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This week, we are recapping Mandy’s latest show weekend experience in Georgia while Gilian shares how she handled being on prep while vacationing in Aruba. We share our tips and strategies for bringing food, managing TSA, and staying organized while miles away from home and our daily routines! We also compare travel systems, contest prep adjustments when traveling as we prepare to wrap up our seasons together on the same day in Kentucky at the IFBB/NPC Kentucky Bourbon!,
At the request of our audience, we are also sharing our beauty tips and no-regret skin and makeup purchases. Stay tuned for a breakdown of our daily makeup routines and our favorite products!
We hope you enjoyed this episode so please comment, subscribe, and leave us reviews on how this podcast has helped you 💕 We’d also love to hear from you about future topics you would like us to discuss so please leave us a comment or reach out to us with your questions and suggestions!
Gillian’s Makeup and Skin Care Product Storefront: https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/8270266
Mandy’s Makeup and Skin Care Product Storefront: https://amzn.to/47mHnhW
About Momshell Method Fitness:
Ready to embark on your fitness journey? We would love to help you reach any fitness goal from losing the baby weight to crushing your competition goals!
Follow this link to schedule a discovery call with one of our team members and learn how Momshell Method Fitness can provide you with the tools you need to be successful with customized nutrition and training plans for busy moms → http://bit.ly/loseweightgetsexy
Contact your hosts:
Mandy Rochon
Facebook: Mandy Rochon
Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
Facebook: Gillian Hughes
Mandy’s Posing Sessions
1:1 In Person (KC Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/inpersonposingwithmandy
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithmandy
Posing with Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
1:1 In Person (St Louis Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/stlposingwithgillianifbbpro
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithgillianifbbpro
Nuethyx Formulations Supplements →
(Use code “Momshell” to save 10% off your order)
Toxic Angelz Bikinis → https://toxicangelzbikinis.com
(Use code “GILLIAN” or code “MANDY” to save 10% off your order)
MISAJO Sports → https://shopsiham.com/collections/workout
(Use code “GILLIAN10” to save 10% off your order)
Squeeze Me Skinny Waist Trainers → https://www.squeezmeskinny.com
(Use code “MOMSHELL” to save 10% off your order)
The Shoe Fairy competition heels → https://www.shoefairyofficial.com
(Use code “momshell” to save 15% off your order)
Labwork and Personalized Recommendations: Practitioner Depot: https://bit.ly/practitionerdepotxmomshell (Use code “momshell” to save 5% off your order)
Our Amazon storefront- fitness outfits, more supplements, beauty items and competition needs → https://amzn.to/46GL1nd
Creators and Guests
Host
What is Bikinis After Babies?
Bikinis After Babies is the one and only podcast where real moms talk about their bodybuilding contest experiences. We are sharing the inside scoop, the nitty-gritty, the hardships and the victories as we navigate the rigors of competition prep while juggling family and careers. We’ll be joined by IFBB bikini pros who share their incredible stories of managing many responsibilities as athletes while defying stereotypes as women who compete in bikinis after babies!
Whether you’re a new mom thinking about stepping on stage for the first time, or a mom looking for inspo and insight on how to manage contest prep as a busy mom, this podcast offers helpful tips and inspiring stories for moms with big goals!! Make sure to rate, subscribe, and leave us a review to let us know how much this podcast has helped you 💕
About Momshell Method Fitness:
Ready to embark on your fitness journey? We would love to help you reach any fitness goal from losing the baby weight to crushing your competition goals!
Follow this link to schedule a discovery call with one of our team members and learn how Momshell Method Fitness can provide you with the tools you need to be successful with customized nutrition and training plans for busy moms → http://bit.ly/loseweightgetsexy
Mandys Posing Sessions
1:1 In Person (KC Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/inpersonposingwithmandy
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithmandy
Posing with Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
1:1 In Person (St Louis Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/stlposingwithgillianifbbpro
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithgillianifbbpro
Contact your hosts:
Mandy Rochon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandyrochonfitness/
Facebook: Mandy Rochon
Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillianhughes_momshell/
Facebook: Gillian Hughes
Momshell Method Fitness Supplements → https://www.momshell-method-fitness.myshopify.com
(Use code “BAB” to save 15% off your order)
Toxic Angelz Bikinis → https://toxicangelzbikinis.com
(Use code “GILLIAN” or code “MANDY” to save 15% off your order)
Squeeze Me Skinny Waist Trainers → https://www.squeezmeskinny.com
(Use code “MOMSHELL” to save 10% off your order)
The Shoe Fairy competition heels → https://www.shoefairyofficial.com
(Use code “momshell” to save 15% off your order)
Labwork and Personalized Recommendations: Practitioner Depot: https://bit.ly/practitionerdepotxmomshell (Use code “momshell” to save 5% off your order)
Our Amazon storefront- fitness outfits, more supplements, beauty items and competition needs → https://amzn.to/3zySJ4C
Mandy (00:00)
Hello everyone and welcome back to Bikinis After Babies. Thank you so much for joining us today. As always, I am one of your host, Mandy Rashawn, here with your other host, lovely IFBB Bikini Pro Jillian Hughes. I lovely. Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (00:11)
Lovely. That's really sweet. I love it. Hi guys. ⁓ I'm gonna apologize ⁓ ahead of time. Actually my voice it comes and goes. Once I get warmed up, it's fine. But I'm on the tail end of a nine day cold. ⁓ so I'm a little bit raspy, but ⁓ I'm here and thank you, Mandy, for pushing this podcast as late as we possibly could so I could get better. But ⁓ it's been a minute. I'm so excited for today's episode. I'm excited for what's to come in the next like
Mandy (00:20)
Yeah.
I know.
Ha ha
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (00:40)
couple of days and we got lots of updates and be sure to stay tuned to the very end of this episode because we are actually gonna go through our makeup. I feel like we think we're gonna do it and then we never get around to having time at the end of an episode, but we keep getting asked about like products we use and you know how we put makeup on all this stuff. So we at the end of this episode are gonna share all of our tips and tricks and so be sure you stick around for that. So but first Mandy is fresh off of the Dragon Ball show which I
Mandy (00:42)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (01:10)
I have a bone to pick with a promoter that you did not actually get a Dragon Ball. Like weren't the awards in previous years an actual Dragon Ball or was there just one for the overall winner? Okay. We're still calling it the Dragon Ball Show though. Absolutely.
Mandy (01:13)
Ooh.
No, you get it you only it's only for the overall winner. So yeah. So if you can Yes, because you do get a d well and actually they did these huge plaques too, which that was a whole thing like a whole new thing for the overall winner and the pro winners. ⁓ they not only got a dragon ball. I will say it's funny you bring up a bone to pick because the one thing I didn't like, I didn't get a dragon ball. I got my crowns, I got my trope medals.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (01:44)
Yes, you did, yes.
Mandy (01:46)
The Dragon Ball were purple. And if you actually grow up watching Dragon Ball Z, they're supposed to be like this orange yellow color. Anyways, that is s a very little detail. I just wanna digress from that. So but they're big bowling balls. No, they are. ⁓
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (01:54)
⁓
Yes. They were huge though. Like th it was like a bowling ball. Yeah. It would've been neat though if they had like little ones. But to be fair, like the crowns the crowns were really pretty, I thought. They looked really pretty in the live stream.
Mandy (02:04)
I swear if I there if you're if you guys are watching, which I think on almost every platform you can watch now, ⁓ I have the little crowns up there too because I l I love them. I love them so much. but yeah, no, it's crazy. It
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (02:12)
Yeah, I see it up there. Yeah. nice.
Mandy (02:22)
It was definitely such an amazing show from start to finish. ⁓ I actually already have it on my calendar to do next year already because it's it's it's always has been the first weekend in October. So I know it will probably be the first weekend next October. ⁓ but so with the show, because let's see, it's crazy because it feels like it's been forever since you I've you and I have seen each other. Because I
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (02:45)
It feels like it has been forever. 'Cause this was like a week post Olympia and then I left the very next day for my trip. No, no, no, I came back. Wait, I came back Friday and you competed Saturday. Wait. No, Yes, that was it.
Mandy (02:51)
Yep.
And then I
That's right. I was gone out of town. No, no, no. I remember now. I ha we both were gone, but like you left and then I left. And then we were both out of town. You were already back from Aruba when I was in Georgia. And then I had competed. I was done. And then I came home Sunday. Because you then we both were home at the same time Sunday, but you text me and you're like, hey, I'm not feeling well. And I'm like, okay. Like we'll chat later. It's not a big deal, right? And then you just you
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (03:06)
Yeah.
Yes.
Okay.
Yeah. Yeah, 'cause we wouldn't have pushed this that far. 'Cause since we last recorded we've had the Olympia Mandy show, my trip. So like almost probably four weeks have passed. So okay, the show.
Mandy (03:28)
Mm mm. Yep.
my gosh, that's just crazy. Anyways, okay, yes, the show. So the show was absolutely magical. It's probably more magical than I even like had anticipated, which of course if you guys have listened to the previous podcast, I've talked about this. I've posted about how this has been like the show I wanted to do for multiple years. ⁓ so ⁓ I flew in, flight was great.
Travel was great. Hotel, all the stuff was awesome. I got there Thursday. ⁓ I met the other mom shell, Jillian with a J, is what we keep calling her. And she was sh Yes, she is from South Carolina, I think South or North Carolina. so I met her Thursday, loved her. We spent so much time together. Ariel, my friend came, drove through Friday from Florida.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (03:59)
Yes. Hi Jillian.
