No Pizza!

16% Bodyfat. I was hoping to be at 15% by March 15th...but Nicole says we are doing well and we'll just keep with the program as long as I'm still seeing some progress. I get an extra serving of oatmeal on lifting days for this next week! Yeah! I also need to split my workouts up. Cardio in the AM adn weights in the PM.

I bought my sister a training session in the morning so they can figure out a diet and look over her training for her triathlon training. I will feel so good to have her under their watchful eye!!!

I'm off to clean for the party now!!
Tanya

Check-in Day

So yes, the cravings for pizza and pancakes are still there. I go in for training this morning and I REALLY hope the BF% has gone down these last 2 weeks! I will know soon. somehow I've got in my mind that they are going to say 'let's shock your body and you can have pizza on Saturday.' Now, why am I even thinking this??? There is no way that is going to happen...is there?!

On Tuesday night I hit the top of my head on the kitchen cabinet really hard. I got the dry heaves and almost threw up I hit is sooooo hard. So my neck has kinda been hurting but not bad. You should have seen the lump on my head! I had a checkin at the chiro last night and surprisingly, Neil and I are both still holding! AWESOME. I'm going in next week again though, because my neck is sore from the harsh impact. Just want to make sure it stays in place.

Yesterday around 3pm I got so tired I could hardly function. I think my body was fighting a cold. I intend to stay healthy. I've been going to bed as early at 8:30! So last night I was lazy and watched 4 TYVO'd episodes of Wildfire. All caught up with that show now.

today, Neil and I need to clean and tidy the house because I am having girl's Night tonight!!!


My competing plans:
I will be in the Mr./Ms. Natural MN show on June 10th- NANBF show
I've considered but pretty much decided not to do the Mr./Ms. Minnesota NPC show on July 15th. It is a possibility but I'm going to be gone a lot and very busy in June...hopefully on the BFL cruise I'm trying to win!!!
I will be competing in the Eagles Wings show in Redwing MN on Sept 30, also an NANBF show.

I hope to do an NANBF show in Nebraska in 2007 that is being sponsored for the first time by some BFL buddies!!

We'll see how I like competing. I've thought of doing one or two shows a year and then getting involved in triathlons. I think that would be really fun. My sister does her first triathlon on april 30th. I would also like to try at least one fitness competition at some point. I need to really work on flexibility and strength for that. Small steps!!

Bad Food

Post comp menu ideas:
Pizza (do I want godfathers, pizza hut, or papa murphy's or four cheese Red Baron with Sprees and a cherry coke- used to be one of my favorite meals)
Applebees: spinach/artichoke dip, Blondie dessert, Chocolate cake/ice cream dessert
Ruby Tuesdays: loaded fries (only had these once in my life - don't know why I want them now...)
Dairy Queen: Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard
Don Pablos: Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream and a Chocolate Volcano
Scandia bake shop down the street: Chocolate Cake (AMAZING) and a chocolate brownie with walnuts in it
Pancakes

Sooooo....yeah....that's about it I think.

I wonder if I will have something Free on night of comp and then free day the next day, too? Or do I have a little cheat and then ease back into it with a cheat the next weekend...I think my relationship with food will be very odd for a while. I'm doing just fine right now. Hungry even when I'm eating because it is that time of the month but other than that I'm ok. I really will not have cheated bad for over six months...since December. I had one meal of chinese and ice cream in Feb but that was my last cheat. I wonder what my body will even do with processed carbs and sugar?

I think I am going to put everything in my trainers hands and make them tell me EXACTLY what I can and cannot have after the comp. It's only 11 weeks away now!!! WOW!

I'm so excited for the end of this cruise challenge. It is on Monday already. I would really like to win. I will be thrilled if I do. I have mentally and emotionally really changed and made huge strides this challenge. It would be very special for my sister and I to go on the cruise together. There are many deserving people in this challenge and I will be happy for whichever one of us does win. That's the exciting part of this contest - you 'know' a lot of the people in it and you know they deserve the prize!

My weekend went really well! Family didn't have too much to say but that is a good thing because they didn't have any bad comments for me either! My Grandma said to a couple of people, 'Have you felt her muscles...holy cow!!!' That was fun. I think my dad is secretly proud of me as well! I put all of their fears that I am aneorexic to rest: 1) because I don't look aneorexic and 2) I eat a lot, they couldn't believe I was eating veggies with my breakfast. Honestly, I really kind of like veggies. Good thing because I eat a lot of them.

