I knew that I would have to work really really really hard to achieve the body that these girls had. So from that moment on I decided I was absolutely going to do one. No ands, ifs, or buts.
Well being the freshmen that I was, I wanted to do this competition but I made a million excuses on why I couldn’t do it. Dining hall, not enough time, Blah blah blah. Then my junior and senior year came and went and here I am. I am always reading into this competition stuff and learning as much as I can but I wasn’t doing anything about it.
“To run, you have to run.” –Great point. I know how to do this stuff but why haven’t I tried it?
Ok so here we go, I am going to do one. I am tired of making excuses. I have a million excuses I could make right now. I have two jobs, 19 credit hours, a long distance boyfriend that I am traveling to go see, friends and a million other reasons. I don’t care this is important to me so I WILL and can do this. The only idiot holding me back now is me, right?
So here is my journey so far
Diet:
This is key. So very very important. You CANNOT out train a bad diet! You just can’t. This is the biggest hurdle of this all. You think it’s easy, I mean crap I am getting my major in this and I have made it my life but it is a very hard thing to do. It is all about learning your body because my body doesn’t work like your body. So I have to figure out what works for my body. This is trial and error and I am learning each and every day. Of course I have read a lot into the diets that people go on during their training but some of the things I just don’t agree with.
“Fat burns in the fire of Carbohydrate.” Low carb dieting is very popular but I refuse to cut out all of my carbohydrates. It goes against everything that I have ever learned. So I focus on nutrient timing. I need to fuel my muscles so I want to consume carbohydrate around the time of my workout (like fruit, oatmeal, sweet potatoes or a protein shake). I look at it as whatever I eat before I workout my muscles will burn, so I don’t stress it. Also I picture my muscles like little starving people after my workout so they just chow down on whatever I give them. Sooo I do have a little bit of a secret. If I am craving something, like let’s say chocolate? Well this is the time to eat that (after an hour and a half training session). My muscles will feed off the carbs first so whatever I put in my body will be burned. Then after my glycogen stores are replenished (your muscles source of energy) then it will absorb the protein to build the muscle. So you NEED carbohydrate to build muscle people. Don’t abuse your body- feed it and it will do you good.
I also have been eating a lot of vegetables, fish, and healthy fats. I am kind of sick of chicken so I am doing a little extra lean ground turkey this week and maybe a few veggie burgers I got from the North Market. Ill post more about exactly what I eat in later posts.
Bumps in the road
Well this is when it gets depressing. So I walked into Victoria Secrets the other day to get measured and I didn’t get any good news in the boob department. Wahhh. (Sigh) Its official I am an A cup. I ordered my baiting suit a couple months ago and I definitely missed the memo about the size of the bikini top. When I got it in the mail I think it maybe covered 1/8th of my boob. So I had to start all over. Now I’m set. Just a few alterations here n there.
-Yeah I have to learn to walk in these. That should be interesting...
Traveling. Big big problem. If you haven’t put two n two together, my boyfriend lives in the Boston area and I live in Athens = one million miles away. I try my best to eat healthy but when most of my meals are out to eat or at the airport then it makes my life a little difficult. This is definitely the hardest part. I actually snuck in a protein bar to the football stadium so that I had something to eat during the game Sunday. Don’t tell on me.
Learning. I have been reaching out to a lot of competitors asking them what they do and that has been a huge help. But a lot of people keep their secrets on lock and key. I know there are some very unhealthy ways to do this and I am just not going down that road. I will get to where I want to be my way. Mostly people share with me what they did wrong and they are encouraging me to keep my positive outlook and proceed the way that I am going.
Support
My boyfriend is one of the only people that actually kind of get’s what I am going through. He is the one that told me not to be afraid of doing more weight and he has put me through some pretty rough workouts. I actually text him every day when I am done with the gym and he cheers me on to work harder. Not gonna lie, he inspires me to work so hard and I am so happy that I have him in my life. He even said that he will go to the grocery store for me so that when I come to visit him that I don’t have to stress about eating out. Nate hates the grocery store. He knows how important this is to me so he is willing to help me in every way that he can and that mean the world to me that he is supporting me in that way.
My best friend Danielle has actually been my kick in the a$$. I was suppose to compete the first weekend in October but since its one of the only times I can see Nate I choose to go to his game instead. Well I almost gave up. She was the one that told me that I WAS going to do it. She has been my best friend ever since freshmen year of college and she understands what I have gone through to get where I am today. Yesterday she put it in a great way – “It’s actually how you already live your life but to the extreme, so it won’t be that bad.”
I am so happy to have family and friends behind me supporting me. My cousin Lori and Sister Candice told me they would help me apply my tan and get ready also which is a huge help. The only thing that is hard is that I want to participate in all these nights out and dinners and holiday events that I have made it my goal to never let this get in the way of my relationships with the people that I love. Plus wine has antioxidants so what’s one glass?
It’s a marathon not a sprint, and I am learning every step of the way. I will let everyone know as I am coming closer to the event. Thank you to all who support me and I hope I have inspired someone to step out and go for their dream. I will end with this:
Never let anything hold you back.
Love always,
Chelsey
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