorrow and dani i will email you tomorrow and we'll figure it out girl!)

loving being home :)

hello there! what a day! as i am typing this  i am wedged up into one corner of the sofa watching vampire diaries with my sister. she's slowly getting me hooked on these tv shows (first weeds, now this) and i must admit i am thoroughly enjoying the eye candy on this one. helloooooo hotties!!! i love it though, because on my own schedule i hardly ever allow time for tv time except for my dexter and criminal minds, and it's nice to just sit back and relax without having to sit and think about going to work the next day. i could really get used to this vacation thing.... :)

anyways, so today i had a pretty good day. i am trying to force myself to relax a lot while i am in birmingham. i usually feel guilty laying around all day and watching tv, but this time around i am loving it. my body has been very tired lately and this morning i slept in until 10:45, which is CRAZY for me. i then proceeded to sit around and watch tv half the morning while drinking my coffee... WHICH IS MY FAVORITE TIME. seriously, i love coffee!!!! :)

i didn't get out to do anything until about 2pm... and at that time it was gym time! now, of course i don't belong to a gym here in clay, because i don't live here any more, but i did make sure and cover my ass before coming into town. i did my homework and called around to find somewhere that would let me come in for the week and workout. luckily, performance fitness, the same gym that i worked out when i was here last summer, let me come in for $5 a day. since they are closed on thanksgiving, it seemed to work out just fine and fit in the budget. i guess on thanksgiving i have two options: 1) run a 10k downtown or 2) go for a run on my own. that way i can eat my thanksgiving meal and not feel guilty for sitting on my bum in a turkey coma all day :)

so, if you don't want to get completely out of your game while traveling, consider staying at a hotel with a gym or calling around and seeing what you can work out with the local gyms. today when i went there was no one there! not a single person! it was awesome!!! :) see for yourself!

now i didnt really have an agenda when i went in today, but i wanted to be as smart as possible with my time. i had already committed to going over to my grandmom's house tonight for chicken n dumplins.... yeah buddy you read that right! :) so long story short, i pretty much knew the diet was blown for today. did i go ahead and give up completely though??? no! instead, i decided to hit the hardest of the hard for me.... LOWER BODY! (side note: if you are visiting a gym you are not used to and not quite sure of the layout but you still want to hit the weights, try this. instead of going in and hitting different body parts ie back, legs, biceps, triceps, etc, split your workouts into lower and upper body. for example: monday- lower body, tuesday- upper body, wednesday- abs, thursday- TURKEY GALORE, friday- upper body, saturday- lower body. it almost simplifies things! and also it gives you a break from the normal 5 day split, which will keep your body guessing and adapting!) here was a sample of my workout, and i must be honest... it was a KILLER!

warmup: 5 min running on treadmill at 7.0 mph

workout: STARTED my leg workout with 75 walking lunges with 10 lb dumbbell (KILLER)

leg press 20 reps 115 pounds

seated leg curl 15 reps 60 lbs

hip abduction 15 reps 50 pounds

hip adduction 20 reps 40 pounds

leg extension 12 reps 40 pounds (my legs were jello here)

jump rope 5 minutes

15 walking lunges with 10 lb dumbbells

leg press 20 reps with 130 pounds

and just for fun to see how many i could do leg press 20 reps 150 pounds.

BOOM! i usually do the typical 3-4 sets 12-15 reps blah blah blah but today i just got crazy! hit everything lower body, and definitely whooped my tail. when i came home, i ate 4 oz lean ground beef and had a protein shake, showered, and then got ready to head over to my grandmoms. i got a little crazy at dinner. chicken n dumplins, cheese and crackers, cornbread... so yeah... CARBS CARBS AND CARBS. bahhahahaha! i know my days are numbered until i am back on the ole diet (literally... in 7 days im back on it hardcore). so today i didn't feel guilty. i mean im home. i worked out hardcore. and it's homemade chicken n dumplins! of course i am going to enjoy it! :)

but i did make a stop by the grocery store to stock up on things to eat tomorrow and wednesday. the last thing i want is to be feeling absolutely disgusting come friday, and i want to be able to eat and enjoy my thanksgiving dinner without feeling like a beached whale hahaha! so for the next two days, you will be seeing a strict, lower carb meal plan. so that's it for now! tomorrow i plan on hitting upper body and 60 min cardio at the gym, and if i can i will split it up into two separate gym sessions so i can do the cardio fasted and then fuel up for the weights. should be good! okay, so in case you are feeling a bit unmotivated due to the time of year, i have included some favorite motivational/inspirational pictures to boost your spirits! but first, a couple precious pics of my titus!

