Bad days happen

I'm not on speaking terms with my digestive system at the moment. All last night and this morning, it's felt like somebody has a voodoo doll Kek and is sticking a knife in its side. And then giving it a twist for extra evil laughs. Training isn't looking good for today, unless a miraculous improvement happens, pronto.

On top of all that, the scales have taken an upward turn these past two days, in spite of sticking to my plan like glue. I'm thinking that a bad case of DOMS and some extra salt are probably responsible, but I'm not thrilled about a gain of 800g in two days. Especially since that puts me in an impossible position for meeting the goal I was aiming for tomorrow.

Consequently I'm a bit down in the dumps today.

There's a tiny little voice whispering in my head, telling me that because I feel bad I "need" a treat to cheer me up. And that because my weight is up anyway, it won't matter. Some ice cream would be nice... I could take The Baby out - he loves to go out with Mum for a sit-down ice cream or cake session. Maybe a few wines with dinner tonight too. Or just some raisin toast with peanut butter. And a side of wallowing with that, thanks.

But the rational me knows that none of that will help - there will be a temporary sense of pleasure, but inevitably disappointment and a sense of failure will follow. Also, further weight gain, which is self-defeating, really.

So instead I'm choosing to remember how good I felt last night in my favourite tight-fitting size 8 black pants; to remind myself that the weight gain is only fluid and will reverse in a few days; to just take some damn pain relief drugs for now and look forward to feeling better tomorrow; and to take pleasure in small things. Like being able to sit in the sunshine, drink tea and read a book.

Bad days happen to everyone, sometimes a string of them at once. I don't always succeed at staying strong, but even when I stumble, I always get back up eventually and begin moving forward again. And that's the "secret" to success. It's easy to assume that successful people have had an easy path. Or that they have some superhuman ability to smash through obstacles that would defeat most others.

The truth is that the road to success is never linear. It goes up and down and sometimes does weird zig-zags and U-turns. There are steep climbs and rattly old decrepit bridges along the way. Occasionally there's a roadblock that stops you for a while. But as long as you don't let those things become permanent deterrents, success will eventually be yours.

So the whispering beast can just take that ice cream and shove it. I may decide to take a detour to Treatsville later in the week, but for now, I have my personal GPS firmly locked onto my original destination, thanks.

Signs

I went outdoors for a run today (well, run/walk intervals, but don't lets get technical here) and the pants-hitching was still going on. And I was wearing a smaller pair of pants than yesterday's. I'd better ferret through the wardrobe and find my even smaller sizes. I know I have a few pairs of LJ pants in size tiny somewhere...

Also? My abs have made a reappearance. Thank goodness for that. I was beginning to think they'd maybe packed up and emigrated to Mexico or something.

Then there's the case of the disappearing cleavage. The less said about that, the better. Moving on...

And of course, the scales are showing lower numbers consistently now. Plus the spouse-ometer is always an accurate gauge of leanness. HE notices small differences even when I can't see them. Even The Baby hugged me last night and told me I feel like a stick-Mum. I think that was a compliment...

I'm feeling pretty good about myself - happy with where I'm at, even. I like what I see in the mirror. I like how my clothes fit (except for the falling-down workout pants). I like how I feel.

Somebody remind me of this when I get back to this point post-comp and I'm feeling FAT, please?

Question

If you find that you're constantly having to hitch your pants up during your insane cardio workout, does that mean:

a) that you shouldn't do burpees? or

b) that you need smaller pants?


Personally, I'm leaning towards a)

Is it still winter?

Because it's mighty hot in here.

Oh...that would be thanks to the totally BADASS cardio session I just did. My legs may function again eventually, but I'm not making any predictions on that front.

A paleo pancake with raspberry coulis (thanks for the idea, Liz!) and chopped walnuts is just the thing to aid recovery.

