Trying Not to be a Mad Blogger

Good news (sarcasm)... I had this whole nice big, long, beautiful blog written out and pregnant me, I accidentally published it without adding the photo I wanted... Edited it... and boom. Blog gone. Pfft.

33 Weeks at the day of Chloe's shower - Driving is becoming an issue

Aaaaannd, I'm not going to re-do it. Haha.. I've been wanting to blog and write more but am pretty sure every blog would basically just say "I'm really uncomfortable and REALLY ready to have a baby."

So, to spare you of pure complaining, I would just like to take a moment and compare pregnancy to contest prep. That way my complaining is at least semi-entertaining ;)

1. You're too tired for anything other than what you need to do. At any moment, you really could catch a nap in your car.
2. Basically just counting down the weeks until D-Day, and you could name off how many days you have left.
3. Constantly feeling sick and depleted.
4. My body hurts all the time.
5. I'm really focused on my water and meals.
6. I bide my time waiting to lose weight.
7. I'm hangry all the time.
8. I have trouble getting down my meals (in fact, this salad I'm eating has taken me an hour to get down 5 bites).
9. You're hungry in the middle of the night. In fact, your hunger pangs wake you.
10. You have to pee ALL the time.
11. The biggest changes to your physique happen in the last two weeks.
12. Everyone thinks they owe you the input on your body/eating habits/sleeping habits.

I'm sure there are plenty more, but these are what go through my head all the time. And, before you go thinking that I'm really obsessed with wanting to be small again or concerned with the number on the scale, the reality is that the weight throws my posture off which has become incredibly painful. I still do yoga at home but absolutely nothing relieves the pain of muscle spasms like losing weight and correcting my posture.

Although it sounds pretty miserable, and it can be, I am the happiest girl in the world. Mr. Bang has MORE than stepped up to the plate in helping me do everything around the house - I should start calling him Mr. Wonderful. There are days where I come home from work, and he has the house clean, a fire going, and dinner in the crockpot - a pregnant lady could never ask for more!

While I am certainly ready to have little Chloe, I spend my time knowing that I am the only one that can hold her right now. I feel her kicks and jabs and know that these are the last days I will ever feel those. At this point, we plan on Chloe being our only little one so I truly do savor those moments when I feel her turn over, or have the hiccups, or move when I've poked her one to many times. :) Sigh, I'm getting all teary over this!

So, with that... I'm leaving you with a few pictures. :) The nursery is mostly done; we're missing the door to her room, which we're still in search of the perfect one and the mattress to her crib.

Here's where we're at currently - I have a couple more finishing touches to add and some of this will obviously be out of here (like the carseat) pretty soon. All of her clothes have been washed and put away. :)

Andy LOOOVES Chloe's room.

The light we chose for her room - I wasn't sure about it at first but I love the pattern it creates on the ceiling. So fun for a little girl!

The glider to the right of the door - Now there is a large basket covering that heater containing blankets, burp cloths, etc.

Such a beautiful atmosphere for a nursery

34 Weeks on my 30th birthday -

Big baby in there! I do wear stripes to make her look huge though. I'll do a better update in the next couple of weeks - Because lord knows we might only have a couple of weeks left! I have my last ultrasound tomorrow! :)

Goals & Reflections

It occurred to me this morning that I was nearing the end of the year and I couldn't even remember what my goals were for 2013. Course, life had other plans for me and my body but still! I took a look through this blog just to refresh my memory and to my dismay I couldn't find where I had actually set any in stone!

So... I'm ready to make some goals for 2014... It's going to be a BIG year in the Bang house. Some things we're not ready to talk about as they're still in process but we do have a baby coming which is a huge change in any household.