loving the fall leaves!

sleeping with my sis ashley

so... it's been a while!

me this morning!

oh how i have missed you guys. hopefully some of you are still here because i know it has been quite a while since i last posted and for that i am sorry! there has been so much going on, and if i had the time and energy i would fill you in on every single bit of it... sadly, that would take forever. im sure a few of you guys have had a glimpse of what my life is like through facebook updates, but either way i will try to give you a quick update :).

so, where have i been? the short answer: working. not just at my job, but at my life in general. working to make things better. you see, a year ago i got in the best shape of my life so far, and ws pretty pumped about my health, but i let that take main priority over my relationship and job and soon found myself feeling unsatisfied. i know i have never been a master of balance (that's a huge understatement :), but i never once thought that i would let my goals get in the way of my relationship and my job. i had to take a few steps back and reevaluate my priorities before throwing myself back into the chaos! so, to answer the question where have i been, there you have it. working on myself, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

life these days is going great! since i last typed in my blog, a lot has happened. jeff made chief in the navy, which means we now have some more fun years ahead of us: deployments, relocations, and all!

jeff and his sponsor

 i still work for the same family, and things are going great! i love the three girls and two dogs that grace my presence at work daily and the parents treat me so well. of course there are stressful days thrown in the mix, but i don't let that get me down because i know how blessed i am to be employed! jeff and i have relocated and now live in some quite trendy apartment lofts in downtown nashville, just a walk away from all the restaurants, bars, and honky tonks one could ask for. we still don't go out to much because we are still chopping away at the debt (i'm only a grand away woo hoo!). and there's still my precious titus! :)

so now that all that is out of the way, what about the health and fitness goals? well, they are still here and going strong. after a few times of slacking off, then getting back on the bandwagon, and then falling off again, and hopping back on, i have seemed to find my focus. i have such a strong desire to compete in the npc bikini division it is UNREAL. i literally cannot go one day without thinking or dreaming about what it would feel like to be on that stage. the problem? i have a lot of work to do. i mean a LOT. and unfortunately, my commitment and dedication to this sport does not come naturally 100% of the time. some days im spot on, and others i am so far off track it isn't even funny. the smallest things can so easily throw me off track. whether it's a bad day at work, me sleeping in late, being called into work early, or just a major sweet tooth driven by that time of the month, it is so hard for me to keep my head on straight all of the time. for this reason, and the fact that i have so much work to do to make this dream become a reality, i have decided to start my own contest prep. yep, you've heard that right, right smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. talk about a challenge!

typically, competitors usually allow themselves at minimum 3 months to prepare for the npc bikini division. this all depends on your current package and where you are currently at in your training and bodyfat. most competitors use the holidays as a standard off season, but i've got so much work to do i decided to allow myself a lot more time to get ready. there are a few different shows that i am looking at now, and as soon as i do some more research i will let you know what's on my mind. when i am 3 months out from the contest i choose to compete in, i will be hiring a trainer to do the rest of my prep. i've read enough to know how important it is to hire someone to help you get in the best shape possible as well as give nutrition plans and set you up with a posing coach so i will not be trying to go the whole road on my own. there's a huge difference in competing and losing weight so i have to make sure i go about all this the right way with someone who knows the ropes.

so with ALL that being said, what does month one of prep look like for me? well, technically month one starts december 1st. it will be mainly focusing on weights... which is going to be hard for me, because when the scale isn't in my "happy place" (which is 130-135), i just want to do endless hours of cardio. right now, the scale is definitely not in my happy place, but rather 143. ironically, i am fitting in my size 4 abercrombie jeans which is awesome because otherwise i'd probably be going crazy. so............. weights! plenty of weights. the schedule i will be following will look something like this:

sunday: shoulders

monday: quads/calves

tuesday: chest and back/abs

wednesday: yoga

thursday: biceps/triceps

friday: glutes/hamstrings

saturday: cardio

cardio is still necessary because i have quite a bit of fat to drop so here's how that will play out.

