Bodybuilding competition with an Ostomy

I woke up at 6:30am completely buzzing, shaking Conor to wake up whilst I was bouncing around the room full of excitement this was the day I had been working for.

(Morning shape for the competition) 

My peak week was pretty tough, full of tears especially during my depleted workouts at the start of the week luckily Conor was there to push me through!

We didn’t do any crazy water loading during peak week, what was the point? I drank 4 litres of water a day anyway! Plus why fix something that isn’t broken? We aimed to get me stage ready 2/3 weeks out and then to just cruise… and that’s exactly what we did, no stress, no last minute ‘miracle methods’

To say I was feeling tired on peak week is an understatement, if I wasn’t training, eating or posing I was In my bed sleeping.

 

(My competition number & my hair which was done by Nikki and her talented team)

But the morning of show I forgot all about the struggles of my prep and just focused on how much work I had put into it, I couldn’t of been any happier with the shape I brought to that stage. I do however have areas I want to improve. Like every bodybuilder there Is always room for improvement. So this offseason with the help of Conor I’ll be changing up my training to achieve theses improvements and I’m already excited to compare Septembers comp pictures to future comp pictures.

My diet on show day was pretty fun I started off with salmon and oat, but then as soon as I got to the venue all I ate was sweets, reeses peanut butter, muffins and cakes all this was for the fast acting sugar to boost my Glycogen levels and flood the muscles with blood, the pumps I were getting before stepping on stage were insane! (I did however get sugar sweats after the show……felt so sick lol) I remember stepping on stage for my Figure category and pulling a tricep pose and thinking my tricep was going to explode!

(Pumping up before hitting the stage)

On the subject of stepping on stage, I really cannot describe the feeling It was just pure adrenaline all the bright lights, the music the crowd… it truly was a breathtaking experience I couldn’t stop smiling at the judges and the crowd, I’m normally a very nervous person but during the whole day leading up to my stage time I was so calm it wasn’t possible to be any calmer….. and I didn’t even drink any alcohol which some competitors do to calm their nerves.
I may have only had 3 supporters in the crowd, by my god they were the loudest there… especially Conor! My biggest fan.

(me and my Mum)

And the ostomy fears & anxiety leading up to the comp well… what even were they!? I totally forgot I even had one on that stage! I even had someone come up to me after my figure routine and ask If I was even wearing it on stage (If I wasn’t can you just image it haha) she didn’t even notice! That comment made me feel on top of the world. I think that’s what made me so emotional (yes I cried like a baby) when my name was called out for 1st place both times, all of my emotion’s I battled leading up to the competition just faded away. Not only did I have to step on stage with a tiny bikini on, but I had to go on with my ostomy in front of 100’s of people, something I never thought would happen after having such a life changing surgery.
I remember having a panic attack a couple days post surgery about what life would hold for me in the future, feeling sorry for myself for weeks before finally kicking my self up the ass and just taking back control.
And even though I’m unable to make the World Championships due to my recent surgery (another blog to follow) I’m still so proud of myself. I didn’t just win 1st place trophies I won the battles I had going on inside my head.

Update on my Health and current Training Progress

So, firstly Ill like to apology for not blogging in well over 2 months.

I’ve not being having the greatest of times, but after a few changes in my personal life Im feeling so much more happier and less stressed.. which has had a massive impact on my recent health issues. For those who follow me on IG will have seen recently I’ve been having a problematic skin, rectal stump along with uclers on my stoma.

So I firstly had my uclers checked out and the nurse was very happy to say that they won’t be a problem unless they become painful and the cause was probably from stress and or my weightbelt causing friction … but then I mentioned the pain/spasms I’ve been having in my stump (the last little bit I have left from surgery)… this is a problem, not only have I been suffering from the pain but also I’m passing a lot of blood, this is a known sign of a colitis flare and without treating it can cause a whole world of problems…

I mean, nothing Isn’t even suppose to be coming out of my backside ! haha

All jokes aside, Its been a nightmare and without saying to much I felt like some people didn’t have the respect that I’m still sick. I mean, yes… technically you can say I’m cured, but am I really? when I’m still having theses problems plus serve tiredness.. my moaning list goes on!

Ive been booked in for a flex sigmoidoscopy with my GI on the 24th of June which I can cancel IF the medication I’ve been given settles the flare . 3 weeks or so in and so far so good, since coming away from the stressful situations I found myself In I’ve never been better the medication Is working and I’m hopeful that the week prior to the examination I can cancel ! As much as I love seeing my GI because he Is a great man I really want to go a whole year without seeing him … it will be a massive achievement for me .. maybe a sad one lol but to me it would mean Ive really beat colitis !

