Recipe for Fitness - Tabitha: 2006 Figure Show Transformation

If this doesn't motivate you, nothing will!

Recipe for Fitness - Tabitha: 2006 Figure Show Transformation: I have been asked a many times to post and share my pictoral journey from my figure competition. My hesitancy has been due to the fact tha...

Fitness Case Study - Week Five Recap

You might remember that earlier in the month I was pretty panicked about some traveling I had to do.  Well... 

I MADE IT!

It was a whirl-wind trip to Texas to visit my husband's family.  We flew out at 6:00 am on Monday the 19th and returned to Michigan at 12:30 am on Saturday the 24th.  That put us home at about 2:30 am and by 9:00 am we were back on the road to deliver my two oldest kids to their dad, who lives about 2.5 hours away.  We then visited with my parents, who live about 20 minutes from where my ex-husband lives, and returned home on Sunday night, the 25th, at about 6:00 pm.  WHEW!!!

Obviously, during this traveling, I couldn't let my work on the case study falter.  So, let's see, we had air travel with 3 kids (2 of whom had never flown), many hours of car travel since we were back and forth between different cities in Texas, unfamiliar gyms so I could keep up with my training and following my meal plan to the letter while everyone around me ate cookies, candy, Christmas dinner and more.

I am not an experienced traveler.  As a matter of fact, until my hubby & I had got together, I had only flown once in my entire lifetime.  I was totally freaked out by the idea of trying to maintain my work on the case study while being away from home.  I couldn't imagine how I could be away and still keep up with my training.  It can be done. (Tips to follow in a later post.) What you must do is:  plan, plan, PLAN!  Thank you to all of you that provided input and suggestions as I began developing my blueprint for the trip.  Your help was indispensable to my success!  :)

I found a Bally's in San Antonio that would let me in without a member escort so that's where I trained the first two workouts.  It was a nice gym and I was able to get an excellent workout both days.  The third day, I trained at the Y-Center in Austin.  That was an absolutely beautiful facility!  Again, mission accomplished!  Here's what my kids did while I was sweating at Bally's:

They ate at WHATABURGER!  Grooosssss!!!

I managed to follow my food plan while I was away.  I ate out of baggies while on the road and got some strange looks but it worked out.  I realized on Tuesday, on my way to the gym, that I didn't have a fork with me to eat my lunch with.  Couldn't let that stop me though:

Who needs a fork when you've got fingers?  It's time to eat!

    

All in all, it was a very successful week.  I'm proud of what I accomplished and won't be quite as nervous the next time I have to travel.

Happy Tuesday, dear reader!

      

Fitness Case Study - Week Four Recap

I'm baaaaaaaaack!  Week four was successful and I grew physically, mentally and emotionally. I made a decision during this week to turn a dream into a reality.  At some point in the future, I am going to participate in a Figure Competition!  I haven't committed to a particular show yet because I don't know what a realistic time frame for me to do this in would be.  So I have some home work and research to do in order to "figure" it out.  ;)  But... it'll happen.

My birthday happened to fall during week four and my girlfriends got together and threw me a surprise party.  It worked out perfectly because we were all going to be together anyway since we were celebrating one of my friend's son's birthday that day.  My friends know me very well and knew that I wouldn't eat birthday cake but wanted to honor my special day someway so here's what they came up with:

Yes, that's right!  It's a hard boiled egg!  LOL!!!

It'd been a long time since I'd laughed that hard!  Definitely a day I'll never forget.

Happy Tuesday, dear reader! 

Does Weight Weigh Heavy on your Mind?

As a participant of the Fitness Case Study, I was given a homework assignment this weekend. I was asked to write about "What Goal Weight Means to Me".  Earlier in the week, both Chelle and Tabitha had written thought provoking blog posts about "goal weight".  Click on their names to read their posts.  

I enjoyed the assignment and appreciated the journey completing it took me on.  Click HERE to read "What Goal Weight Means to Me".  Just scroll down the page a little bit to find the essay. 

Fitness Case Study - Week Three Recap

I am woman... HEAR ME ROAR!

