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Finding That Perfect Suit Is Like Finding The Perfect Wedding Gown…
Ever since I began competing in bodybuilding contests in 2009, I have had a fixation on suits. My fixation became a bit extreme during the time I was chasing after an IFBB Pro Card, and resulted in the purchase of a total of NINETEEN suits from 2009 through 2014!
Here is the breakdown of all the suits I bought each year:
2009:
Luli Fama off-the-rack suit – Bought through Victoria’s Secret Catalog. Wore for my first contest.
Royal blue Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Tournament of Champions.
White and silver Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Border States.
Black Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at NPC Nationals.
Lilac Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Excalibur.
2010:
Slate blue hologram print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Emerald Cup.
Purple leopard print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Never wore this one.
Zebra print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Team Universe.
Tiger print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Never wore this one.
Deep blue shatterglass effect Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at USA, Jr. USA, IFBB North American, NPC Nationals.
2011:
Blue Maison Lyle custom suit – Never wore this one.
Peacock custom suit made by me – Wore this at Team Universe, Master’s Nationals, IFBB North American, NPC Nationals.
2012:
Peach Tamee Marie cusstom suit – Never wore this one.
Red CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at NPC Pittsburgh, Team Universe, Master’s Nationals.
Green CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at IFBB North American. (I also wore this at both Pro contests I did in 2014).
2013:
Light blue CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at NPC Metropolitan.
Tangerine CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at Team Universe, Sac Pro.
Iris blue Jagware competition suit – Wore this at Irongames Pro.
2014:
Gold Ravish Sands custom suit – Wore this at Dennis James Classic Pro, Nor Cal Pro.
I no longer have a fixation on buying the “perfect” suit and have sold most of my suits. However, there are a few suits I will never get rid of, for various reasons:
Zebra print Fresh Peaches custom suit – This suit turned out to be great for photo shoots.
Tiger print Fresh Peaches custom suit – This suit also turned out to be great for photo shoots.
This was from IFBB North American in Cleveland, Ohio in 2012. I hadn’t seen this image until now! That was an amazing contest for me, in which I took a First Place Finish in Open Bikini C, beating out 27 other young ladies. I was 45 there!
Green CJ’s Elite custom suit – This is now my backup suit for IFBB Pro events.
Tangerine CJ’s Elite custom suit – I won my IFBB Pro Card in this suit and will never get rid of it due to its sentimental value. In addition, this is my main suit for IFBB Pro events.
I completely understand now the quest for a perfect suit can turn into an obsession! Over the years I managed to buy suits in green, various shades of blue, white, black, lilac, blue-purple, animal prints, peacock, peach, tangerine, red, and gold! Sometimes colors which look amazing on some competitors might not look as good on you, or maybe the color is perfect, but the cut isn’t quite right. I enjoyed trying out different colors and suitmakers, but I don’t think it was sensible at all for me to buy so many suits! Clearly I was a bit fickle about competition suits, hence the constant switching from one suit to another.
The entire process of selecting a suit is quite similar to the process of hunting for the perfect wedding gown. Yet even when I was searching for a wedding gown, I didn’t invest nearly as much time in that search, partially because I abhor shopping, but also because I was on a very limited budget when I shopped for a wedding gown. It was 1998 and I was in medical school, living off medical school loans, and paying for the entire wedding. What is amazing to me is that I have paid more for some competition suits than I paid for my wedding dress!
Believe it or not, I am still pondering the idea of having just “one more suit” made, but I keep pushing the idea aside because I know that would be frivolous. I know several competitors who struggle with the same suit frenzy that I have dealt with over the past eight years. Instead of spending major coin buying a bunch of different suits, you might want to consider just buying a couple of suits, one main suit and a backup suit. Your impulse may be to choose a favorite color to wear onstage, but make sure that the color/shade you choose looks good with your complexion and hair color! I have made that mistake a couple of times and ended up looking less than my best as a result. If you are indecisive, the massive selection of fabrics and connectors can be dizzying, so take your time when trying to decide on all the details. My absolute favorite suit designer is CJ’s Elite, not only because her suits always fit like a dream, but also because she has an extensive fabric and connector selection and is an amazing woman.
