Life: How I Run It: Onward and Downward!

Go here, buy stuff.

A few photos to show you all where I found myself at 5 weeks from show day. I had a good pinch. I have been guided by great people and decide to pay for the lovely Dani Taylor from veganproteins.com to handle my meal plan for the final 6 weeks. Instead of spending my weekend determining what to eat and when I completely rely on someone else to use their knowhow and genius to help shed the layer of fat I’m trying to ditch!

There is going to be an entire special feature about PlantBuilt put on by Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine!!! They added a sneak peak to the summer issue. The Awesome PlantBuilt Supplemental Issue will be chock full of photos and workouts from all of my amazing teammates! I am very excited about this. It makes what we are doing so incredibly real. What I have spent the last 6 months prepping for might have an impact on a wide variety of people. It is crazy!

My Name is listed and featured in the article.

I have my entire week of meals prepped and ready on Sunday night. Same program I’ve been running for about 6 months. It works; I hardly have to think about it anymore. Sunday is for laundry, cooking, and light activity.

Think now; eat later. (Except I outsourced the thinking!)

In my last pinch I found myself happy with the outcome. I look forward to weekly check-ins and to see how my diet will change and morph as we get closer to show day…I would like to thank both Ed Bauer and Jason Morris at PlantFit Training Studio here in Portland for helping measure me!

My cardio has slightly increased; a little more frequent and extended. I like it. I get up and go to the gym at 5am and sweat all over everything. It is a great way to start the day.

Sweaty Mess --> "Grown-up" in 30 minutes or less.

I am excited to watch my body change over the last weeks. It goes beyond lifting and jogging. I have gotten my suit, some jewelry, shoes, have my spray tan booked, will get a make-up consultation, full body wax…the list goes on.

Horse Shoes (Mad Gab "Whore's Shoes")

The shoes were a huge fucking deal. It was a frustrating thing to figure out. The industry standard is 4-5 inch clear heels. So searching and searching, you would think they are associated with lovely ladies of the night, exotic dancers, and other sexual professionals. You do not generally associate these women with expensive textiles, and therefore would assume that the shoes would all be synthetic. HOWEVER they mostly have pig suede or a composite leather insole. So after 2 failed attempts (online purchase of shoes that were listed as vegan/100% synthetic, receiving them only to discover a sticker that said “Leather Sock” or “Suede Sock”) I went local and slightly away from the clear heel. Hopefully I’ll be too ripped for people to realize that my shoes are different.

Most folks wear large rhinestone jewelry…I have been gauging my ears for 5 months and am almost to the size I want, so I was willing to spend money on my jewelry. I ordered custom made glass earrings from Solitude Studio on Etsy.com. I love them. They sort of match the colors on my suit and are pieces I will wear in the future. EEEEEK! They are so awesome!

I can't wait to put these in...EEEEK!

So here are the photos of where I was 6 days ago. I like what I see, I love the changes. There is more to do and I look forward to the rest of this adventure. I love the comparison photo...considering how good I thought I looked in the first one at the time it was taken...INSANE!

So I also have to practice posing. I do it every day after I finish lifting. I go in the cycling room at the gym (regardless of whether people are in there) rip off my shirt, blast music, and flex like a weirdo in the mirror for 30 minutes. Poses and quarter turns; trying to mimic what I was taught. It is hard…I am not very good…I am, however, getting better. I have what it takes.