Saturday was my last cheat day…. From now on it’s limited to just one cheat meal on Saturdays. So I knew I had to make the best of this one. I started the morning at a French bakery with Marcia. We had been dreaming of this breakfast for the past two days. I knew exactly what I wanted. A croissant with jam, a nutella crepe and bacon. Oh yeah, can’t forget coffee with milk and sugar too. So I started with that. Then decided I needed some protein so I got an omelet with green onions and goat cheese. This was heavenly! For lunch I went to Willy’s and got a burrito in a bowl with chips, cheese dip, and salsa. I really wanted a burger and fries for dinner but due to a slight change in plans I ended up with a chicken philly sub from Jersey Mike’s. Still amazingly delicious but just not what I wanted. Here's another kicker with the cheat day... we have to cut back on the sugar and sweets.... which are obviously my favorite part about eating. I had already had the nutella in the morning so I really shouldn't have anymore sweets today. I was having a huge internal struggle – to eat the pretzel M&Ms or not. If I ate them, that would mean I would have to do 30 extra minutes of cardio Sunday and Monday morning. Ugh! I love my sleep but I also love M&Ms too! So I ended up not eating them…. Mostly because I didn’t have them in the house. If they were within reach, I would have gobbled them up.
My friend Sean was running a marathon in Calloway Gardens Sunday morning so we went down Saturday night so he wouldn’t have to make the 2 hour drive at 5 am before the race. I didn’t really know what the plan was for Sunday so I had to pack all my food with me…. I had my egg whites, oatmeal, protein drinks, almonds, and a spinach and tuna salad packed up for the day.
While he ran Sunday morning, I was able to do my morning cardio (60 minutes walking) around the race course. It was really nice to be able to change up the typical gym work out that has always been treadmill, elliptical, or arc trainer. Fighting the urge to run was extremely difficult. I’m out there on my own, no one around…. open road. Who would know if I ran a mile or two? I really wanted to test it out, but I also knew that it wouldn’t be the best thing for my end goal, so I held back and just kept walking. After my walk I went back to the hotel and had my normal egg whites and oatmeal breakfast. After the race Sean stopped at a little BBQ shack and got a bacon burger, real potato chips with ketchup, and cole slaw. Then he proceeded to eat it all in the car right next to me. I was so jealous… beyond jealous. That stuff smelled soooo good! I mean, I can still smell good food can't I? There are no calories or carbs in smells.... so it's all good.
Once we got back to Atlanta I went to the gym. Marcia was going to work out early so I was on my own tonight. Also, I planned to meet with Johnny to discuss some updates and changes to our program. Now that we’ve completed four weeks we’re ready to change it up. We got four new weight lifting plans. This means no more push-ups and pull-ups. Yaaaaaay! We also discussed changing up our competition categories. For the first few weeks we were planning to do the figure competition, but now, we have the option of the bikini category. This category is less focused on muscle definition… this is more like the beach-body look. I think. I’m actually not sure of the specific differences. So we have a week to think about which category we want to do. Personally, I think I’m leaning toward the bikini category because I don’t know that I really want my body to look like some of the figure competitors that I’ve seen. I think that may be too much muscle on me.
Monday was the start of our new workout program. We focused on back today. The whole workout went by so much faster than the old program. We were finished in about 35-40 minutes and then went to Johnny’s spin class for some cardio. We were so freaking excited to be back in spin class! I have really missed the group exercise classes and now we can do one spin class a week. It’ll probably always be on Monday nights. After that, we finished with about 20 more minutes of cardio on the machines upstairs. To top it all off, we spent a few minutes in the steam room to relax and stretch out a bit. All and all…. Monday was a great day despite the terribly nasty rainy weather we had! Oh yeah…. And then my best friend got engaged! So freaking happy for her and her fiancé. Congratulations Amanda and Walker! Love you guys!
Tuesday was much the same as before. The new work out focused on arms tonight. This one also went by really quick so I was able to do weights and cardio and get home about 8:30pm. The workouts and time in the gym are not bothering me at all. So far, my biggest struggle has been food cravings 24/7. I am constantly thinking about food, candy, sugar, sweets, bread, pasta, cheese…. Ughh! The afternoons are the worst. Somewhere between 2-5pm I just hit a wall. I feel like I need a boost. Some sugar or caffeine…. Something to get me through the day. I’ve started drinking hot tea in the afternoons. I think that gives me just the kick I need to get to the gym after work. Once I’m there, I’m great. I just gotta get there. Any suggestions on how to beat the mid-afternoon slump???
