A picture story (or a year's worth of work)

[rockangel]

Hi! (wave)
(please note that this whole tale is to show my work over the year and poke a lot of fun at myself. Lots of sarcasm but mostly this is how i really thought through the process. )

This was me in the beginning:

Yeah, sorry bout the blacked out face. That was me being a wee bit embarassed.. but anywho,
I weighed exactly 105 round about 30 maybe higher percent BF, in this picture on January 1st, 2010. You see, i had made a resolution to "get in shape" and "compete". Very lofty i know, but so it begins.

And this is the back of me, just so you know what we were working with:


So, I thought, geez im not overweight and i have awesome muscles, i mean i am pretty strong and all, but i just have this, like, 10 maybe 20 pounds of fat hanging on. I know if i lose it, then i will look even awesomer (i would be so awesome i would get my own word in the dictionary!)

So i set out a goal that in six months i would drop all the fat and look gorgous on stage in a little next to nothing bikini. Yay me!! Yay for positive thinking!! (you can just feel the sunshine and rainbows shooting out of my badonkadonk cant you??)
I mean, how hard can this be?? I've lost like 4 pounds in a week, 10 pounds is nothing to me since i am so wonderful and awesome at losing weight. Afterall, i am only 105 freakin pounds here!

Moving on, a few months go by, and i lose some fat, some muscles start to show, and i am seeing some nice progress:


Yay! I think, im doing great! I am so beyond awesome, who did they think they were to tell me 6 months was too short a time to compete. I will show them all and be even awesomerer than i thought (wow was i getting good! I now have 2 words in the dictionary that describe me!)

I could imagine them all at the show, being suprised that this no name girl comes out of no where to take home 1st place in her class and... could it be... even overall??? The possibilities were endless.

A few more months go by, the show date is fast approaching, my suit is ordered, my heels are in the mail, tanning supplies all bought and gathered waiting patiently for me to start my wonderous journey with them.

A month before the show, i realize, crap! this is hard, this diet sucks, i wanna cookie and what the he...ck did i think i was trying to do. Of course those people on bb.com were right, how could i have been so stupid to think that i would be ready for (gulp) that little bitti bikini sitting right over there....

I decided to do the show anyway, heck my pride was at stake now, i had bought the suit, i had told all my friends i would do it, paid the entry fee, had all the supplies. Too late to chiken out now...


Well, you think, thats not so bad. Its not like you have gobs of flesh hanging out or anything, you must have done ok for yourself...... only if you think last place is ok.......

I thought in six months i could go from this---


to this--------

this is Jackie Hoppe, by the way...so not me, and not my pic...


BOY, was i ever surprised to look like this in reality -----


But the best part is, (Rocky theme starts to play), I didnt give up, I kept going, i kept doing what i knew was getting me results and thats how it had to be, just one bit at a time. Just me and myself trying to be the best me i could be....

[rockangel]

A whole lotta more months went by and finally, just over a year later.. I went from this (yes just one more time for effect, i promise)


to the reality of this:



Today, i am 110 and around 23% body fat, give or take. Im stronger, faster and more awesome than i was last year, which sometimes is all you can ask for.

So please, let this be a cautionary tale, to those who had the same mindset as i did in the beginning, dont think you can compete with just a few months training behind you. It just wont work. (Nope, your not any different or more special or more awesom than I was/am)

And to the rest, let this be a celebration that I was a "resolutioner" with resolution, and that even though i have a long way yet to go, i have made progress that i am very happy with.
Thanks to all of those who helped along the way, no matter if it was advice or a debate, it all helped.
The end...

[bashbegginer]

congrats on getting on stage

[vandalgirl59]

Thanks for the journey lol. Congratulations on all your hard work! Keep it up Love the pups by the way

[toodlepip]

A courageous and educational post...congrats on all you have achieved!

[juliacheh]

Thank you for your sense of humor and brutal honesty.
My opinion - this thread should be stickied, it's a great visual example to Karla's thread "Realistic goals and competing".

[madelineoneil]

cool post!

[kfisherx]

THIS deserves a place in my new sticky and (of course) serious reps. Congrats on realizing how stupid it was for you to do what you did and then portraying the reality of these errors... (At least you did not end up with eating disorders and/or give up)

Three cheers for you!!

[Mindi912]

THIS deserves a place in my new sticky and (of course) serious reps. Congrats on realizing how stupid it was for you to do what you did and then portraying the reality of these errors... (At least you did not end up with eating disorders and/or give up)

Three cheers for you!!

Agreed whole heartedly. Thing is girls think they can just jump on the stage and feel like they deserve to be up there after only a few/six months worth of granted hard work.

As you can see/know, it takes so much more than just six months. These girls work for years on their figures before they actually get up there and win. It takes time and dedication.

Hat off to you though for sticking through it and coming on here and saying, "hey you know what I didn't belong up there and I wasn't ready."

[Rowyn]

Kewl story! I have one of those bathing suits btw, lol.

I agree that is takes alot more time/work to build than most think. I also see that when some of the chicks (like yourself) who DO try to hit the stage right away actually backslide. Think of all the progress you COULD have made in that time frame if you weren't so focused on the crazy diet part of the whole thing and yadayada. And then the after show food frenzies that seem to send some people into a bad spiral.... How the heck you are supposed to be a noob building muscle when you are in deficit is beyond me.

