I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I sure did, and I will share some of the great, and sad, things that happened when I get a chance to sit down and type it all out. I am in a bit of a rush tonight, but I saw this video today and it was so powerful that I wanted to share it with all of you.

Hi, my name is Bunny Berry and I am a Food Addict

Bunny Berry is an incredible lady who started a raw food website called Raw Fu. I love Raw Fu, and am an active member of the community. Bunny has overcome huge health challenges, and is so open and honest about her journey into raw food. She is a hero of mine, especially due to her transparency and unique forthrightness.

This video really hit home with me. It doesn’t matter if you are a raw foodist, high raw, or no raw–we all struggle with food addictions. The food companies make SURE that we do! They purposely put things in the food that trigger addictive reactions.  A doctor once told me that if white sugar were invented and introduced today, it would be classified as a Schedule 3 Narcotic!!!

When she speaks of going to the store to get a ‘forbidden’ food and then trying to hide the evidence, that resonated with me. I am human—-I have done that! Fortunately, only a few times over the past couple of years, but I have. One time, I got a pizza from my favorite Mediterranean restaurant and ate the whole thing in the car–and it was no personal-pan-sized pizza!  I have done the same thing with those iced sugar cookies and those buttercream-iced birthday cakes from the grocery store. I hid all the evidence, because I knew Michael would really get upset with me, but the thing is–I knew it, whether anyone else did or not. And it was only MY body I was hurting.

With the precontest diet and my goal I was so focused on, I didn’t have these problems at all! The scheduled ‘cheat’ meal really helped, but I didn’t have massive cravings, either. But boy, did I have a meltdown last week! Thanksgiving really got to me, especially because I had been given carte blanche from my coaches to eat anything I want and take the week completely off. I made myself miserable, actually became sick, and have been dealing with detoxing for the past few days. It has been hell. I actually got desperate to be back on the Bombshell diet, which I once thought was restrictive but now realize is liberating.  I will share the whole story when I have time. Until then, watch Bunny’s incredibly moving and honest video, and see if you can’t relate. I know I did!

Enjoy!

Be Defiant! Defy the food addictions!

Christy

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Sun Warrior really is a godsend, and an incredible product. I highly recommend it. I use it several times a day! Even if it weren’t raw vegan, it is still far superior to whey or other proteins out there on the market.
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And the incredible Raw Beauty, Lauren Michelle Kinsey, also known as Sweet Raw La-La on her VERY popular blog, Awakening Raw Beauty, was kind enough to include me in her “Raw Built Body Project”. Her site is wonderful and extremely informative. Here is the link to my post:

http://laurenkinseynaturalbeauty.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/an-update-from-christy-duffell-seguin/

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Today was a three-workout day, but comparatively very easy. Rob and Shannon said they want me to recover and rest this week, as I have done all I can do to prepare my physique, and they want me rested and on my A-game come this Saturday. I did really bust it on back and arms, though. I was jelly by the time I was done. The cardio was a piece of cake!

We leave for Florida on Thursday morning. I will keep you as updated as possible!

And THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! To all of you who have shown interest in Team Defiance and have sent me some incredible comments. My heart is filled to bursting with gratitude for each and every one of you, and just knowing that I somehow make a positive difference in the life of others is the best gift I can get. I am humbled and honored to be a part of your life. And I promise to keep working hard and hopefully inspire others to be the best they can be.

Be Defiant!

Christy

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It’s been a very calm & smooth day.  I awoke at 6:30 & accomplished an amazing amount by 9am.  Michael went out to the gym & to run errands, so I had the run of the house & I took full advantage.

I am feeling good about my condition, although I hope I drop a good bit more water before tomorrow morning.  I am NOT going to try to carb up this time.  I am going to stick with high protein & ‘fat load’ a bit with nut butters & coconut oil & butter.  I am taking the herbal diuretics with every meal, along with senna & aloe as gentle laxatives to completely empty my colon.   The abs have got to be as flat as possible!

I looked up some of the bikini winners from the past couple of months, and was really surprised at the soft, even a bit fat, condition at some of the competitors.  The winners still looked pretty good, but definitely not muscular at all.  It will be so interesting to see what they do this weekend.  I am still betting on lean and somewhat muscular, but it may be a complete surprise.  It is still so new that there are not enough contests that have taken place yet to create a trend and a preferred ‘look’.

