I DID IT! My Journey through my First Fitness Bikini Competition

Sorry this post has taken me so long to write, I’ve been going through a little soul searching after my show (which I plan on doing another post on that next … but its been an interesting ride , that’s for sure! )

BUT anyways…. Well…. I DID IT!!! And holy crap was it hard! Probably one of the hardest things I’ve done so far, and funny thing is I cant wait to do another!!!

How was it? Really fun yet stressful and exhausting too. But it was all worth it, wanna know why???? Because I placed Top 5 in both the classes I entered in!!! =)

 

So going into this competition, quite honestly I wasn’t expecting to “win” anything because in my mind, I had already won with myself losing 85 pounds. And my thought process was if I won something , then hell, more power to me! Ideally my goal was to make it to a competition and I had done just that.

Back stage during the show, fixing up spray tans and getting oily and ready to step on stage I was actually pretty calm. I have a  major in theatre so the stage isn’t really scary to me it was more of the omg I just don’t want to trip on my heals or forget my poses/transitions (which I did  hahaha).

During first callouts, when they called my number I almost remember looking down at my number to make sure that was in fact the number they were calling. As I walked forward the look on my coaches face was priceless, as he nudged my posing coach and automatically grabbed his camera. That moment right there is one of the reasons I’m going to do another show in the future. You could see that he was very proud and excited that they called my number, especially since it was my first show. Then the second class I entered in they had called out 4 numbers and then who’s do they call next? MINE! so I made 1st callouts in both the classes I entered in! (first call outs a pretty much placing the top 5) – which was funny at the time because I didn’t realize that’s how it worked so I thought they were just calling my number to call my number hahaahah.

 

As time goes on, and people start coming in the door for the show, we all start talking about the treats we brought for afterwards. Some made cupcakes and such…. I made a little something called slutty brownies. what are slutty brownies you may ask? Amazing!! …one layer of cookie dough, one layer of Oreo (I used cookie dough Oreos) and a layer of brownie. yummmmmmmmmmm and boy were they good.. but they made me sick =(

As the “show” started, (they do pre judging in the morning and then a “show with music and everything towards the night for an audience) My boyfriend and his family came, my aunt and my father came to support me… unfortunately bikini goes on stage last so I got to mingle with them a little before and during the show and you could tell they all were very proud of me.

 

My aunt mentioned going to dinner afterwards so I’m back stage thinking about food haha, Evans dad was randomly taking pictures of the “hot” girls and my dad was joking with Evan the entire time about needing to workout , or maybe just needing a beer instead haha. After the show, besides eating 3 of my brownies, a red velvet brownie another competitor made and a macaroon…  we went to Hacienda ( I decided Mexican food was much needed) and I downed 2 chicken enchiladas and a chicken taco… topped with chili and cheese and everything haha. Then when we got home I had a few Oreos dipped in almond butter, a sandwich, and some fig nutons. By this time I was definitely in a food coma.

The next morning, sine the family has made bbq ribs in front of me like 3 times during this prep I told Evan that’s what I wanted for dinner so he prepared that all day. In the mean time I ate a pumpkin pop tart, a small bowl of spaghetti, 3 waffles with a massive amount of fruit on top and by this time I was sick. .. And by the time the ribs and bbq was read it was all I could do to down one fricken rib.. I felt bad since he cooked all day and I couldn’t even bring myself to eat any of it….

quite honestly I wasn’t planning on eating all the things I did, I wanted to still keep my hard work at bay but since I basically had some issues with binge eating before (which is what my next post is going to be about ) it was almost like I couldn’t stop. It almost got to the point of embarrassment with how much food I consumed and I wasn’t proud of it at all, yet I still kept eating. . . . as the water weight came back on and some extra weight as well from all the crappy food .. I started feeling lethargic, unmotivated and questioning if this competition was a good idea …

As these last few weeks pressed on a kept in touch with my coach and telling him how much I’ve gained was a wake up call in itself. I told him I needed more goals to shoot for because a part of me had been prepping for sooooo long for this competition that I almost felt like a “what’s next” moment and didn’t know exactly where to go. But with that being said, I’ve learned my lesion and man , oh man, cardio is SO much harder when you have crap in your system .. it literally does NOTHING to fuel you for a intense workout.

