Dear God, That Wasn’t a Challenge….

For the past 7 months I have looked to the sky and said, “you’re really bringing it!!” And I’m afraid God mistook this as a challenge. Life has been-what’s the word?– interesting….yes, interesting.

Tony and I taking a break from the 24 hour drive.

I finished my first official year as an MBA student (Yay!!),  competed in my 4th NGA competition in April (flexes abs), moved Tony from Wisconsin to Utah, got accepted into the Venture College (where I will be spending the next year starting my own business), my sister is currently fighting melanoma :(, and I have been dealing with the loss of my furry child Minnie (congestive heart failure-sudden and unexpected). Through the whirlwind of ups and downs, my eyes have been opened to the realities in life. Never challenge God.

I’m partially kidding about challenging God, but it really is unfortunate that it takes losing something very important to you to determine what matters most. Cliche right?

For me this was losing the daily companionship of my fiancé for going on 7 months, and the death of my seriously amazing, sweet, dog. The death of a pet is terribly hard. I pray I never come home to that again.

Minnie showing her love for Apple.

But from the words of Gary Allen, “every storm runs out of rain.” There are always embedded lessons in the challenges life brings.

Here is what I’ve learned:

• Never take your loved ones for granted- they may not always be there
• Also, never underestimate the difficulty of a long distance relationship. They are hard even on the strongest couples
• Hug your dogs EVERY single day. You are the coolest thing in the world to them
• Wear your damn sunscreen and be sure to see a dermatologist
• Take Make time for the people you care most about
• Take care of yourself. At the end of the day, depressed or not, go to the gym, and stay in your routines. You must be strong physically and mentally to endure life’s hardships
• Laugh- a lot; it helps

That’s my excuse on my lack of blog activity for the past few months. I appreciate your support and understanding. Try to remind yourself that there can be humor, happiness and lessons learned from every hard time in life. Always look for the positive- it’s buried in there somewhere.

My Best Kept Secret

Guess what? I just got back on Tuesday from visiting Tony in Wisconsin. 🙂 We had a great time. We went shopping at an outlet mall, and made the almost three hour drive to Minneapolis where we went to the Mall of America. Side note- if you are wanting to go to Mall of America, realize that it is just like every other mall, just much bigger. But do check out the store Typo, a must if you like office supplies and notebooks. We also spent a lot of time snuggling and just being with each other. Oh how I miss just being with him.

112 Eatery. We dined in their upstairs area. Very charming!

We ate at a couple of awesome restaurants. 112 Eatery for dinner and Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast. 112 Eatery had some really unique dishes that were carefully thought out and prepared perfectly. Hell’s Kitchen had all of the options I appreciated. Egg whites, buffalo sausage, buffalo steaks and burgers, and even lemon ricotta pancakes (divine!).

………I’m getting very side tracked, this post is about one of the best kept secrets.

I am SHOCKED at the amount of people who don’t know this resource exists…seriously, you are missing out.

Drum roll please—

Success Magazine. This magazine is geared towards entrepreneurs, but has great leadership, goal setting, health tips, etc.

Track Workout

Yesterday I did a track workout and a lower body workout.  Today, I can barely move and feel like I got ran over by a truck.

If you want to feel like you got ran over by a truck, try this track workout and then go to the gym and do some heavy squats and lots of dropsets. 😉

Okay, enough whining…..it was actually an awesome workout! My sisters (McKenzie and Morgan) and brother (Shayne) joined. We had a lot of fun while working our cans off.

6 x 400 m. runs (6 laps with a 1 min. rest in between laps)

4 x 100 m. sprints (1/4 of a lap- all out sprints- full recovery in between)

2 running long jumps (for fun)

30 tire flips (as fast as you can)

100 foot tire carry

5-10 minute cool down (light walking, jogging, etc.)

Try it out and let me know what you think. I can safely say my hiney and quads were on fire.

Enjoy your Monday and make it a great day by getting a good workout in!

Sweet Potatoes

We all have our staple foods in our diets. One of mine is sweet potatoes. I love them! They are easy to cook, last for a week in the fridge, and reheat very well- oh yes, and they are good for your body. (Rich in vitamin C, potassium, and they are a complex carbohydrate). Complex carbs give you sustained energy throughout the day. Complex carbs also help us stay “full longer,” which means you are less likely to overeat. Score!!!

I am going to share how I cook these nutritious little things.

Competition Prep 2013

I’ve decided to share my current competition prep.  I worked very, very hard the past year getting my overall calories up, so that I have more “working room.”  The picture below are my favorite supplements for the moment. I don’t always take a pre-workout (N.O. Explode) unless I feel like I’ve been dragging butt and need the energy boost.

The table below is an example of a moderate carb day*.

*I carb cycle, so I have moderate, high and low carb days depending on what workout day it is. For example, low carb days will fall on my cardio or rest days. High carb days fall on my weight days, typically lower body. Check out bodybuilding.com for examples of how you can carb cycle to help you achieve your peak conditioning.

My favorite supplements!

Keep in mind this is my mid-way through competition diet. My overall calories and macros will be dropping slowly until the big day! But, for those who are curious what a competition diet could look like, here goes.

The total calories for this day is 1650.

Macro breakdown:

Fat- 56 g.

Carbs- 146 g.

Protein- 134 g.

