Competition Prep: Month 1

Hey there!

So I am officially 1 month into my competition prep for my second figure competition. It is flying by! This time during my prep I want to share more about my journey with training. I get asked a lot what that entails and people see my progress photos, but there is so much more to it than eating and weightlifting.

Deciding to compete in any body building show is never an easy one. Sure, it's easy in the sense of saying "Yes! I want to do that!" but you have to be emotionally, mentally, and physically prepared to take on the challenge. You can eat right and workout all you want, but if you don't have a strong mind you will fail.

I say that because there are going to be days when you don't feel like working out, the last thing you want to do it go hit the gym for the second time that day, you want to enjoy HH with your friends, you want to go out for an indulging Valentine's day dinner with your love, you want to say f*ck it and eat the cookie....but not on my watch. All of those things are temporary. At the end of your competition prep you have to decide was that cookie really worth it or is bringing your best package to the stage worth it? 

If you know me you know I LOVE to bake! I bake food network recipes (Check out my Food Network edition of A Muffin A Month), Pinterest recipes, and sometimes recipes I create. Bringing treats to work, baking for my Fiance or for my girlfriends at bible study and seeing them enjoy the treat makes it so worth it to me! I get asked all the time "How can you bake, but you not eat it?" Easy. I just don't eat it. I ask myself is this one second of bliss worth it in the end? Usually it's not. And I have the best live in taste tester in the world..he gladly steps up to the plate.

This will be my 3rd time in prep. My first time was in 2017 when I competed in the Beachbody Classic. My second time was in 2018 when I was in prep for 8 months and competed in two shows: the Beachbody Classic and my first OCB show the Presidential Cup. This time my prep is 4 months and I will be competing in 2 shows back to back: one in Richmond, VA and one in Catonsville, MD. I had 4 months off in between seasons, but I am confident I made progress! 

This time my prep is a little different as I am counting my macros instead of doing portion control. I have to say its been fun tracking my food in My Fitness Pal and learning about macros and how it interacts with my body. My nutrition plan is to eat 1700 calories a day with 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. According to my fitness pal, that is 236g of protein, 142g of carbs, and 42g of fat. I usually have calories left over at the end of the day and it is rare I get 236g of protein in a day, but I do my best at the end of the day to get that 50%P, 30%C, and 20%F. Also, I learned what "IIFYM" means --> If It Fits Your Macros. Sometimes we can be like "oh this deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwich fits into my macros for the day.." yeah girl that ain't how it works! :-) You have to fuel yourself with the GOOD food to get the results you want. I may or may not be sick of eating chicken, egg whites, tilapia, and tuna at this point......but that's for another day!

My workout regime is HIIT on the stair master (or just HIIT) 2 to 3 times a week for no more than 20 minutes, I work each body part once a week (especially legs...only once because ya girl got thick thighs) and back and shoulders twice a week. My feedback from the judges last year was that my shoulders and back needed to they grow more so my body will be more symmetrical and my core needed to be "harder." Lastly abs, every...single....day. 100 reps of leg lifts, 100 reps of Russian twists, and 100 reps of crunches/sit ups. Yes, you did the math correctly. That is 300 ab reps a day. Like I said you have to put work in.

One month into prep and I have lost 5-6lbs. Most of that was bloat and weight I gained over the holidays. I was at 145lbs when I started prep on January 1, 2019, and I am currently at 138-139. My body feels most comfortable at 136ish so I was behind going into prep since I gained some weight over the holidays, but I am not stressing! That's another important thing with competing --> don't stress! Stressing is going to take the joy out of the journey. You have to want to do this to be a better person, to see what you're made of, and to test your willpower and determination. 

I am looking forward to the next 13 weeks and having you along for the ride! If you have a question, write me a comment! I love sharing with others what I have learned and learning from others.

3 Day Refresh

Some of you may be wondering what the heck is a 3 Day Refresh? It is an extended weekend getaway, is it a trip to the spa, is it a meditation thing? If you thought it was any of those things you would be wrong.

