Woman Vs. Food

Let's talk food. Not diets, not nutrition, but food and all of it's associations.

Food is often the center of all social events- Holidays, family's who eat dinner together, wedding receptions and birthday parties .Food has the power to brings people together- Old friends having lunch, business meetings at a cafe, cookies and tea at a church get together.

We all know when dieting social situations arise where it becomes harder to abide by "the plan" and not be tempted by the food so easily accessible. While you socialize seeing others around you fill their plates and their bodies with food outside of your food regimen, you suddenly have urges to give into it too.

Here are some steps to follow that will work in most situations:

Step 1- Eat before you come- this way you are not going to be craving food you aren't supposed to have as much. The hungrier you are the worse your cravings will be!

Step 2- Tell others about your plan! If friends or family members know that you are on a plan they are less likely to keep asking you if you want their food! This will not only make you not want to give in (as they will know you would be cheating :) ) BUT it will keep them from badgering you.

Step 3- Bring something healthy! If you are going to an event bring along something that fits into your plan that everyone can enjoy! This way you are not left out of the festivities, you are contributing to the event AND best of all you won't be as tempted by the other foods around you!

If you are attending an event such as a sit down dinner at a restaurant try to prepare beforehand. Most restaurants now have menus online- if you know where you are going look up options so that you are ready to order with the best possible choice in mind. By choosing beforehand you will not make a snap judgment based on hunger or temptation. Remember ALWAYS BE PREPARED! :)

If you are attending a pre- ordered food event. Make the best selection possible and ask for your food to be prepared without butter or creamy sauces- it never hurts to say you have an allergy- this way the chef will be extra cautious as to how your food is prepared.

Stay positive! Be proud that you are sticking you YOUR plan despite all of the temptations around you. Not everyone can do what you are doing and not everyone will understand but remember you are doing this for YOU and their opinions are far less important than YOUR GOALS!

Couting My Blessings

When preparing to compete we all focus on standing on stage holding that trophy but rarely think of how we may react when we are not recognized as winners. Tyler told me once that a competition isn’t the place where you win, you win every day in the gym a show is just the place you go to pick up your trophy.

At about 16 weeks out my agenda had started to look more like a show preparation journal with weeks to go at the top of each Saturday, workouts scheduled into time slots and scribbles of ideas in the margins. This is my passion. These last 16 weeks of show prep have totally consumed my life. My family, my friends and even my clients knew which week I was on and how much weight I had left to loose at most points during my journey.

As many of you know I opened the training studio Body Revival with Tyler in June. Getting this off the ground was time consuming and stressful. The studio had to be renovated before we could start using the space. Floors had to be redone, walls dry walled and painted etc. We had both put in our two week notice to Premier, in order to be done two weeks before our studio opened. The renovations were to be done that week so we could begin setting up equipment. Unfortunately as things like this usually go the studio wasn’t ready on time. The floors weren’t refinished and we still had to put down rubber mats before we could even pick up the equipment from Ottawa and set up.

Where did this put me in my show prep? I had no gym to work out at! I had come this far and I wasn’t giving up- Tyler and I set up cardio circuits in my basement using the equipments we had, I ran outside I even got a day pass for another gym in town. This was NOT going to be the reason I fell behind in my prep.

One week later the floors were done but the bathroom wasn’t. It was time- Tyler and my dad traveled to Ottawa to get the equipment and loaded it into the gym. I couldn’t wait- we finally had a treadmill I could get back to my cardio on! Tyler plugged it in and we were surprised to see that it didn’t work!Our gym was to open in one week and our main source of cardio equipment was broken! Luckily one of my amazing clients had given us an elliptical so I was able to use that instead.

There I was eleven at night after a hectic day on little carbohydrates stressed to the max doing cardio! The gym was not ready to workout in yet, there was drywall dust everyone! I can tell you I wanted to give up right there but I had come too far. This was NOT going to be the reason I fell behind in my prep. That week we stressed about what to do and tried to get the company to pick up the treadmill so we could afford a new one. No luck. I continued to do my workouts on the elliptical morning and evening while Tyler set up equipment and cleaned the gym- weight workouts were not an option this week.

We ended up bringing the treadmill back and purchasing a brand new one (that worked!) just in time for our first day open. We had a busy week promoting our open house. We handed out flyers all over town trying to get raffle prizes for our grand opening. We still had to decorate the gym with our trophies, hang photos- all of the minor things that still had to be done! The work seemed endless! Days seemed to pass to quickly and we were constantly questioning whether the gym would be ready for an open house. Most times I wasn't able to do cardio until eleven at night when we had finished working. These days my body wanted to give up but my mind didn't get it the option.

More setbacks occurred of course – Our power went out during one of my final workouts… I kept going- I skipped and did a cardio circuit in the dark. The next day I dragged by butt to the biggest hill in town and ran hill sprints. Don’t forget I was on 1.5 ounce of carbohydrates at this point but there was no stopping me.

At every workout, every meal and every day of my show prep my main goal was to have no regrets when I stood on that stage in June

Nothing I could have said

Nothing I would have done differently

Nothing I didn’t like about the way my body turned out

Nothing else I could have done to be more prepared

When I arrived in Toronto I felt ready because I knew I put every bit of energy and determination I had into this show. I didn’t make excuse when the opportunities for them arose but used them as fuel to do something better and work harder.

