Thinking About Competing? What You Need To Know...

For those of you unfamiliar with competing or are contemplating doing a show I want to let you know a few insights about the costs and preparations that go into a show. The decision to compete is a large step for anyone.  To make that decision, firstly you have to understand that competing is a very individual and costly sport.  You must do most of the prep alone, and sacrifice most of your free time.  In order to be successful I have a few tips of my own that I would suggest, especially for the novice competitors for NPC (National Physique Committee) Organization, other organizations may vary: 

- Research and Interview your prep coach before you hire them: prepping is an expensive sport to begin with, you want to make sure that your coach is someone who will give you their time and are experienced in the industry. You also want to make sure you mesh well, if you don't feel comfortable with them, then do not waste your time.  You will be in constant contact with your coach for the next few months so it is crucial to feel 100% comfortable with your coach.  DO NOT HIRE the cheapest coach possible to save money- with the time and money you put into the sport you want to make sure that you get results from your coach. Prep coaches for a 12-16 week prep typically range from $800-$1500 but you can expect to pay more for longer preps, workouts, etc. 

- Show Registration and Organization Memberships:  Once you have chosen a show you need to purchase an NPC card.  These are a yearly membership card to be able to compete in NPC shows for the current year. The membership fee per year is currently $125.00.  Then once you get your card you can register for the show of your choice, show registrations range anywhere from $125-$400 depending on the type of shows that you do.  National shows are more.  NPC is a ladder that you basically work your way up.  Each competitor starts in the same place at a local National Qualifier show.  Once you place Top 2 in a National Qualifier show, you are then able to move onto national level shows.  There are Jr. Level National Shows and National Shows.  Jr Level National Shows allows the 1st place winner in every category to get their IFBB pro Card, a title that many NPC competitors aspire to be.  In National level shows, top 2 in every category get their IFBB pro cards. 

-Travel Arrangements: Most NPC shows require a mandatory check in and weigh in the night before the show and then the following day the actual show happens.  For national shows, the structure is a bit different.  However in any case, travel costs also need to be accounted for when competing.  Hotel accommodations, flights, car rental etc all need to be taken into consideration when looking into a show.   Those costs quickly add up as well so make sure you budget accordingly for travel.  For national shows expect to spend between $1000-$1500 on travel alone, unless you are lucky enough to live near the show.  

-Budget for food and supplements: Food and supplement costs can add up quickly.  As the staple ingredients for any prep diet is protein.  Expect to pay $80-$100 a week on fresh meat in order to obtain results that you need.  (This budget is estimated on a female competitor- male competitors can be more). Protein powder, vitamins, thermogenics, etc are all additional costs and I make a monthly budget for about $300 for my supplement costs during prep. 

-Food Prep: Food prep will become a ritualistic part of your week.  You will live out of Tupperware containers and I recommend investing in a portable cooler, sixpack bag, fitmark bag, etc.  Any sort of portable cooler to carry your meals around with you. I personally prep my food 3 times a week.  You will also need to invest in a good quality food scale to measure your food accurately.  It will become a norm to bring your food with you and it makes your prep much easier always having your food within reach so you can eat your meals consistently.  

-Time Management: Most competitors do fasted cardio daily during prep.  Expect to get up an hour or more earlier to get your fasted cardio in before you start your day.  Also expect to spend 1-2 hours at the gym to get your workouts in for the day and some athletes have additional PM cardio that they are required to do as well.  So daily on top of everything else you have going on, I would set aside at least 4 hours to spend on cardio and working out, also additional time to practice posing. You will have to give up family and friend outings, late nights and really structure out your day in order to be successful.  It is 100% possible to do a prep while working full time, etc.  I use to go to school full time, work full time and prepped and was able to successfully prep for each of my shows.  

-Gym Membership: If you don't have one, are you sure your ready to prep?   You need to have access to a gym and cardio equipment daily for the next 3-4 months.  Memberships range from $15-$50 monthly on average. (Standard gym estimates, not additional higher end gyms)

-Stage Clothing: Male competitors have a bit of a break on this one as their suits typically cost about $50.  Female suits are much more expensive.  Once you determine your category your going to compete in you need to order a suit.  Suits are typically ordered 8-10 weeks out depending on who you go through.  The suits are made to fit your body.  Suits are a touchy subject with some, suits needs to be appealing to the eye, match your complexion and also not be overly flashy that they take away from your physique.  I have seen suits from $80 all they up to $5000+ , on average for newer competitors I would expect to pay $400-$500 on a suit.  Many suits can be used again and again and altered, bedazzled, etc. Just make sure that the suit is good quality, the last thing that you want is to get a suit that breaks right before you go on stage (and yes I have seen that happen).  If you are unsure about how to go about this contact the company you are thinking about going through and they will walk you through the steps to send in your measurements, etc.  

