It never gets easier, but it does get better.

February 14, 2013 MPiccolo2 Comments

Truer words have never been spoken, especially when it comes to a large obstacle to overcome.

After being on a nutrition/cardio plan from my online coach for almost 3 months, I will say that it has most definitely not been easy. But it most definitely has gotten better. So today I celebrate the small victories:

I’m getting better at prepping my food; it’s actually a process I enjoy. I guess I’m strange like that but I really like ORGANIZING everything, especially because most other things in my life are very DISorganized.
Getting better at posting and looking at the progress pics. This was the hardest thing to get past. At first I really did not like the idea of even having a blog let alone posting pics of myself in the state that I was in. But after sucking it up, it doesn’t seem so bad. And I wouldn’t say it’s better because I look better; it’s gotten better because I’m more comfortable with putting myself out there. Big difference.
Getting better at enjoying the process and not obsessing over “What time is it?? Is it time for me to eat?” Case in point, I’m “overdue” to eat my next meal by 10 minutes. And I’m sitting here typing all this out NOT worrying about it.
Getting better at managing my time. When you are on a set schedule to eat and workout, you really find time management to be a key asset. I’m probably better at planning out my day better than I have before. And I refuse to let social media be the time waster that it can be. I’ve definitely cut back on that, although if you follow me on twitter you know I still have some work to do in THAT area…. 🙂 But Facebook is getting easier and easier to avoid.
Getting better with patience with people who do not have the same fitness goals as myself. Also getting better at becoming patient with people who have ZERO health and fitness goals. This is a big one for me because I want to help everyone. But I’m learning to accept that not everyone wants the help. However, I will say the people who HAVE reached out to me for help are very grateful for the advice and do see me as doing something positive and inspiring. So if I’m able to help at least ONE person, then it’s worth it.

On a side note: Happy Valentines Day! Echoing the words of some other bloggers, I will say I LOVE ALL MY FOLLOWERS! 🙂 Thanks for “Liking” “Retweeting” and “Following” my little journey, your support is appreciated and LOVED in return!

-Michelle

Progress Pics

February 10, 2013April 13, 2013 MPiccolo3 Comments

Just a quick post on my progress….Just took these this morning and sent them to my coach. 🙂

The Buddy System…plus pics

January 30, 2013 MPiccolo2 Comments

This made me laugh because I know there are people out there that could CARE LESS about what I did today for my workout. And guess what? That’s exactly why I rarely post what workouts I do.

However, there are other women (mainly) that DO want to know what I’m doing in the gym and vice versa for me…which is why I joined a couple forums (yes, they still exist in internet-land) specifically for potential figure competitors and current competitors as well. What a great way to get information and share and VENT about this whole process!

For those who are interested the two forums are SiouxCountry and Precision Nutrition. The latter is more of a nutrition message board but you have to purchase the program in order to enjoy the forum. You can still look at the blog and the articles I believe as a non-paying member.

What I’ve been doing lately is taking my meal plan from my coach and just making the tiniest modifications to it. My main modification? Adding more veggies. That’s the only thing I feel is truly lacking.

I also got a text from one of my friends who would like to workout with me. This is a first! I don’t think I’ve worked out WITH or alongside someone in….ummm…ever? Unfortunately my schedule is kinda goofy so looks like Sundays are our only options. It’ll be nice to workout with someone for once instead of alone. Most days I enjoy being in my own zone doing my own thing but once in a while I get a yearning for some sort of contact from someone. Social media and electronic forms of communication get old after awhile.

As for pics, I was an idiot and took updated pics but neglected to take the FRONT of myself. Just side and back. I blame the fact that it was literally first thing in the morning.

So I thought I would just post the side as a BEFORE from October and an AFTER from yesterday. You can definitely see some baby abs forming. 🙂 And this is also for those peeps who thought “I can’t believe you had 16lbs and 20inches to lose!” Well, yeah you can see where most of it was storing itself. Pics really do help to see the difference!

I’ll be sure to post better, full body shots next week.

Until next time!

-Michelle

Random Tweet: “Stop the presses! Faster Pussycat House of Pain is playing on WMMS. I’m rockin out in my car…#notashamed“

Hurry up and Wait

January 17, 2013 MPiccoloLeave a comment

There’s a little saying in the production world where I used to work that if you were on the crew you would say to one another as a joke: “Hurry up and wait.” I have no idea where this saying came from, perhaps it’s applicable to your job.

