I did it! I stepped on a NPC stage to show off my hard work in the gym. It was such an amazing and scary experience to get up on stage in a bikini. I met so many wonderful competitors – and other moms. It is crazy to think that other moms have the same mentality as me.
The day was very long and started with a 4 AM wake up call. I had an appointment with the fabulous Devy Barnes to beautify my hair. My spray tan was taken care of the day before, so didn’t have to get up earlier! After getting my hair done, I was off to the athlete’s meeting at 7 AM. Then I waited, and waited, and waited. The athlete’s meeting didn’t start until close to 9 AM. I could have slept a bit longer! The rest of the day sped by, and by the end of the night I walked away with two trophies! I’m so happy with how I did on my first show!
Now the hard part, reverse dieting. This means I must reverse out of a low caloric intake to a higher one – SLOWLY. If I don’t do it slowly, it could wreck my metabolism. I think this is much harder than dieting because I was looking forward to the show and getting up on stage. Now, I don’t have that fear of being on stage. I am not reverse dieting well. I’m coming up with excuses like:
- We are going on vacation – I’m going to gorge
- The judges said I was “too lean” – I can afford to eat all the food
- Well, it’s only this one time…
Like everything in life, it is a mental game. I’ve gotten out of that funk and am now back on the diet. Trying to slowly come back out of it like I should have. I remember breastfeeding and wanting to throw in the towel every day for the first couple of months. And then, it somehow got easier. Or when I decided to run a marathon and didn’t think I could do the last 3 miles. I pushed through that mental block and finished it.
Everything is a phase. To all my mamas out there, whatever you are battling, you can do it!