1. Natural Delivery. I REALLY don't want a C-Section (and firmly believe that OB's hand these out more than they are needed... but that's a whole other discussion). So my daily decisions are made with thought to delivering Chloe naturally; staying strong and eating right is the only way to even remotely have a say in this.
2. Back to Normal Weight. I know the baby weight can come off rather easily for breastfeeding women if a plan is in place, which I've already been working on one that will be prepped far ahead of delivery (frozen meals, etc.). And of course all of this is to be Back on Course to Compete in 2015. Depending on when Chloe makes her arrival, and how those first few months go will determine when I compete again. I've never gotten around to competing at the Emerald Cup, which I had planned to do TWICE and haven't... So that's on my bucket list. But, it is reasonable to assume that I've lost muscle mass over the course of being knocked up so this will take some considerable planning. However, I genuinely hope that I can spend time healing my hip and rebuild through the end of 2014. I'm sure I could push myself to compete in the fall of 2014, but I don't want to overwhelm myself... Having a new baby will be a significant change to our lifestyle.
3. Stay on course with paying our debt and growing our business to hopefully be on track to stay home after my maternity leave is over. This is going to be a big BIG year for us, but more on that later. ;)
4. Write! I really miss blogging and even journaling to get all my thoughts out of my head. There are so many I just can't contain them. lol!

Week: 23!!! :D  -17 weeks out!!-

I was surprised to see that I've only gone up one pant size. My legs feel giant to me. 

Weight Gain:  18 lbs (@ 141 lbs)

Sleep: Definitely difficult. I've gotten to the point where not only is sleeping uncomfortable by itself (hanging belly twisting my spine for hours...), but Baby Chloe has a habit of waking me up kicking ALL the time. 

Miss Anything?  Anything body related. I miss it all... Miss my abs, miss being limber enough to hop up on a chair, I miss wearing cute little anythings that make me feel sexy. Feeling sexy is a valuable commodity these days... And not for Mr. Bang, but for me. The last time I remember desiring a smaller body and feeling sexy in my skin this much, was when I was about 185 lbs and made a huge commitment to change my lifestyle and lose the weight.

Symptoms: Still sick somewhat often. About 2-3 times a week I'm still getting sick in the morning, and it is just in the morning. I have to admit that I've quit being diligent about preventing this... but let's be honest, you'd get pretty sick of fruitlessly trying to prevent getting nauseous for over 4 months too.

Mood: Mostly good, feeling so excited for our little one. Now that the holidays are over, I'm starting to feel the sense of urgency in working on the baby's room. Nesting. :)

Cravings: Fruit. All the time and sometimes tuna. I mean, I want carbs when I'm hungry, but I haven't had any crazy cravings. Every now and then I crave chocolate, but not a lot. I even go scavenge around the cafeteria at work, and the only things that I ever choose are fruit or a tuna sandwich on high protein bread (I also bring my own olive oil mayo to work, and load the sucker up with tomatoes, pickles and pepperoncinis). 

Diet: (Now, when I say diet, I just mean my regular eating meal plan. The word "diet" does not indicate that I'm trying to lose weight in any way, shape or form.) Going awesome! See my post about my meal plan from a few weeks ago. I don't stray too much from it, the hubby and I really enjoy eating healthy and wholesome meals. I also really notice when I am consistently eating this meal plan, and drinking enough water, it drastically reduces my fatigue. 

Still working out: See my post from a couple weeks ago about my excellent flexible workout schedule. I plan to switch this up in the middle to end of February just for something new and getting me focused on smaller timelines, like in 6 weeks I get a new workout. *Mind Tricks!* I totally did this all through prep too. :)

I would like to say, however, is it ever hard to workout now! Adding on the excess pounds and still trying to do the same workouts is crazy hard! I feel like I'm doing the "Add the Weight Back On"  Challenge from the Biggest Loser. 

The Sacred Pregnancy Obedience Rules: I'm quickly finding that some of these pregnancy obedience rules are basically just my life now, not out of choice, but out of circumstance. If I tried to hang out in a room full of paint fumes, I would likely barf. Or clean the catbox. Even if I tried to drink more than the recommended amount, I would get heartburn alllll night and be sick ALL the next day.
I am still eating some tuna a few times a week, but that's mostly because I'm trying to not eat the deli meat. Although, I do eat the deli meat sometimes. ;) And as for the occasional glass of wine, it is my savior right now. Having one once a week is a really nice break from the reality of being and feeling really pregnant. Although, this is usually followed by a full night of heartburn and feeling sick in the morning. 

One Month Goals: Finish Chloe's room clean-out project. I've Craigslisted a bunch of furniture that was all stuffed into her room - I try really hard not to become attached to furniture or completely replaceable objects. Our house is just tooooo small to keep so much in it. We are planning a home reno-party pretty soon just to help us get Chloe's room done and finish breaking out our last wall between the dining room & kitchen, which will require a new support beam. Hubby doesn't want me around the paint fumes, so I'll make food while everyone else drinks beer and paints. Luckies!

