2015? Almost!

As I resurrect this blog, I realize I have a lot to update so here's the recap for the last couple years!

2013 was the year of the runner (well, it started in 2012.)  I was running lots, loving it & bam, tore my calf in April (about 5 weeks out from a 15 mile race! So instant rest.  I started TRX classes then which was awesome.  Crosstrained, healed & went on to run the Chicago Marathon, Monster Half (2 weeks later..PR'd) & a month after than the Turkey Trot Half.  Fully healed, boom!

2014 became the year of the weights once again.  I started with a 3 day/week circuit program & got the serious itch to move a LOT of weight around.  Joined Team Best Fit Body in June & have been with them ever since.  I recently switched from the Lifestyle program to Contest Prep (hence the resurfacing of the blog) & will be competing next year.

2015 will be the big return to the figure stage.  SO excited & fired up to see what I can bring.

Show dates?  April 4th (Mid-Illinois) & May 16 (Grand Prix Natural.)  The Grand Prix was actually my first show back in 2008 when I competed!!

That's the rundown!  As always, feel free to ask if you have a burning question ;)

2010 update

Just in the event that I do get some new readers now & then, I thought I'd update.

I continue working with Cathy Savage & am rocking their workouts. They are awesome & just the style that I'm enjoying. The food is a little different than what the program prescribes only because I'm not competing & have no intention of doing so again. What I'm doing is living life. So my choices for food are a little more "open" than preferred but the majority of my choices are program compliant. I do enjoy a bar daily, a small coke & do not worry about protein at every meal.

I got married to the man of my dreams on February 27, 2010 in Las Vegas with a small host of our family & friends. Exactly one month later, we celebrated with a local reception. Incidentally, our wedding date was my parent's wedding anniversary & my Mom's birthday so it was a special date to me. Kevin's parents were also married that same week 40 years ago. Very cool!

Workouts include running 2-3 times a week, cardio daily (20 minutes on training day) & weight training (Savage Figure program) 3-4 days a week (depending on programming.)

So that's the update, feel free to ask any questions that you have!!!! And thanks for following along!

Dieting Timeline (2000- present)

I thought I'd post this up for those that are new to the blog or really dont know.

Pre-2000
I spent much of my life "dieting" though most of the weight that I lost was done through just eating well & exercising. The yo-yo cycle was happening though because I'd not stick with things for as long as I needed to or I'd get lax.

2000
Moved to Vegas in 2000 & started the Body for Life program & connected with a group through the Yahoo BFL groups. Had some great times, made some friends, dropped some weight.

2001
Started working with a trainer (Regina) at Gold's Gym while living in Las Vegas. I ate properly, kept a food diary but never worried about counting a single thing.

2002-2003
Circumstances changed & I had to stop working with Regina but went back to the BFL knowledge that I already had, trained like a mad woman at Gold's & kept up with a healthy lifestyle.

Early 2003
Relocated back home so with no gym (yet), I bought a home gym setup & started eating properly once again. The BFL program was the basis for how I ate my meals. To this day, I still didnt worry about calories, macros, etc. I just chose healthy foods that I knew were good for me with a few goodies tossed in for merit! lol

April 2003-September 2006
Started a new job (in March) & met who would become my best friend. She was a runner so I started running with her. She was also a member of Weight Watchers so I joined her there too. It was the first time in my life that I ever "counted" anything that went into my mouth BUT the WW program was so easy & nothing was off-limits.

I became a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers just 2 months after my Mom passed away. It was a bittersweet moment since I'd call her after every meeting to tell her of the results of the week. I met my WW goal the Saturday before she went into the hospital. She was so proud!

June 2007-April 2008
I started working with Cathy Savage wanting to see how far I could take my new body. It was a little bit of a rollercoaster & the first time I'd ever *really* counted macros. I'd followed plans here & there but nothing like this. It was kind of a challenge but I managed just fine. I worked with Cathy through April 2008 after competing in my first figure show. So much fun!

May 2008-August 2008
After the first figure show, I decided that I'd prefer to work with someone more local so I enlisted the help of a local training team out of Illinois. Their methods of training were amazing & I will say that I had some of the BEST workouts ever with them. The gym was run by an IFBB pro so it was no bull & down to business. What I learned however was that there methods of prep were very old-school & tough. By the time that show rolled around (about 4 weeks later), I was exhausted, looked bad & didnt know if I could hold my head up straight. Extreme diet + prescription diuretic = BAD NEWS!

I continued to work with that team for a while..training every other weekend but kept gaining weight inspite of backing out of my contest diet properly.

August 2008-September 2008
I was approached by Mandy Polk after she read my online journal & recognized that I had experienced some metabolic damage after the last round of contest prep. I worked through a repair program that she set up & completed that for about 6 weeks until I just felt that I was gaining too much. Thankfully, my weight stabilized just as I ended my stint with Mandy. I will remain grateful to her for seeking me out to help.

October 2008-January 2009
Honestly, I went back to what I knew worked for me in the past. I went back to Weight Watchers. I dropped some weight but it bounced back up after a short time. I thought I really needed some professional help so I enlisted the help of The Diet Doc (Joe Klemczewski) who was working with a few people I knew. I know he's had experience with this type of thing before. I initially dropped some weight but it was a very low calorie (1100) & low carb. I eventually stopped having bowel movements & no amount of Metamucil was helping. I also started training for a half marathon & was given no additional food to fuel my body. I became concerned & had to step away after not getting the help I needed.

