Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - An excuse to party! :

Last year at this time, I had just finished competing at the USA's. It was a difficult decision for me to make to wait for the North Americans this year to compete. I am getting extremely anxious, and after seeing the results over the past weekend, it just make me want compete that much more. Don't get me wrong, all the girls looked amazing and the I felt -- for the most part -- they rightfully earned their titles. So congrats to all of them, especially Crystal Lowery, a fellow competitor from San Diego who I've stepped on stage with more than once.

Since I didn't spend my weekend in Vegas, my girlfriend and I found another way to have a good time. We attended the 2nd Annual White Party in Rancho Santa Fe to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes, and of course to have a good time. I did what I could to help out by donating my services as a Personal Trainer to the silent auction fundraiser.


Over the past year or so, I have established some pretty good friendships that I am sure will last a lifetime. There are few girls I know I can always count on to go out with and have a great time. Regardless of the stress of dieting and competing, my friends are always there to provide a shoulder to lean on or a good laugh, and that means a lot. Isn't that what life is all about : )



melissa deal blogged at 10:44 AM

Monday, July 21, 2008 - Productive Weekend :

It's Monday morning and I feel like I haven't stopped since the weekend. After a leg workout Saturday morning, I headed up to LA to attend the NPC LA Championships. I was excited to see the show since I won the overall figure title last year and had the privilege of giving the trophy to this year's winner. Taking the overall this year was Valerie Carlino, a fellow competitor from the NPC USA's last year. She looked amazing and had made a tremendous amount of improvements over the past year and definitely deserved her trophy.



After the show it was time to get some rest so I could be up early to do make up on LA competitor Susanna Backman, who took 2nd place in Class C. She looked amazing on stage and did a great job in front of the camera. Recently I've started working with my good friend Conor from FitSights Photography, doing the make up and styling for the photo shoots. We work great as a team and I am enjoying my newest trade as a Make Up Artist.

Doing make up gives me a chance to get to know many of the other competitors. So many girls train so hard to get there bodies and such great condition that it is important to have excellent photos to show it off. Once my competitive season is over in September, I plan on starting to do stage makeup as well.

After our work was over, it was time for more work so I hit up the treadmill getting in my cardio for the day. The I headed over to Venice to get something to eat at Firehouse before I was on the road back to SD to train another client in the evening. Good thing I was not behind the wheel and was able to get in a much needed nap. Somehow we managed to capture some shots of me as well during our stay. Now that I am dieting and getting closer to the North Americans in 5 1/2 weeks, I am always up for having my picture taken.



melissa deal blogged at 1:15 PM

Friday, July 18, 2008 - Fun in the Sun! :

Yesterday was a very busy, but very productive, day! Between training my clients in the gym, doing two cardio sessions and training arms, we managed to fit in a photo shoot! Now that I am getting closer to the North Americans, which is only 6 weeks away, I am feeling much more up to shooting. After watching season after season of Americans Next Top Model over the past year I have felt more inspired to try different kinds of shots.

Practice always makes perfect, and now that I have been modeling for a little over a year now it feels much more natural to be in front of the camera. It also helps that I was working with my good friend and photographer Conor from FitSights.
We have decided that we are going to keep experimenting to get a wide variety of photos that I can share with all my friends and fans.

What a good idea it was to shoot in and around the pool on a hot and sunny summer day in San Diego! Overall I was very pleased with the look and had a good time taking the photos and swimming in the pool. : ) Be sure to check out my members section in the near future to see more of these pics as well as much more of my competition preparation!!!

melissa deal blogged at 10:51 AM

Thursday, July 10, 2008 - The Reality of Dieting :

Often I blog about all the fun things I am doing and how great my training regimen is going. Tonight I feel the need to write a little more so all my friends and fans can have a better understanding of what it's like to be a competitor.

The first time I decided I wanted to compete in a figure show was December of 2006. I had gained a little weight over the holidays and my body image was not too great. Even though I still worked out on a consistent basis, I wanted to have a real challenge... a reason to get in the best shape I have ever been in my life. So that was when I decided my first show would be in March 2007 in San Diego.

I went into my regimen feeling pretty confident that it was something I could achieve. Obtaining the look of a figure girl isn't as simple as just changing your diet and doing a whole bunch of cardio. There are so many things that go into fine tuning a physique and then presenting it correctly on stage.

