Bikini Competition

IT'S DECIDED.

I'm going to compete this summer.

Not yet decided which show exactly, BUTTT they will be in the Bethesda or Rockville, MD area!

If any of you are in that area, I would LOVE to have your support and meet some of my wonderful fitfam that I only get to encounter over instagram! It could be like a happy instagram family reunion :P

I've already started a new program and meal plan with my coach, Nate, @mrgeecue on Instagram.

Above is my current photo I posted last week on Instagram! 

Can't wait to see what changes happen to my body.

I'm excited to push myself, challenge myself, learn more about my body, and grow on the inside and outside.

A lot of you may be asking,

WHY.

 Why go through the stress, the ups and downs, the emotional breakdowns, the strict diet, the tough training, just to be judged on stage about 3/4 naked, on physical appearances on what others deem as beautiful or perfect in an activity that seems shallow and vain?

Well ladies and gents, it's not because I EXPECT TO WIN OR PLACE.

No no not at ALL.

I'm going in not expecting anything of that sort.

You wanna know why I want to do this?

I want to do it

FOR ME.  

To be able to conquer one of the things on my bucket list, to push myself to the limits. 

I want to push my body to places it's never been before, push my mind and willpower to the outmost limits. To take my low confidence, and build it up high enough to throw aside my stage fright, and strut my stuff out there for the world! Half naked.... :O

I want to be able to walk onto that stage, and LOOK like I belong on that stage.

I'm proud to say I've gotten a good control on my binge eating and haven't had a large episode in a while, and with that accomplishment, it's time to set another.

This is a dream of mine. 

This is a GOAL of mine.

I want to see where my body can go. I want to go to the next level with connecting my mind to my body, with saying NO to foods that aren't healthy to me, and this competition is exactly what I need to push me to do it. 

A goal without a deadline is just a dream

So this is my deadline.

I have the possible dates, but I won't share exactlyyy in case unexpected things come up...

When the date does come and go, I'll be able to say:

I have the power to say no to foods that aren't good for my body.

I have pushed myself to the limits, mentally and physically.

I am confident in my body and I am beautiful inside and out.

I am no longer afraid of the unknown. 

I am stronger than I ever was before.

I can commit & stick to a plan.

I worked my hardest, brought my best, and I made it.

That is why I am doing this. To be able to say all those things up there.    

And just by stepping onto that stage... In my eyes, I've already won. Going through this whole process, this journey of the Bikini Competition Prep, that will be my biggest accomplishment yet. Going through all the highs, the lows, the good and the bad days, all for one, satisfying moment, all of that for just one day.

Yeah, I think that moment will be the highlight of my life.

And I think these next few months will be worth it.

To be able to say all the things I've listed up there, to feel more confident and radiant inside and out, to be able to say "Yes, I was compared to some of the fittest girls out there on stage, and looked like I belonged up there too...."

To me, I think it'll all be worth it....

Stay tuned, I'll hopefully post a lot on my journey to the stage for all of you fitfam to follow along, and who knows, inspire some of YOU to reach for your biggest dreams and goals!
I'll even try to set up that Youtube account of mine and upload videos of my journey! I think it'd be so great for you all to kind of experience it with me!

  

It's going to be a very #vmfityear indeed :P

I'm Gonna WHAT?!?! And Twitter

 

YEAHHHHHHHHHH

I can't believe it either.

"WHAT JOSIE?! You're gonna COMPETE?! What's wrong with you?! You can barely stick to a month long plan and now you're gonna dedicate the who knows how many weeks to prepare for a bikini competition?! Are you CRAZY?!"

Yes fitfam, yes I am.

I still can't believe it either.

I've always dreamed of competing, but I never knew I'd actually get the guts to commit to it! This is just a short intro to let you all know that I AM PLANNING ON A COMPETITION THIS SUMMER!

Stayyyy tuned fit friends... stay tuned...

Until then...

FOLLOW ME ON MY NEW TWITTERRRRRRRRRR.

Some randomness of VMFITNESS :P

TWEET TWEET ME

VMFITNESS on Youtube

YES, you heard right.

