2 Weeks Out
Here I am, forgetting an update again. I've been super busy lately. GOOD busy, but still busy nonetheless. :)
Reflecting (and thus blogging) is meditative for me, and I'm always happy to sit down and reflect on the time passed as well as what's to come. In the spirit of reflecting and documenting the journey and sharing what we learn along the way, Taryn and I have started a YouTube channel, where we've been vlogging. I'm loving it so far. :) Video editing is really fun. It's an outlet to be creative and produce something vaguely artistic, which is an outlet that I don't really have anywhere else in my life. It's really enjoyable to create something and to be able to sit back and see the final product. Check out our channel, FYTE, here. I've always loved writing, and I'll still be keeping a written blog here, too.
While I've managed to put some vlogs together, my updates here have been lacking. I've noticed that I go longer between updates when my progress is slower, which is by no means purposeful. I want to be transparent in my journey, including the struggles and stalls and annoying plateaus. That said, my biggest stalls usually coincide with stress in my life that is hectic and prevents me blogging in the first place, so it's all quite circular.
The last 2 weeks or so have been a game of being patient. In my last update, I had just bumped my cardio up to 1050 cals for the week. Last week I did 1150 cals, and this week I have it peaking at the highest yet at 1200 cals, before bring in back down to 700 or below next week for peak week. For perspective, that 1200 cal burn is divided into 6 days at 200 cal burn each day, which takes me between 25-40 minutes depending on the activity I choose to do and the intensity. I finally whipped out the kickboxing DVDs and have been enjoying them. :)
Food has taken some drops each week. Since my last update, it has gone from 10650 cals for the week, to 10200 cals the following week, to 10100 cals this week, which is the lowest it will dip, before coming back up next week for peak week. In the last 3 weeks, this has brought my rate of fat loss up from 0.3 lbs per week to now finally 0.5 lbs per week. I was stalled right around 102 lbs for over 2 weeks. On Monday I saw a new low of 101.2 lbs, but it's already creeping back up again, and I honestly won't be surprised if it continues to rise or plateaus again.
I want to talk about scale weight for a minute. The scale is just one tool, and it is by no means the most important tool. I use it during contest prep considering factors such as previous stage weight, previous conditioning, and time spent building/making improvements since last show. I also use circumference measurements and, perhaps the most important marker, progress pictures.
In body building, no one knows or even cares what you weigh on stage. You're not judged on your weight, and you're not even judged on your body fat %. You're judged on the visual presentation of your physique -- your overall package. The scale, while it can give some valuable information indicating weight loss (perhaps fat loss, and perhaps even water retention), it does not tell you how your physique and overall package is visually panning out. And for that reason, it's important to not let the scale dictate your prep.
So although I've been stalled around 102 lbs for the last 2 weeks, I've visually been looking leaner, and that's the change that I'm after. It's reasonable with the increases in cardio and decreases in food that I'm experiencing some water retention. I've also been having sleep issues, and lack of sleep always registers on the scale for me.
This last week was probably the worst yet sleep-wise. Last Thursday night was terrible, and I was up early Friday morning to meet with a client and to teach my bootcamp class. I felt like absolute garbage the rest of Friday. I had a migraine all afternoon and evening, and I thought I may have even had the flu. I took a nap from 3pm-5:30pm, and slept from 9pm-9:30am Saturday morning. By Saturday morning, I felt like a whole new person, and so far, I've been feeling better this week.
Back to the food and cardio changes, which, in perspective, aren't terrible. Of course we'd always want progress on more food/less cardio, but it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes we have to push harder. Again, for perspective, it's about 200 cals additional deficit per day (coming from both diet and cardio) than where I was the majority (the first 11 weeks) of my prep. I'm now in week 15 of prep, and it's expected to have to dig a little deeper towards the end. I'm ok with that. This week is the lowest my food will be and the highest my cardio will be, and I know that my prep is on track. Compared to my prep last year, my body looks and feels different, and even my competition bikini from last year fits differently. My powerlifting belt is feeling loose again, and it's time to take it in a notch.
Each prep is different. Sometimes we need adjustments often, and sometimes we can ride it out for longer. Looking back, I feel pretty fortunate to have had 11 consecutive weeks without any manipulations. Coming into the last 3-4 weeks, it makes sense that I would need to push. Coming into a show, there's a time to wait things out and a time to push. At 2 weeks out, this is the last week to push. Next week is peak week, a time to let my body recover a bit and come in rested. I'm ok with pushing hard this week. I'm also ok if the scale doesn't budge, because my overall package is not tied to a number. I'm happy with where I'm at, and I'm ready to coast into this show having already put in the hard work.
I've been bedazzling my suit, and I'm almost done! This new suit was a present to myself as I'd be making my WNBF pro-debut in it, and I'm undecided if I'll wear this suit or a different one for this first NPC show. I've been a suit hoarder. I need to check myself in this department. LOL.
I got a spray tanning machine! I'm super excited about it. Reed has been practicing spraying me, and he's already a pro. Plus I've got an awesome fake tan. I used to loooove spray tans and sunless tanner. I still do, I'm just usually too lazy to use a fake tanning product most of the time. Not anymore! It only takes ~10 minutes for Reed to turn me into a bronzed babe.
