It’s that time again – time to report back on life Post-Comp!! I have put off writing this blog…but not for the reasons you may be thinking! Study!! I’ve simply been too busy to stop and write!! But I’m happy!! I’m so bloody happy I’m dangerous!!! I’m not sure where to start so I’ll recap what I’ve done and where I’m at;
1 January 2012 – decision made to compete.
Jan-Sept 2012Train and eat under direction of Coach #1. 12 weeks pre-comp and I’m starting to cut food dramatically and increase cardio. Last 2 weeks = 2 x hours of cardio daily, 1 x hour weights daily, 500g protein + unlimited lettuce daily.
Physical Results – extremely determined not to let the regime ‘beat me’,
dogged in my approach, more focused on finishing the daily chores than caring about
the results occurring in front of my eyes, unable to function as a Mother other
than preparing food in the crock pot each morning, eating my pitiful rations
alone and then going to bed as early as possible (5pm some nights to sleep away
the gnawing hunger), completed some cardio sessions in tears, not happy on a
day to day level but motivated and excited to compete.
Stage Result – super lean stage body, extremely ‘cut’ but horribly
stringy and flat, dull muscles. Looking slightly emaciated! Starving beyond belief by the end of the day.
Comp Night & Beyond – with another comp only 2 weeks away I limited myself
to one humungous pig-out on the first comp night. I ate till I could eat no
more as I was craving every taste I had missed for so long. When I look back, I
would consider myself to have been malnourished by comp day.
On Comp #2, I ate the
same way on comp night, but continued into the day after and the day after and
the day after that. I pulled up at about day 4 and started gathering stock of
the situation. I’m not a stupid girl and I could see this food thing ending in
complete disaster. As it was ,my feet and legs swelled like balloons to the
point where they hurt to touch. My stomach was churning 24/7, and I was in a
little world of hurt. Thank goodness I managed to pull back in the first week
and I got back into the gym and started eating the way I thought would help me
best while still indulging in some of the previously forbidden treats. Only
problem was, I had lost track of portion control and found that, if I stepped
near a packet of muesli bars, I would eat the whole lot! The whole lot! Be it 6 or 12, I had to see
the end of the box. Feelings of shame, humiliation and despair quickly follow
these sessions and I knew I had to find a solution…quickly. We then went overseas
on a holiday and I was happy with my reintegration into the gym and achieved
some great workouts over there. Also got food back on track and felt fairly
good. I put on weight quite quickly and it was quite hard to accept as I wasn't really eating too badly. Weight gain did not equal food input. Clearly metabolism had suffered and was going at an all time slow.
January 2013-May 2013
Found my beloved
Ingrid Barclay and began prepping the Body Conquest way!!Thank GOD!!!
12 weeks pre-comp and
I’m eating 6-7 meals a day. Lifting heavier than ever. 2 weeks pre-comp and I’m
restricted in my meals but still eating at least 5 different proteins, huge
range of vegies, a special little sauce, flaxseed oil and fruit. I get hunger
pains for sure but you have to understand that I really am food motivated!!! I
love food, and eating, so it’s no wonder that I count the minutes until the next
meal – that’s just me. Always been this way. As for training – minimal training
with cardio increasing to a whopping……..well let’s say….less than 1.5 hours PER
WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take that you Fraudster Comp Cardio Coaches!!!!!!
Physical Results – I am functioning like a real life human being right to the
end!!! Little tired? Yes. Little hungry? You bet. Missing special treats? No
doubt about it. But I continue to hold down a full-time job – actually manage
to change careers in the last few weeks! – manage my beautiful little family, train,
food prep, study and do all of the things that everyone else does – so different
to the last comp!
Stage Results – Comp #1 and I’m looking rounder, fuller and happier than
ever. Great results and enjoyed every single minute. Comp #2 and I’m a little leaner but still feeling full in my muscles, and
definitely excited and happy. Loved every minute of that comp. Comp #3 and I’m
at the Gold Coast with some of the best physiques in the Southern Hemisphere!! We
had a BLAST!!! I LOVED this comp!!! And do you know what???!!! I reckon I was
within 1-2 (at most!) kgs of where I was in 2012!!! Ingrid got me as lean as I
needed to be by manipulating grams of food – while keeping all the good foods
in my day and, what I would describe as…minimal cardio!
