Titanic, chzech sister and possible nanna naps...

Yes yes i know, its been ages since my last blog. But life has taken a hold and has been shaking me non stop! Where to start?....
So this week has seen me abandon any structure and responsibility as i played tour guide and host to my beautiful sister in law Deniska. On a whim she decided to take a weeks holiday and chose to spend that week with me and my hubby here in melbourne. I feel very special that we were her choice for a holiday. Deniska, just to paint a picture for you all, is a beautiful 24yr old chzech spunk with loads of personality and a very gentle spirit. I had such a wonderful time throwing out all structure in my day and heading off to do whatever we felt on the day. We did manage to get to the Titanic exhibition which was amazing - if your in melbs and havent been - dont wait, its trully awesome. And deni certainly single handedly helped the melbourne economy with her spending!
So I dropped her off at the airport at 5.30am this morning and now feel a little sad that my 'play mate' has gone! Oh well, back to reality...
My website is slowly getting there, it has taken a lot longer than i had hoped, but i don't want to launch it til its perfect - yes people i am a perfectionist, shoot me.
Fingers crossed it will be ready to go by the end of next week...
Nit much else has been happening, life seems so very normal without a comp prep! Actually some days I really wish i was prepping, and other days i am so grateful im not! Im still looking to compete in March 2011, and am looking to start my off season plan very shortly. In the meantime its just balanced, clean eating...mostly!
So thats it for now, im so tired form late nights this past week that a nanna nap looks very promising...
xxoo

Passion is the key to success...

Well this week has seen me busy busy busy! I like being busy, it keeps me out of trouble ;)
So as most of you know, my husband and I created, own and run a Personal Training Studio in Richmond and Sth melbourne called Unique Fitness Studio. Up until now i have been Studio Manager which means i deal with the day to day 'stuff', marketing, PR, stock, some receptioning and much more behind the scenes bland jobs! Don't get me wrong, i have enjoyed this role and its created a very nice little existence for hubby and I. BUT, for some time I have felt a little lost within the business. After finishing my comp in July I had a lot of interest from clients wanting nutritional advice. So it occured to me that that is what I should be focusing on. I have my qualifications so why not utilise them fully?
This is when Unique Nutrition was born. I have spent the last week building (yes people ON MY OWN!!) my own website which will offer online nutritional support programs as well as face to face consultations. It will be particularly aimed towards women wanting to achieve weightloss goals and women with hormonal disorders such as PCOS and Endometriosis.
I designed an eating program for my girlfriend KT who suffers from endo and she has had amazing results after years of not being able to lose weight. When she saw her specialist at the ACT Endo clinic, they were amazed at her transformation and asked what she had been doing. When KT mentioned that I had built her program and was a sufferer of endo and PCOS myself, the Co-ordinator instantly wanted to speak with me. After a wonderful discussion, I will be working with ACT Health and in particular women who suffer from Endo, to help them change their eating and lifestlye habits to avoid surgery for their disorder. I am beyond excited at this prospect!
So I will be working from home and the studio, clients can see me in my home office, at the studio or just online support - up to them. Im hoping to go live with my website on Mon or tuesday.
This is a real passion of mine as i have transformed my body, and although I dont claim to have the be all and end all of nutritional knowledge ( i have a lot to learn) I do have first hand experience of how to change my body, gain more energy and overcome hormonal limitations.
Very exciting times for me, hubby and our company!
I went and saw my coaches on thursday - i have really missed them in the last couple of weeks! They are both looking great as their prepping for october comps. And then the comp feeling started again - oh boy! They think i should do the october comps and trust me when i say it is veeerrryy tempting. I had, by thursday afternoon decided to do the comp and today im swinging again. Hubby is supportive no matter what but its important i do this for myself and no one else. Over the next couple of days im chatting with an industy 'celebrity', professional and overall gorgeous person in the sports modeling world. Im hoping with her help to gain some insight and make some decisions around competing. So far her words to me have been 'You and your health are my number one priority - i couldnt give a shit about some show'! So i know that she will help me formulate some plan of attack either with competing or without... i will keep u posted on this and value anyone's input on this topic.
Alright enough already, im exhausted from this post!
Keep training hard and eating clean everyone
xxoo

