True Thoughts- 1 week

Hi Everyone!

I've had a really positive, supportive and fun prep thus far. But here are my true thoughts and feelings about the Nationals.

I am nervous! I always get nervous though. So far, (to my knowledge) I have been the youngest competitor in all my competitions and I feel extremely blessed with everything I have accomplished to date. I feel so fortunate to have achieved what I have in a few years. My goal for my first Nationals is to place top 10. I hope I have what it takes to place among Canada's BEST my first time out! I will be honest, if I don't fall within the top 10, chances are Im going to feel a little disappointed, which is natural I think. No one likes the feeling of setting a goal and not reaching it. BUT I know that I have done my work in the gym and the kitchen, so in the end, if my over-all package has improved from last year, I am EXTREMELY happy with that. I guess what Im trying to say is I just have no idea what to expect and it makes me nervous but excited at the same time ;) hahah This is part of the reason why enjoy competing!...having no friggin clue lol Regardless, I am thrilled to be stepping onstage and standing side by side with the best athletes in our Country.

What I am 100% excited about and NOT nervous about is being able to see my best friend Jodi Boam possibly earn her ProCard this year! I keep telling her if she gets awarded it better not be before I walk out stage because Im going to look like some sort of nasty raccoon balling with makeup and eye lashes all over my face. I went out to BC with her for her first Nationals back in 2008, and you can hear me crying on the video camera while recording her routine and whispering omg omg omg with the camera shaking hahahah its actually hilarious and embarrassing. So I'm really looking forward to her moment! She so deserves it and my fingers are crossed. Speaking of Jodi....I made her book a photo-shoot Lol!! She has never done one and absolutely needs to. Another one of my best friends and I are going to go help her the day of to ease some stress. Im going to video some of the awkward moments hahah shhhh. Im kidding! I know she's gunna do great ;) (but seriously I am LOL!)

On the topic of Photo-shoots, I have a shoot the Monday after the show and Im super excited about it! I am going to watch what I eat the night of (to some extent lol!) to make sure i don't spill over for Monday.

Monday night however, I shall feast like a KING! muhahah

If you get a chance, check out the newest Oxygen Magazine (September Issue) with my mini spread on Tabata training!

For anyone who hasn't seen our gymnastics video here's the link I said I'd post lol its worth watching if you haven't! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKw653s6EOA We did another one last Wednesday and here is the link to that one!---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCehOqXd8A

Well thats the update for now! If you get a chance also check out our Online Store!! : www.purnutrition.com

Photos: Paul Buceta

MUA: Valeria Nova

Hey Everyone!

So I had a great week Sunday-Wednesday! I went with Jodi last Wednesday night to gymnastics to work on/ watch her do her routine. I'll attach the video we put together when I get it from her haha we had so much fun. Im definitely no gymnast lol but I love trying! While Jodi practiced her routine I was bouncing away on the trampolines watching and critiquing. Dorian had made a bet with me that I wouldn't be able to climb the rope (as I have never done it before lol like not even tried once).

So obviously I accept this challenge. I am proud to say that I climbed 3/4 of the way up hahah once I got to that mark is when I started looking down and freaking out a bit haha hey its high!! I look hilarious trying to climb it. Then Jodi goes right after me like boom boom boom feet out straight and all that. Psssh. NEW GOAL: allllll the way this wednesday! Climb or Die! hahah Ok back to routine: Jodi's routine is so wild and fun! I love it. She is such an amazing performer and makes everything look so easy. A truly talented entertainer.

Now.....Thursday rolls around and I've finally had my first "tired day" this prep. Which wasn't too bad, you just really have to kick yourself to get goin. Come friday, I was grump of the year. Lol no, I had a good arm workout with a friend but I could not for the life of me get that "pump". It was just frustrating because you feel weak and like you can't squeeze almost. Dorian always laughs because I describe this as being "tickley". I feel tickley. Lol!! Seriously! Saturday was even worse. I was tickley, tired, and grumpy because I couldn't squeeze anything. And to top it off Americans Most Wanted SUCKED Saturday night hahah! I was feeling better by that time, because I had gotten all my workouts done. Plus knowing I have Sunday off of training is relaxing in itself. My body is now rested and I had a wicked leg workout yesterday!! Today for some reason I feel pretty sick.... like wishy washy stomach and pounding headache. I took a long nap and feel much better. Could just be the weather change? I hope so!

