BrandyTKO - Competition Prep

[BrandyTKO]

Awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrads !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well done and congratulations! Soooo proud of you!

Thanks so much you guys, it was quite a day! Still reeling over it.

[ninjinja]

Congrats Brandy I am so happy to see that all your hard work and all of your ups and sowns paid off in the long run!! You have deserved this!!!

[BrandyTKO]

Congrats Brandy I am so happy to see that all your hard work and all of your ups and sowns paid off in the long run!! You have deserved this!!!

Thanks! I am so happy with my placing in the show. Really blown away! You have been very quiet lately, how are things going for you? Keeping busy obviously with all the things going on in your life. Hope all is well.

[BrandyTKO]

I found a link to the photographer at the comp and a picture of myself and the two other finalists in our category, we have our medals around our necks. The lady in the white was the winner, I came in second (as you know) and the other lady who was not in bodybuilding came in third. This means that we came in top 3 out of all the other ladies you see in the background. I guess the award was for posing (they announced bodybuilding/posing) so I presume that means doing your front double bi's, abs/thighs, triceps poses, etc. not just quarter turns. Anyway, here are the links of the awards portion of the show and one in particular of me and the two other ladies. In the general link of everyone I'm on about page 3 or 4 in a few pictures which all look pretty much identical.

You'll have to copy and past the links to your URL.

Gallery:
http://trollans.zenfolio.com/p403419686
Slideshow:
http://trollans.zenfolio.com/p403419686/slideshow
Photo:
http://trollans.zenfolio.com/p403419686/e1dc60a1a

[blsmith]

Once again congratulations! You look great! For your first show you were awesome. Nothing more to say but next time, go for the gold!

[BrandyTKO]

Once again congratulations! You look great! For your first show you were awesome. Nothing more to say but next time, go for the gold!

Definately, getting first place is the new focus, not that it never was. Seriously though, Wow, so much more work to be done. Just when I thought I was happy with my level of physical achievement, now in my mind its not good enough, give me MORE...yep, I'm an insane gym nut!

Have a great weekend!

[ninjinja]

Thanks! I am so happy with my placing in the show. Really blown away! You have been very quiet lately, how are things going for you? Keeping busy obviously with all the things going on in your life. Hope all is well.

I have been very quiet, but things have been very good, thank-you!! I hope all is good on your home front as well

[BrandyTKO]

I have been very quiet, but things have been very good, thank-you!! I hope all is good on your home front as well

Just like hearing from you and making sure you are well. All is great here!

[BrandyTKO]

So some things have been rolling around in my little pea-brain lately about fitness, what I like, what I think my body likes, what works best and how far I have come since I first stepped on the road to getting in shape.

First things being first, I have been looking at where I started and where I am now and want to share some thoughts with you on that.

In my first progress picture posted on my profile page I think I actually weighted around 165 lbs and thought I was looking pretty uber-lean as I had just lost about 10 lbs, my max was 175 lbs. We were on a cruise and I felt really good. Then I got a load of those pics when I printed them off at home and the reality slap in the head hit. No I did not have six pack abs, or buns of steel or even a collar bone to show.

I had been going to the gym and was pretty happy with the weight loss I had achieved, but I recall that after that cruise (in the month of June) I continued with the gym and was not getting any results....for weeks, months even. I did tons of cardio, was quasi good on the diet, and weekends I ate whatever I wanted, and I did light weights, if any at all, don't want to bulk up ya know. A few myths here that I have since discovered are all wrong for reaching my goals:

Myth #1 - Tons of cardio will help you to lose weight.

Myth Buster #1 - Well...yes, but you have to remember that its basic math, calories in has to be less than calories out. Don't go home and say to yourself "YES! I burned off 300 calories on the ellyptical and now I can have a muffin and a frappaccino! DING! 300+ calories back in! Also, the body adapts and adapts and adapts, sort of like the Borg on Star Trek, it gets the idea of something like you doing 30 mins of cardio at what you think is intense, and then your body adapts and says, yep that's easy I'll just stay comfy here now. So now you have to do even longer cardio or more intense cardio to shock it into changing. Cardio alone keeps your metabolism revved for a shorter period of time after your workout than if you add weight lifting in there.

Myth #2 - Don't bother with weights unless you want to get all bulky and don't use anything over 5 lbs (females are guilty of this one).

