Cassie's 2010 Contest Prep Journal

[cassiegose]

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday

That's the best quote I've ever read. It's so true. We think about how we will be in 5-6 months, and forget that we look and feel and are better TODAY than we were the day before, the week before!

I really like that quote also. Kind of puts things in perspective... one day at a time.. one foot in front of the other... is how progress is made.

[milly]

Hi Cassie,

Am following your journal with interest....what is a normal days/weeks diet plan for you?

[cassiegose]

Hi Cassie,

Am following your journal with interest....what is a normal days/weeks diet plan for you?

Hello Milly,

Right now a normal days diet looks like this:

Meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 7 eggwhites, 1 whole egg
Meal 2: 3-5 ounces lean protein, fruit, 1 tbs natural peanut butter
Meal 3: 1/2 cup oats, 7 eggwhties, 1 whole egg
Meal 4: 3-5 ounces lean protein, veggies, 1 tbsn natural peanut butter
Meal 5: lean protein, veggies
Meal 6: 1 c ff cottage cheese

As I get closer to the show I'll start taking things out and rearranging but for right now these seems to be doing the job.

Since I'm here I suppose I'll post an update....

So right scapula has been giving me hell all week and i'm beginning to think i may need to go to the chiropractor to get things jammed back into place. It doesn't necessarily hurt... but it doesn't seem to be in the right position and is beginning to affect neck and arm. UGH! I really don't like chiropractors but sometimes they are necessary to get things back into place. If its not better by Monday i'll think about making an appointment.

So far the diet seems to be going well. I'm having body fat checked again next week to see what kind of progress i'm making. I think i'll take some progress pics this weekend to start using those to tell progress as well. I feel like i'm making progress... abs (I think) are looking more defined but i need to get some pictures taken to tell for sure.

Training is going well other than the scapula issue. Hopefully it will suck itself back into place this weekend so i won't have to worry about seeing the back cracker.

I suppose thats all thats new with me. I hope everybody is doing well with their training!

Cassie

[Boss Man]

I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't worry about it. If anything needs to be done about the problem it will be. You might find it's not even the Scapula, but something else perhaps like a slight ligament issue perhaps.

[cassiegose]

Today I am just a little more than 9 weeks out from first show. Things are going well although not feeling great this week so am struggling a little bit with things.

I found out yesterday that i have an ulcer on cornea (eye ball) so am dealing with that today. eye hurts and i can't wear contacts for a week. No bueno.

I REALLY need to take some progress pictures this weekend to start tracking progress better. The scale is crap and the guy who measures body fat is new at it so i'm not sure how much confidence i have in him. He measured me at 17% 2 weeks ago then (after a few other readings) 16.3% this morning. Honestly i have no idea if this is even close to accurate so am going to start back with weekly progress pics on Saturday to tell how much progress I'm making each week. As I sit here and type this I feel like a complete whale, however thats due to some other "stuff" thats going on so should feel and look better in a couple days.

I've decided to dial in on diet a bit more to ensure that I'm making the most progress possible. This first show isn't all that important but it is less than 10 weeks away and I do have to get up on stage in a bikini so I need to kick it in the butt and make sure that i'm as ready as i can be by March 26th. I'm more concerned/excited about the show following this upcoming one (on April 16th) and am really just using this upcoming one for practice. The show in April is the Emerald cup and is probably the biggest show in the pacific northwest. The competition there will be fierce and i need to be 100% by that show. I have 12 weeks to get ready for that show so I really need to start tuning things up now to ensure that I'm prepared when i step on stage.

For diet I've back on carbs ( ) and will be cycling them from here on out with low and moderate days and a few high carb days to keep the fat coming off. I've also cut back on dairy and increased veggies to help with cravings and hunger. workouts are going well for the most part (this week has been a struggle because i feel like crap). I'm also shaking things up there by adding lots of plyometrics, sprints, and intervals. At this time I'm working on changing instead of adding because I really can't afford to do anymore cardio than I'm already doing. I'm hoping that I can simply step things up instead. This morning was leg and shoulder day ( favorite day!) and it was totally brutal however it needs to be brutal as legs have a lot of leaning out to do in the next 9 weeks.

One good thing to report... scapula issue from last week is feeling much better. YAY!

I suppose thats all I know today. I hope all is well with everybody as you continue to work towards your goals. As always, shoot me a message if I can help in any way.

Cassie

[fitoverforty]

I'm also shaking things up there by adding lots of plyometrics, sprints, and intervals

What kind of workouts will you be doing for these? I love all of those, and am always interested in the seeing what kind of different workout routines others are doing - figured I ask the best!!
16.3 % total BF is awesome! I think I have that much in just one leg!

[cassiegose]

I'm also shaking things up there by adding lots of plyometrics, sprints, and intervals

What kind of workouts will you be doing for these? I love all of those, and am always interested in the seeing what kind of different workout routines others are doing - figured I ask the best!!
16.3 % total BF is awesome! I think I have that much in just one leg!