...And let's welcome our newest category:         "Stretchmarks"
Yep, got em. But really these aren't new for me. I'm very petite and knew this would happen quickly because of the simple fact that I had them when I was large around my love handles area and they aren't new... Old ones stretch back out pretty easy. (I know you all can't see my face or even see any emoticons so let me just tell you that the look on my face is pretty annoyed. I get a lot of "get over it" 's and "they're your tiger stripes" encouragement but it still doesn't dispel my disdain for stretching them back out. I am sure I'll be proud of birthing my baby, but I feel no connection between being proud of her and the stretch marks). I am doing Shea butter everyday though! I'm gonna fight those suckers to the death! 

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful new year! Two things:
1. What is everyone eating for lunch these days? I really need a new option over tuna...
2. What are your goals/resolutions for 2014? I'd love to encourage you in your goals!

Until next time! :D

The Next Phase, Part 1: Meal Plan & Preggie Update

Well, I've finished out my 1st trimester and this is when I hear life gets a little easier.. I say that I hear that because I still got the pregnant barfies. In most women this is gone by now, but I guess I've never been one to be "normal."

Week: 15 - Beginning of the 2nd trimester! In the life of a fitness competitor, wouldn't it seem more fitting to count DOWN the weeks? ;) I'm now 25 weeks out! WOOT! Still feels like forever.  

Weight:  132 lbs (7 lb gain.)

Sleep: I have been feeling somewhat better, so I've been working out more... So, I've been sleeping a little better at night. Although, HOLY HELL, DREAMS! My dreams are sooo vivid (hormones).. Ahem, sex dreams are theeeee best. 

Symptoms: Better, sort of... Nausea and sickness are still around frequently... Please don't feel that you need to fix this because my doctor has stated that I just might be one of those women that gets sick all the way through, and I have tried EVERYTHING aside from taking medication, which I refuse to do.

The fatigue has pretty much hung around.. I walk around like I'm on a sleeping pill all day trying to fight off its effects... But its really just hormones.

Just imagine having PMS always. ALWAYS. I'm trying to be good about telling people when I just feel plain old grumpy for no reason. All the ladies seem to get it, and the husband appreciates it. ;)

Miss Anything? Competing. Training hard. Ordering new bikinis. Wearing bikinis. Having abs. The Olympia just happened and it sucks to not really be able to focus on that right now... Or anytime soon. Maybe late next year? Its kind of far fetched considering you're not *supposed* to workout for 6 weeks past giving birth (this will be a WHOLE other post, I don't totally agree with this logic).

But the best way to beat the crummy attitude about that, is to continue working on my diet and exercise! Am I right?! Makes me feel less insecure about my changing body & body composition.

Mood: BETTER ALSO. Well, mostly. Trying to be better about recognizing when my crazy pregnancy hormones are just making me angry. :) I'm calling that... Pregangry.

Cravings: Pickles and apples. Not together. But a LOT of apples.

Also, everything.

Diet: Towards the end of week 13, I really noticed my tummy was queasy less often, and I was shakey less often.. So I took it upon myself to get back to making good solid lunches with a variety of foods... fruits, veggies, mostly gluten free carbs like rice cakes and rice noodles, and some high protein bagels. Unfortunately for me, I've been sick SO much that I can only hold down carbs first thing in the morning. I tried making spinach & fruit shakes, but they almost made me sicker. For weeks on end all I could hold down in the mornings were bagels, so the P28 bagels REALLY came in handy!

So, I've actually had to mess around with this a LOT. I've worked on a different meal plan almost every week simply because nothing was working with the nausea like I had hoped. Here's what my meal plan looks like for the next few weeks:
7am - Coffee and a P28 bagel with cream cheese
10am - Yogurt & Fruit
12pm - Some kind of salad loaded with veggies, a lean meat and any dressing of my choosing, trying to avoid choices like cheese or olives. 
2pm - a protein candy bar. ;) Okay, its usually a cliff bar or a promax bar, but they taste like candy.
5pm - Yoga days: an apple & coconut water; Lift days: apple & protein shake
630ish - Anything, but something well rounded... A veggie, a lean meat and a whole grain of some sort... This has often ended up in the form of a good pasta or burrito. :) And sometimes breakfast for dinner.
9ish - Protein crepes with fruit, or a FiberOne Bar... Although I should make more crepes. They are fabulous and really fill me up overnight.

