I've been mentioning it for awhile now....the "my thoughts on competition prep" post. Well, I figured what better place to include it, than for a Flashback Friday post. I did my first flashback last week about my pregnancy and enjoyed it so the flashbacks begin again. Time to  enter the time machine!

What did it take to get me here???

On Stage

A lot of blood (literally & still have a scar from that mishap), sweat, tears, frustration, and mental issues. The day of competition is a glory day. Of beauty, displaying your hard work, fun bonding with the other competitors, and after parties. But the path there is not pretty. Not by any means. This journey all started about 6years ago when I was in my junior year of college. It was when I first started getting more serious about workouts and nutrition. It was when I picked up my first Oxygen magazine, read Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat & Feed the Muscle book, and began soaking up every bit of information I could.

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Fast forward a few years to just after my wedding. Peter and I were on a hike and I mentioned how I had always wanted to try a competition. He told me to go for it, and I did. Only to have to pull out two weeks before the show from some blood sugar issues thanks to a too restrictive coach.

After stopping the prep, I felt like a failure. And I wanted to prove to myself, and yes to others as well, that I could do it. So, when I got in the best shape of my life by 9 months post partum, I decided I needed to finally fulfill this goal.

9 Months after Birth & 12 Weeks from Showday

I searched for local, natural shows and there was one exactly 14 weeks away and a short 30 minute drive down the road. It was in the cards and I signed up. I planned to do my own prep, so I could listen to my body and not have to follow someone else. I thought this would be perfect because I could do what works for me, have fun with it, and make it to the stage. I didn't care about winning and I just wanted to say I had competed.

Sounds perfect, huh? Well, even if I am the one making up the plan, there is a plan involved. And the levels of bodyfat you have to reach for competition (around 12-15% for women) are very lean. An average, fit woman will have bodyfat levels in the 18-24% range and that is still looking dang good! Mine was about 18% in the above picture. Although that is all relative since tracking that is so inaccurate and I don't worry about it a rat's ass anymore. But anyways - to get to competition levels your plan has to be restrictive. It is the only way to lean down enough.

I started off pretty well, working out about 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min 5-6 days per week. I still ate 1500-1700 calories and had two refeeds a week (eating more to keep hormone levels and metabolism function healthy). I was making progress and tightening up. Towards the end, to break plateaus and lean out my bottom half I was putting in 2 or more hours almost every day between long, heavy weight training sessions and double cardio. I would go to the gym in the morning for a long cardio and then back at night for weights and some higher intensity cardio bursts/plyo moves. I still ate the same because I was not going to sacrifice my refeeds and carbs because it backfired on me the last time, but needed the extra activity to lean down enough.

Between that and planning meals, my life was consumed. Anyone who tells you different is lying. Sure, it may get easier to manage with more practice. But the focus it takes to be sure to get in your training to be ready by a specific date, and the details to tend to with your meals and all the other stuff to prepare before a show take lots of time. It even got so bad, that I lost my focus on my faith because I was too busy thinking about the competition to pray. The shifted focus was one of my biggest issues I had withe prep. Along with losing my positive and balanced approach to health and the money.

I managed the workouts fine. I could stick to the meals and go through the motions. But I hated, hated, HATED losing time with my friends and family. So much energy went into prep that I was not showing as much love to Peter and Makenzie. Who can be happy, patient, and loving when running on fumes? I was beginning to not be able to enjoy social situations. Thoughts like what food to bring everywhere I went, can I eat a frickin' piece of bday cake that my daughter tries to feed me at her birthday party, and should I go to this dinner get together and be rude by not eating what is prepared ruled my life. This was not me!

As I have mentioned before, I got into the best shape ever even before comp prep simply by doing what I enjoyed. I ate healthy foods I love most of the time and indulged when I really wanted to. I never felt deprived and didn't have to focus on numbers, plans, and doing things "right". I hated having that mindset creep back in. And there was no way around it for me while prepping for a show. I had reached the best relationship I had ever had with food, only to start feeling reverting desires of binging and the "good/bad" mentality coming back through and directly after prep.

Another issue was how expensive it was!

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Suit = 300$, sportswear = $70, tanning = $50+, waxing = $50+, entry and registration fees = $200 supplements, stage makeup, stage shoes, and the list goes on. Now, I am not opposed to spending money on a hobby or spending money on yourself. But this was still something I didn't feel comfortable with because I realize I would have rather used that money for a family vacation or something else more enjoyable.

