Learn From My Mistakes

This whole figure-competition-process is interesting, if nothing else.


Let me share a few things I've learned over the past six weeks.


1. It is a bad idea to drink green tea immediately before a 90-minute posing class. You are going to have to pee immediately, but not badly enough to walk across the entire gym in five-inch stripper heels and a bikini. 


2. Likewise, taking a posing class full of competitors who are 9 weeks leaner than you kind of sucks. I mean, it's really hard not to compare yourself to other people when you're all, well, half nekkid. You may or may not need to remind yourself that if you looked like them, you would be peaking like two months too early.


3. Don't live and die by the scale. You'd think I would have learned that by now, right? Apparently not. In these two pictures, my weight is precisely 0.5lb different:

I was freaking out all week because the scale wasn't moving, but then I took my progress pictures and remembered that the scale isn't everything.


4. Refeeds are amazing. Thanks to my pre-contest diet, which is getting me amazing results and is fabulous for my hair and skin (my hair has never once been half this shiny! Thank you, olive oil!), I have not had simple, sugary carbs in quite a while. My only carbs for the past 6 weeks have been sweet potatoes, apples/oranges, and beans. (No rice for me. Gross.) Saturday, I got to have a refeed. Let me tell ya - cereal, bagels, and cinnamon rolls taste 10,000x more amazing when you haven't had them for a while!


5. You will spend lots of time analyzing your physique. 

 

You will get better at making your analysis more businesslike and less personal.

Those are the major lessons thus far. I'll keep you guys updated as I figure more of this contest prep thing out. ;-)