EXCITED {08.20.2015}

Excited is an understatement!

I have just purchased my NPC Competition Bikini and competition jewelry. I also found my heels but will not purchase those for at least a few weeks. The bikini I chose is absolutely gorgeous. I am really excited that it will be customized for me! I'll be patiently waiting...

 

Although I want my vacation to go nice and slow, I am really excited that when I return home, my competition suit will be only days away from being in my possession. My competition date is March 2016, so I have plenty of time, and a lot of people have been asking why I decided to order  my suit so early. One of the main reasons, is motivation. After spending the money on the suit, the last thing I want is to have it be spent for nothing. The other important reason, I really want to take progression photos. I knew that taking the photos in the suit that I would be wearing on stage which allow me to see not just the changes that are happening weekly, but also visualize what areas of my body need more work.

 

I've come to the realization that my goal of doing my first competition has just become real! Now that I have ordered my suit, there is no time for excuses. No time for cheating. Every day at the gym will need to count. I'm sure that over the course of the next six months, with hard work and determination, I will reach my goal.

 

I will be attempting to do weekly Vlogs on YouTube. I really want to document my journey. I always see other bikini competitors documenting their journey and am thankful they do because it allows people like me to see that anything is possible. I want to use that as a tool to show people that weight loss and your dreams are possible.  I'm constantly reminding close friends and family members, who say working out and losing weight is hard, that E and I have lost 40lbs. it wasn't easy and there were days where we felt like nothing was changing, but looking back, I'm so proud of how far we've come. It's never going to be easy. But we have fallen in love with working out and this healthy lifestyle change, and you can too!

I will definitely post photos and maybe even an unboxing video, once my competition suit has made it to my home. For now, I will focus on my vacation which is exactly 10 days away!!!

 

God Bless and No Stress

*becoming a bikini competitor*

 

 

 

BIKINI COMPETITION MOTIVATION {08.19.2015}

Currently, I am 18 days away from starting my NPC Bikini Competition training. As I get closer, I have started researching workout and eating plans. I have also tried to find motivation in stories from other women who were in my shoes, women who have made the path available for me to follow and succeed as well. During my searches, I have found some really amazing and inspiring stories! This one in particular really struck a cord with me. I was browsing through the web when I came across this story and I just had to stop and read it. Mainly because this woman literally was where I am and is where I want to be. It's so inspiring when you find someone who shows you that anything is possible. Here is a short part of her story...

Sami Imbriano went from 165lbs to 112lbs for her competition. In an article by www.trimmedandtone.com Sami dished out all the details of her journey.

 

"One day I was looking through some Facebook photos, cringing at how I looked and felt, and I knew I had to make a change if I wanted to feel any differently about myself. A few years later and I am absolutely hooked on gym life, love getting active both indoors and outdoors, and genuinely enjoy eating healthy, so much so that I now work for a large Australian active-wear brand, take group fitness classes and boot-camps part time, as well as mentoring a range of online clients as a Personal Trainer, where I offer customized training programs and nutritional guidelines."

 

A big thing that everyone wants to know is how long it takes to see results. I am always shocked by this question. For me it's less about seeing results and more about feeling better all around, which is why I decided to start working out. Here is Sami's response to the question, "it only took about four weeks for me to notice a signification difference in my appearance, as well as just generally feeling better from improving the quality of food I was eating."

 

A major part of training for a bikini competition is staying motivated and on track, no meal skipping or missing workouts, you have to be very disciplined.  During her interview, Sami was asked how she stays motivated? To which she replied, "honestly, it was a challenge at times. Having a looming deadline definitely added a level of drive for me, but there were days that I really wanted a break from training, or just wanted to eat some bacon and eggs on toast instead of my comp-prep meals and sometimes I did just that! I found that if I stuck to my diet the majority of the item, I could manage to be slightly more relaxed on occasion - it kept me from going crazy living off chicken and greens 24/7!"

Her typical day of eating:

Breakfast - Oats, berries, almonds, or poached eggs on rye toast

Snack - Chobani yogurt with protein powder, or a protein shake

Lunch - Chicken, green vegetables, small serving of brown rice or sweet potato, avocado

Pre-Gym Snack - Rice cakes or fruit, with peanut butter and a little honey

Post Gym Snack - Protein Shake

Dinner - Meat and vegetables, herbal tea, and berries

 

Sami's workout plan includes:

2 x Upper Body weight training (back, arms, chest and shoulders)

2 x Lower Body weight training (glutes and hamstrings, quads)

2-3 x HIIT training (usually one short HIIT circuit, 1-2 body attack classes each week)

Just absolutely inspiring! I love reading these stories, such motivation and determination. I look forward to seeing my own changes. I am amazed at how much I have changed since we started working out in January. I now have 6 months to get ready for my very first competition and thanks to Sami's story, along with many others, I have more confidence than ever to reach my goal.

*Read Sami Imbriano's full story here!"

 

Follow Sami on Instagram @sami_rose_

BECOMING A BIKINI COMPETITOR {08.13.2015}

Over the last few months, I have really been thinking hard about my goals. Sure, I want to lose weight. Yes, I want to get down to a healthy weight. But, I still want more! I've been talking a lot about my real goals. After all, a goal without a plan is really just a wish. I don't want to just wish things, I want to make things really happen. Make huge changes and be a better me than ever before.

 

This lead me to Bikini Competitions. I have so many beautiful friends who are Bikini Competitors, and when I see their bodies, I am in awe. I am inspired. I think to myself, "that's what I want." So, why not go get it? Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do!

 

I researched for days on all the details of a Bikini Competitors Life and I'm ready for the challenge. I'm ready to succeed and make my goal more than just a wish. Will it be easy? Not at all! But I just know that I will feel so proud of myself at the end of the day. Ironically, my own father was, at one point in life, a Body Builder. He did the competitions, the strenuous workouts and eating plans, and even did the ridiculously dark tanning. I still remember seeing those videos and photos and thinking, "that will never be me." And while I will never try to become a woman Body Builder, I will work hard to become a Bikini Competitor. Though it does surprise me that I naturally, and just like my father, have made Bikini Competitions my dream, my goal.

 

Unfortunately, I am not prepared at this time to being the dieting and intensified workouts for the competition yet. Partly because I am in the middle of finishing up my strength training workouts, but also, I will be going on vacation in about 17 days. Even though I will be focusing completely on healthy eating options as well as continuing to exercise, I know that I would not be able to keep up with a Bikini Competitor workout and diet plan while on vacation. But that's not to say that my current workout isn't going to help me in the long run. Lord knows, between my current workout and meal plan, I am still losing weight in a healthy amount of time.

Check out this girl! In just six months, she was able to pull together and compete. I imagine this is what my body will look like. I also have about six months until the competition, so it definitely helps that I have already started eating healthy and working out regularly.

 

Currently, I have 33 weeks until the competition {March 2016}. Technically, I won't be starting the rigorous workout and dieting plan until I return from vacation. That means, when I return, I will only have 28 weeks to get it together. I know its possible. I've seen how hard work and eating right can change my body in so many ways. For example, E and I didn't start really working out and eating better until January 2015. By March, we had lost 25pounds each. After being stuck in my plateau for about two months, I can finally say that as of right now {August 13, 2015} I have lost a grand total of 40 pounds in just seven months.

 

Here's to my journey to becoming a Bikini Competitor.

May the odds be ever in my fat body's favor!

 

 

 

*stay tuned for my new workout and dieting plan*