Jr USA Recap

Just a Few Pics

My hubbie is uploading loads of contest pics, and as soon as they are ready, I'll post the link here. Until then, here are a few for you.

I'm working on a VLOG to update you on this past weekend. Stay tuned!!

Quick JR USAs update

Wow! Had a fantastic experience...learned a lot to prep for Pittsburg. There were 25 competitors in myheight 5'25" to 5'4" (class c). I didn't make the top 5, but am anxious to get the judges' feedback this week. Will provide a more detailed blog once I'm done stuffing my face. lol :D

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. I felt every bit of it.

The Night Before

10:56 p.m. The night before NPC Jr. USAs.


Just finished my 3rd coat of Jantana. I'm standing up blogging to allow the color to dry. So yes, I'm in my birthday suit. lol Color looks great! So much better than my last show and much easier to apply. My husband loves this, too! ;)

Recap of the Day


We left this morning around 9:00 a.m., after dropping the dog off at the kennel. 4.5hours later, we arrived in Wilmington, NC at my FILs house. Unloaded the kids and their bags and handed them all over to Grandpa. He's a great man, and I know they will have a great time.

Mark and I arrived in Charleston right at 6:00 p.m. We went directly to the North Charleston Coliseum to check-in...and WOW! This show is going to be so much fun!! I feel like such a professional athlete here. Shannon Meterraud was checking athletes in at one of the tables; OMGosh she looks fabulous! They measured me at 5'3" and assigned me to the Figure Class C. Cool!!

After checking in with the NPC, we checked in to our hotel. One of the nice things about being married to the military is having access to military lodging. We have a wonderful suite at the Charleston Air Force Base, and spent a lot less money. :) Very quiet and peaceful here, which is what I need.

7:15 p.m. Ate my chicken, salad, and olive oil, followed by a run to Walmart. Silly me forgot my resistance bands for pumping up backstage. Clothed in black from head to toe, I walked in to purchase bands, skim milk, coffee creamer, and cereal (my hubbie has to eat breakfast tomorrow, too, ya know! I'm not completely self-centered! lol)

7:45 p.m. Applied 2nd coat of Jantana. Mark then left to gas up the car while I stood under the ceiling fan in the suite.

8:15 p.m. With 2nd coat dried, I laid down on my dark bed sheet on the hotel bed to rest. Had a nice 2 hour nap and woke feeling rested and refreshed. Earlier, I was feeling queazy and overtasked; but the nap was just what my body needed.

10:30 p.m. Mark finishes last coat of Jantana.



This will more than likely be my last official post until after prejudging tomorrow. At that time, I will know if I made the top 15. So when I know, you'll know. :)

Right now, I feel extremely peaceful, and that's a great place to be. My food is all cooked up for tomorrow; my suit is ready; tan looks amazing; and even my period isn't so bad right now. Whatever my placing tomorrow, I will enjoy this experience to the fullest. And tomorrow evening, I will enjoy a wonderful dinner with my lovely husband ---minus children. :) Sorta like a second honeymoon.


Thank you so much for all your amazing comments! Your support and prayers mean the world to me; I can actually feel your prayers working! I truly feel like I've got each of you here with me.

Above all, may God be glorified tomorrow.

The Day Before

Kim's Stats:

Weight: 121.5
Bodyfat: 11.6% (average between caliper testing and Omron handheld)
Mental status: Excellent

Preparing to head out the door this morning for my first coat of JanTana. Lisa was kind enough to get up early (on a day when she doesn't have to go into work until lunch time) to help me. What a sweetie! But first, I'm heading in the shower for one last hair wash, body shave, and body exfoliation.

Had a little surprise visitor yesterday: Aunt Flo. Yup. She came bearing gifts: cramps and moderate flowing. But thankfully, her effects are not permanent. No bloating and very little water retention. And as of this morning, it looks like she's gone for a while.

