Bikini Prep

If you’ve ever wondered what 2 weeks out felt like, this photo describes it perfectly. Things just all start to come together. The winter layers have come off, and you just start to feel a little like the Queen B. My friend Sophia asked me how I was feeling this week, and without thinking I just said “like a rockstar.” I just feel GOOD, confident, I am ready.

I trained with my coach this week, and he gave me the stamp of approval. He only sees me in person a few times during my prep, so I always get a little anxious before I am about to meet with him. Pictures never really tell the true story, and with his extensive experience in bodybuilding, his opinion means a lot to me. I got high marks. So much so, that I was given one last cheat meal before my show in, now 13 days. People always want to know about the cheat meal, and it’s always the same: Stoney River filet, crab cake, asparagus, and a house salad. Their house salad is THE BEST. I am a nerd, I know, but it comes out in a really cold bowl, there are bits of egg and bacon on it, everything about it is just amazing. I may have had one of their famous rolls as well, but I’ll never tell.

I’ve also been practicing a lot with my posing coach this month. I typically wait until the end of prep to really hone in on my T-walk (a 1-minute stage presentation which I choreograph to a song of my choosing) and individual poses. I like to wait till I am really confident in my body because THAT what really shines on stage. Sure the glittery suit and jewelry helps too, but the confidence is key.

It’s been a long 14-weeks of prep so far to get to the point where I am today. I’ve shared about my struggles with the scale not moving, low energy levels and balancing prep life with real life. During this time, I have discovered 4 tricks that have really helped me during this journey, so I thought I’d share them with you. Summer is coming, and many of us are hoping to get swimsuit ready in the next 6 weeks. I am hoping these tips can help you, the way that they’ve helped me.

• Brush your teeth after lunch and dinner. I started brushing my teeth after lunch about a month ago, and it’s amazing how much this simple act can make a difference. It signals to my brain that I’m DONE (well, for the next 2.5 hours until my 4th meal), and it helps my brain to focus on something else besides food. Same with dinner. It has helped me tremendously.
• Try THIS tea. I am so NOT a tea person. I’ve tried to be a tea person, but it really just did nothing for me. UNTIL I had THIS TEA. And now I am a tea person. I purchased it at the Varuna Aveda Spa on West Street in Annapolis when I was there a few weeks ago for some pampering. It is a bit pricey at $20 a box, but it’s so comforting and flavorful. I have a cup typically after lunch and dinner. You can also buy it online here.
• If you’re due for a teeth whitening, apply your white strips during your “weak” times of the day. I have been whitening my teeth (because all the little details help when it’s showtime) for the past two weeks. I’ll apply the white strips every other day or every two days after dinner and after I’ve brushed my teeth. I know that I need to leave them on for 30 minutes, so it’s another way to ensure that I don’t go back for seconds, and it allows my brain to catch up to my stomach and to signal that I am full.
• Establish a new weekend routine. If you typically go out to dinner on Friday nights or you find yourself undoing your diet on the weekends, consider establishing a new routine. For me, I have been taking a relaxing Epsom salt bath some weekend nights and applying one of my favorite face masks to help to cleanse and detox my skin. This practice reminds me that I am making healthy choices not only for my body and mind, but for my skin as well. Beautycounter’s Charcoal Mask and Origins Rose Clay Mask are my two favorites. I use each of them once a week.

As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, weight loss is a mental game. You must be mentally committed to your goal 100% to succeed. No tip or trick or ab workout will get you the results that you want unless you’re willing to do whatever it takes. Take the time to commit to your goals FIRST, and the results will come, in time, if you continue to work for them. Have a great week! 13 days and counting…

I bought these Junior Mints a few weeks ago at Paper Source when I was picking up some birthday cards. They were an impulse buy, and I was drawn to the colors, the kind of candy, and the nostalgia. See, Junior Mints were Dad’s favorite candy. He wasn’t a big candy guy, but these were his go-to. I’m not sure he would have gone for the pastel, limited edition, however; he was more of a classic guy. His memory smacks me over the head at random times, and this was one of them.