So all in all, I had a blast, was it worth it still after the aftermath of binging. yes, because I’m still learning to love myself obviously.. and I’m still working on processing how I see myself as well… I know I’m not perfect, no one is. Its your choice to either learn and grow from certain screw ups .. or you can let them overpower and consume you. But untimely its all up to you.

 

 

 

 

 

Tip of the Week # 18: Quality vs. Quanitity

When it comes to the food you put into your body, its more than just “calories in and calories out”… The food you consume is either going to benefit you nutritionally or its not, its either going to give you energy, vitamins, minerals, fiber and everything else or it may make you feel lethargic, worn out or give you a sugar rush that will most likely die within a few hours. So when picking out your food according to price vs. nutrition is a huge thing that a lot of people have a hard time doing.

All the time I hear “eating healthy is expensive” Yeah sure, some of it can be, not gonna deny that. But… I dare you to go to your produce isle and look at how much a bag of 10 potatoes is, or how much a bunch of spinach or romaine is…. a bag of potatoes is about $4 (and there usually are like 10 potatoes in there!) Then go over to the lettuce options you have (not he pre-packaged pre-made salads the actual bunch of leafs… they usually are about $1 $1.50 each bunch ) If your buy 2 or 3 of those, make your own salad mix A. you usually get more than the pre-packaged salads and B. its usually half the price. Key to buying healthy foods is to know where you can save money.

Now that I got that rant off my chest with a little example were gonna discuss how quality is so much more important to quality. Sure have a few cookies or a pop tart here and there but not every day. Your goal is to get healthy right? Well here are some things to consider when you reach for that junk food.

• Fake sugar and sugar in general – Now I’m not saying a little sugar is bad. Sometimes you need a little to keep your sanity hahaha.. and sugar from things like fruit aren’t as bad as your actual table sugar…. When you eat sugar or too much sugar is spikes your insulin levels .. which can result in diseases like diabetes and whatnot. When  you insulin levels are spiked you body is constantly trying to “burn that sugar off” first. And with that insulin being spiked your body is going to have a  harder time getting to that fat burning zone. Needless to say sugar any kind, fake or not, your body isn’t used to the amount we normally put into it  now-a-days. Do you really think our systems as humans were meant to eat potato chips, Oreos and sugary cereal all day? or at all for that matter? Limit your sugar intake and you’ll see a change, guarantee it. (I’ll do a post on how to curn sugar cravings and other options you can use that are better than sugar soon if ya’ll would like.)

• Ok so as we talked about Oreos and Cereal …. lets take a look at that. So  yeah its yummy don’t get me wrong and like I said, enjoy a fricken oreo here and there (you need to find a balance) but do NOT eat the whole pack in 2 days haha. So when looking at cereal, have you actually looked at the ingredients in Captain Crunch? (I’m picking Captain because its one or was, one of my favs =)) Besides looking at how many calories are in the food and calling it done, I want you to grab a box of a sugary (usually Kellogg’s) cereal and go over to Kashi cereal. Look at the ingredients on the bottom of the nutrition panel. Do you recognize everything in the Captain Crunch? Do you in the Kashi? I bet there is less in Kashi as well. Now…… here is where people don’t realize. . . . yeah Kashi is $4 and Captain is probably $1 .. $2 I don’t know.. So with that and looking at the ingredents, I bet one of the first few ingredients in Captain is “Enriched Bleached Flour” .. Yup! Its exactly what it sounds like, I might as well go grab my flour, bring it down to the laundry room and make my own. sad to say but yes, its true… they bleach it. and I bet the ingredient sugar isn’t far behind it on the list. On the flipside, Kashi probably says something like “Whole Wheat rolled Oats” or something. Now that should like something healthy right ? … and it definitely doesn’t sound like a chemical shit storm… Pay attention to ingredients and look for as minimal as possible.

