Archives for February 2011

IFBB Figure Pro Teresa Anthony shares an update with three weeks to go until the 2011 Figure International. This time around she shares why she changes up her routine, shoes and more. Check it out!

It is just about 3 weeks to the Arnold and I am starting to get super excited but anxious at the same time. My diet and training seems to be going well but like every other competitor I have my hungry moments, which seems to get more frequent the closer I get to the show. But hey I think that is just part of the discipline of the contest prep and finding that inner strength to ignore the cravings. The winter weather has also been a challenge, there are mornings that it is tough to get out of the bed and head to the gym. My biggest goal at this time is to stay focus and not let this factors interrupt my prep.

Change#1:
There are times in the competition prep that I find myself getting bored with my routine and needing to change things up a bit. When I say changing up a bit, it can be from changing the days you train a bodyparts, incorporating more plyometrics, maybe adding some power-lifting move within daily weight training, or even changing up your cardio of choice. I also find myself working out at different gyms to break the monotony of my daily routine. Recently, I decided to try different something different for my leg training. Over the years and I have heard time and time again that I need to work on legs, more quad sweep, etc. So noted. 🙂 In the effort to make improvements to my legs, I started training with wrestling type shoes, which are ugly, flat but I did find they assisted me in focusing more on my form and range of motion during my reps. I definitely noticed the difference, I was able to go deeper on squats and leg press and I felt more tension on the quads while training. Recently, I noticed many folks in the gym have been wearing these five finger shoes (which looked weird to me initially), therefore, I went out to purchase a pair for leg day. Five Fingers are shoes. Or slippers. Or socks with flexible Vibram rubber soles on the bottom. They have five toe cutouts and absolutely no arch support or traditional foam padding in the soles. I have been wearing them for 2 weeks and so far I used them for front squats, lunges, leg presses, hack squats, deadlifts, cardio on the stepmill and stairmaster and even for going the grocery store. I can say I am truly satisfied with the purchase and I have been getting the best quad pump with this shoes.

Change #2:
In efforts of continuing my changing in routine, I have been also started rope climbing. My gym installed two ropes hanging from the ceiling and I have incorporated the rope climbing into my back and arms workout. My weekly back routines consisted of the typical back exercises such as pull ups, dumbbell rows, pulldowns, etc., however, I have incorporated the rope climbing in between some of my sets and this way I am constantly shocking the muscle. Here is my an example of my back training:

1. unassisted pull-ups (3 sets, 10 reps)
2. cable pull downs (3 sets, 12 reps); then Rope climb to the top
3. dumbbell rows (3 sets, 12 reps); Rope climb
4. dumbbell pullover (3 sets, 15 reps); Rope climb

*As a disclaimer, it might be a good idea to wear gloves for the rope climb!

Change #3:
One of the biggest adjustment I have been working on is my attitude and confidence in my physique. For many years I have had a complex about being skinny and not having the body to match up with the Pros. Well, towards the end of last competition season I made up my mind that I have to embrace what God gave me and just keep working towards making improvements. While I might never completely have the bod I desire, I am still a work in progress and striving the to best of me this season. After all….skinny is not that bad. 🙂

Until next time folks… peace out!

Teresa

Follow Teresa on twitter @FitTeresaNicole. Give her a shout and tell her you saw her on Hardbody.

One of the top contenders for next month’s Fitness International, Trish Warren updates us with 3 weeks to go. What’s the Texas Hardbody been up to? Check out her latest blog as she talks about improvising with in-climate weather.

Well 9 weeks down and 3 to go, boy how time flies!  The past two weeks have been spent shoveling ice and snow, yes Dallas Texas actually had a crazy winter spell!  With freeways shut down, I had to create a training facility at my home!  I have stuck to my plan since the ’09 Olympia and still train with my own body weight so the whole train at home actually worked in my favor.  I was able to do everything I needed to do in my garage, and cleared a space in my dining room for routine practice!  The surfaces were not very giving on my joints but I managed to get in every workout!  I was a little leary of how my routine session would go today since I haven’t been able to perform the entire thing in quite a few days!  Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised and nailed it 3 times in a row!  I hope it’s as easy come March 4th, but only time will tell!

