Highlights - 20, 19 and 18 Weeks Out

Saturday, June 24 - Friday, July 14

JOB REDUCTION. WINGING IT. TEXAS.

I'm three weeks into prep and haven't posted a thing. Oops!! Things have been moving. My main job has picked up, in a good way! Bikini prep is in full swing and yet...I feel like I have MORE time. Why is that you may ask? Because I do. At the beginning of July I relinquished 2 of my jobs. I've officially stepped down as a personal trainer and cycle instructor. I'll still maintain my certs. because I think it's only a matter of time before I get back into them BUT for now I think it's the best move. It has been hard to leave my clients but I think it's time I make more time for other areas of my life, like my family, my full-time position and bikini prep. Last time I prepped I made the mistake of allowing too much on my plate at one time. I don't intend to make that same mistake again. I'm currently down to 1 full-time job and 2 part-time jobs which drastically lightens my load and helps my mood. Who knew?!

On the June 24th I thought I'd be getting my workout plan from my coach. Instead I got a questionnaire via email that stated my plan wouldn't be coming for another 7-10 days. I was slightly annoyed but then realized the fault was probably my own. Since I still had my old plan to follow, I used that for the first 2 weeks (20 and 19 weeks out). I ended up getting my new plan toward the end of the first 2 weeks. During week 3 I was able to follow the new plan, which actually only changed my lifting and cardio. My coach was fine with me keeping the same macros I had come up with on June 24th. Those were derived from the meal plan he gave me the first time so he effectively determined those macros anyways.

During the 2nd week I spent the majority of my time in TX visiting Brian and celebrating our 1 year anniversary. I was able to lift, without having to wake up extremely early to get my lift in before work. That was nice, but short-lived. I'll share more about our anniversary and my trip to TX in another post sometime this week. Promise.

RECAP:
20 Weeks Out - 6 days of cardio (20+ min). 5 days of lifting. Mood: Exhausted 24/7. Macros: 165C/153P/45F. Water: 1 gallon / day.
19 Weeks Out - 3 days of cardio (20+ min). 6 days of lifting. Mood: Excited. Less Tired. Macros: 165C/153P/45F. Water: 1 gallon / day.
18 Weeks Out - 4 days of cardio (20+ min). 6 days of lifting. Mood: Chill. Macros: 165C/153P/45F. Water: 1 gallon / day.
While weight loss isn't my current focus, I'm down 2.2 lbs.

Highlights - Week 7

Sunday, September 27 - Saturday, October 3

LIMBO. FALL WEDDING SEASON.

Ohhhh Week 7. The week I've been most nervous about for quite some time because it comes before Week 6. Dun. Dun. Dunnnnn. You know what I found out though...Week 6 is NOT the end all be all deadline. Well. Kind of. So at the end of week 7 my coach informed me that I still have a lot of time left. A LOT OF TIME LEFT?! Coach say what?! I'm over here freaking out and my coach thinks I have a lot of time. Hmmmm. OK. I mean, he would know, right? He's the expert! So I shall take his word for it. He said it is too soon to tell if I am ready to compete or not, BUT this is a step in the right direction. He didn't flat out tell me I wouldn't be ready or I'm too far behind, so I'm hopeful. I have time. I can do this. Woosah. I'm in limbo at the moment. I may compete (if I'm ready). I may not compete. I shall just continue to do my best and see what happens!!

What did end up happening though was I was put in contact with my coach's wife (second half of the coaching team) to begin work on ordering my bikini!! Details to come in Week 6. So exciting though! I think this was the first time I came to realize I will be wearing the least amount of clothing I've EVER worn in front of complete strangers. I'd like to think I'm generally a modest person when it comes to attire, so this is definitely outside of my norm / comfort zone but I'm going for it!! I'm so pumped and terrified!