• Lets talk about nutrition (the main point). So which do you think will fill you up faster? A burger from a fast food place? Or a salad? Well the thing is, they both “fill you up” just depends on how long your going to stay full for, which is going to provide your body with the nutrients, vitamins and fiber your body needs to run at top notch and which one is healthier (because being healthy is the main goal here). If your keeping track of your calories (which you should be because you’d be surprised how much you actually eat sometimes). You will notice how easy it is to get up to 1800 calories by eating crap foods. I mean good grief, 2 chips ahoy cookies is 150 calories alone, and between you and me… I cant just eat two at a time, its usually like 4 or 5 ( which equals 300+ cal) haha. Whereas, if you were to cook up 4oz of chicken and some fresh broccoli or whatever veggie you’d like .. the calories is going to be around 180-200 in that. So now that you see you would get to consume more food by eating healthier foods, you have to stop and think about which one is going to “fuel” your body. 4 cookies or a piece of chicken and veggies. The choice is yours but I think I made my point… plus I don’t know about you… but id rather eat a lot, then only have a small amount of food and feel groggy all day.

• One more point, sure at first eating healthy sucks (been there, I used to live on ramen, Tostitos pizza and all kinds of horrible things that I usually don’t eat now .. only for a treat do I do that)  But once you start getting used to it, its really not that bad. You start to get creative in the kitchen, you get a fun cookbook, you start to have fun looking for different spices and herbs. Learn to make it fun, get the whole family in on it and don’t look at it as a chore, your taking care of yourself. I personally like to think that my body is the only one I get, I either spend the money on fresh food or I will spend that money at the dr. later on in life. You’ll also notice a significant change in things like energy, sleep patterns and much more.

Plus I saw brown rice, dry beans and frozen veggies at the dollar store … so don’t tell me its expensive, you’re making excuses.

And don’t feel like you have to do everything at once, I didn’t, take baby steps.. this way you don’t quit or get overwhelmed.

 

Baked Garlic Fiesta Lime Tilapia

You’ll Need:

• Tilapia , I used about 8 pieces .. enough to fill the baking dish.
• 3 limes
• 1/2 purple onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• Fiesta lime Mrs. Dash seasoning
• Fresh cilantro

   

How to:

• Preheat oven to 370
• Cut up onion into pieces, mince your garlic and slice 2 of the limes into rounds.
• Place tilapia into glass baking dish and season with Mrs. Dash.
• Sprinkle garlic, and onions and the 2 cut up limes over top
• Cut the last lime and only squeeze the juice over the fish.
• Add about 1/4 cup water into pan to keep it from sticking to the pan (you also can use olive oil if you’d like)
• Bake for about 40 min or until done.
•  Garnish with cilantro and ………………. Enjoy!

Side note: I did add a little bit of garlic salt to it once it was all finished, but you don’t have to… I’m just a garlic freak.

7 weeks out! (Bikini Comp)

 

Holy Moly time fly’s. 50 days and it will all be over …. kinda sad to think about it that way.. but that’s ok! I plan on taking my off season to kick some more booty and come back in full swing and hopefully do a few next year! Yep! That’s right ya’ll get to see me suffer with my chicken, gallons of water and piles of veggies some more in the future lol. (this way I can post some blogs for ya’ll thinking about doing a competition as well =))

With that being said. I’m 7 weeks out  .. here are my progress pics! I can say I finally am starting to feel like im beginning to look like some of the other bikini girls on the team.. which feels good haha.

 

So along why my super low carb diet I have these days he gives me either called cab-loading or re-loading days and they sound amazing and super fun at first because you haven’t had carbs for sooo long haha… but only 3 meals in and still having 3 more to go being stuffed, this is when things get difficult haha. Not only is the extra carbs there but it about doubles my calorie intake that I’ve grown accustom to so its a little sad when I finally get a chance to down some brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato ect .. and I cant fathom eating any more ahaha.. I know I know one min I cant wait to eat , not I look at food and just feel full hahha. I’m a whiner…

 breakfast was yummy tho, that’s one thing I didn’t mind grubbing down on , OATMEAL! nom

So some ideas for blog posts since I know ya’ll wanna know more than what’s going on with me haha. Let me know what you think! AND I’m willing to take suggestions too, just leave them in the comments below!!!

