I've Moved!

Hey everyone, I have moved to a new site. Follow me at www.mandimthompson.com

2 Days Out from my first Figure Show!!

So, I am finally here, 2 days out!! It's so exciting! First lets start with whats new this week. The last few days I have been slowing decreasing my water intake, today and tomorrow I am sipping water as needed, which means I'm thirsty. I am also taking diuretics to help dry me out also. My diet is down to lean meats and carbs and veggies that won't make me bloat. I'm feeling very tired right now, like I want to lay down and nap. By afternoon I have no energy at all. The excitement for the show is keeping me going. I'm so ready for my cheat meal after the show but then it's back on plan for my next show in 3 weeks!

Peak Week!

Hey everyone, peak week is finally here! Let me say that I have mixed feelings right now. I'm very excited for my show and even though I don't feel totally ready I am happy with the progress I have made so far. The cravings are starting to get real. I am currently not eating sodium, artificial sweeteners and any diet pop. I was eating dinner with my husband and kids and I just wanted to cry. I'm eating plenty but I'm tired and I just want anything that I am not able to have. I would die for a froyo right now. This is usually my cheat day and I think mentally that was tough for me because I have conditioned myself to think that I get a good dinner and froyo once a week and this week I don't. For those who have no idea about peak week I really recommend this video by Layne Norton. I am feeling tired and my emotions are all over the place. I just want to lay in bed under the covers and sleep or dream of food and cry. I am tired of so called "Clean Food". My calories are still good but I'm tired. Another hard thing is that I have this show next weekend and then I have another show in 4 weeks so I know that I can't just go back to normal meals after the show, I'm still in prep. I am excited for after the show. My goal is to do a lean bulk and try and put on some muscle this winter. I think prep is mentally tough also because I had an idea of where I thought that I would be at the end and I'm much leaner that I ever thought. I still have problem areas like my thighs and butt but my upper body is getting very lean. What little boobs I had before are now gone. Just remember to trust the process. I'm going to stick with my trainers plans for this week and I'm excited to see where I will end up.

 

 

 



19 days out!

So I'm 19 days out from my first figure competition. I'm really excited and nervous. I'm so proud of how far I've come but I still see parts of me that I wish  were leaner and had more muscle. I'm doing a second show on November 8 so I'm hoping to use this first smaller show to get everything figured out for the second bigger show and that also still gives me a month to continue firming up and putting on muscle. My suit is finally finished and on it's way. It turned out amazing and I couldn't be happier. Here it is.

I'm going to try and blog more often as I get closer to the show and hopefully a lot during peak week. 

Fitbody Team

It's been a crazy couple of weeks and there have been some big changes. Over the weekend I had my first meeting with Julie Lohre's FitBody team. It was so nice to get out of the house and just have a day without the kids and do something for myself. Our meeting was early in the morning and she stated with our body comps. I was very surprised when she said that my bodyfat was 15%. I've been training hard but that was still a pleasant surprise. We then spent some time meeting everyone. It was great meeting such an amazing group of women that all have the same interests and goals. I feel like as a mom we get so caught up in our kids and their activities that we forget that we can have a life outside of that. We then put on bikinis and heels and she went through the madatory poses for both figure and bikini. We have a good mix of women doing both. I was with the bikini girls but she still wanted us to practice the figure poses. Next was the bikini poses. About half way through she came up to me and asked if I would be interested in figure and said that she liked me there better. I have always planned on eventually doing figure but thought that I needed at least another year to put on more muscle mass. I'm really excited about this change and am glad that I took the plunge and joined this amazing team. I'll keep you updated on my training and now my continued prep for my first figure competition!!

Red velvet pancakes with cream cheese frosting

 

So this morning I decided to change up my normal routine and made pancakes instead of waffles. For the pancakes I used:

1 Scoop Cellucor Red Velvet Cake Batter protein

1 egg

1/3 Cup waffle mix

water to the consistency you want

 

For the icing:

2 tbsp fat free cream cheese

2 tbsp fat free greek yogurt

2 packets splenda

Mix, you can add water to thin out if you want

 

I just made the batter and made three pancakes and covered with the icing. They were delicious!!

Fair week

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't post last week, it was our county fair. My daughter shows horses so we pretty much lived on the fairgrounds this week. Sunday night we trailered our horse in and shows started early Monday morning. She competed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then our 4 H club had to work the show on Thursday. It was a great week, my daughter and her horse did an amazing job. Diet wise it was a bad week. I knew that it would be though and tried to keep it in proportion. While home I tried to eat as good as I could but at the fair I allowed myself some of my fair favorites. This lifestyle shouldn't be about deprecation. You should eat clean about 80% and allow yourself 20% of the foods you like. Also, if you do have a disastrous week don't beat yourself up. It's a new week and a fresh start. 

