2.5 weeks out

Height: 5'10". Current Weight: 128.6 lbs. We are 2.5 weeks out from NPC Bikini-San Jose Fit Expo. 12.5 solid weeks into cutting.

Today's Topic: Holding Fast and Setting Yourself Up For Success
So I've got everything set up. Scheduled my tan and bought my jewelry. Just waiting on my suit to come in and then I will pay my competition fee...everything is really expensive but I have been budgeting for so long for this because I KNEW I needed to set myself up for success. Maybe in the future if I pull a true sponsorship I can get some of the fees alleviated from my aching, working back haha! Speaking of: something SO cool was Quest Nutrition sending me a care package of SIX boxes FULL of bars. I write about Quest all the time, and post about them on Instagram, so I am so grateful for the support. Additionally, I'm hoping I can do well enough at this competition that Serious Nutrition Solutions can hook me up with some product. I've used both their fat burner and their pre-workout...INCREDIBLE. I'm absolutely obsessed. I cannot wait to try their X-gels and other products. Last night Jeff and I got to pose for awhile at 24hr and it was definitely the best posing session I have ever had. I felt lean, confident, and as if all my poses were strong and tight. Jeff helped me with the minor details like my arm tightness and my breathing. I need some slight pivots to really show how thin my sides are, while still maintaining an erect and tight position. Posing is EXHAUSTING. But I need to feel REALLY good offstage so that the nerves settle on stage. I just hope I don't fall!

I'm holding fast to my diet...AND I JUST DISCOVERED NON-FAT COTTAGE CHEESE OH MY GOSH. I've NEVER eaten cottage cheese in my life and now I want to cry because I've just now found it when I could have been eating it all of prep. I'm obsessed! I've been eating some nice filet mignon's this week by saving all my fat calories and minimizing my avocado and Quest bar intake. Thats been so nice. I'm burnt out on prepping food--I have NO desire... so I have been buying grilled chicken breasts and hardboiled eggs at Whole Foods. Sides of chicken and steak at Chipotle too! It fits my macros and its delicious. Arctic Zero ice cream has been saving my life at the end of the night too! 150 cal and NO FAT. :) Delicious...though many people think it tastes like frozen whey protein (which it is!).

I found that I was getting so so so obsessed with this competition that it was affecting my health the past couple weeks. Now that I've refocused and started spending time with my friends rather than just the gym and my cat (HAHAHA!) I've found that I have the ability to set new goals for myself. I'm planning on getting my NASM certification so I can finally feel comfortable giving out diet plans and taking on clients on an online / in person basis. Be on the lookout for that, fit fam! My friends and I are also planning some trips (Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Vancouver?) which gives me something else to plan. And my coach and I are figuring out my peak week diet and how to reverse diet after (I only get Saturday night after the show and Sunday all day to gorge. Cheesecake factory=two pieces of cheesecake and a huge burger). Monday morning we go back to the drawing board aka the squat rack. Squatting twice a week til September / October. Gotta get those legs up. Clean bulk=more muscle=better package next show AND a stronger physique for powerlifting meets in the fall. Hoping for a 135 bench, 195 Squat, 275 Deadlift.

Feeling: Grateful. I have received such a ridiculous amount of support from all over. I was having a hard time and my friends and family picked me up and helped put my morale back together. I am gonna rock the stage--even if I get last place. I keep reminding myself= are your choices and actions conducive to your goals and aspirations? I want to inspire...but I'm finding that I am the one who is truly inspired but the love that has poured out from the mouths and hearts of those closest to me. Thanks so much to each and every one of you. Wish me luck!