Sucking it up

Weight took a bit of a hike over the weekend, which wasn't exactly unexpected. Not that I went nuts, but a few of the competitors lollies may have made their way into my mouth on Saturday. And I did have toast with my eggs-n-veggies at lunch, plus a few extra calories over the day. Given that my day began at 5:30am and I staggered into bed at 2:00am, it wasn't an inappropriate amount of food though. I also had a lovely treat of two magnificent Koko Black truffles on Sunday night, and the day included a couple of not-quite Paleo meals while we were out and about in the city. Still good choices though, and within my calorie limit, but a bit of extra starch makes a difference.

Add to that the fact that I simply didn't get time to drink as much water as usual on Saturday, and I was carrying a bit of fluid by Monday morning. Apparently about 600g worth. I was not pleased to see 57.5 staring back at me. *sigh*

Time is ticking away and I need to push my weight down, down, down. I'm well and truly back on the Paleo wagon and weighing practically every morsel of food I eat as well, as there is no room for error here. And Liz has set me a goal of being sub-56 by Monday. Eeeek!

Consequently, cardio has been stepped up a notch. Several notches, actually. Hence my she's trying to kill meeee! comment the other day. ;o)

So this morning when I was woken at 3:15am by my very insistent bladder demanding to be emptied, I was half grumpy and half Yay, there's evidence of more fluid disappearing! However, I did not enjoy the part where I went back to bed and lay there wide awake until almost 5:00am. Grrr!

Imagine how thrilled I felt when the alarm went off at 5:30. I didn't even consider not getting up though. I'm on a blubber-busting mission here!

So today I've ticked all the boxes: Weights done. (Seriously nasty) cardio done. Nutrition - couldn't be better. I even went back to bed for three lovely hours this morning.

As for the scales? Today they've finally decided to come to the party with a nice 800g overnight drop, which puts me at 56.7. Another 800g to shed by Monday? Pfft, I can do that.

I'm still tired, I'm sore everywhere and I have my moments when I'd really love to just open the fridge and eat whatever's there, without all the preparation. But there's no time to play the precious princess, so I'm sucking it up.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

My plan for world domination

My mission in life is now to introduce the entire world to the joys of the Paleo pancake. Those who doubt the tasty goodness of this piece of caveman cuisine* need only try a bite to be converted. Just ask Liz, who didn't reeeally believe that something so simple could be so delish. Until she took a bite.

Even cold, they're pretty sensational. Served warm, they're divine.



I'm planning on having one of these every day for the foreseeable future. That involves going through a scary amount of eggs ...maybe I should think about keeping chooks?



*So perhaps cavemen didn't exactly have electric mixers, but I'm not actually planning to go live in a cave, so you'll have to allow me some 21st century improvements.

How much is a cavewoman-sized serve of veggies?

Half a cup? One of those little 150g individual bags of frozen veg? Ha! Not in my world....

Yesterday wasn't one of my best efforts - sometimes I manage to squeeze veg into breakfast and/or snacks. But it wasn't too shabby. This was lunch:

150g of chicken, 150g mashed pumpkin and a mountain of stir-fried red cabbage, red and green capsicum, onion and some garlic.



And dinner:

100g of salmon with almost half a family-sized bag of frozen mixed stir-fry veg and a bunch of fresh baby bok choy.



A small pile of peas and corn, or three little florets of broccoli looking a bit forlorn on the side of the plate? Pfft. That's what's known as "man-veggies" in our house.

I can be a bit slack at times, but Paleo is forcing me to shovel in those veggies, since that's where a big chunk of my carbohydrate has to come from. It's suprisingly easy, really.

Q & A

FlowerGirl asked a comp question yesterday: why does everyone get such a dark tan? a light tan looks just as lovely..is it because of cellulite??

The tan shows up muscle definition, and under the strong stage lighting, a light tan would be useless. Competitors who don't use a dark enough tanning product look pale and pasty next to everyone else. This is one case where more definitely is better.

It's certainly not to disguise cellulite - hopefully by the time the girls get to the stage, there isn't any of that left.... It does cover stretch marks and scars pretty well though.

Big week ahead

Phew. After a hectic, exhausting, but fun weekend, it's back to normal for me. Which means chilling and kicking back, right? Oh wait. No, it means braving the chilly temperatures at 5:30am and kicking my own butt every day with training. Close. Oh well, there'll be plenty of time to rest in October.

