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In this episode, Mandy and Gillian are sharing 10 unexpected things that you can expect in your prep for your bikini, wellness, figure or bodybuilding show! As busy moms, life happens, no matter the occasion and it’s vital to know how to navigate these obstacles when they pop up! From handling illnesses and digestion troubles to brain fog and body image struggles, this episode will shed light on the strategies you can incorporate to stay on track to your goal and SLAY the stage!!
Make sure to rate, subscribe, and leave us reviews on how much this podcast has helped you 💕 We’d 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!
About Momshell Method Fitness:
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 15% 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)
everyone and welcome back to Bikinis After Babies. This is another very exciting episode, even though we're excited every single episode, always. I am one of your hosts, Mandi Rashawn, here with your other beautiful blonde host.
Gillian (00:08)
We're always excited.
Hey everybody, this is Jillian Hughes and I think I should do the intro next time because you always introduce me as blonde and beautiful. Hopefully everyone agrees, but you are my beautiful co -host.
Mandy (00:21)
Yeah. Oh my goodness. I just always love that like, I just have the brunette hair and I feel like my background is always white. And then you have the blonde hair and you have more of like a beige background. And I was like, how neat does that accidentally offset us, right?
Gillian (00:33)
I know.
I know. Well, you're just also like a girl's girl. Like ever since I've known you, you've always like been that person that gives people compliments and boosts each other up. And I just love it. I love that about you. Yay. Well, happy Monday. Tell me what your weekend has been like because you are three weeks out now, under three weeks.
Mandy (00:49)
positive vibes all the time.
Mm -hmm.
I am just now three weeks out and I get to the point where I'm just like ready, like let's go. I like check off different events like between my prep that's going on. So like, oh, I had like this soccer tournament I had to go to or I had this thing to do. And then once I get down to like nothing is left except to go and compete, I'm like, oh my gosh, can we go? But no, my weekend was good. I actually had, we had a soccer game and we had an MPC Midwest seminar here in Canada.
Gillian (01:01)
Yeah.
Mandy (01:27)
Kansas City, which was, it was, it was fantastic. I love the Midwest Seminars and they are.
Gillian (01:27)
Yeah, that's awesome.
Mandy (01:33)
this year, which is so much fun and it's so informational and helpful. And I love getting to meet people around the Kansas City area, like we talked about on our other episodes, like just getting out and getting in the environment to like ask questions, meet people and like kind of just like get used to the environment. And it's just, it's so, so helpful. It goes through posing and rules and you know, just getting to know your, yeah.
Gillian (01:57)
It is. Yeah, we went to the one was like three or four weeks ago in St. Louis and it was just great. Like if you're a new competitor and you can find a seminar in your area, it's so helpful because you just you learn so much. And even if you've competed before, there's always helpful tips like even for me, you know, just hearing the stories of the pros that were there and some of the, you know, new judging criteria, because it's kind of changing all the time. And the promoters are really good about sharing that. But if you don't go, you kind of miss out.
Mandy (02:01)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (02:27)
on all those little tidbits. So it's just really helpful and also like to build a community and get to know other people and you know when you're backstage if you you know run into somebody that you saw at the seminar then it kind of will feel like you know you've got friends or whatever. So I think I think it's so great and they're free like they're absolutely free so that's awesome.
Mandy (02:31)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. Well, yeah, and I
at some of the seminars, like you'll have like maybe a raffle or something. So like reraffled off like toxic angel and liquid sun rays things. So it was just, it was awesome. And like most of the athletes like myself and like a few other of the pros, like someday I will be a pro, but the other pros, we hang out after and just like answer questions and whether it has anything to do with the show or posing or criteria, just any questions and getting to know, like you said, like the community, it's just fun. I love them so much.
Gillian (03:12)
Yeah, that's awesome. It's exciting because the season has started and you know, we had the Arnold, which was really, really exciting. And yeah, yep, yep. And then we're rolling right into Clash, which is like Clash is like a really exciting pro competition as well as like a lot of really top good top amateurs gunning for their pro cards and using that as a warm up show. So I feel like it all really starts in March, which is like really exciting. So.
Mandy (03:14)
Below is... I know.
This weekend's the UK too, isn't it? I think the Arnold UK is this weekend.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, end of March into April, it's like tis the season. I talked to a friend today at the gym who was just asking me competition questions and there's a lot of people at the gym getting ready. And I told her, I'm like, it's tis the season. It's that, you know, people are about 10 weeks or less out from big shows. So it's exciting. But how was your weekend? What did you do? The kids, man, the kids.
Gillian (03:51)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. It's so exciting. It was good. It was so we had another cheerleading competition. So yeah, yeah. So but it was our last one for a little while. So so that was really fun and they won. So that was really good, too. Just I think they needed that after Dallas because Dallas was just a very top level.
Mandy (04:14)
How exciting.
Gillian (04:20)
of competition and big and, you know, but we compete with the best and it's good for them to not always win. So, so that was good. And then yesterday we went on a hike, me and my husband, and I don't know, some Sundays we go to the gym and then some Sundays I'm like, you know, I just feel like I want to get, you know, I don't want to be in the gym, you know, and I had a rest day to use. So not that we rested because we ended up lost on this hike and for. OK, I want to say it was probably my fault because.
Mandy (04:41)
Mm -hmm.
You got lost.
Gillian (04:50)
because, well, this has happened before that we've gotten lost. We got lost in Colorado on a Jeep excursion one time and the sun was starting to come down and we were like going to lose light and the GPS wasn't working. And it's pretty on brand for us to get lost. But I feel like it's like part of the adventure. Honestly, we're not trying to get lost, but it happens. And then there was another time we went on a hike and we didn't drop a pin on our map. And so we couldn't find our car. And so we like came out of the trail like.
Mandy (04:57)
Oh my God.
Oh no.
Gillian (05:18)
Oh, no, not this parking lot. But we had no idea. And it was like at the end of the pandemic. So not the end of the pandemic, but the end of like everything being shut down. So there was nobody around and it was raining. We didn't have water, like nothing. That was a big mess up. But this one was just I had him like take my camera and like just film some like little b -roll stuff for like Instagram or whatever. And I think when we were doing it, we took a wrong turn and we ended up like three miles.
Mandy (05:31)
What an experience.
Gillian (05:45)
like in the opposite direction of the car. So anyways, it ended up being a really good, really good hike. But you'd be surprised, like after training legs. I think I had like four leg training sessions last week, the last one being Saturday and then this big long hike. Like my legs are killing me today. So but but yeah, that was really fun. We did that. And then daylight savings. Right. We sprung forward. I don't think it matters if we gain or lose an hour. It always messes with my sleep. So, you know.
Mandy (05:50)
His little adventure.
Mm -hmm.
Oh, I bet.
Yeah, we lost an hour.
I will say this didn't mess with my sleep as bad. It was weird in the morning though, because I had to drive. So we had a soccer game on Sunday, so I did the seminar Saturday, and then I had a little girly charcuterie party Saturday that I went to, which was super cute. Yeah, if you guys watched my story, I made this adorable shark board. Fun fact about me, I love monsters, Godzilla, sharks, dinosaurs, so I made a shark board. Hung out with some girlfriends, and then Sunday we had a soccer tournament, so we had to drive to that. It was like an hour away, played for hour and a half.
Gillian (06:26)
Oh yeah, I saw that was so cute.
Yeah, it was really cute.
