Well, here we are almost into the summer months! WOW! Hope everyone is ready for the summer...beach trips, vacations, pool parties and good hot weather!

I have decided that competing is pretty much out of the question for this year!

I have been struggling with my health for the past several months and I am working with a naturopath, holistic dr to figure out what is going with me.

No conventional "DR" has been able to find a diagnosis and through my research have figured out the regular "DR's" dont do testing that holistic dr's do to come up with a diagnosis and treatment. Dont worry, its not anything terminal! I will let you know more once i am able to get all of the tests back!

So, because most of my energy has been given to figuring all of this out, my motivation and energy has definately taken a dive! I still try to work out to stay in shape but I cant work out on the level thats needed to take the stage at this time. I wish I could, but I have to be realistic.

Ive also decided to take a few trips this year with my family, so that makes it tough as well.

BUT, i plan on making a good "show" next year and that will be upon us faster than you think!

In the meantime, i hope everyone is making the best of the summer with their families and friends and staying as fit and healthy as you possibly can!!!

If you have good health- you have everything!

Stay fit AND healthy!

Shannon

Hello Everyone!
So glad spring is here and summer is just around the corner!
I will write more later but just wanted to take a moment to say something about my email....
If you have any questions about diet or training, then please email me. If, however, your questions, comments, or thoughts do NOT pertain to diet or training, then DO NOT email me. I do not appreciate any emails that are sexual, unsolicited or inappropriate in any nature! Please know that if I receive any emails that are inappropriate, I will turn them over to an FBI detective that traces IP addresses and if needed, will get a subpoena to access the owner of the email. Charges can and will be filed! My website is for the soul purpose of motivating other women to workout, change their diet habits and create a better "life". It is NOT for any other purpose. Please do not make it that way!
Thanks and Stay Fit!

Hello everyone! Can you believe that its already almost April of 2010??? WOW does time fly by! Hope all are making attempts to achieve their fitness/health goals for this new year! I know that im trying!!! In spite of everything thats trying to get in the way! LOL. I need to lose about 10-15lbs to compete in August but I know that I WILL do it. Patience and consistency is ALWAYS the key!

SO, I was wondering how many people happened to catch the show Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show this past Sunday night? If you did not, and want a recap, it will air again this Friday night. You can click on this link for the details ...

http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

I am always astounded at the amount of JUNK and terrible foods children are eating these days so this show was VERY interesting to me. Listen, if you are an adult and want to be overweight, unhealthy and eat CRAP, then go ahead! You are old enough to make your own decisions and know the consequences of doing so...but children are a different story! They DO NOT know what nutritious food is and will eat what they are given by parents. Why do we continue to feed our children such terrible foods that are setting them up for a lifetime of unhealthy habits and sickness?

So here's my rant.....While i was working my flight this past weekend, my jumpseat happened to be next to a 4 year old girl and her mother. It was 10AM and she was hanging on to a bag of gummy lifesavers! I asked her if that was her breakfast and she proudly stated that " NO, my breakfast was a pop tart but I didnt eat it!"...ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Her breakfast was supposed to be pop tart? Thats NOT food!! Thats a man made chemical cardboard square with sugar on top!!! Why couldnt that mother have given her a banana or grapes or whole grain cereal/ oatmeal instead? Of course, her mother was about 75 lbs overweight also. Im not judging the mother for being overweight but I will say that i seriously doubted her "food" choice for her child. As I looked around on this 10AM flight, I saw another little boy eating a huge bag of potato chips, another child with a gallon size ziploc bag FULL of pure sugar candy, and yet another lap child being fed goldfish! These are the same parents that give their children coke on the flight and wonder why in the world their child cant sit still for a 1 hour flight! Its just amazing! The next generation will be the first generation that does NOT outlive their parents and ppl wonder WHY???? Parents have to get educated and make the time to create good wholesome meals for their children or the children will suffer the consequences later...and probably not too much later in life! SO, please, if you have children, try to set a good example for them by eating nutritious WHOLE foods and not "foods" that come out of a box, bag or can! And teach them to PLAY outside and enjoy physical activity! Take the computer games AWAY! They wont die from you taking them away but they could die if you DONT!