Last night, I posed for my coach and the gym folks. Great feedback, especially from one gym patron. Many of you who have watched my older posing videos have seen a gentlement working out behind me or beside me. Usually he's walking to the elliptical or grabbing some weights. Well, that's Stu. Stu is a former NPC Judge, and is a very quiet man. He hardly ever says a word, so when he stopped me last night to give me feedback, I was taken aback. He told me how amazing I look this year. Never has he seen someone makes these kind of improvements in such a short amount of time. My glutes have lifted so high, and he says it makes everything more curvy and symmetrical. Last year was good, because I had the posing and stage presence; however, my waist looked larger because my hips had shrunk. This year....well....baby's got back. ;) lol And it looks good.

So I feel amazing this morning. I'm ready to do this thing. God has been so good to me; He's allowed me to learn so much about my body and my mind, what I can handle and what I can't. He's put some fantastic people in my life: my husband, my parents, my children, my inlaws, my coaches, and some amazing friends.


I'll keep everyone posted. I tried setting up mobile blogger, but I couldn't get it done. Having some issues with that. I'll keep trying; but I'll have my laptop, so I will post often.

Taking the kids to grandpa's first, on our way to Charleston. Final check-in is between 5-7 p.m. tonight, so we should make it in plenty of time.

Let's do this!!!

Comp Season Condiments

Over the last year and a half since I began following a comp diet, I've discovered how incredibly essential a good condiment is. When you eat egg whites, chicken breasts, tilapia, and flank steak over and over and over again, you must get creative without causing problems to your changing physique. Here are my fav condiments:

1. Spicy Brown Mustard
2. Jalapeno Mustard
3. Yellow Mustard (heck, any kind of mustard, except the mustard with added sugar, mayo, etc.)
4. Good strong black pepper (I'm loving the Worchestshire flavor of this McCormick brand; great on the flank steak.)
5. Jalapeno peppers (I top all my salads with these lil gems)
6. Banana peppers (also great in salads)
7. Spray butter (some competitors cut this out, but spray butter does not affect my physique one bit; still, I keep it to a minimum)
8. Pico de gallo (onions, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro; some of the store brands are loaded with sodium, so I like to buy the freshly made kind or make it myself)
9. Splenda (couldn't live without it; maybe someday I'll go totally clean and eliminate it, but while in comp prep, there's no way I'm throwing out my Splenda.)
10. Cinnamon (I sprinkle this on my oatmeal, on my sweet potatoes, and occasionally in my coffee)


Great condiments, even for a non-competitor. Ditch the sugar laden ketchup and BBQ sauces and get creative. It really works!!

Shave, Exfoliate, Moisturize...Repeat

Prep with JanTana is wonderful. I love this apricot smell!

Started shaving the bod 4 weeks ago; then I started exfoliating twice a week. This week, it's daily shaving, exfoliating, and moisturizing. But it will all be worth it when my skin shows so nice on stage. Everything is so soft right now...I love this feeling.

But I'm still very tired; can't shake this low energy. I can only drink so much caffeine and then I crash. So I'm napping much more than I usually do. Snuck in a little 45 minute nap today after my Beach Bootcamp class. Ahhh...just what my body needed. A girl can't live on 5 hours of sleep for long, and 5 hours is typically what I average every nite. So I'm forcing myself to go to bed by 10:30 p.m. so I can get up at 5:00 a.m. for early cardio and a bit of client programming.

Cardio...yes, you heard right. But it isn't too much. Just hitting the stairmaster or stepmill 3 X a week for about 30 minutes. Any more than that and I'll flatten out, and that's never a good thing for the stage. Fuller is better. :)

Physique is still looking great; my coach and I are very pleased with the way things have turned out. Glutes and hams have shown the most improvement since November; and my delts have capped off beautifully. The physique is there. Now, it's up to me to give those judges my best stage posing and presence so they can see all the hard work I've put in.

