Phit-N-Phat...Making Fitness and Weightloss a Lifestyle

Competing Again in 2010: Make Your Plans NOW!

I met with the competition coach and now have my marching orders for the next four weeks. I'm really excited and READY to be better than ever for 2010.

It's as if I have decided to give myself a gift. This next year I want it to be about balance in all the things I enjoy most in this world:

• My Family
• My Fitness
• My Business

Those are my priorities as I look forward to 2010. I have made sure to include all of them in my plans. If you want to be happy in life YOU have to make sure it happens. The only way to do it is to ensure what makes you happy is always the first thing you plan. The rest will get done...it always does.

Family
Chris and I are already planning when we will take our trips to Vegas together. We also have a list of trips Logan wants to do this year. The beach and Washington D.C. are on his list. Maybe even New York! We are also planning day trips and things we can do just the three of us to help him see more of the "cultural" side of Nashville.

My mom and I are going to Phoenix to do a half marathon in January! That will be a fun girls weekend with the PNP crew.

Fitness
I am laying out the competitions I want to do and making sure that I knock them out so I have plenty of time for those Vegas trips and such. Competing and walking half marathons keeps me fit and having fun. They are the two things exercise related I enjoy MOST so they get put into the plan.

Business
I've got plenty of ideas for next year including new products! We'll have good events and good times in our usual PNP way.

Now is the time for all of us to look forward. Don't wait until the week before New Year's Eve to put yourself first. Between now and the end of the year it just gets busier and busier. Before you know it, you'll be hating the holidays, wanting it to all be over, etc. and that is no way to live.

Take some time NOW before it's too busy to think about what you want out of the new year. What can you do starting this week to set yourself up for the best year of your life?

It could be...

• having a plan to maintain your weight.
• healthful options at your family functions (find those recipes now).
• scheduling some fun exercise events for the next two months so you have a reason to be moving.
• finding Christmas gifts for yourself that involve fitness and health (I ALWAYS send out a list of what to get me so I don't get useless junk or food).
• starting one of my programs to use for the next eight weeks to be READY for the new year's party!

By having things to focus on that have YOU at the top of the priority list you might find the big end of year push to be better than every before!

39 Weeks and Counting

Have you ever set a big goal that was so far away that RIGHT NOW it's hard to stay focused? I have done that. Next June I am going to compete in Figure again.

I love this sport. Lifting weights makes me so happy. Seeing my body change based on my own hard work is challenging. Eating, well, I don't love that part but I do love eating healthy and challenging myself to find pleasure in foods that will keep me on the earth for a long time to come. You can't get rid of me easily. You girls will be 80 years old still getting emails from me talking about our senior hotness!

I have to admit I'm in the total fake it til you make it mode, though. Thank God for prepping food because if I didn't have a fridge full of healthy eats COOKED and ready to go I might be taking the slackers way out - meaning eating crap and feeling sorry for myself. I'm just cheap enough to eat all my healthy stuff because I don't want to waste a dime that can go into fake nails, hair extensions, MAC, and hoochie clothes. OK...so I do like to spend money - just on fun stuff. Besides, Logan has a birthday, drum lessons starting, and a bunch of other things coming up. No time to waste clean eats!

It's hard to explain my sour mood, though. It's like I'm tired but not exhausted, busy but not getting anything done, and goal focused yet so far out I can't taste it. So, yesterday while on the elliptical I had a moment of clarity. I shot a video of my thoughts.

Today I just need to remember how I best operate. I might make myself a huge calendar to hang in the bedroom that I can cross off each day. I would love a big ole motivation corner somewhere in the house where I can keep my goals up, calendar in focus, and even pictures. I ain't just talking figure competition either. I'm talking house stuff I want done, things for Logan I need to finish, etc.

Basically, it feels like life is swirling around me and I need to turn off the wind machine. I know most of it is self-imposed. My husband is going to roll his eyes when he reads this blog. I am the WORST at putting extra pressure on myself. So, today, I am going to figure out how to find the wind machine switch and at least set it to low. Stay tuned. If I come up with some decent ways to get the chaos under control I shall share with you.

OK...I feel better just blogging about it.

Bill...A Real Weightloss Success Story

We often talk about all the reasons we hold ourselves back on this site. Today I want to share a few thoughts on my friend and original PNP client, Bill, who has lived a life of obesity and is now a two-time body building competitor.

This weekend he competed at the HUB City Classic in Jackson, TN. He did it this year for one reason: he wanted his two little girls see why Daddy works so hard in the gym and why he has to eat so much fish. All of it paid off because he looked fabulous.

The morning of the competition we met for his pancake with REAL syrup meal before going on stage. It was interesting because whenever I am around anyone it seems to lend itself to some pretty deep thoughts on the subject of being fat.

