A Post To My Old Coach Sean Calder's Athletes - for your enjoyment!

Hey everyone on Team Calder. I hope you had a very productive 2009! I've been working hard and getting ready for other shows and stuff.. but just wanted to stop by, say hello, wish you all the best.. and let you know that if you need to get ahold of me email me at tiffany@fornifitness.com using the words Team Calder in the subject and I will make sure it doesn't go to spam.

It's been an incredible past two years. Look for me on the box of Cellucor's new fat loss stack in supplement stores come January 30th. I've used their products and am happy to say that they're a good company with high quality stuff! :)

(Gotta love shameless plugging for sponsors right?)

Anyhow, I'm living half on the east coast half in Portland now. Travel is kickin my butt but I'm trying.

YAWN, whew, well time to go to the gym and bring some food to my boyfriend. (I'm seeing that guy from the supplement store that I first started dieting at again.. the guy who was with me throughout my whole transformation... Sometimes it takes going a little crazy, forgetting what is important and leaving town to realize what you really want... and that guy was there for me through everything. I love him and have moved him WAY up my priority list. I'm no longer afraid to have a boyfriend. If people can't deal with me being a "taken" athlete then they can go f themselves.

Another thing I want to mention is.. if you're training for a show, take your progress photos and ENTER A CONTEST!! You can seriously win money on this! A friend of mine is putting on this contest ( http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/creadyl-no-beta-transformation-challenge-registration.htm ) so I know it's legit. You know that working with Sean you're going to see amazing results.. so check it out.. it couldn't hurt!

Tiff :)

The New Year... The New Everyone!

I made the decision to compete a long time ago. I think the reason behind my success at it was knowing that there was a solid date that I had to be ready by. Not just by losing weight, but being in the best condition of my life. I needed the exact date, time and place to focus on.

When you make the decision to change your life through competing, starting a new diet, or even getting into the gym there's a piece that is usually missing. I struggled with my weight for years. The ONE time that it worked was when I had my sights set on something real. I'm not saying to go and do a figure or bodybuilding competition right off the bat, but any form of competition will help you get the results you want FASTER.

You'll have a goal, you'll know when you NEED to be done by, and if you tell all your friends and family about the challenge you're in, it holds you even more self accountable for your actions. You'll know that every cheat, every single day you miss the gym is a step AWAY from achieving your goal.

Here's a few things you can try to get your Resolution to a good start.

1. COMPETE - here are some links to things you may be able to participate in..
Transformation Challenge:
http://contest.double-tsports.com/transformation_challange/index.php
Bodybuilding Competitions: http://www.npcnewsonline.com\\

2. TELL EVERYONE!
Seriously, if you want to hold yourself accountable you better be ready to have other people push you!

3. DON'T PAY FAT TAX!!!!!
What is fat tax? It's what you pay when you go buy a gym membership and then go for about a week and stop going. It's the money you SPEND on the gym membership that you don't even use until you realize that you're too lazy to go and then you cancel the membership.

4. DRAG SOMEBODY WITH YOU!
Get your sister, your friend, your dad, your brother, your aunt, even that person from work who TALKS about working out but you never see any changes in them.. bring them right along with you. Not like a date, but maybe a "Hey, I could really use a spot at the gym some time, would you like to work out together??" thing.

5. REMIND yourself.
How? There are tons of ways. On my bathroom mirror I have in blue wipe away marker "Hey Tiff!! Get your ass up and go to the gym!" on my mousepad it says "HEY YOU! GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND GO TO THE GYM!" Those little things will keep it in your mind that you've made a decision and YOU are the one that can make it happen.

6. Start little, STAY little...
I mean this in the best way possible. If you start out simply by going to the gym and doing a half hour of cardio... and you keep doing this for months... YOU WILL SEE CHANGES!!!! It's amazing what these little things can do. Just add another little thing once your little thing has become a habit.

7. Have FUN with it.
Never a day goes by that I don't truly ENJOY going to the gym. Most of the time, if I feel crappy going to the gym actually makes me feel better! It's an amazing stress reliever. If you ever feel TOO BUSY to go to the gym just do it. Have a quick workout and it will do wonders for your stress level.

