Well, I survived New Orleans y’all! Kept to my diet and went to the gym every day – this was all in all a quite easy trip for me to do as there weren’t too many temptations at night being that my work schedule was mostly packed with meetings during the day. Had a little kitchenette in my room, went to Whole Foods and shopped for my cabbage, shirataki noodles, cottage cheese and of course.. lots of water. I got a lot accomplished work wise, and additionally got decent work out sessions in at a huge gym conveniently located across the street (I did my research in advance to make sure). I managed to stay away from all the fried, smothered, glazed, rubbed and butter ladened dishes that are so prevalent on all menus out at restaurants and my colleague thought I should get a prize for staying away from all the tempting soul food they have down there! 🙂

Did a quick 30 minute cardio session at the gym today and some stretching, preparing for legs tomorrow and another 4,400 calorie re-feed day. I have added 200 more calories to my day in form of a couple of extra tbsp of ground flaxseeds with my oatmeal in the morning (for fat), an additional protein shake and two rice cakes for fast carb loading post work out. You would think this would keep my body full and perhaps even gain a pound or stay even, but no… stepped on the scale this morning and I’m DOWN yet another pound, it now reads 131.4! The more I eat the more I lose now, how bizarre!  So am going to eat my heart out tomorrow and hope that I am not losing any muscle. I’ve been feeling a bit drained but the extra calories and carbs are helping a bit so just have to give it some time. It’s natural, my fabulous diet coach, Pauline, informed me, to feel drained and a bit lackluster sometimes at the gym when becoming more and more lean, and it’s even more important now to practice “mind over matter”. I WILL prevail and although I’ve felt discouraged because my lower body is still soft and puny, I am looking forward to every leg session and going to work even harder in this area. I had a couple of days earlier this week where I felt really discouraged and the doubt came creeping in, but quickly snapped out of it, luckily!!

On a different note, I was accepted into the Napa Vinter’s Wine Education Program in August, which means I will be going to Napa Valley for 5 days with 33 other wine educators learning all there is to learn about wines from this region. I feel very happy as there were over 80 applicants and only 34 were admitted. Nonetheless, I am a bit nervous about it, because it involves mandatory daily lunches and dinners with tons of food I certainly can’t have, as well as a steady flow of wine. While I will spit most of the wine, I can’t help but fear this will sabotage my diet, only 2-3 weeks before my show! This is where my career and hobby really clash – while I love food and wine, right now I can’t really indulge and don’t want to come off as a “weirdo” to my colleagues. So… will need to chew on this over the weekend – I need this course for my career, so am going to try and make it a challenge to conquer!!

Here are a few pictures that I took of myself while in New Orleans – write more later!