This is probably the hardest and easiest part of contest prep. Yeah, I know, doesn’t make much sense. When you only have 10 more days you think ” I can do anything for 10 days, this is going to be a cake walk” BUT you are also ‘feeling it’ the most right about now. Maybe a little tired, a little achy, a little hungry and some…a little crabby (but not me of course LOL ). I think my emotions go back and forth from these two things a lot during the last bit of a prep. When I get tempted to eat something or just don’t really feel like going to the gym, you can psych yourself up knowing that you only have a few more days! Again though, these are a hard ‘few more days’.
In the end, you suck it up because you are so close to your goal. It is very close and I am REALLY excited!
FACE EACH DAY WITH THE EXPECTATION OF ACHIEVING GOOD, RATHER THAN THE DREAD OF FALLING SHORT
Now multiply that times 3 and you have my house! And as everyone knows by now..I love candy. So now what? How do you NOT eat it? I was thinking about this when my Sister in Law called and I could hear my 2 year old niece in the background asking for a Kit Kat for breakfast. And she was MAD because mommy was saying no! Why no? Well, you don’t eat that for breakfast, you don’t eat it for lunch either, but you can have a piece at some point–get that I said A PIECE. Not 6 pieces or 12 pieces or 20 pieces. Why? Because it isn’t good for you. That is what we tell our kids right? “You can’t have all that junk girls, it isn’t good for you.” Maybe we should take our own advice. Have a piece every now and then, but not a ton. IT ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU. Start looking at this ‘healthy’ eating differently. Doesn’t mean you can’t have ANY it means you can’t look like this:
(great shot by Isaac Hinds)
This may seem like a very long story - but it is well worth the read and Noel needs to be praised throughout! Noel was the college roommate and soccer teammate of one of my best friends. My friend Jill has hands down one of the most physically fit bodies I have ever seen -and she always has. However, this past Spring, when my family and I went to visit Jill and her family in Florida she somehow was in even better shape than usual and that is when she told me about Noel. The last time I had met Noel was at Jill’s wedding when she was pregnant with her third child. However, over the years Jill had filled me in on Noel’s competitions and her training. After that visit, I was motivated - however, I was not going to bother making contact because I did not think “I had the time.” After a few weeks of thinking about it -I decided to email Noel - that was the single best decision I could have made. I am honestly shocked at the results, especially in the training circumstances that I have been working with…
I explained to Noel that I was moving back home with my parents and my two young children as my husband had to move three states away to complete a one year job (which he is only in month three of right now. So, my concern was that I was going to be in the middle of a move and a huge transition (which took place three months after I started working with Noel) - not to mention that I had not been to gym since my 4 1/2 year old was born. I used to go to the gym at 5:00 am, however, once I had children that was impossible to do because my husband leaves the house at 5:30 am for work. In addition, I also work full time as an attorney. So basically, I had all the reasons in the world to say that there was no way we could accomplish anything meaningful. I could not have been more wrong. Noel assured me that she could get me into the body I was trying to achieve if I just purchased a few pieces of equipment and put the time in at my house - so off I went, purchased a medicine ball, resistance band and some free weights…Oh yes, and a good alarm as I now get up much earlier - which is a good thing. I get so much done before my children even open their eyes, which mkes me more productive throughout the entire day! I have been working with Noel for about six months and I am now the weight I was as a freshman in High School…yes, a freshman in High School (without stepping foot in a gym) - not to mention that I feel so healthy it is ridiculous -the overall benefits of working with Noel cannot be exaggerated enough. I can email her anytime of day or night, with the stupidest questions, whether it be with the training or the diet - and she will respond almost immediately. I cannot believe that for years before I had my two children, I would spend 1.5 to 2 hour in the gym, daily - as Noel put it after I told her what I used to do - I was a “cardio bunny.” However, even though I used to lift weights and run five miles a day - I never looked as toned and slim as I do now - with half the time put in on a daily basis. I honestly never thought that my body could look like it does - I always said to myself, oh it does not matter how much I work out - my genes will not allow me to lose that cellulite, ect - however, Noel has showed me again, just how wrong I was in my thinking and overall outlook on diet, nutrition and food. Aside from the obvious physical benefits - so much more has changed…it may sound crazy, but my hair, my nails - everything is stronger…but more importantly - my own attitude…I am a pretty confident person to begin with - however, I was never completely satisfied with my body and now I am! I am just so much more positive about my body and my health!
Noel has truly changed my life in so many ways - all for the better! She also has shown me that just being honest with her regarding any time constraints and dietary concerns, challenges and cheats - anything can be adjusted and tweeked to change with any given week or obstacles - she truly has an unbelievable knowledge base regarding nutrition and physical fitness. For anyone who thinks that they just do not have the time or the willpower to make such a life change - you are wrong - you just have not found your Noel yet…but I hope you do - you will be a better person for it - inside and out!
