REFLECTING ON 2007

Today as I cleaned my house I thought about the year that was, or should I say, still is 2007. What an absolutely amazing ride it has been and in a couple of days time we say good-bye to it and welcome in 2008. So here's my take on my 2007.

JANUARY: I started the year with a dose of post-Christmas weight gain after a week away and doing my bit for finishing off Christmas leftovers. Hmmm had to train extra hard to get back to where I was before the Christmas holiday and I did it. This year I stopped eating anything junky on Boxing Day and therefore minimised any Christmas weight gain. Score One for me for Jan 2008 (when it rolls around).

FEBRUARY: The family travelled to Sydney to celebrate SIL's 40th birthday. We had a fantastic time staying in a luxurious 3 bedroom apartment in the city and seeing Priscilla Queen of the Desert was certainly a highlight that weekend. Training suffered a bit on that holiday but nothing that couldnt be made up quickly once back home.

MARCH: My SIL and her (then) fiance arrived in Adelaide and had bought a house a couple of suburbs away from where we live. Our social life kicked into overdrive with regular barbies, nights out at The Fringe and casual get-togethers. Things became a little more challenging when it came to eating clean but I persevered.
In late March we had another Sydney holiday this time with my best friend and her husband. More eating out, drinking, shopping and neglected training - which came as a bit of a godsend anyway as I had fallen over on one of my runs and had hurt my knee so a bit of forced rest was good.

APRIL: BS turns 5. We have all of our friends over for a celebration and for the first time I dont overeat in a social setting and I DRINK NO ALCOHOL. OMG I actually can do it if I really want to. Somewhere in there Easter happens but as I'm not a chocolate lover my only temptation is hot cross buns, toasted with butter. I buy VERY few and survive it basically unscathed. Going strong.

MAY: By now my training is really ticking along. I am so much leaner and am feeling some muscles growing. I hit 61.5 kilos at the end of May and it feels fantastic after starting off at 72.6 the previous December. Then I have a week of just not wanting to do the diet stuff anymore and I eat what I want, only confessing this to Josh (my trainer) once I've done it. The good thing is that after that week I'm ready to hop straight back onto my diet and training plan.

JUNE: In early June I crack the "under 30 mins" for my 5k run. I now have an early morning training partner too - hi Kristy :-) - and its so motivating having someone slog it out with you on those cold dark mornings. My mood is generally good but I have my down days and my hard times but I'm getting really excited about being 12 weeks out from comp at the end of June. So on the eve of 12 weeks I have a girls night in with my beautiful SIL and we share a pizza and a bottle of red wine. Now I'm ready to crank up the dieting and training. BRING IT ON!!

JULY: I start my comp prep really strong despite my mum having a heartattack (she is ok after it) and being broken into whilst we were home asleep - all in 1 day. My meals are pre-prepared and I just get on with it. Josh was happy with where my weight was at 12 weeks out and its all systems go. My birthday dinner at The Manse is superb and I have permission to eat what I want, including cake but not to stuff myself. I do as I'm told LOL. Things get a bit wobbly after this and I panic that I've blown my chances of competing. Luckily Deb and Alicia come to my rescue and put my mind at ease about my slip-up.

AUGUST: A difficult month. At the 57kg mark I hit a major mental hurdle. WH doesnt like the way I'm looking and so emotionally I'm a mess. I lose some weight, I regain it and I do this over and over again until I tell myself that I have to put aside WH's feelings and do what needs to be done. Not easy but I manage it. I think its was in August too that I got the opportunity to compete at the Championships in Sydney and after much debate we agree that I (we) should go. YIPPEE!!

SEPTEMBER: Last month before the comps in early October. I'm struggling along. Feeling the cold terribly. Tired. Cranky. The diet is STRICT and the training is punishing but the finish line is near. I have some posing coaching and my routine professionally choreographed and I practice heaps. WH has his birthday and I have a small indulgence. Josh is NOT pleased but WH is and that matters more right now.

OCTOBER: Well its finally here. On October 6th I make my Figure debut in the SA WNBF titles. Its a small show with very few female competitors but I cant control that. The night before the comp I'm overcome with emotion that I have done it. I have made it from Fat Girl at 72.6kgs to Figure Girl at 55kgs. I'm happy with how I look and I'm darned proud of what I've achieved so on the day I'm beaming from ear to ear every second that I'm on that stage.
This is followed up with the Championships (which I actually did qualify for in the end) in Sydney a week later and another awesome experience on stage with some VERY tough competition.
We finish October with the best holiday ever and I eat and drink without stressing about how I'm going to have to work it off. Life is great.

NOVEMBER: Post comp is a funny time. At first I enjoy not having the pressure to train or diet but I find it hard to find my "happy place". I have my ups and downs but I finish the month within the weight limit I wanted to maintain.

DECEMBER: I wish I could write a heap of really good things about this month but in all honesty I cant. I have struggled with my eating and my motivation for training has been dismal at times. I gained more weight than I wanted to but it was the emotional struggle that affected me the most. I'm so lucky that Liz (Nelson) came to my rescue and started to help me out of my hole. As I sit here typing away a few days after Christmas I can proudly say that athough I didnt eat clean or healthy on Christmas Day, I got straight into it on Boxing Day. I've NEVER done that before. Score another one for me.

So there is my recount of 2007. Interspersed with all that I recall times sitting in my exercise room crying my eyes out and wondering if I'd ever make it. My posing coach kicked off our working relationship with some negative comments about my body/weight, sending me off on a binge just to make what was already tough, even tougher. My poor WH could not believe what a comp prep actaully involved and many a time he struggled with it far more than I did.

Along the way I learnt many things like:

You cant expect to conque
r binge eating when you are dieting strictly. The diet fuels the binges and it is clearly a no-win situation.

Very few people understand what body building competitions involve. 99.9% of them will think you're crazy for doing it.

I actually like brussel sprouts (just prefer to NOT have them for breakfast!!LOL!!!)

There is the best support network in the bodybuilding world both through blogging and Josh's forum. I made some wonderful new friends (hi Kerry, Stacy, Cheryl, Tania, Deb, Alicia, Liz, Fern and more!!) and I love having these people to talk all things competing, training and dieting.

In the end despite all the hardship and tough times I NEVER GAVE UP and I proved to myself that I had it in me to take on something tough and apply myself with guts and determination and ACHIEVE MY GOAL.

I'm really looking forward to 2008 where I want to learn another way to prepare for comps and hopefully bring an even better package to thes tage in my 2nd year.

Cheers all

Magda