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| My Before - June 2006 |
I have finally jumped and done it. Many of you have inquired in the past and have been interested in seeing the results. Before there was a Recipe for Fitness™ website.... there was a figure competition for Tabitha (Hey that's me!). It was a grueling battle within me to cross a stage and join the 1% of the athletic population that was exploring the world of body building and figure. For me, this happened back in September of 2006.
My motivation was two-fold. First, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and see if I had what it took to push and fine tune my body beyond its limits. I had a dream, I had a plan, I had a fabulous trainer (Thank you Jim Caiafa), and I executed. It was nothing less than a 24 x 7 process that consumed me for 14 weeks from June until September of 2006. The results I got, as you will see, were more than I could have hoped.
Why you ask????.....Well, because I knew that wanted to help others achieve the same goals. I have always had the motto that I would never make a client do anything that I would or could not do myself. I felt like if I understood what it took to get myself there, I would definitely be prepared to help get others there also. I would know and understand exactly what they were going through, exactly how they felt, exactly what they were going to feel next, and exactly what the next step was to get them to their “stage”.
Often times I have tried to express the feeling of standing on the stage after show prep and have never been able to completely accomplish the task or barely do it justice. I mean, how do you express in a few words 14 weeks (for some it’s many more) of day in and day out work, standing on a stage scantily clad, flexing EVERY muscle you have at the same time (yes, I was shaking on stage) while making it look easy combined with nerves, excitement, pride, and joy knowing that you have just crossed the finish line of the biggest goal you have ever set for yourself? The answer is… you don’t. You have to feel it for yourself to believe it and understand. It is an experience like no other and one that is burned into my memory for life.
I have debated back and forth if I should post my pictorial journey on the site because it was a few years ago and relatively speaking, not current. However, it is a big part of who I have become and how I got here, so I really wanted to share it with you. It is difficult to express how much the power of setting and acheiving a huge goal (whether it be competing in a show, losing a large chunk of weight, or achieving a healthy lifestyle) can impact your life. The feelings are those that have to be experienced to truly be understood. I can assure you though that all of the blood, sweat, and tears (and there were many) are BEYOND worth it. As 2012 approaches (Quickly I might add), I encourage you to create your own “show date” and dedicate yourself to achieving your life changing goal. I can assure you that you won’t regret it and you certainly won’t forget it. With that in mind, I have posted for you all, my 2006 Show Transformation journey.
You can find it by clicking the 2006 Figure Show Transformation tab at the top of this page or by clicking here: http://recipeforfitness-tabitha.blogspot.com/p/my-show-transformation.html
Have a Safe, Happy, and Healthy New Year!
My second purpose was to experience and learn. I became a sponge of knowledge. I wanted to learn exactly every detail of what it took to prep for competition. I wanted to know what it was like to set a GOAL (a S.M.A.R.T. one mind you), prep my meals, fine tune my diet, live on fat blasting reductions in carbs, perform two-a-day workouts and cardio followed by posing with no energy in the tank, in addition to organizing hair, nails, suits, and shoes to create a total package to present. I wanted to experience every feeling from head to toe.
Why you ask????.....Well, because I knew that wanted to help others achieve the same goals. I have always had the motto that I would never make a client do anything that I would or could not do myself. I felt like if I understood what it took to get myself there, I would definitely be prepared to help get others there also. I would know and understand exactly what they were going through, exactly how they felt, exactly what they were going to feel next, and exactly what the next step was to get them to their “stage”.
Often times I have tried to express the feeling of standing on the stage after show prep and have never been able to completely accomplish the task or barely do it justice. I mean, how do you express in a few words 14 weeks (for some it’s many more) of day in and day out work, standing on a stage scantily clad, flexing EVERY muscle you have at the same time (yes, I was shaking on stage) while making it look easy combined with nerves, excitement, pride, and joy knowing that you have just crossed the finish line of the biggest goal you have ever set for yourself? The answer is… you don’t. You have to feel it for yourself to believe it and understand. It is an experience like no other and one that is burned into my memory for life.
I have debated back and forth if I should post my pictorial journey on the site because it was a few years ago and relatively speaking, not current. However, it is a big part of who I have become and how I got here, so I really wanted to share it with you. It is difficult to express how much the power of setting and acheiving a huge goal (whether it be competing in a show, losing a large chunk of weight, or achieving a healthy lifestyle) can impact your life. The feelings are those that have to be experienced to truly be understood. I can assure you though that all of the blood, sweat, and tears (and there were many) are BEYOND worth it. As 2012 approaches (Quickly I might add), I encourage you to create your own “show date” and dedicate yourself to achieving your life changing goal. I can assure you that you won’t regret it and you certainly won’t forget it. With that in mind, I have posted for you all, my 2006 Show Transformation journey.
You can find it by clicking the 2006 Figure Show Transformation tab at the top of this page or by clicking here: http://recipeforfitness-tabitha.blogspot.com/p/my-show-transformation.html
Have a Safe, Happy, and Healthy New Year!