-Tanning:  Every competitor male and female is required to get tanned before going on stage.  Tanning is typically done the night before the show as a base coat and the final coat is put on a few hours before show time.  You are also glossed up minutes before going on stage to accentuate your physique in the stage lighting.   I would highly recommend going with the tanning company that is sponsoring the show.  It not only is convenient, the company will offer touch-ups and help make sure your tan holds and looks its best the entire show day.  At least a week before show the skin needs to be prepped in a ph balancing soap to ensure your skin will hold the tan and it also avoids turning your skin green after tanning is applied.  Also it is recommended that you shave your entire body before you receive your base coat (yes I said entire body) this means back, ass, hands, arms, legs, stomach, anything that has hair, SHAVE IT.  I promise you it makes a hell of a difference when your tan sets.  The tanning company will also send you directions on how to prep your skin.  They also tell you not to use any skin products a day before your tan (i.e. lotion, deodorant, make-up) as this can mess with the ph of your skin.  Another crucial note.  Tanner stains clothing and sheets so you also need to make sure that you have shitty clothes that you don't mind getting ruined to where over your tans.  The clothing also should be light to prevent any sweating.  A sheet needs to purchased as well (especially if you are staying in a hotel) if you get tanner on the hotel sheets you will get charged a hotel cleaning fee.  So save yourself the struggle and get a sheet to avoid damage. A VERY IMPORTANT TIP: Once your tanner is on, hover above all and any toiler seats when you are going to the bathroom, you do not want a toilet ring around your ass when you are on stage, it is very hard to cover up.  Tanning for local shows typically run $130-$150 (which includes a base tan and final coat).

-Make Up and Hair: This is for the female competitors.  Your body is going to look its best so your face and hair need to as well.  If you have the confidence to do stage hair and make-up well, then by all means save yourself some money and do it.  If you are like me, who have no ability to do hair and make-up you need to hire a make-up artist or get a friend who has experience to do it for you.  Get your nails done or at least throw on some polish as well.  Nude nails with tanning stains on stage DO NOT look appealing.  Hair and make-up typically run about $130-$160 for a show additional $25-$35 for nails.  Another crucial tip when you choose a hairstyle, many females who where their hair down for stage forget to move their hair when they are posing for their back mandatory poses.  Make sure you move your hair, you are hiding your muscles behind your hair.  If the judges cant see your muscles then they cant judge you on them.  If you are someone like me who doesn't want to worry about covering my muscles up, get it done in an updo. 

-Posing: The most important part of any show.  You have worked so hard to get an amazing physique but now you have to make sure you present it well.  Many competitors make the mistake of not getting the proper practice with posing.  You only have about 45 secs on stage to amaze the judges.  If you do not have your posing nailed on stage it can potentially ruin your chances of placing.  Posing can make or break you, you need to make sure you are presenting your best package.  A posing coach will ensure that your muscles are shown in the right light.  Posing practice is a workout in itself and needs to be done regularly from the beginning of prep to the end of prep.  A decent posing costs anywhere from $30-$50 a session, most will do packages.  Some coaches are qualified to practice posing with their athletes so if your coach does, that is a great way to save you money.  For bodybuilders, physique competitors, and fitness competitors, you have a mandatory routine that has to be presented during finals along with your mandatory poses.  So that is also an additional practice that has to be done to a set of music.  So all I can remind you to do is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!! 

-Stage Presence: Along with posing, when you are onstage your stage presence and mannerism also gets noticed.  Make sure you smile and wave at the audience, smile at the judges and smile the entire time you are onstage.  Hold confidence and breathe.  Typically the stage lights are so bright it is very hard to see the audience so your nerves typically will calm down when you realize you cant see anyone besides the judges when you are on stage. 

-Post Show and Reverse Dieting: Typically post show people eat whatever they have been craving.  It is an exciting time for pretty much all competitors.  The problem is, if you are not working with a coach post show and do not reverse diet you will definitely experience the rebound quite quickly .  Your body has been deprived for so long of certain foods and loading them up day after day without slowly incorporating them back in can be detrimental to your health and mentality.  Many competitors coming off their first show can put upward of 30+ pounds in a few days.  Please make sure you work with someone to reverse diet, you will feel so much better and your body will be so much healthier reverse dieting the proper way.  Click here to read more about post show binging and the detrimental affects it has on the body. 