Myth Buster #2 - The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even laying around watching t.v. or sleeping. Build muscle, you will burn fat faster and you will not get bulky (for women at least, as we have less testosterone). The she-male monster bodybuilders you see in the women's competition leagues are likely taking steroids and have been building muscle since they were 6. It takes a lot of years to build that much muscle and if you are female and not taking the steroids you just aren't going to get that big. Ditch the 2 lb - 5 lb dumbells, if you can open the door to the gym, you can lift heavier than that! Build you some curves girls! I used to read "lift heavy" and think well what is heavy? Heavy is what you can lift for 8 - 12 reps to failure. So if you can do 12 reps of bicep curls at 10 lbs for 3 sets then its time to move up on the weight or at least try a few at 15 and knock it down to 10, eg. 15# x 6 reps, then do 10# x 6 reps, try your hardest to do 12 reps of something even if you have to take the weight down a bit. Some builders will go even heavier and do 6 - 8 reps to failure or even 3 - 5 reps. Get thee into they weight room!

Myth #3 - I can do cardio and weights and then eat whatever I want.

Myth Buster #3 - NOOO! You will never have a six pack or buns of steel if you eat garbage. Grab a few of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean books and read up! Study a bit on how many carbs, protein and fat grams you need per day, per meal. Keep with unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats or other sources of lean protein, good fats (coconut oil, olive oil). Take a look at what you eat in a meal. I was looking at the lunch I made my son for school the other day, it was an off day as normally his lunches are more balanced, however I had made him a peanut butter (not all natural) and jam sandwich on brown bread, (all sugar and carbs), a banana (high sugar), a granola bar (commercial brand, high sugar), and a juice box (high sugar), its all sugar with a small amount of protein in the peanut butter. Many people are unknowingly eating entire meals consisting of sugar, or high amounts of fat (carbs are all a form of sugar - grains, veg, fruit, so don't just avoid the chocolate bars) . My own lunch would normally consist of, 4 oz of chicken breast or tuna, 100-200 gr. of green veg, 1 tbsp of MCT Oil (coconut oil). Doesn't look like a lot of food, but I eat again in 2.5 to 3 hours so that I'm never hungry and never letting my metabolism crash so that my body (a) burns off muscle to feed itself (b) stores fat to keep from starving.

I remember after the weeks of no weight loss I talked to a representative at my gym as to what I needed to do. He seemed really uninterested in his job and even more uninterested in me I thought, but gave me sort of what seemed at the time, off the cuff advice when he said, "you're not trying hard enough. You think you are, you think you are working hard on the cardio, but its not hard enough". I remember being really upset after we finished and disheartened and thinking that he was really mean and not understanding or helpful. I went home without finishing my workout. I sulked over those words for a couple of days and then thought to myself that I want to lose this weight and I am not going to let this jerk get me down and I have to get in there and prove it to him and me that I AM working hard. He left that gym shortly after and now I wish I could find him to thank him for the shake up he gave me.

Around the same time I was offered a free trail at kickboxing class (now August/Sept., nearly 3 months after the cruise). I THOUGHT I was working hard, I THOUGHT it was enough, but that kickboxing class opened my eyes to what hard work really was. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. I was on the verge of puking by the end of it and a soaked mass of sweat. I signed up. THIS was where everything changed. I took the class twice a week, continued to work out, researched a bit and started to add in more weights, found this site, which I love, and started to see serious results. Yes I had plateaus and fell down on the diet quite a bit, gained back small amounts here and there and lost them again, lost motivation a few times, had injuries and soreness, but continued to go to the gym and work something and focus on my goals.

Its all a matter of balance, cardio, weights and diet, keep juggling all three balls in the air and you are going to see results. Change things up on any of them when you plateau and you will see results. Watch your calorie intake, portion control, types of foods, if you feel you are not dropping weight back off on the carbs a bit. If you've been on the treadmill for weeks switch to another machine or go outside for a brisk walk/jog/hike/run or take up a cardio class, do what makes you happy, keeps your interest, boredom is a huge factor in loss of interest and motivation. If you use the same weights and same weight training routine for weeks find new exercises, different types of weights, and go a little heavier (even just a couple of pounds). Shocking the body into change is what it is all about, never let it get too comfortable with the routine.

More on the other thoughts next time. Now get out there!

B

[annemarie_DJ]

Hi Brandy! I just stumbled upon your journal here. A fantastic read. Congratulations!! So much hard work and it paid off. Your photos are great. I am prepping for a show in May (it will be my 4th) but it's never easy. I just read your prep before your March comp and it is really motivating. Thank you! I thought you would go ahead and do the April competition. Having come this far, sometimes it's easier to just stay the course for a few extra weeks. But I understand how life can get busy. I was touched by how you need to focus on your son who is moving out. Same here! My only son is going away to college in Sept and we are downsizing our home in June, while he's working hard to finish high school. So much going on. But I promised myself one competition in May, then I'll "enjoy" the summer. Anyway, thanks for your detailed posts. The read has really helped me get in the mood. Again, congratulations to you!!