Until Next Time
Love Life and God Bless!
Trish Warren

Snowing at the Warren Cabin.

Snowing outside the Warren residence in Dallas, Texas.

If you’re attending the Arnold Sports Festival can meet Trish at the Gaspari Nutrition booth.

Canada’s lone representative in the Bikini International shares a bit more about herself and what her day is like. She offers some tips to parents and how to make things work in a busy schedule. Check out what Justine Munro has to say.

Hello Again!

I wanted to start off by thanking Hardbody.com for selecting me along with the other beautiful ladies to participate in writing weekly blogs for this website! Taking the time to put my thoughts on paper has been a great experience.

The Arnold is is less than four weeks away…I am getting more excited, a bit anxious and yes… NERVOUS too!

Often I get asked, “Do you get nervous before a show?” Like anyone else…absolutely I do!

One thing about myself I have learned over the years is that, I am “worry wart”! I like to plan everything in advance, making sure I have everything prepared right down to the very little detail. I drive myself insane at times, but it’s just the way I am I guess. Once I have all my travel plans ready, my suits determined, my schedule figured out and my personal effects in place…I feel much better and worry less and can keep my FULL focus on my training/diet.

For many of you who don’t know me very well, this is a little about me:

I am passionate about the development of children and have been in childcare for the past 5 years. I live in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. I work with children mainly from infant up until 13 years of age. I truly believe that it is important that children grow up feeling good about who they are and have the confidence in themselves to do whatever they inspire to become. Self-esteem is what makes the world go around and its starts from within one-self. I take what I do very seriously and know that I am making a difference with the children I work with, not only their social skills and in their intellectual abilities, but in their physical development and their personal values. I love what I do. I don’t look at it as a job, but an opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life. The most fascinating discovery for me is that working with children has made me a better person. I learn from them all the time.

I have been blessed to work with a number of great families. Although they are all different in their own way, this has made it a more exciting journey for me. Often I am considered “a big sister” which I like, as I am the baby in my own family. There is nothing more satisfying than assisting a child develop and then watch them grow and develop and become a good person.It makes me proud!

My day starts at 5:45AM every day and I typically get home around 7-8PM. In between these hours I never stop. I am always planning and organizing events, preparing meals and providing a lot of TLC! (tender loving care) to others but that’s what I do! 🙂 I give a great deal of credit to parents—how do they find time to plan their day and then plan for the children etc?

One comment I often hear from parents is how they struggle to find time for themselves. By the time they get home from working all day, they feel guilty to take some time for themselves, whether it is go to a gym and/or setting a routine around eating healthy by making specific meals, the reality is they are tired by the time they get home from work and feel guilty if they don’t give the children the attention they need.

Having the opportunity to observe a number of families and talk with many mothers…(and fathers too), here are a few suggestions that may help:

1. Put “YOU” higher on the list of things to do! Call it a little ‘ME TIME’ but you need to give yourself some time each day. Whether it be first thing in the morning or later in the evening….make a promise to yourself to put YOU AS #1. It could be just taking a bath, reading a book, doing your nails or even maybe even your hair…whatever it is, it’s only about YOU. You will feel better inside, but outside too.

2. Make a commitment to yourself that you want to eat better! Feeling better about yourself starts by eating healthy foods. You have full control over the food you eat. Eating healthy doesn’t mean starving yourself. It actually means eating more food, more often through out the day—but the right foods! Planning your food meals every day will result in your entire family eating healthier as well. This is a good thing! I bought a crock pot! It is one of my best friends now. When I leave in the morning, I prepare my meal (it takes only minutes) and when I get home, it’s sitting there waiting for me fully cooked and it smells so good too! All left over food becomes my meals for the next day. Just an idea. 🙂

3. If you don’t have time for the gym, that’s okay! Don’t feel guilty! There are many activities that you can do with the kids that will give you the physical exercise that you need. Take the kids to the park, for a walk, play a ball game, go tobogganing —kids have a ton of energy and it needs to be released, so go crazy with your kids, make exercising fun and part of your daily routine without realizing it. You could even buy a DVD on exercising and have the kids do it with you. Be crazy together. They would have a ton of fun and more importantly, they would be doing it with you.

