Made it Through the Week - Vein Intact ! :)

Hey y'all!

Sorry I have been non-present in blog-land. Crazier week than normal.

We are in Iowa this weekend for the DAM to DAM 20k- Jody ran it this morning! So proud of him he ran 8 minute miles - yeah Jody! We drove up on Friday night after work - what a long week. I got about 4 hours sleep Wed, Thurs and Friday night (work was killing me). I was in Account Leadership college Wed, Thurs and Friday - hence the sleep issue but was PUMPED that my eating was ON and I got in all my planned workouts. Tomorrow I have one more workout to do for the week and I have achieved all my goals. My vein is still there although it only comes out during workouts - but I will take it when it decides to show itself. :)

As for today, I woke up at 5:00am went to drop Jody off at the race, watched him hit the finish line and then came back and slept from 10am to 1:30. Ahhhh. Needed that. Then I got in a great workout and am now blogging for you cats.

I am so excited - feeling like I am finally seeing results after 3-4 weeks of good eating and good workouts. Gotta keep it up.

I also read some of the Encyclopedia of Body Building today by the Ah-Nald (Arnold). Amazing basic stuff. Got me pumped.

A paraphrase from the book: If you want to lose fat, plan on losing it over 6 months to a year....that way you will keep it off. The worst way to lose fat is to fast or do a quick fat loss.

Now, I know I KNOW this but for some reason when you read it from the legendary Arnold it hits home a bit more. :) So, the plan is to keep being patient and just let it happen over time. But the little victories like my vein showing up or clothes feeling loose are definitely keeping me motivated.

A shout out to Cynthia for her progress. YOU LOOK GREAT!

Jess

Vein Motivation

Happy Hump Day! Don't you love holiday weeks? Today we are half way through the week - WOO HOO!

Last night while training (Ultimate Figure Program - Day 2), I posed a little between sets - yes, I am admitting it - I pose occasionally. Anyway, I actually saw a vein again in my left bicep! Holy crap. I was so friggin excited! So, I have vein motivation right now - not scale motivation or pants fitting better motivation but scale motivation. LOVE IT! :)

As for Tuesday - it wasn't fantastical but it wasn't bad either and considering how insane my week will be, it wasn't bad. Got my workout in and ate perfect. Even had fish for dinner.

Later gators.
Jess

OCD

You guys know I love Oprah. Love her. I think she has done amazing things for our culture in terms of making us more aware of ourselves and our surroundings in ways we never would have without her.

Case in point - today I was catching up on my Oprah during my UFP workout and Dr. Oz was on the other day working with people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and he said we all have some sort of OCD - just at a different level. So, I started thinking about my OCD's....and at first I was like..."I don't have any OCD's.....do I?" And then I realized I do...and here they are:

1. When I purchase or receive a new magazine, I have to be the first person to go through the entire magazine page by page. I can do this pretty quickly, but if I walk through the door and someone else has gotten the mail and is looking through my new issue of Oxygen, I have a small melt down. I don't get freaky, just don't like it. I would say that is a mild OCD.
2. When we are doing something outside - going to the lake, going for a bike ride, etc. - I get a little crazy over the weather. Like checking it often, not doing something because the weather might be bad. Goofy.

Think about what you might be OCD about and feel free to post in the comments. The first step is admitting the problem! ;)

Outside of that, I am OCD free. But I will say that my thought process over what I eat and when I workout is slightly OCD, but I am working hard to change that and this weekend was a good start. I had a couple of fun workouts with the hubby and friends - running, riding and doing track work. And I got in my Ultimate Figure Program Day 1 today but I am not stressing anymore. I am working out, feeling good - and I can already feel me having a shift in my thinking about fitness.

I did update my weekly recap on my post from yesterday. Check it out YO! :)

Have a great week y'all!
Jess

TWO Weeks Weekly Recap & Catching Up (Plus 5K Today)

Hello my little friends....:) I am feeling pretty punchy today after a VERY long week. Brutal in fact. So, for those of you who don't know, I work for an advertising agency and work with P&G and Wal-Mart. I am currently an Acct Supervisor and am shooting for a Director position. So....I normally just manage one business (one retainer) and got asked a couple weeks ago to manage another business (that has two retainers) on top of that one. So, I am managing three retainers and my account service person is helping someone else.