Goals:
We got our back room cleaned out and even got the office organized! It was giant dump run and Goodwill run, but soooo worth it. Now we can officially start moving the furniture out of the office but we also have a few walls to get knocked out... We have a little house, only 2 bedrooms in 1200 sq feet, so the plan is to knock out a wall between our living room & dining room so we can make room for our gigantor desk in the living room. Its a lot to handle but Baby Bang has given us a reason to be motivated. :)

Well, new stuff happening! We get to find out the gender in another couple of weeks, which has felt like an ETERNITY! And I've been fighting the urge to feel annoyed with my doctor who likes to wait to find out the gender until 19-20 weeks. Ugh... We do have names picked out for either sex, but will wait until we find out to share them. :) We tried sharing our boy name with some family and got a whole lot of "WHAT??" So, we're just waiting.

Pregnancy in general is pretty weird. You just have to be okay with it. And I've not ever been one to just concede and be fine with miscellaneous stressors, or a body I'm uncomfortable in, so this has been a challenge. I'm usually one to change whatever I don't like about myself or my situation so this is quite the new experience. It challenges my self-esteem to make a choice to love my body right now, when it doesn't reflect what I'd like it to, among other things.

My goals right now are:
1. Keep up on my water intake & pre-established meal plan
2. Eat only what's on my pre-established meal plan. (This is for a couple of reasons: First, of course, I want to gain weight at a healthy pace, not blow up. And also, high blood pressure runs in my family and any weight gain sets this in for me, so monitoring my food helps me monitor my sodium intake to keep my blood pressure low.)
3. Gym workouts 3-4x times a week and trying for hot yoga 2x a week. This is too much for many, and I wouldn't recommend this unless you were doing it pre-pregnancy, which I was. (Obviously this is me balancing creating strength and working on flexibility. Gotta take advantage of all the excess human growth hormone!)

Exercise Routine: Also towards the end of week 12 since I was feeling less sick, I started to get back to, at the VERY least, cardio. And on days I was feeling okay for it, I did some strengthening exercises... Body weight squats, pushups, hip thrusts, etc. Basically back to 3-4 times a week by week 15. And these last two weeks its been 3 days a week, with body parts split up and elliptical, at the gym... with 2 days of yoga. Yeah! Feels great to sweat hard again. Maybe in another week I'll have the coveted GLOW?!

Next week I will post my workout plan, which I feel very good about. More on that next week.

Question: Would registering for new VersaGrips be acceptable on my baby registry? I mean, that's ultimately what I'm going to NEED post-partum. ;)

Cardio Bunny Woes (Alternate Title: Another Post About Why All People Benefit From Lifting)

How is it possible that although I'm working out, and my weight is declining by scale standards, that my body physically looks worse? No weightlifting, that's how.

Reason enough for me!

I weigh myself once a week, not really because I care, but sometimes it really can become a guide! In this instance, I'd rather have my weight be UP and look the same or tighter. Not exaggerating, my weight has declined, and my bo

Big Weight Loss Misconceptions.
All I have to say here is that cardio is not the cure-all in fat loss. Just like you can't eat whatever you want and expect to lose weight, and just like weight lifting won't make you bulky.

See example above, if you're eating right and doing your squats & lunges... you won't get big and bulky like male body builders... women do not produce enough testosterone for that. What you're left with are beautiful, toned, tight, round muscles... And do NOT tell me you don't want round glutes!

I miss the ass burn.
I miss doing legs at all. This being injured stuff is some bullshit. I am still on top of my diet, still doing cardio 3x a week with hot yoga the other 3 days a week... but man, do I ever miss lifting weights. Still working toward being able to lift in September, and hoping to the iron gods that I will be well enough to do so.

You know the whole saying "while you're sleeping, your competition is training" or any saying of the like? Yeah, its pretty much all that goes through my head.
               "I bet my competition just PR'd."
               "I bet the girls I will be standing next to are coming up on cardio 2 about now..."