4. Spend time with those that matter most in your life. Sometimes we all get so caught up in our lives with our busy routines, scheduled activities that we forget about spending some down time together just doing nothing. When I take the time with the kids I care for, I am always amazed about what they have to say. We sometimes share stories, but often they express themselves about how they feel about something. These moments are precious and need to captured. As I said at the beginning, I am learning all the time from those around me.

These are only a few suggestions for you to consider. I salute all of you parents out there…I really do! You are always thinking of everyone else around you, but yourself. But you need to put yourself higher on the list and if you do so, you will find that you will feel better and perform better too!

I can only hope that when I am a parent I could be half as good as you are! There is no written rule book on being a parent—but if there were, I would highly recommend that putting “ME TIME” is part of it. You deserve it! Have a great one!

Justine Munro

Become a fan of Justine on her Facebook page and tell her hello from Hardbody!

Nicole Nagrani shares four of her top tips to fighting off cravings. Check out what the rising Bikini Pro Star uses to help her during her Arnold contest prep.

Recently, Ive had a lot of women ask me for tips on making dieting easier for them. I know everyone gets cravings every once in a while and sometimes they are very hard to suppress. Over the course of the last year, there are a few things that have helped me when I wanted to break down and eat some cake so hopefully they’ll work for you…

1. Sugar-free gum
A lot of people chew this stuff all day everyday, but that’s really not a good thing. First, a whole lot of excess gum quickly adds up in calories and simple carbohydrates. Also, gum has a lot of aspartame, which can bloat you and is overall not a good chemical for your body. Lastly, when you chew gum, a lot of times it sends signals to your brain, which trigger and even worse craving for sweets because of gum’s sweet taste the majority of the time. SO… I treat gum like a treat. I only allow myself a few pieces within the day and almost fit it into my meal plan schedule. This way, I can suppress my sweet tooth while also monitoring the amount of gum I chew.

2. Water
Water is the best thing to help keep full throughout the day. If you are ingesting copious amounts of water through the day, you’re prolly full most of the time. For me, sometimes I just want something different but don’t want to drink anything I’m not supposed to. Every once in a while, I’ll just heat up a cup of water and drink it hot and for some reason it tends to fill me up more and not to mention its kind of relaxing. Adding lemon to water is also something to jazz it up! Otherwise, just drink tons of water and you’ll stay full!

3. Tea
Tea has been the best appetite suppressor for me throughout the past few months of dieting. At the grocery store, a lot of tea-making brands produce different flavors other than the regular chamomile or earl gray kinds. They have flavors like blueberry and mango acai, which are two of my favorites! At night sometimes if im feeling a craving coming on, I just grab some tea bags, make a hot cup of tea, and put a little stevia in it and Im good to go!. Stevia is a natural sweetener, which is stripped directly off the plant and has no added calories and there’s no chemicals in it.

4. Will-power!
Believe me, I understand sometimes you just want to eat a cheeseburger because your tired and worn out and you can tell your body needs it… But is it really worth it? I mean, you put so much hard work into getting in shape and all because one minute you want food, you’ll ruin all the hard work you just put in to eat? Guarantee you’ll wake up the next morning regretting what you did, wont even remember how it tastes, and sometimes cravings become worse once you cheat. I know that I wouldn’t want to risk another hour on the treadmill because I wanted food! So think of all these things next time you want to cheat on your meal plan!

I hope a few of these tips help keep you on track with your meal plan and diets! Let me know if you think these things will help you, and if you have any suggestions yourself. ☺

Nicole

Check out Nicole’s Facebook fan page and “like” her there.

IFBB Figure Pro Ali Rosen shares her story about competing and how she’s gotten to the place she is today. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and enjoy the Bikini Pro’s latest blog en route to the Arnold.

