Hi everyone! I am in week #25 and I am now down to the final 3 weeks til the big show! I now weigh 160 lbs according to my scale at home. I am coming off a pro card win with the NGA (National Gym Association) last Saturday night but I have more work to do to be at my absolute best. After the show last Saturday I decided to celebrate my win and my birthday with my wife Jhanna, my brother and training partner Michael, and my mother-in-law Nadia. I decided to indulge with 1 chicken enchilada, 2 slices of pizza, some doritos, and to top it off I had a nice piece of chocolate cake! After getting back home the next day at around 4 p.m. I decided to weigh myself and I was totally shocked!! I weighed in at 170 lbs!! I was around 162-163lbs at the show. I think from all of the carbs I had taken in from Friday-Saturday night I was holding a lot of water in my system. On Sunday I was right back on my diet and I did 1 hr. of cardio on Sunday night. On Monday I weighed in at 168lbs and I had a good workout with the weights and 60 minutes of cardio. Tuesday I was down to 165lbs, Thursday down to 162lbs and today I was 160lbs!!! I have made an adjustment with my diet to shed some of that weight. I have dropped my carbs down from around 260 grams per day to 225 grams per day. I also increased my protein to 225 grams as well. So my calories are still the same as before but my macronutrients are different. This weekend I will drop my carbs down a little further because I am not working on the weekend so my need for carbs is slightly less than if I am at work. I will drop them to around 180-200 grams and just increase protein up to 250-270 grams during the weekend to keep my calorie intake the same. I still think I can drop about 3-4 more pounds to 156-157 lbs which could make me a lightweight. Being a lightweight is not a priority but at one of my previous shows in 2006 I weighed in at 156 lbs but my scale at home read 158 lbs so I think my scale may be 2 lbs off. If this is the case then in reality I am 158 lbs today. So in three more weeks I just may end up being a lightweight!

With 3 weeks to go I am really motivated to be at my best! I know a lot of people are coming to see me and I do not want to disappoint anyone! No pressure!!! My main goal is to have a good showing and have a good time. It is extremely hard to win a bodybuilding contest as there are a lot of really good bodybuilders out there. You never know who is going to show up! You have no control over the outcome or the judges decision. The only control you have is to make sure you bring your best and present yourself as best as you can! I have learned from my previous shows that if you go and think you are going to win and then you do not, it is a huge letdown and it is not enjoyable! I have realized to just show up and be relaxed and enjoy myself. This is what I plan on doing on July 18!!

I want to say thank you to my friends and family for supporting me through this journey! You guys have motivated me to keep going and train hard to attain my goals!

Here are some photos from today at 160 lbs. I still have more work to do but I will be ready on July18. Until my next blog, keep training hard and naturally!!!