First thing this morning, I had a little bit of coffee/Teecino mix.  And I made a ‘diuretic’ green smoothie containing dandelion greens, celery, asparagus, parsley, a tiny Granny Smith apple, a kiwi, Vanilla Sun Warrior protein (1 ½ scoops), vanilla liquid stevia, & 1 Tbs of hemp seeds.  Actually not bad, although I was definitely not sure about putting the asparagus in it, but I didn’t taste it at all.

I am avoiding spirulina today and tomorrow.  I don’t know how much sodium is in it, but I am thinking that it may have a good bit because it is a sea algae, or at least has a lot of iodine.  Anyway, I don’t want to take a chance of it causing me to retain any water.

I made some incredibly decadent chocolate fudge again for the pre-stage sugar shock feed to go along with the red wine, which brings out the muscularity & vascularity when you take them in about 30 minutes before stepping onstage.  It is a concoction of raw cacao, cacao butter, coconut oil, carob, Celtic salt, pecans, Goji berries, & lots of honey.  MMMmmmmmm……….That will also probably be either the post contest pigout or breakfast Sunday morning, or BOTH!  J

There is a raw restaurant in Charleston called The Sprout, and I really hope we get to go check it out.  It is the only raw restaurant in South Carolina, and I have never had the opportunity to visit a raw restaurant. 

I am now writing this in the truck on the road on the way to Charleston.  We are on time, so far, and traffic is heavy but moving.   We have to wait until 3PM to check into our hotel, and I have my weigh-in and check-in for the contest between 5 & 7 PM.  The contest is at the Charleston Performing Arts Center, which is incredibly nice.  I competed in the 2003 NPC Figure Competition in the same venue, and it was great. 

We are planning to hit the beach for just a couple of hours before heading back home on Sunday.  I just love the ocean so much, so I really want to get my toes in the sand and play in the salt water.  I don’t need a tan—haha!   I look ridiculous in person now, with all the ProTan I have on.

I wonder how many other competitors who will be there this weekend are even vegan, much less ‘high raw vegan’ like myself?    But how will I ever know how well a high raw vegan athlete can do unless I compete in the mainstream competitions?  The natural contests are obviously the best place for me, but they definitely do not have the exposure and prestige of the NPC & IFBB.  Those athletes are the ones you see in all the big magazines, and are owned by none other than Joe Weider.  Admit it—you probably have at least one piece of Weider fitness equipment somewhere in your house right now!  He has sold more exercise equipment/’clothesracks’ than just about anyone else.  (Hopefully, as a Team Defiance Member, yours is not just gathering dust!)  

It’s like in the song “New York, New York”……If I can make it THERE, I’ll make it ANYWHERE……..So if I can make it in the NPC, I can make it anywhere.  And if not, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t because I don’t eat cooked food or meat, it’s simply because they were looking for something different than I presented.  But I hope that other athletes will be inspired to follow my lead and go in there and WIN!

I will update you as the contest progresses.  Stay tuned, and BE DEFIANT!

Christy

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Today, I started with a Spirulina Smoothie made from 8 oz coconut water, the meat from one Thai coconut, handful of spinach, 1 tbs coconut butter (Artisana–yum!), 1.5 Tbs Spirulina, 1 Tbs raw carob, 1 tsp Elements for Life Blue Green Algae, 1/2 tsp Elements for Life Cordyceps, 1/2 tsp Elements for Life RevitaPhi, and stevia to taste (I used 2 packets), and blended it all up.  Not too bad, but definitely not as tasty as my normal addictive spirulina treats.  Can you tell this is a major superfood smoothie?    I figure I need the superfoods to preserve muscle while cutting the calories, sodium and sugar.

Lunch was broccoli, coconut water and a little pineapple blended into a smoothie.  It was OK, even though I was wishing I could use more pineapple and a banana.  Then it would have been really tasty.  I got really hungry in the afternoon, and ate a LifeForce Cacao bar, which is delicious and fairly low fat, sugar, and sodium.   Next week I won’t be able to do that, though.  I also had a tablespoon of UDO’s oil for pre-workout energy.  I am taking a tablespoon of that every day now.  They did a study where the athletes lost bodyfat and gained muscle by using the oil so that sounds good to me, and the body still needs SOME fats no matter what.

