…Seeing results and feeling the change…in my life.

…Seeing results and feeling the change…in my life.

When I signed up for HyperShred I told myself not much would change in my life. Yes, I would be committed to consistency in workouts and diet which would create physical change but I didn’t realize the affect it would have on my life and those surrounding me. It’s a unique feeling to me to hear others confirm that I have helped motivate them and change them by listening to my story and watching my progress. It drives me. It motivates me. Today marks 7 weeks complete, 5 weeks till HyperShred comes to a conclusion, 7.5 weeks until 2012 NPC SoCal commence and I proceed to my next great goal while never quitting the new lifestyle that’s aided in changing my life.

Earlier on and in my introduction I lightly touched on the struggles of my teenage years and the obstacles I have been trying to overcome. This dedication to something healthy, changing my body and my life and my mentality has just been the short list of beneficial changes I’ve experienced in less than two months. A little story: Months ago I confided in a friend of my struggles with various eating issues. I can’t ever say they were severe to the point of completely depleting my body but it was a constant mind battle that left me rarely enjoying anything I consumed. This past weekend we met again and she brought to my attention that not once has this problem occurred since. I’ve been so focused on eating consistent healthy meals to fuel my intense workouts to achieve my idea of success in both competitions and in my life that I feel like I have been freed from the imprisonment of eating disorders. I couldn’t respond because I was in awe of the freedom my new lifestyle had created. For once, I’m not bound by the chains of consuming thoughts of being too fat or too skinny but I can live each day knowing that I am healthy and love my life. To this I thank my God and my new found life style of living fit.

Just a Bump in the Road

SICK!!! Are you kidding me? A catch a cold maybe once year but rarely does it stop me from getting my workouts in unless it's this particular head cold causing difficulty breathing and an inability to stand up for long periods of time due to dizziness...Can you say discouraging?

I took the opprotunity to give my body a chance to rest for two days in hopes it would be gone over night. NEGATIVE! During this time I did thorough research on nutrition and meals for the next phase of my plan. I don't know how I will every be able to eat 30 oz of lean protein a day. Recently, I've been directing all my energy to bulking and building muscle mass, not a single day of cardio in a month. The biggest difficulty I have had is consuming enough calories, that and recent negativity from others.

I really have to define my reasons for pursuing this lifestyle and embarking on this journey to my first every NPC competition. As much encouragement as I have received, I have also received an equal amount of discouragement from those surrounding my life. "Don't be grandma, you can stay out late." "I like women who are more petite and don't have so much muscle." "If you're sick you shouldn't be working out." "Stick to bikini, you don't want to become a She-Man." "Let me watch you. That's too much weight for a little girl." It motivates me to want to prove those Debbie Downers wrong..."You don't think I can do it. Watch me!" People ask me all the time what motivates each day to wake up and not give up. I am motivated by the people who've told me I can't. My life has been about showing people I can.

On another note, I tried a sample of ON's AmiN.O.s. Too sweet for my liking but hopefully it produces good results. As usual, I'll make sure to post a review. In addition, I made Jamie Eason's  Orange Almond Biscotti. Can you say DELISH!?! With only 31 calories, 4 grams of fat and 4 grams of carbs per serving, these are a great treat. See below:

Ingredients:

2 cups Oat Flour

1 cup Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tbsp Orange Extract

tsp Salt
tbsp Almond Extract

4 Egg Whites

4oz baby food Applesauce

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix
dry ingredients (oat flour, baking powder, salt) together in a large bowl.

3. Mix
wet ingredients (egg whites, Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal, almond extract, orange
extract, baby food applesauce) together in a medium bowl.

4. Add
wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.

5. Spray
baking sheet with a non stick butter spray and spread mixture on sheet.

6. Bake
for 20 min on middle rack.

7. Remove
biscotti from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

8. Cut
dough down the middle and cut into about 13 slices.

9. Bake
in oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Makes about 26 cookie

A Week of Firsts

Burning we excitement and determination would describe my week of firsts. Things are different. I always say ill eat clean and train hard but when no ones looking ill cheat myself. What's one candy bar going to hurt? Well what if promise to hit it harder next time? I made a commitment to stay true to myself and to give it my all to transform my life. Ive stuck to the plan. Ive eaten the right stuff. Ive hit the weights harder than ever. I'm determined!