[BrandyTKO]

Hi Brandy! I just stumbled upon your journal here. A fantastic read. Congratulations!! So much hard work and it paid off. Your photos are great. I am prepping for a show in May (it will be my 4th) but it's never easy. I just read your prep before your March comp and it is really motivating. Thank you! I thought you would go ahead and do the April competition. Having come this far, sometimes it's easier to just stay the course for a few extra weeks. But I understand how life can get busy. I was touched by how you need to focus on your son who is moving out. Same here! My only son is going away to college in Sept and we are downsizing our home in June, while he's working hard to finish high school. So much going on. But I promised myself one competition in May, then I'll "enjoy" the summer. Anyway, thanks for your detailed posts. The read has really helped me get in the mood. Again, congratulations to you!!

Hi! Have been lurking on your journal as well, LOL! I felt so guilty during the past 3 months of cutting and contest prep. It just seemed so "all about me" and everything got put on the back burner, lordy you should see the mess my house is in! I really needed to get back and concentrate on the home front for awhile. I am looking at doing a show or two before the end of summer, but have yet to find one that appeals to me. Not sure I'll do bodybuilding category for the next show as its seems to be either non-tested shows or no category available for women. So I'll probably do figure instead. At least there is no routine, which just seemed to add to the chaos of the last few weeks before the show. Glad that my journal has given you some motivation, you have always been a great motivator for me. Best of luck in your show, you will be amazing!!!!

[annemarie_DJ]

Hi! Have been lurking on your journal as well, LOL! I felt so guilty during the past 3 months of cutting and contest prep. It just seemed so "all about me" and everything got put on the back burner, lordy you should see the mess my house is in! I really needed to get back and concentrate on the home front for awhile. I am looking at doing a show or two before the end of summer, but have yet to find one that appeals to me. Not sure I'll do bodybuilding category for the next show as its seems to be either non-tested shows or no category available for women. So I'll probably do figure instead. At least there is no routine, which just seemed to add to the chaos of the last few weeks before the show. Glad that my journal has given you some motivation, you have always been a great motivator for me. Best of luck in your show, you will be amazing!!!!

I hear you Brandy. I'm glad you're considering doing more shows later this season. It's unfortunate that there aren't enough women's natural BB comps. I hear even IDFA have dropped the class - at least for the Toronto show this summer. But Figure is good. You will like it and you already have the shoes! Good luck and keep in touch when you start prepping again. Cheers!

[BrandyTKO]

I hear you Brandy. I'm glad you're considering doing more shows later this season. It's unfortunate that there aren't enough women's natural BB comps. I hear even IDFA have dropped the class - at least for the Toronto show this summer. But Figure is good. You will like it and you already have the shoes! Good luck and keep in touch when you start prepping again. Cheers!

I'd be happy to do figure at least I don't have the addition of learning the choreography for a routine! Can't find much here right now, have to keep poking around.

[BrandyTKO]

Not sure whether to keep posting here now that I've done a comp. Oh one competition, wow, I'm a seasoned athlete now! NOT! Anyway, the gear up for that comp was loads of work, blood, sweat, tears, good days, bad days, and ignoring social life and family for months...Ha, ha! I'm enjoying being off for now, having NOT to diet and weigh everything I eat. I have only gained 4 lbs since the comp give or take a pound fluctuation per day. So what to do....keep posting here...or make up a new forum with my usual long winded rants until I make up my mind what to do...your input is welcome here...hint, hint.

On another note...I was going to continue with my gained knowledge on the road to fitness from my last blab...er...blog...so here is the next part.

What works for me - This took a lot of figuring out and I still haven't nailed it down to a science, but I know how my body reacts now better that in the past.

With diet, I think all my life MY body has preferred just lean protein and non-starchy vegetables. It thrives quite happily on that and once I get the taste for sugar and bread, pasta, potatoes, starchy veg out of my system it seems to not interest me at all. I feel better without them, my body does better in its physical and mental functioning without the other stuff. It just is as simple as that.

I do notice now since I am no longer cutting that I cannot handle red meat very well, nor alcohol, not meaning I get totally tanked quickly, o.k. that happens a bit too, but I feel rather sickly from it, high pulse rate, heart pounding, and night sweats, which I didn't have during the "dry spell" for the past three months. I'm not really that interested in having a drink any more, not being anti-social, but my body hates it and it affects me the next day even after one drink. I am weak and tired and hold water like an above ground swimming pool. Red meat just gives me a gut ache for days.

As for carbs of the non-vegetable variety. I would be happy to stick with oatmeal (not instant) and brown rice or brown mixed with wild rice for the rest of my days. Sometimes I like a bit of pizza or a piece of garlic bread, or some pasta, but mostly it gives me a stomach ache now too. Lets not mention desserts, I still have a sweet tooth, but it is like an addiction, so I just try to stay away, cuz once I have one piece of cake I want to eat the whole thing and quite possibly will if you don't get in there and eat some before I can finish it.