I worked out with intervals tonight, alternating shoulders with high rep leg intervals, like lunges, step-ups and leg extensions.   After the workout, I made a ’savory’ smoothie, which is really more like a soup.  I used a few cherry tomatoes, a few baby carrots, spinach, lovely fresh basil, 1/3 of a red bell pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 2 large celery stalks, 1/2 lemon peeled and tossed in whole, and water.  It was pretty good, actually, but would have been a lot better with some Celtic salt or Nama Shoyu!   

My assessment of my condition is that I am definitely improving in definition.  I can see more abs, and more veins are coming out.   Practicing posing last night, I felt I could definitely see more cuts.   It’s hard to tell, as the lighting differs so much from one place to another.  

Next week, I plan to carb deplete Sunday through Wednesday while drinking a lot of water to flush my body of any water-retaining substances, and then slowly carb load until the contest.  This protocol is supposed to shed the water from under the skin which obscures muscle definition, and force the muscles to ’suck up’ the water to make them nicely full and pumped.  I have been studying material from several books and former competitors, and I am attempting to take their suggestions and adapt them to a raw foods protocol.  For example, where they cut carbs by eating a lot of chicken, I plan to eat a lot of leafy greens, spirulina, superfoods, and Sun Warrior protein.   I feel nuts would have too much fat, plus my body doesn’t do well on too many nuts.   I will most likely be a salad-eating fool next week!  (And the savory green smoothies of course.)  For carbs, I plan to sprout some grains like barley and quinoa and use those to carb-load.   On Friday night,  I will eat a special meal to try to get the muscles as full as possible.  The suggested meal is a steak with Heinz 57 sauce for some sodium, so I am thinking I will make my Living burgers, which are kind of like a hamburger and have Nama Shoyu in them, which would do what the 57 would do.   My biggest fear is coming in flat, and retaining too much water. 

I plan to eat a lot of celery and asparagus, as those foods are awesome for diuretic effects.   This is just what I am thinking.  Again, this is an experiment.  If I see something not working, I may call an audible and change the protocol.   And I may find that in the future, I may want to add some nuts and that the ‘good’ fats in nuts don’t react in the body like what we normally ingest as fats.  But, knowing how I have reacted to nuts in the past, I will most likely be avoiding them like the plague for the next week.   But I plan to eat the heck out of a nut-based dessert on Easter Sunday when this contest is over!  I may eat the whole thing–with lots of dates, nuts, fruits, etc.  Maybe I will make my White Chocolate Cheezecake, maybe a Pecan Pie Cheezecake, or maybe something chocolate–who knows?

I have to share these two videos with you.  They were sent to me by a Facebook friend, and they are powerful.  The journalists didn’t pull any punches and they definitely called out some big brand names who are knowingly exposing our most vulnerable babies and toddlers to very harmful chemicals.  And all in the name of a germ-free, clean house……

Part One

Part Two

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DEFY these chemicals and toxins.  Buy holistic, chemical-free cleaners.  And not from big name brand companies, either.  Do not support them in their efforts to ‘look green’ when they are still just profit-crazed toxin-mongers.  Look for the truly organic cleaners from companies who truly care about your children and the earth, while still creating products that clean.  Many of the ones I use actually work a LOT better than the toxic stuff. 

More updates to come!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Today, I started with hosting the Senior Alliance this morning, serving Mexican Quiche and Apple Cobbler to people who had no idea what Living Foods are, and probably didn’t really WANT to know.  But I converted quite a few!  I met some wonderful people and enjoyed the meeting very much.   The Senior Alliance is a networking group that I created many years ago for businesses that serve the seniors in our communities to gather, meet each other and create referral relationships to help grow their businesses and help more senior citizens.  It’s a lovely group of caring people.

Then at lunch, I had the distinct privilege of speaking at the Shaw Industries plant’s Lunch and Learn.  What a wonderful, large crowd we had, and everyone was just delightful.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone, and made some great new friends.  I really appreciate the opportunity to share about raw foods, and was blown away by the interest in raw foods, and how receptive the employees were to the idea.  If nothing else, I hope everyone starts making their own Green Smoothies!  There’s literally nothing healthier than Green Smoothies on the planet.

Right after lunch, I had a real estate listing presentation.  I was in competition with other agents, but I won!  Yay!  So I have some delightful new clients and a wonderful home that will be going on the market at a great value. 