This week marked another personal best. This 114 pound girl benches pressed 110 pounds! Four more pounds to go and I can bench myself. I set goals for myself. The must be measurable goals however. If I don't have define.ed boundaries and expectations then I fall. But when I am able to obtain or achieve something measurable its like a surge or energy and motivation to push it to a whole new level. I love it!
I was also recognized as this week hyper shred weekly winner. Not only do I feel confident that I'm giving my all at the gym and with my diet but I feel recognized for trying to motivate others through the forum and independently through messaging to reach their own goals.

I talked with a few close loved ones this week about my ambitions of being a stage bikini competitior. To. E honest I wasn't sure I would have their support but they were almost as excited about it as I am. It feels great to have a parents approval.this week I watched a few competitions and am beginning to practice the poses. Got some great advice from many here.

I just purchased an order of hyperFX and I will be reviewing it to post for all. I eat, drink, breathe BSN products so I am quite excited about their latest. Ill make sure to keep you posted.

Is My Plate Too Full?

Written March 4th, 2012

I'm reaching the end of week 1 of the Hyper Shred Transformation. Its been a real kick in the ace. Between emotion stress from life, working the 8am-5am, and remember what I can and cannot eat, my chaoticness has reached a strong point. I took this weekend as an opprotunity to check myself and stamp out my priorities and figure out a way to get organize.

First, I stocked up on supplements. A Multi, L-Carnatine, Hyper Fx, and Gold Standard's Whey - Check, check and check.

Then, I did shopping for the week: egg whites - check, - chicken breast - check, cottage cheese - check,  and turkey for Jamie Eason's Turkey Meat Muffins. -Check!

Finally, I felt like I had structure again. I hit the gym on a legs day and killed. From Sumo Squats to Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, I killed it all. I avoided 1RM max as this time I am trying to achieve something different, bulk then definition. To top that, I am training my best friend and we owned the stairs at the beach for an hour. I'm feeling it today but also feeling like my head is back in the game.

I never thought I could eat five eggs in a morning but today I managed to do so and am feeling pump for my shoulders day but first, I can't avoid an upper 70 degree day in March. I'm getting my tan on! To the beach!!! Anyone wanna join

Until next time...keep pumping.

Three Things That Saved My Life.

A bit about me:

I had everything a young girl could ever want: loving parents, solid roof over my head, friends friends and more friends, but today I look back and would define my past self as a troubled youth. I got caught up in all the wrongs of the world simply to find failure when searching for success and acceptance. Three things changed my life and saved me from my own doom: God, loved ones, and dedication to the gym. Fitness became a way of life. It kept me sober and strong choosing workouts and healthy eats instead of other substances and unhealthy drinks. This is my story, how fitness change my life and how again I will depend on it to help me through life's obstacles. Join me these twelve weeks as I enter the journey to transformation.

 Life's been a breeze since I married my husband but recently its thrown some curve balls our way creating stress that most individuals experience: Job stress, finances, uncertainties of life, can we afford a house in this market? I don't have some crazy story like some, I already lived mine, but I needed something to focus on, something to be dedicated to, something to motivate me so that my stress wouldn't own me and fall back in to my self-destructive ways...Then came The Hyper Shred Challenge...

 My goal...to change my life and to touch another's.

Before pics...ugh...guess that's why I am here, reaching out to each of you for tips and tricks, committed to a challenge that will change my life, the way I eat, the way I live.

Stay tuned for more. Thanks for reading

Specs Of A Medic

My Sweet Medic @ Pala

The man that my God has created to be my soul mate, my better half, my husband, is a man of noble character and has a heart of gold. His life long career goal: to serve others and change lives. I'm so proud of you Micah. 6 more weeks...

