At one point I passed by a small body of water. I heard tons of frogs! rrrrr-r-r-r-ibbet!!! RIBBET! rrrrr-r-ibbet! I inched closer down the ravine but it was so steep so I just peered forward and tried to spy the froggies. I only spied a cat, sitting perfectly calm and still. I breathed in and listened to the echoes of the froggies for a minute longer, then made my way back home. I knew I should get some food in mah tummy. After about a 50 minute walk, I was back in the warmth of my house, and ready to eat my healthy breakfast. A bit later today I’m going to hit the iron a.k.a pick heavy shit up and put it down a.k.a get mah sweat on a.k.a get mah swoll on a.k.a. get one step closer to my dreams.

And now, some motivational quotes for today:

“If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying. “Here comes number seventy-one!” Richard M. Devos

“Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.” Napoleon Hill

“You don’t become enormously successful without encountering and overcoming a number of extremely challenging problems.” Mark Victor Hansen

“Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round-remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped.”  James Corbett

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I read Ava Cowan’s newest blog entry for the Gaspari website, and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you. Not only is Ava Cowan one of my favorite figure competitors because she is amazingly gorgeous, but she is incredibly grounded and driven. I liked the post I am going to share because she is unapologetic about being absolutely dedicated to the sport, and conveys such incredible passion and focus!

Half Way there. Ms. Figure International 2012

I have been preparing for the Ms. Figure International diligently now for 6 weeks.  I am at the halfway point and it is just mind boggling how quickly the time flies.  Preparing for this show has been all consuming, every single aspect of it.  Everyday, all of the pieces of the puzzle must start to come together and not one piece may be left out for the picture to be complete.  Especially at this point, everything in my day is meticulously thought out.  All I consider is my sleep, lifting schedule and split, cardio schedule, necessary training adjustments, deep tissue massages, diet changes, supplementation protocol etc.  I have a very set schedule if at all possible, it creates a bit of consistency that is soothing to me.  I find that the more things I do outside of what I have listed above seems to be a distraction and leads me away from my goal.  The nice thing is that week by week, I tighten the reigns.  There is a certain rhythm to it all, and it is exciting when things fall into place.  I have to say it is exciting even when they don’t.  My weight sticks forever it seems and just won’t budge for weeks.  The internal tension that creates gives me an extra edge and surge of energy.  So a seemingly negative actually is a positive.  Fear has always been extremely motivating for me personally….I use mental tricks all of the time.  I also watch motivational videos read inspiring books and look at pictures online to help me as well.   Tonight I will be sipping SuperPump Max to get me through this long night [training].  As long as I get my 9 hours of sleep before my next session tomorrow I am good.

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I’ve known that I needed a plan, but didn’t know what I wanted it to be. One part of me wants to be the devil and say eff all this, and not even consider any cardio and blah blah EFF IT! One part of me wants to eat the world, especialllyyy the delicious and highly delectable, heart attack treats oh yes oh yes. On the OTHER hand whispers to me the angel. The sculpted athlete. That cautions against feeling and looking like crap, in such little time after getting the most smokin body ever! Took me months to get here, but um I don’t think it would be that hard to gain a lot of weight quick!

