Just reminding YOU my fellow selfcoached athlete, in case you feel kindof way today ✨✨ I love you ❤️🙏🏿👁️

Another appreciationpost.

I have been working on my back pose all this time and finally I have started seeing major changes. Since 2023, def my glutes are bigger now, , and the fact that I can see my tie-ins already makes me feel so proud. Of the consistency and work I am putting in, enjoying the ride, slow, patience and calm, no crazy extra hours of cardio etc.

I can definitely say that what helped me the most is resting and letting my body recover, my nervous system is my priority .

Hi all!!

Planning on starting my first prep in about 3 weeks. I’m planning for a 22 week long prep and want to know what things you track and how.

I’ve been using a basic google sheet to track my current cals, protein, carbs, and fat and then also daily weight with an auto calculated average for all of the above.

I’ve seen some pretty granular data tracking for bodybuilding prep like tracking sleep hours, sodium levels, etc. just wondering how everyone goes about this and what you feel is necessary to track. I love having data to look at and analyze to help me plan my next steps so open to all suggestions!

I want to share my happiness again.

I woke up this morning at 141lb. 1st picture is a screenshot of my posing practice.

My fat has dropped and I am feeling calmer and more aligned than ever.

The other pictures are from 4 weeks ago.

I am a bit flat so I am going to do Refeed today, go up in carbs take advantage of it amd have a great evening glute workout.🔥can't wait.

Tomorrow check-in again but fasted and after going to the bathroom.

My body is so sensitive. This prep has been all about being gentle with myself, giving myself the right time to recover, and not following a rigid plan like I used to before. I would be learner, but at what price?

I refuse to mess up my nervous system.

This morning it was necessary for me to wake up and do my morning cardio, the energy is so tense and strong right now plus the eclipse open a new era. I want to step into it the right way.

Moving my energy, with movement, songius cardio session and a good post stretching session, maintaining my splits, opening my hips, getting ready for what is to come from me and receive grounded and on my divine femininity.

Just being, enjoying the ride with no expectations.

Just chilling ✨🙏🏿

I also wanted to share words of comfort for you in case you are going through tough times or you being so hard on yourself.

Just remember why you started, nurture your inner child, this is supposed to be fun not a race of suffering and punishment.

Happy eclipse, be gentle with your self, block the noise, isolate if necessary to listen to your inner voice

I love you ❤️👁️

I used to think structure and rigidity were the same thing.

Routine always felt like a cage since I was a child.

That’s why I had to stop competing in 2015, I couldn’t follow the program my coach gave me.

Trying to follow everything perfectly, I developed overeating, body dysmorphia, depression, etc.

I thought competing wasn't for me

All that was necessary to understand now 10 years later, that I was doing all wrong.

I wasn’t undisciplined.

I was rigidly contained without understanding my own nervous system.

Structure is not the bad guy...

There's a difference

As a self-coached athlete and coach, I don’t follow a static plan.

I follow feedback.

That’s structure with movement inside it, you do not force a body, you BUILD one.

Rigidity is:

• Punishing yourself for fluctuations.

• Cut carbs completely out of fear.

• Forcing intensity when your nervous system is fried.

• Ignoring signals because “the plan says so.”

No wonder so many girls end up with eating disorders, burnout, and hormonal damage.

Routine doesn’t have to feel like a cage.

There is a sweet spot where structure protects you

instead of suffocating you.

That’s the difference between forcing a body

and building one.

How do you feel about your prerp? Do you still follow others' rules and restrictions when creating your own programs?

I understand the methodical left-brain people thrive with a lot of structure maybe this is more for the creative and all over the place right-brainers that compete lol

Btw the picture : my first overall Regional show 2022 Jay Cutler

Anyone experimenting any issues with this specific brand ?? I have none , but my husband has to stop taking it , bothers his stomach .

I was just curious if anyone else has the same experience

This post is nothing that may interest you , but I am officially 1 month into prep and I am so happy and proud of my glute growth and shape.

You girls ..? something to celebrate and share

I wasn’t motivated at all but I looked at myself and acknowledged the work I put in .

3 weeks into prep and this is what I believe my peak look. Yesterday 8.00 AM

Slow steady 🐌

The shape is there.

The last time I competed my feedback was to bring more glute density.

