Week 10

Sunday started out as a pretty normal day.  Unfortunately I forgot to turn my alarm clock off on Saturday night. So that meant that I woke up at 7:00am.  I tried to go back to sleep but around 7:30 I got up and started cleaning my house.  Boy was I in desperate need of a thorough house cleaning.  I started with just my bedroom… once that looked decent I decided to hit the gym and knock out my morning cardio.  After that I ventured to hell on earth (walmart) and bought my protein shots.  I have to go here because they’re much cheaper than Kroger.  While I was there I also picked up some ingredients for a homemade face scrub.  Thanks to my gym friend Sonny for sharing her “recipe”. 

I came home and had my grapefruit then showered and continued my cleaning spree.  I cleaned for hours… it seemed that I was getting nowhere.  There was so much to be done and I couldn’t really focus and prioritize the tasks on the list.  Pretty soon it was time for my eggs…. No oatmeal today.  Today starts my 13 days carb-free.  I’m trying hard to stay positive about this.  So after the oatmeal and hot tea I kept cleaning.  I even cleaned out my front closet and large closet in my guest room.  Next thing I know, it’s time for lunch.  I had grilled chicken and a double serving of spinach.  The plus side is I can replace the sweet potato for extra vegetables.  After lunch I tried to relax and enjoy my afternoon…. I caught up on a few shows saved on my DVR.  At 5:00pm I met up with Marcia to go through our weight circuit and cardio work out.  We also met with Johnny to practice walking and posing again.  This was fun because we get a small taste of what it will be like to be the center of attention and get on stage to show off all of our hard work.  After that we had to finish up our cardio…. I’m sticking to 75 mins this week.  I thought I would be back down to 60 minutes because I didn’t have and Sugar Free Pudding Snack Packs.  Not exactly… looks like 75 mins of cardio twice a day is here to stay.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on my outlook…. I didn’t get to finish 75 minutes of cardio because the gym closed at 8:00.  I did squeeze in 65 minutes before they kicked me out.  Who would have ever thought that I would be the last one to leave the gym on a Sunday night???

After the gym I went to Kroger to stock up on veggies.  My list consisted of green beans, asparagus, broccoli, and dishwasher detergent.  I made it out with all of those things PLUS Eddy’s Girl Scout Cookie ice cream J Oh yeah, Thin Mint and Samoas…. I had to get it because they’re limited edition and may not be there in two weeks.  They were also on sales so how was I supposed to walk away from that! So I just tossed those two pints in the freezer next to my other Girl Scout Cookies and locked them away until after March 19.

Monday was a great day.  I woke up and decided to create a great day.  I was determined to fill my head with positive thoughts and a motivated attitude.  Sure, I was scared a little bit about the no carb diet, but I couldn’t dwell on that.  Negative thoughts were only going to drag me down so I made the conscience decision to eliminate negativity for the next 12 days.  When breakfast came around I ate my eggs and had a cup of hot tea to fill the void of the oatmeal.  My green tea is soooo good.  It’s like a treat that I look forward to everyday.  So for lunch I came home and had my usual chicken and spinach.  Instead of having ¼ cup of baked sweet potato I substituted that with about ten asparagus spears.  Instead of thinking about lunch without sweet potato I thought of it as a double serving of the veggies I love!  Pretty simple.  We did our legs workout Monday night and it was killer!  We bumped up the weight on almost every exercise so I was really feeling the burn…. And I was loving it! 

Tuesday was much the same…. Great morning work out and very productive day at work.  I think the “eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive” is the best motto to get through any day, not just a training program.  On my lunch break Tuesday, my friend Annie and I went to Michael’s to check out the bedazzling supplies.  I got some fun pretty crystals to bling out my bikini.  I’m pretty excited to test my craft skills and see how this turn out.  Here’s the best part about my workout Tuesday…. Over the weekend I was doing some serious cleaning and found my old pink iPod mini from college.  OH BOY!  So I charged it up and took a 75 minute hill interval trip down memory lane Tuesday night.  OMG so much fun!  That was the best way to go through a cardio session  It was like being in Room 2 at 654 S. Milledge Ave all over again.  My arc trainer might as well been in the middle of Firehouse instead of Midtown Athletic Club.   I listened to 22 songs straight without having to skip a single bad one.    I can’t wait to get back there tomorrow and hear what else Bubba (my iPod’s name) has in store for me.