Just food for thought...:)

Hope everyone has a great week and workout hard! Change up your routine, do something different and remember, you can always email me with any questions!

imafitdiva@hotmail.com

Enjoy!

NEED MOTIVATION???

Im just like everyone and need motivation to keep training hard and staying in shape! Especially when im prepping for a competition. Even if you arent preparing for a competition, I know you have goals and want to achieve them. Check out this video of Ava Cowan, a new IFBB Figure pro! If you research her story, you will quickly find out that she has had a rough road and has come out on the other side a true winner with a phenomenal physique!
Now, let me get back to working out so i can dream about looking like her! LOL:)
Seriously though, its a great, inspiring video!

http://www.gasparinutrition.com/GaspariChannel/tabid/57/Default.aspx?fn=MINI_SERIES/SPORT_OF_FIGURE/AvaEP1FinalCut.flv

Are you stuck in a holding pattern???

HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL!!!

First, i want to take a moment to wish everyone a happy new year! I wish all of you much love, luck, and success in the new year!

The "new year" is finally here and with that comes many "resolutions" for people....including getting in shape. But what happens come February 14th or so???? The steadfast resolutions are out the window and many fall prey to their old lifestyle and habits saying "Its too hard" or "I dont have the energy" or any one of the LONG list of excuses people make to excuse themselves from the "resolutions". Why is that????

Recently, I started reading some books by Clarence Bass, a well known fitness writer and lifelong fitness enthusiast and bodybuilder. In his book, he talks about the "secret". He states, "It seems that people are always looking for a magic bullet. They love "quick fix" diets. As a result, they resist or ignore the real secret: Severe or unbalanced diets provide temporary results at best In the long run..THEY JUST DONT WORK! ...The way you look and feel your best is by regular exercise and a healthy, balanced diet containing enough calories to provide for your energy needs day in and day out." But people REFUSE to believe it can be that easy...

As a flight attendant, i thought about people being stuck in their ways and basically stuck in a "holding pattern."You know, you can see where you came from and you can see your destination but you arent sure how to get there...you just keep going around in circles, going absolutely NOWHERE. You are chasing your tail with no end in sight! I think thats what people have a tendency to do...start a "plan" with a great destination, only to end up right back where they started. It takes work people! You have to educate yourself, exercise yourself, and feed yourself with GOOD nutrition and you have to have a plan! You cant fly a plane without a flight plan and you cant get yourself into shape without one either...or you will be stuck in that "holding pattern" and end up right where you started.

I have to share a funny story with you all....I cook a lot of food on Sundays and then store it in the refrigerator so that I can eat "on the run" during the week. When i cooked the chicken breasts, i cut them all in half so that its easier to measure and my step-sons wont be tempted to eat a WHOLE chicken breast(or 2) in one sitting....as my youngest step-son(who is 16) was preparing his meal, he asked "why did you cut the chicken in half?" I stated so that he would learn to eat smaller portions instead of huge portions. Well, he was a bit dumbfounded and said "but isnt that what NORMAL people eat? 8-10oz of chicken at a time?" I could hardly contain my laughter because he had just proven my point about how the general public is so conditioned to eat HUGE portions and then wonder why they cant lose weight or change the way they look. You have to change the way you eat, think, and act about exercise and food if you ever want to change the way you look. And the change will come slowly, but with dedication, persistence and education on your part, you can do it!

Dont get stuck in that holding pattern anymore!

2010 is a new year, create a NEW YOU!

Good Luck! BE FIT..mind, body and soul!

