GO Week!

This week was GO WEEK! I woke up on Monday, knowing it would be. And I told myself every single day, that this was THE week, the chance to change.. GO Week.

What is GO Week you ask?
GO week is that week you decide to push yourself even just a little bit further. GO week is that week you finally push through your food cravings. GO week is that week you push through how tired you are becoming. GO week is that week you want it just a little more. GO week is that week you find yourself with just a tad more confidence. GO week is the week you find out what you're made of. GO week is when you don't give up no matter how badly your body feels. GO week is when you really start to see results. :)

Diet.
Diet hasn't changed, I've cut out beef just because it doesn't really sound good without a tortilla. Not having an issue eating on time anymore, its really been fitting it all in... I get a whole lot more food this prep, and it has been hard fitting in another meal during the day! I'm going to try to get egg white protein for the last meal before my workouts.

I found myself having an issue with breakfast, that it would take me almost 90 mins to eat! And let me tell you why, when I get to work every morning at 630, I do my make up at my desk and get things ready. Then I head down to our cafeteria in the hospital where I buy 1/4 c oatmeal and 8 hard boiled eggs w/salsa. So, I get to my desk, crack the eggs and dive in...? Not quite.

In reality, the eggs are piping hot! So, I get to my desk and crack them. Wait a bit and eat my oatmeal. Then I peel the shells off, wait a bit because those are super hot! Then I wait even longer, to strip the whites off the yolks (seems so sad wasting all those yolks every day... I say a little prayer for those yolks that they will not be lost in vain). Then by the time I actually eat the whites with my red pepper and a tad of salsa... its been like 90 minutes.

What I started doing as of Thursday, is I bought a 5 dozen egg pack, and hard boiled half of them. Then over the weekend, I could take my sweet time peeling, and putting the whites in with my red pepper. Boom. When I get to work now, throw my eggs & peppers in the microwave while I get my oatmeal. Done. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you over come eating obstacles! ;)

Workouts.
Quick and HARD! I'm still on 45 mins of cardio a day so I am BUSTING ASS the whole time I'm in the gym. Hot sweaty mess every single time. Because its GO time.

My AM steady rate cardio is going harder, I'm pouring sweat and putting in that work even when my legs feel like lead... And there ARE days where my legs feel like lead.

My PM HIITs have picked up the pace. I am beginning to range my sprints from 10-12mph for a full 30 seconds, with 1 minute recovery of fast walking. My goal this prep, is to be able to complete full running HIITs... Meaning my recovery will be jogging, but my heart rate control just isn't there quite yet. Inclines begin next week with the sprints. Woot!

And update on that! On Saturday, I did only a 5.5 min full running HIIT with no walking, but still! 5 minutes! Now I can try for 10 minutes! Here's what it looked like in case you want to try!

1 min @ 7mph
30 sec @ 10mph
1 min @ 7mph
30 sec @ 10 mph
1 min @ 7 mph
30 sec @ 10 mph
1 min @ 7mph
96 calories burned in only 5.5 minutes! Can I get a HELL YES for burn mode?!

PM Lifts are going awesome too. I love Mondays and Fridays... I feel extra energy on those days due to diet, Thursday I get a few extra carbs and weekends are just a lot of food fit into fewer waking hours, so I feel good on Mondays. Save my hardest workouts for those days, which are abs & shoulders on Monday and legs on Friday. I gotta say, I am LOVING that part of prep right now.

Prep Problems.
Hello insomnia, we meet again. Yeah, it happened... I'll admit fully that my mind wants to think about being on that stage all night long, maybe because that it is my only silence of the day and I can envision myself. Don't bother recommending melatonin... It doesn't work for me. I have strong sleeping drugs that my mind will decide not to respond to at times.

Thursday night, I took a med 30 mins before bed and I was still wide awake at midnight. I just dream about every detail, I think about how I will smile, how I will look at the judges, how I will flip my hair... Getting mentally ready to knock their socks off.

But that always gives way to practicing my posing, I spent a good hour last night... Which is a lot of time and my back muscles are genuinely sore... Bikini posing is so much back strength!

Cheat Meal!
I was lucky enough to be in the early stages of prep for Patrick's birthday this time around. CRAB DINNER.

My birthday dinner on the other hand, will probably be fish. And probably asparagus. Woot. As at that point I will be 4 weeks out from comp... WOOT to THAT!

Oh wait. Prep Problems Revisited.
So, for current competitors this will really just be commiserating what you already know. For non-competitors or competitors going about their first try at prep, this might be informational. ;)

Turns out, prep is NEVER easy! Good news! lol because now, whenever you're finding yourself saying you're having a rough time, you can know that its always hard! LOL!

I found myself the other night, getting mad at the snow... Mad that I couldn't get around in it, couldn't get to the gym, mad that I couldn't eat mashed potatoes and things I want when its frickin freezing... Telling myself that "Prep was so much easier in the summer! When I could pick fresh veggies out of our garden, and prance around in my heels and bikini cuz it was warm out, getting to the gym was so easy. Prep was so much easier!"

Yeah, except during my prep in the summer I was saying "I'm so much better at dieting in the winter! Because no one wants to do anything so I have no temptations."

Good news, prep is never easy. :) Buck up and GO! (Saying this to myself. Again.)

Ready for another GO WEEK? I AM! I'm now 13 weeks out, counting down to 12 and prep is flying! I've lost 3lbs so far, and looking for another 9-10 to go. I can't figure out why people get so bent out of shape at how little I get... I'm a LITTLE person. I'm 4'11". 105lbs is reasonable at that height. I'm lean. Get over it.

I can hardly believe that I only have 12 weeks to go. Weird! Prep was so grueling last time around, this is feeling somewhat strange. My focus feels different at this point, I'm leaner than I was at 12 weeks out... And last prep when I was struggling just to get through every day and every workout and every meal... This prep, I'm excited to be doing it. My days fly by and all of a sudden its cheat meal day. And then rest day, and another week. SCORE!

I promise progress pics this weekend! Hope you all have a wonderful, joyous week reveling in your hard and sweaty workouts! :D