• healthy protein bars
• more workouts
• what to expect when signing up for a bodybuilding competition!
• mind over matter – controlling cravings
• why do I binge or over eat?  – looking at the physiological side of it.

 

 

 

 

Baked Garlic & Herb French Fries (no oil)

Story time first! … (recipe is below if you don’t want to hear my story lol… but I think it was kinda funny personally)  Ok so my boyfriend actually has been doing pretty good through this whole “I want to do a competition” thing. Hes been helping with food prep, supporting me when I lose my shit and dealing with my low-carb mood swings haha. I’m very blessed, that’s all I have to say! … so anyways…..We were driving around and it was becoming dinner time soon for him anyways ( I still had like 2 more meals to eat) But for the most part he’s been eating what Ive been eating give or take some extra carbs or something for him… So the other day he was like “I’m gonna get Good Times” and kind of gave me a look of “please don’t hate me … and is that ok?” lol and I understand … I’m not going to deprive him from things just because I have a goal… its not his goal he can eat/do what he wants… So we order it and he gets the bag and puts it in-between himself and the driver-side door so its not staring at me in the face (aww so considerate)…. So I’m all “you can put it on the center console so it doesn’t fall and spill everywhere” so he does…

I literally looked out the window because all I can smell is those fries… (and if you know me, I’ve never really been a fry fan anyways … but ohhhh Good Times fries just sounded good.. ) .. so I looked down and there is seriously a little fry sticking out of the bag, I swore it was like mocking me. hahha.

So I looked at him and was like .. ” yeah put this back over to your side and we need to go home NOW, so I can make my chicken and asparagus” lol… he just laughed at me and headed  home…. So that’s my story.. I think it was funnier in person, oh well… but anyways I made these and they weren’t “Good Times” fries, but they definitely curbed that craving!!!  ENJOY!

 

Recipe:

You’ll need:

As many potatoes as you want ( I used Red Gold for this and I only used 2 potatoes total… but then again I can only have so many carbs right now … so keep that in mine, One potato this size measures out to be about 1 cup)

and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasonings …

THATS IT! BOOM!  ( p.s. I love minimal ingredient recipes!!! )

How to:

• Put potatoes into desired shapes or slices
• Pre- Heat Oven to 345
• Lay a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and spread out the potato chunks evenly on the baking sheet.
• Sprinkle Ms. Dash seasoning onto the pieces – jut enough to lightly cover them (it helps if you flip them too so the seasoning gets everywhere)
• Bake for about 20-25 min depending on how fast your potato cooks. … (I did turn on the broiler for out 5 min just so they came out a little more golden and crisp! )
• Let cool and Enjoy!

nom nom nom

Side note: You can basically do this with any potato and any seasoning, no need for oil which helps save on calories!! =) – I might try a southwest Chipotle seasoning next time!

Also, I found a lower sugar Ketchup that’s not too bad either!  But different flavored mustards are delish too!

5 cal per tablespoon – 1g sugar! BOOM

Breakfast Oats

 

You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup dry instant oatmeal
• 1/4 cup Blueberries
• 1/4 cup red Raspberries
• 1/8 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• Chia and/or hemp seeds to sprinkle

Annnnnnd any other goodies you’d like to add would be juuuust fine!

Prepare oats to package, add goodies and milk and enjoy – cool thing about oats it you can pretty much put anything on it …

Other goodie ideas:

• any fruit (blackberries, apple slices, banana, pear slices, pineapple, peaches, strawberries, ect)
• Spices (pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia, vanilla extract. )
• Milks (cows, hemp, almond, rice, soy)
• Nuts and seeds (almonds, cashews, walnuts, chia, hemp, flax, pecans)
• chocolate chips – yep! you just read that right hahaha

 

Update: 12 Weeks out!

Well I survived 1 whole month. Whooo haha. (it wasn’t that bad… the workouts are brutal though…. )

Not too much has changed as far as weight ad diet. He did add fish to my plan so that was suuuper exciting haha. (something other than turkey and chicken ahahah)

I notice more of a difference in pictures and body composition than anything (which thank god for pictures because I would probably be freaking out otherwise since when I started with him I was 137ish  and I’m now only 133 lol. But when you think about it, its about 1 lbs. a week which is ideal so I guess I’m on the right track.

