Competition Prep 2019: 2 Weeks out from OCB Atlantic Supershow

TWO WEEKS OUT!!

It may not seem like it's that far away, but sometimes the days drag on and by this point I am so ready to compete that I just want to get on with it! But alas, I still have 2 weeks. This year I have been doing monthly updates, but so much happens in the month before the show that I wanted to provide a mid-month update.

In the past couple of weeks I attended a Judges Clinic and an OCB 101 Clinic. The judges clinic is for people who want to eventually be a judge for OCB shows.  I learned the ethics behind judging, how to address conflicts of interest, and the criteria competitors are judged on. OCB posts the criteria on their website, but it helped me have a deeper understanding of what they look for. While I am not going to be a judge right now, attending the clinic helped me to learn as a competitor how I can be better on stage and training. The more knowledge you have the better!!

The OCB 101 Clinic was an amazing event! It was held at the Grind Gym in Baltimore, Maryland. There was about 20 or so competitors there and we learned how OCB as an organization works, the do's and dont's of show day, and proper posing. I even ran into a few girls I competed with last year which made it like a family reunion! The people I met at my show, the Presidential Cup, last year have become some of my biggest supports and greatest friends. We also had a posing lesson and they gave us these amazing swag bags, which was so sweet! Every time I attend an event I learn something new.

Okay, lets talk diet and workout schedule. BOTH changed. *sigh* Which I knew was coming, but still it's not always easy. I started my cutting diet to help me slim down for show day and I originally had a combination if veggies, almonds, chicken, and brown rice, but then my coach cut out the brown rice (CRYING). My quads still dominate the overall symmetry of my body. My symmetry is a little better than last year because I have built my shoulders, but not enough so no more carbs for me. Symmetry refers to having equal muscle built on the top half of my body as the bottom half. The decisions our coaches make is never to torture us, but to get us looking the best for show day. I trust my coach because I know she knows what she's doing. I am around 1,400 calories and eating chicken, green veggies, protein shakes, and almonds. Did I mention I still have 2 more weeks? haha

At the end of March/beginning of April, I started doing fasted cardio in the morning for 45 minutes. For me that mean no eating in the morning before I workout and then for 45 miuntes I run for 5 minutes and then walk for 5 minutes or any combination of those intervals. Well since I can't eat before my cardio that meant my lifting workouts were moved to the evening since I couldn't do my cardio at night after eating all day. My lifting workouts are a pyramid system so I do each move for 4 sets. I start off with light weight and increase the weight for each set. Also, all the workout moves are build into a super set. A super set is when you perform two exercises back to back with no break in between, then when you're done with the super set you get a break.

This workout schedule has not been easy for me. I am not a runner by nature and my body the second week in April started feeling all my days of doubles in the gym. My body was tired, my right knee was sore, and I had no energy. I still pushed, but it was not easy. I wanted to give up. I even texted my coach complaining like a 5 year old that I did not know how much longer I could keep up the schedule. She apologized and told me she did not like this and if we had more time to train it would not be this way, but we are doing the best we can! I was feeling overwhelmed with work, training, home life, etc. I felt better afterwards....sometimes you just need to get it out and move on! But tonight as I write this I feel like I have a new wave of energy and that I am ready to PUSH.

Last thought for this post. On Saturday, Albert and I set aside the whole day to celebrate our 6 year anniversary. Our anniversary was during the week so we couldn't do anything special (he did bring me flowers home!). We planned to got to this area of DC called The Wharf. It is an up and coming area being rebuilt along the waterfront on the Potomac River. They have a lot of amazing restaurants, activities, and beautiful scenery. I decided it would be easy for us to drive there as I figure there would be a lot of parking garages....wrong. They were all full. So what started off as a 30 minute drive ended up an hour long with traffic and trying to find parking. I was NOT happy. I am now in a mood. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect for walking around. We got coffee from Dolcezza and walked down the boardwalk. Well, then I started getting hungry. All the restaurants were on at least a 45 minute wait and I couldn't eat at any of the small food stands so I told Albert we had to leave because I needed to eat. We left, ended up finding a food court I could eat at only for them to tell us they closed 5 minutes earlier. My mood right now was not pleasant. So we trucked back to find where we parked the car and go home to eat.

