First of all I never even considered competing in any kind of competition ever. I've seen them on t.v. and watched in awe at how amazing these women's bodies looked always telling myself "man, it would be so cool to do that one day, too bad I'll never look like t
hat". Great self talk right? And that was before having my three kids.
I don't want to ramble so I'll get right to it. After reaching my personal level of disgust with how my body looked and how I felt Advocare found me and my family. And through proper nutrition and training (thanks Angie *wink*) I was able to lose about 30 lbs, 10% body fat and gain some pretty serious lean muscle mass. I'm no she-hulk but now my body has shape instead of sausage arms and legs and a thick, undefined waist. I'm also healthier than I have ever been.
Not only was my journey towards the competition a learning process but the competi
tion itself was so amazing. Everything from getting my spray-tan (hello Loompa-land), to wearing the clear plastic "hooker heels", to having so much adrenaline surging through my body I felt like the floor was vibrating my legs were shaking so bad. Then, I stood on stage with a bunch of 20-somethings and strutted my stuff. Chris was beaming in the audience. For the first time ever he was "the fan" and I was in the spotlight. It felt kinda good. I didn't place (no trophy). Now, I have to be honest, it's a little disappointing. But the knowledge I've gained and the experience was absolutely amazing. DEFINITELY going to do more competitions. In fact, the NW Naturals is April 2, 2011. I am sooo there. And even if I d
on't leave with a trophy from that one I'm still gonna rock it.
I've never been satisfied with how my body looked, struggling with low self-esteem, experimenting with some pretty extreme diets, postpartum depression, etc. But now I can say (with no ego) that I'm satisfied. I will never go back to looking or feeling how I once did. I'm not sure if/when I'll ever get to a point where I feel there are no further improvements I could make but the days of trying to hide certain areas of my body, avoiding the camera or trying to sit a certain way in photos to hide any bulges are over. I'm a woman. I have hips and thighs and "lady lumps". I have 3 beautiful children that came from this body, I am strong (no Chris, I will not flex). I'm happy :]
Take a look at the video here.
good for you Rachael, that's awesome!
ReplyDeleteMissy