Now skin issues, this has really dragged me down. There Is nothing worse than having sore, bleeding, dry, itchy skin especially whilst wearing a support belt plus a weight belt. Its calmed down a lot since WORLD IBD DAY (my IG post showing it) and that’s from receiving emails and messages from all you lovely people giving me little hints and tips … so thank you! I really appreciate the messages I receive from all of my IG and Twitter followers and the reposts ! You are all the reason why I do this, and why I’m so open with my struggles. I love bodybuilding and to think it helps fellow suffers believe in themselves its  simply heart-warming, and makes me emotional.. but In a good way! 🙂

Talking on the subject of bodybuilding, right now I’m currently doing a cut almost like a mini practice  consent prep. This Isn’t helping my tiredness but I’m demanded to smash it and see what sort of results I get! My diet has completely changed and I almost feel starved haha I’ve gone from around 2,600/3,000 calories a day to dropping to a tiny 16,00 calories which my partner managed to spread between 5 meals and 2 shakes!!  I’ve also added in daily cardio, and I’ve upped my training back to 6 days a week !

I’m really excited to see how my body will change, I’m already seeing a differences! I’m definitely weak as hell in the gym  but on the diet I’m currently on I’m surprised I can still lift myself outta bed and work 25+ hours a week too!

Sorry for the messy blog, but I thought it was about time I gave you all a more in-depth update! keep fighting, and I promise I will start to blog more again!!

Video updates & new diet plan

So before I start it pains me to say … My laptop is broke! So until it is replaced or fixed I will not be able to post any videos! Sorry guys I know a lot of you were waiting for the home exercises video too! Also… Thank you all so much for your great reviews on my 1st bodybuilding progress video 🙂 many more (hopefully) too come ❤

On a better note … I now have a new diet plan I’m really happy with, thanks to my partner Conor for helping me out massively 🙂 we have made it specifically to my goals…

1. Putting on weight

2. Getting stronger

3. Getting leaner

Number 3. Is something I’ve never really aimed for due to weightlifting before my operation, but now I’m aiming to compete next year, I need to become a lot tighter! It’s going to be hard, this is the 1st time I’ll actually be sticking to a diet plan…

I’ll be eating 5 meals a day, plus 2 protein shakes.. Bringing me to a total of around 2,400 calories a day! I’ll be hitting 30g of protein, 14g of fat and 60g of carbs each meal! Now that I’m back in full swing of training (so to speak) I’m sure it will go hand in hand with my structured diet!

Let the gains begin!!!  ❤

12 weeks post surgery: Diet, bodybuliding & measurements

As I’ve mentioned In a previous blog my diet hasn’t changed much at all now that I’m living with a Stoma.

But I have had problems with certain foods already, sweetcorn actually hospitalized me for a day a few weeks after surgery... seriously becoming blocked with a Stoma is so painful.. I’ve also had issues with coconut water and recently kidney beans which both resulted in me vomiting a lot. I never normally have problems with kidney beans but I believe this time was because 1. they wasn’t cooked well enough and 2. I ate it way to fast… Now I have a Stoma their is no such thing as  a quick bite to eat, I have to make my portions smaller and chew like mad. (this took some getting use too!)

Because I bodybuild my diet is important, when I was suffering with colitis I wasn’t able to absorb the nutrients I needed… I mean everytime I ate I would have to use the toilet straight after sometimes even half way through so eating out was sometimes ALWAYS awkward. Someday’s I would go atleast 20 + times aday (mostly all it would be was clots of blood) and my god each time was painful as hell… (sorry for the info haha)   So having a Stoma means I can now absorb everything I need! My output Is very slow with the help of Loperamide (Imodium) and makes my life so much easier. No more pain, no more nutritional deficiencies and no more worries!

As you can see In the picture below my food Is pretty basic, The top photo Is  a couple days food prep! and the bottom Is an amazing omelette I made the other day! As you can see….. I have red peppers with it ! I’ve not long introduced them back into my diet as I was worried about blockages etc but I can now say if they are fully cooked they are absolutely fine!

I’ve only started taking measurements again! I did take Post op ones… but because I’ve recently moved I have seemed to have miss placed my measurements! But here are a couple I took last week (Sorry about my handwriting)

I’m currently weighting only between 60-61.5 kg which Is a massive drop to my weight before my surgery, but I did expect this and that is why before my surgery I upped my calorie Intake and managed to go under the knife at 66kg! Its impressive that I gained weight as well as being In a massive flare..  My normal weight Is around 63/64kg so after a couple weeks of training and eating I should hit this goal!

Finally … I’ve recently received my gym support belt I ordered with the help from my Stoma nurses too, which really Isn’t great at all, so I had to visit them again and order another which hopefully Is  going to be alot better. Because of my figure the support belt rolled up at the back and made the support belt very uncomfortable. I need something which Is going to move with me as well as supporting me so I’m hoping this next one will do that! Once I have a proper suitable belt I can start doing exercises heavier (but only at a moderate level)

❤

Training & future Goals

So after my first week of training my body Is officially broken! I’ve had the worst DOMS (muscle ache) ever! but you know what ? IT FEELS SO GOOD! 