Due to my competitive nature, not only did I want to do a show, but I wanted to do well. I honestly had no idea of what I was getting myself into and what a challenge it would be. After a while your body begins to kick into gear and its almost like you function as if you were a machine - Eat, Sleep, Eat, Train, Eat, Cardio, Eat. I believe consistency and discipline are the two key ingredients to success. You just do what has to be done and cheating is not a option...there is no excuse if you want to come out on top.

I was happy to take 2nd place at my first show, but to me 2nd was not good enough. Many girls would have been happy to come in second and it wasn't that I knew I could do better. So I kept going, and 4 months later I competed in the LA Championships, taking the overall win!



Now it was July and the following weekend was "The USA's" I had been competing for only 5 months and I was going to Nationals. I felt a variety of different emotions - anywhere from nervousness to excitement. The USA's were a very different experience than my first two shows. I went in with a positive attitude thinking that I would at least do well, considering I had just competed the week prior and won the overall at a pretty competitive show.

Being backstage with so many girls can be overwhelming, but I had made some friends along the way and we always try to enjoy ourselves as much as possible while we wait. I will just say it wasn't my overall favorite experience. Going from the top to the bottom in a matter of a week was tough. I stood in a line up next to girls I had beat the week prior, and their names were getting called out before me. Really there is nothing you can do but just stand there and smile and take it with a grain of salt. I knew that I may not have looked my best, but I was sure that I didn't deserve the placing I was given.

For me it wasn't over. I could not end a season of hard work and competing like this. Knowing there was one more national show to go and I had 5 weeks to improve anything I could, it was not an option for me to stop. I do not regret the decision I made because The North Americans ended up being my biggest achievement thus far. Placing in the Top 5 at Nationals my first year was worth the challenge. I can't wait to go back again in only 7 more weeks!!!

I want to thank all the fans for their continuous support and words of encouragement. I want to thank all of my good friends for putting up with moodiness and my temporary lack of existence because I am living in the gym. I am tired and sometimes I get annoyed at small things. Today the man in the grocery store asked me, "are you on a high protein diet?". I wonder if it was because I look in shape, or if it was because I purchased 64 eggs, 5lbs of chicken, and 3lbs of fish. He proceeds to tell me he eats the same way too. I just smile and think to myself he has no idea what it's like to be a competitor. I don't expect people to understand how mentally and physically challenging it can be. If it was easy it wouldn't be a competition, but I am not complaining because it's a choice. I love the struggle and the challenge all the way to the end and I won't stop until I achieve my goals.

melissa deal blogged at 9:43 PM

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - July 4th and much more! :

Since I haven't blogged in a while, I wanted to condense the past couple weeks into one entry, which would be almost impossible because there has been so much going on. My diet and competition prep is going well. I have decided to hold off on competing until the North Americans this year. Since I placed in the top five last year, I think it's a lucky show for me and it was a really fun show to compete in.

Since many of you know the guideline of figure are changing I am working making some adjustments to my physique. It is always hard to gauge what the judges are looking for, but based off recent national show results it looks like they want a less muscular and a not-so-hard look. In the end, all you can really do is come in looking your best and be proud of what you have accomplished.

In between all the training in the gym I always try to keep a good balance in my life. I think it is important to have balance, because eventually all the prep is over and many girls complain of getting depressed because they no longer have long hours working out to monopolize a majority of their time. Even though somedays I am tired I still try to make an effort to spend time with the people in my life that are important to me.

This past week was a pretty busy one overall. On Tuesday night, I attended the Sugarland Concert at the Del Mar Fair here in San Diego. Shopping and getting dressed up in my country get-up was my favorite part. Of course, I really enjoyed the concert as well because I always have been a big fan of country music and I was in good company.

The following day I was feeling pretty inspired so I decided it would be a good idea to do a photo shoot wearing some of the new clothes I had picked up on my shopping session the day prior. You can check out more of the photos in my members section of my site soon. After the shoot we decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the ensemble, so we went for dinner and played some pool in country line dancing bar... in the middle of nowhere. I personally have never line danced, but it looks like something I would like to try.

On a whim this year for the 4th of July my good friend Tina Cross and I decided it would be a good idea to have a BBQ. So after my morning session of cardio and workout I got ready and we prepared a bunch of yummy food...that I can't even eat while dieting! It ended up to be a great gathering with some close friends and family. Overall last week was great... even though some days I am tired of dieting I am still having balance in my life and having fun!



melissa deal blogged at 10:37 AM