Turning In Early

Way early! It's only 8 and I'm already exhausted! Could be because I decided to be a little social last night. My weekend plans fell through this past weekend, and since today was pretty much my day off of work I decided it couldn't hurt. I still managed to wake up by 5am for some early morning cardio, abs, and calves--the usual--but I also feel like I had more caffeine than usual today. Sigh, oh well. Kept me up and going. And I felt good! No harm, no foul (I think).

I hope you enjoyed the WILW post from earlier! I realized I meant to touch on some competition-related things, but they just didn't fit with the post, and I forgot until right after I hit the "Publish Post" button. So here's round 2 for my blog today:

Monday I met with Pleasants so we could go over my nutrition and make some changes. Changes were also made to my workouts. But first--this past Sunday I gained a pound during my weigh-in, and although I know the culprit, and it was my own naivety that brought on the weight gain, I was not very pleased. This week, Pleasants decided to cut carbs even further!! Now, on my low carb days, I'm only down to 1/4 cup of oatmeal once a day. My only other carb intake is in the form of fibrous green veggies on my low days. Even my high day is maybe half of what it was when I was starting off. Not complaining though, because I'm seeing progress!

He also thinks I'm coming along well and everything is tightening up. That's music to my ears! The only thing I need to work on according to him is hamstrings. So now, in addition to abs and calves every day, I'm supposed to do 4 sets of leg extensions and leg curls after every workout. Can you say "eek!!!"?! Although, I will say that they're not as bad as when I do them during my leg day workouts. By the time I get to them then, my legs are done-zo! Time will tell if they do their job correctly.

In other news, I keep leaving my gallon jug at work! I'm practically living there now--been trying to pick up hours like crazy since I'm on the prowl for a full-time job still. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel (for now)--I applied for a job at a new restaurant downtown and the hiring manager has been corresponding with me via email. In the next few days, I should be set up with an interview! The only potential downside is that the restaurant is open from 3pm to 2am. So whereas I would normally apply for a server position, I'm mainly applying for a hosting position for now, because I don't think I could handle going to bed at 2am and waking up at 5am for cardio. Wish me luck, y'all!

Oh, but back to the water jug. Yes, I've now managed to leave it 2 days in a row, so I'm relying on a handy-dandy plastic cup to keep me hydrated! Since I'm at my desk most of the day it's like my right-hand man (hehe). Thank goodness for crystal light! Or the store brand version--same difference when you're on a tight budget. I've found that my meals are coming along better, and when I'm drinking something besides my Xtend-spiked water all day, my hunger in between meals is practically non-existent. I'm still being careful though, because I know that all those mix-yourself drinks are sweetened with Splenda...

That being said, I was reading a blog today and one of the comments made me doubt whether my--ahem--"problems" were actually due to the artificial sweetener or just the nutrition I've been following. I can't actually bring myself to say more, because it's embarrassing. Although I'm sure many of you have been through it too. Okay fine... If I were to Google this to figure out what's going on it would look something like "gassy during bodybuilding diet." Because I'm unoriginal when it comes to Googling and  hey, it is what it is. Don't judge.

So now that I've thoroughly embarrassed myself, I might as well go on to tell this funny little occurrence that happened yesterday when I was on lunch break with my assistant manager at work. We were chatting and finishing up our lunches, when out of the corner of my eye, I see here take something out of her lunch bag. I immediately knew what it was, even as she kindly turned around so as not to make me feel bad. BROWNIE--it was a brownie! Oh dear god, I love her for hiding it from me. However, my mouth was running quicker than my brain (duh--it was being powered by my deprived tastebuds!) and before I knew it, I whined, "I just wanna look at it!!!" Complete with a pout and everything. I think we both looked blankly at each other for half a second before we busted out laughing! I STILL can't believe I said that! I didn't mean to say it out loud! It was too late--I sounded insane. Good thing my managers don't really think I'm crazy I hope. Needless to say, the rest of my shift was a piece of cake (now here I go mentioning sweets again!).

While I'm at it talking about my work managers/friends, I just want to mention how supportive they have all been during my training. Don't get me wrong--my training doesn't interfere with my work, but there have been a couple of days where I've been a bit moody or lethargic from a lack of energy. I try my best to power through, and it's worked out fine. Normally, those moody, lethargic days are also due to my own decision to pick up shifts, leaving me with not much in terms of a day off. Retail has no weekends. In fact the weekends are like the work week of a typical business--hectic! But yes, my managers, Caroline & Kaylee, are great! Every single time I come in, they always compliment me on how good I'm looking, how muscular and lean I'm becoming, etc. It really feels good to know that others can see a difference. I'm not one to fish for compliments, but when they are given to me, I don't complain.

In addition to being a morale booster, the compliments they have thrown my way are also really helping me to see the progress I've made. For the first time in weeks, I CAN notice changes. Abs are really coming in nicely and my biceps...well they may need their own zip code on my body. Kidding! But in all seriousness, I do think I will be able to see one of those vein-pop (or whatever the actual term is for it) things by show-time!! I'm seeing the beginning of one now, and I SWEAR I say it during my tricep workout the other day. No joke this time! Not to mention, being fake tan definitely helps.

If this post were an alphabet, I would have completely murdered it--B, X, J, M, D...?? In other words, I hope you were able to follow along :) Nighty night!

P.S. Thank you to all those that posted wonderful, supportive comments on my heavy blog the other day! You all motivate me so much every day, and it means a great deal to me that you even check out my blog, let alone comment. Much love! To show my appreciation, this:

is for all of you that commented on Sunday's post!

xoxo