Post Event is a strange time in any circumstances. Think about the last time that you worked and planned and implemented something big in your life - a party, a holiday, moving house, a conference .... whatever took you a lot of energy to complete. And then think about the time immediately following that event. It can sometimes leave you feeling a variety of emotions; exhausted, glad it's over, lost, empty or even feeling a little sad that you no longer have such a big thing to focus on.
So how does it feel to finally complete this 9 month long journey? Maybe a bit of all of the above. Some feelings are stronger than others and I'll go into that more soon. However I have to say from the outset, I have such a lovely and happy life that I am feeling very content being back doing what I love to do most, and that is; being a Mum, being a wife, playing at Bootcamp, training my PT clients and hanging out with friends. I haven't fully appreciated the energy needed to hit the bigger housework jobs that need doing..but I'm sure that will come.....maybe.
So let's get more specific;
The Food & Body
I can't really split these two because they go hand in hand. But the more common question I get pertains to food and what I'm doing with it these days. I've told you already that I had the world's biggest sugar splurge on the competition night, and the Monday was also a food frenzy. By Monday night my gut had definitely had enough! And to those who said to me, "Don't worry about it! You deserve it!" You are unequivocally and completely wrong!! No one.... NO ONE!!! .... 'deserves' to eat that way. Sorry but that's the truth. There's a name for it and it's BINGING. It's unhealthy for the mind and worse for the body and it's something I would aim to conquer next time. (Did I just say 'next time'????).
So, come Tuesday, I realised that I needed to get onto some sort of even food keel which means for me, a written plan that lines up with my current goals. So I trawled the internet and came up with a carb-cycling plan that simply involves days where carbs feature in a high, low or zero fashion. It means the body keeps guessing about what it's being fed and there is less chance of falling into a plateau. Do I sound anal and controlling? Yep, thought so. Do I care? Na. I am who I am.
To be honest, I couldn't eat less that 6 times a day anymore if I tried. I wake up hungry, I leave the gym in the morning hungry, I am hungry on cue at about 2pm, then it's 'Shake Time' at about 5pm, dinner falls not a moment too soon at about 8pm, and by 10.30pm my tummy is rumbling with a late night protein fix. I'm hooked on this way of eating and it would now be too foreign to me to eat three square meals - plus, I don't really believe this is the best way to go with food.
As for this body of mine - I am forever grateful at what it's been through and how it serves me. I'm totally serious about that. Three happy pregnancies, three quick, drama-free births, and three lovely feeding years. It's been through years of yo-yo dieting, weight has gone on quickly and destructively, and has been reduced in some very scary ways over the years too. This year I made a decision to honour this body and treat it in a careful and loving way so as to train hard but keep intact. It worked. Thank goodness I found a trainer who also thought this was the way to go. No major dehydrating, no huge salt issues - just a strict but fair regime that got us results.
So I'm happy with my everyday food. It's very clean....maybe I should share it in the interests of being very honest. I know it opens me up to criticism but I'll take that on the chin;
Full Carb Day
Breakfast: Oats + Protein Shake
M/Tea: Lentils & Tuna & Salad
Lunch: Chicken & Brown Rice & Veges/Salad
A/Tea: Protein Shake & Nuts
Dinner: Protein (chick/fish/lean red meat) & Veges/Salad
Supper: Whey Protein (slow acting for night recovery)
That's a full carb day and a zero carb day means just that - zero carbs - much more protein and a bit of carbs in the green veges. I'm less strict than I was and am finding a whole lot of different ways to prepare the above. I'm also open to swapping the carbs for other sources eg; mountain bread, quinoa, various noodles, cous cous, bulghur etc. Just that these meals will predominantly feature in the early and middle part of the day rather than dinner.
So what happened to the body straight after competition? I would estimate that I put on 2kgs in the first day after comp. Why? Water, salt & carbs. Was that hard for me? Not at all. I am old enough to appreciate that a stage look is not realistic. It's the same as a cover model looking glammed up with hair flowing in the wind - it's just for show and not real. So it is for a physique competitor - stripped and dehydrated and carb-depleted for that one day on stage. It's a fantastic feeling, but food and water is much more important than carrying that feeling on!!
So a week later I finally hit the scales and, while very scared to do so, I was pleasantly surprised at the number. I have decided on a weight that I want to stick to for now and it gives me a lead-way of about 6kg from competition weight (won't tell you what that is because I know how people get a bit hooked on numbers!). My everyday weight will stay down about 3-4kg from when I started out in Jan this year but I'm happy with that and feel that I needed to make that move to get leaner. No desire to go right back to where I started.
And if I didn't mention to you (spoke to just about everyone about it!!), my body reacted really, really badly to the sudden influx in carbs and I retained water terribly!! My feet, lower legs and ankles puffed up to a point where I couldn't even flex my foot!!! They didn't hurt at all but felt awfully uncomfortable. That coupled with my peeling fake tan and my feet were disgusting to the eye!!! If nothing else steered me into good food and decent training - it was catching sight of my own feet!!!
Training
My thoughts on training was to finish the comp and have a nice relaxing break while I decided on my next training path. I initially thought I'd take a week, or maybe even two, off training.
Comp was on Sunday. By Tuesday Morning I was in the gym doing a solid chest workout and, over the past week, have done 7 heavy resistance and 3 good cardio sessions!!! So I lasted about 30 hours in full rest mode. I'm hooked on feeling so energetic and can't quite believe how the supplements aid in my recovery.
I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN - IF ANYONE TELLS YOU THAT SUPPLEMENTS DON'T HELP WITH TRAINING AND RECOVERY - THEY ARE BULLSHITTING YOU!!! Rant over.
I'm extremely excited at my new focus and I can't seem to slow down in my rush to get there! Major personality defect - impatient!!! I want to see changes and I want to see them now! I have pictures and people that are sporting the shape I want and I'm trying to mimic their training styles! Unfortunately I know way too much about muscles meaning I know there is no short cut. The only thing that will get me there is consistency to my approach, and a tried and true training method that is designed with my goals in mind. Quite simple. Pick a goal, pick a method, and do it. Do it again and again and again and again and don't stop. Change the exercises and the routines, but don't change your commitment to the program. This is where most go wrong.
And don't think that every day in the gym will be one full of enthusiasm and excitement. Some days it'll be that. Other days it'll be a job that needs to be done. Softies will tell you that, if you feel like crap, don't go. Healthy, fit people will tell you that these are the days you have to put emotions behind you and get the job done. Always take advice from someone you want to be like. Don't take gym advice from a couch potato or someone who doesn't sport the qualities you want. That's just not wise.
So it's full steam ahead. And I'm fully excited and rearing to get going!!!!!
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