I hate to admit this, but  Wednesday was a little bit of a let down.  If you read my Special Update you learned about Mr. Man Thong.  Well, Wedneday he never showed up.  Bummer.  I went on with my normal morning  cardio then headed to work.  Wednesday was a nasty stormy day.  It must have been a long time since we’ve had rain like that…. I certainly don’t remember it recently, but then again, I hardly pay attention to the weather.  If it wasn’t for my crazy diet I wouldn’t be able to tell you what I had for dinner last night. 

I felt pretty good all day and didn’t think much about the competition.  Keeping busy at work is really helping postpone the nerves.  I don’t want to focus on March 19^th until March 18^th gets here.  I just wish I knew what to expect.  I have no clue how many girls will be there and how many will be in my division… I don’t even know what to really expect on the big day.   I just know it’s going to be a loooooong day. 

Wednesday was a pretty typical day with our evening work out.  We did the chest and shoulders circuits, then 75 mins on the step mill.  I was excited to get home and start my arts & crafts project.  I bought a few packages of crystals and some fabric glue and it was time to go to town on my competition suit.  I practiced a little bit on an old suit and decided I was ready to graduate to the real deal.  I started out simple…. Just the shoulder straps.  I glued crystals from the top of the cups all the way up to where the straps would tie behind my neck.  Here comes the hardest part.  I have to let the glue dry and set for 24 hours!  Another test of my will power and patience.  I really want to try it on!!!  But I know I’ll need to wait until Thursday night or it can all be ruined.  It’s kinda like the ice cream and cookies in my freezer… just sitting there testing me every minute of the day, but if I have one bite, the past ten weeks could be ruined.  I didn’t realize how strong mind of matter really could be.

So I’m about to get a little “churchy” here for a minute.  If that’s not your thing then skip this paragraph and pick up again on Thursday.  I’m not one for really “preaching it” but I just wanted to share another part of my daily life outside the gym.  Wednesday is Ash Wednesday.  It is the start of Lent, the Christian 40-day season of preparation for Easter.  It is a time of fasting and penance to bring us closer to God through our sacrifices. In the Catholic Church, it is normal to hear of people talk about what they “gave-up” for Lent.  In the past few years I’ve typically given up foods or drinks that I love: all meats, sodas, sweet tea, and even all candy/sweets last year.  Well, this year I had a new revelation.  I really couldn’t give up anything dietary because I wasn’t enjoying all these treats anyway due to the training program.  I started thinking that I would add something of meaning to my daily life instead of restricting something that I really love.  I realized that I had made the commitment and sacrifice to transform my body for a physical competition.  The training program was about 11 weeks, 77 days.  So why would I not want to transform my mind, soul, and relationship with God for eternal happiness?  I know how excited I am to see the physical changes and accomplishments that have come with this training…  now I was even more excited to see how the next 40 days would transform my heart.  I was going to use the 40 days of Lent to learn more about God’s purpose for me and follow His map to my happiness here on earth and eventually with Him in Heaven.   I can only be more excited to see how I can further develop my relationship with my Father. I’ve decided to read, study, and live The Purpose Driven Life over the next 40 days.  This book is divided into 40 days of lessons to help you realize God’s purpose for your life.  If I can spend three hours a day in the gym for my own gain, surely I can spend thirty minutes or so a day reflecting on why God created me, breathed life into me, and put me on this Earth.  What’s my real purpose here?  I’m pretty sure it’s not working 40 hours a week behind a desk, exercising, dieting, and wearing bikinis on stage.  There’s got to be more out there for all of us…. There’s go to be something that gives us hope, happiness, and peace.  In 40 days I think I’ll be just a little bit closer that answer or at least have a few pieces to that puzzle.  So all in all, I think it is important to respect yourself and take pride in your physical health, but know that there’s more to life than the physical.  God gave us life as a gift.  We should appreciate that gift and use it for the most good as possible.

Thursday was just another day in paradise.  Our countdown was now official in the single digits.  Only 9 days left and then it was time to shine!  Thursday morning I called the competition organizer to confirm that my registration had been received and correctly processed.  Yep, it was all there.  I was all set and ready to go for my first NPC Bikini Competition!  When I called, I thought that it might be nice to know how many other people were registered.  So I asked the man how many people were registered in my division.  Oh boy… bad idea.  His response was “No one ever asks that.  Why do you want to know?  The other people don’t matter.  Why? Are you scared of the competition?  It doesn’t matter who else shows up that day.  As long as you come at your best that’s all that you should be concerned about.”  I tried to explain that I was new at this… I just wanted to know what to expect on the day of the show… and then I said “Well, really, I just need to know how many boxes of tissues to bring for the losers!”

