buff bunny | fitinasmallerbox

4 weeks out!

Posted on September 14, 2015 by cjmacd101

So the time has come, only a month left to go! It`s actually astounding how quickly the time has gone by. Even though at the beginning of the week I think OMG 6 more days until my cheat meal, it`s actually so fast between them.

I had my first posing lesson yesterday and it was with the most amazing couple, they helped me so much not just with the posing, but giving me some confidence and helping me figure out all the little details I`ve been stressing out about! You don`t think about hair, makeup, shoes, tan as things to be stressed about but those end up being the things that feel overwhelming.

I`m competing out of town so I didn`t know where to look for someone who`s not only great at hair and makeup but is experienced at doing it for the stage. These people hooked me up with all of these contacts which was great. That`s one thing I know for next time – find a support system of people in the industry, they can be so helpful and it is much easier with people to lean on that really get it!

I`m really happy now with the way my body is looking, I`m starting to feel that I will actually be ready in time (apparently this is a thought that most first time competitors have many times).

My bikini is being shipped as we speak so I`m super excited to see what it will look like and hopefully it will fit me!

My diet now is basically all fish, chicken, veggies, oatmeal, egg whites, and tiiny amounts of carbs throughout the day. It`s pretty funny to see the look on the cashier`s face at the grocery when this tiny girl walks up with like a bodybuilder`s cart full of food lol they don`t understand it.

What I can say is that I`m actually really excited for the competition now. Before I mostly felt anxious and unprepared but now I`m really looking forward to getting all glammed up and walking out there! I may even be coerced to do the show that`s a couple weeks after mine, I guess I`m addicted already!

Boats, Bikinis, and Birthdays

Posted on August 4, 2015 by cjmacd101

So it was official birthday this Sunday. I am now 26 – legitimately now on the back half of my twenties. I had my big celebration last week so I decided to take it easy on my actual birthday (and not be tempted by more alcohol and delicious foods) and just go out on the boat and for a light dinner. Luckily my cheat meal fell perfectly on my birthday so I was able to actually go out for dinner!

It’s funny, my sister was asking me where I want to have this epic bday dinner and I said I would let her know just before when I decided what my craving was at the moment (very important to me to satisfy my starving person craving!). Soo I was on the Stairmaster completing my hour long session, watching the Food Network – Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (Yes I know, insane, but this is my new crazy thing I do) and it was all about greasy breakfast food. So I decided that was what I wanted more than anything – pancakes! I called my sister and we made a reservation at Denny’s for my fancy birthday night out.

Funny the difference a year makes – last year I had to be at the most chic, gourmet restaurant in town rocking my newest pair of heels (I’m a bit, A LOT of a shoe addict) and obviously a tiara. This year all that mattered was the joy that is pancakes! We still dressed up though of course, to the nines at Denny’s, it was definitely a sight! And I managed to find a stretchy dress that fit me as my whole closet is rapidly become unwearable as I lose weight. The people at my work have taken to calling me the “Homeless Painter” since all my pants are ridiculously big on me.

A dress that fits! Don’t mind the rats nest hair – that’s basically what it looks like all the time now that I live at the gym. I am embracing it

Anyways back to the dinner – I have to say those pancakes were the best thing I have ever had in my life. Bar none. It was the perfect moment. I feel like everyone else was probbaaably a little uncomfortable interrupting me and my moment with my food, but they did ok. But I have to say I really do believe in the cheat meal concept. My coach Buff Bunny has cheat meals built into my diet right up until basically the end of my prep and I am very grateful for that. Not only does it give me my much needed weekly dose of food joy, but I really think it resets my metabolism and I wake up looking leaner the next morning.

The day on the boat was also great, it’s getting a lot easier eating my protein and veggies while everyone else chows down on BBQ. I think I have officially embraced this prep and I no longer feel rage when people eat delicious food next to me.

My bodybuilder friend has been working out with me almost every day for the last few weeks and that has been great! He helps correct my form and pushes me to work harder and do more. I never realized how much having a physical person there can really help!

