The Big Update

look at these sick quads!

So what has lil' fitNasti been up to? I'll tell you what: getting better

Guess who had a blood glucose level of 55 for a month straight? Yeah, me, that's who. That would explain my extreme fatigue, messed up mind, and general issues. The solution: carbs & a break from competing. How am I feeling about this? It's really a mixed blessing. After getting my senses back I realized a lot of things about what competing had become to me.

You might be surprised, but I'm not really a very competitive person and the pressure of competition really freaks me out, especially with all the life changes I've been going through. I realized that what I got so pumped about in October wasn't competing, but the idea of accomplishing something great. But I honestly don't think me competing IS me accomplishing something great - I think I use it as a crutch to lean on to tell myself that I can be pretty and attractive and receive the attention and respect that I want from my peers. That's not healthy and that's not the reason that I want to be competing for. I'd much rather be fit & healthy in body AND mind instead of a really low body fat percentage, and I know that right now I can't really do that no matter how much I try. I know I can do the diet, the workouts, etc... but the person I become is not someone I like. I want to like me again.

This being said I do not need food to go crazy and be happy. I'm working with Joe Ohrablo of Dynamic Personal Training to keep me accountable and work towards new exciting goals during my off-season (like staying lean, but building some more mass). I'm so over panicing if I miss a workout or one isn't as good as another. I just want to enjoy life and working out again! fitNasti is BACK and better than ever - pushing prowlers, pounding out the reps, and flipping 400lb tires down the block while still getting in her HIIT, incline walking, and peanut butter (which I admit I've consumed my body weight in since stopping competing).

I definitely want to compete again (figuring a diet that doesn't flip my blood sugar out will be hard), but for now I want to focus on my relationships with my family, friends, students, and support my boyfriend. Jamey was on that crazy fire in Arizona - yeah, the one that was on the news (CNN, BBC, etc) and I didn't get to talk to him for 3 weeks. When I see him in August when I go out to UT I do NOT want to be worried about my next meal and obsess over how many grams of carbs I've overshot by, or whether or not I'll be able to get in my workout. All I want is to be able to be with my baby. AND when I head out to NYC at the end of Governor's School with my Aunt I want to take in the sites and sounds and experiences without freaking out about food! It's been crazy these last few months, right?

I haven't put on all too much fat, or if I have it must be in all the right places because I got hit on by a firefighter at Walmart on Sunday. I told him I already had a fire fighter hiking his way through the blaze in AZ. Jamey is quickly burning off his "hotshot survival pack" while I am putting some junk in tha' trunk. Gotta keep this booty under control!

Currently I am a teacher assistant/counselor at the NC governor's school west. It's a swanky 6 week program for the smartest and most talented students in the NC school system, specializing in one of 10 offered subjects. I assist a lead teacher in art class twice a day with 19 students. Then from 5pm-8am I am responsible for 14 16/17 year old girls (one of my girls is 15) and live on a hall in an air-conditionless dorm with them. Living here makes me miss my nasty little room at wake. At least there I had central air and a "stove". Here I have a ghetto-fied air-condition system and a mini-fridge/microwave system I've set up. I rely heavily on nuking egg whites and grilling on my george-foreman with my fingers crossed I won't set off the fire alarm. BUT I love my girls! I get to gossip about boy troubles, paint my nails, do facials, and talk about intellectual stuff (or brainless stuff) all I want... and get PAID for it! It's awesome and everyone thinks I am so intense, even though it's not (entirely) true. Man, people sure can build mythos around themselves without meaning to! I guess if you flip tires, like chainsaws, and build muscle you must be intense, right? I guess my tattoos and facial piercings don't help that perception... but I thought my vast collection of silly bands and hot-pink girlified fingernails might.

You can expect a lot more updates out of this little fitNasti girl now that things are on a roll (tire reference?). I'm certainly being challenged everyday with food choices, work-outs, and life-changes. I've got two new rules: 1) no nut-butters allowed in the room and 2) no protein bars allowed in the room. Yes, I will eat them ALL. That being said, my metabolism is JACKED. I am hungry ALL the time and I'm just burning through food. My arms have gotten a lot thicker and defined and I'm starting to notice the coveted bicep vein begin to poke out. One of my students told me my arms looked like a man's and I was grinning ear to ear. It's not true, but I can't help it, I must be channeling my alter-ego teenage boy personality wanting jacked arms with rippling veins. I might actually be a body-builder at heart and not a figure girl ;) Whoops! In anycase, I'm tearing up my arms pretty bad twice a week to total exhaustion with Josh's advice (gotta trust a dude who can paint his toe nails bright pink and win a MMA title belt when it comes to these things). My bicep curling form is top-notch now. I'm also tearing up my legs with some crazy weights. Monday I did high-box squats for reps at 155lbs. Hell to the yes.

Tomorrow I am working on my chest and pushing the prowler. It feels SO GOOD to have the energy to do this! Have you ever been REALLY SICK and then gotten better and realized just how bad you felt? Yeah, that's me right now - high off life (and protein bars), ready to rev it up to the next level! Kim, Josh, and our friend Jennifer did the Marine Corp Mud Run about two weekends ago as "Team Animal". Think 5k on CRACK. We did obstacle courses and ran through the woods in 95 degree heat. That means scaling walls, swimming through mud, crawling through tunnels, running up hills, etc. We finished in 40 minutes! I remember back in October when I ran the 5k for the library in 35 minutes. My fitness level is so nasti now! I ended up tearing out a huge chunk of my knee through a tunnel, but that was after that amazing pic was taken. Don't I look ripped? My legs are cray-cray! Anyway, my fit friends, I'll keep you updated on all the fun I'll be getting into these next few months. For the next four weeks my goals are simple. I'm doing am pre-breakfast cardio everyday alternating HIIT and incline walking, but keeping it all short to maintain leanness. I'm lifting 5 days a week, training HEAVY with Kim twice a week (back and legs mostly) and arms 2x a week. Then throw in some tire flipping, prowler pushing, and a little post-work out stairmill and you'll see why my metabolism is in high gear. Thank goodness I have an anabolic little body! Here's to the future my friends, I'm visualizing a bright one with lots of rippling arm veins and satisfying sleep!

booty shot of Team Animal!