Move It Monday : Transformation and Going Forward

Last Saturday it was the last weight-in of the 8-week transformation plan Summer Shape Up from the Flex Magazine Holland. Based on the great improvement I had shown during the first month, I cannot deny being a little disappointed with the final result. Still, losing 4.1% body fat is something to be quite proud of.

Now it is time to look back at the things I have learned and set plans for the future.

Move It Monday : Transformation and Going Forward

Take your time

It is funny to realize that while I still have a long path ahead of me, a lot has changed in my body throughout the years.

Me at the age of 10yo during my thinnest years

I am perfectionist to the extreme. My OCD takes me from picking falling leaves on the floor at work, to putting away the weights at the gym. And I make faces when people lift weight but do not put them back. I take it very seriously. So having to accept that it takes time to build my body in a healthy way is not an easy task.

How many of you have caught yourselves envying those fantastic transformation stories? I did! Many times...

It is true that all we see are the results. We were not physically close to those athletes to know about their struggles and hard moments entirely. What we have are pictures of incredible bodies, while us... Well, the mirror talks to us.

My turning point: August, 2010. I cried after seeing it

But let's face the truth: is everyone the same? Are there two of the same human beings walking on earth? Two with the same characteristics, background and experience? The answer is no! So even though we give thumbs to those who achieve their top at a fast pace, there is no reason to beat yourself for not being the same.

My journey is far from being a fairy tale. I did improve a lot, but I still cannot tell when I will get "there". Last year, for instance, I reached a great shape. Unfortunately, I was not able to sustain it for long. I had some health setbacks and after a period of recovery, I noticed that I had taken some steps backwards. It all may have slowed me down, but the amount of experience and knowledge that I acquired in the process was not waste.

Whenever someone asks me how to get started, I always suggest taking one step a time. I myself did not like drinking water at all. My life was coffee (=caffein), Coke (caffein+caffein) and Mate (caffein+caffein+caffein). The only food for me was fast-food. For a while, I used to eat McDos three times a day on a daily basis. I love French fries (with lots of mayonnaise in the best Flemish style) and pizza. I could surely eat them every single day. At a certain point however, I realized the damage my bad eating habits were causing my body and, consequently, my health.

In 2012,  right before my very first contest preparation

I still drink one cup of coffee in the morning, but that is it! Throughout the day, no sodas either. I did drink one last week and it felt weird. Industrialized juices or smoothies are in my things-to-avoid list as well. However, despite the amount of sugar contained in them, they are still a better choice than a soft drink. Ideally, make them yourself with organic fruit and greens.

If sugar is your weakness, try observing why you "need" it. Is it because you are feeling anxious or stressed? Are you dehydrated? Are you having an energy crush? Watch your meals during the day. Are you eating enough? Are your dishes varied? Carbohydrates and healthy fats are not evil monsters and they must be part of any diet.

Personally, I am not the most creative person in the kitchen. I only learned how to cook after my first Bikini competition and I am not a cooking princess. On a weekly basis, I browse the internet looking for new recipes to bring some new colors and flavors to my intake.

At the first Arnold Classic Brazil, April 2013

Some of the tricks I also use to keep myself on track are:

• Have a strong shopping list: I crossed the items when I buy them, but I do not erase them from my list. This way I keep track of the food I still have in the freezer as well;
• Try new things: look for new recipes, make substitutions in your traditional plan. There is way much more than chicken and broccoli out there. And it does not have to taste bad to be healthy;
• Remove ONE bad habit a time: in the beginning you may want to change things drastically, but if you want to make your changes last, it is better to give your body and your mind time to get accustomed to everything;
• Watch your emotional level: we live under pressure every day, the whole day. It is traffic, work, family affairs, financials, etc. These things cannot control us though. Find a way to work it off without eating it out;
• Keep yourself busy: find a hobby. Ideally, get involved with some physical activity. I love running and lifting weights. Is there any sport you like? Or dance style? A walk around the block is much better than sitting around;
• Enjoy your new lifestyle: remember that you want to improve your life. It has to be fun even before you start enjoying the new you. Do not take it too seriously. 