The end of week 7 also kicked off the start of the Fall Wedding season. I love weddings! Brian and I attended a wedding for one of his friends in Charlottesville. The weather was cool and rainy, but the wedding, reception and bride were beautiful. It was a good time and a nice break away from the norm. The food was really good as well. I tried not to crash and burn my diet on that one. I think I did well enough. No mini delicious burgers or chicken and waffle bites for me. I must confess I wanted to body slam Brian when he asked if I wanted one. I didn't though. Not proper wedding etiquette. I'm sure he meant well. He'd know better if I was more consistent, so I'll take responsibility for that one. I'm rambling. I digress. In summary, CONGRATS Rachel & Rob!! Jessica and Rashad are up next in 2 weeks. Yay for fall wedding season!!

At the Wedding Reception w/ Brian

Highlights - Week 8

Sunday, September 20 - Saturday, September 26

CONSISTENCY YIELDS RESULTS. TURNOVER. MIRACLE NOODLES. GRANDPA'S 80TH!

Sorry for the delay. Life got a bit hectic in Week 7, which delayed me posting Week 8 Highlights. No fears! I'm back in the blog game...

This week's consistency was on point! Yay! Lucky for me it showed. My coach was pleased with my progress and life was good, so yay for that. Still grinding it out because at Week 6 comes the final decision. Eeek! Can you tell I'm nervous?!? But I digress...for now.

Work is on level 1000 at the moment. My graduate assistant position has experienced A LOT of turnover this week. Thanks to that we'll be hiring new fitness attendants to work in our facilities! Yayyyyyy! Right?! Kinda of. Hiring is a LONG process, of which I am in charge. In the meantime, while we are hiring new attendants, all unassigned shifts are falling to the coverage of myself, the other grad assistant and the office assistant. We have a pretty solid plan worked out, BUT it generally means more hours of work. We'll manage! I can't deny that it is a bit overwhelming at times though. Oh well! All part of the job.

Awhile back I found out about these 0 calorie "noodles" called Miracle Noodles. Figured I'd give them a try and see how it went. Loved them! They don't taste like anything on their own. They take on the flavor of whatever seasoning/marinade/dressing you add to them. I'm not sure if it's a mind trick or not, but it helps me feel like I'm eating more while having a minimal effect on my caloric intake, which makes me happy. I chalk that up to a meal plan win!! I've ordered enought to last me the remainder of my prep. I'm oh so serious.

Favorite part of Week 8 was my Grandpa's 80th birthday dinner on Saturday!! I still can't believe he is 80. He looks so good for his age (see below if you think I tell lies)! Love that man so much!! <3 The whole family celebrated at my grandparent's house with dinner and cake.

Always a good time when my family gets together. We even enjoyed a friendly game of Guesstures, in which my team won. That was to be expected. I don't joke when it comes to games. Go hard or go home!! I'm kidding...no I'm not.



The winning Guesstures team!!

Highlights - Week 9

Sunday, September 13 - Saturday, September 19

RESOLVE / MOTIVATION.

This week was fairly a blur. Everything was happening, but nothing was getting done. I realize that potentially makes no sense, but that is exactly how I felt in Week 9. I was definitely going through the motions for everything: work, school, workouts. I muddled through my lifiting and cardio sessions and remained on track 95% of the time with my diet. Just another "OK" week in terms of prep.

The true hammer during Week 9 was the text from my competition coach letting me know I needed to pick it up. My progress has been good, but it was by no means where it needed to be for this stage in the game. I was a bit discouraged, but I knew I was to blame with my "mini cheats" and reduced cardio sessions (in terms of minutes). My coach challenged me to make a change, and SO towards the end of Week 9, I decided I needed to find my motivation. I've started giving myself weekly goals, prioritizing my weekly tasks and really challenging myself to do what it is I said I wanted to do. My diet and workouts have changed up  this week and so far Week 8 has been going great!! Guess you'll have to wait and see why though...

Highlights - Week 10

Sunday, September 6 - Saturday, September 12

1ST CYCLE CLASS.  MORE CLIENTS.