So as you can see competing is costly and there is a lot of additional things that go into prep.  Once you make the decision make sure you stick with it, budget yourself and enjoy the process.  The above is just my personal input on the sport, other individuals preps may vary.  Good luck in your fitness journey!

Your Muscles are Gross.

Social media is a vulnerable space for individuals posting to it...Think about it, we post moments in our life that may or may not be appealing to others in order to show others a little glimpse into our daily lives. As a person who enjoys motivating and inspiring others, I pride myself in being able to share my bodybuilding journey with my followers. It helps connect myself with the audience and also allows the audience to realize that I'm just a normal, struggling human being trying to find my place in this world.

Being an extremely muscular female makes me stand out a bit in public and on social media. It also unfortunately makes me a much larger target for social media trolls. Since I stepped into the competition circuit I have received emails, messages and comments weekly telling me how disgusting I look, how I'll never have a man to love me , how I destroyed my femininity, etc.  As much as I say it doesn't bother me. It does. Everytime it hurts. It makes me look at myself differently and I begin to doubt my successes and focus on my faults and flaws.  After getting so many, I decided to screenshot some of them so people who unaware of what us females go through, understand it is common for many of us. 

How do I get through it? Kyle [fiance] plays a large part in keeping me successful and motivated. He constantly reminds me of how far I have come and how far I still have to go. Sometimes he has to force me to take a step back to look at where I started from and I am so very blessed to have someone who is so supportive of me.  I think the hardest part for him, being my significant other, is to not say anything to ignite the trollers and agitate them more.  I do not give in or comment back to people who make negative comments, mostly I leave them up and just let others read what people have written.  I dont want to hide different aspects of my life to glamorize it, I keep everything open and public because I believe that you all deserve to know what I deal with.

What I have found it as I deal with social media more and more is to become neutral to everything that is said to me and about me.  Everything that is said should be taken as a plain set of words, take it in as a neutral comment.  Not taken as a negative or a positive.  From there, I am able to determine if I will let the words/comments affect me.  I have a choice a to let it negatively or positively affect me.  Letting people have power over my thoughts and actions will not allow me to move ahead and be successful in my life.  In order to move ahead I need to directionalize everything said to me or about me in a way that will allow me to only move forward and grow as a person.

I know damn well that I am not the only female who deals with this.  All I can tell you is DO NOT LET IT BRING YOU DOWN.  Don't let it ruin you or destroy your passion because as much as their are useless turds around making people feel like shit about themselves.  There are ten times more people cheering you on.

Good Vibes and Love.

Shan

I have Bulimia Nervosa and Yes, I am a Bodybuilder.

I am very open to all of my followers, clients and friends about my eating disorder.  I have struggled since the age of 9 with bulimia nervosa.  After endless amounts of therapy, hospitalization and doctors appointments that did not help me overcome my eating disorder, I reverted to my own personal mental strength to suppress and find another outlet in hopes to help reduce my illness.

From a young age I always had self-esteem and body issues.  From the age of 6 on I was dieting and exercising in attempts to alter my body into a way that would would make me happy.  I can tell you that losing weight does not make you more happy when you have an eating disorder, it only reverts your behaviors even worse.  By the age of 13, I was bingeing and purging 16-18 times a day, and as a result of that I now have 8 ulcers in my esophagus (that eventually will require surgery).  When I started high school, I reverted into even worse behaviors I joined the high school cross country team and right away my cross country coach told me in order to be faster I needed to be thinner and again I dieted even harder, I over trained my body to an extreme, logging 15+ miles a day in order to compensate for the constant bingeing. After 4 long continuous years of fighting with my eating disorder it finally took a toll on my body.  My senior year of high school I broke my leg, immediately ending my running career.  I broke my leg in gym class, my bones were so weak and lacked the essential nutrients that I wasn't letting my body absorb, after that I fell into clinical depression. 

