So this week was full of stress, but despite that I definitely still see improvement. I think my abs look a little more defined than they did last week. According to my fat caliper, I lost at least .5% since last week, even though my weight stayed the same. All that means is I must have also had some muscle gains. My legs are also leaned out a bit more.
My week started off very stressful, and didn't get better until Friday. Seemed like everyday it was something different. Tuesday, my computer programs wouldn't work, and we got behind. Wednesday, was a bit better, but we had to catch up on all the work we couldn't get done on Tuesday. I also got to talk to one of my soldiers about his nutrition and fitness goals that day. It was pretty satisfying to be able to answer his questions. By Thursday though, I was pretty exhausted. I was just going through the motions of my workouts, and I was so testy at work. I was feeling really unsatisfied with the quality of my workouts. I also had a looming deadline on Friday, which was causing me to lose sleep. I was just so worn down by the end of the week.
We went out on Friday, and I was up waaaayy past my bed time, but we had a blast. It was nice to change up what we normally do. It was nice to hang out with some of the people I like at work. Turns out I am pretty good at pool, even though I didn't know the rules! Lol, I'll have to play some more, so I'm not so surprised when I sink excellent shots!
I started a new workout program on Saturday. It's kind of a 3 day split. The rest days are active rest days, so I will have two days of just cardio. Tomorrow is one of those days. I'll get to wake up a little later than normal. That will be nice.
I thought up a recipe to try. It is very simple, and made quite a bit of food. I call it tomato chicken :-) Just took chicken thighs, trimmed of skin and fat, topped it with 2 cans of Private Selection organic diced tomatos and 1 can of their tomato paste. I then diced up one large onion and a red bell pepper into large chunks. Put in the chicken, then the tomatos, then the pepper and onion. I turned the cooker on low, and left it for 8 hours. It tasted great alone, and great with 100% whole wheat penne pasta. It came out at 18 grams of protein and 190 calories. Chock full of vitamin C too. Super low on sodium.
The upcoming week should be a lot better for me. I won't have as much responsibility since my team lead will be coming back on Monday. I will have some things to take care of, but I know that with a full week, my team and I can make all of our deadlines. I'm feeling optimistic :-)
Next week will put me at 3 months out of my competition. The NPC Coastal USA dangles like a carrot for all of my hard work. I just want to get up there and feel like I did everything I could to look my best, no matter if I place or not. If I can do that, I know that I won't be too disappointed. I just can't get up there, and know that I didn't do everything I could. Which is why I watch every mouthful of food I eat, try and make every repition count, and make every interval of cardio effective. I will try my hardest to remember that, and not let my motivation and dedication flag again.
