Erin Stern finished in the runner-up position on Saturday night at the IFBB Houston Pro and here is an inside look from her. Erin continues to improve her placings with each show. She has a great deal of momentum going into next month’s Olympia and has positioned herself as a legitimate threat to the top 5.

AUGUST 29, 2009 – EVENING
The few hours between prejudging and finals are always interesting. There’s lunch, where I wonder if I should have a diet coke and something that will “stick to my ribs,” like a sandwich… or if I should go easy on the salt and carbonation, knowing that if it sticks to my ribs it’ll make my tummy stick out! We end up at H-E-B (surprise?), and have some sushi and an energy drink. We then proceed to roam around the store and take some random “action shots” in the aisles. After about 15 minutes, the energy drink seems to have worn off and we head out to drive around town, then go back to the hotel.

The night shows starts at 7pm and we were told that they would start the show with NPC figure. My sister and I arrived at around 6:20, and once backstage, I was told that we were the first to go on stage!! There were about 12 of us backstage, and we were frantically putting on suits, lipstick, oil.. etc. Girls started to file inmand were told the schedule. One of the girls found out on the way to the venue and put her suit on in the car! At about 5 minutes ’til 7pm, it became apparent that not all of us were present, so they changed the schedule… phew!!!

The atmosphere for the night show is more relaxed, we all stand in line and wait for our turn to walk out on stage. I am still a little nervous! I go through the poses in my head, and before I know it, I’ve gone through them and am standing on the side in the line up.  We go through the call outs, which were similar to the morning’s. Schedules during shows are always hard to figure out.. I rush back to the dressing room to change into my two piece. I’m hungry again and reach for my cooler which is filled with rice cakes, boiled chicken and asparagus…yuck. The asparagus juice had escaped from the back and it stinks. My chicken smells like asparagus and my water bottle does too. So much for “yellow and blue makes green” seals!!! I had an energy shot in my bag and drink about half. I am feeling pretty good. Some of the girls have cameras and we take some pictures and goof off.

It’s time for the two piece and awards!! I feel nauseous. I think it was a combo of energy drink and asparagus stink. I’m about 30 seconds from stepping on stage and feel like I might pass out.  I’m next to go, and the feeling passes…phew (again). We go through call outs, and then they announce top five. I’m toward the end numerically and am so excited to get that last call to join the other four girls!!!  5th… 4th… 3rd.. and then it’s Heather and me. We hold hands and wait. It seems like forever!!! They announce my name for second place! Congrats, Heather!!  We all line up and and take pictures. Wow, what a show!! As we head backstage and start to pack up and change…I have one thought on my mind: pancakes. Ok, more than one thought: in just a few hours, I spent time with girls who I know I’ll be friends with for a long time, and got to hang out with girls that I don’t get to see, except for at the shows. It’s neat that we all pull for each other while shooting for the top, and when saying our goodbyes we all promise to keep in touch… and we will   Good night.

Thanks Erin for the inside look of what it’s like to be a competitor in the IFBB and some of the things that take place. Most people never see or hear this side of the competition.

Erin Stern was one of the favorites heading into today’s Houston Pro Figure show and she showed why. Erin is in the running for the crown, which will be awarded in a few hours. The contender checked in with the latest happenings from Houston.

SATURDAY – AUGUST 29, 2009 – SHOW DAY
I’m writing you from my verizon wireless internet 2.0. Apparently the internet is not going to be available until later tonight at the hotel.

I had a crazy morning – woke up at 6:15 am and started “putting my face on” right away…well, after oatmeal. Murphy’s Law was present, as it took me 20 minutes to get one of my falsie eyelashes on. In my depleted state, sometimes ordinary setbacks make me panic! I’m not sure if other girls feel the same but it’s frustrating! After conquering my lashes, the next minor mishap was my “tan face foundation.” It was splotching and wouldnt go on evenly. I finally got it right, four tries later and it was time to leave for the show. I hadn’t even started on my hair.

I woke up feeling like I could have carbed up more and started to second guess things. My sister is so great – she told me that I looked great and ready to compete. She put my mind back in the right place! We got into our 4 cylinder chariot of fire and drove the 6 miles to the venue.