I lost my Dad close to twelve years ago to lung cancer. He was diagnosed as stage four after a few weeks of coughing, and we lost him less than six months later. He was not a smoker and was one of the 5% of people diagnosed with lung cancer from an “unknown cause.” When my Dad died, I decided not to grieve his death. I brushed it under the rug, mentally. I put his death in a box and hid it in the back of my brain, and I postponed the grief. It wasn’t until many years later when I got healthier in all ways of my life that I had to deal with the pain. Even after all this time, it’s still hard, especially when I smell freshly cut grass and pecan rolls. Hard work and cooking were two of his hobbies. I guess that’s where I get it from.

When I think about this sport that I have grown to love (and right now at less than 50g of carbs a day, HATE), I think of my Dad. He was a very conservative and religious man. What would he think of the barely there bottoms and high heels? I laugh out loud as I write that sentence. I am not sure he would be in the crowd cheering me on (like my Mom will be). I think my Mom proudly told everyone in Annapolis, “That’s my daughter,” referencing the Bay Weekly edition with me on the cover from last week. I am not sure he would understand. I hope he knows that I am drawn to the sport for the hard work that comes with the preparation. It is 99% of the reason that I do it. The other 1% is for the abs, but those will quickly disappear after these shows are over, and I will return to a normal, more flexible lifestyle. The work is what I love, the challenge. And THAT is all HIS FAULT. It’s because of the Saturday morning list of chores each weekend, the early morning wake up calls, and the work ethic that he instilled in me, that I have this drive to compete. It’s why I had 5 W-2s from last year. (Not kidding). It’s why sometimes I have a hard time resting, because I really like to work.

I am grateful for that list of chores and every time I had to “wash the kitchen floor on hands and knees” to earn my weekly allowance. That list of chores made an immeasurable impact on me. With every drop of sweat I shed during my 5am cardio sessions and every time I hit a weight lifting personal record, I think of the work, the lesson. I hope the work that I do continues to inspire others. I know THAT inspiration would make him proud today. In less than 3 weeks, I’ll enjoy those Junior Mints backstage to give me a little sugar and carb rush before showtime. I’ll think of my Dad and thank him again for the impact me made on me as a child. It reminds me how impressionable we are when we’re young. It’s why I say to Gianna daily, “You’re so smart” and “You’re so strong.” It’s why I take my job as a parent very seriously and why I do hit the gym at those early hours. Every second I have with her is a chance to make a positive impact on her life the way my Dad (and Mom) made on mine. Parents don’t get trophies for their hard work, but if they did, my Dad would surely get mine.

My Dad next to an armoire he built from scratch

Watching our team in 2005

“I’m training for a bikini competition, and it’s been a tough week,” I told a client in my spin class on Saturday when she asked about some of the motivating phrases regarding mental toughness that I delivered during class that morning. One of my regulars overheard us, and interjected, “You’re not training for a bikini competition. You’re training to WIN a bikini competition.” Damn. Training to win it? I never really thought of it like that, but I guess I am.

As I write this week’s blog post, I am eating meal 3 of my strict prep diet in preparation for my show on April 29th. Meal 3 (of 6 for the day) includes 4 ounces of chicken, a half a cup of greens and 4 ounces of sweet potato. That sweet potato will be my last carbs for the day, and I am enjoying them at 1:40 in the afternoon.

Losing weight is hard.

This prep has been much different than my last one for many reasons. First off, I have bigger goals for these shows. I don’t really want to say them out loud here because fear holds me back. What if I FAIL? Then the 3 people who read my blog will know. Isn’t this this stuff we tell ourselves that holds us back? FEAR. FEAR. FEAR. Okay I will tell you my goals. In the first show, the OCB Catonsville Conquer, my goal is top 3 overall. In the second show on May 14th, the NPC Natural Capital Classic, my goal is top 3 in Masters. Okay, there I’ve said it, now let’s move on.

So now that I have these larger, scarier goals, I have to bring a better package to the stage this spring. I have to be leaner, I have to have more developed glutes and hamstrings. I have to have more balanced arms. And I have to nail my posing. No biggie right? Oh and there will be MORE girls to compete against and most of them will be in their twenties. Go big or go home, right?

Here are the top 5 things I’ve learned during this 16-week prep that may help YOU lose weight (and you won’t like them one bit).

