The Sweet Finish Line

Sunday. The day after my photo shoot and I couldn't feel any better.

The day went spectacular -

- Brian drove me to MAC to get my make up done. By this point I still haven't eaten or drank a drop, but getting my make up done was a perfect distraction. I went from baggy-eyed and pale to FIERCE! Let me tell you - fake eyelashes are the way to go. You think mascara helps bring a little life to those eyes? Put on some mile-long lashes and you will think you're ready for the cover for Vogue. Or in my case, Oxygen Magazine! :D

- After MAC, Brian drove me to Julie's place. I weighed in - and lost a whopping 10 lbs!!! I could hardly believe it...but at the same time I know I worked really hard and practiced a ton of discipline, so I felt really good to see that concrete result. My measurements are an even better indication - I've definitely lost inches...including in my shoulders - which is one of my most stubborn areas.

- Julie and I drove to Walsingham Park and started the shoot. We went to the adult playground - not of the x-rated kind! - where we train some of our clients. It was pretty windy out but the sun was shining which is all I could have asked for. I ate a rice cake to fill my muscles out, mustered up some strength to do some push ups, squats, and other exercises to get a good muscle pump, and the camera starts flashing. Julie is a great director and because of all her own photo-shoot experience, she gave me some really good tips on posing and smiling. It was interesting, you just kind of forget about hunger/thirst due to all the excitement. I'm sure the wind kept me awake too.

- We then drove to the beach...I started to get tired at this point, probably because of sitting in the car for a few minutes. But once we got shooting, I got my second (third?18th?) wind and knocked out a ton more shots. People were watching us as they walked by and I felt kinda special! Julie really kept me inspired and motivated and we finished quickly.

 

 

- When we finally sat back inside the car, I got to have my first sip of water. Wow. Even though it hadn't even been 12 hours since I had water, it felt like it had been ages. By 3:30pm we were sitting inside of Guppies - a cute restaurant on the beach. My first encounter with real food in almost 3 weeks! And heck yes I had a drink - a mojito to be exact. Julie and I have a lot to celebrate - and I definitely felt deserving of a delicious meal and beverage. I enjoyed every bite! I definitely felt full for the rest of the day though, and didn't feel so hot in the evening. My body got so used to eating very small meals of mainly just protein and some veggies...it feels like my stomach shrunk to the size of a pea. Now, it will be a gradual introduction of more balanced meals with appropriate portions - which I think is okay! I definitely wouldn't want to go from a strict meal plan to full-on binging...I just want to re-introduce the clean-eating lifestyle with more food options than I have had in the past couple of weeks!

It's super hard to believe that it's all over but I know the hard work truly paid off.....I am still beaming from the incredible experience of the photo-shoot, and really proud of the pictures that we took! The photos turned out much better than I expected...in fact, in a lot of them I can hardly believe that woman is me. It's almost a surreal experience looking at those pictures...I would daydream about looking and feeling good enough to be a fitness model and would even talk to Brian about it. It was always a 'dream'. And yesterday I actually felt like one. Brian and I just kept going through the pictures...and I couldn't help but just shake my head and think..wow..

That fit, radiant, and confident woman is Nazmina.