A TransFigured Life: Kim's Journey

Why today? After an absolutely PERFECT 2 weeks of following my plan, my body and mind couldn't get it together.

The same thing happens every month: I get within 1 week of Aunt Rose showing her ugly face and BAMMMM --- the carb cravings hit with a vengenance. I handle this craving much easier during comp season, well, cuz I have to. And although I am still watching myself carefully, there are those moments when the temptations are just too great.

Enter the Dessert Quesadilla.

It was cold, rainy, and windy today. The Nor'easter showed up and kept us all in for the day: no school, no work, no sunshine. But we took the opportunity to clean the house from top to bottom. The kids entertained us by dancing to hip-hop and Latin Jazz while dressed in their favorite dress-up clothes. And everytime the lights would flicker off and on, they would squeal with delight! "GO GET THE FLASHLIGHTS!!! A TORNADO'S COMING!!!"

Good times. Precious times.

And all day, I was smack dab on the meal plan. I started the day with a fabulous sprint/power walk session, my 5th cardio session of the week. I think the amount of cardio I'm doing is partly to blame for my carb cravings. Anyhoo, back to the quesadilla. With the weather being what it was, and the pantry almost bare (grocery shopping day is friday), I was a bit frantic. The kids wanted something for dessert. Now, they still have loads of Halloween candy, but the Snickers and Milk Duds had lost their zing. So I put on my thinking cap and opened the fridge. The first thing I see is a package of flour tortillas. The small ones. A light bulb went off in my head! Hummm....this just might work!

I pull out the cutting board and ask my kids to bring me their favorite chocolate candies from their Halloween stash. On a cookie sheet, I place 2 tortillas. Like a surgeon, I throw out my hand and call out the necessary ingredients:

KNIFE! (Ok, I got that one by myself)

M & M'S!

SNICKERS!

MILKY WAY!


I instruct one child to sprinkle M & Ms on one side of the tortilla. While that is being done, I carefully slice the tiny snickers and milky way bars into itty bitty slices. I sneak a bite or two in my mouth. 2 for you, 1 for me. The other child then places the candy bar slices on the other tortilla, on one half only. After both tortillas are halfway covered in chocolate, I fold the other half of the tortilla over the goodies...and press firmly. Then, I spray them both with PAM. In the oven the go at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

No idea at all how these things are gonna turn out. But desperate times...

Out they come...hot, golden, and bubbling with chocolate. I slice them into quarters with a pizza cutter and serve them. We wait for a few minutes for them to cool, and then, we all take a bite.

MAGNIFICENT!! Couldn't believe it! Absolutely wonderful! And talk about cheap and easy!!


The Aftermath

And then, of course, there's the guilt. I always feel a little bit guilty when I go off my meal plan, especially in such a crazy way. There's absolutely nothing CLEAN about this dessert. The calories and macros were way off. Really, there was no benefit to eating this.

Except for the fact that I had so much fun! The kids and I enjoyed creating something new! So what if I took a step back in my training. It's one day.

One single messup. Not a lifetime of messups.

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 4:06 PM | 4 comments    

I enjoyed a wonderful refeed meal with my hubbie on Saturday nite: Shrimp 'n Grits, and cheesecake for dessert. Yummy!! And then on Sunday, I let my kids pick out 3 pieces of Halloween candy that they didn't want...and I ate them. Bite-Sized Almond Joy, Butterfinger, and Whoppers went down SOOOO very nice.

And that was it! Back to the drawing board on Monday morning!

Gosh, it feels good to be back on my meal plans!! :-)

After just one week on my Phase 2 meal plans, I dropped 6 pounds. Well, I gained back 3 from my refeed, but after today, those 3 pounds are almost gone. How cool is that? The body is an amazing machine. But I still am dealing with maintaining a positive body image. More about that in a bit.

Bangin' Back and Biceps


Simple supersets filled my workout today. I kept the reps short and the weight heavy.

