Green Eggs

The day to wear nothing but GREEN! Yes! It was Thursday morning and also St. Patrick's Day a day where most would get completely wasted out of there mind with GREEN beer, GREEN shots and of course the infamous GUINNESS. I had other plans this year. I woke up to try and enjoy a bit of the Irish spirit by making an egg white omelet with spinach and celery, green peppers on the side and a hard boiled egg. I KNOW! I KNOW- I could have at least added food coloring but I looked in several places in the city but SOLD OUT! Bars really get a head start on this stuff.

I tried to make it Green!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside today, 9 degrees so I figured why not head on out for a walk. I took a small little stroll down the street and back to my place to unfortunately wash dishes, containers, pans and my steamer- *sigh*. My boyfriend is also working today so I figured I owed it to him to make a small little something for him when he came over.

Until he came over it was time to hit up Goodlife and get at my weights and cardio. Today I was working on my Shoulders, Arms & Legs- what a rough day! I gave it everything I had in my shoulder and arm exercises all the way til failure and my arms and shoulders felt like they were going to EXPLODE- no really! They were so pumped up it was insane. I decided to take it a little easier on my legs since I still had to do cardio after and didn't want to skip out on it. Still stiff-legged at the end of my workout from some Single-Leg SB Squats, I headed over to the treadmill to get a solid 30 minute incline in. I actually was surprised to see how busy it was in the gym for St. Patrick's Day- I just assumed everyone would be out partying I guess I was wrong! There are CRAZY people just like me out in this world- hmmm interesting, this makes me happy.

Lean & Mean Machine

After the gym I hit the showers and then was off to search for some goodies for my boyfriend to hopefully make his day a little bit better. I went and bought him some Green Thumb candies and an Aero Mint chocolate bar as it was St. Paddy's Day but I still didn't feel quite satisfied. I went and bought him his two favorites- Red Licorice and Cadbury Mini Eggs. I must say for someone dieting so insanely its weird that I have such a negative influence on him- haha! The real truth behind it all is I'm pretending its actually going into my belly and my "buying" these candies I get some sort of satisfaction- hmm maybe OR maybe I want him to buy me a ZILLION candies when I am done my competition- hahah what a vicious cycle.

Candies were bought and it was time to get one the bus and head home to make myself a GREEN protein shake. So the sad part is I had no food coloring so I needed to somehow improvise- hmm spinach? YES! I had put a scoop of vanilla protein in, water, ice cubes and a handful of spinach- TA DA! A St. Paddy's Day shake :O Surprisingly it was quite delicious and I could not taste the spinach AT ALL--I just seen the small chunks of them floating around my cup. Now to maybe make my boyfriend something healthy before he gets too much delicious treats- I made him a spinach salad with red peppers, celery, broccoli, seasoned and fried eggplant topped with almonds and spiced chicken. I am pretty sure he like it as he ate it all pretty darn fast or he was just starving and anything would do either case it was gone. Next time an actual meal besides a simple salad would be nicer Caitlin!

My GREEN Shake- YUM!

We spent the rest of the night browing the internet at hot locations for a possible getaway. My 22nd birthday is coming near, right after I finish my fitness competition- what better way to reward myself and enjoy my birthday- hmm some serious thought process occurring. Sam is even preparing by trying out my shorts- he says if we go he's gonna wear these old ones of mine that no longer fit me EVERYDAY!! EWWW NO!!

Busted and EWWWW!

 

 

 

 

 

Till tomorrow bloggers,
Love you all,
Caitlin Cooke #11

The Explosion

This morning started off pretty good! I was able to sleep in a little bit till 10am, it felt VERY nice and much needed. When I finally did wake up I cooked up some mean egg whites, a boiled egg and chopped up some green peppers on the side to munch on. YUM! I had some time to kill before I was headed to work so decided to do my daily CREEPING quota.

I started creeping the lovely bikini model Justine Munro and fitness model Jamie Eason. They are two extremely inspiring girls and bodies I hope to one day achieve/have. It seems weird to everyone else to be analyzing photos on what I’d like to achieve but any other competitor understands. In order to keep my mind focused and push harder at my goals its small things like looking at a picture of Justine or Jamie that makes me want to push HARDER at the gym and NOT cheat on my diet. I really liked a comment Jamie said about ABS on her fan page 

"abs are made in the kitchen" and that is SO true!! Genetically, you are either predisposed to having shallow, flat abs (like me) or more defined and deep ab definition. Until you get your bodyfat low enough, you will not know what you have been genetically given, so all the crunches in the world won't add definition without proper nutrition.”

I like this comment because I have had so many people come up to me and ask me to show them ab workouts and how they want abs “like that”.  Don’t get me wrong abs and legs are my favorite workouts and I try and include a little bit of abs and core in everyone of my workouts but Jamie is absolutely right- your abs aren’t going to “POP” unless your eating the proper food and nutrition and your body fat % is lower.

I moved on to the EGGSEL.COM website because I eat sooo many egg whites I am really thinking about buying those things in a tub that CAN be frozen! Yes genius- isn’t it? I stumbled across these homemade Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars that I am really considering making a few days before my competition to have after I am all done.  It looks pretty easy so here is the recipe for any of you who are interested in making it ahead of time maybe you can give me the heads up on how good it is?

2TBSP whey powder
1 1/2 cups quick oats
Dash of cinnamon
1 cup Eggsel egg whites
1/2 cup milk
1 TBSP butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or other variations; see below)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In bowl combine whey, oats, and cinnamon. Stir to remove any lumps.

2. Add Eggsel and milk. Stir. Let stand for at least 10 minutes so the dry ingredients absorb some of the moisture from the wet ingredients.

3. In separate bowl combine butter, sugar, and peanut butter.

4. Add oat mixture to peanut butter mixture, and stir until combined

5. Stir in chocolate chips

6. Pour into parchment lined, or sprayed/greased 9 inch pan

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until centre has puffed up, and knife when inserted comes out clean.

