The week after my last show this year.. Tony and I had friends come stay with us for a weekend. And one of the days we all went to Pip's Original Doughnuts and Chai Tea. At the checkout counter they were selling these Squirrel Bars. We got one and all split it. OMG! That thing was so good! So of course, what do I do?
I try to find the recipe to make some of my own. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the actual recipe. I was only able to find the ingredients that they used (which were listed on the case at the doughnut shop).
So I created my own recipe! :)
And it turned out so good! I made them for myself and some other friends that Tony and I had over for the fights a couple weeks ago. Everyone loved them. They all took some home with them (except for Doyle.. He just took the pizza LOL).
The recipe is above for you guys, obviously. LOL :)
Give it a try & please let me know how you like it, or dislike it!
BLOG TIME!
Saturday November 18, 2017
I posted a picture on my IG Story today... I am officially 6 weeks post show.
I am sitting around 113-114lbs. I started my prep at like 135lbs. And I finished my prep at 102lbs.
About this time after the show that I earned my pro card at.. I had gained 40-ish pounds!
I would show you guys pictures... But I don't have any! I don't think anyways.. I can do some digging. I just know I don't have any progress pics like I do now.
If you have been following me, then you have heard the story of my post-show rebound. You know that I literally hated myself. I was so disappointed with what I did. I just threw away all my hard work. In like a month! I thought it was within 2-3 months... But looking at the calendar now... It was probably 6ish weeks! INSANE!
I dieted for over 20 weeks to get ready for my show... And gained all the weight, plus some, back in less than half the time.
Now I am taking the time to step back, and see where I am at today. I am taking the time to see how far I have come on this journey. Like most people... I am my own worst critic. I always see what I need to work on, my flaws, my imperfections... I rarely see my strengths. --> Don't get me wrong, I do have my moments when I'm feeling myself. LOL... But it isn't as common as when I am critiquing myself.
And going into an off season (I mean improvement season) I tend to critique myself even more. I look back at pictures from my show and reminisce on how great I looked. And I look in the mirror now and can get sad that I don't look the same as I did on stage. I'm not super lean. My abs don't pop out. I don't have as much definition. My clothes start to fit tighter. & so on....
But you know what?! I am doing great! Sure I am struggling more than I would like. But oh fricken well! I am FINE! And I am doing so much better than I did last time! & I call that improvement! How can I be upset with improvement in my IMPROVEMENT SEASON?!
I need to stop stressing. I need to not be so hard on myself. I need to realize that I am trying to grow at the moment. And when I say grow... That does NOT mean I can eat whatever I want and get fat! It means that the scale weight is going to go up (goal is for it to go up as slow as possible). It also means that I will be eating more food (more "clean" foods). That will lead to me getting stronger in the gym. And everything combined will lead to me growing.
You know what else it means?
It means that if I eat a little extra protein.. It is okay. I don't need to stress out about it.
It also means that if my friends want to go out to eat.. I can order something healthy (I like to order a big salad with everything on the side, and a side of grilled chicken).
I am so determined to improve these next two years. Physically and mentally.
The better I got at bodybuilding... The worse my mentality got, and relationship with food. So that is a huge goal of mine to get better at!
*sigh* This was a good realization :)
Be kind to yourself... While you work on yourself. And don't forget to take the time to see how far you have come. Don't focus so much on how far you still need to go.