In just over 12 hours I will finally be on stage! Today was a whirlwind of last minute preparation including spray tanning, highlights (ala Luc Ornsby, best there is), pedicure, and a depletion workout. The workout was less than stellar and finished off with some posing practice.

My diet has been less than perfect these last two months, and I’m starting to regret the cheats here and there. I saw other competitors today and as usual I was blown away but how teeny tiny they are. I feel like I’m quite dense in comparison, but I don’t trust my image of myself. I know I end up cheating and short changing myself by not sticking to it 100%, but there were improvements and I do look better than the last show. I’m keeping my eye on the prize and going to work my best assests on stage tomorrow. Here’s hoping the competition lacks stage presence J

For those of you unfamiliar with fitness comp prep, heres a brief run down. I will try to explain as best as I can, but if anyone knows better, correct me. About a week before show time a competitor loads up on water, which cause increased urinary loss and increased blood volume. Im a mouth breather and always consume a ton of liquid. I aimed for about 7L, and used MIO with potassium in a lot of my water. I am also low carbing, as carbs tend to hold on to water, 1g of carbs can cause you to hold 4g of water.

At about noon today I stopped most fluids, although I have been sipping if thirsty. The bodys hormone levels will take some time to adjust, and urinary output is still high, causing a loss of body water.  A natural diuretic can be taken as well, these include ingredients such as dandelion, parsley, and celery. Before competition the athlete ingests a high carbohydrate, high fat food which gives the muscles a plump look. It should push water into the muscle belly giving it fullness.

Playing around with your body water is a serious thing. Listening to your body is very, very important when you are putting it under a lot of stress. Electrolyte imbalance can cause heart failure and dehydration, and even supplementing with parsley can be hard on the kidneys. Severe dehydration causes wrinkly skin, confusion, and muscle spasms. Many fitness organizations  warn competitors that they want healthy complexions and not a dehydrated look. Dehydrating is the hardest part of the whole thing for me, and I do not take it too seriously. Health is much more important.  

Another important thing to consider is what to do after the competition. Adding water in slowly is the best way, as if one gorges and guzzles you can become very ill and risk edema. Some athletes take prescription water pills, which are very strong and dangerous, putting one at risk for death. I have never had any post competition issues as I have never been super strict on my diet or water restriction.  I love competing, and don’t want to risk my health.

That was loooong winded. As I mentioned dieting hasn’t been so terrible because it has been really delicious. I have only gotten the low carb bad mood/exhaustion 3 or 4 times through the whole process, and that has been in the last 2 weeks. Tonights dinner was about 10 scallops and a head of fennel sautéed. $4.50 for the meal, and around 4 g of carbs.