Seated Wide-Grip Rows 10X70, 10X80, 10X90
Lat Pulldowns (below chest)10X60, 10X70, 10X80

Bentover BB Rows 10X50, 10X60, 10X70
Machine ISO single arm pulldowns 10X70, 10X80, 10X90

Alternating DB Bicep Curls 10X15, 10X20, 10X25
EZ-bar Bicep Curls (to the forehead) 10X10 (plate weight only), 10X20, 10X25

Incline DB Bicep Curls 10X15, 10X17.5, 8X20,15
Cable Curls 10X40, 10X50, 10X40,30


Blasted Body Image!!


Maybe it's because I'm a trainer. Maybe it's because I'm an instructor. Maybe it's because I'm a figure competitor. Or maybe it's just because I'm about a year away from turning 40....dunno. Whatever the reason, I think about how my body looks...ALOT. Can't help it. Somedays are "Bad Ab Days." I don't mean "Bad Hair Days," I mean, "Bad Ab Days." For me that translates into I'm bloated! I'm squishy! I'm soft! UGH!! And it's not just abs I'm referring to. How my thighs, arms, butt, and back look affect how I feel that day. Stupid, I know.

I had an "Aha" moment the other day. My sweet baby girl, Morgan, put on some old clothes of hers. She has grown so much in the last 6 months that everything is getting too small. She made a comment about her tummy....looking fat. :(

Oh, boy. BIG moment for me. I quickly pulled her aside and told her how absolutely beautiful she is. She looks exactly the way a little 7-year-old girl should look.

I'm sure between the girl shows on TV and my crazy "bad ab days," she is starting on a body image trend. Our society tells us that women must look rail thin, with perfectly flat abs, a tight butt, and soft skin in order to get friends, get a guy, or get happy.

While we talked, I pointed at her daddy. "See your daddy over there," I said with a smile. "He loved me when I was alot heavier than this. No matter how I look, he loves me and thinks I'm beautiful. God blessed me with your daddy. And God will bless you with the same kind of man. You just eat well like mommy, get outside and play, and enjoy being a kid. You are GORGEOUS!!"

Soft is FIT and SEXY!

I'm not about to walk on stage right now. I won't be doing that for at least 6-7 months! Why do I think I need to look like that all the time? Cuz, I got used to it. I love the hardness and the cuts and the striations. Yep, I do. I just have to remind myself that soft is sexy, TOO! And soft is also fit. I can still lift. I can still run (I hate it, but I do it). I can still keep up with the younguns.

This is NOT the green light for me to go out and get fat. Nope. Absolutely NOT! Rather, it is the green light for me to accept life and the changes that go with it. My muscles are maturing. I will look different (and better!) every year. I won't look like a girl in her 20's because I'm not a girl in my 20's! I'm a proud women in her late 30's who loves what her body is doing.

Do I love it all the time? HECK NO!! I cried last night just thinking about the changes in my body! But I do know, deep in the back of my mind and heart, that I am healthy and strong and beautiful.


So remind me of this when I start freaking out over the holidays. 10 POUNDS UP?! ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!?! LOL

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 5:22 PM | 2 comments    

My two favorite guitarists, battling it out.

I think I'm in heaven.... ;)

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 5:26 AM | 0 comments    

I've been contest dieting for the last 2 years. And I always considered my meals to be simple and quick to prepare. I went through 2 George Forman grills in my first year of competing from all the chicken and flank I cooked up. And I LOVE my Forman grill! Don't get me wrong! But after a few days, pre-grilled chicken can taste a bit dry. And I don't even attempt to eat day old grilled flank. ICK!

And now that I'm back to my regularly scheduled meal plans, I figured it was time to pull out good ole George and start grillin'.

In steps my friend, Lindsay. During her last 2 visits with me, she came prepared: beautifully shredded chicken and flank steak packed in ziploc bags, ready to go. She told me her secret: she cooks all her meats in the crockpot!