Then I finally got to eat — I made my favorite pre-workout meal:  An avocado blended with water, raw honey, chocolate Sun Warrior protein, and raw cacao nibs.  Yum!  Gotta love a muscle-building chocolate mousse!  Michael and I worked back and biceps today, although I am focusing more on just cutting right now, so I was doing much lower weights and high reps, with super-slow reps to really FEEL the muscle contraction.  Then I did cardio afterward.  I did the stair machine for a while until my ADHD kicked in, and then I had to get off and do something else, so I went in the empty aerobics studio and just kickboxed to some rockin’ tunes for a while.  That’s much more fun! 

Then for my post-workout smoothie, I actually made one without fruit.  It wasn’t terrible.  I used a couple of carrots, cilantro, collard greens, parsley, red bell pepper, a lime and celery.  If I had garlic on hand it would definitely have been better.  I resisted adding sea salt, even though I wanted to so badly.  I have to cut down on sodium and fruit sugars for the next week and a half.  My whole goal now is to get rid of any water retention to ‘harden up’ and get ripped for the contest.  It’s now 11 days away!

Then when I got home, I was thrilled to find an awesome package in the mail.  My competition swimsuit and costume had arrived!!!  Kira Jones of Vandella Costumes (www.VandellaCostumes.com) made them for me and just did an AWESOME job.  I was thrilled.  The costume is adorable and the swimsuit is absolutely fabulous.  I would put it on any stage in any competition.   She truly did a professional, outstanding  job.  I will post pics when I don’t look like something the cat dragged in, like I do right now.  The suit is a shimmery purple fabric overlaid with teal-blue glitter and trimmed in Swarovski crystals.  It glitters like nobody’s business!  I love it.  I LOVE to ‘glittah’!!!

I am off to get some much-needed sleep now.  I love you all, and I am so happy I get to share my fabulous, beautiful day with you.  Blessings, love and light to you tonight and tomorrow.

Until next time, Be Defiant!

Christy

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Now I don’t know what he weighs and I don’t know if he does either.  The gym we used to go to had one of those doctor’s scales (with the little slide bar) right at the front entrance.  You couldn’t keep him (or anyone else) off that stupid thing.  It seemed that people were drawn there like a  moth to a flame.  Not me.  He had to make me get on it.  I couldn’t care less what a scale says.  All it measures is the pull of gravity.  It doesn’t know if gravity is pulling on fat, muscle, bone, or heavy cross-trainer shoes.  

Pivotal has scales somewhere, but they are the small kind that looks like a bathroom scale.  So now he doesn’t jump on it every day.  And he is making such great progress!   I have never forced him into being totally raw like I am, but he has gravitated more and more to it, and now is really into it.  And it shows!  He is very, very lean.  His little love handles are totally gone, and he has definitely put on muscle.  I am completely biased and have always thought he was totally hot anyway, but he is definitely getting hotter! 

But I digress….back to the shoulder workout.   I will outline the whole thing in a minute, but have to tell you about ‘crybabies’.   A couple BIG guys at the gym were telling me about a great delt developer which is basically an isometric (meaning static, or just holding a weight in one position) exercise.  You stand up with a heavy dumbbell in each hand, and then with arms straight, lift the bells out to the side just about 1/3 of the way up to shoulder level—and hold them in that position for 30 seconds.   That may be the longest 30 seconds ever!   We did 3 of those to burn out at the end of the workout.  I know why they call them ‘crybabies’.  We were crying for the 30 seconds to be over with!

Tonight’s Shoulder Blast:

• Warmup on recumbent bike
• Hammer Strength press, 4 sets, 1 warmup, 3 working sets.  I got 45’s on my last two sets, for 10 & 8 reps.  Yay!
• Smith Machine front presses, 3 sets, 50-60-&60 lbs. with the last set dropping to 50 for a burnout
• Superset of lateral dumbbell raises and Overhead ‘pulses’, 3 sets with 15 lb bells.  The pulses are a limited range of motion press that really keeps the pressure on the lateral deltoid
• Arnold presses, 3 sets, 20 lb bells
• Superset front raises with a 25 lb plate and upright rows with 40-lb bar, 3 sets, 10 reps  both exercises.
• ‘Crybabies’ 3 sets with 25 lb bells.   Ouch!

Simple post workout smoothie tonight was spinach, banana, kiwi, pineapple, L-glutamine, & Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein.

I made a heavenly superfood smoothie for lunch today.  I believe this would be served as breakfast in Nirvana!  1 & 1/2 Tbs Spirulina (of course!), 1 young Thai coconut flesh and water, 2 bananas, 1 tbs carob, 1 tbs raw cacao, 1/2 tsp Cordyceps, 1/2 tsp Blue Green algae, 2 droppers of vanilla liquid stevia–blend until a creamy concoction of pure bliss!

