Monique Cormier, who has overcome obesity and severe depression en route to becoming a world class amateur bodybuilder, joins Dave [ ... ]
Spotlight On NPC Bikini Competitor: Alison Burgess
Category you compete in: Bikini
Date of birth: 11/04/1981.jpg)
Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL
Career: Currently I am a top personal trainer living in Los Angeles. I’ve been a fitness professional for 7 years and plan to earn my MA in mental health counseling in order to work with eating disorder patients within the next few years. I spent much of my life fighting my own eating disorders, and I now do a lot of work with that already as a trainer. Very excited to continue expanding my abilities!
If you could change into a superhero for a day who would you be and why? Well, he isn’t a “Superhero” traditionally, but my favorite hero has always been Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia. My mom read those books to me and my brother in our childhood, and we learned pretty fast that unwavering faith, honesty, and love will never let you fail in the end.
What made you begin dedicating your lifestyle to this sport? As a recovered anorexic/bulemic, I do this to prove to myself and to inspire as many people as I can that you CAN DO ANYTHING you set your mind to. There is nothing you can’t beat as long as you have faith and drive. My recovery took 9 years, and I almost lost m
y life, but I never gave up. And now, I’ proud of myself every day and grateful for every step I take!
What approach do you take to dieting...carb cycle..keto? When I’m not competing and trying to just maintain the body I feel happy in, I still eat very clean and healthy (avoid sugar, don’t overdo the carbs, make sure I get my protein in), but once a week give myself an indulgence just to keep my metabolism guessing (and remind myself that you can be imperfect sometimes and the world will NOT come crashing down). My biggest rule about dieting is to AVOID sugar. My body likes protein and loves good fats (almond butter addict!), but is somewhat carb sensitive, so I always try to keep those in check.
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about competing? THAT is easy. The world thinks we are all full of ourselves and celebrating our prettiness like a bunch of conceited muscleheads. Not the case!! Most of us do this to prove to ourselves we CAN survive the scrutiny and vulnerability of standing on a stage almost naked in front of thousands of people and being judged SOLELY on our appearance. The judges don’t care if you went to college, how far you can throw a baseball, how often you call your parents, if you can run a marathon, or how many times you’ve said a prayer for someone else lately. But holding water? YES! Flattened out? Big YES! And these all make sense, I mean, we have to learn our bodies so well that we turn our conditioning into a science 24 hours a day for several weeks at a time. It takes determination, discipline, a strong sense of self, and a whole lot of sacrifice to do this. The reward is being proud of yourself for all the work, no matter how you place.
What is your most embarrassing childhood memory? I’ve always been a very emotionally-controlled girl, so the one time I cried at school in 2nd grade (first day of school and I was the new kid!) pretty much still sits vividly in my memory, taunting me. For no reason! lol
What is the biggest lesson you have learned about YOURSELF during your contest prep? That I have to love and respect myself above anything else. When I started this, I realized that I was voluntarily putting myself through 2x as much scrutiny as I normally would. We all know we are our own biggest critics, so this really took that up a notch. So I did a big housecleaning - I decided to make zero room in my life for anyone with a question mark over their head as to if they had my absolute best interests at heart. And now my wonderful handful of people I keep close shines even brighter!
Who do you look up and admire and why? My mom. She showed me that I was special and loved as a difficult toddler, a stubborn child, a NIGHTMARE teenager, an anorexic young adult, and a naiive fool in my early 20’s. I think if someone can show you love and worth no matter how unloving and worthless you are trying to be, you’ll eventually see it yourself. I hope someday I’m able to be even half the mother she is.
Competition history:
I began competing with the NPC at the end of 2010, and in the summer of 2011 I joined Oddo’s Angels and started getting my 1st place trophies! I won the Los Angeles Championships and Miss Hollywood Fitness 2
011, 2nd Place at the Titans in October 2011, and 3rd in Sacramento at the end of the year. Very excited to start my 2012 pre-USA’s off with May’s competition!
Next competition:
California State Championships on May 26th. So excited!
Favorite Motivational Quote:
“Success is not a measure of where you are but a measure of what obstacles you overcome to get where you are.”
Who would you like to thank?
Kim Oddo of Oddo’s Angels, my parents, my amazing clients, and my friends. I am so blessed to have such a solid support system!
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