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 Bodybuilders are hypercritical & focused on their bodies because it’s literally the way this sport works.
You step on stage, you get judged to meet appearance based criteria, you go home. And if you compete again or plan to, every day is really focused on how to be better. Being better in this sport is directly attached to how you eat, train, sleep…which is not the best, but it is the reality. Then, strong associations are formed between you & specific behavior. That’s where things like “I should” or “I shouldn’t” come up along with thoughts of not being “good enough”. I don’t think that these risk factors need to keep you from competing, they just need to be considered before & during competing. How you see food, bodies, exercise, etc will change. If you’re not prepared to address concerning perspectives or distorted views along the way, it will be harder. Establish your perspective early on & be willing to change with it. An example: Your perspective could be that even though you eat xyz foods closer to a show, it does not mean abc foods are bad, it just means xyz foods were beneficial in that time…This can help to keep you from associating morality, worth, or judgment to food. Another example: Your perspective could be that your body is only worthy or loved or admired or nice to look at when you’re stage lean or in prep mode. This is dangerous for reverse dieting, making improvements, and being a healthy functioning person & athlete. A perspective shift might sound like “even though I love my prep body and the lines and how I fit into my clothing, I recognize this sport requires building, therefore I can thank my prep body and honor her by doing my best in improvement season to grow while keeping her healthy” this supports health & longevity. Last example: Your perspective could be that being a competitor in this sport requires laser focus but by setting aside everything that matters to you outside of this sport, including your own mental or physical or emotional needs, you end up hurting your chances of sustaining your competing career so prioritizing other identities is necessary to your success. Has your perspective on anything changed since competing?⬇️
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 I hope when people think of me they imagine me as happy as I look and was in this pic.
I truly try to keep a positive energy around me always. On days where I walk around with a smile all by myself and notice it, I actually feel so good. Not embarrassed to be smiling by myself or worried about how others may perceive it, but grateful that I have a smile on my face at all and that it is natural. I have had others’ sunshine warm me when my heart is cold and it has reminded me that when we feel good & grateful, we can help others feel this way, too. One of my favorite compliments to receive is that I look happy or I am making someone happier. In times when I’ve been really down and going through it, I didn’t receive that compliment and I missed it, but forcing a smile & pretending things are all hunky dory when you’re hurting isn’t fair to your soul either. Working through the pain, sitting with it, learning from it…finding your happy or contentedness again. Then I started to receive the compliment again and I was reminded of who I can be and am when I am healing, healthy, and happy. You don’t have to be perfectly at peace with everything in your life all the time, this would be an unfair expectation for happiness. But when you can be in gratitude for the present moment, living in more flow, it can relieve some of the pain that can take over and tell us life isn’t worth it. Even with death, sadness, pain, struggle, trauma, strife, heartache, illness…it is worth it to persevere. Thank you for capturing this @lenamarie.fitness 🥲 she got this after day 1 of the live #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY event when we got to workout at the @contestprepcenter 😍
Rather than shaming yourself for giving into excuses and denying yourself of the goals you say you want by self-sabotaging, try understanding where these limiting actions are stemming from.
When you get caught up in beating ourselves up and saying I am not good enough. I will never be a champion because of this. I am a failure. You are essentially perpetuating the self-sabotaging behavior because a person who thinks poorly of themselves often treats themselves poorly too. Step by Step: 1) recognize the pattern 2) identify when it comes up most frequently (this can lend insight into how you might break or predict the pattern) 3) address the root 4) try again but in a new way The only time anyone is ever a lost cause is when they have full heartedly decided it and would never even entertain the thought of being better. But most athletes live to be better. In fact, most people are fulfilled by striving. Have you listened to this full interview on @teamelitephysique and @ashleykfit Bikini and the Brain podcast? If not, you can find it on any streaming platform or watch it on YouTube! If you have, thank you for your support and I do hope you found it helpful #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Rather than focusing solely on what doing something brings you or the result it could create, try to focus on how the act of execution is beneficial.
