The Blog

It has (again) been some time since I have been on my site. I hope I haven’t lost too many of you! I actually have no idea who is on here or what my numbers are like. This site is first and foremost a platform for me to spew out my thoughts, ideals, my routine (or lack thereof) and the occasional recipe that I think is worth sharing 😉

Since I have a good minute, I thought I’d share my current plans for the upcoming month and my feelings on what’s to come in subsequent months. This upcoming Sunday, August 7th I will be competing in the St. Albert Triathlon. It is a sprint distance (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run)- I was hoping to experience at least one Olympic distance tri (double the distances of a sprint) this summer, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Following the triathlon I had completed in May I felt the need to maintain all that preparation and conditioning for AT LEAST one more race.

Performing 50 18″ box jumps for time. I completed mine in 1:16, a PR

On July 23rd, 2016 I had competed in an event called ‘Femsport’ in Fort Saskatchewan (a suburb of Edmonton, AB) which is a strength and agility competition. The events included: an obstacle course (which ended in pushing a 3/4-tonne truck 50 ft.); a kettle bell relay; 50 box-jumps for time; 125 lb tire-pull; 300 lb tractor tire flips. It was quite the day! Over 100 female athletes were participating, so the biggest challenge was much of the all-or-nothing, full tilt-to-rest effort all day long. Although I completed each event (even got some personal bests!) I was by no means good enough to podium. I was not discouraged or disappointed by this- the exact opposite! These women were SO motivating, so inspiring. Some of them were quite young (a couple of 19 year olds) and some more seasoned (including a 60 year old cancer survivor). What I took from this event was I needed to be more prepared. I had only given myself a few weeks to practice the skills, being in between triathlon races and vacations.

The night before my Femsport competition I watched ‘The Fittest on Earth’: a documentary that follows several of the world’s top Crossfit athletes competing in the 2015 Crossfit Games. If you ever need some kind of physical motivation or fitness inspiration, I highly recommend watching it (find it on Netflix). Currently, I won’t comment on whether or not Crossfit is my next venture, but I am absolutely enamored with the passion, dedication, and positivity from the sport and it’s athletes. I like the idea of having a variety of events/skills that you have to excel in, combining both strength and cardiovascular abilities. I like that what is expected of you seems impossible at first, but then with the right amount of heart and work ethic you find out it can be done.

Experiencing Femsport motivated me to enter in yet another event: the Reebok Spartan Super Race, September 3rd, held in Red Deer, AB. It is a 12+ km race involving a variety of obstacles along the way. I have wanted to do a Spartan for a couple years now, and I thought no time like the present. Although I have very much enjoyed preparing for my triathlons, Femsport made me realize I have the potential for so much more.

***WARNING: SELF-CONFIDENT COMMENTS ABOUT TO ENSUE 😉 ***

Many have mentioned how ‘busy’ I have been this summer with my events and my races. It is no accident. Last fall I was feeling very lost in regards to my training. I had no focus. When a girlfriend had challenged me to enter in my first triathlon this past January, I had no idea it would ignite such a hidden spark inside of me. In my years competing in Figure, I had reached what I would call my ‘aesthetic  peak’. In all the preps I had done, I always knew by my cardio capacity, performance and recovery I was built for endurance; I also knew I was decently strong. I feel at the age of 33, I am approaching my ‘performance peak’. I have NEVER been in this kind of shape. The distances I have hit, the times I have beaten, the strength I possess, my ability to recover: I am surprising myself each and every week. I am a woman in her 30s who is simply just GOING FOR IT. Putting the work in, and continuing to see results is incredibly rewarding and motivating.

So to summarize, I am basically still searching for my ‘niche’. I simply enjoy training, but training with a purpose is so much more rewarding for me. The idea of a race/competition just adds gasoline to my fire. It makes me nervous, but mostly it makes me excited. As long as I continue to feel those butterflies, as long as I continue to enjoy the process and continue to improve- I will continue to challenge myself in as many ways possible 🙂

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine 

This past week I got asked by a coworker if I had heard of a certain nutrition plan (I won’t name names of programs here). I genuinely hadn’t, and then proceeded to ask her what was entailed. She mentioned something about so many shakes, and a meal service. She said it was an 8 week plan, and she just really wanted to get her weight down quickly- even though she admitted she understood losing weight slower was better in the long term. I could tell by the look on her face she knew I wasn’t going to be on board with her plan. I simply responded: “Could you maintain this ‘program’ for the next 20 years?” Her answer: “Well, no…”

People ask me questions about fad diets/quick fix nutrition plans almost as often as they ask me how they can spot-reduce fat (how do I get rid of my underarm fat; how do I tone my legs; I just want a six-pack, etc.). The only painful part for me is that I know they know the answer. It’s like they’re hoping their bogus weight loss plan might be ‘it’- the one diet program that will actually work! But here’s the ugly truth: there ARE NO quick fixes. Sorry, but you know it, I sure as hell know it, and unless you can maintain whatever program realistically FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE that weight is only going to come back and then some. I have not met one single person who lost a ton of weight at a quick rate (without surgery) and didn’t gain it all back.

Competition diets are very similar. Most people lose a significant amount of weight (most of it being body fat) at a fairly acute rate. Many many competitors, usually female, then strive to achieve that same leanness year-round. First of all, we as women are not meant function with body fat so low we have striations in our shoulders and veins in our lower abs. I mean, you could try- but I will say long term it’s not possible ‘naturally.’ Many of these competitors forget all that they gave up nutrition-wise to get in that condition. This is a huge part of the problem. Any diet that restricts entire food groups (unless you’re celiac/lactose intolerant) WILL NOT WORK in the long term. Our bodies need macro and micronutrients from various sources of food to achieve optimal health- but that is a whole other lengthy blog 😉

A quick selfie before shooting with BodyRock TV last spring. I did a series of shoots over the course of 3 months which I was able to maintain shoot-shape for.

It’s taken me a long time to come to this. By ‘this’ I mean coming off 6 years of competing in fitness- all of which involved yo-yoing between 20-30 lbs (which is better than most), going from a super-restrictive competition diet to free-for-all ‘off-seasons’, I feel I have FINALLY arrived at knowing very well what my body needs to maintain itself. And herein lies my point: all of this takes time. I’m sorry, but I really wish I could say I had the magic ticket to get everyone lean, right away, and maintain it forever. It’s just not like that. If you truly are passionate about a fit lifestyle, about bettering yourself, living your BEST possible life then you have to be willing to put in the effort. I’m not talking effort for 8, 12, or 16 weeks- I’m talking for ALWAYS. If I sound preachy, it’s because I live and breath this. It is a huge compliment to be told by someone they want a body like mine, but make no mistake- I work for it EVERY single day. I am not lucky, and it’s not genetics. It is a testament of my passion and willingness to live this lifestyle, and my work ethic. If you want it bad enough, you’ll get there 🙂