Cassie's Figure Competition Journal

[Boopster]

Boopster, do you remember what youre percentage was 6 weeks out?

Cassie,

I only got body fat checked the day of show. I was at 12%. trainer was not concerned about numbers as he was "the look". So I didn't have it taken, once he saw me on stage, he knew and I knew that was where I needed to be. Keep in mind, You will be tanned, lighting plays a huge role and what your diet will consist of the last week of training. I competed on a Saturday. Thursday, and Friday were NO WORKOUT DAYS, not even cardio. They were days used to hydrate and I had specific times to eat and exact foods and exact measurements of what to eat. Hopefully, your trainer will be gving you the instruction on this.

[cassiegose]

Michele,

I'm so glad you said that!! I had mine measured about a month ago (but the guy who measured it thought it was way off because i had worked out that morning and was dehydrated). Since then i haven't had it measured as i just can't seem to find a good time to do it. I tend to get obsessive about numbers so wasn't going to worry about it too much and go by how body is looking instead. I'll just stick to what i've been doing and keep checking the scale. I've also been watching strength in the gym to make sure that isn't going down too much... I figure it i'm still able to push the same amount of weight and the scale is creeping down then i must be losing fat instead of muscle. Thats thought process anyways... works for me so i'll stick with it.

[Boss Man]

I'm sure the changes will work out for you. Just keep being positive and try not to worry yeah

You're a doing a brilliant job and you should be very proud of yourself.

[cassiegose]

58 days!

Today is a good day... and tomorrow is FRIDAY! I do love me some fridays!

I weighed in this morning and was SO EXCITED to see that weight has finally gone down a pound. It hadn't moved in a while so I was pretty worried. It could be water weight.. or it could be that I've lost another pound. Either way its a total mental game and I was glad to see the scale move down regardless of what it was.

I taught spinning class again this morning. Its a 5:30 am class, held every Tuesday and Thursday morning. For the second time this week one of class members informed me that I'm not as "peppy" as I usually am. Note to everybody in life right now... It is NOT a good idea to tell me at 5 freaking 30 in the morning that I'm not "peppy enough". A) How peppy can a person be at 5:30 in the morning and B) NOBODY would be peppy if they were on this stupid diet and exercise regimen. I actually think that i'm never really all that peppy in the mornings, I think i'm usually just alot better at faking it. Right now i don't have the energy to fake it. Sooooo I informed class that they can pretty much plan on me NOT being peppy for the next two months. LOL! Needless to say I was a grumpy you-know-what this morning. I did however, change out of grumpy pants before leaving the gym and heading to work so I feel alot better now. I think the oatmeal and caffeine helped disposition immensly.

So last night I went BACK to the gym after work. It was stinky, crowded, and stuffy in there. I was surprised at how much energy I had for workout!... although I was pretty much exhausted by the time i got done and literally had to drag myself to the shower, then home. Once home I seriously considered just skipping dinner but quickly decided against that idea. I'm planning on hitting the gym again on lunch break for posing practice, and after work for more cardio. The people that work at the gym are going to think i've lost mind since i'll be there 3 times today. Luckily trips should be spaced out enough that there will be different workers there each time I go.

Thats all I know today. I've decided to make it a great day and quit being grumpy. I hope all is well with everybody!

Cassie :)

[cassiegose]

LOL! Damn straight! I'm glad scale is being coorperative this week also... its really helped to put me in a better mood.

[Boss Man]

Just remember, that calling your prep schedule "stupid", is just a reaction to how hard it's really starting to seem .

It's getting closer every day. Just think about it; soon enough that special moment will come, and you'll realise the hard and enduring time you've spent doing this, WILL be worth it.

Chin up, and no worries yeah.

[cassiegose]

Tomorrow I am officially 8 weeks out. YIPES!

I figured Id post today since I won't have access to a computer until Monday.

I had to buy new pants yesterday as I was finding that all of other ones were falling off me. I'm not much of a shopper... in fact i HATE shopping.. however I did find a good deal... bought 6 pairs of pants for $60. Didn't need that many pairs of pants but it was a swinging good deal so couldn't resist. When I started diet on March 30 I was wearing a size 9 pants. Yesterday I bought size 3/4. It was a good feeling. :)

I think body is really starting to change now. I thought I had noticed some major changes in the past 5 days or so... however figured it may have just been wishful thinking. However, twice yesterday I was complimented by people who I see on a daily basis. Both said that they are noticing huge changes. It was nice to recieve those compliments and know that it wasn't just me thinking i was seeing progress.