Above all, have in mind that no matter how long it takes, it will be worth it. It is more than fitting in smaller clothes or hearing compliments. It is about improving your well-being. Do not punish yourself if you slip up. It happens to everyone. Be your best friend, motivation and inspiration. No one can be 24h a day by your side so become your best companion. Whether you lose one inch or improve your performance, be proud. You did not get in the shape you are now in just one day. You can and you will achieve it as long as you keep on doing what has to be done!

Pre-workout picture from April 22, 2014.

Now let me know about yourself? How is your progress going so far? What victories have you already booked? What are your plans for short and long terms? I would love to learn about your path too.

Wishing you all a great day!

#DebbieInShape

Guess what? I have been cooking!

At home, there was always delicious food on table. My grandma and my mom made delicious recipes out of nothing. I have never been much of an "eater", but cooking has always been a no-no. Believe me when I say that I tried to live out of shakes for sometime. I wanted the protein, but spending time in the kitchen was not in my plans.

With contest preparation getting more serious, I simply had to. I always tried to find a way to cook as much raw food as possible and I was really glad that sauces and all tasty stuff was out of my menu.

No-cook recipe: tuna salad with chia seeds

Lazy me was happy, but my body not so much. It needed variation and I could not escape taking my relationship with pot and pans to the next level.

I am in no way a chef, but I finally started daring searching on the internet and mixing up things just because.

Subscribing to receive vegetables and fruit on a weekly basis forces me to do something with them. And because I cannot choose what I am getting, I have to leave my comfort zone and get creative.

Rice with leek: organic and gluten free

And like a miracle, I find myself getting exciting about the results of my experiments. I am still a Can't-Cook, but for the first time in my life, I feel as there is hope for me.

This week was a very productive one with me staying home for a couple of days. I did some green shopping and brought home some new toys to play with. Since my purpose is not only eating healthy, but achieving a specific physique, I cannot lose sight of combinations and balance in all my meals. This includes smoothies too since fruit juices are a healthy choice full of sugars and that can cause unnecessary fermentation in the gut.

Smoothie Lunch

To make sure I am doing it 'right', I use Calorie Count to login all my recipes. This way I am learning how to make use of the food that is good for me to reach the result I am looking for.

The best part of is seeing my body reacting positively to all changes. I am not going to lie, but there were days when I truly doubted I was ever going to be able to workout as I used to. I had lost hope after going through medical exams with perfect results while my body was crashing.

Left: November 20th, 2013. Right: November 29, 2013.

Even though we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Belgium, neither in my home country Brazil, I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has helped in my fitness path so far. Each single person taught me something which guided me to this continuous better version of me. This is just the beginning, but I am confident that I will get there. Thank you!

My road back

For some blogs, I have been mentioning that I am going through a healing process. But what exactly do I mean by that? What am I healing from? And what makes me believe that I am getting better when from the start all my medical tests have been flawless?

Road To Recovery

As per dictionary definition genetics means "the genetic constitution of an individual, group, or class". It is what we are made of, our structural shape. In addition to whatever our qualities are, as we grow, environment, relationships and how we deal with situations also mold us. All this together with the addition of the experiences we go through 'now', form who are: physically, mentally and psychologically. 

When I decided to train more consistently and take my physique to the next level, I made certain choices ignoring my being as 'a whole'. After one year and half of intensive workout and dieting, certain predispositions rose up and started to get in my way.

Healing cannot occur in the absence of self-love and compassion.

One important step I took in my lowest point was taking control of my health. Not that I have some sort of healing power, but I just decided to become a serious student of the game. Instead of just sitting around and waiting for someone to tell me what to do and how; I started researching and learning. I am not alone in this though. The insights I have been receiving from Nicole Moneer are priceless. She is being a great guide who is showing me a path I feel incredibly comfortable with.

I also started looking within my body and doing some tests with my food choices. Controlling gluten ingestion has brought immediate results that I could have never dreamed of. Organics greens and fruit and hormone-free meat are not only good for the body, but they taste so much better! And sincerely, if you search well, you may discover that they are not always necessarily more expensive.