sunday: 30-45 min stepmill

monday: 45-60 min walk

tuesday: 30-45 min intervals

wednesday: 45-60 min walk

thursday:30-45 min intervals

friday: 45-60 min walk

saturday: 30-45 intervals or stepmill

and then there's the most important thing: NUTRITION. without going into too many details (sorry it's late haha), i will be consuming 1800 calories a day and carb cycling. sunday and thursday will be medium carb days (carbs with meals 1-3), monday and friday will be high carb days (carbs with meals 1-5), and the rest will be lower carb days.

so there you have it! my game plan :) this is my focus for now and where my head is at! i hope to update you along the way even if it can't be daily :) maybe we can settle for weekly?! or bi-weekly? know that i have missed you and i want to hear what everyone's been up to!

my niece and i at the 5k this morning!



run your little heart out!

hey people! i am typing this as i am soaking in icy hot and in a carb coma from this weekend :). i am so happy to say that saturday's half marathon went absolutely great! i hadn't had a run (not a single one) for the past 5 weeks so i really had no clue what to expect come saturday. also, friday seemed to be an extremely long and tiresome day with work, the expo, and entertaining my parents who were in town for the run also. my mom had registered to run the half (her 3rd), my stepdad was running the full marathon (his 3rd marathon), and jeff registered last minute to run the half with me! the expo was fun and full of exiting booths and exhibits. i got loaded up on some gel's for the next dayto give me some quick energy and i also got my feet tested out to see what would be the best shoes for me. afterwards, mom, rick, jeff, and i went down to jack's bbq and i loaded up on some turkey and a TON of mac n cheese. i probably should have drank a lot more water on friday, but i couldn't seem to resist a nice big coke. WHOOPS! here are some pics from the expo:

the course

my stepdad and mom

my mom and i :)

but anyways, saturday morning, bright and early at 4am, my mom, stepdad (rick), jeff, and i headed downtown for the 2011 country music half-marathon. before i left, i tied a running bandana around titus neck so he could cheer jeff and i on while she was at home napping! how i love my titus!!!

so bright and early, at 4:30am we all got downtown ready to run! heres a pic of jeff and i... don't we look happy to be up! hahahaha!

we walked across the street to lp field and caught the shuttle to the start line. once we got there we had to wait in line... FOREVER.... for a porta-potty! and when i say forever i mean a freaking hour, so of course i had to take plenty of pics there!

rick and jeff ditched my mom to go up with their starting group. my mom and i hung towards the back to start with the 30th corral so that we would have a bit more time to stretch. once we were stretched and our ipod's ready to go we moved forward, crossed the start line, and thats when the clock started ticking!!! now my main goal this year was to run as much of it as possible, and by doing that i of course hoped to shorten my time. i ran this exact same half-marathon this time last year when i had first started p90x and managed to get a finish time of 2:50. i was certain i could probably push myself and get a better time this time around but since i wasn't very well hydrated, rested, or well trained i was a bit nervous. well, i can say that i ran the whole entire thing without stopping a single time!!!! I WAS SOOOOOOOOOOO PUMPED! not only that, but i finished with a time of 2:32, which was a huge improvement on last year's time! needless to say i was extremely happy!

i even managed to get back in time to see my mom cross the finish line!!! and man was she worn out! (and not wanting her picture to be taken hahahaha!)

eventually i found jeff and caught up with him about the race and it turns out he had a great run also! we sat back and waited on rick to cross the finish line and enjoyed having a few beers. i never thought i would be one of those people that had a beer after a race, but let me tell you what... IT TASTED AMAZINGLY PERFECT. really, that good. so crisp and so cold. the perfect drink. hooray for beer. i love it. once rick finished, we all sat back and relaxed and starting talking about the one thing we all were longing for.... FOOD!

jeff and i... we finished!!!!

mom and rick :)

 it seemed perfect to all of us that we go to eat at 5 guys burgers and fries were i ate every single thing i could get my hands on :). then i went and took a 4 hour nap. THE BEST NAP EVER! later that day jeff and i took titus to the dog park and then went out for dinner with my parents. i was pretty exhausted, so i half-way remember watching the preds play while i was sitting on the couch in my pjs. it wasn't long before i crashed!