I hope this can help you guys stick to your resolutions... and for the sake of my buddy Jason, I'm going to say... NO MORE RESOLUTIONS!! MAKE THESE LIFE CHANGES! You can do it.. I did it. I was a 235 pound FAT NERD.. (I'm still a nerd, but not fat anymore). Get on it!!!

Best of luck to you! Only YOU can kick your own ass!

Love,
Tiff

September Plans

Alllrighty then! So September holds the Team Universe competition in New York and a few other choice opportunities for me to spread the word of fitness on the east coast. I'll also be going to the Olympia this year. See you there!

Tiff

ROFL @ Last Night's JTV Madness!

As the title suggests I had wayyyy too much fun on the Justin.TV chat that I did last night. The evening started off with a co-broadcast from Salem, Oregon with fellow JTVer Vector300. You can check out his channel at www.justin.tv/vector300 he's awesome... Vector AKA "The Singing Security Guard" (btw my channle is www.justin.tv/tiffanyforni) Enjoy. I get a bit bored some times. I did a live Q&A the other day that went from fitness downhill from there. There's also a little makeup tutorial.

But back to last night.. holy crap. So Vector, myself and Vec's wife all hung out and they sung songs and I chatted with vec's fans. It got late so I headed home and then stopped into his channle to say goodnight. (as any good nerd should). There was a request to broadcast... and I did... thusly.. chaos ensued.

I'll probably post a few highlights from last night later today because there were a few too many good times and I can't keep them all to myself. We had upwards of 175 viewers at a time in that chat last night.

I was asked such questions as "How much can you bench" to that I reply "Call 866-545-6311 and ask it again"... other random questions were responded to the same way.

There was a heavy presence from the misc last night as well. I invented a game for them.. twas much fun! I will be passing out reps tonight for the winners. The game was flashcard find the random online photo... I should think of a name for it.. Search and Destroy.. or.. I don't know.. .but either way, it was fun.

Also, to whoever did this to me.. THANKS FOR NOTHING YOU RICK-RoLLING MEAT SPINNING A-HOLES! It sucked, but it was too funny to stay mad about.. you jerk. lol. (if you don't know what either one of those things are don't ask and don't look them up.. they're NSFW).

I was notified that my channle was the #1 on JTV last night and I hope to keep a good run of casts going for the next few months. Some of my clients were in the rooms, and they asked good questions. I'll be posting on twitter and face book when I do the next justin.tv chat. So check it out twitter.com/tiffanyforni for updates.

Have a great day everyone!

Tiff

reTweet!

Look What I Found!

 
Here's a photo from the LA Fitness Expo.. just found it.. thought it was fun. :)

Competition.. OY!

Ok, so I didn't do the Oregon State because I didn't feel like I was in shape, and also, I'm qualified for a national show and think that I should just do a dang national show! So.. that's what I'm going to do. I was planning on doing Team Universe but with some craziness that happened at home with the family business I've got to stay in town for the next few months to help out. Therefore, my new plan of attack is get as ready as I can in the next 16 weeks for Nationals.

Let's see how this works.. I'm going to train as hard as I can and eat stuff that I hate.. mmm chicken and yams... *ok I still love yams.. but not so much chicken anymore*

Tiff

Car Door Left Open

Green corolla in parkinglot had a door left open.. so Leo shut it.

If I Could Change The World

I doubt my family follows my blogs.. in this particular case I hope that they won't. Change the world.. NOT POSSIBLE I have been told.. but I do like to learn things the hard way. Today I met with a guy who not only has done his own thing at a very young age.. but helps other people do it. I want to do my own thing.. forget it... I NEED to do my thing.

What I have done for myself is great and all.. but now, I need to do it for everyone else. I'll be posting here on updates for my new venture. Details to come.. this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Live it up!!
Tiff

Something funny... maybe this will brighten your day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Qn8-w12p0 this will make you crap your pants.. i love it

Missin Zack

On the 21st I found out that my roommate, who’s also one of my best friends drown in the river. I’m just glad that before he left I told him I loved him and that he was my favorite roommate (sorry Margie). I had just started dragging him to the gym with me since he moved in my house. He’s the dude in my picture right now. He was probably the best guy I knew. He never said anything bad about his mother, he loved everyone, respected everyone, and stuck to his beliefs and never let people get the best of him. Zack.. you f’ing rock.. I miss you so bad. Now who am I going to call to fix my computer when I can’t figure it out? Who man?? Guess I’m going to have to get back into gaming and stuff… I am still proud of you that you did your best. One of the few people I can trust.. I miss you Zack.. ..