Both of us have this "issue" and that is we will always be a fat girl or fat boy. We believe this person never dies in you even when you don't LOOK the part any longer.

Bill likens it to an alcoholic. When you are no longer drinking it doesn't mean you are "cured." You just aren't drinking at the time but the drunk is still on the inside of you.

The same goes with people who have been overweight; particularly those who have a lifetime of significant fat to draw upon. Once you have lost the weight it doesn't mean you aren't still a "fat person". You are just an outwardly thin person with an inner fat person.

Most of us who need to lose weight, especially significant weight, do so because we really like food. We like the bad stuff A LOT. If we didn't, losing weight would be easy and we probably wouldn't be fat to begin with. I like healthy food NOW and will eat it but, seriously, if I thought I could look just as good eating pancakes and peanut butter for breakfast, a burger and fries for lunch washed down with a shake, and then go out every night to a new Mexican restaurant for margaritas and nachos I WOULD! See, I know how to roll LARGE.

What was I talking about? Oh yes, alcoholism. I will always be the fat girl just like a drunk is a drunk. Every day I have to choose to eat what is good for me versus what gives me pleasure. I have to make time to exercise when TV is tempting. I have to stop eating before I feel round and full and I have to say no to going out or parties sometimes because I just can't fit it into my weekly plan.

Do I like healthy food? Absolutely. Do I like junk food? Absolutely. I'm proud to be on the road to recovery. I call it maintenance and while I maintain I am sober. You know what? It's OK, too. I don't mind it being hard, "unfair", or anything like that. Rather than wallow in the unfairness I choose acceptance so I can be successful.

Bill is like me. He has every reason to be a fat guy - bad history, genes, habits, etc. - but he chooses to accept his demons and live his life to the fullest. Enjoy this video of his competition. He worked hard and made everyone proud.

Hub City

Competition Results

I made it through my first two competitions and can officially call myself bitten by the bug. Every minute of training I knew in my heart I was going to do it. The whole process was wonderful, challenging, hard, but overall wonderful. How could I not love a sport that offers tough workouts, clean eating, makeup, hooker shoes, blingy bathing suits, and a rich tan? Sign me up for more next year.

In my private phit-n-phat.com journal I thanked most people but there are three others I need to thank on the blog. First, the Jen Hendershott Phat Camp team! I would never have done this had it not been for the Atlanta Phat Camp back in 2007. That's where the first seed was planted. They trained me the first eight of twenty-two weeks and it was wonderful. Can't wait to see them in Dayton in September!

Second, Team Haines! Valerie and Tony took over my training locally and I couldn't have asked for better people. They were always there for me and made me feel so good about who I am and where I was going. Here's to some big legs in 09, Tony and V! Ya'll know how much you mean to me...and Valerie - you are too great for even words.

Third, Lorie, Chris, and Neal. These are the spouses of the Three Muskateers who endured a lot of hormones, hunger, and last minute I need somethings. It takes a team to do these things when you have kids and lives and our spouses were behind us the whole way. Chris - I love you more than words could ever say baby so I'll just have to show you during the off season. LOL.

Now I want to share a portion of my personal journal that captures what I want you to learn from my experience. I promise in the coming weeks you will see more stuff come out, but this is where I would like to start...

Your Potential...
All of these crazy things I do often are because I want all of you to see that you have the potential to have the body and emotional confidence you seek. I believe with all of my heart that I am you...I am the girl who was teased, I am the mother worried she is going to be a "bad example" to her kids by not exercising and eating junk, I am the wife who is ashamed to take her clothes off because she is nothing like the woman her husband married, I am the best-friend that everyone goes out with because she'll hold the purses or emotionally eat with, I am the person who doesn't believe she can run, wear a bikini, lift weights, or eat "expensive and boring clean foods", and most of all I am the person who ultimately has to make the right choices but so scared to change she does nothing but what she has always done.

This pretty much sums up the person I have been most of my life. It was until one day when I started walking because I had enough. That was almost six years ago and it has taken me SIX YEARS to go from having the courage to walk into the gym for a 15 minute walk on the TM that nearly killed me to standing on stage at a figure competition and winning first place in the tall division. SIX YEARS! Six years to lose weight, change my shape, dream new dreams, and work on my innerself.

Now, here are the final pics of my six year journey. The road hasn't ended here. It continues on as I work towards a new year of competing, running, and creating a body that a young fat kid cried many times to have.

Competition Is Getting Close

Wow...what a journey this has been. I have loved it, cried about it, hated it, but mostly enjoyed it. Because it's been such a special time for me, I will spend the next two weeks focusing the blogs on my thoughts about what I have learned and what I am going through emotionally. Hopefully you will find some tidbits of wisdom through it.