8. Cool, cut, enjoy!

Variation: Instead or, or in addition to chocolate chips you can add pecans, walnuts, flax seed or any other nut, or seed. Adding nuts will also increase the protein value of the bars.

Also dried fruit can be added such as raisins, cranberries, or goji berries. If you choose to add dried fruit be sure to 'plump' it first. To plump dried fruit simply soak the fruit in boiled water for about 5 minutes. This will reconstitute the fruit, and prevent the bars from becoming dry. Drain the water and add fruit to bar mix.

After drooling over the possibility of homemade protein bars and other yummy nutritious recipes for a few hours it was time to get my glutes to work. I was working 3pm to 9pm today and my energy level just wasn’t quite at its peak yet. Of course, the minute I got into work it was INSANELY busy and I really didn’t stop running around my ENTIRE shift. I called my dad when I could spare 2 minutes to talk to him because I was ready to kill many customers. I had finally cracked- the happy loving Caitlin was no more. The stress of my diet and workouts had finally hit me and as I cried on the phone begging my parents to come down earlier- I had lost hope. My dad reminded me of all the hard work and effort I had put into it all and not to give up and that the finish line was just around the corner. He was ABSOLUTELY right! Although, I broke down , I knew it would happen soon again but the end result was what I am pushing for. 

After work I headed to Goodlife to get in a solid 45 minute weight training and 20 minutes of cardio. I felt like the talk with my dad amped me up to kill the gym and that’s most definitely what I did. Although now I am home at 11pm doing the usual- dishes, prep food for tomorrow and clean more dishes, I have come to realize this is MY LIFE now. This is who I am! Whether it’s on season or off season I know I would rather spend my free hours at the gym and prepping meals rather than sitting in front of my tv, eating bad food or going out to the bar. This is not ONLY My Fitness Journey this is My Fitness Life.

Till tomorrow bloggers,

Love you all,

Caitlin Cooke #11

Pump it Up

Welcome to the crazy twisted wizarding world of Caitlin Cooke- hmm maybe watching too much Harry Potter recently! It was up and ready to get to my day early this morning, I had to train a friend, while also doing my own training and cardio. What better what to start of my day and breakfast then with egg white spinach omelet topped with a bit of hot sauce. I have really grown to love these omelets! I think it’s the idea of them that intrigue me more than anything. 

Looks pretty delish- no?

I headed to Carleton today for my workout so managed to slip in a half an hour session on the treadmill before my friend arrived to train with me. The girls bathroom was PACKED and I kinda felt a little funny sitting there dripping sweat munching on asparagus and chicken- hmm, I’m going to take this picnic to the hallway. I was SO zoned out into my food and music that she had to come right up to me to catch my attention. Wow- Oh HEY! I headed to the change room with her to shovel the rest of my asparagus down my mouth and head on in for a wild training session. Little did she know I don’t like people who skip out on training days UNLESS it is a given break. It was a rough go but she pulled through amazing and actually made me extremely proud! I can be a tough Cookie ( haha my last name) but she still pushed through everything I told her to do—wooooo, you go girl! After making her do ALL the sweating I figured I owed it to myself to be just as tough on myself. Hmm... Trainer training herself like she trains others- YES LET’S DO IT!

Today at the gym I was ready to conquer those brutal Shoulders & Legs. This was a do or die workout! Barbell thrusters till I physically could not hold the bar anymore, laterals till I could not move my arms 5 inches away from my hips. My arms were absolutely on FIRE and I felt I had put in my effort and I was all done. WRONG! How about you superset that with some walking lunges, jump squats and squat to spot- bahahah BAM- I hit the floor and literally fell over on my last set. A gym supervisor came to ask me if I was okay and I said I was fine as my legs were shaking and ready to give out again ANY second. I decided to sit down for about 10 minutes before I moved on to my next supersets. One more leg superset and I could put those bad boys away for 15 minutes! One leg step ups to sumo jump squats on bench- awww yah about that! Lets just say I missed one of my jumps again near the end further detail not to be discussed! Well if my legs hadn’t had enough I was going to kill them EVEN more and take it to the stair master for 30 minutes- yup YOU GOT IT! I pushed with every last bit of energy I had but I pulled through. Enough was enough time to GO HOME. 

My bus ride home was rough all I wanted to do was give my legs a rest and the bus was packed and ended up standing the whole time with a huge gym bag. It is sad to say it hurt to stand for 20 minutes on a bus to get home- I know. The minute I got home I took my containers out of my bag, slurped back a protein shake and totally passed out cold on my couch for a solid 3 hours. Talk about body over exertion but I did feel much better after I woke up. 

The reality was I still had dishes to clean, a shower to take and meals to prep again for another day. Damm why are these days so similar? Let alone there needs to be wayyy more time within a day.  Now that is all done I write you this blog and watch Harry Potter yet again with my boyfriend. Does anyone ever realize how Hogwarts is always in GREAT danger EVERY year, they say it in the movies like it’s something new occurring everytime hahaa. 

Anyways, Ive watched 10 minutes of this movie and am already tired again- wow, burnt out!

Till tomorrow bloggers, 

Love you all

Caitlin Cooke #11

Burnt Out

It's Monday again back to the beginning of entirely new week- new goals- new workout and new nutrition! I woke up pretty exhausted this morning and although I only had to work 9am-2pm today at the salon it felt like the longest shift of life. I ended up waking up around 6:30am to shower and make myself breakfast for the day- I had to bus to work today so that's why it was such an early morning. I had already prepped my meals the night before luckily so it was off to the bus stop to start my day.

