7 days until cake!

NPC Midwest is one week from today!  That means I have a challenging but exciting week ahead of me.  I will be cutting carbs lower than ever and cutting water.  But I am so excited to see what the end of the week brings.  Last night I felt huge and bloated and thought no way I can do it.  Today I woke up feeling great.  I felt more confident posing and strong at the gym.  This is definitely a roller coaster like I have never experienced before.  I am not sure why we naturally focus on what we see as our flaws instead of focusing on our strong points.  It is a mental battle to not beat myself up and instead see what others see.  But there are times I manage to I think “wow I really have come a long way.”  I have decided that next Saturday I am proudly rocking what I am working with.  I may not have the perfect stomach but I am going to rock my legs and arms proudly.  I have put countless hours in the gym, on the treadmill, and in the kitchen prepping meals.  This journey has taught me that it isn’t about perfection but consistency.  I haven’t been perfect by any means but I have remained consistent.  So I am going to go into this show just ready to have fun with it and with my teammates.  And I am going to enjoy the hell out of some cake afterwards!

Three weeks to go...countdown is on!

Today marks three weeks out from show day and I am definitely counting down!  This coming week we are doing a practice peak week.  Peak week is done the week before the show and is designed to make your body come in at peak condition.  No doubt this week will be a different type of challenge but I am looking forward to seeing how my body responds.  This week it really hit me just how much a number on a scale doesn’t mean a thing.  My weight continues to go up and down a few pounds but my body fat keeps dropping.  So I have stopped weighing myself at home because the number means nothing to me at this point.  I weigh in at Nutrishop weekly and it also calculates my body fat and muscle so the results show me more of a big picture.  I am down about six percent body fat from January and plan to drop another four to five percent in the next three weeks.

I am doing two cardio sessions a day and still feel so much better than I did when I was bulking.  I am grateful to be able to get up early and do my cardio with plenty of energy!  A good multivitamin is extremely helpful for that right now.  Before I added the vitamin in morning cardio made me feel awful.  Now I am able to get through it much easier!  I take Nature’s Fuel from Nutrishop.  I won’t lie...super tired of chicken and veggies but the light is shining at the end of the tunnel.  I have made so many new friends on this journey.  I believe I have said it before but it is both extremely challenging and extremely rewarding!