• You have to be consistent. I started this prep around 137 pounds. Today I am at 133, and my goal weight is 127 pounds for the first show and 125 pounds for the second. Losing weight is HARD. 3500 calories = 1 pound. So that means that I have to burn about 700 calories MORE than I eat for the next 30 days. That means that my diet has to be on point everyday for 30 days. It has to be perfect, if that is my goal. It doesn’t mean that I can be “on point during the week and blow it on the weekends.” It doesn’t mean that I can “have a few cheat meals a week where I eat whatever.” Losing weight is hard. If you’ve tried to lose weight and you’ve fallen into speaking one of the two phrases I list above, then maybe that is why you have not been successful. You have to remain diligent, and you have to remain consistent. I told you that you wouldn’t like what I’ve learned.
• Eating clean foods is the best way to lose weight. Ughhhhhhh. This one is the WORST. Everyday that I look at my daughter’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with longing, I am reminded that I cannot have nut butter right now. I am training to be in the best shape of my life, and nut butter isn’t a part of that equation. Neither is bread, but that’s a whole other topic. Believe me, I fought my coach hard on this one when he kept telling me CLEAN FOODS ONLY. But what about my protein bread and protein pancakes. PLEASE! No. Clean foods only. After about a week on his boring clean foods diet, guess what, I dropped a pound quickly. Mainly water weight, since many processed foods hold water in the body, but regardless, I was beginning to look leaner for sure.
• You have to get up really early some days. I get it. You’re busy. We all have full lives. But it’s a hell of a lot easier to lose weight if you exercise, so I joined a great second gym, Edgewater Fitness, which is within walking distance of my house, so I could do extra cardio at o’dark hundred before my family wakes up. I get in there at 5:45am for an hour on the stepper burning 550 calories, pick up Starbucks for me and the hubs on the way home, and I’m showered and ready for the day before my daughter wakes up. I usually hit a second workout later in the day depending on my energy. Losing weight is hard.
  

  Photo Credit: Brian Schneider Photography

• If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. One of my favorite quotes ever. I love when people tell me they want better  __________ (insert object of desire here – arms, abs, booty), and then I start to tell them how to get them and their eyes glaze over. “Yeah, I can’t do that.” I love when I tell people how much food they GET TO EAT on my macro plans, and they say “I can’t eat that much food.” Kind of like when I told my coach that I really liked eating protein waffles and carbs and night and he told me I couldn’t do that. Ughhhhhh again, and that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach where you know you have to step outside of your comfort zone and CHANGE. Why can it be so uncomfortable to change? So fine, almonds and protein shakes it is, and more weight lost. I guess I really do have to change if I want to change.
• You are responsible for your goals. No one else is. Your mom drops by with dinner for the family. SO nice of her, but you’ll be having the meal you prepared. Family birthday parties. GREAT, but you’ll be sticking to your goals. It’s always important to socialize and show gratitude, but you don’t HAVE to EAT the birthday cake to show it. If you have aggressive weight loss goals, don’t let others be in charge of your ability to achieve them. Period.

Well there you have the truth from yours truly. Losing weight is hard. If it were easy, then the cabbage soup diet and juice cleanses would really work. You can’t take the easier softer way if you want long term, sustainable weight loss. It takes time, hard work, and diligence. So keep working hard on you, and always keep your eye on the prize.

I love the beginning of a new year. Similar to the beginning of a new week, I feel recharged and refocused on new challenges ahead. The past two months, I have really enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing. Less cooking, less cleaning, more playing, more asking for help.

“Can you please pick up dinner?”

“Can you please babysit, so my husband and I can have a date night?”

“Can you please come clean my house twice a month, instead of once?”

“No, I don’t want to go there.”

“No, we don’t make plans on Sundays. They are ‘family days.'”

“No, I’m not available.”

As a result of more asking for help and declining things that don’t give me joy, I feel refreshed and renewed. I was almost getting borderline complacent as well which was a new feeling for me. Last fall was extremely taxing on me, mentally and physically. Training for my first bikini competition was so challenging and mentally draining that I just really needed time to rest. I reduced my gym time from 12 hours a week to 6. I reduced my cooking time from 5 hours a week to about 2. I ate out several times a week, enjoying lots of chicken and steak kabobs from Zoe’s Kitchen and salads from Panera Bread – a few more burgers too. I put my food scale away completely for 6 weeks. I ate cookies after lunch some days. I never turned down seconds. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, whenever I felt like it. It was amazing. I still ended up choosing healthy foods most of the time, because I prefer the way they make me feel, but I had a lot more treats over the holidays. I avoided the bathroom scale too. I got on every once in a while, only for a good laugh. I honestly didn’t care what it said. I knew I would get back to work in 2017, but the end of 2016, I just said “f*ck it.”

