This is my army of asparagus I cooked last night ... since it's a diuretic and helps you drop water weight, I am eating this stuff like there is NO tomorrow!

Today was a long workout day. I woke up at 6:30 AM (on a day OFF from work -- that was my "sleeping in"!), had a little BSN Syntha-6 whey protein, and headed to the gym for 35 minutes on the treadmill (steady-state plus a few intervals thrown in). Then I ate Meal #2 (eggs, tuna, grapefruit) and returned to the gym for a back/glutes workout and another 40 minutes of cardio (elliptical). *Whew!*

I am 4 weeks out from my first competition and I think I'm going to have things under control in time for the show (crossing fingers!). I have almost everything lined up -- tan, makeup, hotel room, bikini, sportswear-themed outfit (I will explain in a moment), hair extensions, support system (i.e. my wonderful boyfriend).

I feel good about my body right now, but my trainer Julie does want me to drop another 6 pounds or so before May 21. In order to do that, there will be even MORE cardio than I could ever imagine during these next 4 weeks. But I don't even care -- I am motivated and excited! Some of my motivation has come from comments from people I've received recently that have really brightened my day. One co-worker's daugher declared that I seemed like a "Miss America" contestant. A stranger at the gym noted that I'd really "toned up" and that I looked great. Since I tend to be extremely hard on myself, these kinds of comments cause me to pause and give myself a little mental pat on the back.

Also, my diet needs to be spot on. And I have been doing well! I feel like I'm constantly cooking, grocery shopping or filling little tupperware containers with measured-out food portions. It takes a lot of time for all this, but for me, it's worth it. I'm realizing that all the fitness pros are right when they say that diet is KEY to success.



Here is my costume for the "fitness-wear" round of the competition. I don't really understand what this round is all about, but apparently all Fitness America shows include this. So reluctantly, I ordered this costume from 3wishes.com. And actually ... I really like it! I guess I have my Halloween costume lined up for this year as well :-)