7 DAYS LATER!!
And I’m still feeling great!!! My mental status is so much better than it was this time 8 years ago!! The last 7 days have been great. I don’t feel fat and I don’t feel depressed. I’m most happy that I’ve controlled my eating and I still have that hard earned 6 pack!!! I’ve allowed myself a few cheat meals (2 to be exact), but I’ve been back in the gym since Monday hiting the iron and doing 60-90 minutes of cardio depending on how I feel daily. Now I definitely feel weak with the weights and I’ve really had to push myself to get through my workouts. I’m hoping that I’ll feel better next week with the added carbs I’m now allowed to eat.
I’ve gained about 5 pounds which I’m very pleased with. A lot of competitors literally gorge themselves to death and between all the grease and sodium easily gain 10-20 pounds in a matter of days after the show. I was one of them 8 years ago!!! So my main goal is to stay within 5-10 pounds of my competition weight.
In my last blog I was so busy giving you all the details of the show, I forgot to thank the people who assisted me in getting ready for the stage!! First, I have to give a HUGE shout out to my trainer and friend Malcolm Marshall who assisted me with my diet and re-programmed my training mentality. LOL, he told me that I was training w/men, lifting like men, and was looking like a man! He really worked with me as far as training for figure vs. bodybuilding. I definitely would say that I would not have made it if it weren’t for Mr. Malcolm Marshall. You can check him out at www.houseshaka.com.
Second, I would like to thank my posing coach Quincy Roberts who was also the promoter of the show. It’s a shame that figure competitors will go through all the hard work of diet/cardio/weight training, but b/c of lack of posing instruction are unable to present their physique to the judges. Quincy did an excellent job of showing me the poses and what worked best for my physique. Big thanks to you!!
Third, I’d like to thank my workout partner JB aka Johnny Brown! JB is a great guy who put up with my mood swings and was nice enough to stay and do cardio w/ me until the gym closed!! Also a big thanks to JB for his monetary gift which was spent on my beautiful custom made 1-piece suit as well as for a few of my posing session…which were expensive, but well worth it!!
Last but not least!!! I have to thank my parents and brother for being so understanding. I didn’t go home at all during my 13 weeks of training b/c out of my environment means I’d cheat on my diet!! Thanks fam for being sooooo supportive!! I truly love them!! I’d like to thank my 2nd family, MY DIVA sistas (NNNNNNNNNNNNNNC DDDDDDDDDDDIVAS www.ncdivasmc.com , www.myspace.com/ncdivasmc) for being patient with me and respecting my decision to compete. I know I haven’t been around that much to ride those 2s or fellowship around the table like we love to do!! I also want to thank my best friend Trina who was supportive as well in her own way. I kind of kept her in the dark b/c she felt I was getting too skinny. When I finally told her everything I went through….there was a sponsor right there!! She was so proud of all my hard work and yelled at me for not asking for help!! She has her own business and is willing to Sponsor me for the 08 season. She’s always looking for a tax write off so I’ll be more than happy to assist her! I also have to give her a few training sessions, lol. When I go to Fayetteville I have to train her and she says she go’n 2 come up here 2x a month to train..(we’ll see if that happens!!)
I’d like to thank everyone who has stopped through MY SPACE & Bodyspace and left such positive feedback!! When I set out on this journey it was never to inspire anyone, but to hold myself accountable to doing what I said I would do!! A goal that I wrote back in January of this year was to be on stage competing at the Elite Muscle Classic on Nov. 3, 2007…and that is what I did! I’m a firm believer that when you write your goals down for all to see, you can’t make a fool out of yourself and not do it!! I posted pics so that people could see that I was doing what I said I would do! It’s icing on the cake to know that I’ve inspired others to jump on the band wagon and get into shape. I love my African American community..but sometimes we get THICK PHAT confused and we’re actually FAT and/or OBESE. So, it’s a true blessing that I’ve been able to inspire ppl to get their bodies in shape regardless of their race!
Well, that’s all for now!! Take care and much love to you all!!!