Mostly this is theoretical contrition based on guilt from my injury. It was making me seriously depressed. Although I feel past the depressed stage, it definitely brings an anxiousness. Doing only cardio [which is only elliptical, there is no way I can do stairs or run, and I refuse to ever stationary bike again (vag pain + Hip inury = never EVER again!), so basically I feel like a sally] and hot yoga and walking only makes me feel complacent. Trying to enact the words of wisdom that every newbie competitor hears from their coach: Trust the Process.

Let's talk about this injury. It awesome!
And by awesome, I mean awful, but by saying awesome, it makes me feel a tad better about it. :) Gives me something to laugh about!

As mentioned above, I feel a remorseful over this injury. In hindsight, I should have been doing MORE yoga and MORE stretching if I was going to be lifting as heavy and doing as heavy of a workout-workload. Working legs 3x a week, requires more restorative work. And I wasn't prepared for that.

I have been seeing my doctor about it, and for a long time, we thought it was my SI (sacroiliac joint - remember, I do love anatomy & physiology!), but after working with my doctor and my chiropractor, it turns out to be my Piriformus (connects your sacrum to the greater trochanter of your femur). As you can see from the image, the sciatic nerve foramen - the holes your sciatic nerve goes through - are right all in there. Which explains the constant pains & numbness going down the outsides of my legs.

We still aren't quite sure what exactly it is, could be a miniscule tear or strain (same thing), either way, this has been a long healing period. If the pain doesn't go down after my rounds with chiropractic, the only thing to do is a round of steroid injections.

All of this to say...
You're lucky to have leg days, and be able to lift weights at all!

What is everyone doing for leg day these days?? PLEASE, let me live vicariously through all of you - Tell me what your current leg day looks like (can be as detailed as you like)!

A Short Lesson in Credentialing

I may or may not have ever mentioned this, but my chosen profession is physician credentialing. I got into it completely by accident, as I was simply looking for a hospital job. I had started out taking some nursing courses before figuring out that others' bodily fluids wasn't my game. But I loved learning about anatomy & physiology (hence my love of bodybuilding)! 

Given that I've been beyond swamped in my jobs, I figured what better time than to share how incredibly crazy and important positions like this are in the world. This is exactly how I feel that I fit in to the health care setting, and provide an invaluable service to patients: By not allowing questionable physicians even into our hospital or touch patients until they have proven their competence.

Although I technically just push a bunch of paper, it can be much more. There are days where I feel like a psychologist, myself, learning all about the psyche of a doctor. 

And then there are days where I feel like a detective, sorting through bullshit with logic to find questionable health care providers. 

Question of the Day: What do you call a doctor who graduated last in his class from medical school?

Answer: An M.D. Sad, but true. 

While I'm not here to train you on how to do my job, I am here to give you a small lesson in sorting through bullshit.  

There has been a physician who recently entered the ranks of the IFBB, who shall remain nameless for now, that I happen to know he/she is claiming to be a board certified physician who is IN FACT, not. I'm not here to tear this person down, or ruin their career (not like my little blog really could), but I do want to warn those out there willing to listen in how to sort through the information themselves.

Heatlhgrades.com - An excellent resource on doctors and hospitals. 

Google - believe it or not, a pretty good resource in finding just about anything on a doctor. And when it comes to their profession, rumors can be true.

RED FLAGS. Meaning, these are immediate flags to me to look deeper into this person's background... Not necessarily that these are poor practitioners.

-Solo Doctors: While you might think seeing a solo practitioner would be great, because it means they have an entrepreneurial spirit and are an expert - not always so. In my world, that usually means they do not work well with others, and do not want to be subject to evidence based peer review. Meaning, they don't want anyone reviewing their work and finding problems. Also, if you are having anything done by a solo provider, and something goes wrong, they usually cannot provide any kind of service to you in a hospital setting, as all providers must have 24 hour hospital coverage to their patients. If they don't have partners, they can't do that!

-Doctors claiming to be board or not board certified at all: Okay, first I should clarify my highlighted point.... All doctors are going to claim to be board certified, and mostly, they will be. If you ask about your doctor's board it should be something like American Board of XX (Orthopedic Surgery or Internal Medicine). Sometimes doctors will tell you they are board certified and they are truly falsifying (which you may not ever know, because it takes someone like me or your state's medical board to find out), or a doctor can become boarded in a less than reputable board... So like I said, it should be something like the above... If its like North American Board of Orthopedic Surgery  - QUESTION THAT! These boards are usually easy to pass, and are for the lesser trained/skilled/competent physician or surgeon. Unfortunately, sometimes when a doctor is practicing solo, they aren't held to any specific standards - because they have no partners checking holding them accountable. 

