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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride in BC



What a great sunny day, not the 26 degree celcius they promised but sunny.
Decided to go for a bike ride even so today is my day off training. Going for another cheat meal, so the bike ride is a great way to counteract that. I have had 2 cheat meals per week more or less and they were not far out but instead almost tame.
Weather is not looking good for the week to come although that changes fast but who cares, my focus is diet, training, routine polishing and hoping my suit comes in and I don't have to get Amy to redo them all because Canada Post has my stuff hostage.
If I have to redo my suit and costume she will need to know by mid week........you see my stuff is here locally at some postal warehouse but just needs to be delivered so I hope it comes by Wed and then I am safe! What horrible timing. At this point if I need alterations I will have to do it locally but you know what.....Amy always seems to get my fit right so being she knows my body so well I am not worried.
2 Weeks left on my pattern and then its pre contest week and time to display the weeks of effort!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to CPR we go......


So its that time again to recertify my ACE, ACSM and BCRPA which means recertification for CPR and Fitness First Aid.
I have been using Life Consultants with Mark Kozlowski since I began in Fitness in the mid 90s and have used this company since. Its a class which keeps you awake, is fun and inventive.
Mark has an amazing realism to his class and makes it entertaining. I like his person-ability with his students and actually don't mind having to do this every year or 2 because he is the one teaching!
Okay so now I am off to have some yam fries with chipotle mayo and a sandwich on ciabatta bread and pop ~ YEAH BABY CHEAT MEAL TIME!!!!!!
Then I will come home and do my morning and night cardio, because I had to go to class I did not get in morning cardio so I am going to hop on my recumbent bike for 70 mins at a moderate pace and watch the UFC fights tonight although I am shocked to find out Nate was cut because he 'did not pass his med exam'......wtf? Well I have an idea of what that maybe about and I am very sad for Nate and for the fans. Rick Story will now be fighting Brenneman, Rick is a great fighter and just fought a few weeks ago, what a guy..... so it will be a good fight anyway and the card is a great one so I guess now it's 'hi ho, hi ho, first cheat then car di o......****whistling****hi ho, hi ho.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Flat Tummies and Smooth Skin


One thing I get reminded of when I diet down for competition is how nice it is to have a flat tummy and smooth skin. I am a sugar fiend so I tend to get softer off season and deal maybe with less of an optimal skin texture because of the sugar habit and eating whatever crap I want. It is subtle but I do notice at times like now when my body tells me in so many ways how much it likes how I am eating.
I am not really restricting health, because I timed things right with the progression down to where I am now- it really was not unhealthy, just hellish for a sugar fiend........teehee.
Essentially all health issues are decreased right now because of this diet, I still eat all the needed nutrients and not conservatively to just make it by but I eat around 2000 cals per day more or less and even get indulgences but its just forced me to be balanced and adult about it.
I have been more restrictive in past years but this time around I am having fruit the whole time through, carbs but healthy options and not sooooo limited. This meant rare occasion if any of lightheaded or hypo glycemic issues which most people complain about during dieting. I swear its only happened once or twice and when not dieting I cannot say it never happened due to my poor food choices at that time maybe pms or whatever.........so while leaning I have had very little negative effects to deal with, compared to what you hear from the experiences of others.
It does take years, trial and error etc etc. You learn from others then meld it to be your own cuz you are the only one who knows your body.
In fact dieting has helped all my other health issues because my normal indulging actually aggravates most of the health issues and I do over do..... so in effect I am healthier when I am dieting down for comp as it forces me to keep a healthier diet.

I am never hungry, IBS has been at its all time low - yeah baby! Asthma and allergies have been under better control and joint pains are tolerable. This is how contest prep should be, even dieting in general, it should not feel super restrictive and I don't mean like - "I cannot have whatever I want whaaaah" cuz most of us eat too much hidden crap we don't realize, we basically live off crap and eat good once in a while when it should be reversed. I mean like for health where you treat once in a while, not daily at each meal which seems to be the trend, food choices and meals are all a big ol treat now.

You do not need to diet unhealthy to get contest prep to prime........IF YOU PROGRESS RIGHT AND WITH ENOUGH TIME.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Friday Photo Shoot, Broad Swords and more!

Thank you, thank you, thank you both Gus Mctavish and Meghan Cooke for helping me with a great Fantasy Photo shoot. Meghan being a trainer at my gym and also a pro with stuntwoman work who has a stash of blades to make any man blush or run....whichever......she really helped make this shoot a go. I chose a nearby park which was a bad backdrop, not sure what Gus can do with these, but hey, we made a good go of it and Gus can shoot an ugly duck in a potato sak and make them look like Tyra!
Meghan helped me with posing, holding the blades and also being some were sharp, helped me ensure not to injure anyone or myself.
Gus is very comfortable to work with, he is a great photographer to hire for your future photo needs! He gave me great tips, lots of smiles and poor guy was on the wrong end of those blades......very brave man!
All in all a fun relaxed outdoor shoot done in under 2 hours!