For your health - Get Enough Sleep

Sleeping enough hours is the simplest medication I could give yourself. If you have a full-time demanding job like me and has to stay focused for at least 8 hours a day, you will see the results of a good night sleep in no time. And that is not to mention that you will probably need less stimulants throughout the day, which your adrenals will thank you for.

Eating 'right' goes beyond eating healthy. One common mistaken done when one wants to get a lean figure is eating too little or simply unbalanced meals. If you have constant cravings, your body might be sending you signs that something is lacking. It is not only a matter of giving in or not, but of getting it right.

Food cravings

These small changes together have brought my energy levels up considerably. Around August, I had reached the point in which I had to sit on the floor and take deep breaths before being able to clean my gym bag. For two months, I was not able to train at all. In November, even though I have not been able to do any consistent cardio yet, I was able to train consistently for three weeks in a row. My weight fluctuation during the day is around two pounds and I do not retain water and get bloated on a daily basis. I drink healthy amounts of water sparring my kidneys and am taking more care of my liver, my personal achilles' heel.

It is just the start for me and I am glad with the direction I have taken. Step by step, I am getting there though.

It has been longer than I remember

Time flies, doesn't it? I thought I was just a month or two behind with my entries... Shame on me AGAIN!!!

Anyways, a lot happened in the meantime, but I will not drop everything here just like. Let's catch up little by little.

So far this year, I have participated in 2 competitions. They were my first under the umbrella of Team Bombshell. And even though the results were not I expected, I am extremely happy and proud of the progress I have made in the past months.

LEFT : October 27th, 2012

RIGHT : April 6th, 2013

Of course that everybody wants to win (or at least, I hope so...), but the final result, the medal, the trophy, is not something we can control. It depends a lot on what the judges want, how other competitors look (odd ones rarely win shows; and if they are not first, last they will be), promoters expectations, etc. 

However, against all odds, you win every single time you go on stage knowing that you did EVERYTHING you had to do in order to place 1st!

Knowing oneself, doing what it takes and being in peace with things you cannot control are the keys to your success. And if others don't see it right away, no sweat... Your time will come!

June, 2013                                 August, 2013

Erase & Rewind

Since my time is limited, I generally plan my weekly blog entries in advance. This way I can do some extra research if necessary etc. The idea for this one was writing about supplementation, but some questions I have been receiving the past days made me change my mind.

Probably it is the time of the year. There is this whole pressure about "resolutions" and it gets to people (see also My 2013 Commitments). Suddenly everyone wants to lose weight, exercise, stop smoking and whatever they can think of. It is EVERYWHERE! Gyms get packed for a couple weeks and that is it. Yeah! After the first obstacle, all the enthusiasm is gone. No one talks about it and they all have excuse (good or not) for why they went back to their old habits.

The point is: you cannot expect that suddenly, like magic, an old habit of yours will vanish and everything is going to be perfect. Forget it!!! It takes time, consistency and hard work no matter what your goal is.

Many times, I have the impression that people are hoping that I can say: "I took this magic pill and all the fat disappeared". If it is your case, I am awfully sorry to disappoint you but reality is way far from that.

And you know why I can be so hard about it? Because I have been there and done that! I may not know the details of your story, but I myself have denied certain facts that cost my progress before.

In my blog Getting Started, I wrote about the steps I consider mandatory if you sincerely want to transform your body. Unless you are sincere with yourself and with your goals, there is no angel on earth that will help you achieve your objectives. At the end of the day, it is YOUR life, YOUR choices, YOUR attitude and YOUR results. Nobody else's...

No athlete is born in one day. It takes YEARS of hard work; of working out even when one does not want to; skipping parties; being laughed at for not drinking or for bringing your own food; missing a TV program because you need extra rest; getting up before sun rise to get cardio done; you name it!

