Trusting the Process

As I write this post I can say that I am still as motivated as I have been since day 1. This journey for sure has had its ups and downs such as missing out on drinking with friends on New Years, having the freedom to go out and eat at a restaurant as well as being very disciplined at parties where there is alcohol and food temptations. Overall though I am happy I have stuck with this.

Last week we checked my body fat again and I was sitting at 12% but this time I had actually lost a little bit of muscle along with fat.

Here is a side by side of two weeks apart. Not too much of a difference execpt I was able to try on an actual competition suit, helllooo bootay! The suit is TINY, I felt naked 😳.

My trainer told me that since we are sitting at more than 13 weeks out from my first competition he wanted to keep me where I was at and "build me up some more" which means I get to eat more!!!!

I had always heard the phrase "trust the process" but never really knew what it meant until I was in the situation of having to actually trust the process.

I will admit when I heard the words, "We are going to increase your carbs to 220 grams a day and your fat to 60 grams a day" I was scared shitless, I was being told to eat 2,140 calories a day which I never thought was possible for me. I was excited to eat more but had an extreme amount of anxiety because I was now out of my comfort zone.

I come from a childhood of being bullied for my weight and although I am working on letting those taunting memories go it is still an insecurity of mine, I am very sensitive about that aspect in my life and I know a lot of other girls/women can relate.

I even had to reach out to one of my best friends to tell me how rediculous I was being with being worried about eating more. With her support and strong/honest words (ha-ha) I placed my faith in what my coach advised me and went with the new diet outline.

This past week I refrained from weighing myself as often as I was because I knew that with the higher intake of carbs/food the scale would naturally read higher. Within in a couple of days I could tell I had more energy, my muscles looked fuller and I felt stronger both mentally and physically.

Here is a photo of me this morning sporting some abs!

This is me eating over 2,000 calories a day, working out 5 days a week with only 30 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of weight training, proof that you do not have to kill yourself with endless hours in the gym if you are sticking to whole healthy foods and moderate amounts of exercise.

After only 6 weeks of this journey I have made the following realizations:

1. I am more appreciative of my body than ever and I love myself more than I did on day 1 of this journey. My body is incredible for what it does and I am grateful for being me.
2. The people in your life who truly support you will understand if you cannot go out to a restaurant or a night on the town. They will find other avenues of entertainment to hang out with you because they are your TRUE friends. Shout out to my girls Becky, Brigitta and Tara for being there for me and rooting me along. 
3. Do not be afraid to trust your coach or the "process". My coach actually cares about my  health which is why he doesn't have me on a low calories starvation diet. I am lucky to have found Jeremiah and be part of Team Fit Physique and will now embrace being told to eat more. 

Well, that closes my thoughts on the previous two weeks. Monday I will have more progress photos as well as a body fat percentage update. Adios!