1 Week Out: Home Stretch

It's almost here! It's almost here!! I can almost taste the piiiizzzzaaaa!

 In just one week, I'll be getting on stage in this BEAUTIFUL bikini!!!

I can't believe I'm in the home stretch. It actually kinda sneaked up on me!

Not a whole lot has changed in the last couple of weeks. My coach switched my protein sources, so now I'm just eating tilapia, eggs and protein powder. No more turkey. :(

I'm also on a new 3 day carb cycle of No Carb, No Carb, High Carb. I hate it and I feel exhausted almost all of the time. 

Other than that, still plugging away with my 50 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. In case you're wondering what that feels like, it feels like this...

But then I take shameless gym selfies to feel better. :)

 Yeah, I can honestly say that the cardio is the worst part for me right now. It just takes FOREVER. But...it works when trying to lean out at the end, so it's a necessary evil. 

I spent this morning reflecting on this process over the last few months and how much I accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. I grabbed some photos from Jan 24th when I was 15 weeks out and compared them to the photos I took this morning. Wow....I can't believe the difference!

So on that note, I'm going to rest up and get focused, because next week is going to be ca-raaazy. Can't wait to suck all the water out of my body and slap a tan on it! Let's get this show on the road!

3 Weeks Out: Yep...Now it's Real.

Hey everyone! I'm back again! I'm officially the worst blogger ever. I can talk and talk and talk, but the second I sit down to write a blog post, it's nothing but crickets in my brain!

So here we are....THREE WEEKS OUT from the NPC Atlantis Competition. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time! I can't believe it's almost here. 

As far as my diet and training go, I've started the dreaded carb cycling. 

(insert tears)

It hasn't been quite as bad as last time because I'm working with 1,850 calories. At least I'm not hungry!
(UPDATE: I actually JUST moved to 1,600 calories...so I will probably start to be hungry. lol)

It still depletes my energy, but I'm hangin' in there!

My cardio was just recently bumped to 5 days at 50 minutes. Holy moly....that's a lot. That's 5 days of cardio on top of my 4 lifting days that include their own metabolic conditioning and supplemental work. All of this work while constantly planning, measuring and packing my food while maintaining a full time job......I'M EXHAUSTED. 

But...I have my good days....

And I have my bad days....

The key is to just focus on one day at a time and one success at a time. And it helps to get myself excited about the very few fun parts of the process. For example, my bikini!!!!!!!

My best friend/bikini partner/therapist/fashion guru Shana and I went to our first bikini fitting!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!! 

I'm in LOVE with the fabric I chose and I can't wait to wear it on stage! We are working with Jeri Di Competition Suits and we couldn't be happier! 

She really took her time to make sure that she was fitting the bikinis to our bodies in order to really showcase the hard work we've put into it.

These are not the bottoms I'll be wearing. These are just serving the purpose of a pattern so she knows exactly how to cut the fabric for my "real" bottoms. 

We'll have another fitting next week where we'll be able to see our bikinis more put together. 

So I guess I will move onto progress photos. I'm posting a comparison of this week's photos vs. my photos I posted last- which were my "7 weeks out" photos.

That's pretty much it for now. I am focused/nervous/anxious/excited all at the same time. But, I definitely feel a lot better this time around. Shana and I are soooo excited to get on that stage....but more importantly... get OFF that stage to dive face first into some bread and wine! hahaha

Have a great week, everyone!!!!

7 Weeks Out: Still Going!

Hi! I'm still here! 

I was just thinking the other day, "I haven't blogged in a while. I think it''s been a couple weeks." Then I logged on and realized it's been a month!!!! I'm so sorry!

So...to catch you up to speed, I'm still measuring and prepping my food and working out every single day. 

The end.

Haha! There's more to it than that, but I seriously feel like a robot every day repeating the same thing over and over and over again. It can get old really fast. 

The most recent development has been that I have started carb cycling. I have a 3 day cycle of no carb day, low carb day and high carb day. I cycle that over and over again and it turns my body into a fat burning machine. It's pretty cool, but it does run me down a bit, so it's not a long term solution for your average person.

Ok, here are this week's progress photos:

Other than being tired, I've been feeling pretty happy. I'm happy with my progress and I'm getting excited for my show. Next week I have an appointment to get measured for my bikini! YIKES! 

It's getting REEEEAL!

Ok, it's a Sunday and I'm done with my cardio, so I'm going to relax and hang with my puppy! See you all next week!