As I draw closer to Saturday and my workouts have been reduced and my energy is being restored, I feel my mood lifting and my post competition plan crystallizing. It’s not all the way set, but this is my general plan: Stay eating clean. I ABHORE CARDIO. Really. I REALLY don’t want to do it. Maybe a tiny bit. But to be able to do minimal cardio, I have to eat clean. I plan on consuming MORE carbs, and MORE calories, but sticking to clean eating sources! I will probably still buy and cook in bulk (a lot of chicken breast), and may even still bust out my food scale for protein portions. I will eat more complex carbs surrounding resistance training (perhaps carb cycling, with higher carbs around leg training), and will consider incorporating simple carbs as well in the post workout window. I am thinking about adding creatine to supplement pre workout to promote anabolism. I want to experiment with my crazy protein and veggie recipes again I am thinking of continuing with a multi daily, fish oil daily, and L-carnitine pre cardio. I think I want to get back into MMA. Maybe other cross training. I want to build up my LEGS and get some shredded-azz LEGS!!! QUADS, HAMS, GLUTES! I always love new challenges. I wanna look at these babies and see some ripped-ness! Heavy leg resistance training twice a week…hitting other body parts (minus chest, I RARELY hit chest) once a week, except abs maybe 2X a week. Cardio if I feel like it? Maybe once, maybe twice? Maybe none. <Delivish Look> Maybe I’ll count MMA/no gi/muay thai/wrestling if I take those as a cardio….Really want to use the alleged heightened anabolism of the post contest period to gain serious muscle, especially in the legs…by doing my (4 day?) split hard and really dialing into pre and post workout nutrition….Then once I get a little breather in my system then I’ll consider another show But anyway that’s what I’m thinking for now as far as post comp plan…I am sure it will become clearer day by day until it will just manifest…Just have to keep my mind right!

Here are some articles/blog entries related to post competition. A common theme overall is to BE PREPARED as well as to GRADUALLY introduce elements of the pre-contest lifestyle back in OVER TIME. Don’t just jump back into eating tons of carbs n candy and stop exercising or you’ll be VERY, VERY SORRY. Check out Berardi’s article, in particular.

Getting Unshredded- Tips for Coming Off of Extreme Diets by John Berardi, CSCS

Post Competition Blues Part 1: Understanding the Mind Game When It’s Over

Post Competition Blues Part 2: Preparedness and Expectations

Post Contest Rebound

Morning After: Post-Competition Blues

What do you think?

Lots of love,

Kristina

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Thoughts run through my head of what I SHOULD have been sharing with you…my new-found love (and I mean obsessive delicious miraculous healthy mouthgasm) of macademia nut oil…any of my various weight training routines…any small regime changes I may have manipulated in these past few weeks…the arrival of my suits…so on..and so forth…

BUT I am sorry, I’ll only go with the present time and just tell you that I have, in general, hit a wall in terms of exhaustion. The first, say, 9 weeks were a breeze! I was perplexed by the stories of competitors feeling depleted, exhausted, miserable, bitchy, etc etc etc…I felt excited, happy, and full of energy! It was about a week or so ago, though, that I started to feel…mentally tortured with cardio. I’m serious. Tortured. Started to feel mentally and physically exhausted, despite trying to rest as much as possible. Feeling cranky and grumpy and irritated. Just want to lie down. Do not want to move. Do NOT want to do second cardio. Struggling. So it’s been hard recently.

I’m still absolutely consistent in my diet and have not missed ONE workout in my figure prep ever since I started, so perhaps that’s why my body is still responding. It’s not that I’m frustrated with a plateau in my body weight of anything (thank goodness), it’s just a deep mental and/or physical exhaustion. Hard to know which one it is- maybe both.

Yesterday after my clients I RESTED as in VEGGED as much as I could, lying on the COUCH, messing around on the internet, reading a book, and so forth- VEG. Despite that, I am still tired today, super tirredd in general just want to go home and VEG but alas have more clients and grad school etc etc…But I keep pushing. My show is in two weeks and 5 days, and I have made tremendous changes in my physique during my prep, as well as done things I’ve never thought possible, and am so grateful for this incredible journey, and know this is the last little push, and I have come too far to turn back… I am working on changing my mind set to embrace this challenge and remember that no one is forcing me to do this competition and if I’m not having fun then what’s the point?

I wrote an email to peeps today inviting them to my show and thought I’d share

LOVE YOU!! <3

Dear family and friends,

You may or may not have known that in the past two plus months I have undergone a personal challenge to compete in my first figure competition. In 2 weeks and 5 days- on Saturday, August 6th- I will compete in the INBA Natural Bodybuilding Championships in Windsor, CA. The link is here:
http://www.naturalbodybuilding.com/pages/pages/contest_schedule.php

There is the early show at noon and there is a night show at 6 PM. The only info I know is the info you see on the jenky website.