Mandy (06:44)
and then drove back. But yeah, the morning was just weird, because it felt like I slept in, it looked like I slept in, but I didn't sleep in. And Sunday's my, yeah, like Sunday's my rest day. I do no cardio on Sunday, no weight lifting, no nothing. I just completely rest and like relax on Sunday. And so it was different. Like I was, yeah, it was just odd, but it was a fun weekend. So yeah.
Gillian (06:54)
And like the whole day I was like, what time is it really? You know, I don't know why.
I know. Good. Awesome. Yay. So.
Anywho, while I'm excited about today's topic, we thought it might be fun to compile a list of unexpected things to expect during your prep and how to navigate them because sometimes things come up that are tricky. It makes it difficult to know what to do if you're sort of out of your routine and then also just things that are kind of going on with you as an athlete that you might not expect, either physically or emotionally. So we thought it'd be fun to put that list together and share some of that.
Mandy (07:20)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (07:46)
and strategies to navigate those things today.
Mandy (07:49)
Yeah, it's always good going into a prep. You always prepare for absolutely everything you possibly can. Even any type of, like you said, adventure you kind of go on, you're always trying to prepare for everything. You always think ahead, but you're always going to have the unexpected. And, you know, through our experiences, stuff clients have gone through, stuff we've seen, you know, in the sport, these are a few things that, you know, we've seen unexpected happen or experienced ourselves that we thought would be really helpful to give you guys some tips. So one thing I see that we all
all know about, but we do a really bad job planning for, is when we get sick, as athletes, at any time in our prep, you're gonna get sick. It happens. It is just life. It doesn't matter if you have the flu or COVID. It doesn't matter if you have a cold. You're gonna get sick. Something is gonna happen, and how you handle that is important. So this is also a good reason we recommend to try to take maybe a longer prep to anticipate getting sick.
sick because that's going to knock you back a week or two, maybe even three, just depending how sick you are. When you're sick, you also want to make sure you rest. Your body needs to use its cells to work on your immune system and getting out whatever it is that's causing you to be sick and to heal. This is going to require a lot of rest and recovery and a lot of hydration. This is not a time for you to not eat on your nutrition plan. It is a time for you to take a break from working out to allow your body.
to rest but do not skip on your nutrition plan. Do not think because you are sick that oh I need to eat this instead because while your body is also recovering it has gotten used to your prep food. So keep feeding it your prep food. Maybe add some bone broth or hot tea or some herbs. Something to make it very wholesome and hearty but also help your immune system. Don't give it something it's not used to because then it might have to you know fight off something else like if it's not used to cheese or if it's not
used to some type of drink or some type of thing, it's going to cause more stress and be harder to recover. So always prepare mindfully that this might happen and those are a few things to help you through that.
Gillian (10:02)
It can happen. I mean, just I think it was like a week or so ago, you had like a little touch of like a stomach bug or and and when we're talking about that, where, you know, maybe you're going to the bathroom, you're throwing up like that can throw off your electrolytes and your hydration. I think, you know, it's best just to, you know, take a day of rest and just take it one day at a time. But I think people ask, you know, why does this happen? Like.
Mandy (10:08)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (10:28)
when you're in prep and you're pushing your body and you know, you're working with fewer.
extra calories. It's just natural for us to get run down and you know, we're more susceptible to illness. So I have a couple strategies to sort of prevent, although I will say there's not a lot you can do if you're going to get sick, you're going to get sick. Like strep goes through your house. You know, the stomach bug goes through your house. Like you can be the cleanest person on earth and you can still get it. But these things happen, you know, again, I think having enough time in your prep. But one thing I found super, super helpful is apple cider vinegar.
Mandy (11:02)
Yeah.
Gillian (11:03)
It just it just really helps. It's got natural antibacterial properties and it's great for digestion and just all the things in general. It's good for detoxifying your liver. But I do two tablespoons of that with water and lemon and I just I sweeten it with my BCAAs and it's delicious and I do it every morning and I use that just as like a please Lord Jesus don't let me get sick during this prep because I I travel so much. I'm around so many kids and but I think that helps me too because I am like probably used to being around a lot a lot more.
Mandy (11:10)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (11:33)
I guess diseases, diseases, other germs, germs is a better way of saying it. We have five kids. I have five kids. They're dirty and they're not dirty. That's not but you know, kids. Yeah, they're just they are. I mean, they sneeze and if I'm not in the room, nobody's covering their mouth. I'm just letting you know. So I'm like, oh my gosh, like whether anyone's around or not, cover your mouth. But that's just life. So anyways, maybe my immunity is better. Yeah.
Mandy (11:37)
Yeah, being around more people.
But they're kids, they're germy. They're germy, yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, as parents we're around, like we're always around. The kids are coming home from school, we're at a cheer tournament, a soccer tournament, baseball, football, tumbling, gymnastics. Like you're always around other parents, other people, other kids, germs, daycare, preschool. Like that's just part of being a parent. It really is. Mm -hmm.
Gillian (12:08)
Yeah.
Yep. Rest and hydrate, you know, and then just listen to your body. And if you have a good coach, like they'll have a strategy for you as well. But, you know, having a strong mindset and just, you know, if you've got to suck it up and push it a little bit and because you've been in bed for a week, you know, you you'll you'll find that those workouts. Yeah.
Mandy (12:21)
Yep.
You still want the circulation and like movement, like stretching. Like I still stretch. Like Jillian said, I was sick. I lasted a day. I was only sick. Yeah, I made sure of that. But I didn't know like what was going on. I just had a stomach bug. It lasted 24 hours. I stayed in bed, rest recovered. I went to the gym in the morning, but I didn't know. I didn't feel good until like midway through. And I was like, oh, I gotta leave. Like this isn't gonna go well. But I just ended up having to be in bed and I ate.
Gillian (12:39)
It was like 24 hours. Yeah.
Mandy (13:00)
all my food and I see for me it's bone broth. I do, I live off green onions and bone broth and I just soak, I love green onions. I don't know, I just like the taste of them. Like they're soaked in the bone broth. But I have that with my chicken and then whatever vegetable I was gonna have. Like so this would be, I ate like multiple meals of chicken, carrots and a cup of bone broth with like onions and some seasoning. So it's like chicken noodles too. But yeah, so that's one unexpected thing.
Gillian (13:08)
Green onions?
Yeah, cool. Okay, do you want me to do the next one? Okay, the next one is a big, it's a big one. And yeah, it's a big one. And I would, I think it's probably maybe it's expected, but maybe it's not expected, which is brain fog and forgetfulness.
Mandy (13:34)
Yeah, we'll play ping pong.
Gillian (13:47)
It's just normal at any point in your prep to just get a little absent minded or forgetful like pulling away from the gym and you've you know, like left your gym bag on the hood of your car or you know, you pull away from the gas tank and you've left the the pump in your car just like little things like that or I'll get all the way to the gym. I forgot my headphones like little things like that. So that's very much a part of it. And I think it's just in general, like we talked about before, like you're towards the end, you're pushing really hard and you know, you're
Mandy (14:02)
Oh god.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (14:17)
You might not just be as sharp as always. And that's a very like normal thing to experience. For some people, it's worse than others. We just call it prep brain, you know?