So WTF does this mean for all of you??? It means I was completely MIA last week and pretty much got in two workouts last week (not counting today). My gal Cynthia made a pretty kick ass point and that is that directorship is something I might not have an opportunity for - fitness can always come back to me. And she is right. So I am being patient and not freaking out. My eating was ON all week except for this morning when I had 2 slices of bacon, 2 eggs over medium, a 1/2 cup of grits all mixed together and slapped on two pieces of toast. HEAVEN. That is my favorite breakfast in the whole world and I ran a 5k this morning (24 minutes and some change - 6th place overall female - not better than my last time BUT it had FOUR huge hills) so I said screw it, I am having a good breakfast. So now I will just make good choices the rest of the day and tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I am doing what I can with the time I have....next week is also going to be rough - I have Account Management College which means I will be in training from 8-5 for three full days of a four day week. Yes, I know I am whining but this means the rest of my work will have to get done at night or in the morning. So....how will I get in my workouts? And I am talking through all this crap because I know all of you go through this....trying to find the time to workout. So here are my options:

1. HIIT sessions (30 minutes or less).
2. Get up earlier (risk getting sicky).
3. Put me first and get the workouts in no matter what.

I think I will probably do a combo of 1 and 3. :) No more getting sick for me!

My workouts last week (week of May 12th):
Monday:
Legs - UFP 90 Minutes
Tuesday:
Upper Body - UFP - 90 minutes
Wednesday:
Upper Body - UFP - 90 minutes
Thursday:
Off
Friday:
Upper Body - UFP - 60 minutes
Saturday:
AM 5K - 23:40 :)
Yard Work - 3 hours
Sunday:
2.5 hour bike ride
Shoulders/abs - 45 mins

This week (so far):
Monday:
Off
Tuesday:
HIIT Running - 30 minutes (400 calories)
Wednesday:
Lower Body UFP - 80 minutes
Thursday:
Off
Friday:
Off
Saturday:
AM 5K - 24:00 ?
Yard Work - 2 hours
Sunday:
2 hour bike ride (33 miles - 1200 calories)
Light legs (pathetic since I was so smoked) and abs - 45 mins

Hopefully tomorrow I will get in a bike ride and a lower body lift.

Hope you are all having a wonderful memorial day holiday! Remember to always be grateful in your life and remember what you have to be thankful for! Thanks for not giving up on me....just couldn't squeeze you guys in. But I still love ya!

Jess

Article from NPC Texas

Hey guys...

Monday, Tuesday, Wed - NUTS. But saw the below article on www.hardbody.com today and HAD to post. I promise more tomorrow.

Have a great rest of the week!!
Jess

NPC Figure Letter Clarification

isaac | News, misc | Wednesday, 21 May 2008

A letter went out after JR USA to the NPC competitors in Texas. See the letter below:

Greeting All TX NPC Figure Competitors,

This update is specifically for you as it pertains to the new judging criteria we at the NPC are judging. For the past year you have been hearing rumors or directly from me that judging will move toward a softer athletic look in figure instead of the muscular, lean look. Well, we kicked off the national competition year with the Jr. USA in Charleston and true to our word we set the stage for local and national level judging. The look is soft and athletic. I suggest that you go on-line to examine pictures of this past weekends competition.

With the exception of Figure Class D as it was too lean and hard, but we didn’t have anything else to judge in that class. But all others are representative of the new look.

We look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Train hard and demonstrate sportsmanship always,

Lee Thompson
N.P.C . Texas District Chairman/IFBB Judge

This has caused quite a stir on a few message boards and I checked in with J.M. Manion, who updates npcnewsonline.com, to get clarification. J.M informed me that this IS NOT a letter from the NPC National Office. If there is an official letter, you will get it from him or the NPC National Office & it will be posted on NPC News Online.

My two cents… A good reference what figure should look like see the top 6 at the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Figure. You’ll notice how different Amy Fry looked from the Arnold to Pittsburgh. Many women are thinking that by the words “soft” that they can slack on the diet. This is simply not true. You need to still show a muscularity, symmetry HEALTHY and athletic look. Women will be marked down for separated quads and looking “too hard”. That means your level of conditioning is the dry, hardened look that works for male bodybuilders but not the females. This usually happens when a competitor is training with a trainer who doesn’t know what he or she is doing. Don’t overdue the contest prep but at the same time don’t think this is an excuse not to diet and train. Women should pay attention to their entire presentation. Hair, makeup, suit cut and color, shoes - it’s the entire package. Lenay Hernandez won the JR USA because she possessed that. Some women are bitter and feel that they are loosing out to a better looking woman. You choose to participate in figure, no one is holding a gun to your head. Don’t hate on the women who possess the healthy, attractive, feminine look that is going to help the industry.

