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...

3 Week Bikini Prep Update

Now comes the part where I share my embarrassing progress pictures. I've been somewhat dreading this post, which is part of the reason why I've chosen to post progress updates every 3 weeks, instead of every 2 or 1. =) BUT I promised to keep it real and share it all, so here it is...

Over the past 3 weeks I've been doing alright with my bikini prep. Not perfect, but not terrible. Not amazing, but not bad. That's mostly related to my diet. I slip up more than I should when it comes to eating on my diet 24/7. It's hard, truly the hardest part of this whole prep thing for me (right now).

I've been seeing daily progress, but not anything "major" from my point of view. I've clung to a cardio routine that has me doing some type of cardio everyday. I'm not one of those people that can do 20 min of cardio a day and lift and see the results I need to see. I do a lot of cardio. I break it up most days, but trust me when I say I'm putting in a lot more than 20 min a day to see the results I'm looking for. I try to stick to my cardio routine religiously but tend to fall short on the weekends when I take more downtime than I should aka I sleep. Lol. It's a constant battle, but it's one I need to get better with if I'm going to compete in November! Gah! I'm working on it...everyday. I'm getting better with my consistency. I'll get there (& stay there) soon. Soon! I lift 5-7 times per week. Depends on what I can manage. In my perfect world, I'd hit 6-7 times a week. Most consistently I'm at 5-6 times, but it's still working so I try not to dwell on it too much.

Another thing that I haven't shared with all of you who don't personally know me is that I've working at this since February of this year. I knew in January I wanted to compete sometime this year, but hadn't locked down a date until this summer approached. November is the last competition date in my area, so that's what I went with after the August competition I originally wanted to compete in approached too soon.  Ok so enough talk, here are the pics...







Full-body (Front)
R to L: 8/26/15 - 9/2/15 - 9/9/15

Full-body (Back)
R to L: 8/26/15 - 9/2/15 - 9/9/15
 

Front Shots
(R to L. Top to Bottom)
5/22/15 - 8/29/15 - 9/5/15 - 9/8/15





Side Shots
(R to L. Top to Bottom)
8/23/15 - 8/29/15 - 9/5/15 - 9/8/15


So in the full body shots there is no special lighting, flexing or body turning to show my "good side". It's just me standing there. Nothing fancy. In the mirror pics, I'm partially flexed, but not sucking in anything. The pictures aren't stretched and there are no special filters used. I think my bathroom lighting makes for the best body pics, which is where I take the non full body pictures. There you have it people. Some progress. The odd thing about this whole prep is my consistency and why I've been so inconsistent. I geniuinely happy with the way I look now. There are minor things I would change (lower body tone) but other than that I'm content with the way my body looks. BUT for this competition I'm not where I need to be so I need to power through and find my darn resolve to be fully consistent and get the job done.

At 6 weeks out, my coach will let me know whether or not he thinks I'll be ready to compete in November, so these next 3 weeks are extremely crucial to meeting that hurdle. I'm nervous I won't be ready in time. I want it, but again, I need to do what it takes to get it. All in. It's hard to juggle it all with school, work and minimal sleep, I'd be lying if I said it was easy. What I need to do is keep reminding myself this is only temporary. Grinding it out for the duration of this prep is what I need to do if I want to get to the stage on November 14. I need to be all in. I've got to find that missing resolve and increase my motivation. Let the planning begin...

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!