Yes.
Mandy (04:14)
That is a very normal trip, by the way. A lot of people, competitors, spectators, judges, are from Florida and they commute up up to this area. Cause like I met so many people that are from Geor Florida. So, ⁓ but no check-ins
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (04:20)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mandy (04:31)
Check-ins, tan. The tan was super cool. So everything was at the convention center at the venue. It never moved. So like tan, check-in, vendors, expo. So the second you like got there Friday to do your check-ins and your tan, you got to see everything. It was this huge, like, I don't know, it almost looked like a h a airport hanger. Like it was ginormous. What was really neat is when you went back to do your tans, they had the giant semi-truck garage door open, opened for like the air. And it was facing the woods, which like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (04:50)
cool.
Mandy (05:01)
Like the you're in Georgia, so like you have the mountains and the s and the clouds, and it was so pretty while you're getting tanned. That was
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (05:08)
You're just like standing there in the nude, like with the nature and the bears.
Mandy (05:10)
No, I mean you're still in your like circles, you know, like how they have you like s you know, like guarded with all the like pop-up tents. But like when you're done, you just ha you get out of the pop-up tents, you get out of your blacked area, and then like when you're leaving, you see all this like beautiful scenery, yeah. So see everybody was so nice, so chill. It's kinda just like it was in Tulsa in Oklahoma, and same with like Arkansas. Everybody was so nice, so just pleasant. ⁓ show show was the best running.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (05:17)
Yeah.
Yeah. that's cool. I love it.
Mandy (05:41)
order. ⁓ I ⁓ Well it was the fact that the boys so the boys all went in the morning at nine o'clock the boys none of the girls so all the boys I basic Ariel and I just stayed in our hotel room and I checked in with my coach like every hour. It felt like ⁓ we went back and forth like send me this eat this send me all this stuff and then I just like hung out with Ariel. We watched Netflix we like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (05:41)
Yeah, it started at three, which was great.
The best.
gives you lots of time to get ready and you're not stressed about I feel like I never sleep even if I don't have to get up at like four. If I have an early morning show, I just I just can't sleep. So I think that that's the other good piece of it.
Mandy (06:08)
So and never rushed. You're so calm. Mm-mm.
Yeah. So
I mean, I went and got my makeup done, strolled on to three o'clock when the show started and then and the pros went first. And it just it was so nice. Like we got to watch the pros. It f the the it just flowed. It flowed so fast. And so it was the first time I got to do where boys and girls were divided. So we got done, like it started at three. I think girls went on at like by the time I went on in bikini and we were the last ones where was five. We take a fifteen minute intermission and then go r roll right into the finals. So it's cool because you got
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (06:33)
Mm. Yeah, awesome.
Yeah.
Mandy (06:49)
to like watch the pros and the pros got to hang out. So like I got to chit chat with Phoebe Hagan who won like the entire show. We chat talked to her for a while. Colt Walzer was back there. Like and they like they have their own area, but it's also like you can co-mingle pretty easily if you want. So everything was just so fast, so smooth, so easy. So then we were done and it is so funny because I
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (06:52)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. Cool.
Mandy (07:12)
I learned so much about myself this season, just traveling with different people. ⁓ just the way I did this. Like, I went back to the hotel room and I was like, there's a chilies and I love chilies. I like I love me a good chilies. Yes. Okay. Not to not to get off t
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (07:26)
I love chilies. So good. So good.
Mandy (07:32)
subject, but I grew up in a family that hated chilies and loved Applebee's. I never got to go to Chili's as a child. So like I went through I went through a phase where I love chilies. So anyways, there's chilies right next door. So Ariel's like, well, what do you want to do? And I'm like, honestly, I really enjoyed just like eating in bed and like watching Netflix. She's like, let's do that. So I took my photos real fast, real fast, and then just hopped in the shower, showered head to toe, threw on a ball cap. We went and got
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (07:41)
Chili's is so good.
I love eating in bed.
Mandy (08:02)
carry out, I had my diet coke at the bar and then we literally went to the bet back to the hotel room and I was like so it was still really early. It was still like nine ish. Yeah, of course. ⁓ and I'll go into that. But like we ⁓ it was done
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (08:06)
Nice. What time was it? Like you got dot done. 'Cause you waited for feedback too, right? Yeah.
Mandy (08:19)
I feel like we were back in the hotel room eating like 9 30 10. And so that would have like after a shower and everything. And chilies, it did take a while to get our food, I will say that. But no, so as soon as we were done, like they they do feedback right then and after. After every overall category, there's a judge in the back. And so like the line wasn't that long when I got when I had to go get feedback. But it was pretty it was what we already know. Like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (08:22)
Okay. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (08:42)
I have good stage presence. I'm I'm actually not nervous on stage anymore. Thank you. I f I'm so confident on stage. I do not shake. I do not have the jitters. ⁓ they said all of that was fantastic. I just need more development overall. Like I just need to keep growing into the sport. And I'm like, well that was my plan anyways. And she like so I was like, that's perfect. She's like, just keep coming back and keep growing. And I'm like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (08:44)
your posing was so good. It was so good.
Yeah.
Mandy (09:06)
Fantastic. Like it was like they couldn't pick one thing. It was just you got to develop, you gotta get more. Yeah, just more. So I'm like, perfect. I already planned on that. So, ⁓ but yeah. And then I it was probably one of the first shows where I did have trouble going to sleep because I was so like, This was fantastic. ⁓
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (09:11)
Just more, yeah. Yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah.
Mandy (09:28)
Only slept for like an hour and a half before I had to turn around and wake up and catch my flight at like 3 30 in the morning. And it was fun in the airport though, because I ran into Marissa Ross, who's been on our podcast before. So we talked yeah. So I talked to her for a while. I ran into Phoebe again, talked to her for a while, and so it was like I just chilled at the airport and then got home and it ⁓ home was fantastic. Aaron had all the cutesy stuff on the counter for me again. My mother in law was in town. We went to church, ⁓ grabbed
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (09:33)
I don't know how you do it. Yeah.
Yeah, she's competing this weekend. Yeah, I'm excited to see her.
Mandy (09:58)
lunch. It was my friend's birthday, so I stopped by her house, gave her her gifts. So like it was just it was so so good. But yeah, so that was it. And now and now you and I are in peak week for our con t for our debut together.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (10:04)
Yeah. Awesome. Good.
Yes we are. So yes we are. And I'm so exc so I do have a technical question. I always try to ask these because there are people that listen to this like to like gain
information and like tips and you know strategy, right? So I'm curious to know then you've done this now like going on your third show, is there anything different that you're doing from your second show into your third show to bring anything different or like you ch it's not a much time to change things, but we always do try to implement what we can and try to bring new things. So what are you trying to implement or change going into this next show?
Mandy (10:37)
Yeah.
I'm trying to come in fuller. So
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (10:51)
Okay.
Mandy (10:52)
From hot springs, because here's the thing from hot springs, that show started at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. It started in the morning, so let's put that way. It started in the morning. So you don't have that relaxation time, that time to check in with your coach, all of that time. So and also that was our first show. So then going into this show, we had all this time. I felt like he wanted to see me every hour and he wanted an update on everything constantly, which I loved. I'm not complaining. I'm just like, and he it was constant, like how does your weight?
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (10:58)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mandy (11:22)
Feel da da da like things like that. So, and it was like, okay, let's eat more of this, let's eat, let's drink this. And so I feel like going into that this Georg the Georgia show, because it was so much later, it gave us a little more time. So now going into Kentucky, now that we know it's an evening show as well, I'm already two pounds heavier right now than I was.
It was kinda tricky because I was I was heavier I was two pounds heavier starting peak week and then I happened to drop that. ⁓ it just it just happened to drop off and we're like, no, no, no, it's kinda like I want to stay there so then I'm eating more food to stay he I'm staying fuller. So that way going into Saturday 'cause we both know when you travel you know, usually you kinda lose some weight too, especially 'cause I'm driving eight hours. So going into the show, I'm just gonna come in fuller. ⁓
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (11:57)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (12:17)
And really and really focus on my front pose, pushing my ⁓ my back hip to be more level with my front hip to make my glutes look fuller too. Also, the hair thing too, I'm gonna wear my hair slightly different this show to see what it looks like as well. So I'm gonna take all of that so then that way next year we know these things. So yeah. Yeah. So yeah. Well you're so sick! You were so sick.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (12:30)
Mm.
Yeah. Cool. Awesome. I'm excited. I'm getting excited now. I wasn't really excited until like kind of this morning. I know. And and that's part of it. I felt so bad because I didn't even get a chance to talk to you after the show because Saturday, you know, it was like nine thirty, ten o'clock or something. Then I think I passed out, didn't even I right as soon as you got off stage I went to bed because I was so tired. We had come in
Mandy (12:50)
Mm.
