Exhaustion...Or Confusion? Both??

Both. For sure. First, I'm Exhuasted with a capital "E" today! I got up at 5, went to the gym, got in calve extensions (up to 90lbs!!), shoulders with Kevin, cardio, and then abs! I have to admit, I just didn't want to leave the gym today! It felt good being there. Felt RIGHT. As previously mentioned in my V-blog, I split cardio between the treadmill--WHAT WAS I THINKING doing HIIT?!--and the stairmill--a necessary evil cardio companion. I'll admit now that I actually love the stairmill. I'd take it any day over the treadmill. And so I do. But there are times when I feel like I'm pushing myself harder on the treadmill, so I make sure to get a bit of both in. Well, during the last 5 minutes of the stairs, I really wanted to hop off and call it a day morning. I didn't. I finished strong. And then some (abs). I left pleasantly sweaty :)

However, once my egg beaters omelette breakfast was settled in my stomach, reality came crashing upon me. I was exhausted! Did I mention it was only 9am at this point?? WAY too early for a nap! Excessive caffeine consumption and a tanning bed session later, I was still in the same boat. And scheduled to be at work at 3:15. Unfortunately, by the time I left work at 6:15, I had to raincheck my plans to do Body Combat with my friend Megan. I just didn't have the energy. I think it's a mixture of the no carbs this week and the hour of sleep I deprived myself of by staying up til 11 last night. So I am sad that I didn't get to do Body Combat (or I should say that my body wouldn't let me??), but I am very pleased with the intensity at which I worked out this morning. Seriously, I was at the gym for 2 hours! And was planning on going back for an hour-long butt-kicking!

So that's what I mean when I mention exhaustion. As for the confusion, I hope you all can help me out with this one! Now, I know everyone's individual competition prep diet is different, but I'm sitting here scratching my head on this one. Basically, I think I'm eating too much, especially on my low carb days Wednesday - Saturday. Typically on these days, I only have 1/4 cup of oatmeal for carb intake and the rest comes from green veggies. What confuses me is my protein. I'm supposed to eat ~22g protein at every meal, but I have this cross-listed for me as, for example: 1 scoop of protein/8 egg whites/9oz chicken. That just seems like SO much to me. At first I saw my weight dropping and now I don't. I've tried doing my research, but once again--every prep is different. Confusion.

Anyway, my brain is shutting down, so I leave you with a picture of my new shower curtain...purchased from the children's bathroom aisle in Target.

Doesn't this make you want to shower in my bathroom?
LOVE sea critters!