I used to focus so much on the end result or the final goal but I would find myself missing the feeling of joy. It seemed fleeting because I was depending so much on the result. Whether it was a show date, a business goal, or school. I started becoming more present with what I was doing and this helped me to enjoy and embrace it more even when it is or was challenging. For example, I may not love the idea of a project for school, but I can recognize that doing it is supporting me in my program, giving me more perspective, and supporting me in using my time for growth. In bodybuilding, I don’t look at food as the vehicle to a physique, I look at it as nourishing, energizing, satisfying, etc for that day. I also look at my plan from my coach and identify how it’s benefitting me outside of a physique or future show or building muscle… This process and each day is so much more rewarding than anything else. Given so much in life can be unpredictable, I’m learning more and more to celebrate the actions I’m taking because that is ultimately what’s making up my life each day. What do you do to help you stay present? #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY Peep @theshoefairy_ 👀😍 discount code is “celeste” on their website! Are we not to celebrate the body getting us to our goals the same way we celebrate the body that has “achieved” those goals?
No matter what season you’re in, your body is amazing! Believe in your ability to be & bring your best every day! To my current body, thank you for: - having normal hormones so I can have a healthy menstrual cycle, balanced moods, & to recover - giving me even better hunger & fullness cues - a fuller booty to fill out pants - letting me sleep through the night - giving me some extra cushion when I sit down - processing more food so I can lift heavier and build the muscle I need - having consistent digestion and energy To my body then, thank you for: - the endurance to run 5-8 miles nearly every day - making all clothing more comfortable - reminding me that I need food to live and function - sustaining me at the right times each day for work and workouts - making me sleep when I’m sleepy - making my hunger cues especially more noticeable To both, thank you for - giving me the peace of mind to know you’re responding to the plan- even if sometimes I question the way you respond - helping me push through workouts or long days - carrying me through challenging and amazing times - letting me experience life - giving me what I need to do every day tasks without 2nd thought - showing me unconditional love by doing the best you can with what I provide you - teaching me more about you through bodybuilding I am certainly not perfect in either body because I do not aim to be. I aim for sustainable efforts & the long-game vision. With this improvement season there’s been so much that’s been unpredictable or gone different than I expected or than I’d think but it’s taught me not to cling to results as though my life depends on it. Whether that’s a certain body size or shape, or how far I can run. These things matter to me but they don’t deserve to consume me. Instead I am focused on the way my passion for this life & the work I do & the daily efforts to getting where I want to go. I’m still learning, we always will learn in this sport, but that’s a gift. The more opportunities we have to learn, the better we get. #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Weight loss and weight gain should be regarded as much less important than the methods or reasons for these outcomes.
If you judge yourself for weight you gain, even if gained in a healthy, steady, stable manner and with good intentions, is that really fair? If you celebrate weight lost even though you starved your body, is that fair? If you fixate on how much weight you lost or gained without really paying attention to what led to these changes you could be setting yourself up for unhealthy and disordered behaviors, beliefs, or expectations. Unfortunately, we aren’t as simple as an equation on paper. Treating ourselves or others with such a Lens is not considerate of other needs or circumstances. I work with people all the time who spend way too much celebrating weight they lose that as soon as the scale goes up, even by the SAME actions (following a plan to achieve new goals), they get upset. I also see people justify weight gained or lost due to things like binging, restricting, punishment, and excessive control mechanisms. We must be careful what we reinforce for ourselves and others because there is always more to things than what meets the eye. Do you struggle with seeing the number on the scale changing? Try to spend some extra time focusing on other variables and track your efforts and commitments alongside the more physical results to get a bigger picture. #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Working with someone who understands your struggles, knows there is absolutely a way out, & who has the knowledge, tools, and resources to support you is going to make more of a difference than working with someone who just doesn’t get it.