If a doctor is not board certified within, say, 8 years of graduating their residency or fellowship... I'd ask why. Don't be afraid to ask your doctors office if your doctor is board certified or not. The only exception I would make in this case, is if a doctor is within 5 years of retiring and they let it lapse - That's pretty reasonable.But other than that, this IS important. The American Boards are all governed by the American Medical Association and provide reasonable proof that your physician or surgeon is keeping up on their education, and new skills and practices among physicians in their area of study. 

-Providers doing something they are not trained in: My biggest fear on an airplane, is to hear a frantic attendant call overhead, "Is there a doctor on the plane???" Doctors are not one-size fits all. Yes, they all went to medical school and have basic training... but when a practitioner has been studying only 1 field for the last 30 years, they shouldn't be doing something else. A cardiologist cannot deliver babies, or should not anyway. 

My point here, is that it should concern you if you're seeing a family medicine doctor claim they also do cosmetic surgery. Doctors do not both go the medicine route and the surgery route. They are one or the other.

-Providers who are hesitant to answer questions about their background: I have a lot of patients call asking questions about their doctor. Unfortunately, being who I am, I can almost never release information on doctors other than the most basic info. However, their offices can release whatever they want. They should be able to tell if you if your doc is board certified, and in what. A lot of doctors take a personal interest in certain topics, like if you're an endocrinologist (the study of the endocrine system - hormones & glands) you might take a special interest in post-menopausal hypothyroidism, but many times only their offices will know this information. If they don't want to answer about his board (or other certifications), I would be very hesitant...

-STATE LICENSE: This is a little piece of information that you might want to hold onto, a LOT of state medical board queries, are FREE. Just Google "(Insert State) State Medical board" or "(insert state) state department of health". You may have to search and navigate a bit to find it, but you can usually find your doctor by name, and see the following:
- Name
- License Status
- License Expiration Date
-Actions (Sometimes. This is true in the state of Washington. We can view at any time any action the Medical Quality Assurance Commission, as its called here, has taken against the physician, what the case was, and what the outcome was. Seriously great knowledge to be able to find out on your practitioner.)

I basically protect people from guys like this ^ - I would flat out fire him as my doc.

Getting to the Point.

There are a lot of people out there, offering a lot of services... And we, as consumers, are left to trust businesses when they claim they are something or can do something. But the reality is, if someone is offering a service - they are there to make money. Most people do not ask to see credentials, but what if you had paid your trainer a heap of money... only to find out he/she wasn't really certified?? 

Have you asked your trainer HOW they are qualified to prep a competitor for a body building competition?? Before you fork over all your hard earned cash, and start choking down only boiled tilapia, make sure you know who your trainer is and what they are asking of you. You're not going to put a donut in your mouth just because a trainer told you it was calorie free, so make sure you know what they are about before you go taking their advice and wrecking your body just to do what you're told.

If anyone has a lot of time and money, I have a great business idea for this (And you guys know how often I get business ideas, which I offered to the NPC, btw... If they take this idea, I at least want the credit. They could call it the Bang System. HA!):
There is an online verification system for doctor credentials, in which I can verify their dates of residency and where, or that they even earned their medical degree - Its though the AMA - American Medical Association. It does cost money, but let's be honest... I'd be willing to pay $10 (or some nominal fee) in order to see my trainer was truly certified by a professional certifying board (In theory, Jacques, I've already tested your services and know you rock).  And the system could go further, trainers could pay to be listed on this query system showing what their specialties are, etc. I can just see it now...

You could query, simply by name and city of business and  perhaps get a little report that could say something like:

Trainer:  Lacey M. Bang, CPT Place of Business: Spokane, Washington (licensed to see clients in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and Cheney, WA) Trained by: Online - Eastern Washington University - March 2013 Special Interests/Training: Trained to work with Diabetic patients, Certified Contest Prep Coach. Personal interest in NPC Bikini Posing/Coaching. *Trainer is up to date with on-going education as of 7/2013 Contact Information: Banging Bodies Consulting (TEE HEE!) 12345 W. 5th St. Ste. 300, Spokane,WA 99204 Phone: 509-555-5555 Email: Website: www.shesinyourface.blogspot.com Verified by the National Physique Committee 7/22/2013.

