Post-Show Blues

Am I right, ladies?

I think every competitor I know has complained about this issue, and that's because the post-show blues are REAL and they SUCK!  Even though you may still be healthy and look great in the weeks following your show, it's still hard to look at yourself 5, 10, or even 15 lbs heavier and have the same confidence you did just a short time ago.

Last year I went a little bit nuts after the show, taking almost a full month off from the gym and not restricting anything I ate whatsoever.  With my dad passing, the celebration of my 1 year anniversary with John, and my birthday all packed into one month, it was tough to stay on-track.  Not only that, but I actually had no desire at all to go back to anything even remotely resembling the strict diet and workout plan I'd been on all summer.  As a result, I gained 20lbs in 3 weeks after the show, then another 15 in the months following.  YIKES!  Lesson learned: in weight loss, the best treatment is prevention.

This time I'm trying to be a bit better.  I was back in the gym Monday, doing an hour of cardio and weights, and have managed to get in 5 workouts this week  :D  Diet has been.... ok.  I'm eating clean for most meals, but I have been having at least 1 treat per day (wine, ribs, pasta, sushi, candy corn....) and am already up 11lbs from my contest weight.  (Side rant: why is it so much easier to gain weight than to lose it?  It makes no sense!)

I'm ok being at this weight for now (126lbs), but I know that I have to cap it off here.  Every time I gained weight last year I would tell myself "oh, it's only 1 pound" until all of a sudden it was 35lbs :S  I know what I need to do: I'm confident that I'm doing enough cardio, so it all comes down to diet.  I need to cut the cheats down to once or twice a week (special occasions only), and get rid of any little "extras" I've been adding to my meals (it's been raisins, honey, and peanut butter on everything lately! lol).

I've also got a photo shoot booked for the week of November 18th, so that should give me some extra motivation to clean up my diet.  I'm setting a goal for myself to be back down to 123lbs by then.... TOTALLY DO-ABLE!  After that, I'd like to be around 117lbs by January 1st.