I must forewarn you. This will not be one of my more eloquent and inspiring posts, but I do want to inform you of how my training is progressing.

I am officially at 111 pounds. This means that I have lost between four and five pounds since January 1st, which equates to about one to one-and-a-half pounds a week. Everything is going according to the plan. Today, I did cardio with my best friend who had gone with me to Junior USA's last year, and I showed her my physique; her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Wow!" She instantly noticed the changes in my lat spread, the thickness and cuts in my back (it's the first area of my physique to lean out, and thus it'll be the first area that you'll get to see in the progress pics), the roundness in my shoulders, the improvements in my calves. She stated that my waist looked tiny from both the front and side poses. So, once again, everything is going according to the plan.

My path from here? To drop the bodyfat, put on more muscle, tighten up my skin, and remain focused, motivated, and positive. Now, you might ask how does someone drop bodyfat and still put on muscle mass. That's an extremely good question. For me, it entails a continuation of heavy lifting mixed with a complete absence of cheat meals for a lengthy period of time and an overall dedication to just get the work done no matter how low the carbs get for the day and no matter how intense the cardio becomes.

I have begun two-a-days of cardio, but it's not every day as of yet. It's amounting to three or four times a week, with an average of 40 minutes per session. I still have one rest day every seven to fourteen days depending on how I'm feeling. And I've gotten away from the set schedule where every Monday is back day, every Tuesday is leg day, etc., etc. I do the muscle group that is next in line no matter what day it happens to fall on. I like this much more!

I'm incorporating plyometrics and have done circuits of jump lunges, jump squats, box jumps (both front and lateral jumps), jump rope, mountain climbers . . . the list goes on and on! I get a little dizzy during many of the workouts, which is due to the low carbs, but I push through it anyway unless it's really bad. I have a horrible habit of planning ahead and thinking of what is next while I'm doing whatever is currently on the list of activities, and thus, I spend part of my workout worrying about how I'm going to make it through a half hour of calves when I still have 20 minutes of legs to do. I have to stop that and just think of the here and now. I should go back and re-read that quote from The Horse Whisperer, shouldn't I?!

I just e-mailed my seamstress today and will await her response, but we should start planning on fabric/color choices and suit cut ideas. I am still liking the colors I had last year--green and burgundy--but I'm shaped differently now and do need new suits. Expensive, but necessary! My goal is to have both suits done by the first week in April if possible and just need to make minor adjustments. Please remember that if you happen to see a flat-chested Jodi one day and a buxom Jodi (as buxom as I can get...lol!) the next day, all credit is due to Victoria's Secret gel inserts. No, I have not gotten implants and will not get them!

Oh yes, I started this journal entry to discuss training! I really do go off on tangents, don't I?! Lol! Anyway, I did shoulders tonight and had a very nice workout. High reps with side lateral raises. The weight was light--only ten pound dumbbells--but the rep range was 20 to 25, and the lifts were slow and controlled, all emphasis placed on the side delts and arms kept almost straight (just a slight bend at the elbow, and the elbow joint was kept parallel with the shoulder joint and slightly higher than the wrist joint).

I then moved on to dumbbell shoulder presses. I started off with 30-pound dumbbells for a set of nine (I tried for ten but couldn't get that last one to go through to completion). I dropped the weight to 27.5 and got two more sets of 10 with very strict and controlled form. I can do 35 pound dumbbells for sets of six to eight, but those do hurt my left elbow and my left shoulder (the elbow suffered tremendously from tendonitis when competing in the Galaxy and the shoulder was injured in a car accident in college). I was quite pleased.

Front lateral raises with a dumbbell were next and I finished off with rear delts, using a rope and the cable to pull the weight. I went up to 90 pounds with this one for sets of 18!!

I did plyometrics and then finished off with 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the recumbant bike and passed the time by reading the Merlin Trilogy (beginning with the Crystal Cave) and becoming disgusted by Fear Factor's Couples' Challenge. Uck...that's all I have to say for that program!

I was supposed to go to a movie with my best friend and see the latest Lord of the Rings, but her washing machine broke, and I hate going to movies alone (I love to rent them and curl up on the couch and watch them alone while snuggled up in an afghan, but I don't like sitting a movie theater by myself...weird, huh?), so I missed out on seeing this AGAIN!!! One day...one day!

I'm off to eat my last meal...egg whites and asparagus. Tomorrow I get avocado in my salad...yum! Most days I just have a tablespoon of flaxseed oil, and let me tell you, that stuff is just plain nasty. There are no other words! You should see my face when I take a spoonful of it. Not a pretty sight!

By the way, who is going to the Arnold? Flight and hotel are both officially booked! I'm soooo excited! More details will be coming as soon as I hear of my schedule.

Enjoy the rest of your week, and I'll stop by again before Friday arrives.

Jodi :)