In the grand scheme of my life, Week 10 was tame (for the most part). Busy and hectic per usual but no major tests, or deliverables for class. No major assignments or deadlines for work. Just a regular week, minus the Monday holiday for Labor Day!

Diet was alright this week. Not perfect. Lifting went well. Cardio was good. & in speaking of good cardio...I taught my first cycle class of the semester on Saturday morning. I had 9 people total, so that was decent. Not a lot, but not 1. It was a blast! I was more nervous than I should have been, but I always get that way when I'm doing something "new". Teaching cycle for the first time in over 2 years, I'd say that counts as "new". Class went well though. I didn't pass out, no one in my class passed out & I even managed to make some people laugh throughout. SO all in all, I'm looking forward to teachning more classes in the future. Oh and extra bonus, it helped knock out some of my cardio for that day. Win-win!

Post class selfie (after everyone left)

Related to work there was a minor [read MAJOR] change that took shape in Week 10. Part of my job as a graduate assistant is to oversee the Personal Training program. For the most part that entails connecting with the trainers, planning/conducting PT development and hiring, and pairing clients with trainers. When that system is operating smoothly, all is well. However, what I experienced in Week 10 were the joys of supply and demand. The client demand is much larger than we can support with our current trainers' availability. Good problem in the grand scheme of business and facilitating people's fitness journeys. Bad in the sense of "ahh shoot what shall I do now?!". Well, rather than lose clients or delay their training, taking on new clients becomes my responsibility if no other trainer can take them. In Week 10 I went from having a comfortable 3 clients to...10! 3 to 10. 233% increase. Gah. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE training and I LOVE helping people reach their fitness goals but in terms of the number of hours in a day and a week, adding 7 more clients to my load is rough. I'm fairly certain I'll become obsessed with my clients once I meet them and begin their programs but I'm realizing the hours in my day are quickly slipping away. I shall manage. I'll hire and train more PTs and life will gradually go back to normal, but for now...I vote we add 6 more hours into everyday!! Who's with me?!

Highlights - Week 11

Sunday, August 30 - Saturday, September 5
SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK OF FULL ON CRAZINESS. NUTELLA. DROPPED COURSE.

Week 11 was my first week of the semester, which meant it was my first week of classes, work and workouts. It was without a doubt a rough week. I woke up EVERY morning by 4 am. Most nights I'd go to bed by 11 pm. Like I had anticipated, sleep is going to be a rough one to maintain. Over the weekend I was able to catch up on sleep, but the weekend always seems to fly by faster than I can handle. Make it slow down...please.

This week's cheat meal dessert sent me over the edge, CINNAMON SUGAR NUTELLA CRESCENT ROLLS! Urrrrmahgosh!!! They were so good...ugh...just great! I ate 1 (or 4) too many, so that was bad. On top of that I had too much of my cheat meal (spaghetti). So I need to work on that. Definitely can't let that happen again. I ate so much my stomach physically hurt from the amount of food inside of it. I had to lay down. I'm serious. It wasn't good...but it was good. Know what I'm saying?! Regardless, I can't over indulge like that on future cheat meals. It's not good for my progress and my mental state. =P

 I ended up dropping one of the courses I was orginally registered for. The course instructor and I weren't in agreement on project topics, and since I technically don't need the course right now, I decided to drop it and wait until next semester. Hopefully at that point I can work on a project I genuinely care about and produce something I'm thoroughly proud of. Fingers crossed that works out! I added an online course, which is great because that gives me 3 extra hours during the week because I don't physically have to sit in class. All in all, I think the change was a good move, especially for the goals of this semester. We'll see if I made the right decision soon enough!!!

3 week progress update is coming soon!! It'll have some "transformation pics" in there, so for those of you that have been asking...it's coming! Week 10 is upon me. Almost done. I can't believe how quickly time has passed, 1/3 of the way there. Ahhhh!! O_o

Highlights - Week 12

Sunday, August 23 - Saturday, August 29
KNEE SLEEVES. THE EDGE. FOURTH JOB. NEW FRIENDS!