Lately I have been just dreaming about the post-competition weeks. I guess coming from a background of being overweight has me a little antsy about the fact that I am going to gain some weight. How much? I haven't a clue.

They call it rebounding. Basically you have spent a good portion of the year dieting and working out all while taking your body to silly low fat levels. Just like anyone who comes off a "diet" you go back to normal eating you will gain weight.

My plan is simple. Do what I know best. Make menus, prep my foods, eat what's on the menu, workout with a plan and intensity, and through this I should be able to gain weight in a healthy way. I will be working with my trainer off season but I have about three to four weeks where I am "on my own" and I am just anal enough to require myself to be prepared.

Here is the idea. Feedback is welcome if you want to drop me a line.

Sunday Post-Comp: Eat what I want. Enjoy my food. Keep in mind I don't want to get sick and that my son will be home that day so no carb coma for me.

Monday Post-Comp: Head to the grocery store after Logan goes to school. I can't exercise that day so I might as well shop and prep the healthy foods for the week. I will allow myself to BLT all I want because I have already made the menu for the week and it's nothing dangerous. Typically I would shop early to be ready but we have company for four straight days and I am "The Queen" who can handle the grocery store. Besides, I'm too anal to buy anything not on the list. :)

Tuesday Post-Comp: Back on plan and start fasted cardio walking in the morning followed by a juicy grapefruit. Man I miss those.

No strength training for two weeks. Competition is Aug 16 and we leave Aug 28. I will start back once I return. I haven't had a week off, heck, hardly a day off since early March. I will just do walking the first week post-comp and do some runs while in Vegas. I love running the strip!

My week one menu looks like...

Post Walk	1 Grapefruit, 3 egg whites and 1 egg salad with salsa
Meal One: B	1/3 cup of Oat Bran, 1/2 scoop of Banana Nut Lean Dessert, 1 oz. of sugar free peanut butter syrup, coffee
Meal Two: S	1 apple with 1.5 tbsp of peanut butter
Meal Three: L	4 oz. of tuna salad (homemade) with 2 cups of grilled broccoli and onions
Meal Four: S	4 oz of Tuna Salad mixed with 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice and wilted spinach
Meal Five: S	3 oz of flank with 4 oz. of sweet potato
Meal Six: D	3 oz flank, grilled red peppers and a big spinach and vinegar salad with onions and sugar free jello mixed with 1/2 cup of peaches OR this will be a "free meal" with Logan and Chris where I will eat what I make them. They eat healthy so it will be my "variety meal." LOL
Meal Seven: S	Casein shake

I like this plan and it has me at about 1700 calories or so a day. Seems reasonable to me since I've been eating around 1500-1650 a day throughout training. I'll get the cardio and strength up after I recover.

OK...tell me what you think! Unless you just think I'm crazy and then keep your opinions to yourself. LOL.

Don't Trust the Scale!

For two weeks I was frustrated with the whole competition process because I have been at it for well over 15 weeks and weighed the same. The scale shot up and I looked like a blowfish. Literally, I workout 2.5 hours per day, do the fasted cardio, lift heavy as heck, and eat like a champ. I mean fish, greens, almonds, egg whites, flank. This is the life of a newbie competitor.

Three weeks ago I was weighing in at 135.5 and felt the best in my life. I thought I was looking great. For two weeks I went back to 142ish and just felt huge. All of the swelling settled right in my abs and a tad on my thighs (I only work them over like punching bags so they stay in the recovery process).

Monday the scale finally starts to show love. The swelling is going down and man, let me tell you, I have learned a huge lesson. That scale really doesn't mean anything.

Honey, my body looks better today at 138 than it did at 135.5 three weeks ago! I cannot wait to see the next round of pics because I can see changes just looking in the mirror. I think my body must have been going through some serious shifting because I look different and my pants are starting to just fall off!

I tell this story because I often have my own clients get so upset when they workout really hard one day and then the scale goes up. It's normal. It's supposed to happen. If you workout and train at all and the scale doesn't ever move up on you then you must be doing something wrong. Muscle doesn't build until it's had a chance to hold some water for repair. Fat doesn't burn unless it's got muscle working hard on it and neither is going to happen unless you eat the right amount of food...you don't starve and you don't overeat.

My lesson today is if you are a regular weigher like I am, PUHLEEZE think back to the past two three days. Did you follow your plan? Did you eat good foods? Did you workout hard? Did you drink your water? As long as you did these things you have nothing to worry about.

That's how I made it through two terrible weeks. I literally had to keep eating fish and veggies and working out for two plus hours a day while the scale moved up eight pounds just trusting in my famous quote...nobody gets fat eating right and exercising hard.