My Inspiration- Justine Munro

My buses were on time one after the other so arrived at the salon fairly early around 8:20am and we don't open till 9am. I had time to fold towels, fill some supplies and sit down for 10 minutes to just gather my thoughts and day together. After what felt like countless hours sitting at the salon desk my shift was finally done and it was time for me to hit the gym. I felt so unmotivated today, my body was starting to feel the strain and fatigue and really didn't want to pull through for me to go to the gym. Luckily my MIND self-consciously doesn't give my body an option anymore- WERE GOING AND THAT'S THAT!

I pushed my headphones into my ears to actually get into the workout mood, the mood that I was ready to kill it and give it everything I had. Finally after about 10 minutes of listening to pump up music I was ready to get at it. Today was circuit training! A new edition to my workout plan and what a gruesome edition it was. This circuit hit my abs, legs and back all together- with little rest and HARD HARD cardio added in. My abs were so sore on my last set I had to get a friend of mine to pull me up off the mat because there was no way I could use anymore of my ab muscles. Sore and drenched in sweat fun and games weren't over it was back to the Stair master for 30mins to burn some more fat and build up those glutes and legs.

When everything was done all I could think about was the fact that I wanted to go HOME! I hopped on the O-Train and was so tired I could feel my eyes closing on me for the 10 minutes I was on there. The same thing happened on the bus ride home- I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I knew that from this point on these are how my days were going to look. Completely exhausted and drained! As I got into my house I shut the door and crashed onto my couch- I was in need of a SERIOUS nap! My serious "NAP" turned into about a 4 hour sleep and I woke up at around 11:30pm.

Now awake at 11:30pm I decided to cook my meals for tomorrow, write this blog and yes BACK TO BED! Like I said my body is in crucial need of sleep these next few weeks and without it I won't be able to give 110% at the gym.

Wish me a long long nap again,
Till tomorrow bloggers,
Caitlin Cooke #11

GTR

Sunday's how I love the beautiful day Sunday. Sunday is my official relax day- where I take it easy and SLEEP IN! Since I got home extremely late I slept in till about 11:30am (not that late) especially since I was still exhausted getting up but it was time to get up as I had a few things to do today even though it was relax day. First thing on the to do list was breakfast as I was in desperate need of energy. I made myself an egg white omelet with spinach and hot sauce, 1 hard boiled egg and some celery and spinach on the side to top it all off. YUM! I must say that omelet was DELICIOUS for having none of that favorite food I put on everything the name shall not be mentioned just its letter C.

As I waited for my boyfriend to wake up sorry as I waited for him to go back to bed and get in some more sleep I browsed the internet to search up some fitness competitions coming up this year with different organizations that may strike my interest. I have not decided whether I would like to do more this year or if I can afford it but I can tell you there are at least two more that have striked my interest.

At about 3pm when Sami was done being lazy and sleeping in we headed out to Costco on Merivale so I could get a few things. Wow for future reference never go to Costco on a weekend it is absolutely crazy INSANE in there and takes you 40 minutes to get like six items. I bought a big pack of chicken breast, a huge piece of salmon, a bag FULL of Macintosh apples, egg whites, freezer bags and about 30 more containers to stuff my food into since I was having to rewash the ones I had every single night in order to split up all my meals and food- it was quite annoying. A Costco trip would not be complete without trying a few samples but I was definitely a good girl. I tried some crab meat, hummus and mixed nuts- my boyfriend on the other han was able to luckily grab all and any of the samples he could in sight. The grand total- $85 dollars! I know a lot of money for not very much food but I knew it was going to last me a while so it was definitely worth the trip. My grocery store adventure didn't end here it was off to get some greens yet again- eggplant, red peppers, zucchini, cauliflower and some more broccoli.

Yes! Jersey Shore has finally hit tanning salons.

By this point I was SICK of running around, hmm tanning time- I THINK SO! I went in for 18 minutes today and I most definitely passed out for that entire time I was in the bed and it felt so great. There is just something about a tanning bed that makes you feel oh so much better. I felt like I had accomplished so much in one day! Time to head home to put away the groceries, separate my chicken an fish into freezer bags and actually get some food into my tummy.

Sam decided to take me out for dinner to Milestones since I had never been before and it was actually really nice. Wouldn't min going there after my competition for a delicious cheat meal! I ended up ordering a Seafood Salad with salmon, shrimp, avocado and a bunch of greens in a white wine vinegar dressing. It was absolutely amazing the sad part was when the waitress brought over a menu of desserts to taunt in my face. A sad sigh passed as I said no thank-you but I did look over the names of some tasty treats I would love to try when all this is said and done.

Back to my house to relax for a few hours before I hit the sheets and by relaxing I mean prepping meals and of course writing you all this lovely blog. This was most definitely a GTR day for me- Groceries, Tanning and Relaxing- hmm if only these days could come more often. Sigh!

Till tomorrow- the beginning of a new and challenging week
Love you all,
Caitlin Cooke #11

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows

I woke up this morning bright and early as usual around 8am to get ready for an extremely exciting day for one BIG reason. Today, I was getting a new workout plan and new nutrition plan- YAHOOO! I could not wait to get to Free Form Fitness to hopefully cross my fingers hopefully have less veggies and maybe a teeny tiny bit of natural sugar from fruits, possibly-maybe?

Rob Lagana my trainer definitely saved the best or last and showed me my new workout plan first. I must sayif the other workout plan didn't drain me this one most DEFINITELY will. Supersets after supersets after superset! My workouts are also now split into working a bunch of muscles in one day- talk about a sore girl I am going to be. Me and the foam rollers are going to be best friends as well as worst enemies for the next 7 weeks I tell you. After grasping my head around my absolutely WILD new program it was time to get m new nutrition plan and BF % measurement- THE BEST PART! Okay and your new nutrition plan, first thing my eyes scattered around looking for was sugar, sugar- YESSSSSSSSS! I am allowed apples now and post-workout protein shakes :) If there was one happy girl that day it was ME! My diet was very similar to the previous one with less grams of veggies more protein and an apple added and some NUMMY protein shakes! I KNOW! You are probably wondering why I am SO happy about a little apple and some protein powder but TRUST me going weeks without any type of sugar you start to go a little crazy- LITERALLY. The night before I had dreams like the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs that Reese's (my fav. chocolate bar) and Sour Patch Kids (fav. candy) were falling from the sky as I laid in a land of sweeet goooddnesss- lack of sugar.. hmmmm I THINK SO! This apple and protein add in was VERY much needed. On to getting pinched by the calibers and measure my body fat percentage. I was so nervous as the previous time I had went in my BF % had went up and I left the gym somewhat sad and disappointed. NOT THE CASE TODAY!!!! My body fat percentage was sitting at 14% for 7 weeks out I was one happy girl- I am right on track for Bikini category.