Thursday, June 16, 2011

And the Beat Goes On...........

Still training hard! Still on point with diet and right on track with body /routine.
Its been a rough hockey week. I ran home Saturday after a photo shoot, jumped on my recumbent bike to make up for cardio that day, double session for 80 mins while watching hockey- did not even take off the make up...........

My workouts and meals have not wavered now for 8 weeks and 4 are left. It feels so nice when you are dialed in, no stress, no panic, no worry. You know you will go out and be at your best and not have to struggle, strain and hate every minute. Its been good hard, challenging but not painful to the point where it all sucks and I have had much less body work during this prep.
The tummy loves the diet so no issues there, sooooo nice. So when dealing with cravings no big deal, compared to pain, cravings are nothing. I have kept up a cheat per week and its been an ideal contest prep. I had one point at week 5 where I was drained, I did a refeed and it all picked up. I have since been happy with energy levels and how I feel all around.
I have enjoyed how fast my body changes and fit is so fun! It also makes it easy to keep on point with workouts when the weather is .......colder than usual for this time of year.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Photo Shoot Weekend

(Blue in honor of the Canucks Hockey Playoffs!!)
I had the privilege of working with an excellent photographer named Garry Cotter from Look Studios located in downtown Vancouver. A comfy studio bustling with energy and projects!
I was rusty after almost 2 years off from modeling but Garry was gracious and he does such a great job with his work. His shadowing work played off my muscle like liquid!
He has some wonderful services and I highly recommend him for whatever your event or project, he has a range of things he can do for you, check out http://www.lookstudios.ca/
I am super partial to the dance shots.......are they ever amazing!

Photography copyright Garry Cotter / Linda Cusmano

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Happy Italian Day!


Happy Italian Day!!

Wow, what a festa! I have a bunch of pics to post, luckily I went earlier for the pics, now there are wall to wall humans so no way to get pics. There is such a variety, many businesses partook in this celebration!




Lets begin with the cupcake place, Cassia cupcakes......I did not have any! They have some great options, vegan and gluten free.........I have at one point last year had the chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting which was yummy!!! Essentially these guys are across the street from me.

Here we have the ravioli store on first.......did not have any!!!



Here we have Giancarlos Sport Bar, a handsome friendly face and some great coffee and eats!


Here are some more of the local haunts and treats! Some Vintage Italian Day pictures.....Roman Gladiators ready to do fight demos, Stages getting set up.....





Dog friendly, I had one of mine with me too while taking these pics!

Here we have one of my clients making fresh gelato in the back, Da Vino restaurant and Dolce Amore Gelato are a must if you are on the Drive!
Da Vino has wicked wine, cheese plates and more fine foods, and the gelato....like I said fresh made in store daily- just look at the pic!
Italian Coffee Bars are all packed, all day so far! these pics were just upon opening, since then its now afternoon and packed busy with minimal areas to walk or sit but everyone manages fine.
You can see other ethnic foods are also available, like Japanese, Indian, Thai, Portuguese and more.
You also see the Italian Bakery from Hastings and Renfrew came down to FRESHLY STUFF CANNOLIS, which I did not have but sooooooooo wanted one, its a rare thing to get a fresh stuffed on the spot cannoli! Then you see the fudge bar..........with my fave....granny smith apples coated in Caramel............there was fudge and all types of goodies.........I will be waiting til fall for sweets!
















In the end, I bought a baguette, added a splash of evoo, balsamic extra old aged vinegar...... grilled cherry tomatos, grilled avacado, grilled mushrooms, roasted onions and there was my cheat. Essentially the bread was the cheat really. I also had a diet pepsi, second in 8 weeks, have been pop free....... and am otherwise following diet cleanly.

Hot Rods!

Hats Off Day was pretty quiet, sorry to say, it was dead....people were out and the road was shut down but there was nothing going on, maybe 2 or 3 stages and singing but not much for stands, food, business participation....at least not compared to the past years I had attended.

The Hot Rods were great, I love the Chevy's and they had cars deep by a few blocks worth of shiny perfection.
I took some shots of my faves and then the dogs got too hot so we headed back for the long walk back to the car.

We had to stop a lot for everyone asking to see the dogs.
Lots of extra exercise yesterday!


Today is Italian Day so I expect a much bigger, better venue and will get more pics.

The Dogs were the center of attention yesterday, cannot get far without someone stopping to ask what breed one of them is or to pet them.