Dieting

I don't know why, but this time around dieting has been much easier for me. Not that I enjoy it, because there are certainly times that I'd rather be eating pizza than steamed broccoli. Still, I don't have the urges and compulsions to cheat like I used to.

When I was training for a figure competition I really had a hard time resisting sweets. I'd also get really angry if anyone insinuated that I wasn't allowed to eat "forbidden" foods. I knew I wasn't supposed to eat chocolate (and lots of other things), but having people say it to me just really p*ssed me off. Then occasionally I'd sneak and eat things I wasn't supposed to when I was alone.

This is what I refer to as "closet eating", since I didn't tell anyone and I didn't let anyone see me. Sad, I know. How pathetic is it to hide and eat snack foods? Very.

Anyway, I know that I only wind up cheating myself when I do these sorts of things. This time around I haven't had the urge to "closet eat" on this diet, which makes me happy. I think having been through this process before makes it much easier for me this time. I've lost a little over six pounds so far. Now only about 20 more to go! :)

Weight Loss, Revisited

I am getting back into the habit of eating sensibly (which is a big struggle for me). I'm hoping to be able to do another figure competition this year, but I don't know if I'll be ready to or not. Possibly by the fall. I'll have to see how I do on my current workout schedule and diet.

I've somehow managed to drop 5 lbs. in the last three days. I'm thinking most of it is probably water weight, so I'll likely see some of that reappear the next time I get on the scales.

I've had a rough year and a quarter as far as my fitness goals go. Since I had my car accident, which gave me whiplash and a bulging disc in my lower back, I was unable to do many kinds of exercise and I was only able to exercise at a lighter intensity. Then I began taking Abilify a few months ago and I promptly went from about 155-160 lbs. to 175 lbs. I haven't weighed this much since I was nine months pregnant with twins (I topped out at 179 when I was pregnant, which was a total gain of 44 lbs.).

Anyway, I'm hoping that I stick with things this time and don't allow stress and depression to distract me from eating right and kicking a** in the gym. :)

Tosca Reno

I went to the Arnold Classic yesterday for a little while and was able to watch the bikini competition. I wanted to see a friend compete in the figure competition, but my back hurt from standing and watching.

Anyway, I was also able to meet with the people from Oxygen. I saw Monica Brant, Robert Kennedy (the publisher/owner), and some other buff people at their booth as well.

Anyway, I also got to have my picture taken with Tosca Reno. She also signed her book for me. She was really nice and just as buff in person as she is in her pics in the magazine. : )

I look like a frumpy couch potato in this pic! Still, I figured that I'd share it. (Besides, I started working out again and doing Crossfit classes, so I don't think I'll be looking like a frumpy couch potato for long!)

Back to the Gym- Finally!

I have finally gotten a new gym membership. Having been mostly non-exercising or only doing very light exercises since December of 2009, I am really out of shape. I was in the best shape of my life in October/early November of 2009. I had just competed in a figure competition (the Monster Mash in the Cincinnati area). I didn't place well, in part due to being nervous and not posing well and in part because there were some awesome, buff competitors in my class. Still, I was psyched about trying another competition in early 2010.

Those dreams went out the window when I was rear-ended in a seemingly mild car wreck. The following day I was nauseated, sore, had a migraine, and had low back pain. I was so dizzy that I didn't want to move. Maybe this was karma getting back at me for thinking that whiplash was something people claimed to have in hopes of getting pain and suffering money. Now I know that anyone who has whiplash deserves pain and suffering. It caused me to have daily headaches for about 4-5 months, and in addition I had a migraine roughly ever week to every other week.

Even packing groceries to the house from the car caused pain to radiate from my neck down to my upper arms. My low back pain causes sitting for extended periods of time to be painful to this day. Doing lunges and squats causes a tight, mildly painful sensation in my low back and butt. Fortunately they don't appear to cause post-workout pain or problems though.

I am on the track to getting back in shape, and I am very excited about it. I hope to lose thirty pounds, which will put me about 5 pounds heavier than I was the day I got in the car wreck. I know it will take time, but I am excited to get back in shape!