I, VMFITNESS, am starting a YOUTUBE account!

Am I crazy? Am I putting too much on myself with school, fitness, my IG, this blog, AND a youtube account? Hehe maybe... but I just want to help all my #fitfam out as much as I can and get closer to you all in this community!
So why the heck not start one?!
Not saying I'll be able to update every day, or even every week [I'm hoping to do a video a week.. we shall see how that goes....], BUT I will be posting here and there and try to keep up with it all for you shmexyyy fit peoples!

I'll let you alllll know when it's up an running! I'm actually very excited about this! Buttttt it may take me a while because I don't really know how to work youtube hehee, but I'll learn no worries!

It seems like a bunchh of you are mainly interested in:

• food videos
• health & nutrition
• tips
• workouts

So I'll try to incorporate everything you guys want into this channel!
Wish me luckkkk
<3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And thanks for all your wonderful comments on my transformation pic! Means so much! This is solely from eating CLEAN, and consistent workouts! Just following my 2013 Plan! 
So far it's been going well! This is with a minor slip up last weekend [small binge & Jimmy John's sub], but that just proves that mess-ups can NOT derail all your hard work!

"One bad meal won't make you fat, just like one good meal won't make you fit"

I hope all you all are working hard on your goals this month and fresh year! Remember, CONSISTENCY is key in ANYTHING you do! That's a big part for me! But the more consistent you are, the quicker the results :]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NIKE & Leg Day!

EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK

I still can't believe my sister got me CUSTOM NIKE FREES for my birthday! They fit so snug, feel like CLOUDS on my feet, anddd the first time I tried them out was LEG DAY. Here's my workout that I did! Burned a prettyyyy good amount, and topped it off with a relaxing sauna stretch :]

• Warm up: jog laps 5-10 mins
• Squat Rack: wide 3x10, narrow 2x10
• Leg Press 4x8-10
• Smith Machine Backward Lunges 3x10 alternating
• Leg extensions 3x10
• Hip Abductors & Adductors 3x10
• Glute Kick back reps: 10,8,6,6
• Hamstring lying leg curls 3x10
• Deadlift 5x8    

My Love of Quest & Total Body Killer Workout

Hello fit fam! Today for you I have a review on some Quest bars and a kick-butt Total Body workout! Great to do post-holiday season ;]
But first....

HOLYYYY deliciousness.

I got to sample some of Quest's new goodies, their:

 Cravings Peanut Butter Cups!

Yes I am part of the #nutbutteraddict club, and I'M NOT AFRAID TO ADMIT IT! I have a problem. Is there a nut butters anonymous out there anywhere? I gotta get on that STAT. Ahh back to the cups!

Can I say they taste almost EXACTLY the same as Reese's Cups?! But with a bunch of nutrition and protein and without all the nasty unhealthiness! The peanut butter part was my favorite of course :] And the chocolate part didn't taste just like the Reese's chocolate, it had sort of a thicker flavor, yes I just gave "flavor" and adjective that isn't usually used to describe a flavor. There was like a thick darkness taste, not the taste of white or milk chocolate, but not completely bitter as dark chocolate. It was a perfect combination. And the peanut butter kinda gets stuck to your teeth and to the top of the roof of your mouth! Hehe I kinda like it because I can save some for later.. :P just kidding.
But I do like the overall taste of this Quest product! Seriously, this is my new addiction. I'm going to need to buy a whole box... or 5.....

Banana Nut Muffin

I hate to be boring.... but this LITERALLY tasted just like a Banana Nut Muffin! I'm SERIOUS. There's just no other way to describe it than by telling you it tastes JUST LIKE the wrapper says! Imagine any banana bread you've had with nuts and crunchiness inside and THIS IS EXACTLY like that. But SOOOOO much healthier! It's got real nuts inside and the crunch adds such great texture! And usually, I hate artificially flavored banana products because they never end up tasting "right" or like genuine banana. They're always either too sweet, or too MUCH banana, which makes it taste ... eckkk. But this?!?! RIGHT ON THE MONEY! DELICIOUS DELICIOUS DELICIOUS.

