Taking short cuts gets you nowhere in the end

I just read an article on how Snooki from 'Jersey Shore' lost weight. I know i know, its 5 minutes of my life ill never get back but anyway i digress...
So apparently the pint sized star (famous for doing nothing, you know, the Paris Hilton and kim kardashian syndrome as i like to refer to it) has thanked a diet pill for reducing her in size by 7kgs. I guess if your not prepared to 'do' anything in particular to make your way in life - why would eating healthy or exercising be any different?
It really does bring new meaning to the word lazy.
Oh and by the way, nothing in life is free - that includes weight loss. You HAVE to change your lifestyle habits in order to make long term changes.
You may have detected an air of negativity in my above statements - yes, this whole thing bothers me so much and heres why. As a nutritionist when i see a client, im trying to educate them on food and lifestyle changes from a physiologically standpoint. I think to some degree, people are really hoping im going to suggest some wonderful magic pill and tell them that it's going to be easy and they dont have to change anything their currently doing. And I blame people like Snooki for this. Trust me, as someone who has competed in bodybuilding, and done upwards and onwards of 4hrs of exercise a day and eaten only chicken and brocolli for 15 weeks straight to get there - dont you think if i had a magic pill i would have used the damn thing???
Losing weight, getting fit, staying healthy, getting ripped - its hard work, but its worth it. Have you ever recieved a wonderful gift as opposed to buying yourself that gift with your hard earned money? Doesnt it always feel a little sweeter when you have bought it? Sure getting stuff for free or as gifts is wonderful - but it doesnt compare to the satisfaction of knowing you have worked your butt off to get it.
I relate this to losing weight. If you cheat yourself by using diet pills or starving yourself into being skinny, the satisfaction is very short lived im sure. Oh sure you fit into those skinny jeans - until your so hungry that you start to binge eat or you run out of diet pills and you finally get your hunger back and then you have no education around what foods you should be eating...
Dont cheat yourself - invest in your health. yes it will take more time but boy oh boy will it be worth it.
Til next time xx

Sometimes life throws a curveball

Ok well I have debated about writing this post. Should I? Shouldn't I? But i feel its an important topic and one that women should not feel ashamed of, or guilty about.
So a few of you now know that Im officially NOT competing this year. 5 weeks ago I was struggling emotionally, more so than i was physically. I couldn't get my brain or my emotions to be in sync with what I wanted my body to do. It felt like an uphill battle, and one that i knew i was losing.
Why couldn't I get myself motivated to want to compete?? I had all the support in the world, my body was coming in and I had gained some good muscle. I just didnt feel...right. I was breaking down in front of my coach, i was feeling miserable, emotional highs and lows and generally felt like i was going insane.
What I didnt realise at the time was that I was in fact pregnant.
I wasn't listening to my body. It was trying to tell me to STOP. It was giving me all the warning signs, it had put up the white flag and i refused to listen or take notice. This is the biggest lesson i have learnt in my life thus far. If you push your body to extremes - it will eventually push back, and then there is nothing you can do.
So earlier in the week I woke up and i just knew - its weird, and some of you will know what im talking about, but i just 'felt' pregnant. I decided to take a pregnancy test and with huge excitment a faint positive appeared! Now some of you that know me very well, will know that in the many years my husband and i have been trying to fall pregnant, any pregnancy test i have taken has been so negative that not even an evapoation line would appear !! The exhiliration of seeing a line, albeit faint, was almost too much to bear. I knew i was very early to take a pregnancy test and some of you will know that your pregnancy hormone (HCG) increases daily as you progress in your pregnancy, so the pregnancy test positive line should get darker and darker. I drove michael and myself crazy, taking home pregnancy tests over and over again - just to make sure my eyes had not decieved me. But there is was again and again, a line...a perfect faint pink line...
On thursday evening i took what would be my 5th and final home pregnancy test. I felt sick to my stomache as i came out and showed michael the test. No line. The test was undeniably negative. I actually described it to my doctor as the pregnancy test giving me the finger. She laughed - but i was serious.
In the early hours of friday morning (without going into the details), i just knew i wasnt pregnant anymore. I woke and turned to michael and said 'i dont think im pregant anymore...'. I booked in to see my wonderful GP who after rushing through a blood test, confirmed at 5pm friday afternoon that i had miscarried at 5.5 weeks.
So after a few brief moments of grief, I am now extremelly excited for the future. I have been told for a very long time that due to my PCOS and Endometriosis that getting pregnant naturally would be very difficult - well i now know for certain that i can get pregnant. Happy days!
In writing this I really dont want any of you to feel sad for me and nor do i want sympathy. I want you to rejoice with me that i have extreme hope that one day i will have the family i desire.
As women, we should never feel that miscarriage is a taboo subject and we should not feel ashamed or guilty. A very large percentage of women will miscarry in their lifetime, and its just natures way of protecting us i feel.
So then where to from here? Well, for me, it has definantly put things in perspective and has put my priorities straight. No more comps for me. I need to get myself healthy and happy so that i can provide a wonderful environment for a child. Balance is the key, and its something i still struggle with, but something i need to get a handle on quickly. Maybe oneday after i have a child i will feel compelled to compete again, but for now - its not a consideration, and im ok with that.
If you take one thing away from this post i want it to be this. LISTEN to your body. Get in tune with yourself, nuture yourself. Its the only body you've got - look after it.
xx