Things I noticed in the diet is that the water deplete and NATURAL diuretics worked well for me as well as the carb up before the show. I have always noticed that if I have a few extra carbs one day, say some brown rice at dinner (which I don't usually get after lunch), I get very noticable abs definition the next morning, so this works for me. This doesn't work for everyone though. You have to give it a test now and again a few weeks out, if you're thinking of doing a show, or hitting the beach, to see what happens.

My body will hold water for a thousand different reasons and I haven't figured it out totally, PMS, drinking alcohol, drinking not enough water, salty foods and then the mystery reasons too. I just am really careful to avoid where possible the culprits that are obvious.

Training - I don't always read how my body feels, I DO go to the gym if I feel tired and weak and see how it goes. Sometimes I get a surprise and I'm more strong than normal, other days I feel really good, but things just don't go my way. I have tried a few workout enhancing supps and for the most part I don't get much out of them, some brands work for me others don't, you have to go by trial and error. The best trick for me is a big ol' mug of black coffee on the way to the gym. I already take the fatburners so how much more caffeine do I need or should I even take? The best results I have had in the weight room were when I started to train with Martin and realized that I didn't have to be afraid of heavy weights. They work, you build muscle fast, you progress every few weeks to heavier stuff as it gets easier, and you change things around to try new exercises, use different muscle fibers and fool the body so it doesn't adapt. Don't be afraid to try heavy. I try a weight, if its easy, I do a little heavier, still easy...add more. See how many reps I can get and if it is in mid range of my max then that's what I'll use for a few weeks until its no longer heavy to me.

Cardio....aaahhh...not so much. Yes when I was cutting I had to do lots of it, but the diet was I think the MOST effective part in leaning out. Since the comp I have done only two workouts that had more than 15 minutes of cardio. I do a 5 minute warm up, my weight training and then leave. Some days I'll do a 30 min cardio session, steady state. My weight has remained pretty much the same since the comp. I have eaten lots of treats and sugar at Easter and am now carbing down a bit to try to drop some weight. I did get a cold immediately after the comp and it dragged my energy down even further and I finally feel good enough to do a bit more cardio, best intentions today, but then I didn't get more than 15 mins in on that...whatever...I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'll try again tomorrow. I heard that what you eat the day before fuels your work out the next day. So if you plan on a hard core day in the gym, eat well and often. Don't decide to just eat celery all day and under 1,000 calories or something ridiculous. Eat to build muscle and you will drop fat. Don't freak out if your weight doesn't change, get a bodyfat test done. You could have gained 10 lb in muscle and lost 10 lb in fat. If your clothes are looser, but your weight is the same, this is what has happened. It had me stymied for months, now I know!

Next blog...supplements.

Training hard again, and I seem to have my strength back, but I am so sore these days, 3 days of sore, granite like legs after legs day. AAAHHH! All good though!

B

[XxLadyLuckxX]

Brandy keep posting if your little heart desires, Im still reading!

[BrandyTKO]

Brandy keep posting if your little heart desires, Im still reading!

Awww thanks, nice to know. LOL about your signature line...I like chicken...by force...I've gotten so used to eating it that now it seems its all my body can handle, and fish....but at least with chicken you can do a ton of things for variety. After 3 days of beef that my husband has been interested in having, I'm dying for some chicken...never thought I'd say that.

[BrandyTKO]

SUPPS, what about them? I dunno...do they do what they are supposed to? Who can tell? I will tell you this much. I used to have boarder-line high cholesterol when I was sedentary and overweight. Then I started exercising and lost a good deal of weight, but still the tests showed higher levels of bad cholesterol. Then I started taking Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements. My bad cholesterol lowered, but my good cholesterol was really high. My doc explained that higher levels of good cholesterol sort of counter-act the bad cholesterol so it is like having a lower level of the bad stuff. It runs in my family, high cholesterol of the bad sort, no matter how good you are with your health, so I'm doomed with that, just glad I took the fish supps and changed things around and will stave off an early heart attack.

I took alot of different supplements and at some point it became monotonous and I kept in only the ones I felt were working for me.

The ones I have tried are:

- Multivitamin - still take that, but not as regularly as I should (not every day), though these will help you drop weight if you hit a plateau. Sometimes we plateau because of missing macronutrients, so take 'em (and I'm talking to myself here to);

- Individual Vitamins, B12, C, D, Calcium. Stopped taking them all, but probably should re-introduce the Calcium at least (vit D helps the absorption of it too so look for a Calcium that has D in it, pares it down to one tablet or chew to swallow).