The 3 Day refresh is a 3 day plant based detox to help rid your body of the gunk that you put into on a regular basis! Even if you eat really healthy and clean you body could still use a reset every once in a while. The detox can help get your GI track back on track, rid you of a weekend, or months (AKA holidays), of food binges, and help you feel good again.

I wanted to do the 3 Day Refresh (3DR) since August 2018! I just came out of my competition season and even though I ate really clean I always have GI issues after a season. Low and behold I kept putting it off and off and off. By the time I remembered to do it it was almost Thanksgiving so I decided to wait until after our trip to NYC the first weekend in December. Another week went by after that and I found myself in mid-December thinking "why do it now? I will just wait until after the holidays to get a real good cleaning." 

What really influenced to do a 3DR was I was SO unhappy with how I felt in my skin. Coming out of competition season I was at my lowest of 118lbs and over the 4 months I got back up to my normal weight and plus some. I feel most comfortable around 135-137lbs and before my 3DR I was sitting at 145lbs. NO WONDER all of my clothes felt tight on me. Getting dressed every morning was self-defeating because I would try and pick out the loosest clothes so I didn't feel like a stuffed sausage. Also, I was CONSTANTLY tired and drinking multiple cups of coffee throughout the day just to feel energized. I knew something needed to change.

On January 1, 2019 I got my junk together and decided to commit to going back into competition prep. The 4 days leading up to the 3DR I started portioning what I ate and cut out all excess sugar. I ended up losing 3lbs right before I did the 3DR. I was SO excited because I knew the 3DR would help me to continue my weight loss and feel SO much better! Luckily, my fiance committed to doing the refresh with me so we were in it together! 

The 3 Day Refresh is comprised of eating fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, protein shakes, and a fiber sweep (to get the GI track moving if ya know what I mean). Plus hot tea and lots and lots of water. The 3DR is great compared to other detoxes where you're on a juice diet, or something similar, because they're often filled with excess amounts of sugar which can leave you feeling drained; with the 3DR you get to eat food!

The Recap:

Saturday, Day 1- We were both excited! We drank a lot of water, but we were definitely feeling it. Our energy did feel a little low because we were eating way less than usual (average of around 800-1000 calories a day on the 3DR). We both had headaches (normal with a detox) and we went to bed early because we were tired. But we stuck with it!

Sunday, Day 2- We woke up ready for the day! Both us of had a little, little headache, but nothing like the day before. We both felt more focused and at times we did get hugry, but we overcame that with being aware of why we were hungry, we really just needed water. I had a couple of trips to the bathroom, which is a good thing. Sorry, not sorry for TMI we are talking about detoxes here!

Monday, Day 3- Neither of us woke up feeling exhausted which is a rarity for us. This was also a work day for us so we thought we would have some challenges. However, we both were super focused at work and I felt very alert, even with no coffee! I told my co-workers what I was doing and they were supportive to not temp me with treats. 

Tuesday- RESULTS DAY!! This is when the real effects were felt. I woke up right when my alarm went off (I usually hit the snooze button). I woke up feeling so refreshed and ready for the day. I felt lighter and my mind was clearer. One of the best things was putting on my workout pants that morning and NOT feeling stuffed into them! Also, the whole week at work I was super productive and focused..yeah I credit that to the refresh. 

Overall I lost 1.6lbs, 1 inch off my waist, and 3/4 inch off my hips. I felt lighter, clear headed, alert, and renewed. I felt happier and not so weighed down by my bloat.

Albert (Fiance) lost 8lbs!! He felt more alert and level headed, less exhausted, he felt his "front fat" as he calls it was less and he could get up off the couch easier without groaning about it. 

The 3DR helped jump start my weight loss from the holidays and set me on a good path as I head into my competition season. Albert committed because he knew something needed to change and this would help him start making healthy choices again. The 3DR can be there for whatever you need it to be, whether it's helping you make healthy choices again, jump starting weight loss, or a bi-monthly tune up. You can't go wrong!

If you want more information about the 3DR or to get access to my 3DR accountability group comment on this post or email me at blairae21@gmail.com!