Week three of the case study brought with it some really incredible workouts!  Again, there were exercises I've never done and exercises I didn't think I was capable of doing.  As has been the case thus far, Tabitha knew exactly what she was doing and I was able to experience using muscles that I didn't know I had.  LOL, she's not called the "World's Greatest Trainer" for no reason!  She knows what's up!

The one thing I was positive I would NOT be able to do was a 60 second side bridge.  It was really, really hard and I shook like a leaf blowing in the winter wind but I DID IT!  WaHooo!  

I think "fun time" is over folks.  There was a big difference in these workouts this week.  Week three was not a "feel good, warm and fuzzy, happy workout" week.  I grunted, groaned and mustered up strength and courage I didn't know I had. I dug deep and pulled energy from the earth beneath my feet to complete some of the reps.  I feel like I'm turning a corner in my training journey and it's a one way road.  One of my goals this week is to begin some visualization exercises to work on the brain / body connection.  I need to focus on what I'm creating instead of what I currently have.  I find myself getting discouraged when I don't see instant results.  Remember the movie, Field of Dreams?  There was that infamous line, "If you build it, they will come.".  Well, the weight room is my "field of dreams" and if "I build it (my physique), they (muscles) will come".

ZOOOOMMMM!

Of course, the most important part of building a great physique is what you eat and I'm still doing plenty of that.  Thank God for it because if I was trying to do these workouts and still consuming the piddly amount of food I was eating before I started the case study, I would NOT be able to them!  There is no way I could train like this in an "under-fueled" state.  I'm runnin' on racing fuel, baby!

Well, I have a very busy week ahead of me as we are getting ready to travel next week.  Should make for an interesting week four recap, though.  I'll be talking about what it's like to travel while on the plan, walk into an unfamiliar gym and have a successful workout, how to make sure you eat what you oughta' while on the road and more! Stay tuned!

Happy Monday, dear reader!  

   

Recipe For Fitness is Going LIVE!

Hey everybody!  I want to let you know that the girls at Recipe For Fitness have been working hard and part of the site is now LIVE!!  It's the "One Day Food Prep for Success" page and it's awesome!  Now you can learn how to eat clean the simple way.  It's a fail proof plan, do what these gals tell you and YOU WILL SUCCEED!  You gotta check it out!

Happy Friday, dear reader!

Fitness Case Study - Week Two Recap

Week two of the Fitness Case Study is complete and I AM GROWING!!!  Only just a little bit, but I'm starting to see changes in my physique and I am sooo excited!  It was another fantastic week, I felt great and increased the weight on the majority of the exercises I did.


I did good sticking with my food plan but had a little mishap on Friday night.  The story goes a little somethin' like this:


On Fridays, we spend about 5 hours on the road because we take the two oldest kids to see their dad.  Not fun, but no biggie either, I just pack a cooler and go.  As long as I've already completed my workout, I have all my food and plenty of water to drink, there's nothing to worry about other than all the imbeciles on the road.  Just on a side note, this week is sure to be really exciting as we will be adding snow to the mix!  Yipee!!  NOT!


Anyway...  we were in my hometown, which is about 20 minutes from where the kids' dad lives.  My parents are there, and we needed to pick something up from my dad.  When we got there, he had a project he needed help with and naturally, my boy scout of a husband jumped right in.  Ordinarily, this would have been fine but I still needed to get to "Whole Paycheck" to purchase my grocery items that I can't get anywhere else.  It was about 8:30 and "Whole Paycheck" closes at 10:00 so I was getting nervous as we were about an hour away from the store.  We finally got back on the road and headed for the store.  I dug into my cooler and began to eat my dinner.  One of the items on my food plan for that meal was a hard boiled egg.  I hit it on the door handle of my car to crack it and OH BOY DID I MAKE A MESS!  Apparently, I hadn't let the little sucker boil long enough cause it sure wasn't HARD BOILED!  So I had a dilemma,  I was up Case Study Creek with out a hard boiled egg. That, ladies and gents, is NOT a good place to be.  I thought for a minute and it dawned on my that I could probably just go to the local McDoogal's for an egg.  I mean, they have "salads" right?  Surely, they must have a hard boiled egg.  So up to the drive thru we went, my confidence shining thru as I brightly said, "Hello, would it be possible to get one hard boiled egg, please?".  It was very quiet for what seemed like a very long time and then a very small, very timid voice answered back, "I'm sorry mam, but we do not have an egg.".  I was stunned!  "Oh, well I just thought since you have salads that perhaps you might have an egg?!?"  Again, the tiny voice crackled thru the speaker, "I'm sorry mam, but WE DO NOT HAVE AN EGG.".  So off we went, but not before my naughty boy scout husband ordered a very stinky, very sloppy, very disgusting McRibby Sandwich.  YUCKY!


