Things Sought, Things Accomplished, Things Learned

It’s official.  I am DONE with the figure competition! 

It’s been a few days since I stepped on stage and I can happily say that I am fully hydrated, fed, and bloated (ok, so I’m not so happy about the bloated part).  But I’ll take it because the pizza, chocolate, and ice cream that I indulged in were well worth it.  

Since I’ve been in a constant sugar coma these past three days, I’ve had a lot of time to think about the whole ordeal.  The amount of knowledge I’ve gained these past 11 weeks has been incalculable. I give those that compete in figure competitions a lot of credit.  It’s not an easy process.  However, it’s not an entirely safe process either. 

Entering a figure competition once is a great experience, as a person has the opportunity to learn more about their physical and mental abilities.  For instance, you learn that your body can function (sometimes even better) without certain foods.  Your cravings are simply that.  Cravings.  You don’t NEED that daily Mountain Dew or Skittles kick to make it to your 3 pm meeting.  Learning and adopting a “clean” diet has immense benefits. 

At the same time, adopting a “figure competition” diet is another story.  While eliminating fruits and dairy helps you appear contest ready, it is something I would NEVER recommend long term.  For multiple reasons.  Your organ function will start to decline, especially your brain and kidneys from the excess protein and low carb intake.  Your social life is put on hold, or suffers completely, because you can eat next to nothing if going out to dinner or for drinks.  You adopt the mindset that certain foods are “good” while others are “bad”, which is far from true (everything in moderation)!  And lastly, you get sucked into such a routine that life doesn’t become fun anymore.  You get up, go to work, eat the same thing for every meal, go to the gym, and sleep.   I don’t know about you, but I feel that life just isn’t worth living if you can’t be spontaneous, jump in the car, and drive 45 minutes to order an iced caramel latte and a Butterfinger blizzard with your best friend every once in awhile.  Yes, both the latte and the blizzard.  At the same time.  J

With that, I encourage you to try the things that might seem impossible to you.  Prove to yourself that you are capable and stronger than you might appear to be.  Learn about yourself.  Do so carefully and intelligently, and with your best interest in mind. 

One Day, Many Thoughts

At this point in the game, with the competition one day away, I am feeling much more than the predicted excitement.  Nervousness, anticipation, and anxiety are becoming intertwined with the excitement.  This has left me with a balled up, mangled mess of aggressive feelings that I can’t wait to throw at the next piece of chicken I see.

I exaggerate.  It really hasn’t been all that bad.  But questions run through my mind constantly.  Has my work paid off?  Am I as toned as I should be?  Or worse yet, will the other contestants even know I’m competing?!

I consider these thoughts, and then let them pass instantly.  Because when it comes down to it, I know that the answer to these questions is yes, yes, and who cares. I’ve come this far on my own terms.  I never gave up, and I’ve learned SO much in the process. 

In fact, I feel I have learned more than you will be willing to read about in one short blog.  So I’ll try to keep my thoughts to a minimum today. 

1)      Food is a healing power.  It can do your body good, or it can do it much damage.  You have the power to fuel your body, and there are proper ways to go about doing that.  Limiting or eliminating certain foods is NOT always the way to go. 

2)      Most importantly, I have learned that ANYBODY can do ANYTHING if they put their mind to it.  I was the “nice, chubby girl” in school.  No lie.  I was voted ‘friendliest’ for my senior year book, and while that’s not a bad thing by any means, it sort of made me feel like I was the person who would do good things, live an average life, make lots of friends, and just….well, be. 

I can ‘be’.  But I can ‘be’ my best and do and accomplish things that I even thought were impossible.  I will ‘be’ the friendly girl, but I will be the friendly, fit, accomplished, driven, AND capable girl that, through her experiences, will help others see that they, too, can do more than they deem possible. 

The Countdown Begins

I’ve been getting a lot of strange looks again lately.  I’m thinking it’s because of one of two reasons. 

1)      People think I’m out of my mind when I tell them I’ve entered a figure competition.

2)      My typical, upbeat personality has transformed to one that encompasses exhaustion and irritability. 

With only one week left, I’m giving it my all.  Chicken and vegetables at most, if not all, of my meals.  Water, water, water.  Lots of cardio intervals.  Higher reps but lower weight with lifting.  The good news is that I don’t have to do legs this week (they retain too much water)!   Thoughts about chocolate.  Sleep.  More water.

The thing that I’m worried about most, however, has to do with the preparation for the final day.  I never really considered myself a high-maintenance girl, but this competition sort of requires me to be.  I have to get…a tan.  :/  But I’m not talking your typical “sun-kissed, beach-bod” looking tan.  We’re looking at a full blown, almost black, “get me the darkest shade” tan.  

I understand it accentuates the muscles and helps the judges see the contours of the body, but come on! 

Oh well.  I’ll get over it.  Every great experience requires sacrifices and struggles that you must endure. 

All I can say is….I can’t wait for Saturday to be here!

3 Weeks Out!

My thoughts and feelings regarding the figure competition change with every passing hour (and while this could be due to lack of carbs, I’m not using that as the sole reason).  At 7:30 this morning two ran through my head.  The first and most exciting being “The competition is less than 3 weeks away!”  The terrifyingly second, “The competition is less than 3 weeks away”.  Gulp.

I’m excited because I will be able to get back into a more sane diet and exercise schedule.  I love the results I am seeing and the progress I’ve made, but 6 days of intense lifting and cardio on very few carbs is not something I would advise doing for longer than 2 months. 