I’m sorry guys.. I don’t know what to do… I guess I just write to get things out there… He was awesome. He actually started dieting and working out when he moved in.. and I think he really enjoyed it.. he made some dam good chicken too.

Pray for his family and friends.. thanks..

Tiff

... I got caught.

 

Published Interview on MuscleAndBrawn.com

Ok, so a little while ago the people at MuscleAndBrawn.com invited me for an interview. Here's a link to their page.. and below it I copied the article. Enjoy! :)


http://muscleandbrawn.com/2009/02/interview-4-questions-with-tiffany-forni/

Interview: 4 Questions with Tiffany Forni

February 17, 2009 by Steve

4 Questions with Tiffany Forni

Tiffany Forni has made an amazing transformation. Her blog states that she is a Fat Girl Turned Fitness Nerd. But there is more to the story then that. From blogging to photo shoots to writing a book…Tiffany is working hard to inspire others…and is a true inspiration for anyone looking to turn their life around. Fat girls and boys alike.

Tiffany was recently chosen as bodybuilding.com’s Transformation of the Year. Congrats!
For more information on Tiffany Forni, please visit her website, Tiffany Forni dot com.

Muscle and Brawn. Tell me about your transformation. How was your life before the change, what inspired you to change, and how does your life differ now?

Tiffany Forni. Life before the change… Well, to be honest I haven’t always been fat. But I was fat for a long time! When I was in high school I played ice hockey and kept in pretty good shape. I definitely wasn’t one of the popular girls, but I had a good group of friends. I have been told that people thought I was a tom boy… But I cleaned up well and still went to dances. I got fat when I went to college. During the fat times I was down on myself about being so big… But I didn’t feel like I was that grotesque of a fat person. I still had friends, but you can tell when people don’t want to be around you because you make them look bad. That REALLY hurt… funny thing is… Those people are asking if I want to go to parties and stuff now.
What inspired me to change… Well, I saw my sister and mom lose weight through a fitness boot camp and figured if they could do it I could. I made the change for myself because I wanted to be healthy. I wanted to be the girl with the body for once… not the fat one.
My life is SO different now. Going shopping is WAY more fun now. I have more than two stores to choose from, and I can actually wear the “cute” clothes! I still feel like a fat girl, but I keep trying to tell myself that I’m not that big anymore. When people look at me it’s hard for me to believe that they are looking because they LIKE what they see and not looking because I’m so disgustingly fat. People seem to be way friendlier to me… However, some girls get all up tight around me. I find that so funny. I used to get so nervous around good looking women. You always think that they’re out there to intimidate you… but I’ve found that they usually are more insecure than the normal looking people. I feel like my family is proud of me for once. I’m still afraid to wear shorts in public but I’m getting over that fear too. I’ve started modeling and writing about my experiences in a book that I will have out within the next year or so. I don’t fear getting into small cars… the downside to that is when I’m with a group of people instead of getting the front seat (to accommodate my formerly huge behind) I get crammed in the back because I’m “small” now. Hehe… oh well. :)

Muscle and Brawn. Tell me about your workouts …what did you do while losing weight, and are your workouts the same now?

Tiffany Forni. My workouts were no walk in the park. Before cardio I lift. I don’t do any of those three pound dumbbells like they show in pictures, I go as heavy as I can with perfect form to failure at the 18th or 20th rep. I listen to my coach and do what he says. I also get in at least a half an hour of cardio in per day… sometimes up to two hours. When it got close to contest time I would do around two hours per day.

My lifting schedule is like this… Leg day, Back and Biceps, Shoulders and Triceps, Chest… two days off.. then repeat.

The workouts haven’t changed for the past 7 months or so. I am still seeing results though. On occasion I change it up a little bit. If I am on vacation I do what I can with the equipment available.