Remember 'cause I tried to call you. Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (13:00)
Yes. And we had come in Friday from Aruba and it was a very awful day of travel. It was so awful. Like the plane was hot. I had no Wi Fi. ⁓ the trip was amazing, but the the flight home. And then Sunday, it was just kids stuff. I had a my meeting at cheer and like trying to get my life together and then I started to get sick. And then Monday through till even just like yesterday I've just been like
Mandy (13:09)
Hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (13:23)
Just surviving basically. So I am now really excited about Kentucky and it just took a minute to kind of feel normal. But I've talked to so many people who are also sick. Like one of my ⁓ teammates is also competing this weekend and she was even sicker than me and had to like get antibiotics. And I was really trying to not get on any antibiotics or go get a steroid or anything because I just didn't want anything else to affect my physique because I'm so close and you know, this is the last show of the season. It was just I think mentally it was tougher than the the physical part of it, but then not sleeping and I
Mandy (13:42)
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (13:53)
And had, you know, caught up on all my sleep. I had zero sleep debt coming home from a rubber and back up to nine hours of sleep debt just from being sick. So it's not great. But you know what? I I want to like segue a tiny bit. There is something I shared a couple of weeks ago about like how we've all kind of gotten a little obsessed with like these things and needing the perfect circumstances and everything and setting goals for ourselves. And it can make people feel like they're failing or not doing a good job when really just like even that thinking is like not good for you.
Mandy (13:56)
Yeah.
yeah or
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (14:22)
like be worried about it. ⁓ and sometimes it's just not possible to like have all three crowns and to like it would be great. But I think for me, it's never been my goal to like have all these, you know, stellar HRV. I just want to be better. And I just want to like optimize and do the best that I can. So I was really happy about no sleep debt, but we'll we'll kind of chip away at that what after the show. ⁓
Mandy (14:29)
yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (14:45)
So yeah, so I'm ex I'm so excited for this weekend and Jillian will be there that we talked about earlier. She's one of our clients. ⁓ and lots of there's sixteen pros on the Masters forty list and lots of familiar names. ⁓ my coach will be there this weekend. ⁓ super excited about the show format. So did you
Mandy (14:49)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah. I talked to her in Kentucky. I never even got a chance to tell you that. I was like
Yeah, we were have we were standing right next to each other. I like, I have to say something 'cause like I've met her expediting. I you talk about her. So and we've had so many of other Fitbody Fusions like on the podcast and I like, Hey Jamie, like my name's Mandy. I know you probably don't know me, but I know you very well. And it was really cute. She I told I told her I was, you know, your bestie and she's like, my god, I love her, it's so great And then like, yeah, we said to see each other in Kentucky. So I forgot to tell you about that. But yeah. Yeah. So
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (15:11)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. ⁓ awesome. Yeah. Awesome.
So yeah, so we hit the road tomorrow, road trip for both of us. Mandy's gonna drive from Kansas City through to St. Louis and we're gonna kind of caravan there. I haven't ⁓ I I haven't done the Kentucky trip in a while, so I'll I don't remember what gas stations I'm gonna be checking out, but I do love to go into my and kind of scour the candy and get things and and it's so funny because I'll make like a big candy salad and just eat like four bites of it because I just I can never really eat a lot of that stuff. But yeah, I'll be stocking up on the way down there.
Mandy (15:37)
Yeah.
The candy salad. The the candy salad that I made you for Tulsa. I was I was cleaning out my pantry. Man, I I was thinking about this. I was cleaning out my our like cupboard pantry and I had a baggie of it still left. Like I had the I and I threw it out. I threw it out already. Cause I was like, I didn't think I didn't I don't know.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (16:05)
It was so good.
So it's a little stale. Mmm. ⁓ it gets better when it gets stale. Never throw candy away. Mm.
Mandy (16:24)
I just kept it in the cabinet thinking like Carson w Okay, well, I figured nobody snacked on it and I was like, Well, I really don't know what to do with this. You know, it's kinda like so many weeks old now and I was like, There's in my head But I was like, maybe she doesn't want it but then I th like now that I'm saying it out loud, I'm like, I'm literally coming back from Saint Louis or from Kentucky, drive cause Saint Louis is the halfway mark for me, and then stopping in Saint Louis to get my dad
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (16:33)
It doesn't expire.
Mm-hmm.
Mandy (16:49)
bacon for him to have left over three days later because he likes it better. So I'm like, I wish I would have like thought about that. But anyways, I'm sorry I threw it out. That is true.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (16:57)
It's okay. There's no shortage of candy. It's Halloween and ⁓ I've got some locked away for when I get back. I found chocolate cover gummy bears, so I'm really excited about that. ⁓
Mandy (17:04)
⁓
Ooh. I do love good what are those called? Chocolate covered raisins. Ooh. Ooh. Dark chocolate. Ooh. Raisinets. There you go. My grandpa always ate them. I loved I forget about that. Yeah, anywho. Anyways, fun segue. But yes, you were back, you were super sick, or you got sick progression.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (17:11)
Yeah, I love those. Old lady candy, but they're so good. Raisinettes. So good. So good. So
Yeah, so Aruba was a great success. That was trip I took right before you did your show. ⁓
And I stayed on prep. And before I went, like Jamie like, have pina coladas on the beach. I'm like, realistically we're not gonna do that. But she did give me, ⁓ like I checked in before I left and she gave me like a thousand extra calories to kind of spend through the week. And I just tracked, ⁓ I didn't like necessarily weigh everything, but I ate a lot of my own food too. Like we got there Sunday, and I it's an international flight, so you really can't take you can't take chicken, you can't take any prepped rice. Like I had two meals before, like I had a meal on the plane, and then I had a meal in Orlando, then we flew.
Mandy (17:58)
Mm-hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (18:04)
Orlando to Aruba and I couldn't like take anything. So ⁓ but we were there as a part of like ⁓ a work thing for my husband's job. So like the first day, two days we there was food and it was great, like so many clean options. Like obviously, like the rice was not like plain jasmine rice and the chicken was not like plain chicken, right? But it was grilled and the rice I was able to like
Mandy (18:22)
Sure.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (18:29)
basically just eat a lot of my seam. Plus my calories have been so high that I didn't feel stressed about it. My cardio is like none. ⁓ my steps are like seven K. So it really I was going in in a really good spot. And so ⁓ I trained every day. We stayed at ⁓ the Ritz Carlton and it had like such a great gym. So I got like full training in every day, laid by the pool and caught up on sleep. It was so easy. And then like day two ⁓ we went to a grocery store and I bought like basically all the
food that I would normally eat at home, which my meal plan is very, very simple. so I got like egg whites and I got like raw chicken that I cooked in my little hot pot that I brought with me. ⁓ and no they did not take that away from me. I actually put it in my carry-on and they didn't Yeah, so ⁓ and I had my cream of rice with me so I was able to make that. The I think the biggest thing was trying to do dishes in the hotel room was probably the most annoying part. ⁓ but I even made dinner for Brian and I one night because we just were tired and we'd been in the heat. It's like
Mandy (19:05)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I remember you sent me photos, yeah.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (19:29)
So hot in Aruba. Like it never there's no cool period at all. It's like I don't know how many miles it is from the equator, but it's very hot. It's not humid, it's intensely hot. Like
Mandy (19:34)
Is it like Florida humid or is it like like like dry heat?
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (19:42)
Yeah, but you don't I would say you don't notice it because there's a constant wind coming from the water. But it's a little island. Like it's like this little island that just like all the w the air goes around it and it's above Venezuela. So and it the whole island you can drive from one side to the other like forty five minutes. Like it's not very big.
Mandy (19:59)
Isn't that gnarly? Our country's so big.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (20:01)
Yeah, and it's so clean. People are so nice, very safe. So we took an Uber to ⁓ the grocery store, which man, I wish I would have gone by myself. It wouldn't have been a good idea maybe to be out of the country and going by myself. And my husband, as soon as we got there, wanted to leave. He's like, Okay, because he hates shopping. He's a guy. He's like, I wanna get to the pool. I don't want to do this. And I'm like, Okay, well, I really want to look at everything and I really wanna like put things in my cart.
Mandy (20:14)
Yeah. Whoa!
Yeah. Grocery shopping can be the funnest. Yeah, I know what you mean.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (20:28)
It's never not the funnest when you're traveling. I hate doing it at home, but like when I'm traveling, I'm always like, ooh, what do they have here? You know? so that was kind of annoying. But ⁓ and it was packed, I will say it was very and I think it was that was probably the part of it that was annoying for him because you're there's people everywhere. But like I had kind of printed out, like not print out like screenshotted like like a conversion table for like prices. But every label had both American and ⁓ Dutch pricing on it. So it didn't
Mandy (20:50)
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (20:56)
I didn't matter. And it had also English and Dutch ⁓ on every label. So ⁓ rice cakes were kinda hard to find. Like they're a rice corn cake.
But the macros were like the same. ⁓ and then macros were hard to read too, because I was just like, ⁓ you know, that word looks like it means carbohydrates. so like some of the labels were like their foods, right? ⁓ so yeah, so I cooked a lot of stuff and I know it was amazing. Like I we'll talk about like the hacks and stuff, but I did bring some things with me to make things easier. Like I had some like collapsible bowls with lids so that I could like store the food that I had prepared in the fridge in the hotel room. ⁓ because that's what you don't think about like when you're traveling.
Mandy (21:07)
Sure.
⁓ yeah.
Smart. Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (21:36)
Like if you make five pounds of chicken breast, like what are you supposed to do with it? Like, you know, so I had brought like Ziploc baggies and I had even brought like a little like small spatula. ⁓ I brought spices from home. we got like a charcuterie board one of the days as like a gift from GM and I use that as my cutting board, which is kind of nice. So I it's small, so I've kept that in my travel stuff because I'm like, this is gonna come in really handy. ⁓ I had like my travel scale, I had like you know, different things. ⁓ so yeah, so it was really, really easy.
