Food Hangover?!

Unless you have ever been on a strict healthy diet and then had a "cheat meal" of something that normally isn't on your menu, you may not know what I'm referring to when I say the term "Food Hangover." I have been eating clean since mid November and almost every week, I have been allowed a "cheat meal" of my choosing. Whether it be clams and garlic bread, a glass of wine, frozen yogurt, ANYTHING...my stomach kills within an hour of eating it and I wake up the next day feeling like I repeatedly got punched in the stomach and drank an obscene amount of alcohol the night before. This really is the best way to put it. I'm extremely dehydrated, lethargic, bloated, tired, etc... From the beginning to now, the cravings have definitely subsided. I crave the "cheat meal" more so because it's available to me than actually really wanting it. It may be something Matt is eating (ice cream or some pasta--which I make him finish!) or something the kids I nanny for are eating (goldfish crackers or a PB+J sandwich).  The second those things touch my lips the first thought that comes to mind is, "Boy, this is going to taste so good". But what immediately follows that?..."Man, am I going to hurt and pay for this later?"

About a week and a half from now, 3/24, I will be exactly 12 weeks out from competition time! No more cheat meals, a stricter diet, more cardio, heavier lifting...thank God for an absolutely amazing trainer and a supportive fiance! I'm not going to lie, Matt has knocked bread rolls out of my hand (during the holidays) and squeezed my cheeks until I spit out what was in my mouth into his hand (something that shouldn't have been there). I also recently caught a pretty bad cold and sinus infection. My training sessions were not very good last week because of my lack of energy. Even though I'm not feeling 100% better, I still get up early and meet my trainer on our scheduled days to train. I would honestly say that without the accountability, I could find five excuses during a "busy" week to not make it to the gym. I'm not only doing this for myself but I'm doing this to make my trainer proud. She is helping me and encouraging me every single step of the way! No question is a silly question and she has an explanation to everything. It's never just, "because that's how it is." She knows how the body works, acts, and reacts and all of this is helping me reach my goal.

Anyone that has never trained for something will never really know what goes on inside our mind and bodies when it comes to preparing for something like this. I wake up around 5:30 almost everyday M-F. I lift five days a week and do cardio six days (usually twice a day; if not, then one big session). Everyone knows I have a job on top of trying to run a successful business. Needless to say, life doesn't stop for me. When I go back for that second cardio session in the evening, it takes every last ounce of energy I have. By the time the weekends come, the training doesn't stop. I actually do the most on the weekends because I have the time to dedicate to it. I rarely want to do social activities, even if it means meeting up with a few girlfriends. Besides being the temptation that is everywhere outside of my house, I'm exhausted and not very fun to be around. Thank goodness I have my trainer who can relate and talk me through it. I also have an extremely understanding fiance that communicates with me so we can figure out how to handle things as they come up.

At the 12 week out mark, I will post new photos and stay up to date on this blog more as things will more than likely be changing by the week. 12 weeks out is prep time...here we go!