I’m also getting more and more creative with my food to not make it seem like I’m eating the same thing over and over. The other day I did one of these Ms. dash packets (fajita style) in a crock pot of about 6 chicken breasts and made like a pulled chicken type of meal. … and this one was pretty good too. Made it with Ground lean turkey and no tomatoes ( the recipe on the back called for them.. but I’m a rebel and don’t follow rules =P  )

This was the pulled chicken, it is really juicy (which is god because so many times chicken gets dry fast) … I put it on a salad with some salsa.

Along with just every day life, I also learned to never eat 6 cups of broccoli all day  everyday for 3 days straight.. (or at least I hope that’s what the problem was. So long story short (and I’m just going to say it like it is ya’ll … hope ya don’t get offended) but I was literally keeled over at work and when I got home last night. I was google-ing stomach pain and found that broccoli is a veggie that can A. cause bloating and B. has a harder time digesting in your body… (I didn’t know this)

So with that being said and a laxative taken last night to see if that was the problem (I believe it was BTW) I feel a lot better today and need to go get something other than broccoli for my meals now… since all I have is broccoli hahha.

this is whats in my fridge hhahahahaa .. oh man..

green beans and asparagus here I come!!!!

 

 

 

 

Life is hard to balance at times …… (14 and 13 weeks out update)

Oh my gosh guys! Sorry life is definitely busier than usual but I’ll try my best to keep it updated! haha.

Between the training, cooking, eating (all I feel like I do is eat btw haha), work and everything else it is all I can do to just come home and not pass out right away …

Now, if you have been following me on instagram, you’ll know that my weight keep fluctuating and this is something I personally find extremely annoying and I know I need to learn not to let it get to me. … with that being said its a good thing I take measurements now and pictures every week because that’s the only way I’m really seeing a difference. But its a good difference! =)

Week 3 (14 weeks out from show.)

 

Going into week 4 (13 weeks out from show)

hardest part so far? … cardio on those damn stairs.. I tell ya we have a love/hate relationship right now .. and cravings OMG… I just want a PB and J lol….

MY CRAVING CRUSHERS:

• Gum – deserts
• mints
• sparkling water!!! – look for no sugar/sodium/ nothing…
• tea
• spices

ooh that  list looks sad lol.

OH also… I have the best boyfriend ever! we past 4 years on the 4th of july … he got me this!!

oh…so … beautiful….

 

 

Tip of The Week #17 Have some Patience!

Today were going to talk about a little thing I like to call patience. …. I have very little as does the rest of this “on-the-go, need-to-get-sh*t-done” society. But its going to play a huge role in your weight loss and getting to where you want to be so pay attention!

• Look, I get that you want a toned tummy and a lifted butt…who doesn’t? … but its not going to happen over night. You didn’t gain that extra 50 lbs ( or however much you’d like to lose) over night did you? I’m assuming that answer is a no. Nor did you gain it in a month either. It took time to put the weight on, therefore its going to take time (usually a little longer sorry to say) for it to come off. That’s just how it works. Accept that its a process or journey you’re on and its going to take time …. period.

• You are not superman or superwoman either! …. most people don’t realize that with media how it is, people want it to be fast like it was for The Biggest Loser contestants… its not going to happen. If you want to do this ( lose weight) the right way, you will not be spending 5+ hours in the gym, and eating very few calories, that’s only going to hurt you in the long run. 1-2 lbs a week is usually a good estimate of how much you should be losing, if your on the higher end of the weight spectrum, you have more to lose so more might come off at first where as someone who doesn’t have as much to lose is going to have a slower weight loss. When you lose weight too quickly its either a sign of malnutrition and/or water loss and possibly muscle loss too. Plus, you want to lose it slower because not only will it stay off longer, but when you lose lean muscle mass, your jeopardizing your metabolism making it slow down, hence making it harder to lose weight.