No..its Not ALWAYS easy!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying time with family and friends this season! Well, the winter months have finally hit us and holidays are among us with good foods everywhere! I was thinking today after some people have mentioned to me that they think it's easy for me to stay in shape , compete and stay motivated, on a clean eating program and exercise! I always hear "well, it must be easy for you...you dont have kids, you have time, you must have always been skinny! " I CRINGE when i hear these words from people! Truth be told, i have NOT always been skinny...i was once 142lbs...and NOT 142 GOOD pounds either! Yes, I dont have any kids, but I DO have a family with step children, a husband, a dog, house, job(or 2) ,the MANY daily activities that come along with it all and I crave all of the sugary, junk foods that everyone else does!
After my last competition, I was a little bummed about my placings and kinda' thought and questioned whether it was all worth it! (im NORMAL, y'know?) But the fact remains, that even if i never competed again, i wouldnt feel good about myself if I just quit working out, let myself get fat and threw in the towel. Even with all of the daily chores, activites and people that demand my time, I will ALWAYS make time for exercise and my health. You see, only YOU can do that and only YOU can control what you eat and whether or not you exercise. I dont care how busy someone is, you can make the time if you choose to! Is it a little selfish???Of course it is, but you have to make time for YOURSELF. The other piece of the puzzle is the clean eating. Listen, if you dont get your food on track, then dont expect major (if any) results. Ive currrenlty been put in a position where i am unable to work out for several weeks...kinda made me depressed a little and I havent been so great on my once totally clean diet! Even though the scale hasnt risen too much, my body composition has definately changed. SO, just remember, DIET plays a huge role in your results! Its not always easy and it wont be for anyone...just know that you will have good days and bad days...its when you you dont let the bad days turn into weeks, then months that you will begin to see real results.Understand that its not rocket science! Changing your body is about moving and eating good, whole foods!!!! It will never come in the form of a pill, liquid or potion. SO, next time when you think its "EASY" for someone, perhaps question where they started from and exactly how they make it work in THEIR busy life....maybe you can too! I KNOW you can!

Remember, NOW is the time to take control of your health...

not JAN 1! :)

Stay Fit & Safe and Enjoy the Season!

<<OCTOBER 2009!

Improvement season & Derailment!

Hello everyone! Well, Im 2 weeks into my "improvement season"(as my Bombshell trainer calls it!)...and im not doing so well. Last weekend, I did my cardio on Saturday and that night my back decided to show me that it had had enough! As many of you know, i severly injured my back about 2 years ago and I have had to work around my injury for quite sometime. Well, Saturday night, it felt like I had totally re-injured it and was back to square one! I couldnt sleep at all for 2 nights in a row and was in excruciating pain as sciatica set in on my left side and my right side felt like I had been hit by a baseball bat! OUCH! So, i decided and knew the best thing for me was to take off a whole week from training. My knees have also been screaming for some mercy lately...all of the intense cardio and training I was doing for my last show has taken a toll on my body and its time for a little R & R now. Today was the first day in a week that i actually was able to do 30 min walking on the treadmill and got in a light leg/booty workout! We will see how my back reacts later tonight...ive been getting treated w/ chiropractic care and doing everything I know to take care of my injury. The body has a way of telling you when ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!! I guess mine is telling me! LOL....

This is my first "off "season and it feels a bit odd...Im supposed to gain some weight while trying to get my back and shoulders bigger but the funny this is..Ive spent the better part of an entire year trying to get smaller and tighter! Its tough to just shift the mind and start thinking "ok, i have to get a bit bigger now" and not feel guilty about seeing the numbers on the scale rise. BUT, thats the way it goes in the world of figure competing, so Im trying to come to terms with it and as the saying goes "JUST DO IT". I will take it easy for about another week to prevent any more injury to my back and knees and then see how I feel. I hate taking any time off from training but if I dont, I know my injuries could really derail me from any improvement later on. SO, better safe than sorry!

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall season and looking forward to the holidays!

Remember, the avg person gains 10 lbs from thanksgiving to Christmas..dont be AVERAGE! Keep training hard and be careful with your diet! You dont want to have to work EXTRA hard come January!

Remember to stay safe, live, laugh, love and stay fit!

Chat soon!

Shannon