Lean Bodies - Noel Clark

My meals just aren’t cutting it on off days. I am ready for it to get here, just not ready for it to get here. Yes, I realize that makes no sense, but you should see the spread that my friends are putting together for post comp celebration I will get that night off and then Sunday off and then right back on my diet for Chicago.

I am posing now, twice a day. It gets tiring up there with so many girls, especially since I tend to go out near the front. It feels like you are squeezing your muscles FOREVER. I am working on just feeling comfortable in my poses as well as making my turns more fluid.

Training is still strong. Cardio is meh! I can’t imagine doing a lot of it (thank you Erik). Here is a shot of me from Sunday. Abs are there I promise..just gotta get them to pop.

So basically 2 weeks left of dieting and one week of getting all the stuff together.  No more all day cheats for me…boo! LOL.  I think this is the part in the prep where I start to get paranoid.  Am I ready?, will I be exactly where I want to be come show day?, Have I done ENOUGH?, Will I look my best?  I had my first really down day yesterday.  I was going to take pics and when I saw myself…I knew it wasn’t going to be a day for taking pics.  I am the type of person that looks at my pictures on a split screen and compares every detail LOL.  Good in one sense that I really just want to continue to improve, but bad in another because I think we are our own worst critics.  If I see something I don’t like…..watch out!  Hopefully I can get in a better frame of mind and take some pictures soon.  I do need to get some to Erik. 

My diet has changed up a bit for this last stretch.  My off day carbs have dropped and my fats on those days have gone up.  Training days have been left the same and I am still getting some good carbs in those days.  I think my calories are still the same just changed up the macros a bit.  Today is only my second off day since we changed the diet and I am hoping that it goes as well as the first.  I actually felt really good that day.  I thought that I would be starving considering that my veggies are still out, but I did well.  The veggies are still out only because we are so close to show and I don’t want to go through feeling bad trying to figure out what was the cause of the stomach stuff.  We will add those back in after the show.  I do miss my broccoli

I am very fortunate to have quite a few really great friends coming with me to Jr USAs this year.  Erik is flying in from Canada to help with last minute details and drive up there with me.  My sister-in-law is coming, which I am very excited about.  She was with me when I qualified for National shows and hasn’t had a chance to come again.  Of course my hubby will be going and then 4 other close friends: Cindy, Ileen, Amy and Lyn.  They have been planning the menu for afterwards YAY!! It will definitely be a fun time.  They have all been so very supportive and encouraging through this process. (THANK YOU GUYS).   

So like I said, Hopefully I will be in a better frame of mind to take some pics and get them up. 

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend! 

Just a quick update on how that went on Saturday.  The plan was to walk with my Mom to raise money for research on Multiple Sclerosis which most of you (if you read this) already know, my mom has been living with for many many years.  This was a 5K walk so most that were walking were loved ones of those that have been diagnosed with this disease.  There were quite a few people pushing those in wheelchairs and then there were those that had MS and were doing the walk on their motorized scooters.  My mom and I had planned on taking the first mile or so and then heading back.  BUT….we ended up walking the entire 5k.  I was so proud of her…she really did an awesome job.  Tons of people showed up for this event and it was really great to see the community support.  We talked after and then the following days about how continuing to lift and really eating right has helped her enormously.  Overall it was just a great experience!

I have had a lot of people ask me lately what my diet looks like for a figure competition.  Also, if it is different this go around.  So I thought I would talk about that a bit today because I think there is obviously a million ways to diet down for a show successfully.  Now when I talk about the way Erik and I do it…it DOES NOT mean you can’t do it another way, but this way just works for both me, and goes with our philosophy on contest prep in general.  This year has also been a little different for me as well. I am about 4 weeks out from Jr USAs.  At this point I have seen other girls eating very little carbs and for me, I am getting quite a few and seeing great changes.  I think last year we had more lower carb days then we do now.  I get 6 meals a day and on training days (which there are 4 a week for me) I am eating carbs in 5 of the 6 meals.  Things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, PWO carbs, and oats (my favorite yum).  Not a ton of fat on those days.  Then on my off/cardio days. I am getting carbs in the first 3 meals.  Then it is just protein and fats after that for the last three.  Those carbs are oats, rice cakes and potatoes.  AND YES–WHITE POTATOES.  And then of course for the past 4 Saturdays I have been having an all day Cheat.  We did not have these last year.  We chose to do refeeds instead and they did work, but I will say that they were harder for me.  I find that the all day stuff is a bit easier because I am allowed to hit high caloric numbers and include fat.  I am one that likes fat better than just the bready carbs that you seem to get on a refeed.  And the other thing that I find so easy is knowing that Saturday is coming, the week’s dietary adherence is a cake walk.  To me this seems obvious–stay tight on your diet all week and then on the Saturday-eat what you want, when you want it.  Go out with my family, go to birthday parties, have a little of this and a little of that.  It fits right in to my life.  Then boom back on Sunday.  I have seen great measurement changes from this as well.  I don’t think competition prep diets have to kill you.  They don’t have to leave you starving day in and day out.  And I have never (thank goodness) had to do the hours of cardio to get lean.  Now I will never say that dieting for a show is easy because it never ever is.  Are you hungry–hell yes, you are dieting, not to mention you have probably been doing it for quite some time to get to the point that you are ready to step on stage.  Is it a sacrifice–YES, but one that I find a challenge and in the end…well worth it.  So when I say that this way is easier…I am comparing to other diets I have seen or other competitor’s experiences.  But I guess easy is all relative. LOL.