Here are some pics from this week. 

Protein Waffles

I made these delicious waffles for dinner tonight so I thought that I would share this easy recipe.

What you need:

1/2 pouch no sugar added applesauce (I used these because I always have them in my house for my kids)

1/3 cup waffle mix

1 scoop protein

1 egg white

cinnamon and vanilla to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. You might have to add a little water to get the right consistency. Cook to desired crunchiness and top with Walden Farms Pancake Syrup for a no added macros or whatever you want. Enjoy! 

Here are the macros:

312 calories

40 grams protein

35 grams carbs

3 grams fat

Monday motivation

Saw this on Facebook this morning and it's exactly what I needed. Sometimes it's hard to remember the end goal but we just have to remember what it is we're working towards and fighting for. I know, I fight cravings everyday, especially working third shift sometimes I'm just tired and I would rather sleep than work out. You just have to get up and get it done. A crappy workout is still better than no workout. So you gave in an ate a cupcake, that's not any reason to get off track for the rest of the day, you just forget it and move on. Don't let small mistakes become big hurdles that you can't get past. Keep on keeping on!

Big Changes

Hey everyone! I hope your all having an awesome summer. It seems like it's just been flying by. So I ended up not competing at the end of June. My daughter shows horses and it just seemed like we had her events every weekend that I couldn't break away. My husband is always willing to take her to her shows but my knowledge of horses and shows is greater than his and it's just easier and less stressful for me to go.  I was accepted to join a bikini competition team starting in August and I'm so excited. I applied in January after I first started my weight loss journey and was told that I had too much to lose for a typical 12 week prep so I reapplied last week and was accepted. It's an awesome group of girls with an amazing trainer so I just feel so blessed to have been accepted. I have also started using Instagram so if y'all would like to follow me I would be ecstatic @mandimthompson. I'm back on my meal plan consistently since I have something definitive to work toward and am feeling really good. I have been loosely sticking to it the last few weeks and have maintained my weight but now it's time to get strict again and start losing. My main focus is toning up my legs and butt since I feel like those are my big problem areas. I am also going to try and start making videos so hopefully I can get that all figured out for you. I'll leave you with these before pictures and my current pictures. 

Don't you love the socks with my swimsuit. Awesome look. 

Renewing the spirit

Hey everyone! I just got back from a much needed week in Traverse City, MI. I was feeling very tired and stressed and this was a good chance to get away with my family and relax. I went thinking I would stick to my meal plan but those plans quickly changed. I ended up eating good food and just enjoying the week. I was active though and we spent a lot of time biking and kayaking. My husband ran with me one day and we went and climbed the sleeping bear sand dunes one day. It was awesome. When I got home I stepped on the scale expecting the worst. I only gained 2 lbs. not bad. I'm totally ok with my weight gain and came back totally motivated and ready to get back on track. I think I mentally just needed a break from my prep and am going to just continue and see where I end up. 

Almond joy protein shake

So tho morning I was tired and lazy and needed to get my protein in, I have a very hard time hitting my protein goals!  So I got his amazing easy idea. I took a packet of chocolate protein powder, I used this rich milk chocolate flavored one from optimum nutrition but I also love Ump from Beverly. 

And I just mixed it with 4 ounces of this delicious Silk almond coconut blend milk. 

I put in a little water and there you have an easy almond joy flavored shake. The macros for this were:

2 grams fat

4 grams carbs

31 grams protein

Update on progress

I know it's been awhile since I made a post but life has been busy. I love the warmer weather and can't wait for summer to finally get here. I moved my contest back 2 weeks because of some family obligations so I'm about 7 weeks ou and feeling pretty good overall. I'm planing on doing a show July 12 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  I'm down 24 lbs. since I started this journey and I'm very proud to have made it this far. My legs and butt still need some work but I can slowly start to see my body changing for the better. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures soon. 