So when I took my first set of photos for my coach this week and finally stepped on the scale after a weekend of eating a burger, french fries, wings and some homemade chocolate chip cookies (my last “hurrah”), I was curious as to what he might say to my 6 pound weight gain. When I started training for my show last July, I weighed 135 most days. When I stepped on stage in October I weighed 129. When I stepped on the scale on Monday, I weighed 141. Hot damn, I guess I ate a lot more cookies than I thought.

I pressed send on my email with my photos, and I waited. I checked my email about 20 times in the hour it took him to respond with my plan. What was my penance for said cookies? The email came through, and I held my breath as I opened it. The result: a shit ton of cardio (plus my normal weight training 5 times a week). For a split second, I regretted all of the delicious chocolate chips and endless scoops of peanut butter and mounds of buttered bread. How was I going to do ALL THAT CARDIO?

141 pounds vs. 129 pounds

I took it one day at a time.

Day 1 – 60 minutes of weights then 75 minutes of cardio

Day 2 – 60 minutes of weights then 40 minutes of cardio

Day 3…I stepped on the scale again. 136 pounds. Say what? Did I really lose 5 “pounds” in 2 days? I was in disbelief. Maybe they were never “real pounds” anyways but water weight?

Day 4…I stepped on the scale again. 136 pounds. Seriously?!

I texted my coach the results of crushing 2 days of work and a killer diet, and his response: LESS CARDIO.

Thank goodness.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because sometimes the body just needs to rest. It needs a break from being “on” all the time. It needs help. It needs to lean on family and friends and the nice salad maker at the restaurant across the street. It needs to stop thinking about goals and putting pressure on itself to be everything for everyone and it just needs to take care of itself.

As a result of the rest, I gained 1 real pound. That’s about 1,000 chocolate chips and they were all delicious. They say that chocolate is good for the soul, and I believe it.

This spring I’ll be back on stage again competing in two local shows, one in April and one in May. I won’t be eating too many chocolate chips over this 4 months, but I will still be doing less and asking for help more. In 2017, I hope you’ll join me on this journey. Give your body what it needs. Be kind to yourself. But never EVER stop chasing your dreams.

I think I am still full from Thanksgiving.

And the day after Thanksgiving.

And the day after the day after Thanksgiving.

Can anyone relate?!

Today, I finally said ENOUGH and cleaned out all of the Thanksgiving treats that were leftover: sweet potato casserole (with so many delicious pecans and marshmallows on top), pumpkin pie with that buttery, flaky crust, leftover candies from an edible candy turkey that I made with my niece, oh and don’t forget the cookies. Two kinds. Both amazing.

I really don’t feel badly about any of the treats that I enjoyed this past weekend. They were all delicious. Typically I treat my body very well with whole foods low in sugar and high in nutritional value, so going off the rails once in a while is fine with me. I’m working on being kinder to myself in all ways, and this is one of them. Hopefully you’re being kinder to yourself too. What’s done is done. Time to move on.

I thought that this week, we could all join forces to stay accountable together, so beginning tomorrow I am hosting a FREE accountability group until Friday for anyone that wants to participate. If you’ve ever been interested in joining one of my 6-week macro groups, you’ll get to see some examples of the content that I post in these private groups.

Here are my personal goals for this week to help me get back on track:

• Drink at least a gallon of water per day
• Take all of my supplements each day: multivitamin, fish oil, probiotic, vitamin C, magnesium
• No diet sodas
• No artificial sweeteners
• At least 3 servings of greens per day
• Workout 5 days, for 60 minutes each
• No treats!

If you want to join me in this push to press the reset button, add yourself to my group. Click here. We’ll all get started together tomorrow!

If you did not have a chance to read my post from last week about Sally’s 1200-calorie diet, make sure you check it out to give you a background on this topic.

We saw last week how Sally was experiencing symptoms of a damaged metabolism after a few months on her 1200-calorie diet, a weight loss plan that could be considered a “crash diet” for her height, weight, age and activity level. Sally is probably a great candidate for reverse dieting which I will discuss today. We all know what a diet is, well reverse dieting is essentially the opposite. When you reverse diet, you SLOWLY add food back into your daily plan in order to SLOWLY restore your metabolism to a healthy level.