Well Halloween is on us and if you know me at all by this point, you know that I absolutely love to bake. Being in the middle of competition prep is definitely the hardest time to bake without tasting but it can be done. And I think this goes for anyone that is trying to hit weight loss goals and is around the holidays when there are tempting treats everywhere we turn. I know that for me, the girls all have Halloween parties at school plus the trick or treating that they will do. So it is inevitable that you will be faced with temptations. I think there are several things that you can do to stick to your plan and be prepared for these treats that will spring up all over the place. You have to plan ahead. I think this is where we seem to fall short. Meal prep to me is so critical to staying on plan. When you are STARVING and you do not have meals prepped…you reach for whatever is there and if your house is anything like mine, we have candy dishes and school treats all over right now. That is another thing I do when I have to bake for the girls. I make sure that it is after a meal not right before when I am so hungry that that batter or frosting looks even more yummy. You can also use all the other tricks that I think I have said before like chewing gum while baking or brushing your teeth so that if you did want to have a lick it just wouldn’t taste right. I just think it is important to realize that you do have “life” going on around you and you can’t expect everyone else to change to fit your goals. You have to be able to adapt and stay strong to what you have set out for yourself. As Erik has said many times…’it is simple, not easy’.
I started working with Noel back in February. I would have described myself just six short months ago as the average overweight person with the right motives and the best intentions but failing every time I started some sort of fitness plan. My three kids even begin to mock me when I would say “Okay Monday I am starting my diet” because they knew by Tuesday and even honestly by Monday night I would have given up because of my appetite and my undisciplined eating habits.
After working with Noel for just the first month she taught me more about fitness, exercise and most importantly nutrition than I ever dreamed I could know and understand. Everything she directed me to do seemed to work great and I begin to see results quickly. Her constant encouragement seemed to create within me a desire to be the best me I could be. I really believe my goals became her goals and we met each goal with the anticipation of exceeding and moving on to the next goal and challenge. The changes in me physically have been obvious. Lost weight, better physique, more endurance, overall I am healthier and I am stronger now at the age of almost 40 than in my college football days. All of my clothes fit great and some are even too big. I even spent most of my time at the pool this summer playing with my kids in the pool with my shirt off instead of telling them I was too tired to get in and sitting in the shade fully clothed like I did last summer. I wouldn’t trade that time with my kids for anything.
The physical aspect is important but the self confidence I have gained goes far beyond just looking better and feeling better. I always felt went I was overweight that people saw me as undisciplined. I would look in restaurants or other places I went and wonder if I was actually the fattest person in the room. I even wondered if people did that to me and stopped when they found me. My self confidence stayed low because I always seemed inferior. Now I find that no matter where I go no matter what I am doing I feel great about myself. Noel always told me that nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels and boy was she right about that.
Thank you Noel and Lean Bodies Consulting for guiding me through the process of getting physically fit. I honestly think working with you has been the best investment I have ever made. I know the journey is not over for me but I totally trust that partnering with you will allow me to meet and exceed all of my fitness goals.
Ok so I have been on a kick to check out some new stuff for the pantry to replace the HFCS that we have EVERYWHERE and get the girls STAMP of Approval. I went to several Farmer’s Markets and even the Kroger ‘healthy’ section to check prices. I am amazed at all that was out there. In case you were unaware, there is a replacement for everything…ritz bitz, gold fish, cereals..you name it. Now, I have some of the pickiest kids ever and they are loving it. Slowly but surely I will have it totally out of my house. I am not going to freak when they are out and have something with this in it, but not having it as an option at home is going to be a great start for all of us. They loved the PB Puffins, Archer Farms Organic Strawberry Fruit Strips, 365 Organic Quak’n Bites (like gold fish) and Trader Joe’s Mini Peanut butter sandwich crackers. Funny story, Scott took the girls out of town on Sunday and they had to stop and get gas. While inside Jamison (my 4 year old) asked if she could have a pack of crackers and Scott said sure. So they are standing in line and she yells out ” oh, dad does this have High Fructose Corn Syrup?” Scott said the lady behind him looked shocked and then laughed and said ” That is awesome” My oldest is getting a kick out of finding things in our pantry that have it. LOL
On a similar topic, we have been pulling artificial sweeteners out as well. Several of our clients from LBC have dropped the splenda, diet drinks, and Crystal light flavor packs out and are noticing significant drops in their weight. This is something worth trying for yourself to see how sensitive your body may be to these items.
What is this? It is derived from cornstarch, usually a combination of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent sucrose. Treated with an enzyme that converts glucose to fructose, which results in a sweeter product. Used in soft drinks, baked goods, jelly, syrups, fruits and desserts.
Now do you realize 1. how bad this is for us and 2. how many products that you have in your pantry that probably contain this? I have been doing a lot of reading this past week on HFCS. No it isn’t new, but I was just shocked to find out all of the foods that it is in. I think that when it comes to me eating certain things, I tend to overlook some of the negative health habits, but now that I see how much of this is in my kids stuff….well, there really is no turning back. I am now revamping my pantry and I can tell you, the girls aren’t to excited. LOL.
In case you are unaware: Fructose is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar. It has been linked to diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolic Syndrome. Fructose also contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals, and it leeches micronutrients from your body. Unbound fructose, found in large quantities in HFCS, can interfere with your heart’s use of minerals such as magnesium, copper and chromium.