I was so tired Thursday afternoon…  I didn’t sleep well Wednesday night.  I couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight, then woke up around 4:30am and tossed and turned for another hour until I finally went to the gym.  I had a great morning at work and then went to pick up my suit bottoms from the alteration shop.  I feel a lot better knowing that’s complete now.  It wasn’t until after lunch, maybe about 3:00pm that the fatigue really hit me.  The lack of sleep combined with almost no carbs in four days, and the cold dreary weather just hit me like a brick wall.  I didn’t feel like working or going to the gym, or doing anything other than curling up in bed and sleeping for a week.

Thursday night I went through my legs workout on my own.  Marcia had to teach another class so she worked out earlier in the afternoon.  I had to dig deep and power through that terrible feeling.  Once I finished the weight training and got on the elliptical then I started feeling better and more energized.  This is when I realized that I’ve truly lost my mind…. After completing 35 minutes of cardio, I looked at the countdown clock and it read 40 minutes… my honest thought was “Yes, almost finished!”  Now that’s really crazy… 40 minutes is “almost” nothing. It’s longer than The Daily Show, it’s a long drive across town in traffic, it’s a dreadfully boring conference room meeting at work…. But at this point, to me, 40 minutes on the elliptical was almost done!

Holy cow!  Only seven more days of training.  We’re going to be finished next Thursday… Friday we’ll take off to rest and get prepped and then Saturday is the big day!

Here we go, about to start my last Friday work out… I was a little slow moving Friday morning... the end of the week is usually difficult because I’m so tired but this week was just a little harder than the past few.  I’m just not getting the sleep I need.  I don’t know why I can’t fall asleep at night.  I want to go to bed around 9:30pm but I’m not getting in bed and actually sleeping until close to midnight.  And even worse than the 5:30am alarm is the 2:30am bathroom break and being wide awake at 4:30am!!!  I haven’t had a solid night’s sleep all week. Other than that, Friday was an awesome day…. For me, not for Japan.  I felt great and energized once I got to work.  

I think the morning works outs actually make me more focused and productive at work.  This week has been awesome.  I feel like I’m getting so many things accomplished without feeling swamped with projects and overwhelmed by all the little tasks.  Friday evening was our short workout…. I worked out on my own because Marcia was late getting to the gym.  Somehow she tweaked her back and pulled a muscle so she was going to a massage therapist to get it checked out.  Friday was great because I was able to get in, do three circuits, ab training, and get on to cardio very quickly.  Although I know it sounds like forever, the 75 minutes of cardio is really starting to fly by.  I think it’s due to the newly found old school iPod.  Each song is like a 4-minute surprise party… who doesn’t love surprises AND parties combine into one big event!  Friday night I was able to get home pretty early, shower, and cook dinner before 8:30pm.  My plan was to force myself to go to bed early… well those sure were good intentions, but not happening in real life.  I continued to work on bedazzling my bikini… I think it looks really good.  I just hope everything actually stays on.  But, I have plenty of extra pieces and glue to take with me on the big day.  I’m sure I’ll be doing some last minute touch ups but that’s ok.  Then I got sucked in to my DVR and watched some shows I’ve missed dearly the past few weeks.  After that I decided to start reading a new book.  I told myself to put it away at 11:00, but I didn’t… I read until about 11:30 and then just laid in bed staring into the darkness….

Saturday was going to be a day for me… a day of nothing but rest and relaxation.  I started the day, after barely sleeping more than two or three hours straight, with my morning cardio.  Then I headed to Salon Next to get my haircut.  I went to the Junior League’s Nearly New Shop to drop off a donation of old clothes, shoes, and purses.  After that I went to hell on Howell Mill Rd.  Yes, that’s right.  Walmart.  I figured that I might as well stop in and pick up my protein drinks while I was there.  I has sooooo happy to buy my last supply of protein drinks.  These things are terrible and I’ll never drink another one again after Thursday.  After Walmart I went to the Cobb International Market to get some fresh veggies…. I  picked up some spinach, green beans, and asparagus.  For the rest of the day I’m just lying on my couch and watching TV.  I’m not doing anything but trying to catch up on sleep and rest.

Here are my week 10 update pictures…I’m pretty much done with the physical changes.  For the next week I just need to focus on staying on task and keep it on autopilot until the competition is over next Saturday.  I weighed 104.3 on Saturday morning.  I dropped 2.9 lbs this week and 15.3 lbs over all since the training started.

I’m planning to give daily thoughts and updates on Twitter next week.  Also, I’ll be tweeting updates every step of the way on the Big Day…  follow me @katie1602 to keep up with everything from the final steps of preparation to collecting my trophy and celebrating my victory next Saturday.