SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TIRED

My body is SO TIRED right now. It's another week of "final week" prep. Most people take longer than 2 weeks between competitions. At the same time, most people take longer than 8 weeks to get ready for their first competition.

My day started at 5:00am this morning to get ready for the 5:45am spin class. It was pure torchure. That was followed by 75 minutes of working out at 80% of my usual weight. If I still had energy, I was encouraged to do another 20 minutes of cardio. That didn't happen.

Luckily I finished early enough to go back home and sleep for 45 minutes. Glorious, but not long enough. So now it's about 10:00am and I'm still here and work wishing I could lay in bed and do absolutely nothing. I'm not sleep, but my body is physically tired.

I guess it doesn't help that I'm back to drinking 2 gallons of water a day. I've already used the bathroom 6 times this morning. Luckily I'm already on my third of four bottles so the frequent urination should cease over the next several hours. I just keep thinking... this week, then next week... then rest, rest, REST!!!

Next Day Reflection

Winning my class qualified me to be in the National competitions. However, I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. Yes, I won my class, but it was only one competition and I had a small number of girls in my class. I have two more competitions coming up in three weeks and maybe if I am successful there, I'll consider a national competitions.

I also realized though my passion for both training and competing. The sensation for being on stage is one that is hard to describe. It's such a rush. If I could work part time and train seriously part-time I would love life. I may try to think of a way to make that happen.

With all of it, though, is finding a balance between life and training. These past eight weeks were really only about me. I couldn't hang out the way I wanted to and I was constantly tired. I had a full time job, my website and then working out. Many days it was too much. I pretty much ceased dating and if I went out, it was only for a short time. Regular food became a luxury and today was my only off day for several more weeks. I couldn't keep up like this for an entire year, but I definitely feel that I've made a lifestyle change that I hope to incorporate with my own life.

Competition Day (evening)

We had to be at the evening session by 5:30. I decided to head back a little early and left at 5:00 to walk over there. Unfortunately the doors didn't open until 5:15 so I stood outside in the cold with everyone else waiting to get in. Finals were much more laid back than pre-judging. The judges already knew who the winners were and this was just a show for your family and friends to attend. Larry and Charmayne drove up for the show and Larry took a lot of pictures.

We went out in out two pieces and then again after intermission. While standing onstage in our one piece they announced the top five. I was top five (which was my main goal). They then started giving out trophies... fifth place, fourth place and third place. It was now just between myself and the other girl. And the winner of Class B: #58. Hey, THAT'S ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thrilled. It was my moment to shine.

With winning my Class came competing at the end of the competition for Overall Champion. My mind had really just been on getting pizza but it was worth the wait. The five other class champions and I were all backstage excited at what was going on. For one other girl, this was also her first competition. We pumped up and reapplied oil to our bodies. I sent text messages to all of my friends letting them know I won. At least an hour later the six of us went on stage for the final judging which was live. Another girl named Autumn won first place, but I was told I was a close second.

It was such a thrilling day. All my hard work paid off. So may people were impressed that I'd only been training for eight weeks. I floated into Domino's and ordered a pepperoni and sausage pizza. It was just great. I could have eaten the medium pizza but I didn't want to be sick in the morning. It was hard sleeping that night because I still giddy. I even woke up Sunday morning at 6 because I was still hype. As I walked in to the kitchen I saw my trophy and became excited all over again. It wasn't until about 11:00am in the middle of the Easter service that it all hit me. My body hurt and I wanted to fall asleep instantly. So, all today (Sunday) I've been relaxing as much as possible.

Competition Day (morning)

Competition day begins at 6:00 for meal one. At 6:20am there is a knock on my door and a woman named Rachel comes to apply my makeup. The thing that amazed me most about my makeup was that she didn't apply foundation because she said I really didn't need it. That was a major compliment and great morning boost. I ate meal two before heading to the Northern KY Convention Center.

They seated all of the athletes by section: Bodybuilders, Figure competitors over 35 and open figure competitors. As I looked around at the people sitting around me, I became less intimidated by them. I received my number, #58, and went on my way. There was a group of black women there. I found out they all trained together in Indianapolis and I attached myself to them for the day.