10 Weeks Out!

So I'm 10 weeks out from my first bikini competition. I've been working with a trainer which I think has really helped. I do have days where I am tired and don't feel like going to the gym but I just think about stepping onstage and get my butt to the gym. I really don't want to be the girl on stage that you can tell shouldn't be there (I know you've see that girl also). I got weighed in this week and I was down another 8 lbs. of fat and up 1 lb. of muscle. My weight is at 123 right now. When I started this I was at 144 lbs. so I can definately tell a difference, but know I still have a long way to go. I worked out with my trainer today doing legs and let me say that it does make a difference. I feel like I push myself hard, he pushes me to the point of failure then beyond. I could almost feel the tears during my leg press. Hopefully, I can maintain this progress and get to where I need to be in the next few weeks. I'm not against pushing my competition back but I want to see what I can do with my body and how hard I can push this. My trainer agrees that i can get where I need to be in time but my diet has to be perfect until then. Wish me luck!

12 weeks out! Hired a Coach

Ok, so I was going to try to do this first bikini competition by myself and not hire a coach but I ended up caving in and hiring someone. I just feel like there is so much information out there and its confusing knowing which meal plan to stick with and what I need to be doing. I ended up hiring a trainer that is local because it ended up being cheaper than paying for someone online and I like being able to meet with someone in person. I feel that it will be easier for him to look at me in person and make changes to my workout and diet as he needs to. I can also always stop in if I have any questions or need anything. He is currently coaching about 7 girls so I liked the fact that he has coached girls for bikini before and knows what he is doing. There is also someone there that can help me learn my posing which is a very important aspect to competing. I have gained about 2 lbs. this week since starting his workout and meal plan but am also noticing more muscle on my legs so I'm hoping that what I've gained is mainly muscle and not fat. I'm trying very hard to not listen to the scale and just look honestly at my body to see my progress.

Ink n' Burn

I am always shopping for cute workout clothes. My husband bought me this awesome outfit from Ink n' Burn. It's super cute and comfy and they have a lot of amazing designs. These pants look like jeans and feel like yoga pants, what could be better. Definately check them out.

French Toast

So I've been carb cycling lately, which for those of you that don't know means alternating low carb days with high carb days. It's a good way to drop weight while preserving muscle. This morning I was craving french toast so this is a way to make it healthier. I used Ezekiel bread that is low sodium, egg whites, unsweetened almond milk and cinnamon. For syrup I used Walden Farms. If you have never bought any Walden Farms products I really recommend them. They are calorie and carb free. 

Arnold Classic and Six Pack Bags

So I know this is late but better late than never. Two weeks ago my husband and I went to the Arnold. Since we live in Cincinnati it wasn't that far and I have always wanted to go. First because I wanted to get a six pack bag and some more supplements and the biggest reason was that Dana Linn Bailey was going to be there. I am a huge DLB fan and would love to look like her some day. After spending about 20 minutes finding a parking spot we finally made it. We had a plan of attack before we went inside because we knew that it would be busy. We chose to go first thing Friday morning in hopes of avoiding the crazy crowds. Let me tell you that even fist thing it was insanely busy. We got in and went straight to the six pack bag booth. My husband and I were both able to get the bags we wanted and for an awesome deal. Our next stop was the Cellucor booth. I only take Cellucor products because I feel like they are good quality and they work for me. All their supplements were half off. As a gift I also got a free tank top, which is really cute. We walked around getting samples of everything, booth after booth of protein and pre-workout samples. Finally we reached the Flag Nor Fail booth. I was able to buy a cute tank top and was able to see DLB at the end of the booth. I would have loved to meet her but the line to meet her was all the way around the building. It would have taken hours to get through it. Overall, we had a blast. I would recommend it to everyone. Next year I would love to be able to watch the fitness competition but we'll have to see. Here is a few pics of all our swag.

Also in case any of you was interested. I love my six pack bag. Mine is the 300 and holds 3 meals. It holds everything that I need for a day of healthy, clean eating. Totally worth the price.   

For those of you that don't know who Dana Linn Bailey is here are some pics. Also, she has the best hair cut ever. She is always posting awesome pics on Instagram so you should follow her. 

Mini food prep

I realize that hour long food prepping is not always an option. I know that for my family we are always on the run and am rarely home long enough to do anything. Here's the meal I put together to make it until I could do some real cooking. I bought already prepared chicken meatballs (mine are teriyaki and pineapple), frozen steam able veggies and steam able brown rice. 

I just put the rice and veggies in the microwave and cooked the meatballs in a skillet until browned. 

I grabbed my plastic containers and measured everything out. This made 4 meals and took maybe 10 minutes. Packaged foods are the best for all time time. I recommend buying fresh whenever possible but sometimes you just have to do what works and be willing to improvise to stay on track. 

Sorry for the break!

