Staying in today

Honestly, the first 6 weeks have not been that much of a challenge.  As I stated in previous posts, I really had to work on the mentality of treating competition prep like a job, and that still holds true, but I genuinely don't feel the need to explain or feel guilty about sticking to and staying focused on the overall goal of competing.

My first real challenge has been dealing with a plateau.  I still have 4 days to go until my next body comp, and I am not feeling as confident this week as I have been in weeks past.  As with everything in life, there is a lesson in this, which, at least as I see it now, is more about maintaining a positive attitude and not letting frustration overcome me.

This really is reflective of real life.  The hard decisions to make are hard for a reason.  It is hard to weigh everything I eat, to turn down offers for free lunch or to have my own food while everyone else is eating something else.  It is time consuming - it is a commitment.  But as with any commitment, I generally see the results, as my body is changing before my eyes.  Well...it was...

For most people, the real prep starts 12-16 weeks out, depending on their starting point.  As a result, I am in the real prep period now, when everything I eat, everything I left, where every minute of cardio I do counts.  It also makes a difference if I don't do them or I half-ass them.  The real work has begun.

I am starting to realize that the frustration with the plateau I am having is just as much about the fear of the future as it is frustration with feeling like the work I am doing is not creating the results I want.  Actually, these two go hand in hand, as my fear of the future probably relates to already facing the possibility of a more restrictive nutrition plan and possibly more time in with cardio.  The fact that I have been eating the amount of calories I have and still am doing relatively minimal cardio has been something I have been happy with and is why the first 6 weeks were not really a struggle.  Also, it's easy to stay motivated when you are meeting the minimum outcome you plan for plus some.  Add in a plateau and the prospect of having to be more restricted and motivation wanes a bit.  Thank goodness I am still adding strength.  I have that to look forward to! At least for the next few weeks.  Once I start restricting my nutrition more, my strength will decrease, so hopefully I'll be able to focus on the numbers for motivation then. :)

Which does bring me back to a recurring theme in my posts - the importance of utilizing more than one aspect to measure success.  In this case, I'm learning to not be married to the numbers, and I am working on not getting into fear about nutrition and cardio, and struggling with both of these could be cause for self-sabotage, self-doubt or other things that could keep me from reaching my goal.  Having strength to focus on is something that rejuvenates my motivation, as is JP and my network of friends and family who encourage me.  As my nutrition changes, and my strength decreases, I will have to rely on other measures to stay motivated.  Fortunately that is in the future, and I can stay focused on today, which is a lifting day.  I will go to the gym and I will work it out, and in doing so, I will remember why I love this so much and why I wanted to do this in the first place....at least until I get on the scale in the morning...lol...(I am joking here, just for clarification).