I know Windsor is a bit far for many of you, so I won’t hold it against you if you don’t come!! I also must share that it is pretty darn boring to see peeps just walking on stage, posing, so on and so forth…yawn yawn yawn. With that as a disclaimer, if you want to see me get my white butt-turned-orange-brown-ridiculous-with fake tanner up on stage wearing practically nothing and facing my biggest horror of having to attempt to walk in 5 inch clear heels AND not be completely weebly-woobly-falling-oopsies while simultaneously attempting complete, devastating allurement, then please come by and support and scream my name! I have been working HARD and I mean ***HARD*** in this figure competition preparation which is essentially bodybuilding. I’m gonna bring my best package and have some fun! If you come at night, then we might hang out afterwards and grab a bite to eat at (gasp) a restaurant…something I haven’t done in a looong time. I would love to see all your beautiful faces! Let me know, my loves!

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I read this passage this morning while doing my cardio and felt this was JUST what I needed, and would love to share this empowering reminder to you all.

“Our life is a product of our decisions not our conditions.”

No matter where you are in life, you’ve made an appointment to be here. It’s our thoughts that determine our reality. Everything around us sustaining and aiding life was once just a thought. The same goes for our life.

“Whether you can or you can’t, it’s whichever you think!”

If you change your thoughts, it will change your life. Our thoughts affect our actions and our actions determine our life. Instead of thinking of all the obstacles between you and your goals, think of all the opportunity between you and your goals. Force yourself to turn the 80% of negative self-talk into 80% of positive self-talk. The internal controls the external, not the other way around.

Your thoughts are the cause and your life is the effect. If you wish to change the effect, you must first change the cause. Today I ask you to take control of your thoughts. Eliminate negative self-talk and choose positivity no matter what. Obstacles only exist in the mind – in actuality it’s opportunity waiting for you to take action.

The cause and effects of life depends on your thoughts.

All my love,

Tony Gaskins Jr., motivational speaker & author

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Yesterday I went grocery shopping and what do you know there went my afternoon in the kitchen! I made a healthified orange chicken recipe and cauliflower rice recipe and was SO EXCITED to recreate Panda Express in my kitchen!!!! Oh my frikkinn goodddd shuutt uppp gooodd niigghhtt i will DIE i love that stuff humina humina humina humina huh WHAT?! OOPS sorry. I was in my battered fried fantasy. SO I was excited to try this out. This is what I did:

*Healthified Orange Chicken*

Sautee boneless skinless diced chicken breast in a wok in some light cooking spray and liquid egg whites.

Create a sauce with DaVinci sugar free orange syrup, low sodium soy sauce, mustard, pepper, red pepper flakes, basil, apple cider vinegar, ginger, garlic powder, and glucomannan powder. Pour on top of the chicken while finishing cooking. Viole.

*Cauliflower Rice*

Put chopped cauliflower into a vitamix, add water, and pulse about three times. Strain. Sautee the cauliflower in the wok with chopped mushrooms, minced onions, and garlic. At end, sprinkle with green onions.

The verdict? It was yummy! But no Panda Express. It was…healthy. Guess you can’t expect battered and fried goodness with such a clean recipe lol. Oh well I tried!

On the go eating: my tupperware with a meal of 6 oz orange chicken and 1/2 cup cauliflower rice:

If you’re NOT on contest prep, you can add some cornstarch, orange juice, or other type thing to the orange chicken recipe to make it yummier. And for the cauliflower rice recipe, you can add sesame oil, diced carrots, onions, peas, etc, whatever you want to make it more satisfying. I, on the other hand, used minimal ingredients to stick to my diet Like the good girl little that I am, indeed!

Lastly, I wanted to remind us all to- corny yes but honest- practice the attitude of gratitude. Every morning I give thanks and I just wanted to share with you some of the things I am grateful for.

I am grateful for Sasha, who inspires me; Sarah who is a super cool cat; my cousin for being so amazingly supportive; Akane for her expert assistance; Ashley for providing me with an awesome new professional home; and Lana for being an incredible teacher who stokes my motivation.

I am grateful for my fantastic health; I am blessed to feel healthy and strong; I am blessed to feel so focused!