Week 12 was the official "all or nothing" starting point for my bikini prep. I'm pleased to say I did really well!! I stayed on my meal plan 100% and got in all of my lifting sessions and cardio minutes for the week. Yay!! The hardest part was definitely not slipping on the meal plan. In previous weeks I'd have a few crackers here or a handful of grapes there (basically unapproved extra snackage)...none of that this week! No minor cheats of any kind. The fact that I made it through one week sans baby cheats, means I can do it again...for the next 11 weeks. BRING IT ON!!

This week I graduated from using my ACL knee brace for my cardio workouts to using only knee sleeves. It makes a world of difference in terms of range of motion. It's been over a year since I've had knee surgery so I should be good to go by now, but I'm always hestitant to come out of knee support braces. I did it though!! The new knee sleeves are great and I think my legs and knees are strong enough to tolerate what I put them through now. I hope it stays that way!!

On Saturday we had a staff bonding trip at The Edge. It was a blast!!  I managed to climb their Alpine Tower on the "hardest" side, which I was told are called candlesticks (two logs hanging by ropes/wire). The hardest part was getting from one hanging log to the other, BUT I DID IT!! Overall the trip was a good time. Learned a lot about fellow staff members in other departments and got an excellent total body workout! WIN. WIN.

Update on job #4...I OFFICIALLY got the cycle instructor position. I'm scheduled for 5 classes so far this semester so I'm excited! Extra cardio and fun times leading a class...what's not to love?!?!

On Saturday night, Brian and I ventured out to DC for dinner with another Marine couple. We went to a restaurant called Eatonville. Soul / southern style dishes. I was in heaven. It ended up being a quality cheat meal! Yay!! While the food was good, the company was even better. I absolutely loved the couple we went out with. The husband was hilarious and the wife was so easy to talk to. Now I have someone to talk to through this TBS journey when the guys go MIA. That'll be SO helpful, plus she's a genuine sweetheart so I'm fairly certain this is the start of a solid friendship. Yay for new friends!!!

Week 11 is the start of the academic semester. So begins the balancing act of 4 jobs, 2 grad school classes and bikini prep. OH BOY!

Highlights - Week 13

Sunday, August 16 - Saturday, August 22
CHEAT MEAL!!

Not much went down this week. Worked a decent amount. Worked out often (though I did miss a day) && stayed on my diet about 95% of the time. Better, but not perfect...but remember Week 12 is my ultimate "NO BS" starting point, so I'm not terribly bent out of shape about the imperfections of Week 13.

But do you know what was perfect  this week?! My. Cheat. Meal. Mhmmmm. What is a cheat meal you ask? It's basically the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. A freebie. A sanity check. A meal that does not follow the constraints of your typical bikini prep meal plan. I usually save this meal for the weekend. In the past it's been a meal at a restaurant or party. This weekend I had no dinner plans so I decided to visit good old Pinterest and try out a recipe. This was the result...

Pesto Salmon w/ Veggies (pre-oven)

Alas, it did not just look pretty it was delicious. Never had pesto on salmon before, but I've always liked both so I was throughly pleased to find the two together are amazing. Feel free to try it out!! Here's the recipe. && thanks to pesto salmon, I've decided to try a Pinterest recipe every weekend!! Well, we'll see.

Salmon & veggies w/ roasted red potatotes

On a sidenote: Week 12 is here...IT'S LITERALLY GO TIME!!! 

Highlights - Week 14

Sunday, August 9 - Saturday, August 15
IT ENDED. WORK BBQ. VISIT W/ GRANDMA. FRIEND'S GRADUATION PARTY.

This week's work schedule was atypical for summer. Monday-Friday I worked 10-14 hour days between two of my jobs. Early mornings. Late nights. It was a rough one, but I got through it! Working out and following my diet went ok. Not perfect, but ok. I was too thrilled when Friday came.