For those of you who want to try to save some money, a good option is to purchase used suits from a fellow competitor. I have two bikini division suits and a figure division suit for sale on my contest prep site: http://cutcurves.com/Storefront.php
Creativity Through Redecorating
I have always been a creative type, but as I have gotten older, the pragmatist in me has had a tendency to overshadow my creative side. As a result, I very rarely embark on creative projects these days, despite the fact that I always feel a pull towards anything creative, whether it be drawing, suit design, writing, or DIY home projects.
I am currently involved in a complete apartment reorganization and redecoration project which has enabled me to use my creative energy. It has been a challenge coming up with themes and color stories for the various rooms. Though the place is tiny, the to-do list is daunting because I need to maximize the use of limited space on a very small budget. These limitations make it impossible to buy new items of furniture, so I must instead repair and redecorate existing pieces which lack character. Paint, decals, stencils and fabric will be utilized in clever ways in order to add color and character to the space.
It has been a blast figuring out what my client loves in terms of color and design elements, and though her tastes are different from mine, I know that I will create a living space which she will be thrilled to come home to. Stay tuned for the transformation photos once everything is completed!
What A Life Coach Does
Over the past year I have learned a great deal about what it means to be a life coach and how a life coach can and should impact a client’s life. Life coaches may help clients effect positive change in various areas of their lives, such as relationships, career/job, time management, and home organization. The end result of a successful life coach/client interaction is an enhanced quality of life and more balance. Life coaches are completely invested in advocating the client and helping to reach goals. Most of the time the life coach will assist the client in determining what those goals are, because clients often have no idea what they truly want until they dig deep into themselves.
Some individuals can get so bogged down with the stress in their lives that they practice circular reasoning which blocks them from taking things to the next level and pursuing goals. They become complacent, hesitant, and procrastinate on projects and goal setting. Life coaches get the wheels turning again. Life coaches hold their clients accountable and know how to encourage personal growth by challenging set patterns which have held clients back from being successful in the past at reaching goals. This doesn’t mean that the life coach tells the client what to do. Instead, life coaches will guide their clients in such a way that a shift in behavior occurs organically. As a result of this organic shift, clients arrive at their own decisions which in turn empower them as they pursue the goals they have defined through their life coaching sessions.
I have recently added life coach to my list of services and enjoy working with the clients who have enlisted my help. If you are interested in life coaching services with me, please visit http://www.staceynaito.com and send a message through the contact form there.
I Still Love The Fact That I Won A Trophy As Tall As Me!
This was taken after I won the Masters 35+ Bikini Overall at the NPC Pittsburgh in May 2012. I took a first place finish in Masters 35+ Bikini B and a third place finish in Open Bikini C. The trophy measures 66 inches in height, and I stand at 65 inches without heels, so the overall trophy is taller than me!
Making Regular Exercise A Priority
I freely admit that I chuckle to myself whenever I hear people say that they wish they had the discipline to work out on a consistent basis. It’s not that I am insensitive to the rigors of busy schedules, because I spend my days running from place to place, multitasking and barreling through tons of tasks, errands and responsibilities. But I set aside about two hours per day, six days per week, to go to the gym, and I train HARD and HEAVY every time. The main reason why I am so consistent about hitting the gym consistently is that it is a priority, as important as brushing my teeth and showering on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, I look forward to my gym sessions as a way to begin each day, which is why Sunday, my rest day, is a bit rough for me and throws me off my usual daily pattern of waking up and heading straight to the gym.
Perhaps you are one of those people who believes that there isn’t time to work out, and you continue to allow your schedule to annihilate any chance of working out. The thing is, if you actually made working out a MUST instead of something to fit into your schedule as it allowed, you would find a way to get your butt to the gym and follow a plan. I have definitely noticed that people who want to reach certain fitness goals are much more successful in reaching them when they follow a specific regimen which provides guidance and structure. Making promises to yourself like, “I will go to the gym on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 6 am to 7:30 am”, or “I will drive straight to the gym after work every day” can be a great start to adding discipline and consistency, but you need to follow through and hold yourself accountable.