Hard part of the weekend was seeing all of the aweful disgusting food people eat 24/7. I know it is not their free day, just another normal day. I was just disgusted some of the time and sad for them the other part of the time.

I thought about my free day after comp and what exactly I would have to eat for about 2 of the 5 hour drive back home! :-)
I ended up going by myself because my hubby is a freelancer and got a bunch of work on Friday morning right before we were set to leave. Bummer! Oh well.

I made pork loin tonight for supper and it turned out well. I am glad I'm switching up my meats so much now. I also made neil Apple Muffins but instead of muffins, I tripled the batch and put them in a cake pan. I don't think he's too impressed this time...I hope he eats them!

I really want to win the BFL cruise challenge I am in on bodyforlifers.com but man is the competition tough over there! This is the first time I will be turning in an individual BFL packet as well. Also, the Minnesota Body for lifers group challenge AND my sister and I may enter together under the family category because we do have a good photo together from the day we started. Fun!!

Pics!!

Ok, So here are some pics! The first is from 3.17.06.



This one is from this morning! 3.23.06
I LOVE my tan!!!


And here is me practicing a side pose just for the fun of it!



Kristina from Golden Girls did my tan last night and....she is going to think about competing! It was so much fun to talk with her. The world just goes round and runs you into the people you are supposed to meet!!!

Party!

Well, I sent the invites out for my girl's night next Friday night! It should be a great time. I thought we could play cranium and other stupid games and maybe paint nails and of course, the tanning ladies will be here! I LOVE my spray tans. I'm going to get another tonight possibly because I want to be darker...

My after pics of my first tan totally didn't turn out. We took them at a different time of day and so it wasn't a real before and after because the lighting was TOTALLY different and the camera wouldn't go without the automatic flash...next time.

I made Neil Banana Muffins last night and they were so good - so he says. Of course, I can't have them. I actually have been enjoying cooking a little for him though. Where did that come from? I can't eat any of the things I cook!

Here's the recipe:
BANANA BREAD

Authorized



Makes 2 Servings



In Medium Bowl Combine:

3 TBS Plain Protein Powder

1/2 Cup 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/8 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon



In Small Bowl Combine:

1 Medium Banana (Starting to turn brown), mashed

1 Egg White

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce



Add wet ingredients to dry. Stir until moistened.



Divide batter into 2 mini-loaf pans and bake in toaster oven at 350

for 20 minutes,

OR

Put all batter into 1 mini-loaf pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes,

OR

Use a regular muffin pan to make 4 muffins. Bake at 350 for

approximately 15 minutes.



This recipe makes 2 servings, so 1/2 of the batter is a meal. Each

serving has 38g Carbs and 25g Protein!



What I like about this recipe is that it is all natural, no

artificial sweeteners and no oil. It tastes just like regular banana

bread and takes only minutes to prepare! I make 2 in the evening and

then bring one to work for my mid-morning snack the next day. I love

warm banana bread, so I just heat in the microwave for a few seconds

and it's delicious! Enjoy!!

I got a DVD in the mail today with fitness competitor routines on it. I'm so excited to watch it. I hope to do fitness one day. It is just like what I am doing but you also have to do a 2 min routine with strength moves in it...

Katiefeldmom- we didn't really do much stretching at Phat Camp. Jen H. said she needs to do more and should be doing yoga more. I plan to do yoga more also as I really don't like just stretching either! I usually do yoga at least once a week.

Other update- my neck and back are still doing great! My adjustment is holding and I just can't beleive how awesome it is to not have pain!!

Busy!

Neil and I were so busy this weekend. We finished painting the trim in his office and painted all of his office furniture. Then I scrubbed the glue and paint off of the office floor for 4 hours! It was supposed to be my day off of working out and boy am I tired...I needed a total rest day I think. Oh well. I really like the office and I am excited that my hubby will not have a comfortable work space that he enjoys...only he could work in it I think - It is SOOOO bright!




On to my exciting news: I am very proud to be sponsored by Golden Girls Tanning! My tan from Friday is absolutely beautiful and looks like it came from a few hours in the sun. I love it! I feel so much better. I haven't had a tan for 3 years! The tanning solution is all natural (brand is SunFX) which is very important to me. 3 women started the company in October. The arrangement will be very beneficial for both them and me. I'm very excited about it!

I decided to have a girls night party next Thursday night. It is going to be a "Get Ready for Summer" party. Golden Girls will be here giving tans for those that want one, the rest of us can paint our nails and do silly girl things! :-)
I haven't done a girls night for a long time. Should be fun.