For months I crutched around in a cast thinking of ways that I could start running again.  My parents had a pool and occasionally I would slip the cast off and get some mobility into my leg but it wasn't the same. I was barely eating because I feared getting fat because I wasn't exercising.  By the time the cast came off 8 weeks later my muscle had atrophied tremendously.  Visualize a toothpick and a tree trunk, that's how my legs looked.  Immediately, I joined a local Snap Fitness down the road from my parents and began regularly lifting weights to try and put the muscle back onto my toothpick leg.   My body image now was extremely low, I thought I looked like a freak.  I covered my entire body in layers and layers of clothes to compensate my symmetry.  I feared being judged and criticized and more than anything I wanted my legs back to normal.

The longer I lifted at the gym though, the more I became aware of just how much my body was capable of.  I quickly put my muscle back on but even more so I began to enjoy lifting and seeing how heavy I was able to lift.  Soon I began looking into bodybuilding and about 1 year after my injury I decided I wanted to do a bodybuilding show.  There was only one problem, I was going to have an issue following a diet and keeping food down.

The trainer I worked with started me out with a very simple IIFYM diet.  The first three weeks were hell.  I struggled to keep food down, I cried and prodded my body daily.  There were nights I would sit in front of the mirror with scissors in my hands contemplating whether to just cut all the fat off my body.  Then something amazing happened, my body started reacting to the diet and reshaping my body.  I was losing weight while eating and I was eating a good amount of food.  3 weeks into my diet I stopped vomiting.  I did a 12 week prep for my first show and through the first prep I had 3 episodes with my bulimia.  3! Compared to 16-18 daily, that was a hell of an improvement for me.

However, my trainer at the time, was not knowledgeable about reverse dieting so after my show I ate everything in sight.  I gained I believe 20lbs in a 36 hour span.  Now I do think that every bodybuilder goes through the initial post show binge after their first show, then slowly they begin to learn how to integrate reverse dieting back into their regimen in order to stay healthy.   It was at that moment, stepping on the scale post show binge that I realized that in order to keep my bulimia repressed I needed a goal and I needed a solid diet with direction.

My Current and Permanent Coach, Bill Tocco of War Room Nutrition, has done a hell of a job with me to say the least.  Bill works with me both on season and off season and gives me particular meal plans that I need to follow.  My refeed meals are planned and executed to prevent binges and overeating and has helped me mentality as I continue to grow as a person.  Now having the bodybuilder mentality and having far and less frequent bulimic episodes, in order for me to be successful in this sport the food has to stay in and I have to eat the exact amounts given.  The regimen and routine has made me successful in both my recovery for my eating disorder as well as in the bodybuilding world as a Women's Physique competitor. 

I have also learned successful tools to help me during my preps in order to not sabotage the work I have put in.  During prep season, anytime I am triggered and have an urge to binge I drink a ton of water.  I just start chugging water until my stomach is so full I cant physically put anything else into my mouth.  If I am able to have vegetables I eat those.  I chew gum.  I avoid any foods that are triggering and keep only prep safe foods in my house and fridge at all times.  If Kyle {fiance} wants something to eat thats not on my diet he hides it in the house or makes sure that he eats it away from me.  For off-season prep I am able to be a little bit more relaxed and I make a ton of sugar free jello and keep that on hand.  I make a super thick protein shake, something dessert flavored like Titan Nutrition's Chocolate Crave (Use Discount Code SHANNON for 20% off to give it a try).  I also freeze my protein and mix it with natural peanut butter to give it an ice cream consistency.  Those are my few simple tricks that will work for not only people struggling with eating disorders but also for you who struggle with food cravings during your seasons.

I will say that the longer I compete in this sport, the more comfortable I become with my own body.  The more proud I am to see how far I have come and how much further I can go.   One day I will be an IFBB Pro.  I want to be able to look back at where I came from and where I am at that time and be proud that I made it.

Now I am not going to lie to you and say that everyday is awesome.  Everyday my eating disorder is in my head and everyday I have negative thoughts.  However, visualizing my goal and where I want to be helps me keep my head on right.  I can't say that I will never have another bulimic episode, but the further and fewer times that they occur, the better that it will be for me.

Thanks for reading my very personal blog tonight.  xo

If you need help or know someone who is struggling visit NEDA. They are a excellent organization to help you help yourself or someone you know struggling to get the help that they need.

Countdown to Western's and Q's & A's Curiosity...

Counting Down the Days...

Hello Again!