Kettlebell madness and Oscar the dog

Well I keep saying im going to be a better blogger -and then weeks go by and i haven't written a thing! Things are pretty much the same in terms of comp prep for me, im doing what i need to do - about 90% of the time! This is partly because i no longer feel the burning desire to compete like I did last year - if i get there i get there if not, oh well. Like I said in my last blog post, its all about balance for me, so in order to start enjoying my workouts again i invested in...a kettlebell!
Its my new found workout LOVE! It is honestly one of the best ways to get a full blown all over body workout that leaves you sweating and swearing at your PT (sorry mick...and Tom!). I have noticed massive improvements since using the kettlebell and easing off the heavy weights. The higer intensity training just suits my physique better and gets me faster results - with the added bonus of it being fun. I really needed for my workouts to be enjoyable again, because we all know if its not fun anymore, we are likely not to keep doing it. I have the 12kg kettlebell at the moment but im in the market to upgrade now to the 16kgs as i can now do a 12kg one arm kettlebell swing - sound easy? Well give it a go and get back to me...
So in other news I had a photoshoot on friday night with the very talented Ms Lisa Ray (www.lisarayphotograpy.com.au). She needed a model to help her with some lighting for a big shoot she had the next day so i happily helped her out. It was great fun, Lisa is an amazing photographer and these images turned out gritty and alluring. I will post some once there ready...
On thursday night I met oscar. For those of you reading and dont know who Oscar is - well he is a stray dog that I rescued. The police had arrested 'Oscars' owner and had taken the owner away and left poor furry oscar tied to a pole in front of the Richmond Medical centre...go figure. The owner of the Richmond medical centre (who is a client at the studio) rang me and before i could stop myself i said 'sure ill come down and deal with him'....hmmm. So off i went and beautiful Oscar was such a beautiful staffy cross dog with a gorgeous personality and great manners (shook hands for food). I knew it would be hours before the Ranger came to collect him and at one point i thought we might need to take him home for the night, so thanks to Kate R's kindness (thanks hon!) off we went to Kates house up the road to...well bath him. You couldnt think up a funnier scene if you tried. Me, Kate and Oscar in gorgeous bathroom, bathing Oscar and...feeding him cheese slices. He was given his title whilst being dried (after kate asking if we should blow dry his fur..ummm no!) and Oscar seemed an appropriate name.
Whilst wandering back down to the studio we were informed by Mick that the Ranger was on her way and had been midly amused with the fact that strangers were bathing the dog up the road. So oscar was taken away and hopefully he is happy, warm and safe...
So there you have it, its been an interesting week.
Tomorrow im off to have a one on one session with Bio Signature Practitioner and Bodybuilding Coach Mark Ottbre. Mark and I have been friends since last July when he did my body fat testing on the day of my competition. Mark extended a hand to me after being concerned about my health due to my restrictive comp diet. My health has been woeful ever since last comp and so im off to see him to talk through some health issues and give me some ideas for my body and also for my clients in the future. Over the weekend we have been emailing info back and forth and im so fascinated to rack his brain over a tonne of nutritional stuff.
He is also an avid fan of functional and plyometrical workouts (which is similar to the kettlebell stuff i have been talking about)and not a fan of long steady state cardio - whichis what i did last comp prep. He also promises me that he can get my legs to lean down a lot faster and healthier than i could previously with a standard comp diet. This has been an ongoing issue for me - upper body i get very lean very quickly, and then it takes a lot to get my legs to come down. Anyway i will report back with how it goes, and i will also be attending a full day seminar with him in late sept which im also excited about.
Ok thats it people, keep your training consistent, your food clean and your smiles bright xx