When God made paramedics, He was into His sixth day of overtime.
An angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
God said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

A Paramedic has to be able to carry an injured person up a wet, grassy hill in the dark,
dodge stray bullets to reach a dying child unarmed,
enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch,
and not wrinkle his uniform."

"He has to be able to lift three times his own weight.
Crawl into wrecked cars with barely enough room to move,
and console a grieving mother as
he is doing CPR on a baby he knows will never breathe again."

"He has to be in top mental condition at all times,
running on no sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals,
and he has to have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," God replied.
"It's the three pairs of eyes a medic has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

God nodded. "One pair that sees open sores as he's drawing blood,
always wondering if the patient is HIV positive."
(When he already knows and wishes he'd taken that accounting job)

"Another pair here in the side of his head for his partner's safety.
And another pair of eyes here in front
that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say,
"You'll be alright ma'am when he knows it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching His sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't," God replied.
"I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound
drunk out from behind a steering wheel
without incident and feed a family of five on a private service paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the Paramedic very slowly.
"Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet", God said.
"It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses;
recite drug calculations in it's sleep;
intubate, defibrillate, medicate, and continue CPR
nonstop over terrain that any doctor would fear...
and it still keeps it's sense of humor."

"This medic also has phenomenal personal control.
He can deal with a multi-victim trauma,
coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door,
comfort a murder victim's family,
and then read in the daily paper how Paramedics were
unable to locate a house quickly enough,
allowing the person to die.
A house that had no street sign, no house numbers, no phone to call back."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Paramedic.

"There's a leak," she pronounced.
"I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model."
"That's not a leak," God replied, "It's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled up emotions,
for patients they've tried in vain to save,
for commitment to that hope
that they will make a difference in a person's chance to survive, for life."
"You're a genius!" said the angel.

God looked somber.

"I DIDN'T PUT IT THERE" He said.

Without Love, We Are Not

Prior to saying "I do" on April 30th, 2011, Honorary (Uncle) Sig read 1 Corinthians 13 to Micah and I. "...Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong...Love never fails..." True love is absolutely divine. It is beautiful to watch a love so powerful that it may allow for passionate expressions or non-condemning forgiveness.

Love has an abundance of descriptive words that can be used to express its greatness. Love is always accepting. It is appreciating. It is wanting someone to be filled with joy and happiness. God has filled my life with every aspect of it to a point where I cannot comprehend the magnitude of the love that I have been bound in. My life is filled with His blessings.

For Micah, no special occasion is needed nor an excuse made to find a reason to cover me in love. My sweet man worked 48 hours straight but when I arrived home yesterday he pampered me with the classic wine and dine: a delicious syrah paired with an infamous American meal: meat and potatoes. Sirloin and fingerlings are one way to win my heart. I've never met another man so expressive of his feelings. The romantic in him never dies. I strive to express my love for him as deeply has he communicates his for me. I asked him some time ago why he went out of his way so frequently to pamper me. His response I'll never forget, "I don't do these things for anyone except you nor have I ever, but I do because I love you."

Relationships have been put in our lives as opportunities to love others: another one of God's many blessings. We've been given a gift to display His love through our ability to love others. A little glimpse of God's perfect love and unexpected surprises came to me in the form of a precious friend I will always cherish.  It's a love that only true relationships possess. It's full of smiles and happiness. It overflows with warmth and encouragement. It motivates each other to strive for constant growth sometime with hard convicting love. It holds each other accountable for the choices we make and the lives we live. But most importantly our treasured friendship is built from the ground up with a spiritual faith and common relationship with Christ. This is our strongest bond: the love of Christ.
"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three stands is not quickly broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:12

With the races through life and jumping to complete task after task it becomes easy to forget the need for unconditional love. We don't want to forget its need yet as humans we sometimes do. As Uncle Sig read 1 Corinthians 13 at our wedding, it reminded me of the effort and hard work needed to display love for others. I have committed with my sweet friend to memorize this passage as a reference and constant reminder to love one another always because without love we are nothing.