Journey by June 2024

June 2, 2024 - About 10 min into cardio

I thought I'd take a moment to ramble about my own journey.

Over the last few years it just seemed like I couldn't drop the fat. I could build muscle, but the fat was just sticking around. This has been a relatively new issue for me and I will get into how I've been overcoming it in a bit.

Back in 2007, I found out that I had a hypothyroid issue. I go to a natural medicine doctor and the remedy was pretty much a temporary regiment of powdered pig thyroid (encapsulated), a change in diet, and an increase of exercise. My thyroid fixed itself. Standard doctors tend to prescribe medication that pretty much kills the thyroid and you have to stay on meds for the rest of your life. I do not have to take meds for the rest of my life. I just have to not eat the foods that affect my thyroid and I need to exercise regularly.

I started eating paleo as my standard diet and exercising 5 days a week. Just starting out, all I was doing was cardio for 30 minutes a day. I went from a size 16 down to a size 4 in about 18 months. The problem I had - I was a skinny fat due to a lack of strength training.

Fast forward to 2012, I had moved to Portland, OR for just over a year and then ended up moving back to Alaska. Not thrilled about it, but whatever. I just started gaining weight, despite regularly hitting the gym and trying to eat properly. I got back up to a size 12 and was SUPER not happy about it.

Last year, I decided to participate in the 2023 Wine & Muscle Showcase - a non-competitive bodybuilding showcase in Fairbanks, AK. I managed to get to a size 10 with GREAT EFFORT. I cannot stress that enough. I was putting in so much effort and seeing so few results....almost crushing my spirit.

Here I am in the booty shorts and a sports bra. I was literally told that I was too fat for a competition suit by a company that makes competition suits. I did the show and it was fun. I actually had a handful of larger women come up to me and tell me how inspirational I was.

2024 posing practice. 3rd in line.

For the 2024 Wine & Muscle Showcase, which was just this last weekend on June 1st, I got back on stage. After the 2023 show, I decided that I needed a team. I was already working with my doctor, so I started working with a personal trainer and a nutritionist. I raised my lean body mass, lowered my body fat percentage, and also lowered my weight. The nutritionist, after looking at my blood tests, had me go on the carnivore diet for about 3 months as a system reset. I responded positively to the carnivore diet. Carnivore is animal product only; this means meat, eggs, fish/seafood, and limited dairy ONLY. No vegetables, no fruits, no grains, no nothing....just animal product. It sounds fucked up as hell. I am well aware. After about 3 months, I was allowed to add beans and lentils. That made it a little nicer because I could make a basic chili type of thing.

Anyway, I got myself down to a size 6 for the showcase. I'm still looking a little large and I have some extra skin that has yet to reabsorb. BUT, I was able to get a competition bikini (this one was found on Etsy) and I felt like I fit in more with the others. Between shows I was able to recomp and lose around 35-40lbs of fat. By "recomp" I mean recompose fat into muscle. My lean body mass is in the 130s currently. Also, for the 2024 Wine & Muscle Showcase, I was moved from bikini to wellness, which is more leg and glute dominant.

I am now focused on two upcoming shows: 2024 IPL Golden Heart Classic in Fairbanks, AK (September) and 2024 OCB Unbroken in Columbus, GA (November). Both are natural bodybuilding shows with drug testing.

Readers - I am 100% here if you need assistance in getting started, questions answered, advise, a sounding board, etc. You can send me an email, leave a comment, or use the free members forum.