Entering a Bikini Competition and my New Goals

As some of my close friends already know, I have made the decision to enter into a National Physique Committee, or NPC, bikini competition.  I will be trading in the small heel on Reebok Lifters for clear 4.5 inch heels.  Being tall at 5’9″ I RARELY wear heels, so this will be interesting!  I want to share my reasons for entering and new goals I have set for myself for this decision. 
I am a competitive person at nature, so this is a new and exciting competition for me.  I have been very experimental with my diet lately with great results–and I want to put this to the test.   That being said, I am going against all other former and current bikini models’ advice and doing this SANS coach.
I want to be my own coach– I will admit, I have a couple great friends who have competed that are giving me good advice– but I am following my own nutrition and workout programming.  I want to keep this process and journey as stress free as possible.

I will not be making many changes to my workouts– I will continue to attend crossfit workouts regularly. In fact, one of my goals is to continue to compete in crossfit during prep, at least up until the last week or so.  I will just have to make a conscious effort to avoid scrapping my shins with the barbell or adding ugly bruises to my clavicles!

I will not let it take over my life or social life. I can still go out to dinner with my boyfriend or out for lunch with my friends — I will just be smart about my choices.  I will only drink water or soda water and make macro-friendly requests with leans meats with vegetables. It will not always be easy, but I will not be one to sit at home alone miserable munching on celery!

The only thing I am going to be totally restricting is alcohol. I will not restrict much from my diet– it is how I am dieting now, and I would say it’s working!  Closer to the show I will cut down on certain things such as sugars and dairy, but never restrict.

With my work schedule already out, I will not be able to compete until late August or early September– I have a couple shows in mind, but I have not officially signed up for any–weighing out the costs of each, but as of right now, beginning of September is my tentative “Peak week.”

I’m very nervous, but excited all at once. Yeah sure, I may have better luck if I followed a structured plan with a qualified coach with years of experience, but I wouldn’t enjoy the process as much– and what is the point if you’re not enjoying life?!

I hope that you will follow my progress through this new journey!  If you have any experience in competition, what are your thoughts or advice ?