Lucky 7

7th place for my first show?! I WILL TAKE IT!

Three more weeks until Hayward and six weeks until Culver City

Gotta get top 3 to qualify for the USA in Vegas!

The past 4 months have been the happiest I've ever felt in my life

I never would have thought 6 months ago that it would be possible

to be standing here looking like this, feeling like this

confident, humble, and healthy

i feel totally unstoppable

it all started with me saying "damn it if they can do it why can't I?"

now maybe I can motivate others to ask themselves the same thing.

all you need is the powerful combination of WANT and BELIEF 

& finding that fire within yourself every day 

WE GOT THIS!

6 days out

I have shocked myself with my own determination. Before getting a coach, dieting, and prepping for competition I didn't think I had any willpower. I would do the same thing that most people do everyday begin to eat well in the morning and then fail when it became dark. I cut my calories too low or I stacked my protein too high and while I was seeing drastic changes in my body after I discovered the Paleo lifestyle and HITT training, I thougt to myself... what's next?

Im training so hard twice a day but Im disorganized and with no particular goal in mind. My fire was heading towards a fuse out. Keeping motivated literally through the internet and posts that I would put up daily on my pages and blog, started to inspire other people and I began getting floods of emails asking for advice, sharing their own success stories and downfalls, and encouraging words. I would have never thought in a million years I would be able to enter into a competition, let alone have a shot at doing pretty good. I watched my first competition live at the LA Fitness Expo in Los Angeles in late January and the intense competitor in me knew at first sight I didn't care how much I had to lose.... "Bring it on".  

Screw it. If they can do it why cant I? 

I threw away my excuses. I didn't have the money or the working hours to even try to make the amount of money to afford the fee's, the coach, the accessories but I did anyway. Honestly it was even better that I had to struggle and work really hard to be able to begin this sport. It forced me to be extremely dedicated. If I was going to spend all this money, time, effort and give up my social life, why would I cheat on a meal or skip the gym? It would be unthinkable. So here I am 6 days out from my first competition and Im mentally and physically, 100 percent ready. Im so confident that I will do well because I have given more effort everyday for the past two months than I ever have anything in my life. I feel happy, I feel strong, I'm going to rock that stage like nobody's business :) Leggo!

(Will put up pictures from competition for the final reveal of my new body, stay tuned!)

To cheat or not to cheat?!

Cheat meals are they a do or a don't?
I believe it all depends on your goals and what personally works for you.
I stay away from cheating all together during my prep for competition and its completely out of the question now that I am about a week out from the big day.
However what about everyone else and what about after the competition "season" is over?
I've heard of athletes staying away from cheat meals no matter how far away the competition and on the other hand I have heard of people who swear by the one cheat day a week system.
For some people including me a little nibble here and a drink there is enough to send me down a slippery slope of bad habits. Sure nothing happens overnight but especially if your JUST starting to clean up your eating habits, I would avoid cheat meals all together for the first three weeks.
Now, for the cheaters... this does NOT give you permission to overindulge all day on junk food in large quantities. (You can literally ruin a whole weeks worth of training and dieting on a binge of one day!)
Pick ONE meal of the day to eat a not so good for you item. Keep the portion reasonable and keep a clean eating schedule for the remainder of the day. Eat slowly and enjoy.
After three to four weeks of straight clean eating you will actually stop craving the junk and start craving REAL food when your hungry. Just remember if you do choose to enjoy occasional "cheat" meals stop yourself from thinking it was a REWARD from the good habits of the week. This turns the focus on eating crap as a REWARD and we are not dogs, we do not reward ourselves with food. Do something for yourself instead like going and getting a massage :)
Happy day everyone xo

Tips on how to stay motivated

1. Keep track of your progress
Take a picture of yourself tomorrow morning and dont look at it again for another two weeks. You don't have to show anyone and it doesnt have to be any sort of flattering. But in the long run.... 6 months from now... it can be a huge motivation to look back at that picture and see and say "wow, look how far I've come".
Same with measuring body fat and weight. It's a good back up to see your progress if your weight stays the same and your body fat is getting lower :)

2. Start your day off right.
Write down and schedule when and what your workout will be for the next day. Whether its making time for a 20 minute walk or mapping out and entire weight training workout. If you make a point to schedule your activity or meals like you would schedule a meeting or a hair appointment, your more likely to go through with it.

3. Cruise the internet ALL the time.
I personally start off in the morning by reading motivational quotes, pictures, and role models. It starts off your day right and gives you the "I CAN DO THIS"! energy that will carry through the day.

4. Don't guilt trip yourself.
If you messed up on your diet the day before or didn't have time to do the workout you wanted, JUST DROP IT. Bringing negative energy into the next day will do the opposite of motivate you to get back on track. Give yourself a break and know that breaking old bad habits wont happen overnight its OK!.