Ok...you might be nodding your head right now and saying to yourself, "Uh..DUH, KIM! I've been doing it that way all along!" Well, I haven't. And I can not BELIEVE how easy this is! And it tastes FABULOUS!! Not dry at all!

Fun V. Function

Food is not just fun; it is fuel. And it serves a purpose. My food fuels me so I can perform better in the gym and keep my body lean. That means I have to eat every 2-3 hours, without question. There is no way I have time to cook up meals 5-6 times a day. So the ease of slow cooking gobs of meat, measuring them out into containers, and grabbing them on the run is awesome to me.

Is taste important? Sure it is. But it's not the most important thing. This week, I've been eating chicken with green beans and olive oil for lunch...everyday. I put the cooked beans, shredded chicken, and 1/2 T. olive oil into a baggie and stuff it in my cooler. Since this is my off-season, I sprinkle a little bit of low sodium soy sauce into the bag, too. When it's time for that meal, I either pour the contents into a bowl and nuke, or just eat it straight from the bag if I'm on the go.
It's the ease of the meal that makes it satisfying, not just the taste.

Can't believe I've gone all this time and not realized how much easier dieting could be! I don't even feel like I'm dieting either!

Thanks, Lindsay!! :D

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 10:36 AM | 6 comments    

I'm celebrating Christmas a little earlier this year. :-) I am officially calling Phase 1 (the building phase) of my off-season complete.

I am ready to move into Phase 2, AKA the "Pre-cutting phase."

My original plan was to continue with Phase 1 until Christmas; however my body and mind are ready to start cutting. Now, let me explain Phase 2. Phase 2 is NOT pre-contest cutting. I'm not trying to get hard and lean as I am during my contest period. After all, I still consider myself to be in good shape right now. However, my goal during these next 8 weeks is to lean out just enough to check my progress. I spent 12 weeks in Phase 1; and I'm confident that I will see some great changes.


Phase 2: The Plan

How am I going to lean out over the next 8 weeks? I'm so glad you asked. ;)

1. Cardio. My cardio will increase slightly. I will be doing 30 minutes of cardio (a mixture of HIIT, plyometrics, and moderate sessions) 6 days a week.

2. Diet. I've developed a diet plan based on my own personal experience with food. I know how my body responds to carbs and proteins; therefore, I'm rotating between a low-carb (carb deplete) meal plan and a moderate carb plan. 2 meal plans: 3 days on one, 3 days on the other. I will also allow myself 2 cheat meals during the weekend. Cheat MEALS....not cheat days.

3. Weight training. During Phase 1, I was performing mostly compound movements. Now, phase 2 will bring back some isolation moves. Here's my current training split for Phase 2:

Chest, Delts, Triceps
Quads and Calves
Back and Biceps
Delts, Hams, and Abs


A New Found Power


Looking back over this post, I'm AMAZED! How many years did I spend trying to figure all this stuff out? How much time did I waste trying to lose weight and get fit? And now, not only have I figured it out and succeded, I am doing it all over again --- ON PURPOSE! HOLY COW! I actually put on weight, and now I'm going to take it off and get into the absolute best shape of my life ---and I know exactly how to do it! I know how to do it, because I've done it before.

This is another one of the PLUSES in living a figure competitors life. Not only do you get to see your body transform itself in a fairly short time, you learn how to harness the power of transformation and use it again and again and again! What an amazing gift!

Tom Venuto, author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, said,

...this is one of the reasons that 95% of people can't lose weight and keep it off - they haven't mastered the art of training and dieting in seasons or cycles. They are chronic dieters... always on some type of diet.

He continues....

Bodybuilders have discovered a methodology for losing fat that's so effective, it puts them in complete control of their body composition.
They've mastered this area of their lives and will never have to worry about it again.

If they ever "slip" and fall off the wagon like all humans do at times... no problem! They know how to get back into shape fast.

They have the tools and knowledge to hold a low body fat all year round (such as 9% for men, or maybe 14-16% for women), and then at a whim, to reach a temporary "peak" of extremely low body fat for the purpose of competition.

