I'M BAAAAAACK!!!!!!!

Hi Friends,

I know, I know…it’s been awhile!!  Things have been a bit of a whirlwind it seems like lately and the extra time I have had I spend attempting to take naps to rest!  The countdown is on and I have 11 days left till the big day and I hit the stage for the first time! My friends always ask, are you more excited to eat or actually compete?  Well duh, I think about food non-stop, so much so that I even have dreams about Valentino's buffet and cupcakes, but I’ve worked SO incredibly hard and seeing my body change from all that hard work is such an amazing feeling of accomplishment that no meal could ever give!  A lot of you that know me know how crazy my life has been outside of the competition lately.  But as crazy as it sounds, with everything else going on in my life, this is the one thing that I have for ME and that time in the gym is my “Maddy” time that everything thing else gets left at the door and I can focus on this!  From family splitting up, family members lost,  jobs/new big girl job, and breaking up from a boyfriend, training for this contest has giving just as much mental strength to me as it has physical!  I am such a stronger woman inside and out from the discipline this has taken to stay focused, with no matter what is going on, you have to just push through and do it! NO EXCUSES, NO QUITTING! 

Plus no wine or chocolate to turn to when the shit hits the fan…I used to be a big time stress eater/wine drinker! Haha!  But on a positive note…with the bad comes all the good and I’ve met SO many amazing people here in town, at the gym and other amazing and inspirational women who compete I’ve met networking through Facebook and from other friends.  You learn quick who really cares about you and is really on your team and wanting you to do your absolute best versus those who are just waiting for you to give up and fall on your face!  And not to brag, but I have THEE best support group anyone could ever have or ask for! My gym (which is like my home) is my family and I’ve met my best friends there that I know will be there for me at any time of day even when I leave Lincoln!  I email back and forth with women that I have never even met or know and they offer nothing but helpful advice, tips, and are always asking how you are!  Saying how thankful I am for all these amazing people in life is not even close to enough, words can’t describe it and not that my mind could form the right things to say right now anyway based on the lack of carbs, I’m thankful if this even makes sense! Lol! : )

Ok, off my soap box and onto other things. With less than two weeks away, it’s crazy how much your body changes just these last couple weeks!  People come up to me all the time, “OH MY GOSH…YOUR SO SKINNY!!” Funny thing is I’ve only lost about 5lbs the whole 14-15 weeks! And by the way…lean would be a better word to say than skinny, lol or you can just say a jacked, shredded machine, whatever works because skinny isn’t really the look I’m going for BUT I appreciate the compliment! : )  But other changes like in my body fat and measurements have been big!  Hell, I could tell that when I’m drivin around with my heater on when its 80 degrees out or walkin around the house with layers on cause I’m so cold all the time! It’s exciting to see what the little changes in your diet from week to week can do along with always giving your workouts everything you have!  For posing, I have been meeting with a woman in Omaha for help and I can honestly say, it was the best thing I could have ever done!  As much as you Google, YouTube, etc. and think you got it right when you practice at home…you put yourself in front of others and are like “hmm, wow…well that doesn't look right!”  This woman who has been helping me has been competing at the pro level in women’s figure since 2005 and has been nothing but a blessing! From the day I met her she was a straight shooter just like me and took me in like I was her own!  We finally have my T-Walk down and every week my quarter turns get better and better!  It is SO much harder than I ever thought, it’s no joke when I make comments about “suck it in, stick it out, crank your body this way, flex annnnnd smile!!” lol, amazing but the smiling is tough for me cause I’m saying all those things to myself in my head at the same time trying to focus!  Pretty entertaining to watch actually, but it’s awesome to see it all come together! : )

 

 As the days are winding down (in number) and my “To-Do” list is becoming shorter I am starting to get pretty nervous!  I saw a quote the other day that described it pretty well;  “Competing in Figure for many means so much more than the "figure" you see on the stage.”  It’s completely true, every person up there has a goal, a reason, a story.  Some are naturally athletic and wanted this as their “try something new” Others have lost 50, 60+ pounds and still want to lose more but they are up there, and they are ROCKIN that bikini girl!  But every single person has put in the time, getting up at 5am or 6am for cardio, spending hours at the gym at night, and then going home to make all your meals on top of other responsibilities they might have.  My hats off to the women who have kids, families, and full-time jobs on top of everything else and are doing it!  I am a student and working two part time jobs and complaining in the beginning like, “wow…how am I going to do this?” (I'm also the 24 year old who is cranky if I'm not in bed by like 9pm!)  You can’t sit there and judge someone who is doing this when you haven’t walked an inch in their shoes or put in the work that they have!  It shows who they are, and how strong and confident they have become in themselves to get up there and show off their hard work, even if they don’t win first place or you’re not the fittest one up there!  You had the balls (so to speak) to put yourself out there and do it!  Of course everyone wants to win, but no matter what happens, gotta give those women props cause it’s not easy!  

On the plus side, I love when people tell me how inspired they have been by me and choosing to do this.  I am only 24 and I have had women who are twice my age tell me how they feel motivated by me and what I am doing.  Women who inspire ME, and who I look up to as role models tell me these few blogs and talking to me about this have inspired them to train for something, not necessarily a figure competition, but SOMETHING for them to set a goal to accomplish!  It puts the biggest smile on my face and I feel so honored to think that I could do that for someone and it makes everything worth it!  As cheesy as it sounds, I know but I love it!

And this blog has turned into a novel now, I apologize! It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything so I had a lot to talk about!  I’ll keep you guys better updated as the last couple weeks get crazy!  Love you all!

<3 Maddy