A very happy girl :)

 As I left Free Form Fitness with a smile on my face a new tub of protein I felt like skipping down the street in happiness- I am pretty sure I heard the song "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" pass through my head for about 5 minutes. Hahaha I am not crazy this was a GREAT day in My Fitness Journey. I instantly called my dad and boyfriend to inform them of the fabulous news about my new diet, workout and body fat percentage.

Being so happy I figured what better place to bring this burst of energy than to the the gym. I love Carleton gym on weekends because it is so empty and figured it would be a great place to start Day 1 of my new program. Cable crosses, laterals, curls, extensions, squats, lunges- ya this was ONE day, boy oh boy was I going to feel it tomorrow. I could already feel it before I had finished all my super sets and headed to the stair master. I figured I would take it somewhat easy on the cardio today and not over due it because I could already feel how tight my entire body was. My day at the gym wasn't quite over as I still had to train a friend of mine after my wild workout. Tomato faced trainers are the new style- okay?

It was time to head home and clean out my 50 zillion containers and frying pans from egg whites, chicken and fish. I was completely drained and exhausted and figured I owed it to myself to have a quick hour long power nap. My boyfriend was working till about 9pm so I definitely had time to nap and get ready afterwards before we planned on actually doing something for once besides anything that involved the words- work, gym, bed, sleep or movies. He ended up getting to my place around 10pm and I had NO idea what I wanted to do.

Luckily my friend Megan texted me and invited us over. As I sat as Megan's watching everyone have alcoholic beverages it actually didn't bug me that much until we decided to head out to the bar. I must say it was nice to get out and go somewhere to get a bit of that social atmosphere but WOW bars are boring if your not drinking, everyone excuse me for saying this seems so out of control and much more stupid.

Horse Race @ Casino

 I didn't really want to be in that atmosphere anymore so we decided to head to Casino du Lac Leamy for some fun games. Me and Sami headed straight for the 25 cent horse races and only played for about 10 minutes before we started to get bored. I decided to sit infront of some 5 cent slots for about another 5 minutes when I ended up winning a big 9 dollars. We only put 20 dollars down at the casino and walked away with 11 less that we had started with. I am not a gambler at all so the Casino isn;t really for me but it's a different atmosphere to go to for a little it when your looking for something different to do. It was already around 4am since the clocks went ahead at midnight so I figured it was BED TIME.

We are now back at my place and so tired we can barely keep our eyes open- its definitely time to hit the sheets! Its been a long busy and fun Saturday bloggers!

Till tomorrow- I love you all,
Caitlin Cooke #11

I'm On TV

Today was most definitely an extra early morning for me! It was up at 7am to start getting ready because I had a doctor's appointment at 9am at Carleton University. I ended up catching the 95 the minute I got off at Lebreton and then the O-Train right away as well. So I arrived on campus around ten after 8 and had about 45 minutes to spare. I am most definitely not an early morning cardio person but I had time to spare- what was there to do? Okay- FINE! I hopped on the treadmill for a 30 minute incline speed walk. It actually felt amazing afterwords I felt much more awake, alive and prepared for my day.

It was then time for my doctor's appointment which lasted about another hour because the nurse thought I was waiting for someone and put my papers in a different place than she should of. Turns out a 5 minute appointment lasted about an hour of waiting in a chair and watching the time tick by. Finally finished my appointment, it was back to the Carleton gym to get in my weight training for the day.

It was yet again Leg Day and I was full of energy and ready to push them to an entirely new level. Squatting 20Ibs heavier than the previous leg day and maxing out on way more toe squats than I had as well. After a pretty grueling leg workout, I was so stiffed legged I had trouble walking. I WAS NOT done yet, I wobbled over to the stair master and managed to push through a rough 30 minutes of absolutely insane leg burning. Even my friend Corey was laughing at me as I walked or should I say dragged myself out of the gym.

Unfortunately at work from 2-9pm by this point in the day I was already exhausted! I had finished off 2 cardio sessions and my weight training and it was only 2pm in the afternoon. Luckily it managed to be a busy Friday night at the salon and was running around like a crazy women from the minute I walked in till 6:30pm. It was finally at that time that I was able to sit down and have the meal I was suppose to at 3pm. With only about a 30 minute break the salon picked up again till the end of my shift. By this point I was absolutely drained but I COULDN'T go do bed yet.

Ringgirl Debut on The Score for Wreck MMA

Tonight was the night that I had my debut on TV. The Wreck MMA: Strong & Proud show in which I was ring girl for back in January was showing on the TV tonight. Me and Sami decided to go and watch the show before we both headed to bed for some much needed rest. It was actually pretty neat watching it on TV with all the commentary although I only seen myself at the end of the show it was definitely worth it all. My parents even made fun of me asking for a picture of the only time I would ever be on television. Thanks Mom & Dad love you too! Lucky enough the show is split into three parts with the next part showing March 18th at 10:30pm on the Score again- YAHOOO!

