An Amazing Experience - NBFI 2014

16 weeks of hard prep has culminated in standing up on stage at the NBFI National competition on the 11th of October in Cork. How was the experience? If you remember the last time I stepped up on stage....well this was nothing like it! From the night before until the night after, I have gone through the largest spectrum of emotions I thought possible! It was like the 4 seasons of Fiona O'Donnell through a 24 hr period. If you have been following on Facebook, twitter or instagram, you will know that I pulled out of the RIBBF Nationals as I had suddenly bloated with no explanation and I went from 68.2kg to 72.3 over the space of a few days with no change in my diet, no cheat meals, no huge carb loads. This type of thing can happen to ANY competitor. So many wonderful people messaged me with ideas as to why I had suddenly blown up - all I can put it down to is stress. To begin, I was let down very significantly by somebody that I had put a LOT of trust and faith in to HELP me and I had that rug pulled out from under my feet. Secondly, I pulled all carbs and started a strict depletion as I had done last time round - so I was just eating white meat and greens - and a number of people have suggested that I may have developed a sensitivity to very fibrous green veg (I would be very interested to hear if anyone else has experience of this!!!). So, as you can see from the picture to the right, I went from being the leanest and tightest I have EVER been 3.5 wks out, to having what looked like a beer belly with rocking obliques!
It was bizarre! I looked 6 months pregnant.....with a pizza baby.
How absolutely devastating after working so so hard for 4 months!
So, I went and sought some advice from Sophia McNamara who is a competitor at National, European and International levels.
Sophia very kindly agreed to help me out with some dietary
 advice in the run up to the NBFI and slowly but surely,
my weight started to drop and the fluid started to come off.
But still, the definition that had been there in September wasn't returning. So, I backtracked. I pulled all my diet sheets and progress pictures from the last few months an I observed how different foods had made me feel...which days food tied in with different physiques and changes.....and I discovered that short introduction of low GI carbs trickled throughout my day and no cardio resulted in my body becoming more relaxed and processing fluids better. So, 2 days out from the comp I began my carb load....albeit at a gentle pace....and low and behold, I woke up on Friday morning a kg lighter. So I continued with my gentle carb and the fluid continued to come off. Looking at my competition pictures, Im sure you will notice that I didn't have a full (or even a half) 6 pack.....am I 'bovered'....absolutely not.

THE BIG DAY -
Asia and I hit the road at 8am to come to Cork for our tanning with the 'Competition Tanning' crew. We were in and out in 5 minutes and spent the next hour in the car in the sunlight relaxing while our tans baked! Next step was make up with CeCe from Glamour puss.
CeCe matched my foundation with my tan (not an easy job to do) and made sure my eyeshadow and lipstick complemented the colours in my suit. Once this
was done, I began to notice the slow trickle of ladies into the changing rooms. For those of you who would think that adding competition to a group of ladies in bikinis might result in cat claws - you couldn't be more wrong.
I don't think that I have ever been in a situation like this where it felt like every lady was there to support and encourage the next. It felt to me like we stepped on stage as a team...all cheering each other on and celebrating in each others achievements. The craic backstage was fantastic with laughing and joking non stop. Even those with first time nerves had words of encouragement for the next person getting up on stage.

DID I ACHIEVE WHAT I WANTED?
Looking at my pictures and comparing them to where I was in May was eye opening. It is easy to become disillusioned and to think that progress has stalled when everything is covered
in retained fluid. However, my main aims had been to get leaner, develop a greater upper body to balance my waist size, reduce my waist (this would come with getting leaner) and develop my legs. I achieved all this and more. Perhaps the most obvious changes that are visible are my legs and how much leaner my back is. Believe it or not, my front is much leaner too, but unfortunately not visible on the day. I am blown away by my back pictures (huge thanks to Paul Cullen)....the size of my waist from the back and the definition throughout the length of my back have given me a real boost as this is not an area I get to see very often.

Even though this was my second time around, I found it a little more difficult. I knew what to expect. I knew what I needed to do to elicit the specific responses in my body required to be stage ready. I think this is why it was so much harder. I was determined to do the job right this time. This meant that I was so much more frustrated when things didn't go my way. A few days before the show in Cork, I sat down and had a good think about my reasons for starting this journey. I had to remind myself that the NBFI competition was not the final part of my journey, it was to be one stop along the way of a lifelong journey. After building all these habits - how could I possibly just stop after the Cork show?
Look at all I had done to get here, albeit with help along the way. From group training sessions with Michelle at F1 Fitness lead by Roger, to heavy sessions with Liam & Pa pushing me to press the next size of dumbbells for 'one more rep'.....and then another. Other sessions with Seamus who was kind enough to put up with me pushing to work on range of movement and mind muscle connections and Henry who stood over me and cracked the whip when I needed to be pushed. In trying to build my own muscle, I pulled in lots of others - and I feel it important to point out that I appreciate every minute of time that people gave to me. To those who emailed or spent time having conversations on messenger - you know who you are....the lift you gave me came at exactly the right time - you don't know how much I appreciated it!
Paudie from the Echo gave me a huge boost when I was feeling low and set me up with Paul Cullen to do a shoot. Kate Crowley from #Ellebellefit asked me to come on board with the promotion of her new site and the wonderful #lornajane gear she has brought to Ireland. My husband, who sat me down for the last time on the Thursday night before the Cork show, when I sat with my head in my hands saying that I was done, that I could not and would not disrupt family life anymore for this show, and told me that having run most of the race, I just couldn't give up before I hit the finish line...even if I had to walk over it. To my family with constant encouragement....and my kids with continuous warnings not to pick at their popcorn...to my friends, for not bringing cake when they called for coffee and for putting up with my cranky tired disposition. Thank you all for your time, constant encouragement and patience. Nothing has gone unnoticed.
What a year it has been! I am so excited to see what the next few months bring. Lets keep the ball rolling......now to dump all these chocolate biscuits before I go through the end of the box.......