13 Weeks Out From Atlantic Classics
It's official. I am 1/4 of the way through this prep. Isn't that insane? It seriously feels like I just started...and I know that I still have 3/4 of the way to go but I'm feeling pretty good to have the first 1/4 under my belt but also I worry a bit because I wonder "will I be able to get to where I want to be by stage date?" It's so hard to just trust the process and trust that everything will work out. It's actually what has discouraged me in the past. I think "hmm I don't see much difference this week...so who cares if I get some chocolate and cookies and ice cream". I'm not going to do that this time though. I have to continue to remind myself that it's not realistic to see huge transformations each week - that's why my prep is for a full 16 weeks.
So, first things first - YES I was allowed my treat meal last week. It was the best news ever last Saturday when my coach wrote me and told me to go ahead. I was one happy girl. I ended up eating hash brown casserole and it was soooo good. Honestly, it will probably be my choice for this week as well (assuming I get the go ahead for one). You can find the recipe here.
Next, my meal plan was changed up a bit and I couldn't be happier. The food I am eating now are the foods I was eating before - it kinda doesn't even feel like I am in prep mode - I'm not sure what I expected but I guess I expected that I would be eating some things that I don't necessarily love. Instead it's foods that I had been eating before prep anyway (except this time I'm not sneaking chocolate/ice cream/etc) I don't know what the future holds but right now I am loving my meals.
B: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup blueberries (last week I tried raspberries but I like using blueberries more), 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 scoop protein powder (I'm using Promasil)
S: Protein shake mixed with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and an apple or banana (depending on what I feel like - I usually lean towards banana)
L: 100 g sweet potatoes, 110 g chicken breast, 90 g cucumber
S: 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt and 1/2 scoop protein powder
D: 1 Flatout flat bread, 100 g chicken, 1 Kraft fat free single cheese slice (I can also have Allegro cheese but only found it after I did groceries), veggies and salsa (I make this into pizza)
S: 3/4 egg whites, 90 g carrots (weird combo I know but it's what I have been craving)
I've discovered Kool-Aid sugar free calorie free (everything free) liquid sweeteners (yes, these are artificially sweetened but to me it's not the end of the world...everything in moderation. Remember sugar is natural and look at all the problems it has caused us). I love the taste in water (I'm usually not a huge fan of these 'squirts' for your water but I love the Kool-Aid ones). Additionally it tastes even better in Greek yogurt. I have such a hard time eating plain Greek yogurt (yuk) but adding some Kool-Aid sweetener to it makes me look forward to my Greek yogurt afternoon snack. I posted about it here.
Last Saturday I played in a ball hockey tournament which was fun (even though there was a small fight that broke out). I packed my snacks/meals for the day - I have goals but I also want to still enjoy the things I love...even if that meant packing my snacks/meals for the day. It was a charity tournament where the money raised went towards camps for kids (where they also play ball hockey). We didn't even come close to winning but winning isn't everything, right? Okay, that's what losers say but seriously I did have fun and when I started playing this game I started playing for fun...if I wanted to compete I would join an actual league (which I might do next year). Ball hockey on Saturday meant I had a double workout routine on Sunday. I was dead by the end of it (I even did an extra 20 mins of cardio since I felt my ball hockey on Saturday wasn't a full 40 minutes of cardio although the reality is I probably got more cardio in this week than necessary because I also had my usual pick up ball hockey on Wednesday night too). I also increased a lot of my weights this week...even if it was just a small increase but I was so sore this week. I was glad to see my rest days - Thursday and Friday. The rest of my week was pretty uneventful. I rested as much as I could and by the end of the week I was preparing my meals for my next week.
One thing I did do was stretch it out with some yoga on Beachbody on Demand. I absolutely LOVE Beachbody on Demand. It's an online library of a ton of workouts from yoga to circuits to weight lifting and even dancing. I swear there is something in there for everyone to enjoy. And it's all programs that can be done at home many which require very little or no equipment at all. I know there are YouTube workouts as well and I do enjoy those as well but what I like about these is that they are complete programs. You know which workout you are doing on which day and it's to work all parts of your body in a week. They also all come with their own nutrition plan which is super important when chasing your health and fitness goals.
My suit is officially being made which I am pretty excited to see the final products. Who ever knew that there would be so many things to choose on a suit...not just colour. There are connectors (for the bottoms and top) and crystal types + colour. I was so confused about ordering my suit because I was worried that it wouldn't fit me since I will (in theory) shrink a bit during the next couple of months. Well that is true but my hips will basically remain that same size (my bones are not shrinking) and the suits are made slightly smaller PLUS the material will stretch (kinda like a 'one size fits all' but for each individual person if that makes sense). Any guesses to the colour I chose?
As usual, my progress pics are below. This week I have GAINED 1.2 lbs (CRAZY, right?). My coach and I will be keeping an eye on that - my body may not be reacting well to the new meal plan so Wednesday I will be doing a weigh in as well to see if it's something to be concerned about (I'm really hoping everything will just work itself out). It definitely fucks with your head but I'm constantly reminding myself that I am doing everything to the best of my ability. This means I am down a total of 2.2 lbs in 4 weeks (start: 127. 3 lbs, now: 125.1 lbs). Part of me wants to say JUST 2.2 lbs but I know that's not a positive way to think so instead I am celebrating the loss of those 2.2 lbs.
This isn't the first time I have seen myself gain weight - for some reason my body doesn't enjoy being in the low 120's. I'm happy to see that my pictures are still showing progress though (which is something else I have seen in the past...scale increased but pictures continue to show progress). I am determined that everything will work out...I'm trusting the process and trusting my coach. Today is officially 12 weeks out from competition - wish me luck this week and as usual I will update you next week on my 12th week.