It Truly Is a Marathon

I had my evaluation today with my competition training coach and it went fine. To be honest, this has been my lowest and toughest week since starting this journey over 14 weeks ago. It's the first week that I emotionally was torn apart because I felt as if I was doing EVERYTHING in my power to make changes. All that happened was my weight shooting up eight total pounds.

Taking my own advice I scrutinized my week to see what was different than the last week.

My body is stressed and tired. I NEVER miss workouts even when I know in my heart I might need an extra recovery session.

TOM has left the building. It's common at this point. My OBGYN is aware and not concerned.

I used a new seasoning this week...ummm...LOADED with sodium. Let's say I use it like breading on the tilapia and when you eat 8 filets or more a day that's a crap load of salt you aren't used to.

I went overboard with my Splenda and Crystal Light this week. It's not calorie-free and it all adds up in the end.

My diet is super low carb so when I take my MB meal each week it screws me up for a couple of days energy wise. Low energery = less intense cardio.

So, I walk in today telling all of this to the trainer and he simply makes me feel good. He says he can tell by the look in my eyes that I have the love and desire to do this. He's not worried about me as far as hanging in there and doing the work. He said, layoff the seasoning and switch to Mrs. Dash, drink more water than CL (duh), and quit beating yourself up.

Here's my plan this week...

Tomorrow is my birthday splurge. Going fatty, meaty, and low sugar. We're going out to eat and when we leave I'm going home to watch a movie with my man and go to bed WITH HIM for once this week.

Get the cardio in as hard as MY BODY feels each day. The key is I only have three weeks of good strength sessions left to make differences. After that, cardio will make all the difference. So, loads of leg focused work and lots of naps.

Drop the seasoning. Cut back the Splenda to 1 packet per cup of coffee (gag but I'll do it). I can't give up my coffee now so I'll just suck it up like the champ I am.

See ya Crystal Light. I'm on all water from here until competition. It's been fun and I'll see you again, my Iced Tea friend.

The last part of this that I totally GOT today is why I want this so bad. I love it. I really love doing this and pushing myself. What I finally verbalized to him was that this year is my getting the feet wet year and every workout and piece of fish is a building block to being COMPETITIVE next year. You heard me. Next year I plan to come out swinging, with bigger, fuller legs, and a sexy-butt attitude in hooker heels.

Here's to enjoying life, reaching deep in your soul, and doing the things you dreamed about as an overweight adolescent girl. Who would've thought I could make my own dreams come true? :)

Updates on Comp Training

Yesterday was my weekly evaluation so that means I took my "metabolic boost" meal afterward. I tried something new. Rather than just having a free for all meal that left me drunk, gassy, and sick to my stomach, I had a day of "splurges." Each meal that I would normally eat, like tilapia with two cups of brocolli, I had something like healthy turkey black bean chili in an apprpropriate amount. Throughout the day I had a serving of cantaloupe, watermelon, some oatbran with egg whites, etc. It meant more to me to load the day with the same calories but a different mix of foods.

Now, to be honest, I also had my pizza and cereal but it was a ton less than usual. I felt so satisfied going into the planned date meal with Chris that I was an INCH away from not having it and just enjoying something else healthy but splurgy. I'd give anything had I figured this out weeks ago. Even though the scale was still wonked out like crazy today, I feel so good. I have energy and was able to burn through over 1100 calories in exercise SO FAR. I still have a 30-40 min. walk I'll do this evening before bed.

Something else funny was going on in my body last night. As I lay in bed I could "feel" my quads flooding with "juice???" I haven't felt that before. It was like you could watch them expanding. I assume that is just the body doing what it does and refilling the glycogen depletion in the muscles. My diet is very low carb so any introduction of carbs and rest is going to make me gain fluids like mad.

The other crazy thing that happened was at 4am I went to potty. For the first time in a long time I wasn't sweating. Well, that didn't last long. By the time I got back in bed, my head was soaked, my tummy area was SO HOT it felt like it was burning and I was just roasting all over.

I'm Up SIX POUNDS!
You know, since starting all this training about 14 or so weeks ago I've only lost about eight total pounds. Inches and body development are a whole different story, but today I was like OMG when I realized that all these workouts and weeks of dieting have meant so little scale-wise.

So, lesson here ladies. When you work out really hard and follow your plans your body responds in ways you don't realize. I literally burn through a minimum of 1000 calories a day in exercise alone, eat a diet of less than 17% carbs (these are coming from greens and almonds, too), and average about 1500-1600 calories a day. I've lost 2lbs in 14+ weeks but I look amazing.

In a few short weeks I'll be posting the before and after photos of the training. It's been quite a process, but the changes are worth it. Soon the meals will be extra boring, the workouts really, really long, and I'll be stinking tired. Wait, isn't that now??? Just kidding. I know the end is near but I have my sights set and ready to finish out this journey.