Mandy (21:55)
Well it's smart.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (22:06)
The food part was easy. And then ⁓ at the end of the afternoon, like there was, you know, at any resort really, like people kind of kind of wind down. Like there's still people at the pool, but it gets hot. Like people go have a siesta. So like I went back to the fitness center and it was dead, completely empty. Took my heels, did posing for 30 minutes every single day. ⁓ which I think was very helpful for me because that's always a thing I really stress about. Like I just I need to pose every day, otherwise I feel like I'm not gonna do it right on stage. So being able to do that, do my mobility and everything while I was traveling.
was way easier than I thought. ⁓ so overall it was like a success. Like I got home, took my pictures, I'm like, yes. Then I get sick the next day. So it was kind of annoying. But ⁓ you know, I'm I've been kind of just like in not in maintenance mode, but like we hit the right like well, we were too conditioned for Battle of the Body. So I had some room to kind of soften up a little bit. But it really just meant coming in fuller. I don't think it meant I needed to like gain body fat or anything. ⁓ so that was a real test, obviously like, you know, there's
Mandy (22:43)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (23:05)
cocktails everywhere and desserts everywhere on my trip. And I never felt tempted. Like it was easy for me to just be like, No, I'm like not interested because I wasn't hungry, right? I have so much food. ⁓
Mandy (23:07)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (23:15)
But then being sick and just like all last week, just like couldn't hold my poses, couldn't like hold my tummy and digestion was off, like I'd body aches, so I couldn't like hit my any so it just it really sucked. But now I feel today this today and yesterday I'm starting to feel like I'm I look like I should look at a couple days out. So it came together. Ugh.
Mandy (23:33)
Yeah, when you text when you text me this morning and you're like, I'm I'm getting excited. I was like I had I was like, I need to find the perfect image to send to her and I was like, Let's go It was like the Shaq shaking his shoulders. I get it.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (23:39)
Yeah.
It was a good image, yeah. No, I know, because it's just And here's the thing too, like I feel like just 'cause you're ready Monday doesn't mean like anything really changes from Monday to Friday. So the fact that Monday I was still just a little bit watery and off, like I hit
Mandy (24:00)
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (24:01)
the condition today and like everything today that I normally would hit on Monday, but generally I don't change much from Monday to Friday. So it's like it doesn't matter that it took me a couple more days and every prep is different. So I just I can't stress that enough. Like if you get in your head and you make too much of it, like even when I started getting sick, I'm like, I'm not giving it any energy. Like everyone was asking me like, how are you? How are you? And I'm like, you what? It's just it is what it is. Like
Mandy (24:08)
Yeah.
I and I would love to t touch on that a little bit. Like, we don't have to make a whole big thing about it because we've noticed it this year too, because we I have a client, Amber, who broke her foot like so many months ago, and then you getting sick and it's just like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (24:33)
Yes.
Mandy (24:37)
It's one of those things where we kinda started noticing, like, and I don't talk about it either, I share this with you, but I've had severe leg pain from like tightness in my muscle fibers and pulling at my nerves and even right now sitting here, like I can feel it in my thigh. But like, we can chat about that for a second, kinda do like a mini little segue of what yeah, so when when there's obstacles that kinda come about prep, even life in general.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (24:52)
No, I think that's a good segue, yeah.
Mandy (25:00)
you kind of notice like, okay, this obstacle is occurring. You can either let it derail you mentally. You can let you can let it consume all your energy, all your thoughts. Speaking about it, I think is a huge deal. I think sometimes we kind of turn into we turn into a victim mode, speaking about ailments or issues so easily. And then what happens is it kind of turns into like borderline an identity because then people are always like, Are you okay? How do you feel? What doctors are you saying? What are you saying? And then you gotta, yeah, you're talking about it over and over. It's at top of
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (25:16)
Yeah.
And then you feel worse. Yeah.
Mandy (25:30)
Mind top of thought. And so it's okay, it's it's okay to like let the people know around you like, hey, I have a little cold, it is what it is, and you still go about your day. It doesn't derail your goals, it doesn't change anything, and you still check your boxes, you still keep going, but you don't give the ailment energy, you don't give the negativity energy because then it doesn't consume you, right? So I know you and I have talked about that, and I like to bring up Amber because Amber Amber faced it quite a bit. She still faces it actually because ⁓ she broke her.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (25:51)
Yeah.
Mandy (26:00)
Her foot and it was she got an x-ray, she got all the stuff, she was in a boot. Yeah. ⁓
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (26:02)
It was like four weeks out, right?
Mandy (26:05)
Ye yeah, it might have been s yeah, it was close. It was like five four or five. But like she was in a boot. You could not hide it. Like but we made the changes we had to make and it was fine. But every single day, I'm pretty sure she she got asked, like, I can't believe you're still competing. How are you still competing? How do you feel? What are you doing? And to her, she constantly had to be like, Yeah, it's fine. Yeah, it's fine, yeah, it's fine. But like if she would've given that energy, if she would it's yeah, if she would have given it energy, it nobody would have faulted her for not competing. She had broken foot, right?
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (26:06)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. Are you still gonna do the show? Like, yeah.
It's choice.
Mandy (26:35)
So but it's like, no, this is my goal, this is who I am, this is like what I want to do. Like I'm not gonna let something stop me. And so I think again, you being sick, what, two weeks out? Yeah, two weeks out from your show, like you know, yeah, especially when you realized you weren't
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (26:36)
Yeah.
Yeah. It's not ideal. But you can't get in this energy of like, I'm so sick, I'm so sick and duh da like you just you gotta not say ignore it, but like it definitely like I had to really just kind of I had to move on. I had to like I had things to do and I had to make it some changes, but ⁓ you know, I wasn't able to, you know, train. But also like maybe I didn't need to do that. Like, you know, if if I'm thinking about it like this too, like if I had
Mandy (26:53)
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (27:13)
come home and felt great, would I have pushed myself down to the same weight and condition that I brought to Battle the Bodies, which is not what they want to see. They don't wanna see that. I can't bring that super hard shredded physique, right? So maybe it it forced me to kind of sit my ass down a little bit, but
I didn't come off my meal plan. I didn't cry to my coach. Like I I'm like, there's nothing we can do. Like it it is what it is. I made a post today about like controlling what you can control. And I just focused on the things that I could. And I think the one thing that I really leaned into is my habits. And I mean, I I've been so consistent that I'm like
Mandy (27:39)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (27:48)
Okay. It's gonna be okay. Like that's a bit of a safety net for what we're going through right now. This is not gonna undo everything. But imagine if I kind of like my mind went there, all that cortisol would flood my system and you know, it you can just worry yourself into an oblivion. So I think mindset was like really huge. I mean, I was pr like even Thursday I was really sick. Like I had gone just for like a like a routine visit and they did my temperature and she's like, This can't be right. She's like, This is a hundred point five. I'm like, It's probably right.
Like and I was going to the gym afterwards. But like I didn't push like crazy. I'm like it's just it's just a virus, you know. I didn't go to urgent care and try to get them to you know, I I obviously like if you're really sick, like don't don't be stupid and like, you know, like avoid going to the doctor, but I could still breathe and you know, I'm just I don't know. I think I think it's key is like don't be dramatic, you know.
Mandy (28:18)
Hmm.
Well and I think when you are really, really sick, I think this is what I see the most often. If you are really sick and you go to the doctor to get the meds, what happens is, okay, maybe you have to take a couple of rest days 'cause okay, like myself for example, like my leg has been like flaring up, hurting. It doesn't affect my posing. I haven't let it do anything. But what I will do is like I'll notice when it's really, really bad, like really bad, and I'll be like, you know what, today is the day that I can't do cardio and I can't go to the gym because I need to d rest and then the next five, six, whatever many days, like I'm
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (29:01)
Yeah.
Mandy (29:07)
Fine. So, like, I've had to do that a few different times, but like it's the fact like when you make that decision, that doesn't mean like, I'm so sick, and I really want a bread bowl from Panera. Like, I really want that baguette from Panera. I really want it's like, hey, this is where and this is where you talk to your coach because this is what I tell a lot of my sick clients when they're sick. I'm like, hey, I will give you the perfect recipe that fits in your macros, in your plan. You won't have to do any effort, you just gotta grab the groceries, just like you'd grab Panera, throw it all in a bowl and heat it in the
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (29:19)
Yeah, don't do it.