For workouts... you know I really don't have any set regimen that I do. I get pretty bored when I do the same things day in and day out so I try to shake it up as much as possible. Today routine included step ups, squats, lunges, and leg press with jumping lunges (these are KILLER!), jumping squats, squat hops on step (squat down then hop up on step when you come up), squat jumps with medicine ball, a few intervals on the elliptical, then sprints in the gym to finish things out. Oh.. I also did shoulders in there too... military press, lateral raises, front raises, and an exercise for rear delts. It was a killer workout. Fast and furious.

As for the 16.3%... yeah I'm not unhappy with it, just don't know how accurate it is. I guess it doesn't matter anyways as its just a number and really doesn't mean anything.

[cassiegose]

figured I ask the best!!

Awwwwww. I just went back and caught this. You're sweet!

[Nokie173]

Oh ... It looks like a killer workout... I'm already sweating just reading it!!!

[Boss Man]

GOOD LUCK overcoming the one or two minor issues you have right now. I KNOW you'll be fine .

[cassiegose]

GOOD LUCK overcoming the one or two minor issues you have right now. I KNOW you'll be fine .

Thanks bossman. I know i'll be fine too. This training and dieting business is hard work and we all have barriers and obstacles that we have to overcome to reach our goals. Thats what makes reaching our goals so special... if it was easy it wouldn't mean anything to accomplish these things. Things will get better... I'll just be happy to start feeling better so i can focus more on diet and training. Not that i'm not focused now, just feel pretty spacy lately from feeling so poorly. Tomorrow will be a better day!

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling down, but in rising every time we fall". Confucius

[cassiegose]

Hello everybody!

Today I am less than 9 weeks out from first show and am feeling pretty darn fantastic.

Last week I was feeling like I wasn't quite on track so I adjusted diet ( ) and I think I shocked the hell out of system because I've noticed some big changes in physique in just the past few days. The diet, while pretty restricted now, is going surprisingly well and has been pretty easy to maintain. I started the contest diet the last week of December so am on 5th week right now with no cheats. I've decided not to do any cheat meals for the upcoming shows and am instead doing "refeeds" every couple of weeks to keep me going.

workouts the past few days have been absolutely awesome. For some reason I've had an insane amount of energy and have been getting in some killer workouts.... which I think is pretty cool, however the people who take spinning class don't seem to be too thrilled about abundant energy . I received quite a few glares in this mornings class.

I suppose thats all I know today. Nothing too exciting to report. I hope all is well with everybody as you continue to work towards your goals!

Cassie

[Boss Man]

Good to hear. You can be proud of your progress, so keep it up and good luck.

[Nokie173]

Time to update... no?

[cassiegose]

Time to update... no?

Well hello miss Nokie. How are ya?

Ok time for an update.

I suppose I've kind of been avoiding contest journal lately because I'm in the process of making some pretty major changes to life which have been pretty much consuming me. The past week has been a struggle. I've been sick to stomach from stress for the past 7 days or so and seem to have developed a bad case of the shakes. appetite is even in the dumps and its been work to make sure I consume more than 1200 calories. A big "no-no" I know. Its just hard to gag down chicken breast when you stomach is doing flip flops. Thank God for oatmeal and eggwhites. They slide right on down. LOL.

workout today was decent. For the past few days I haven't had ANY energy so have been really struggling to get in a solid workout. I was glad today to finally start feeling a bit better with the energy levels. Tomorrow is leg day so I'm hoping that with a solid nights sleep tonight I'll be able to do some damage. Also tomorrow I will be having fat pinched to see how much progress I'm making as far as fat loss goes. I'm hoping for 15%. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Soooo today I'm about 7 1/2 weeks out from first show of the season. 7 1/2 weeks! Holy freaking cow this thing is sneaking up on me! I think this weekend I may order posing suit for the upcoming show. I'm thinking a nice light green. Like THIS COLOR. Any opinions?

diet so far has been pretty darn easy. Its especially easy right now since i don't have an appetite but so far I haven't been craving anything and have been able to hit macros without issues. I'm pretty sure after another 14 weeks on this diet I'll definitely be ready for some treats. Right now though the oatmeal and eggwhites are keeping satisfied.

On another note... I just did taxes over the weekend and found out that I'll be getting over $3000 back this year! YAY ME! I'm very excited about this!

And now quotes for the day (more for myself than for everybody else):

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world aint all sunshine and rainbows. Its a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it aint about how hard ya hit. Its about how hard you can GET HIT and keep moving. How much you can take and keep moving forward. Thats how winning is done". Rocky Balboa

"When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us". Helen Keller

*HUGS* to all friends on Shapefit. Amna, if you're reading this, a special great big hug for you because I know you're having a hard time right now. Youre a special girl and you have a lot to offer this big mean world. Youre in thoughts. Shoot me a message if theres anything I can do to help. Chin up girlfriend! Its going to get better!