Less than 4 weeks out…

Starting weight = 185.  Down 3 pounds from the previous week or 47 pounds since the start of this process.
I realized this morning that I was less than 4 weeks away from the show.  And then this afternoon I looked at a calendar and counted the days left…26 days!  So I started this process 20 weeks ago…the final 4 weeks suddenly seem short and sweet! 
A week ago I was given a carb loading meal…4 pieces of pizza with veggies.  My body was pretty depleted.  I didn’t know how it would react to the pizza.  All this time I convinced myself that pizza was bad…now I was being forced to eat it.  Um..ok!

I ate half of that!  All prescribed by the trainer.  And if you want to see a picture of one very happy man…(my cheeks hurt from smiling so much!):

Now I just need to get a handle on the constant feeling of being hungry.  I’ve tried all the tricks…gum, water, ice, coffee.  And none of those seem to be working lately.  It’s pretty pathetic, but on the days when I couldn’t take it…I’d have to eat some walnuts just to keep sanity in check.  Perhaps it’s the loss of the gluten free bread.  Or perhaps the increased cardio is causing the hunger.  Either way, this last week was a struggle!  The weekend helped a lot.  I was able to relax and unwind a little.  We were in Chicago and I was still able to fit in the workouts and eat on my plan 99% of the time.  Fine…I’ll be honest…there was a small bite of key lime pie on Saturday night.  Darn you blog…you make it impossible to tell lies! 
Moving forward…no more bites of pie for me! I’ll stick to my packs of gum…note to reader…go buy the Extra Apple Pie gum. It is scrumtrulescent!
We took a water taxi from the Shedd Aquarium to Navy Pier.  It was a great day to be on the water!

Friday we went to a ball game at Wrigley.  I researched ahead of time and found the vendors that served grilled chicken.  It is possible to eat healthy at a ballpark.  The gal behind the counter gave me a puzzled look when I took the buns off the grilled chicken sandwich….as if I’d waste calories on a stale bun!

I have plenty to keep track of over the next few weeks.  I’ll need an hour or two each night to plan for the next day.  No more slip ups or forgetting work clothes when I go to the gym.  Everything needs to be under control.  This process definitely requires discipline on my part.  I can follow meal plans pretty well.  I’ve always enjoyed going to the gym…lifting weights or doing cardio.  But to mold the two areas into my daily routine for the last 20 weeks has been a challenge.  Here is my #1 piece of advice on how to be successful…find a friend.  Use them when you need them the most…to talk, to complain, to bounce ideas off, to help push you when you don’t want to go to the gym, to challenge you to add more weight, to remind you to eat, to research TSA guidelines for traveling with food, to download menus at restaurants to ensure you can eat there, to provide accolades when you are down on yourself, and even to share shaving tips .