21 Day Challenge - Hell Week

Day 2:  I’ve been going to The Fitness Rave since August.  I’ve never walked in and found cookies waiting for me.  Apparently when there is a launch, they put out snacks.  WTHeck!?  I passed them by because let’s face it; I CAN’T fail on Day 2.  I did the new release of COMBAT (53) and loved it.  I only felt like I was going to throw up once or twice, but I felt pretty sluggish.  I know my body is not only adjusting to the eating changes but also soda withdrawal.

All of the portion measurements are done by comparison with your hand size.  Palm of protein, 2 handfuls of veggies, thumb-sized amount of fat.  I wish my hands were bigger.

Day 3:  I was scheduled to have lunch with friends and I didn’t want to cancel.  We were going to Panera Bread so I started looking at the menu at 10AM.  I decided I would get a chicken cobb salad minus everything that tastes good some of the ingredients that are not allowed in the challenge. 

The ordering went something like this:

Guy behind the counter:  Welcome to Panera, how can I help you?

Me:  I’ll have a chicken cobb salad, please.

Guy: Okay

Me:  With no egg, dressing, croutons, or bacon

Guy: Wha?

Me:  No egg, no dressing, no croutons, and no bacon.  Does it come with cheese?

Guy:  Yeah

Me:  And no cheese, or joy, or happiness

Guy:  Huh?

Me:  Can you just throw some grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and avocado in a bowl?

Guy:  Do you want a baguette as your side?

Me:  I will CUT YOU!

Guy (into the microphone):  I got a complicated order!

*If you don’t get the Bon Qui Qui reference, please check it out on YouTube AFTER you’ve finished reading this post.  Don’t interrupt…RUDE!

I thought that I would have to split the salad, but the amount of chicken looked to be about palm size and the veggie portion looked about right with what I’m allowed to have.  The avocado was a little more than the thumb-sized portion I’m supposed to have.  I decided I was going to eat the avocado and hit myself in the thumb with a hammer later.  I figured swollen thumb = bigger thumb = more avocado.  :)  Meghan disagreed with my math.  No big surprise there.  My inner child doesn’t understand why Meg hates us like she does.  Meg's inner Bit@# doesn't understand why my inner child is such a crybaby.  Those two just can't get along.

I really enjoyed my salad and my time with friends.  They enjoyed my bread. J

I finished the day by going to the new release of BODYPUMP 83.  Marisa, my diet buddy and fitness idol, was in class.  At one point I mentioned to the girl next to me that I was weak.  I meant in general and all of the time.  Marisa turned and said that she was weak too!  She meant because of the diet.  SHE had what looked to be about 300 pounds of weight on her bar.  She said it was half of what she usually does.  I had about 3 pounds on my bar.  I told her it was about double what I usually do.  She blew me a kiss and went back to kicking butt. 

FYI…Les Mills people… just because you CALL one track a SQUAT track and another a LUNGE track doesn’t mean we don’t realize that you snuck extra bottom half squats in on us.  Meg said if we added more weight, we’d get a break.  I added more weight.  APPARENTLY we have different ideas of what a “break” looks like, but whatever.

I did feel pretty weak and tired during BODYPUMP, but I decided to stay and try the latest release of CXWORX (8).  I made this decision partially because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to the gym for a few days, partially because the launch makes everything seem so exciting, but mainly because my friends were there and I’m a follower.

I don’t even know that I did half of the stuff I was supposed to do.  I was mainly just laying there feeling sorry for myself while visions of bananas danced in my head.  I kept my legs up in the air so everyone would think I was working.  Now don't go telling people that I just throw my legs up and lay there.  It's not nice to gossip, mkay?

There was a part of the class where I swear Meg was levitated off of the floor.  Her feet were up.  Her head was up.  She said her butt was on the ground, but I swear I saw her floating in the air.  It may have been a hallucination brought on by hunger.  She wanted us to do it too!  She looked like this:

YES, she was smiling!  I think I saw her head spin slowly.  THEN she moved her legs and her head towards the floor at the same time and rose back up.  She did it very slowly.  She never touched the floor and she never lost control of any muscle in her body.  Did I mention that she wanted us to do it too!?  I was afraid I was going to lose control of my bladder!  I looked back at PW and she said, “She hates people, doesn’t she?”

DAY 4:  I had a cup of coffee, which is allowed, but I added a smidgen of half and half because I'm not cool enough to handle it black.  I also ate a tic tac.  Don't judge me.

DAY 5:  If I was a wild animal, I would have eaten my children this morning.

I am still sluggish because I’m still de-toxing off of soda, but it's getting better.  I’ve had lots of people try to tell me that it’s okay to “treat” myself.  My mother even said, “You can’t live like this forever!”  No, but I can do it for 21 days.  I figure that sliding into the clean eating lifestyle should be like a party after this!

On a positive note (since all I’ve done is whine and complain)

My skin was really breaking out badly last week.  It’s clearing up and isn’t as oily.  Since the only thing that I’ve changed is my diet, I’m assuming it’s a perk. J

I’ll be taking measurements and weighing on Monday so I’ll let you know if 7 days of the “Suck the Life Out of Me for 21 Days” challenge has made any impact on my measurements yet.