Fitness Competitions: Natural or Not?

The event that I competed in was titled the Max Muscle Mile High "Natural" Figure Championships. The word "natural" refers to the fact that the bodybuilders are subject to drug and polygraph testing, but that's about it. From the extremely dark, four to five coats of fake tan, to the oiled skin, the fake eyelashes, the blue contact lens, the hair extensions, the stage makeup, the competition suit that had to be glued in place, and the 5" heels ---the word "natural" may be a stretch. Add to the equation the fact that the competitors generally stop drinking water a day or two before competing so they are dehydrated, which is not natural or healthy. The competitors diets run the gamut. Mine was balanced and nutritious until the last week when I started carb loading and carb depleting, which made me feel either weak or foggy, depending. And then contest day, I ate very little. After it was over I had to be careful not to stuff myself when I got home that night because I was so hungry. I went from 108 pounds and about 20% body fat in January to just 99 pounds and about 15% body fat in June. I really thought I would get hooked on doing fitness competitions, but the experience convinced me that I'm not cut out for it. I placed 2nd in the Novice Division, 5th in the Masters and 5th in the Open categories. I think if I were to compete again, I would do even better, maybe even come in 1st Place. Although I liked the motivation it gave me to eat perfectly and give it my all in my workouts, I really didn't like the competition itself. I had such a headache when I was on stage from being dehydrated and the bright lights made it so much worse. Being in a fitness competition, for me, felt anything but natural. It was so far out of my comfort zone, but I did it anyway just to challenge myself at a whole new level. So as this new year rolls around, I'm asking myself what can I do this year to take it up a notch again, but not go through the expense and unnaturalness of a fitness competition. I am definitely not one to do any kind of running race, so a marathon, triathlon or even a 5k is out of the question. I think certain bodies were made to run and certain bodies were not. If you don't have a runners body and you try to force it, especially at age 50, it will result in injury and I'm not up for that. So when I got the email about the  $100,000 Transformation Challenge at BodyBuilding.com   I signed up right away. Join with me! Watch my progress!