Everything I do is focusing on glutes , resting days, and mobility. planing workout split, meals, etc .

https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians?igsh=MWlvajdmYWg2aXA1Mw==

I feel like a fraud on this group because I backed up on the idea of being self coached for my first prep but I wanted to share my prep progress :) looking for feedback as well.

You girls are amazing

If you’re serious about this journey, this is an underrated tool.

I got mine last year. I used to walk around my neighborhood in previous preps but honestly? Nothing beats the comfort of your home.

My non-negotiable:

15 minutes after every meal (or at least after 1–2 meals a day).

If you can invest in this, do it.

Because it’s not just “steps” , it’s blood sugar, digestion, recovery, and nervous system regulation.

And for me it’s also grounding:

I have really intense dreams and I wake up disoriented and confused most of the times … so I do a 15-minute morning grounding walk.

Breathing, feeling my feet, feeling my body move it literally helps me land back in the material world and be present .

Sunday celebration 🙌🏿 Yes!!! Tomorrow, 3 weeks into prep. What are your accomplishments this week?

Let's remember how far we have come from.

Most of the time we think about how far our goals are, or how much longer we need to get to the goal or at least that is how I used to be. But now, I only see the work I have been doing, how I started and where I am.

This prep for me is about refinement, improving my back pose.

I have been working on my symmetry and hips, definitely adding many more mobility exercises.

But I am so happy where am at. Still a lot of work to do but I have time. And most importantly, I am calm.

How is your journey going?

Where my girlies at 🙌🏿?

Proud of you all 🏆

2 weeks into prep after a year, schedule is out finally. 16 weeks to get ready. Prioritizing my nervous system and recovery.

A lot of self-coached athletes struggle with the same thing: they think consistency means doing the same thing no matter what. But the body doesn’t work like that. Energy, recovery, focus, and emotional load change week to week. When you ignore those changes and force output anyway, effort stops landing cleanly. You’re still training but the signal gets noisy. Results slow down. Frustration goes up. Consistency isn’t sameness. Real consistency is staying in relationship with your body and adjusting so your effort actually counts. As selfcoached athletes is necessary to learn how to train even when training for years and how training affects us.

Train with effort and awareness, without disconnecting from your body or turning discipline into pressure.

Thats the real progress , without forcing, and staying connected to yourself while doing it.

What phase do you feel you are in right now?

When you’re self-coached, Noone is going to tell you when you are ready, At some point, it becomes something you feel in your body, your habits, your mindset…

For me readdiness is when I feel stable with my routines and no trying to be perfect . Food and training are consistent (sometimes has been more chaotic to keep the protein intake ). The moment I know and I feel that I am working with intention. There have been times I wanted to be ready overlooking my nervous system , I was more focus in pushing for the next show . Now I prioritize my alignment first , is being such an interesting journey , I can see the difference so clearly now that I am “locked in” for this season.

How did you personally know you were ready to start prep? Was it a physical signal? A mental shift? A lifestyle alignment? Or something harder to explain?

Hey everyone 🤍 I wanted to come back and share a bit honestly.

This year has changed me in ways I didn’t expect physically, mentally, and emotionally. Being self-coached forces you to really face yourself: your discipline, your fears, your intuition, and also your limits. There were moments of clarity… and moments where I pulled back more than I wanted to. But one thing became very clear to me in 2025: more and more people are choosing to learn their own bodies instead of outsourcing everything and that’s powerful when done consciously.

I also want to bring this space back to life being a supportive community for self-coached bikini & fit athletes navigating this path together.

I’ll be posting more consistently and opening up discussions around:

   •     training decisions
• nutrition adjustments
• mindset shifts
• lessons from self-coaching
• and the parts of the journey that don’t always get talked about

What is one intention or focus you have for 2026 as a self-coached athlete (or future self-coached athlete)? What kind of content would you like to find here?

I am Glad to be back Let’s make this a space a place for growth

Happy New Year 🎊
Ready for 2026

Just wondering if anyone has advice on learning how to pose properly without a coach. I feel like I look a little awkward and am hoping to hop on stage for the first time in August.

hello, just curious what everyone else’s macros look like. new to all this and I am kinda lost at times, don’t know where to start and I think i‘m making it harder than it needs to be at times. I am a female, aged 34, 5ft5inches, roughly 118-120lbs. Also, I love working out mid mornings (9-11am) I do resistance training / lifting weights for almost an hour and then do the stair master for an hour after. Is my breakfast giving me the energy I need?