Vegas Here I Come!!!!

Here is how it all went down on the last day at home in Canada before the contest...

I had a fantastic Oxygen cover shoot with photographer extraordinaire, Paul Buceta aka Paul C. Buff . Now here is a man who can get a girl to laugh and show abs all at once – he has a secret but I ain’t sayin’ what it is cuz ……

His beautiful assistant Elle styled me with several fabulous looks ranging from a Titanium color swim suit to fire engine red. Guess we will have to wait and see what comes out of this – no promises though. As Robert Kennedy always says, “It’s a cover TRY! There is never a guarantee!” We shot at least 1500 images but I gave up counting eventually. I love working with you Paul!!

Sabrina Rinaldi did my makeup – see the photo of my eye makeup. She did a fantastic job of making my eyes look bigger but still fresh and open. The color palette is shimmery with a pop of mauve at the outer edges. My fav colors! Nice work Sabrina. P.S. Mind the close up of my Dutch nose :-) !!

Then there was the Oxygen team of Stacy Kennedy and Stephanie Bratt. These ladies are two devoted women who know exactly what they want out of a “cover girl.” Reading between the lines that means they work the model’s butt off to get the money shot. I am glad they do – I always want the best shot possible not just a so-so image. BooHoo! I feel sorry for me! Stephanie is leaving Oxygen. I shot with her for the first time 2 years ago and have learned everything about how a cover girl needs to stand and pose from her. I requested this photo shoot to happen so that she could be there (her last day is on November 20th). We are going to stay in touch my friend!

The playlist included a huge variety of tunes from Led Zeppelin, Josh Rogan and even some opera (haha)! It was all good. It is a lot easier to pose with great tunes believe me!

As for the eating yesterday... it was rough in the morning since I was still carb depleting. I had only egg whites for breakfast and had to start shooting right away so I did not have a moment to eat again until 1:30 pm. The good news is that I could eat carbs at that point so I dug into tilapia, brown rice and steamed green beans. Can I just say I experience “Carb Love” in a big way. I suddenly felt human again and had oodles of energy to continue shooting until 4:00 pm (which is when we finished). Now, if that isn't an argument for including healthy carbohydrates in your diet, than I don't know what is!

Believe it or not I still had to go home and pack, prepare food and train.

My workout was short but heavy. I trained shoulders. Here’s how:
4 sets bent over lateral raise, starting with a warm up set and moving up to 15 pound dumbbells for 15 reps
4 sets of shoulder presses, heavy – 25 pounds for 10 reps
Posing practice.

As for today...

VEGAS BABY!!!!

I had a super early chiropractic appointment at 7:00 am. I did my last cardio session before I left for the appointment.

I am still drinking distilled water and having smaller meals. I will eat less from now on just to keep things in check for the show.

Now I'm off to the airport to catch my flight.

Cheers to you all. I'll be keeping you posted while I'm away.

I love to hear you are learning something from this craziness. Here are some more answers to commenter questions:

Question: I have been following Cooler 1 for 4 days now. I think a lot of my ab flab is thick skin. Do you think it will it go away? One other ques. How do you get the routines in your workout book done in less than an hour. Do I need to give myself 1 minute rest in between leg work or just wait for my heart rate to go down to what?

Answer: It is totally possible to have a layer of residual skin in the abdominal area that won't budge from diet and exercise. As we age skin gets less and less elastic and loses its ability to bounce back into shape. Having kids can accentuate the problem. Give yourself a pinch test to figure out if the flab is skin or fat (you'll be able to tell). If it's skin you have a decision on your hands. If it's fat.... keep eating clean and exercising! Supersetting is a great option for upping the cardio ante of your workout and getting the routines done in an hour. To superset you do one set of one exercise and then follow it a set of another exercise. Do this for all of your exercises and you'll be sweating! You can also pick and choose from the workouts to form a plan that works that muscles you want to work and fits into your schedule.

Question: I'm a sports student and have a whole lot of training every week, but Monday it's really crazy, cause I have 2hrs track and field and 1.5hrs gymnastics in the evening. I fall asleep like a baby afterwards, but in the middle of the night I feel my muscles so much, that it keeps me awake. Do u know any tricks, that would help me and my muscles through the night?

Answer: This is why I take cal mag and have a lean-protein meal after my workout. The cal-mag supplement acts a slight muscle relaxant and is best when taken before bed (discuss taking this with your doctor or healthcare professional). Having a protein shake or high-protein meal within 1 hour after your workout will really help with recovery. Give these options a try.

Question: What cooler can beans and legumes fit in? Can I include them in cooler one? I know there is some fat in them. Is the goal to not have even the good fats in cooler one? What about CLA, flax and fish oil supplements during my Cooler One time? Can I eat any other veggies than what you list in cooler one if I am trying to shed that stubborn belly fat. And would it ruin my efforts it if I added a dash of soy milk to my coffee?

Answer: Beans and legumes fit best into Coolers 2 and 3. They are too carb-dense and not protein-dense enough to be included in Cooler 1. The goal for Cooler 1 is cutting out carbs and focusing on LEAN PROTEINS! Healthy fats are important in all coolers so your CLA, flax and fish oil can all be continued on Cooler 1 just as I have been continuing on my supplements as I have been in competition prep. I listed the veggies in Cooler 1 for a reason... they offer the least glycemic load (in layman's terms: they are less dense carbs). I would urge you to stick to these. Cooler 1 is intense for a reason, and the restriction is it! A dash of soy milk is not ideal if you're really trying to give Cooler 1 your all... but it won't completely ruin your efforts.

Now what are we going to do when I get back?

Love and hugs,
Tosca