Final Touches

1. Hair highlight/trim on Monday
2. Finish packing up "things." (See packing list below, the same list I've kept with me from my first show last year...thanks, Alisa!)
3. Nails applied on Thursday
4. First coat of JanTana on Friday a.m. (2nd coat upon arrival; 3rd coat before bed; touch up Sat a.m. before prejudging; final touchup before finals)


Figure Competition Shopping List:


1. 2-piece swimsuit (no 1-pieces anymore...darnit)
2. Heels
3. JanTana tanning agent, jewelry (earrings & bracelet)
4. Stage makeup/applicators & cosmetic bag
5. Hair styling items & products; handheld mirror
6. Large cooler for 2-3 days of food
7. Small cooler to take on show day
8. Safety pins, scissors, crazy glue (for suit mishaps)
9. Hooded, zippered front, drawstring waist, loose-fitting pant suit (cotton or velour)
10. Flip-flops to wear on show day
11. Small rolling suitcase to bring to the show
12. Old towels - 2 bath towels, 1-2 hand towels, 1-2 wash cloths (good for applying tanning agent/oil, wiping off surfaces and protecting hotel items from getting stained)

Food for Thought

Carbs are not my friend. I posed for my coach last night and was hard as a rock. After 3 days of carb deplete, I looked my absolute best. Today I was back on moderate carbs (1/2 c. oats, 2 rice cakes, 1/2 c. yam). Went in tonite for my coach to take another look, and I'm slightly softer than yesterday. Weird, huh? But he's keeping me on this carb/carb deplete rotation diet until Wednesday. Then, I suspect, I will carb deplete Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (show day). Body looks tip-top on low carbs.


Alrighty...off to bed to get my beauty sleep. :)

Nesting

Time is drawing near; I know it because my house is getting cleaner. :)

I'm in the nesting stage of competition prep. Much like the last few weeks of pregnancy, my body senses the end of a long 12 weeks of dieting and training.

Excited, anxious, motivated, and determined. But above all, I'm humbled to be here.

Ok...where is that vacuum??

My Greatest Achievements

There's no question: I work hard. I sweat at the gym. I turn down the Krispy Kremes. I plan out my workouts and meals. And I love how my body responds.

But when it comes down to it, I'm most proud of 3 things: My husband, my daughter, and my son. They are my life. They are my joy. And they keep me grounded.

Yesterday was a wonderful Mother's Day. Nothing flamboyant, but lovely just the same. My kids woke up early, excited to give me their gifts. My 4-year-old son had drawn a picture of me, with a dark blue crayon on black construction paper. lol And my 7-year-old daughter wrote a story for me. The story was about me, having 2 babies, how the older child was jealous when the second came around, but she later learned to love him because she knew her Mommy loved her.

And my husband. Everyday is Mother's Day for me when he's around. When I'm training hard for a competition, he takes the kids out for meals so I don't have to cook food I won't eat. He helps with homework on night's when I'm teaching classes, training clients, or working out. And he tells me I'm a great mom.


Figure competitions and figure titles will come and go. And no matter how I place in them, my family is proud of me.

I couldn't ask for more. I am a blessed woman.

Sneaky Peek ;)

It was just beautiful here last weekend, so we took the kids to the beach. Have I mentioned how much I love living on the ocean?

A few pics of me are out and about (hubbie posted some on FaceBook, against my wishes...grrr). But he's proud of me. I'm much harder than those pics reveal; this ab shot shows the progress that has come about in the last 10 weeks. 10 weeks I've been dieting for this show. And I didn't think I'd be ready. My coach was right.

Speaking of diet, a friend asked the question on my blog: What does my diet look like now? For the last 2 weeks, I've been on a really nice rotation diet:

Oatmeal w/egg whites; tuna with rice cakes; chicken, yam, and broccoli; 1 scoop ProV60; flank steak, salad, olive oil; 1 scoop ProV60.

Rotate with:

Egg whites + 1 yolk and grapefruit; 2 scoops ProV60; chicken and green beans; 2 scoops ProV60; Tilapia, salad, olive oil; Sugar Free Jell-O.

I could almost live this way. Very clean and still very satisfying. For the first time since I've started comp diets, my carb deplete plan has more calories than my carb plan. Go figure! Guess it's the 4 scoops of protein powder. :)

Why did I doubt myself 12 weeks ago? Why did I doubt that I could lose my off-season fluff and get hard again? This is what happens when the plan is followed perfectly. I do NOT cheat on my diet. He says 4 oz chicken? That's what I eat. He says 2 servings of Sugar Free Jell-0? You'd better believe I don't sneak a 3rd. I think about sneaking extras, but what's the point?


If you want something bad enough...

I am worth it! :)