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Melanie ॐ

@melbelle1207

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Live your life in ahimsa 𓆃
Athlete/Trainer of The Blinnergy Method @itsbrandonblinn
🧘‍♀️-200 RYT
✨Certified Sound Alkemist

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Recently, I’ve been diving deeper into my own emotional capacity and I’ve realized just how much love and space I’m capable of holding for other people.

And something I think we could all benefit from asking ourselves is:

Where are we pouring our energy, and is there room for it to grow?

I’ve been having some deep, meaningful conversations lately, some with people close to me, some with people who are simply acquaintances and it’s made me think about how we all develop different capacities for connection.

Different ways of communicating, loving, showing up, giving space, receiving it, and navigating the messy parts of being human.

I can understand people deeply.
I can see their soul and bring it out of them.
I can make room for their fears, their flaws, their past, their emotions.

I can be patient.
I can forgive.
I can see the parts of someone that maybe they don’t even know how to hold themselves.

But I’ve also realized something:

I want reciprocity.

I’ve found myself meeting people at a depth they simply couldn’t meet me at.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But just because I can hold that much space for someone doesn’t mean I should have to hold the relationship alone.

I’m learning that there’s a difference between loving someone for where they are and continuously abandoning where I am to meet them there.

I want depth that meets depth.
Effort that meets effort.
Consideration that goes both ways.
Space where both people get to be fully human.

I don’t want relationships where I’m always the one understanding, making space, extending grace, or asking myself to need less.

Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is stop pouring from an empty place and allow the other person to decide whether they’re willing to reach for the water, to meet you.

Not everyone you love will be able to meet you where you are.

That doesn’t make them bad.
It also doesn’t make you too much.

My hope is that you continue to have awareness of where your energy flows.

I’m not shrinking my capacity for love, and I don’t think you should either 🖤

I’m just becoming more intentional about where I place it. ✨ by @melbelle1207

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to show up authentically when I don’t really fit into one version of myself anymore.

I got this tattoo when I was 25, “because I fought to become her”.

And I think I understand it differently now.

I’ve fought for myself in a lot of different ways. Bodybuilding has been a huge part of that, and I’m proud of it. But it’s not my whole life, and I don’t want it to become a label that defines me.

I think people can see the different seasons of my life and think they’re so separate. Like I’m either completely dedicated to something or I’m doing the opposite. But my life doesn’t really feel black and white to me.

It’s seasonal.

I can give everything I have to something and then need to step away from it. I can spend months being incredibly disciplined and then want to travel, meet people, make friendships, eat good food and experience life. I can come back to yoga, to stillness, to mindfulness. I can learn something from one season and carry it into the next.

None of it means I’ve lost myself.

If anything, I think I’m getting closer to myself.

Traveling has reminded me of that. Not because I’ve suddenly figured myself out, but because being somewhere new and around people who know nothing about the version of me I’ve created makes me feel really free to just be.

And it’s reminded me of something I’ve always felt through yoga too. That feeling of being connected. To myself, to other people, to everything around me. That feeling that maybe we’re all a lot more connected than we realize. Maybe we really are all just one.

I don’t want to label every version of myself. Actually, I’ve realized that I loathe labels. We live in a world where we label everything.

I don’t want to have to explain why I’m different in one season than I was in another.

I just want to let myself experience all of it.

And maybe that’s what becoming who I fought for actually means.

Not holding onto one version of me, just honoring her enough to let her keep growing, changing, experiencing, and living. by @melbelle1207

Seafair 💙❤️🤍 by @melbelle1207

One of the most common questions I got during prep was:

“What’s the first thing you’re eating after you step off stage?”

Honestly? I hated the question. I wasn’t doing this as a restriction just to reward myself after.

The first post show meal can set the tone for your entire reverse.

The biggest mistake I see is people romanticizing it for weeks. The food noise gets loud, they build this “I’m finally free” fantasy, and then one meal turns into a weekend…or a week.

The reality is your body is still depleted. It isn’t ready for huge amounts of food, sodium, sugar, or volume all at once. That’s where the “I gained 10 pounds overnight” stories usually come from.

My biggest advice?

Have a plan before show day.

Pick one meal. One dessert. That’s it.

Better yet, decide ahead of time. Pack it if you need to. Don’t leave the decision up to emotions after stepping off stage.

And if you have a coach, lean on them. This is one of the hardest parts of prep because your brain wants to do the exact opposite of what got you to the stage. Brandon made sure I knew my plan going forward, before show day even happened.