• I wrote another blog post about being positive (read it!!) link here:    The #1 Weight Loss Secret!!!     You cannot call yourself fat anymore. Its not doing anything for you or anyone else accept bringing you down. You need to find something you love about yourself first and foremost. You need to love yourself and have and take pride in yourself too. You need to have this weight loss goal for YOU and you alone, any other reason isn’t going to get where you want/need to be. Sure there can be an event or something your trying to get ready for but in the whole scheme of things, it need to be for you and your health. And for peats sake, be positive and quit putting yourself down.
• Visualize yourself thinner, this can be hard. If you have to dig up old photos of you when you were thinner, heck paste a picture of your face on the body you want… whatever works for you. I like to think about the figure I’m trying to archive when I’m about to fall asleep. Find what works for you. I also have a vision board where I have tons of quotes, a calendar to keep me on track and pictures of fit and healthy bodies.

• Keep going!!! Ok so say you started eating healthy and maybe working out a little, some weight loss has occurred but you haven’t seen too many results. So knowing patience is the key…. keep going till you see those results you want. And results aren’t just measured in weight loss either. It can also be gaining strength, more energy, the way your clothes fit, how you feel when you eat healthy/unhealthy, muscle definition etc. So focus on the little results your getting while shooting for that main goal. It will only happen the moment you decide NOT to give up.

• Start small and move up from there. Most people want a 180 approach and it just isn’t realistic. Some people can do it, but very few. When people try to change everything all at once they get overwhelmed and frustrated.. leaving them to quit and give up. So start with small things, maybe its to eat healthier, or to be able to run around the block without stopping. Whatever it is, start changing things slowly and you’ll be more inclined to stick to it and make it last. It is truly a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, you cannot go on a “diet” and lose the weight and then go back to your old habits. That is why diets DONT work. Now I’m not saying you cant enjoy a handful of chips or a yummy piece of cake here but the majority of your diet is going to be healthy clean food.

On a personal note, people don’t realize this has taken me a good 3+ years to get to where I am now. It takes time, once you learn to accept that the better off you’ll be. … so chill out. haha.

     

How much should I eat? (portion control)

So measuring up portions can be tricky when people are constantly telling you to eat this and eat that. Or their telling you to have 4oz chicken…. Well that’s all fine and dandy if you have a food scale but lets get honest, most of ya’ll don’t have one. So how do you know how much if right for you personally? The average 4oz is fine but say a bodybuilder at 210lbs is going to need more than a young 20 year old girl at 130lbs…. so here are some basics when it comes to portions and knowing how much to eat for you.

Keep in mind portion and serving sizes are different too. Serving size is just a standard way they measure food. Portion is how much you actually pile on your place. Both are a part of weight loss and very important.

1. Close your hand into a fist. This usually amounts to anywhere around 1 cup depending on your hand. If you look at your spouses fist it may be bigger than yours, that’s because his/her body may require more calories and thus bigger portions.

• Veggies (portion is 2 fists worth (2 cups) ..but in reality you can eat as MUCH veggies as you want!!!)
• Carbs – brown rice, sweet potato, cereals, quinoa, beans, oats, fruit.

    

2. Open up your hand and just look at the palm. Depending on how big your hand is its usually around 3-5 oz size. This is your protein sizing. Turn your hand to the side, this is how thick your meat should be and or make up for the size if your piece of meat is thicker than your hand.. (you know… use common sense haha) ** ONLY the palm, no fingers included lol**

• Meats (chicken, turkey, game, tofu, steak, fish, eggs etc.)

  

3. Now give yourself a thumbs up! =) (hee hee) this is your fats and dressings. Usually keep it at about a tablespoon.

• Almond/peanut butters
• Salad dressings
• Seasonings (I like Mrs. Dash – no salt! )
• Sour Cream and Cream Cheese – if your trying to lose weight .. limit these.

4. Tip of your thumb is about a teaspoon.

• oils
• butters

Hope this helps for those of you without a scale or for when your out to eat and the restaurant gives you a HUGE serving …. just eat “your portion size” and take the rest home. You can have the rest at another time =)

  

** Count your calories and macronutrients , don’t go over or under but get them as close to your goal as you can. Workout and be patient.. the rest will fall into place! YOU GOT THIS! =)