Sunday, June 7, 2015

Summer's Coming: New Friends, High-Gear Training, and Clean(er) Eating

So...ATG is in full gear, summer is almost officially here, and I'm working my little booty off as the Music City Triathlon is coming up SOON!  I don't know where all the time has gone.  It seems like my birthday was just last month....and spring break was last week...and the Gala was just yesterday.  All lies.  It's almost mid-June!  Part of me has to stop and think about where all the time went....but in all honesty, I don't know what I'm complaining about.  It's been a tough year in many ways, but it's also been an AWESOME  year in many MORE ways!


Being on this journey to Discover My Best Self isn't easy - i didn't think it would be.  But with every week, a new adventure, life lesson, experience, chance-meeting, work revelation, Rich Roll Podcast, or eating fetish knocks on my door and reminds me that life is FUCKING awesome, and I should just embrace every little pice of it.  


For example - I'm training for the Music City Triathlon and it's coming up SOON.  Learning to be confident with open water swimming has been a chore - but I'm getting there.  I wasn't sure that I wanted to be at all affiliated with the Pasadena Triathlon Club - that was my hubby's thing.  But sure enough, I'm really enjoying the events with them, I think I'm becoming a stronger swimmer and rider, and I'm learning so much.  The best part is, that I'm meeting SUPER cool people that I think will really be great friends.  When it's time for Charles to renew his membership, we will be getting a family membership instead!


Progress on "becoming my best self" is slow.  I'm NOT at the weight I'd hoped to be by this period in the year.  With less than six weeks until the Music City Triathlon, I've made alot of pledges and promises...I've tried alot of methods and meal plans.  And I'm just not there.  Weekends were spinning out of control with dining out and cheat meals.  While I HAVE been incredibly active, perhaps I'm getting fitter rather than fatter, but that was NEVER the goal.  

So - WITH around six weeks to go, I'm resorting to drastic measures.  Intermittent Fasting was a novel idea, but it just didn't work for me.  I had amazing clarity in the morning and wonderful workouts in a fasted state, but by 11am I was ravenous and that led to some poor decisions.  I recently bought Jackie Warner's 10x10 book - and while the workout program is fabulous and I'm following it to the letter, the meal plan is too strict.  It's basically 950 calories a day and it's really eating the same things each day for 10 days.  If I can't stick to 14 days of Atkins, there's no way I'm eating the same things ten days in a row!  So, Jackie Warner, you are amazing and I love your workouts...but I need something different for diet.  

So now what?  I'm trying Calorie Cycling and zig-zagging between moderate carb/protein days and low-carb/high fat and protein days.  Last week was the first week - using the calculator from a website I found.  I just did one week at "extreme fat loss" and will do one more week there.  Then it will be just at "fat loss" until Music City.  I did lose three pounds last week, but that was before the Dim Sum experience today.  No worries.  It's going to work out just fine.  Clean eating five days a week, enjoy some treats on the weekends.  that's it.  

Then there's the workouts.  I already mentioned Jackie Warner's 10x10.  I'm doing ALL her workouts each day.  It's basically a five day program that you repeat.  First day:  work chest, biceps, and abs.  Second day:  legs, shoulders, abs.  Third day:  triceps, back, and abs.  Fourth day:  HIIT workout.  Fifth day, full body circiut using exercises from all those muscle groups.  Then you repeat.  So I do that workout every morning at Gold's.  It's followed by additional cardio and/or ab work.  And then at least three days a week, I'm doing "two-a-day's" - with a bike ride, run, or swim.  This is the week it REALLY ramps up.  I think every day this week is gonna be a two-a-day.  We'll see how the week treats me...and stay tuned!!


So, we inch closer and closer to summer.  I'm still reaching out, still trying new things, still loving the journey, still working as hard as I can.  I'm grateful for the people that are with me on this journey, especially the new friends I'm making and the attachment I'm getting to PTC and this fitness community.  Life...is...fucking...good :)













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