Ain't No Food Baby in This Belly!!

Rumor has it that the average person consumes between 3000-6000 calories in the average Thanksgiving meal. Holy food baby! I am proud to say that I survived my Thanksgiving meal with only about 600 calories. This might sound crazy but I don't really like traditional turkey day food that much - I do like turkey and mashed potatoes but that's about it. Being gluten intolerant sure doesn't make inhaling endless amounts of Thanksgiving food easy!

So what did I have? Turkey of course along with a serving of Tru Roots organic bean trio (found at Costco) and of course broccoli! I did do some extra cardio so I could have a pumpkin spice gluten free cookie (and yes I enjoyed every bite of it!) The funny thing was that I still felt like I was in a food coma afterwards - must have been from watching everyone else pile up their plate!

I woke up Friday morning at my usual time to jump on the treadmill only to witness the ultimate food coma in action . . .I headed down to the basement with both dogs running after me chasing each other and making lots of noise. I get downstairs and there is my significant other sound asleep on the couch. Of course I still flip on the light right above his head - he was warned that I would be up at my usual weekday time to do cardio whether or not he had passed out on the couch in the man cave watching TV or not!  As soon as I turned on the treadmill and hopped on I expected him to grumble and head upstairs to continue sleeping. He barely even moved! I should have known he went for round 3 of turkey, etc. after I went to bed since there was empty Tupperware in the sink and dessert crumbs on the counter. 

Seeing that made me feel even better about not stuffing myself and needing to get out my fat girl pants! After watching several people sloth around at work and seeing the endless amounts of cardio people were doing at the gym in hopes of making up for the previous days mountain of food, I knew that I made a VERY good decision about my food choices on Thanksgiving and I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I still enjoyed quality time with family which is more important than a giant piece of pie and a mountain of mashed potatoes. 

Now if I can control my food intake on tonight's cheat meal  . . . . . .

Food Hangover

Don't get me wrong, I loved my cheat meal last night but I could have done without the horrible feeling I woke up with this morning. I can't even remember the last time I had a drink (July maybe?) but I woke up feeling like I drank an entire bottle of wine. My stomach hurt, my head was throbbing, and I just didn't want to get out of bed.

Despite feeling like I was either going to throw up or my head was going to explode, I got myself up and out of bed and to the gym right away. I knew that once I got through the first few minutes of cardio I would feel much better. I did mention the receptionist at the gym that I wasn't feeling all that great after my cheat meal and she offered to put a bucket next to the elliptical for me :) Luckily I didn't need one!

WARNING: Food porn ahead!

So what did I eat last night that left me feeling like a small whale with a drinking problem this morning? I had my chili of course with some cheddar cheese and Fritos on top. Then I had a few cookies and handfuls of M&Ms. It was absolutely delicious but as soon as I had the M&Ms I knew that my eyes were clearly bigger than my stomach.

So here I am sipping on water and finishing up meal #2 (Paleo egg muffin and some oatmeal) and I must say that after a good 40 minute sweat session on the elliptical and a grande americano with 2 pumps of sugar free peppermint syrup, I felt like a whole new woman. And boy oh boy was I excited to get back to my regular diet!

Lesson learned: don't go overboard with the sweets on the cheat meal! I could probably handle some coconut milk ice cream but clearly cookies and M&Ms were a bit much for this girl on a mission to look amazing on stage!

You're doing what??!!! Are you crazy???

Yes, it's true . . .I've decided to compete in my first figure competition. I thought the title of my first post in this blog dedicated to documenting my journey to the stage was appropriate since many people think I have completely lost my marbles for a) competing in ANY figure competition b) choosing Emerald Cup as my first show (rumor has it that it's quite an intimidating show for a first time competitor) and c) it just so happens that EC 2012 is the 30th anniversary which means more competition. You know what I say to those people who think I'm insane? Go big or go home!!

So I bet y'all are wondering why I am competing. I'm doing it for ME! I've thought about for years and have always admired anyone who had the willpower and dedication to make it through the preparation process. So why haven't I done this sooner? I honestly don't think I had the drive to do it before. It's kind of funny that my ex-husband was a personal trainer but at that time I didn't WANT to workout because I felt like I had to. He also ate more crap than anyone else I think I've ever known. Kind of hard to stick to a strict diet when your significant other encourages binge drinking and late night stops at Taco Bell!

So what changed that made me think I can do this now? I suddenly discovered this magical thing called willpower. Okay, maybe it's not really that magical but after sticking to the Paleo diet for 3 months earlier this year and losing 24 pounds and 5.8% body fat, I realized that I can stick to something if I really put my mind to it.

Yesterday was exactly 22 weeks from EC 2012 and after 10 weeks of dieting and a structured workout plan I'm feeling pretty darn good! I managed to go 8 weeks without a cheat meal and didn't even gnaw off a hand in the process! I'm now having one cheat meal a week (instead of an entire cheat weekend like I used to do!) and I actually really like doing cardio first thing in the morning. And you know what the best part of my hard work so far? I can actually see changes when I look in the mirror! My significant other commented how he could see my six-pack the other day . . .if only I could see it :) I know I'm getting there but I sure wouldn't call it a six-pack by any means! Maybe in a few more weeks . . . .

Time to go put the final seasonings in tonight's yummy cheat meal - homemade chili!