My breakfast green smoothie was awesome as well—-mango-strawberry!   Yum!  With dandelion & laciniato kale, & fresh aloe vera.

I can definitely tell I have dropped some bodyfat.  I can see it in my lower back, particularly.   I have seriously cut back on nuts and fats.  I am not in full precontest deprivation mode yet, and I may not go too drastic.  I am feeling my way through.  If I feel I need to drastically change before the contest then I will change my diet even more.  The contest is April 11th, so I am about 3 weeks out now.  I have upped the cardio a lot too.

I hope you have an awesome day.  Make it a great day!  You can choose to be happy, no matter what, and you will attract good things.  Make a difference in someone’s life today.  Ask yourself, “How can I make a difference today?” and it will change your focus completely, and new opportunities will open for you.  

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Here is the question:

Christy,

I’ve been dabbling in raw foods for a few months and I really feel this is where it’s at! I really want to develop into a raw vegan bodybuilder, but there is no information on EXACTLY how to do this.

I’m 5′2″ and weigh 130 which is about 20 pounds over what I should weigh. How can I go about getting the fat off without sacrificing the muscle I built?

I guess what I’m really asking is how do you develop an eating plan based on raw foods that really supports muscle growth? I have a supply of the Sun Warrior protein, but other than downing green smoothies every few hours, how do I structure what I eat?

You are the ONLY female raw vegan bodybuilder I have run across and I would love to be able to do what you are doing with the raw food lifestyle.

How should I go about getting started?

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My answer:

Wow! Your answer would require a book! Let me see if I can sum it up for you. First of all, thank you so much for such a great question. Your are correct–there is very little information on raw vegan bodybuilding, especially for women. I am experimenting myself, as I have no guidance either. This is new ground we are breaking and new trails we are blazing!

You will definitely shed the bodyfat on the raw diet. You may lose some muscle at first also. There will be a detox process and muscle may be lost. I did lose some at first while I was detoxing from my former diet and lifestyle. Be patient with yourself. Give it time and trust your infinitely intelligent body! Your bodyfat has come from years of eating cooked and processed food, and your body is most likely acidic. It doesn’t turn around overnight. Your body must flush out all the toxins and become healthy to begin to build quality muscle.

Some people do really well just getting all the protein they need from food, and they have no problems with large amounts of nuts for great protein. That doesn’t work for me. If I eat too many nuts, I have really bad facial acne breakouts. I still eat them, but in moderation. The Sun Warrior has been great for me! I needed some supplementation, I believe. I talk to other raw bodybuilder females who don’t use any supplements at all, and vehemently oppose getting nutrition from anything but raw food. I am in the middle on that issue. I found that the Sun Warrior triggered an immediate improvement in my physique, and continues to do so, and definitely has helped me increase my strength. You can find a few RVFB on various raw forums. Search around–Alissa Cohen has one, and Steve Pavlina is another.

The key is to find out what works for YOU. You are completely unique from me or anyone else. I had to experiment to find the right nut level (which is much lower than I would like it to be, as I love nuts more than a squirrel!). If there is one absolute, no discussion, no argument class of food that you MUST consume, it is LEAFY GREENS! The leafy greens are very high in protein, iron, calcium, magnesium, vitmains, minerals, phytonutrients, and even Omega 3 fatty acids.

You already have a good start with the green smoothies. I am big on salads with mixed greens and veggies, and I add various nuts and seeds–walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds are my favorites. All are high in protein, especially hemp. I make my own raw salad dressings, and strategically add ingredients I know I need, like olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, avocados, etc. I even try to build muscle with desserts! Like my Sweet Potato Pie, for example, which has pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, and Sun Warrior Protein in it. Tonight, I am experimenting with a mocha fudge ‘brownie’ made with figs, sprouted barley, chocolate Sun Warrior, carob, raw cacao, coffee extract, and (yes I know this isn’t technically raw!) very strong brewed Teecino for the liquid. There’s only about a cup in the whole thing, so I don’t think it’s enough to make a difference. I will let you know how it turns out!

