04.29.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:37 am by Ali
I am home from Boston and recovering. lol It was a very tiring weekend. Not much sleep the whole weekend. No working out. Food was scarce. I did get to eat the best cheeseburger EVER on Friday night. With cheddar cheese, and bacon, and mushrooms. Served with chips and the best chipolte ketchup! We had rolls first with oil and all these flavored salts. SO Yummy! 
We skipped dessert there b/c nothing made us 
, but I got some candy afterwards.
That was the extent of my eating extravaganza b/c the rest of the time I didn’t have much. I did have a beer Saturday night. 
The show itself was freaking LONG. If you read anything about the Fitness Atlantic, you know that it went from 9am to 10:30pm straight. We saw the same girls in like 6 suits and outfits. The sportswear stuff was…interesting. *I* could not do that. Too model/pretty/girlish for me. For the most part, the girls in model were skinny with abs. That seemed to be what they were looking for. No big shoulders or back. No muscle, really, just ‘in shape’.
I liked the fitness routines. Well, most of them. Some of those were really cool.
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So, now I am back to focusing on MY show. I have so much to do. I’m going to figure out make-up today with a friend. I also have to stone my suit…which will take forever. Practice posing a TON, etc., etc. Oh just thinking about fitting all that in with the kids’ stuff makes my head spin.
I am still at 107 after the weekend, which is good. I wasn’t sure whether it would go up or down. I’m still stressing about losing my top muscle and losing my butt fat. I just wish my body was EQUAL. That is so hard. If you are blessed with EVEN fat distribution, that’s a huge blessing. After seeing a TON of crappy butts on stage this weekend, it makes me scared!!
I have moved into freakout mode, asking hubby how I look every 10 seconds. Becoming obsessive about my butt…that’s the part I hate about shows. Because normally I would just be happy about where I am. He keeps telling me, I’m perfect, but what else is he going to say, really. LOL ‘Ya, I think you’ve got about 5 lbs to go, really.’ Ha! I would probably kill him, then. He just fears for his life.
Enough of my rambling…here is a picture of me and the girls in Boston. Yes, I’m bedraggled and so tired.
Ellen, Jurate, Ali, Viola.
I had such a great time just chatting and hanging out with Ellen. Jurate was GORGEOUS on stage, and such a natural up there. I’m so glad I got to see her in her first show!
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04.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:19 am by Ali
Fun with the camera! lol I snapped these in the mirror while I was working out:
Haha…the photographer and the subject.
Soon…I will get the right lighting on these abs. Maybe this afternoon when the veins are popping, I’ll take some more.
That’s it for now…crazy-busy day!!!
P.S. OH…my….gosh…I’m so frustrated with the formatting!! Sorry guys! I’ll try to fix it later!! I hope you can decifer it!
P.P.S. Do you see my ab scar? Nice, eh? No getting pans out of the oven with a bare stomach and running around kids!! Ouch!!
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04.22.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:21 am by Ali
I handed out awards at the Grand Rapids Figure competition that I won last year. I got to help my friend Jody, which was a complete blast! It was fun to be backstage, but not actually GO onstage. I think my heart was pumping just as fast, though. At least I wasn’t in heels, and couldn’t tip over. 
Anyway, here is a picture of me with the overall winner from that show, Tiare Lum.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 5:08 am by Ali
I think through songs.
I’m going to Boston this weekend to watch a good friend of mine compete! I love this watching stuff! It’s going to be a HUGE show. She is going to look fabulous! I’ve seen pictures…so awesome! I get to spend some girl time with my great friend Ellen. I can’t WAIT!! It will be a quick trip, though. Out on Friday, back on Sunday. I am getting in all my workouts before I leave, but if there’s time, I’ll do something there, too. The thing I have to be MOST careful about is not losing too much. I tend to not eat and run myself ragged when I have stuff like this to do. It seems like I do something crazy like this every year. Last year I was in NY volunteering to put on someone’s roof.
So, it’s a busy week for me (what’s new) and it should be a fun weekend!
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04.20.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:36 pm by Ali
I freaking love fruit snacks. It’s a huge weakness of mine. I can’t wait to try these!!