Pre-judging started around 11:00 for my group with our two piece outfit. As the women for Class B lined up, I realized that I was in better condition than many of them. I became hype. Walking on stage was such a thrill. To be under the lights with the attention focused on you was a rush. Since I didn't know what the judges were looking for, I couldn't really tell you how I compared. However, as we walked back stage, one of the other competitors in my group said she thought it was between she and I for first place. HOW EXCITING.

The second round was similar to the second round but we had on a one piece outfit instead. I felt my legs were better than my other competitors. By this time it was close to 3:30pm. There was a lot of down time between the rounds so I either listened to my IPOD, watched the show or talked with some of the other women. (by the way, some of these women were in amazing shape)

We had two hours between pre-judging and finals so I walked to the hotel across the street to watch Duke (puke) lose in the tournament. It was a wonderful break!

Last Day Prep

Friday was my final day of preparation before the competition.  I woke up Friday morning and looked at myself in the mirror.  I felt a little too lean and became worried that I would get blown out at the competition.  My spirits were a little down. I knew my form had changed, but at the same time I wanted to be a prospect to win. My morning started out going to my friend Renee's house to have my back tanned. She just had a new baby, and between his crying she helped with stage one of the tan.  I then rushed home and completed the rest. 

From there I went to a photo shoot because I wanted to document my progress that has been made.  A St. George's Community Center Board member, Melissa Mann Bean, took the pictures.  They were so wonderful.  She is so talented.  I couldn't believe some of the shots that she took.

I had to rush home from there so Larry could apply another layer of tan on my back and I finished the rest.  I must admit.  I really do like the color the tan makes me look.  I don't really look tan, I just look enriched.

I then headed to Cincy in time to watch UNC play in the NCAA tournament on tv.  Go Heels!  Check in was at the hotel where I stayed.  The lobby was packed full of people and I was intimidated by all the people there.  From an earlier email I thought I would be in Class C (it's based on height).  Instead I was in Class B. Man, I'm even short for a woman!

So, after checking in I went to my room to relax for the long day that was to come.  Oh, I forgot to mention that between all of that were the six meals that I had to eat.  Two of the meals were 3 oz of beef and a sweet potato.  The other four were 3 oz of beef and a cup of asparagus.  

Sweet potatoes are my new favorite food. Why didn't anyone tell me?

I've Set A New World Record

The results haven't been confirmed and there were no cameras around, but I honestly believe that today I set the world record for using the bathroom the most times in my office in a day.  I've been drinking two gallons of water for the past four days and today was the worst.  Every 30 minutes I had that rapid urge that I had to urinate.  It wasn't that subtle hint that it was time to pee.  It was that "if you don't get to a toilet in 30 seconds or less it's going to get really ugly" type of warning.  Luckily my office close to the restroom.  But come on, who wants to rush to pee every 30 minutes?  My co-workers now find it entertainment and know where I'm headed as I run down the hallway.  

Inside my office is manageable.  It's outside of my office that causes chaos.  It just hit like a flood in the middle of Target today and I had to put all of my items down in the middle of nowhere to rush to the front of the store to the bathroom.  It hit right when I walked into an office building and I prayed to find a bathroom close.  It hit on the way to a meeting where I was stopped at every stop light.  Not good.  Not good. (and did I mention that it's rained non-stop for the past two days!)

The worst thing about bathroom fiasco is that my urine senses a toilet.  When I get close to a toilet, my urine becomes so excited that it starts to rush out.  The urine doesn't care that I have on a belt, or a snap or panty hose.  So, I've found that each time I get steps from the "twa-let" I have to do a two-step shuffle for five seconds until I can fully get in pee position.

The water consumption decreases after today so I should be good.... but you never know!!!