Seriously, find me a Quest product I DON'T LOVE! When pigs fly...



Thank you so much QUEST for letting me sample these delicious flavors! If you ever need a guinea pig for more flavors.... you know who to contact ;]

-------------------------------------------------

And now for this amazing:

SUPER FAT BLASTING HEART THROBBING TOTAL BODY WEIGHTS & CARDIO WORKOUT 

I did this circuit after an unexpected rest day during my Finals Week to get my whole body worked up with a good sweat and BOYYYY did it do the trick! Try it out and let me know how you did! This would also be a great workout to do post-holiday food coma so that you can put all those carbs to use! I know I'm gonna need to go through this a few good times...

SS means Superset! So do that exercise right after the first one with no rest! And TS is just triple set! All of the ones that can be done with weights, DO IT HEAVYYYY! Burn those cals #fitfam! If you don't know any of the moves, try googling them and they should come up!

For the kickback and tricep dips, that's a glute cable kickback!

The last exercise is pretty self explanatory! Squat down, then get up, bicep curl, and then shoulder press!
I also added to the last one to make it a triple set, some deadlifts! 3x12!

For "step up skips", I posted a little collage on my instagram, so here it is below:

You basically step one foot up on the bench, then the other, and then skip back down, really fast! The step up skips are steps 1-5! Get that heart rate up!

Enjoy! Let me know how you did!

#VMFITYEAR Food Plan

Again, repost of my earlier 16 week plan! That post messed up my blog layout! So here it is again!


To see my workout plan, click here

------------------------------------

--> FOOD/ MEAL PLAN:

PHASE 1 – BUILD – 2 weeks - around 1800-2000 calories a day

·      Carbs included in:

o   Breakfast

o   Post workout with shake

o   Post workout meal

PHASE 2 – BUILD – 3 weeks - same calories from phase 1

·      Carbs included in:

o   Post workout with shake

o   Post workout meal

PHASE 3 – BUILD & LEAN – 3 weeks - High: 1800-2000 calories, Medium: 1700, Low: 1500, No: 1400

·      Carb cycle: 1 high, 2 medium, 2 low, 2 no

SPRING BREAK – 1 week - WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL – LIQUID/SOFT CLEAN DIET

PHASE 4 – LEAN – 3 weeks - High: 1700-1800 calories, Low:1600-1700, No: 1400

·      Carb cycle: High, Low, No - repeat

PHASE 5 – LEAN – 4 weeks - Low-No: 1400-1500 calories, High: 1700

·      Carb cycle: 3 days low-no, 1 day high – repeat

4-5 meals a day – I like to eat a bit fuller meals, so I won't be eating every 2 hours. More like 2-4 hours. Instead of 6-7 meals with fewer cals, I'll be having 4-5 with a bit fuller calories. 

IF YOU CLICK THE IMAGE, IT WILL BECOME LARGER! 

• During the building stage I'll have proteins and carbs high, fats low.

• During the carb cycling stage, my low days will have higher fat for energy and low carbs, and the opposite on high carb days. Protein still high.
• I'll have a separate post when it gets closer to the lean out stage on how my meals will be different with the carb cycling implemented  

• I'll be having Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Post W/O shake, Dinner [sometimes the snack may be in a different order]
• Lots of veggies in every meal
• Will be going STRICTLY GLUTEN FREE [due to thyroid]
• due to thyroid conditions, will NOT be eating any soy products or raw goitrogenic foods
• Carbs post workout & breakfast choices: GF oats, sweet potato, brown rice, GF pasta, brown rice cakes, fruit, etc [good complex carbs]
• Protein choices: eggs, chicken breast, turkey breast or ground turkey, sirloin, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, whey protein, etc.
• Fat sources: nut butters, avocado, egg yolk, nuts, flax oil, coconut oil 
• Snack can be whenever you're hungry, can be after lunch, before lunch, after dinner, whenever!
• I'll try and post all my food on Instagram for all of you to get some ideas from! :D  

 I am keeping my calories HIGH

I don't usually count calories and you alll know how much I advocate that! So I won't be using any kind of calorie counter, just "eyeballing" my portion sizes and guestimating.