Finding balance...finally

Well life has finally setled down since i finsihed my comp nearly 4 weeks ago. It's hard to believe that it has taken me this long to get my sh*t together!
Since making the decision not to compete, a load has lifted and everyday i wake up feeling relieved at not having to watch every morsel that enters my mouth or do excessive amounts of cardio. I grieved for a few days after having made the decsion though - wondering if i had infact made the right decision not to compete again so soon. It was 100% the right decision and im very pleased i made it. I do want to do another comp in 2011 - i loved the process - but my body and mind needs a break. Im now concentrating on what a lot of figure girls do after their fist comp, build much needed muscle and maintain a healthy weight. I finally got my head around balanced eating again, and its paid off. Ive lost a lot of fluid and am now happily sitting at 56.5kgs. My goal is to get a couple more kgs off and maintain 54kgs, which for my height and frame suits me.
Im happy to report that i can now walk past a bakery - and not go in. Ahhhh triumph. I do not people, have the type of body where i can eat what i want when i want. I get fat that way. It is not helped by the fact i suffer from PCOS which hormonally is a nightmare for women and weight gain. But im happy with the eating plan i have structured, which incorporates 2 cheat meals a week. Im also happy to report that i am...wait for it...enjoying exercise again YAAAA! Ive even got back into some running this week, and boy does it feel great. Im also lifting heavy heavy. So my weights program is the same for if i was competing - its torture, and i love it!
I also have a very exciting business venture in the pipeline which i will reveal next week. Its great to have a focus on something other than comp prep!
So on that note im off, but keep training hard, eat clean and enjoy life
xxoo

The aftermath...

Well it certainly has been too long between posts. It seems like my life has been a bit of a carnival ride for the last couple of weeks and i feel like i have finally hung up my fairy floss and got off the roller coaster.
Lots has been happening - good, bad and ugly. No one ever prepares you for the aftermath of a figure comp. Im sure there were knowledgable people telling me, perhaps even warning me, about the affects of post comp struggles and what was to ensue. However perhaps its just one of those things that you cant ever really prepare for and thus just have to experience and figure out, for the most part, by yourself.
I have experienced the joys of getting up on stage in top condition, the exhilaration of completing a personal goal, the highs of being part of a somewhat misunderstood industry and sport. And then i have experienced the heartbreak of losing my comp figure merely days after i stepped up on stage (a figure people that was completley unrealistic to keep); the confusion of somewhat disordered eatng and the mental angst of finding myself without structure and nothing to strive for anymore.
Geez. Sounds like im ready to hang myself. But Im just trying to highlight the highs and lows of sometimes doing this kind of extreme sport.
It has now taken me 3 weeks to get my head around my new physique, to stop eating everything that i pass by and feel like having, and get myself back into regular exercise and eating patterns. I have finally, after a long 21 days, finally found my balance.
So that brings me to my next bit of news. I have decided not to compete in the october comps this year. I had my plan from my wonderful coaches all ready to go. I had done all my shopping and worked out my schedule. I was ready to start the craziness. And then D day was upon me. i woke up on the morning i was due to start comp prep and knew i just didnt want to do it. I had spoken to Corina the week before and I had mentioned to her that surely i could start my cardio prep at 1hr a day and build up on that, as i didnt have nearly as much weight to lose as last time.
However, the moment she told me that no i still had to do 2hrs of cardio a day and then 3hrs towards the end - i think i lost my mind! It was at that moment i lost my momentum. 3hrs of cardio a day plus weights. Ummmm NO! So that was it, decision made. I broke the news to my coaches a couple of days ago - and although im sure their disappointed they totally understand why i need a break.
Sooooo i needed a new goal, a new challenge. Im just that kind of person. I think at this stage my goal is to run the 1/2 marathon in october. i have always loved running and i feel this would be a good challenge for me to aim for.
So with more balance in all areas of my life, off i start on my new challenge...watch this space people!
xxoo

