Apparently, I'm not superwoman

Sorry people. I'm not sure how much inspiration you'll get from this one. But you will get the truth. This is what I do when life gets in the way. And I'll spare you the sad details. This week I realized (for the millionth time) that apparently I'm not superwoman. I had a setback in my Project 9X9. You see it's Friday and the last time I worked out was Wednesday. So that's 2 days in a row that I have not done any exercise. (Yes I'm beating myself up ... and yes I know I shouldn't). It started Thursday afternoon. The universe forced me to FEEL some emotions I kept bottled up inside. I didn't realize it was going to affect me so much. I just wanted to go home and be alone and cry a bit. And that's what I did. And as some of you may have seen on my FACEBOOK status, my energy levels have been very low energy at about noon everyday this week. Well the same happened today ... on top of my melancholy mood. Not a good combination. And while many of you would say "A good bout of exercise will get those endorphins going and you'll feel good again!" ... I just want to rest. Rest my body, my mind, and my heart for one more day. I'll put my cape and tights on tomorrow. The silver lining out of all of this? I continue to eat clean ... and get lean. (By the way, I'm re-adjusting my meal plan because I think that's why my energy levels are tanking. That and the fact that I get up at 3:00am ... I must get to bed earlier!)

Anyway, thanks for your support. I hope I didn't let you down. Just keeping it real. :)

Feeling Guilt

I took a rest day yesterday because I had the opportunity to go out for dinner with a friend and see the musical "A Chorus Line". It was great show! I think I was smiling through the whole thing! But I was also feeling guilt. Guilt that I didn't workout and that I ate something that was not exactly on my plan (even though it was still clean - grilled bison and asparagus). I even got on the scale this morning when weigh-in day is not until Friday. So here I am focusing on those damn NUMBERS again.

Fast forward a few hours. I'm having a conversation with fitness professional Stan Peake who is the general manager of Innovative Fitness here in Calgary (www.innovativehealthgroup.com) and we're talking about MOTIVATION. He basically said people need to STOP using numbers as a GOAL or MOTIVATION. People will be more successful with their weight loss or fitness plan if they have an EVENT or TANGIBLE goal to work towards. For example, a beach holiday or a family reunion or perhaps your wedding. And focus on how you FEEL instead of how you LOOK. I wholeheartedly agree!!!

Now am I contradicting myself by trying to lose 9 pounds in 9 weeks or even preparing for a figure competition? Maybe. But maybe I will step away from the scale ... get out of my comfort zone ... and CHANGE my goals from numbers to something with a better story.

Workout: full body circuit with intense cardio for 1 hour ... (double lovin' ... Benji the Bike and Trey the Treadmill)

Motivation X 3

Motivation comes in all forms. Here a few things that motivated me in the gym today:

Motivator #1: MY NEW GYM MEMBERSHIP
I realized that I'm a bit of a gym snob. So even though I already have a membership that I'm still paying for, I bought another because I didn't like my other gym ... not enough equipment and little variety. Plus, the location close to my temporary home is a women's only gym ... where's the motivation in that? I like to see hot male bodies working up a sweat. That is motivation! And when you have enough equipment to create a unique workout, it's never boring.

Motivator #2: CATRIONA'S LEGS
Catriona Le May-Doan was working out at my gym today. Just in case you don't know, she's a two time Olympic Gold medalist in speed skating. Have you seen her legs?! Freaking amazing! It happened to be my leg day, so I pumped it a little harder in honor of Catriona's legs. Her legs still look great to me!

Motivator #3: WELCOME TO JAMROCK
As I pushed myself on Billy the Bike my iPod was on SHUFFLE and a Damian Marley tune came on ... Welcome to Jamrock! And it reminded me of my end goal for Project 9X9 ... being lean and sexy for my trip to Jamaica! When I'm there I'm even going to buy one of those cheesy Jamaican flag bikinis ... ha!

That's what motivated me today. What motivates you to train hard?

Can I Really Do This?

I don't know why but earlier this week I started to get nervous as I started this Project 9X9. For a moment or two I thought ... can I really do this? All the comments and encouragement from so many people has been AMAZING ... I'm always shocked by the number of people who are following my progress. It's great because it really motivates me! I don't want to let anyone down but more importantly, I don't want to let myself down. Why am I thinking this, you ask? Well, let's go back to 2008 ... it was my second year of competing, and it was horrible. No matter how much cardio I did (some weekends I would walk a total of 7 hours), or how much I adjusted my diet, the weight was not coming off. I was not leaning out. One of my trainers kept telling me I was stressed. I didn't buy it. I wasn't about to stop and rest. I kept pushing. Anyway, to make a long story short ... I competed and didn't look the way I wanted to, in fact it was pretty embarrassing ... I didn't feel good at all ... my self-confidence was chewed up and spit out ... plus, I ended up with a pissed off endocrine system (aka Adrenal Fatigue. Google it.) So as I approached the scale this morning after all the work I did this week with weights, cardio, and clean eating ... I was afraid to look ... 140.5!!! I dropped 2.5 pounds in week 1 of Project 9X9! Woohoo! Yeah!
Okay ... the celebration is over ... stay focused!

Workout: Arms and Shoulders

Sugar Is Evil!!! (Unless it comes in vanilla or chocolate with a dollop of creamy goodness on top!)

