Step one...

Create a blog! Well, almost...step one is making the choice. In this case, my choice is to take my fitness and nutrition to the next level and get the 'fitness model' body I've always dreamed of achieving. Anyone who knows me knows that for the longest time I've always been one to eat healthy and spend a lot of time at the gym. But training for a fitness competition takes a lot more discipline with diet and exercise than just maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I’m making the jump!

Back in May I found out that my friend Jade wanted to do a fitness comp as well, so I was pretty excited that I’d have a buddy to share training ideas and meals with and of course, to help each other pick out the tiniest bikinis on the planet...that’s what friends are for! I’m sure she’ll let me know if my suit shows off enough butt crease. But before all the fun stuff of outfits, tanning, makeup and hair...everything that I consume needs to be mapped out and tracked.

When I started making small changes back in May, I didn’t realize that I had such a huge obstacle in front of me...moving from Canada to Australia. I thought it would be a quick transition but....oh how wrong I was. I took a quick three week business trip to Australia at the end of May which is when I started to clean up my diet and do some research on competition prep. I bought a 4 week membership to a gym beside my hotel and went almost every night. I was feeling positive. When I returned to Canada to pack up and move, I had zero time to even think about cooking a healthy meal or making it to the gym. I started to really get frustrated with myself for not even being able to maintain the healthy lifestyle I had BEFORE I began the transition into contest prep. Oh and can’t forget the topping of my frustration cake, having a half-marathon to run in a couple weeks.

So I guess to make a long story short, amidst living out of suitcases, buying a house, buying a car, buying furniture to put in the house...I learned to have healthy meals where I could, stay positive and focused on the goal, and to not get bent out of shape if I didn’t have time to run or work out. Once I got to this place in my mind, I felt a lot better.

So today....8 weeks until the fitness competition. Sept 23rd. Everything that gets eaten (and drank), gets written down. I’ve set up my workout routine, ready to be taken to the gym. We move into our house in one week and its full steam ahead.