Muscle and Brawn. Now the important question…Tell me about your diet or eating plan. What did you eat during the time you made the fat loss changes, how long was the diet, and what was the hardest part?

Tiffany Forni. My eating plan… wow… well, my diet has changed many times during my transformation. Part of my success is changing it up at every plateau. In general I would eat 4 ounces of lean meat and 3 cups of vegetables for meals. Between meals I would have a protein shake with 35 grams of protein in it. For breakfast it was 6 egg whites and one whole egg with a quarter cup of oatmeal. I was allowed more carbs in the beginning of the diet like brown rice and yams.. but those got taken away eventually… so did the peanut butter… I really do miss peanut butter! I dieted for about a year to lose the whole 100 pounds. The hardest part was resisting temptation. Cookies, cake, brownies… I have a sweet tooth that won’t quit!

Muscle and Brawn. Generally, when you make a dramatic change in lifestyle and physique, someone is there to criticize you, or accuse you of taking shortcuts. I see from a blog post that you’ve received some of these attacks. Tell me about them, and how you handle them?

Tiffany Forni. I would like to thank the people from the (bodybuilding.com) MISC forums for keeping me thoroughly entertained with new rumors and fantastic things that I didn’t even know about myself. I have been accused of everything from liposuction to steroids, and even the occasional nose job post. I will get a few furious emails every week telling me what a terrible person I am for having two “distinctly different” people in my before and after photos. It’s easy for me to send them a link to the timeline of my progress pictures and they will usually send me an apology note. It’s amazing what losing 100 pounds, getting laser eye surgery, a tan, covering yourself in Pam and learning how to pluck your eyebrows can do.

By the way the rumors are fake… But I did get me some big fake boobies! :)

Muscle and Brawn. Thanks Tiffany. Keep us updated on the book.

PHOTOS from the LA Fitness Expo Posted

Howdy howdy! Ok , so I finally found my card reader and I can now post pictures from the LA Fitness Expo. I had a blast! Maybe you'll recognize a few people in these shots!

Tiffany :)

www.tiffanyforni.com then click gallery, go to like page 4 of the galleries and there will be the LA Fitness Expo Album. :)

Temptation

Ooooooh as a fat girl I struggle with this all the time. Temptation. That's a tough nut to crack. Today I'm at work, bored... loooooking around. I see a small package of oreos. I sayto myself..

"Hey Tiff, there are only six little cookies in that bag.. you can eat them."

Then I must stop myself and say "No you will be fat.."

"No you won't there's only six, you'll burn that off in no time"

"But I don't want to be fat.. I don't want to set myself back.."

"FINE.. don't eat them"

"Ok I won't"

"Well FINE!"

"FINE!"

And then I am nolonger tempted.

I know that eating those cookies in the middle of my contest diet won't kill me or make me puff up all big,.... but it sets me back. I know that all of this hard work has paid off and to diet again for my next show I need to be right on it. I don't see the cookies as something I HAVE to have... they are just cookies.. they'll be around when I'm done. I can look forward to different things.. like eating my fancy feast every two hours.. (by fancy feast I mean canned tuna)... I know it's not the most exciting or delicious thing out there.. but the results make it so worth while.

I am not going to have another cheat meal for four weeks. That's a long dang time! I'll have to go through a week in Hawaii with NO CHEATS... what the heck? I can do it. I'll bring my forman grill and my lunchbox to be ready for that week. Those will be some interesting blog posts.

Wish me luck, I may need it!

Tiffany

Shrugs and Laughter Don't Mix

Ok, so last night I was at the gym... thought to myself.. hmmm ok I'll do some dumbell shrugs tonight. Yeah.. all seemed fine and dandy till my roommate (Margie) made a face that I can't even describe here.. and I laughed. I laughed and managed to mess up my neck. OUCH.. Jeeze. After that I was like.. ok I'm done. I had a great shoulder workout around midnight.. then .. why shrugs.. why.. what the heck.. I never do those.. then oh yeah.. greaaat idea Tiff... bah! I should just concentrate on music and doing what I'm doing and try not to notice any funny facial expressions. ... this has been.. my first.. official.. gym... injury. Nothing some tylenol and food can't fix! :)

Later! Tiff

LA Fitness Expo

I haven't blogged in a while because I have been busy with the LA Fitness Expo and Ironman Pro show. I had an awesome time with the people from www.bodybuilding.com They chose me as their Transformation of the Year and I was happy to represent them at the booth for the expo. I got to meet tons of people and take a lot of .... interesting pictures. (I will be posting those in my gallery soon).