NEVER GIVE UP
I started competing back in November 2009 and can remember every step along the way. I always believed in myself and kept setting goals ever since I stepped on my very first NPC stage in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. After my first show, I realized that my love for health and fitness transformed into my passion. I decided to challenge myself and entered the NPC Nationals just 7 days later and boy did I have a lot to learn! From tanning, to training, to dieting there was a lot to learn. Most importantly I learned how to mentally compete with myself and not other competitors.

After Nationals I sought out help from the best in the industry, Team Bombshell. I loved the way the girls carried themselves, placed in the shows and always seemed genuinely happy with their experience. Once joining the team, I had one goal in mind: Earn my pro card. Little did I know that I would also gain so much more: Inner mental strength, balance, focus, great friends and a great support system with Team Bombshell. My first show with Bombshell was NPC Junior Nationals. With two months of rigorous training and getting accustomed to a new dieting regimen, I was excited to hit the stage looking like a whole new me. I had to transform my already structured healthy lifestyle into a competitive personal journey. It wasn’t until this show that I realized how crucial it was to enjoy your journey. My two shows prior I was so wrapped up in having the perfect physique that I lost track of all the other amazing lessons along the way. I made it my mission for my final week of prep to capture every moment and make sure it was FUN. I remember saying to myself, “You put the work in, you ate all your food, and you trained your hardest, now it is time to enjoy yourself.” There was nothing I could do to drastically change in my last week, I needed to maintain and enjoy my journey.

Placing second at Junior Nationals ignited the fire! I was just one point away from first place and the opportunity to earn my pro card. I took note of what I could improve on in my physique and I paid particular attention to perfecting my stage presence. For the next 3 weeks I trained with determination to improve each day. Coming into NPC Team Universe I felt good, not great. I wish I had more time but I knew I did all I could have done to look my best for that show. NPC Team Universe taught me how I needed to control my backstage and pre-contest stressors. It introduced the truth behind being a champion: Mental Strength. There were so many things I let get to me that allowed my mind to take control over my body (in a negative way). That Sunday I remember waking up after only 3 hours of sleep, putting on a full velour sweat suit (it was early July), and decided to run the 5 story parking garage 2 times! If you know me, I am not a runner and hate running! But something snapped and told me to JUST DO IT. During my run I let out every feeling and emotion: Anger, sadness, frustration, hope etc. I found my mental game and the key to being a true champion.

I had exactly 27 days until my next shot at a pro-card and I entered into the NPC USA Championships. I was determined, focused and ready to take it home. Everyday I trained I turned up the heat. The flames continued to grow as I stepped off the plane in Vegas and lit up the stage for pre-judging. Wining my professional status, signing with FMG and feeling on top of the world was the confirmation that I was on the right track.

I was ready for my next challenge: My Pro Debut. Heading into IFBB Jacksonville, I had no pressure. I was the new girl and didn’t have a place established within the IFBB. That all changed after I won my pro debut. I was shocked. I was still celebrating my pro card win and couldn’t even fathom that I won a pro contest! I decided to keep the momentum going and I entered the Europa Dallas Supershow the following week. I wanted to see how I would place with different judges and different competitors. I needed to see what improvements were needed to hit the Olympia stage with confidence. My second place win in Dallas was just what I needed to regroup and hit the drawing table for the first ever Bikini Olympia.

As I approached Olympia, I had to ignore what was being talked about, who was going to win etc. I had to focus on me. At this point I was mentally exhausted. I had an amazing season with non-stop traveling and competing, but it took a toll. I had to find a way to regain momentum and keep pushing for my last 5 weeks. I would sit and look up pictures from June and get re-motivated seeing that my body kept changing and that I haven’t reached my potential. Seeing those old pictures made me realize I was going to step onto that stage the best ME to date! Realizing that I was going to bring my best package, coupled with the honor of being the first group of 24 women to grace the Bikini Olympia stage, got my mental ball rolling. My experience at Olympia was great. There were so many moments that I experienced and will forever cherish. My main goal was to live in the moment during this history-making weekend. I learned how to control more show related stress and realized how I still have yet to reach my physical potential.