Props for posting!

[kdiamond55]

That is a great story!! And kudos to you for actually going through with it and trying your hardest!! I couldn't have/wouldn't have had the balls!! You look great BTW. I'm sure a lot of people think "I could do a competition" and the reality is, it is HARD and takes a ridiculous amount of time and consistency to do it. One of my friends did it, it took 9 months of working her BUTT off, no alcohol or partying, gym twice a day, eating nothing but chicken and eggs...sounds crazy to me, but I understand why people want to do it.

Glad you put this out there, maybe we'll get a lot less "how do I compete in 6 weeks" questions...lol

[Mindi912]

That is a great story!! And kudos to you for actually going through with it and trying your hardest!! I couldn't have/wouldn't have had the balls!! You look great BTW. I'm sure a lot of people think "I could do a competition" and the reality is, it is HARD and takes a ridiculous amount of time and consistency to do it. One of my friends did it, it took 9 months of working her BUTT off, no alcohol or partying, gym twice a week, eating nothing but chicken and eggs...sounds crazy to me, but I understand why people want to do it.

Glad you put this out there, maybe we'll get a lot less "how do I compete in 6 weeks" questions...lol

Talk to Kimm4 about dieting for a comp. As far as I understand she doesn't believe in cutting anything out of a diet which I commend her for because that lady knows her stuff.

[ABbb]

I think you've made some great progress and have a really positive outlook. Not everyone can achieve the type of physique you provided as your inspiration, even if they work really hard. I guess the lesson is, dream big, work hard, but not everyone can be #1 - by definition.

[Mea]

I too thank you for your story and honesty . You have made some wonderful progress!

I'm about 5 months into starting training. I initially only wanted to lose 10kgs (thought doing all cardio was the way to go), discovered weights and all their benefits and thought I'd look fitness magazine wonderful in a couple of months. Turns out I don't. I've made some wonderful changes, but yeah, no where near ready for baring all in a bikini just yet :P

But I've come to realize in the last 2 months that I'm in no hurry. Changes will come as long as I keep at it.

[UCSurvivor]

Good for you girl! You're totally rockin that suit!

[Num3n]

wow.... huge change. nice

[Kittyfeet]

Great progress! You look great in that tiny bikini!

It's cool to have a story with the pics. : )

[Amanda76]

Congratulations on your progress! You've done a great job over the last year! Everything looks higher and tighter.

So far as "getting on stage before you're ready," you're not the first person to do it. I like that you posted your expected 6 month result. You ARE closer to that look today than you were a year ago, that's for sure! But if it only took 6 months to look like that, it wouldn't be so rare to come across someone who does. Obviously, I point that out for the benefit of newbs reading this thread, not you rockangel.

Keep it up and it just keeps getting better!

[5more]

I think your pretty AWESOME!!!!!
Great job.

[rockangel]

I want to thank you all for the positive support. It means a lot, and I hope some can benefit and learn from my errant ways.
Kfisher, i would be honored to have my post in your stickie. Its the best durn stickie/post i have read covering the subject.

I also realized that the picture i posted as my final was actually the pictures for october and not january.
Just to clear up the matter (and to brag a bit cause i think i look a little better since october..lol!!) I am posting the January pics taken this week.
First, the old me (yet again....)


And now the REAL new me!






And THAT is a real years of work, learning, sweat, some tears, and just a little blood. It truly is a journey.

[KimPossible98]

I love that you posted up this information! I can honestly tell you that before I joined this board I thought it was possible to do quickly, but now know it's a long term thing that takes years and years.

Mad props for this. Hopefully the Newbs will learn from your experience

[AprilShowers13]

Great story. I love your sense of humor and honesty.

Before coming to the forum I honestly thought if I workout and watch what I eat I could get a fitness model's body in a little less than a year. I never knew that it took years to get their body.

[Exodus14]

I know what you're saying here but what I've gleaned from it is the realistic goals I can expect in 6 months to a year. Because so many of us get ahead of ourselves. This was really great to see.

Keep going btw! You're looking awesome.

[foxhedge]

I love this post! I wish I had taken before pictures. I had thought and thought about it but was just too embarassed to have anyone take pics. You are making wonderful progress, I wish I was doing that well. Keep up the good work, you look great!

[LW79]

Awesome post thanks for sharing, and I agree with Kfisher it should be a sticky

[danibel]

This is a good post, and you should feel good about it.

Great work!

[freebirdmac]

Fantastic story!!!! And you do look great. Your hard work really shows. Reps for everything!

[KimPossible98]

Before coming to the forum I honestly thought if I workout and watch what I eat I could get a fitness model's body in a little less than a year. I never knew that it took years to get their body.

This is what fitness magazines will have you believing!

[birdiefu]

Great thread! You have made such progress, and it is very refreshing to see someone take an honest look at themselves, admit if they were a bit foolish as a newb, and then learn from and improve from the experience. I know you have the resolve and know-how to only continue to progress, and I can't wait to see the results. Congrats!

[ExclusiveStarr]

Awesome post! We can all learn something from your cautionary tale. . . and despite all that you made some excellent progress.