Last but not least- I am at between 1700-1800 calories a day - eating a lot of food and it ROCKS!

Tanya

Changes!

I didn't lose as much as we had hoped but I gained 1.14 lbs of muscle...odd considering that diet was supposed to make me lose fat and possibly a little muscle. I guess I'm not totally surprised because I felt so good - too good to be true! I am down .59% BodyFat. Only about half of a percent but that is ok. I have a new diet and it looks good. I get oatmeal every day for breakfast which I am excited about. I also have strict instructions to eat a variety of meats and switch it up every day. Choices: chicken, ostrich (that's a new one!), turkey, pork loin, buffalo, fish, tuna, or 4 egg whites with 2 yolk. We are also adding in some mixed nuts and of course LOTS of veggies. I'm looking forward to the change. I don't think there is any way I will be hungry but the looks of it!

I got my tan this afternoon and I think that is going to turn out good also. I will take after pics tomorrow as it takes 8 hours to process. I also have exciting news on that front but I will wait till tomorrow to share!

checkin in

I'm off to training in about 5 min. I'm excited since I haven't had my BF checked in 3 weeks. Hubby was wonderful enough to take pics for me this morning. Hard to see big changes when I am sooooo white. But...I'm getting a tan this afternoon! So excited. So I will take pics tomorrow so maybe I will post those.

I'll write more after my training but in general- I am GREAT!
Tanya

THANK YOU

Thanks for all of your support! I'm feeling much better this morning. I think when I am feeling negative, I need to first ask myself whether or not I am tired. Instead of thinking last night...I should have gone to bed! I feel much better this morning and I all of the support and messages from my support system here online have really helped. I have made the decision to do this and I am going to. I may not look like the most 'developed' person up there. But, I have gained a lot of muscle and I will learn a ton. I will stand up there with confidence and I will do my absolute best. I will not compare with the other women. I am disappointed in myself for doing that in the first place. They were all wonderful and nice and supportive. NO ONE was catty. It is not fair for me to be anything but proud of them for where they are and inspired by them and where I am going to one day be!

I came to work this morning and one of the women was sore because she attending a lifting class at her gym yesterday. SHe is going to water aerobics tonight and she has been rollerskating a couple times a week. She said that I had really been inspiring her and now it is making a difference in her life.

I needed that wake up call. I needed to remember the big picture and know that what I am doing is bigger than this competition and bigger than myself.

I'm not the type of person that waits until I am perfect before I try to do something. I am the type that jumps in, does my best and continues my progress from there. I am not the type that could wait for 2 years to build mass and then start competing. What if I didn't even like it then? I could have been working toward other goals like triathlons, etc. all that time. Sooooo I AM going to do this and I AM going to give it my all!
Thanks again for all your help - this online support is wonderful.

All of you women are amazing and you touch my life. Thank you!

Giving myself a pep talk

Hey all,
I am back from phat camp and man, Jen Hendershott works out HARD!!! I had a great time. It was wonderful to hang out with 60 women with common goals and none of them looking at you like you are 'weird' for what you are eating, etc. It is just fun to hang out with others that 'get' it. Some of the women were SOOOOO built. It was very inspiring. I don't think I'll be able to walk or sit on the toilet tomorrow but I really did a good job. I worked hard and I hung right in there with the group!

Will be posting pics tomorrow sometime! For those who don't know, working out with Jen Hendershott is like taking singing lessons from Shania Twain or Faith Hill, etc. You get what I mean.

Whoever was intersted in competing put our suits on today and we practiced posing,etc. and the rest of the girls were the audience.

Now, I am going to be a downer here...I'm sorry, I'm trying really hard. I am proud of myself for getting up there in front of them in my suit. but honestly, it made me lose some of my positive attitude. I probably should be waiting to do some competing and do some bulking. I am getting muscle development but I have a LONG way to go. I'm not trying to rip on myself here, I'm being honest. I am still going to get myself excited again. I know I can do this and I know I can do my absolute best. But, it was hard hearing other girls who are in better shape than me and closer to 'competition ready' say that they are hoping to compete next year or at the end of the summer. Makes me wonder what I am doing...
the other thing that is hard is just the plain aesthetic stuff: boobs, beautiful hair, a tan, and long flowing hair...none of which I have...I know these don't matter but I sometimes feel like one of the 'not pretty' girls.