Food food glorious food...oh bugger im fat again

Well what an interesting week post comp it has been. Only one week has felt like an entire month. And this is why. I have not touched one vegetable, stepped on my treadmill, lifted a weight, or checked my watch to have my next meal. I have been a complete sloth. And can i say, this has not come guilt free. there have been times in this last week i have thought to myself, gosh, better get my arse moving again, and then i have stuck my hand in the m&m packet and carried on watching The real housewives of NYC.
So, where has this left me? Ummm with a bloated tummy, fluid retention and an extra 5kgs on the scale ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Well if you don't laugh, you will cry. I know i know, i couldnt keep my 49kg frame without sacrificing my sanity for much longer - but gee, really? 5kgs? Yes a lot of that is water but im not going to kid myself - i have been stuffing my face for 8 days straight now AND not exercising. Its a receipe for disaster - i only have myself to blame. So, that being said, its time to reel it on in again. Decisions have been made.
Now that i have consumed enough sugar to feed a small country, i feel ready to get back onto a plan, and actually 3 days after my comp i decided i was going to compete inthe october comps!
Tomorrow i start my prep. I will be approx 12 weeks out tomorrow and im hoping that this prep will be a whole lot easier considering that i dont have as much weight to lose. I started 16 weeks out last comp at 65kgs. This time round i will be starting 12 weeks out at 55kgs. Ahhh big difference. Glenn has said he would like me to be at the same comp weight of 49kgs but with an extra 5kgs of pure muscle. I like the sound of that. i had to lean down so much last comp that i just didnt have enough time to build the level of muscle i would have liked. So this time round its heavy heavy lifting and hopefully a lot less cardio.
I did a grocery shop today - im finally over my aversion to brocolli - and have just finished cooking my food for the week. Im excited to get moving again, this has taught me that i love exercise a lot more than i love jelly beans. Go figure.
So i have decided to put a (much better) plan in place after this comp in october. I am a qualified sports nutritionist, who thought i had the knowledege to get myself into an eating plan soon after comp - i was wrong. I need specific help from a pro to ease myself back into 'normal' eating after this comp so i dont make the same mistakes. I have contacted a well known coach and competitor who will do me a post comp plan. Im excited about this because it will give me the direction i need to help stop the infamous post comp binge!
So life after a comp is well, pretty ordinary! Dont get me wrong i love my life, but preparing for a comp is such a thrill and there is an exhilaration thats hard to describe. So for now, im happy to keep competing and bettering my physique.
Well people, here i go again............... enjoy the journey!
xxoo

Figure athlete reporting in!

Well i did it! I finally realised my dream of becoming a Figure Athlete on Saturday night, and boy oh boy, what a buzz! It was everything and nothing i expected.
Where do i start...
The day began with what felt like xmas...steak and 60g of lollies for breakfast. I kid you not. The night before i realised very quickly that my carb load of white potatoe was bloating me. After sending an emergency text, with picture of said bloated belly, to my coaches, i got an emergency phonecall at 11pm telling me to STOPPPPPPPP the potato and move onto plan B...operation starburst rattlesnake lollies. So the day started off well and just continued to get better and better! I spent most of the morning chilling and getting 'glam' and that was due in large, to mrs makeup extrodinaire Kate! Wow, what an amazing job - thanku hon. Then before i knew it - me, hubby, glenn and corina were in the car headed to Glen Eira stadium. As we jostled our way through the hoards i realised it was going to be time for me to get out on stage with the other girls to open the show. So i threw on my sports wear and headed nervously out on stage with 30 odd other beautiful glamazons. Ummm, i was packin it! I was so nervous by this stage that i just wanted to get in the car and go home! Im not sure why - this was the moment i had been training for for 16 weeks!!! I needed to collect myself so i could show off all my hard work.
Fortunatly, a short stint sitting int he audience with hubby, support crew (thanks girls!!) and corina, settled my nerves, and then it was time...
Glenn and Corina bustled me backstage and into a sea of fake tan, fake hair, fake nails, lots of makeup, sparkling bikinis and a table loaded with every sugary delight you can think of. We were packed like sardines, it was hot (thankgod, because i was so sick of being freezing!)and everyone was madly applying their last coat of tan for the stage. So i stood still whilst glenn and corina squirted and rubbed handfuls of the so called 'dream' tan onto me, until i looked like a little golden emmy statue. All of a sudden, a very official looking person burst through the doors and yelled out 'Novice figure short, your up in 15 , we have moved your group forward'. What the?! There i was standing in my beautiful bikini - with less than half my tan applied. When i saw the panic in glenns eyes, i started to get nervous all over again. Needent have worried however, as what seemed like 30 seconds later the tall offical man wandered back in and told us we had more time due to lengthening the intermission. Phew!
So finally tanned up, olive oiled, and with a tim tam in the belly, i was ready. I began to move down the hallway and before i could say one final word to glenn or corina, i had found myself behind the curtain on stage with 5 other girls!
As the nervous tension grew, we all chatted mindlessly and practised our routines.
And of course - i was up first...there it was, my name being called out...
'And please welcome Lauren Badman, representing Unique Fitness Studio, from Tasmania'.... Ummmmm WTF??!! Tasmania?!! That really threw me! However off i treked in my stripper heels trying to look confident, not fall over and rememebr the poses.
On stage I felt nervous but strong but the minute they called forward 3 girls to compare i knew i had not placed and so i started to relax and just enjoyed it.
And then it was over - i had placed 4th, and for me, i felt like the may as well have called me first, i felt like a winner. It was a very strong lineup, and the girls that placed deserved too, like me, their journey had paid off.
So there you have it, i achieved something that seemed so impossible many months ago. I had transformed my body, learnt many nutritional lessons, learnt alot about myself and about who i can count on to support me (and who i cannot), and conquered some demons along the way...
Today i spent the day relaxing, reliving the special moments of saturday night and catching up with some blog girls...oh yes, and eating! My poor belly! My bestie left with her hubby after a chow down on some chocolate pizza on sunday, and so now im left with photos, a medal and many many memories...
Im so forever grateful to my coaches glenn and corina who, without them, this would not have been possible. Those guys along with ASN supported me the whole way. It goes without saying that the special man in my life who i adore is the reason i stepped up on that stage. And finally to Liz, kate, and jess who came to the show to yell and scream and cheer for me,you guys are the best. Thanku to all the other wonderful clients that called me, or left me gifts and cards or just thought about me on the day - it meant so much to have your support. Thanku to all the clients that came to the afterparty, what a great time!
A lot of people have been asking me...so now what Lauren? What happens now? Well, i have decided id like to do the October Melbourne Comp. Im off to chat to my coaches tomorrow about plans for this. Yes people, im addicted!
Ill leave you now with some pics...
Remember, train hard, eat clean and ANYTHING is possible xxoo

