Post-show Reflections

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Hello friends!  On September 8, I competed in the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding) Muscle Contest Philippines, and came home with 2 gold medals and 2 bronze. I’m absolutely thrilled with my results, but even more satisfied with the relationships I made that day, the bonding I experienced with the other beautiful athletes from around the world, and the lessons I learned to take forward into my next competition….

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Vegan Salted Caramel Bars

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These vegan salted caramel bars are so good they almost made me bust my macros!!!

Hello friends!  I’m now 2 days out from my upcoming bodybuilding competition, and today is my last day of carb and calorie depletion before refeeding tomorrow in final preparation for the show on Saturday.  I’m hungry!!  In every sense of the word.

The fun part of “peak week” for me is deciding what post-show treat I’m going to indulge in. …

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What I Ate Wednesday- Carb Refeed

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Hello friends!  First of all, thank you so much for your support and kind comments on my latest post on getting (and being!) super-lean.  Your words are golden to me!

My calories and carbs have never been so low during a competition prep, and I’ve been feeling the effects… fatigue, flat-looking muscles, and significant loss of strength during training.  And early this week my weight was hovering right around my stage weight, putting me about a week and a half ahead of schedule.  Woo hoo!

All this led my coach to call for a “carb refeed”- basically one day of significantly increasing carbohydrate intake to pump up my muscles, give me some mental & physical energy, and regulate my hormones such as cortisol, gherlin and leptin to help me combat the ongoing effects of dieting.

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The Real Scoop on Getting (& Being!) Super-Lean

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Hello friends! I’ve been wanting to write this post for such a long time now, but to be honest, haven’t had the energy.

I’m now 2 weeks out from my second-ever bodybuilding show, and my prep has gone completely according to schedule. I’ve lost about 13-14 pounds since May, and getting verrrry close to my stage weight.  I cannot WAIT to present my physique at the IFBB Muscle Contest Philippines on Sept 8. It will be a big international show and I’m both excited and nervous….

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No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars

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Friends, these quick and healthy no-bake granola bars are your answer to all things “back-to-school” related:

Woke up late and no time for breakfast? No-bake chewy granola bar…

Need a portable snack for your kid’s lunchbox? No-bake chewy granola bar…

Missed the bus, forgot about the PTA meeting (by the way, you are the new PTA president!), called your kid’s teacher by the wrong name… well, these here little granola bars may not solve all your problems, but they sure will keep you from losing it completely due to being hungry!…

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Brownie Baked Oatmeal

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Hello friends!  I’m hoping that this brownie baked oatmeal will help me pull out of the blogging slump I’ve been in lately.  And if it doesn’t, I’m not sure anything will! This yummy little treat is:

  • chewy,
  • rich,
  • dense,
  • moist,
  • extra chocolatey,
  • and everything a brownie should be.  In a healthy baked oatmeal. What could be better?!

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My Great Smoothie Adventure

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Hello friends! Recently I had the great good fortune to receive a huge box of goodies from RealFood… a local store here in Alabang that opened a little over a year ago and specialises in healthy, locally-sourced, “real food” products.  This store is such a wonderful addition to our grocery options here.  Prior to their opening, we could get a) expensive imported products, or b) regular grocery store items. RealFood is committed to providing healthy products from local vendors at fair prices, and they do an amazing job.  They carry everything from sustainably-produced protein powders to chia seeds, cacao nibs, every coconut product imaginable, healthy snacks, locally-made energy balls, tempeh, vegetarian products, gluten-free products, free-range, organic meats, and much more. …

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My New Favourite Green Smoothie

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Hello friends! This beautiful green smoothie will refresh & replenish you, no matter how blistering it is outside. It’s getting hot, hot HOT here in Manila, although I see from my weather app that it’s still blessedly cool in some parts of the world.  It’s not like we really have Spring here.  It pretty much goes straight from “warm but tolerable” to “super hot” in a matter of days.  None of this “April showers” business… we save the rainstorms for July.  And call them typhoons.

But I digress.  In heat like this, I find myself  needing to have something cold & refreshing after our “even my shins are sweating” bootcamp workouts.  …

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