Day 25 - Dialing It In

I have 13 days before my diet becomes insane; eating the same exact thing, at the same time of day, everyday, for 3 weeks, and ending the 4th week with the hell diet. I'm scared because Glen and Maria still have not told me what I will be eating. In anticipation, I have cleared my schedule for the entire month of October. My last time away from home is October 1st, when I drive down to LA to check out my reception venue and then I am not leaving SF for 30 full days. I will not eat out a single meal, I will not go too far from home, and I will start incorporating sprints at the end of every workout, 5 days a week. I'm even boycotting a trip to the Key West in the middle of October.

To wean myself off the coffee, I have a 6 week plan. I am cutting down to 1 venti a day for the next week. The following week, I will only have a grande a day and the week after it will be 1 tall a day. Then I will only have a tall 3 days a week, and the last 3 weeks of the competition I will have no coffee. I am worried it will mess with my body's pH balance and make me retain water.

Almond butter is also being cut from the team. After the first time I measured out my little cups, I started eye-balling the pours, which were very quickly turning into double the amount. Yesterday was the final straw. As I was scooping almond butter into the jars, using my scale to stay honest, I realized that I had probably consumed 3 tbsp worth of almond butter simply by licking my fingers to "clean" the knife and around the jars. I like it a little too much, so I am sticking with raw almonds and avocados for my added fats.

I am keeping my hot chocolate, without the xylitol, because it is only 30 calories (1 gram protein, 2 grams fat, 3 grams carbohydrates) and it helps with my chocolate cravings. It tastes like very dark chocolate and it is growing on me.

I am allowing myself one more green juice this weekend and then I am cutting them out. I feel like it is hard to gage how many calories I am actually consuming. Even though they are packed with essential nutrients, without the added fiber of whole vegetables, my body digests the carbs too quickly and I am hungry very soon after. I will reintroduce my beloved juices after my competition.

Although today is Friday, I am planning as if it were Sunday. All my meals are ready to go for the weekend; my yams are cut into wedges, my chicken is in bite sized cubes, and the almonds are easier to eat than avocado. I need this weekend to be perfect. Even though the scale isn't going down, which is because the muscles I am gaining weigh more than the fat I had, I feel leaner than ever. If I retain water it will show up on Monday and I am dying to see my waist go down another inch.

Here is a list of things that will throw off the scale, for those of you who are not used to dropping 4 lbs of water in 2 days:

• too much salt
• too much sugar
• not enough sleep
• too much sleep
• dairy
• wheat
• preservative (alcohol fits in this category)
• not enough fiber
• too much fiber
• too many carbs, protein, fat
• not enough carbs, protein, fat

I think you guys get the picture. We (and I mean especially me) use the weekend as a free-for-all. We think our body knows it's Friday night and will be able to keep up with the roller coaster ride we take it on. Although I am not working out, I need to eat exactly what I eat the rest of the week, which is easier when I don't go anywhere. This weekend, I will be in SF, but next weekend I am packing a cooler.

I am completely focused and anxious for October to come and pass.

Today, I was feeling a little drained but I didn't want to miss out on my workout. I started the day with 6 am yoga, a little upper body, and 18 minutes of sprints.

We did a Tabata Upper Body workout to burn out the muscles quickly:

• 4 minutes of push ups. 20 seconds on 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds (I did 64 reps)
• 4 minutes of bent over 35lb plate row. 20 seconds on 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds (I did 97 reps)

We finished with 5 rounds of a 2 minute jog followed by and all out 1 minute sprint. I finished at a little over 2 miles in 18 minutes. This workout is great when you are in a time crunch; you move as fast as you can for a set amount of time and then go home. Done and done! Now I just need to make sure I drink enough water.

Hope you all have a Happy Weekend!