Approaching 5 weeks from the Bikini International, I feel like I have grown into a healthy, mature competitor. I truly feel like a new me. Without competing I do not think I would have come to learn so many important life lessons in a short duration of time. I always believed in myself and trumped negativity with positive affirmations!

Click for larger view.

I leave you with this: “Thoughts become things.”

Train Hard & Stay Positive!

Ali

Learn more about Ali on her Facebook Fan page and follow her on Twitter @ALISONPROSEN.

IFBB Figure Pro Nicole Wilkins was in attendance at the LA Fit Expo and was looking on point. She was there representing Met-RX and will be appearing with them again in Columbus. Nicole updates us with her prep as she looks to defend her Figure International title in just over 4 weeks.

Working the Fit Expo in LA was the first time I have traveled in a while… and I have to say onboard Wi-fi is the best thing ever! I get so much work done since I am forced to sit still for such a long period of time. I worked on Saturday and Sunday for my sponsor Met-RX and got to catch up with some people I hadn’t seen in a few months, which is always nice.

Things have been going great. Last weekend my trainer Kim Oddo came to Michigan and we trained together and went to the Detroit Auto show. Crazy to think I have lived here all my life and had never been before. The Motor City held up to its name – the cars were so amazing, I wanted them all! I posted a few of my favorites on my facebook page.

Nicole’s Birthday Car? lol

I have incorporated a lot of variety in my training over the last year. I do this because I think it is not only important to have strength and endurance, but also balance, flexibility, agility and coordination. In my DVD that (crossing my fingers) should be done by the Arnold, I show how I incorporate all different types of training into my program as I prepared for the Olympia last year. We actually filmed inside the yoga class and took the camera to gymnastics.

In Jan 2010, my goal was to start yoga, which I continue to do one-two times a week. This year I started doing Crossfit. I go to Motor City Crossfit (www.motorcitycrossfit.com) and they have been amazing. I LOVE the competition (not so much with myself but with others lol), the challenge, and feeling like my heart is going to pound out of my chest. My endurance is through the roof right now and it feels awesome!

For anyone who’s in the area and interested, I will be hosting my annual seminar in Flint, MI on Feb 20 this year. It is an informative seminar for those who have done a show before or are thinking of doing one in the future. It is a great way to meet other females who share the same passion. It is really nice to have that friendship and support! You can download the flyer on www.nicolewilkins.com or www.michiganfitnessshows.com.

That’s pretty much it for now, aside from my bday next weekend … 27 ain’t that old… 🙂

Less than Five weeks to go!

Nicole

Check out Nicole’s Facebook Fan page where she does a great job of posting a variety of things. You can also follow her on twitter @NicoleMWilkins.

Nicole Duncan is just under 5 weeks from hitting the Fitness International stage. She reminds us all that if you want to be a champ you have to act like one.

In order to be a champion, at some point you have to suck it up and act like a champion. Competing is hard and we all have some crappy jobs that we have to put in long hours, motherly duties and physical ailments that nag us during our dieting and training prep. What separates the ‘pros’ from the ‘joes’ is not the fact that we are perfect on our diets or that we don’t miss a workout. What separates us as champions is the fact that we get up every morning no matter what did or did not happen the day before and suck it up. So this morning at 4:30 am I had to look myself is the mirror and say “Quit your whining Nicole. Suck it up and let’s go!” This morning with less than 5 weeks to go, it’s time to put my big girl panties on and let the party begin. Hoorah!

Nicole

Follow Nicole on her twitter @fitnicinc.

Nicole Nagrani gives us all a little reminder… Rock everything you do with CONFIDENCE. Get out there and tackle whatever you’re facing with confidence. Nicole is getting ready for the Arnold Bikini International which will be here in just a few days.

