12 Days | 16 Hours | 44 Minutes | 37 Seconds and counting

It's almost surreal to believe that today marks just over 12 days out from my first bodybuilding competition.  I was back to work this week after an extended weekend with my diet changes in hand and I can definitely say it was one of the toughest weeks I have gone through in a long time.  My energy level is greatly reduced.  I was really thinking about it a lot this week.  I would almost parallel the feeling to that of fasting for spiritual purposes.  I've fasted before; however, not as strictly has friends who have fasted during Ramadan or for extended periods maybe only juicing or even having nothing.  I cannot imagine Jesus being in the desert for 40 days fasting.  I say all of that to put things into perspective.

This is the first time in my life I have been challenged in this area.  I am happy that the Boss didn't run down the exact feelings and what to expect.  He always said it would be one of the hardest things I would do; however, you cannot know what that is until you do it.  These last few weeks are what separate the women from the girls and the men from the boys.  One of the things all people have in common is wanting to look better and/or feel better.  We live in a microwave world where we want to spend as less time as possible to achieve the largest gains.   However, in this game of life - nothing really worth having comes easy and everything has a price.  It's all about the value of the reward on the other end.  

I envy those athletes who can just do their profession 100% of the time.  There are millions of people every year who say they want to compete and start the process; however, the people you actually see step on stage in the end are only a mere fraction of the total number who started.  So here I am, just under 2 weeks out from my first competition and there is nothing but a bright shining light - and a pizza - at the end of the tunnel.

Diet
Last weekend the Boss made some drastic and brutal changes to my diet because my body just would not go into the fat reserves to eat all of that stuff up (my mommy asked me not to curse on my blog :)).  My diet right now is extremely simple - turkey, rice cakes, and romaine lettuce.  Coffee is my best friend and I can drink it to no end.  I do a good job of timing my meals and starting to eat as late in the day as possible.  I usually wake up around 8am, cook my turkey for the day and pack my rice cakes, and tea in my meal bag before heading to work.  I don't eat my first meal until after 11am.  Usually with the coffee and tea I am okay until then, but once I do start eating I usually have to ingest something every few hours.  The real challenge is eating enough to buy more time, but not until I am full.  Sometimes you just want to eat.

Because of the adjustments my energy levels are somewhere near the earth's ozone layer.  As much as rest is important in these last few weeks, my weekly schedule does not really support such a "rest mechanism" and I felt it come the second half of the week.  I started feeling a bit under the weather.  Today I rested and focused on getting healthy and it's amazing what a little more rest will do for you. Come the evening I felt a lot better.

The diet is working as I have seen both the changes on the scale in in the mirror all week.  Checked-in with the Boss earlier this afternoon and we stay the course with no further changes this week.

I purposely do not give calorie content in my blog because (1) I know too many people who will try to start at the end of my journey and not at the beginning and (2) if you are really interested in competing and/or losing weight, please hire a coach/trainer/nutritionist.  This especially goes for competitors - and don't hire someone who has only done one show.  Hire someone with experience, not only in competing, but also with preparing athletes.

Training
Training right now is NOT focused on hitting new PRs, or increasing weights.  I still push heavy weights but not as heavy as I could with more calories.  I am almost forced to pull back.  Right now I cannot get as many sets or reps in as I normally do.  When I was in the Grand Canaria we started with a "lighter" weight for 20-30 reps, then climbed up decreasing the reps as the weight got heavier.  I really liked this.  I had a pump out of this world and it was fun.  I brought that back with me this week.  It helps to get in more movement, sweat and get a good pump.  Plus I can still push heavy weights, just not for as many reps.  The Boss knows me well and he constantly scolds me that I cannot go hard all of the time.  This is a race and sometimes it's okay to be the Hare but most days the Tortoise makes the most gains.

Training is about getting the stimulation. Period.  Not going to failure and not completely wiping myself out.  I'm just happy that training is still fun.  No matter how I feel or how tired I am, when I walk in the gym everything is in order.  Everything is just how it's supposed to be.

Weight
I am happy to report that I saw some real progress on the weight loss platform this week.  Last Sunday I was 73.0kg/160.9lbs and this morning I weighed in at 69.9kg/154.1kg.  I am down over 32lbs total since I started my prep.  Crazy right?!?!?!  The last time I was this weight, I was skinny fat.  I've definitely built some muscle the last year and a half.  I think every competitor freaks out about their weight.  I know that I've been on the edge of the cliff many times over the last weeks and months.  I probably won't be as lean as I want for my show; however, I am very happy with the progress I have made and I know that I can only get better from here.

So the battle this week paid off and I came out a winner.  People keep asking me about what happens after my show.  Well, not eating like crap for weeks on end - that's definitely not for sure.  I "plan" on reverse dieting and slowing working my way back up.  I don't want to gain 20-30 lbs back out the gate.  The plan is to stay on the diet and come slowly back up but enjoy a cheat day on a weekly basis.

So let's just say these blog entries will not stop.  The journey is just beginning.

Below is a pic I posted of  yesterday morning's shape.  You can just call me Skinny Minnie :).

Progress Photos