The Road to my First NPC Bikini Show – Week 12

Hello Friends!

I am super excited to announce that I finally picked a date to compete in my first NPC bikini novice show and can truly begin serious training. In this blog series, I plan to document the ups and downs of competing in a fitness show for the first time. There will be blood and tears… well, hopefully no blood and wait… tears of joy right? Either way, I want to share my story and the things that I learn along the way, so it might help with your own prep or even convince you that you can do this too! Since this is my first week, I have a lot of info to go over so bear with me!

If you are reading this because you are interested in competing, there are a few things to consider before entering your first fitness competition:

• Partaking in a completion will take months of preparation, dedication, consistency, and hard work.
• Shows are expensive: Cost of fees, suits, lodging, supplements, and eating loads of healthy food adds up over time!
• Dieting for an extended period of time is expected. This means going months without binging on your favorite foods, going out and drinking, and having to eat your prepared meals in a timely fashion.
• Expect to put forth full effort into every workout even when your exhausted.
• Realize your choice to live a goal-oriented lifestyle. PREP OVER EVERYTHING 🙂

My show is on September 24^th in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am planning a 12-week prep time, with Day One beginning on July 3rd. I am coaching myself and using my knowledge from my exercise science degree.  I decided to do a 12 week prep, since I am already lean enough for this to be a sufficient amount of time for me to cut and get to my desirable weight and composition. It is healthiest to lose .5 – 1.5 lb/week to reach your goal weight. Losing weight at a faster rate than that can be detrimental to your health. My three main goals are to lose fat, maintain my muscle mass, and execute high intensity workouts. Yes, there will be slight muscle loss, but that happens when you diet.

Reasons I decided to prep and coach myself:

1. As an experiment to see how hard and far I can push myself, for myself.
2. Professional coaching is REALLY expensive and is not in my budget currently.
3. I have an extensive knowledge in this subject matter.
4. I LOVE learning and really want this to be an educational process.
5. I want to end up coaching others and I want to test my methods (flexible dieting, workouts, etc.).

Now this doesn’t mean that I am coaching myself in every aspect. I will definitely be attending posing classes and getting advice on other subject matter throughout my prep!

So this is a question I get asked often, what do you normally eat? Do you still go out to eat and socially drink? The answer is YES! I love to go out and have fun, but I follow the guidelines of flexible dieting! I live a balanced lifestyle full of delicious and healthy homemade meals, but I also allow myself to have fun and eat the foods I crave! I do not normally track my macros or calories on a daily basis. I just listen to my body by eating when I am hungry and finding healthier alternatives when I need a sweet treat. I love beer and margaritas (I mean who doesn’t), but you have to balance these delights out. I keep a fairly low body fat % eating this way, between (18%-20%).

Now that I want to change my body composition for my bikini prep, I am going to track all my food by counting my macronutrient intake. I use MyFitnessPal and it works wonderfully. It is an app that you can access through your phone or computer at anytime and I recommend it to anyone who wants to keep track of their meals.

*A bikini prep is not a long term solution for weight loss and can cause an unhealthy relationship with food if not done properly, so do research to find out if it is the right choice for you.*

In everyday life, I eat a higher caloric intake ranging from 1900-2200 calories a day full of a balance of protein, carbs, and fat. During this prep, I am going to lower my caloric intake by slowly chipping off more and more calories per week. I am starting this week with a slight decrease below maintenance level, so I can adjust my body slowly and become more efficient at counting and dividing up my meals correctly. So in a way, this week is not as focused on weight loss, but on balancing out my diet and seeing how my body responds to the macronutrients I am allowing myself to eat! That way I can figure out what ones I should tweak for the following week! I am purposefully starting off with a higher % of carbs, so as I can lower my intake as my prep progresses. Keep in mind that these following numbers are calculated for me and my current goals. Do not try to follow this exact prep since it will not work correctly because you might not have the same metabolism, goals, etc. I am starting my prep as follows:

Calories: 1,800

Protein: 158g/day or 630 calories (35%)

Fat: 50g/day or 450 calories (25%)

Carbs: 180g/day or 720 calories (40%)

In another blog I will go over how and why I came up with my numbers, and how to calculate macros, but this will do for now.

• Stay on track with my diet by tracking all my calories and following my macro count.
• Complete all three cardio sessions (because I secretly hate cardio).

This is my first time blogging and honestly it just feels….. right! To my friends who are tuning in: it really means a lot. If anyone has questions or blog ideas let me know through my contact button! I want to post information that will help you meet your goals! Stay tuned for updates! Thank you for reading!