Mandy (29:37)
microwave, this is what you do. And many, many times because we're so conditioned to like want Panera, like want that heavier, hardier food, it we go against our goals. And then we don't feel we don't feel we feel worse sometimes because we're introducing foods to our body that we hadn't had in a long time. And so not only are our poor little bodies sick, but now they gotta fight off the food that or just adjust what they're not used to. So like that's a I think just being real and holding
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (29:50)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (30:06)
You know, kind of accountability while we're sick. You know, take the naps, ta if you have to take the meds, take the meds. But try to keep your habits, yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (30:10)
Just take yeah, adjust things like yeah, it's it's it's so important because if you would have told me it would be ten days in and I'd still be feeling, you know I I think at least I won't be coughing on stage because that was what I was worried about yesterday. I was posing and coughing and I'm like, my god, I cannot cough on stage. but
Mandy (30:24)
'cause you I forget you're up there a long, long time. I I just like it that I yeah, that's true, yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (30:31)
Yeah. Yeah. And the other thing too is that like I'm chugging water, which has been great for my whole look, right? ⁓ but I'm like, you know, I don't like to drink a ton of water on show day. Like I hydrate into the weekend so that I don't because I like to keep my waist really tight. And so I'm like, I can't I my dry throat I think everything's gonna just time out perfectly and I'm gonna be feeling amazing on Saturday. ⁓ so I'm coming in a little heavier, which honestly I like it. Like it
Mandy (30:46)
Yeah, me too.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (31:00)
I feel more athletic. I feel ⁓ I like that fuller look personally. It's just I have not brought that to stage ever. So it's my mind just plays tricks with me. Like my eyes, I'm like, okay. Like I still I'm seeing all the lines and everything, but I just can't bring the ⁓ the look I brought to Fort Lauderdale. So we've no choice but really to try something not new, but just like
pull push push the foldness. So I she increased my food. She had increased it last week and I my digestion just couldn't keep up because I was I had like post nasal drip. Is it post sinus drip? Post nasal drip. Whatever it is when you're kind of like it h upsets your stomach and you're so congested. I just couldn't digest food. I even like had to miss
Mandy (31:32)
I think a nasal.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (31:39)
two meals. ⁓ and so we didn't push food until like pretty much like yesterday. So ⁓ so filling out and yeah, we're gonna have a great time and end this season and ⁓ yeah I mean I'm excited. But I know.
Mandy (31:50)
I know. It's crazy. We're gonna be together tomorrow here in like in just a little over 24 hours we're gonna be caravanning together. It's crazy. I am too.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (31:58)
I know. I know. I'm really excited. So, ⁓ but yeah, I think we wanted to like touch a little bit on like updated travel tips. I think the only thing that's different for me is I have a new system of like luggage because when I went to Battle of the Bodies, my luggage was was a horrible mess. I kept my suitcase kept tipping over and I just couldn't find anything and so I invested in a new like luggage.
Mandy (32:18)
Mm-hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (32:20)
situation. ⁓ and it's been really great. So I haven't actually used it at show because I got it for Aruba. ⁓ and then of course like my hot pot is is my my trick. But what things have you kind of like picked up on this year, you know, traveling during these preps?
Mandy (32:34)
Yeah, so
Well, obviously I've been driving and then I've been flying. Driving is super simple. Like that's kind of a lot easier. I still feel like a lot of ⁓ questions that I get or comments are a lot of people are still really scared to go through TSA with a lot of things. And in reality, like they and I mean this in the nicest way possible. They really don't care about any of our stuff anymore. Like they used to, I get it. But now when it comes like I didn't even get my bag checked. Like or I ⁓ like they didn't go through my bag, like going through TSA. So
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (32:48)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (33:05)
For me personally, my biggest fear was always I always have my stevia drops. I order them from Amazon. They're I get the big bottle and then I get mini bottles that are like the flavor like French vanilla or toffee just to kind of like spice up the flavors, right? So they I'm allowed like you can have those. Like they don't take them from you. They I have them in my backpack when I'm going through the airport. I pack an emergency one in my suitcase if I do a checked bag just to have a backup. ⁓ just because sweet drops aren't something you can really get at the grocery store, like even specialty grocery stores won't like carry them all the time.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (33:17)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (33:36)
So it's something you have to order from Amazon and just to have like the brand that I like. So I think just not being so scared of TSA. And then I travel with like what I eat that day, I'll travel in my backpack because I have a cooler backpack. I don't use my Wolfpack bag. The cooler I use is like an igloo $30 backpack I got from Target. And I think it was made for like to carry all the beer in like one of those because it's it's a hundred percent insulated. It's for you to have a bunch of ice in it and a bunch of drinks. So but what I do is I
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (34:01)
Yeah.
Mandy (34:05)
pack like all my protein all in baggies. I put a block chiller on top of it. So no gel, none of that. And then on top of that I'll have like
Whatever it may be that I'm traveling with, if it's like headphones or something like that. And I keep that. So that way I have like half of my bag is food and then half of is like the entertainment that I need. Or like whatever I'm doing. But I think just utilizing baggies for everything, writing on the baggies, keeping them organized, and then like you said, like always kind of have your own stuff. Like you always want to have your own bowls, your own napkins, your own utensils, your own everything. Cause like as much as we tell ourselves we can grab it at Starbucks, we can grab it when we're walking through. It's like, well, what if you can't? What if you can't find it? What if something happens?
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (34:44)
Yeah.
Mandy (34:45)
It's just so much easier, like going through Georgia air going through the airports, traveling to Georgia, and just being able to sit at a table, open my backpack, unfold my napkin, have my peanut butter rice cakes, wrap up my trash, throw it away. That was r really helpful. This is something I started doing also, which I don't know.
Why it took me so long to do this, because I feel like it is very obvious. Obviously, like peak week, we have very strict water we're supposed to drink. I am like you, I load water into the week. So I start out drinking like 250, 260 fluid ounces of water every single day up into show day. So I am not carrying a water jug around. Like that's just not me. Like I'm not gonna do that. So whenever I have to travel, I will get like a 20-ounce, 30-ounce water bottle.
And I will just keep a notepad of how much mini how much I drink all day. Same with coffee. If I get 12 ounce, I ask the barista, like if I get black coffee, 12 ounces, 16 ounces, and I keep a water log in my phone of like all all of that. And so instead of using like, as you if you're watching, like our cute little drinks, you know, I drink cups that we love so much. I don't even bring them with me. Like in Georgia, I don't bring any cups. I just got my water bottle of however many ounces it was, 25. And I just use that the whole week. So
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (35:38)
Yeah.
Yeah, I do too.
Mandy (36:04)
So that way I could track my water very flu like easily. It was so much easier instead of worrying about a water jug, worrying about water bottles, wor all that stuff. It was just a lot mathematically easier. ⁓ but like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (36:08)
Yeah.
I do I use mine, but I know mine's forty four. So I just fill it. I mean it's still still fluid, right? So I mean I s I just kinda fill it and then that way 'cause I do like it cold and specifically. And then I also don't have to spend any money on water, like when I go through. I just like like once you go through check in. So you just buy it at the airport. Yeah.
Mandy (36:19)
But if you put ice in it, it messes it up.
I don't know. But I just I wanted
no, I just buy I just buy one bottle and I fill it up. Yeah, and I fill it up as I go. But like obviously whenever I get to where my destination, then I'll go back to the scale and water, because I'll just measure all my water on the scale. I just can't stand water jugs. I can't. I can't carry them. I don't even like carrying half gallons. Like I'm like, no.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (36:46)
Yeah.
I never dr those water jugs are so they're so obnoxious. I think
Mandy (36:56)
I know I tr
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (36:56)
I get it, it makes it easier. At home I actually have like a half gallon hydro jug that I fill up in the morning and I pour out of it and then I fill it up a second time and then but I never take it with me. Like cause this is big enough that I just take this with me, but I fill this all day from that. And then I'm like, okay, as long as I get these two in, that's like my base minimum. But I also on top of that have coffee ⁓ and maybe an Alani. But otherwise that's basically all my fluid. So but it's a visual for me too. Like I've gotta get through that first one.
Mandy (37:04)
Okay yes. Yes.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (37:26)
in the morning, otherwise later in the day, you know, 'cause I I will say I'm a good water drinker, but if I get buried in a work project or I'm running like crazy with kids or something, I will be sipping from the bottom of this for hours. So I have to like visually go, okay, when I open that fridge, my gosh, I've got to get like on top of my water. So this just like comes with me everywhere. Well, this is a new one, but I usually have something that's just kind of it's always with me.
Mandy (37:29)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. I was gonna say something, I haven't seen that one.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (37:51)
Well, the one that I bought when we were in Pittsburgh, I dropped it so many times that it won't even stand up anymore. It's like all dented.
Mandy (37:53)
You drew up.
So I will say for me, because I realized this this last p going into ⁓ the Georgia show. That was actually really funny. I didn't tell you about this. Going into Georgia show, he had me drinking more water, ⁓ more liquids, I should just say, because I drink so much coffee and then I drink so much tea. And so I like measuring everything and it was so funny because I actually on a normal basis drink so much more liquid than I thought, than I knew, I should say. So I was like, ⁓ I actually have to stretch some of this out.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (38:23)
Yeah.
Mandy (38:28)
So like I was stretching out my iced tea that I drink, because I make my own decaf iced tea. I was so hungry. I was like I was like, my gosh, do I just drink so much liquid that it masked my hunger? Because I was Wednesday, but like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (38:42)
Yeah, I thought about that.
Mandy (38:45)
I never intentionally did that. It was like a Wednesday. Yeah. It was like a Wednesday or something. Cause it like the middle of the week, I remember, and I was like, this is miserable. I was so cranky. I was like, can I please eat my next meal? Like, this is annoying. I remember thinking that. So yeah, I just I drink so much fluid, but like I know what you mean, 'cause Aaron does a lot of that too. Like you get going and going and going and like it's just you don't drink or you don't like I know you're good with your food, but like he'll go forever without eating. That's why like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (38:47)
Yeah, it's just how it happened. You're used to it. Yeah.
Yeah, that's so funny.
Yeah.
that I won't do.
