And So It Begins (Sort of) [UPDATE!]

It’s Week “Negative One” because it’s my run-through week. Today is Wednesday and my real start date isn’t until next Monday. So far, I’ve eaten pizza and cake (on Monday, for my boyfriend’s birthday) and I’ve forgotten Wednesday Meal 2 at home with no break to leave and get it. Yesterday I did a 15-rep squat set feeling good about myself only to have some dude come up to the rack next to me and curl the same weight I just finished squatting. Awesome.

Oh, and I got a throat biopsy yesterday, so I (not proudly) skipped my morning fasted interval workout because I felt like I’d been karate chopped in the neck. I’m aware that this is bad, but that’s why I chose a run-through week. Kind of like a dress rehearsal for the real thing, it lets me work out some kinks I may have. Kinks like having no self-control when it comes to eating. And kinks like I'm lazy.

I have to say, yesterday went well. I burned through my lift – abs and quads – and even though I’ve learned, thanks to our curling overachiever, that I don’t lift as impressive of weights as I thought I would, I know I pushed myself hard enough because I can’t laugh or walk today without pain. I also stuck to the eating plan, although I combined meals 5 and 6 right before bed. Probably not the greatest idea, but my thought process was that it would be better to eat the nutrition rather than skip it.*

Full disclosure: because no alcohol is to be imbibed during bikini prep, I used this week as a run-through due to the fact that I have my first-ever Foxwoods Casino showcase appearance. People often ask me how I can get up in front of a crowd for standup comedy. Well it’s because alcohol helps. I don’t drink often before getting up on stage, in fact I most often make a rule to go up sober, but on a big night like this, a drink or two takes the edge off. From here-on-out, though, it’s stage sobriety!

So this is it, my last two cheats: tonight’s drinks, and Sunday’s Last Meal of something deliciously carb-heavy followed by dessert. And then it’s 16 weeks of Game The Fuck On.

[Update: After speaking with Darcie, my dear friend and trainer from Live Long Training, this was bad. Meal 6 is optional only if I'm staying up late and should never be combined. I should have eaten Meal 5 and hit the pillow. See? Smart to do a run-through.]