Aly's Life and Fitness blog

It’s almost here, and I can’t believe it. I have done all I can do, through physical exercise, to prepare my body, now it’s time to let the diet to the rest. I can’t believe the changes I have seen in my body and there are still some more to come. I am looking forward to this experience, no matter the outcome. I win already, because I have already done what I thought was not possible with my body. I can’t take all the credit, though. I have to thank my family for their support, first and foremost. They have put up with the diet, workout schedule, grumpiness, sleeplessness and moodiness through it all. It’s been quite a ride and I appreciate your patience and understanding. I love you so much! 

I would also like to thank everyone @ Elite Force Personal Fitness for their encouragement, support and help through this process. Rob and Michelle Grissom are class act people and amazing trainers. They certainly know what they are talking about and now how to get things done. I am so privileged to be able to work, and most importantly, learn from them. I know I still have so much more to learn, but I want to thank them for an amazing start on this journey and career as a personal trainer and competitor. I am looking forward to what is in store in the future.

To my fellow competitors/friends @ Elite, you are beautiful and amazing people and I know you will be amazing on Saturday. I am so excited and honored to share this experience with you. Let’s knock their socks off Saturday! ;)

Ok, so the competition is getting closer and closer. I can’t believe it’s almost here. This last week is going to be rougher than the last few, I am sure, but I will make it through. Starting to pack my bags so I have everything ready before Friday. I don’t want to rush around, I hate that. I just want to be ready in every way I can be and need to be.

So,  I start the final exercise and diet plan today. Final week prep. Would be all good, if I didn’t have all this sinus crap going on. Was up all night with sinus headache and congestion. Lovely, but it will pass. I just have to stay positive and focused and not let it get to me. Keep pushing through.

Last night, the hubby took me shopping for some clothes and for the first time since I can remember, I was actually excited about going in the fitting room. I cried several times, in the privacy of the fitting room, because I never thought I would get to the point I am at right now, ever, and I am still not done. I just can’t believe how far I have come and it is VERY emotional for me. I have been struggling with weight and back issues since my teens. It’s not over, but I have reached a place that I have been striving for, for the longest time. I guess it didn’t hit me until I went and tried on clothes and my size was different. I knew my body was changing, but I didn’t realize how much. It was very overwhelming for me. Then, I got the sweetest voice text from my dear friend, Jenny, telling me how proud she was of me and that she missed me and I just lost it. It really meant a lot to me for her to say that. This has been a great learning experience for me, but a roller coaster ride at times, too. I have found that I am much stronger than I ever thought I was and I am not a quitter. We can do what we set our minds to. 

So, whatever happens in finals, I don’t really care, well I do, I mean, it would be awesome to place, but I am not expecting it. I can hope that I display something up there that no one else can. I plan on doing my best and that is all I can do.

So for me - The journey is the reward! :D

11 days out from competition. I am making lots of changes this week in my diet. More to come in the final week before competition. I just want to say that no matter what the outcome of the competition, I have already won. I have won by just being there and doing what I have done to get to this point. I have learned a lot about me, my body and this lifestyle and I hope to continue learning and growing. I never thought I would be in any kind of shape to compete in anything like this, and here I am. I am going to walk out on that stage and represent all the moms, daughters, sisters, friends, wives out there who have and continue to struggle with their weight, and even if you haven’t, I am going to go out there a confident woman and be proud of who I am, where I have been and what I have overcome and where I am now. The prize, for me, isn’t a trophy, it’s the sense of fulfillment I will get for accomplishing a goal, a goal I never thought possible. I want to say thank you to my husband and kids for encouraging and supporting me through this journey. It means more than words can say, and I just want to hug you so hard right now and never let go and show how much I appreciate you. This was important to me so it was important to you. I know it has been hard to adjust with the workouts and eating schedule, and I thank you for being patient and understanding. You mean the world to me, and I hope that you are proud when you see this mommy/wife on stage because you helped me to do this! You made this all possible!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

