Hi Friends!

It has certainly been awhile since I have written here – and all I can say is that I have to blame it on my busy busy life (career) since I last posted.

I want to keep it real and always prefer to have great content to share, and sometimes the busy days turn into busy months and then voila, six months later, you are wondering where did the time go?  While I was waiting for this “great content” to share, all of this time just went by! So from hereon, there will be regular posts – snippets of my life, etc!

It is coming up to that wonderful time of year with the weather changing and the festive season approaching and I thought I would update on what I have been doing in my Fit life and otherwise.

In terms of fitness, in 2019 I continued to focus on my “fit life” and have been working out 4-6 times per week on average. I started training for a national competition in Jamaica in June, for September with my fabulous trainer Maya (who is based in Canada and a former Bikini competitor herself) – we were able to build my frame with some good muscle growth which was my goal this year. I went from 102 pounds to 112, and then shredded to 102 again for the Show. Unfortunately, the morning of the Show I realised the spray tan went very wrong and I had splotches all over my core and large spots all over my arms and legs. I was unable to enter as I knew I would be marked down for this.

The morning of the Competition, September 7th – when I went to the Hotel Gym to “pump up” before stage. I realised the spray tan was splotched and I had brown spots all over me. I then decided NOT to enter.

In the picture above I was very happy with my final presentation. I was coming in at a great “S curve” and sufficient muscle growth for Masters Bikini of an Amateur National Show.  However the spray tan was not dark enough and there were splotches! A HUGE NO NO! This final look was the result of one year of dedicated workouts, 80% clean eating each week and a real focus on the final look my Trainer and I wanted to present on stage for my Masters category. In fact the week before the Show, I went to the “rehearsals and posing session” and the Head Judge was there – asked if I would enter the “general bikini open category” – which is of course all ages. That is from like 20’s up! However I thought to myself there is no way I am going on stage with 20 somethings :-))

The day after the Competition, I went to the beach and my hubby took these to show me the results of my hard work – but clearly you can see the splotches and dark spots!

I think 2019 has taught me that you sometimes just have to “go with the flow” of life and not get too caught up in certain standards. I realised after not entering the Show that life can dish out some unfair perspectives, and really it is all about going with it. So I did not enter the Jamaica National Bodybuilding Show. Well, maybe in 2020 I will be able to build more muscle and enter an international competition – who knows?  One day at a time!

Many of my friends question me about my nutrition and ask me about my “macros.” It is so hard to explain to anyone not in the fitness/health world as macros are solely dependent on goals. However to put it simply macros mean “macronutrients” which broken down again, is the ratio of protein:carbohydrates:fats we consume each day. Protein is the “building block” of muscle in our bodies. So if we are trying to “build lean muscle” then we are going to need not just enough protein, but more than enough. Carbs help to “bring it” and fats are crucial in this process too! My macros will be different during my “prep” for a Show to a woman of my age just maintaining her weight. So sharing my breakdown would be fruitless to anyone reading this, as it is all dependent on goals // weight right now // where I want to be // bulking OR // Cutting. Also how many times I am working out each week. Right now I am again on a building muscle period, so my cardio is low and my macros are higher than before. I can safely say I am now on an average of 130- 140 grams of protein / over 200 grams carbs and about 40-50 grams of fat average per day per week depending on my workout split.  I will post again on this soon. Also I would love to talk about building muscle at my age, and how hard/easy it is to shred. It is all such an interesting world when it comes to this fitness/competition life!

I still get up in the mornings and do fasted cardio as I personally love it. That is about four days per week for 15-20 minutes NO longer, as that is a way I can stay on top of any extra body fat gain – meaning to balance it. I do weight training about 4-5 times per week with a split of upper-lower-upper-lower-cardio and abs. Training ABS is not that crucial to me as I know maintaining a six pack is hard to do all year if you are trying to build muscle. My core comes back when I am shredding. However I do fit in abs about twice per week.

See more posts on my Fit Life here here and here.

Here is a post on Jamaica, if you are thinking of visiting!

Other than my fit life – all else is good. Soon I will be posting pictures of my beautiful dogs, which includes my year old “pup” named Pinot Noir after my fave wine.

Pinot Noir and Bono – on the chair in the room that seems to be “theirs” and Pinot Noir has already chewed up the bottom of the chair as you can see!

Well until the next time, I do hope you enjoyed this update!

xo