Long Weekend

Hey y'all,

Had a long weekend - very productive but long. Got in a couple good workouts and a bunch of yard work done. Went to see Stomp with the hubby and went to a fun party...good times.

But I am super happy with how I ate this weekend - had a few opportunities to eat bad (restaurant meals) and I made good choices. Dinner tonight was salad and boiled shrimp. Yum. :)
I am noticing that the UFP program is great for me during the week but on the weekend, I really struggle to get these workouts in....with all of the activities we have going on, it is tough. I gotta figure out how to make it happen. And it also means that if I do Day 5 on Sunday, I certainly can't bike for 2.5 hours. :) But I am enjoying biking. And running. Especially with the hubby - I am getting bit by the bug.

Tomorrow I will have a new VLOG and also the weekly recap along with a stat update. :) You know you can't wait...YOU KNOW IT!

To all the girls out there who participated in the JR USA's - congrats! You all looked WONDERFUL!

Jess

Improved 5K Time!

Hey guys!

I did another 5K today....better time than a few weeks ago - 23:40. I was pretty happy with my time considering I haven't been running in like 2 weeks. And I kind of hurt my inner thigh/groinal region last night during an Ultimate Figure Program workout so I debated even running - SO GLAD I did! The hubby got 2nd place overall - he rocks!

Gonna VLOG later so this is just a shorty, yo. :)

Hope you are all having an awesome weekend!

Jess

Roses are Red....Violets are Blue....And It's Time to Rock the Competition Boat

Bad poem in the title but had to give a shout out to my hubby who sent me 12 GORGEOUS long stemmed roses today COMPLETELY out of the blue....no holiday, no special occasion - shocked the crap out of me actually. I am actually not a flower type person and I have made that clear to the DH so he has never sent them to me (at my request). Except for today:

This is what the card said:
"You are the sexiest woman I have ever met. I love you with all my heart. Your Cherub"

How awesome was that????? It might have had a little bit to do with a small melt down I had last night over how I am feeling about my body right now (hey, I am definitely feeling better but still have my down days!). Anyhoo, he took it upon himself to make me feel like the only woman in the world. I love that guy.

On to the rockin the competition boat: if you haven't already, check out Krissa's blog (check out the link on the right hand side of my blog) for her (and my) thoughts on competing. Overall, I am not sure why we do it with all of the negative side effects.

Like I said in yesterdays blog, it is about having FUN! Not obsessing. Enjoying life and not thinking about how you can rearrange your entire day (and others in it) so you can workout when you have already worked out that morning! Enjoying life and not passing on a meal with friends because you are afraid you can't make good choices.

For those of you who do compete out there - BE SMART and listen to your body. Do it because it is fun and you are healthy enough (mentally) to deal with the fallout of post competition. Do it because you love to compete and you are ok with going through the struggles you will have with how to adjust to "regular" eating again. I am still in the undecided camp about competing again but I do know if I do it again, I will do it a COMPLETELY different way.

In the interim I will train like an athlete, focus on looking like an athlete - YEAR ROUND.

The week has been good so far - took today off. Much needed. :)

This posting every day is kind of fun. I know it may just be worthless babble for you guys, but it is fun for me.

Oh, and I am tracking my food again. I didn't track it for about 2-3 weeks but here is the link if you want to check it out. I am staggering calories right now (1300/1600). Would love your thoughts if you wanna share them. :)

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=jess%2Ebutler%40gmail%2Ecom

Jess

The Humpty Dance....Let's Do the Hump

Happy Hump Day y'all! :) Had another wonderful day today at work - kinda crazy, little busy but overall wonderful. It is amazing what a positive attitude can do for ya!

Still struggling with negative self talk about my body....however I had a very long and very helpful talk with my cherub tonight and this also ties to a more positive attitude. Workouts should be fun. Eating should be functional. I should feel good about myself and not constantly compare myself to the images in Oxygen (which by the way are taken days before or after a show in most cases).

Ironically, this attitude and philosophy ties directly to Scott Abel's - being someone who looks good year round versus going through hell for 12 weeks and then blowing up. If you can't have fun and be functional with your workouts and your eating, you won't be able to stick to it.