(this was taken from our forum..www.leanbodiesfitness.com) To add even more fuel to the fire, HFCS is almost always made from genetically modified corn, which is fraught with its own well documented side effects and health concerns.
GMO corn will radically increase your risk of developing corn food allergies. You can bet dimes to dollars on this one and become very wealthy if someone is crazy enough to disagree with you and take you up on this bet.
The problem with corn allergies are that once you have a corn allergy from GMO corn you will have an allergy to even healthy organic corn products.
On top of that, if you read through the Organic Consumers Association article linked to above, you get a feel for just how bad corn crops are for your waistline and the environment. On average, Americans eat over 14 tablespoons of sugar every day, and a growing portion of that is in the form of corn syrup. Aside from contributing to obesity, the more than 76 million acres of corn grown each year in the United States is hurting the land. Each year:
* Corn crops are sprayed with 162 million pounds of chemical pesticides
* Producing, packaging and transporting these pesticides contributes nearly 3 billion pounds of greenhouse gases to the environment each year
* About 18 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers are used on corn crops every year, contributing 35 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions
After reading all of this plus so much more, I have decided to take this out of my kids diet. I know that all things in moderation are ok, but I am just not going to have it as an option in the house. From what I have read and seen there are a tons of alternatives in the whole foods sections. Now I just need to hunt down the ones that my girls will eat. If you don’t realize how much of this is in your pantry..check out this list http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct
And here is the latest commercial trying to reassure us that HFCS is fine.
I have been slacking on the blogging lately. Life has taken over…. lol
Contest prep is definitely underway. I am just under 10 weeks away from Nationals here in Atlanta. Am I nervous…yes :) Just plugging away and trying to get the weight and measurements to drop. I feel like each prep at about this time, everything seems un-reachable. So I am going to just try to do what I am suppose to do and come out on the other side….hopefully with a better mindset.
Life has been crazy busy…having my girls playing soccer this year has kept us on the move constantly. I some how am now helping to coach my older daughter’s team. This is something I swore I wouldn’t do….but I am actually enjoying it. We had our first game last weekend and it was a tie. I definitely can count that as cardio and am surprised that I had a voice the next day LOL.
I am sure Erik is going to do a write up on this in his blog eventually, but I thought that I would write about it as well. Ok, so during contest prep I have come to find out that salad ( a filler and something that keeps off hunger for me) tends to upset my stomach. So we have come to remove it totally just during prep time. Now with taking out the greens a question came up from Erik about wondering what my PH was and maybe that needs to be addressed. Having a higher protein intake and veggies going down…where does that leave me? Having a more acidic environment in your body can have some very negative effects like:
Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
Immune deficiency.
Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
Hormone concerns.
Premature aging.
Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
Low energy and chronic fatigue.
Slow digestion and elimination.
Yeast/fungal overgrowth.
It is very easy to test your PH level on ph strips, both orally or with your urine. There are many things that you can do if you test strips come back on the acidic side. You can alter your diet a bit to include things like greens+, adding uncooked spinach or green veggies into your diet. Another thing that you can do is take out sweeteners like splenda or sweet n low and replace them with Stevia which is an alkaline. Also, eliminating sodas…(that is NOT happening with me LOL ) because they are extremely acidic. You can check out the chart bellow for more foods and where they fall on the acidic/alkaline chart.
so I took my ph today and am actually going to do it first thing in the morning to see if it is different because I was pleasantly surprised to see that my PH was in the normal range. I think it surprised Erik as well. But I still think this is a good thing to check out for yourself if you can. The PH strips can be either ordered online or found at a local pharmacy.
A friend from our forum www.leanbodiesfitness.com was talking to me the other day about having a family and being involved in this type of lifestyle. She brought up some really great points about how she has read several things lately about people saying they need to take a ‘break’ from this dieting to just be “normal” and have family dinners and not be so restrictive. Her point to me (hopefully I am expressing this right) was that she didn’t understand this concept. Why can’t THIS lifestyle and even competing, be incorporated into your family instead of being viewed as something that has to take away from your family. I totally agreed with her. I think that if you are dieting down-whether for a show or for just personal satisfaction-you need to find a way to make this a part of your entire life…not just something separate that you can’t incorporate with your family. Why can’t you have dinner with your family. Can’t you incorporate similar foods that you are having to eat with your family meal. I mean, do your children not eat chicken, beef, pork…..whatever and other similar things that might be on your ‘diet’? Does it mean you can’t make Mac N cheese for them and just not partake in it? I think that they can learn good eating habits by watching you. In my house, the girls know that at breakfast we can have pancakes but we are getting eggs too. They even like some of the recipes that AmyP puts together LOL. I think that it is also important to see that mommy or daddy workout! In my house, this is just like anything else that needs to get done…lifting. My oldest daughter is at an age now where she is asking more about food and what it does in the body. Again, these are awesome situations to teach them the ‘healthy’ way to look at food. I don’t think that dieting down needs to separate you from your family. It is just like anything else…there has to be balance.