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:29 am by Ali
For a while I struggled with whether or not I should try to compete at the national level. What does it mean if you compete at that level? What do you have to do? Last year I competed at Jr. Nationals in Chicago. I was very happy with my conditioning at that show, but I lacked some size in my upper body. That probably came from dieting pretty much for 6 months out of the year for other shows and not concentrating on getting and staying big. Lesson learned.
If you pay attention to what goes on at that level…who wins the shows, what the girls look like, what their prep looks like, who they have to train with, who they have to know, what they have to do, and in some cases, what they have to take, I’ve just decided that it’s not for me. I feel like I am pretty muscular as it is compared to the normal population. People notice when I’m in a tank top. You can’t not know that I lift weights. However, if you put me on a national stage…I look small. What I’m getting at here is that the physique that those girls sport, is not really something that I want to have on a daily basis. And what would I have to do to get it? Probably take some drugs, and I’m not willing to do that.
(However…I think I’m coming in bigger this year like I did in my very first show, so we’ll see how that looks on stage May 10! Maybe I *will* look like I belong…we’ll see)
Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying that every national level figure competitor does that, because I know several that don’t. But I also know plenty that DO. I don’t even really want to be associated with that kind of image. I don’t like what the industry represents…drugs, politics, soft-porn (or harder) images.
However, on a smaller scale (the local show), I think there are for the most part, just women trying to get (or stay) in shape and get ready for a bikini season. Yes, some are aiming for the national stage, but hopefully not on steroids yet, LOL. I find it’s a great place to meet people, network, have fun…all while being motivated to be in superior shape.
If you have the dream of being a star and getting your pro-card, you might have to deal with that mess, but I don’t. I just want to be an in-shape mama!!
This year I’ll be at Jr. Nationals to WATCH as a friend of mine will be competing!! I can’t wait.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:06 am by Ali
So this morning, I got up at 6 am, did 45 minutes of cardio, and then got everyone to the soccer field by 8:30AM. Not an easy feat! Unfortunately, DH has to go in a different direction every Saturday for baseball. 
I coached my first game…hmmmm… interesting dealing with 6 and 7 year olds! They were TIRED!! Then we had to wait a game, and then the other dd had her game. We were done at noon. So that will be my Saturday from now until June!
I’m up a pound from my refeed yesterday. Very mild…but I like that. I felt good yesterday and not hungry. One day of that is a nice break. 
Now I need to catch up on some housework.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:01 am by Ali
Someone please put a leash on my husband. He has another name for competition season. 
Yes, my belly is full of food and water. 
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Posted in Uncategorized at 6:31 am by Ali
Here is my little refeed today:
oats
raisin bran with milk x 2
4 granola bars
refried beans with shell/salsa
handful pretzels
some chex mix/dried fruit
plus protein
I think that’s it…nothing exciting. I’m not going to do huge or junky refeeds right now b/c it just messes with my head too much. That’s something to take into consideration when you are dieting or prepping for a contest. You have to do what works for YOU. And yes, there are tons of things that will physically WORK, but it needs to mentally work, too. Jerking my calories up and down or doing the huge carb/junk/refeed/cheat and then starving the rest of the week, is just NOT for me.
You will see some competitors doing Lyle McDonald’s PSMF, or eating nothing but fish and green beans before a contest. NO THANKS! If you leave a long enough time to diet, and have a stable/healthy eating plan (no huge cheats, no slipping off your plan) you shouldn’t have to resort to that type of thing. Lyle even says in his book that he doesn’t really rocommend tactics like that, but he knows people will do what they do, and so wrote up a ’safe’ way to do it (not lose muscle). The more extreme you get in your diet, the bigger rebound you’re going to get when you are done. Who can keep up that kind of diet forever? I haven’t seen anyone.
Anyway, enough of that. Here is my workout for Friday:
Workout(s):
dynamic warmups
Upper body
Tiny bit of posing practice
planks
soccer practice
30/30 intervals on the tready @ 12 for 10 minutes.
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04.18.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:15 am by Ali
Contest prep can be such a mental challenge. You over-analyze and become overly sensitive to the way you look. Emotions are all over the place. One minute I’m too fat, the next I’m too skinny. 
You just have to stay the course and do the best you can. Have faith in what you are doing and just come in with your best effort. That’s all you can do. The rest does not matter.
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