Maybe most important of all, they have the power and control to slowly ease back from peak shape into maintenance, and not balloon up and yo-yo like most conventional dieters!

Here's the link to the rest of Tom's article. Read it! It's fasinating!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/venuto3.htm


In the Meantime....

I am loving this busy time in my life. Training many new clients, working at a new fitness center, studying for recerts and new certifications, and training myself is all wonderful and challenging. Having something else to focus on (other than competition life) is such a joy; and it is so much healthier for me, in body, mind, and spirit.

Truly, I have come full circle. I am back to living my fit lifestyle much like I did prior to entering my first competition. But this time, I'm armed.

And I'm dangerous. :-)

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 5:34 PM | 1 comments    

I've spent the last 3 days recovering from my last workout (Thanks ALOT, Lindsay!) and FINALLY, I was able to kick it again today. Didn't go as heavy as I did on Sunday...my hammies wouldn't let me. But I did what I could.

The Squat rack was being used...grrrr..so I resorted to using the Smith Machine. Not my favorite way to do squats, as my stabilizers don't get the best workout, and my spine isn't lined up perfectly. So I kept it light and zesty. :)

1. Smith Squats: (weight is not including the bar; I'm unsure the exact weight of a smith machine bar)

10X40/10X50/10X70 (ass to ankle squats, of course!)

2. Deadlifts: (weight includes bar) 10X85/10X95/10X115

3. Leg Press: 10X180/10X230/10X250

4. Hammer Leg Extension/Seated Hammer Leg Curl Superset:

10X40/10X45, 10X50/10X60, 10X60/10X70

5. Standing Calf Raise: 15X60/15X70/15X80

6. Walking Lunges: (bonked on these) 20X20/20X25/20X25




Ended this workout with a nice 20-min recumbent bike ride, that burned my butt like nobody's business.


Meals and Supplements for the Day

Meal 1: Started the day off with a variation on Monica Brant's "Porridge" recipe.

1/3 c. creamy oat bran cereal (oat bran has a little bit more protein than oats)
4 egg whites
1/2 scoop protein powder
4 pkts splenda
cinnamon to taste


10 grams of L-Glutamine
CLA
Labrada Xhilar-8
Calcium/Magnesium
2,000 mg Vit C
10,000 IU Vit A (just temporary to boost my immune system)
Fish Oil
Daily Detox (2 caps)
Dandelion Root (3 caps, shedding some water)


Meal 2: Postworkout Recovery Meal

After my morning workout, I had a protein shake with fruit for recovery (I forgot to mention in my last post that I do have bananas and berries during my off-season, mostly postworkout.)

1 1/2 scoops protein powder (about 40 grams protein)
1 small banana
1/2 c. frozen unsweetened strawberries
water
20 grams of L-Glutamine

The rest of the day looks like this:


Meal 3: 6 oz tilapia, 2 corn tortillas, 1 c. steamed broc (fish tacos with a side of broc)

CLA
5 grams L-Glutamine
Fish Oil
2,000 mg Vit C
Calcium/Magnesium


Meal 4: 1 scoop of protein blended with ice and water; small handful unsalted raw almonds

Meal 5: 6 oz grilled chicken breast, large salad, 1 T. olive oil

CLA
Fish Oil
2,000 mg Vit C
Calcium/Magnesium


Meal 6: 1 granny smith apple; 6 egg whites

5 grams L-Glutamine prior to bed

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 7:47 AM | 7 comments    

Woke up at 4:30 a.m. today. Had to be into work early, so I missed my morning cardio. Yeah, I could probably have gotten up at 3:00 a.m, but that's just crazy talk. At least for me. I didn't start the day off right...except that I had my morning coffee and my prayer time. So I guess things are moving in the right direction.