All Fanciest Up

The competition is getting closer.  I'm really not a girlie girl so getting my nails/feet done is not something I ever look forward to doing.  I asked the Vietnamese guy for a manicure, pedicure and wax.  So, we do the pedicure first. He did a whole lot of things to massage my legs, feet etc. However, I really wasn't in the mood for all of that.  I was thinking about all of the things I needed to do and I wanted to be in and out with quality work.  He asked if I wanted flowers or anything design on my toes.  Yeah, no thanks.  Let's keep it simple...

We walk over to his station to get my nails done.  I tell him I wanted a fill set out nails.  He shakes his head in understanding.  However, he continues on to do my regular nails.  I figure he knows what he is doing so I don't say much - until he starts painting my fingernail.  I stop him and tell him again that I wanted a full set of nails.  So he stops and take me over to another table where they start the fake nail. 

I remind him that I also want a bikini wax and he looks completely surprised.  He tells me the person that does waxes just left and wouldn't be back until the next day. Are you serious????  That was my main reason for selecting that spa.  I temporarily realized that there wasn't anything I could do about it.  So I pouted for a couple for seconds and then was over it.

They opened again at 10 this morning and I arrived at 10:10.  To my surprise, they were not open.  Please don't tell me I wasted yet another trip.  I waited about five minutes and up pulls all the workers at once.  Getting a wax is no joke. I won't go into the details about what all they do.  Let's just say it's not the best feelings in the world.  The chic did apologize after each yank, but that didn't make the tingling any less sensitive.  My 'stuff' is supposed to stay hair free for several weeks so I'm hoping it lasts until the last competition on April 12.

Now all I need is my makeup and the tan and I'll be ready to compete........... I hope!!!

Updated Stats

Body Fat Measurements  3/14/08

Chest 4

Abdomen 8

Thigh 8.9

Triceps 8.7

Biceps 2.5

Subscapular 6.4

Suprailliac  5.8

Calf  5.5

Lower Back 11.5

Body Fat Percentages 11.6%

Water in the Brain

Today started the final week prep.  One of the things I was supposed to do was drink 2.5 gallons of water each day for the next four days.  That is a LOT of water.  Well, I started the day trying to do just that, but toward the end of the day started to have a headache.  I emailed a doctor friend of mine to see if this was normal.  He said, "No" and that I needed to go get some Gatorade to drink right away in order to increase my electrolytes.  I don't think my body is large enough to drink 2.5 gallons so I am going to decrease that number.

I remember not too long ago a women died from drinking too much water while trying to win a contest on the radio.  The competition is not that serious.  I do cherish my life.  I really wanted to come home and relax in the bathtub, but the thought of seeing anymore water makes me sick!!!

My Body Is Tired

This time next week, I will be in the pre-judging part of the competition.  Julie emailed me my last week's final prep.  It should be interesting.  Starting on Sunday I am supposed to drink 2.5 gallons of water.  Wow!  That's a whole lot of water, which means a whole lot of peeing. 

After today I start to slow my workouts down.  My body is starting to get really tired and I come home pretty tired each night. I went over Larry and Charmayne's last night to get final advice on my posing.  They were so wonderful.  I practiced a lot at home, but they gave me wonderful pointers that I would have never thought about.  Who knew that holding poses could be so painful.  I have a feeling that the day after the competition, I'll be relaxing in bed more than anything.

I did the craziest thing yesterday.  I worked out at 5:00am.  I've started to become anxious about the competition. When I woke up at 3:30am to use the bathroom, I couldn't get back to sleep.  I looked at the clock at 4:45am and realized the gym opened in 15 minutes.  So, I got dressed and went to the gym.   I had a pretty good workout and even came home in time to sleep for an additional 2 hours.  

This final week is going to be all about me and the competition.  I decided to enter two more while I am in training mode.  One is April 5 in Cleveland (I'm using a free travel pass Phil gave me for Southwest).  The other is on April 12 in Cincinnati.  After that, I'll crash and enjoy Derby here in Louisville.

MY GOAL for each competition:  TOP FIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Getting Closer

Last week I got my first tan.  I had been nervous about getting it, but it actually didn't look bad.  It increased my natural skin color and balanced me out all over.  I had to go over Larry's house to put the tan on my back and then I drove him and finished the rest.  By the time Sunday came around, most of it had faded away so I may need to apply 2 coats for the competition.  

