Progress Pictures August 17th.....

I took my progress pictures and I will post them as I stated I would. I refused to post last weeks blog pictures as they did not make me happy...it looked like my prior pictures 5 weeks earlier looked better even though I was down 2 pounds in fat. But I am over it and will post the pics. The first picture in leopard print is from end of June/Early July, the blue bikini is last week, and the green bikini is this weeks (the current week).

 

 

As I am slowly getting leaner, sometimes I look at my current pictures (which look perfectly fine to most people) with scrutiny and disappointment. I have to remind myself that I am not chasing that six pack that I used to have right away.

July 2011

August 2013

A few weeks ago my brother posted a picture on Facebook of me with 3 of my kids and husband at my mom's house. I never seen the picture until it appeared on my timeline. I was mortified when I saw it and slightly mad at my brother for posting it. He did not post it to be malicious, it was a good picture of Bob and the kids, but then there was me looking frail and old as I was cutting to try to win a stupid bb.com contest.

OMG!!!!!

I had an aha moment after that picture. After seeing this picture, I started looking at my progress pics from a few years back during the prep for this contest. In order to get lean enough to have cuts in my abs, arms, legs, I had to lose alot of body fat. Unfortunately fat does not melt in the areas that we want it to melt off. My face was too lean...very apparent since I have strong features in my cheek bone areas which aged my face considerably. I lost all my boobs to the point that I had to add a silicone insert in my bikini to fill it out for the photos.

March 26, 2011

March 26, 2011

I bought that bikini maybe 3 weeks prior to the photos...which was a mistake because if you look closely, that bikini did not fit my chest or my bottoms. I needed the next smaller size. I tried this bikini on yesterday and it was hilarious!! I was spilling out of the bikini top and bottom. It was a site to see...for my eyes only, lol.

But, all laughs aside, preparing for this contest and watching my body change from day to day was an amazing learning experience. I have an amazing respect for all bodybuilding and fitness competitors commitment to the sport. To be honest, not everybody can do this sport. It takes an incredible amount of drive and commitment to reach that level of physique requirements for the sport. It is a full time job in and of itself and it is just...well dang crazy if I am honest.  It takes alot of manipulation of sodium and water intake to get the cuts in the abs. It is a delicate balance. In the photo below, I took this picture the night before the pictures and I was hyped about the way my body looked. I was working with this online lady coach...whom I won't name because I did not think she was all that...but in the morning when I got up, I was suppose to carb up just a bit to further bring my cuts in place and guess what? We miscalculated the carb load and I "spilled over" meaning that all my ab cuts just disappeared. If you look at the first pic...you cannot see the cuts in my abs as well as the picture below because water follows  carb intake and if you don't get it just right...you are screwed!! I actually peaked 3 days prior to the photos. How freaking depressing!!

March 25, 2011

I was so stressed out that morning and so pissed, all I could do was cry. So, I sucked up my tears and headed to the photo place to have my pics professionally done and there was a mix up of sorts and they could not take my photos. I WAS DEVASTATED. So, I ended up going to my daughters house and she took the photos that I submitted. I did not win...even though I felt I looked better than some of the girls that did win. I was mad, not disappointed, but mad lol. 

Question is...am I glad I went through 12 weeks prep? And would I do it again? The answer to the first question is Yes, I am glad I went through the rigors of a contest prep. I learned a TON of information about my body and what I can do in just 90 days...and mind you, the first few weeks I was not on task at all...lol. I lost about 25 pounds in 12 weeks, alot of body fat and also some precious muscle. I worked full time and trained like an animal, especially the last 6 weeks, and I stuck to my plan...especially the last 6 weeks.  Gosh...look at the before and after pictures. A big difference 12 weeks can make.

To answer the second question....would I do it again? And my answer to this is probably not. Losing that kind of weight and bodyfat in that time frame is majorly stressful on the body. After the contest when I started eating again, I quickly put the weight back on but then got scared at the rapid weight gain and went on yet another extreme sort of diet....which I loved (Lyle McDonalds UD2 diet). It is interesting reading through all my old blogs and seeing where my mindset was at that point in time. 

And besides, I look BETTER with a little meat on my bones. I look younger today than I did by the end of that contest. My face actually looks younger when I am heavier...but when I go past 155 pounds as I am in the before picture, I start to look older again. So with that said, I look better in-between.

 

 

 

So, I have changed my goals a bit. Instead of getting down to 135 pounds...which is pretty lean for me since I do have decent muscle weight, my new goal will be to hover between 138-140 pounds. If I get much smaller than that, my clothes will not fit and I would have to buy a whole new wardrobe for work and more importantly, I want to look as youthful as a middle aged woman can look so I can't afford to lose more fat in my face.

I need to concentrate more on just being committed to my diet...and training. If I did that, I would be closer to my goal which is on 6 pounds of fat away. I think with 6 pounds of fat gone, I will be able to see a hint of a six pack and I will look good.

So Thank God for a new day and a new start. I think I will title my next blog...."What If...." and discuss my goals from the what if perspective. (What would I look like in 2 weeks if....)