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2 Days Out and Em's Post Comp Blog

2 DAYS OUT!

One of the last things I mentioned in my previous blog was adding in 3 non-fat days to get my weight down for the weight in. On my third non-fat day in a row, although I loved the mental challenge of it all, it did start to become draining as I had so many things to organise with very little energy, and minimal brain function. The thought of my carb day on the Friday was one of the main things getting me through these days. Every morning I would message McNally with my weight and although I hate using scales, in this case it was necessary for he could monitor my food intake leading up to the day. I think I’ve managed to weight myself more over 4 days then I would in a month’s time as I practically lived on the scales and every time my weight went down I jumped around the kitchen like a little girl. Over the three days my weight dropped from 59.2kg (before non-fat days) to 58.4kg, 57.8kg, and 57.4kg. On Thursday when I send Luke my weight he had to make the call whether I could carb load or not on the Friday. And unlucky for me, it was ANOTHER non-fat instead. Carbs wouldn’t work for as I would have been too heavy to make the weight restriction (57kg).

As I prepped my non-fat meals for another day, the thought of getting results was what got me through it, and surprisingly it wasn’t even that bad and I felt better not carb loading anyway.

Those four days where pretty humorous though and there where many times where my partner just stopped and laughed at me for not making any sense. He would also double check absolutely everything I was doing and luckily he did otherwise I might have managed not to pack my heels, tanning product, bikini and clothes for the photo shoots. However, there was one thing he forgot to remind me about and that was to pack ‘normal’ clothing for after the comp (maybe he did this on purpose), so it was a cold couple of days for me afterwards. Brr!

After getting settled in to our apartment and relaxing on the Friday I still managed to avoid practising my routine and decided that I would just hope for the best when it was time to get up on stage. I didn’t get any sleep that night because I was so nervous and a million thoughts of falling over in my heels and not making the weight in were going through my head. I was also pretty excited to be shooting with the Miss and Mass crew with Charles Lowthian so that didn’t help at all with sleep.

Saturday morning, the morning of the weight in… where things started to get a little more real! I was sitting around 56.6kg so what I ate for breaky was very limited so I wouldn’t go over 57kg. My little breakfast included 50g of kangaroo mince, 50g of blueberries and a tablespoon of macadamia oil. I had to hold off my next meal till after the weight in and I made weight at 56.7kg! I also totally forgot I was in public for this weigh in and just like I was at home, I jumped around the registration tables like a little girl.. No one seemed to laugh though, unless they were just being nice and laughed when I left the room ;)

I was absolutely thrilled to make the weight as it wasn’t easy for me. I literally worked my butt off getting there so just making that weight was an achievement in itself, I was already a winner J

That day was an incredibly long day but I got all my essential fats back with my meals so I was thrilled to have some more flavour. I didn’t necessarily get to carb load on this day either; Luke was cautious and didn’t want me to ‘spill over’ with too many carbs. So in-between each meal I had 40g of Waxy Maize Starch with water to drink.

Throughout this whole time I was also loading up on water, I started on 4L a day and increased the amount each until I reach 7L. I stopped drinking water before bed on Saturday night and on Sunday morning I woke up and it was like I was a completely different person. I came up really hard and dry in the morning and it looked awesome! I love seeing how my body changes every day leading up to show time. My body continued to change throughout the day and I didn’t step on stage till later in the afternoon so McNally timed every so perfect!

SHOW TIME!!!

It’s actually quite funny walking backstage for the first time. It felt as though all the competitors had a disease and we all had to be held in isolation with all the plastic on the walls (for the tan). This, along with half naked competitors getting their ‘pump on’ backstage made it all felt so surreal. Sometimes I would even just gaze around the room admiring the hard work people put into their physique, their posing and their costumes.

When it came to lining up for our routines, I’ve never been so nervous in my life! I think I even remember asking the organiser backstage if he had a bucket. My heart was racing, I was questioning myself and there where many times where I just wanted to leave, and go to the place where I feel most comfortable, back to the gym! However after a quick pep talk from my amazing backstage helper (my handsome man lol) and an encouraging visit from my awesome coach, I start to calm down… a little.