So to the gist. I do not regret doing the competition, because I don't have to wonder "what if" anymore and I fulfilled a goal. And I would encourage anyone who feels it is a goal to pursue to do so. However, I am sure this is something that I will NEVER do again. Not because I am weak and couldn't handle it. Not because I don't have the drive. I could definitely carry through on a comp prep plan again in the future. I love to push and challenge myself. But the benefits of doing a show don't outweigh the negatives for me and that is where I draw the line in anything I pursue. Nothing is always positive, but the positive should still be the majority in anything you pursue. It isn't worth sacrificing my family, my mental happiness, and my whole approach to life. For some, the whole process is their passion and more power to them. If it is a passion, I can see how it would be worth it. It was just not my passion. My passion is healthy living, my faith, and my faimly and loved ones. So that is the path I pursue with avidity.

This week has been incredibly busy, more so than the usual go go go of chasing after a toddler.Earlier in the week it was Easter Egg Hunts & Santa Claus time. And the hustle and bustle all started again yesterday afternoon at around 2:00. My parents showed up to watch the baby girl and visit with their beloved grandbaby so I could go have fun. If this is your idea of fun....

Stirrups!!!

Oh, the glorious visits to the girly doc. I mainly went to this one to check out a practice that delivers at the new women's center that opened up five minutes from my house versus the baby megacenter version in downtown Atlanta where I delivered Makenzie. I really did like the practice I delivered with the first time, but there were some things that I thought would be a better fit at the new one and I had to try it out. I am very glad I did because I LOVED them! Everyone was so nice! And since it is a smaller practice, they really took time to visit with me and discuss things. They reassured me that the steps I had taken to get my cycle back to normal and the additional weight were most likely in my best interest since it put me at an optimal level of bodyfat for conceiving and that I was doing good. Plus, it was comfortable. Is that even possible? That is the sign of a good girly doctor right there. And they even said they hope to see me again soon. I hope so too. 🙂

Yesterday also included tutoring my last session until after Spring Break. As easy as tutoring is, it will be nice to get a week off. Of course, last night we also went to our church's annual prayer path, that I talked about here. It really was a special occasion and worth the added hours to our already busy afternoon schedule. It was so moving, that we ended up spending over an hour longer there than we anticipated. Between really soaking in the prayer time, chatting with some friends who were there at the same time, and letting Makenzie have a little playground time...

...we were going to be getting home quite late for us. On the way home, I started trying to think about dinner and what to make. We knew we didn't want to take more than 15 min to whip something up since we were at that ugly hungry stage. But I also knew I still wanted a healthy dinner. I realized that's not so hard to do in a short time! Heck, we had been doing that all week.

Pasta, Roasted Veggies, & Chicken Sausage

Taco Night!

Brussels, Cheetahs, & Morningstar Buffalo "Wings"

And Wednesday night's winner was...

Eggs on Toast

(Source) <--- Need one because I was too hungry to get my own picture. But you get the gist. Except my plate was on whole wheat toast and x2. 😀 This was so quick and easy and still a healthy dinner. Yes, it may not have been the most balanced and it lacked some greens, BUT it is much better than our quickie dinners in the past. Things like a bowl of Peter's Frosted Mini Wheats cereal or stopping at whatever we could find on the way home came up, but were quickly passed over because who needs those options when you can turn to other simple dinners. Here are some things I do when looking for a quickie at dinner time. You will have to figure out other quickies on your own. 😉

• When planning your weekly meals, always plan in a couple quick fix recipes to whip up on nights you are suddenly out of time for dinner. It never fails that at least one night per week I either won't want to cook or will suddenly realize I don't have the time to cook what I intended. Such a stress relief to already have back up options available.
• Intentionally make leftovers. We always make leftovers of roasted veggies to use for lunches or in another dinner. Things like our pasta dishes always have a ton of leftovers because we use less pasta and more additional ingredients in our dish. Other great options for saving leftovers for a quick fix are casserole type dishes, soups, meats cooked in the crockpot so you can easily shred/chop them to toss in other meals, etc.
• Don't feel bad for using frozen. Sure, fresh foods are better. We all know that. But sometimes there is a need for frozen products like Kashi pizzas, Morningstar/Boca/Quorn products, Amy's Organics burritos and meals, etc. I do say try to choose the option with the best stats and shortest ingredient lists (you know 20 listed instead of 30 ;)), but there is a time and place for these things in our lives. And sometimes they are a dinner saver.
• Use quick cooking methods. If none of the above suit you, just cook things fast. Eat your veggies either raw or slightly steamed. And go ahead and use the microwave for quick cooking. If eating meat, cook up ground beef or turkey or thinly slice your chicken breast before cooking. Or eggs! You can cook breakfast for dinner, since those meals tend to be less time consuming. Make a "kitchen sink" salad where you just toss together things you have at the ready in your fridge or pantry. If you know it will be a busy night, prep the crockpot for a ready to eat meal in the morning.
• And sometimes, a bowl of cereal or a stop at Subway is just fine too. 🙂

How often do you resort to quickie meals? Any suggestions you can share?