The day had finally arrived- there I was backstage in the tall class line up waiting to step onstage. I felt excited and couldn’t wait to hit all of the poses I had practiced. Half of the reason I love competing so much is because I love being on stage! It is such a rush to walk out in front of a crowd and show off what you have worked so hard to achieve.

Off we went standing in a long line – we walked to the front and the back of the stage stopping twice to hold poses. The judge split us up into two lines on either side of the stage and began calling girls into the center.

5 numbers were called I waited anxiously but did not hear my number. I knew what this meant.. I hadn’t made top five call out and I most likely would not place. Feeling defeated I left backstage and met with Tyler. We both decided that we had not been on stage for enough time for the judges to make a fair vote. No one was called individually as they normally are, this gave us hope that the top five that were called might not be the top five chosen.

I relaxed and got excited for the evening show hoping to have some time alone on stage to prove to the judges what they had missed!

There I was standing in that same line up back stage waiting to go on. I was ready and excited to prove that I was meant to be in that top five. A volunteer of the show walked by the line up and I heard him say that the show was running behind and the scores for the morning were going to be all that mattered. My heart sank. All of my chances were gone – almost immediately we were put into our two lines and sent back onto the stage. My line was behind another so my family who came for the evening show could barely see me. After a few seconds on stage we were called off. The top five went back on. It was over- the show was done.

It was a feeling I was not prepared for it felt like I had lost control over the events in my life. I could not do any more workouts, practice any more poses or alter my diet any more to be more prepared. I had done everything I could to be ready it just wasn't what the judges were looking for.

It was that feeling you get when someone has passed away. As though a part of me had died. I walked slowly towards the dressing room trying to wrap my head around what had just happened. I had been defeated and this show was over. I was upset. I wanted nothing more than to stand on that stage and be recognized for what I had worked so hard for. Zoned out I recapped the events of those last 16 weeks that I had marked so carefully into my agenda. My chances for nationals were gone and if I were to enter this show again I would have to re qualify.

I took my suit off feeling ashamed to walk into the crowd wearing it after what had happened. I began to walk back to the venue where my family and Tyler would be waiting. As I exited backstage I remembered I would be getting my thank you bag for entering the show but once again all hopes were gone when I was told there wasn’t any left.

Walking through the doorway I became a little more upset and looked up to see Tyler standing right in front of me. Right away he grabbed me into a hug and I lost it- I had decided I was going to hold back the tears but there was no fighting them. I was also greeted by my dad, my mom, my brother and my best friend Melissa.

We went out for dinner - At the restaurant once again I tried to hold it together but there was no fighting the tears. Tyler took me outside for a pep talk. At this point it was not the placing I was upset about but the fact that I received little time on stage to show what I had. I felt ripped off and as though none of my hard work had been recognized. It was Tyler who convinced me I did this for myself not anyone else and that things don’t always go as planned. He was able to lift my spirits as he always does and back into the restaurant we went.

As my family made me laugh I became aware of just how blessed I was to have them there. Melissa stayed the night with Tyler and I at the hotel and we laughed, feasted having one of the best nights I have had in a long time. The next day Tyler my brother and I went to the zoo. I soon became aware of how lucky I am to have the people I do in my life.

Not only were these people there during my prep when I was grouchy and depleted but they often gave me pushes to continue. Many times Tyler had cooked my food or pushed me through a workout when I was too exhausted to motivate myself. My mom gave me hugs when she knew I needed them and Melissa was always there to give me the pep talk I needed to keep going. It amazes me that these people were able to make me have a good weekend full of laughs despite how hard the show had hit me. It is at those moments you realize that-

Sometimes you don't achieve what you set yourself up for but it is when you dont come out on top that you are able to relish in the blessings you already have ♥

A BIG THANK YOU TO TYLER BRENNAN, MELISSA DOHERTY and MY FAMILY <3 FOR ALWAYS BELIEVING IN ME AND MY DREAMS XO

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

When a competitor goes through contest prep the focal point is always the final week. It's in this week when everything starts to fall into place- it doesn't matter how hungry, how depleted or how ready to quit you are the end is in sight and the finale is about to take center stage.
What you loose physically in strength to be ready you gain mentally- I have learned what I am capable of, how stubborn I am and that I don't give up until I have achieved the goal that has been set in front of me.

Nothing you want as bad as this is ever easy and I would lie to say there hasn't been moments where I have been on the verge of saying “this is crazy I give up!” Instead of giving up when the temptation and the excuses were there I chose to push harder and this has made me not only a stronger competitor but a stronger person. How many times have you had a craving that you were able to say no to? Did the feeling of staying true to your goals feel better than the feeling of guilt would have? I have realized how short life is and how much more important my long term goals are then wanting something in a weak moment.

The truth is nothing feels better than standing on stage- not the food, not the parties you miss or the carefree life I could live. I like the strict lifestyle, the diet and the feeling that I accomplished something that took hard work but was able to give me passion.

Have you ever heard the saying “calm before the storm” I take competing as the opposite. The storm comes before things can become settled. The emotions, the tough workouts, the decline in energy all must happen before you can ride out the feeling of being ready and experience the joy of competing.
I have almost conquered the storm but first I have to survive my four days without carbohydrates- I have now reached the third day. On Wednesday I will be reintroduced to carbohydrates and be able to eat them right up until I step onstage. I have one more day of low energy, one more workout, one more day until I can say I survived- I did it. One more day until I can sit back and enjoy the calm and wait for my rainbow hoping to find my gold at the end :)