Third time's a charm...

So I haven't updated my blog in a while. I had started a post about vegan proteins... and thought about doing a post on body shaming after having a fallout with a friend... but life got the best of me.

I wound up doing the IDFA show in Moncton over the weekend. A local vegan that I had talked to online was competing in the show. I thought that since I was going to see the show... why don't I spend a little extra money to be in the show? Then I realized that this will be my third show in one year. Oy. Coincidentally, it fell on the same weekend as my first show with the WBFF.

Devin was in agreement. I was having a rough time. I was getting depressed over my student loan payments. I was regretting my decision to earn a degree because there are no jobs in my field. I had applied to several jobs that would have made me so happy and I heard nolthing back. I was wait-listed for nursing school and never heard back about a Masters I applied for. I had gained a little weight and was feeling self-conscious. He thought that preparing for a show would take my mind off of things. I did this competition to keep sane.

Once coach Lori gave me the okay, I spent the next 7 weeks working my butt off. I only took 2 rest days leading up to Peak Week. No treat meals. I think I was inadvertently under-eating for a lot of my prep. I lost about 10 pounds and ~7% body fat. I was about 10 pounds heavier than I was for my last show, but I was prepared for that and I was okay with it. It was different doing such a quick prep a new coach, but she believed in me and was there whenever I needed her. She came recommended and for good reason :)

Mid-way during prep, I found a group of amazing women that were doing the show too. They were doing it for health and to escape the drama llamas that dominate the local bodybuilding scene. All of us were freaking out at one point or another and that actually put me at ease. There were points when at least one of us were unsure if we would be stage-ready... but we put that behind us.

These ladies are an inspiration. I hope to see them next year!

I got to meet my vegan friend! She blew the figure and transformation categories away. She got some hardware this show and she is an inspiration.

The show was so much fun. Because there was one show and only a handful of athletes, nobody was waiting around for hours and we got plenty of stage time. The show was relaxed and the organizers and volunteers made me feel comfortable. I enjoyed the show so much that I likely won't do the ECC in the fall. I need a break to build some muscle and I am getting really sick and tired of the drama. Hopefully I can hold out until next spring :)

As for my physique, I walked away a little disappointed... it wasn't because of my weight, either. I feel like my make-up didn't put me in the best light and I have a really hard time looking at my photos without picking them apart. I also signed up for Fitness Model at the last minute. I had only practiced the posing a little bit and pretty much winged it on stage. Since there were only 5 of us, I walked away with a medal, but I wasn't happy with my posing. The category is so different from bikini and I love doing the hard poses. I want to put more time into this category and rock it next spring.

I was in love with my suit. My friend Krista let me rent it from her. Blue is definitely my colour!

Other than that, my trip to Moncton was so much fun! Devin and I like to explore abandoned houses as a hobby, so we took some detours on the way to and from Moncton. We followed the Gloosecap trail through Economy, Advocate and Joggins on the way up. It was raining, so we didn't get out of the car much but the scenery was beautiful and we got to explore an amazing old house that had items in the attic dating back to the early 1900s. While in Moncton, we went to Magnetic Hill (best $5 ever spent) and I got to enjoy some awesome vegan noms. We stopped at Calactus Cafe after the show and Devin got me take-out from Zen Garden to enjoy the next day. On the way back, we traveled the Sunrise Trail down to Oxford and Pugwash. We had a field day when it came to abandoned places to explore.


Vegan lasagna from Calactus Cafe and various noms from Zen Garden

I've been feeling a little down lately... the #fitfam drama is starting to get to me and there has been a lot of food shaming in the local vegetarian/vegan Facebook group. It's tiring. I will save that for another post though and try not to contribute to the negativity.