Your mind is your weapon

Your mind is your most powerful ally. It can be your biggest foe - if you let it. This is the biggest mistake we all make at one time or another, we forget we have the choice to use our mind to our personal advantage.
My mind has been my enemy of late. Actually its been worse than an enemy, because instead of sabotaging me and giving me the opportunity to turn things around, it just decided to give me the silent treatment. I couldn't tap into my positive because my mind was not answering me - it had completley shunned me, broken down and left the party. I can't tell you how frustrated i have been. So where does that leave me with comp prep? Well im still in the game. Despite my ups and downs, i have still made really good gains over the last couple of weeks. g
The biggest question I get asked by friends, family and clients - 'are you on track?'...the answer is 'you better believe it!'.
Im holding a lot of fluid at present due to my elevated cortisol levels, but this will start to come down as i get mentally back on track.
So all of this has had me questioning things of late. Ive had a very stressful few weeks with events leaving me wondering what is important in life. What do I want out of life? Well i want to be fit and healthy, thats important - BUT i really want a better balance, something that comps will, and never can, give me. So after this years comps it will be a long time, if ever, before i compete again. I want to show clients and friends and family, that you dont have to compete to be a picture of strength and focus. I will hopefully continue to prep other girls for the stage, because i love the industry, but my body and my mind need a break.
The other thing that has become apparent to me just recently, is that having a family with my husband is so important to both of us. I recently turned 33, and although thats still relatively young, for child bearing, its not. I already suffer from Endometriosis and PCOS so my chances of having children is already limited and my chances of miscarriage are almost doubled...
So as part of this plan to rebalance my life I am back on fertility drugs to help 'the situation'!! Ok, so the downside is that fertility drugs and comp prep kind of dont go hand in hand - but its a risk im willing to take (to not get to the stage that is). I refuse to put that part of my life on hold any longer.
In having re-addressed this balance, im feeling calmer, happier and in control.
I have lots to look forward to in the coming months, i just dont know what it will consist of yet! Hmmm ive always loved a good surprise!
So what else has been going on? Well like i said i recently turned 33 and to celebrate Mick organised a surprise dinner for me...with a bunch of our closest friends! I rocked up to dinner thinking it was just Mick and I and surprise surprise there was a group of smiling faces there to greet us! It was wonderful and i thank all of you that were there from the bottom of my heart.
In other news Mick is currently doing a stint of personal training for....ROYALTY!!! No, im not joking! I cant say too much, but they are living at the Crown Casino for the next 4 weeks and wanted a PT for 5 nights a week whilst there here. Mick got the job, which he deserves because lets face it, he has earnt his well respected title of best PT after 12 years in the industry! Im very proud of him. He is chuffed that he is rubbing shoulders with people worth BILLIONs (no not kidding about that either!) and is learning very quickly that even though he does a PT session surrounded by body guards and has to refer to his client as Sir, that really they are just regular people who are easy to talk to. Oh and the money ROCKS! Ok thats really all i can say about that!
Alright im off to smash my legs people, so keep exercising, eating clean with the occasional treat and smile...it takes less muscles than frowning! xx

60 days...not that im counting or anything..