One thing that i think is helping me GREATLY this week is that i've increased water intake by quite a bit. I always preach the importance of water, however last weekend was terrible and didn't drink nearly enough. On Monday I made it a goal to start drinking more water. goodness this has made a huge difference! For anybody out there struggling with losing weight... or feeling like they've hit a plateau... best advice for you is to monitor your water intake and make sure youre drinking enough. I was SO frustrated earlier this week as I felt like I wasn't making the progress that I could, even though diet has been ridiculously clean (possibly too clean) and I've been putting 100% effort into exercise routines. After increasing water intake this week I have lost 2 pounds in 5 days and I feel SOOOO much better! I honestly don't think i've actually lost 2 pounds in 5 days, however i do believe that by drinking more water i have flushed system a bit and I definitely have more energy. Just some thoughts in case anybody out there is struggling with a plateau. :)

The past couple of days have been somewhat challenging as I have been craving sweets like crazy. I've found that oatmeal with a bit of protein powder in it seems to help greatly and last night i had cottage cheese with half a scoop of cupcake batter flavored protein powder in it (can you believe they actually make cupcake batter flavored protein powder? What will they think of next!). A couple of people that I have talked to have told me that when they did their comp diets they would have ALL OUT cheats once a week. One girl told me she would eat 3 or 4 pieces of pizza, with brownies, ice cream, and peanut butter! I don't think i can bring myself to do that, but i think I will greatly increase carbs on Sunday to give myself a nice refeed day. I've been averaging around 85-115 grams of carbs per day... I think i'll bump this up to atleast 200 or so on Sunday and see what happens.

For the past 2 nights I have gone back to the gym for another 45 minutes of intense cardio (in addition to morning workout routine). I'm planning on doing this again tonight. It is amazing how much energy I have at night. Its been great. I'm actually enjoying the night cardio more than I anticipated... although have been absolutely exhausted by the time I get home afterwards.

I just found out today that I will be officially moving next week and will finally be able to start remodeling house. I moved back to hometown 2 months ago but have been waiting for renters to move out of house so i can officially move stuff and begin remodeling house. Sooo for the past 2 months I have been staying with parents and going crazy waiting for renters to move out of house. Now that it is happening life is going to become crazy busy! I'm very excited for the upcoming changes... yet wondering how all of this is going to fit into already hectic schedule and effect training program.... Should be interesting. :)

Well I didn't intend on writing a short novel today but it appears that I have. I hope all is well with everybody... AND HAPPY FRIDAY! Yay for weekends! :)

Cassie

[Boss Man]

Some people do do the cheat thing, but I feel with your consistency and solid approach, the increased Carb thing sounds better. Then you're not tempting fate.

If you can handle not having certain foods for 3 months, they'll be all the more sweeter, for the day or two after them comp, remembering of course not to splurge afterwards, as some people put on the fat too fast after comps, as they eat certain foods again and don't sometimes show the right levels of control.

So I totally agree with your assessment of the increased Carbs intake. I think it's a good idea.

I'm glad things are getting sorted with you, and I think you'll be fine.

Good luck with everything.

[cassiegose]

I agree with the cheating thing. Plus, I don't want to chance not being ready in time. I'd rather be overprepared then get to the day of the comp and feel like i could have done a better job of preparing.... Plus right now... and extra bowl of oatmeal or a few bites of fruit seem like absolute heaven!

As for eating after the comp... I've heard of people gaining like 10-15 pounds in the week following the comp. Granted, a lot of this is going to be water weight, however many times people will go completely off of their diet the day after the comp and their bodies are so starved that they gain weight like crazy. I'm NOT planning on doing this... In fact I really can't as I'm planning on doing another comp on November 11th (assuming all goes well with this first show) so really won't be able to afford to get off diet for more than a day. After the second show, i'd like to try to build some muscle back up as i know i'm losing quite a bit with this diet. I'd like to think i'm losing mostly fat... but i know some muscle is also being sacrificed in the process. :(

Thanks bossman!

[Boss Man]

Well if your lifts are staying more or less the same, muscle might not be being lost, but it's not the likely thing. If the lost Fat and muscle, were helping to maintain a power to weight ratio, similar to that which you had about 2.5 months ago, then that could be reducing the amount of lifting ability lost, or maybe maintaining the ability, considering you're also losing some counteractive fat weight, that might normally work against your muscles a bit.

Obviously I have no proof of what is happening with your lifting ability, so I'm supposing.

I really like the November idea. Presumably that's roughly 5-6 weeks between comps, which means you could allow for a slightly higher Carb intake for a couple of weeks, to try and maintain a similar condition, rather than lose more mass, because even if you added a couple of % fat back, you'd still have 3-4 weeks to shred it off.