24 hour countdown

Well people, this is it. And im not referring to Michael Jacksons tour. In 24 hours i will be stepping up on stage to complete my journey and become a figure competitor. I have done a lot of reminising over the last couple of days...how did i get to be where i am? How did i do it, when on some days, i really felt like throwing in the towell? How have i coped mentally and emotionally and physically to get to this point? And the answer: Im not really sure. Somehow i tapped into unknown reserves of determination to see this through.
This process has not just been physical, but really emotional. I have learnt things about myself i never knew - fancy that! After 31 (nearly 32 people) years of being me, i didnt know all about me at all. These are some things i have learnt about Lauren Badman.
* I am more determined than i knew
* When i want to be, im highly focused.
* Im not as emotionally attached to food as i thought i was.
* I need motivated people around me
* I adore structure and follow direction well!
* Im not very moody when carb depleting!
* I am too sensitive to others comments (well ok i really did know this one about me already!)
Theres many more, i could be on here all night. But the point is this. Just when u think you know yourself, just challenge yourself and see what u find out - it may surprise u.
Im feeling emotional about this process being over. As hard as it has been, i have enjoyed the process and am worried i may feel lost without 'prepping' for something. Do other figure girls feel this way just before a comp or after? I mean, im going to do more comps, ive decided this already, who knows when, maybe soon or maybe next year. Undecided. But maybe without the structure i will struggle...
Im also feeling emotional because this is a chapter of my life that is nearly over. i wont ever have a FIRST comp to prep for. The first is always a bit special they say.
And im feeling emotional because i want to do everyone proud tomorrow. I dont want to let my coaches down, michael or my family down, clients of the studios or myself. No pressure!
So all in all im a bundle of nerves, excitement, fear, relief, exhaustion and an eerie calm that comes over me every so often...

This morning i weighed in at...wait for it...51kgs! By stage time i should be 49-50kgs. My bikini is fitting great and im very brown from 3 spray tans! My bag is all ready to go for tomorrow and im practising my posing every chance i get. Im as ready as i will ever be.

I want to give a shout out to a few people:

1. Glenn and Corina my ASN coaches: You guys are amazing! You have supported me, guided me and taught me all the way through this process. You never gave up on me and have been there for me at the drop of a hat. I couldnt have done this without you guys, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I hope to make you proud tomorrow.

2. My family: Even though you cant be there tomorrow i know you will be thinking of me. Thank u for your words of wisdom and suppport. I love you all.

3. Kate T: You have always been an amzing person and friend. Thank you for always making me laugh, when sometimes i want to cry, and for believing in me, even on the days i dodnt believe in myself. Your a star!

4. My blog girls: All the girls that have left me comments over the months and cheered me on from cyber space - thanku! A particular thanku to Leisl who called me tonight to wish me luck with my comp - thanku your such a sweetie! The bodybuilding community is a tight nit one with loads of support, and you all have shown me that and i hope to repay the favour once you all start competing in sept and october.

5. My hubby: Saved the best for last! Thanku for being my rock, my best friend, and biggest cheer squad. In your eyes i know i can never fail. You have put up with a lot over the months and tomorrow i know u will be screaming for me the loudest. I love u.

So thats it people, sorry about the long post! Im off to get some sleep but will be posting pictuires next week and will be updating u all on how it goes. Keep everything crossed for me.

Here i go......................................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xxooo