Mandy (14:25)
Yeah, and I feel like it's a combination of things. It's you know getting lower in calories. You're probably doing more cardio. You're also getting excited your nerves. You're thinking about your posing all the time. You're thinking about your food. You're thinking about what your lifts like your brain is just so consumed like you said as you get closer. It's just it's these little things that happen. I like I did it this morning when I was making breakfast like I I always make everybody's breakfast like at the same time when I get everything out. I mean everything like my kitchen island is full of stuff and I just stood there earlier this morning and I was like,
I don't even know what I'm doing. Like I literally had no idea what I was doing. I was like, what am I grabbing right now? And I had all this stuff in front of me and I was like, a bowl. Like it took me a minute. But I mean little things like that happen. Like it's just, it is like prep brain, brain fog.
Gillian (14:57)
You
Have you ever used the flashlight on your phone to find your phone?
Mandy (15:18)
No. That's a good one though.
Gillian (15:19)
I have done that. I was on a plane. I think I was like I don't know where somewhere on the way somewhere and probably going to a show and I was like I you know dropped something. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was maybe like my headphones. I'm like oh it's probably my phone and I'm like looking I'm like oh my god.
Mandy (15:35)
Use your phone. Mine are always so like little, like they're silly little things like going in the pantry completely forgetting why I'm there. Like it's just, it's mine are so minor, but they're more often, but they're just smaller like that.
Gillian (15:45)
Yeah.
Yeah. Or do you ever like time travel? Like you get somewhere and you're like, how did I get here? Like you don't know how you drove there. I've done that before. Yeah. It's like, wow. I was so deep in thought that I ended up like all the way, like 20 minutes away from home and I don't.
Mandy (15:56)
Yeah, that and then
So that and then actually there is something, and I don't know if this is common or not, I forgot to tell you about this. I've been taking like little naps, like power naps, you know? I love my little power, I love my naps. But recently I've been taking them and I wake up and when I tell you I have no idea where I am at is like, I don't even know. Like I wake up and I'm like.
Gillian (16:15)
You little granny naps. That's so cute. Aww.
Hehehehe
Mandy (16:31)
What day is it? Is it morning? Like I did a couple of days ago, I woke up and it was like a Wednesday. It was whatever day, it was a weekday. And I like, I thought it was Saturday. I didn't like, Carson had asked me a question and he, and then I answered him something like a weekend answer, like, oh, you know, you're supposed to do this, this. And he's like, what are you talking about? And he comes up to like see me and I'm like.
He's like, it's Wednesday. And I'm like, oh my God, I thought it was like Saturday at night. And it was like a weekday in the middle of the day. It was, so that happened. That's been happening to me every time I wake up from a nap. Oh, I love them. I usually am not.
Gillian (17:03)
That's so funny.
is a bad idea. Naps are a bad idea. I'm kidding, they're not. I'm just like not a napper at all. But I imagine if I did, I'd be like, what happened? You know?
Mandy (17:19)
I've never been a napper, really, but I think as I've gotten closer, just the way my schedule works, I do so much so early that now by like two or three I'm like, oh, well, I have to wait for things. And I'm like, I'll just go lay down. And I only lay down for like an hour or two. And then I wake up, I'm kind of groggy like I just explained. And then after that though, I'm like, I feel really good. And I sleep fine at night. And then I'm able to sleep at night. So I'm like, that's been...
Gillian (17:26)
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's good. Yeah. That's true, though. I mean, if you start really early in the morning, like I used to train at like four in the morning. I haven't so much this season yet, but as I get closer, I know it's going to it'll come eventually. But, you know, you get to like nine o 'clock and it's friggin lunchtime because you've been up since like three thirty. So I think that's probably, you know, it's probably a good thing. I think if it makes you more productive, totally.
Mandy (18:04)
Yeah.
Gillian (18:08)
go for it, you know? I think that's a, I wish I could, I'm just, once I'm up, I'm like up, but then I will like crash, you know, like at an early time.
Mandy (18:09)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's weird. It's not like an energy crash. So I don't ever tell, like, it's not like I'm so tired and I can't function. It's more or less like, oh, I'm waiting for things. It's just the way my day has progressed. And I'm like, oh, I'll just go eat my next meal and chill for a minute. And then I think what happened is one time I fell asleep and I was like, oh, this worked out pretty well. And so I've just kind of repeated it because it works well. Yeah.
Gillian (18:39)
Yeah, that's cute. Little cat nap. I love it. Tips for success. I love it. Cool.
Mandy (18:44)
My little kitty cat power nap. Right. Yeah. So.
Another unexpected thing that kind of I've seen pop up just in different variations is I want to say vacations and I say vacations not in the sense of like you're planning a big like five or seven day Vacation and you know, it's coming six months ahead. There's many times and many clients I've had where all of a sudden a family member or or somebody a friend they plan like a weekend pop -up or like a weekend getaway
or like a lake trip, like something very unexpected, relatively minor, and it comes up and you wanna go, but you're in a prep. Like how do you face that? So a couple of things you can do, and I can speak heavily on this because I have done all of that.
And I know you have to, Jillian. But I will, if I want to go, if I want to participate, I will absolutely go. I will communicate with my coach, hey, I am gonna go do this. Like, if it affects check -ins, we'll talk about it. How far along am I prep? Like, how strict am I? Can there be like, flexibility in my diet? There's many times where I've gone and there's no flexibility in my diet. I have to stay on it. And I'm like, okay, that's fine. So, I will agree to go. I'll communicate with my friends or family and like, let them know like, hey, I'm gonna
I have like, I still go participate, but I have to go to bed at a relatively good hour. I'll probably wake up before everybody else and go find a gym or go on a walk or a jog. And...
and then I'll pack like all my own food or I'll go to the grocery store when I get there and I will like cook food and have it all ready and I will just eat my food as if I was at home just hanging out. I'll take my food to the beach, to the lake, to the boat. I've even gone on a trip one time where my friends and I, I wasn't even in a prep, but they know my schedule so well that they actually gave me the room closest to the coffee maker. I thought that was hilarious.
So you just want to communicate and still be on point. If you have to fluctuate a little bit, maybe the time you eat, maybe finding a gym, like just trying your best, you can still go and live life and you can still participate in life. This becomes more of accountability on yourself as an individual to prepare for it. You know, just talk with everybody, look up the gyms, talk to your coach, pack your food. There's multiple ways to pack your food and still go.
and do it. Don't feel like because you're in a prep like, oh, you can't accept invitation to things you want to do. Now, if you don't want to do it, just tell them no.
Gillian (21:26)
Right. If you don't want to, yeah, but I think it's, I think what you can commonly see competitors do, um, is that they will just pull away and they, um, you know, they were decline invitations and it might be that they really don't want to go, but it might also be like, I can't. And then what can happen is you come out of a prep and you'll either go crazy because you are like, I'm doing all the things now, or you don't have any friends left because you said no to everything the whole way. Like as moms, we don't really have a choice. Like stuff just kind of pops up on the schedule.
Mandy (21:41)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (21:56)
And also like, you know, my life and my plans aren't everything. Like I have other people that I'm taking care of and other schedules. So I can't always decline an invitation to go and do something that I want to experience. So I think if you're in a really good routine, I think if you can just master the art of being able to do this on the go, you can be successful anywhere. You know, I think you just have to get to where your meal plan has to be easy to follow. You have to...
Mandy (21:57)
Mm -hmm.
Oh, 100%.
Gillian (22:25)
know what you're doing, you have to prep ahead of time, you have to be really organized, but those are all skills that you can build. Like I tell you, like when I was in college, I was not the organized person that I am now. It's actually a real miracle that I graduated and ended up with a degree in science because I was just, I've been, my whole life have been sort of like, like I have just, my closet's overflowing.
Mandy (22:32)
Mm -hmm.
Mm.
