Thanksgiving just passed by and I “escaped” the big feast by working – feeding other people and not myself! That didn’t mean I wasn’t a bit “naughty” – I did have a whole bottle of wine (a great one, by the way and totally worth it) and some nice, crusty Italian country bread, my treat for the day.  The weekend was spent baking cookies for all of our clients, and some of it did make itself down my tummy, all because I had to go through “quality control” of course.  Regardless, I am happy to report that although Christmas isn’t even that close, I am over the food already just after these few days of indulgence.  Today at the gym I noticed I actually have gained some fat deposits around my triceps – what horror!! I have never seen that before, so it’s clear that although I’m being quite good with my diet, I’m not as strict as when I was prepping for my show and this is just proof that I can’t exactly slack off for weeks and expect to be in tip top shape. Staying shredded takes WORK and constant attention!! So… back to work I go. I haven’t had to diet for over a year, but this time I will need to drop about 5 lbs to get back to my normal state. Luckily I lose weight pretty easily once I make my mind up – and I’ve always felt that being able to slip into any piece of clothing I want to wear tastes a LOT better than any chocolate chip cookie or piece of cheese.  I don’t want to blame to state of affairs on me lacking the focus but I have gone through a lot of stress with my company and trying to grow it, and sometimes I slip back to my old ways of thinking and acting. But not for long!

Good news is I ran into a new friend of mine at the gym, a competitive body builder, who introduced me to a friend of hers, also a former body builder and NPC judge. We had a nice chat on the phone today and she has agreed to help me prepare for my next show which I hope will be in April (2011).  I look forward to working with her as she will be more helpful when it comes to what the judges will be looking for in this federation.  I was not at all happy with my last stage coach and her conduct on the day of my show, so I decided I won’t be using her again. In today’s world, there are simply too many options, one can really be free to try anyone out there who appeals to you there and then and nobody can afford to be “divas” (of which the last one I used was a BIG one!).  Of course for my diet and overall exercise regimen, I am sticking with the great Pauline Nordin, in my eyes an unparalleled athlete and expert in the field. She will help me, starting in January and I will continue the wonderful online coaching option she offers through her website, the Fighter Diet. My own preparations will start right now – I like a challenge and going through Christmas watching my diet will be interesting, but I will feel much better for not stuffing my face, I know that already now!

So that was a bit of my latest news – again I must apologize for my tardiness when it comes to frequency of posting here, I have been trying to stay alive financially and get my business up and running. Fingers crossed things will pick up soon and I will be back to posting daily!  Have a great week everyone – I always welcome comments and questions!