I make a lot of my raw entrees based on nuts and seeds, also. Earlier this week I made Taco Wrappers, which are made up of several items, such as Taco ‘Meat’ made from walnuts, Cashew Sour Kream, Brazil Nut Cheeze, My ‘World Famous Stupendously Awesome’ Guacamole, all wrapped up in purple cabbage leaves. Yum! That’s a lot of nuts, but each wrapper has such a small amount in it that I don’t have any problems. I also make ‘meatballs’, ‘meatloaf’, ‘burgers’ and ‘barbecue’ from nuts and portobello mushrooms.

The last two weeks before the contest I will really cut down on fruits and fats more than I have already, and I will do a Green Smoothie cleanse. They will be more ’savory’ smoothies which are based on non-sweet fruits like cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as more veggies. I like to throw in garlic and onions to make them more of a green “Energy Soup”. But I keep my body fat low anyway, so I don’t have huge amounts to lose.

This is my first contest since going raw, so all this is still an experiment for me! I have found little, if any, guidance on how to prepare for a contest with raw food only, so I am basing my protocol on what I know has worked for me in the past. I notice that I put on fat when I have too many nuts and nut-based desserts, but I shed it quickly when I cut down on the nuts. I don’t have a problem with avocados, though, so I keep those in my diet, just not as many. I find a Green Smoothie cleanse strips bodyfat like magic. Basically, you just drink a Green Smoothie for every meal, or when ever you want one. I also read how Apple Cider Vinegar helps flush fat, so I am adding a tablespoon to my water bottle in the morning and evenings. Also, squeezing fresh grapefruit juice. Again, I am experimenting, so please don’t take this as set in stone. Plus your body may react completely different from mine! My concern is cutting out too much fat and then coming in ‘flat’ for the show, instead of having nice full muscle bellies.

One major point to remember is that muscle growth is in response to the stimulus of resistance from weight training, not really from the food. You can eat perfectly, but if you aren’t challenging yourself to lift heavier each time (still keeping great form of course!), then the muscles won’t grow. You must lift heavy and tear down those muscle fibers so that the body will be stimulated to rebuild them bigger and better.

I know this is a short answer to a deeply involved question, so I hope this is helpful. I am also posting it as my blog entry tonight. I appreciate your question, and I think the information may be helpful to many people. Thank you so much for writing. I wish you all the best on your raw journey. It is as much a personal development and spiritual journey as it is a food journey. You will detox not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Be prepared, be tough and Be Defiant! You will come out a champion on the other side!

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And here is another great Green Smoothie for you today!  Mmmm…..Mango-Pineapple!

Be Defiant!

Christy

I even had one fellow order the same food on the spot for pickup next week.  So that was great!   Many of the people who sampled were initially very resistant to the idea of raw vegan cuisine, so they were shocked when they loved the food so much. I served Mexican ‘Quiche’, a gorgeous organic mixed-greens salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette and Spanish Avocado Dressings, and an Apple Cobbler for dessert.  I made up the quiche on Friday, and was pleased when it turned out so well.  It was really creamy and delicious, and several even commented they couldn’t believe it didn’t have any meat in it.  They were really surprised to find out it didn’t have any eggs or dairy in it, either!

I have managed to get in some good workouts in the last few days.  Friday, Michael and I had an excellent shoulder workout, very heavy.   Michael was caught up at work yesterday, so I had to do legs on my own.  Since I didn’t have a spotter, I decided to do a plyometric workout with high intensity intervals, to burn some bodyfat as well as work legs.  My show I am planning to compete in is April 11th, so I am starting now to work on losing the bodyfat and get ripped!  In a couple of weeks, I will get really serious about diet and probably go on a green smoothie cleanse for about a week.  Then I will start to cut down on fruit (    ) and eat more vegetables, especially things like asparagus, which are great cleansers and diuretics to help shed any excess water.

I have to have a costume for one segment of the contest, which is kind of like a modeling segment and we are supposed to wear a costume that represents a sport or hobby.   I had to think on this a while, but with my background, it wasn’t too hard of a decision.  I used to be BIG-TIME into basketball.  I mean, I lived and breathed basketball in high school.  I practiced hours a day, and was really good at shooting and ball-handling.   I just wish I was six feet tall instead of 5′4″.  Believe it or not, I was not the point guard.  I was the ‘power forward’ even at my height.  First of all, our team was small–I was third tallest.  And secondly, I have always been blessed with great jumping ability.  I have an impressive vertical leap, and always won the long  jump in the track meets.   So I could get up and get rebounds pretty well.