I am not kidding when I say that you need to put your workouts into your schedule! Enter your workouts on your iPhone or your Google calendar so that you have the time blocked out in your schedule. Don’t allow other things to interfere with the time you have allotted for exercise either, because when you do that, you reinforce the idea that exercise is not that important and can be pushed off. Those of us who are committed to a fitness way of life don’t allow life’s little hiccups to interfere with our gym time. It’s that simple.
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Maintaining A Healthy Perspective With Contest Prep Plans
The following article is featured on SportsNutritionSupplementGuide.com as well:
Those of us who compete are well aware of the critical importance of following specific meal plans which are designed to optimize lean muscle mass and promote fat loss. However, these meal plans, especially during cutting phases, can be extremely restrictive. In our quest for attaining the ideal physique for whatever division we compete in, we may find ourselves in a spiral of obsessive nose-to-the-grindstone adherence to foods we may have grown to abhor, intertwined with strong temptation to deviate from the plan and indulge in forbidden foods, only to berate ourselves afterwards for doing so. After all, we are only human, and after weeks or months of eating clean, we may be so exasperated with daily servings of asparagus, tilapia, chicken breast, and sweet potatoes that our emotional food triggers may kick in and undermine our contest prep efforts.
With orthorexia, there is an unhealthy fixation on clean foods and one’s moods are dictated by how rigidly a clean diet is maintained. So how is this different from what competitors do in the weeks leading up to a competition? The mentally healthy approach is to regard food simply as fuel and to dismiss any emotional association with particular items. I have been witness to and a participant in the fantasizing of forbidden foods in a manner akin to lustful, sexual craving. I have heard competitors talk backstage at length about all the foods they were planning to indulge in immediately following their final visit onstage for the night.
What I find interesting about such food fixations is how they are distinguishable from anorexic behavior. When I was 19, I battled anorexia, dropping to 85 pounds on a 5’5’’ at my lightest. With anorexics, they have a clear and complete aversion to calorie-rich foods and have successfully turned off any interest or cravings for such items, whereas with bulimics, orthorexics and many healthy competitors in contest prep mode, coveting indulgent foods is rather commonplace. Among all these groups, there is a propensity for obsessive and compulsive behaviors. One may argue that such obsessions and compulsions are a vital component of contest prep and that without such tendencies a competitor will lack the focus necessary to succeed.
It seems apparent that competitors as a general rule, are dangerously close to that fine line which separates a healthy relationship with food from orthorexia. I remember quite well how rigid I was about the food I ate when I was anorexic and even kept a daily food journal in which I wrote down the calories and fat grams of every food substance ingested. I also recall how horrified and ashamed I was of myself when I would reluctantly consume a food I regarded as fattening.
Over 20 years later, I have a healthy relationship with food and for the most part regard it as fuel. Yet I am immersed in the world of contest prep and like many other competitors will balk and grumble about the clean foods I must eat. There are times when the mere thought of eating another spear of asparagus seems like the most disgusting activity in the world. On the rare occasion that I find myself in a restaurant, I find it an alien concept to peruse a menu and actually be able to order whatever I want from any part of the menu. There are also times during which my metabolism is in hyperdrive and I could eat almost nonstop for the duration of the day.
Here’s the thing: if I indulge in something that is not part of a contest prep meal plan, I don’t flog myself. Rather, I allow myself to enjoy the rare treat and move on. If you find yourself wallowing in extreme anxiety and prolonged guilt over ingesting a food item which is on the banned list, beware. This could signify the beginning of a food-related psychopathology.
Women’s Health & Fitness: Relationship-Based Solutions For Female Clientele Of Any Age
Please click on this link to read the original blog submission for the month of May in which I was a featured contributor:
http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2a517c301526ee432715a7f55&id=a975e73eed&e=fe80cede46
Many women can often be intimidated by health club or gym environments for a multitude of reasons. Women who don’t have a clue how to use unfamiliar exercise machines may find the experience of navigating through a whole collection of them rather terrifying.