On Friday was the first fun event of the weekend. We had our Fitness staff office dinner/bbq/social at my supervisor's place. It was a nice time together outside of the office to simply relax, enjoy each other's company and discuss goals for the upcoming year. Jokes were made. Speeches were given. Tears were shed. Bonds were strengthened. All in all it was a good time. It definitely set a good tone for the office team moving into the start of the school year.



Fitness Office Staff '15-'16

On Saturday, aside from working from home, I was able to get out and enjoy some time with friends and family. Brian and I visited with my grandma for a bit to chat and give her her birthday card and flowers (5 days over due). It was a good time. My grandma is really the best. Can't stess how much I love that woman.

Early this summer w/ my grandma <3

After visiting her, Brian and I went to my friend's graduation party from PT school. I hadn't seen her in a couple years so it was nice to catch up and have the most EPIC cheat meal. Probably too epic, but it was delicious. I have no regrets, this time.

Week 13 is underway and so far I'm doing well. To be completely honest, I've told myself that Week 12 is when I have to cut out any small slip ups I've had in previous weeks and get extrememly serious about competition prep. I've been sticking to the plan ~90% thus far, so striving for 100% is coming soon. I'm actually going for it this week, which shouldn't be a problem, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Highlights - Week 15

Sunday, August 2 - Saturday, August 8
BRIAN'S OCS GRADUATION & COMMISSIONING.

This week's highlight has nothing to do with bikini prep, work or grad school so bear with me on this one. This week primarily centered around Thursday and Friday. I worked 12 hour days Monday - Wednesday in preparation for taking off Thursday and Friday to enjoy one of my boyfriend's biggest accomplishments thus far...graduation from USMC Officer Candidate School (OCS) and his commissioning to 2nd Lieutenant.  Thursday was Family Day and Friday was the graduation parade,commissioning ceremony and pinning ceremony.

Wednesday I woke around 4 am to get ready for work. The day was relatively normal but extremely long. That night a friend that I had met through the OCS website (Vanessa) would be flying in to stay with me for the next couple of days, as her husband was graduating as well. She arrived sometime between midnight and 1 am Thursday morning and instead of going to sleep like we should have, we ended up staying up all night talking. Around 4 am we decided sleeping wasn't really an option if we wanted to catch the guys at the motivational run at 6:30 am. We got ready for the day, headed out to breakfast and knew we'd end up regretting it later...

Brian waving during the motivational run

Family Day was a blast but I was more irritable than usual. I was really wishing I had slept even for a few minutes. Luckily, Brian was understanding and didn't get TOO annoyed with me. When I got home that afternoon, I passed out. This was around 6 pm. Around 7 pm Vanessa text me she was close to my place. I responded and then fell back asleep. Fail. Epic fail. She ended up waiting outside my door for 10 min or so. I felt terrible when I woke up and realized she was still outside. I'm lucky she's a sweetheart and forgave me quite easily!!

Family Orientation with Vanessa

Friday was the day Brian (and I) had been looking forward to for the past 10 weeks. I'm fairly certain OCS was the toughest mentally and physically draining thing he's ever done. As his girlfriend, it was pretty emotionally draining but it was finally over. I'm positive he was ready to graduate, and I was ready to get my boyfriend back (for a few days anyways)! The day went fairly smoothly and at the end of it all he was a 2nd Lieutenant!! Extemely proud moment. YAY BRIAN!!

Graduation Parade (Brian is on the left)

Pinning Brian's bars w/ his sister

In honor of keeping it real, my diet and workout routines were shot toward the end of Week 15. From a diet standpoint, I celebrated too much with Brian. I ate outside my meal plan more than I should have and missed my lifting / cardio routines for a few days. I should have planned better for those days and held to that plan, but I definitely got lost in the moment for those couple of days. This week I've developed my plan, prepped and am ready to get back on track SO back to the grind I go for Week 14.