JUST SAYING! Obviously, it could be TONS more robust, or even more simple. But I think its a stellar idea. The NPC never responded to my inquiries, but my credentialing skills are up for hire! I'd rather my skills be used toward an industry I am passionate about. :) Plus, there is huge potential revenue in this... Possibly in the millions.

DEAR NPC  - CONTACT ME! or I might just patent this idea!!!

(Plus, NPC, this could potentially bring a large number of new competitors to the NPC... If people are only logging on to "verify" their trainer, they may navigate to other portions of the page and become interested in competing. Just a little nugget for thought).

PS - You could take this a couple of different routes too. The public could query a person individually, or by city to find all truly certified trainers in the area that do contest prep etc... This could help competitors who are looking for a new trainer find who is around them.

Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings, I've got plenty more things on my plate to worry about. I know that as an overweight person, I would have used this in a heartbeat back in the day when I first started training. So let's take a poll, would you use a service like this?!

25 Things You Didn't (Or Did) Know About Me

Just for some conversation and fun, here's 25 things you may or may not know about me. :)

1. After my first contest prep, I have not eaten a single piece of tilapia. And since my second contest prep, I have only eaten broccoli a handful of times.
2. My gag reflex is really strong.
3. I eat approximately 4 cucumbers a day - Love them! (In the past, this has been known to go up to 6 a day - btw, these are FULL of water as well as chondroitin which helps rebuild your joints!)
4. I have 4 sisters and adore all of them.

Jessica, Stephanie, myself, My mother Jan, Kasey, and Kari. Love. 

5. I wish all the time that I could see my sisters and their children more. They'll never know how often my thoughts go to them.
6. My first and third cars were Honda Civics. I now drive a Toyota 4Runner and will NEVER go back. I'm practically in love with that car.
7. I dream every single night, and usually remember my dreams. I get some of my best ideas through my dreams.
8. I think of new business possibilities for myself daily... But one day, (big dream) I'd like to own a coffee shop/bakery that sells high protein baked goods... and place it right by a bunch of gyms. :) I'd even do specialty protein shakes (because I make GOOD ones). I'd do protein coffees... I'd do vitamix shakes... Oh man...
9. I've tried to learn to knit at least 5 times, and usually re-start in the fall. One day I will get it!
10. It's likely that I could quote any miscellaneous line from Anchorman.
11. I HATE being on bad terms with anyone and will go out of my way to fix immediately.
12. Can't stand the smell of juniper or Gin - Otherwise known as Cat Piss. And I think my cat's pee actually smells better...
13. I have a thing for black cats. I'm not superstitious, more like I embrace the superstition.

14. I actually really just love animals. And frequently weep over our beautiful dane, Molly, that we lost last year.
15. I used to hope I'd turn out differently than my mother (because I'm the spitting image of her), but now I constantly wish I turn out more like her - especially with her patient nature.
16. I cannot find a workout buddy for the life of me! I can't even get my husband to lift with me... I've offered to be a workout buddy for lots of people, but it seems that in the PNW the fit people are loaners. One day I'll find a workout girlfriend so I can have any PR's.
17. I can't wear necklaces. I always want to, and will gawk over them at stores... but in reality, they bug my neck skin and I always take them off. The same with bracelets if I'm at work, they'll stay on if I'm at a social event. But never necklaces.
18. Lol sometimes I beat myself up for not being more girly. #17 case in point.
19. My favorite flower is peonies and wish I could plant them everywhere.
20. I cry a lot. I will spend whole yoga sessions crying and find myself spiritually struggling through a class. I always come out better. I swear, its better than therapy.
21. My dogs each weigh more than I do.
22. I can't stand people that yell at others. No one deserves to be depreciated.
23. My desk at work is ALWAYS tidy. I will lose things otherwise.
24. I have dreams about being able to squat 400 lbs. (Subconscious goal?)
25. The only diamonds I have ever received are from my husband when he proposed, to which I still beam over. I never thought I'd be worth diamonds to anyone. (You can catch me staring at it at any given moment of the day. It still makes me feel the exact same way as the day he put it on my finger.)