I pride myself on understanding the person I’m working with. I ask many questions, listen, reflect, & I don’t usually need you to explain yourself to me (for example, you’ll never have to tell me what a macro is or post show or why you are signing up to be judged on your physique). I’ve had clients say what a relief it is to be able to just talk to someone who has been where they are & hear where they are coming from & who can respect their goals. It puts them at ease knowing they don’t have to defend why they compete or choose to follow a fitness regimen or track their food. I don’t criticize or judge. I support you in exploring why & how you do what you do & how this relates to your relationship with food, your body image, your mindset, your life, & all of your goals. My job is not to tell you what to do but rather to empower you so much that you know what you need to do & can trust yourself to make decisions. I am disturbed by how many stories I’ve heard of people going to someone for help & being ridiculed instead. I never want the people I help to ever waste their precious time invested into healing on defense mode. I’ve overcome binging, restricting, exercise abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, food fears, scarcity mindset, all or nothing perfectionism…among many other challenges. I’ve achieved great successes that I LOVE helping others achieve. Even if I haven’t been through everything my clients are facing or have, I sympathize & support them because I’ve spent time practicing, educating myself, studying, & growing—which I only intend to continue to do. Tooting my own horn, I’m damn good at what I do & if you have ever worked with me, come to an event, or intend to do any of these things where you trust in me to be part of your journey, I will never take that for granted, THANK YOU. Inquire to work with me through DM or get free resources here! LET’S #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY At @ingridromero1 @theshoefairy_ seminar Ingrid covered the topic of imposter syndrome and asked me to speak on it briefly.
I shared some of my own hunches on it based on applying knowledge, experiences, and education but I was inspired to dive deeper into the phenomenon after the event! I was not surprised to see how common this really is for “perfectionists” among others. There was not much research but there was a lot of interesting points in what I was able to access. I wanted to share snippets of this here along with tools I would recommend you try to work through this if it does come up for you. If you have any questions or experiences you’d like to share or get support with you can always dm me @celestial_fit ☺️ As always, #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY  Happiness is walking on and off stage knowing you gave everything you could to your prep.
It’s never going to be perfect but when you follow through on your commitments and uphold next level standards for yourself, you will feel pride! The stage is an amazing place for competitors to showcase their craft but every competitor knows it’s not the attachment or need for the stage that keeps us going but rather knowing we can always do more and be better. I’m so excited to step on stage again and I really miss it but I know how important this season of growth is because at my last show, pictured here, I was just too small! But it’s okay because I’m loving growing season and have no doubt that whenever I step on stage again will be with great timing. I don’t need a perfect road map of show dates right this minute to know I’ll get where I’m going since every day I focus on my goals! When you walk of stage, focus on improvements but draw from the successes you had along the way, too. Instead of saying I failed this prep you might say I can improve in these ways, keep nailing this, and use the strength I got from xyz to fuel the growth needed in abc. I’m curious, how do you know when you’ve given your all or how do you determine that? What are you focused on improving right now? #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY @celestial_fit Tanned with ProTan DIY kit, use discount code “celeste” at @protan_official to try for yourself😍 feel free to reach out with questions!  The person who looks at how far they have to go and how hard it will be gets stuck in judgment, criticism, impatience, and never enoughness.
The person who looks at how far they’ve come and thinks they have done enough gets stuck in arrogance and complacency. The person who looks at where they are with presence and acceptance gets supported by lessons they learn with each decision, forethought & afterthought, current needs and signals, compassion, and awareness…to name a few. If you focus on the future, let it be as a guide and vision for what is possible. If you focus on the past, let it be as a reminder for all you’ve been through and the strength you have to make it through more. If you focus on the present, be open to the experiences you’ve had and could have for insight in addition to current circumstances, needs, and variables. We are only alive in this moment but we also have parts of ourselves which have existed in the past and imagined parts of ourselves in the future. Present moment awareness can keep us grounded and trusting that what will be will be what we have worked for and evolved through or sometimes are even meant for. Focus on uplifting yourself, having empathy for yourself, and treating everything as an opportunity to learn rather than a defining moment. #BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY |
Celeste Rains-Turk
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