- Omega 3 Fish Oil - Good stuff as explained above, however when Martin added in the MCT Oil (a derivative of coconut oil) I stopped taking the Fish Oil. Don't want additional fat, but this has the same effect;

MCT Oil - (above) 3 tbsp per day still taking it, you can use it to cook with too.

- Flax seed oil - not taking it as I don't need more oil that what I am already taking with the MCT

- Creatine - I was taking this as Martin suggested it during the building phase, not sure it did anything, but who am I to argue, I gained 14 lb of muscle. Would I have done as well without it? I'm not sure. Don't take the monohydrate creatine, it can give you constipation (TMI?);

- BCAA's - Still take them, started taking the powder form which is 5.2 g per tsp. On non training days I take it only in the morning. On training days I take it in the morning, before working out and sometimes in my protein shake after working out. Its not one you can overload on, so I'm told (you should check on that), but it is something the body makes on its own in smaller amounts than bodybuilders need, so we add more to prevent muscle loss during activity such as cardio and heavy lifting. I think this works.

- HMD - this is a supp that helps the absorption of protein ingested. I don't take it any more. Not sure if it did its thing, but got tired of taking all these supps, not to mention the price of everything.

- Fatburners - Still taking them, though there is a time limit on how long you should be on these things. Read the bottle. I have taken GNC house brand, didn't like it, Lipo6 really liked it, and a new one called Extreme-Lean which at first I think caused me stomach cramping, but that may have been something else, it seems to be gone now. NONE of these have ephedra...don't go there. I had a friend who took it and has since been disabled by a stroke. He was healthy and active, the only thing the medical pro's could attribute the stroke to was ephedra...stay very far away from that stuff.

- Diuretics - Only natural ones and only during the last week before the competition. Otherwise I wouldn't take them. Not sure they really did much or whether it was the water deplete that helped, might experiment in a month or so to see what it does without water deplete. The ones I took you had to take a lot of the capsules, 6 caps twice a day. Huge P.I.T.A. factor there, hard to swallow when you're not supposed to drink more than 4 oz of water too...LOL!

- Pre-Workout AMP products I've tried...well lets be honest I haven't really given these a fair shot. I tried a 1/2 portion of SuperPump and didn't find it to be really thrilling, I tried one called 1MR (acronym for 1 More Rep), really liked it, was focused and strong and energetic, and then Princess Redline drink and a few other drink ones, none of which did anything for me.

- Protein Shakes - Love 'em and hate 'em. They are expensive to buy here in Canada. I've tried the cheap drugstore brands that taste like crap and give me a stomach ache. Other ones that are unpalatable and I found the ISO Sensation waaayy too sweet for me, however oddly it tasted better when mixed with apple juice, go figure. I have settled on the ISO Flex, good flavours, even with water, some have real choc chips in them, and no gut bomb afterwards.

- Protein Bars - I'll keep a few on hand for emergencies when I'm in the car and food is not available any time soon, but generally I find these taste odd, and are really high in calories or carbs. I always go for the lowest cal / carb ones, but Martin doesn't like them and so they are pretty much only for emergency use.

I was given a website link which you would have to buy a book on making your own supps at home so they are not so expensive... eg. take cottage cheese instead of buying casein, stuff like that. I will see if I can find it and pass it along. Ya have to buy an e-book for about $25, but it might be worth it, I didn't go for it myself, yet.

B

[blsmith]

Have you tried the Six Star brand? I get the 2kg tub at Walmart for $23 and it tastes good. At least the chocolate and strawberry flavors do, vanilla is average.

Thanks for the info on the supps you take. Always helping others!

[BrandyTKO]

Have you tried the Six Star brand? I get the 2kg tub at Walmart for $23 and it tastes good. At least the chocolate and strawberry flavors do, vanilla is average.

Thanks for the info on the supps you take. Always helping others!

Thanks for the tip. I really should venture into Walmart more often, I sort of avoid going in there, but I'll make an effort for supps!

Does the price of supps drive you nuts or what? Its sooo expensive, at least here in Canada. $75 for a 6 lb tub of ISO Flex. Just sick (and not in a good way)!

[blsmith]

Thanks for the tip. I really should venture into Walmart more often, I sort of avoid going in there, but I'll make an effort for supps!

Does the price of supps drive you nuts or what? Its sooo expensive, at least here in Canada. $75 for a 6 lb tub of ISO Flex. Just sick (and not in a good way)!

Yes it does. I don't have many supps because of it. I find though that if you get a bunch of things together from bb.com that even with the delivery it is still cheaper than it is here.

