My coach Roxie Beckles competed in a show this past weekend.  She did not get the result she had hoped for and she handled herself with class and dignity because she knew that she brought her best to the competition. She worked her hardest and that was the main point.  She could not control who the judges thought was the best that day or anything else.  She could control how hard she worked and how much effort she put forth.
As someone who questions at times whether she should not do this in the first place, I found this very encouraging and motivating.  It’s about competing against yourself and doing your best.  Setting your goals and following through on them.  If your entire identity and mindset is about winning, then you will be disappointed because people do not win every single time.  Sometimes you’re going to have to lose in order to win.  Sometimes you need to learn some lessons that you can only learn by losing.

What is the point if you’re not trying to win 1st place?

During this process I have been asked by people why am I competing?  I won’t win any money and when I say that my main competition is myself, they don’t get it.  They think that I am wasting my time because I am not training solely for winning first place.

First of all I am a realist.  This is my first competition and while it would be nice to come away with a trophy, I can’t control who else shows up on that day.  Maybe in that competition women who have been doing this for years show up.  I have no delusions about going up there and immediately thinking I am going to win.

We all have to start somewhere.  Started from the bottom and now we here..
I have a lot of work to do to be very competitive and since I want to do this, then I’m cool with that.  I am prepared to build it brick by brick to make it stick.

Nicole Wilkins

This is current Figure Olympia (the gold standard in Figure) champion Nicole Wilkins.  She shared her first figure competition photo compared with where she is now.

What if she had given up after the first competition?  No I am a firm believer that the race is not given to the swift, but to those who endure and just keep on going.

Erin Stern

Another example is Erin Stern.  She is another top figure competitor who has won the Figure Olympia several times and other titles.  These photos were taken 8 years apart.  She kept on going and look what hard work and endurance produced!

The point is that there is no shame in starting from the bottom. I would be ashamed if I gave up and quit or if I didn’t start in the first place.  I’m planning on having my own, “started from the bottom and now we here” receipts as well.

What I am really Competing against

I’m competing against Doubt, Fear, Insecurity, Self Discipline, Perseverance, and impatience.  I’m competing against those negative voices in my head that tell me that I can’t do it and that I am going to give up.  That’s who I’m competing against.

I’m competing against the doubts that I can overcome the labels that I have placed on myself and the labels that others have tried to place on me.

When I get up on that stage I will already have won because I have defeated all of these inner demons that told me I couldn’t do it in the first place.

Even if I come in dead last, it won’t be because I didn’t stick to my plan or gave it a half baked effort.

Progress

Well I have begun to let go of my insecurities of sharing my progress.  I suppose for continuity sake, for the next 10 weeks I will share the progress photos, so that you can see how my body is changing on a weekly basis.  Just this past week with the calorie drop I’ve noticed some significant changes.  I am also working on a blog article about what I have learned during this process and why so many don’t reach their fat loss goals.
So here we are!

12 weeks out


10 weeks out