I COMPETED !!!!

FINALLY, I GET TO WRITE ABOUT MY SHOW!!!! First of all, let me say that I am THRILLED that I fit into my suit, looked my best, and got on stage at a National Qualifier NPC show. I had SO much fun, and cannot wait to get back on stage on November 3rd. I put so much hard work into the show, so it was so rewarding to finally get on stage. I could NOT stop smiling during my posing and entire time standing on stage. There were only 2 classes at my show-Bikini A and Bikini B. I JUST made the shorty cutoff for the 5'3 and under. There were like 17 girls in my class---and only 5 PLACES?! When I got backstage, I was absolutely shocked and impressed by how amazing every competitor looked. Lean, gorgeous suits, hair, and tans all around. Very professional, tough competition. My goal was NEVER to compete for the purpose of winning a trophy worth $3. That is the WRONG mindset to have.I felt absolutely proud and content with the physique I presented to the judges, and I know what I want to work on to look better. For my next show, I want to come in HARDER, just a tad bit leaner. TIGHT. I felt a little bit flat because I barely ate the day before, and didnt drink or eat ANYTHING before pre-judging. No shocker that I felt a bit depleted. Through trial and error, I'll figure out what works best for me on show day. A few rice cakes might have been good for me. 

night show taken by VAL!!

We lined up for pre-judging, and one of the show directors instructed us how to do our model poses and transitions so that the photographer could get good photos of every competitor. I was FREEZING and SHAKING all morning---must have been nerves, because I was FINE the rest of the day! After I walked out for pre-judging, I waited for my number to be called. I didn't get first call outs. I was definitely expecting to be in the second callouts, but nope. I was in the last group, but I owned it, smiled at the judges, and did everything in my power to WORK IT!!! I didn't live on the elliptical and eat asparagus for the last 2 weeks to be upset with my CALLOUTS. From the beginning, I told myself to have NO expectations---not about first or last place. I did my best. I can TRULY say i hit my mark. I didnt' work with ANYONE. I am NOT part of a team (the team that SPONSORED the show.....no comment.) I am LIZ BRODY, trained by LIZ BRODY, diet monitored by LIZ BRODY, hair and makeup done by...LIZ BRODY. 

amazing mom after she did my final morning tan

But. I could NOT have gotten myself to the stage without SOME help. Support first and foremost comes from my mother. My mom is my biggest fan AND supporter. She puts up with my anal dieting and schedule, doesn't ask me to eat anything other than my veggies and protein, encourages me to do WHATEVER possible to be happy and accomplish my own goals. I couldn't do it without her.
TINA , my fit green goddess is like my fitness mom. She was a HUGE inspiration to me from the MOMENT i got hooked on working out, and is STILL a huge part of my fitness life. She has 2 children, works like a madwoman, and walks around in stage condition ALL YEAR--and doesn't compete! She truly walks the walk, and that is where I GOT IT FROM! You want to train people and tell them how to live healthily? You better do the same thing. She came over on a Friday night the night before the show, and tanned my naked body!! LMAO talk about love. AND she did a perfect job. On the morning of my show, she was texting me helpful tips to stay calm backstage, and dying for up to the minute info since she had to deal with CLIENTS and couldn't be there.
KELVIN: throughout my training, kelvin sent me all sorts of exercise tips to spice up my training and change my body. He sent me demo videos to show correct execution also. Not to mention, he is a good male cheerleader and motivator! Towards the end of my prep, I began training with him. He was responsible for getting my carb depleted body through my very LAST workout on thursday afternoon before show weekend. Major thanks to him for keeping the last and toughest weeks of prep intense and interesting.

TANNING TOUCH UPS!!! True friend there.

VAL: My girl val was my GO-TO for all things prep related. I texted her all the time since there are some things that NOBODY cares about, unless you've competed. Val did figure a while ago , and was totally with me in digital presence throughout my prep. We even trained with kelvin together! She also came ALL THE WAY to my show from manhattan. Like a 2hour commute on a Saturday--ONE WAY. She scheduled her entire weekend around being there to support me at my show. At night, she took my mom's backstage pass and helped to touch up my tan and hang out until I went on stage. She also took AWESOME pics when I was on stage. It felt great to hear her cheering my name when I was posing at finals. There is a bond that competitors share, regardless of how close friends you are, or how long you've known one another. There are just some things ONLY a competitor would understand or appreciate. So when Branch Warren came on to do guest posing at the evening show, Val and I were loving it! She also brought me the PERFECT post show snack AND gave me a shirt...like seriously?! Talk about amazing support and generosity. I WISH she'd compete again so that I could do the same for her.
All of my followers and online support: Your comments and tweets and likes keep me inspired and motivated to keep doing what I love. I know that regardless of if I place first or last,that you will all still follow me and encourage me to keep pushing towards my goals, and you guys give me the ability to remain 100% confident in the path I've chosen to follow. I know this lifestyle is for me. When I hear that my blog has helped anyone, or that my instagram photos motivate people to work out, I KNOW that my purpose is solidified.
After the show, I really wanted to stay to watch the men's bodybuilding routines, but being up since 5am...i was exhausted!!! And not to mention, ready to drink and eat.
Post-show food on the LONG ride home: fig bars that val brought me. They're like fig newtons but made from wheat bran.  SO GOOD. And I bought organic dark chocolate raisins. The bag was enough for 6 servings. Aka 1. Val took a very small handful. I came home to cupcakes made for me by my sister! And my dad spelled out my nickname "Goose" in M+Ms!!! I ate the gummy bears off the tops and had some m8ms too. All at like 11:30pm...not a good idea. Before I started dieting for my show, I never ever ate candy anyway, so my tummy didn't like all of the junk. Its noon on sunday, I'm laying on the couch NAUSEOUS and haven't eaten yet today. I didn't even think I ate that much, considering how starved I was.
Here are the photos I have so far. I will be updating more once muscular development and rx muscle update the gallery! Excited to do more competition recap and blogging!!!