Comp Night & Beyond – After Comp #1 I went out for dinner and had a great
big rare steak with gravy and potato – yummo!! Then jumped straight back into
my very adequate daily routine. Comp #2 I went out and had a whopping big lamb
burger!!! Again – YUMMO!!!! Then again jumped back to my routine. Comp #3 – 3rd
and final – and I had lamb cutlets, corn, bread and a nice big chocolate bar
with a sneaky (or not so sneaky!) icecream! DOUBLE YUMMO!!!!!!! It was
beautiful and I overdid it just a little with a sore tummy that night. I’m not
so good at restrictions once given a green light!
HOWEVER – and this is
the world’s biggest HOWEVER…….. this
time it didn’t spill into the week!! This time I got up in the morning and, due
to circumstances beyond our control, we were still in Brisbane with nothing
better to do than to head to a local gym and smash out a bloody good shoulders
and HIIT session!! From there I went to a pub for a gorgeous lamb tortilla –
all within my hard earned metabolic window – and a nice cold glass of wine! And
from there it’s been back to the normal routine, albeit with a lot of extra
vegies, more fruit, bigger portions and less strict adherence to water
quantities etc. But it was so darn easy
to go back to what I love - balance! I am as happy as a pig in mud
eating this way and I don’t feel like I’m missing a thing!!! No swelling, no
unbearable cravings (come on!! Of course I think about the gorgeous things I
haven’t had for ages – but see below for my strategies). I’m only human and the
minute I try to act like I’m not, I fall - spectacularly. I’m certain it’s that “pride
goeth before a fall” thing that I very much believe in.
I will go on to admit
that there are some very solid strategies that I adopted this time through to
aid in keeping things on the straight and narrow, and I’m happy to share them. Just to show you that I do have to make decisions and stick to them to achieve my life goals. Nothing comes without commitment, drive and a willingness to do some hard work - physically, emotionally and psychologically if need be;
#1 – I always ate everything I was told to by Ingrid. I never skimped and thought I knew best. Why? Because I could see the recipe for disaster in limiting foods for an array of reasons.
#4 – On the night of
the last comp, I wrote a new gym program full of exercises that I hadn’t done
for a while and that I found really exciting!! That’s why we hit the gym the
following morning – because I simply couldn’t wait to do a shoulder superset
program followed by some radical abs and a whopping HIIT! I set myself up to
fall back in love with the gym after feeling a little comp weary. A little OTT to organise on comp night but I've never claimed to be 'normal'.
#5 – I made myself a
deal. Eat a gorgeous meal on comp night, and then hold off for at least 48 hours
before indulging in any more ‘over the top’ treats. By that, I mean if I were to
polish off caramel slice, or cheesecake, or pizza etc – I wanted at least a 48
hour down-time in order to take a breath and assess whether it was a knee-jerk
reaction or a true desire. Sure enough – who wants that shit after such a
prolonged time of eating nutritiously? Not me for now. But hold up – don’t think I’m
being too much of an angel!! I’m not!!! I confess!!
But I sorted out the daily things I really wanted to eat - cheese, some more fruits and lots of them, some more sweet
potato than normal, a little sauce on some things, rice and few other bits and bobs. And that’s what I had and
have and I fit it into my metabolic window (really believe in that stuff!). I’m really, really happy with that now and am past that ‘immediate post
comp’ period where there is a tendancy for the old knee-jerk food reaction. So
now would be the time to have a piece of birthday cake (thank you Benji for
accommodating mummy’s desire for cake) without too much concern that it will
trigger some sort of binge. It didn’t and it won’t.
Clearly I have someone to thank for my results and my ongoing health and happiness for all things physique. I will do that but she deserves more than just a fleeting mention so I'll do that very soon.
So here I am, a few weeks
post comp season, and I’m a happy, happy girl. I have new goals, new training methods
and some new physique goals that I’m determined to smash!!!
But that’s another
blog coming very soon! All about results and goals and what’s on the burner
these days. Stay tuned.
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