New Plan

Remember last week I was saying I never quit anything? Well I guess I have to eat my words. I have decided to back out of the show on the 29th because for me it's not worth it.

 My body still has not recovered from 22 wks. of dieting and show prep leading into my June show and my mind hasn't recovered either. Quite frankly, I am just not ready to restrict myself in the diet department and get at the cardio again. It was becoming way too stressful and as a result my body was rebelling. I have adjusted my diet appropriately and I already feel so much better. It is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I talked it out with Brendan and immediately felt better with my decision. Plus, financially right now it's not a smart decision. There is a lot of  money that goes into one show. It is crazy! I already have added pep in my step at the gym. It no longer feels like something I have to get done. Lifting feels normal and fun again. You truly need a strong mental state of mind before embarking on the prep. journey. I just am not there. I have too many other concerns and worries other than show prep. I need a break. I need to adjust my priorities and start focusing on enjoying my life again. Friday date nights are the only night where I completely let myself relax. At this point, I can't take it out of the equation and be happy. It's what I look forward to at the end of a long week. We eat clean and train hard year round so I am just going with it....I don't need to prep for a show to keep me motivated. Yes, it helps, but it's not the time.

On the workout front, we have switched up our workouts again. It has been four weeks. We are back on Layne Norton style training (a mix of power and endurance). They are long workouts and very intense, I am going to need all the food I can get to make them count (another reason why I am glad I have decided not to prep. for the 29th). Yesterday was upper body/power workout. It wiped me out. I loved the change up in exercises. I felt my back when I woke up this morning and my arms feel heavy- good sign! We will hit legs twice a wk. on this workout-which excites me!

This past weekend we went camping in NH with a couple of friends. It was a fantastic getaway, just what my crazy self needed. It truly was a beautiful fall weekend. The campsite we camped in was in the National forest. It was not a commercial site, like Bren and I camped at earlier in the summer. It was REAL camping! There were bathrooms  however, thank goodness, but that was about it for amenities. The bathrooms were very clean which was a bonus. A girl needs a clean place to pee and wash up!
Our friends went up on Friday night and got settled in for the weekend. We joined them early Saturday morning. It was kinda great to have the campsite all set up #spoiled! On our drive up the views were gorgeous. The sky was like HD TV so crisp and clear. When we arrived we didn't waste anytime, we hopped back in the car and headed to the mountain.
We ended up doing a  seven and a half mile hike-4,802 ft. It was a steady inlcine the entire way up. Def. the most challenging hike I have ever done. I loved it ! When we got to the top of the mountain, the sky was grey and it was super windy and cold. If it was a better day, the views would have been amazing. I didn't want to hang at the top for too long because the elements were too much for me. My face and fingers were frozen! The hike down wasn't too bad, it seemed to have gone quick.

I was famished all night long due to our hike. I couldn't get enough good food into my body. Delicious, grilled chicken, veggies, quinoa and crinks satisfied my hungry belly. I wanted to replenish my body with healthy, nutritious food. While the others were munching endlessly on crapola I was perfectly content with my clean food. I think perhaps it raised a few eyebrows, the fact that we weren't shoveling in Doritos and Cheezits, but that's all good. They were curious as to what we were eating, but I am thinking at this point they get me and my lifestyle and if they don't -OH WELL!

Not that I was judging because I totally was not BUT the amount of junk my friends consumed over the weekend was UNREAL! I think people don't realize how calorie dense trail mix is and chippies are. Totally not worth it in my eyes. I want to eat and be full.  Grazing on junk food just doesn't fill me up. I know it tastes delicious, but that only lasts a second. I have learned over the past couple of years it's not worth it. I look at food as fuel/energy. I do indulge on things that I consider to be worth it to me- I enjoyed two hearty, seasonal beers with my meal. Two is enough for me. It goes straight to my head these days. On a positive note, I think it helped to keep me warm.
After sitting by the fire for a bit, it was lights out for all! Turns out a day of hiking wipes you out-pretty sure we were in out tents by 9:30!

The next morning I woke up starving! We were up and out of our tent early to eat breakfast.I want to say six o'clockish. Perhaps even earlier. We left the campsite with our oats and  hard boils in search of some hot water! Luckily for us Tedeschi was open bright and early. We feasted on our breakfast right there in the parking lot and of course we got our coffee fix too. Somehow my car always ends up stinking like farts when we go on these trips-thanks to munching on hard boiled eggs in the front seat!

After our front seat feast we returned to the campsite with a box of joe for everybody and consumed breakfast #2, three hours later with the gang. I guess that's the bonus of waking up early and having a fully charged metabolism. I am pretty sure I went to bed dreaming and maybe even drooling of breakfast #2 - I had a bagel with natural PB from Trader Joes. Very rarely do I indulge in these...and every time I do, I enjoy every last crumb-WORTH IT! It settles the craving until the next fitting occasion and makes for a happy me.

We hung for a bit around the fire-it truly was relaxing. Did I mention I love getting away from reality and the city? After a bit, we packed up and headed back to Beantown. We spent the rest of Sunday eating good, clean food to replenish our bodies and resting up for the workouts ahead. It's not every day you climb a mountain for 4hrs. Recharge days are so necessary and such a treat.

Yesterday was a great workout. I was fully recharged and had a body full of fuel and my head was in a good place. Today we were supposed to do legs, but it's pretty terrible here weather wise and Brendan's schedule is stinkus so we decided to take today as our off day. We will get at tomorrow in full leg day fashion! It will be nice because we will have the gym to ourselves during the afternoon. There is nothing more annoying than those goofy gym goers we all love to hate. You now the ones on their phones, taking up space and gawking in the mirror-Yup we love to hate them!

So tonight its resting for me...We are catching up on past show seasons. We recently got a new deal with Comcast . We now get all the stations and past show seasons on demand. We are new fans of Homeland which comes out this month for season two. Luckily we had that rest day on Sunday-we are all set to go now! Haha. Tonight we are going to start on Friday Night Lights. This show I hear is great! I know there are no more seasons, but there are like seven old ones, so that should keep us busy for some time!

Until tomorrow...peace out!