OMG- so I thought it would be lots of fun to get out to the country club and do some line dancing like back in the good ol’ days! I used to cut some rugs in my teens out on the floor, if you didn’t know that about me. Line dancing, two stepping, W.C. swing, cha cha, waltz…you get the picture. Anyway, I can usually go back out to these places and dance and remember some of the dances and it’s lots of fun! Well, not so much this time and I am certain is from the extreme dieting and workout plan I am. I couldn’t get the timing right, my coordination was all wrong and I could remember some of the easiest steps….WTF?? Totally not me! I can pick things back up really quick. I just couldn’t do it last night. And NO, I wasn’t drinking either. Had a diet coke and 2 waters! NO drinking during contest prep!! Anyway, I SUCKED!!! It was frustrating and I did get a little upset. So, I had to settle for the easy dances like The Cupid Shuffle, Boot Scootin Boogie and Tush Push. *sigh* EASY DANCES, but that was all I could handle, seriously. My brain and body were not working well together at all. lol OK, in my defense though, the condition of the dance floor is awful! You stick to the floor, can’t turn and slide and I there wasn’t any powder to put on the bottoms of my boots to help. Well, I couldn’t find any anywhere. lol *sigh* Well, I didn’t need to spin anyway, everytime I did, I got woozy! lol

So, the crowd in this place was a bit rugged, IMO. We got hard looks from some rowdy girls all night! Um, hello chick, I have a wedding ring on, I am not looking at your man, I don’t want your potential men/booty calls, I am just here to dance and have fun with friends, thank you!!! Get over it. Can’t stand the people that go out looking for trouble. So insecure of themselves!

So, a bit later, standing there with my girl, watching the people dance, minding our own business and drunk guy #1 walks up and says to me “you ain’t going to get drunk drinking that!” You think???….I was drinking water. I said, well I am on a diet and I can’t drink any alcohol right now. He said, what you dieting for, you look all right to me. I told him for a figure competition and he said, well, you don’t need any work up top then turned me around looked at my ass and grabbed it and said, nope you’re good there too! He almost got some Turbo Jam moves busted out on his ass, seriously! OMG - WTF is up with these people in these places????

Anyway, on top of that, we had Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Drunkard behind us during the Cotton Eyed Joe grabbing our asses every so often and thinking they were slick and sly about it. PISSED ME OFF!!! I am not out on the floor dancing like a hoochie and I wasn’t dressed like one, so what about me says, hey drunken fool you are so awesome that I want you to fondle me on the dance floor? NADADAMNTHING! So, then Boot Scootin Boogie time arrives, of course I am on the floor to do it, cause it’s easy and I came to dance….the Tweedle Drunkard is in front of me Boot Scootin all over the place with a beer in his hand..so I am trying to dance around him and avoid causing a huge pile up on the floor over his dumb butt! Fast forward -Dance over and guess what I got? The hit and run ass grab!!! OMG, I turned around cause I knew who it was and thought about swinging, but he was already running off the floor. My blood was boiling, and I am not a violent person. This REALLY upset me. There were tons of other girls there with their butts and boobs hanging out begging for this kind of attention (*Dina Lohan lol), I wasn’t one of them, so quit molesting me and my friends on the dance floor! After hanging out for a few off the dance floor, and giving these douche bags some death stares, we left. Country music was over anyway.

So, I have come to the conclusion that I will not be participating in line dancing, especially at this particular venue, while contest dieting. I lose coordination, timing and mental sharpness while on this diet and for the most part, the people sucked there! I did run into a friend from my old place of employment (HI Teri) that I was happy to see and enjoyed watching her on the dance floor. Girl has got mad skillz!! I thought it would be nice to get out and about, somewhere other than the gym and vitamin store, for a bit and hang out. The company was great, thanks Michelle and Stephy, but the dance club atmosphere and me were not meshing well! Does this mean I am getting old??? LOL

Hey everyone! If you are interested in some GREAT workouts, checkout my website. I am sure you have heard of P90X and Insanity or even Turbo Jam, well, I have them all available to you for purchase on my website! You can sign up for free to get an online Beachbody coach too, and you can have me, by request. Let me know if you are interested. I would love to be a part of your fitness journey. Beachbody has been a wonderful experience! I started my workouts with Turbo Jam over two years ago and I still do the workouts all the time. So fun! They are coming out with more and more ways to keep you fit and challenged and interested in staying fit. For me, Turbo Jam just worked because of how fun it is. It isn’t like working out, it’s having fun and that was key for me to keep me motivated in the beginning. Maybe it would be something for you. I have also tried P90X and Insanity and they are amazing programs as well. I am waiting patiently for Turbo Fire to come out next month too! Turbo Jam kicked up a few notches!! Should be lots of fun!! In the mean time, I am doing my Turbo jam and getting ready to purchase ChaLEAN Extreme or Insanity! I can’t decide! I may have to get them both!!! Then, once my competition dieting is over, I am starting up on Shakeology!!! I can’t wait!!!!! Let me know if I can help you in any way! I am only a click away! :D

www.beachbodycoach.com/elitenfitaly

www.myshakeology.com/elitenfitaly