So, here we are less than 5 weeks away from the Arnold! I cant even believe this year is going by so fast! I guess time flies when you’re having fun ☺ lol

As I continue through my Arnold prep, I keep noticing things that are very important not only for my success in this sport, but also in everyday life. One characteristic that I believe is very important is confidence, on and off the stage. In order to succeed in whatever you may be trying to conquer, you must believe you can conquer it and be confident that nothing can stand in your way. Whatever you put your mind to will happen, so be confident that this is the case and you will feel much better and empowered. When you have doubt, its noticeable in the things you do and to others around you. A confident person is someone who stands out in the crowd yet is not cocky. Particularly in this sport, sometimes I tend to hit walls where I may not see changes or don’t think I can personally do another round of cardio, but if I am confident that I can get it done and not listen to all the doubt that I feel, it will happen; it always does. This characteristic pertains to all aspects of life whether you’re dealing with training or sporting a new outfit you just bought!

And for the stage…I know all my girls love to work the stage when they finally get the chance! Be confident in whatever you do! KNOW YOU ARE THE BEST and be confident in this! When someone displays confidence, others can see this and this is a good quality especially when you work the stage. You don’t want to hold back at all, just go out and have fun. When you see an athlete who works the stage with confidence, you automatically center you’re attention on them which is the whole idea.

So, this week when you’re enduring another week of a healthy and happy lifestyle, BE CONFIDENT in who you are and what you’re doing! I hope this little reminder helps you in reaching your goals because if you believe in yourself, you can do anything you want

And for all my pretty ladies… this is a song, and a mentality I think we should all have! No matter what people say…

Check out Nicole’s Facebook fan page and “like” her there.

IFBB Bikini Pro and cover model Jessica Putnam sheds some light on what it’s like to be married to a competitor and prepping for the Arnold stage. Check out what Jess aka “snowflake” has to say.

For those of you who may not know, I am married to IFBB Pro bodybuilder, Peter Putnam. A common question I get asked is “what is it like being married to a competitor?” and “Does being married to a competitor make it easier or harder to prepare for a show?”.

The answer to that is, I LOVE that we get to live the same lifestyle! We are each others biggest cheerleaders, each other’s support system, cardio buddies etc.. Peter and I usually map out our shows where we are both prepping around the same time frame or even prepping for the same show.

As I stated in my first blog, this is the first time I will be competing in the Arnold Classic… and this really is the first time I am having to prep for a show while Peter is in his off season.

Its not like we go completely crazy eating whatever we want in the off season, but we do enjoy making homemade, clean, “healthy” cheat meals. Those that diet for shows know what I mean by this-we just like to try out different recipes and make them as healthy as possible. I like to do a turkey meatloaf, stuffed grilled chicken with goat cheese etc., just meals that you wouldn’t see on your contest prep diet. So, at times during my prep I get a little bummed because I feel I’m missing out on time for Peter and I to enjoy being “normal”.

I am SO incredibly thankful, though, that my hubby is not the type of bodybuilder that eats a ton of junk food. He is extremely disciplined and eats very clean year round. He is more of the type A personality. Myself, on the other hand, I could have a tendency to want to eat a few more goodies :), so this REALLY helps me out! He helps keep me focused and on track. We balance each other out : ). In the end, it works out great because I don’t have to sit and watch him stuff his face with all of those forbidden foods.

We do get to enjoy going out to eat together because we have quite a few restaurants in town that know how we prepare our foods for shows and they will make it clean for us! We will still make some of those clean “healthy” cheat meals but I may not be able to eat a few of the foods, but sitting down to a meal with my hubby is what really matters! Not whats on my plate!

I also remind myself that this is temporary, and again, that I am blessed to be invited to compete in such a prestigious show! Suck it up and quit complaining Jess! I’m also very excited because my birthday is Monday March 7th! Great timing, huh?! I get to celebrate my birthday with a nice glass of wine…yes, I said wine, and not cake 😉 ( for those of you that know me, you know I love my wine 🙂 ). So the weeks of dieting and having to avoid some of the foods I really enjoy, will be even more worth it!

Thanks for reading! Stay Fit and God bless!