i havent done much today because i am way too sore! so i'm not lying when i say i am soaking in icy hot and in a carb coma from the pizza i had earlier, but it has been a great weekend of accomplishments and i just had to share it with you! i'm not quite sure what's next, after all i am about to go to michigan with the family i work for for a month! but i am looking forward to getting back to my paleo eating tomorrow as well as beginning my recovery week!

here are some pics from the country music half marathon from last year:

i've had a great past year, but i am so thankful to have come so far since then. and can i just say that i love my family and my boyfriend! they are such a wonderful, encouraging support system and they always are motivating me to push for better. and you guys are awesome too! thank you for always reading, even when i am so tired that i just ramble on and on like now hahahaha! okay, im gonna go crash! and i will think long and hard about my next goal... i can't wait to share it with you guys! much love ya'll!

day 18: things are going GREAT!

it's thursday!!! only one more day until friday!!!! well, i thought yesterday was great, but today turned out to be pretty awesome also! after all the storms/tornados/bad weather yesterday, i woke up to an absolutely beautiful day here in nashville. blue skies and very few puffy white clouds and around 70 degrees... now that's what i am talking about! my boss must love me this week :), because not only has it been a super easy work-week, but i also didn't have to go into work today until 11am. WOO HOO! now THAT'S a reason to celebrate!

so my morning (needles to say) was amazing! i slept in until 9am, thus eliminating one meal from my day. yes, you read that right. if i sleep in i do not still attempt to cram 6 meals down my face, i just ease on back to 4-5... no need to make your body uncomfortable OR skip some extra resting time if you are lucky enough to have it. anyways, after a cup of coffee and some facebook time, i cleaned in speed demon mode for 30 minutes or so and then took titus out for a 2 mile jog.. nothing too much, just nice and easy. making sure my legs still work for the half-marathon saturday!!! :) woo hoo! i am starting to get excited! a little nervous, but very excited. after i type this i am going to work on getting some new good music, so if you have any favorite upbeat tunes, send em my way!!!!

after titus and i got our run on, i headed to work. first thing i do every day at work is load up the dogs and head to the park. if it's not too warm we can do a few miles, but days like today where it's really warm, we can only go a mile max. so, that's what we did! i posted a couple of pictures on facebook so check em out! truman was beat, and so was i! IT. WAS. HOT.

SEXY HUH? :)

so i didn't get off work until 7 tonight, but it was all good considering i am basically having to force myself not to do double cardio these last few days before my race. it would only work against me and slow me down, and both of those things are things i do not want. the best thing about my evening tonight perhaps was dinner. you see, i have been 100% paleo all week, but because i run my race this saturday i allowed myself 3 cheat meals: one for dinner tonight, one for dinner tomorrow night, and then my post-race meal. why? because since i just started paleo, i haven't had time to dabble into pre-race nutrition with paleo and i am only on my 3rd half-marathon, so at this point i am sticking to what i know and what work best for me. with that being said, i am allowing myself to have bread/grains in these 3 cheat meals. so tonight's dinner? pizza. :) i only allowed myself to have 2 pieces, and that was only AFTER i had some whey protein/water.. waited 30 min for it to settle and showered... and THEN indulged. this is a great tip to avoid overeating! works like a charm every time! (i really want to go have about ten more pieces, but im being good :) now for the rest of the day i ate very clean, and 100% paleo. my first meal was at 10:00 and it was one of my favorite shakes: 1/2 cup tropicana 50 lite, scoop of strawberry whey, handful of spinach, few pieces of ice... DELICIOUS. and a great post-workout drink! my next meal was at 2pm and i had 5 egg whites and 1 whole egg, 1/2 a bell pepper, 6 tomatoes, and a handful of spinach. my next meal was at 5pm and i had a can of tuna and asparagus spears. 8pm i had whey and water and then my 2 slices of pizza at 8:30pm. and let's not forget WATER people!!! one gallon, every day. so if i forget to post it here and there now you know what i'm doing. the only drinks you will see me have are coffee (black), green tea (plain), alcohol (once a week; either wine, beer, or vodka with a splash of soda) and water (1 gallon a day). and if i am PMS-ING.... coke :).

well i am going to go watch the preds play while simultaneously watching the nfl draft and loving on my cute little puppy :). how is everyone else's week going? I HOPE YOU ARE ROCKING IT! i am sure you are!!! much love peeps!!!!