The key is SLOWLY. If Sally, jumped to a 1700-calorie diet from a 1200-calorie diet, she would probably gain weight very quickly, get very frustrated with the process, and retreat back to her 1200-calorie ways. This is a very common occurrence for people who do not reverse diet correctly. The best way to handle this is to add about 150-calories at a time to allow your body to get used to the idea of more food. Essentially, this allows your body to start to trust you again. If you think about it, Sally’s body thought that she was starving because of the crash diet she put it on. If she immediately adds 500 calories to her day, her body may think that this is a fluke occurrence and CONTINUE to hold onto this food too, resulting in quick weight gain. As I mentioned last week, this is NOT SALLY’S FAULT. Sally thought that she was eating enough food for her body type. She is a part of the thousands, tens-of-thousands, hundreds-of-thousands of people who are misinformed about what is considered a healthy calorie defect for their body.

If you calculated your BMR last week, you may have been surprised a what you found what your calorie target (if you laid in bed all day). If you exercise 3-5 times a week, you should take that number an multiply it by 1.5 to give you a rough idea of how many calories you would need to maintain your weight.

My BMR is about 1380. Currently I teach 3 spin classes a week AND weight train for 1 hour 3 times a week, so I multiply my BMR by 1.6 to give me 2208 calories a day. When I was training for my bikini competition, I was eating about 1900 calories a day (and working out even more), so I am still reverse dieting to get back to my 2200 calories to maintain my weight. Is reverse dieting easy, NO. Is reverse dieting worth it, so you can eat SO MUCH MORE FOOD. YES. The key is SLOWLY increasing your calories. In a world where we all want everything, now and fast, this is the reason most people quit and just deal with their current diet.

People that are successful at it find that their workouts are so much better because they have ENERGY. They sleep better and think more clearly because they are FULL and nourished from the inside out. They are HAPPIER because they are not starving. They feel in control of their life.

To read more about reverse dieting, check out this article.

This is one of the services that I will be offering during my macro group which will start in January. More info to come on that later in the weeks.

Take care of your body. It does so much for you.

October 29th, 2016 is a day I won’t soon forget.

After a pretty decent night’s sleep, I woke up at my usual 6am to start my day. Even though my child sleeps well past 6, enjoying regular 12-hour sleeps each night, I am usually up before her and enjoy a few moments of silence on my own. Justin arrived home at 4am that morning after a long flight home from FL after a tough loss, so the house was very quiet.

I went downstairs, and had to remind myself NOT to drink my usual 48 ounces of lemon water like I do religiously each morning. On show day I was only allowed to “sip water as needed.” I reviewed my checklist to make sure I had everything: bikini, shoes, jewelry, cooler of 4 meals for the day, lipstick, hand wipes, $5 plastic e-z pee so that when I used the restroom I didn’t ruin my spray tan (yes, there is a market for everything in the bodybuilding world), ipod with my pre-loaded “pump up” playlist, earbuds, phone charger, sewing kit (you never know), business cards, and a host of other things that I packed “just in case.” I reviewed my timeline. I wrote out the exact times that I was supposed to eat the meals that my coach laid out for me. My first meal was set for 7:45am, 4 hours before I took the stage, and it consisted of 2 slices of bacon, 2 whole eggs, and 2 rice cakes with jelly. YUM. Needless to say, I was looking forward to it. I could also have 4 ounces of coffee, so I sipped on some coldbrew from Starbucks that I got the day before. WHY THAT MEAL, you may be wondering? It’s all strategy. SOAK up the water. Any remaining water floating around in my body that was not being pulled inside of my muscles would be directed that way with the series of meals that I would eat on show day. At 8:15am, I kissed my family goodbye and made my way to the venue.

I arrived early and started the glam process at 9:15 with hair and makeup by an awesome show vendor named Shawna Pringle. Shawna is no newbie when it comes to these types of events, but she is usually on the stage rather than behind it. She is an IFBB Physique Pro and an all-around badass. In 2014, she started her makeup business. She is also a pro at making women looking their best on stage. I was with her for about an hour, and I was really pleased with my stage face and hair. I felt beautiful.