Gillian (22:52)
I have, I keep everything. It's organized to me, but, um, you know, it's just how I am. And so, um, I'm, I'm not by nature, a very organized person, but I made myself become one so that I could be successful, just so that I could do more things in life so that I could like, you know, be able to run a business and then be a competitor and be good at it and then be a mom and be good at that too. Right. So it can totally be done. If you can master one trip, you know, you'll realize it's, it's doable, but yeah, a lot of that's out of our control. And also like,
If you're looking at prepping for a show, like when I decided I was doing the shows that I'm doing in June, I made that decision in like September. There's a lot of things that are gonna pop up between like how many months is that? Like nine months? Like there's no way that you don't have your whole schedule ironed out. You don't know, right? So I would say that's not a reason to not do it. I would say, in full honesty though, if you have an all -inclusive resort -style vacation planned,
Mandy (23:28)
Mm -hmm.
There's always a holiday. There's always...
Gillian (23:48)
Don't be on prep. Like that's just silly. Like, and also you don't plan that at the last minute usually. Like that you should go and kick it and have fun and not be worried about your food. But everything else I think is totally doable. But if it's a family vacation that you guys have been planning for a long time, like don't, don't be in prep when you're doing that because that's just, it's, it's not, you know, just more, I feel like you could still enjoy yourself, but it's also like you're thinking about your show. You have a countdown, you have timing of foods and whatnot. And
Mandy (23:51)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
You're gonna get mad at yourself. You...
Gillian (24:14)
It just makes it hard. Yeah. So, and you just want to enjoy that and not be, you know.
Mandy (24:18)
And even if you are, like even if you do go on vacation and you're in a prep and it's just like the timing that happens, don't get mad at yourself. Just enjoy yourself, relax. In fact, we've talked about it before. A lot of times when you are stressed over and over and over and over and then you do go on vacation and you relax, your digestive system just works so much better when you are relaxed. And we don't realize in our society how stressed we are all the time. Like we're so stressed all the time, you don't even know you're stressed.
Gillian (24:35)
Yeah.
Yes.
Mandy (24:48)
You think you're relaxed and you're not I was talking about it this morning with my husband Aaron because he his job is like all the time 24, so, you know, he runs his own business So he's just always on the go and I like brought up I'm like, it's so nice to have a structured schedule because I will structure when it's time to like Relax like totally relax, you know, like watch a show movie go out whatever and it's so nice because I structured it to do that and I can relax
Gillian (24:49)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (25:18)
So.
Gillian (25:19)
Yeah, I think that's a good segue into tip number four, or not tip.
Mandy (25:23)
Yeah.
Gillian (25:24)
saying number four to expect, which is, um, you're keeping less like digestion changes. I had it written down as poop changes, but digestion changes. Yes. Um, that's a big one in prep and it's totally normal. It doesn't mean that your coach sucks or that your prep is like killing your digestion. It's just normal. It's normal for you to experience digestion changes in prep. One of those being constipation, I would say chronic constipation and
Mandy (25:26)
Yeah, I was like, I'm keeping... Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (25:54)
is not normal and that is definitely something that you want to talk to your coach about but it's just normal for those habits to change because of just a lot of the stress you're putting on your body and change in sleep and there's and I think your digestion just becomes a lot more delicate when you're in prep because this for a lot of people might be the lowest that their body fat has ever been which can modify and alter their hormones and also just food variety.
is limited, you're kind of eating a lot of the same foods, which can be great, and your metabolism slows down in prep, which that is all part of it. Like these are all normal things that go on in your body, and if you are just kind of new to this, you might not know that, but as all these things start to change, then digestion will sometimes take a hit. I would say the worst thing you can do is just start taking a bunch of laxatives, because that's definitely not going to make things better. Like definitely looking at what are some natural ways to improve your digestion. Sometimes it's
Mandy (26:46)
Yeah.
Gillian (26:54)
just a matter of like moving a little bit more, increasing your water. Um, you know, you can look at your fiber intake or even if you've got some things on your menu that are like making your digestion worse. Like I don't do broccoli or cauliflower. They're just terrible for my digestion. But some people love those things. We're all so different, but it's common for competitors that I'm coaching to come to me and be like, it's gotta be X, Y, and Z. That's causing me to, you know, feel like I'm, I can't go to the bathroom and it's, well, it is just a lot of.
Mandy (27:20)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (27:24)
It is normal for prep, um, but it shouldn't really be happening early on. So if it is, you definitely want to talk to your coach. But I know for me, like when stress really hits me, then I instantly get a belly ache and I start to get bloated. And so really just finding ways to like de -stress because you're pushing really hard, you know, if you're getting up at the crack of dawn and doing fasted cardio, and then you're running around after the kids, and then you're going and trying to like knock out an incredible training session. And there's just so much to do. Like your food and everything is just digesting in a different way.
Mandy (27:36)
Yep.
You just have so much stress on your body.
Gillian (27:54)
and a lot of times yeah yeah so it's it's pretty it's pretty normal but I remember at a show I was at there was some of the girls on my team were walking laps around the conference room I'm like what are you guys doing they're like we're trying to poop I'm like oh okay cool.
Mandy (28:07)
Yeah. Yeah. I -
It is, it's such a common thing and the worst thing you can do is take a bunch of lax, like anything that like, any type of medication I will say, cause I have, this has happened to me. I had terrible stomach issues and this was early on in my career and I did not know what to do and I honestly don't think I communicated that well with my coach. I think I just said I had a stomach ache, but like it got really painful and I went to the doctor and they tried to prescribe me medication and they said I was just really constipated and I was like, I took the medication, it did not.
Gillian (28:16)
Yeah.
Mandy (28:40)
not help, nothing helped. Of course that was years ago. But no, like you said, like our body adjusting to the fiber intake, the sensitivity of vegetables, I'm similar to you. Like I don't, I'll, I might have a bite of broccoli if like, like ace bite, but like I won't eat broccoli. I can do cauliflower rice, but I can't do, I can't do raw veggies. Raw veggies just bloat me. They don't agree with me. That's why I steam all my vegetables. I think a lot of the times too, it's big, it's,
a big fiber intake change. And so I think like our digestive system getting used to like how much fiber we're eating now all of a sudden, because, you know, when we say that we eat vegetables and you start, like when you go into a prep and you're like, well, I do eat vegetables, you're probably eating a cup. When you go into a prep, you go eat like six. So it's like this huge change.
Gillian (29:30)
Well, yeah, you're eating so many more vegetables because that's kind of like, you know, filling you up. Like, you know, if you want to have a snack, you know, you're just like, okay, what are my options? Some carrots and some green peppers. And so, yeah, that's, that's part of it. And then I think too, like your movement, which is maybe like, I guess maybe another tip, like not tip unexpected thing, but, um, you, you don't move around as much in prep. Like, especially if it's the winter, like a winter prep, I find I like,
Mandy (29:35)
Yeah.
veggies. Yeah, but...
Oh yeah.
You get cold, yep.
Gillian (30:00)
snuggle and I'm likely to sit in one spot for a long time. And so that is, and what that is called is NEET, non exercise aerobic thermogenesis. I'm blanking right now because I had to think of it on the spot, but you know, that is like fidgeting or like jumping up and like, you know, running upstairs to get a laundry basket or like just moving more.
Mandy (30:09)
Oh, thermo jet, yeah.
Yeah, it's your daily movements that you don't think about that's burning calories.
