My boyfriend and I have been dating for over three years now. I was the one who started doing the NPC Bikini competitions. Eli, my boyfriend, took an interest and wanted to work hard to make it to the stage too.
I have never seen someone so dedicated in my life and I’m so proud of him! There are some rough parts and some great parts and I’m here to share them all!
1. The Mood Swings
It’s like a rollercoaster ride sometimes. Hunger does strange things to someone’s mood, especially when we go out to eat or pass by a bakery. He could be totally fine, carrying on a conversation with no problems, then out of the blue he starts grumbling and cursing under his breath because he saw someone eating a piece of pizza. It’s hilarious and annoying at the same time to see this change in him.
2. The Hunger
He is CONSTANTLY hungry. Meals have to be about two hours apart and each meal is carefully calculated but even after eating he still wants more. The two hours in-between meals feels like an eternity to him. We will be out doing something and I can always tell when it’s almost meal time because he starts getting hangry (hungry+angry).
Most of the time he carries around a bag full of Tupperware so he never misses meal time. This one sucks sometimes because I start to feel bad eating anything remotely not good for you in front of him. Sometimes he ignores it but other times I can see he is drooling at the mouth over my popcorn or yogurt.
3. The Hot Bod
There are obvious perks to dating a bodybuilder. My boyfriend has a damn fine body. All the time. His body is his temple and he treats it as such which delivers amazing result regarding his physique. He has built so much muscle since we started dating and it just makes him that much more dreamy. If I could put a “heart eyes” emoji into an article this paragraph would be full of them.
4. The Responsibility
Yes, I have some responsibility in his ability to compete. Luckily with my background in Sports and Exercise Science I was taught how to take skin folds and calculate body fat percentages.
We have to keep track of this almost weekly in order to ensure he is on the right path of losing weight with his diet. I also become a photographer for all the Instagram pictures/videos and all the progress pictures that he has to send to his coach.
This isn't as easy as it sounds. Sometimes I have to take like ten pictures from all different angles until we get one that he likes.
It's also my responsibility to be there for him and to push him through his hard times when he wants to give up. Having a good support system can make or break a bodybuilder so I have to excel in this responsibility.
5. The Cheat Meals
Eli is normally allowed one cheat meal a week up until the last month and half before competition. Believe me when I tell you these cheat meals are EPIC.
Imagine trying to squeeze everything you have been craving all week into one meal. Seems impossible right? But not when you have me there to eat whatever is left over. Cheat meal day is my favorite day of the week because I didn’t know how much I could bond with someone over our shared love of pizza.
6. The Insane Pride
Come competition day I am the textbook definition of proud. My baby made it. He set a goal and he reached it. He is the most dedicated person I have ever seen and nothing makes me swell with pride more than hearing his name called to come out on the stage and do his posing routine.
You better believe I’m the loudest person in there yelling his number to get the judges attention to look at him while also letting him know someone is there supporting and rooting for him.
There may be some hard times but there are also amazing times. I wouldn’t trade dating my bodybuilder for anything.