So counting down again the days until I step onstage, currently sitting at 12 days out. My teammate, Tommy Stiles (far right) and I, both part of War Room Nutrition, are competing in the NPC Western Michigan's in Grand Rapids, MI on November 4th.  I can't say enough things about my team, for those of you who do compete and have a team, you understand how crucial it is to have those teammates to relate to as you push through your prep. I can honestly say that my team is my second family, filled with IFBB pros, UFE World Champs, Nationally Qualified NPC Amateurs, and amateur competitors who are determined as f**k.  We all feed off each other and build up our strengths and help each other improve our weaknesses.  Bill Tocco (middle) our amazing coach has such a passion for the sport and his athletes and ensures that with each prep we complete are conditioning has improved even more than our previous season.

As I came out from my last prep, I will tell you this- Bodybuilding is a sport that you continually grow with.  There is never a final product.  Each season you work harder to be better conditioned than the last. That is how you excel at the sport, it's never about your competition, it;s only about your personal growth within the sport - This is my mentality 100% for the sport of bodybuilding.  The minute I get my stage pictures I begin picking apart what I need to work on and improve for the next round.  Do not be misguided, I am very pleased with the package I brought to the stage, but there will always be room for improvements.  The body is a piece of art that is constantly changing, the iron and diet are the tools that us bodybuilders use to carve our sculpture [body] to the best conditioning that it can be for that particular moment in time.  Then as time passes, we carve it again and the sculpture changes and yet again we look for room to improve.  Its a cycle , its part of the sport and part of the process. Its tedious, repetitive and an absolute blessing for me to have discovered this passion.

 Questions, Answers and Curiosity? 

So I have been blogging on and off now for a few months and I want to be able to cater to my audience a bit more in order to reach out and give some knowledgeable insight to my readers.

So my question to you is What Do You Want to Know About Me?  Do you want to know more about my personal life?  My diet?  My mental strengths and weaknesses?  My relationship with friends and family? My training mentality? My teammates and I's relationship? My sponsorship's? What I do when I am not training? I want to extend to you an insightful read about my life with questions that you may have regarding training, diet, struggles, etc.

Also, as my prep season has a few more weeks left in it and then I will be switching gears over to my off season program I will be posting some macro friendly recipes (Most are very protein dense FYI) that I enjoy while outside of prep along with some of my workout routines and regimens.  So again, if there is any curiosity about my workout exercises, etc?  Now is the time to ask and I will share with you my personal training workouts and regimens with you.

Comment below on this blog and I will compile the questions into a new blog post later on in the week for your reading pleasure! I look forward to seeing what everyone is curious about!

Post Show and Getting the Mindset ready for Next Show

Post Show day for me! For those of you who have not been following me I won the NPC Central States Women's Physique Open last night in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  I have another show in two weeks, however after dieting for so long my coach was nice enough to give me a day off from dieting and allow me to splurge on what I want.  A lot of people ask, how can I control my cravings and how I don't overeat and start dieting again so quickly??

For me, post show day I honestly have a zillion cravings, but the truth is, the freedom is also terrifying.  You have so many choices and options to choose from but also knowing that another show is less than two weeks out keeps your mind in check. Typically what I do post show is hone on in a few things that I absolutely craving that I have not been able to enjoy the past 25 weeks.  Gummy candy and cereal is my go to! I also make sure to also to add lots of protein into my meals throughout the day.  Since I am always burnt out on energy post show I utilize Titan Nutrition's Whey Isolate Protein to get me the adequate amounts of protein I need without the hassle of cooking.  Energy Wise- Because I am so depleted and dehydrated from the show prep I also drink tons of water and use Titan Nutrition's Activ8 Metal Focus and Energy.  This stuff is great it can be used both as a preworkout or a caffeine boost throughout the day with 120 mg per serving. 

I also make sure to enjoy myself and relax.  Prep takes a beating to your body and mind.  I describe post show day as feeling basically hungover.  I am tired, have a massive headache, dehydrated and cramping like crazy- as I stated in all my previous posts.  I take everything day by day, its all part of the process and I absolutely would not change a thing about my lifestyle.   I typically do try and get out and move around a bit the day after my show, after getting some carbs in this morning, my fiance and I did hit the gym and do a light back workout and I did some light cardio - It is more mental than anything to keep my sane and focused to stay on track - however a warning to new competitors and even seasoned, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  If you are not feeling it, do not push it, you have just pushed your body through death and it will take some time to recover. 

This week I will continue my focus, start up my diet again tomorrow and ready to bring in an even better conditioned package in two weeks ( a lot can change in two weeks with the body)!! Have a great week- I'll do a few more updates this week to keep you in the loop.