Getting up on stage was a completely new thing to me… I think the bigger I smiled, the more nervous I actually was. Once the music started though, I took a deep breath in and just went for it and I absolutely loved every second of it! Being up on stage in front of your friends, family, sponsor and your coach and showing them just how hard you’ve worked to get there is one of the most fulfilling, amazing and rewarding feelings you could ever imagine.

I know it’s corny and I’ve said it before but to me I was already a winner just by stepping up on that stage! It’s taken me almost two years of serious training and being too critical on myself to get there and I finally did it! I can now proudly say that I’ve achieved my goal I set out to do and cannot wait to do it all over again! To me the line-up was incredibly difficult, being up on stage and feeling like the ‘baby’ of the group next to all those conditioned athletes was a dream come true. I was so surprised and utterly thrilled that I placed 3rd in that line up of amazing ladies!

Even though the two cardio sessions a day where tedious, and my schedule became extremely busy I absolutely loved every part of it from the day I started my ‘cutting’ phase to the day I stepped on stage. There was only one thing I found hard through this whole journey and that was having enough hours in the day to fit it all in and spend quality time with my man. I don’t know how ladies like Angie Moore (who have children and fulltime jobs) fit everything in… They must wear a ‘wonder women’ costume underneath there normal clothes every day!

To sum up everything in the last 15 weeks by saying it was an amazing experience is an understatement. I had so much support from so many people, attained some amazing results, met so many amazing people and learnt so much along the way. I responded so well to my diet and training regime, my sleeping and mood improved and I loved seeing my body change from week to week as I got leaner and leaner. In saying this though, I much prefer to have a bit more weight on me and I definitely wouldn’t want to be ‘stage lean’ all year round. Not because I felt unhealthy because that’s not the case, and Luke made sure of it that I didn’t take unhealthy measures to get my weight down. Personally, I just felt so small and fragile being so lean, I much prefer to sit around my normal weight (approx 65kg) over anything else!J

A BIG THANK YOU...

There are so many people that have helped me in my journey along the way and I could not have done it without their support.

My amazing partner for telling me I was muscley when I felt like I was shrinking and saying I looked lean when I was holding water, you poor thing! None of this would have happened without your encouragement, love and support, telling me to believe in myself and backing my every move.

My sponsor Mass-Nutrition and awesome coach Luke McNally for believing in me and guiding me every step of the way! Thanks to Luke my prep was so incredibly easy and everything was timed so perfectly. Not once did I breakdown or have uncontrollable cravings. Luke was able to somehow tune into how my body works and actually managed to level out my hormones and make me a better person mentally as well as physically. I’m excited and looking forward to working with Luke in the future and couldn’t have asked for a better coach! He’s now stuck with me!

Larissa Trickey aka the mother of Mass Nutrition/Miss Nutrition, for her ongoing support, putting my face out there and giving me the opportunity to encourage others!

My family for their endless support!

Jo Rogers for amazing posing lessons, Sue McLauren for making me look a million dollars over the whole weekend and Lyn from Body Shaping Basics for saving me in the bikini department!

All the Mass and Miss athletes for being so down to earth easy to get along with and encouraging.

Josh Watkin for being my supplement delivery man when I needed waxy maize pronto and his beautiful girlfriend Dani Schuller for my amazing tan!

Charles Lowthian so some amazing photos the day before and backstage.

Dallas Olsen also for another set of amazing photos the day after.

Tegan Campbell (my gorgeous friend and training buddy) for making me feel as though I needed to keep up with her strength in the gym. What a women!!!

Friends, for putting up with me when I continuously told them I couldn’t make that dinner date or party!

Wow, now that’s a lot of people! It just goes to show that by surrounding yourself with like-minded, positive, and genuine people you can really shine and achieve your dreams! J