Thankfully, nearby was a big grocery store.  "I'll bet I can get a package of those pre-packaged hard boiled eggs in there!  It'll cost more but I HAVE TO HAVE AN EGG!"  My husband drove to the door and just sat there.  "What are you doing?", I asked.  "You don't expect me to go in there, do you?  I'll see five people I know and have to chat with each one because I haven't seen them in forever (keep in mind we were in my home town) and then I'll never make it to "Whole Paycheck" in time!  YOU HAVE TO GO IN THERE AND GET ME AN EGG!!!"  By this time I was hysterical watching the time go by fearing that I would not get my egg in time nor make it to the store before they closed.  Darling hubby didn't want to go into the store so off we went, me without my egg.


Next we spotted a Submarine Sandwich place and thought surely they must have an egg!  In I went and out I came, still eggless.  But I was now armed with a plan!  There was a truck stop near by that had a full menu.  They would have an egg!  When I walked in I was greeted by the scent of gravy and greasy meat and a sign that read, "Please seat yourself".  "But I don't wanna sit down," I whined in my head, "I wanna get an egg and go!".  I bravely approached the counter where two ladies were working.  I nervously explained my situation, "Hi.  Ihaveaproblem.  Iamonaveryspecialdietandreallyneedanegg.  DoyouhavehardboiledeggsbecauseIreallyneedanegg!"  I took a deep breath and waited for their reply.  Behind me, I heard the truckers chuckling and one said out loud, "Huh, got a hankerin' for an egg huh?"  I remained stoic, motionless as I waited to see whether the truck stop would be able to save my bacon.  "Oh yeah, we got an egg.  You want it to go or...".  I didn't wait for her to finish.  "Thank God!", I exclaimed.  "You don't know how happy you are making me right now!  Yes, I need it to go!"  I grabbed a napkin from a pile behind the counter and said, "Here just put it in here!  I'm gonna eat it right NOW!".  She gave me a look, but took the napkin and held it up to the window so the cook could put the egg in the napkin.  "Bless your heart!", I said as I gently took the egg with a smile.  "You don't know the trouble I'd have been in if I had to tell my trainer and nutritionist that I didn't eat my egg."


I walked out of the truck stop with my shoulders back and my head held high reveling in the victory of it all.  At last, I had my egg.  I was more than ready to scarf it down... but not before my hubby took a picture for all of you.       

Me with my coveted "truck stop egg".  We named her Ersla, may she rest in  peace.

Happy Tuesday, dear reader!

If a Tree Falls in the Woods...

If a certain woman, who shall remain nameless, licks the few remaining morsels of her lunch from her plate BUT no one was there to witness it, 

did it still really happen???

I'll NEVER tell!!!  ;)

HELLLPPP! I HAVE TO TRAVEL!

Ok, here's the deal:  I get to go out of state for a few days to visit with my husband's family and I'm excited to see them but I'm FREAKED out as to how to do it successfully.  I have NO experience traveling and I CAN NOT let my work on the case study slide while I'm gone. Actually, it's a great set up because I will have access to a YMCA, there's a workout facility (with very basic equipment, I think) where we are staying and I will have a kitchen to use where we are staying too!  What I don't know is:

• How much food can I take on the plane?
• How do I pack it so they (the inspector people) won't touch it!?!
• What do I need to consider that I might not be aware of for traveling and staying on my food plan?

I'm great while I'm actually at my destination!  What I need to do is figure out how to get back and forth without faltering!  HELP!  Any and all advice is welcome!  Thanks!

Happy Thursday, dear reader!