Gillian (30:25)
Mm -hmm. Yeah, so your knee or like just even like sitting and like bobbing your knee or you know getting up and moving around you just don't do as much of that when your Energy is low or if you're cold and you're just like kind of like oh I just don't feel like moving right now You just have more of that and prep to and that can slow down digestion. So One thing that does really help if you have a desk job like I do this every day about like two o 'clock If it's nice outside, I'll go and walk around my neighborhood just like half a mile. It's like 20 minutes or something like that or
Mandy (30:52)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (30:55)
I'll just hop on my treadmill and just move a little bit because I get stiff sitting at my desk. And that has really helped. Like my metabolism in January, when I first started prep, I was like, I remember telling you like nothing is moving. Like what in the hell? Like I can't believe that I've been in this deficit and like nothing is, nothing's working. And I wasn't worried, but I was kind of like, normally like you start to see things moving along. And I realized it was because it was fucking cold. I wasn't moving very much. I was just sitting at my desk, just like working away and it was really busy.
Mandy (31:06)
Yeah.
Gillian (31:25)
So I started kind of just breaking up my afternoon and going and doing a little stretching and a little bit of walking. Lo and behold, everything improved. Digestion improved, my stress level improved, my weight, I dropped like eight pounds at the end of January and everything just kind of, you know, got a lot better. So it's, I think like, again, I've been doing this for like a hundred years and I'm still learning. So that's just one tip. Like if you are experiencing digestion or bloat, first of all, talk to your coach, but also don't panic and think you have, you know, some,
Mandy (31:30)
I love that.
Yeah.
Gillian (31:55)
GI disorder or like some chronic issue. It's just, it's normal. And there's so many strategies and things that you can do. And, and there are like little supplements that you can implement that you could probably take every day for the rest of your life and you'd be fine. Magnesium. Exactly. Yeah. You just don't want to be like going and getting like X -Lax or something. Cause you can become tolerant to those and end up needing those for a long time. You just don't want to do that. And then also like if you do end up inducing like very loose.
Mandy (31:56)
Yep.
Magnesium's such a big one. Magnesium helps so much.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (32:25)
situation and you shit your brains out, well guess what's going to happen on the back end of that? Constipation. So you don't want to do that. You don't want to like have that situation and then you're dehydrated, fuck up your electrolytes, and then your whole digestion is now altered. You know, it's just not a good solution. So don't do that.
Mandy (32:39)
Yeah, so basically just work with your coach, move your body, be aware when you aren't moving your body and you know, just give it time and then pay attention, of course, like pay attention to the vegetables you're eating because some of those might not agree with you. So that's a big one. Like once you kind of eliminate some of the things that don't agree with you, then you're like, oh, okay.
Gillian (32:44)
Yeah, move your body. Drink your water.
Breathe and chill out.
It's generally not what you think though. Like most people wouldn't necessarily think they're always like, it's gotta be the dairy. I don't know that it's that sometimes it's the artificial stuff too. Like, you know that well, and this, this could be number six, becoming a magician in the kitchen and finding all of these free items and zero calorie items and putting all of this shit in your water and your food and your like,
Mandy (33:11)
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
This is such a double -edged sword.
Gillian (33:30)
I mean, I have seen some of these new girls on Instagram and they're just like, Oh my God, guys, look at this amazing thing. And they open up their fridge and they've got like a million of these zero calories, zero sugar, zero fat condiments. And I put this in my water. I put this on my chicken. I put this on my vegetables. It's like, it's so much and all that's like chemicals and additives. And then you could get to the point where you're taking in so much that stuff. You don't even know what the problem is anymore. And it's just, it's overkill. So don't do that.
Mandy (33:55)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, so I feel like I don't want to botch saying this. So like.
All the sugar -free, zero calorie, zero things, they've only been around for like a few years. And then some of them, maybe five or 10 years. But think how long like us as human beings have been around, right? So like our digestive system, our GI tract, our brain, our nervous system, they don't know what these ingredients are. So like sometimes, like you said, like you intake so many of them,
You're like, all of a sudden you're bloating, you're fatigued, you're retaining water, you're having brain fog, you're having attention issues, you're sore, you're having inflammation issues, and you don't think it's those things because why would you? They're sugar free. They're emphasized that they're good for you. Listen, they're not. I can't tell you, probably one of my biggest pet peeves, this is so annoying, is when I go to a grocery store, in a grocery store, I usually,
Gillian (34:34)
Yeah.
Uh huh.
Right. They're not.
Mandy (35:04)
but if I go in a grocery store and I go to the health food aisle, like the health section now, like the amount of stuff that's in there. Like I have seen, I actually right now at my local grocery store in the health section, there is white cheddar, Cheeto, cheese puffs, because they're gluten -free.
But it blows my mind. So, no. Now, I will take a step back and say some of those stuff in small quantities and small doses can be extremely helpful. So for example, when I start my prep, I knew I wanted to cut a lot of this out. I started back in September. I knew I didn't have to take everything away, right? But immediately, the sugar -free whipped cream, I'm sorry to ruin anybody's parade on that.
Gillian (35:27)
They're not healthy.
Mandy (35:54)
that stuff is terrible for you. It's astronomically terrible for you. Just don't eat it or eat whipped cream. But.
Gillian (35:56)
It is terrible. It's terrible.
Mandy (36:05)
No, like I would still do like sugar -free vanilla syrup like in my coffee. I still did like a tablespoon here and there of sugar -free like jello, vanilla pudding. But like as I got closer, I definitely like stopped all of that because that's gonna bloat you. It's gonna cause water retention. It's gonna cause irritation. It's gonna cause all these problems. And like, do you want that? Like, is that really like, do you want that for your end goal? Or like, do you want something to happen in your prep and not know?
what's like causing it, you know? So...
Gillian (36:36)
Yeah, there's such a bigger impact than just the calories. Like, just because it says zero calories doesn't mean it's good for you, you know? And I think that's what we need to remember. Like, you're getting on stage for an aesthetic goal, but also you want to be healthy, you know? But it gets out of hand, for sure. And I'm not saying like none of it. Like, you know, it's just in moderation. Yeah.
Mandy (36:41)
Yeah.
Yeah. Like, we're not, yeah, I'm not saying don't have a Diet Coke if you're having like a crazy sweet tooth and you're struggling. Oh my gosh, drink a Sprite Zero, they're a lifesaver. You know, drink a Diet Coke, like it will help you. We're talking about in like massive quantities of like, okay, you have sugar -free this in the morning, sugar -free this for a snack, sugar -free this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, yeah. Yeah.
Gillian (37:05)
Yeah, absolutely.
Or like 20 pieces of gum a day. I've seen people go overboard with gum too. Or like, um...
Mandy (37:20)
I love gum, but yeah. You can't.
Gillian (37:21)
I do too, but I mean maybe two pieces a day. And I'm like sitting here going like, okay, what do I really have? Cause I don't want to sound like a total hypocrite because I definitely posted a picture on my story yesterday of my like healthy dinner and I was drinking a diet and W cream soda. Um, so I do it all the time, but I will tell you. Yeah. So it's okay. What I'm saying is that like, if you can't tolerate healthy food without your 80 million condiments and seasonings and all, and you can't get through your day without all of this, like.
Mandy (37:36)
Yeah. Oh, I used sugar -free jello in my last refeed.
Gillian (37:51)
sugar -free stuff then you know then I think that's probably not good because I remember there was one prep and I was really like the whole time I was just unbelievably hungry it was probably because I needed to continue my offseason and I would drink like a gallon of crystal light a day and then I would make sugar -free jello but I would make it with less water so that it was like kind of like really thick like almost like a gummy bear so oh but a whole packet which was like six servings of sugar -free jello and
Mandy (38:21)
Yeah.