It is getting late and I have a fun filled busy day tomorrow to blog to you all about so until tomorrow bloggers!
Love you all,
Caitlin Cooke #11

Dress Me Up Please

I woke up today, well how about we don't talk about when I woke up today! Finally a day off work- ouuf and did I ever take advantage of that. My boyfriend woke up around 7:30am and woke me up at that time geeez so I figured hey- day off I am sleeping in. Next thing you know I wake up again from my coma and its 1:30pm- WHAT!! Apparently all this crazy running around and not my 8 hours rest that I absolutely need finally caught up with me.

Awake finally in mid-afternoon it was time to eat some of my meals and get going with my day- hmm but for what? I really didn't have anything to do today. Okay fine, I sat down and finally enjoyed watching a little Desperate Housewives that I had missed on Sunday- LOVE that show!! After lazing around my house for a few hours I decided to hit up the gym around 7pm. It was back to Arms and Shoulders- BOOO!! Generally dislike because my arm muscles are in need of a makeover but got to do what you got to do. After an unfortunate arm day, which I must say I yet again increased my weight on my Ez-Curls and did some dips without no weight support- yahhooo me! I decided to conquer the Stair Mill- I am telling you if one machine does miracles its this one. Sweat, tight, sore and hot are words that describe my 30 minute battle with this beast.

Time to hit the showers and maybe make myself look half decent for my boyfriend for once in my life! He either see's me
1. Coming out of the gym
2. Out of the shower
3. In sweat pants and a t-shirt *its comfy after the gym*
4. In pajamas

I really owe it to him to maybe DO SOMETHING with myself this weekend since my lack of effort in doing my hair, clothes exc. is generally slacking. Like I said we met up after the gym, me in sweat pants, a sweater and wet hair-- surprise, surprise!

The Entire Collection :)

Finally, I am home to relax and finish the second of the Harry Potter movies. Pfftt- yes I may be a nerd and have all the movies and I may or may not be watching them all again, whatever okay, don't judge! Now relax time with POTTER.

Till tomorrow bloggers,
Caitlin Cooke #11

Popeye

As tired as I was this morning I was up bright and early at 7:30am to get ready for a lonnnng day! Luckily I had prepped every single meal the night before so the only thing I had to worry about was my get me up breakfast. It was a goody too! Egg whites with spinach, 1 hard boiled egg, shredded wheat and some more spinach with a little bit of balsamic. Talk about a champions breakfast or maybe Popeyes breakfast, all I know is that it was DELICIOUS this morning!

Breakfast of Champions

After breakfast it was off to the gym since I was going to be working 3-9pm tonight at the salon. I am not really a fan of the morning workouts I must say. I have always been a late afternoon or evening type of workout gal. Gives me time to actually "wake up"! Sooo unfortunately at the gym in the morning to work on some Back & Abs. Yah boi! I added weight to almost all my previous weight of three days ago and even did more reps on some of the sets. I could feel my back today alright and not to metion my abs felt like a ring of fire for at least an hour after my workout. I ended up running into a friend of my Winona who also trains at Goodlife for figure. Boy, its great to have a conversation with someone that is going through the same thing you are sometimes- they just 'GET IT'! 

Before work it was back to the grocery store to get some veggies- yes, crazy huh? I am going through veggies like they are going out of style. It's sad when the cashier's start to recognize you and the same stuff you buy every week. "Oh! Hey, your back for lots more greens I see." Oh boy! At least its not like I'm back for more bags of chips or chocolate, right? Leaving the grocery store I was carrying 3 bags of veggies and one giant gym bag to the bus stop to get to work. One guy even kind of chuckled and asked if I was going to be okay.

Finally at work, I was tired already I had felt like I had done so much in one day. WRONG! Work was jam packed from 3pm all the way till 8pm tonight. I could not even sit down to have my meal I was suppose to have at 3pm till 6:30pm it was THAT busy. Thankful to get a tiny break I ate my food so fast because by that point I had been STARVING. I didn't even finish cleaning up the salon till 9:30pm when we close at 9- alright I was overwhelmed and stressed I figured it was time for some relaxation to calm my nerves. I hopped into a tanning bed for 12 minutes and felt like a million bucks coming out fresh and revived.

After I was all done it was time to go home to bed with my boyfriend. Now it is time for me to hit the sheets because I am struggling to keep my eyes open as I write you this blog!

Till Tomorrow!
Caitlin Cooke #11

Dynamite

What a disturbing morning I had! I had a dream that my alarm on my iPhone was going off and I forgot my password to get into my phone so it kept buzzing and buzzing- I was going crazy. Finally, I ended up getting the code but my phone locked on me again and started buzzing and buzzing again. I then woke up from my sleep to realize my ACTUAL phone had been going off for about 20 minutes and my ACTUAL alarm had been ringing. Talk about one heck of a deep sleep- clearly I was over tired. I have never had that happen to be before nor do I want it to either I could hear that stupid alarm in my head for a good hour after wards.

Soon after a weird awakening I had to prep some more meals for the day and I was headed to the East end to visit the lovely Joan Macdonald of Daydreams Fitnesswear! I was so excited to try on my bikini because we had to keep canceling appointments due to some unfortunate things that had happened. When I finally tried it on and came out to the mirror it was as amazing as I had imagined. Although my body didn't make the bikini look hot quite yet I most definitely will rock it out on April 30th!

Pretty in Pink- Not Finished Yet!!

After trying on my bikini I quickly had to hop on a bus to Carleton U to meet a friend whom which I am personal training. A little bit nervous and scared that I was going to destroy her in the gym- which I did a little but took it easy on her since was the first time, she came out with some sweat and a little light headed. I must say though she was quite the trooper giving it her all when she had no more fuel to really push her and doing more sets that I would push her to do even though her body wanted to give out. That is the smell of success and dedication! I must say you did an absolutely amazing job today and you should be proud of yourself because I AM PROUD of you. Remember to breath ;)

So after all fun and games were done it was my turn to kick that old gym equipment around. Again we were back to my FAVORITE DAY- you know it BIG Legs Day :) So it was back to lunges, 4 different types of squats and you know it my favorite glutes and leg working machine the Stairmaster. I managed to burn 500 calories in 30 minutes not too shabby. My record is 820 cals looking to break the 1000 mark this competition anybody wanna make any bets on that? My legs were feeling pretty stiff after todays wild legs and it was time to EAT. I quickly changed and headed downstairs to the tables to eat some Salmon and Green peppers as I waited for my dead phone to charge. Anyone who knows me- KNOWS I cannot live without my cell phone.