Mandy (39:14)
Yeah, so but he yeah, it's he's just him. But it's I I get what you mean. Like you're like going, going, going. So that visual cue of seeing that water jug in the fridge is like, yeah. So that makes sense. But so yeah, just like a lot of little things like that. I just honestly wanna preach. Do not be scared of TSA. Pack I will say maybe not internationally, but like na like in our country, like if you are traveling, pack all your shit.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (39:24)
Mm. Yeah.
Mandy (39:42)
If for some reason something happens and it gets taken, ninety-nine percent of the time, unless it's something extremely specific, you can get or order at a grocery store. So like don't freak out. Exac yeah. Like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (39:52)
Yeah. Put your peptides in your checked bag though. Do that. I didn't take my peptides to Aruba, but you can put just honestly, you probably can put them in your carry on. I just don't want to deal with it. I don't want to deal with somebody being like, Why do you have you know? ⁓ because I do sometimes have my bag, you know, just
Mandy (40:03)
That's like my s
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (40:10)
You know, 'cause there's all this food and everything, and sometimes they just want to look in it, which is totally fine. But just watch your fluids because I had a yogurt taken from me one time because it's technically 1.3 ounces over because it's four ounces your fluid ⁓ maximum that you can have. ⁓ so like I usually will pack that stuff in my suitcase. like if I've got, you know, honey or, you know, something. I don't know. Honey I usually have a smaller thing. and
Mandy (40:24)
I think my drops are at four ounces. I think that's why they don't take
I have the single servings of all of that stuff. Single servings are your best friend.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (40:39)
Yeah, so if you can get that stuff, but just watch your fluids and ⁓ but what I actually do is I have these like four ounce little mason jars and I'm yeah, and I have coconut oil in one and then I have peanut butter in the other and they seal really, really tight and that's enough for a weekend so I don't have to like take because I I have to really watch my luggage how I mean I take
Mandy (40:48)
They're they're so cute.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (41:02)
two curling irons and extra posing heels and like my luggage gets quite heavy so I have to be like, man, I can't like also put peanut butter and honey and stuff in there too. So I have my little like mason jars that go in my like rolling suitcase. And then that rolling suitcase is my backstage bag. So I also have like in there I have my suit, my jewelry, my heels, my hair extensions, ⁓ makeup. All of my makeup is under four ounces. So it all fits in there. ⁓ I put my tanning stuff in my luggage because I still do have the full size bag.
Mandy (41:07)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (41:32)
But I bought these like I call them condoms. I don't know really what they are, but I bought these condom things from Amazon because ProTan, first of all, ProTan, I've been emailing you. So please check your emails because I've been trying to get a coupon code with bikinis after babies to use. I keep like giving my clients other people's coupon code. I don't know how many times I've talked about their DIY kit and then I'm using it. Yeah, and so
Mandy (41:53)
I say I got mine today. not the discount code, like the I got my tanning kit, like the other day. I got all my tanning stuff.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (41:59)
Yeah, I don't want to make money. I just wanna give a coupon code that has our name on it instead of like I've been using like, you know, other people's anyways, but they leak. I don't care what you say. Once you've opened it, it even if you seal that thing up, it leaks. So I had them in like Ziploc bags because I never use like a full one of the like the sh I have like the show day.
top coat or whatever and then the overnight color. It's always like I have some left. So I bought these like condom things that like you put over the top of them and it's still like it still leaks inside, but it's not going to get everywhere. And I feel a lot better about throwing it in my suitcase. So anyways, ⁓ so yeah that you can get a DIY kit that is smaller, but I don't make me so nervous to have just enough. Cause like what if I have to shower or something? I don't know. I've it's been really so easy to do my own tan, but I just I'm that person that I'm like I'd rather
Mandy (42:27)
⁓ yeah.
sure.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (42:48)
have and not need than need and not have, you know? 'Cause Protein's not something I can just like pick up at the store. so yeah, I think I mean it's kind of jumbled, but I mean we've talked about a lot of this travel stuff before, but I do I have updated my storefront on Amazon with like all of my things that I travel with and you know, useful things. So yeah.
Mandy (42:51)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, I feel like it's just I feel like a lot of people are they
a lot of times are scared like of things to get taken, thrown away, waste. But at the same time, I can't emphasize enough how much money, money you save bringing your own stuff. Like, I ev even even if you like meal order meal prepped food. I don't know if I've said this on this po on the podcast. I ordered meal prepped, I want to say it was Mega Fit 'cause I do like them. I've used them before. I ordered like several meals for MegaFit to get delivered to a wedding that I was attending out in Michigan. I don't know, I think it was like a hundred
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (43:18)
Yeah.
Mandy (43:44)
150 bucks, 120 bucks, whatever. Several meals. I got to Michigan with Aaron and Carson. We met our family. My meals hadn't got delivered yet. We went out to dinner with our family. The three of us eating alone was like $150, and that's without drinking. And I was like, wait, wait a minute. I got seven, it was like six to eight meals, however they like order it, for like 150, 120 bucks. That's going to feed me six to eight times compared to one.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (43:58)
I know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (44:14)
Night out. So I just I feel like sometimes like we're just so used to eating out, but it saves so much money, so much time, and like your goals, you hit all your goals. So like try it. If TSA throws it out, they throw it out. You can replace they're not. I don't know. I I have had one throw out peanut butter one time. That was that was years ago. And I was like, really, man? But now I do single servings, so it's different.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (44:20)
totally. Yeah.
They're not. I mean, when when would they throw it out? They'd I've never seen that. And the other thing too is that like a lot of these shows Yeah.
There Yeah. I mean, as long as you follow all the rules and it's it's easy. But I mean, even if you go to let's say Masters Nationals, they always have like that athlete buffet. You wanna do you really wanna pay twenty two dollars for a chicken breast if you're eating chicken five times a day? Like
Mandy (44:56)
You know. Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (44:56)
Do you? Like just make it and take it, honestly. And then well also I I think food safety is another thing. Like, especially if you're flying from one coast to the other. But if you just make everything and freeze it, it's going to stay frozen. Like it it really will. ⁓ and especially if your bag is with you. Because I feel like it's more climate controlled having your bag with you versus like if it's underneath the plane and maybe it sits outside on the tarmac forever. So like if you just have all your food with you and it's in that cooler bag, you're fine. It it will be fine.
Mandy (45:11)
So I
I will say to ⁓ to caveat with that, because I going to Georgia, I had my
chilled food with me. Like I had a cooler pack with it. I had other food wrapped in an I one of those like freezer sealed bags, like the bigger ones that you get from like the grocery store. And then I had ⁓ ice I had the the block a block packed with it, wrapped it, had it on my checked bag because then that has my other food. And then obviously obviously there's moments where like, yes, flights get delayed, shit happens and that that's just life. You know, we can't we're not we can't predict that. But like for the majority of time like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (45:59)
Yeah.
Mandy (46:03)
That it still made it to where it needed to go just fine, and they didn't take anything out of my suitcase and they didn't mess with anything. And then I had my food and I put it all away. So yeah. So but we're getting close So we're getting close to the end of our episode. So you guys, we are gonna share some of our I know we've gotten asked on I think we've been asked on almost every platform we've like aired on about like different things, right? Which thank you guys so much for complimenting us. I do appreciate it. It means like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (46:10)
Yeah, exactly. It can be done.
Long overdue. Make up.
Yeah.
I know. Appreciate it. We have good lighting. I do want to say that. Good lighting is a part of it.
Mandy (46:32)
a lot. Yes, yes, which it is. We ha we we both have yeah. So I guess Gillian and I both will share some of the things that we your bag is cuter than mine. I just have a basket full of my stuff.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (46:46)
This is not my makeup bag. My makeup bag is much bigger than this, but I just brought down to the studio the main things that
Mandy (46:54)
So I also I also love this because something I want to touch on as we talk about makeup and skin and whatnot is I did not grow up a girly girl. I grew up a very much tomboy. I grew up with my brother. I did not do hair makeup. I didn't even learn how to do like I did the basic crap I think we all learn like without trying to learn, you know, like we just kinda go through high school. It wasn't until recently, like what, three, four years ago? Three I would say three years ago now, that I really took an interest in like
makeup but still not know how to do it. So I wanna like preface like I did like I did not know how to do makeup until a couple years ago and now like I'm like trying new things and I'm s I'm still learning new things. I learn a lot from you, Jillian, with when it comes to it, which is so fun. So fun. I love. So Ray
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (47:42)
And I learn everything from my daughter because I have a teenage daughter who is always telling me what's cool and not cool. So
Mandy (47:49)
But it's so cool 'cause like we're also still learning like different like I don't know, products and tricks and all sorts of stuff. So do you wanna go first or do you want me to? Go.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (47:52)
Yeah.