Gillian (38:21)
And I would put sugar -free ketchup on everything and like buffalo sauce, like just tons of like fake shit.
Mandy (38:26)
That no sugar added ketchup is legit.
Gillian (38:30)
Yeah, it was just too much, you know, and I was young at the time, so I don't even think it affected me at that point. But now I think about it as like somebody who's older and I'm like, oh, my God, all those chemicals, you know. So, yeah, I just think in moderation, you know, but again, not to like I can't survive without, you know, I can't stomach my chicken without this, you know, like get used to like making things really healthy, like my number one condiment now, which is built into my meal plan. So I'm not saying go ahead, everybody do this, but I use natural guacamole.
Mandy (38:42)
in moderation.
Gillian (39:00)
And it's I have a fat. I have several fat sources like programmed into my menu and I just move things around so that I can have guacamole. And then I don't literally I don't put anything else on my food. Like it goes on my sweet potatoes. It goes on my chicken on like my two main meals of the day. And it's delicious. I don't even use I don't even use sugar free barbecue sauce anymore. You what?
Mandy (39:11)
Mm -hmm.
I have to tell you that sounds terrible. That sounds terrible, but I don't like guacamole, but no. I love avocados, but I don't like, I don't know why. I've tried. I've hands down tried.
Gillian (39:24)
You don't.
See, I'm the opposite. I feel like avocado, the texture of it is like eating butter and I don't like it, but I love like guacamole because it's got, you know, garlic and seasonings and everything in it. So it's so good.
Mandy (39:35)
Yeah.
I get the little smashed avocados. There's like nothing in them except like sea salt and smashed avocados, but the measurements like a little bit, yeah. So they, I feel it. I feel it about guacamole. I don't know what it is too, because like as much as I like avocados, you think I would like guacamole, but every time I try it, I'm just like, no, I don't know why.
Gillian (39:47)
They're chunky though, right? I don't like it. I can't.
That's funny.
Yeah.
Is it a texture issue? Maybe you don't like the texture. Yeah.
Mandy (40:02)
No, because I never have a texture issue. But I don't, but okay, maybe because I don't like, I love salsa. See, my go -to condiment is like super simple. Like I can even make my own salsa, like tomato based things. So like no sugar added ketchup and salsa or like, I like really savory salty things. So that's always been my go -to. But like, kind of like you said, like I don't want to be, I'm not a hypocrite by any means. Like I still use some of the stuff. Like when I didn't feel good the other day, I still, I had, what was it? I'm sorry, Sprite Zero. So like I had a Sprite Zero cause my stomach was upset.
Gillian (40:17)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (40:32)
and I wanted to try to settle it. I made protein ice cream for my refeed meal. I used two tablespoons of sugar -free Jell -O, a vanilla Jell -O pudding, that brand. But it's in moderation. It's also being aware of it, and I don't have to have it. It's like a choice. And at the end of the day, what's really fun is if you go a while without some of these things, like let's say you go a while without a protein bar, or go a long time without a certain drink that you really enjoy, well then when you go back to like,
Gillian (40:37)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (41:02)
maybe trying it again or like just enjoying it. It's so good. Like it makes like, like I haven't had protein ice cream this entire prep. So like since like the summer and I made it the other day for my refeed meal and it was, it was so good. Like I literally was like, eh, this is delicious. It was so good. But no, so we can kind of go. So another one, let's down the list.
Gillian (41:07)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, moving on down the list. How far did we get so far? We're at six? Okay.
Mandy (41:33)
We're at six. ~ So, okay, so something else that kind of, very unexpected. This is completely unexpected because nobody can really plan for this because it just kind of happens on a whim. What happens whenever you're out cheer soccer, you're out with your friends, you go and you drop or lose your food. Like your food that you have packed with you, prepped, measured, organized, and something happens. Like you drop it, you drop, you spill it, you drop it on the floor.
Gillian (42:00)
You spill it. Yeah. Yeah, that's unavoidable, but it will happen.
Mandy (42:03)
whatever, it's just inedible all of a sudden and you're, it always happens. Now there's always different like kind of parts of this. One, if you drop it and it's like you can pick it up, like not like on the floor. Yeah, like if it's like I've dropped myself in my car, yeah, and grabbed and ate it, like that, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about like completely inedible. What do you do? So a few things when this has happened to me.
Gillian (42:15)
Three second rule. Eat it off the ground. Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (42:29)
If your food is really simple, you can kind of figure this out. So I have learned if I drop or lose my food, for one, what food did I have packed? Did I have a carb and a protein and a veggie? Probably, right? Okay, so if I have the ability, I'll go to my nearest like Target or grocery store and I can grab some veggies. It's pretty easy, you know, whatever veggie agrees with you. A lot of the times you can buy pre -made eggs, like they'll already be hard boiled and you can easily have
Gillian (42:39)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (42:59)
You can peel away the yolk and have like four egg whites. So you can do that. If you're, oh yeah, packet of tuna. I always forget that. Like I got burnt out on those things. So I just stopped eating it. But yeah, the packet's a tuna. So if you go down the tuna aisle, there's so many flavors too. And like they, oh, I didn't know that.
Gillian (43:02)
You can get like a chicken breast already made too or a packet of tuna like easy peasy. Yeah.
They even have packets of chicken, which is questionable to me, but well, I guess two in a really is two. Yeah. Yeah. So you do that.
Mandy (43:23)
I've always seen, I just got burnt out on it. But yeah, you can go to the grocery store real fast and just like grab a packet of tuna, grab some like already made eggs, rotisserie chicken. If you're good at like kind of eyeballing your stuff, then just grab a rotisserie chicken and you can kind of pick apart like a little breast, like a good handful. You know, you look at your palm and measure it and there you go. There's like, they always have rice cakes everywhere now. So every grocery store has some. Yeah, they're always like so easy. There's.
Gillian (43:46)
Yeah, rice cakes are a carb source. Yeah, that's a tricky one. I mean, I think it's like one of those things where it just depends where you are. I know that like if you're stranded in the middle of nowhere, you know, that it might be a little bit difficult, but.
Mandy (43:58)
Yeah, so that also, also something I like to emphasize that I feel like I've always ranted to you about, it is okay to be hungry. Like.
Gillian (44:07)
Yeah, you won't die.
Mandy (44:09)
You're not gonna die. If you drop your food and you're like supposed to eat at that time and you drop your food and you're gonna be home in an hour or be somewhere in an hour or two, you're not gonna die. It's okay. Like I've seen so many times where it's like, oh, I'm so hungry. It's like, but really like, are you like, is it just like, did you drink enough water? Like, can you wait an hour? Can you wait two hours? Is it gonna, it's gonna be okay.
Gillian (44:23)
You'll make it. Yeah.
Mandy (44:39)
And I say that because... I heard it. I say that because I actually don't let them look at you, but I challenged... I got challenged by this when I started expediting because I had to work nonstop for X amount of time without...
Gillian (44:43)
doorbell. Who's at the door? I'm like hiding.
Oh yeah, you don't get any breaks when you do that.
Mandy (45:00)
Yeah, and so to me this was mind blowing because I wasn't even in a prep the first time I did this and I knew, I met multiple girls that were in preps, totally fine doing this. And I easily learned like, oh, we can go a good amount of few hours, like fasting. And when you finally have time, you can sit and eat and it will be okay. Yeah, you can put all your food. Yeah.
