5 days out!

I know, I know, I've been a little quiet the past week. Don't get me wrong, everything is going great! It's just...HARD!
Everything is getting to be intense, my diet is very very strict. I'm eating tilapia and fish basically, drinking insane amounts of water, working out for at least 2 hrs a day. But only a few more days! This is certainly not for the faint of heart lol!
Last week was very difficult. I was tired, and it felt like time was dragging on forever!
However Friday and Saturday brought me a much brighter outlook on everything. I went shopping with one of my best friends and got some clothes that actually fit. I saw a big drop in the scale, another 2 lbs!
I started in January at 151.8, and weighed in this morning at 125.2! That's almost 27 lbs lost! I would never think in a million years I could be that light! The healthy range for my height is 120-150, in case you were curious. I had hoped to begin peak week at 127 so I am doing great in that regard.
Feeling a little crappy but that's to be expected!
I felt summery this weekend so I put on a sundress. Leigh took this pic of me in Leigh Square by my house. The other pic is from our first wedding anniversary last year. Can you spot the difference? Hehe!

Vision

One of the most important things that has helped me through this process is vision. I started thinking about doing this a few years ago and by February of 2011, I knew I wanted to compete in 2012. I watched everyone train for it, watched how they dealt with things, watched them all leave and return from Kelowna last May and I vowed I would do it. I volunteered at the BC Championships and watched the girls who placed at Kelowna and the fall show go on stage. I kept it so close in my vision that when the time came to start training for it I just started. My heart was already in it.

As I get closer and closer, my vision gets so clear it feels real. When I picked my suit, my hair, my shoes, my makeup. I can see myself so clearly achieving this goal. When I am exhausted on the treadmill, I visualize myself on stage and I can push through.

I heard this story at a course I took and I think of it often.

"The Catalina Island is twenty-one miles away from the coast of California, and many people have taken the challenge to swim across it.
On July 4th 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the water off Catalina Island to swim across to the California coast. She started well and on course, but later fatigue set in, and the weather became cold.
She persisted, but fifteen hours later, numb and cold, she asked to be taken out of the water.
After she recovered, she was told that she had been pulled out only half a mile away from the coast. She commented that she could have made it, if the fog had not affected her vision and she would have just seen the land.
She promised that this would be the only time that she would ever quit.
She went back to her rigorous training. And two months later she swam that same channel. The same thing happened. The fatigue set in, and the fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with faith and vision of the land in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind the fog was land.
She succeeded and became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She even broke the men’s record by two hours."

So amazing. Think about what you can achieve. Start with a dream and begin to visualize it!

Xoxo,
Taren

Yes, I Can and So Can You

All my life, I would always quit whatever I started because I thought I couldn't do it.

Dance? I can't perform in front of other people at a recital. Quit.

Piano. Ditto. Quit.

Tae-Kwon-Do. Ditto again. Quit.

See a pattern here?

Fear kept me from finishing things I started and kept me from starting things I wanted to do. I believe life has an amazing path for each and every person and I become more and more amazed as I follow it and realizing all the things that I sure as hell CAN do.

The absolute BEST part so far of this entire experience is constantly stunning myself on what I can do that I never thought I could. I have always dreamed of being fit and being in amazing shape. When I discovered the gym, I LOVED it just from the way it made me feel but I never worked out hard enough or ate clean enough to change my body. I maintained the same weight pretty much no matter what I ate for a long time. I started to lose my belief that I could have my dream body.

When they opened the bikini division of fitness competing, I was instantly intrigued. I wanted to look like that, curvy, fit and toned. I wanted to DO that. I vowed that I would do it one day. Now that day is in 15 days. I have been working so hard and I can't wait to keep working hard after the show too. I will set new goals and challenges to complete. Because now I know that I CAN.

xoxo,
Taren

Progress Pic!

Hello! 20 days left and I am feeling good! Down to 130.2! I can't tell you how amazing it feels to see that number on the scale.
In the past 10 years, I have resolved to get to my goal weight so many times and in training for this competition I have finally reached it. It feels so great to accomplish my goal! I was feeling great this morning after my cardio so I decided to snap a quick "bathroom" pic to show you guys where I'm at. Not bikini, of course, you'll have to wait till May 19th for that! :-)

How I'm Doing

I haven't updated this blog in awhile, I'm sorry. It's for 2 reasons:
1. I have no time. Between training and work and food prep, there's no time left to blog!
2. I am tired.

These 2 reasons pretty much sum up my life right now. Is it easy? No. Is it fun? Not anymore. 3 weeks out and things are getting pretty serious! I have to keep my mental state in a good place. All I'm trying to do is stay on path, take care of myself and get through my day. My favourite part of the day right now is getting to eat my sweet potatoes.

Today has been a hard day. When it feels that way I try to think of all the things I'm grateful for. A body that can handle this. The food that I need to get my body into "bikini competitor" mode. An amazing supportive husband. A kick ass trainer, amazing friends, great family, understanding boss, and people who just randomly tell me I look great when I feel like I want to take a nap on the treadmill. All these amazing people are what's keeping me going.
That, and the sweet potatoes.

xoxo,
Taren

Milestone!

This morning I woke up and weighed in at 131.8. I stood there with my mouth open staring at the scale. This means since January, in 3.5 months, I've lost 20lbs total.
Totally a milestone worth celebrating.
But not with cake.

Defining Moments and Donut Meltdowns

Yesterday was a physically hard day. I did my morning cardio at the gym and had my food in the fridge there. Of course I totally spaced and forgot it there and went off to work. So my day was a little off. I still stuck to the plan, I had protein powder in my bag and grabbed some grilled chicken and salad from a nearby restaurant.
Because I didn't have my food and supplements with me, I felt quite off.
So later on, I went to meet up with my girlfriends for an Ikea trip, I decided I needed a coffee. I decided to go inside and order because the drive thru at this location of Tim Hortons was a weird angle and I'm always worried I'm going to wipe out a mirror or something with my luck.

This is where I had my mini-meltdown. Don't worry, it was only on the inside. I was so sleepy and for some reason the person in front of me's order was taking sooo long. So I had plenty of time to look at all the carb-ey stuff in the display case. Keep in mind my diet is QUITE low carb at the moment.

So I'm waiting in the line, and I notice they have my absolute favourite donuts, (Strawberry Vanilla, with sprinkles) the best bagels ever (asiago and sundried tomato) AND my favourite potato bacon soup. STILL waiting to order my coffee. It was TORTURE. I wanted to scream "I just want my freaking coffee with Splenda, let me outta here!!"

Finally I got my coffee, and got the hell out of there. Don't get me wrong, I thought about cheating. I thought about how I'd just worked out and what harm would a little donut do. I was thinking about it and this is what defines how we diet these days. We are faced with temptation when we don't expect it and we either stay strong or give in. Don't get me wrong, I think if you love donuts, you should have them once in awhile for a treat. A few of my cheat meals have ended in driving to the one and only Krispy Kreme in the lower mainland with my hubby. Like I've said before, having them planned out makes me not feel guilty for indulging. If I were to give in on my non-planned cheat day and scarf down a donut in the car, I would feel guilty and crappy no matter what way I played it in my head.

So I guess the moral of the story is, try to avoid temptation if you want to stay on track. I know I'll be using the drive thru for my coffee from now on. If I can't see the donuts and bagels, I won't even think about them. Why make life harder on myself? I'm learning what triggers me and it helps a lot. You can read all the books you want but you need to find out how your body works and what works best for you. What triggers your cheating?

Make it worth it!!

xoxo,
Taren