Guest Post: Stacie Duda

Allow me to gush a bit: my friends are the most beautiful, intelligent and driven people on the planet. There, I said it. I really think it's true! And my homegirl Stacie is no exception. 

Stacie (Center) and I with some other friends at Miss NY 2009.

We met in a former life as pageant contestants and this fierce chica has always inspired me with her hardwork and dedication. Stacie's currently prepping for the INBF Natural USA Bikini Competition on October 8th while a fulltime grad student at Nazareth College of Rochester where she's studying Speech Language Pathology.

I asked Stacie to give me a tour of her daily schedule and her prep plan. Here's what she said! 

6am: Fat burner + 30 minutes cardio on the bike
6:30: Breakfast
7:00 out the door for SLP graduate work
9am: quick meal
12pm: meal
3pm: meal
4pm: leave grad placement work
5pm: fat burner
5:30pm: gym + shake after workout
7pm: meal
8pm: wash all the dishes for the day and double check for next days prep
After the dishes I'm up until 11:30-midnight checking emails and
completing things for grad school.

Stacie 2 weeks into her current prep! 

The beginning was tough because temptation was everywhere. Snacks,
goodies,... junk food! My senses were heighten to every "bad" food out
there. It took awhile, but this phase passed.

 Its all about diet and mental stamina! The physical part is fun and
enjoyable. Prep is brainless if you do it right. Every Sunday I made
all my meals for the week. All I had to do was grab and go.
It is important not to skip meals and to drink TONS of water. The
results were noticeable after a few weeks. I took progress pictures
each week to monitor change. They truly help! Without them, I wouldn'tsee a change.

I've done this entire thing alone. No trainers, no nutritionist... I
just did the research and did what I thought was right. I stuck to it
and got results. I went on bodybuilding.com a lot. There was a lot of

motivation and support all around me. It helped a lot!

The diet is simple. I eat the same things daily. Oats, chicken, brown
rice, almonds, protein powder, and greens. I take a multivitamin, fish
oils, fat burner (Lipo 6), and vitamin D in the morning. At night I
take ZMA and GABA. Sometimes its hard to fall asleep because my mind
is racing about all the things I need to get done, what I'm going to
change for training, and excitement for the show.

Training is fun. I do a 4 day split and lift REALLY heavy. I try to
keep the lifting time short and then do moderate cardio for 30
minutes.

Consistency is key. Stick to what works for your body. It takes time,
but its well worth the wait.

Now (appx 4 weeks out). 

 I've lost 18 pounds so far and maintained muscle mass. Anyone can do this. "Ain't
nothin' to it but to do it!"