Yahoo! My cellphone was all charged and first thing I had to check you guessed it FACEBOOK. I noticed a tag in a note from Dynamis Fitness and Lifestyles Inc. OMG- Nooooooo, YESSSSS! I had done it I made the Top 15 in the Search for the Next Dynamis Girl, I ended Round #1 in 9th place out of 69 (I believe) phenomenal women. WOW what an accomplishment on its own! Now, we all just have to wait and see who the overall winner will be. I must say I would not want to be those judges what an exceptional bunch of ladies to have to pick from. I wanted to thank my friends and family who supported me in the search- I would not have been able to do this without you and appreciate your support within my fitness dreams. It most definitely does not stop here. You can check out the amazing products that Dynamis has at www.dynamisonline.net. And don't forget to read my Dynamis entry for the Search while you are there at http://thedynamisdifference.com/pages/Caitlin+Cooke/37 In celebration of such a fantastic day- I came home and made myself a Dynamis REFUEL-S6K, white chocolate brownie protein shake... yummmy in my tummy!!

Finally home and have prepped my meals for tomorrow, just need to hop in the shower and wait for my amazing boyfriend to come over and enjoy the rest of this incredible day I had today! 

Blogs yaa tomorrow- Love you all!
Caitlin Cooke #11

Progress

Morning Ladies & Gents!
It's Monday again unfortunately the beginning of a new week for most who work its the day most people dread although I woke up pretty happy this morning. Although I did have to go into work my meals were already prepped, I weigh 1Ib less, my muscle looks bigger and better and I am only working 4 hours today- YAHOO! The shift went by unbelievably fast because for some reason people like coming in for tans bright and early I couldn't even finish 150g of celery sticks for like an hour it was sooo busy.

After work, I decided to head back to Carleton Gym(I really missed that place) to get in some mega Arms & Shoulders Day. The bad part about the University gym is right around 3-4pm is peak hour and its is absolutely PACKED, half the dumbbells I needed were gone. I decided to sit around the weight lifting area and grab all the weights I needed for my exercises and take over a bench for a good 30 minutes. Was by far the smartest thing I thought of or I would have been waiting at least 10minutes between each workout to get what I needed. Boy were my arms burning after todays workout. I hit the stair master again for some gruesome cardio and it was off to the showers for me. I figured it was time to give you 3 serious progress shots with my digital camera before I stop showing my progress at the 6 week mark. I KNOW, it sucks- but I love surprising you all in the end.

Arms/Abs/Chest-54 Days to Go!

My Fav- Legs <3

Hello Back!

I spent the rest of my night making food, cutting up veggies, steaming veggies, weighing meats, putting meats in little tiny containers and now am finally sitting down again to write this blog! I am extremely exhausted and I know today's blog is somewhat boring but I can ensure tomorrow's will be eventful as it is an extremely fun filled PACKED day.

Love you all,
Caitlin Cooke #11

Champion

Sunday- what a beautiful day Sunday is :) Nothing really to do (except the gym) I can sleep in till whatever time I please.... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!! Really? It's 9am and its Sunday I am totally not answering my door back to bed. 2 seconds late, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK- Okay fine, fine, COMING! I open the door and it's my neighbor who owns a U-Haul Business asking me to move my vehicle so they can get at one of the little U-Haul trailers. Turns out it was Sami's vehicle so after an awful day of rain we got loaded with snow Saturday night and he had to go out and take a mountain of snow off his van all to be told about 10 minutes later they didn't need him to move it anymore. Poor Guy! Luckily we both went back to bed till about 11am when I realized I needed to get up, eat my first meal, prep my meals and GET to the gym.

 A meal prep- egg whites, celery, broc and 1/2 tsp of natural pb (tiny cheat)

I ended up at the gym for around 1pm and boy oh boy was I a sore girl! It was back to the wild Back and Abs Day- oufff I must say the back was feeling pretty darn good after the workout. Added 10Ibs to my previous weight on T-Bar Rows, deducted weight for pull-ups by 20Ibs (almost at full body weight pull up) and maxed out way more on my ab exercises. Considering I wasn't obligated to go to the gym today and went crazy on weights- I earned a pass card on cardio.

After the gym, me and Sam decided to venture around the Rideau Mall in and out of stores and had to pass the DEVIL (Cinnabon). I think he thought I was a little bit crazy as I covered my nose with my sweater sleeve to avoid smelling the Cinnamon GOOOOODDNESSS!! It was time to relax so I headed into work to enjoy a luxurious 18 minute tan- aww by far best feeling in the world on some sore tired out muscles- pretty sure I ended up passing out for a bit too.

Tanning was done and now that I felt all hot, sweaty and relaxed- I really wanted to just go home and relax. ALTHOUGH... me and Sam had made a bet for about 3 weeks about who could beat up who. LOL Yes sounds crazy but it was all just fun and games. We headed back to my place for a title battle- Me standing in one corner with about 8 years of Karate experience and Sam standing in the other corner with 2 years of Muay Thai and 3 years of Brazillian Jiu Jitsu experience. The match had BEGUN! So much for no cardio today- I definitely was a little out of breath after 5 rounds. And the champion...... *drum roll*.................................... ME!!! HELLO!! I even hit him so many times with my karate kicks that the top of my foot is a little swollen and bruised- operation= SUCCESSFUL! Till next time loser :P

              The foot of a champ!