Wednesday was a pretty tough day for me emotionally. I guess by now most of ya’ll have read my “Mid-Week Thoughts” post. That pretty much sums up what’s been on my mind this week. There’s no need to dwell on that any longer. The great news is all the AMAZING support and encouragement that I received from the people that really matter in my life. I was 100% overwhelmed by the kind words, love and support that came my way the rest of the week. It’s the people like this who make the 5:45am alarm clock a little more tolerable.
Thursday I woke up so sore… I could barely move my legs when I first stepped foot on the floor that morning. Wednesday night’s leg workout was killer! Even though I stretched and stayed well hydrated, my muscles were aching. I usually wear heels to work everyday…. Thursday was no different until about lunchtime. By noon I had to come home and change into flats. Other than the muscle soreness I felt great…. Filled with energy and positivity! I was fueled by the feedback from my latest blog entry.
Friday was a bit different. I was still sore from Wednesday night and now Thursday’s workout was also kicking in. I was also very tired…. By the end of the week the few hours of sleep and strict diet really start to catch up with me. Work was beginning to become overwhelming and the horrible cold nasty rain all week wasn’t helping my outlook. So needless to say Friday was pretty rough. Tired, hungry, frustrated, stressed…. It wasn’t pretty. I was thinking that I really regretted skipping those Pretzel M&Ms last Saturday... That was my last chance at sugar and sweets and I let it pass by. As soon as our workout was over I wanted to curl up and get in bed. I was really excited to get to sleep in on Saturday morning.
Saturday was a busy day for me. Luckily I was too busy to think about missing out on a cheat day. I slept in until about 8:30 or 9ish…. Wow that was amazing! Even though I woke up at 5:45am I was able to force myself to go back to sleep for a few hours. So I got up and went to the gym… I did my normal 60 minutes of cardio and then weighed in. YES! I lost 1.3 pounds since last Saturday. That meant that I can feast on a double cheeseburger and fries for dinner. After my workout I went to the memorial service for my friend’s father. Not a highlight of my day, but an inspiration to continue living life to the fullest. Never take any moment or anyone for granted. Tell your friends and family that you love them everyday… even more than once I day. No one gets tired of hearing “I love you”. My heart breaks for Cathy and her family. I know this time is very painful but it’s the love of God and the ones still here that will help you heal as the time passes. It amazes me to see how our group of friends banned together to help someone we love when they need us the most. I’m blessed to have an incredible group of friends who truly love each other and without a second thought would do whatever is necessary to lend a hand and heal a broken heart. We love you Cathy, Kyle, and baby B!
Later that afternoon I went to my friends', Chris and Jenn, house. Jenn, her mother, son Avan, and I were going to see my friend Shannon’s daughter, Mary Scott, as Lucy in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”. Jenn was so thoughtful to pick up Five Guys burgers and fries for dinner before the play. When I got to her house I had a huge double stack cheeseburger and bag of French fries with my name on it! I’ve always loved cheat meals, but this one was even better because I got to share it with friends. I also snacked on a few pretzel sticks during the show. Once I got home later that night I treated myself to another special treat (Johnny said this was my only exception to the no sugar/sweets rule) .. Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding Snack Pac! “I thought I was your snack pack!!!!” Anyone? J Ok maybe not, but even though it was late and freezing cold, I had to stop at Kroger and get my Snack Packs! Now it’s time to call it a night…. I hope I can sleep in late again Sunday morning. I need to catch up on sleep…. But then again, I really need to clean my house. I looks like a disaster!
Here's the Week 5 update picture... starting to feel like this is really paying off. I wish there was better lighting in the locker room but we're doing to best we can. Five weeks down, only six to go. Oh yeah, and to answer the question posed last Sunday, I've decided to change my competition category to bikini. Marcia did too.... So we're no longer aiming for the Figure competition. The only change right now will be the diet. Basically it will be less restrictive than the Figure competition diet. I think we'll get to enjoy our carbs a little longer. Next steps will be to buy our suits and start practicing our poses. This is all starting to come together :)
More to come next week!!! Oh yeah, I'm already focusing on next Saturday's cheat meal. My parents are treating me to dinner.... I think I'm wanting something Italian.... pasta and bread! YUMMY!!!!! Only six more days.
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