Products Mentioned in this blog can be found here.
To try out any products at a discount use coupon code : SHANNON for 20% off your order (a personal thank you gift to my readers)

Routine and Regimen, How To Get Started?

To achieve results for anything focus and consistency is key.  I tell my clients all the time that results don't happen overnight.  It takes weeks to notice and change and months for others to notice a change, however that is no reason to get discouraged or quit.  Each day that we put in effort we are one step closer to our goal.

4.5 Year Difference 

For competitors, like myself, it took me 4.5 years to begin to see a solid development in my physique.  Yes, you read that right, 4.5 years! I will say that everyday is definitely not easy but each day, knowing it pushed me closer to that IFBB stage it is totally worth it.  The body reacts best through consistency and routine, keeping things simple and regimented allows the body to adapt much more quickly to the nutrition and exercises that you are putting it through.

For individuals just starting out I always suggest start by tracking your food intake, download a calorie and macro tracking app such as My Fitness Pal.  This helps you become more aware of what you are eating throughout the day compared to your exercise output.  Another thing I always suggest is if you haven't already, get up and get moving.  For those who haven't engage in a type of cardiovascular activity yet, Challenge yourself to move 10 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week.  As you begin to progress increase your cardio time.  The excuse, "I do not have time" is not valid.  Like every other human on earth we all have obligations and commitments, in order to want to change you have to make yourself change, you have to find the time and make yourself commit.  As I stated previously, it will not be easy by any means, but it will be worth it.

I also tell people who are contemplating the idea of change is to first commit to a gym and a nutrition coach.  Utilizing both of these resources, not only will help you create change but you are paying for your progress, this means that in order to get results you have to follow directions by a professional individual who will ensure you get to the goal you want to be at.  This is definitely a gray area for some, as coaches and gyms can get expensive however, I can promise you this.  If you are unhappy with your body and results and you still need direction it is time to seriously start thinking about stepping up your commitment level and hire a professional, most also offer payment plans which helps out tremendously. 

Many of my female clients struggle  with their protein intake.  To fill in protein gaps and get the adequate amounts I always suggest to my clients to try a powder protein, I recommend Whey Isolate, as it is typically lower in carbohydrates and fats.  I recommend Titan Nutrition Whey Isolate, they have a variety of flavors at affordable prices.  If you are looking for additional supplement suggestions, feel free to browse the Titan Nutrition website, as they offer a variety of supplements for all your fitness goals.  Reach out to me with any questions you have, I would be happy to point you out some suggestions. 

http://www.titannutrition.net/ref/158

Starting any new fitness program or lifestyle change can be scary and exciting.  Before any program is initiated I strongly suggest that a full physical and check-up is done with your medical doctor.  Get blood work done as well, this will show you any nutritional gaps, medical issues/concerns, as well as your BMI, current weight, etc that is crucial to know before starting any program. 

Good Luck!!

Challenges

Peak Week - Ahh one week and one day away from my first show of the season.  Mixed emotions definitely as I try to hone in all my energy and focus to my final week and repress my current life stressors that are affecting my mental health. Besides the focus on diet and exercise, it is also crucial for non-competitors to understand that although us bodybuilders and athletes are committed to our sports and passions, we also have to make a living.  We all have jobs, deal with life stressors as well as have obstacles and life challenges that throw off focus as well.

Earlier this year some of my followers know that I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.  I was diagnosed with this about 11 weeks into my prep for the 2017 Jr. Nationals Show.  Right after I got diagnosed all the symptoms became very heightened and I dropped about 40 pounds in two weeks, with this happening I unfortunately had to pull from my show and focus on getting my health resituated before I could step on stage again.  This upcoming show next week is super important to me.  It allows me to prove to myself, that although challenges always have a way of greeting us through life, battling through them is what makes an individual stronger.

Some of you also know that originally I am from Michigan but moved down to Kansas to live with my fiancé for almost a year to help him through the Med-Board process from the US Army.  When I moved down to Kansas I left my job, my family and my home.  Although we are now back in Michigan, getting situated again is also deeming  a challenge.  Finding a personal training job has been tough, finding a home has been even tougher and through it all I still continue to prep for both of my upcoming shows.  I am not writing this for anyone to have sympathy, I am simply writing this to let everyone know that all of us, every human, has stressors and struggles.  Through life, through prep, etc.  It happens, part of being an athlete is how we are able to utilize that stress into a more counterproductive asset.

Although each of us may live different lives and lifestyles, we all have one thing in common, we are all just trying to get by and live our short lives in the vast universe.