8 Weeks Out!

As of tomorrow I am 8 weeks out from my first NPC Bikini Competition. June 14th I will be on a stage in that bikini and those stripper heels showing off all the progress I've made. I'm anxious, excited, nervous, and super proud of all the progress i've made so far. I still can't quite picture what competition day is going to be like or what I'm going to look like but I think I'm already hooked! This will probably be the first of many.

Saying that though, this week has been really tough. I was getting frustrated that the scale wasn't moving. Seriously, 3 weeks no scale movement! I know I've been making progress because i can see it and feel it but the scale should have moved at least a little bit! Even a 0.5 pound loss and I would have been happy! So with that frustration I decided it was time to add in a lot more cardio and interval training to get the stubborn fat off.

Also those who know me well know that I actually am not a huge fan of food. Yep. I know, its weird but in college I remember telling people I would love it if I could just get all my essential nutrients from an IV and just leave enough room for empty calories from treats. I do have a huge sweet tooth though. So this whole strict meal plan thing, I didn't think would be too much of a problem eating the same thing everyday, at the same time... My problem is actually eating everything I'm supposed to. I have a very busy job in which I'm not necessarily at my desk or in the office when I think I will be. So skipping meals happens a lot. My first thought was, "Hey no big deal. I consumed less calories than my body is burning so I'll lose more!" ::Insert loud buzzer noise here!::  NO! Unfortunately what I was doing is not fueling the muscles am trying so hard to train and develop. Knowing that, it's still hard to get in all my meals but I'm making a conscious effort to get all of them in, on time, and finish them.

I bought a few new toys to help me do this. First a few weeks ago I got this nifty little Six Pack cooler. It holds enough meals for the work day. And second I bought a jawbone UP24. As long as I use it right and track everything I'm eating it give me a good picture of my progress. Plus I set alarms so the band vibrates at my meal times! That's pretty cool!

So with adding in extra cardio and still working on getting in all the macros I need to, this week has been really hard. I'm exhausted, I'm cranky, I'm sore. But I'm really proud of how this is all coming together. For supplementation, I'm back on MNS 3, Catalyst, Nighttime Recovery and starting this weekend I'm going to add in ThermoPlus. And of course Spark whenever necessary.

Eleusinia & Make A Wish Fundraising

On Sunday San Diego Chi Omegas gathered to celebrate 119 years of Sisterhood. Sisters from different colleges all over the country joined the Actives from UCSD for a luncheon where we enjoyed the company of one another knowing that we all shared one the values of Chi Omega. At the beginning of the luncheon we had each member come up and place a pin on a map of the US to represent their college chapter.

I'm so honored to be the President of the Alumnae group because I have the opportunity to meet so many with so many accomplished women as well as the UCSD women who are on their way to being superstars in their own right.
Not only did we sit and chat and eat lunch, but we also raised a lot of money for a very important cause. The Make A Wish foundation has be the national philanthropy for Chi Omega since 2002 and nation wide Chi Omega has raised over $9.5 million dollars and volunteered over half a million hours to the Make A Wish Foundation. On Sunday a couple of our local San Diego sisters who are Independent distributors for various companies; Stella & Dot, Scensty, Origami Owl, and I was there with Advocare products, as well as one store owner, Perspectives at Moonlight Beach (a must see store if you are ever in the Encinitas/Luecadia area!) set up tables and agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds to The San Diego Alumnae Group's Make a Wish fund so we can grant their second wish to a deserving child. In addition to the proceeds all donated an item or two to a raffle. The raffle itself with only 10 items raised $400! Way to Go Chi O's!!!
We haven't figured out exactly how much we raised from the proceeds yet because all of the vendors agreed to extend the donations to online sales over the next few days as well. I am continuing that as well. I will donate 20% of my proceeds from any orders through April 13th. Also I'm gearing up for a May Pool/Beach Prep group challenge (Finishing just in time to look amazing for Memorial Day parties!) and I will donate $1 a Pound for every Chi Omega (and family) pound lost! Extra motivation to get husbands/boyfriends on the challenge too. Check out this website for more details on the 24 Day challenge and email me to join the Challenge bedford.jessm@gmail.com.

Bikini Update

It's been a while. I've been super busy with this new training program and trying to give 100% to this bikini prep. But guess what it's been awesome. Ok so maybe not awesome all the time but From Feb 3 to March 1 I lost 12 pounds! Seriously! Progress pics will come soon!

How did I do it? I started with an Advocare cleanse and stuck to the diet plan very closely. If you've read some of my older posts you know I fudged a little bit when I did the 24 day challenge the first time. But this time I really wanted to see how great my results could be. I planned on going on to the Max Phase but my meal plan from my Bikini Coach came in and I decided to try to get used to that and I'm just going to take the CorePlex and OmegaPlex. Omegas are super important and Advocare makes some of the best ones around!

Eating: So my meal plan from my coach is super bland and boring. I seriously eat the same thing at the same time everyday. except for my high carbs days every 4th day when I get to have oatmeal and brown rice. I follow quite a few bikini competitors and see their meals and I get a little jealous I'm not going to lie but with the results I'm getting I think it's totally worth it. I don't really like food all that much anyway... (or I'll just keep telling myself that).

