Post-Competition Review and What's Next for me...

Hello!!!! Thank you for stopping by my site ;)
Soooo it's about 2-3 weeks after the WBFF show... I competed on the 27th of August... the prep was intense, very exciting and i'm truly pleased with the package i presented on stage and my conditioning! Had a blast meeting new people backstage, pumping up and enjoying lots of sugary treats!!! LOL... Every time i compete i learn something new about myself, both mental and physical... one thing i love about this sport is there is NO limit to what you can achieve and you can just continue to raise the bar with workouts/diet! The body adapts to training/nutrition so quickly that it's a constant challenge to keep a few steps ahead and shock your body!!!
The class i competed in was fairly large i think about 12-15 girls or so, i placed 5th... I can't say i was pleased with that... but then again, you NEVER KNOW what or who the judges are looking for... especially since i usually compete w/ a different organization... However, i won't cry over spilled milk... no use in b*tching about "unfair judging" ... life goes on and i am thankful for the extensive learning curve i got to experience while dialing in for this show... I owe a HUGE thank you to my amazing contest prep coach, Kevin Tierney!!! Honestly i started working w/ him towards the END of my prep (last month) where i had hit a major mental barrier... i was a complete carbo-phobic and cardio-addict!!!! Luckily he somehow got through my thick skull and talked some sense/scientific knowledge into me and sh*t started to click... it made sense WHY i needed "the right types of carbs" at the right times in order to achieve the look i wanted... if i have any regrets it's not having had Kevin train me the FULL 12 weeks... or i would have came in more dialed in/tighter... but this is why there are OTHER shows to train for... hahaha... NEXT on the agenda is the OPA London show in November... We've already pretty much mapped out a nutritional outline/training plan for the next while which is my main focus at this moment... I had a lot of fears to overcome... 
1)Fear of carbs 
2)Not Over-training(i was used to living on the cardio equipment) 
3)Lifting super heavy for lower reps for a period of time 
4)Giant Sets 
5)Eating more in general...
6)Etc ... Etc... LOL
I was sooooo scared to eat more i honestly thought i was going to pack on so much size, the girl in me formed an emotional attachment to dieting.. so by taking myself out of the equation and just following the nutrition plan   my coach gave me i didn't question anything, just had faith and i'm right back on track ;) I even got to enjoy an awesome post-comp week of "no boundaries eating" LOL i crammed thousands upon thousands of crap calories, like literally shoveled food down my throat by the hour... FEARLESS!!!!! As expected i retained a sh*t ton of WATER after this but it's ALL coming off! Focus, hard work, sweat/tears etc etc.... and the results are starting to show! I faced my fears of consuming clean carbs w/ more than 3 meals a day and eating wayyyy more protein and to my surprise the numbers on the scale are slowly decreasing... :)
If there is one thing i am learning is that it helps to be more objective and have an open mind when it comes to food/exercise... You may know your body best, but somebody may know what the next step for you is when you hit a plateau/barrier so although we have to stand on stage alone and this may be seen as a "one man sport" it takes a whole lot more input/opinions and expertise to truly master "dialing in" for a show!!!
My creativity is booming in the kitchen, i'm putting together so many new concoctions that fit into my new nutrition plan, it's really exciting and i'm eager to share some recipes with you all!!!!
Anyhow, here are a few pics that some very talented photographers took of me at the show... hope you like'em! ;) I will be posting another update and some recipes soon, so stay tuned :))))

xo,
Alex L. :)