Since I'll be heading to Cincy by myself, I need to try to figure out how I'm going to apply two coats up there.  You can't shower once you apply it, so I need to try to wait as long as possible before applying it.  The last thing I want is to be the stinky girl up on stage.

Dating Is Not Good For Training

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written so I need to catch up. Being a single woman, I still go out and meet attractive/intelligent men that I'm interested in getting to know. Unfortunately, many of these men would ask me out to eat and I'd have to graciously decline and say "not until after March 22". I asked my trainer Julie if there were any 'safe' restaurants that I could go to that would still keep me within my meal guidelines so I could enjoy being courted. Surprisingly, she wrote back and said that most restaurants are fine, I just need to make sure I tell the waiter exactly how I want my food cooked. WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first stab at this was on Valentine's Day. I saw a friend of mine at the gym and we went out to eat afterwards. Chili's was the chosen location. I ordered off the healthy eating section and ordered salmon and vegetables. I thought life was still good. Saturday I went ice skating with a different male friend. We stopped at Applebee's for a quick bite. Once again, I looked at the healthy people's section of the menu and ordered shrimp and broccoli. I felt I was still eating the things I always eat, it was just prepared by someone else.

The next weekend I flew to Baltimore/DC to visit one of my old college roomates. When we got to her place that Friday night she made sure she cooked something I could eat. She grilled some shrimp with green and yellow peppers and then had green beans on the side for me. For lunch the next day, we went to Ruby Tuesday's and I ordered some type of fish with a brown rice combination and broccoli. I made sure I had my protein shakes with me and continued to take supplements with each meal. Saturday night rolls around and I have a date with a guy that attended my college (although I didn't know him well in college). We go to the movies (oh, that smell of popcorn) and then he made dinner reservations at Indi Blu. It was some type of Indian American restaurant. It was one of those menus with limited dishes so I was worried at first. However, I found a salmon dish and was able to ask the waitress to just give me a plain salmon and some broccoli on the side. The broccoli didn't look like real people broccoli, but it was still good.

I left to fly back to Louisville that Sunday. My flight was delayed three hours so I arrived back later than I wanted. As soon as I landed, I drove over to Larry's house to get measured. I was somewhat disappointed with the results. While the majority of my skinfold numbers went down, my overall bodyfat percentage decreased only slightly. The measurements in my hips increased some also.

SOOOOOOOOO...... since my workout was the same and I didn't cheat on any meals, I feel that eating out (even though I ate healthy) stunted my continued progress. In the end I had to make a pledge to myself not to go out on any more dinner dates until after the competition. Even the movies, and popcorn, are tempting so I'm staying away from there as well. In other words, dating and I are taking a break from each other for two more weeks!

There Is Food EVERYWHERE!

I thought that once I surpassed the two-week hump that life and temptations would be easy. Boy was I wrong. The commercials are increasing. I went to the movies for the first time this year and the smell of that popcorn kept running past my nose. (I snuck in a sugar free pudding to the theatre). I thought I was doing big things!!

I had a staff meeting that lasted for two days. The meetings are somewhat boring. So, to keep folks alert, there is a plethora of junk food. It starts in the morning with doughnuts, and then throughout the day there is your fix of candy bars, chocolate cookies etc.... Some of my co-workers go out to lunch so they'll bring back their food that I love oh so much. But all I could do was look as I pulled out my protein shake and carrots and green beans.

This was my first week injury free and I was able to complete all of the exercises. Due to meetings, I had to go to the gym at 7:00am this morning just to make sure I took full advantage of all the days.

I know that after the competition that I will try to maintain healthy eating, but I can already forsee some of the exciting meals that I will eat within that first week of being able to eat freely. As long as I look in the mirror and see the results (everyone says I look more tone) I continue on this mission!