[Tammy1on1]

Please vote for my gorgeous friend, Lana, she has worked so hard and really have come a long way!!! Vote, please!!

http://www.sinewmodelsearch.co.za/model/?model_id=1833

[BrandyTKO]

Please vote for my gorgeous friend, Lana, she has worked so hard and really have come a long way!!! Vote, please!!

http://www.sinewmodelsearch.co.za/model/?model_id=1833

Voted! Good luck Lana!

[BrandyTKO]

I have all the best intention in my head, but my other brain doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Two things wrong with my plan to get in even better shape and drop some weight. 1) I don't have a goal to focus on, haven't found a competition I want to do yet so I have no deadline to aim for unless I make one up, but that never really works because I'm not very good at fooling myself; 2) I have part 3 of a horrific cold and this seems to be the worst part and hopefully the last part so I have been laying around the house not working out and finding comfort in huge quantities of carbs including cookies and toast with jam.

Has anyone else had this virus? I know alot of people who have had it here, you get a sore throat, sniffles, think its allergies, it goes on for a week and you realize it wasn't allergies, as it takes all your energy with it, then it disappears and you think oh good I'm better and 3 days later it comes back slightly worse, I'm on my 3rd round, and like I say, hopefully my last round. Don't even talk about all the sweating you get with it. I was on the stationery bike last week during round 2, again thinking it was allergies, slow steady pace and sweating buckets like I was doing cardio in a sauna. Everything seems more difficult. Yesterday was the worst day of all and I feel very slightly better today, though still kinda damp all over.

Despite all this....my intentions today will be to avoid the comfort of carbs and do a no-carb for the day and maybe even tomorrow to make up for my sins yesterday. Then hopefully I will feel better an can get back on track and do a proper carb cycle and get back in the gym. Of course my next workout will be heavy duty, extra physically taxing legs day. Why.....why does this always land at a bad time....I hate and love legs day at the same time.

Needless to say I was unable to attend a competition yesterday to see my fellow gym and competition member compete in another league in figure. She was the one that won best overall at the competition I was in. I hope she did well. It must have been killer to keep up with the training and diet for 3 more weeks after the last competition.

Some new ideas thrown my way by a fellow blogger. This blogger has a profile here but also her own blog site where she provides nutrition ideas and super interesting recipes. She is a fitness competitor and used to do gymnastics as a kid. Anyway....she is very open minded about food combinations which I am going to try more of. She mixes egg whites with protein powder (say chocolate or vanilla) an adds cinnamon to it. I would never think to put sweet flavours with egg whites, but tried my own version of whites with no-fat cottage cheese and cinnamon this morning, which made a very tasty breakfast, considering I usually gag down egg whites unless completely disguised with tobasco overload or some other thing. Diggin' it! Another combo she does is spinach with vanilla protein powder, flavoured sugar free syrup (she used strawberry) and a few powdered supplements, throw in a magic bullet blender and enjoy. See what I mean, spinach with vanilla, strawberry? Who'da thunk it, but nutritious and I'll bet also delicious! If you are interested her website link is:

http://www.nourishedfitness.com/

Speaking of sugar free syrups, did you know that the Toscano syrup company (yes that stuff they add shots of in your latte) also makes sugar free versions? I didn't know this, think of all the ways you could use that! In coffees, on protein pancakes, in soda water for a flavourful drink. Wow! My eyes are opened! I will probably try to find a couple of flavours, but being the sugar junkie that I am, I generally find if I avoid artificial sweet flavours, I am better off at curbing sweet cravings for real sugar loaded things like chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, etc. (do all sweets start with the letter "c"?).

Well, feeling slightly better today, and despite the fact that I won't be working out or doing an "active" rest day, I do feel like getting out of the house today. Yeah!

Having some computer glitches lately, seems to be lagging when I type and video sound stalls, etc. My son says its the mother-board, mother-ship, mother-in-law or something like that. Sounds expensive, whatever it is. So if my spelling is missing letters here, its the mother-thingy, I do try to proof read though so hopefully I've caught the misspells.

Speaking of mother-in-laws....mine phoned yesterday and I was telling her I had a cold, her son, my husband, was out at the time and she phoned him after our talk an said he should take me to emergency....LOL. Well, I'm sick, but not THAT sick.

O.k. off to get cleaned up and get outside to hack on all the healthier locals.

B

[ninjinja]

Just like hearing from you and making sure you are well. All is great here!

Awwe *blush* thanks Brandy all is well!!! Hope all is well with you too

So some things have been rolling around in my little pea-brain lately about fitness, what I like, what I think my body likes, what works best and how far I have come since I first stepped on the road to getting in shape.

First things being first, I have been looking at where I started and where I am now and want to share some thoughts with you on that.

In my first progress picture posted on my profile page I think I actually weighted around 165 lbs and thought I was looking pretty uber-lean as I had just lost about 10 lbs, my max was 175 lbs. We were on a cruise and I felt really good. Then I got a load of those pics when I printed them off at home and the reality slap in the head hit. No I did not have six pack abs, or buns of steel or even a collar bone to show.

