Tim Tams won't get me back in the Jeans

My week has finished off ok. Following my shitty news on Wednesday arvo, I seem to have gotten on with it (not really any other choice...am still disappointed, but hey - what do you do!?!)

Did a good legs session yesterday, despite not feeling crash hot. Ended up being one of those vomit-worthy ones, heavy weights and lower reps. Didn't quite need the spew bucket but came close on several occasions. Wrapped that up with a 50min cardio session. Had a good afternoon at work and then toddled off to my parents' place after I finished as hadn't got my 2nd cardio session in so figured would just go use their elliptical. Did 30mins on it, which felt like 90mins...their elliptical is a really strong resistance machine - even on level 1 it's difficult! Finished it up just as dad was getting back from the airport, he'd gone to pick my brother and sister-in-law up as they have come up for my bestie's wedding this weekend. We stayed up chatting for a while and I have to confess something that rather strangely ran through my mind:

what if I don't compete this year? What if I just decide to pull the pin tonight and join in with the Tim Tam eating and just have a little piece of dark chocolate with almonds with Dad? Would it kill me to pull the plug? Am I going to make it in time anyway, am I going to be lean enough even if I don't pull the pin?

I got through the temptation and stayed on track somehow. It scares me though because I have never thought like this before. Yes I have been tempted but I have never really panicked about not being ready (aside from during comp week when I am so carb depleted and flat that to me I look like an elephant despite being at my leanest). But I pulled through the negative thoughts and stuck to my coffee, before coming home to get my 7 hours shut-eye in. Up bright and early this morning and decided to do the jeans test. I went to put on my fave jeans one night about 8 weeks ago and had a massive panic attack when I couldn't get them on. I tried to put them on again a few weeks ago, still no luck, not even past the thighs. This morning...they got on. Tight but on. AND they did up. So today was a good day after last night's little headfuck. Probably lucky they fit because it meant I had a good day - which was needed as it's been go-go-go ALL day today!! 6am pre-brekkie cardio, then home to have brekkie and prep meals for the day, showered and went to work, finished work and trained chest/tris/abs and some more cardio, off to my parents' for dad's birthday dinner, then to Meegan's for night-before-the-wedding-girly-catchup...now home to get myself organised for tomorrow. I have to be back at Meegan's at 7am for hair and makeup...ahhh the fun of Maid Of Honour duties ;)

SO in saying that...I have to seek permission to use a SKINNY BONE as my 7 hours bed time tonight isn't gonna happen (still have to wrap a rather large pressie and finish making my meals for the day...yep gotta love being on comp diet during your best mate's wedding!! saving my weekly cheat meal for tomorrow night)

Water was fantastic yesterday...in saying that I have 500ml to get thru before bed tonight to make my minimum 3L.

Will be back on the ball Sunday though. Will be going to World Gym to train legs and get cardio done and dusted before posing class. My sister-in-law flies back to Melbourne Sunday afternoon as she has to go to work Monday but my brother is staying til Tuesday night so we have scheduled some hang-out time, which will be lovely...I can't remember the last time we got to hang out, just the 2 of us. I am really looking forward to it.

Anyway enough from me tonight, I really should get my ass into gear and get some sleep - massive day tomorrow! Stay tuned for pics :)

Til next time, train hard and be good :)

Vic x

Day 98 report

I started a blogpost last night but was sooo tired I was (literally) falling asleep finishing it off. And I have decided to start it completely from scratch today cos I recall it was a bit 'blah', which is what my day was like yesterday.

My day yesterday started with teaching Spin class. It was a bit of a struggle to get myself ready and go as it was bloody freezing at 5.45am yesterday morning. I took myself off to work and well, the members obviously had the same thought as me (although in their favour was that they didn't actually have to turn up for employment purposes) and the gym was DEAD. No shit. There was ONE person in my class. Not very motivating. But I figured we should make the most of it and used the class as a massive hardcore interval training session - the poor girl who made the effort of being there (she is one of my regulars) looked pretty nauseas by track 4!! lol poor thing.

Seeing it was my new 'No Weights Wednesday', after Spin and then brekkie, I toddled off to the shops to purchase a wedding gift for Meegan's wedding this weekend, and to have my nails done. I pulled my acrylic nails off last Christmas after having them on for a few years and I forgot how nice they look. I haven't really had anything nice done for myself in so long due to $$ and now twice in 2 weeks I have done what these days I see as treating myself (when I worked in the corporate world I didn't think twice about spending money, I never had to...these days I have to think and rethink every spending decision I make, which is hard to get used to) in having my hair done last week and now my nails. It feels nice to do things for yourself every now and again when you have grown accostomed to living without the extras...so I have decided that part of my 100 day challenge is to do something nice for myself during every phase (10 days). Doesn't have to be something over the top - just treating myself or having 'me' time.