So I have decided my costume will be a very sexy Harlem Globetrotter outfit.  The judges are still wanting to see our physiques, so it won’t be the big baggy shorts and tank tops like the real Harlem Globetrotters wear.  It will be more like hot pants and an athletic bra-type top.  But I plan to decorate a basketball as a prop and actually do a routine with it.  Let’s see if I can still do all those cool tricks and dribbling exercises like I used to!  I can spin the ball on my finger, and I was always good at the behind-the-back dribbling and all that.  So I thought that would be a lot of fun, and something different to stand out in the crowd.

Speaking of vertical leaps, in my workout yesterday, I really challenged myself on a couple of plyometric exercises.  We have several platforms that can be used for jumps, step-ups, etc.  They are metal with a rubber top, and I have seen a couple people miss on them and scrape their legs pretty badly.  I don’t want a big scar on my leg, so I had never really tried to jump on the higher ones until yesterday.  I sucked it up, faced my fear of busting my butt and hurting myself, and jumped. The first one I didn’t get it.  But then the second one, I did.  Then I made it through the first set of ten.  And then my mind was finally on board with me, instead of holding me back, (telling me it was too high, I was too old, I would get hurt, I couldn’t do what I used to do in high school, etc.).  I gained the confidence, and realized ‘I can do this.’  So the next two sets, I did really well and got twelve good reps each.   I really had to ‘Be Defiant’ and defy my fears and the negative self-talk from my mind.   And then once I did it, after that it was fine.  Still challenging, but achievable.  Face your fears, push yourself, and break through to new levels of achievement.

I was still kind of beating myself up for not being quite as ‘good’ as I wanted to be when a very tall gentleman walked up to me and commented “That’s impressive.  I know a lot of guys who can’t jump that height.”  I thanked him and said I was still feeling a bit wimpy, and then he told me he played college basketball, so after that I felt pretty proud.  It just showed me that sometimes we may not think we are doing much, but to other people what you are doing may be really impressive and inspirational.  That’s why it’s so important to be yourself, do what you can, stretch yourself to go farther and farther, and don’t worry about how you stack up.  You never know who you are inspiring. 

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Shoulder Workout (Friday):

• Hammer Overhead Presses
• Free weight Barbell Military Presses
• Standing Upright Rows
• Lateral Raises with Dumbbells
• Reverse Flyes with Dumbbells

Leg Workout (Saturday):

• Warmup with intervals on recumbent bike for 10 minutes
• Vertical jumps on platform, giant-setted with kettlebell squats on the balance board & stiff-legged kettlebell deadlifts, still on the balance board, 3 circuits
• High Step-ups holding kettlebell, supersetted with Kettlebell Squat Swings
• Giant Set of Squat Jumps, one-legged squats, and one-legged wall sits (30 seconds), all at bodyweight, 3 circuits
• Crunches on exercise ball between circuits
• Finished off with isolateral hamstring curls on the Hammer machine

Post-workout smoothie:  Apple, banana, kiwi, celery, kale, honey & Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein.

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This leg routine took a while to do, and I am very sore today.  My heart rate was really high during the intervals, so I feel like I ignited some fat-burning.  I am going to have to do more cardio now.  I have not been doing very much, because I am concentrating on gaining muscle.  I still won’t do long sessions.  High-intensity intervals are the best way to go!  These burn much more fat, over a longer time, while preserving muscle, and only take 15-20 minutes to do.

I don’t want to make this too long, so I will sign off for now.   Have a fabulous Sunday, and remember “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world!”

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Ingredients:

Flesh of 1 Young Thai Coconut

1 cup Young Thai Coconut Water

3 Tablespoons Spirulina

2 Tablespoons Raw Carob

2 Tablespoons Coconut Butter (optional)

1 tsp Blue Green Algae

6 dates

1 Tablespoon Yacon syrup (optional)

pinch of Celtic salt (optional)

Blend all ingredients until smooth and thick. The Blue-Green Algae lends a nice subtle saltiness that beautifully balances the sweetness of the dates and syrup, plus adds even more awesome superfood nutrition. Use a little more salt to your taste if you wish. If the mixture is too thin, you can toss in a handful of cashews and blend, if you don’t mind having nuts in the recipe. Refrigerate until thickened and pudding-y. Try to control yourself!

Variations:

For a high-protein muscle-building treat, substitute Chocolate Sun Warrior Protein for the carob.

Leave out the Blue Green Algae.

Add a tablespoon of maca, mesquite or lucuma powder.

Be Defiant!

Christy

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