Meal 1	Meal 2	Meal 3	Meal 4	Meal 5
1/3 c. egg whites	¾ c. lowfat cottage cheese	4 oz. Chicken tenderloins	¾ c. lowfat cottage cheese	4 oz. chicken tenderloins
2 whole eggs	1 Plain lightly salted rice cake	136 g. sweet potato	1 cutie (mandarin orange)	136 g. sweet potato
½ c. Oatmeal	1 ½ tbsp. peanut butter		Coffee with 2 tbsp. creamer
½ oz. walnuts
2 tsp. brown sugar and 1tsp. Splenda
2 pieces of turkey bacon
Coffee with 2 tbsp. creamer

Be True to Yourself

“If you are being true to yourself and it isn’t enough for the people around you, change the people around you.”

I promise this will not be a rant post, although it may appear that way at times. But, I have recently came to an abrupt realization that I need to be true to myself.

I constantly get told that the way I ask questions, the way I say things, my views, etc. are too opinionated and come across as “bitchy.” I have tried to find books on how to cater to people’s personalities, without realizing a fundamental truth…..that’s who I am!!  I have long viewed my assertiveness as a character flaw instead of appreciating that that is what makes me unique.

I used to view being true to yourself as sunshine and rainbows, with everyone being kind to one another and not speaking your opinion if it hurts other people’s feeling. Seriously, I did and I know I’m not alone. People think that if you are confident or “bitchy,” you should change your personality. It’s not very nice to be that way. Stop it! This is a serious double standard.

Always remember, being true to yourself does not only apply when you are nice or portray other positive characteristics, it is also about embracing your perceived flaws. If you are abrasive…..GOOD FOR YOU! Don’t let people make you feel bad about your assertiveness. If you are a giving person…..embrace it. Just be true to who you are, no matter if it is perceived as a positive or negative characteristic.

Life Update

I thought I would give you all an update on my life! It’s been a while and lots has changed. I am back in the middle of competition prep again. I’m excited about this time around as I am starting my prep with 1700 calories a day and seeing changes. Yay! My latest progress picture.

My MBA program is going very well. I have been introduced to Net Impact, a graduate organization that focuses on sustainability and corporate responsibility. I was voted to be president, so I’m excited to bring some new energy and ideas to the club.

Tony and I went on a cruise for the first time during Christmas. Sadly, I was very motion sick and didn’t stay consistent enough on my Dramamine; but we had a great time, stopping at Cozumel and Grand Cayman. See pictures below of some of the highlights of the trip.

Top 8 Success Tips

“Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.”

– Jack Canfield

About a year ago, I listened to a Success magazine CD that featured Jack Canfield, co-founder of the billion dollar Chicken Soup for the Soul brand. Entranced by his indubitable insight and amazing ability to inspire me, I began to read more about Jack Canfield. Listen to part of his discussion by clicking here.

Did you know that Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by 123 publishers before someone finally said yes? Talk about tenacity!

Success isn’t just about how much money you make, although it can be a good measurement, it’s about taking what happens to you and developing skills that allow you to adapt quickly, easily, and functionally to life circumstances. Success is becoming a better person.

Jack gave 8 tips to success:

1.  Take 100% responsibility for your life
2. Pursue your passion
3. Be clear why you’re here
4. Believe it’s possible
5. Believe in yourself
6. Act “as if.” As if you already have everything you want
7. Unleash the power of goal setting (my favorite!)
8. Be of service to others

Do you agree with theses? What can you do to implement these tips into your daily lives?

The Candy Man: My Introduction to Entrepreneurship

This candy represents some of the earliest business lessons I learned.

At the ripe age of 10 years old, I received my first lesson in entrepreneurship. My father owned a pallet distributing business, so we got to know a lot of the truck drivers. One of my all time favorite people was “the candy man.” About once a month, the candy man would come and pick up a load of pallets from my father’s business, which was conveniently located next door to our home. As you may have guessed, the candy man carried a trailer full of candy. We would buy boxes, and I mean BOXES full of candy for about $5 a box.

My childhood was full of entrepreneurship and cavities.

Like any 10 year old, I looooved candy! But we were getting so many chewy Sprees and giant chewy Sweetarts, that after a couple of weeks, I was sick of eating candy. I worked in my dad’s business building pallets and making $1.50 per pallet I made. I learned that I could build 10 pallets in one hour making $15.

Day 730

Today marks the day that I decided  to change my life. On October 15, 2010, I decided to start training for figure and bikini competitions. I was depressed, unhappy with my image and knew that I needed to change. I didn’t even fathom that it would affect my life so much.  It’s crazy to look back and see the changes in my body and most importantly my self worth.  My workout tonight marks my 730th day of my new lifestyle.

I used to be motivated by how others perceived me. Now, 2 years later, my motivators have changed. Instead of thinking, “I need to look better than her,” I look at my pictures and say, “I need to look better than I did at my last competition.” I’ve learned that everyone is so different, and the only person you have to beat is yourself. You will prove to be your biggest competitor. I have learned more about myself in my 2 years since my lifestyle change, than I have in anything in my life. I found that I am not only stronger than I thought I was, but I have learned discipline, perseverance, and self respect.

Tony and I were talking a few days ago about how I feel my training after every competition gets harder. I now know why. Every day I get more passionate about health and fitness and that is being directly reflected in my training.

It hasn’t always been easy. I remember days where I didn’t want to go to the gym because I had literally fainted the day before, had pounding migraines, was sick, was too tired, would rather watch TV, had a ton of homework, or was so sore I could barely sit to pee, let alone do squats. But I kept working through all of it. That’s thing about the path less taken….. while other people are throwing in their towels, you are becoming even more dedicated to your goals.

So here’s to me! It’s been 2, extremely difficult and very rewarding, years. I hereby lift my protein shake!