1 week left.

Next Saturday, October 13th. I'll be stepping on stage for the FIRST time as an NPC Bikini competitor. My show is a National Qualifier, so I'm expecting to share the stage with some amazing physiques. Like I've said before, I don't want to compete to win. I haven't put myself through all of these grueling workouts and bowls of green beans to get a $3 trophy. I am incredibly self-competitive, and am constantly setting goals for myself, only to conquer and progress. I made the absolute decision to compete back in May, initially committing to the NPC Eastern USA's on November 3rd. In June, I started thinking about it, and also decided to do this show on October 13th to get my feet wet. From that point on, my shows were on my mind. For the past month or so, my mind has been entirely consumed with my training and diet, and my dedication to presenting the best physique I can on stage.

This morning, I did my usual self-examination, and got a bit emotional, honestly. I might not look like Nathalia Melo, but in my opinion, I look DAMN good. I don't care that I carry too much muscle for the bikini division, or that my glutes still have a long way to go. It takes years to sculpt perfection, or anything close to that. The most important thing to me is the way I've been able to make HUGE CHANGES to my physique in the past 2-3 months. Not to mention, I did it WITHOUT starving, WITHOUT hours of cardio, WITHOUT fat burners. I've done this on my own, training how I WANT TO, doing enough cardio to get results without driving me crazy--until the past week..lol.

So, what changed at the very end? At 14 days out, I started getting in 45-50 minutes of cardio every morning at 7am, switched out green beans in favor of asparagus, and cut my broccoli by 1/2. I went to the gym every afternoon for either a weight training/circuit workout OR more cardio. I cut all artificial sweeteners from my diet--no more flavored seltzer water or protein powders or diet sodas or LO-CARB MONSTER.. 
I started taking 1teaspoon each of fish oil, flax oil, and evening primrose oil to help my dry skin and eczema--it was a GOOD choice. Keep those healthy omega fats in your diet and DO NOT cut them. cut something else, if you're prepping for a show or just trying to lose weight. After my show I'll increase to 2 teaspoons of each. Maybe a TABLESPOON..who knows.
Now, it's my final week. I am NOT doing any crazy depletion/salt reduction/water depletion. My diet is going to remain the same, except I'll be eating only asparagus as a veggie source. And less of it. A few days before the show, I'll eat pure pumpkin instead of oat bran, and lower my veggie intake. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to eat the day before the show to make sure I don't bloat, but don't look entirely flat. I will NOT be carb-loading. I'm not lean enough for that to really make a difference, and could potentially work AGAINST me. I figure that if I look pretty good now, If I keep up my cardio and fairly low carb intake, I'll be right where I need to be in a week. Personally, I'd rather look skinny than fluffy on stage.

No pictures until stage day. 
Can anyone guess what color my suit is?! 
I can't wait to update after my show!!! Follow me on twitter @lizbrody or on instagram: Lizbrody , to get up to date info and commentary :-) 

It's peak week and I'm ready to KILL IT!