I am blessed to have family that loves me.

I am thankful for opportunities to grow mentally, physically, spiritually, interpersonally, and in other “ally” ways; I am blessed to live in the wonderful, diverse, and HUGE bay area!

Until next time <3

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My amazingly hot friend Sasha and I are going to have a photoshoot at the end of May. This gives us about 10 weeks to prepare. It will be a fitness photoshoot. EXCITING!! This will be part of Sasha’s return to the USA’s in Las Vegas at the end of July. This will be a fun opportunity for me to use my expertise to craft my own diet and design my own program with cardio, weights, jiu jitsu, and muay thai! I can do what I want, yiih!! WATCH ME! Six pack I’m comin’ for you

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"ChickenTuna"

ARE YOU A MAGIC SEEKER?

Are you trying to find the ‘right fat burner’ that will give you a fit body tomorrow while you are still enjoying your cakes, cookies, ice cream and pizza?

Are you looking for the ‘right exercise’ that will make a certain body part look perfect after just one session?

Are you not even concerned with exercise or eating right, and looking for a magical potion, book or scheme to lose weight and be fit?

Are you eating 5 or 6 small healthy meals a day but thinking there is a magical combination of food and eating times? …so after over analyzing food plans for months and months… you think maybe you need one less serving of carbs or an extra serving of protein and then you will wake up the next day with your dream body once you crack this crazy caper of finding the right magical nutrition combination that everyone is keeping secret from you?  Or maybe you’ve been eating right for an entire 3 days and you are wondering why your body hasn’t transformed yet.  There is no secret magical food combination.  In most cases of over analyzing and micro managing food plans, the problem is not the plan.. it’s YOU!  You are not following it or eating lots of crap in addition,  thinking ‘what difference will a little cookie or pizza make’ and you are sabotaging results.

Are you debating if you need to do your weight training in a full body work out style, or a body part split?  Or maybe overanalyzing whether you should do weights first or cardio first?   And once you figure out the right answer you will be in top shape after one session?  Either style workout is fine as long as you do it consistently.

Are you attempting to figure out if eating oatmeal is a better carb than brown rice?  If so, you are seriously seeking some magic.  It doesn’t matter, they are both good carbs to eat.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you are searching for magic and probably won’t reach your goals until you get real about being consistent, dedicated, and hard working all the time to reach your fitness goals over a long period of time, not 2 days.

Many people are in complete denial that exercising and eating right consistently is required to be fit.   Most problems happen when people are looking for  a scheme to eat all the food they love and also have the best looking body possible.  It comes down to a choice.   I know if I were eating crappy foods I love everyday ( like peanut butter cheesecake) I would not have a fit looking body and would not be happy about that, and nobody would be surfing into my website to find out about being fit because I would be in terrible shape.

Magical exercises don’t exist.  Magical routines do not exist.   If legs are your weak spot, do LEG exercises. Make sense?  If arms are what you want to focus on… do ARM exercises.  If any magic happens, it is when you do your workouts consistently, when you work HARD while working out, and  when you eat right all the time.  There is no magical routine.   Regardless of all the exercising you do, you will no see any defined muscles or have that ‘toned’ look unless you lower your bodyfat.

Magical food combinations don’t exist… All you can do is eat the proper amount of food for your goals and eliminate the wrong food.  Nutrition and workouts can always be improved, but there is no magic formula.   If you want to see any magic happen, stop eating crap for a few weeks and you’ll be amazed.

Progress takes time and only happens when you are consistent,  so don’t give up.

Advice for Success

1.  When you don’t feel like doing your workout, do it anyway.  You’ll feel better afterwards.

2.  When you feel like eating pizza for dinner, eat grilled chicken instead, you will survive.  You’ll feel great about your choice the next day.

3.  Keep doing the above every week consistently.  Consistency is KEY.

You can  keep  searching, hoping and praying there is magical potion, scheme, or pill to get you where you want to be, but you’ll just keep spinning your wheels.  You already know what you need to do… put down the crap and you won’t be wondering where your results are because you will see them for yourself.

