Emma's TTTC Thread :-)

[Emma HTTF]

Whew! I didn't realise it had been so long since I last posted. Just wanted to check in and say I'm still in it to win it :-D

Since I last wrote, I've had a few ups and downs. I spent a week being super-good about eating, the desire to eat sugary food in work just wasn't there. Then the week after I set about undoing all my good work. But, towards the end of that week, I started reading Gary Taubes' book 'Why we get fat'. It has literally changed my outlook on food completely. I knew a bit of the science behind hormones and fat loss, but to have it all put together in one book is fantastic. You see, if I know the actual, logical, scientific reasons behind something, and therefore understand it, I'm more likely to follow that advice.

So, I've been eating low-carb for the past week, with no interest in eating sugary, floury little bites in work. I missed a couple of gym workouts but am getting back on schedule now, nearly finished 4 weeks of Clash - not sure what to move onto next so any recommendations welcome.

[concetta27]

I have wanted to read that book, thanks for the review. Back on track, great progress this week, keep it up. I also need a new program, some are touting TT Adrenaline.

[Emma HTTF]

Hey folks!

Unfortunately, this is where I bow out of the contest... I'm not happy with my (lack of) results, so I won't be submitting my photos - I doubt anyone would spot the difference anyway, and could possibly confuse the 'after' for the 'before' pic! ;-)

Through a combination of lack of preparation, diet-hopping and programme-hopping, I haven't got to where I wanted to be by this date. However, it's not all doom and gloom. While I'm not delighted at the prospect of more Christmas photos that I don't like, I'm so much better prepared for the next contest that I'm actually looking forward to it. I've learned A LOT about:
- nutrition (and, 12 weeks ago, I would have said that I was fairly knowledgeable about this already)
- what does/doesn't motivate me
- my triggers/reasons/excuses for eating badly
- how to deal with diet slip-ups
- what sort of programme I enjoy
- what I am and am not willing to sacrifice in my quest.

So, it hasn't been a total failure, just a different sort of success than I had in mind... Ok, I'm kidding, I'm not going to sugarcoat the fact that I didn't achieve what I had planned, but I'm also going to look on it positively as 3 months of preparation for the 'real deal', my success in the next contest! I've chosen what programmes I'm going to do, I know what I'm doing diet-wise and will have everything planned out to get a running start from Day 1.

Good luck to everyone else, and have a wonderful Christmas holiday!

[Mark Rogers]

Hi Emma:

Sounds like you have a good attitude. Just shrug off the contest; the important thing is that you slowly learn to incorporate exercise and healthy, reasonable calorie eating into your lifestyle, so you can live a long and healthy life, and plus look as good as you can . Still, the next contest will be a good way to get a little extra motivation to spend 12 weeks building some of those good habits.

BTW I always meant to reply "lol (literally)" to what Craig said to Catherine:

"And just imagine the futuristic spaceman style workouts when your son is in college."

I can hear "his boy Elroy..." in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjy-fnsmWR4

Mark