Follow Clare as she makes her Fitness America Bikini debut!

Fearless...

"In all my 48 years, I have never owned a bikini. Ever until now"

Something happened to me when I hit my 40's - I woke up one day and was tired of settling for what was staring back at me in the mirror.  Like most women, I struggle daily with body image and tend to see only my flaws.   Given that, the decision to train for a fitness competition is some what difficult for me to explain, even to myself. I've always enjoyed sports in some form as a child. I began running for fitness in college, and have continued with that throughout the years, finishing a couple of marathons and a number of shorter races. But always, in the back of my mind, I wanted a certain look. Why didn't I look like I worked as hard as I felt like I was?

Pushing myself through endless cardio classes didn't seem to be getting me where I wanted to be, but I realized now the issue was in my head. I was afraid to acknowledge that I wanted to look cut, to look athletic.  It seemed shallow to me - if I was healthy, why should I be unhappy with how I looked? Especially when I had a job I loved as well, as a network producer. It seemed unseemly to be complaining about something like my abs.

As an adult, I moved on to sports where looks didn't matter. I learned to play ice hokey at 40 and play on 3 teams.  Having been afraid of team sports, fearing I would be picked last, be the weakest, etc, it's been a joy to experience what being on a team means.  I also took up triathalons four years ago despite a paralyzing fear of swimming.  For the most part, I have been able to work past my fears. All of them except the fear of how I look, and being openly judged about it.  But last year, a number of things happened that changed my outlook.

• surgery on a torn hamstring that would sideline me from most cardio activity for months
• turning 48 which meant 50 was just around the corner

A friend of mine, Kelly Kalley, did her first bikini fitness competition with WBFF in Montreal.  A fashion designer with a great sense of style, Kelly seemed fearless. I remember saying to her that I couldn't imagine putting myself out there to be judged in that way.  But her journey intrigued me more and more as it went on, and I resolved to get past my surgery and refocus my training.  If she could stay so impressively fit without a lot of  cardio, I wanted to see if I could do it as well.  But the training is only half the battle. As they say, you cannot train a bad diet, and I needed real help. That's when an article in the Wall Street Journal, by a woman who reminded me of, well me, caught my eye. Alyssa Abkowitz-Cendrowski wrote a great story about her coach Malenna Saunders, and a team named the Elite Heat describing her journey to the competititve stage. It was clear from Alyssa's story that diet was the missing link in my regime, but I needed a road map, and I didn't want to do it alone. 

When I met with Malenna and the team members I realized I didn't have to. With Malenna's help, and starting with the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, I have been able to revamp how I eat, and while it hasn't been easy. it truly was the missing link in the chain. 

The final fear to face will be standing on that stage. But I know I can face it with the help of my great coach and wonderfully supportive teammates.  Losing those fears and hangups is the best weight loss I can ever imagine.

Elite Heat Spotlight : Krys

After finally breaking free from a lengthy struggle in an emotionally destructive relationship, I made a pact with myself to stop looking back at all the had-beens, could-have-beens, shouldn't-have-beens, etc., and instead put a new focus on creating a completely new me.

I had always loved working out, and as an ailment to a drop in self-consciousness, both physically and emotionally, I decided to try out some group-fitness classes at Phoenyx using a Groupon deal during the summer. I figured I could use the motivation of working out with a group again, and I could get back on the track to health!

During their September Open House, I was lucky enough to win a 5-week Phoenyx Fitness class package, Kettlebells, which just so happened to be how I met Malenna.

She was lean, she was mean, she was ripped - just as I had always wished I could be! And then I heard her say the word - competition! I took that as my cue to, from that point forward, use every class as an opportunity to bombard her with a myriad of questions about her competitions. That’s when she told me about the Elite Heat.

Competing on stage has always been what I call one of my “little girl dreams”, however, it never occurred to me that there were actually people doing it right here, in my city, in my fitness class! I didn’t have to think twice before jumping on board with an enthusiastic “YES!”, and it’s been all upwards progress since then.

I thought I knew so much about working out and clean eating, but after seeing how these girls REALLY get it, I’ve been motivated to learn more and more. I’ve been working out in new ways and learning new things every day. And just having that support around you 24/7, who wouldn’t be motivated!

Now it’s time to break out of that old shell of mine, and create something new. It’s time to give haters a reason to hate, lovers a reason to love, and has-beens a reason to regret ever letting me slip away.

Because when you’re surrounded by a bunch of girls who are all striving to look their best, and when you’re being constantly pestered every week for a progress photo that you don’t necessarily want to take, or for a weight update that you don’t necessarily want to give, you don’t just WANT to work your hardest... you HAVE to!!

Elite Heat Spotlight: Dorothy

Like any newly engaged bride, I was desperate to shed some pounds and rock a svelte, sexy body in my wedding gown. I found a lifebooker deal for Phoenyx Fitness, and it was love at first throw up with Malenna. After the first initial brutal workout with her, I lost some weight and felt stronger and fitter than ever. But weddings end and once you've got that guy and took pictures in that dress, it was time for the gut to come out to make room for all the things delicious: burger, cheese fries, mac & cheese, cheesy cheese, dessert, followed by more cheese...you get the picture. It was not uncommon for me to work out for an hour and a half, and then walk to the Shake Shack across the street and justify it with "Oh I must have burned 500 calories, which means I can totally have the 3000 calorie double shack burger with a side of cheese fries...I worked hard for it!" Needless to say, I remained heavier than ever with this great workout regiment of mine.