During my time in LA I got to meet Charles Glass as well as many other bodybuilding legends. *yes.. I got pictures... * If you can't tell by now I love photos. Speaking of photos, I'm hella excited about my next shoot that has helicopters! Woo Hoo! If only I had completed my pilots license. The guys at the dream tan booth hooked me up for that shoot..so I need to give them thanks... THANK YOU DREAM TAN GUYS! What else...

I have decided that I want to compete at the Arnold at the first Bikini contest. I have had lots of support from friends, family, and even people who have no idea who I am about competing so I'm going to do it. Wish me luck! There will be tons of hot women on stage and I'll be up there grinning like an idiot. But hey, fun times right?

YAWWWN,, oh man I am exhausted! I went non stop for an entire week. I am most thankful for being able to share my story with the people who stopped by the bodybuilding.com booth. I think it has helped people get a little jump start to their diets. I think I harassed the people at the labrada booth enough to score some protein to hold me over during the show. MMMMmmm mmm. I like the vanilla ice cream flavor. It's delicious. You can buy it on bodybuilding.com

Today's workout, was FREAKIN AWESOME! I took some Faktor from Hanz Drake and was wired for back and biceps. Good tunes, new clothes (from bodybuilding.com) and a shnazzy new gym bag from the show kept me going. The only thing I forgot was a lock.. dangit. Oh well. I was invited up to the Seattle Bally's to talk to people who are entering the Biggest Loser contest for that Ballys! I can't wait to go up there and meet the contestants. I'll keep you posted on when I'll be up that way.

Anywho, hope you all have had a great start to your new year! I'll see you around!
Tiff

PS, I'll be at the Arnold at the bodybuilding.com booth in a few weeks.. YAY OHIO!

It's a New Year!... no duh! Anyway It Makes Me Happy!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I spent my new year playing rockband with my brother, boyfriend, roommate, my brother's roommate and my brother's girlfriend. It was AWESOME! Stayed up till like 5am. Got snowed in,... didn't keep up much on the blogging during that time. Had a lot of work to do.

I posted a link to the interview I did with my coach Sean Calder on his forums that I write in. They're at www.seancalderpersonaltraining.com just click the members area, and you'll find links to my forum threads. It's in the second to most recent set of posts. Check it out for sure if you're planning on getting fit.

Something that I think I should talk about, just incase you decided to make a new years resolution to lose weight, is Gym Etiquette.

Now a lot of people have had some time in the gym and know most of this. But I know that when I started I had NO idea what to do. So here's some handy tips for Gym Noobs:

1. Re Rack Your Weights - trust me.. if you don't do this it will annoy people. EVEN YOU GUYS! You drive me nuts when you leave six 45 pound plates on a machine and I have to haul each one of them off of it... YEAH.. so what if you can lift that much.. I DON'T CARE.. be nice and put them away.. someone like me could come along and not feel like showing off because she wants to get a serious workout in and have to take the time to put your toys away. Jeebus! ..

2. It's ok to carry a note book and pen. Don't worry. The people who know what they're doing in a gym won't think you're a wierdo for tracking your lifting. It's actually a good thing to do espeically when starting out. Track your sets, weight, and reps. Handy tool... very handy. I used to be so self conscious about writing down my workouts.. now it's no big deal. Sometimes I even type them into my blackberry and email them to myself. *yes. I'm a nerd.. I know.... * But whatever way works for you, go for it.

3. Grunting... hehehe... oh man. I've heard so many rants on this one. If you can.. please refrain from making grunts that sound like you're taking a 12 pound dump. I can understand if you're going super heavy ... but in EVERY exercise.. every set.. every rep.. grunt grunt grunt... it's annoying.