The reason behind it is the rush of trying to get things done, only to have to wait for certain things to happen first. When I worked as a production coordinator, you would hurry up and get everyone in place ready to shoot a scene, only to have to wait for someone else to make things happen. Maybe the actor that was hired is still in wardrobe or makeup, maybe the lighting still isn’t quite right, maybe the teleprompter won’t start up (that last one is from personal experience). Talk about a panic attack as everyone sits there and just waits and stares at you to solve the problem so they can get through the day. Glad those days are behind me!

I thought of this saying today as I was frantically emailing and messaging various people online asking all kinds of questions about my figure competition goal. I recently opened up and sent some pictures of myself to a very well known trainer who told me I was way too thin to even think about competing this year. Granted she made it clear it was her own opinion and she is just looking at pictures of me but it threw me off a little bit.

I did ask for her advice so I brought that on myself. And I knew she would be honest. After thinking about it for awhile I realized she’s only saying I need to train 3 months longer than I had originally planned. No big deal right?

See the problem with being surrounded by other trainers and being a trainer myself as well as having a fair amount of knowledge about nutrition, I am constantly researching what the best method is for training for this competition. At the same time I’m getting all kinds of advice. So with this advice and research, the self-doubt kicks in.

All of a sudden I thought to myself “Maybe I’m doing too much cardio. Maybe I should do what that woman is doing…maybe I should eat like that guy is telling people. Shouldn’t I be seeing muscle gains by now? How come I’m not losing the fat quicker? How long is this going to take?!”

I worked my brain into a frenzy. But worst of all, I didn’t trust my coach. I hired this man for a reason and I realized I need to stick with the plan. There is no rushing this process. It’s going to take time. A year? Well, maybe. But after I got some great advice from two competitors that I contacted, I understand that I can still do my show as intended in October this year as a “warm-up.” Then, if I choose to, do another show as the “real deal” in the Spring of 2014.

I also took a step back this week to remind myself why I started this whole thing: For myself; to change my body; to see how far I could take this body and my fitness level and to essentially show off all my hard work. I’m not doing this for a trophy, for a prize, for anything more than to say “I did this.” So back to the drawing board, although I never really left the board. I just took a temporary leave to get my mind straight.

Now that it’s on straight, I can say this:

“It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop.”

I’m not stopping. I will keep going. I can do this.

-Michelle

“My food is my fuel…my food is my fuel…”

January 4, 2013 MPiccolo3 Comments

This mantra has been on repeat in my head all day today. Why? Because today started meal plan #2 from Coach Davies.

Before I go into what Coach has in store for me this month let me just boast that today, FINALLY, I was able to break through my plateau. I weighed myself this morning after not getting on the scale for a week, to find that I’m down to 125lbs. What a relief!

I was somewhat concerned I would never see it budge ever again. And although I am well aware that it’s not really about the scale at all, I do like to at least know what kind of a range I’m in right now. Plus, today was the weigh out for my little bet I had going with my friend Craig. I proudly exclaimed on Facebook that he owes me $20…

Yes Virginia, it IS possible to lose weight over the holidays: 9lbs down from Thanksgiving until today. The only rule we set out from this bet was that I would not do any diet pills (as if) weight loss shakes or anything like that. I promise I stood by these rules.

I can also add that a FB friend of mine from high school, ALSO took on the challenge of losing weight during the holidays and she lost 5lbs too! So yes, it can happen.

I tallied up the amount of cookies I had from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day and it totaled 20. I can even remember exactly what I ate (is this normal?)

Thanksgiving: 2 Chocolate chip cookies

The Dessert Party on December 9th: Already posted about this but just to repeat: 1 triple layer cookie, a piece of angel food cake, a small bite of pumpkin pie (really don’t need to count this do I?) 1 of those sugary icing deliciousness cookies.

Christmas Day (for us was Sunday the 23rd): 6 chocolate balls, 3 buckeyes (This is Ohio ya know) 1 homemade cut out cookie.

Christmas Eve: 4 cookies at work of various types, 1 sugar cookie at dinner.

So for anyone who thinks I just avoided all sugar, you are sorely mistaken. I definitely enjoyed my fill.

I would say this may have been part of the reason I plateaued almost the whole month of December. Maybe not, but I think it’s interesting that all of a sudden I lose 2lbs the second I stop eating the junk? Hmmmm…

As for my meal plans and getting back on track (although I didn’t really get off track, did I?) last month my Coach had me eating alot of egg whites, chicken, and flank steak. This month, even MORE egg whites, asparagus, tilapia

or cod (yum!) and green beans,

among other things. Besides the meal plan becoming more of a challenge, the workouts are much more intense as well. Sprints, plyometrics, walking backwards on the treadmill and stairmaster (I have yet to master this. I am convinced I will fall and make myself look like an idiot.)