The off-season is a constant struggle for me, more so than the in-season. During contest prep, I'm much more focused on the end goal. Don't know why...maybe it's the deprivation in my diet that keeps me on track. The off-season for me means more calories, heavier training, and maximum muscle building. While that sounds like a bunch of circus rides, it ain't. Believe me.

It means I have to seriously adjust the way I look at my body. And loving the skin I'm in all the time. (Geee...don't I tell my clients that very thing?!)


To Bulk or Not to Bulk

This topic is up for so much debate. First off, I hate the word "bulk," especially when it comes to female figure athletes. Images of Arnold and Jay and other male bodybuilders come to mind when an athlete goes on a bulking diet. No doubt many folks envision bulking figure athletes as lazy binge-eaters, getting fat on McDonalds and Krispy Kreme.

I much prefer to use the term "building," because that is the purpose of my journey right now. I am building a physique for the Spring stage.

Here's the way I eat 7 days a week, with the exception of 2 refeed meals a week:

Oatmeal
egg whites
2-3 protein shakes per day (1 scoop of protein mixed with water)
6 oz servings of chicken, fish, or flank steak
brown and white rice
white potato (great post workout)
lots of green veggies (broccoli, green beans, cabbage, asparagus, spinach, etc)
Olive, flaxseed, and macadamia nut oils
Raw almonds and cashews
green apples
corn tortillas
natural nut butters (in moderation..you know how I get with nut butters!!)


Now, is there anything is that diet that looks bad? Unclean? HECK NO! I eat extremely clean, even during my off-season....just more of it. So the extra calories I'm consuming, even from clean foods, is naturally going to pack on the pounds.

Refeed meals are another story. I enjoy going out and having a good meal with my family. If I want a slice of pizza on the weekends, I have the pizza. Not the whole pizza, but a slice. If I'm craving sweets, I'll go for a piece of french silk pie. If Miss Irene offers me a helping of her famous upside down pineapple cheesecake after church on Sunday, you can better believe I'm gonna have it! That is living to me. I don't live in a bubble. I have kids who will bring home the Halloween candy; Thanksgiving brings green bean casserole and sweetened yams; Santa fills the stocking with LifeSavers storybooks (remember those?!).

I love it that my off-season can include those simple pleasures. Because from January to September, those foods won't even get near me. Why avoid them all year long? Do I go ballistic and binge? No. I have binged, yes. For 2-3 days after a show, I have gone a bit hog wild. But I have found if I allow myself to widen my dietary horizon a bit during the "building" phase, I'm not as insane when the off-season rolls around again.


The Science of Bulking...err..I mean, Building

I'm not even going to begin to explain the science behind building. I don't even think it's necessary for every figure athlete to bulk in order to build. All I know is, my body has responded extremely well in the past when I've bulked a bit in the off-season. 10-20 pounds is a good gain for me to maintain (20lbs is typically around the holidays).

So, I'm gonna let the experts explain this to you. Here are two great articles that have helped me understand the process and appreciate what is happening inside my changing physique.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/aaron9.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark65.htm


I'm probably gonna receive emails with links to opposing articles...maybe entitled "Gaining Muscle During the Off-Season without Bulking." Sure, it can happen. Many ladies have had great success remaining lean all year.

I'm not posting these articles on the benefits of bulking to justify my actions either (I know what some of you are thinking...lol). If I ate crap all day, everyday, then sure, I should be scolded. That's not good for anybody. Being a trainer, I feel an obligation to remain healthy and fit year round. And I can remain healthy and fit while carrying an extra 15lbs. :)

It's Not For Everyone

Not all figure athletes choose this road. And believe me, I would love to see my body hard and lean all year long. Who wouldn't want to look like that 365 days a year? I would love to have the fighter mentality of Pauline Nordin, one of my idols. She has developed a great plan that works for her year round. And perhaps next off-season, I will find that I've packed on enough muscle to remain leaner in the off-season, much like Pauline (isn't she fabulous?!). We shall see.

For now, let's go with the process and see what happens.

Posted by Kim Mitchell at 3:26 AM | 3 comments