Yesterday I tested out my other new Spinervals title: Aerobase Builder VI. ONE HOUR of aerobic work on the ol' spin bike. Mmm, my favourite... *snort* It was actually a great workout, and although my mind did wander a few times, the hour flew by.

Today, it was legs first up. My bum is definitely feeling the lerve.... I still have to do cardio, but I'll be stuck here for a bit, waiting for a parcel delivery for my eBay-addicted spouse. Yes, more bike parts. *rolls eyes* It better come early, I do NOT want to be facing a cardio session at 5:00pm.

Last night I got my training schedule for the week and it's official: Coach is definitely trying to kill me this time. I swear, I had nightmares last night about weird transformer-type elliptical and treadmill critters chasing me down. Looks like I'm going to need some seriously early nights if I'm going to survive.

Right now I'm off to plan today's menu. The pumpkin last night was just the thing to tame the old Hungry Hippo. Think I might have it again today, just to keep him at bay - perhaps just good old mashed pumpkin this time.

*Smacks the hippo right in the chops with a giant pumpkin* Yeah, take THAT, Tubby!

Recipe alert!

I needed a Paleo-friendly accompaniment for our chicken balti tonight. Rice is fine for Bike Boy, but not for this little black duck.

So I came up with a tasty veggie alternative: warm pumpkin and green bean salad. Easy, too!

Behind the scenes

The figure girls onstage make it all look so easy, but quite apart from the weeks of training, tracking food, monitoring weight and measurements and practising posing, a lot goes on behind the scenes on the day. You don't just show up looking all glam, unfortunately - it takes some serious work.

You start off looking a bit odd, with weird dark orange skin everywhere except your face. The tanning process necessitates wearing nothing but black clothing - unless you want everything to have nasty brown-orange stains. You also need plenty of layers, because with not much fat on you and not a lot of carbs in your system, you're going to be COLD (and yeah, welcome to Melbourne, Queensland girls - winter is FUN).



Then it's off early to the hairdresser, to start the glamourising process.



Remember to take your food. Cold chicken and sweet potato: Mmm-mmm! By this stage ANY food tastes fantastic. Note: Do NOT drop your last bite of chicken on the hair-covered floor.



Ta-dah! The look is coming together.....



After arriving at the venue and getting through registration, it's time for makeup.


A helper with half a clue about this stuff is very handy. Don't look at me, I'm useless....although I can attach a false eyelash now without glueing eyelids together. Go, me!



Then you get naked and stand in the cold dressing room (where a steady stream of people keep opening the door and letting a freezing cold draught in), while your helpers apply cold Dream Tan. At least the slapping gets your circulation going.



Don't let your lack of clothes or Coach's tanning efforts stop you from getting those lollies, though! Sugar laid on free - and it's legal!



And remember to scoff a couple of rice cakes with honey. Don't forget to pack your wet wipes, that stuff is sticky. If your rice cake crumbles and falls on the floor, the two-second rule most definitely applies!



Then it's time to suit up and practice some poses. Shannon:



Selina:



Casey:



And pause for some quick photo ops for the annoying slapper who keeps thrusting a camera in your face...



Make sure you schmooze up to the coach...



Then get those free sponsor's outfits on for a quick shot.



If you're smart, you keep your toes warm....



FINALLY, it's time to hit the stage and strut your stuff.







To the victors belong the spoils!

2009 INBA All Female Classic

3rd place Figure Intermediate


CONGRATULATIONS, SELINA!!

Oustanding job, girl - you looked awesome and performed like a pro.

Congrats to Shannon for taking first place, and to Casey, who did a brilliant job in her first appearance in Figure Novice. And of course, to Liz - nice work, Coach, all the girls did you proud.

I'll post more photos when I have time. This afternoon, I have to help Selina celebrate. ;o)



P.S. I have 300 photos, including quite a number of the other competitors, so if any of the girls are reading and would like copies, just email me.