hurdlegirl’s BodyBlog

Wow, after 3 weeks off my competition diet I feel great! It’s amazing how different…better your mood is and your energy levels are when you have some quality carbs in your system. After about 2 weeks of eating endlessly, and 1 week of eating somewhat endlessly, I’m back in a healthy eating pattern again. I got all the cravings out of my system and now I physically & mentally want to eat healthy again…not competition eating, just clean with some flexibility. I actually gained about 10lbs in the 2 weeks immediately following the show, but about 4-5 or that was just rehydration. Just by eating better though I’ve already lost 3 so I’m about 3lbs away from my normal/off season weight.

I took about 2 weeks off from lifting as well. I continued with my cardio but instead of 60-90min a day, I only do about 30-45min. I weight-train "mildly" but I’m only consistent with my glute/hamstring work and my core/abs. I’m trying to decide what I want my approach to be with my strength training. I’m leaning towards a more athletic training style (jumps, dynamic movements etc) but I havent decided yet. I want to achieve a very lean physique….leaner than I’ve ever been, but I dont want to be on a competition diet….I want, no I need fresh fruits, cold cereal in my regular diet, as well as pizza and chocolate occasionally

So, now begins my brainstorming and planning process….we’ll see what i come up with!

So last weekend was my final show for the time being. It went o.k. I placed 4th in the Open Figure Tall class. While I dont think I should have won, I also dont think 4th place was accurate either. But its over and I’m very happy for the break. The show itself was pretty interesting. Good competiton, friendly competitors & event staff…just not the best scheduling, well at least not from a Figure standpoint. Being the VERY last group to go on stage for the entire program made for an extremely long day. Figure was spreadout thru the entire show. Master’s at the beginning, Novice in the middle, and Open at the very end with Bodybuilding and Fitness between. Shows are long by nature, but a 3.5hr prejudging and a 5hr nightshow completely drained me phyically & emotionally.

Anyhow, it was nice to have a lot of family and friend support. Thank goodness my good friend Emily tagged along with me all day. I’m pretty good about entertaining myself, but 12hrs is a bit much. I think being a "new face" at a show/organization that I’d never competed for before hurt me again, but the only way to change that is to keep competiting…..and thats something I’m not sure of. I may compete this fall at 1 or 2 shows or I might just hang up my hooker shoes till next year.

For now, I’m enjoying eating again and working out for fun. My morning runs are so much more enjoyable now and much easier with carbs in my system!!