Gillian (45:21)
And then you can eat like two meals at the same time, which is sometimes that's nice too, because it's like twice the carbs and then you feel so full. That happened to me in Dallas. I didn't tell you that, but we were just in the car and it took forever to drive anywhere. And so I got to eat two meals at the same time and girl, I was like, I'm so full. It was wonderful. Not ideal, but.
Mandy (45:37)
I do that a lot when I exp - I - I -
Yeah, so what Jillian's explaining is like, when you have like six meals you're supposed to consume in a day or five, let's say you get really busy and something happens and you get through half your day and you've only consumed one of like the three meals you were supposed to already consume, you can take two of those meals and just combine them and have a big meal. And that happens a lot if you get really busy. Like I was saying, it happens when I expedite. I will take like two of my meals and I'll be like laying in bed like, ah.
Look at all this food. Yeah. Yeah.
Gillian (46:10)
So much food. Yeah. Well, and there's so many different ways to prep. Like I've done a flexible approach to prep, which some people argue that's better. I don't. It is not my favorite. I prefer a meal plan and I prefer to eat like real food, like just, you know.
lean protein, complex carb and a vegetable. It agrees with my body. I don't have any cravings. I like it. I don't think it's any more work. Honestly, it's so easy. And but but it will just it means that like at three o 'clock and I'm supposed to have four ounces of lean beef and 80 grams of rice and a cup of vegetables. And I'm stuck in traffic in Dallas, Texas. It's, you not the easiest way to eat it. But so that's what makes it hard. You know, when I did more flexible approach than I could sub out a protein bar or something. But then I just felt.
Mandy (46:33)
same.
That was so easy.
Oh, that's not easy, yeah.
Gillian (46:57)
like when I did a flexible diet and I just did macros they were never it was never the same I was eating a lot of different things and it got it was better when I did a meal plan with macros and I could adjust up and down but anyways that's a different that's a different topic for a different day.
Mandy (47:03)
I hated it.
I had an off season where it was like, I was given like, oh, you can have this many macros in a meal. And I had never had done that. And I was like, I was excited, right? I was like, oh, cool. I put so much work into that meal, that one meal. And it was like a burger, it was like a bunch of stuff I cooked at home even, because I was trying to be so like on point with it. And I was like, I hate this. Like I do, like I'm like four ounces, grams.
Gillian (47:25)
so much work. Yeah.
Yeah.
I hate it.
Mandy (47:41)
carbs, simple carbs. But then again, I love it even more now because I've done it for so long that it's like, okay, well let's introduce a few of these different foods while I'm having refeeds and utilize those for calorie spikes. And now it's been fantastic. I've enjoyed it. But I don't have to spend once a day or multiple times a day or weeks thinking, oh, how can I fit this mini calorie in this and this macro in this? I'm just like, I'm so over it, no.
Gillian (47:54)
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah. No, totally. OK, moving on. Another big important thing, I'm going to make sure that we don't forget to talk about this. One thing that you can expect to expect during ear prep is body image issues, not believing what's in the mirror, feeling chubby and skinny all at the same time and self -doubt, which is like probably seven through 10.
Mandy (48:13)
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Gillian (48:37)
I mean, it is like...
Mandy (48:39)
Yeah.
Gillian (48:39)
It's really common for as you're going through a prep to everyone else is seeing how amazing you look. You don't think you're ready. You compare yourself to other people. You hear it. Or like you were saying yesterday, like you hadn't looked at your physique all day and you didn't feel the best. And then you looked at yourself that day and you're just shredded. You know, it can happen. Like it's it's weird. You can feel fat and skinny at the same time. And I think to like for moms and I can definitely relate to this, Mandy, you totally can as well. But I haven't been.
Mandy (48:46)
and you'll hear it.
I was just gonna say that story. Yeah.
Gillian (49:08)
ripped and tiny my whole life. Like I've gone through several difficult long phases of being uncomfortable in my body, being overweight, not having clothes that fit, having a belly, having cellulite. Like, you know, my body is far from perfect now, but.
Mandy (49:09)
Mm -hmm.
Having your fat hang over your jeans, yeah.
Gillian (49:25)
Yeah, but I mean, I haven't been in shape my whole life. And so sometimes it plays with it messes with me, you know, or, you know, I catch a bad angle of myself and I'm, you know, two weeks out and I look in a mirror at Target and I'm like, Oh, my God, I can't let him competing in two weeks. I look so bad. And you just do it all the time. And it can really drive you crazy. And unless you just understand that it's kind of part of it, you're you're always like, kind of like I think you can feel ready, but you're still in the back of your mind like, am I ready? And I think that's normal.
everybody goes through that even girls at the very very top of our sport.
Mandy (49:57)
Pros do.
Yeah, I actually, I have like, just like you do, I have a few pro friends and I've talked to them about this very subject of feeling not, like not enough. I would say like, I categorize all of it. Like you just don't feel like you're gonna be good enough. And this isn't, I don't mean like good enough to like win the show or like place top two in your class. I just mean you start feeling like you're not good enough to even go on stage. Like why are you even doing it? And I've talked to girls that are at like the highest level and they've been like, no, I felt that way too.
Gillian (50:21)
Yeah.
Mandy (50:28)
And I don't mean they felt that way too when they began. I mean like when they go win a pro show they felt that way. So I feel like it's so common. So like you said, I did it yesterday and I do it all the time. Like I'm three weeks away from show. I had like a little stomach ache yesterday. It just, it was what it was. It actually went away at the night. But during the day and evening, I just had like a little heartburn or something. And I just didn't look at myself all day. I threw on a hoodie, some pants, had to go to soccer.
Gillian (50:28)
happens to everybody.
Yeah.
Mandy (50:58)
I was like, I'm a walker, joke around, whatever. But when I went to take a shower, it blew my mind. I even had to like pull my husband into the bathroom with me to be like, can you believe that I feel like I weigh 200 pounds right now? Like I feel like crap right now. But I have veins literally coming out of my obliques and I have like, I'm ripped. But, and he's just like, I don't understand. I'm like, it's just how it is. But like we can laugh.
Gillian (51:19)
Yeah.
Yeah, you wouldn't. Yeah, it's just how it is. Yeah.
Mandy (51:28)
I will say, if you're listening to this and you're a new competitor, there's no avoiding it. There just isn't. You can be the most prideful, just big headed person. It doesn't matter. In the bathroom, in your privacy of your own home, if you're so close to a show, you're gonna see loose skin or cellulite. You're gonna see something you don't like and you're just gonna be like, oh my gosh, I shouldn't even do this. I'm not good enough. Why am I doing this? And beat yourself up. But we're here to tell you that you are good enough.
Gillian (51:57)
totally normal and also the things that we fixate on are definitely things that other people don't notice. Case in point I have a 12 year old daughter and she's just the most beautiful, beautiful child and she says the craziest things to me like my...
Mandy (51:58)
It's absolutely normal.
Gillian (52:14)
ears are big and my eyes are too big for my face and my forehead is so long and I'm like, what are you talking about? Like we don't the way we see ourselves and the things that we pick apart other people definitely do not see and they don't notice. So like it's so easy to get hyper fixated on something like, oh, I feel like this part of my stomach is always sticking out. Other people are like, what are you talking about? You know, so I think that it's important to know that and don't let don't let it affect you and make you stop.
