Trust the Process

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I have blogged, I partially blame it on the fitness competition taking all of my mental power... anyways, I've been getting a lot of questions about how I did the bikini competition, what I ate, what I did for workouts, etc. and I hope I can answer many of those questions, but first off, what I did to get there is probably a completely different journey for somebody else. I had an awesome trainer that I paid every month and he made up my meal plans and workouts specifically for me and my body type. So just keep that in mind ;) I didn't have just one diet the whole time either, it changed almost every 2 weeks, including my workouts. I started training July 9th, and my competition was this last weekend on October 19th, so all together I had about 15-16 weeks to get to my goal. My husband Phil also did the competition with me which made things a lot easier, he is a saint. Here's some before and after pics of us both from start to finish.

 It was a lot of hard work, but definitely worth it. I haven't decided yet if or when I want to do another one but for now I'm just going to continue to eat healthy and workout.

So you want to know what I ate these last 16 weeks?
Here's a list:

Proteins:
Chicken breast
Ground turkey
Top sirloin
Bison
Tuna
Tilapia, tilapia, tilapia
Egg whites

Carbs:
Rice (brown and white)
Sweet potatoe
Oatmeal
Ezekiel bread

Veggies:
Green beans
Spinach
Zucchini
Yellow squash
Celery

Fruits:
Banana
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Grapefruit

And that's it folks. I had a cheat meal once a week up until the last two weeks before the show. An let me tell ya, there is no way I could've survived those 16 weeks without those. Did you know that cheat meals once a week are actually good for you? Read about it here: cheat meal link. My favorite treat to have and that I always craved was ice cream :) yummmy!

Something that made this whole experience a million times easier is that my sweet husband did it with me! We were with each other every step of the way. Having a support system if you're going to do something like this is so important. It definitely gives you that extra push to succeed.
It's so nice to be able to share this passion for fitness with him. We always have something to do together even if it is going to the gym for date night ;) Anyways, here are some more pics for those of you who have asked! I will be posting more about the entire process and what I'm doing now in posts to come!

  

Turn your Dreams into Plans

As many of you know I have been in the middle of a bikini competition prep. Its gotten pretty rough these last few weeks hence the absence of any new blog posts. I never thought I would be able to do something so hard but I am proving to myself that I can do anything! I have about twelve days until my competition and I can't wait. I've worked so hard and am finally starting to see the results I want.  If you feel like you are in a rut with your eating habits, or your workouts, or anything for that matter; don't give up. Patience is key to almost everything in life. If you make a plan and have some determination you will get there I promise! Stop wishing and pinning awesome bodies on your pinterest boards ;) and actually become those girls that you are pinning! Nothing is impossible. Here's a quick progress picture I took about  a week ago. Gotta love selfies :)

I am obsessed with this quote! Yes it's always good to dream, dreaming is where you can get soooo many ideas and inspirations, but even more important than dreaming is making plans and taking action so you can actually fulfill those dreams! There have been so many times during this competition prep that I have just wanted to give up, but then I remember why I'm doing this, why I chose to torture myself haha. I want to push my mind and body to its own limits and see what I am capable of. We all have so much potential it's unbelievable. So start taking action and make plans for your dreams!

P.S. I have recently started making meal and workout plans for friends, co-workers, etc. if you feel like you don't know where to start with any of your fitness goals, it always helps to have a plan written out for you. If you are interested shoot me an e-mail : sarahelizabethwensel@gmail.com and I will give you more details!