Good morning friends! My last post I updated you all on the joys of my competition and shared all of my pretty stage pictures of me all dolled up. I decided I would also share some behind the scenes pictures and moments of the not so glamorous side of preparing for this competition. I won’t lie, it stressed me the heck out! But looking back at it now, it cracks me the heck up.
The things I am about to tell you about, always happen to me. It never fails. I really should just accept that and expect it and embrace it. I think I am going to do my best to keep that mentality so I can laugh at myself while they happen instead of just afterwards 😉
Alrighty, so the week before my competition started off with me getting sick. Not super sick, but it definitely wore me out even more then I already was. I had to take a day or two to really rest and recover so I wasn’t able to hit it as hard as I would have liked at the gym. Each day I had to drink 2.6 gallons of water, the idea being to make me pee out any and all excess water my body was holding on to. Unfortunately, my body liked all the extra water and I didnt drop as much water weight as was expected. Could have been from getting sick, or could have been my luck. Either way it wasn’t too big of a deal.
By Tuesday I recieved my suit in the mail! I was soo excited to try it on- only to find the top was too big. I freaked out at first, considering the show was 5 days away, but then took a quick trip to the mall, bought some “help”, and was happy to see my top didn’t look as big 😉
Friday I spent the day prepping all of my meals to take with me for the competition. I also needed to prep my skin for the ridiculously dark tan I needed to apply that night. I got to soak in a tub which was nice and relaxing and then I had to shave my entire body from neck down. The dark tanner is needed to show muscle definition and keep you from looking washed up on stage under all of the lights. The tanner will pick up any little hairs or peach fuzz on your body and give an uneven appearance, which is the reason for the shaving. I highly recommend using more then just a 2 blade razor. I was covered in razor burn and even with the help of my husband, after thorough inspection, we still managed to not get every single hair!
Friday night, Maira and I went to our coach’s house to start the tanning process. Basically we stripped down in the garage and got tanner rubbed all over us! It’s definitely a 2 person job, I can’t imagine trying to do it yourself. The tanner took to Maira’s skin perfectly! She looked fantastic. My skin did not like the tanner what so ever. We decided to leave it on and give it longer to dry. I went home and had my husband apply a second layer of tanner before bed. The next morning I pretty much looked like I rolled in chocolate and let it dry on me. Not. Cute. So, at 6am the day of the show, I hopped in the shower and scrubbed like my life depended on it! The tanner came off pretty well although my skin took a beating. We got a hold of the spray tanning girl who was offering her services at the competition and she was able to fit me in to her schedule.
Off to the show we went, me with my white body and tanned make up face. Super attractive look, ladies 😉 We made it to the competiton, very early, but it allowed us time to eat and relax a bit. Once everyone else arrived and the tanning girl got her station set up, I got my spray tan and felt much better! My nerves were definitely still a wreck and I was beginning to feel self conscience around all of the other beautiful girls. Surprisingly everyone was very sweet and encouraging. Right before I got on stage I’m pretty sure I about had a nervous breakdown and began to cry. I had to pull myself together and as soon as I stepped on stage, I felt like I belonged. I may not be as far along as the other girls, but it didn’t matter, this was MY journey. I relaxed tremendously after the first show and got to eat some lunch and visit with my husband before preparing for the evening show.
It may not sound like too many things went wrong, but trust me, when you are in the thick of it, it can get stressful! I had to remind myself many times that I was doing this for me, and for enjoyment! All I can say is, you live and you learn. I plan on competing again in the future, but do not have a set date as of yet. I also plan on having a lot more fun the entire day at my next competition. And I will just get spray tanned at the show! All in all it was a great day. My husband took me out to dinner afterwards and the next day I made us some yummy tortellini and ate some candy! It was mother’s day after all!
It’s been almost 2 weeks since my competition and I am back on track with eating healthy, whole foods and working out about 6 days a week. I may not have a competition on the horizon but I am working hard to prepare for when I do want to do another one. I know that eventually I’ll be ready and I plan on bringing some fierce competition to the other ladies on stage! Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy your Memorial day!
Meals, Muscles, & Munchkins 