The overall figure competition preparation can be broken into 3 different phases.  Phase 1 consists of incorporating lifting into your exercise routine 4 days a week while increasing your protein intake.  Phase 2 kicks things up a notch to 6 days of lifting with increased protein and reduced carb intake.  And phase 3, the one I am currently in, involves 6 days of lifting with 4-5 days of high intensity interval training, along with consuming protein, few carbs, no added sweeteners, and gallons of water a day.  I am 2ish weeks in and have 2 ½ to go. 

I hope you can see how excited I am to conquer this challenge and get it over with!  The final week will bring additional struggles, but I think I will learn a lot about myself in the last stretch of the process. 

A few things I’ve come to learn over the past 3 weeks:

Figure competitions are not for the faint of heart. 

I didn’t realize how much I love cereal, and how much I hate not being able to eat it.

The amount of carbs you eat can really make or break a workout.

I can lift heavy weights for longer than I thought I could.

High intensity interval training is the best bang for your buck in terms of cardio.

                One can do just about anything if internal motivation is present. 

If I am still able to function, I will post more as the final week approaches :-)

Busy Days

Jam-packed days can be hectic and stressful, especially when those chaotic days revolve around nothing but work.   But sometimes, when you get to choose and organize your daily schedule, they can be quite the opposite. 

Attending church, meeting old friends for coffee, getting in a good sweat session, and working the remainder of the day sounds like enough to make me want to jump face first onto my bed and take a nap.  Surprisingly, the craziness of it all gave me more energy than when I woke up this morning.

Sometimes I love the idea of free weekends, simply because it means that I’ll be able to sit on my butt and do a lot of nothing all day.  Don’t get me wrong, we need those days to recoup and maintain our sanity.  I am thankful for the days of Friends reruns and 11 am breakfasts.  Those weekends also make me thankful for the busy weekends.  It means I am blessed with work and an income, health, and wonderful family and friends.   

Today made me think twice about how much I complain about my hectic schedule.  Knowing how fortunate I am made the day fly by twice as fast as well.  

If ever you are having a bad day, try thinking about the many blessings that you do have.  It just might turn your day around. 

Clean Eating

Remember the days when your dinners and snacks consisted of Ramen, Skittles, and mocha frappuccinos.   Still living those days?  Convenience may prevail in these instances, but your energy and health fall short.  So short, it makes me scared for you. 

Now I know how hard it is for you to read this.  You’re thinking to yourself, “Oh great.  Yet another article telling me that my health is in jeopardy because of what I eat.  This new food that I thought was healthy for me is now killing me slowly during my sleep, according to ANOTHER random ‘study’”.   I know, because I’ve thought the same thing. 

I gave up following all of those articles and studies about “super foods”.  Because honestly, the list is about 400 foods long.  The “Top 7 Super Foods” are different in every single article you read! 

I did take something from those articles, however.  They all have one thing in common.  The lists contain what I, and the famous Oxygen magazine, like to call “clean foods”.  Clean eating consists of taking in natural foods and abstaining from added sugars and processed foods as much as possible.  Chicken, lean meats, low-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats (avocados, olive oil, nuts) are what you’d be eating if you adopted this eating lifestyle.  I say lifestyle because this is not a diet.  Diets don’t work.  Choosing to eat this way should be considered a lifestyle change.  Not necessarily to lose weight, but to attain better health.

I don’t want to scare you away by saying that you can’t have ice cream or Buffalo Wild Wings ever again.  Because you can.  Eating clean is a way of life that can be implemented 80% of the time, and I can guarantee that you will notice a difference in your physical and mental stamina.

I have recently adopted this way of eating, as the figure competition has me on a strict eating schedule.  But I have to say, I am glad that I took on the competition challenge because it has given me new insight into the “clean eating” lifestyle.  I like it a lot, and I don’t crave sweets as much as I used to. 

Ridding your diet of processed foods and excess sugar may sound like a daunting and unpleasant task, but believe me, your mind and body will thank you.   And if I, the previous ice cream/ Sunchips craver, can do it, I know anyone can. 

Friends

I received a phone call today from a great friend of mine.  I hadn’t talked to her in over 6 months, but we chatted as if we had seen each other just yesterday.  This conversation, simple as it may have been, made my day.  Week even.  More importantly, it made me think about the relationships that I have with people.

After hanging up with this friend, I got to thinking about the importance of true friendship.   I’m not talking about the friends that you hang out with, yet are constantly questioning whether or not they are mad at you because of something you did or didn’t say.  Or the friends that you love partying with, but have the hardest time discussing with them any personal problem or struggle.   I’m talking about the people that you can confide in and trust 100%, no matter how long you have been out of touch or what mistakes you may have made. 

These friends are hard to come by.  And the secret to finding one: You have to become one yourself.  We need true friends like this in our life, even if it is only 2 or 3.  For if we don’t, the foundation of our humanness- the ability to empathize, connect, and love- become desensitized.  If you constantly surround yourself with friends that use you, mock you, or just hang out with you because it is convenient for them, you start thinking that these are the only types of friends you will ever have.  That those friends are all you are worth.

Do not fall for it.  Seek out friends who follow their own path.  Those who are honest, admit to their mistakes, and who are not afraid to show their vulnerability.  These are the friends that are real.  They understand the deeper, more meaningful aspects of life.  When you do find one of those friends, don’t let them go.  Put in that extra effort to maintain contact, and let them know how important they are to you.  You have no idea how much it might mean to them.  I know it meant a lot to me today.   

So I just want to say to that very special friend of mine- I love you for all that you are.  I am so glad you are in my life, and I am so blessed to have met you.  I am a better person because of you.  J