Now I would like to share with you why I picked the name of the blog.
There is a good reason for the name. I didn't come up with the name on my own, I have to give credit to a very good friend who is a marketing diva.
Many people ask me why am I competing and my reply is why not! My age came into my head for a brief moment when I made the decision to compete.
As my description says I'm 51. I don't think I look 51 and most people are surprised when I tell them my age. In my heart I feel like I stopped aging at 30 and there are times that I still act 18.
To me my age is just a number because I believe it is what is in your heart and your attitude that keeps you young. I do remind myself more often these days that I am 51 and taking on the challenge of a figure competition for the first time is pretty amazing. I'm proud of myself for all of the hard work I have done to this point.
But there are also other numbers that are "just" numbers. The number on the scale is a big one. We become a slave to it. Some days it makes us feel great and others it makes us feel pretty bad about ourselves.
Another number that we should not focus on is dress or clothing size. What does that prove?
If you feel great in what you are wearing that is what is important. Not the size or the number on the scale.
While I was in my bulking stage or off season diet, I never once stepped on the scale. I knew I needed to follow a certain process to put on weight which was a combination of muscle and let's call it insulation. When I started my on season diet which for me was 12 weeks to the competition date, I stepped on the scale to see how much I had gained, I was curious. My total gain was 16 pounds from Dec 3 2012 to Feb 23 2012. I was now 134 pounds but what I realized was how different I looked at 134 pounds working out regularly compared to what I looked like years previous and not working out.
Someone I worked with commented one day that they wanted to lose more weight but they were so excited they could fit into a jacket that they hadn't worn in years. In their mind the last time they wore the jacket they were 30 pounds lighter how could it fit now when they hadn't reached their goal weight. Simple answer, they were now working out regularly and their body had toned up.
I was laughing with one of my fellow competitors today how my jeans that I wore before putting on my off season bulk were now too big and didn't fit the same as they did before. I am still heavier, according to the scale, prior to starting this journey. My jeans are too big in the waist, small in the hips and thighs. Solution, new jeans to fit my new body.
I am sharing the pictures below to show the first and last are the same weight but my body shape has changed dramatically. The one in the middle is 13 lbs off of my all time high that I shared in my first post. If you are wondering why I'm standing like that, I'm practicing my posing.
I'm the worst at noticing if someone has lost weight or gained for that matter, what I care about is who they are inside and really that is all that matters.
If you can look in the mirror and say to yourself from your heart "I love you exactly the way you are" the numbers don't matter.
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| Dec 2 2012 125 lbs, start of off season diet |
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| Feb 23 2013 134 lbs, last day of off season diet |
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| Apr 13 2013 125 lbs, 5 weeks to stage |
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