These workouts (UFP) are so amazing - I really have fun with them. Feel totally spent when I am done and my whole body feels activated. I don't feel worn down and exhausted. This can be a vicious cycle.

I am not having a change of heart, no epiphany or paradigm shift - just living life, not over thinking things - having fun. Look how easy that is.

Jess

P.S. A note on shorts ladies - WEAR them! We bust our asses in the gym and most of us have better legs than 95% of women. As long as you aren't flashing anyone - show those bad dads off! :)

Oh Tuesday, My Friend...How I Have Missed You!

Today, I welcomed back Tuesday into my life. The second official day of the week is back in my favor. My blood pressure never got high....I was relaxed.

I never felt overly stressed.

I OWNED Tuesday.

Had a great workout too! Time for bed but more tomorrow. Just had to let everyone know I KICKED TUESDAY square in the buttocks! :)

Jess

DON'T MISS OUT ON THE VLOG BELOW!

Hello friends!

For those of you just tuning in, there is a pretty silly VLOG of me and the hubby below. So check it out if you haven't already.

Big shout out to the mama's out there - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! And another super huge shout out to Cynthia - congrats on your new job. You are gonna rock it!

Had a pretty good weekend...worked today for about 3 hours trying to get ahead of the week (which will be nuts by the way). I got another client last week in addition to my current client (work at an agency). This means more responsibility but it doesn't necessarily mean I have to work harder or more - just smarter! Right EM? :) And EM, thanks for your post earlier - I am going to ATTACK Tuesday. It isn't going to run me - I am going to run it. What a change of perspective! :)

Goals for the week are as follows:

1. Stagger calories 1350 to 1600 with 40/30/30 macro ratio. Monday is 1350 day.
2. Track all food on Fit Day.
3. Complete UFP Monday through Sunday as schedule outlines (3 days on, 2 days off, repeat).
4. Add in 3-4 HIIT sessions (20-30 mins) in mornings.

Weekly recap is below. Feeling pretty good about the workouts - just gotta get the food nailed down.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE! Remember, your body = the only thing you will have with you your whole life so TAKE CARE OF IT!

Jess

Monday:
Day Off
Tuesday:
Day 1 of UFP - w/leg/glute emphasis - 80 minutes/1000 calories
Wednesday:
Day 2 of UFP - w/upper body emphasis -70 minutes (no HR monitor)
Thursday:
Off - I had narcolepsy
Friday:
Day 3 UFP - w/upper body emphasis - 75 minutes
Saturday:
Day 4 UFP - w/upper body emphasis - 65 minutes
Sunday:
Day 5 UFP - cardio - 65
Plus a lot of house work - whew

And I Vlog...I Vlog So Far Away!

Hey y'all. Tornadoes down here in AR-kansas. ;) But we survived. Some hail - lots of wind but all is well.

Here is a Vlog featuring my hubby with messages to Cynthia AND Krissa.

You guys rock! More tomorrow on other stuff....like what? I don't know. I am working on it. :)



Jess

WONDERFUL Wednesday, Weekly Recap (late) and Eats

Today is better...it always is.... EM, to answer your question it really isn't lack of sleep it is just a crazy day at work. I have meetings all day and I have a theory on why it is so crazy in addition to those meetings....so on Monday people come to work and they are all "hey, how was your weekend?" or "I saw Iron Man and it was awesome" or "Kids were sick" blah, blah, blah and then Monday afternoon they start to think through what they need to get done during the upcoming week and then Tuesday morning it is like: "HOLY CRAP! I HAVE TO CALL JESSICA TO GET EVERYTHING DONE!".

But, I survived. And I love you guys for all your kind words. :) You are all awesome.

As for solving the Terrible Tuesday conundrum (whoa - big word), I just need to reschedule all of my meetings on Tuesday to another day. This way I can spread the madness out over a few days. BAM! Problem solved. Now, perhaps you are saying to yourself: "Why wouldn't she do this before?" to which I would answer "It isn't as easy as just rescheduling these meetings - A LOT of people are involved. Duh." Although maybe I would say the DUH thing under my breath. Anyway, it is like anything - if is isn't working do the following:

• Step back to look at the situation.
• Determine why it isn't working and what are the pain points.
• Address the pain points.
• Review and revise if it still isn't working.

I feel better - do you?

Below is my weekly recap. I actually am loving the weekly recap - I need to do the same type of thing with my diet on macros and calories. I am finding that tracking things proves more difficult than one would think. :) Especially on Mondays and Tuesdays!

