The Good, The Bad and The Awesome parts of Competing

I have officially competed in my first bikini competition. This blog is here to reflect on this amazing 12 week journey! 

The Good 

Besides this marvelous BODY, I am overall the healthiest I have ever been. Throughout meal prepping I found that I had more energy. I personally loved meal prepping, I like knowing when and what I got to eat. I was fueling my body with the proper nutrition. Besides loosing weight and body fat I noticed that my hair looked and felt healthier. Finally the overall confidence I gained is invaluable. I felt more comfortable in my own body, I mean you have to, you are in a tiny bikini on stage in front of everyone! 

The Bad 

The hardest part was the last 10 days leading up to the competition. This is when most will cut carbs. Then four days out you start to cut your water. As most of you know I LOVE my carbs so I only lasted three days before I put back my morning protein pancakes. I still felt exhausted all the time, during my workouts I couldn't push myself and I did the bare minimum throughout the day so I didn't waist any energy.  Then once I started water depleting it made it even harder. I kept thinking I was hungry but really I was just thirsty. I understand why athletes will cut their water but I had no idea it was so hard. I had really underestimated this portion of the process. The last 7 to 10 days are all mental. You are so close yet the last stretch was the hardest. 

The best part was getting on stage! You have your hair all done up and make up looks amazing. After 12 weeks of meal prep and late night training sessions, it's all worth it when you step up on that stage. 

I got on stage and just had fun, I felt amazing in my bikini! Thank you to Lesia Crawford and Bilbo Baggs for this beautiful suit. I knew the moment I stepped on that stage that my life would change. I knew I wouldn't be the same person win or loose. Honestly there is no "loosing" in this competition, EVERYONE is a winner. We are all wearing our trophy's.  When I walked on stage I told myself lots of smiles, sass and ass!

Below are my before and after photos. I am still a little nervous posting this but I think its a great transformation! 12 weeks of hard work and detection. I loved competing,  even with all the good and bad parts I still LOVED IT. So much that I will be competing again in July :) Now that I know a little bit more about the process I know the changes I need to make so hopefully I can take home a trophy! 

XoXo- Bella Hibbs

5 Tips While Prepping For a Bikini Competition

First off let me start by saying I am not a nutritionist or a trainer. This blog post is based off my own experience and journey through competing for my first bikini competition 

Tip 1- Things Take Time 

The picture above took 12 weeks of hard work and dedication. Unfortunately when I posted this I got a ton of emails, text, and messages asking me what the "secret" was and there just isn't one. Trust me I wish there was but I worked out a lot but more importantly I fueled my body with the right nutrition. If you stay on your nutrition plan and stay active, in time you will see major changes, just not over night. 

Tip 2 - Take an Active Part in Your New Lifestyle

You can hire a nutritionist and a trainer who tells you what to eat, how much and when, but you have to be an active participant in the process. If you are feeling dizzy or light headed or not digesting food well you have to take part and try new things. When I first started I was getting awful headaches. I thought it was my body going through a detox but it keep happening for close to 3 weeks. This process shouldn't be physically painful. I started drinking more water and stopped taking a pre-workouts. I listened to my body and changed my routine till I left better. At first it was trial and error but LISTEN to your body.

Tip 3-  Find Activities Other Than Eating

A big struggle throughout this journey was finding activities  that didn't revolve around food and alcohol! People would want to get dinner, happy hour, or drinks and I was on a restricted diet and it was just not worth the temptation. Try and find other reasons to hang out with people, go for a hike, mini golf or volunteer together. If you think about it there are other activities out there other than eating and drinking, you just have to think a little harder.

Tip 4- Love Your Body

For the first time in my life I feel healthy and not just "skinny". I feel comfortable in my own skin. My body is not perfect and I have learned that it will never be and I'm finally okay with that.  It is great to have a goal to work toward but loving yourself has to be apart of that goal. 

Tip 5- Be Around People Who Are Positive! 

You will get people who don't understand the process and will be negative. People will make comments like "you are not eating enough, you are harming your body and you will get too muscular". Don't LISTEN to them! Stay positive and surround yourself with people who lift you up not bring you down. 

Tomorrow night I will be on stage competing for the first time! I will update with pictures and videos. If you want to come watch the show you can get tickets buy clicking this link :) Friday night is a little cheaper than Saturday but get your tickets before they run out! 

XoXo- Bella Hibbs