Some reasons to keep your calories high during the first few weeks of your program:

• If you eat too few calories, your body will go into starvation mode, causing it to HOLD ON TO ANYTHING IT DOES GET as fat to protect itself! NO GOOD
• If I reach a plateau, I can either decrease my calories or increase my workouts. 
• Imagine if you're already on a dangerously low deficit of 1100-1200 calories. You decrease to 1000. Now you've reached another plateau. Do you think going down to 900 or 700 will be good for you? NO. So think about it in the long-term! 
• This will help your body continue to bust through plateaus while still having enough food to sustain yourself and be healthy
• It's going to be higher in the beginning because I want to BUILD muscle, therefor I can't have too big a deficit in calories! Then as the phases go on and I want to lean, the added cardio will make the deficit, NOT lessening food calories drastically to dangerous levels.
• It is better to have a deficit from WORKING OUT, rather than decreasing food intake! If you decrease the food intake drastically, this can 
• make you catabolic - or break down your hearearned muscle
• be harder to get to maintenance mode
• starvation mode
• stall your metabolism

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my big plan for 2013! 

What do you all think?? I'm hoping to see some MAJOR changes! And I'm very excited! I've been SLACKING off SOOOOO hard these past few weeks/months, and it definitely shows! And with my new SLOW metabolism from killing my thyroid, it's going to be ESPECIALLY hard trying to lose all the extra fat I've accumulated. But I'm keeping my head up, trying to be positive, and hopefully everything will take care of itself!

So are you going to join me to a fab fitter 2013 year? I hope so! 

Remember, these numbers are for ME and my current body weight and goals, switch yours around accordingly! And my schedule is based off MY needs, and are scheduled around my classes, when I work, and what foods work best for my body. Please make adjustments where needed!  

#VMFITYEAR 16 Week Workout Plan

Sorry guys! I had to repost this original post split in 2 parts - workouts and then food, because it was messing with my blogger layout!

To see my food plan, click here

---------------------------------------

So another year DOWN. Goodbye 2012,  

HELLOOO 2013! 

We're a pretty strong bunch #fitfam. We survived the dreaded Mayan end of the world!

So now what?

Well now it's time for a NEW YEAR.

Did you all slip this past holiday season? These past few weeks, months, or even year?

You know what's great about a New Year? Those little things called

New Years Resolutions!

Eh but who are we kidding? No one EVER sticks to those do they?

So now I am setting my 2013 PLAN, as in, I WILL achieve it! Not a resolution where I'll stick with it for maybe a few weeks, 2 months tops, and then quit.

No no my friends, this time I'm ACTUALLY sticking to these goals I'm setting!

YES. SELF-MOTIVATION! And not to mention motivation from my shmexy Fab 5 friends, and all of YOU, my wonderful followers!

I'm going to stick to my plan because I deserve to be the happiest I can during this New Year right?!

AND SO DO YOU! 

Also It's my birthday tomorrow, January 2nd! I think it'd be a nice birthday present to actually succeed at one of my long term goals!

Remember to use the hashtag on Instagram - #VMFITYEAR - I want to keep track of my progress this year, but alsooooo see all of YOUR journeys and progress! Lets kill this year fitfam! It'll have no idea what hit it!

I've made myself a

 16-week plan 

What?! That long of a plan for a girl who can never stick to something for more than 4 weeks?!

AHAH YES!

This 16 weeks will be my entire Spring Semester as a College Sophomore.

The time will pass anyway, 

so why not be productive and use that time to get in the best shape of my life?!  

BOOM.

Mind blown...

So here I've put my plan out there for all of you to see!

Feel free to use it as a base for ideas if you're stuck with what to do, but you should never copy them EXACTLY. Switch them around to fit YOUR specific needs and goals! I'm having these workouts and foods because of how my semester is planned out with classes, and because of how my body reacts to certain foods.

I'm doing these next 16 weeks in "phases" so that they don't draaaaag out.

I have a habit of getting bored easily, so doing them in phases will help to keep me still interested and motivated!