Some competitors do well with a day or two of intuitive eating before getting back to structure, but the goal is still awareness. I dieted for 24 weeks, so I gave myself 4 days. On day 3 your girl was readdddddyyy for her meals again!

Most people don’t derail because of one meal. They derail because weeks of restriction turn into zero structure and a complete loss of control.

Stay disciplined after the stage the same way you were disciplined getting there. You owe it to all the hard work you already put in!

The show isn’t the finish line. The reverse is part of the prep too. 🤍

#bikiniprep #bikinicompetitionprep #bodybuilding by @melbelle1207

One thing people don’t always talk about is how small your world can become at the end of prep.

When calories get really low, you only have enough energy for hitting your steps, training hard, working, and making it through the day (I definitely lacked brain cells in the end). The hobbies, adventures, and little spontaneous things can often get put on pause because your body doesn’t have anything left to give, for me that was my asana, or yoga practice.

Now that I’m in my reverse, I’m choosing to shift my focus. Instead of letting the hunger and food consume my thoughts, I’m filling my time with the things I missed most. More walks just because. More time outside. More connection. More Yoga.

Prep makes you disciplined, which you carry into your reverse. But with that, comes the relearning of balance 💛🤍.
#bikiniprep #bikinicompetitionprep #bodybuilding #yoga by @melbelle1207

For me I’ve realized that one of the hardest parts about prep ending aside from food noise, is learning how to exist after a goal that’s consumed my life for months.

Every day these last 24 weeks had a clear purpose. Every workout, every meal, every choice was leading me toward the goal of stepping on stage.

I’m proud. I’m grateful. I’m emotional. And I’m also extremely anxious.

Not because I miss prep, but because I feel like I’m standing in an unknown space between one chapter ending and the next one beginning.

Now that stage is behind me, I’m giving myself permission to be exactly where I am. I am so proud of what I’ve accomplished, and I am open to what’s next. Hopefully helping other women along the way.

I also trust that my purpose didn’t end when I stepped off stage 🤍🖤 #bikiniprep #bodybuilding #bikinicompetitionprep #mentalhealth by @melbelle1207

I spent so much of my life afraid of food. Caught in the cycle of restriction and bingeing, believing that being smaller would somehow make me more worthy. I was constantly at war with my body.

What surprised me most is that this sport didn’t make that relationship worse.

It helped me heal it.

Bodybuilding taught me that food is fuel. That eating more isn’t something to fear. That strength is beautiful. That my body deserves to be nourished, respected, and cared for.

As I step into my reverse diet, I want to share this next chapter openly.

Not because I have it all figured out.

Not because I won’t have fears, clearly I do 🤣

But because I know there are women watching who are afraid that lifting weights, eating more, or pursuing bodybuilding will damage their relationship with food.

And I want you to know that it doesn’t have to. ❤️‍🔥 #bikiniprep #npc #npcbikini #npcbikinicompetitor by @melbelle1207

I’ve spent hours posing, whether it be 5 am or 9 pm, hungry, happy, tired, lazy, I make time to do it. It’s like training and cardio, you can’t skip it no matter what head space you’re in. But there are few things that get me through each session. Kim’s coaching cues louder than the music in my head, always having gum in my mouth and getting made fun of by Brandon. I love this sport, I love the challenge, and has it been one let me tell you, but posing, man that shit makes me confident as fuck and I’m so thankful for it. 17 days out ❤️‍🔥 #bikiniprep #bikinicompetitionprep #bodybuilding by @melbelle1207

Proud to be your coach

@melbelle1207 didn’t waste any time getting to work and following everything I programmed after I told her she should compete. From the food to the workouts, nothing was missed or avoided. She did it all. EVERY SINGLE PART OF THE PLAN. What’s wild is we did this in under 6 months with no off season 🤣

Being able to coach someone with your level of consistency, dedication, and persistence makes me proud and honored. I’m very grateful to have been chosen by you to be your coach and I’m excited to be part of your journey toward that pro card. You deserve every bit of success coming your way. Let’s get ready for this next show 👏🏻😈🙌🏻💜

#npcbikinicompetitor #athlete #hypermobility #hypermobile #npc by @melbelle1207

246..ate 💁🏻‍♀️💅 #emeraldcup by @melbelle1207

Know what your worth, but be sure to earn that worth 💰 by @melbelle1207

4 weeks out!

Second photo was 6 months ago at the start of my reverse diet and stepping into this prep.

Same calories, but a completely different look.
Down 10 lbs and 3% body fat.

Now it’s a very intentional grind from here 🖤 by @melbelle1207