 No more boot camp, more excuses not to go to the gym, and just kettlebell class barely keeping me from looking like a member of the Klump Family. And then I started to notice certain members of the kettlebell class literally shrinking before my eyes. They did all the exercises like pros, were thin but strong and just looked good. I started to hear whispers of this secret society called the Elite Heat and boy did it sound well elite! I had to find out their secret.

 I learned that most of the girls were chosen by Malenna and were training for fitness competitions. And the biggest change other than their workouts???  Their diets. I knew in order to get and maintain the body I wanted, I would need to make changes and stop justifying eating bad food by working out. It's not easy to say no to cheese or desserts, but once I started learning about how much sugar was in a banana, I had to start imaging that the foods I knew were bad for me were also disgusting, and it forced me to be creative with recreating my favorite foods with healthier options. I love the support of the other women working towards the same goals and it's great to see the camaraderie and encouragement amongst the group. I see some changes in my body already and I am looking forward to making this lifetime change to a slimmer sexier me as a member of the Elite Heat.

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."

Malenna's pre-prepared travel spread – she's ready for clean-eating, even in Sin City!

Malenna is travelling this weekend, visiting the bright lights of Las Vegas.  Those endless buffets coupled with the "what-happens-in-Vegas" attitude could be toxic to her goals – but she took charge and planned accordingly.

Food preparation–pre-planning, portioning, and assembling meals–is integral to competition success on a number of levels.  Obviously, controlling your portions and knowing exactly what you are eating is extremely helpful when undertaking a health and fitness regimen.  However, there are other benefits to pre-planning your food intake: 

• Making your own meals is often much less expensive than eating out. 
• Though pre-planning and preparing food can seem overly time consuming, in the long run such preparation actually saves you time and energy.  All you have to do is grab your food and go!
• Continually planning your food strengthens your willpower and determination – qualities that are vital both to competition and simply maintaining a healthy lifestyle (and hot body!)

Though the above reasons are compelling, food planning can still be a difficult habit to integrate into your life.  Here are some methods to help the process. 

Planning

Are you a vegetarian?  An avowed carnivore?  Are you trying to emphasize a certain nutrient in your diet?  Are you following a specific diet?  What foods do you eat consistently?

The first part of planning is having a food strategy.  Creating a shopping list that reflects your nutritional needs is crucial.  Make a list of the foods that you like, that fit into your diet, that are based on recipes you will use, and that you know you will be eating on a regular basis. 

Make sure to create a physical  list – something that you can bring with you to the grocery store.  Having the list in your hand while in the store keeps you accountable to the choices you want to make. The list can also be used later to compare and contrast future food purchases.

Some tips and tricks for food shopping:

• Always go shopping on a full stomach!  With your appetite satiated, you will be less tempted to make poor food purchases.
• Avoid supermarket aisles and stick to the store's perimeter, as this is usually where your best "clean" and unprocessed food choices–produce, meats, dairy–are located.
• If you have a partner who is not following your nutritional regimen, it may be helpful to go shopping without them.  This way, your partner is less likely to influence you with less-desirable food choices (like putting Haagen-Dazs in your cart when you aren't looking!)

Portioning

Now that you have your food, it is time to put it all together!  Having a set of measuring implements (as pictured to the left) is extremely helpful in portioning out your food. 

Read labels carefully.  Often portions that you would assume to be "1 serving" can be 2 (or more!) servings.  Online nutrition services such as MyFitnessPal can be helpful in determining portion size, as well as providing ballpark estimates of caloric values for a particular recipe. 

Here's a quick and dirty guide for eating out or when your measuring implements are unavailable:

• The area and thickness of your palm is a portion of meat or poultry (about 3-4 ounces).
• 3-4 ounces of fish may be little larger – about the size of a checkbook.
• Make a fist. That’s about 1 cup.
• Your cupped hand can hold about 1-2 ounces of cereal or a snack food.
• Your cupped hand will also hold about 1/2 cup of foods like pasta, rice, and ice cream.
• Your thumb is about 1 ounce of cheese
• Your thumb is also about 1 tablespoon. "Thumbing" is useful for measuring peanut butter and salad dressing.
• Your thumb tip is about 1 teaspoon – great for butter or tub margarine.

Information courtesy of The Happiness in Health 

Assembling

Putting your meals together ahead of time is essential for both time management and keeping on track with your nutritional goals.  The most common way to stay prepared is spending 1-2 hours on a weekend making only your weekday lunches.  Just doing this gets you way ahead of the game.  If you can go one step further and take an extra 1 or 2 hours to prepare, portion and assemble your entire menu for the week, you can coast! 

Reusable plastic containers are extremely inexpensive and usually available for purchase at nearly any grocery or dollar store.  A great and very cheap New York City resource for obtaining measuring implements, food containers, and often even clean food is Jack's 99 Cent stores.  There are several locations in Manhattan. 

 

               Consistency

Making the above food preparation steps habitual, rather than something you do sporadically, is KEY. 

Having your meals consistently pre-prepared gives you an edge in nutrition, managing your time and, ultimately, RESULTS. 

 ......................................................................................................

Here are some great websites for further reading.  Hopefully they can help with strategies in your quest for persistent food preparedness!

5 Simple Strategies to Make Eating Clean(er) Easier

Making a week's worth of meals in advance (This site is geared toward people on the Paleo diet, but the principles are universally useful)

Tips and Tricks for Make-Ahead Meals
An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day (mind hacks for time mangagement)

What do you think? 

How will you be pre-planning? 

Leave a comment and let us know!

(c) Alex Sidiropoulos 2012