4. iPods! I love ipods! If don't have one yet.. or any kind of mp3 player.. it would be a wise investment. It's perfectly fine to wear an ipod to the gym and rock your face off! It really helps me get the last few reps in when I'm feeling tired. Crank it up!!

4. Oogling people. Ok guys.... (and some gals) .... well here.. wait.. before I start on this one let me give you an example. Whoever knows what a stiff legged deadlift is will know where I'm coming from on this one. If someone is doing these... and hiding in a corner on purpose... DON'T FOLLOW THEM INTO THE CORNER SO YOU CAN STARE AT THEIR BUTT!!! It's embarassing!!!! I can't concentrate when I know there's some yayhoo with his eyes glued to my rear. I've even seen girls staring down a nice pair of bike shorts from time to time... (guilty) but STILL!... at least let her get her set in before getting that glazed over look in your eye.

5. Post Workout Shakes - if you drink something post workout, it's totally fine to make it at the gym.. just try not to make a huge mess and get powder all over. It's a pain to clean up. One of the handy tricks I use is to put the powder in a zip lock bag... when I'm done lifting I go fill the ziplock with water... squish it around, bite the corner off and drink my shake through it like a cake frosting cone. Then just toss the baggy. Handy.. yessh.

6. Asking for a spot. That also, is not uncommon and most of the time it's fine. I would ask that you DO NOT ASK the people who are in the middle of a set.... or anyone wearing sunglasses, an ipod, and a baseball hat... indoors. They're probably very serious about their workouts and wear those things so that people won't approach them to ask them questions.

7. A good time to ask questions is if someone takes their headphones out of their ears. That is a signal to the world that they're probably done with whatever they're doing and they don't need to be all hardcore anymore.

8. Mirror Space - Many people need to see themselves in the mirror to keep their form right. When you walk in front of people while they're working out it can be kind of annoying. Try to walk behind people. Oh yeah.. and if you see people flexing in the mirror... they might not be the self centered person you think they are.. they're probably getting ready to do a bodybuilding show and just want to check on their posing. Posing is very important for competitors.

9. Gyms as places to pick up chicks... or dudes. - BAD YOU!... Ok not really.. maybe... well.. this one depends. All I know is that I HATE being approached while I'm in the middle of a set for some guy's chit chat about who knows what that only leads up to a corny pickup line ( I love good pickup lines though... they make me giggle)... it messes up my chi. When I'm mid set I want to concentrate on my form.. not on some guy. If you're going to ask her out.. maybe get her on her cooldown on the treadmill so she'll be able to actually hold up a conversation instead of just spray sweat on you and trip over herself trying to talk to you while running at 8mph.

10. Perfume... - ohhh pleeeeeeeease don't put this on to go to the gym. Best thing you can do is take showers or use deoderant.. just don't go overboard on the smelly stuff. It can give people headaches and distract them from workouts.

11. Makeup... ladies.. you really don't need to do this. You'll get a nice healthy glow from working out... :) Sweat makes your eyes look brighter too.

12. Jewelery... - be careful about wearing rings. They can get smashed easy.

13. Cell Phones - RINGERS.. OFF... (nuff said)

14. Cell Phones part two - FOR THE LOVE OF PETE DO NOT MAKE PHONE CALLS IN THE GYM... go out side, go to your car.. anywhere but in the gym. Nobody can concentrate when all they hear about is how your old aunt So and So bit the big one and now you don't know what to do with her 14 cats.

(Sorry for ranting.. my bad... please forgive me).

15. Gloves. - if you're going to lift and you don't want blisters.. use them. :)

16. Thongs - uhhhhhhhhhhh... heh.. just don't.

17. Locker Room Nakedness - brief moments.. fine.. but don't run around conversing with people while you're in your birthday suit.. that's just wrong... silly and wrong. I don't care how hot you are it's uncomfortable for most people and they will appreciate your courtesy for wearing clothing when talking to them.


OOOOkeydokey.. I think that's about it for ranting. I hope this clarifies a few odd behaviors at the gym and helps you understand why people do what they do and when it's ok to do what and so on and so on.

I hope you have a great new year!~ My fingers hurt from typing!

Tiff :)