As if that isn’t enough, some women question their ability to perform exercises with the necessary degree of coordination, balance and strength. Other women may hold onto the common misconception that lifting weights will make them extremely muscular and masculine, so they will shy away from free weights and weight machines, opting instead for more aerobic style activities. What is remarkable is that once these women are educated on the importance of regular exercise and proper nutrition, they experience profound health benefits which impact every aspect of their lives.
Gym owners who are willing to make an effort to address the unique concerns of women have a wonderful opportunity to build trust in their female clients, while also potentially increasing revenue by offering classes, training packages, classes, supplements and apparel which are designed for women.
If one-on-one training is offered at your facility, make sure to develop a group of trainers which can motivate female clients and address their unique concerns without making them feel inadequate or overwhelmed. Women also tend to have more questions about how to eat healthy, and often practice chronic caloric restriction which their bodies eventually adapt to, making it more difficult to drop those last few pounds, so it also makes sense to offer nutritional advice or refer female clients out to a dietician or nutritionist who is affiliated with your facility. Once the clients begin to experience physical and mental transformations, they become great cheerleaders for the gyms in which they train.
On a personal note, I am a proponent of weight training and supportive nutrition, especially in older individuals. One of the cruel consequences of aging is that a progressive loss of muscle occurs, beginning as early as one’s 20’s. I explain to clients that resistance training and an increase in protein intake are both critical for combating the insidious deflation of muscle and sagging skin which are the dreaded signs of advancing age.
It is important to make clients aware of the fact that resistance training will increase muscle-fiber diameter and overall strength, as well as naturally boost growth hormone and testosterone levels in the body.
Such hormonal and metabolic boosts can be incredible blessings for a menopausal woman who has been riding the unpredictable and often uncomfortable wave of hormonal decline, which is fraught with hot flashes, mood swings and, insomnia.
Basically, it is never too late to begin strength training!
For more information on age-related muscle loss in older women, please read my feature article in the September 2014 issue of Muscle & Body Magazine.
Which Is More Effective For Weight Loss: Diet or Exercise?
As a physician and fitness professional I regularly evaluate people who want to lose weight and have often been asked whether diet or exercise is more effective in helping them to reach their goals. If I had to choose which type of weight loss strategy was more important, I would say that about 80 percent depends on diet. In fact, research has shown that the majority of weight loss programs which focused on dietary changes produced 2-3 times greater weight loss than programs focused on exercise. However, long term management of weight loss can be optimized by a consistent exercise program.
The fact is that most people are prone to consuming foods which contain large amounts of fat, hidden sugar and salt, and preservatives. Quite often the portions consumed at one sitting are so large that the body ends up in storage mode which can lead to weight gain. By becoming aware of the value of nutrient-dense foods and re-patterning one’s eating habits so that such foods form the foundation of a daily meal plan, long-term weight loss and maintenance of a healthy weight can be accomplished. However, the media pushes “quick fixes” by promoting severe caloric restriction and plans which are nutritionally unbalanced, thus creating a state of malnutrition. For this reason I discourage fad diets as they almost invariably cause rebound weight gain to occur. There are also different types of pills which by various mechanisms can assist in weight loss. However, a number of such products can have deleterious adverse effects and should be taken with caution, if at all. I do make an exception with thermogenics, which, if used properly, can serve as an effective aid in weight loss.
But what about exercise? It is true that exercise can often stimulate hunger, but it also boosts metabolism, has a positive effect on brain function, and builds muscle. There is also some evidence that intense exercise may lower levels of ghrelin (an appetite stimulant) while raising levels of peptide YY (which suppresses appetite). In other words, if you plan to incorporate exercise into a weight loss regimen (and I highly suggest that you do), make sure to engage in workouts which are intense and challenging. One caveat: the aforementioned satiating effect on hunger is short-lived, so don’t be surprised when your body begins to crave food in an effort to replenish depleted energy stores. Before you begin to think that exercise is a bad idea when trying to lose weight, consider this: apparently, frequent exercise restores sensitivity to brain neurons that control satiety, thus placing you more in tune with your hunger signals.
Over the long term, the combination of smaller, more frequent meals, nutrient-rich foods and regular exercise can act as an insurance policy of sorts which will protect your weight loss or weight maintenance efforts.
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