Overall I am feeling really awesome about my workouts but not so awesome about my food. My workouts are SUPER intense and crazy and I feel awesome after I complete one - partially I think because of how hard they are and partially because of how fully activated my entire body feels.

What programs do you guys use to track your food? I know I have asked this before - does anyone use anything OTHER than Fit Day that they like better and why?

I have also not been sick for almost 6 weeks! How awesome is that???? But yet how sad is it that I am saying that??? Anyhoo, I feel really good about my health and my supplementation!! And I love my new attitude. And my hair is growing out. And summer is here. And life is GOOD! :)

I am gonna vlog tonight after my workout - or maybe before hand so you can see me without a hat on and my hair down and sassy.

You guys rock by the way - THANK YOU so much for all the awesome comments!
Jess

Weekly Recap:
Monday:
5 Mile Run - 550 Calories, 42 minutes
Tuesday:
Day 2 of UFP (see blog) - with chest/back/core emphasis
Wednesday:
Day 3 of UFP (see blog) - with back/shoulder emphasis
Thursday:
Day 4 of UFP (see blog) - with additional shoulder/chest emphasis
Friday:
Day off - AHHHH
Saturday:
Hill repeats (massive HUGE incline hill) super sets with leg work - walking lunges with 50lb barbell and 40lb kettle bells for first 4 sets then 4 sets of step ups with overhead presses
THIS WAS SUPER HARD! Glutes/hams smoked.
Sunday:
30 mile bike - OWWWWWWW!
Day 5 of UFP - Crazy cardio intervals

Terrible Tuesdays!

Its official. I hate Tuesdays.

Today is one for the books.

Why am I posting this? Because I need to figure out how to build a better mouse trap. I have to change something because Mondays are ok...Tuesdays are terrible...Wednesdays are better and Thursday and Fridays are great. And it all relates to my fitness and eating and sleep.
I gotta figure this out - it is killing me.

Jess

P.S. More later.

AHHHHHHH! I Got a New Attitude!!

Blame it on finally getting out of my late onset post competition blues (LOPCB), Cynthia getting crazy with her not so subtle comments and/or blog posts involving ME and me finally letting go of the idea of competing this year.....and just when all of those things happen....BAM!

I mean....

BAM! Everything has changed for me.

I found Scott Abel (thank you Cynthia) and discovered his forum, a few of his products and A LOT of his methodologies and everything has changed for me. Most of all though, Scott's ideologies over training and dieting and metabolic damage are ground breaking and really speak to me.

Here has what has changed for me:

1. I no longer obsess over what I eat. I plan my meals and my calorie staggering but I don't feel guilty if I miss a meal or feel awful if my macros are off by 5%.
2. I no longer have to do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. I know that at some point in my day (usually planned) I will get in an awesome workout - 70-80 minutes of ass busting hard work. And if I can't, I know I will tomorrow.
3. I no longer have to lift a body part and then do cardio. My workouts incorporate both.
   
4. I no longer obsess over cardio with friends or family as too much, too little, not enough. I can run or bike with them and ENJOY myself. Who knew?
   
5. I no longer freak out over eating _____ before a workout or _____ after a workout. I do my best to have good pre and post workout nutrition however I no longer freak out over it.
6. I no longer freak out over planning my workout. I push myself hard and have a great workout. Nuff said.
   
7. I haven't been on a scale in 3 weeks but my muscles feel tighter and I feel leaner.

Here is what all of this really means and what I learned from my two figure comps last year:

I want to look like an athlete EVERY DAY. Not just for the 2 days I am stage ready.

I want to look great 365 days a year - not incredible for 2.

Scratch that:

I WILL look like an athlete EVERY DAY. Not just for the 2 days I am stage ready.

I WILL look great 365 days a year - not incredible for 2.

If I can compete considering all of these things...great. If competing means compromising my health, my attitude, my life - I won't do it.

That said....I think it is possible. No, I KNOW it is possible. But still don't know what the future holds for competing. HIGHLY considering a November contest. :)

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
Jess

P.S. Amber/Jessica workout reunion today. We did hill repeats (see the right side for my workout) 8 times and let me tell you, this hill is BRUTAL. Then we did a set of legs in between hill repeats - we did walking lunges and then we did a couple variations of step ups with over head presses. Then we did abs. TOUGH stuff. Always love the Amber reunion.