Let's talk turkey

     So today I got a scolding from my trainer, Brandon. And when I say 'scolding' I mean I got the look (of disappointment) and then he explained that he actually thought he was going to have to yell at me. Why? Because for three days I strayed from the program. Thursday was Thanksgiving day. One day off plan turned into three days of cheat meals. But last night I had come to the realization that it was time to get back at it when I found myself sitting at the bar in a Mexican restaurant with a bowl of guac and chips and a margarita sitting in front of me.

     Last weekend I was worried about this week mainly because Thursday was Thanksgiving day, the first big food holiday since I have been on my carb cycling meal plan. I was nervous to say the least. But I didn't realize that the holiday wasn't the only thing I should have been worrying about. Last Sunday night when I was doing meal prep for my work week (which this week was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) I realized that my alternating carb days would play out where Thanksgiving day was a zero carb day. Yeah right! I told Brandon, "Nope, that's not happening." His response was to swap out the days and do two zero carb days before Thursday. I was a little nervous about that idea but I prepped for Tuesday and Wednesday to be zero carbs and hoped I would not be starving by Thursday. haha.

     Monday to Wednesday I was fine. It actually wasn't as bad or as difficult as I had thought it would be. I did a carb day and then two zero carb days and trained every night with Brandon. The plan was to do a zero carb breakfast on Thanksgiving and then train that morning before all the food and festivities. But as fate would have it, I overslept on Thursday morning, woke up 15 minutes before I was supposed to be at the gym and because I was rushing to get there I never ate breakfast. To try and ward off hunger I stopped and got two Americanos, one for me and one for Brandon. We trained hamstrings that morning which was not really what I had in mind for a holiday. But after the intense workout that included; seated hamstring curls superset with stiff-legged deadlifts, wide stance squats on the smith machine superset with reverse lunges and lying hamstring curls superset with Good Mornings, I was glad we did legs. I felt pumped.

     I don't know if it was the workout that did it but when I got to Thanksgiving dinner I was excited about the cheat meal but tried to be smart about what I put on my plate. My biggest weakness was what came before the actual meal, the snacks, apps and finger foods. My brother-in-law made bacon cheese dip (a cup of mayo, cup of onion, cup or bacon and cup of cheese baked in a hollowed out loaf of bread and served with crackers). I tried so hard to steer clear of it because I knew one bite would not suffice. I ended up giving in and about a half dozen bites later I was asking myself why I even took one bite. Oh well, one little set back. I made sure my dinner plate was mostly veggies, I didn't use gravy on anything and I took reasonable portions and did not go back for seconds. I had one glass of wine which was a huge deal for me since I hadn't drank since before the challenge 10 1/2 weeks before. When dinner was over I had a sliver of pumpkin pie and a sliver of my sister's ever popular pumpkin cheese cake. When I got home that night the plan was to go back to carb cycling the next morning.

     But instead of getting back to carb cycling Friday I ended up out to breakfast with friends, not doing meal prep and just eating whatever was available but healthy and skipping my supps. Saturday was no better when I slept in, ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then didn't eat anything else all day until we went out to dinner (which is the point at which I found myself with a margarita in one hand and a chip with guac on it in the other.) Not good. And idk if I was looking for Brandon to get me back on track or yell at me but I sent him a picture of my margarita and said I was having one last 'treat' before I went back on plan. It was at that point that I realized I was slipping and needed to reel myself in. It was also in that moment that I realized that I can't let challenges take my attention away from my goals. Eyes on the prize as Brandon would say.

     So Sunday afternoon when I came in for training Brandon looked right at me and said I needed to get focused again. He explained that I'm at a point in my journey when I am more confident and I like how my body looks. But I have to be careful because I'm not at my goal yet. He told me once I reach my goal I will be able to go off plan for short spans or skip the gym if I get busy (long as I always come back) and my body will bounce back quickly. But right now I cannot do that. I'm still working towards my goal and my body is still changing and I need to stay focused on that. Somehow the thought of disappointing him was enough to get me back in line.  Back on the carb cycling meal plan and leg day heavy squat day. And today was a day to make progress with my squats too. I was pumped when I got a new personal record 125 lbs for 2 sets of 8 reps!

     So if you find yourself struggling to get through a holiday or celebration remember the most important thing is to get back to your plan when its over. Make smart choices and don't over do it but enjoy yourself. Let yourself have fun but don't let it get out of hand. Don't let one day turn into several days. Get back on plan. Get back to the gym. Zero in on your goals. And get it!