The last week has been a real test!! Dropping down on those carbs , now worked 26 days straight, sleepless nights, Pa passing away, my digestive system going berko, fighting an immune system breakdown indicative of a lingering cold and eye infection, dropping 5% bodyfat within 8 days from ketosis... HECTIC! My hormones, energy levels and emotions were really all over the place!!!

First thing I noticed was my tolerance / patience levels dropping off - to the point where I was so direct and edgy towards situations especially with decision making. For example, anyone would say "Would you like to do this or that?" my response - "I don't care, I can't think straight right now, ok let's do that!! Grrrrrrghhh... Sorry, I'm moody - just ignore me..."

Tonight I wanted to cry because my sister put my clothes in the dryer to make more room on the clothesline for her stuff and left my stuff in the dryer so my clothes were all creased and bunched up - I completely teared up. Frantically did my best to calm myself down as I had a Cycle class to teach within half an hour... I knew that if I was gonna give in to my emotions it would be like opening a flood gate. I did a good job of holding myself together and had an awesome, energetic class with lots of laughter. Such a little thing but I guess being so tired from not only the things lacking in my diet but the constant stress of work and training 2-3 sessions per day... I wasn't surprised I got a little distressed.

Some of the members and my clients that seem to be monitoring my progression through my comp prep phase have commented on wieght loss and how "tired" I look compared to normal (which I am nicknamed energizer bunny) - which opens up the convo about changes in diet, energy levels etc. I love how fascinated people are with the whole process, it feels as though they are a part of my journey too because I am educating them about the effects that certain things have on our bodies / minds etc.

Work were really supportive when I informed them aabout all that was going on, especially the morning after I received the midnight message that Herbie (Pa Bell) had passed on (when I had cancel my early morning schedule to get up at 5am to run Bootcamp and train clients after) ... was a mixed emotion of heart break, stress, lack of sleep, losing income and fear of frustrating those that needed to be rescheduled. WOW!

When FitX rolled in on Saturday it was STRAIGHT over to Lindy the Legend to say hi which turned into an open discussion about issues of digestion, emotions and other hurdles. She gave a great pep talk to my man about how to be supportive but to not tread on eggshells with me, alerting him that he needs to tell me when to pull my head in so my erratic behaviour will not dilute our relationship. She made me feel like a VIP when chatting with her - I do get a little reserved when hanging out with my mentors - almost like when dealing with the head boss at any job as they are the knowledgeable ones, the leaders, and it is because I am working towards being a leader one day too (a champion athlete) I observe them, take in everything that they say and respect their status / credentials / them as a person.

I was super excited and refreshed thereafter!
Aparts from the low energy and all the other little bits of bad luck / news / feelings, the support all around me is exciting. I am constantly being asked "how's the training / diet going? Are you on track? What bodyfat percentage do you want to get down to?" and so on. More and more are approaching me re: nutrition and training advice and I just cannot WAIT to do them all proud getting up on that stage and know that they have heard or seen for themsleves what I have been through to get this far! - Not just for them either, for ME to reach my first step in the "big picture" - moulding the shape of things to come.

Just chatting to a friend whilst writing this blog who is going through a bit of a tough time right now - and I quote what I said "we all have to hit our lows in order to reach our highs" ... I totally believe this. Every tear, every drop of sweat, every pain, every mood swing is all just a part of the journey, put us through our paces to make or break us.

This girl will not be broken.... ;)