Hopefully I wont feel tickley til late this week again lol frig I hate that. Oh and I found this "behind the scenes" snap shot of Valeria Nova fixing a getaway curl during the shoot lol!! Straight hair! Ah! haha

Well I hope everyone had a great long weekend! It was amazing weather : )

Oxygen Shoot

Hi everyone!

So, in my last post I mentioned I had shoot with Oxygen Magazine "next week". Well it was yesterday and so much fun! I had an absolute blast. The night before can be a little stressful because of everything I have to get done and get together. My "To Do" List--> two 45mins sessions of cardio, work , do weights, get my nails done, shower, go get a spray tan, then blow dry and straighten my hair. Not to mention pack all my meals for the day and be up at 5am on the road no later than 6 30am to Toronto (**I am not a morning person. I normally dont function before 7am lol seriously). I also don't have a GPS so I oldschool it with written directions haha (which turned out fine btw!) I was afraid I might get lost since I hadn't been yet. Oddly enough, I got everything done in good timing! :D

The Studio. Paul's studio is amazing!! They are still doing tons of renovations but the main shoot area is complete. The best way to explain it is, a giant warehouse building with garage doors separating all the different rooms from one another. So he basically has a bunch of studios under one roof. Totally awesome! My fav. has to be this little room they call "Grandpa's Basement" lmao I love it. I hope to get some wicked shots in there sometime in the future!

For those of you who know me know I NEVER straighten my hair! Well it was PIN straight for the shoot and I actually liked it! Before whenever I tried to straighten it, I'd just turn into a tree-haired person who looked like they got struck by lightening. I guess I have a better straightener now or something haha! I got my makeup done first thing by the amazing Valeria Nova and of course I loved it!

Next, I was trying on atleast 6 different outfits and did some fun shots at the beginning of the day. I hope something good comes out of them! The whole crew is so easy going and fun to be around. After that, we moved on to the training and I shot a workout for the Off The Couch Special coming out soon. There was a videographer there and I went cold right when I saw her hahah omg. Did not expect that. Im not exactly looking forward to seeing how I look/sound on video... Im not gunna lie, I was totally awkward lmao Who knows they might not even post it though! At the end of the shoot I had a massive laugh attack over the smallest things lol everything was just extra funny. I think it was just with the combo of being over tired and Paul's hilarious comments that I couldn't stop. It was a perfect ending to an amazing day!

This is the only 'behind the scenes' shot I got, Paul and I in Subway with matching shades....sweet. hahah

Good Night!

www.purnutrition.com

6.5 Weeks Out

All this talk about "dieting" and "meal plans".....I figure I should give some insight as to what Im eating! My diet is always changing, so at the moment, I have 6 meals per day. Minimum 25g of protein in each and obviously plenty of vegetables. I have plenty of healthy fats with every meal and quite a bit of fruits in my diet. I find the fruits realllly help me with sugar cravings. Whenever there is no fruit in my diet I find that I tend to get that itch. Lately I've been spicing up things up with HOT PEPPERS and GARLIC!! Mmm! This type of meal plan seems to work GREAT for me! I had a very similar diet last year and I liked the package that I presented at the Ontario's and North Americans. I saw Mindi and Dennis (her fiance and my nutritionist) earlier this week and they are happy with my progress! I even got an apple added to my diet! Wahoo!! My fav. Nothing like a cold and crunchy apple. I swear to this DAY I still get nervous seeing Mindi and Dennis for check ups lmao. Don't ask me why but I just do!

So I have sad news, my dog Lexi got extremely ill a couple weeks back (her liver was shutting down! :( ) So I rushed her to the animal hospital, they put her on IV and in isolation. I can't remember for the life of me what her conditions was called, but it wasn't good. Very messy. Thankfully she's 100% healthy now!! And I am soooo relieved. But I'm also in the hole 750 bucks! Good bye new suit, hello last years haha! I'm going to be sending it off to Berns to get pimped out with more diamonds so it will be somewhat different. I love that colour anyways and I'm obviously even happier my pup is living the good life!....Even if this means she's snorting, growling and barking at the neighbours cute babies :. What a rascal.