[cassiegose]

weights are staying pretty much the same... actually getting stronger in some lifts and of course body weight stuff is getting MUCH easier. I was thinking that because lifts are staying the same then i shouldn't be losing muscle. I have been a bit concerned about losing muscle as I worked HARD to build it where it is and don't like the idea of body eating it for fuel.. although i know that can't be prevented (to a degree).

Yes, I figured 2 shows wouldn't be a bad idea. With all of the work and money that i've put into this competition I just can't justify only doing one show. Plus, to participate in an NPC show you have to pay an annual fee of $85... plus another $60 to participate in the show. I figure if i'm going to pay the $85 to get NPC card I might as well do a couple of shows. Plus, I was thinking that with two shows I could use the first as an ice breaker... and the second just for fun. I'm sure i'll be a nervous wreck for the first show so was hoping the second would be a bit more for fun as i'll have a better idea of what i'm doing for that one. The shows would be about 5 weeks apart so would really just have to work on making a few minor tweeks and maintaining for second show. Shouldn't be as hard as this first one as i'm losing right now.

Just thoughts... If you can't tell i'm REALLY bored at work today.. hence the long posts on here. :)

[Boss Man]

Out of interest, why did you necessarily choose NPC, as opposed to NANBF, WNFF, OCB, etc etc.

[cassiegose]

54 days to go now!

Bossman, I chose NPC because the shows in area are NPC and I don't want to travel too far for a competition.

So this weekend was not good... not good at all. I pretty much fell off the diet wagon... got ran over by it and was drug behind it for a good couple of miles.....

Last week I was having some pretty terrible sugar cravings, which I was trying to ignore. I was able to ignore them all week, then Friday I purchased some fruit planning on eating it on Saturday for a "treat". Saturday I ended up eating all of the fruit... then had a LARGE bowl of cereal (lucky charms- probably one of the worst cereals out there as far as sugar goes)then I had an ice cream bar... then I had some chips... then I had some chocolate with a little peanut butter.. and then I seriously wanted to puke so had to lay down. LOL! Needless to say I think I got the sugar cravings out of system! I will say that eating all that made me remember why I eat the way I do. I felt so sick afterwards! The good thing about it was that I still managed to keep calories where they should be for the day and I did get in a morning workout as well as an evening 5 mile run (I felt like superwoman after all those carbs!). This morning I felt like an oompa-loompa at the gym with all the water i'm retaining right now. I'm drinking lots of water to flush out system and am planning on feeling all better tomorrow. :)

As for todays diet... everything is on track and I'm ready to hit it hard for another 8 weeks. Went to the gym this morning for weights and HIIT... going back after work for more cardio.

I hope everybody had a happy weekend!

[Boss Man]

The reason for NPC makes sense now.

Well that thing about the diet has surprised me a little, as I thought you were totally strong these days, but of course it absolutely doesn't and won't change opinion on what you're capable of, or indeed what type of person you are .

I know you CAN do this, and you WILL succeed, and you ARE human, so don't be hard on yourself for anything, you just need to get back on track, like you and I both know you can, and just keep motoring onwards .

Keep belief in yourself, and if you feel like that again, don't let it progress into a face plant situation, just message me if you want to, and have a good rant, and hopefully we could converse, on how to get over your little preparation niggles, so you don't potentially fall into another trap, like you did on the weekend.

I read about someone once, who got 1 month out from a comp, splurged for two days solid, felt guilty and didn't do it. You're worth so, so much more to yourself than that misses and if anything else happens in the future, that isn't meant to, you'll not let anyone down, but possibly yourself, but this IS a premium opportunity, to put a few past life issues firmly to bed, and nobody doubts how much you want this, to prove you've got IT, which you DO have, and nobody doubts the sincerity of your actions, or your hopes to go further than just the one show.

I know you can continue to move forward in exactly the same vein, like you have done for the past several weeks. You still have a lot to be proud of yourself for, not just for this, but the past few years in general, so don't forget that, and to me, this is a little deviation off a practically perfect process, where you've given attention to detail, and done everything you knew you needed to, and asked as much of yourself as you could.

You're doing a brilliant job, and I am very, very confident you can get over this blip completely and keep giving 100% of you, 100% of the time it's needed to be given.

Of course I'm proud of you, so be proud of you too okay, and no emotional flagellation okay. Stay strong, chin up, trust in your head and heart, and keep walking tall. For a short person, you do have a big heart and often make some big steps, and you have been making them all the way so far and I know you'll keep doing that.

This incident WON'T hurt your chances unless you let it yeah .

GOOD LUCK.

[Nokie173]

She is NOT that short bossman (At least not to me….)

Cassie, just like bossman mentioned… We are human!
It’s ok to have those cravings… at least it made you remembered and reenergized you to keep on going towards your goal. Plus, Its not 1 week or 1 day before final day…
Keep your head up girl… Stand “TALLâ€