Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

A new chapter begins… I have wanted to become an IFBB Bikini Pro for at least fifteen years at this point and, one way or another, I’ve given myself excuses for why it couldn’t be done and why it wasn’t the time to do it. The time for excuses is no more.

For the last nine weeks, I’ve been working out like crazy… and not talking much about it. I needed to show myself that I could be consistent with the workouts so I’d have some semblance of faith that, this time, I could follow through on the journey… and I’ve been vigilantly consistent with my workouts… and I contemplated not blogging about this journey. I thought to myself, “Just keep this whole thing a secret. Do the work in the dark and then, when you’ve achieved the goal, share it with the world.” I’ve decided not to do that for two very simple reasons:

1. I want to document my journey. I’m going to forget everything that it took to get to where I want to go and I want something (i.e. this blog) to remind me of every single aspect of the journey I’m on.
2. I want this blog to inspire others to embark upon their own life changing journeys. Whether that’s getting fit, changing careers, or finding the love of your life, everyone starts somewhere and, far too often, we show people the before and after of our lives but never invite them on the entire journey from beginning to end. I hope that what you read here (the ups, the downs, and everything in between) will inspire you to embark upon your own journey of transformation… and hopefully much sooner than I did.

This is the beginning… and my beginning is not an easy place to start. I have the next 272 days to get into the best shape of my life and to be ready to hit the NPC Bikini stage in Salt Lake City, Utah to do my first (of many) bikini competitions.

And my starting point is not where most bikini competitors start. I’m at one of my most unfit stages of life. I don’t even think a high risk pregnancy where I gained 65+ pounds and was put on bed rest for the bulk of the pregnancy was even as bad as where my health and fitness are right now… so when I tell you that the beginning of this journey is all about mindset, it is.

I’ve spent 9 weeks training my body and my body is getting stronger every single day… but I love working out so getting myself to commit 3 to 4 hours a day to working out isn’t the challenge for me; eating a bodybuilder’s diet is… and that’s why the journey to IFBB Bikini Pro is beginning right now. The mountain I have to climb to get to where I want to go is what I put in my mouth and, as I always used to say as a personal trainer, “You can’t outrun your fork.”

Lord knows I’ve been trying to outrun my fork for the last 9 weeks and, even though I’m dropping 2-3 pounds a week, I still feel like crap. The energy highs and lows, the bloating, the acne, the mood swings and just feeling sluggish throughout the day- all of that is telling me one thing: if I’m going to become who I’m meant to be (and not just in the IFBB Pro world), my relationship with food has got to change.

So today (Sunday) is meal prep day and today also begins the strict eating that goes along with fitness competition prep.

What can you expect to read in this blog?

Throughout this journey, from time to time, I will post video blogs (vlogs). At minimum, you’ll see one new blog post a week from me (every Sunday). This blog is part fitness, part mindset because getting into this kind of stellar shape is all mindset with a touch of fitness. I’m going to share everything that I’m doing, every strategy that I’m using and, most importantly, how I train my mindset to make it to my IFBB Bikini Pro goal.

I’m done ‘waiting for the right time’ to have the body, mind and life I want. Today is the day. Let’s begin…