The Best is Yet to Come

You know, I really do enjoy my morning cardio, whether it be a run or, like this morning, a 6-mile bike ride. EXCEPT, the only bad part about this is that once I get to the "end" (halfway, really), then I still have to turn around and COME BACK!!!! That part sucks big time. It’s not like when you’re in the gym and can just hop off the bike/elliptical/treadmill when you’ve had enough, you actually have to keep going just to get back home! Interesting concept, I know.

So, this morning was good, and my butt is getting smaller - woohoo! So someday, I’ll be able to provide Peter with good scenery when I ride in front, hopefully as nice as the scenery he provides for me now!

Still freaking out and worried about loose skin, so I’m making sure that I hydrate like hell, and am really slathering on the skin firming lotion. Yes, I am pretty positive that more plastic surgery is in my future. Heck, I made it through the reduction with flying colors, so a tummy tuck should be a little less intimidating now. Ugh. But, hopefully it will all be worth it in the end.

And boy are they SORE!!!!!! Cardio and cramps do not mix well. Went for a 3-mile run last night with P., and it was rather sad. Why? Because he was so far ahead of me after the first part of our run that I could barely see his fine backside! He was a sweetie though, and would turn around and wait for me to catch up……and had the nerve to ask if I thought he should enter us in a 10k run! Egads! Guess I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Considering that I’ve only been running again for a little over a month, I have to stop beating myself up and actually pat myself on the back. This is a huge accomplishment in light of the fact that I get very bad tendonitis from running and haven’t had a recurrence of it yet.

I think tonight will definitely be a bike ride to give my sore legs a chance to recover a bit. No donuts today! Yay! Plus, it’s not a carb day anyway. That’s the hardest part about carb days, I’ve learned - not letting them turn into cheat days. Ugh.

Back to the protein and chicken……

Well, most of the time, anyway. Except for that once every three month reminder (thank goodness for bc pills). Being cranky, tired, bloated and overall just plain miserable is NOT my idea of a fun week.

As for my diet, I’m trying, but the girly problems are interfering with my diet!!!!! Damn carb cravings, and damn whoever brought in the brownie bites AND Krispy Kremes AND Laffy Taffy AND Jolly Ranchers AND Tootsie Pops! Good golly, I’m going to go into a carb coma.

Looks like I’m just going to be sticking with 2-a-day cardio sessions this week, and will go back to my lifts next week.

Now, if I could just wake up easier in the morning, life would be so much better. Having an underactive thyroid makes getting up in the morning even harder than it normally would be. Ugh. Even though I take my prescription religiously, it still can be a real pain by the time the next morning rolls around.

Fortunately, those who have never experienced hypothyroidism don’t have to deal with this. BUT, they also will never quite understand how difficult it can be at times. Be thankful if you’re normal!

Yep, this jelly roll has GOT to go. The sooner the better. Which is why I got my running shoes on and went for a 40 minute run this fine Sunday evening. And why I’m going to get up in the morning to do it all over again. Ugh.

Weights tomorrow night, repeating last weeks lifts since I only did squats last week. So I’ll be doing 1 warm up set and then 2 sets of 3 reps at 170. Two more weeks until I go for my new maxes. Then I start all over again.

Oh, sweet heaven…..for the first time in months I was able to stay home for the weekend and didn’t have to go back to Wisconsin. Was nice to just lay around in bed and get up whenever, instead of when the alarm clock told me to.

Unfortunately, I was very casually reminded that I owe P. a run, since he got one in yesterday while I napped! I napped alot, slept really, for a long time yesterday. Must have needed it pretty badly.

So, today, I will get in a 3 mile run even if it kills me. Went shopping yesterday - supposedly just for coffee but I was gone for 3 hours - and bought a new pair of running shorts and a lightweight tank. I get so freakin’ hot when I’m working out that I just wish I could take it all off and jump into a nice cool pool. So, I opt for the easier and legal option of riding my bike or running through everyone’s sprinklers instead! He laughs at me, but heck it works!

K, off to enjoy my lazy morning coffee, then it’s a little bit of straightening up, some shopping and more cardio.

as in those yummy Danish cookies in teh round tins. I know, I know - all that processed flour and sugar. But they are so yummy. Unfortunately, I have a super coworker who feeds my cookie addiction……and have people calling me Cookie Monster at work! This is something I could never tell Peter at home, we live in Pete’s House of Protein! Barely a carb to be found! (although he does know about the cookies, I haven’t told him about the nickname - good thing he doesn’t read my blog!)