My plan is a mixture of short term goals [each phase] and one long term goal [16 weeks total!]

Haha I guess I can kinda say "16 weeks out" right?

Like those fitness competitors do for competitions! Makes me feel more "legit" teehehe.

[Switched shoulders & bis/tris day! Fits better with my schedule]

IF YOU CLICK THE IMAGE, IT WILL BECOME LARGER! 

Cleanse & Juicing

Hello everybodyyy.

How is everyone doing this fine day? Staying on track? Eating clean? Training mean? I hope so!

Remember to tag any fitness or health related things #VMFITYEAR on Instagram so that we can all keep track of each others progress, get food ideas, and learn great new tips or workouts from each other!

So today's post is about

Detox & Juicing

I've been looking into great juice recipes after watching "Hungry for Change" on Netflix, and I wrote a bit about it on some instagram posts in the past! Great info, tons of knowledge, I HIGHLY recommend you watch this great documentary!

After the holidays, I'm sure we all need a pretty good detox! I don't mean starving yourself for a week, drinking only water and tea, and all those other crazy fad diets where you supposedly lose 10 pounds in 5 days, etc etc. I mean detox by totally eating clean good whole foods found from nature, exercising to get rid of those toxins, and STOP letting new toxins enter the body! So no more processed, artificial foods!

Why Detox? Because it helps in burning off fat!!!

"As you burn off body fat, you must also detoxify, because most chemicals are lipophilic (fat-loving) and are lodged in fat cells. If you don't do something to remove these toxins from your body while losing weight, toxins can be reabsorbed into your bloodstream and potentially cause health problems.
Fortunately, your body will detoxify itself if there is no toxicity coming in. Chlorophyll-rich foods such as organic green vegetables, gelatinous plant foods like aloe and chia seeds, seaweeds, chlorella, cilantro and parsley can help with this. Make sure to drink plenty of pure water, as this is essential to your body's cleansing processes. Juicing may also be of benefit. Avoid all chemicals, additives, and preservatives. If a product's shelf life is longer than your life, don't eat it!"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/24/hungry-for-change.aspx

Why exactly is juicing good for us?

• Juicing allows us to take in a large serving of vegetables and fruits at one time and can be the key to giving you a radiant, energetic life and truly optimal health. Dr Mercola typically buys up to 20 pounds of raw vegetables per week and juices a few pounds per day. Some people may find eating that many vegetables difficult, but it can be easily accomplished with a quick glass of vegetable juice.

• Juicing is an easy way to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body's ability to absorb all the nutrients in an optimal way. Juices go straight to your blood stream which in turn carries all the nutrients to where they are needed the most by the body without further delay as in digestion. 

• Juicing can help you add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads every day. This goes against the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food. But with juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole.

• Juicing is also an incredibly effective way to cleanse the body, especially green juices! Green juices contain high levels of chlorophyll a powerful phytonutrient which attaches to toxins and heavy metals and helps remove them from your body. It also increases your blood's oxygen-carrying capacity by stimulating red blood cell production.
• http://www.hungryforchange.tv/juicing

BOOM.
So detoxifying = easier fat loss
Clean foods, healthy nutritious foods, juicing = detoxifying the body

After the holidays I most CERTAINLY need to get rid of some [ok a LOT] of toxic foods I have floating around my body!
NO, I am not fasting for 3 days, no I'm not doing a strict juice cleanse for 3,5,7 days. I'm simply eating clean, but most importantly, I'm going to have a super detox drink first thing in the morning.
In the mornings our bodies are primed to absorb the first thing we consume.

So my daily routine will look like:

Wake up
1. Ginger, lemon juice, Apple cider vinegar, warm water, pinch of cinnamon and cayenne
This drink will be consumed every morning! Ginger has great healing properties, lemon will boost that metabolism, apple cider vinegar is great at detoxing by controlling the bowels and it also controls blood sugar levels and blood pressure along with sooo many other benefits!, water is always great, cinnamon controls blood sugar, and cayenne helps speed up metabolism and targets fat burning!