I’ve really enjoyed it, and I can’t believe how well my body has bounced back! I’m feeling so healthy with it too. When I was recovering I found myself lifeless with a lack of energy I also found it hard to get up in the morning …. that was probably because I had nothing to wake up for! Now Im back in routine and going back to work very shortly too, I can now feel the real benefits of living with an ileostomy and as I said in my previous blog I’m in no rush to have the bag taken away yet!

One of my main worries with my Ileostomy was wearing my gym clothes, would it be visible? would people see it? But as you can see by the picture below, I’m now officially worry free… I wear a baggy top over my gym tops sometimes but as you can see in the bottom left photo the ileostomy Is no where to be seen!

I’ve also been considering entering a ‘Transformation challenge’ which Is a competition run by ‘Bodypower’ which is the largest sport, fitness & nutrition exhibition In Birmingham which is  held on the 15th-17th of May! The challenge gives you a chance to tell them about yourself, your previous fitness background and your transformation challenge goals.

Now I’ve had surgery I will not be able to compete in weightlifting competitions which was a goal I was never able to complete and will never complete with an ileostomy due to the strain it would cause on my abdominal BUT… every cloud has a sliver lining and I’ve now been thinking about competing in bodybuilding competitions! luckily a very close friend of mine Laura is currently training/preparing for a competition which Is in September this year! I would be aiming to compete in 2016 as I still have alot of work to do!

But for me this competition wouldn’t be to win, It would be for the feeling of going up on stage and showing off the body I worked hard for. The body which has been to hell and back and the scars and ileostomy which shows from it. I’ll wear my ileostomy bag with my head held high and spread the awareness It needs!

❤

p.s I normally have someone to proof read for me, today I didn’t so sorry If It’s not up to your ‘reading standards’ haha x

‘Stay patient and trust your journey’

After meeting with my surgeon a couple of days ago I came out of the appointment with very mixed emotions. I’m just over 8 weeks post op and I’m very comfortable with my stoma ‘Dory.’ And I’m in no rush to have the stoma taken away yet, seriously … I never thought I would ever be typing/saying these words. But its true, my stoma has given me my life back in so many ways its unbelievable.

The mixed emotions I was faced with was my surgeon’s opinion on body-building and weightlifting with a stoma. He’s worried that I will develop a hernia If I lift as much as I did prior to surgery .. support belt or no support belt he still thinks Ill be taking a risk. But with a J-pouch I’ll be able to continue to bodybuild & weightlift worry free but that surgery comes with risks I really need to think about.. right now I’m just happy with the way I am.

This means mixing up my training and avoiding heavy lifts. I need to know my limits and my god it’s going to be hard. 

Just before my total colectomy op I was able to hit my goal of a 120kg (19 stone) Squat with the encouragement from my Partner and good friends from the Gym,  I know when I return they will continue to push me to achieve my new goals. These are the people who motivate me the most in life because they have the same passion for training as me, we’re all on the same journey chasing personal bests and always creating new goals. 

Today I went to the GYM and did some very light chest & triceps work (IT FELT AMAZING) My surgeon doesn’t want me to over do It and has advised me to wait a couple weeks before going back to my normal (avoiding heavy lifts)  body-building routine … whilst waiting for my support belt I’ve decided myself to do exercises with light weights in which won’t strain my abdominal area (before I go insane) But at the same time I need to ‘trust my journey and stay patient.’

Getting back Into my body-building diet Is a challenge in itself, after 2 years of relying on Prednisolone to keep me well  which made me  hungry 24/7 I’m finding it hard to find my appetite to stomach certain foods, my gym diet hasn’t really changed at all other than having to cook my vegetables thoroughly as the skin can cause blockages to my stoma (which is very painful) . To perform In the gym Its vital you eat to fuel your performance, getting the right balance of nutrients will help me avoid becoming fatigued which could lead to injury. I need to just open up and eat it, I have goals to smash and without food I’ll get nowhere!  

Whilst not being at the gym when I hit 4/5 weeks post op I started doing some light abdominal exercises (4/5 weeks was when my pain had eased and my wounds had closed up) my posture had really suffered from surgery and my lower back had become strained from being hunched over. The core work really helped reactivate my abdominal muscles and took the strain off my lower back.

Everyones different post op so If you were to start exercising always speak to your nurses, GI’s and surgeons first. Always listen to their advice and don’t push yourself to hard, listen to your body and as hard as it is stay patient.

Ill post more about my journey of getting back to body-building when I start setting new goals! Happy belated new year, lets make 2015 our year and make the impossible POSSIBLE!