Make up and hair post GLAM session

“Go Time” Playlist

At 10:15am, I headed back to the tanning pod to get a couple extra layers of spray tan added to my already dark skin. While in line, I had my second meal, 3 ounces of salted white fish and 2 more rice cakes with jelly. After I was finished, it was time to get suited up. I knew that I was not going on stage till around 11:45am, but I felt like time was going by really quickly, so I made sure to be ready by 11:15am. I had my Snickers bar, also part of the strategy to bring the extra pump to the muscles, did some wall squats and kick backs to bring some blood flow to the booty, and cued up my playlist. I will say that the BEST thing I packed in my bag for show day was a killer playlist to get me focused. I was in a room with all of the competitors during the pre-show. I could see all of my competition around me. I would have been very easy to look at some of the other women and start comparing myself to them, but the playlist helped me to stay in my zone. I turned up my tunes, and tuned everyone out. I focused on me. I stayed in the moment. I reminded myself how hard I had worked for this moment. I remained confident in my work, in the package that I was bringing to the stage. I got a quick hello and kiss from my hubby. I got some motivating words from my coach, and it was showtime. I was ready.

My coach, Joe Bender

The hubs

At 11:45am they lined us up in numerical order. There were 10 total competing in Novice Bikini, and I was number 62. As we walked on stage, I ended up in the middle of the stage, since the numbers ranged from 58-67. During the 5 minutes on stage, the judges never moved me from the middle. I had learned enough in the past 5 months to know that staying in the middle was a good thing. I felt strong and happy. I could see my family and friends. It was hard to smile that long with all of the bright lights in my face, and my mouth was quivering a little bit even though I didn’t feel nervous on the inside. Maybe it was the Snickers. Lord knows I had not had that much sugar at once in months. When our time was up, we all walked off stage. I thanked God for getting me through it, grabbed my robe and called in Justin and Joe to recap. Joe told me I was in the top 2 since I wasn’t moved from the middle. I was overwhelmed with joy. I could see the pride in my husband’s eyes. I couldn’t believe it. I was so incredibly happy. So much hard work. So many sacrifices. It had all paid off.

I went out to the auditorium to see my family and friends. Over 25 people came to support me that day. My good friend Sophia even flew in from Chicago. I felt very loved. We laughed and hugged and talked about everything that had just happened. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

A couple of hours passed where I could sit with my family and watch the other competitors perform their 1-minute stage walk, which is when you pose to a song of your choosing and enjoy your 60 seconds to show off all of your hard work during training. It was amazing to see such strong bodies of all shapes and sizes take the stage. You got to learn a little more about each competitor when their bio was read. I later found out that the girl who took 1st place over me lost 100 pounds recently, proving the point that you can get fit at anytime of your life if you really want it.

It was almost my turn for my stage walk. I used the Calvin Harris and Rihanna song, “This is What You Came For.” It was really fun. I didn’t do anything perfectly during my walk, but I was okay with it. The walk was for fun and to show off my personality. I tried to stay in the moment and enjoy the present.

It was soon time for awards. The 9 other girls and I lined up back stage. They started calling out the numbers, 5th place, 4th place, 3rd place. This was it. 2nd or 1st. One was mine. When I heard my name for 2nd, I was disappointed for less than half of a second. Then I remembered that my GOAL was TOP 5, and I had achieved my goal. I DID IT!

After lots of hugs and pictures and congrats from family and friends, I headed home with Justin to see Gianna. I gave her a big spray-tanned hug. After all, she is my motivation for setting these big goals. I wanted her to know that anything is possible. That it is OKAY for me to take time for myself to work on goals and dreams that I have. It makes me a better mom and wife when I take care of me too. After a long, hot shower where some of my dark color when down the drain (at almost a week later, I am still orange and peely), we enjoyed a great night IN with our homemade pizza (the BEST in town) and some Levain Bakery cookies. The taste of those treats was sweet, but the taste of a completed, crushed goal was much sweeter.

What’s next for me? Some time off. My starting weight in June was 136, with 18% body fat, and my stage weight was 129 with about 14% body fat. My goal is to hover around 133 over the holidays while I make some muscle gains in the gym. In the spring you’ll find me back on stage somewhere, but for now, you’ll see me enjoying more of a social life. Prep life is fun, and I am definitely hooked, but now it’s time for family, flexibility, and rest.

Thank you for your support and for following me along this journey. I hope that I’ve inspired you to set some big goals for yourself along the way. Don’t let fear stop you from reaching your fullest potential today. Anything is possible.