Alright, enough being negative. Sorry!!! All of the women there were so supportive and it was an awesome esperience. I need to work on my condfidence and get back in the game!

Hump Day

My sister is in Cancun and coming home tomorrow! I never realized how much we talk, I've missed her and it's only been 3 days.

I went out to eat with two of my high school buddies last night and our play coach, Laura, from our Junior year! Super fun. However, there was nothing I could eat! The veggie burger was deep fat fried! the lemon chicken was precooked in butter. Lesson learned: don't just take it for granted that options that are typically good for you are safe. I ended up having romaine lettuce with dressing I brought from home. Oh well. All of us gave Laura our 2 min life story. Of course my life story is pretty crazy right now. Laura felt my bicep and said she was intrigued and oddly frightened at the same time...I think that is a good thing?!? It was really cool when my 2 friends gave their 2 minutes though. My first friend said, "well tanya's obsession has influenced me and I am doing a 5K on May 21st" - I was so proud and excited. Then my other friend started her introduction with "I joined the Y and started working out with Tanya last week. I'm going to try to do a 10mile run at the end of the summer." I was just overwhelmed with happiness for a moment. These are my friends and look at us! We were the 3 non-athletic girls in high school and look at us now! I LOVE BFL!

On the competition front I am very excited and very nervous. This is getting more real every day.

I booked a flight to the NPC Jr. Nationals in Chicago the week after my comp. One of my trainers will be competing. I'm very excited to go - spending more money I don't have but who's counting??

Happy Tuesday

I'm doing just fine! Sorry I have been quiet. I had a busy weekend and I was a little Arnold obsessed trying to find contest coverage to see who was winning and why, etc.! Jen Hendershott got 3rd in Fitness which is a bummer because she won last year but I am still excited for her. I'm going to Phat Camp with her this weekend!! I'm soooooo excited I can hardly stand it! speaking of, since I will be having intense workouts Fri-Sun, I get to take Wed and Thurs off!!! I can't remember the last time I had two days off in a row.

I went to the chiro again last night and my adjustment is holding...but I was in a lot of pain over the weekend. It is a lot of trauma on your muscle to go in and out of alignment but I think I am on the mend now. Just one minor bout of tears to teh hubby on Sat. I was scared that my neck may prevent me from doing my best and pain is hard to tolerate now that I know that it can be fixed. I'm doing much better now that I know it was holding, just healing. We'll have to see how it goes - today I feel really good though!

I went to a posing seminar for the NANBF on Saturday and Melissa Hall was our speaker! Very exciting. This is the second time I've met her and she remembered me! She will be at my comp in June. So the NANBF is all natural. This is good. They also said they don't want the figure girls as 'hard'. Now what does that mean?? The said if you go by levels:
NPC would be the hardest and leanest
NANBF would be next
Bikini America and Fitness America would be the least 'hard'

Interesting. Melissa Hall does mostly Bikini and Fitness america. They said for the NANBF (my show in June) we should pose as flexed and we will most likely have to go out and do individual walks in addition to the posing.

The show in July that I am considering is NPC and would most likely be a whole different caliber. It is also a title show "Mr./Ms. Minnesota" so it is big. I'm kind of confused/feeling funny knowing that the judges are looking for different things. Oh well - I'll just go do the shows and see what happens!

Nuf babbling now -I have to go to work!

Ouch!

Well, Neil and I went to the chiro last night and got our alignment checked. It confirmed what I already knew: I had lost the adjustment. I was in a lot of pain yesterday, headache, shoulder knots, the whole bit. I had not realized how much of a tolerance I had built up before. Well, that tolerance was gone after living without the pain for a week! It hurt. How did I lose my adjustment? Well, we were out of dog food and Neil couldn't pick up the big bag on the floor of the pet store because his adjustment wsn't holding...so I picked up the big bag of dog food from the floor. Dumb. Oh well. I also know that our couch is comfy but not supportive or good for my back so that could have played a part as well.

So today I had training. We worked on my legs but I was still in a lot of pain. it feels like my neck and upper back muscles have been through a workout and a half. Chiro said it is a shock to the body to lose an adjustment and then get back in alignment again - let me tell you my body is shocked! No cardio for me today. First time I've 'cheated' on my contest prep. It is more important to rest and heal though.

My weight has not move an ounce since last week - I hope my BF% is still going down though!

I'm a bit mopy today because the Arnold Classic started today and I would LOVE to see it. All the figure and fitness girls have prejudging today...of course none of it is televised - only the men's bodybuilding. GRRRRRRRRR!