Booty Be Gone

This workout plan has been no joke!  The past two weeks have been hard.  My neck injury was a major setback.  Although my chiro and regular doc have said I can workout, I still feel a great deal of pain each morning I wake up.  Food has been tempting.  I never knew how many food commercials there were on tv until I realized all of the foods that I haven't been eating.  All I can say when I see them are, "Mmmm. That's looks good!"  

I have noticed a change in my figure.  I appear more tone.  HOWEVER, I am also starting to lose some things that I have always treasured.  My big booty that has always made a name for itself is slowly starting to disappear.  I used to be "big butt and a smile" but soon I'll just be "smile".  I'm losing an important black woman's asset.  The other thing I'm losing is something which I never really had a lot of.... breasts.  My small breast are getting smaller, which I didn't even know was possible.  I guess since they are both composed of fat, they too would have to decrease for increased progress.  It's all in the name of fitness.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS!!  I had my first measurements since I started training.  It's been exactly two weeks.  I was nervous to see if I had made any progress.  I was esctatic at the numbers!  My trainer friend, Larry, will be the person that updates the numbers every two weeks and he too was surprised.  Leaving his and Charmayne's house let me know that I was on a positive road of accomplishing my goal.  Time shall always tell.

MEASUREMENTS:

Height:  5'3 1/2

Weight before: 117, now 114

                          Before             Feb. 13

Chest                 33                     31 1/8

Waist                27 3/4              26 3/8 (almost an inch baby!)

Hips                  37 7/8              35 1/2 (check that out! What!)

Right thigh      20 3/4              18 1/2

Left thigh        20 3/8              18 1/2

Right calf        13                       13

Left calf           13 1/8               13

Right arm       10                       10 1/4

Left arm          10                      10 1/4

SKIN FOLD:

                          Before            Feb. 13

Chest                5.8                   5.2

Midax.              8.4                   5.8

Bicep                                         3.2

Abdomen         12.6                 9.8

Supra...             6.5                   7

Thigh                17.4                 12.9

Calf                                            5.8

Subsc..              11.1                  9

Tricep               12.1                 9.5

Lower back                             13.3

BODY FAT 

                Before                 Feb. 13

                  16.4%                  13.84%  (WHOA BABY, WHOA!!!!)

Physical Setback

Well, although I'm just getting started, I've experienced my first set back.  Several years ago it was discovered that I had a reverse curve in my neck.  While everyone else's neck curves backwards, mine curves forward.  My chiropractor and I have become friends over the years and I go visit him every couple of weeks.  Before I started this plan, I consulted him about it and he said "Go For It!"

So last night I was at the gym doing delt exercises.  It was my first exercise.  I felt a slight pain in my neck.  No problem, I thought, I'll just go get readjusted tomorrow afternoon.  My neck continued to be a little sore during the workout but it was nothing major.  After working out, I even went to a Zumba (latin dance aerobics) class. My body and I were good and I was able to shake what my mamma gave me.

Once I got home, my neck started to stiffen up a bit.  I applied heat to each side and knew I'd call the chiro first thing in the morning.  Well, morning came earlier than expected.  Around 3:00am I woke up with sharp pains in my neck.  It hurt to roll over on any side and there was excruciating pain to sit up.  I almost felt as if my neck were paralized but I had full use of my body.  My neck would not move.  All sleep ended there.  

My chiro didn't open until 3:00pm today so I left a message with my doctor's office to see what to do.  I listened to the voicemail on my chiro's office and he left an emergency number.  I called him.  To me, this is an emergency.  He told me to meet him in 20 minutes.  When I got there, he popped me, popped me and popped me some more.  He said I pulled something good and it will take several days to heal.  He said that as we get older and we start working out harder this can sometimes happen.  (he didn't tell me to quit).  He suggested I not go into work, keep ice on my neck every hour and come back again this afternoon to get readjusted one more time.  I will be sore for a couple of days, but it will get better.  He also suggested I now sometimes put heat on my neck before working out.  Life is all about challenges and finding ways to solve them.  I can either sulk that I'm down for a minute or instead take pride in the fact that I can read John Grisham's latest book and get some much needed laundry done!