5. Get a support system.
It can be a make or break if the crew you flock with isn't on the same page as you or at least supportive of your new lifestyle changes. This is what I call, separating your true friends from your 'party only' friends. Some people even feel threatened and will try to put you down! This is where keeping on forums like bodyrock.tv or bodybuilding.com is a great place to get that daily outside motivation.
And hey, leading by example is the most powerful thing you can do. Don't preach to anybody about their lifestyle habits just do what you do and I guarantee you will inspire others around you!

6. Focus and remind yourself:
Of how good your going to look and feel after you program. Envision how amazing you will feel and feel as if you already have it NOW!

Learn how to eat things plain

BBQ sauce with chicken. Ranch on our salad. Mayonnaise dip with the artichoke.Sugar with our coffee Salt on our vegetables. Butter on our bread. 

We cover our delicious nutritious food with empty calories, sodium, and sugar. Why? Because we've trained our taste buds to crave this stuff!This bloats us, helps us hold onto fat, and add calories to our days without satisfying our hunger. I challenge everybody for 2 weeks to eat PLAIN and get excited about it! Because were finally going to learn how to taste the food how the earth made it!

I guarantee by the end of the challenge you will start to be able to taste how really "sweet" and apple can be and how delicious and refreshing vegetables can taste. When your hungry you will eat and when your full it'll be easier to notice and stop because there will be no added pops of "flavor" to intise you to 'just have one more serving!' :)

This may be harder for some than others. Here is a list of exceptions to keep from boredom.

Mustard

Low Sodium Hot Sauce

Low Sodium Salsa

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Pepper

Low Sodium Salt

Basil

Garlic Powder

Arugala

Cumin

Or any other no sodium spices :)

BODY FAT FAT FAT

So the results are in. Im officially at 12 percent body fat. WOW what a shock and relief that all this hardwork and daily sacrafices to my diet and the gym are paying off! I am set to walk the stage at my first bikini competition April 14th in Culver City alongside my coach and Team Fox family :)
I am proof you can do whatever you put your mind to, can you believe I replaced 10lbs of fat with muscle in as little as 4 months? I still cant swipe this smile off my face.

How did I do it? Heres a few tips for anyone looking to blast fat fast. Now this is my list of tips of what worked for me. Everything works differently on everybody though so keep that in mind. I say this because everyone seems to have their own strong opinions on diet and exercise.

#1. Change your diet to a clean diet FIRST. THEN start counting calories, protein, fat and carbs but not until eating healthy becomes a habit.

#2 If you cant control overeating a certain food? simply eliminate it, its never good to have too much of anything even if its healthy. A little self disipline is exercised here.

#3 Keep your meals simple. One ingredient foods such as chicken, cauliflower, olive oil. Doritos have 43 ingredients for example.

#4 Sweat during your cardio. Constantly change the incline, speed, level, and equipment. Shock your body everytime.

#5 Do one minute sprints instead of long running.

#6 Get your heart rate up at least once EVERYDAY. 10 minutes here and there actually do add up in the end so get it moving! (splitting your workout into two different sessions works wonders, if you have time do cardio at night and weight training later in the evening)

#7 Pre package your food. Yeah it takes time but it keeps you from making wrong food choices during the day.

#8 Drink a cup of green tea with every meal! Boosts your metabolizim like crazy.

#9 Eat protein 30minutes to an hour after a workout, even if it was a light workout.

#10 Write down the exercises and number of sets you are planning to do BEFORE you go to the gym. It holds you accountable to finish what you wrote down and helps you aviod the confusion of all the equipment at the gym.

#11 Skip the random beer or glass of wine. I cant stress enough how alcohol makes it impossible to lose fat.

#12 Stay away from beans (hummus, green beans, edamame etc), legumes, peanuts and regular potatoes. They're toxic to our body :(

#13 Look at labels hard before you buy. Stay with items that have sugar contents lower than 6 grams per serving

#14 Juice and sports drinks add up! I only drink water, Id rather eat my nutrients.

#15 Save carbohydrates for before intense workouts. You dont need them unless your a triatholon runner. Look at labels I only eat 1-2 servings of complex carbs a day. about 50 grams of the 100 grams of carbs I eat per day. Boost up you fat intake to you burn your body fat for fuel instead.
(Note: Avocado, Coconut Oil, and Olive oil)

#16 Eat a couple cups of veggies with every meal. Its a good habit and helps take up a bulk of food to keep you full.

#17 No dairy. (Meaning: no cheese, no yougurt, no milk. no exceptions

#18 Do the workouts that you dread. Chances are you probablly need to work on that area, thats why its hard.

#19 No soy. Too much estrogen in the products and makes it difficult to lose fat.

#20 Hold yourself accountable! Take pictures. Set up a plan to email your food and training log to eachother everyday and stop rewarding yourself with food, you are not a dog! :))

Happy Tuesday everyone <3

whats your favorite healthy meal to make?

Mine is ground turkey cooked in coconut oil with cauliflower garlic "mashed potatoes" and some avocado! 

What's your favorite healthy meal or snack???