After a pretty eventful day for a Sunday it was time to actually relax for the rest of the night. We ended up watching the movie SALT, wasn't too bad was a little confused in some parts but not a bad movie. What did everyone else think of the movie? After the movie, I limped to bed due to some wild leg kick/swings (don't know name) to my upper thigh from Sam when we fought. Pfff tough girl tough girl !!!

Time to hit the sheets,
Bloggg ya tomorrow :)
Caitlin Cooke- The CHAMPION!

The Cookie Monster

Talk about a rough morning! I was able to actually sleep in today the bad thing is me sleeping in involved some pretty frantic rushing around. I had to prep all my meals, get to school and have a meeting with Chelsea. The day got even better the minute I stepped outside into a slushy mess- needless to say I arrived at school with soaking wet boots and socks, did I remember to bring an extra pair of socks? Of course not! The day I really need them I would forget!

When I arrived at school I met with Chelsea were we discussed some personal training and nutrition and I am hoping she is as STOKED as she said she was because I got myself all revved up and excited to turn this already stunning gorgeous girl into the best shape of her life!! Ramped up on energy because of such an amazing meeting with Chelsea I took me and my soaking wet feet to the Carleton U gym. First, things first my socks needed to be dry so it was straight to the dryer to hold my socks up for 5 minutes.. got a few weird glances and stares but you gotta do what you gotta do right??

Finally, when my socks were nice and dry it was time to destroy the gym with some CRAAAZZZZYYYY LEGSSS :) I know! I KNOW!! Everybody absolutely hates and dreads leg days but not me I am the complete opposite- I anticipate leg days, I am all about them and by far the best burning feeling in the world. It was great being back in my old stomping grounds and seeing so many familiar faces and gym friends. I won't lie though my last set of squats definitely killed me and was struggling to push the last 5 reps, I even asked my buddy Andrew to spot me but I ended up doing it all on my own! YAHHHH MEEE- the fun wasn't over yet, there was still some leg extensions to do, ab and adduction, calf raises and you guessed it my best friend the stair master. I must I never thought it would be hard walking DOWN the stairs haha felt like an 80 year old women with my legs almost giving out on each step.

 I know not a back day but I wanted to show you some back progresss- not too bad?

 Luckily I didn't have to hike across the city from bus to bus to get home and my boyfriend was nice enough to pick up my stinky non-showered self. Sexy huh? Don't worry! I showered when I got home- although that would be a pretty mean thing to do if he really made me mad huh? JK!!!! After my amazing, relaxing shower we sat down to watch a movie and finally enjoyed some Rest and Recovery- was amazzing, but then it was my last snack time and Sami was hungry too so he said he was going to go down to the convenience store next thing you know he comes out with this mega bag of delicious triple chocolate chip cookies!! LIKE WHAT THE HELL-  and he was just eating one after another like throwing it in my face like he was the cookie monster... pretty sure that's my title and it has been for years how dare you flaunt that in my face. To make matters worse he decided to give me a nice big kiss after eating about 4 of those delicious looking cookies... WHAT A TEASE!! I could taste the chocolaty goodness along my lipsss- yup, he was on my hate list for the rest of the night.

                        Curse you triple chocolate coookiesss!!!


Hopefully- he can make me some kinda delicious treat I can eat tomorrow and not tease me with! Chocolate flavored egg whitees??? hahaha
Love you all,
Caitlin

The Cinna Curse

What a rough morning!! BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP- how irritating the sound of my alarm going off at 6:45am.. hmm back to bed for me. Awaken at 7:45am by my boyfriend's alarm I jump out of bed to get into the shower. I have to be at work for 9am- this means breakfast made, dressed, hair done-- yaaah definitely was not happening, I left my house with wet hair and my veggies, eggs whites and egg on a plate sealed with saran wrap. I somehow managed to stuff the shredded wheat down my throat before heading out the door. Thank god I had a ride or else I really would have been a mess.

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of coffee so it's a struggle to keep my eyes open- especially the first 2 hours in the salon are absolute HELL because it is soooo dead. Okay... WOW- totally just leaned back on chair to relax for a bit and could barely pull myself back up because my abs are that SORE (not even kidding)- operation murder my body in full effect.

Two-o-clock was just around the corner and it was almost time to hit the gym when my fellow co-worker and best friend Megan said she couldn't be in till 3pm- an extra hour no big deal-- NO HUGE DEAL! I lost my mind I had my day planned out to a tee and don't mess with No Carb Caitlin. After talking to my dad on the phone for 20 minutes he told me to calm down and everything would be okay and am clearly grumpy because of everything I am doing. I soon apologized to my best friend and she understood she has seen me go threw this rut before.

Finally, I arrived at Goodlife around 3:45pm and as I entered the mall going down the first set of escalators and then the second I could smell that amazing smell of pastry, warm frosting, the sweet smell of sugar in the air. Oh no... not again! The last smell.... cinnamon.  It was CINNABON! This evil little place drove me absolutely nuts my previous competition and had the most ridiculous craving for it for weeks! Well the Cinna Curse is back and its going to taunt me in full effect till the day I compete.

Quickly, I rushed to the change rooms to prepare for my workouts as I over heard two young girls discussing there diets. "I eat only 3 meals a day at only 150 calories"- I couldn't help but laugh on the other side of the lockers at such a ridiculous remark. Her friend tried to tell her how unhealthy it was but she was convinced that this is what worked for her. Now, I am currently not a nutritionist but I can assure we all need more than 450 calories for our daily intake especially if we are working out at the gym. Today was Arms & Shoulders Day and believe it or not its the workout I absolutely HATE!! It is most definitely because its where I need a lot of work, luckily the gym was pretty clear- most likely because it was Friday so I was able to finish my weights in 45 minutes. BAMM- off to cardio again and guess what- no nausea for me today, although I did create a puddle around my Stairmaster :)

            After my workout- my arms looking pretty jackked :)

  Not too bad gotta work on that bicep some more- don't mind the ugly, sweaty Caitlin!!

