CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN AGAIN
By Dana Jacober

Here I go again. I can’t believe this happened. I can’t believe I LET this happen! This is my story about what happened after I made my dream come true. And to be honest, it is not a happy one for me, but it was a tremendous learning lesson. It is one that I hope that I can save you from having to learn first hand.

After several failed attempts in the past ten years, I finally accomplished my dream and not only lost 30lbs but I also competed in my first figure competition. I had done it. I looked amazing. I felt even more amazing. It took me four months of hard work, focus and discipline. I had my competition roadmap for the entire 114 days of prep. My countdown was up on my fridge next to the quote, “Champions are not born, they are made through hard work and discipline.”

I looked at that quote everyday as I made another mark on my countdown board. Everyday I knew my job. My mission was set out for me and all I had to do was get it done everyday. It took me a few weeks before I really started seeing a difference in my body. I started around 150lbs, give or take. Sometimes I worried that my body would never look like a figure competitor and I would get up on stage and make a fool of myself but each day I stayed with it and plugged away at what I knew had to be done. Most of the time it was a mental game. Even if I wasn’t seeing changes I knew I had to stay strong and keep doing what I knew I was on my plan. For four months I dieted and trained hard. At each big step along the way, like picking out my suits and having them made, I would think, “This is it, now I really have to do this!! There is no backing out.” Deep down, I knew in my heart I could never back out. I even made sure I told everyone I was doing the show just so it held me even more accountable. I had to do it…..I didn’t want people to think I was full of it or a quitter.

The day of the show finally arrived and no matter how good or bad I looked, all I knew was, I had made it. I did what I set out to do! It was probably one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. I stepped on stage about 125lbs. I was holding too much water still and didn’t have my posing down as well as I should have. My back pose was awful and at the night show I totally forgot how to do model turns all together! The funny thing was, I didn’t even care. I was on such a high. I felt amazing up there! I placed 7th in my class and I was happy with that. Even though I wasn’t number one, two or even in the top 5 I was still a winner in my heart. I reached the day I had waited so long to get to and I was floating on a cloud. I knew in my future competitions I would care about my placing but this first show was about getting up on stage and accomplishing my dream.

After the show my family and friends greeted me with flowers and candy. The first thing I did after hugging my mom was take a bite out of a chocolate covered potato chip. That was the start of the tumble down the mountain I had worked so hard to climb. We went back to my house where my family and friends had a little party waiting for me. They gathered all my favorite foods from all the restaurants in town that I love and got a big cake from Costco. It was a blast. My friends and family even gave me wonderful gifts and a champagne toast. A perfect celebration to such a momentous event!

Waking up the next day was where things got a little sticky. This was actually day one of my first off-season – Day one without being on contest prep. My mission wasn’t quite as clear anymore. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go back to only eating steamed veggies, fish and chicken for every meal and I knew I couldn’t go back to doing two hours of cardio a day. So then, what do I do? What do I eat? How do I train? How much cardio now? Do I even want to do cardio? NO! I was sick of cardio and training. I wanted to live a little! I wanted to go out to a restaurant with my family and eat some great meals. I felt like the shackles had been taken off my feet and I could run free! Where do I start!

For me that question was easy! Breakfast, of course. Waffles and pancakes and muffins were first on the list. Then we digested about two hours before getting lunch which could have been Mexican or Sushi or Italian. Whatever, the point is, once I started to eat, I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to. I was having so much fun eating all the foods I had only dreamt about for the past 114 days. Before long, the abs I had flexed and flaunted just days before were completely covered. My arms, which had cuts and veins in them, had become soft again and my legs, which had finally leaned out quite a bit, were full again. It felt as though I was Cinderella and the clock struck midnight. The old Dana was back. How could this be? How did I let this happen? Further more, how do I get the old Dana back?

I was soon filled with pain, frustration and anger. Why didn’t anyone warn me of this? Granted, there was no reason I needed to go as hog wild as I did but unfortunately, that’s my personality. I have an extreme personality. I think everything is black and white. Now, I am in no way saying that is a good thing. In fact, it’s something I’m working on changing. I had been so extreme in one direction during contest prep after reaching my goal date, this switch in my head flipped and suddenly I was headed in the opposite direction. I wasn’t just heading there by trotting along, I was actually in a fast downhill sprint and I didn’t know how to stop it. The post-contest blues were turning into the complete unravel of all my hard work right in front of everyone’s eyes.

I tried to act like I wasn’t worried. I actually wasn’t. I figured, if I did it once, I could do it again. How silly of me! Had I completely forgotten how much work it took me to get there? Did I forget all the hours upon hours of cardio and dieting I had done? How could I let it all slip away like that? Two months later, I was right back where I started.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t look at it like I climbed this mountain and then got to the top and then fell back down to the bottom again. I see it as this massive mountain that could represent my fitness goals and dreams, and has many peaks. Each time I climb to another level or another peak. Sometimes I might fall but that doesn’t mean I start over again from the same spot. How could I? I have come too far and grown too much to start at the bottom again. I just pick myself up with all my new experiences, good and bad, and all the new knowledge and lessons and I start my trek up to the next level.
This is what I’m doing now. I’m climbing to the next level of the mountain. I have new goals for my new fitness level. I’m on a new program and training with a new trainer. I have another show planned for a few months from now where my goal this time isn’t just getting on stage. I want to start placing well so I can compete at the National level. From there I will make new goals and climb to the next level.

I won’t sit here and pretend each day isn’t a battle. I still have to wear baggy clothes to cover up my body because just the sight of what I let happen to myself does upset me. I constantly wonder what the other reasons are as to why I let this happen. Sometimes I think maybe it was because I didn’t feel like I knew who I was in my new body. Maybe I felt like I didn’t deserve to have that body. Maybe I wanted to show everyone that I wasn’t a stick in the mud anymore. That I could go out and eat and have fun now and I wouldn’t say no if they invited me like I would when I was in my prep. Whatever the reasons may be I now realize what I did wasn’t healthy. I know prepping for a show is extreme but it’s also just as important to find that balance after a show. It’s important to keep a healthy lifestyle and to enjoy things you love – but in moderation. These lessons are all things I am taking with me on my future journeys up this very mountain I have grown to love.