Hibernation Mode

Ugh - another not very good week when it came time to measurement time. My body has officially decided to cling to every ounce of fat it possibly can. I was down 2 pounds from last week but since I didn't drop any fat my body fat % went up slightly. So NOT what should be happening right now.

Yet again, I've followed my diet religiously and got all my workouts done - some of them were a little rushed and creative (damn snow!!!) And I've still been trying to kick this sinus infection. It's amazing how exhausted I am at the end of the day. I almost skipped dinner to go to bed at 5:00 one night. I forced myself to eat and then made it to 7:00 (wow, late night, I know!) My taste buds are completely off so everything tastes funny but I've managed to shovel down my food when I need to.

Apparently I'm part bear because my body has gone into hibernation mode with all this snow - it thinks I should lay in a big snuggly nest of blankets all day and sleep while clinging onto all my fat. Great. I'm determined to overcome my bearness (I think I just made up a new word!) and keep doing what I need to do.

Originally we weren't going to change my diet for now and see if a non-snow, not-so-snot filled week would lead to any progress but I got a text later in the day yesterday letting me know that a new meal plan would be waiting in my inbox. I got a special surprise when I got home - lowering carbs and upping the fat. I will gladly give up my blueberries and post-workout gatorade powder for some almonds and nut butter!

My morning cardio is done and I've had my new, improved breakfast (LOVE scrambled eggs/egg white mixture!) I'm determined that next Saturday's measurements will NOT make me frustrated - I would prefer to do a little happy dance!

How Bad Do You Want It?

I don't think I have ever been this congested in my entire life. My head is throbbing, my ears are plugged and I had to stock up on kleenex at Costco. But have I let this snotty disease stop my workouts? Heck no!

Sure, I could use being sick an a perfectly good excuse to NOT workout but it's really not going to make me feel better any faster - it would probably just make me grouchy on top of being sick. I am following the rule of "if it's above the head, it's okay to workout" or something like that. I'm not even sure who said that or where I read that but it sounds good to me! I'm just making sure to suck down extra water while I'm working out and then taking a well deserved nap aftewards :)

Speaking of excuses . . .this snow is not making me happy! I'm pretty sure I couldn't even get my car out of the driveway if I wanted to and did I mention that I live at the top of a giant hill? I would probably be safer ice skating down the hill than driving my little jetta down the hill. And I'm accident prone so the thought of me on ice skates is just scary! So I'm stuck without a way to get to the gym. I was downright mad at first but then I came up with a few backup plans . . .

First, I thought I remembered Andy saying there was a barbell somewhere in our messy garage so I waded through the mess this morning and managed to get it out without getting buried in the mess. After dusting off the cobwebs I went back in to find the weights. I also cleaned up a HUGE and I mean HUGE pile of Andy's clothes out of the office/workout room. I managed to match up about 46 random pairs of socks and fold all the clothes and put them away. It's amazing what cabin fever will force you to do. I now have room to get in a decent delts workout tonight followed by 20 more minutes of cardio on my trusty treadmill (with kleenex nearby of course!)

I have thought of every possible leg workout I can do at home and have decided nothing will compare to what I can do in the gym so I'm just going to force myself to take the dreaded "lunch" and venture down to the gym at work (preferably during non-peak hours) and get in a leg workout and a quick elliptical session. I even remembered to pack some flip flops so I don't have to go barefoot in the icky gym showers - I figured my co-workers would appreciate me NOT returning to my desk all sweaty!

So there it is folks - the snow and snot will NOT stop me from doing what I need to do! I WANT to get on stage looking my best (no fat rolls please!)

Oh and I almost forgot to mention - my bodyfat % is finally going down and I'm pretty much right where I need to be 13.5 weeks out. That makes me pretty darn happy!

Crinkly Fat

Crinkly fat? I know, weird title and I'll explain later . . . I've had two frustrating weeks. And I mean downright wanting to scream, cry or maybe a weird combo of both. Temper tantrum anyone?? 

I've been following my diet/workout plan 100%. Prior to my Dad visiting I even figured out where we (mostly I!) could eat out to make sure I could eat something clean with the right about of protein and carbs. Outback and Applebees had some very good choices. Red Robin even has a nice, clean chicken salad if you can do without the nasty dressing. I didn't indulge in any holiday food binges and I didn't miss a single workout. So why oh why is by body being so darn stubborn??? 

Last Saturday when I had measurements done, I was up 1% bodyfat from my measurements 4 weeks prior. Ummm, in 4 weeks in should have dropped at least 2%. I figured that cutting out the weekly cheat meal might solve that problem. We also eliminated some of the "fluff" from my diet AKA greek yogurt and brought down the carbs and fat slightly while adding another 5 minutes to my morning cardio. 

I felt WAY better heading into this morning's measurement session. Not only had my diet been tweaked, but I actually slept normally all week and things were functioning normally (TMI moment: I was about ready to eat a bag of prunes by the end of last week!) Sadly, my bodyfat % only dropped by about half a percent and my weight was up 2 pounds (probably the 2 bottles of water and half a pot of coffee I sucked down in the 2 hours before my appointment!). At least it was down but not by as much as I was hoping. 

The good news was that my amazing coach Julie told me that my fat was getting crinkly. Huh???? This sounds funny but it really is a good thing! She explained that you can tell you are about to drop some more fat if it gets crinkly. I'm not sure exactly what that looks like but I'm expecting some better results next week in my area of crinkles - yes I have some junk in my trunk. Okay, I have a lot of junk in my trunk! 

Is it bad that I have been daydreaming about crinkly fries since this morning??

Don't worry, I won't actually eat any of these! At least not for another 15 weeks :)

So the plan for this week is to up my post strength training cardio by another 5 minutes and keep the diet the same as last week. Hopefully I'll see some good results so I don't lose anything else from my diet that I love!

Good Bye 2011, Helloooooo 2012!

Happy New Year!!!

I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on my accomplishments in 2011 and think about what I want to accomplish in 2012. My brain is a little foggy from my last cheat meal last night and I feel like I'm in a sugar coma and have a giant food baby in my belly so I'll make this quick . . .

Some of the highlights from 2011:

• Winning the 3 month paleo challenge at CrossFit - this is when I realized I really could stick to a diet longer than a week or two. I finally flipped the willpower switch!!
• Deciding to do a figure competition and I mean REALLY deciding this time to just do it. I thought about it for years but never did a darn thing about it. Now I'm making it happen!
• Passing the Series 7 test. That test almost killed me. I cried, I was a mean grouchy person, I broke out in hives, and was just plain miserable the week before but I passed that darn thing on the first attempt! Must have been the lucky monkey socks my mom bought me to wear on test day :)
• Went through with the surgery that I had been considering for awhile and glad I did it! 

Okay, I really feel like I'm forgetting some major things but maybe they will come to me later when my brain is less foggy . . .

Now onto 2012:

• Stick to my training/food plan 100% on the road to Emerald Cup. Ain't nothing to it but to do it!
• Finally get Andy to clean out the garage and guest bedroom (AKA the room that looks like a hoarder took over!)
• Go on vacation and I mean a REAL vacation. Not a staycation, not a weekend in Idaho . . .Hawaii? Cruise? 
• Finish the bathroom remodel. 
• Take a walk/real lunch break at least once a week at work and motivate others to do the same.

Okay, I think I need a nap before I pack up all the Christmas decorations . . .