Yes so we start the descent...thank god. Im not goning to lie - this prep has been a biatch with PMS and a bad attitude. Let me explain. Since i competed last July in the INBA, I have wanted to compete again. I was really bummed that i never got around to competing in october last year - hey i was too busy eating.
My prep last year was tough, i had to try and build muscle, that i didnt have, and then try and trim all the fat, which i had a lot of, in 15 short weeks. It was a slow form of torture at times. At 15 weeks out i STARTED on 2 hours of cardio a day with weights chucked in!! I built up to 3 hours very quickly, and so my day consisted of 4hrs of workouts. So by the time i competed in July, the thought of having to maintain my physique for another 8-12 weeks for sept/oct comps had me convulsing. All i wanted to do was stay away from the gym, eat and socialise - something i hadnt done for 4 months.
I vowed then, that I would compete in the start of the year comps for 2011. Xmas came and went, new years came and went, and everytime i thought of having to cook up a batch of brocolli, chicken and sweet potato, i became panic stricken and ill at the thought - not a good sign. It just so happened too that my coaches were moving out of the area - and everything just felt off. So fast forward to April and i felt things coming together a bit more. I actually felt like prepping agaain and so i went in search of uber coach extrodinaire. Mega fail. Sometimes this industry can be chock full of egotistical d!ck wads - and boy of boy did i meet a couple in my search for the perfect coach.
I finally found Rosa, who in the end turned out to be a complete flop for me. A coach is supposed to be supportive, motivating and inspiring. I found myself completly unsupported and unmotivated, which is when Glenn (my uber coach) came back into the picture and put me back on track.
Long story short - i feel like i have been treading water with this prep for so long. I have been prepping for AGES, with little results because the fit wasnt right. Now with 8 weeks until the Canberra State Titles im pleased to say for the last 5 or so weeks i have been on fire with my prep and im finally seeing results.
My weight is slowly dropping, my body fat is really dropping now and im starting to feel lean and very much in control.
I was really tired last week, and i just feel amazing this week and am still pumping out the same weights as last week. Win! This means that whilst i still need to get super lean with any prep, maybe i will look more muscular this time round, i really hope so. I also havent had to do any more cardio than my 45 mins before breakfast and 30 mins in the afternoon (walking home from work usually knocks that on its head anyway). This may seem like a lot to some of you out there - trust me, this is a walk in the park!
So the 60 day count down is on and i intend to give it my all.
This weekend marks my 33rd birthday. Argghhh bummer. I hate getting older, and usually it means bday cake...Glenn thought i was kidding when i asked if it was still ok to have a bday cake. What? So sue me for asking.
Anyway, Michael is taking me out to a 'Glenn approved' restaurant that will do plain steak and green beans for me. Yaaaaa. Yep, thats sarcasm people. I will be indulging inn a little something, maybe a sliver of cake or share a dessert with Mick, and only because i have had a good drop this week in weight and body fat. Its all about balance.
So there you have it, my prep is on the downhill run and im excited to see the results that have already started to come. Bring on Sept 18th!
Til next time...xx

Did someone say tupperware?

I get a lot of people asking me how it is i can be so organised to eat up to 8 meals a day. Well i believe the time spent in the kitchen prepping clean meals is JUST as important as yout time spent in the gym lifting heavy. Ok, truth is, id much rather be in the gym lifting than cooking my meals - but its all part of the process with competing. So here is what it looks like in our kitchen every 4 days....





