Starting February Off...

SAF Model Gorretti Francisco has been doing some great things as of late with Cygen Labs, including being featured on our website as well as some of our upcoming ads for the new year. Below is a journal entry written by Gorretti as part of her Winter 2009-2010 Training Journal on the Girls of SAF website. The original journal is posted here but you can read it in it's entirety below. If you are interested in following Gorretti's journal, you can register on the Girls of SAF website or you can follow it right here on our blog.

Written by Gorretti Francisco

Here we go onto yet another month; it really reinforces that time goes by so fast. February 2 was my 30th birthday. Many of us women, once we turn 29, seem to stay at 29 for a few years before accepting the reality. But I am really excited and proud to say I am 30. To me it’s a new beginning and a start to a new phase of my life. I have a new career, a new place, and a renewed sense of myself, or as Patti LaBelle might sing, I’ve got a new attitude.

During the off season, I had a great opportunity to shoot for Cygen laboratories in mid-December. I was a bit nervous as I was in off-season shape, but I was still very happy and excited for the opportunity. I got to shoot with bodybuilder Stephen Edwards where we did some fun shots together as well as some individual pictures. It turned out to be a very fun photo shoot. I am looking forward to seeing how the ads will turn out! You can check out the whole Cygen product line at http://www.cygenlabs.com.

Part of my fitness goals this year is to become more familiar with the fitness industry. One way I have decided to achieve this is to take the opportunity to attend iconic fitness events. Two of the events I want to attend this year are the Arnold Classic and the Olympia Weekend. I have already started to make plans to attend the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It is being held March 4-7. I am looking forward to seeing the expo and being motivated by the incredible physiques that will be on display.

Training is continuing along. I must admit I had a tough time getting back on the strict, clean eating plan. I was overindulging on raw almonds and walnuts so, as a result, I was having too much fat on some days. I am embarrassed to say it but when it comes to nuts I have no will power, so the only solution is to not have them at home. Even though nuts are full of good fats, having too much is not a good thing when it comes to clean eating.

Believe you can and you're half way there.
-- Theodore Roosevelt

(The picture above right is one of the pictures from the Cygen shoot.)