That about wraps it up for this week. As I'm finally getting around to posting this (I've been writing the post in small chunks since Monday), it's Thursday evening, and 8 days till the 1st show. Overall, I'm feeling very excited. :)
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| 3.19.2016 // 2 weeks out |
While I've managed to put some vlogs together, my updates here have been lacking. I've noticed that I go longer between updates when my progress is slower, which is by no means purposeful. I want to be transparent in my journey, including the struggles and stalls and annoying plateaus. That said, my biggest stalls usually coincide with stress in my life that is hectic and prevents me blogging in the first place, so it's all quite circular.
The last 2 weeks or so have been a game of being patient. In my last update, I had just bumped my cardio up to 1050 cals for the week. Last week I did 1150 cals, and this week I have it peaking at the highest yet at 1200 cals, before bring in back down to 700 or below next week for peak week. For perspective, that 1200 cal burn is divided into 6 days at 200 cal burn each day, which takes me between 25-40 minutes depending on the activity I choose to do and the intensity. I finally whipped out the kickboxing DVDs and have been enjoying them. :)
Food has taken some drops each week. Since my last update, it has gone from 10650 cals for the week, to 10200 cals the following week, to 10100 cals this week, which is the lowest it will dip, before coming back up next week for peak week. In the last 3 weeks, this has brought my rate of fat loss up from 0.3 lbs per week to now finally 0.5 lbs per week. I was stalled right around 102 lbs for over 2 weeks. On Monday I saw a new low of 101.2 lbs, but it's already creeping back up again, and I honestly won't be surprised if it continues to rise or plateaus again.
I want to talk about scale weight for a minute. The scale is just one tool, and it is by no means the most important tool. I use it during contest prep considering factors such as previous stage weight, previous conditioning, and time spent building/making improvements since last show. I also use circumference measurements and, perhaps the most important marker, progress pictures.
In body building, no one knows or even cares what you weigh on stage. You're not judged on your weight, and you're not even judged on your body fat %. You're judged on the visual presentation of your physique -- your overall package. The scale, while it can give some valuable information indicating weight loss (perhaps fat loss, and perhaps even water retention), it does not tell you how your physique and overall package is visually panning out. And for that reason, it's important to not let the scale dictate your prep.
So although I've been stalled around 102 lbs for the last 2 weeks, I've visually been looking leaner, and that's the change that I'm after. It's reasonable with the increases in cardio and decreases in food that I'm experiencing some water retention. I've also been having sleep issues, and lack of sleep always registers on the scale for me.
This last week was probably the worst yet sleep-wise. Last Thursday night was terrible, and I was up early Friday morning to meet with a client and to teach my bootcamp class. I felt like absolute garbage the rest of Friday. I had a migraine all afternoon and evening, and I thought I may have even had the flu. I took a nap from 3pm-5:30pm, and slept from 9pm-9:30am Saturday morning. By Saturday morning, I felt like a whole new person, and so far, I've been feeling better this week.
Back to the food and cardio changes, which, in perspective, aren't terrible. Of course we'd always want progress on more food/less cardio, but it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes we have to push harder. Again, for perspective, it's about 200 cals additional deficit per day (coming from both diet and cardio) than where I was the majority (the first 11 weeks) of my prep. I'm now in week 15 of prep, and it's expected to have to dig a little deeper towards the end. I'm ok with that. This week is the lowest my food will be and the highest my cardio will be, and I know that my prep is on track. Compared to my prep last year, my body looks and feels different, and even my competition bikini from last year fits differently. My powerlifting belt is feeling loose again, and it's time to take it in a notch.
Each prep is different. Sometimes we need adjustments often, and sometimes we can ride it out for longer. Looking back, I feel pretty fortunate to have had 11 consecutive weeks without any manipulations. Coming into the last 3-4 weeks, it makes sense that I would need to push. Coming into a show, there's a time to wait things out and a time to push. At 2 weeks out, this is the last week to push. Next week is peak week, a time to let my body recover a bit and come in rested. I'm ok with pushing hard this week. I'm also ok if the scale doesn't budge, because my overall package is not tied to a number. I'm happy with where I'm at, and I'm ready to coast into this show having already put in the hard work.
I've been bedazzling my suit, and I'm almost done! This new suit was a present to myself as I'd be making my WNBF pro-debut in it, and I'm undecided if I'll wear this suit or a different one for this first NPC show. I've been a suit hoarder. I need to check myself in this department. LOL.
I got a spray tanning machine! I'm super excited about it. Reed has been practicing spraying me, and he's already a pro. Plus I've got an awesome fake tan. I used to loooove spray tans and sunless tanner. I still do, I'm just usually too lazy to use a fake tanning product most of the time. Not anymore! It only takes ~10 minutes for Reed to turn me into a bronzed babe.
That about wraps it up for this week. As I'm finally getting around to posting this (I've been writing the post in small chunks since Monday), it's Thursday evening, and 8 days till the 1st show. Overall, I'm feeling very excited. :)
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