Back to good news! Next week I am going to Paul Buceta's brand new studio to shoot with Oxygen Magazine! I am very excited to check it out as I haven't seen it yet and looking forward to seeing everyone again. They are ridiculously fun to work with and it really doesn't seem like work at all. The only thing I wish, is that we could all have a big pig out feast after the shoot lol!! But no can do. Mindi would have my head.


Time for Bed. I'm out!

http://www.purnutrition.com/

Update Numero 2

Hello!

As of today I'm about 7.5 weeks out and am happy to say that I've made some good progress since my diet change. I am down (as of this morning) 4lbs in 2 weeks! Average weight loss for me (and in general I'd say) is about 1-2lbs per week. I am glad to see the ol' barrel is tightening up nicely, and same with the canon haha I actually just got another small diet tweak, very minimal at the beginning of this week. I see Mindi this week so we'll see what she says, and depending on how I look, it might change again!

Training for the past 2 weeks have gone well, energy levels are fine. Jodi and I had a wicked back workout last week which I videoed 1 set of each exercise we did (of her lol...not me!). You will be able to see that on www.FusionBodybuilding.com, her current sponsor. I promised her the other day I would be in at least 1 at some point.....lol damnit. I want to step out of my comfort zone....so I had to promise! I dont break promises ;) haha

Recently I've been asked what I do in my spare time....which honestly I barely have any of right now. Saturday night is my favorite night right now for a few a reasons; I have Sunday off EVERYTHING! Work, gym and cardio. Yesss. Second, I loooove to watch Dateline, 48 hour Mystery and Americas Most Wanted with Dorian LOL ..... I know Im a complete loser on Saturday nights but there's no other way I'd want them to be. Thankfully Dorian has learned to love these shows :) haha So there you have it! I wonder what this weeks mystery is going to be..... lmao

Today I came up with a wicked move for Jodi's routine and I cant wait for her to do rock it on stage! She's having trouble putting together some dancey-type moves....so I'm helping her out with that part. She has a wicked gymnastics background so all the tumbling is taken care of. We're going to work on her routine next week. Maybe Ill try and video some of it ;).

On a more serious note, I have gotten some very touching and inspirational emails over the past few weeks. I am so flattered that anyone would look to me for motivation, advice or even inspiration. So thank you for those emails and messages, they truly caught me by surprise and help keep myself motivated! I love this sport and living a healthy lifestyle in general. I'm just beyond happy to see that I am impacting others to do that same!

Well there's the update for now! Thank you for reading it! :D

ps. check out our new online store at http://www.purnutrition.com/Default.asp

Canadians eh?

Hi all!

So its official...I have a blog. My best friend Jodi Boam (National Level Fitness Competitor and soon to be IFBB Fitness Pro!) convinced me that'd itd be a good idea to record some thoughts and share my journey to my first Canadian Nationals.

Little background since I've missed a few weeks now..... I started dieting 16 weeks out and am currently 9 weeks out. I fell off the band wagon after the Arnold Classic in March in a moment of weakness lol!! Weakness included mini eggs and frozen yogurt mmm haha! Doing that is not normal for me and I think I did it because I had a very long, physically draining, but best and most successful year of my life! I felt I only had 2 months of "down time". Result= McRachy. My loving boyfriends nickname for fat Rachel lmao I think its hilarious and its become a permanent nickname.

So my trainer, Mindi O'Brien, has been busting my balls since the beginning of my prep and I love it! My latest check in with her she said I'm on track but not ahead. I love to be ahead so I'm upset to hear that news! My diet got tweaked and actually I enjoy it more and feel more energized for my workouts. A few different things about this prep is that I am doing Plyo once a week which Jodi and I do together. I had never done plyo, ever, until the first week of my prep. We have a blast doing it and she kicks my ass every time hahah Its good motivation. She is monkey woman!

Currently, Jodi and I have just booked our hotel room (thank God because there is almost none left!), got our tanning products ordered, and are working on the suites. I am still totally stumped on colour so I gotta get on that....like now. hahah

That's the update for now, and I'm gunna try and update once a week :)

ps. Check out Junes issue of Oxygen Magazine to see a few candids of me working the Oxygen Mag Booth at the Arnold Classic!