Temptation At Its Best

I was surprised because my supplements arrived yesterday.  I take 2 of a Lean Out pill before each meal, 2 Muscularity pills with each meal and 2 Ultra 40 pills with each meal.  WOW!  That's a lot of pill poppin. I also received my protein drink.  It's my favorite flavor, cookies-n-cream!  I felt it a treat the first time I drank it.  

Well, last night a friend of mine wanted to go out to eat at the Homemade Pie and Ice Cream Kitchen. This place has the BEST homemade desserts.  You salivate just looking at the selection!  I knew I couldn't eat what was there, so I brought my own dessert - fat free pudding.  Yum!  It actually wasn't too bad.  I looked at my friend's desserts in awe, but knew I had a much larger plan and goal I was trying to accomplish.  My will power must be stronger than one dessert - and it was.

Later last night I went out to two parties to take pictures for my website.  One was an "all white" attire party and the other was an "all black" attire party.  Man, what's a girl to do?  Do I change between parties?  Do I rock the boat and wear red?  Do I wear my stocking where one leg is black and the other white?  I ended up changing outfits between parties to support the causes.  While at one of the parties I met a guy, a nice guy.  In a club setting you can't really talk in depth because the music is so loud.  So, he asked if I were interested in going and getting some breakfast somewhere to talk more.  Breakfast?  Pancakes? Sausage? Hot maple syrup?  The visuals were killing me.  I told him about the competition and that I was on a set meal plan.  I'm not on a diet to lose weight, but I watching what I eat in order to gain weight, positive weight through muscle. He understood and we went to hang out somewhere that wasn't tempting with food.  However, the visuals of pancakes kept running through my head.  As the night wore on and I became sleepy I was good again.  I arrive home excited to wake up in the morning to go workout!  The gym is my friend!!

Nutrition Day One

I got out of bed an hour early in order to eat my 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites. I never cook breakfast so this was a major issue. I scrambled one egg and then started boiling the rest. I realized that I really didn't want to get up each morning to do this, so I went on and boiled enough eggs for the entire week. I also must eat rice each morning, so this was also prepared for the entire week.

I skipped off to school (work) with my plastic Kroger bag full of containers upon containers of healthy food. I opened the refrigerator at work and found a cozy place. I also filled a plastic 64 oz containter of water and started drinking away. NOBODY TOLD ME THAT I'D BE PEEING ALL DAY! From sun up to sun down I was running to the bathroom. I would use the bathroom, walk back to my desk, sit down, and then immediately have to go again. In the middle of meetings I'd have to stand up and walk to the restroom. The water runneth through me. Instead of 'cry me a river' I thought to myself 'pee me a river'! Whoa, please don't let this feeling last forever.

In the middle of the afternoon I went to an award's program to present an award to a teacher. I didn't have to urinate, but after the program they invited everyone to a reception for punch and cake. I started walking that direction and then the light went off in my head- that means everyone but you. Go to your office and drink your protein shake Yeager! I didn't even want to be tempted, so I left. The meals weren't too bad to eat. I am supposed to eat two cups of vegetable each meal, but that is a little too much for me to eat. I'll ask Julie if I can cut that amount down.

Going to the gym after work was the fun part. I love working out!! This day's workout consisted of glute and back exercises. I have a big butt, but not firm glutes! I can't wait until I can pop a quarter off my back side. Time will tell! I enjoyed the various exercises and finished off with the stairmaster. I quickly went home and ate Meal #5 and then changed for church.

It was a great service, but halfway through I felt that urge again in my bladder. I didn't want to get up in the middle of the service because I didn't want the pastor to think I was leaving. At the same time, I didn't want a large pool of water running down my leg. I decided to cross my legs, pray to God and hope for the best. God watched after me and I made it through the entire service.

Eating for Day 1 wasn't horrible. I'm interested to see what will happen once I start taking the additional supplements. I think I can survive! I'm going to take weekly pictures to see the progress. Pray for me!!