Yes, that is 20 containers...4 days worth of brocolli, chicken, rice, sweet potato and a couple of other bland things. Being prepared like this, is half the battle of prep and something most people are not willing to do - hence the small amount of competitors each year!
So today I had a session with my coach Glenn. Glenn is a maniac. Glenn makes me do things that i would never have dreamt possible. Case in point, i did 140kg leg press this afternoon. That is 2 of me plus my dog Niko - and Niko is not slim. Sorry Niko.
At one stage i had Glenn on one side spotting me and Michael on the other...you know your in serious trouble when u have 2 big boys spotting u! I thought i might throw up, or cry, or scream at Glenn - or possibly all 3 all at once...hmmm tricky. But i love it. I love to train heavy. I love the ache in my legs for days afterwards, and more importantly, i love how it makes my legs look on stage when i have stripped off the fat!
So prep is going awesome. I have put all my demons to rest and am not playing anymore. No one can do this but me, im in the right mindset - i know what to expect with prep so im mentally prepared when the going gets tough - and boy oh boy does it get tough...BUT you will never see me bitchy or narky or miserable in the gym. Oh tired for sure, no question. But never moody. I think being in contest prep and being moody has got a bad reputation. Clients say to me all the time 'oh poor Michael, your in prep, he better get used to the mood swings huh?!!".
Ummmm no actually, i dont allow myself to be aggressive, moody, bitchy or disrespectful of people just because im in prep and short on carbs. If you walk around moody all day, then you probably should think about partaking in a different sport. I think people tend to give themselves a hall pass cos their in prep. Well i dont think that way at all. Check your attitude at the door people - u choose how you behave, carbs or no carbs.
So im plugging away, making great progress and enjoying the process again. I love the support i get from my coach glenn, my husband, the trainers at our studio and the clients - so thanku all!
Oh surprise surprise its nearly time to eat again...til next time...xx

Bikinis and stripper heels...yes this is a sport

So the days are ticking over in my comp prep - in a good way. Things have finally clicked into place for me and im in that zone where i dont have to think about it - i just DO it. This, people, makes prep a breeze. The mental challenge with prep is trying to convince yourself, sometimes on an hourly basis, that you can keep going and you want to keep prepping. When things finally click into place mentally, its just easier.
So im about 11 weeks out to my first show in canberra and about 12 weeks out to my other comps on the central coast, sydney and melbourne. So we all know what that means...its bikini time!!!!
This is the equivalent to going wedding dress shopping - no, im not joking. So much thought and effort has to go into the stage bikini, because it can make you or break you. A bad colour or fit can make all those months of prepping a waste of time and effort. A good bikini can make the difference to placing in the competition. So this year im opting to go with the legendary Jo Rogers. Jo has been making bikinis for competitors for ever, and knows how a bikini should fit. Last year i opted for a fairly neutral bikini, bronze and gold colours. This year im going for something with a lot more dazzle and bling. But of course - you will have to wait to come see me, or photos for the big reveal! But let me say this - its GORGEOUS!
Im starting to feel a little fatigued this week, although im still trying to build my legs, im also in the process of dropping macros and calories, so the body has to work harder on less food.
Im starting to see the fruits of my labour...finally. Im in a much better position this far out than i was last year, so i should bring a much better physique to the stage this year - thats all i can hope for.
All my measurements are coming down and fat percentage is also steadily dropping. My posing is also getting much better, and im hitting some of the poses now with very little effort - win! To get on stage and be able to hit poses quickly and effortlessly is half the battle.
All in all, everything has dropped into place and im feeling strong and happy. I owe alot of this to my coach Glenn... he keeps me focused and calm, something a good coach should do at all times through prep.
Went to the INBA All females on saturday night - wow what an inspiration. Last year i was on stage not knowing what the hell i was doing! Now i can look at it from another perspective and see the areas i need to work on. All the girls looked amazing and there all winners just for getting up on stage. It has inspired me to do better still and I cant wait to step up on that stage again.
Ok im off to eat so keeping training hard and eating clean xx