I got some disappointing news while at work last night and it put a dampener on my whole night. For regular readers you will know that a couple of weeks back I was waiting on some news and being very mysterious about it. Basically I was all but promised a contract position down in Melbourne, I was just waiting on it to be signed off...when I was approached it was pretty much a certainty that if I wanted it, it would happen...I was pretty excited about it as I have been wanting to move down there for a while and this would have been a taster of Melbourne life for a short term to see if I really did like living there. Unfortunately in the meantime, some glitches arose...and yesterday I found out they are no longer in need of the contractor position. So am a bit upset about that...but I'll get over it I suppose.

My challenge is going pretty well, I only just made the 7 hour bedtime cutoff last night but feeling pretty tired. I don't start work til 1pm today though so there's a good chance there will be a nanna nap thrown into my day today. Cardio only yesterday and I struggled to get into my night cardio - I didn't get my second session in before work yesterday which meant doing it at 9.30pm last night...by which time I am so exhausted I just want to crash. But I managed. I also nearly gave into temptation at work (after the bad news phonecall) and had a Roses chocolate...had it sitting in my hand for about 10mins deciding whether to eat it...and then it occurred to me "would the other girls be eating Roses chocolates?" No, I daresay they would NOT! So back in the box it went.

Water intake was good yesterday too so that's a positive.

OK better get off here so I can go train legs. YAY. My favourite day...unfortunately I am not in a real enthusiastic mood and would rather stay on the couch. BUT I know I can't afford to do that at this stage of the game. So off to the gym for me.

Til next time, train hard and be good.

Vic x

Lovin day 98

Had a great day today. Day 98 and smashed it.

Woke up this morning to the banana and raspberry oat muffins I made yesterday, dying to try them out. OMG they were bloody delicious. Seriously, I will be making those again, in large quantities ;) Well maybe in large quantities after comp season to negate temptation!! That being the case, I think there may be some room for peanut butter and/or nutella swirls in them. Hmmm....sorry...got off track there. Diet brain.

Took myself off to the gym after brekkie for back and abs day. I managed an entire back workout (5 different exercises) using nothing but the cables. I love unconventional exercises, and try to steer away from the 'norm' every now and again - I find this alleviates any risk of boredom, and also stops my body getting used to doing the same stuff over and over. Lucky the gym wasn't busy cos I probably wouldn't have been very popular hogging the entire cable setup for the 45min duration of my back session! After training I breezed through 40min cardio - for once it wasn't such a mental battle to stick it out. Love days like that.

Came home and made more 'muffins' (the savoury ones) for afternoon tea to take to work. My co workers are actually getting jealous of the diet food I am eating and today asked me for recipies for my new muffins, and also the omelettes I normally bring in. Who woulda thought that my "boring" (in inverted commas as I don't find it boring, strangely enough...I actually like this stuff!) comp food could actually seem tasty to others who are free to eat chocolate to their hearts content!!

Worked til 8pm and then finished with another 40mins on the stepper - interval training. Which has left me bloody ravished. Since coming home I have downed my usual 4 pre-bed eggwhites, plus about 300g veggies. And I am still STARVING!! Gonna hit the sack soon - firstly so that I get to keep all my SKINNY BONES by getting enough rest, but also so that I don't have to listen to my tummy any longer :)

Water was no problem at all today - I have downed at least 4.5L and I am gonna have myself another glass before bed (smart, I know given that is a guaranteed pee-stop during the night but hey what the hell - I also just had a coffee so will be getting up regardless!) Did I ever mention how cool (?? is that the right word??) I think it is that we can talk about toilet stuff on here and noone gets funny about it - in fact I think it's more likely that when we read about the toilet habits of others, we are sitting there nodding knowingly!?! Random.

Tomorrow morning is an early wake up to teach my Spin class, so I have 10min to get my butt to bed to make my 7 hours of rest time. Mmm post Spin oats... AND according to my new training schedule...it's also weights free day...so just Spin first thing then probably go for a walk before I start work at 1pm. I am actually looking forward to the rest.

OK on that note it's sign off time for me. Til next time...you know the drill...

Vic x

Day 99 with Betty Crocker

I can't believe I went an entire blog post without mentioning the 100 Day challenge I have embarked on! For those of you who aren't aware, KatieP has set up a 100 Day Challenge, where those who have entered set their own goals to achieve in 100 Days. I set myself the following goals:

• Drink min 3L water a day.
• Get some rest. Go to bed MINIMUM 7 hours before wake up time, even if I don't fall asleep straight away.
• One full day off training a week.