The mantra “My food is my fuel” came into my brain after reading a woman’s FB post recently. Her name is Amy Jo Horvath and she’s a National Physique Committee competitor. Here’s her FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AmyJoHorvathNpcFigureCompetitor

She’s also a mom and wife and is in full contest prep mode. This means she basically has to find time to train and eat clean still be a full time mommy and wife. I must say, at least on the surface of her FB page, she is on top of it!

A few weeks ago she posted how she had to eat her prepared food in her car. She ended the post with “Food is fuel!” It stuck with me as I downed cold Cream of Rice and egg whites this morning, literally fork in right hand, driving with the left. This wasn’t as difficult as it sounds (although I do not suggest doing it).

The second meal of the day proved more challenging to stomach: Tuna, egg white and diced asparagus. Perhaps it was the lack of flavor…perhaps just the sloppiness of trying to get tuna and asparagus on the fork…but it was by far the hardest part of my day. (I know how silly that sounds considering the hardest part of the day for most people is probably way worse)

But THAT’s when the mantra kicked in. And in the end I ate it all. I didn’t puke, I didn’t feel sick…lo and behold I actually felt full and energetic.

Wow, who would have thought? Good food = good things. What a concept!

The only downside to this new meal plan? It’s true what they say about asparagus. I will let the reader figure that one out.

Time to get sleep…because as awesome as food is, it’s equally important to rest and recover for the day that comes tomorrow.

-Michelle

Random tweet: I burned 97,611 calories in 2012. But sadly, I didn’t log all my workouts. So it’s probably more. #random #exercise #workoutfreak

Looking for the positives in a sea of negatives

December 16, 2012August 18, 2019 MPiccoloLeave a comment

Feeling a little strange writing a post after such a violent and morbid week in our country. But someone on Facebook mentioned “In times like this it’s really easy to just give up…with everything. Not just fitness but life goals in general. But now is the best time to exercise your mind and your body. A time to heal.”

My pastor put it well this morning too in his homily…”Find the joy, even in times of evil and tragedy.”

On a lesser scale, we do tend to give up in times of struggle don’t we? An injury will sideline us and leave us feeling like it’s just easier to give up rather than try to heal quickly or correctly. A bad weekend of food bingeing or drink might make us feel like throwing in the towel and just buying all that processed food that we so adamantly swore off not too long ago. A loss of life or a big life event might make us reconsider finishing up a project because we just don’t have the drive anymore.

But the time is more perfect than ever to get back up and try again. To not give up…and not be a quitter. Friday was a particularly difficult day in my own personal life after I got some discouraging news about a family member’s illness. Obviously not trying to compare two events but this past week seemed particularly depressing for numerous reasons.

So this post is about the positives I have found in my little life this past week:

1. I got to hang with my best friend and update her on all this figure stuff last night. She even volunteered to make “Piccolo Supporter” t-shirts when it’s competition time. Too cute. (Of course I’m considering her letting her do this because lets face it, who WOULDN’T want their own cheering section with t-shirts!?)

2. I posted my progress pics with no serious side effects. This was a hard thing for me to do, self reflection sucks. But necessary and I’m very happy that I did.

3. I’m enjoying this ~~global warming~~ 60 degree weather today. As I walked out of Yoga (yes Yoga) today I couldn’t help but smile and feel like after a tragedy like this, comes a re-birth. I’m such a yogi. 😉

4. My nephew celebrated his 10th birthday on Saturday and he is such a thankful child. I’m very much the proud auntie. Grateful I have not one but 2 adorable nephews to spoil.

5. I still FEEL good. I explained to my friend last night that although it was just 10lbs, I feel like I’ve lost more and never realized how much it was, literally, weighing me down. Feels good to fit in clothes like they were meant to fit.

Time to go prep my food for this week and keep on truckin along on this fitness journey.

If you have a goal (and you know you do) don’t give up.

Progress Pics

December 12, 2012December 12, 2012 MPiccolo8 Comments

I don’t even want to make a big deal out of this even though this is probably one of the more difficult things I have posted. It’s not like anyone is forcing me to do this of course but if you have a goal you better make sure you note a starting point. And with weight loss, pictures are pretty much the best route to go.

I didn’t manipulate these photos in any way EXCEPT brightness and contrast because some turned out so bright and some not so bright. It took me a second to understand how to add text to a picture as you can see from one of the December pics. I never figured out how to delete the text so….you are left with this. Photoshop smart I AM NOT.

Left: October Center: November Right: December

I’m at 137.5lbs in the October pics, 133lbs in the November pics and 127 in the December 10th pic.

Thanks to Danielle for stitching these all together for me!!