Mirror, Mirror

Hiya and Happy Friday!

My goodness, it's been an incredible morning! Hubby and I had a great workout this morning. Again, steady state cardio is no my thing so this week I've been getting creative to mix it up. I did 20 minutes elliptical, 12 minutes upright bike (really lovin' this one now) and 15 minutes treadmill (incline walking, jogging, sprints, side shuffles on incline 10% <---whoa, baby! This one is tough!) I'm finding if I hop from machine to machine every 15-20 minutes, my motivation stays high- which helps me keep the intensity and not burn out too quickly. Afterward, I did a few tricep dips and abs and rounded out an hour...all before 6:30am. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Afterward, we went to morning Mass and it felt so so good to start my day off in prayer with God. I've been struggling in my faith lately because I feel like I eat, sleep and BREATHE this competition prep and my thoughts seem to be constantly on this goal. I know athletes and Olympians who are training for a sport are so determined and dedicated that they visual their success all day, everyday. While it's so obvious I'm not an Olympian, I CAN relate in some ways to that constant visualizing of my goal and focusing so much on it throughout the day. How-ev-er, I need to keep my priorities straight and I'd like my focus to be more on God and less on myself. I can see how entering a figure competition can easily cause people to become a bit self-absorbed, always striving for the perfect body. I admit I'm fascinated by the subtle changes occurring to my body and I may or may not spend a wee bit o' time in front of the mirror checkin' myself out. I can't help it- I seriously look like a completely different person than I did back in May when I started this weight loss journey and it's kinda surreal. Even my face is thinning out so much and my cheekbones are poppin' more and it's like looking at a different person in the mirror, only it's...ME.

I will say, though, that once I get to my goal (11.4 lbs to go!!!) and have some time to "get used to" my new, slimmer, healthier self, I'll stay grounded and remember that TRUE beauty truly comes from within. Just because I may be able to play "dress-up Barbie" since shopping is actually becoming pleasurable, I really want my main focus to be on fostering a beautiful, nurturing, gentle heart. I want to pay it forward and spread positivity, love, joy and laughter. In other words, I want to decrease so that my Good and Gracious God may increase within me:)

OK, so I am challenging myself these next 5-6 weeks to really cut out all processed foods. I barely eat anything processed as it is, BUT I'm going to try to eliminate anything artifical, including my beloved SF syrups, SF Jello pudding, RTD shakes which I drink when in a time crunch and my favorite candy protein bars:

Gaw, these bars are dee-vine! They seriously taste just like a candy bar and even though I don't eat these very often (maybe once every two weeks if I'm in a crunch), but this past week I've had three in three days. THREE. Not good. We're all out and I will NOT be getting another box at Costco when I go later on today. Nope. I can't have these in my pantry--too tempting:(

I will still drink my whey protein shakes, though, because I use Jay Robb which is sweetened with stevia and contains no artificial ANYTHING. Other than that, it shall just be the staples: eggs, chicken, fish, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, nuts and nut butters. I do eat other things, too, like green leafy vegetables, bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach and other fibrous greens. Gosh, now that I think of it, this comp diet really isn't much different than how I was eating before- BFL style- only no dairy and treats here and there. Cool.

Oh wow, it's 10am already! Gotta run...errands, that is! I'm going to go to Whole Foods and use my $50 giftcard. YAY! I'm also hittin' up The Vitamin Shoppe (don't worry, Hubbs, I'll be a good girl and won't spend too much) and then making a trip to Costco. Then, WATCH OUT, because it's a LEGS day and I'm on a mission to GET BACK MY GLUTES so I'll be squattin', lungin', steppin', deadliftin' and pressin' extra hard. I've just gotta lift and tone this tush!

QUESTION:

1) Is there anything in your diet you're trying to cut back? I am going to tone down my SF syrups and artificially-sweetened products like protein bars/shakes. I really don't want those in my diet- comp or no comp- and need to ween myself from using these on a daily basis. I'm not saying I won't ever use them, but I'd like to cut down a lot.

2) If you were go to go Whole Foods, what three things would you buy? I'm going to get Amazing Grass, for sure. Other than that I'll probably get a few supplements. We'll see!