It's been so long since I posted, life has just been so busy. Last week was just rough. Nothing was really unusual about it it was just mentally long. My diet was very up and down last week. I did really good throughout the week and they by the weekend we were out of groceries and instead of going to the store we ordered out. I know.. I was just lazy and tired. The weather here is still cold and I just haven't felt like doing anything. This week hasn't been too bad. I did finally go to the store so its healthy meals from here on out. If you don't have meals prepared it's just so easy to say heck with it and order pizza or something. The key to this is not beating yourself up over bad meals, just jump back on your meal plan and get back to clean eating.

Workouts

A good workout is necessary for any kind of weight loss. Muscle helps your body burn more calories, so you lose more weight. I go to the gym 5 days and do cardio 3-5 days a week. I hate cardio! Cardio is so boring. I usually try to turn a good show on and set small goals like not looking at the time for so many commercials. I usually try to do 30 -45 minutes of cardio. I go to a crossfit type gym that uses a lot of different types of exercises. We push and pull sleds with weights, lift barbells and dumbells and used bands and medicine balls. I like that every workout is different. Some weeks we focus on cardio and endurance and some weeks we focus on lifting. Here are some pictures of me at the gym.

My husband and I pulling sleds and our son along for the ride.

 

 

Carrying Kettlebells.(I'm in the middle and my daughter is on the right)

 

 

Battling Ropes

 

 

Side planks

 

My kids are a big part of our workouts. Our gym does have a daycare and our little guy goes there, our daughter on the other hand usually works out with us. They are really good about just making sure her form is good and not so much about weight. I think that its important to get the whole family involved. If you all workout together I think it help you stay consistent.

 

Some weeks are harder than others. My diet gets boring or I'm sore and tired and don't want to go to the gym but you just have to stick with it. I can definitely notice changes in my body but progress is never as fast as I want. I want to lose now but I just have to look at where I started and see how far I've come. I just take one day at a time and cross it off the calender. I have it divided into days, week and months. I am a person who needs a lot of small goals to work for. I make deals with myself. If I lose 5 lbs. I get a new workout outfit or something that I might not otherwise buy myself. You just need to find what motivates you and stick with it.

 

Sticking to the plan

Meal prepping can get boring and unfortunately it's just one of the things you have to get used to. There are a few things you can do to mix things up. I don't eat seafood at all so I end up eating a lot of chicken. I love steak but try to only buy it if it's on sale. If you do buy beef make sure that it is a very lean cut like sirloin or london broil. I've gotten very burned out of chicken breasts so today I decided to make shredded chicken in the crockpot. I seasoned it with a generic seasoning so I can add things to it throughout the week. I just put the chicken breasts in the crockpot on low with a little water.

 

I love to used different seasonings on my chicken and veggies. Just make sure that they are low or no sodium. I can add seasoning to my chicken throughout the week or put it in low carb tortillas and make a taco with some lettuce or other veggies. I also love putting hot sauce on my chicken.

I also eat a lot of brown rice. I buy the kind that you can boil or microwave. It comes in a box like this. I do buy as much generic stuff as I can. My husband and I are both eating clean but our kids are not, so buying two sets of groceries adds up. You can eat healthy through on a budget and most of the time generic tastes the same. You also will be going through a lot of the same things. You will be buying stuff like this in large quantities so save money where you can.

 

 Sometimes I do add a little low sodium soy sauce to give it more flavor. I also just found these steam bags with brown rice and veggies and they are awesome. I really like things that are quick in case I run out of something. If your food takes too long to make and you run out you're liable to eat whatever is easiest. Don't set yourself up for failure, have meals on hand ready to go.

Like I said sweets are one of my biggest weaknesses. I love them. I found that chewing gum does help and I really love this gum because it comes in all sorts of delicious flavors.  I know they sound weird but they are really good and at least give you time to rethink that bad decision you were about to make.

Good luck and happy meal prepping!

Cold weather and butternut squash

I live just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and it has been cold, like freezing cold. It really makes me want to go on vacation to a beach. I am not really a cold weather person. I hate layering and it makes me just want to sit at home on the couch covered in a blanket. I'm glad that I have a gym that I love and a very motivating trainer so else I would be in trouble. I took this picture of the thermostat in my car. Yeah, you're reading it right, it says -5. Cold!

 

I did make some butternut squash last night because I ran out of brown rice. I always try and mix up different parts of my meals so that they don't become too boring.