We are counting backwards, so yesterday (start day) was Day 100, today is day 99. I am proud to report the following:

• Water - TICK (both days)
• Rest - TICK for last night and as I will be hitting the sack right after this post, TICK for tonight
• Day off training - see my last post - I have re-jigged my training schedule to give myself Saturdays completely off any structured training (and Steph, no dramas - feel free to borrow the schedule hon!!)

SO Day 99 and on track. YAY!!

So - the Betty Crocker thing. Miss Vic got a lil creative today in the kitchen. I decided that I was over having the same eggwhite omelette every arvo for afternoon tea. So I made them into little muffins instead. I did the following:

4 egg whites, 1 egg

heaped teaspoon baking powder

spinach, mushrooms, tomato

teaspoon flax meal

I beat the eggs, baking powder and meal, then added the vegies. Poured them evenly into muffin tray (lightly sprayed).

At the same time, I made tomorrows brekkie - DYING to see how they taste:

6 egg whites

1 heaped teaspoon banana protein powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

30g rolled oats

30g chopped banana pieces

30g raspberries

Pour into lightly sprayed muffin molds.

I then put them all in oven, preheated to 180 degrees and cooked til firm (about 20min)

I was hoping for the best with these, not sure if they would work...BUT THEY DID!! The afternoon tea ones were sooo yum. OK so they are the same stuff I woulda been eating anyway but cooked differently...psychologically made a difference!! haha

As for tomorrows' ones...OMG they look and smell DIVINE. I can't wait to go to bed just so I can wake up for them!

OH...and before I go...training today (new split program) was AWESOME ;) Shoulders and biceps. GREAT workout, followed by 40min on the stepper, on the random setting. Tonight after work pumped out another 40min on the stepper, again on random, different intervals than this morning though. Tomorrow...BACK DAY!! Might throw in a stairs session for cardio...gotta love those stairs ;)

OK bedtime for this little black duck, gotta get my 7 hours of bed time...and wake up to some delish brekkie treats.

Til next time..train hard and be good.

Vic x

Splitting it up

So in line with yesterday's (? or was it Saturday night?) post, as of this week I have decided to split my program up to give the old body some much needed R&R time. My old plan went like this:

Sunday - legs + abs
Monday - Shoulders + calves
Tuesday - Biceps & Triceps + abs
Wednesday - legs + calves
Thursday - Chest + abs
Friday - Back + calves
Saturday - Rest (but would usually do 2 x cardio sessions anyway)

NEW GAME PLAN

Sunday - Legs + abs
Monday - Shoulders, Biceps + calves
Tuesday - Back + abs
Wednesday - Cardio only
Thursday - Legs, shoulders + calves
Friday - Chest, Triceps + abs
Saturday - COMPLETE DAY OFF.

Yep, I am going back to my old way of taking a full day off. No structured exercise at all. I work all day Saturday, I might just walk to work so I'm not doing NOTHING but nothing too strenuous. I think giving myself a full day of rest used to do me wonders and am gonna give it a go again. I have also added in more shoulder work on a Thursday, as these are something I need to grow more.

I had an awesome day training-wise yesterday. Went to World a little early, got through my legs session and 25min on the stepper before the girls from posing arrived. I was rapt when one of them who didn't come last week told me she could see pretty decent changes in me, and that I was looking leaner than I did 2 weeks ago :) Did posing class then hit the cardio for another 40mins. The legs session must have been good as by the time our hourlong posing session was up, the DOMS had already kicked in!! After cardio took myself to the shops, hunting for a wedding gift for my bestie (5 days, can't believe her wedding is finally here!!) and then off home. After a much needed afternoon snack went to my parents' place and jumped on the x-trainer for another 40min cardio session. I LOVE that they live so close AND have an elliptical there. Not my preferred choice of cardio but hey, how convenient it is once the gym has shut! I'm thinking I might ask if I can borrow it til comps are over, given I am the only one who actually uses it!

Ended up having dinner there again (gotta love that mum is dieting too and pretty much eats the same kind of food as me...so chicken and steamed greens it was) before coming home to crash. Up at 5.30am this morning, have had brekkie and now off to do my shoulders/bis/cardio for the morning. Don't start work til 1pm today so will have a few hours up my sleeve after training to do my cooking for the week.

OK on that note will be loving you and leaving you. Til next time, train hard and be good!

