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 Athletes have to have the ability to prioritize & suspend the future all at once.
A competitor, for example, has to go into the gym & train with intention every training day to make the most of each rep, set, and movement, prioritizing their programming and engagement. They do this with the future in mind…how will I look on stage, muscle growth, winning… But they must suspend the future to make the most of the present session otherwise an athlete would likely resist giving their all to the session. An athlete who considers and maybe even is worried about how they have to do 45 min of cardio tomorrow and legs but today they have 35 min cardio & upper body so they should preserve energy for tomorrow will likely not maximize their potential. At the same time though, an athlete needs to train smart & intentionally with consideration for their body’s ability to execute day in and day out over months & years. Much like a writer who might know they are capable of writing for 11 hours straight but this would prevent them from writing for even an hour tomorrow. There’s a threshold to our effort. And mindfulness effort overtime leads to an understanding of our threshold which can become more automatic. But again, athletes must also push in order to reach a greater potential for the future without sacrificing their efforts of today for tomorrow. I used to preserve too much sometimes because my perception of the next day or week of workouts or food was one of concern or scarcity (not a champion mentality). I robbed myself of growth those times because of this. Now, if I ever catch myself going through the motions I notice my mindset & think why am I not giving more effort? What belief needs to shift? Am I avoiding something or is this my best right now? I have compassion for my past selves as she helped me get where I am now which is a state of greater awareness & acceptance. I recognize that I am still learning & by being present enough today to notice the lessons, I am contributing to tomorrow WHILE making the most of today. #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY Join the on-demand mindset coaching platform for competitors: www.celestial.fit/ondemand
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Feeling defeated post-show as you have fallen into binging, hating what you see in the mirror, feeling like you’ve “lost yourself”, and doubting your future as an athlete.
But I assure you it’s not the end for you. Like this client here, you can achieve food freedom, let go of the all or nothing mentality, learn about yourself, embrace your body again, and reconnect to yourself. Your life can change with one decision. I’ve had people reach out to me, eager for change, hopeful for a better future, only to deny themselves of the help they know they need. I understand it’s an investment of time, energy, effort, finances, and resources but the cost of not moving forward for yourself is usually far worse… I find many people who have inquired about working with me in the past and opted not to, come back in the future, sign up, and regret not starting when they first reached out. This is not to say it’s always the right time or circumstance for everyone but this is to say that you CAN experience change and that voice in your head or that feeling in your gut encouraging you to take action and trust that change is possible is worth listening to! While I never make guarantees, because ultimately inner work is up to the individual, I know my process works. With hundreds of people who have now gone through this program I have seen the power of even giving 60% effort let alone those that go above and beyond each day… I know I can’t help everyone but the people who I can help and have had the absolute pleasure and opportunity to have been amazing and I’m so grateful to Valerie for sharing her experience in the program even months after completion. It is stories like this and those of all my clients and members that remind me of the power of mental health in the bodybuilding community. Every champion needs a champion mentality… Let’s #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY together To learn more & apply for this program visit: www.celestial.fit/foodfreedom. I can’t wait to support you in your journey ❤️🧠🫂💪🏻  There are a lot of strange things about being a counselor on top of the work I already do in my business.
I feel like there are so many tools that I have at my disposal yet simultaneously I recognize that the client counselor relationship is one of the greatest predictors of success…meaning we really can’t go at it alone at least not all the time. I struggle with things mentally myself. I try to remind myself of all that I’ve already overcome…depression, disordered eating, anxiety, body image related issues, cognitive distortions, & other unhealthy behavior & thought patterns. This gives me the confidence to know I can get through what I’m getting through. Ever since my mom died I haven’t been the same. I struggle with thinking a part of me might have died with her while other parts of me were born from her death. I am contending with the light & darkness. The initial phase of trauma was really a visceral, physical change that I could feel & recognize in myself & my family. With my expertise, I could recognize parts of my brain that were literally responding to trauma & could see thoughts emerging from the experience & work to address them head on. But being a mental health pro doesn’t make me immune to the human experience, thankfully. As hard as it can be, I recognize the benefit of my experiences like empathy or forethought. I felt inspired to write this because I think many people exist in professions they think they have to be a “model citizen” of, but, it’s unfair to expect this. It is fair to expect to show up for ourselves & do the best we can but unfair to expect ourselves to always have it figured out… I work with many coaches who think they shouldn’t struggle with binge eating, restriction, or over exercising because they wouldn’t want their clients to deal with that or know they are dealing with it. This is just one of many examples I could use to say that you are not your profession, education, or your knowledge & while these things can equip you to better deal with situations it doesn’t mean you’ll have all the answers. I hope that in reading this you’re inspired to reach out for the help you need. ❤️🧠 #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  I was sweating so much in my workout today and my face was turning bright red and I saw myself in the mirror and thought damn, I am really doin this for myself every day.