I had been going to the gym and was pretty happy with the weight loss I had achieved, but I recall that after that cruise (in the month of June) I continued with the gym and was not getting any results....for weeks, months even. I did tons of cardio, was quasi good on the diet, and weekends I ate whatever I wanted, and I did light weights, if any at all, don't want to bulk up ya know. A few myths here that I have since discovered are all wrong for reaching my goals:

Myth #1 - Tons of cardio will help you to lose weight.

Myth Buster #1 - Well...yes, but you have to remember that its basic math, calories in has to be less than calories out. Don't go home and say to yourself "YES! I burned off 300 calories on the ellyptical and now I can have a muffin and a frappaccino! DING! 300+ calories back in! Also, the body adapts and adapts and adapts, sort of like the Borg on Star Trek, it gets the idea of something like you doing 30 mins of cardio at what you think is intense, and then your body adapts and says, yep that's easy I'll just stay comfy here now. So now you have to do even longer cardio or more intense cardio to shock it into changing. Cardio alone keeps your metabolism revved for a shorter period of time after your workout than if you add weight lifting in there.

Myth #2 - Don't bother with weights unless you want to get all bulky and don't use anything over 5 lbs (females are guilty of this one).

Myth Buster #2 - The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even laying around watching t.v. or sleeping. Build muscle, you will burn fat faster and you will not get bulky (for women at least, as we have less testosterone). The she-male monster bodybuilders you see in the women's competition leagues are likely taking steroids and have been building muscle since they were 6. It takes a lot of years to build that much muscle and if you are female and not taking the steroids you just aren't going to get that big. Ditch the 2 lb - 5 lb dumbells, if you can open the door to the gym, you can lift heavier than that! Build you some curves girls! I used to read "lift heavy" and think well what is heavy? Heavy is what you can lift for 8 - 12 reps to failure. So if you can do 12 reps of bicep curls at 10 lbs for 3 sets then its time to move up on the weight or at least try a few at 15 and knock it down to 10, eg. 15# x 6 reps, then do 10# x 6 reps, try your hardest to do 12 reps of something even if you have to take the weight down a bit. Some builders will go even heavier and do 6 - 8 reps to failure or even 3 - 5 reps. Get thee into they weight room!

Myth #3 - I can do cardio and weights and then eat whatever I want.

Myth Buster #3 - NOOO! You will never have a six pack or buns of steel if you eat garbage. Grab a few of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean books and read up! Study a bit on how many carbs, protein and fat grams you need per day, per meal. Keep with unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats or other sources of lean protein, good fats (coconut oil, olive oil). Take a look at what you eat in a meal. I was looking at the lunch I made my son for school the other day, it was an off day as normally his lunches are more balanced, however I had made him a peanut butter (not all natural) and jam sandwich on brown bread, (all sugar and carbs), a banana (high sugar), a granola bar (commercial brand, high sugar), and a juice box (high sugar), its all sugar with a small amount of protein in the peanut butter. Many people are unknowingly eating entire meals consisting of sugar, or high amounts of fat (carbs are all a form of sugar - grains, veg, fruit, so don't just avoid the chocolate bars) . My own lunch would normally consist of, 4 oz of chicken breast or tuna, 100-200 gr. of green veg, 1 tbsp of MCT Oil (coconut oil). Doesn't look like a lot of food, but I eat again in 2.5 to 3 hours so that I'm never hungry and never letting my metabolism crash so that my body (a) burns off muscle to feed itself (b) stores fat to keep from starving.

I remember after the weeks of no weight loss I talked to a representative at my gym as to what I needed to do. He seemed really uninterested in his job and even more uninterested in me I thought, but gave me sort of what seemed at the time, off the cuff advice when he said, "you're not trying hard enough. You think you are, you think you are working hard on the cardio, but its not hard enough". I remember being really upset after we finished and disheartened and thinking that he was really mean and not understanding or helpful. I went home without finishing my workout. I sulked over those words for a couple of days and then thought to myself that I want to lose this weight and I am not going to let this jerk get me down and I have to get in there and prove it to him and me that I AM working hard. He left that gym shortly after and now I wish I could find him to thank him for the shake up he gave me.

Around the same time I was offered a free trail at kickboxing class (now August/Sept., nearly 3 months after the cruise). I THOUGHT I was working hard, I THOUGHT it was enough, but that kickboxing class opened my eyes to what hard work really was. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. I was on the verge of puking by the end of it and a soaked mass of sweat. I signed up. THIS was where everything changed. I took the class twice a week, continued to work out, researched a bit and started to add in more weights, found this site, which I love, and started to see serious results. Yes I had plateaus and fell down on the diet quite a bit, gained back small amounts here and there and lost them again, lost motivation a few times, had injuries and soreness, but continued to go to the gym and work something and focus on my goals.