Sigh. We all have weaknesses. Mine is sweet stuff. (Surprising, considering I'm so sweet myself ... heeheehee!). But SUGAR IS EVIL!!! Unless, of course, it comes in vanilla or chocolate with a dollop of creamy goodness on top ... aka Crave Cupcakes! Superman gets weak near kryptonite. Me? It's Crave Cupcakes. So what's my point? Well it all started when I was chatting with my co-worker and friend Heather Yourex. Heather is also about to start her own major fitness challenge with a twist.(PLEASE check out: www.heathershealthypromise.blogspot.com). Anyway, she was asking me how my first week of Project 9X9 was going. I said "Great! Training's going well. Food is awesome. I'm not super hungry. And no cravings!" Well ... I spoke too soon ... just saying the word CRAVINGS triggered something. Shortly after our conversation, I started to have visions of CHEAT food. So I reached for my tuna and veggies and started munching. Mmm ... tuna and veggies. Then I step away from my desk for just a moment and what do I see when I get back? A dozen mini Crave Cupcakes. No lie! Talk about being tested! So as soon as I got home ... they went straight into the freezer (as if I'm going to share them at work ... hahaha!) ... and I headed to the gym for a little PUMP and BURN! Yeah!

Workout: Chest and Back Blast
Cardio: Intervals, 30 minutes, Bobby the Bike :)

Making Love (not war) to Tyrone (the Treadmill)

I'm in LOVE! Hahaha! Well not really but it's better than hatin' cardio. I've decided that I'm going to LOVE cardio from now on. So to help me do that I've decided to name whatever treadmill I'm on. Today, I was making love to Tyrone the treadmill. I caressed his long handles and pushed his buttons until he couldn't help but move. I had to hang on tight. We started out slow at first ... a little foreplay ... but as I cranked him all the way up, it didn't take long to get hot and wet. Music definitely put us in the mood (music provided by Q-Tip - The Renaissance). As it got hotter and hotter, my legs started to burn ... my heart started to pound! Woo! This went on for an hour ... an hour of power ... an hour of good cardio LOVIN'! So ... you better call Tyrone (that's a reference to an Erykah Badu tune "Tyrone". Google it.) and make LOVE, not war, during you next cardio session.

Cardio day: 1 hour, fast walking, incline cranked all the way UP! Abs!

Kickin' it Old School!

Driving home from work today my eye lids felt like there were 10 pound weights on them. Despite my fatigue, I knew I'd get a boost from my work out today. But sometimes that's not enough. So the iPod was on shuffle ... unpredictable ... which is soooo fun ... 'cause I was kickin' it old school! I'm doing some cardio on the bike and this old school tune from 1987 by Tony Terry kicks in. Sing it with me: "She's fly -- You're fly -- And fresh -- And fresh -- Girl is truly def -- Girl won't you be mine." And I'm thinking "He's singing to me!". So I pump it up on the pedals a little more. Then he comes with these lyrics "Hey -- You got me jumping -- You're beautiful body sure is thumping." And I think : "He's DEFINITELY singing to ME!" So I pick up the pace! Sometimes all it takes to get that second wind is a good tune from back in the day. So if you're dragging your butt at the gym, throw on your favorite grooves and rock to the Rolling Stones, jam with James Brown, or bop to Bob Marley.

Workout: Legs and cardio

143: The Starting Point

Okay, okay ... I know I said it's not all about the number on the scale. But I do need a measurement of some sort. And I do need a starting point. And my starting point is 143 lbs. That's what the scale said when I weighed myself first thing this morning. This morning I also saw many of the encouraging comments on FB from many of my friends. Thank you so much! I will need all the encouragement I can get! I also have to say a big THANKS for those of you who said I look good just they way I am. :) Those comments really warmed my heart. I don't want anyone to think that I don't love the body I have. I do! But just like most things in life, once you've achieved one goal, you need to find another. I'm pretty sure Usain Bolt is training his ass off to beat his own record-breaking times on the track. And Donald Trump is probably still coming up with ways to make more money. And I would bet my life-savings that Talk Show Diva Oprah Winfrey has a long-term plan that will make her even more popular (if that's possible!). So as much as I appreciate the compliments, know that I'm not doing this because I'm not happy with myself and how I look. I'm doing this so that I will GROW as a person ... so that I don't get STUCK in a rut and bored ... so that I can prove to myself that I can do ANYTHING I put my mind to. Yes!

Starting point: 143 lbs.
Goal: 134 lbs. in 9 weeks
How: Eating clean and working out 6 days a week

Project 9X9

First I'd like to thank one of my FACEBOOK friends for giving me a friendly kick in the butt. She reminded me that I hadn't written a blog in a month. At first I was embarrassed ... then flattered that she was reading it and patiently (very patiently) waiting for another entry. So here goes. I learned something about myself in regards to fitness. I've learned that I need a goal to motivate me. So that's where "Project 9X9" came along. First and foremost it's a challenge. A challenge offered to me by my dear friend Maria Ellis (www.fitmumz.com). The challenge: to "lean out" by the time I fly off to the Caribbean for Christmas. She's doing the same thing so we will support and motivate each other. But we're taking it one step further. We're posting pictures of our progress on FACEBOOK just to show how committed we are ... and hopefully we'll inspire a few people at the same time. And it will be harder to back out if we know others are watching. I'm calling it "Project 9X9" because my goal is to drop 9 lbs. in 9 weeks. Now, it's not all about the number on the scale. It's more about setting goals, discipline, perseverance, believing in myself ... and looking HOT in a bikini! :) So, please, join me in my journey.