So I’ve had a lot on my mind lately but first I want to start with a prep update! I did a little comparison between 4 weeks out this prep vs. last prep and OMG my mind is blown! Even though the scale has gone up this week, I’m still 13 lbs less than I was at this point last prep and LOOK at the difference!
So even when you think you’re not progressing, check your progress pics, that’s what they’re there for! Not only do I look better but my posing has come a long way. I’m still probably sticking to the blue suit again for show day, but I will bring both again just in case!
And here is this weeks check in at 3 weeks out. Even though the scale is still up, Mother Nature came, I haven’t been getting enough sleep and I have had the weight of life on my mind which I will share.
So even though the scale is up, and I’m stressed and feel….constipated….and Mother Nature is still here, looking at these makes me feel good. I’m also still on a refeed, but a little bit lower of one, and have been 100% on plan. I listen to Savana Sharp’s podcast a lot while I do cardio, and she talks a lot about positive energy, the Law of Attraction and Mindset, which are things my coach also really emphasizes and I have a lot of work to do on. My mindset used to be soooo negative. It was doom, gloom, nothing will work out. When I change my mindset, good things happen. When I was doing cardio Friday, Savana talked about The Secret (read the book, must watch the movie!) and it reminded me of an Anne of Green Gables quote:
To me, this makes me think of my job. As most of you know I’ve been a bartender/ wedding photographer/ graphic designer. I graduated with my degree in Graphic Design in 2015 and worked many miserable corporate contract jobs with long commutes and days in a dark cubicle with little activity. Coming home I’d be tired, but I’d try to go to the gym or go running, then cook a healthy (but most likely over-portioned) dinner and drink a bottle of wine.
I will do a whole “My Fitness Journey” post at sometime but for this one I want to just get to the point!
So pre-2020 I was cocktail waitressing, and had about 25 weddings a year I was photographing. I was living on my own, single, making pretty good money. When The 2020 happened and both my jobs were not relevant anymore I became really depressed. What do I do with my life now? I tried applying for graphic design jobs but was unsuccessful. So I just hung out at home, ran a lot and worked out and kept my weight pretty stable even though I was drinking…A LOT.
When I could go back to work I started bartending and cocktail waitressing and money was GOOD. I was on a high, I stopped doing weddings because I just wanted to be at the club all the time and bringing in that cash money. I figured my life plan was so this as long as I was hot enough, photography on the side, save save save, buy a small house or condo, then retire to Florida and do some photography and bartend down there at a traditional place.
Well needless to say, the dynamic at work shifted and all my shifts were taken away and cut in half. On top of that, due to people being more interested in drinking at work then serving the customers, it became VERY slow, so money has been very tight since and I’ve been basically hardly getting by.
So now I’m back to…who am I? What do I do for a career as opposed to hopping from bar job to bar job? I did get a new bar job, but it’s longer hours and still stressful, and I can’t see myself doing it long term (unless I get the day shifts which are short and sweet!) and after my first bikini competition I got thinking….how can I make this lifestyle…my life? I had messages all the time “how did you do it?” “What do you eat?” And I started wondering if it’s possible to make a reasonable living helping people through health and fitness, still have time to workout because I’m not at a traditional 9-5, and live and breathe fitness while helping people achieve what I have. Since my end goal is to move to Florida, I think it would be wonderful to help active 55+ people with fitness (especially fellow golfers work on their game)!
So I signed up for my NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach courses! This is the first step toward my goals! I’m not sure what exactly I’d like to do in the industry, maybe start as a trainer and nutrition coach, coach online, and then someday direct programs or manage a team or trainers.
My next step is looking into getting my Masters Degree in Nutrition to have a more official title and understanding on how to help people make healthy but tasty choices and see that healthy eating doesn’t have to be gross or boring. I think I’d also like to use my design skills to write and publish cookbooks and healthy eating guides (Creative Eating Like a Bikini Competitor, Easy Clean Eating for Beginners, Eating for Health and Fitness Over 55….just some thoughts, nothing final!) and fitness guides (Fitness For Beginners, The Gym for Beginners) because I know that when I first started I’d just go down the line of gym machines with no clue, and I know a lot of people do that.
Anyway, enough rambling (although getting my thoughts out is why I have this blog hehe) it’s time to have my last snack, get to bed early and start working toward my dreams!
Keep dreaming!
Alicia Laird
Future IFBB Pro and NASM-CPT/ NC
Food and Fit with Alicia 