By this point Albert is not saying much and I could tell something was wrong. I knew I ruined the day. I apologized and we both agreed the day did not go how we wanted it to. Sometimes it happens- the not so pleasant part of competing. It is not all rainbows and sunshine and getting in really lean shape and having abs--- it comes at a price and my price that day was enjoying the day with Albert because I could not eat anything. We made up and I told him I would make it up to him! <3

So here we are 2 weeks out and 3 weeks out from my show in Catonsville, MD! Check out some progress photos below!

Stay tuned for my next update! It will be after my OCB Richmond show and right before my OCB Catonsville Show! Thank you for all of your love & support!

Rainbow Slice-And-Bake Cookies

March Cookie of the Month:

Rainbows are just for the Irish to show where a pot of gold might be, but I guarantee if you follow your baking skills to the end of this rainbow you will be proud of accomplishing this recipe!

I have never made a layered cookie like this before, and if you have, then kudos to you because it is a challenge. To achieve the layered look of these cookies you make one dough, but then measure sections of dough into different pieces, dye the dough a color of the rainbow, and then layer on top of each other.

The cookie dough makes and looks like a sugar cookie mix, but when the cookies bake they come out of the oven as a light, crispy cookie with a nice crunch. They don't lay heavy in your stomach, which could be a blessing and a curse because then you can enjoy more!

Even though this was the cookie of the month for the March issue of the Food Network Magazine this is a cookie you can make for many occasions, such as birthday parties, summer BBQs, or just to spread some sunshine around your office.

As a side note, you will need a food scale to portion out the different sizes of cookie dough.

Now, let's get baking!

Active: 1 hour / Total: 3 hours / Makes: about 36 cookies

Ingredients: 

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of each red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple gel food coloring
• 1 cup white candy melts (I found them at Michael's!)

Instructions:

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioner's sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually beat in the flour mixture until the dough just comes together.
2. Divide the dough into 6 pieces: 
• 2 large pieces (approx. 7oz each), tint 1 Red and the other Orange*
• 2 medium pieces (approx. 5oz each), tint 1 yellow and the other green
• 2 small pieces (approx. 3 oz each), tint 1 blue and the other purple
• While you mix the color with the dough use gloves if mixing by hand or a spatula in a bowl
3. On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll the purple dough into a 7-inch log (about 3/4 inch thick) and set aside. Using a rolling pin, roll out the remaining dough into rectangles on separate floured sheets of parchment paper, dusting with more flour as needed.**
• Blue: 3.5 in by 7 in
• Green: 5 in by 7.5 in
• Yellow: 6 in by 8 in
• Orange: 7 in by 8.5 in
• Red: 8 in by 9 in
4. Tightly wrap the blue dough around the purple loge, keeping the dough in a log shape. Pinch the seam where the 2 dough's come together to close. Continue wrapping the logs with the dough: green, then yellow, then orange, and finally red. Wrap the whole log in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Trim the ends of the log to have nice even ends then slice into 3/8 inch-thick rounds (I used a ruler). Arrange cookies about 1 inch apart on 2 unlined baking sheets and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. 
6. Bake one pan at a time until the cookies are just set around the edges and golden on the bottom, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to cookie racks to cool.
7. While cookies are cooling, put the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring, until smooth, total approx. 2 minutes depending on the power of your microwave. Allow to cool for 1-3 minutes. Transfer into a resealable plastic bag, filling from the corner of the plastic bag up. Snip a small section of the corner (be careful, if you snip off too much the melted candy will come pouring out) and pipe small clouds on the ends of each rainbow. I did 3-4 clouds on each side of the cookie depending on how big the cookie was. Let clouds set at least 5 minutes.
8. Store in a sealed Tupperware container for up to a week. 

*I used A LOT of food coloring to make sure they were a bright, vibrant color. You can't over do it.

**I felt the dimensions o the rectangles were too large. I had a lot of extra dough left on the sides of the cookies so I would suggest making the rectangle dimensions a little smaller than what is suggested. It may have been me, but this is one of those recipes that I may need to make again to figure out what the best way is.

May the luck of the Irish always be on your side and who knows, maybe you fill find a pot O'gold at the end of your rainbows! 

I hope you enjoy baking and eating these cookies! Stay tuned for April's Cookie of the Month!

Competition Prep 2019: Month 3

Well, March came and went as quickly as I go through a jar of peanut butter (aka very fast).

