Two week have past since I started the countdown. The nutrition guidelines have changed and results are happening. My body fat is coming down, and amazingly, my strength continues to increase. I need my hubby to help me with 3 out of my 5 lifting days. He pushes me to lift heavier and encourages me to go 1 more rep when I'm ready to be done. By the way, if you hear moaning and loud noises coming from the weight room, we are seriously ONLY lifting weights ;).
The carb cycling has been tolerable. For the past two weeks, I have been eating anywhere from 1800-2600 calories per day. No deprivation, just nutrient adjustments. On days where my carbs were higher, my fat intake is lower. On days where my carbs were lower, my fat intake was higher. Definitely can feel the difference when I teach on higher carb verus lower carb days.
Christine did a posing and contest prep seminar at my studio this past weekend. I've been practicing my posing~ visualizing the little box in the middle of the big stage~walking in my 5" heels (gracefully!)~and hoping my suit will cover my backside after all the squats I've done since October. But, to have the master look at your physique and make adjustments based on how you look, helps tremendously. "Pop your shoulder" "Lift up through your armpits" "You look better than your showing me (aka: that last pose needs some serious work!)" I'm practicing and practicing....even though this will be my second show (only!), I still have the same feelings of nervousness and anxiety that I experienced last fall.
I've been trying to change up my food, especially now that I have to get more creative when I have lower carb days. Last night I had chicken breast and tofu noodle soup. It was De-Lish!! Made by my very own hands and I'm pretty proud of it! You see, I come from a family of 8 children. My mom and most of my sister are FANTASTIC cooks...they can throw things together and just by adding a lil bit of this and a lil bit of that, Boom!! food that tastes amazing! Me, not so much! I have a hard time figuring out which spice would enhance the flavor of poultry versus beef, or, seafood versus pasta. My go to spices are: pepper, cayenne pepper and Tastefully Simple Seasoned salt. Oh, and maybe some oregano when I want to be extra fancy :).
I have had some crazy dreams. One included me eating my sisters unbelievably delicious banana bread, I swear I could taste it in my mouth during my dream. That great moment was interrupted by my subconscious telling my dream persona that I am NOT supposed to be eating that during competition prep! In another dream, I dreamt that the eggs I had purchased started to hatch in the carton and I was upset because I needed to eat the egg white and didn't want a whole chicken!!
I've been out with people on a couple different occasions and watched them eat everything I can't~which I am totally fine with! For the next 9.5 weeks, I don't get any more "cheat" meals, or, big girl beverages. Food has a purpose, and the enjoyment factor is kinda at the bottom of the list. I would rather continue to be social versus staying at home and drooling over food on the Food Network channel (my porn!) or luscious looking recipes on Pinterest.
On the home front, I have demanded that cakes, cookies and goodies be kept out of my site. My daughter is not going through training with me for this upcoming show, so I have kindly asked her to remove her birthday cakes and goodies out of view.
As of yesterday, my nutrition guidelines have been changed. We are
lowering everything again to see if the body continues to respond.
Am I hungry? Yes! Am I starving? No! Is this different than last time? Yes! Can I do it? Heck Yes!
I would strongly advise if you don't know the meaning of the word, Hangry, to look it up. It may explain any changes in my demeanor you may witness :).