After the gym, it was back to the grocery store to buy more vegggies those darn things are making me slowly go crazy I tell you! Brocolli here, cucumber there, spinach, green peppers, cauliflower, celery and some more egg whites. The cashier even said WOW that is A LOT of greens- yup sure isss! Now I am finally sitting at home relaxing and hope to get in a little nap as it's going to be a long night ahead of me. Unfortunately, I have an exam to study for so tomorrow schedule is Gym, Exam, Meeting, Gym and  NO WORK ...maybe I will get to do something fun with my friends or boyfriend-- haha justttt MAYBEEE!!

                                     Groceries @ The Cooke #11 Residence!

Hope you enjoyed my super doooper long blog- until tomorrow!

Love you all,
Caitlin Cooke #11

Veggied Out

Yes, yes you got me, I am YET again at work but have some small things to say before I hit the gym and continue my blog later on tonight! So I woke up around 7am this morning EXHAUSTED but spent an hour prepping all my meals for the day into a zillion plastic containers (at least 10 different containers) people who don't understand my diet may think I am some crazy container women!

IT'S SO BRIGHT and early an hour making food for the day....breakfast, shower and did not even get a chance to fix my hair before I was off to work. Sami stayed the night and thought I was crazy getting up so early but I explained how long it took to do everything and he suggested I prep some meals at night. Pffffttt thought he was smart or something-- I prepped like 2 meals already and had 3 others to make. Although I don't want to admit it he was absolutely right! In order to get in enough rest I am going to have to start prepping the night before. Rest is crucial in the next few weeks in order to give it my all at the gym.

I worked a pretty short shift today (5hours) and then it was on the bus and off to the gym for a InSaNe -- Back & Abs Day! I must say after 45mins of weight training with head spins, body aches and sweat dripping down every inch of my body the last thing I wanted to do was cardio. I just shoved my earplugs in and destroyed the Stair Master like it was my job. I had a young guy pointing at me with his buddy- I tried to gather why he was pointing. Hmmm was my hair that crazy, was I sweating that much?? Mid-way through my cardio he finally approached me and said he'd never seen someone workout so hard in his life (earlier he had been doing weights when I was and had been keeping an eye on me). I said thank-you and got back to my music and machine- that's the only thing that matters when I am at the gym... Me vs. Weights/Machines! It's not a time for chit chat or small talk- I am here to workout!!! Soooo Buzzzzz OFF!!

                              Eggs/ Egg Whites/ Shredded Wheat/ Celery

                                               Chicken, Asparagus, Fish Oil

                                             Tilapia & Zucchini

                                Salmon & Green Peps

                                                                 Beef & Asparagus

As I struggled to pull in my last 5 mins of cardio merely 2 mins after I had finished it was off to visit the toilet bowl. Puke story #1 for you :) At least I had done it when everything was done and accomplished--- boy those stairs up and out of the gym were one heck of a challenge I tell you! Now I am here at home ready to eat another meal... but I am getting sick of veggies already 150g-300g of veggies in every single meal- my gosh somebody HELLLLP ME :(  Look at those meals!! Yeah sure they probably look not so bad to you right? Looks can't be deceiving ladies and gents- try eating the same thing every time of day for 6 weeks, not so fun anymore eh? WELCOME TO MY WORLD!


Okay its SNACK TIME- you guesssed it veggies & protein, then its dishes, meal prep, maybe throw in a movie, bed time and another early morning that awaits a similar routine!

Until tomorrow,
The veggied out-pukey-sweaty Miss Caitlin Cooke! x0x0x

60 Days Out

As I sit here at work only 8 weeks out I wonder what I will look like on stage in such a small amount of time! SO MUCH TO DO SO LITTLE TIME!! It's the worst sitting here in front of a desk for hours on end and not think about food, it's usually at work when I would cheat the most. No more cheats from now onwards, I CAN'T!! Everything I eat now will effect how I will look on stage- everything I ate 2 months ago will effect how I will look on stage REALISTICALLY but I cannot change what has been done. The past few months for me have been up and down in regards to my diet and workouts. The stress of school, money, prep, family and friends- it's definitely been the hardest competition to prepare for... I CAN DO THIS!!

I need to remind myself I am ahead of the game for this one! My current weight (a secret) is the weight I was about 3 months out of my last competition in October of 2010. This can only mean good things... I hope *fingers crossed*. This will involve gruesome workouts of nausea, head spins, puking, puddles on the floor and complete muscle give outs. If you think I am joking- do not laugh!! Puking doesn't mean your workouts over, just means I might get a 5 minute bathroom break between my supersets. CRAZY?? Maybe- I like to call it dedication! 5 minutes to an hour of feeling like your about to die is worth every second because the reward in the end cannot even be explained!

My first competition I really wanted to make my friends and family proud but April 30th I want to wow my friends and family, I want to take it to an entirely new level. With many new friends coming to watch me, old friends who've supported me on my entire journey (Megan, Lisa, Brendan, David, Roxann, Alex, Zander- Love you all <3) and of course my boyfriend Sam who has not seen me compete yet in fitness competitions. It's a lot of pressure on my back to impress all these people who care for me and vice versa- not to mention I am pretty sure my boyfriend has some high expectations for me and why would I want to disappoint him.. right??

Alright so I am getting a craaazzzy carb inflated craving as we speeakkk :(

*1 Minute Blog Break- 8oz Water Chug*

Okay, tummy's filled with water, I'm GOOD! I CAN DO THIS I WILL NOT CHEAT- snack time in t-minus 1 hour-- YahhhhooOo! (8) Protein Protein VEGIIIIIIIESS, PROTEIN PROTEIN VEGGGIES (8)!!
5 More hours of work then crazy weights, bed and wake up to do it all over again--- this is my life!!

Until tomorrow my fellow blogggers/creeps/fans :)

Loving you all,
Caitlin (Cooke #11)