Here's how you make it. It tastes best if you bake it. Preheat your oven to 400. Cut it in half longways and put it cut side down in a baking dish. Pour a little water inside the bottom of the dish and bake for about an hour. It should be easy to stick with a fork when it's done. Butternut squash tastes really good with cinnamon on it. 

The worst thing about meal prepping is eating the same thing so mixing up carb or veggie options makes it feel like you are not always eating the same thing day after day. 

Diet and supplements

Diet. Yeah, I know it always makes me sad too. Right now my diet is the same every day. Why? Because it makes my life easier. I eat 3 meals with chicken, a good carb like squash or brown rice and a green veggie like broccoli or asparagus. I also eat 2 snacks that contain nuts or PB2, an apple and a protein drink. I try to eat every three hours to keep my metabolism going.

I also try to keep all my meals with me when I'm out running errands or else I get hungry and want to cheat. It always sounds so much better to drive through and get something fast and easy as opposed to running home and cooking so I carry this awesome cooler that I stole from my husband. I like it because I can fit everything I need for my day in it. I always carry an apple, nuts, protein powder and at least 1 meal.  Today after the gym I did realize that I forgot to bring plain water to make my protein so I used my blue Razz BCAA's that I have in my water jug. It was amazing, I might have to start doing this from now on. It was so yummy!

I also bring my water bottle with me everywhere. It has 2 scoops of alpha aminos in it right now and since I brought it to the gym it's already half empty. I try to drink 2 of these a day. The second one is just plain water though. I do take fat burners because I feel like they give me energy and help me make it through my day and working nights. I love Cellucor's products and that's all I have at the moment. I have used other ones in the past and I feel like it is something you have to play around with and see what works for you. Each person reacts differently to supplements so you just have to try them and figure out what you like.

 

Right now my husband and I meal prep about 2 or 3 times a week for about an hour or two. It just depends on our schedules and where we can fit it in. I like prepping multiple times because otherwise I feel like my food isn't fresh and starts to go bad. Here soon I'll do a post on how and what we prep, and what we have found to work for us.

Salsa Verde Chicken

I love Mexican food. It's one of the things that I crave the most. Tonight for dinner I made salsa verde chicken. I took a thin chicken breast and pounded it about 1/2 an inch thick. I then sprayed a non stick skillet with olive oil and let it heat up. I cooked the chicken breast on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. I then covered it in salsa verde and cooked it for a few minutes. It was delicious!

Protein Oat pancakes!

For breakfast I made protein pancakes. They had 3 egg whites. 1 cup oatmeal. 1 scoop protein powder 2 packets stevia 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. Mix it all together. If it's too thick add water until it's the consistency you like. Yummy

If you want syrup I use sugar free mixed with water. It looks gross but you get the taste without all the calories 

Not Losing!

There is nothing more frustrating to me than not losing any weight. I have been on the same diet plan for about 5 weeks now. Overall, I've been following it pretty well with just a few little cheats now and then. My program was developed to give me two cheat meals a week and I've really been trying to stick to that. My life has been crazy the last 2 days. I live in Ohio and the temps here have been well below zero. Monday night our electric went out followed by a pipe bursting Tuesday. Due to staying at my moms and all the stress I did eat very poorly over those 2 days. Today is a new day and I'm back on track. The problem with this is that I feel like I have to start over, food cravings are my biggest weakness. I love eating out and I love sweets. My mom's house is always filled with yummy baked goods. She loves to cook and there are always cake, cookies and homemade treats lining the counters. It made for a rough two days. Now to kill those sugar cravings and get back on track. I did talk to my trainer about not losing and he revised my diet plan which gives me about 200 more calories (Yea!!) and I have 2 half days where I fast throughout the week. So hopefully I continue to drop weight. I'm down to 133lbs. and probably need to get down to about 115. I'm not really sure, I'm going to continue weight training and I think I'll know when to stop when I get there. Bikini competitors are very lean but I still want muscle so it's not about starving myself or getting sickly thin. I want to be ripped and toned. Good luck!

Holidays are finally over!

I know its been a while since I posted so I'll give everyone an update on whats been happening. The holidays were by far the hardest. I tried to use my two cheat meals for the family get togethers and keep the rest of the week as clean as possible. I did lose 4 lbs last week and overall feel really go. I also contacted a coach to figure out where I need to go from here. I feel like my stomach, and thighs are my major problem areas. I've had two kids and my abs are definately not my favorite part of my body but I have noticed a change since cleaning up my diet. I'll hopefully be able to post more often now that the holidays are over.