Workouts:
I've been following a plan from simplysheredded.com and it's been really good. that plus a few small group classes at my gym and I've really seen results. Yesterday I woke up early so I jumped out of bed took some O2Gold and mixed up some Arginine Extreme and spark up for the car ride to the gym and I'm not lying when I tell you I felt like superwoman! I PRd in my Squats and Dead lifts and set myself up for a fabulous day. If only work could have gone so smoothly.

So it's going great! Pics to come soon!

Bikini Competition

I've decided to do a bikini competition! I say this with equally as much enthusiasm as anxiety and nervousness. For the next 5 months my life will revolve around eating and training. I'm currently still in the process of selecting my bikini coach but I'm narrowing that down and will have made a selection in the next few days.
I have decided to do the whole transformation using Advocare products. So for the non-believers or the skeptics out there let's see how this experiment works, because as much as the food and exercise matter supplementation makes a huge difference!
I'm kicking it all off with a 24 Day Challenge. Last time I lost 7 pounds total, this time I'm hoping for 5-7 pounds but mostly I'm looking to lose inches. Last time I did not take measurements and went solely based on what the scale told me. This time my measurements and weight taken down by a trainer at my gym (one that I really don't know at all so that was awkward) so they are completely unbiased (no rounding up/down). Also this time I have 2 friends doing the whole 24 day Challenge with me so I can't wait to see their results! After the 24 Day Challenge I'll be using products from the Performance Elite line

 

So today is Day 1 of my second 24 Day Challenge and Day 1 of Bikini Competition Prep. Let's do this!

FEAR

"Fear is fake, It's man made."

Someone said this last weekend at Success School in San Diego. I can't remember who said it or I would give proper credit because it is genius! 

He then went in to say the only fear we are born with is a fear of falling and a fear of loud noises. Notice we were not born with a fear of failure.

So I am doing a Spartan Race tomorrow, and I know I will more than likely have to do Monkey Bars. I've never liked monkey bars. I would even go so far as saying I'm afraid of them and have been since I was a kid. I just could never let go and reach for the next bar. Talk about Symbolism! 

So knowing the spartan race was coming up, I've been practicing the monkey bars for the last few weeks. But guess what! I made it all the way across this week! 

This is what my hands look like now but who needs nice soft hands anyway!

So the point is, what are you afraid of and what is it holding you back from?

I wanted to post this at the beginning of the week but it has even more meaning now because my dad jumped 100% on board with an idea we have been throwing around and thinking it was years away. He literally said "its scary but if it doesn't scare you what's the point? You have to put yourself out there." 

I'm not ready to announce it yet, but we are making some big moves and 2014 is going to be huge for the Bedfords! 

 

 

Success School

This past weekend I was privileged enough to attend Advocare Regional Success School here in San Diego. This was my very first success school and I was blown away! It was such a great experience! You have to understand something if you don't know me personally, I'm a pretty even keeled person, I don't get fired up or excited about many things BUT this is now the second "big" Advocare event I've been to and I've been fired up by both of them! So strap in and get ready for this one because I am excited to share!

One of the reasons I love Advocare is because this company is really all about leadership. I know it's a health and wellness company but bear with with me! I've attended a few leadership conferences in my day; sorority leadership conferences, student government leadership conferences, law school/professional leadership organizations, you get it, I've been to a lot. Advocare's success school is right on par with all of those, only it was packed into 8 hours.

Like other Advocare events, there were success stories. People who have lost this much weight, and people who have made this much money... But that's not what this was about. Success school is about what you can do to better yourself, better those around you, better the relationships you have with the people around you, and build a very viable business while you do it.
Just by listening to the people who Advocare picked to speak at this event it is easy to see that Advocare is a company with integrity and they want their distributors to act with integrity too. One of the speakers mentioned this "Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand." That could not be truer for this company.

A year ago if had you told me I would be talking to my friends, family, and even strangers about supplements and health stuff I would have asked if you were on something, but this "stuff" is way more than health supplements. It really is a tool that can help a lot of people when they really need it. And it's about a community of people trying to make a difference.

Hilarious Gym Stereotypes

My roommate and I often text each other while at the gym trying to explain some of the things we witness but these guys capture most of the typical gym characters perfectly in this hilarious video.

Are you drinking enough water?

One of the thing I noticed about myself doing the 24 Day Challenge is that I don't drink enough water. Apparently more than half of us don't drink the recommended about of water on a daily basis, which means we live in a perpetual state of dehydration! So I googled side effects of dehydration and I found this video by Chris and Heidi Powell, who I love from Extreme Weight Loss. You'll have to follow the link but it's worth it. Surprising effects of dehydration
So here's a recap:

• Side Effects of no drinking enough water: Chronic fatigue, headaches, a slow down in your metabolism - Hello! No one wants any of that! 
• The recommended amount: drinking half you body weight in ounces of water --"Holy buckets!" Ha! That's my favorite!
• Drink cold water to hydrate faster, and warm water to stay full longer
• Hangover cures: take as many gulps of water as your age before bed. Hey you know what else works, a Spark as soon as you wake up! Seriously I did it a few weeks ago and felt better in no time! Even made it to 10am Yoga!

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a water bottle or app that remedied you that you need to take a sip of water throughout the day so you avoid dehydration all together? WELL... check out this pretty cool bottle that has been developed and is about to start production. They just need enough support to show that people really do want this bottle. I personally can't wait for it to come out!  

Follow the link below to support this awesome water bottle. And until this it comes out remember to try to get in half your body weight in oz. of water everyday!