The shirt I was wearing says “dreams only work if you" do and I felt that I was not just working but truly am worthy of the work I put in daily. I love that workout time is a time in the day where I know for sure it’s my own and a time of day where I get to be really present with myself and my body, I’ll be challenged, I’ll feel good about myself, and I’ll move forward in my goals. It’s so empowering to feel strong and healthy. I feel it even more this week after taking some days off last week after getting sick :( Being back and feeling so good makes me extra grateful for my health and my body’s ability to “bounce back” so fast. I like to believe that growing up as an athlete bred so much drive and determination in me, fostered heavily by my parents who always encouraged me to go after anything and everything I wanted and to be RESPONSIBLE for my actions- no matter if the result of them was good or bad. I feel reminded of this lesson today. I recognize the responsibility that comes with a goal and I embrace the amazing gift it is to be able to pursue a goal at all. Do you ever get hit with moments of gratitude for what you’re doing or your body or yourself that feel extra strong? I thought I’d share this moment I had today with you because it makes me happy to go after a goal every day, in many areas of my life, and to know that the outcome is not what defines me but the commitment every day to showing up and the way I perceive each commitment made is what defines my experience. #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Excited to share that I was featured on @laura_ifbbpro podcast: @bikini_things to talk about my journey, how it’s informed my view on competing, and how I’m using my background in mental health to support competitors to #BuildMorethanJustaBody
You can find the episode linked in my bio, search your favorite streaming platform, or by visiting www.bikinithings.com I can’t wait for you guys to hear this one🤗 I had lots of fun talking with Laura and taking the hot seat to share and connect with her as we really related and had such great conversation! There’s so much to learn from her podcast and I’m hopeful that you all love this episode! Please let me know what you think🤩  1) What would the version of me who accomplishes this goal have learned in the process that supported me in achieving the goal?
2) What would the version of me who has achieved the goal be aiming toward/working toward next? 3) What would the version of me who has achieved the goal say about my current daily habits, thoughts, and beliefs? 4) Is going after this goal achievable and challenging? Does it require a new level from me with respect for where I am and circumstances? 5) Does this goal align with my values? How? Is this strong enough to make the efforts required feel like non-negotiables? 6) What would prevent me from achieving this goal? What needs to be in place to prevent sabotage from happening? 7) Am I excited about the process to achieving this goal? Is it just as rewarding if not more so than the outcome itself? 8) When I achieve it I will celebrate it by ____ which will set me up for my next goal of ____. 9) Is my environment conducive to the achievement of this goal? 10) What current beliefs about myself will support me in this goal and which ones will not? #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY For more support with goal setting and personal development, checkout my book “Believe your way to Badass” on Amazon📖 Pics are not recent. These were taken after my first show of last competition season! Still working on the next👀🔥  1) Let go of the timeline & focus on how you feel, function, and are executing. This’ll detach you from racing to “get somewhere” & will support you in having gratitude for your body & patience in your process while limiting comparison to others who may be on a similar timeline.
2) Avoid over celebrating weight drops & measurement changes. This will support you beyond your prep too. If you spend too much energy positively reinforcing getting smaller, it’ll be a mental shock when you start to gain & grow again as you’re not used to positively reinforcing this. Similarly, if you don’t see a change you’re expecting, it’s still data. Falling into the trap of over celebrating or promoting the results without also recognizing the work, effort, & entire process (including what you did in your improvement season) is going to reinforce these things as more important than the influence of the actual work. I’ve seen competitors go to unhealthy measures like purging or doing extra cardio to “make up” for something just to get a result & still celebrate the result which is NOT productive. 3) Practice Compassion. It’s been found that compassion supports a positive body image. I find during hard workouts or after a long day I have much more compassion which encourages me to push more! 4) Encourage healthy conversations about your body. When we prep, it’s common for people to question how our body has changed & continuously say how amazing we look (at least up until that last phase of prep lol!) This can create an expectation that it’s okay for people to make comments about our body. Naturally as a competitor, this is going to happen. But you can have boundaries. If not, people will feel it is okay to also do this as you grow out of it & into an improvement season which can often be uncomfortable for competitors as mentally we haven’t always caught up with the way our body has changed & are used to seeing it shrink too. I like to reinforce efforts I’m making & how I’m feeling so people ask me more about that than my shape alone. The more comfortable you are with yourself, the less these comments can impact you. #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  I was totally guilty of indulging in the belief that competitors are supposed to eat ALL the foods they’ve fantasized about for weeks on end post-show.