****I can see that I'm starting to sound like one of the diet jumpers that drive me nuts!!!!!******

January 2009-April 2009
During this time, I'd realized that I maintained my weight through the holidays & took that as a win. My last show was in May of 2008 & I'd managed to maintain finally for 6 months. I thought that something may be ready for a change though I'd tried to lose & always ended up back in the same spot. I still took it as a win that my body had regulated itself...FINALLY! All systems (and I do mean all) were back to full function. It only took about a year!

April 2009-June 2014
I worked Cathy Savage Fitness. That was a long email when I updated her on what had happened with the local coach. The Savage team is a natural one & no one is ever asked to take anything. She was floored to say the least & I knew it was going to be a tough road to diet like that again though I will say that my macros are very generous.

I've given it almost 2 months now & have lost a net of 0 pounds. I'm frustrated to say least but several things have come into mind that I need to take into account.

I'm healthy again.
Macro counting is not a lifestyle.
I'm active.
I'm fit.
I'm working to be a better me.

I will continue to work on losing a little weight but wont let it be the thing that drives me or keeps me from living life.

June 2014-present
After MUCH consideration & MANY years, I resigned from my sponsored position with the CSF team & signed on with Team Best Fit Body.  The training is intense, no excessive cardio & the part that I like the best is the flexible dieting.  (Google results for IIFYM )

A brief overview.

My journey started around 2003 ago when I was pushing 300 pounds, unhappy (even though I convinced myself that I was) and in reality a walking time-bomb with my blood pressure. I was living in Las Vegas at that time and made the decision to hire a trainer & with her help started eating better as well as working out. It was Regina who got me headed down the right track. From there I went to the Body for Life program for continued motivation. Time passed & I found myself moving back to Indiana in 2003. I was still obese & as life continued on and with that I made little changes once again. I met my friend, Stephanie, who was running & doing Weight Watchers. I joined her in both activities and never looked back. Today, I sit here more than 100 pounds lighter.

Rewind to July 2006 when my Mom was going into the hospital for her second by-pass surgery. This time it was to be a quadruple. She never came home. My best friend died at the age of 55 from heart disease. It's hereditary & her Mom died at the age of 40 from the same fate. I promised my Dad as we sat waiting for her to pass that I would never allow myself to become unhealthy again. I became a bit obsessed with fitness at that time but eventually eased up to a more healthful plan. I myself have a history of a binge eating disorder that started when my brother died when I was 10 years old. Food was my comfort but when Mom died, I just did not eat. Neither option is healthy & I know that.

I've started working with Cathy Savage in June 2007. I went to Camp Savage Chicago & was very encouraged by what Cathy had to say. She told me that I could be on an NPC stage in the spring. I thought she was nuts but I knew it would be possible if I put my mind to it. I hit a speedbump in September when I just got off-track during a vacation prep plan.

Jump to Spring of 2008, I did compete in the 2 figure shows this spring. I had an incredible time & absolutely loved the stage! The prep wasnt too bad, the glitz of it all was too fun & the sense of accomplishment was something that I can never replace. The first show was great & then I had a 3 week period before the second. I had changed coaches between shows to work with someone more local. I learned some lessons there about what hardcore bodybuilding prep is like. Wow it's intense. I was much leaner for the second show but did not look good. I came in looking skinny. I actually refer to it as my "skeletor" look. Still had a great time though!

Once the shows were over, I took a week off from dieting of any sort & a week from the gym. It was great & it was nice to just do nothing for that week. I got back on the horse after than following the off-season plan from my coach.

This is where something went wrong. As I ate healthfully & trained as instructed, the weight began to creep on. Well, some gain was expected for the time being but not matter how well I ate or how spot on my training was, I continued to gain more & more. It was alarming to say the least.

In July, I worked to repair my damaged metabolism that happened as a result of the dieting for shows. It was extreme with the local coach. Though I'd love to compete again someday (I absolutely loved it) but it's likely permanent that I'm hanging up my hooker heels & blinged out suits.

So you may ask....what do I want to do? Well, I wanna rock (lol.) Nah, really I want to start running again which I've done.

I started with my best friend back in 2003 & was hooked. I've now completed the following:

2 full marathons
3 half marathons
1 10K (6.2 miles)
1 10 miler
Several other races at various distances.

Oh & I've done a triathlon as a team (did the running leg.)

I was training for a half marathon but had to back out as a result of hip pain.

I started working with Cathy Savage once again to try to diet off some of the post-show aftermath but it's seemlingly tough. The daily counting of macros seems to take a toll on me after a couple weeks but I'm loving the structured workouts again.

So if you've made it this far, you know that I've been through alot, had some triumphs & successes along with some sadness & heartache. But I always try to live each day with the knowlegdge that the world is mine for the taking!!!!!

Who I am!

I am someone who's struggled with food since the age of 10. I always liked eating & while we were allowed treats as kids were grew up eating garden fresh foods, game meats (Dad was an avid hunter) & lots of fresh caught fish.

My struggles with food started when my brother, Craig, was hit by a car when I was 10 years old. Craig was just 2 years younger than me & little did I know that my whole world would change forever. He was my only sibling & he died that day in October.

As we began to deal with the loss as a family, it was understandable that my parents had to deal with things in their own way. I had to find my own way to deal so I sought comfort in the pantry, fridge & freezer.

The result was disordered eating, binging to be exact, that started at a very young age. I struggled with my eating disorder for most of my life & still have days where I cannot fight the demons but I always seem to get a grip before it gets a grip of me.

I started a blog entry on the main page that talks more about my binge eating disorder & will post that here in the near future.