It would be really nice if you could go out buy some cream, rub it on your ass, and get rid of cellulite… but its just not going to happen that way.  Cellulite goes away as your bodyfat goes down by eating right and exercising consistently.

Why is this section here?  Because over the past 17 years while I’ve been struggling each week to squeeze in my workouts on a regular basis, and say no thank you to all the junk food that is offered to me each day… I have seen many people around me try every scheme possible, (anything but eating right and exercising)  from pills to crazy diet schemes, and I have yet to see anyone ever have any success or achieve becoming fit that way.

Please do not write me and ask me about taking pills or any secrets or tips.. if you do, you really don’t get it.  Get yourself a big serving of hard work and sacrifice, swallow it down, and digest it.

>>Awesome, right?! Absolutely perfectly well said, IMO. How do you feel about this?

On a side note, Tiger Muay Thai represent! Check out UFC’s president Dana White rocking the Tiger Muay Thai shirt : http://www.magicalray.com/im-not-gay-but-ufc-president-danawhite-does-know-how-to-dress.html

XOXO

~K

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…A reporter once pressed the Dalai Lama about his opt-quoted statement that he does not hate the Chinese Communists, in spite of their systematic destruction of Tibet. In reply, the Dalai Lama explained, “They have taken over Tibet, destroyed our temples, burned our sacred texts, ruined our communities, and taken away our freedom. They have taken too much. Why should I let them also take my peace of mind?” Because he had learned to let go, the Dalai Lama can work more freely to create a better future for Tibet. He knows that clinging to suffering is not the way…

..In Buddhist Asia [as well as in the West], popular culture mischaracterizes nirvana, imagining it as a heavenly realm where old monks go after many lifetimes’ work of purity and self-denial…[we should] look for nirvana in the simplest ways, in everyday moments. “Nirvana,” he would say, “is the coolness of letting go, the inherent delight in experience when there is no grasping or resistance to life. It is always available.”…We know how to do this. We love to let go of the world at night when we go to sleep. Letting go and having a good night’s sleep is delicious. Letting go while we are awake is delicious, too…

…When we let go of being the one who suffers, we are free to bring blessings wherever we go…

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“When it comes to food choices, habit is stupendously powerful. Our familiar foods give us comfort, reassurance, and a sense of identity. They are there for us when the world may not be. They can be our best friends, loyal and true. It does not take much effort or creativity to do the same thing over and over again. There is ease and relaxation in doing what we have always done. And if our habits are continually reinforced by the society around us, they can become even more powerful and alluring.

On the other hand, it does take effort to question whether our conventional ways of thinking and acting truly serve us. It takes effort to ask whether our lives are in alignment with the prayers and deeper purposes of our hearts, It takes effort to consciously make choices that deviate from the cultural norms, yet bring us closer to our wholeness and true health.”

I have definitely fallen victim to using food as more than fuel. In loneliness, I have turned to food, as if it were a friend! Lost, I have turned to it as if it gives me purpose! Conversely, being mindful and curious lets us recognize that there are deeper issues that we need to confront. What is my heart really saying? What does my soul want? Sometimes, we have to act differently from others to do what we know is right. Several clients have told me about friends who are bad influences, and their friendships take place over myriad alcoholic beverages and fried foods at fast food restaurants. I tell them that they need to be a force of change, or abandon those friends for ones who support a healthy lifestyle. Personally, I thought of my trip to Thailand when I read the second paragraph I quoted above. Not everyone was the most supportive of my trip, and some were even discouraging me from going. But in my heart I knew it was the right thing, even if it was a somewhat “crazy” thing in some people’s eyes to take off for two months. But I knew that I was demonstrating courage by deviating from the conventional paths and do something that I felt would serve me. And this in turn would allow me to better serve others. Anyway, I liked this passage and wanted to share it with you for your own food for thought and for you to reflect on your own nutritional habits that may or may not serve you, and how it is reinforced perhaps by cultural norms. Furthermore, how does this analogy extend into your personal life and do you make choices that may not be in line with standard moires, but that you know are bringing you closer to your purpose and mental & physical health.

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