I wrote a post in November announcing that I was going to chase one of my dreams (read it HERE). My dream to enter a figure competition. A lot has happened since then. So much has been going on that I haven’t even updated much on social media.

I did send in my form. I sent it in time to receive my free competition tank top! YAY!! I wear it so proud at the gym.

I am still a little nervous about everything but more confient and there’s lots of excitement jumping around inside me!!

I can’t believe I am going to get on a stage just to show off my body in a bikini. That’s so not like me.

But I am believing in myself more than ever before. And I am doing things that I never thought I could do. I push myself harder in the gym than I have in a long, long time. I actually feel younger. I feel like the old me. The me before I had kids.

Well, I signed up before the Holidays. One would think that would keep me from reaching for the wine and treats. But it didn’t. Well, I didn’t eat like I normally would have and I tracked my food more than I have in Holiday Season pasts. But I still had wine and treats.

It was hard to get my mind into the competition. I guess it wasn’t real to me yet.

I started out thinking I was going to train myself. I wanted to train myself either the whole time or until a couple months out. And actually I did that for the most part. I was consistent with my lifting, somewhat consistent with my nutrition, especially considering the Holidays, but my cardio and abs were nonexistent.  I knew I needed more cardio and abs and I knew my nutrition needed tightened up. I knew what I needed. I needed accountability. I needed some tough love!

You see, I have a ton of support! I am so grateful for all the support and motivation I receive from friends at work, friends through text messages, my private Facebook group and social media friends. However, everyone is so nice. Too nice. When I miss a workout or eat a cookie, instead of getting the ‘that’s not helping you reach your goals’ kind of motivation, I get the ‘you are always so good, you deserve it, let it go’ kind of encouragement. That’s not doing me any good. It’s very nice. But it’s not getting me stage ready.

So I started to search for a coach. I wanted to female coach that I felt comfortable with and confident in. I message a few ladies that I know, who gave me other names of ladies and so on. Actually I got turned down by a local girl. She didn’t look at my progress pictures or asked me any questions. She just said I was too close to the show for her to take me on as a client. She only starts with women who are 20 weeks for farther from their show. I was 13 weeks when I messaged her.

Then, thank heavens, I heard back from Stephanie. She has her Pro Card. She has a killer body. And when I showed her picture to my husband he said, ‘she is going to kick your ass.’ I was ready for it though!! Ever since I started having serious GI issues I hadn’t worked out like I used to. I hadn’t had the energy to really have a good workout. A workout that depleted me, yet gave me energy and that ‘runners high’. I started feeling better and I started to crave that feeling.

Anyway, she was so kind even before I committed to her. She asked me a million questions, about my current nutrition, my current fitness regime, asked for progress pictures and even gave me suggestions and recommendations before she was my coach. She was confident in her ability to coach me from where my physic was at that point. And to make it all better, she was willing to make my diet according to my GI issues (you can learn more about my GI issues HERE). I filled out her client questionnaire on a Thursday and has a game plan that weekend. The following Monday I was pumped and ready to kick my own butt!!! The workouts looked crazy hard but I didn’t mind. My plan was to just start. Start and chip away at each exercise.

That was about 4 weeks ago and the best money I have ever spent on myself!

Stay tuned in and I’ll share with you about my suit, workouts, nutrition, struggles, victories and more!