C1W6D5 and The Top 15

Holy cow! I ROCKED my HIIT workout this morning! My “10” was 10 mph on the treadmill and it felt sooooo great. I added on some steady state after my HIIT session for a total of 45 minutes of cardio. The new shoes are a huge help, although unfortunately I think I need to continue to vary my cardio with elliptical to allow my shins to heal completely. I either A) REALLY impressed the guy on the treadmill next to me or B) looked like lunatic cuz he kept glancing over at me and my treadmill display… I’m gonna go with A. ;-)

I think free day will be tomorrow. We’ve been invited to a friend’s house for a late lunch and I’m going to fight every urge to partake in the usual cocktails that our lovely hosts insist on serving us… it’s going to be difficult because I hate being the only one not drinking. They know I’m working really hard to change my body, but I always get the standard response… “Come on, one glass of wine/martini/shooter/beer isn’t going to hurt you.” If I give in and have one, it’ll inevitably turn into several. I’ve learned from early on in this challenge that drinking is not in my best interests. I will be strong. I’ve been working my ass too hard to give in. I really wanted sushi on free day… Oh well, there’s always next week.

The end of week six is approaching and I’ll be taking photos on Monday morning. I didn’t post week four photos to tracker because I didn’t see ANY visual changes AT ALL. It was extremely depressing to me because I KNOW I’m giving it my best each day. I’m making progress with inches lost and I can feel quite a bit of muscle (oooohhhh – my quad feels so hard when I flex! Yay!) so I need to stop comparing myself to the success of others and focus on the positive changes I’m making in my life that will stay with me forever. CindysExcited2bfit is a real inspiration to me because it took her 7 challenges to reach her goal, but wow! She looks so incredible. It might take me longer than I hoped, but I’ll get there too. I KNOW it.

Meals:
M1 – Chocolate oatmeal (plus 2 cups of coffee)
M2 – oatmeal and protein
M3 – chicken breast, pear
M4 – tuna, pear
M5 – chicken breast, green salad, small sweet potato
One gallon of water.

The 2005 Finalists...
Wow. Wow. Wow. What a group. What amazing transformations. They should all feel so incredible. Cheryl’s story took my breath away. It broke my heart and then filled me with joy. I’m so happy she found herself again. She really, really inspires me and I voted for her and will be voting for her every day.

Looks like she is neck to neck with the amazing gentlemen from Oklahoma, but all the finalists are truly amazing. I can’t get over the definition of Aaron Ferguson. Truly spectacular. And Nicole. GORGEOUS!

Any of the finalists would make an excellent Grand Master Champion. Maybe some need the money more than Cheryl. I personally don’t think she’s in it for the money. I’m feeling full of emotion right now. What is with me????