What is sad is that I know the nutrient breakdown of these tasty little morsels, because I track every cookie in my nutrition spreadsheet! No sneaking even a crumb for me. 1 Cookie = 43 calories, .5 g protein, 5.5 g carb, 2 g fat and 2 g sugar. I try to limit myself to 1 or 2.

Apparently, I am now residing in Peter’s Workout Resort - or so I was told this morning as I had this amazingly handsome man dragging me out of bed and urging me to get my morning cardio in. I’ve already lodged a complaint about the shoddy maid service.

No running today, ankle is a little more sore than I thought. So, what did I do instead? A lovely bike ride on his BMX bike! Why his bike instead of my own mountain bike you may ask? No gears. Better workout. HARDER workout. Ugh. I still need to have him take a picture of this interesting sight because it has got to be just comedic.

I’m quite happy to say that tomorrow, for the first time since I moved down here to Illinois, I will not be driving back up to Wisconsin for the weekend. Yay! No getting up at 5am for two whole days in a row! Unbelievable. I probably won’t know what to do with myself!

Actually, I plan on organizing my closet, doing some shopping, going to the gym for workouts and tanning, possibly a bike ride with P, surfing bb.com, watching some movies and playing the new games we got for the PS2. Oh, and napping whenever I want to!

T G I F!!!!!

So, I did NOT want to run tonight but I did anyway. Got a little heartburn while running, that’s new. Hope it doesn’t happen again.

I’ve been a little hesitant to run again after messing up my ankle over the weekend, but it seems as though it’s ok now. Still a little pain, but most of the swelling has gone down.

New pics posted in the progress section of my Bodyspace, and they are definitely not pretty. I’ve now posted the Contest page on the wall for extra motivation. Of course, the man who will be waking me up in the morning to get some good cardio running in before work is super motivation too!

G’night, catch y’all tomorrow. oh, and wish me luck.

So, I’m officially entering the Misc 3 Month Transformation contest…….since I was already training super hard to be prepared for my cousin’s wedding on August 18.

I don’t believe that the majority of men realize that for most women, weddings are not just about celebrating the love of your close friends/family/random people whose party you’re crashing - for chicks, it’s all about looking hot. It’s almost like a Figure/Fitness/BB Comp in and of itself:

- We start planning months, sometimes even a year in advance

- We plan our accommodations, centering around the logistics of the location

- We purchase many beauty supplements in the form of new cosmetics

- We scope out and carefully choose our attire, looking for the color and fit that most complements our coloring and physique

- We DEFINITELY purchase new shoes! (and usually a matching handbag) and practice walking/dancing in them

- We almost always engage in a strict nutrition plan to get us down to our fighting/dancing weight

And even though there are many who won’t admit it - we secretly want to be the hottest and best looking chick at the wedding - besides the bride, of course. Because we all know that she’s been prepping the hardest of anyone!

Anyway, back to the original topic - I’ll be posting my current pics tonight: the requirements are Front Double Bi, Rear Double Bi and a Side Pose. I’ll probably take a couple others just for comparison’s sake and will update my progress pics every 5 or 10 lbs.

I’m sticking to my current nutrition plan of carb cycling - it seems to be working pretty well when I don’t stray from the menu. As for my weight training - still doing the big three with some assistance work added in, but I’m mainly focusing on HIIT cardio twice a day on most days. Once in the morning around 5am, and again in the evening, usually at the gym.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to compete in the NPC comp in Illinois next March with Peter! No, we will not be doing any cheesy doubles routines. They’re teh ghey.

…..or better yet - DON’T. Someone ordered a bunch of pizzas in the office and the smell is KILLING me!!!! Cruel and unusual punishment should not be allowed in the workplace. Pizza is my FAVORITESTESTESTEST food and now I really want some but I can’t have some even though I’d really like some I’m trying my best not to give in to the urge…….sucks.

To make it even worse, the pizza is from Giordano’s  http://www.giordanos.com - voted the best pizza in America by the Today Show!

So, what am I having instead? Protein shake, lean ham and some low fat cheese. Oooh, taste treat indeed - NOT!!!

Anyway, I’m going to prove to myself that I can resist even if it kills me because I had a super awesome squat workout last night followed by some HIIT on the elliptical and I’m not about to toss that down the toilet bowl.

Tonight is more cardio, cardio, cardio…….I wish I could smack Martin for putting that stupid phrase in my head. Especially since Pete repeats it around the house! Argh.

Mmmmm…………….just popped a piece of Orbit’s new Raspberry Mint gum in my mouth and it is YUMMMYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! They were handing out samples outside Union Station. Might have to buy some to help with the cravings.