Yeah, I I mean I can. I will say I have become someone who does almost everything myself. Like I I I have some a fabulous hairstylist who does my hair color and does my so that I I will not do, but I do put my own extensions in, I do my own tan, I do my own nails. I just do I do everything myself. I don't do my own Botox, but ⁓ I do all my own like skincare at home just like mostly for time because my schedule is crazy and I just I don't have the hours in the day for all appointments and all these different
Mandy (48:17)
Ha ha
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (48:26)
thing so ⁓ I've linked like the nails that I use on my Amazon store so that's not really exciting but
Mandy (48:30)
Yep. Yeah, so we'll share everything that we can in the show notes too as well.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (48:35)
Yeah, I'm gonna update my Shop My and just link that because I'm adding new products all the time. Cause like even when we first were asked about this, like I have a different lip combo that I'm using now. And so I have different ones all the time. And I just updated it. So, anyways, but I think the thing that people ask about a lot is like my skin, which ⁓ I don't have a like a strict regimen that I use, but I do like have very good skincare morning and night, and I use like a lot of Korean ski skincare. But ⁓ I just use Maybelline foundation. ⁓ it's super stay.
skin tint, ⁓ I don't know, it has vitamin C in it. I don't know. So this is what I use for my foundation and then I have like a darker one that I use for stage. ⁓ and it works with like really like I'm pretty tanned right now, but yeah it's I don't know what shade it is. I'll link that.
Does it even say? 310. Shade 310. And then my concealer is ⁓ tower 28. And I think I was using a different one when we were in ⁓ Pittsburgh, but I just switched to this one. The shade is, I don't know. I'm gonna link it. I can't read it. ⁓
Mandy (49:23)
Ha ha.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (49:36)
But the key, I think, is how I'm setting it because I am 46. So you have to really be careful that when you set your under-eye, A, that it's not too white. I used to bake my under eye, so I would take, I would pack loose powder on there and just like and I really thought that it was helping the creasing. It actually was making it worse. ⁓ so now I really just use this cos
Mandy (49:47)
Yeah. Yep.
I like that brand.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (50:02)
like setting powder and I just use like one of those little triangle sponges and I dab off most of it really and I just kind of set. Now if I like I mean this is like kind of like everyday but if I'm like if I'm gonna go on stage or if I'm going like ⁓ out somewhere, I will go back in and put a little bit more
Mandy (50:06)
Mm-hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (50:19)
Because I want it to be to last a little bit longer. But like I kind of wanna be dewy and fresher looking day to day. So I don't like normally like set it. But that's I think the key because if you use ⁓ too much powder under your eyes, it can just look make you look really like creasy and and give you like those lines. ⁓ and then one more thing for skin is this is the other. The holy grail, I love this and I've had this forever. It it's probably never gonna run out. I'm probably gonna say that I'm gonna run out like tomorrow, but this is
Mandy (50:24)
Yeah.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (50:49)
the L Y S contour stick. It's like a triangle. And the shade is Harmony. And I love this. And I just like do kind of like an E on the side of my face. Is it an E? No, it's more like a C. ⁓
Mandy (50:54)
Isn't it Charlotte Tilbury? Isn't that L Y S, I'm sorry.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (51:05)
And then I will even like sometimes if I don't want to use any eyeshadow, I'll even like put some of this on like ⁓ a brush and do like my eye, like corner of my eyes and do like down my nose. And then I don't have to use like really anything else, like for my face. But so this is the this is a holy grail. I feel like this really is like one product that I like will forever, ever, never change out. But I do change out like my concealer a lot. So that's really it for the base.
Mandy (51:31)
Okay. Okay. So I will start with something that I get asked about the most, other than skincare, which I I will talk about my skincare, but it is my lashes. Like a lot of people bring up my eyelashes a lot and they're just like, they ask me like if I get extensions, how I do them, like all that. So I use this like this eyelash kit. I get this from Amazon. It's just literally Yeah. So nope. They're half lashes. I
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (51:55)
Are those half lashes or is it full yeah.
Mandy (52:00)
When I learned how to put on eyelashes, we went to that makeup party or the makeup artist kinda showed us how to do like lashes. She obvious we did full lash. no, I had lash extensions at the time. Then when I saw how she did them
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (52:04)
Yeah.
Mandy (52:11)
I got my lash extensions off and I was like, well, I'll try the half lashes. And so I do the half lashes and I do it to where like I angle it so that way it like starts a little past my pupil and then kind of angles out. And then I will do the opposite. I'll do like my eyelashes and then I'll do like my face makeup. And then I'll let like the glue kind of set for a little bit and then I'll kind of like make sure they're all like set together. This way I don't like my eyelashes too, like my lashes. Just this that way I don't have to do so much thick eyeliner. I want it to like a very easy everyday look.
look and I that's kind of what I get asked about the most is it it does it's not heavy there's not like heavy eyeliner so I get this but ⁓ so easy my makeup takes me well 15 minutes or less in the mornings and this is one of the things yeah so like this is so yeah
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (52:47)
Doing your own lashes is so easy. Like people are always like, Do you do them yourself? I'm like, Yeah. So easy.
Same. This too. I brought my lashes on. These are, but these are bigger. Like I do use something more like that on a day-to-day. ⁓ but I'm on camera today, so I did bigger ones. But these, these are great because you can cut them. So like if you use more of like if you so they have little knots, so you just cut in between the knots, but if you cut like more of the ⁓ the like I'll cut the thicker part.
Mandy (53:12)
up cutting them. I'm bad at cutting them.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (53:22)
off to make them a little shorter if I want just like more of a wispy but like I could also use these for stage I would just use I would cut more of the shorter end because no matter what my eye is not that big so I always have to trim them but these are like how many pairs in here? Eight pairs ten dollars on Amazon I love these
Mandy (53:24)
⁓ okay, yeah.
Yeah. These things are like same. Like, I don't know. There's so many for like nine, ten bucks. So I I clean mine and I reuse them for a good couple days. Like it's not longer than a week by any means, but yeah, a good couple days. But okay. So
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (53:43)
Yeah. You can reuse them too, but if you if they get skanky then just I do too, yeah. Yeah.
Glue in here because I think lash glue is pretty important too. I prefer the one in a tube because I feel like it comes off easier because you can really peel it. ⁓ but I have the one that's like a little brush, it's by the same company. Yeah, so that one is hard to get off when you wash them, but the if you use the tube, it like peels. That's very satisfying actually. ⁓ but that one it dries so fast, which is great because you can just literally hold it and then do something else and then stick it on. Whereas the ⁓
Mandy (54:00)
Yeah, I do too.
I have this one, the duo, the duo glue. I like the d ⁓ I like hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (54:23)
The one in the tube. I feel like I have to sit it on the counter and let it like sit for a few more minutes.
Mandy (54:27)
⁓ Yeah this
I put it on, I do that. I like let it dry and I'll do my eyebrows. So then my eyebrows my eyebrows are microbladed, but they're still so faded. So I'll still like brush them on. Yeah, so then I'll do like one eye and then finish it. Next eye, finish it. So something else, like when it comes to my skincare, I it is crazy because I've gone through the whole regiment of like microblading derma planing, all this stuff. And I used to have like terrible breakouts and like just I don't know, like whatever. I used to have like just issues with my skin.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (54:32)
Mm.
Yeah, mine too.
Mandy (54:58)
I purchase at w you can buy it anywhere. It's called Differin Acne Face Wash for like eleven dollars. I use it every other day and it it's good to go. To take my makeup off, I I will I don't
suggest this for everybody because everybody's skin's different. I use a melting balm and that works for my skin to take off all my makeup. I can use wipes. I do use wipes too. But if I'm at home and I have time, I'll melt all my makeup off, wipe it, clean it, all done. But if I'm like on the go, I'll just like I will just use like a Cera Viv wipe and call it a day. So that's I like that's my skin. I will use basic lotion for my face and I will use ⁓ I switch primers all the time. So I don't really want to like right now I'm using elf. ⁓ but
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (55:24)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (55:44)
I like you have mentioned as we kind of get older we do get creases a lot. So I will use for I actually stole this idea from you. ⁓ I'll use the e.l.f. tint glow. And then if I if I am a if I happen to be tanner after show, I'll use the Tanology tan drops, mix it together, and it will like it'll kind of create a really pretty glow. If it's something that like I need better foundation, wherever it's at in here, I'll use ⁓ it's MAC found.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (55:57)
yeah, that's a good one.
Yeah.
Mandy (56:14)
And I'll use that. But my big thing for my skin is sponges. I love sponges. And you get them wet, you squeeze them out and wring them like a cloth, and then use it to apply your makeup. And that has been the big I I joke all the time, and I'm like, listen, it takes me 15 minutes to beat myself with a sponge, and I'm done. And I'm done. But I just I do exactly what you're talking about. I use I I use like the foundation.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (56:35)
You're like I know. I love it, yeah.
Mandy (56:43)
beat myself with a sponge. I'll use I will okay. Kind of like your contour. Where is it at? I do live and breathe and die by ha ha my concealer, hourglass concealer in the shade Fawn. Girl, I'm sorry, I can't find shit to beat this. Like I've tried just to save money because this is expensive. Is it Fawn is mine? It does.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (56:55)
Mm, that is that's the one I used to use. Yeah.
My shade is Cedar and I love it. Yeah. Yeah. It lasts forever. I don't know why I switched to Tower Twenty Eight. I usually I used to like I've had that twenty seven million times. I usually just rebuy it.
Mandy (57:11)
You might have see, I feel like if I get a free sample of something and I try and I like it, I'll buy that. But like nothing has beat this sucker. So, I mean, again, I'll put this on. It is. I'll beat myself with a sponge and blend it. My my I use e.l.f. bronzer right now. Beat it in with a sponge. Blush. I change blushes all the time. Like I'm using an e.l.f. one right now. But so
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (57:16)
Yeah. It is good. It's expensive, but it's f it lasts forever.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have two different ones. I have I updated mine for fall because I had peachy ones for summer. ⁓ I use this all the time. This is Covirl True Blend Skin Enhancer. It's just there's only one shade of the blush. I just use this to like build up the color. I always use this, even if I'm using another blush. I love blush, but this is a new one from ⁓ House Labs.
