Week 8-- Progress Pictures and Update

This entry is a week over due as now I am in week 9 of my journey and have 10 weeks until my competition.  The time frame from week 6 to week 8 was honestly pretty rough for me so bear with me as this entry has been really hard for me to pull together over the past week.  I hope that for those reading that hope to compete one day or are close to competing read this and use it as a tool to help them understand the changes that your mind goes through along the way.  For all others I appreciate your patience and understanding as I have struggled a bit but you still continue to love and support me.

STARCHES!!!  This one word can make you or break you and unfortunately it broke me down in the past two weeks.  Starches as you know are your fuel, that part of the meal that blast you through the day and keep you moving.  Well for me I interpreted my meal plan as I wanted and started eating these things called Moon Pops with sugar free syrup and shooting my egg whites basically 4 out of 5 of my meals.  Therefore, I was under eating and on a liquid diet essentially.  High protein low carb diet which caused my body to loose fat at a lower rate and caused my energy levels to drop very low.

When I went to Kim on August 1st it was on my lunch break and I had dark circles under my eyes and couldn't stop yawning.  I hopped on the scale and got my measurements and although I saw some loss and I knew it would slow down some when I was in the teen body fat range Kim still was concerned about my eating.  She believe I should still be loosing a little more and then we discovered after going through what I was eating I was basically not getting enough starches to fuel me through the day.  From there we made a quick adjustment and got me back on track.

When I got home that evening I literally went to bed at 6 pm and slept through the night and woke up feeling alot better and got back on my good eating and getting my meals balanced out helped alot.  I will be honest though I just wasn't in the frame of mind to blog and give my progress as I was just so discouraged after having my progress pictures taken I had a major break down.  Since I only had lost around 1.5% body fat I couldn't actually see the changes as I have in the other pictures and it just really frustrated me and just had me panicking if I could get where I wanted to be in 10 weeks.  After a funky week mentally and getting back to my old self and a couple awesome peps talks from a couple girls that have competed I realized just why I am really doing this.  After talking to a new friend, Nessa, and hearing her calm me down a bit and explain why she decided to compete it really made alot of sense to me.  Like she said in this sport the draw is that not everyone can do it and make the sacrifice it takes to get to the end result, this sport can make or break you.  It's a mental and physical test that you have to work through and lean on those closest to you to help keep you grounded and sain along the way with out loosing yourself through it all.

The reason I continue to push through is for ME and me alone.  Not to prove anything to others or gain notoriety but to push myself further than I ever have and know that in the end with the help of God, friends and family I was able to conquer the "old" me.  The me that was self conscious for so many years, the me that never stood up for herself when she should have, the me that always just sold myself short.  For some this comes in many forms.  Some choose to be tri-athletes, crossfit champs, competitive sportsmen, professional cheerleaders or dancers.  All of these things and more take sacrifice and some sort of change socially and some can end up loosing themselves in it.  My main goal through all of this is to rely on family and friends to keep me grounded and I just always make a conscious effort to really appreciate all of the love and support around me.  My goal long term is to be fit and healthy and make it a lifestyle for myself.  The challenge of the competition is exciting and a goal and like anything else takes making some temporary changes but I still remain me...actually I think I am a better me as the inside has been changed so much.  My trophy will be my results when my competition day comes along with knowing how much love and support has been with me during it all.

I want to thank my family and friends as I always do because with out them I couldn't do it alone and especially the past two weeks MD, Nessa, Kelsey, Steph M., Kim P, Steph R and so many others who have encouraged me and given me my little "come to Jesus" talks as I like to call them when I was having my break down.

For those competing or plan to compete:  stick to your diet and follow it to a T!!  Don't interpret it how you want or else you may cause yourself some serious trouble!!  Also, at 10 weeks don't be nervous just stay consistent and focused and remember why you decided to compete in the first place.  Consistency is what will get you to that stage!!  Best of luck to you!!

8/1/2011-
Body Fat:  18.63%
Body Weight:  112 lbs

Front at 18.63% body fat, 112 lbs

Back at 18.63% body fat, 112 lbs



Side at 18.63% body fat, 112 lbs

  "I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13

Until next time....

Love Dee