5 Month Post Bikini Contest Check-In

It's been a little more than five months since I competed in my first NPC bikini competition and I wanted to share what life's been like since then and where I am now with my (lifelong) fitness journey. I say lifelong journey because as long as I'm alive, I want to take care of myself and never take my health for granted. With my Dad's illness, I've painfully watched his physical ability diminish to the point where he cannot walk, so I'm always mindful of how grateful I am to be able to move and exercise.

the beginning

Almost one year ago, I had gotten out of shape and was ready for a big change. I couldn't fit comfortably into my clothes, felt sluggish and missed feeling good about myself. I started working out and eating better in February 2014 on my own, and began working with my trainer (3-4 days a week) at the end of March 2014. We trained together for 15 weeks and I competed in the bikini contest on July 4, 2014. I went from 112 pounds and 25% body fat (Feb 2014) to 100 pounds (July 2014). We didn't test my contest body fat because I was supposed to go the BodPod for a very accurate reading, but the facility cancelled my appointment because they machine wasn't working. My trainer guesstimated I competed at about 15% body fat.

40 Day Fat Loss Challenge

At the beginning of last year (2014), I challenged myself to get in shape for my first ever NPC bikini contest and reached that goal after 5 months of training (July 2014). Since then, I'd been pretty much slacking on the diet and workouts, but by October 2014, I was not liking how I felt physically when I had gotten used to being in great shape. My weight was creeping back up and my muscle was turning into fat. In November, I started back with my trainer and by December had started embracing my bikini meal plan again, but not nearly as strictly and not without lots of "cheats". It was the holidays after all. And I like to eat as much as the next person. Read more »

Healthy Meal Prep | Grilled Chicken Salad

Today (Thursday) marks Day 7 of our 40-day Fat Loss Challenge. I measured in on Day 1 at 24% (calipers) and today was at 22%! Woo-hoo! A 2% difference in 1 week is a big deal! I'll show you some progress pics soon so you can see what it looks like. I'm also using my heart-rate monitor (twice) and have been surprised at how little amount of calories it says I'm burning during my workouts. I'll get into more detail on that in another post soon too. Today, I'm sharing one of the meals I've been eating- a Grilled Chicken Salad and I always make multiples at a time so I can just pull the assembled salad out of the fridge and I don't have to spend time reprepping. Step 1 is to always have grilled chicken on hand or prepare enough for several salads. If I'm just cooking 4-8 chicken breasts at a time, I use a grill pan. Spray that pan with cooking spray, and heat to medium-high heat. I pound my chicken breasts a little so they are thinner and cook eve

40-Day Fat Loss Challenge (Day 14 Update)

It's time to check in and update my progress for the 40-Day Fat Loss Challenge I entered at my gym. For my body fat percentage, I'll use my trainer's caliper measure since I won't have access to the machine until the 40 days is up. The machine measured about the same as my trainer anyway. My goal is to lose at least 1% body fat each week so that at the end of the 40 days (nearly 6 weeks), I'll have gone from 24% down to 17%. I'm on track for that now, but would love to get closer to 15%. PROGRESS Day 1: 24% body fat (112.4 pounds) Day 7: 22.4% body fat (110 pounds) Day 14: 21% body fat (109.4 pounds) (These numbers reflect what I weigh when I weigh-in at the gym mid-morning. My weight below I take first thing in the morning when I wake up, so it's slightly lower.) Below is a picture of where I'm at as of Day 13. I didn't take a good "Day 1" picture, so the "start" is from December, but it's a good representation o

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