Once there, I started to get nervous. I get that pre-track meet feeling and my stomach hurts! I should eat my second meal but only manage to eat a couple of rice cakes. It’s really great to see the girls, and you can see the levels of nervousness among us based on the amount of shows each of us have done. The girls who have done quite a few shows are methodical and pleasant. We have a few rookies, they’re wide-eyed and excited and the mix of the two is awesome – the show has a great energy! Even though this is my fourth Pro show, I definitely feel like a rookie still We take turns getting oiled, glued and start pumping up!

Erin will take the stage tonight and find out where she placed. Most at the show have her winning but it won’t come easy as it was a competitive line-up.  Check back to see how Erin did and what adventures she embarked on in Texas.

IFBB Figure Pro, Erin Stern checks in again to let us know the latest. Erin is on the eve of taking the stage at the Houston Pro Figure contest. She’s looking for her first pro win… Can she do it?

AUGUST 28, 2009 – DAY TWO
The day is going well here – my sister and I are watching episode after episode of “Cash Cab,” and adding to the amount of useless trivial knowledge that already clouds our minds.   This morning, between ProTan coats, we ventured out to see what downtown has to offer. We had a very (un)useful paper map from Avis.  Some of the things we discovered:

• Houston loves flashing red lights. I haven’t figured out why, but quite a few times in the last 24 hours the traffic lights have gone from functioning to flashing red. This creates a ginormous four way stop.  We’re underpowered in our Chevy Cobalt and almost got run over a few times.

•  Also, while we never got technically “lost,” I was driving about 40 mph through the city. The speed limit is 30… no one goes anywhere near the speed limit.

• H.E.B. grocery stores may be the best store I’ve ever been in. A dieter can spend hours in here… and we did. It’s like a Whole Foods/Kroger/Walgreens combo! They even have calorie-free peanut butter spread.  Who knew?

• There are tram crossings everywhere and we witnessed a Suzuki get samurai-chopped by the crossing arm.

I feel much better today, as I’ve had some carbs! My energy levels are good, and with the tan going on, I am feeling ready.  I think at this point in the game, all fine-tuning will be in my head – just making sure I’m in a good frame of mind   As for my food, I seared a fresh bison steak on my George Foreman grill.. and this is the first time I’ve ever used one. The thing went supernova, and charred the outside, leaving it very, very rare on the inside.  I don’t know if it’s supposed to work that way and I just threw some Ms. Dash on it and ate it anyway! Other than that, I’m getting ready to boil more chicken for later and am loving the fresh veggies that Houston stores offer!! I never thought I’d miss oatmeal but it tasted soo good this morning!

Talk to you soon!
Erin

Ah what a trooper. Even when she’s dieting she is still hilarious. Look for more updates from this figure rockstar through out the weekend.

Erin Stern is one of the favorites heading into tomorrow’s IFBB Houston Pro Figure event. She’ll be sharing a few of her Houston Happenings with ‘yall throughout the weekend.

Erin and her sister aka “Dewy” arrived in Houston last night and that’s where the happenings begin…

AUGUST 27, 2009 – DAY ONE
Dewy and I just got back from Whole Foods Market. I’m not sure why, but I love going to that store when I’m dieting. We spent over an hour in there, just looking at all of the different types of food. We’re going to grill up a bison steak and have some salad. Today was a lot of traveling, and while I’ve been doing the low-carb, I cut out sodium this morning. I guess between my sister and me, we have one fully functional brain

The trip wasn’t too bad until we arrived in Houston, we set out per Mapquest directions and overshot the exit by 30 miles. I saw a sign for “Kroger,” thinking we could just grab a quick salad and some water there, but it was Kroger Center, a mall with no food. We ended up going to Walgreens and getting water. I got some strange looks in the parking lot as I gnawed on a still-frozen chicken breast from my cooler.

I’m so tired right now! I feel a little flat, but I know it’s because of the carb depletion. Tomorrow morning I’ll have some oatmeal and will get some energy back, and start to fill out my muscles! Otherwise, I feel ready! I’ve been practicing opening my back more and looking more comfortable on stage. I’m also not going to flex as hard for this show… so, we’ll see how it goes!!

Tomorrow night we have our check-in meeting and tomorrow morning I’ll start the tanning process: ProTan mixed with Dyoderm, then a few coats of Jan Tana over it.

Erin

Check back as Erin reports in. Despite being carb depleted and low on energy, you can see she’s one witty character.