Mandy (52:20)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (52:44)
pursuing this or have it prevent you from getting on stage. It's just nerves too. Like this is a very big scary thing. It's scary for everybody. Like I don't know many women that are just like, sure, I'll just put on a bikini and go on stage and have a bunch of judges give me a trophy. Like.
Mandy (52:45)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Well, and that's why a lot of women say they like the progress, not the stage.
Gillian (53:02)
Yeah, because you feel very vulnerable up there. You're absolutely being judged. It's what you signed up to do. So the whole experience itself can really, you know, take a toll on you. But obviously Mandy and I have been in it long enough to tell you that there's way more that you'll gain from it than, you know.
Mandy (53:05)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (53:19)
than those scary or stressful times and it's all worth it. And it is honestly, if you've never done it, once you get out there, you realize how welcoming it is and how, you know, you know, people celebrate you and you could think you have no business being up there and walk away with first place. So please don't let that stop you from doing this because if you've got a dream of competing, you just have to go for it. You really do. Otherwise you'll never know. Like how do you know what your potential is until you go for it? Right. And then if you get up there and you don't,
Mandy (53:28)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (53:49)
place as well as you would like. Well, everybody has something to work on, even Miss Olympia. So you just take your feedback and then you just go from there and then that's the key to it. But you can't let that, those insecurities stop you from pursuing this because it's so rewarding.
Mandy (54:04)
Yeah, always remember you're never alone, like ever, ever alone, because everybody feels -
way, everybody goes through it. And then again, being backstage, whenever you're backstage, you have to wait like a long time usually before you go on. Unless like you're first to go on, but either way you're waiting at some point in time for a length of time. And whenever you go to meet other women, you'll talk and you'll see like they support you. They have imperfections too. They have different things. I've seen it to where people will be backstage. They will meet, they will chitchat waiting to go on stage or waiting to line up. They'll line up. They'll be so like,
cheery while they're like waiting because usually you line up and you get on deck and then you go on stage that when groups of girls will go on stage the girls that they just met earlier that morning will be screaming for them behind the stage and it's like this supportive community is just amazing so don't ever feel like you're not good enough because you absolutely are and you are not alone in it.
Gillian (55:04)
Yeah, absolutely. And the other thing that I wanted to tag on to that, which is probably the 11th unexpected thing, is that tan makes you look real jacked. So you don't realize it until you can even like, I will say, if you want to see how you're going to look on stage, get yourself a kick ass spray tan when you're like about a month out. And it shows all the t -
Mandy (55:15)
Yeah. Yes.
Gillian (55:28)
all the curves, all the tone, all the definition. Like when you get that spray tan on, you look jacked because I've definitely seen. Yes. When you see yourself on stage and you see those stage photos, you're going to be like, damn, I look good. Like it just all comes together. And that's just something that's hard to believe when you're like you've no makeup on. You haven't washed your hair in a week. You've like just finished your second cardio session the day. Like you got busted nails. You don't look cute. And then you got to put on your suit and send your video to your coach.
Mandy (55:29)
Mm -hmm.
and the lighting with the tan.
Yeah.
lighting.
Gillian (55:58)
and you're like, I am a troll. What in the hell am I thinking? You know, so girl, just get put a little makeup on, do your hair, put on a dark spray tan and just like and then you can. I think sometimes doing those dry runs can like really help you see that like you don't completely suck. But yeah, when you're like in mom mode and you're just like training like crazy and you're like hardly bathing and you just, you know, the last couple of weeks are real, real tough. You know, you can be like, how in the hell am I going to look that hot in a few days on stage? Right. But man, you get that.
Mandy (56:03)
Yeah, yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (56:28)
tan on and you know then the confidence starts to comes out too so you almost have to like it's like Christmas Day you just have to like wait for it and you know just unwrap the presents and you're like tada like there it is it all comes together you know
Mandy (56:35)
Yeah.
Yeah, and even with like going to get like a spray tan or just even going to like the like one of the makeup altissim for it and getting like self tanner and like self tanning yourself You'd be surprised even just like the lightest bronze coat Makes such a beam that it does because I did it the other week I like I'm I'll go I haven't tanned it like forever, but I wanted to do put on some tanner for oh, yeah the photo shoot I was like, why did I do like brain fog? I forgot why I even did that But I put on some bronzer. I was like, okay, let's see what happens and I
Gillian (56:48)
Yeah.
Yeah, shows all the muscles.
Yeah. Yeah.
Mandy (57:09)
I got so many compliments. I didn't even think that much into it, but I had a lot of people be like, oh, well, you look so tan and did it. I'm like, it's just a coat of bronzer. Right?
Gillian (57:13)
Yeah.
Yeah, I know you're like, thanks. Okay, maybe I'll compete tomorrow. All right. Yeah, no, it does. It makes a huge difference. It really does. What else on this?
Mandy (57:26)
Well, Juliana, I think we got up to eight, but we're almost at our hour mark.
Gillian (57:32)
Did we get to, I feel like we got more than that. Cause I think one of, one of mine was like five in one. Self doubt.
Mandy (57:34)
I think we went on a few tangents. Yeah. Oh, well, yeah, that last one was like a bunch in one. So we'll have to get the exact number. But we, so you guys listening, we did have quite a bit of like unexpected things that can occur. So we can definitely do a part two of this. And if there's anything that like you guys think of or like, how do you guys combat this or what would you do if this happened or like throw scenarios at us? That'd be fun. Like situations like.
Gillian (57:58)
Yeah. Or something that occurred for you that you didn't expect. Yeah.
Mandy (58:05)
Oh yeah, share your experiences. That'll be really cool. But yeah.
Gillian (58:08)
Yeah, because there's definitely more. I mean, the list goes on and on. I think of things all the time, too. Or just even like in coaching, because Mandy and I both coach, which I feel like we don't talk about that enough, but we are both coaches. And so, you know, we're happy to answer any questions you guys have about your preps or even, you know, lifestyle weight loss. We do both competition prep and, you know, regular weight loss transformations. Yeah.
Mandy (58:13)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. Same with building too. I've had quite a few women reach out to me lately that want to do a show, but they want to take some time to build some muscle. And so we do that as well. So we do building phases, lifestyle, prep coach, weight loss, all the things. So always, always, I'm always on Instagram. Just, I am. I love Instagram. So always feel free to comment any of the platforms that you have this podcast on.
Gillian (58:43)
Yeah.
All the things, yeah.
And scroll down, there's a million links down below. I expanded our show notes the other day and I was like, damn, this thing is long. There's like a million coupon codes down there, like all the different companies that we work with and then info about our programs. And you can message us at any time with any questions or if you want to inquire about how our coaching program works, we would love to share that with you as well. But I always I listen to other podcasts and people plug that all the time. And I just we just get on these talking tangents and I forget. So.
Mandy (59:01)
millions.
Save some money.
But I like our talking tan. I feel like, yeah, it's relatable, I guess. I don't know.
Gillian (59:29)
But yeah, I do too. Yeah, it is. And I always say this, but we talk like a half an hour or more before we even hit record because we do. We have so much tea to spill. So anyways.
Mandy (59:39)
Because we do.
I know, I know, it's cause we're not, we don't live close to each other. So I mean, we text and stuff, but we, you know, we're far away. But yeah, guys, we hope you enjoyed this episode and kind of like we said, if you guys think of any, yeah, just let us know if you think of anything. And then also we can definitely make a part two of this and just keep going with the unexpected. But thanks guys for tuning in. We will be back next week.
Gillian (59:47)
I know.
I know. Yeah, thanks for tuning in.
Yes, thanks everybody. Have a good one. Bye!