I met with Heather Green on Friday.  If you ever get the opportunity to meet her or work with her…do it.  She was so nice and easy going.  It was fun not only to pose in front of her but to get some other tips as well.  I am going to meet with her once more, but we are also hoping to both go together and meet with Ty Felder who is an NPC judge and promotes shows here in Georgia and see if we can get critiqued by him as well.  Heather is getting ready for her own show in two weeks the Pittsburgh Pro (GOOD LUCK).  I will tell you one thing that I will be doing for the next 4 weeks….practice practice practice posing.  I forget how tiring it is…sheesh.

Starting last fall I worked on making some much needed changes to my physique.  I tried to bring up the body parts that the judges felt were lacking.  I think that I did a pretty good job following their instructions.  One of the other areas that I needed work on was my presentation.  I am definitely going to be presenting a different look this next show..Jr USAs.  After looking at pics from last year, I am darkening my hair and going straight.  What we noticed was 1.  my hairs was way too light on stage and 2. with curls, for some reason my back and shoulders never looked as wide as when I would take progress shots with my hair pulled up…(thanks Neely).  I have also hired Laurie St. Michael to do my make-up at the show.  This is just another way to make sure I have all my bases covered not to mention a load off my shoulders.  Last but almost the most important is POSING.  We all know and have heard that it isn’t just about what your physique looks like.  I mean, everyone up there at this level looks GOOD.  You have to make sure that you have your posing down.  I am fortunate enough to live close to IFBB figure pro Heather Green. 

I am meeting with her tomorrow to begin practicing my posing.  I am sure she will be giving me great tips and insight.  It is always nice to have another (much better) competitor, with her kind of experience helping out.  Hopefully I will video some of it.( I am nervous )

So it is Wednesday and my weight has dropped .5lb lower than before the cheat. I expect an all time low by Saturday. WOOHOO. I can say that today is the first day in a long time that I am actually feeling that “grrr I am hungry” feeling. My cardio this a.m. was tough…sheesh. I forget how lucky I am not to have to do too much. I would suck if I had to do more LOL.

Off topic, I am super excited about this weekend. I am walking with my MOM in support of Multiple Sclerosis. I think their name is “Team Hope”. We are walking to raise money for MS. Just to add….my mom is amazing! You would never know that she has been battling this for so long. And she is taking such good care of her body now. She looks incredible! GO MOM GO!!!

Saturday was measurement and picture time. Since we began the cheat days three weeks ago, my weight has come down 5.5lbs and my measurements have been dropping weekly. So looks like things are progressing well. I am starting to see more changes to my lower body (FINALLY lol). Hopefully this week will be no exception. We might be doing one more Cheat day, but I am not sure. After that it is going to be 4 weeks all out till Jrs.

Cheat Day Update: I ate a ton. I gained 5.5lbs. I really thought it would have been more due to what I ate. I had….3 of these protein shakes that taste like a blizzard (C&C PP, lots of Peanut butter, and milk) Pancakes, so many starburst that it would make you sick LOL, a cheeseburger from Ted’s Montana Grill, Potato w/ sour cream (yes, the real stuff ), wheat thins (a ton), a few baked Dorritos, random spoonfuls of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, blueberries, and here is the kicker……I am not a huge ice cream fan, but we had a huge movie night with the girls on Saturday night and we did ice cream sundaes. I ended up getting a pint of Ben and Jerry’s that I had never tasted before called ‘Oatmeal Cookie Chunk’ I ate about 3/4 of it!!! As of this morning though, I am down 3lbs.

Erik changed up my program just a bit this week. A little more time in the gym for me which I like. I think I have one more cardio day, which still isn’t a lot. I will be training 4 days a week now. Diet is staying the same because it seems to be working I did take some pics…just not sure I am up for posting them.

Well, my weight is back down..Good and bad I guess.  Erik says I didn’t put on enough :(  We will take a look at measurements on Saturday to see what to do next.  I am going to drag my hubby to the gym with me tomorrow to get some more video.  I keep meaning to splice my cheat day together…it is just kind of funny!  My numbers in the gym went up again this week which always makes me happy.  I locked in an appointment with a make-up artist for Jr USAs.  Like I have said before…I want to bring the best package this show and I think that having a pro do it will give me a boost in confidence.  I am also getting some posing help.  More on that later (yay).  I spoke with Tammy Pies.  She is the Figure Pro that makes Elite Tan.  That is the tanner that I use and love.  I am going to get some good shots at the show and she said she would put them up on her website.  If you haven’t ever tried this stuff, it is really great.  No mishaps with turning green, goes on really dark, I really like it. 

I need to get some progress pics up but I do have a shot from last years back just before this same show and a shot taken about a week ago(I am sure that I have posted them before).  Bulk worked.