Riding a Roller Coaster of Emotions

I've only been on a roller coaster once when I was maybe 10 years old. Never again! But that's not always hard to avoid. You see, I've been riding a roller coaster of emotions for the last few weeks of contest prep. It all began about 3 weeks ago...

Roller Coaster Going Up
I dieted perfect. I got in all my workouts, cardio, and even taught a few classes. I got fairly decent sleep as well. Got on the scale for my weigh in at the end of the week. WTF! I dropped 5 pounds since last week's weigh-in. Unbelievable! Trainer N8 was surprised. And I "earned" 2 reward meals! Woohoo! Contest prep was going great!

Roller Coaster Going Down
So I was motivated to do everything perfect the next week too. So I did. Dieted perfect. Did all my cardio, workouts, and classes. Got to bed on time. But then a couple of "issues" came up. Let's just say "issue #1" was a girlie thing and "issue #2" ... a recurring "issue" ... will be referred to as ... "issue #2". Both of these "issues" wreaked havoc on the scale at my next weigh-in. Up 3.5 pounds from the previous week. Eff!

I had my whining vent session with a couple of close and special friends (thanks guys!). There was a lot of "I'm frustrated!" and "I don't know what I'm doing wrong!" and even some "Why me?!" Believe it or not I even contemplated ... for a split second ... quitting contest prep altogether! It was just a split second though.

After I calmed down and got all of that negativity out of my system, I made a decision. I decided to accept what was happening and just continue to do the work.

"Issue #1" is a fact of life so I just need to suck it up and deal with it. "Issue #2" is manageable with patience and time.

I told myself to believe that it will all work out if I just focus on what I'm supposed to do, focus on the positive, and make the necessary adjustments to deal with whatever "issues" come along.

I admit it's not rocket science but we ALL need to be reminded of this from time to time. I know I did and probably will need it again before I hit the stage in about 4 weeks. Because training for a figure competition is not just about sweating it out in the gym and eating super clean. That's the easy part! It's about believing in yourself, staying positive, and learning to deal with life's ups and downs without too much drama. Kind of like a roller coaster!