Truly Insane?

If you have followed my blog for any amount of time, you've probably wondered where I've run off to. 

I admit it. I got bored with the outfit posts. It's not that I stopped loving fashion or thrifting. I guess it's that it started turning into more of a chore than a fun project. 

That said....boy...do I have a doozy of a topic to start blogging about!

See this picture above? 

Yep, that's me. I think I'm still in shock. 

About a year ago, I joined a local gym called Train Insane Gym. A friend of mine at the time had family members there and I started checking out their website. I was immediately sold once I saw all of the "before" and "after" pictures.

My goal was to get in great shape and have some "before" and "after" pics of my own.

It wasn't easy.

 

At first, I was just getting used to the crazy workouts. I had never done any of these things before. Kettle Bells? Wall Balls? Double-unders? 

I'm sorry..what? You want me to do a handstand push-up? 

It was a tough learning curve...but nothing was as hard as the meal plan.

I tried SO HARD to resist getting on a meal plan. I mean..certainly these workouts were hard enough to burn off what I'm eating, right? RIGHT?!?!?

Nope.

Once I surrendered and started really focusing on eating healthy and reaching my daily numbers (protein, carbs, fat, calories), it was a completely different story. Suddenly my clothes were fitting better and I was noticing these strange shadows appearing along my arm. 

Dare I say that I had MUSCLES???

I never before had the goal of getting stronger. But...once I actually did get stronger, it became fun to see what I could accomplish. I started setting goals for myself like wanting to achieve unassisted pull-ups. 

(Which I can, btw!)

So, as you can see by the first photo, I finally got my "after" photo. I was SO excited to finally accomplish the thing I set out to do a year ago. 

So...now what?

Two friends of mine at the gym (who are obviously crazy) decided to sign up for their very first bikini competition.

If you remember, this is something my sister did a couple of years ago:

I've had a certain interest in doing it ever since I saw her show, but I always had convenient excuses: "She lives out of state and it's not something I would ever do alone and I could never afford the training..soooo....I guess that will never be me." 

As it turns out, I am officially out of excuses.

I already belong to the gym that will provide my training and now I have a couple of awesome ladies who have signed up also.

The next step was clear.

WHAT AM I DOING?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Let's just set aside the absolute terror I feel about walking onto a stage in a tiny bikini and literally having an audience judge my body. 

This competition is in December. Do you know what that means? That means that my birthday, my 2 year A.B. anniversary AND Thanksgiving will be spent eating chicken and asparagus out of plastic containers that I will tote around in my huge purse/duffel bag.

(That reminds me that I actually need to purchase said "huge purse/duffel bag".)

*Sigh*

So, currently I am spending the next week saying goodbye to anything that I can't have over the next 6 months: pizza, wine, Thai food, ice cream...

Is this a good idea to have a "mourning phase" before training for a competition? 

Uh...I don't know...or care. It's just what I'm doing, ok?

So, starting on Monday, July 1st (because all new diet plans start on Mondays) I will be eating super clean and hitting the gym hard!

Yes, it's going to make for a long summer and probably a lonely one at that. But, in the end, it will be so worth it. I can't wait to see what I can achieve over the next 6 months. And I'm going to keep blogging about it. This is less about entertaining others and more about keeping me accountable. 

Ok, folks...wish me luck! And if you would like to check out the blogs of the other two Train Insane gals who are joining me, here they are:

http://www.insanebikinimomma.blogspot.com/ 

http://burpeesandbikinis.blogspot.com/