Fitness Universe Foxwoods Recap!

Wow, what an amazing weekend! I honestly can't believe this past weekend really happened. I stood on stage in a bikini and allowed myself to get judged by an audience of people and a real panel of judges! I've always cared a lot about what people thought about me, being judged negatively, and not being "good enough." I was never the girl who was athletic or in shape. Weight has always been a constant battle my entire life. I will admit I was nervous getting up on that stage, but I was proud and confident in the body I had worked on for months to create! This body had given birth to an amazing baby girl and now looked better than it ever had in my entire life. All the early morning workouts, the passing of desserts,  missed dinners out and drinks with friends was all worth it. I had worked my ass off and I was proud. I didn't worry about the audience judging me, and I had honestly already won the competition just by being there! It was an amazing journey full of ups and downs, determination and self doubt, undeniable support from family and friends, and belief in myself. This sport is much more mental than most people realize. Thank god for Cathy Savage Fitness, Coach Jules, and all the Savage Girls. They made the day of competition not only more relaxed but fun! 
Lets start with Thursday when the first coat of tanner went on! Yes, first of many coats.....shaving, tanner, nails, hair extensions, check! Thanks Melissa for putting in my hair extensions! I prepped all my meals for Friday and Saturday on Thursday night, so we would be ready to get on the road Friday afternoon. I finally made it to bed around 11pm Thursday night, but I was too excited to sleep! 
I woke up Friday morning around 6am and my friend Brooke came over to help me with the next coat of tanner! Thanks Brooke!! Around 11:30 we packed up the car and were on our way to Foxwoods Resort and Casino! Athlete registration was from 12-6 and I had a check-in with Cathy and the coaches at 4:30 so I wanted to leave plenty of time to get settled in! The drive down was a breeze, parking with my husband driving....not so much! Can't thank you enough for dealing with my hungry, emotional state Adam! Once we found a parking spot I was able to register with no lines, so we checked into the hotel which was beautiful!! I headed down to my check-in while Olivia and Adam got some dinner! I have to admit Foxwoods restaurants were the biggest tease for me on Friday. I wanted to try everything in sight from Ben and Jerry's, to Scorpion Bar (Nachos!) California Pizza kitchen, to a plain turkey sandwich! I was hungryyyyy!! 
Saturday morning came quickly! Today was the big day, I was up at 5 am, then down to hair and makeup at 7am. 5 Star Beauty was incredible! My makeup artist Jessica and hairstylist Jessica made me feel like a million bucks! They were so calm and accommodating! It was actually relaxing being in there getting pampered! I felt so incredibly beautiful walking out of their hotel room heading down for the stage rehearsal at 9 am! After rehearsal I ran into my family! I was so excited to see them but it did make me a little more nervous! My goal was to not see them until after the show so that I had no idea who showed up! haha. 
The rest of the day is kind of a blur. The day felt really long, but it all happened so fast! My incredibly supportive parents, Adam, Olivia, Sister, brother in law, best friends Des, Shawna, and Sam were all in the audience! I could hear Adam yelling when I stepped out on the stage but I couldn't see them in the audience. The lights were too bright! I was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude that they made the drive out to Conneticut to watch my competition! I was also so overwhelmed with all the support I got from everyone else that couldn't make it to the show. The texts, facebook messages, cards, and phone calls were incredible! I couldn't believe all the support I had. Despite the long, long day I had so much fun and hope to do another competition eventually! 
The show didn't get out until around 11pm, and I was too tired to even change. I needed some food in my system quickly so Adam and I decided on California Pizza Kitchen! I was craving some serious carbs. We started with the hummus and pita appetizer and chips and guacomole. For my meal I ordered the steak tacos with avacado and Adam ordered the bbq chicken pizza. Everything was incredible! We took a quick glance at the dessert menu but decided to take a walk over to Ben and Jerry's instead! I got the ice cream sandwich in a cone and Adam got the Banana split (which I of course took a couple bites of) I must add that Adam basically ate a competition diet over the last few months so he more than earned his meals too! We got to the hotel room around 2 am and chatted for more than an hour about the day! I knew Adam was proud of me every step of the way, but it was really fun to see just how proud he really was now that I had completed my goal!! I was so proud of myself and it was hard for us to get to sleep but we were exhausted. We set the alarm for 9 am to give us time to get to our brunch reservation and checkout.
No alarm was needed since I was up at 6 am so excited about the previous days events!! Either that, or I was too excited about bunch to sleep. We had talked about brunch for weeks leading up to the competition and a huge thanks to my new friend Katie who found the PERFECT spot! It was right at Foxwoods, David Burke Prime Steakhouse. When I say this brunch was incredible I cant even put into words how incredible it was. They had everything you can imagine including a "sweets" table with cotton candy, nutella crepes, brownies, cookies, 7 layer bars, and a chocolate fountain. Um, need I say more??? I ate more than I care to admit! After brunch we headed on our way home to pick Miss Olivia up from my parents house. With one tiny detour to Mary Lou's for a Butter Finger Iced Coffee! 

All that food was incredibly rich, and everything I had been craving, but I must admit I feel so much better when I eat it in much smaller portions! My stomach hated me that night and I was happy to get back into the gym on Monday morning. My clean eats never tasted so good! I'm excited to set some new goals and enjoy the occasional treat here and there! 
The competition was photographed by Gordon J. Smith and can be seen here! Figure pics here! I am still waiting for the bikini swimwear pictures to be posted!