All in all it’s been a great weekend, I got a great birthday haul (basically all workout gear AND a fit bit!), stuck to my meal plan, and spent time with all my favourite people on the lake.

Just 10 weeks to go!

Birthday Goodies!

Birthdays and Contest Prep

Posted on July 27, 2015 by cjmacd101

So I just finished my 26^th bday celebration weekend. The theme was “Tie Dye and Tiaras” and we had an epic party at my friend’s house for our joint birthday celebration. I went in with the greatest of intentions:

No drinking. I even brought BCAA’s to curb cravings and lots of calorie free club soda to keep me going
Try not to eat everything in sight. Even though I did have my scheduled cheat meal for this night, I was going to try to keep in within some kind of reason
Drink water, water, water

Wellll it didn’t go exactly like that… first of all I brought my favourite treat to the party to have as my cheat (a delicious oat fudge bar from Starbucks) to make sure I would be thoroughly satisfied with the one bad meal I have per week. That was great, the oat fudge bar basically completes my life. Then I just ate some vegetables, pita bread, and cheeses from the gourmet snack table. But then… my two best friends showed up that I haven’t seen in a very long time with our favourite wine and my favourite cupcakes.

Needless to say, I cracked.

I had my bodybuilding friend with me and he told me since I’ve been so committed and will continue to be after this night, it’s fine – I would survive. Aaand I’m sure I will. I’ve decided to just embrace the hiccup and on to the next. cake It’s funny I actually thoroughly enjoyed my egg whites the next morning after going crazy on junk food. It was like a detox! Aand the ensuing hangover that made my hour long cardio session an absolute living nightmare reminded me exactly why alcohol is a no-no during contest prep. Soo I am back on the straight and narrow, more focused than ever, and ready to hit the gym today for Monday Leg Day.

Hangry Hungry

Posted on July 24, 2015 by cjmacd101

So its Day 5 of my official diet on my 12 week bikini prep program. Now let me start off by saying I am someone who eats ALOT. I’ve been lucky that I’ve always been able to eat more than a grown man and not gain any weight. Not to say I was super skinny but I could mostly maintain my weight and still eat basicaaally everything delicious in sight All The Time. It’s actually astounding to look back and see how many calories I was eating per day. Just to give you an idea, here’s a sample of what I would eat on an average workday:

Breakfast

Grande Chai Tea Latte (Soy) Calories: 240 Fat: 3.5 g Carbs: 47 g! Protein: 6 g

Bacon Breakfast Sandwich Calories: 350 Fat: 18 g Carbs: 30 g Protein: 17 g

2 chocolate chip cookies Calories: 210 Fat: 10 g Carbs: 30 g Protein: 2 g

Lunch

Thai Express Pad Sew Calories: 800 Fat: 34 g Carbs: 85 g Protein: 37 g

Afternoon Snack

Grande Chai Tea Latte (Soy) Calories: 240 Fat: 3.5 g Carbs: 47 g Protein: 6 g

Oat Fudge Bar (Starbucks) Calories: 420 Fat: 20 g Carbs: 56 g Protein: 6 g

Dinner (Moxies)

Chicken Maderia Rigatoni Calories: 1390 Fat: 98 g Carbs: 81 g Protein: 44 g

Night Snack

Popcorn Calories: 170 Fat: 12 g Carbs: 16 g Protein: 2 g

DAILY TOTAL Calories: 3820 Fat: 199 g Carbs: 392 g Protein: 120 g

So here’s the thing, I get a lot of joy from food (I don’t know that I was an emotional eater, more of a foodie) so after each of these meals I would feel extremely satisfied. I would sometimes feel guilt but for the most part (as I thought I looked ok), I wasn’t too worried about it. It was astounding to me however to look back and see how many calories are in some of the things I loved! Especially the lattes, who knew carbs were even in lattes! Not something you think about. And basically everything in a restaurant is about your daily allotment of calories.

