Natalie Renee Long

Natalie Renee Long Instagram – My favorite things about bulking: My Storm Trooper belt and the 🍑 pump.
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I haven’t been on IG, but Get Happy Be Fit has still been going with an episode every Monday on ITunes and Spotify. So if you want to catch up on what’s been going on and hear today’s episode, “8 Simple Resolution Rules”, check out the link in my story or bio.
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But here’s a little break down of what’s been going on..
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I honestly thought that making the decision not to compete again (at least in 2022) would be a relief and I would feel a sense of freedom and even excitement. But that was not AT ALL the case. This has been the most difficult post competition season I’ve ever experienced. The post show depression and rebound has been really really difficult. I’m only now realizing the amount of physical and mental stress my body was under for pretty much the entirety of 2021.
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The last three years of my life have revolved, in some way, around competing. Giving myself bulking and cutting timelines and always aiming for a better physique than the first time I competed. Not because I hated my body or the way I looked, but because I wanted to achieve a goal. Somehow I tricked myself into thinking that because I was trying to compete in a competition rather than feeling unsatisfied with myself as I was or trying to fit a societal mold of what beauty is, that the extreme measures I went through wouldn’t be damaging. But this season my drive to be my best pushed me to really negative places mentally and physically.
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I’ve been shifting my focus to finding balance again and pursuing fitness because I love it. I’m still going to work for a physique that I LOVE, because it’s fun to look what I perceive as my best. But I’m doing it slowly and sustainably, starting with a really solid bulking season.
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I’ve put on more fat than I originally planned, but right now I’m ok with that. I worked really hard at being able to love my body and appreciate it at every size so I’m embracing the fluff for 16 weeks while I put on more muscle and build a physique that I want rather than what judges want….
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*Continued in comments* | Posted on 27/Dec/2021 19:41:18