People around me even fed into this mentality by always asking what I’d eat, what they could give me, or where we could eat after (which now I more productively respond to for boundary setting). 1 time I brought tons of treats back stage & then had 5 slices of pizza & who knows what else. Another time I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on from the dessert table back stage & ate everything so fast to get in as much as possible. I always felt so bad & wanted to be more respectful of my body. I hydrated after show, asked my body what she really needed after such an intense prep process & long show day, & took the time to implement my mindful eating strategies after I took a nice shower & got changed & celebrated/reflected on the journey. I think it’s important to have a nice meal post show to replenish & refuel your body. I also don’t think we need to demonize any sort of food chosen post show or the desire to enjoy something you haven’t had in awhile. But it’s also important we recognize that you are in a more vulnerable physiological & psychological state entering these decisions & being able to slow yourself down, engage in healthy thought patterns, & make the best choices for you, your body, & goals is really important to making the most of it & if you don’t practice that throughout your season it’ll be very hard post-show. It is possible to enjoy foods without stuffing yourself, have no post-show meal or save it for another day, & to incorporate the foods you’ve been wanting into your plan over the next couple weeks rather than eating it all in 1 weekend because otherwise it “won’t fit”. It is worth noting that I think some competitors can engage in what appears to be a binge fest without actually binging or overeating but most of the time I see this mentality of binging perpetuated. Experiment & find what works for you post-show to have sustainable results & longevity! Be kind along the way❤️🧠 #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Ashley came to me post-show expressing how she nailed her prep to the T & had no issues at all with sticking to her plan but when prep ended, she found herself struggling with binging, purging, & not knowing how to stop herself from eating & consistently eating to extreme discomfort.
She was consumed with thoughts about food, worrying about holidays and meals out & vacations (all of which she ended up crushing during the program by the way), & eating in secret. She told me she wants to become an IFBB pro one day & wanted to be an example to her daughter of what a healthy relationship with food could look like while pursuing her health & fitness goals. We texted a few times through my free text message blasts & DMs & she had listened to my podcast for a long time and knew working with me would be her next best step. I’m sooo glad she decided to reach out because by the end of the program she expressed to me that she felt like she had so many breakthroughs that her relationship with food was literally “night and day” as she can now trust and listen to herself as well as her body. I remember one time I acknowledged how she was showing up for herself and that stuck with her because it became an ongoing mantra I’d see in her daily journals and we’d discuss personally too. The journey is never perfect but her journey was full of lessons and opportunities for growth that she was willing to be honest about and address right off the bat! I’m so amazed by her and can’t wait to see how she continues to progress in her journey from here. Finding peace with food as a competitor is 100% possible and by having mental clarity, you’ll be able to have more longevity & patience because you have more insight. Ashley is a champion!! I felt so fulfilled reading these kind words from her especially because I know what she had overcome. If you’re interested in working with me in the 1:1 food relationship coaching program you can learn more at www.celestial.fit/foodfreedom. Whether you’re in prep, improvement season, haven’t competed before, or are taking time off, you can apply to work with me :) Let’s #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Progress update from this week :) coach has made some changes to the plan to up conditioning and I’m feeling good.
Really enjoying my prep and reminding myself each check in that I will step on stage when I’m ready and I’ll get ready so there’s nothing to stress about and to just enjoy the daily process which I really am. It can be easy to lose sight of that if we fixate too much on the end result we want. I am really excited to see what’s been built and being built but also really happy to be in such a state of peace with the process whereas in the beginning it was more challenging to “embrace”. It seems my body is recomping well too because even if weight changes aren’t dramatic or present my measurements have dropped and i feel & see changes, too. It’s pretty interesting to see how different every prep really can be and how much bodybuilding reminds me to be patient and have trust. Bodybuilding is one of the things that I get to do for me every day and it’s amazing how much we get to nourish our body and appreciate our body’s abilities through this sport. Plus this community is just incredible. As I prep for my 10th show I feel like a different athlete. I’m more “seasoned” and have a better understanding of needs, expectations, and changes. I still have a lot to learn and know that being an athlete is really a never ending commitment to learning opportunities for improvement. How is your progress going? Are you in prep or improvement season or taking time off? #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY @theshoefairy_ discount code: Celeste 🤗 |
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Robert Gourley, Danijel J, Neeta Lind, Brian PDX, Stefano Merli, frankieleon, j_lai, Gudlyf, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet, Arya Ziai, SuperFantastic, Ruth and Dave