Nathalia Melo: 2009 Ft. Laud Cup NPC - 2012 Olympia

Probably your "reasons" are very good ones and if you believe it, they are. However, one cannot expect to achieve anything with excuses. Stop blaming your partner, your friends, your job, the parties; and face yourself. You do not have to tell it to anyone, but you must be sincere to yourself. Unless you do it, whatever your goal is, achieving it will be a very tough task.

I wish everyone health and success in everything you do!

Looking back

As the year is about to finish, I feel like it is the right time to take a look back at 2012 and review my experiences.

There is one word that is perfect to describe 2012 to me and it is “heavy”. I went through a lot of changes on the professional and personal level and they all cost me tons of energy. Mainly during the first half of the year. It was not easy, but I am glad I survived them all with a much better perspective for 2013. Also because this “heavy” was not always negative, just extremely intense and powerful.

At a certain point, because of all the pressure, countless migraine crisis and many nights awake working, I decided to take my physical training to another level. I simply needed to switch my focus from the office at least for a bit on a regular basis. And for that, I had to find myself a new challenge.

I had already bought the book Body Design from Kris Gethin sometime before, but never put it into practice. The idea of waking up early in the morning just to do cardio was not viable to me. Or better saying, it was not viable until then.

I started following his plan and, to my surprise, my body started to change. Amazing! It was for real and it worked even for me. The migraines dimmed a lot and I was sleeping way much better too. The first signs of change started to appear.

It was then that I began to flirt with the idea of competing. Sincerely, I cannot stress how impressed I was with the direction my figure was taking. I was not becoming a fitness model just like that, but I was getting in shape! Even though I had returned to physical activities in 2010, it was only this year that I did enough to make a long term progress.

After vacation, I started my contest preparation. Things did not go so smooth as planned because of some health issues, but I made it to stage in October. And despite my qualification not being so good (4^th out of 5), I had been beaten by the competition bug and was already hooked.

I had plans of participating in a show again in December, but again my health got in the way and I could not attend. It was not an easy decision, but it was surely the best one. Who knows? Maybe next year I can join the fun of the Flex Cup. ;)

Anyways, in spite of all ups and downs, I have to admit that it was a very positive year to me. It was challenging, but very positive. My whole view about life, myself and others changed. Probably because of the hardships, I became a stronger and more positive person; my objectives are even clearer in front of me; and very important, I know exactly what I want and am willing to do the necessary to achieve them.

Some accomplishments had already come true…

• I am looking forward giving a new direction to my professional career in the beginning of next year. It is something that I have been dreaming about for a while and now it is here. I am counting down the days to start. :P
• Also, I did my very first photo shoot. I was not in the best shape of my life, but I went through the experience. And I loved it so much that I am already putting ideas together for the next one.
• Lastly, I started the training to become a Personal Trainer. Since I arrived in Belgium, I haven’t come across one single PT specialized in body building in general. For the “weak” women, there is only cardio. I want to change it, to help others get in shape in a safe and correct manner. I want to be able to share all that I have been learning with others as a PT.

Don't wait until you've reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching your goal.

The only item from my personal list that will remain pending for next year is getting a sponsor. It was a “nice to have”, but sincerely, there is no rush. I am improving physically every single day, have previous experience in promotion of products and services and love helping and motivating people be successful too. So, I am sure that it is only a matter of time for the “right one” to cross my career. ;)

Finally, I simply cannot talk about 2012 without mentioning  the fantastic people I have been given the chance to get to know (better) this year because they have been playing a major role in my life. I joined Team Bombshell a couple months ago and they have been way much more than I could ever dare dreaming of… Everyone, coaches and athletes, is amazing and dedicated. Their energy is contagious! Specially Shannon Dey (she oversees us all and sometimes I have the feeling that she can read minds), my coach Vanessa Campbell (what a patience she has!), Jaime Baird (I identify myself a lot with her) and Nathalia Melo (I simply would not be here if it was not for her). I will also always be thankful to Kris Gethin (he showed the Path and is always incredibly supportive to everyone) and Cynthia James (not only she makes the best suits ever, she is such an incredible person!).

I am grateful for the people and lessons of this year. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I am really thankful for all my experiences.

And your 2012? How was it?

Have a great time and stay strong!