This Is It!

     I can’t believe it’s here already. Tomorrow’s the big day. The day I’ve worked so hard for over the last 3 months is finally here! There have been so many bumps along the way, but now everything has fallen into place….and the timing couldn’t be better.  

    

     First and most important of all, my beautiful mother is finally home and doing better than ever since getting sick. She looks great and is improving every day. I know that this time, she will not go back to the hospital and will be getting back to her normal life again. That in itself has made me happier than I could ever be!

    

     All the stress I’ve been under has made me break out. I was worried my skin wouldn’t clear up in time for the show. But it’s finally looking much better.

    

     Posing has never come easy for me. I’ve been practicing every single day. At first I was having a hard time and getting really frustrated. But now, my transitions are much smoother and I’m hitting my poses better than ever.  Watching the DVD’s of last years shows, I saw that my posing needed a lot of work. Thanks to the help of my friend, I have made some nice improvements.

    

     As for my body, it has changed so much since my last entry. I haven’t assessed myself for a few weeks so I don’t know where I’m at. But it doesn’t matter what the numbers are at this point. What matters is I like what I see. I look better now than I have for any show in the past. In fact, it’s pretty amazing how much my body has changed in the last few weeks.  I just found a picture of myself from April, when I had my first assessment. It really put into perspective how far I’ve come. I’ll post before & after pictures in my next entry. Lowering my carbs the way I did really changed my body. I’ll assess before the show, but only out of curiosity, for my own records. I always like to know how I’m coming into a competition.

    

     And the last thing is my new suit. I picked it up last weekend and I’m so happy with it! The color, stone work and fit all exceeded my expectations. It made me realize that the suit I had last year, although pretty, did not fit me the way it should have. My new suit is perfect in every way!

     I am so ready for this! With each day, excitement keeps building.  I know that one way or the other, all my hard work will certainly pay off. Whether I win my pro card or not (winning is the plan of course!), I’m going to at least make the top 5 and come home with another trophy.

Wish me luck! Hopefully when I write my next entry, I’ll be a new WNBF Figure Pro.

3 Weeks Out

I am now 3 weeks out. Well, technically a little under. When I first started cutting down a few months ago, my goal was to get down to 11% body fat. The way things are at this point, I realize that I won’t be able to reach that goal. I found myself so fixated on that number. But at the end of the day it’s how I look on stage that matters. The judges don’t know what percent I am. Making sure I look conditioned, my muscles are nice and full and I hit my poses right is going to go a long way. I stressed myself out trying to hit that 11% mark. But I’ll probably come in closer to 14%. As of my last assessment this past weekend, my body fat is around 16%, and I weigh 119 lbs.  

There are a few factors that got in the way of hitting my goal number. When I first started cutting down my mom got sick. So as much as I tried to be on top of my eating, circumstances led me to veer off of my diet. Then there’s stress. Aside from all the health issues associated with it, stress certainly does not help when trying to lose body fat. When you’re stressed, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol which is linked to the storage of body fat, especially abdominal fat. I have been more stressed in these last few months that I have in years. That didn’t help my cause. The other set back was all those extra carbs I was taking in that I didn’t account for. It’s when I lowered my carb intake and really tried to keep my stress in check, that I started dropping down. My body should change quite a bit these next 3 weeks. My carbs are super low right now. I’m taking in only 46g per day. It’s tough. I’m enduring the lack of energy, hunger and suffering that all competitors experience. Something I didn’t go through last year. As tough as it is, I remain focused and driven. And although my body fat will be higher than it was at my last show, I have a bit more muscle giving me a different body.  I went to get fitted for a new suit over the weekend which got me even more excited. It’ll be ready the week before my show. I can’t wait to see the new me in my new suit on that stage!

No matter what happens on June 25^th, I’ll be happy. Despite all the circumstances, I think I’m still in a good place and think I’ll do well. Whatever the outcome may be, I’ve got a great head start for the next show in September. And as an added bonus, I got my body beach ready just in time for summer!