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!

Day 18 - Everything Hurts

Let me tell you about 80's Roller Skate Night in one Picture:


Day 18 was pretty perfect. I had all my meals as planned and pushed through a kick ass leg workout.

Plyometric Warm Up:
- 6 forward box jumps, 6 high step ups
- 6 side box jumps on each side, 6 high side step ups on each side
- 6 rotational box jumps, 6 high crossover step ups on each side
- Tabata step ups holding 20 lbs (ask me and I can explain, these are intense)

Workout (3 sets)
- Deadlifts 10-12 reps (I used 80lbs)
- Front Squats 12-15 reps (I used 50lbs)
- Leg raises 15 reps

We started to do our sprint workout, but our legs were shot from the night of roller skating and squats. It's good to push through pain, but when joints start to act up, its time to rest. Listen to your body. Every part of my body is sore, and this tends to be the trend by Friday.

I had an amazing post workout meal and I increased my carbs as Maria recommended. Below is my broccoli and tomato salad, quarter avocado, 4 oz of chicken, and a juice (beet, celery, 1/2 an apple, parsley).



I don't even recognize the girl from day 16. What on earth got over me? the cravings for chocolate are gone, I'm not starving. I think Maria was right, I wasn't getting enough carbs around my workouts. It also helps to think about my competitor. Now, I look forward to hunger and pain. When my stomach grumbles, I'm like, "take that, I'm hungrier than you!" and when I can't lift my arms, I nod my head and smile because I am awesome.

My abs are starting to form a shape, I have that little "V" on my lower stomach. I was so excited I ran to Larissa to show her. She is weirdly supportive of everything I do and say, which is great. I know that even if my abs look the same she will pump me up. Love you, Larissa! We all need a friend like her, sometimes realistic can hold you back.

I ran out of food, so I meandered to Lite Bite on Union Street for my second lunch. The owner is so accommodating. I got 5 oz of chicken and a half pound of grilled vegetables and they treated me to an iced tea.

For Dinner, we joined friends at 5A5. They apparently know the owner, so every now and then a waiter would show up with an amuse-bouche compliments of Steve. I did have the hamachi shooter and a crab leg, but for dinner I had the filet mignon and the entire side dish of spinach; the whole table teased me for not sharing. The last surprise from Steve was a chocolate plate filled with 7 unique desserts. The best one, I hear, was the liquid chocolate dome. Here is a picture of my friend, Chad, drinking wine while eating the flour-less chocolate cake. I sipped on my back coffee and didn't even crave a bite. The photo below really happened.



I'm doing ok, and I am looking forward to resting my body over the weekend.

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