What's Next? The Post Bikini Competition Plan

A surprising thing about post-competition is that I'm not all that anxious to eat all of the food that's been off limits during contest prep.  You'd think I'd want to eat everything in sight, but that hasn't been the case.  In fact, the thought of a big, juicy cheeseburger and fries (something I love to indulge in once in a while before) doesn't really sound good to me right now.  I think it feels so good having worked so hard to get in shape, I don't want to "blow it" by eating bad.  It doesn't feel worth it.  

FOOD

The night the competition ended, we found a nice steak restaurant that was open and ate a late dinner there.  I had baked brie (a favorite of mine!) with dry toasts, filet minion, twice baked potato and iced-tea.  I only finished half of the steak and potatoes and I really wasn't ready for any alcohol.  The next morning, I indulged in Starbuck's banana bread for breakfast before we got on the road to come home.

After driving nearly four hours home, we stopped at Chipotle for lunch and I always get a bowl with rice, chicken and pico.  Back at home, I got back on my regular (contest prep) meals with the exception of the ice cream I had been craving.  I wanted Gelato (it has less fat) but they were out the kind I like (Sea Salt Caramel), so I got regular Carmel Cone ice cream.  I ate the whole pint.  It was GOOD going down!  

But, of course, my stomach really hurt the next morning.  Thankfully, my abs were still there! :)  Although a cheeseburger doesn't sound good, I could keep eating ice-cream every once in a while (just not a whole pint in one sitting!).

My trainer texted me the next morning telling me I should get back to Phase 1 of my diet.  And it's crazy that I was actually looking forward to it!  I really like my protein pancakes with all-natural fruit spread.  Meal 2 is usually fish, potato, and green beans.  Meal 3 is a grilled chicken salad with fat free dressing.  Meal 4 is chicken, potato or rice, and veggies.  Meal 5 is a cup or so of Muscle Egg.  Sometimes, I'll eat another pancake too in between Meal 4 and 5.  I typically eat at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm.  

On Tuesday night, my girlfriend invited me out for a drink and I went, but ordered tea. Wednesday night, I went to dinner with two friends at a new restaurant and I was excited to have something different.  I ate tuna tartare and a mini steak skewer.  

At the weekend blog conference I went to, I ate as best I could (even brought and drank 3 protein shakes while I was there).  We were fortunate that the conference had a fresh, healthy salad bar selection with fish and chicken.

BUT, I did indulge in THREE small desserts on Saturday (chocolate popsicle, shared milkshake at dinner, and scoop of ice cream at the late-night party).  Back at home on Sunday, I was back to my meals- and ready to be! 

I do want to find new healthy meals that I can feel good about eating that are different from my usual.  It's just nice to have a little variety.  And I'm sure my husband would appreciate it too.  

WORKOUTS

As for the workouts, my trainer recommended that I do only 30 minutes of cardio and no weights for about a week to give my body a rest and just recoup from the competition.  What's crazy is that just doing 30 minutes of cardio now feels very minimal.  I haven't even bothered to go to the gym for it (it would take longer to drive there and back) opting instead to just run out my door around my neighborhood with my iPod. 

I had a great run on my trip out of town too.  I knew I'd want to run at least one day, so I packed running clothes and my iPod.  Right outside our hotel was a beautiful bike trail filled with tall, lush trees.  I even found the cutest Startbuck's ever and popped in after my run for an oatmeal and black iced-tea.  It felt so good to start the day this way.

Before I started training for this contest, if you'd have told me I'd be doing 30-45 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week in addition to my one hour workout, I'd think you were crazy.  I didn't think I was physically capable of doing that, but my body surprised me.  Yours can too. 

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I'm not training with my trainer right now, opting to spend more time with my son and just workout at the gym that's closer to my house.  When my son goes back to school, I'll reconsider.  I got spoiled training with him - not because it's any easier - in fact it's physically harder.  But, he kept me accountable and pushed me to my limit.  I just did what he said.  I didn't have to think about what's next, what exercise to do, what weight to lift, how many reps.  So many times I'd say to him, "I'd never workout this hard on my own." 

I know his routine pretty well now though.  We would do 3 exercises in a row, not too heavy, but a weight I could get 15-20 reps.  One of the exercises might be something without weights, just to keep my heart rate up, like Burpees. We'd do the round 3-4 times, then start again with 3 different exercises.  We did this for one hour, sometimes stopping with 10 minutes to spare so I could finish with abs.

It will be interesting to see if I can keep it up on my own.  I'm going to try!