To carb or not to carb...

That is always the question!  Unfortunately in my case the answer is almost always NOT to carb, but every competitor is different.  We all process foods differently and my stubborn body just doesn't really seem to do much with carbs or fat except store them under my skin.  So this causes my poor husband to change my diet every so often to shock it into submission (as I like to call it).  I say my "poor" husband because once those necessary changes are made, my hormones seem to get completely out of wack and I become a complete Biatchhh.

It's absolutely insane how much food affects my mood, personality, and yes even my brain power.  I know that I'm lean enough to compete and have done well in my competitions so far this year, but I'm one of those people who want to take it further.  I want to challenge myself in new ways every chance I get.  So to switch things up a bit, I'm competing in both bodybuilding and figure at my competition on 7/9 in San Jose .  I'm really just doing the bodybuilding for fun because I miss flexing my muscles.  Believe me, I'm not naive to the fact that I'm a natural competitor who'll be trying to compete against women who may (or may not) have had some pharmaceutical help along the way, but it'll be fun nonetheless.  So, my point was that I want to get harder & a little leaner for my upcoming shows- San Jose bodybuilding show, the natural Pro figure show, and the national level Physique show in Vegas.  Needless to say I talked to my husband and after taking a good look at me he decided to go ahead and cycle my carbs a bit more drastically (at his own risk!). 

These jeans fit me in '08 during my
 1st contest prep.
I weigh more now than I did then!
.

I've gotta admit that I'm not "fun" right now.  It always takes my body about 2 weeks to adjust to even slight changes in diet.  So following this revised plan has been extra tough on me- especially mentally.  I get frustrated (like I'm sure all of you do) when I follow a program perfectly and then don't see the result right away.  It's our nature as humans (and Americans for that matter) to want immediate gratification.  It'll be 2 weeks on Tuesday that I've been following the new plan and I'm finally starting to see the fruits of my labor!  I see new veins and muscle definition as well as the hardness I've been working towards in my legs. 

Yesterday, after walking around like a zombie for a week, I decided to "flip the switch".  I get tired of people telling me how exhausted I look all the time so I decided that I'm done with that!  I'm going to go to bed at a decent hour, get my cardio and workouts in, and love every second of it!  I chose this lifestyle and I need to remind myself (maybe even daily) why I do it.  I do it because I love the challenge, I love stepping on that stage, and I love feeling like I've accomplished something that very few people are able to do.  But, in all honesty, I couldn't and probably wouldn't want to, if my husband wasn't behind me 100%.  His support is everything to me...the least deserves is for me to be nice to him!  I'm off to a good start today and tomorrow I'm going to make even better than today! :-)