15 days left to go and I’m feeling like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, which is a pretty great feeling considering that last weekend I was freaking out! (Yes, a yogi sometimes does lose it). Despite warning my coach that I was getting close to, “that time of the month” and to watch out in case I suffered symptoms and needed extra coaching, when it actually happened to me, I forgot my earlier wisdom and thought, “oh no, the diet’s not working, my training is all wrong, I’ll never be ready in time!”. I sent him my progress pictures, and while he agreed that I had a lot of bloating, he still thought we were in the safe zone. He recommended dropping down to a 900 calorie diet of 115 g Protein, 40 g Fat and 20 g Carbs for 3 days, followed by a high carb “refeed” day. While I probably sneaked in a few extra bites here-and there, (cream in my coffee, bacon with my eggs), I did stick pretty close to his plan. I have one more day left of the low calorie plan, and the results are amazing. The cycle is just about over, all the bloating is gone, and what is left is clear, high energy, and all the veins and muscles where they should be. He told me to create a file for myself called, “PMS” with pictures and my thoughts so that I could use it as a future reference point for the eventually that this will happen to me again. I remember last season it seemed like all of my shows fell into that window, and it really made the dial-in a lot tougher. The only show that didn’t fall under that category was the Summer SAF Spectacular, and boy, that show was a breeze!
I’m now doing 4 double Bikram classes a week, plus my weights, and I’m also walking back-and-forth to work twice a day, about 15 minutes each way. As I said before, I was on a serious building protocol for the last 2 1/2 months, eating over 2000 calories-per-day, and I’ve had to get ready in about 1/3 of the time I would normally take. For the WBFF show last summer I was dieting and training for 12 weeks! Now I know that it can be done, 
while still being super creative in the kitchen, sticking to Bikram yoga for most of my conditioning work, and keeping my energy levels high and happy! I am still eating really flavorful, complex meals, making liberal use of condiments and seasonings, incorporating legumes into many meals, and still drinking milk and cream (you can find examples here on my blog of current recipes, like this one, “english sausage with saurkraut”…I my journey helps inspire you to be more loving in the kitchen, and to try Bikram yoga as a conditioning tool, instead of logging in countless hours on the stairmaster…
Paz
