Hey gang! It’s been a long two weeks! I kind of took some down time after the show to regroup and rest! Apparently contest prep really takes it out of you!!! The NPC Southwest USA Championships was an AMAZING show! I had forgotten how much fun it is to be in the bright lights on stage! I had so much fun!!! When it was all said and done, I came in 2nd place Novice, 3rd in Open. Hooray for two trophies and being Nationally Qualified through 2017! I had so much fun spending the day with some of my favorite people!!
Here’s the thing though. It was an EXTREMELY small show. There were only 90 competitors in the whole thing, and only 5 girls in my Figure open class! CRAZY. A lot of this we attributed to NPC Texas adding so many NQ shows this year—21 to be exact. We got to Arlington Friday afternoon and I was a ball of nerves. I just let my anxiety and my mind get the best of me, and by the time I met with my coach I was totally flat and watery. Just a mess! He told me to eat a burger (or 2!!!! WTF) and watch a movie. I tanned, rested, and got up bright and early for hair and makeup. It was a blast! I still felt the entire time though, that I wasn’t where I should be with all of the work I had put into this Prep. The scale wasn’t dropping like it should have, and I didn’t come in as lean despite my hour and a half of daily cardio, carb cycling, and meticulous diet. I was so frustrated. That said, I still had fun, got some stage time, wore an amazing suit, and got the privilege to compete again.
The next week though, I wanted answers. Jeff and I both felt like something was just off. It didn’t mathematically make sense for me not to have lost more weight with the amount of work I was doing and what my calorie intake was. Why was I not leaner? Long story short. It was all hormones!!! I switched birth control shortly after the show last year, and got the copper IUD put in. The timing matches up perfectly. Paraguard to be exact. Since it’s non-hormonal, it’s not supposed to make you gain weight. We researched the hell out of this thing last week. Apparently for me and thousands of other women, the copper toxicity from the device negatively impacts your thyroid and adrenal system, and makes you not only GAIN weight, but makes it extremely difficult to lose due to excess cortisol and estrogen in your body. There was our answer! I have now had mine taken out, and have gone to other methods (TMI) but ladies, if you have an IUD in I would highly recommend paying attention to the adverse effects it can have on your body. Non-hormonal device or not, there are still chemical hormonal reactions going on in your body obviously since it keeps you from getting pregnant. I’m pissed that I didn’t figure this out sooner, but we attributed my 25+ pound gain to being mostly muscle. And, a lot of it was, but I was definitely carrying a lot of water and dealing with a very slow metabolism that hindered me every bit of these last 15 weeks. To be honest, had I not done this prep I probably would have gained more weight! Now that the SOB is out, I’m hoping that my hormones level out and get back under control soon. It’s only been two days, but I can already see and feel a difference. For a lot of the women I found in a big forum, they dropped weight within days of getting their IUD taken out. Fingers crossed my Hulk genes go back to their usual selves and I’m shredded AF in a few weeks.
That said, I made the decision to post-pone doing another show (or 2 right away) until I feel like I am bringing my absolute best package to the stage. That means no Ronnie Coleman, and unless I drop crazy water weight in the next 3 days, no Steve Kuclo. We’re seeing how the next few weeks play out with me, but I’m shooting to do another show or 2 here in Dallas late summer/ August. I could be really mad that I’m carrying around another 5-7 pounds more than I should be despite busting my ass for the past 15 weeks, and to be honest, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pissed. I followed my diet and training plan 100% but the results didn’t come like we expected. I’m disappointed that I wasn’t tighter and more cut in these stage shots, but it is what it is, and I’m still proud of myself for getting up there. Fortunately, I didn’t gain 50 or 70, or 80 pounds in the past year like a lot of women have with the same IUD that I had. Instead of being angry, I’m just going to let my body level itself out, and keep trusting the process. I’m still healthy, I can still train hard, and I can still love life. Everything happens for a reason, and hopefully someone can learn from my experience. Maybe this means I can get my NASM certification sooner rather than later, enjoy the summer, and do a much shorter prep as we get closer to some future shows. 3rd place and 2nd place certainly aren’t bad, but I want better, and will do better. Thank you all again for your support and love on this crazy bodybuilding ride. Love you guys!!!
Till next time,
-Mere