2. Juice - 4-8 oz
Just bought myself a juicer for a pretty great price at an Asian Market and have been LOVINGGG it!
So many different recipes! And since this is one of the first things you consume in the morning, alll those nutrients are being soaked up and absorbed by your hungry hungry cells! MM LOVING IT
The ingredients may change around but no matter what, it will alwaysss contain PARSLEY and CILANTRO! Why? Because these herbs ESPECIALLY target the removal of heavy toxic metals from your system! I may also add some chia seeds or psyllium husks so that the gelatinous part of it can attach to any toxins floating around inside my body after my longggg [hopefully] 7-8 hour sleep the night before.

If you've been following my IG, You saw one juice I made the other day! I'll post more up when I find better recipes hehe :]

And then from there I'll continue my day as normal! Clean eats, exercise, all that good stuff!

Try incorporating a juice a day! I bet your body will thank you for it!

MUSCLE and Bulking

 Importance of Building Muscle

So if you all read my 2013 plan, then you know that I'm doing a mini-ish 5 week bulk! 
I feel I've gained quite a bit of fat over the past few months from my not so strict diet :/ eek sorry! Now I'm determined to turn that fat into STRONG MUSCLE. 
Why do I want muscle? What are the benefits?

• better athletic performance: power, strength, energy, stamina
• can inhibit sarcopenia, the age related loss of muscle
• muscle burns more calories than fat - more muscle = more fat burn
• increases metabolism, even at rest! 
• when building muscle, it increases oxygen flow to the body - which means healthier heart and lungs!
• muscles protect the joints and bones
• better posture
• the same weight of muscle takes up less space than fat. even if the scale says you weigh the same, you'll look tighter, more firm, and toned    

 Having muscle is a prettyyyyy good thing to have don't you think?? Now  
how exactly am I changing my diets and workouts for this bulk?
 Specifically during these next few weeks I'll be:

• increasing CARBS!!! YESSSSS :D
• I'll be having them in my breakfast, immediate post workout with my protein shake, and then in my post workout meal for the first 2 weeks, and the 3 weeks after I'll cut it to just post workout shake and post workout meal. 
• GOOD carbs though! Complex carbs like oats, brown rice, sweet potato, brown rice cakes. Why?
• carbs will give me energy to build my muscles! The carbs will get stored in my muscles [glycogen] and that's where they'll be getting their energy! This means more intense workouts, heavier weights, more reps = building that muscle! If I don't get enough carbs, it may try to get energy by breaking down protein, which is NOT what I want! I want to keep my muscles, not break them down
• help muscle recovery! This is especiallyyy important to build up those muscles! Carbs get the protein we eat to go to our muscles! This is especially important POST workout because our muscles are primed to absorb what we eat! So we include carbs to shuttle the nutrients to our muscles to repair and build the muscle  

• doing only short low intensity cardio either in the morning or post workout. I don't want tooo much cardio at this time so that I can build my muscles! About 20 minutes or so of cardio!  
• speed walk, incline walk, light jog
• Check out that 2013 plan to see what my actual workout days will be looking like!
• increase of calories - your body won't grow if you're in a deficit of calories! So I'll be aiming to have around 1800-2000 or so calories a day, except for rest days where it'll probably be around 1400-1500
• PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN! Protein's made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle! You should have AT LEAST 1 gram per pound of weight
• HEAVIER weights, shorter reps! I want to give my muscles that nice pump! I'll probably be doing 4 sets of 6-8 reps! So that means lets say I'll do 6-8 squats heavy, then a brief rest, and repeat that for 4 times total! I really want to build my GLUTES, so I'll be incorporating 2 leg days in my plan!

So that's my mini-bulk plan! Now obviously it's not going to build TOO much muscle, some people take MONTHS to build the amount they want, but I'm not competing, so I'm just doing this little mini 5 week plan to just build a little more, and then start shedding the fat off! Now if I do this wrong, have TOO many cals or TOO much carbs, I may put on fat! But that's ok for now, because my next phases will be dedicated to leaning out! I'll do another post during that time to give you an overview of how I plan on doing that!