I am sitting here trying to remember everything that happened in the month of March it all seems like a blur to me. I feel like a lot happened, but also nothing super significant. Oh! I know! I got to have weekly refeed meals!!!!! But I will get to that in a minute.

At the beginning of March I was 8-ish weeks out from my May 4 show. I started off the month with a new meal plan and a new workout program. My meal plan did not change too much in terms of portions, but I was still carb cycling with 4 days high carbs and low fats and 3 days with high fats and low carbs. This season is my first time carb cycling for this long and I don't mind it at all. I am still eating a wide variety of food and I don't feel starved.

On March 23, my coach reduced my food intake a little bit to help shed more fat, but I am still carb cycling. Overall, I still feel full and that I am not in too big of a deficit yet. I know it's going to get harder, but I am mentally prepared for it as this will be my 4th time competing but 2nd professional show.

My workout program changed as well! Last month I was doing a lot of lower rep moves and trying to build internal muscle basically to set a strong foundation so when I begin to cut I will have more internal muscle. This month I changed to a drop set workout program. Each workout day focused on a specific body part, for example, Monday was chest/tricep, Tuesday was leg day, etc. Each workout move I did 3-4 sets and I would start off lifting as heavy as I could and each set I would drop one to two plates to a lower weight. All of the moves were on workout machines to make it easier to drop the weight compared to using dumbbells. Overall, I really like the workouts and they are not too long either.

Also, my coach added in HIIT cardio on the treadmill for 45 minutes 4x-5x a week. She said she hated to do this, but my quad muscles are still overpowering in my front pose and I literally need to burn off some of my muscle. The cardio is fasted which means I don't eat before hand. By adding this cardio in that mean my weight lifting workouts got pushed to night so double workouts everyday of the week. The first few days were hard. I am getting used to it, but it is still challenging as I am very tired by the end of the day.

Okay, so lets talk about these refeed meals! OH MY GOSH. It was literally the best meal of every week. My coach gave me one meal a week that I could have any day at any time. I could eat up to 700 calories and the fat/protein/carbohydrate combination did not matter. I just had to keep it under 700 calories. Well, 700 calories sounds like a lot, but once you start food dreaming about everything you want to eat the calories can start to add up really fast...but I made it work to my advantage! I always had it on Saturday and I had one each weekend in the month of March. Here is what I ate (pics below!):

Refeed Meal #1- A stack of vanilla protein pancakes from Wake Up Waffles topped with banana and drizzled with Wild Friends Chocolate Coconut Peanut butter. It.was.pure.bliss! <3

Refeed Meal #2- Babe and I went to dinner at the local diner and I got a three egg omelet stuffed with veggies and wheat toast. Then I came home and made a cookie sundae with a Quest Nutrition Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie, Halo Top Almond Crunch Ice Cream, and drizzled with Walden Farms International Chocolate Syrup. Again, amazing!

Refeed Meal #3- We went to a BBQ at a friends house and it was SO nice to be able to enjoy the food there rather than having to pack my own food! I felt normal! I had a burger with no bun, no mayo broccoli salad, mac and cheese, veggies, iced tea, Quest Nacho Cheese chips, and one of the homemade brownies I made. It was a true BBQ meal!

Refeed Meal #4- I went classic on my last fun meal. A classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich with homemade plum jam from the Old Town Farmers Market and a banana. For dessert, I made a chocolate mug cake using All American Nutrition Beast Mode cake mix topped with coconut Oikos zero yogurt and Walden Farms Chocolate Sauce. I treasured every bite.

In between all of that change up if you remember in last months post I brought up that I was traveling again this month. I had a work trip to Baton Rouge, LA. Thankfully it was a short two day trip, but you can bet I packed healthy snacks for me to have while traveling or in a pinch! When I went out to dinner I ordered a blackened chicken salad with a side of veggies, hold the cheese and croutons please. I really wanted a million other things on the menu because I mean come on, I was in the south and it was all good cookin down there! But I stayed true to my meal plan and did not deviate once.

In other exciting new I officially registered for my May 4 show!! The OCB Atlantic Supershow in Richmond, VA! Also, I scheduled my tanning appointments and hair and make up! AHHHHH it is so exciting knowing that each day it gets closer and closer!  Right now I need to stay focus on those consistent tasks each day that will get me closer to my goal.

Next month (April) I know there will be a lot of changes because I will be 4 weeks out from my show and it is all about dialing in the nutrition and workouts.

Stay tuned for my April update!