Meal Preparation for the Week

So I return from the grocery store and place everything away. My refrigerator was always empty anyway so there was plenty of room. However, when I looked in the pantry I ran across all of the items I could no longer eat. The snack packs, microwave popcorn, cookies, canned fruit etc... all had to be placed to the side. I wasn't strong enough to throw them away, so I placed them in a different part of the kitchen.

I took out my meal plan. There are six meals that I must eat each day. Each meal has carefully measured portions: 6 oz. turkey breast, 2 cups vegetables, 3/4 cup oatmeal... Being the non-cook that I am, the last thing I would be able to do is cook every night. So, I go the grand idea that I would cook and prepare all of this week's meals at one time. Good/bad idea. I have to eat 3 oz, 6 oz and 4 oz of a meat each day for seven days. That meant not only did I have to cook each of those meats but I also had to carefully weigh them to make sure they were the correct ounce. I didn't want to only eat chicken all week, so I also had to do a variety of meats. Thank God for the George Foreman grill. George and I worked it last night! After and hour or so of finishing the meats, I also had to do the same thing with the vegetable.

After starting to pre-pack some of the meals I realized that I didn't have enough containers. I needed over 30 containers and needed to be able to easily tell which items were in each container. I decided to remodel the interior of my refrigerator and place different measurements of food on different levels. Finally, after 3 hours I had completed preparing most of my meals for the week. Since I wasn't officially starting until the morning, I rewarded myself with sausage pasta from Olive Garden and some homemade cookie. Cheers to healthy eating!!

The Dreaded Grocery Trip

A couple of weeks ago I decided that this would be the year I enter a figure competition. The first plan of action was to find someone to assist me. I came across a website online of a competitor named Julie and instantly knew I wanted to work with her. After seeing what all would be involved, I knew the strength part would come easy to me. It was the nutritional part I was worried about. I don't eat a lot, but at the same time, fruits and vegetables aren't my best friends.

It took a couple of days before Julie emailed me my meal plan. Each morning I would check my email to see if it had arrived. And, each day that it wasn't there - I PIGGED OUT! I ate as much pasta, sausage and chocolate that I could since I knew these foods would be non-existent much sooner than later.

Well, yesterday morning in my Inbox was the email entitled "Your Program". I was excited to see it and finally get started. And then I looked at the meal plan. Breakfast consists of eggs, egg whites and rice. Other meals are protein drinks. Other meals are chicken, tuna and tons of vegetables. Can I really do this? I sat at work and made out my grocery list for the week. As soon as work was over, I traveled to my local Kroger. All excitement I had about entering the competition started to drift away.

I found myself pushing the grocery cart to sections of the grocery store I rarely visit. In the fresh vegetables section I had to search for a clear bag so I could place asparagus and carrots there. My eyes drifted toward the sausage and I looked the other way in the same way you would if you and your best friend weren't speaking to each other. I spent a great deal of quality time in the fresh meats department stocking up on chicken breast, ground turkey breast, shrimp and lean beef. In the distance I heard the desserts calling my name. "Michelle, come here, you always come and visit us". My eyes began to water as I had to keep pushing my cart forward.

I then walked to the eggs area where I loaded up on dozens and dozens of eggs. Could I possibly turn into a chicken from eating this many eggs? I don't know if I've ever purchased this many eggs. I walked back through the store, this time seeing bread. Bread! My heart and joy. We all love a good roll with butter. I stopped in front of the bread section and said, "It's not you, it's me". I was seriously getting depressed as I walked through the grocery realizing all of my frozen meals, quick snacks, fruit juices and Oreos would not be welcome into my digestive system for several weeks. And while my shoulders started slumping over and tears gathered in my eyes - I looked in my cart.

There in my cart was the healthiest foods that ever filled a cart of mine. There were meats, vegetables, rice, eggs and water. Wow. I had to stop and look at my cart a couple of times. This was my cart. I used to be embarrassed when I'd see a friend in the grocery and my frozen foods piled the cart. My cart was all that! Now, instead of walking slumped over, I held my head high. Nobody could touch my cart. What!? My grocery list was healthy and sexy! I rang up my items and walked out proud of the foods that would enter my body! Hip Hip Hooray to positive change!!