Its all a matter of balance, cardio, weights and diet, keep juggling all three balls in the air and you are going to see results. Change things up on any of them when you plateau and you will see results. Watch your calorie intake, portion control, types of foods, if you feel you are not dropping weight back off on the carbs a bit. If you've been on the treadmill for weeks switch to another machine or go outside for a brisk walk/jog/hike/run or take up a cardio class, do what makes you happy, keeps your interest, boredom is a huge factor in loss of interest and motivation. If you use the same weights and same weight training routine for weeks find new exercises, different types of weights, and go a little heavier (even just a couple of pounds). Shocking the body into change is what it is all about, never let it get too comfortable with the routine.

More on the other thoughts next time. Now get out there!

B

I love this post!!!!

[BrandyTKO]

Lordy, will this cold/flu ever go, its been 8 days now and I think I feel worse today than I was yesterday. This is sooo frustrating...I just want to get back to normal, be able to do some cardio and weight training, but I have no energy. I get up to make a cup of tea and have to sit down again to rest. Ugh!

How is everyone else out there, can you tell I'm bored out of my mind? Hope you are getting your workouts done, put in a few reps for me, will ya?

Again with the carbs too, I can't seem to stay away from them. I was a complete glutton for them yesterday. I feel fat too for it. Today is "all protein Thursday", (joke) I am only having protein and a few green leafy things and water or tea, I swear!!!! Just keep repeating to myself...no carbs, no carbs, no carbs.....

[blsmith]

Lordy, will this cold/flu ever go, its been 8 days now and I think I feel worse today than I was yesterday. This is sooo frustrating...I just want to get back to normal, be able to do some cardio and weight training, but I have no energy. I get up to make a cup of tea and have to sit down again to rest. Ugh!

How is everyone else out there, can you tell I'm bored out of my mind? Hope you are getting your workouts done, put in a few reps for me, will ya?

Again with the carbs too, I can't seem to stay away from them. I was a complete glutton for them yesterday. I feel fat too for it. Today is "all protein Thursday", (joke) I am only having protein and a few green leafy things and water or tea, I swear!!!! Just keep repeating to myself...no carbs, no carbs, no carbs.....

Aw sorry to hear that you are not well. Maybe your body is saying this isn't normal anymore, contest shape is normal!

Hope you feel better soon. And remember...NO CARBS!

[annemarie_DJ]

Hey ya Brandy. So sorry that you are so sick. Maybe it's H1N1 ? I giggled at your post about your motherboard...and your mother-in-law! Maybe you should go to emergency!! I would say your penchant for carbs while you are sick may be a good sign. Usually we don't want to eat and end up losing hard-earned muscles when we are sick. Don't be too hard on yourself. You may as well invest the time to get well. Then go 100% and get back on track. If you try to go back too early, you may have more set-backs. Take care!!

[BrandyTKO]

Aw sorry to hear that you are not well. Maybe your body is saying this isn't normal anymore, contest shape is normal!

Hope you feel better soon. And remember...NO CARBS!

Ha, Ha, yes I was fairly successful yesterday at no carbs, I think it was more of a low carbs day though.

Hey ya Brandy. So sorry that you are so sick. Maybe it's H1N1 ? I giggled at your post about your motherboard...and your mother-in-law! Maybe you should go to emergency!! I would say your penchant for carbs while you are sick may be a good sign. Usually we don't want to eat and end up losing hard-earned muscles when we are sick. Don't be too hard on yourself. You may as well invest the time to get well. Then go 100% and get back on track. If you try to go back too early, you may have more set-backs. Take care!!

Thanks, feeling a little bit better today, so there is hope, LOL! I guess when you feel weak and tired the carbs kind of feel good. I am sure that when I feel better it won't be so hard to stray from the diet and once I get to workout again I can drop anything I've gained, which isn't much, thank goodness.

[blsmith]

Ha, Ha, yes I was fairly successful yesterday at no carbs, I think it was more of a low carbs day though.

OK so no carbs today then? LOL

Glad you are feeling a little better! Hope you have a great weekend!

[BrandyTKO]

OK so no carbs today then? LOL

Glad you are feeling a little better! Hope you have a great weekend!

On the no carbs for today question....uhhh....didn't really go according to plan (again)...but don't tell anyone. No worries, once I feel better I'll be killing myself in the gym to make up for lost time, hopefully with loads of energy from carb overload! Wasn't too too over the top today though, so all is good. I think I only had one really bad day, but it was the day I felt the worst so I think its forgivable...