So here’s my meal plan now for Weeks 12 – 9 of my bikini competition prep, just to compare:

Meal 1

½ banana, 1 large egg + 2 egg whites

Calories: 156 Fat: 6.2 g Carbs: 15.5 g Protein: 13.5 g

Meal 2

4 oz Greek yogurt, 2 large celery sticks, 10 almonds

Calories: 157 Fat: 6 g Carbs: 12 g Protein: 17.3 g

Meal 3

4 oz. 97-99% fat free ground turkey, 1/3 cup quinoa or brown rice, 1 cup green veggie

Calories: 224 Fat: 1 g Carbs: 22 g Protein: 32 g

Meal 4

Post-workout: 1 scoop of whey protein mixed with water

Calories: 115 Fat: 0 g Carbs: 1 g Protein: 27 g

Meal 5

4 oz grilled chicken breast, 1 cup green veggie, 3 oz sweet potato

Calories: 201 Fat: 5 Carbs: 22 Protein: 26

Meal 6

4 egg whites

Calories: 70 Fat: 0 g Carbs: 5 g Protein: 14 g

DAILY TOTAL Calories: 1029 Fat: 32 g Carbs: 76 g Protein: 135 g

Soo to summarize this super long, probably too detailed post, I am eating 4x less calories, 6x less fat, 5x less carbs, aand about 15 grams more protein every day. Needless to say, it’s a big change and I am very hungry. Sometimes hangry. People know that I may collapse into sorrow at any moment (Kidding! Not really). But the upside is, I am already seeing results and I actually feel a thousand times better in terms of digestion and bloating. Also I have learned alot about macros and how to make calories count. I know I will get used to it, and luckily I did this gradually (as I was on a less restricted program for 4 weeks before this), but at this moment I am still in shock at the changes. And trying not to be hangry at everyone I see eating something delicious 🙂

My first Bikini Competition

Posted on July 21, 2015 by cjmacd101

As a person who needs to set random goals to keep life interesting (and check items off my loonng bucket list), I decided to set a bikini competition as the latest goal to reach!

It all started because of instagram. I’m not very techy but a friend convinced that Instagram was a must so I signed up and wound up finding all of these fitness type people to follow. Now I’ve always worked out to some degree (ski racing most of my life taught me basically boot camp exercises and how to have discipline), so I thought I pretty much had it down.

I never actually got real results though.

Seeing all of these super intense women with amazing bodies that really just looked bad ass for some reason triggered something in me. I followed various people for about a year, screenshotting their workouts to be used when I made it to the gym. I figured next week probably I would do it.

This lasted for about 6 months until I actually made it to the gym at my university (which I just graduated from and had never actually gone to). Even though I had been to the gym lots, I mostly did cardio and/or some random machines. I felt super intimidated to do actual squats and dumbell work.

So after these six months of hesitation (and about 2000 screenshots of workouts on my phone), I waltzed into the gym and started squatting. It was a stressful experience (the smith rack is basically front and center to the whole gym) and I felt like everyone was staring and judging but I did it.

And then I did it again the next day and the next day and the next day….

I am not really one for “inspirational quotes” but I saw one by Sarah Bowmar (one of the super ripped ladies I follow) who said,

“Who cares if you’re new to the gym, walk in like you own the place.”

She went on to remind people how lucky we are nowadays with YouTube and Instagram that we can find completely free full workouts from amazing trainers and competitors. So that’s what I did. I worked out just from my screenshots and started to feel awesome right away.

After about 2 months of exercises, I decided to make a competition my goal. My main inspiration was the amazing Buff Bunny (Heidi Somers). She is super positive and reminds you to relax and laugh at yourself at the gym. Not to mention she has a crazy body and is such a bad ass!

Buff Bunny is now my coach, I started with her a few weeks ago and got my official 12 program yesterday! I’m super excited about it but also kiiind of terrified as I am a major foodie and will miss all my favourite, delicious foods. Buut I can do it, I can do anything for 3 months.

Love this photo even though I have a face full of ponytail 😛

As of now, I am down 17 pounds and 14.5 inches (whole body)!