Mandy (57:55)
You d
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (57:57)
Which is like Lady Gaga's line and it's more like of ⁓ it looks like a bronzer on camera, but it is like kind of like ⁓ like a brick color. It's called Fire Moon. And it's like a good blush for fall 'cause it's not peachy.
Mandy (57:59)
What is
So Okay, have you ever used this? I got this for free. I don't remember how. I think something. And I use this bronzer right now because I was using it was a NARS bronzer. It's called Aloe Cheek Duo, Natasha Dinan or whatever. It looks like.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (58:17)
What is it? It was a car's project. Hmm.
⁓ Natasha Denone is good. She's really good eye palettes. That's is that a cream or is that powder? I can't use cream.
Mandy (58:28)
that makes me No, so after
After I set no, it's not a cream. I use I will s I will do what you like beat everything in with a sponge, set it. I set just like you talk about with the triangle and like knocking off the powder. I do the exact same thing. but then I will go through after my eyes are done, and I don't do anything, I don't really do eyeshadow. I'll just do again what you said, the bronzer or the blush on my eyes. ⁓ I will go in with this and then I'll kind of just like fine-tune everything and contour and just like blush it on. But that's I had no idea who this person was. I got this for free somewhere, and like I've just used
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (58:42)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. That's a good that's a good freebie. I have several different bronzers. I would say I didn't bring one to to camera because I don't have one I love right now. Like I used to use Fenty. Well I still use it, but I just find the color impact isn't great. And so I find if I just use my my cream contour, usually that's enough.
Mandy (59:01)
⁓
We do gotta talk about that though, because you and I both the Fenty lip plumper. ⁓ my god. Any color, you guys, listen, I have four in my car right now. It's that's why they're not with me. Because I there's I don't think it's near as spicy as like,
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (59:23)
Fenty heat. It's the tits. Mm. I love You gotta be ready for it though, because I hadn't used it in a while and it is spicy. ⁓ and then also, no one drinks after me because they know if they sip on my straw they're gonna get some of the spicy lip plumper. So
Mandy (59:43)
S so right now I'm wearing the Kylie J, like lip liner and lip combo. Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (59:47)
I do that's a good the us the the old school Kylie Jenner lip kit. Well this is my new combo that I'm bringing to camera today. But the good thing is that our lip ⁓ fussy, the one shade that I told you about, the fussy heat one, goes over everything. So I can use that with this. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off what were you saying.
Mandy (59:56)
So I got
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love that one. No, I was gonna say the color that you have in your hand right now, I just got Kylie's coconut. I I don't know. Is that Kylie's? I got
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:00:11)
This one?
No, it's h huda huda huda huda.
Mandy (1:00:17)
that's right. I w I got Kylie's coconut and it looks like that. But no, this has been a new find this thingy. What is this? So this is an elf smudge marker. So I do this under my eye and it blends really, really nice. I do like it. I don't know why I got an elf I will. I don't know why I got an elf kick.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:00:25)
⁓
to try that tomorrow. Please bring on our trip. 'Cause Elf is the tits. Don't sleep on Elf. It's so good. It's so cheap too. And it's like so many good dupes. Okay, I have their hair oil right now and I really like it.
Mandy (1:00:36)
But yes.
I've never tried their hair product. So you guys, you see, we have we have stuff we use, but it's not that hard to find. Like, we really kind of wing it ourselves too. But I feel like once you just I've learned that like makeup and hair is really just about creativity. And I've also learned that when I I don't know if you went through this, Jillian, but when I started doing makeup like for myself, I was like, I don't think this looks that great. No, nope, it's all in your head, ladies. It's all in your head. When you go out and you're like
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:00:46)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's fun.
Mandy (1:01:11)
You get complimented on it. It's just you think you're just we're harder on ourselves than anybody in the world. I've so many times been like, my allies just look horrible. And then Aaron or like somebody else, one of my friends, will be like, No, they look fantastic. I have no idea what you're talking about. But
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:01:14)
Yeah.
I'm gonna say something else. And I'm not going to go into this. But what I wanna say is wear what you want, wear what makeup you want, wear the booty shorts, show off your stomach, show off your whatever. Show off whatever you want for you. Do what makes you happy. If you wear a full face of makeup to the gym and you're worried, ⁓ my gosh, people think I'm wearing makeup to the gym, or if you wear booty shorts and a sports bra and you're worried, fuck it.
Just do it because there's a very big sort of controversy right now online and I can't stop thinking about it because I'm so pissed about it. But a comedian went a a comedian went on Saturday Night Live on Saturday night and said they recently went to the gym and when did women start addressing like whores? And it is i i everybody's fired up over it. It's really frustrating that it's 2026 and we still speak that way. so it really bothers me. So here's my thing.
Mandy (1:02:02)
Hmm. I did not know that.
⁓
I'm gonna look it after this. I had no idea.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:02:25)
Who who cares what people think? If you try a new makeup and you're like, ⁓ people just don't expect me to wear like red, like this looks like a lot, but you feel pretty, do what makes you feel good. Like don't do it for anybody else. It's for you. And this journey, like, is is for you. And people in your life right now that are maybe, you know, stirring shit up for you and upsetting you or criticizing you, they're gonna be gone and you're gonna have made decisions and choices based on those people's opinions. Who cares?
Mandy (1:02:27)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:02:54)
Do it for you. So I mean, people will say, I I've had this before ⁓ you wear full face and makeup to the gym. You must not be working very hard. I'm like, block and delete. Block and delete. I do not care what you think.
Mandy (1:03:01)
Been getting did you start? I don't know about St. Louis, but like well, years ago when I started wearing full face to make it to the gym, a few guys were like, You look so different. I'm like, Yeah, I'm trying something new, but it got kind of overlooked. I will say though, recently, which I don't know if again, I don't know if this is popular in St. Louis or not, but like when I s I'm like the only one that wears leg warmers. And like so
People will look at me I'm crazy wearing leg warmers. I was like, But like I'm so excited because they're the cutest thing ever. But when you to your point, when you do that, I like you are showing other women that like it doesn't matter what other people think about you or what other people like may look at or stare. It's the fact that it's like it makes you feel good, it makes you feel cute, and like exactly. So like the second I got my leg warmers in the mail, I was like, I can't wait to wear these and I haven't s
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:03:42)
How yeah. How you feel it's your life.
And you know what? Other people are like, I'm gonna get some leg warmers too. Like I'm thinking. Yeah.
Mandy (1:03:52)
Everybody, I've had to make a I've I put it I did because I've had to send them out to so many people. The same with jewelry, like I wear jewelry to the gym. I get it compliments all the time about it. And I'm like, I literally have had to start making updates to my storefront because I'm like I send out so much stuff now. And of course I'm like, just wear what you want. Love to everything you said. Everything you said.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:04:11)
I know. The other thing too, like I think if you're giving that energy to, ⁓ I'm worried about what this person thinks about me, how are you gonna be able to focus on progressive overload, activating muscles, making sure you're focus your workout. Like don't worry about what anyone thinks. Like just do what feels good to you. You wanna film your workouts and you or you wanna wear whatever who cares? Like it just I don't know. I think there's there's so many things like things that I've been reading lately and just like stuff that's happening in our world and
Mandy (1:04:20)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:04:38)
You know, I think at the end of the day, like this is such an empowering journey to be on. It should be celebrated and you know, be what be whoever you want to be, wear whatever you want to wear, put on all the makeup or don't wear any. It doesn't, it doesn't matter. And also if you are that nasty person that puts people down, fix yourself. Fix yourself and stop talking about it, other people and focus on your own shit. Done done. Don't be nasty. Don't be a nasty ho. Yes.
Mandy (1:04:43)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah. This perfect. That is the perfect that is the perfect way
To end this episode. I love it. That is a perfect. So if you guys have we're gonna put as much stuff as we possibly can in the show notes. ⁓ like like Jillian shed, her shop me account, a lot of most of mine you can get on Amazon. ⁓ there's a lot of things. If you guys have questions about anything or like our technique or just anything, you can always message us, leave us comments, anything of that nature. ⁓ of course, we're always accepting new clients. We're you know, we're bodybuilding and lifestyle coaches.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:05:26)
Yes. We're both going into off season, so we have more openings now than we've had. So yes. I know.
Mandy (1:05:29)
Yes. Yes. We definitely do. And it's crazy 'cause we're still staying so busy. Like even after this Kentucky show, we turn around and we have two or three shows left for like this year. So like the Yes.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:05:38)
I don't really have very many openings on my roster as I as I usually do this time of year. So it stayed really busy. So
Mandy (1:05:44)
Well, and especially 'cause a lot of people come to us during Black Friday too. So that's like a big one. Like they like they get really like, okay, I wanna get through the holidays and I need to like I need to yeah, I need to wrap this up. So if you guys are interested in coaching by any means, please always reach out to us again on any platform that you're listening. And yeah, thank you guys so much for tuning in. And next time we chat, we will be updating how Kentucky goes. Yay. So bye.
Gillian Hughes IFBB Bikini Pro (1:05:47)
Yes, yeah.
Thinking about their goals. Yeah.
Yes.
Yay. Awesome. Thanks, guys. Love you so much. Bye.