Post-Apocalypse: What happens after you do a fitness show? PART 2

So you put yourself through a strict and long process of dieting, exercise and transformation. You also jumped on that stage, overcame your fear of walking half naked in a sparkling bikini suit and you honestly look like one of those incredible models from the Oxygen magazines, yes you can even see the six pack you didn't even think you would ever in 5 lifetimes and you have your photos up on Facebook to prove it, YAY!

GREAT! YOU DID IT! Now what?

First of all, the intention of this post is to narrate to you my post-competition experience, or as my coach would say, the part where you re-learn what normal life means. Also, I will probably address some of the stories and possibly even myths that you have heard or even seen with your own eyes from people that have done such "ordeals".

The Forgotten Fitness Blog

I guess the first thing to address would be the reason why I haven't been posting that often.

Yes some things suffered during my contest preparation. Among those things were: friendships, social life, hobbies, art and illustration business, house cleaning and many many little things that kept piling on top of another. I literally turned a blind eye to many of these things, however sooner or later they have come, one by one, to bite me in the butt.

Among one of them of course is this blog. Week by week I've felt the guilt of not posting, partly because I know that I've built an audience of followers and I feel like I have let them down. But I also feel guilty towards myself because writing about my experience, helped me process it in a positive way. As I stopped writing, I noticed that a lot of the unprocessed information was turning into negative emotions and for the past couple of weeks I've had to readjust my attitude several times.

My Fitness Alter Ego is Born


The second thing I would like to address is: Do you get to keep the body? The answer: NO, most certainly NOT and trust me you would NOT want it either...

Top 3 OPA May 5th 2012

The body you see in the picture is probably ranging from a 9% to a 12% body fat. Post show, one of my tasks was to elevate this number for health and hormone balance reasons, meaning HEALTH COMES FIRST. The goal 17% - 19%. I came to learn and accept that my stage body is like a utopia, like an action super hero or a fantasy character that is only meant to exist and come out a couple of times a year for a short period of time. I even created a secret name for the body that looks like that and for the person that walks on stage. My fitness alter ego was born.

I am not going to lie to you, it is a scary thought letting go of this perfect body after you have worked so hard to earn it. The most scary part is when you keep asking yourself, how far back is it going to revert and how much control do I actually have over it. I guess my biggest fear is going back to my dark times, back in 2010 that looked like this:

And regardless of what I weighted and looked like, what I am most scared of is facing the depression and mental darkness that I experienced during those times.

Have I binged and exploded and how much weight have I gained?

The day after my competition I went for my favorite obsession YAME SUSHI, an all you can eat sushi buffet. Even though I didn't eat as much as on my best of times, my stomach hurt for the remaining of the day and night. Thankfully this prevented me from getting to a large pizza and a big Dairy Queen that I had originally planned to fill my belly with.

I am also thankful that post-show I actually had a reason to take care of my body. My coach had organized and booked a fitness photo-shoot. I would have made a fool of myself if I had shown up the day of the photo-shoot with a ruined body.

This kept me safe for an extra week!

Gerard Gregorio Photography © 2012

Then the next weekend came and the inevitable happened. My husband and I got invited to a cottage with some of our friends. We had bought a lot of healthy greens, proteins, fats and carbs, with the intentions of being on our best behavior.

For a moment, on the first day, I got distracted and my hand went over to some fried potatoes with cheese and this, my friends, was the beginning of the end. It was like the lid had fallen off my mouth and I couldn't put it back on. I just kept snacking nonstop for 3 days. I needed to try everything that looked different in size, color and texture.

The Walk of Shame

On Tuesday I entered the gym I work at and walked the walk of shame with 13 lbs more than what I had left on Friday the week before the long weekend. 13 pounds! And trust me, they were pretty obvious in my face and on my hips. I had a chipmunk face and I did not want to be at work that day because I felt that a lot of people were just waiting for this to happen to me and now they had gotten their wish. All the negative comments and judgements that I have had during my contest preparation and managed to ignore, were all weighing down on me that day on top of those 13 lbs of extra water in my body.

At some point during the day I earned it and I continued to walk through my day with a "here, happy? you got what you wanted..." attitude to everyone that has ever judged me through this process.

It took me a whole week clean eating to get rid of those 13 lbs of water retention, and an extra week to clean up my bitterness.

I am actually glad that happened that early in the summer so I could learn my lesson. I've had a total weight gain of an estimate of 8 lbs from post show weight, expected, normal and healthy, and I am glad to announce that some pizzas, sushi, ice cream, cookies and pancakes made their contribution for this to happen.

Yes! I am not going to lie, I am a real person with a weak heart for junk and I believe part of this journey for me is learning how and when is the right time to enjoy it and never again to overdue it to the point where I am hurting my body. Some of the best things in life come in 3's.

Surprise Gift from Husband

What Happens Now that the World has Ended

Well.... I have come to realize that as passionate as you see me about training and discipline, honestly, I am the kind of person that is likely going to fall of the wagon if I do not have a reason to train. 

For 10 years my reason was to be a better varsity volleyball player. I trained hard and I lifted heavy. I managed to experience National level competition in Mexico City. At the age where my 5'3" height became an issue and making money to self-sustain became I priority, sadly I decided to end my volleyball career. Along with this, the decline of my fitness level started.

For a looong time I cheated myself into thinking that I was doing what it took to look good, but without a goal and a timeline, such a goal was intangible. It wasn't until my 1st and 2nd fitness show that I committed to a real, measurable fitness goal.

Having a fitness goal makes me happy because it gives me structure for my life and control of my health. That is the bottom line and for this reason, along with my coach, I have set up a new goal for September 22nd where I will bring back my alter ego, bigger and better and probably in a purple suit :)

As a continued section of this post I will be interviewing someone(s) who have recently experienced a fitness show and whose experience is really fresh and raw. Girls, I am so proud of your strength and your inner and outer beauty and it would be a honor to have you on my blog.

- to be continued...