What's something about YOU that I don't know?? Would YOU workout with me?  (don't answer that. Most of you would kill me. lol)

Changing My Capacity

I've recently received some random emails and comments on this blog and I just want to set one thing straight: I am not a trainer, nor do I claim to be.... And this blog, is for me. I'm not out here trying to get more followers or strengthen my brand as an athlete. Although its something I have wanted, I also need a place to express my feelings and sentiments... Judge if you wish, but this is a place for women to be empowered and find a friend in someone who struggles with their weight. I do not claim to be perfect, in fact, this is a major struggle of mine.

Please know, that if you visit this blog and need a friend in someone who battles with food issues, you will find it here. :) Also know, that if you visit this blog, I'm brutally honest about myself. Haha

Physical Therapy Status.

Ugh I hate talking about this. Not because I don't want to share, I just wish my news was a little bit more exciting. My SI strain is a slow healer. Originally my thoughts were to share my journey, but I'll be honest... Videos of me doing planks... Isn't like watching Erin Stern doing... anything. Jump squats, sprints, talking, anything. LOL! But seriously, isn't she amazing..

In discussing this journey, it really is the most boring, most basic, and yet most important work I could be doing. It has occurred to me that people who really do take it all the way back to basics, and work their strength back from the ground up, can have even more symmetrical bodies. 

And that is exactly what I'm doing! You want to talk basic? Let's talk 30 second planks, perfectly. Or doing balancing acts with only resistance bands. On one hand its completely humiliating, coming from a girl who once considered herself to be an athlete. At one point, I wondered if 8 separate exercises per body part with 4 sets a piece might  need to be cut back. LOL! 

But taking the time to basically start over in my fitness, is allowing me to fix any kind of muscular imbalances I have. I guess when I really first started lifting, I didn't work my core enough and now I'm on a mission to fix that. And maybe its cocky of me, but I think I'm going to have stellar abs when its all said and done. 

So, maybe a little humility was exactly what I needed. Don't take your own health and fitness for granted, that's the lesson to learn here.

Prep on the Brain.

All I can think about is prep lately. I'm sure it has something to do with all of my competitor-friends prepping, and I think its because I have achieved some clarity about what I would do differently next prep, and post-prep! But I think its also about the fact that I was my strongest at the end of last prep. Although depleted and completely weak, I was at my strongest. 

Changing my Capacity for All Things.

While I'm working intensely on the healing process, I'm also considering my goals and where I want to be. I'll be honest here, I didn't intend on gaining 20 lbs after prep and instead of beating myself up for it, its time to change it. I'm changing my capacity for it all. While life is so extremely busy (did I mention my husband got a job while our Lawn Care business is exploding?), I'm changing my capacity to take it all in and handle one thing at a time... But things for myself, above all else. 

During all of this, I've rearranged my schedule to allow myself consistency. Starting so so slow, with about the lowest cardio you could ask for: 10 minutes. It could be so easy to add in a bunch of cardio, and take my diet down to lose some poundage, but its times like this you must take advantage of your own metabolism. I don't mean abuse it, but let's be honest. My diet hasn't been 100% clean, and I'll be the first to admit that my workout schedule has been anywhere from 2-3 days a week for the last 9 months or so. NOT what I wanted for myself, but what I needed at the time. 

Since I know what my schedule has been, I don't need to add in a ton more for it to be effective on my metabolism. At this point, any consistent working out and clean eating will change my body. 

New Goals.

Entering the month of May, I've decided to take on some new goals. I'm a month away from my certification at work, so it will be time to take on some more. :) 

Bringing Back the Body Goal: I'm taking the next 12 weeks to put my clean eating skills to the test, with an easy meal plan and workout schedule. My goal is to add on a few pounds in muscle, and tighten up some inches. I no longer have any desire to have a weight goal, but more of a look I want. 

Prep Goal: I'd like to be able to prep again next winter, or sooner depending. 

Fitness Goals: This one in particular is long term, but I'd like to be able to squat 50 lbs again. 

I want to be able to run a 5K by the end of the summer.

This Week's Goals: Keep on with my nutribullet shakes (hell yeah!), commit to the new workout schedule, get my ass to yoga at least once (day of my choosing), and get my garden planted so I can make delicious organic home grown food this summer. :)

What are your coming goals?? :) If you're just coming out of prep, what are your goals post-comp??? Can't wait to hear what everyone is planning this summer!!