5 Weeks Out From Atlantic Classics
WARNING: Profanity in this post!
Well, that's the 5th week in the books...I'm now officially 4 weeks out from stepping on that stage. Jeff remarked that I am getting good at counting. Damn straight - counting backwards AND forwards. Skill baby! So, THIS is the first week that I felt the prep game strong.
The workouts were tough mother fuckers or maybe I should say different compared to my usual style. The cardio was increased to 50 mins steady state (I'd rather do HIIT in less time...steady state just kills my mind BUT I decided to use the time to read which helped a lot). The other thing that was different (and I never trained like this in my life) was super high reps (I'm talking like 55 at some points). Guess who doesn't like high reps? This girl! They were tough and most of the time I was lifting light (obviously...55 mother fucking reps!). Having said that, I'm still sane. The workouts were challenging which is a good thing really AND I always am up for a challenging workout. I definitely feel like I hit my "hard" as far as workouts go.
I was pleasantly surprised when I received my meal plan. Guess who still has a ton of carbs? ME! And that makes me a happy Steph. Seriously, when/if my carbs are cut I'm sure I'm going to turn into a bear (I should just apologize now for anything I may say to anyone in the coming weeks). Here's a look at my meal plan:
B: 50 g oatmeal, 70 g blueberries, 3/4 cup egg whites (made into pancakes) S: 160 g strawberries and 30 g protein powder (mixed with water) L: 100 g brown rice (cooked), 100 g chicken breast and 90 g broccoli (or any steamed green veggie) S: 2-3 cups spinach, cucumber, sweet bell peppers, tomato, mushroom, red onion with 100 g chicken breast, 15 g light feta and 1-2 Tbsp calorie free dressing (I chose Renee's fat free Caesar dressing) D: 1/2 cup brown rice, 100 g chicken breast and 90 g dill pickles (or any other green veggie) S: 3/4 cup egg whites plus 1 whole egg (which I usually made scrambled eggs) and 90 g veggies (usually a mixture of mushrooms, onions and peppers) OR whey protein shake plus one whole egg (check out the Lava Protein Mug Cake I made)
Both sessions of ball hockey were cancelled this week BUT I guess to make up for it other positive things happened in my life instead. First, we went to St. John to see the Sea Dogs (hockey) in playoff action which is always super fun. They actually have ice cream at the games and if you know me you know that I'm an ice cream addict. It's one of my "go to" treat items...but I stayed away from it at the game. Ice cream will be there after my show.
The next thing that happened is that I received an appreciation Lush gift (bath bomb and bath oil) from one of my clients for all the mentoring I do. It was so unexpected. What really hit home was the sweet note she wrote with the gift. It really reminds me that I am helping people change their lives. It's far more than "selling a product". I put a lot of work and effort into my clients and the groups I run to make sure I am providing them what they need to reach their goals. Adding value to someone else's life is pretty special.
Speaking of adding value, I am so over joyed to be helping 3 ladies this month overcome their binge eating monster. This is something I've been very open with on social media and twice a year I put together a group to help others struggling with binge eating. I’m now working with them troubleshooting exactly what’s triggering them to binge eat and how we can overcome their monster together - the benefits of eating well by listening to our bodies and working out have never been more appealing.
Finally, Jeff surprised me by registering both of us for the YFC Runway Run. I started participating in this run last year. I hold it dearly to my heart since it's a run directed towards mental health. Honestly, on social media (Facebook and Instagram) I haven't talked much about the issues I've had...the social anxiety, the depression, the worry, the OCD tendencies. It's a lot and I've never been diagnosed with anything but at the same time I've never sought professional help. Honestly, I should have and I still may because even though everything has been better I know there is still room for improvement.
The week went by slower than usual since I didn't have ball hockey but that was okay since it was a nice break from everything. A time to slow down. As usual, my progress pictures are below. I weighed in at 117.4 lbs which means I am down 9.9 lbs since the start of this prep 12 weeks ago (starting weight: 127.3 lbs). And with that, I'm going into the last stretch...3/4 done now I just have to crust the remaining 1/4 of prep.
