40 Days | 18 Hours | 2 Minutes | and Counting....

This last week was pretty challenging.  Balancing the "have to do" and "want to do" is a constant battle.  I work full-time in a high stress environment.  There is always something to do, something coming up, immediate deadlines and unforeseen new issues that have to be tackled.  This week I had a three day workshop where colleagues came into town so that we can sit together and align strategically our commodity across the world.  Of course during these events everyone wants to go for lunch together and a night out for dinner.  Since the workshop was held at my location I did a lot of the logistical work, local planning and chauffeuring.  But lunch and dinner I cannot do.  There are no cheat days.  I'm in prep and under no circumstances is compromising my diet and the hard work I've put into this journey on the agenda.  So I joined, carrying my trusty FitMark meal management bag along with my prepared meals.  So while they all ate pizza (which is the one thing I am craving this prep) and other meal varieties, I ate my turkey, mushrooms and asparagus.  It was; nonetheless, a week of early mornings and late nights and rerouting my schedule/plan to fit into the same 24 hours with some additional stress. But when it's something you really want, you'll do anything to make it happen.

The next few weeks are not going to be any easier with a planned one day work trip and a 2 day workshop that will be a 4 hour commute for me (without traffic) two days in a row because I still need to train and have everything situated with my diet.  It's in these weeks, quite frankly, that I worry the most because these weeks are hard.  This week from a sleep/rest standpoint it wasn't my best performance.  Unfortunately, to still get everything done that I needed to do sleep and rest was sacrificed.  And it reflected on the scale.  I can't explain what it does emotionally, but at the same time it pushes me to be better and find a better way to accomplish what I need to do and do it within the same 24 hours everyone else has.  So as additional challenges and stress arise in the next couple of weeks, I'll make adjustments and make it through.  I continuously repeat to myself - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  This for sure is the truth.


Diet
My diet this week consisted of turkey, mushroom, asparagus, sugar snap peas, romaine lettuce, paprika, rice and rice cakes.  Fresh broccoli is going out of season and I cannot always find it but I just checked in with The Boss and frozen broccoli is back up to the plate.  Mushrooms and asparagus have been nixed out my diet for the upcoming weeks.  Mushrooms because they can stay in your system for up to 24-hours (didn't know that) and in this process we want things to keep moving at all times and sitting mushrooms don't fit into the equation.  Asparagus because it's mostly just water and doesn't really add anything.  Broccoli also has protein which is great.  Just when I thought shit had gotten real, it's getting realer.  Losing the fat hangs on the following measures: doing more and/or eating less.  We have pushed doing more for some time now, and since I work full-time there are not so many hours in the day left to push without compromising something.  So now it's time to eat a little less.  The new instructions also include a calorie reduction this week which will for sure be tough.
I posted this status this week on Facebook a little out of frustration but also because I have filtered a lot of questions and comments from various people regarding my diet both before my prep and now during.  My diet actually doesn't bother me because this is something I want to do.  Sure it can be inconvenient and tough at times because I choose not to indulge in other things but I am happy with the decision that I made and I am pursuing a goal.

I get it, that people will be people and they will not understand.  But it would be nice at times for them to just straight say "hey, I don't quite understand what it is you are doing, but I support you and I see/applaud your dedication."  My journey is not for anyone else to understand.  And when you find that thing that you would sacrifice something or anything for, you will also see that the sacrifice is easy.  I don't feel like I've lost anything, instead what I have gained (besides muscle) cannot be taken away from me because I am stronger not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

On a side note:  Also to make sure I protect my immune system I eat 1/2 lemon in the morning and 1/2 in the evenings.  I can actually say I am surprised at how much I like eating lemons.  It's actually pretty refreshing.


Training
This week I split my legs into 2 days.  Squats on one day and leg extensions and leg curls for high reps on another day.  I've really been pushing it more in the gym and training a bit longer, incorporating drop sets on almost everything and adding in some supersets.  I train with a sweat shirt on to stay warm at all times.  I am starting to lose power faster and I may not be able to hit the same numbers in the sets as I used to without taking a pause before going again, but all in all I still feel pretty strong and this is the part of the whole day that I love the most.  No matter what and how I feel the whole day, when I step in the gym I always feel better.  With the diet adjustments this week, training will be more of a challenge, but I will just turn the volume up and find the zone and make it happen the best way I know how.


Weight
As I mentioned earlier, this week from a sleep/rest standpoint was not the best and it definitely reflected on the scale.  This morning I clocked in at 74.1kg (where my goal was 73kg).  The lowest I was at this week was 73.9kg.  I definitely have to start incorporating more rest and relaxation in my day.  So I will decrease my social media appearances in the next weeks, as well as limit texting, messaging, etc... pretty much "unplug" myself.  6 weeks to go - there is no holds bar at this point.  It's all or nothing.  With the adjustments to my diet and still pushing the training and maintaining the cardio, I am hopeful to see some meaningful movement over the next week(s).  It's always good to remember where you came from, and when I started to lose weight for this competition I was 85kg.  Yes I still have a ways to go, but taking the time to be happy for what has been achieved so far is what fuels me going into the next adjustments.


Progress Photos
I'm starting to see more vascularity coming through which is exciting.  Although the scale didn't quite move this week like I wanted it, I am seeing changes in the mirror with more definition where there was minimal or none before.  Both the scale and the mirror (and photos) are the tell tell signs of progress or lack thereof.  My legs are starting to lean out more and there are more visible hint of lines and separation coming in (can we say whoop! whoop!), a few more kilograms and I will have the much eluded 6 pack.  I cannot wait.

Here are updated photos for this week and I will be back next week just a little over a month out from my first competition.  Once again, I thank you all for your love and support as I travel this road to the stage for the first time.