Vic x

Sleepy Sunday

Aaahhh Sunday sleep in :) Got up at 7.30 this morning which is the latest sleep I have had in what feels like an eternity. I fell asleep around the 1am mark so 6.5 hours - better than any other night in the last few weeks. I have been struggling to get more than about 5 hours in a night for a few weeks now and sleep has been really light-on so to get a solid 6.5 hours in last night was heaven. I am going to make a conscious effort from today to go to bed earlier, even if I have to just lay there waiting to fall asleep, cos at least that way my body will still be getting the extra rest in.

Had yesterday off training, but snuck 2 cardio sessions in, 30min before work and 40min after work. Another area that I need to up the rest on - from this week onwards I will take one full day rest from training. My body needs it, I am so achy all the time! I also think I will be re-jigging my schedule to cut a weights day out, so that I only do weights 5 days a week, cardio 6 days, one full day off. I have done it like that before and felt much better for it.

Yesterday was treat meal day, as planned I did my lunchtime treat. I had a toasted sandwich on Turkish bread with avocado, chicken schnitzel, sweet chilli sauce, lettuce, cheese and tomato....mmm divine...and for dessert had a deli-style muesli yoghurt and 2 choc chip biscuits (they were a last minute add in but were only little so didn't fret over it). It was an awesome lunch, nice and fresh, and kept me full til dinnertime (6 hours and one cardio session later). I had dinner with mum last night, went to her place as dad was going out (how sad is it when your parents have more of a social life than you!!). Had grilled chicken and steamed greens and it was delish. We watched a DVD, Ghosttown. OMG great movie for those who haven't seen it. It's a romantic comedy with Tea Leoni and Ricky Gervais (not sure if I got the spelling right), that dude from the British version of The Office.

I just had a yummy banana and raspberry protein pancake for brekkie, with a bucket of coffee to wash it down, and now about to head off to World Gym, to pump out a ripper legs session (might do last week's one) and then teach posing. Then shopping time....bestie's wedding next Saturday and I haven't even picked up a pressie yet!! How terrible am I!! Worse still, no idea what to get...hmmm...not good!! lol

OK kids, time to get this show on the road. Til next time, train hard and be good.

Vic x

Negative Nancy has Left the Building. Close the door behind you BIATCH!!

Firstly THANK YOU for all your comments on this morning's post. Even though deep down I know I'm not alone in having shit days (weeks, whatever!) I think sometimes it helps to hear it from others that I am not alone in feeling like I am only just keeping my head above water during certain times.

And I think the venting did me wonders.

Today started a bit crappy (as you know) but got better as the day progressed. After my post I decided not to do my weights til later in the day, and instead to make the most of the sunshine by doing an outdoor cardio session. So I took myself to the park down the road and did some sprints, followed by 40mins stair runs. Up and down, 90 times over, all different ways. Finished it up with a few plyo-style moves (jumping squats, jumping lunges, tuck jumps). Came home and made some food but spent most of the day feeling pretty bloated and still a bit crappy. Tried to have a bit of a nap in the arvo to make up for last night's crappy sleep but probably managed about 25mins broken sleep? Gave up in the end and decided to head for the gym. That's where things picked up.

Turned up for my back session and started training, and really surprised myself when I looked up at the mirror - for the first time in ages I noticed a HUGE difference in the way I am looking. I went from feeling frumpy and bloated to feeling awesome in about 13 nanoseconds. Turns out that all of a sudden I have started leaning very quickly, after what has felt like months on end of plateuing. Smashed an awesome back workout, 5 excercises ALL using the cable machine, just for something different. My night was made even better when on two separate occasions members came over to tell me how ripped I was starting to look, and even overheard one of them later telling someone else that I looked more muscly cos I was getting more ripped :)

Did the Friday night boxing class, was a good class tonight, only 8 of us turned up (normally there's about 20) so got an awesome workout in. Sometimes when there's so many people it doesn't feel like you have done as much as there are so many people to wait for when drills are starting etc.

Spent some time hanging with my bestie tonight which was nice. It was kinda our last 'single hang night' as she is getting married next weekend...I can't believe how quick it's come around! Being Maid of Honour I have to be super organised with my food! I have already requested my entree (lamb) and main (chicken) be served free of any sauces / dressings etc lol. I figured that I would have the dessert as my treat for next week but didn't want to unnecessarily go overboard so why not ask for my actual meals to be diet friendly as much as possible!

Rest day tomorrow but will probably throw a bit of cardio in (nothing too much though) and I get my treat tomorrow. I will probably have it at lunchtime as don't like going to bed with a heavy tummy - also given I will be at work I am pretty safe on the 'can't go overboard' front! Once that meal is over, it's over and I am at work til 4pm so by the time I get home it's too late to keep the meal going.

OK enough from me for one day! Phew - you gals are gonna be all Vicki-ed out soon...