Jess

I have attached a pic of Peter and I’s March cover of Ironman magazine. If you are a friend of mine on facebook please post a creative picture with our cover on my wall! I am running a contest through Feb.! The best pic with our cover will receive an Optimum Nutrition goodie bag! You can even post a link to it here under my blog if you aren’t on FB or tweet it to me @JessFit.

Follow along with Jessica on Twitter @JessFit and on her Facebook Page.

IFBB Bikini Pro Nathalia Melo updates us with her Arnold prep, well not really. This time Nathalia shares what it’s like to be part of the dating pool as a single, dieting competitor. Another entertaining blog from Nat. Check it out.

Hi everyone!! It’s me again!! =)

Well…lately, everywhere I go I have been noticing pink hearts, red hearts, ‘’I love you’’ signs and all these stuff. Then I realized that Valentine’s Day is coming up… So I decided to talk about the dating or should I say the non-existing dating life of a single competitor… mainly during prep months!

The first thing I find very hard is a place to interact with a cutie considering I hardly ever go anywhere other than gym, work and school! But let’s go on and imagine that I do find someone interesting and we wanna talk a little more to get to know each other, here is how the convo usually goes:

Guy: “So… Let’s go grab dinner?”
Me: “I would love to, but I can’t really eat.”
Guy: “How about go for a drink?’’
Me: “Sorry but I don’t drink.”
Guy: “Ok… What about just go out for a bit and talk?”
Me: “Maybe we can do that, but I have to be home before midnight so I can be up early for my first cardio tomorrow!”

At this point most guys are thinking that I am completely out of my mind! Hahahaha… I do have a cheat meal once a week, which if ‘’homeboy’’ is lucky I will have dinner with him that day! Hahaha… but to be honest, on my cheat meal the last thing I wanna do is to be chit chatting and “talkie talkie”… I just wanna eat my slice of pizza with my bare hands and eat my cookie not worrying if I look like a hungry kid from Africa! I really don’t feel like going to a nice restaurant and look at the basket of bread and pretend I don’t really want to eat EVERY SINGLE PIECE of bread in there! hahahha

OK guys… I wanna make sure you understand that I am NOT complaining and I actually think that all this makes my dates waaaaaaaaay more selective and I would never trade any of this experiences I am going through for a hot date with ANYONE! I absolutely love what I do and I am the one who knows the amazing feeling of being on a stage and all the achievements and experiences I’ve gotten from it! If the guy doesn’t like how things are… well then… NEXT… he wasn’t worth my cheat meal night then!!

Have a good week and Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Check out more with Nathalia on her Facebook Fan Page and let her know what you think of her latest blog.

Dina is traveling non-stop it seems but that doesn’t prevent her from getting in her workouts. She updates us from the 5 week point. Check it out.

Since my return from Singapore I have been home and able to focus on getting enough sleep, eating and spending quality time at the gym. This is the period where self doubt starts to creep in. I come from a Figure background so I freak out sometimes as I feel I am not doing enough cardio. In Bikini, my tendency has been to be on the leaner/harder side which is not desirable so I cannot do as much cardio as I used to…which in turn makes me freak out…sometimes I find myself trying to rationalize hitting the treadmill just a little bit more and it is a constant struggle not to do it…as is the struggle to get the booty and hams tight but not be too hard everywhere else.

Cardio at home.

On the more entertaining front, I had a great conversation with Berns of Passion Fruit Designs and cannot wait to see what she comes up with for my suit. Though I am being judged on my physique the whole package must look impeccable. I also have my hair and make-up artist booked for the day – this may be overkill but I prefer not sharing and not stressing over when I need to get my make-up done etc. I already have my tanning appointment booked as well… So all that is left is to pack what I call my “care box” – more on that later.

I am now headed to DC, where I get to spend a week at my favorite gym Vida Fitness… I just love it there. I am then sneaking in a trip to BombShell HQ so that my fitness Momma can make sure I am on track.

Note for anyone flying on United… if you forgot your food, the Lite snack pack has 3oz tuna and unsweetened apple sauce. Just chuck out the chocolate pretzel.

Follow Dina on Twitter @dalsabah and on Facebook.