I sought Ebony out to speak to her because I have known her from my time in Alaska as a child. Its always a blessing to be able to keep in touch with certain folks from our past. Ebony is truly an inspiration.
Ebony is active duty Air Force and has been in for almost a decade. She is a mother and a wife and God is extremely important to her. Being spiritually connected and having god as her foundation has helped her work on insecurities and darker places. Although we all struggle with having spirituality at the center of our lives, Ebony finds a way to continue to center herself. She uses whatever platform she can to be with herself even if it means going on a hike or listening to a podcast. Hearing her perspective on keeping herself grounded through living a hectic lifestyle was so inspiring. I had been following her on IG for quite a while and I saw her stories and how she was committed to fitness. I would find myself being inspired by her day to day workouts and “gym talks” even with her kiddo in the background and I was all the way for this. One day I saw her in a bikini!….at a competition and I just had to sit down with her to talk all about it.
Ebony and her husband are physically separated so balancing being a single but not single mother has presented her with the struggles.
How was it balancing motherhood and competing?
Thankfully I had amazing in-laws so I think that if he hadn’t have been with them I wouldn’t have been able to start and get focused. He came back and I already had a routine and was able to incorporate him into those work outs. I had to make sure he was good. He is an amazing little spirit and is extremely supportive. You get the child that is specifically made for you…and he was specifically made for us.
What drove you to compete?
So what had happened was…I moved to Cheyenne Wyoming from Great Falls Montana and there was a 3,000 ft elevation difference. So, its like living on top of a Mountain. Once I moved here, I started working out more. I am a mostly healthy eater but I changed my diet and I noticed weight coming off. My cousin asked me what are you doing with this? I said “I don’t know…be hot”
First Ebony considered doing a marathon and then after speaking with a couple of friends the idea of competing came into the light as a possibility. Ebony explained to me that she believes in the “power of threes”.
It’s not a coincidence that two people, back to back, have asked me similar questions about my goals, so I said I am going to do this competition because I feel like I am gonna get asked a third time. I started last year living by a word “intentional” I needed to be intentional with everything I did. Even it was being lazy and taking time for myself and my son….it wasn’t accidental. The competition was a way to be intentional about my diet, my weight, my weight training and my upcoming PFA. (military physical fitness test) It ended up being the best PFA in my ten years in the Air Force.
She talked about how she was afraid and broke the mental barriers that she had.
What was your diet like before you decided to compete vs. prepping for competition?
I had went pescatarian with chicken sometimes. I didn’t do beef or pork because it is connected to colon cancer and I am genetically pre-disposed for it. I wasn’t completely healthy…I had my good and my bad. Competition time started and I had 16 weeks. I was cutting back eating healthy, watching my macros and then I realized eating by myself was hard.
Ebony found a diet plan online that was 3 phases over 14 weeks. She tried to stay away from cheat days even though they creeped in. Pummelo and berries were her go-tos. And a Mardi Gras Banana Moon Pie got her as well although it caught up with her in the long run and she had to eat some healthy food to balance it all out.
How was competition day?!
That was nerve racking. Everything started the day before. I had to check in, got my first coat of tan. The next morning I was up at 530 to get my second coat of tan and my makeup done.
Ebony explained how there was a lot of “how to” meetings. She likes to get dolled up but not that much and so she just had to trust the process and go along with it. Of course she looked stunning.
There were amazing girls that were there. Everyone was really friendly which is unique when everyone is competing against each other. It was a good balance. I did two divisions, I did bikini and model. I got some pictures back and I stood greater than shoulder with a couple of times. Each level is strict. Model is not as strict. For both They are looking for your personality, your commercial appeal, your shapeliness, your athletic look. Then they look at body fat, your symmetry, definition. You are in heals the whole time.
It appeared that although there is reward with competing it is definitely tough for women. Ebony even discussed how the smallest thing can change everything. She had to watch her sodium intake and food intake because the smallest thing can make the biggest change on stage. She said that although women look strongest on stage that its possible that they can be at their weakest. It definitely takes a toll.
What are the pros and cons?
The pros is you committing to something and seeing it through. You do have bad days and insecurities surface, but you have to work on all of you. You want to eat those things, you have triggers. A pro that I didn’t intend on being helpful that really helped me out a lot was people being motivated by me. When I would have those bad days, someone would message me and say “hey you’re motivating me”. For me, it was developing a tribe and building a network of people I didn’t even realize I was touching. I’m good at quitting so going to social media and posting about it was good for me because I needed accountability. I was just telling ya’ll so ya’ll could make sure I didn’t fall!
What does being healthy mean to you?
Being healthy to me is being able to keep up with my son. Being able to interact with him and play with him. It’s for him to see my lifestyle and get excited and to be the best person for him. He loves going to the gym and he would even hold me accountable! He said “mommy, your stomach is getting small”. Being healthy is being strong in his eyes.
What is your advice to women that want to compete?
Develop a circle. Find people that will hold you accountable because it is taxing. You need that accountability. You will be fine as long as you have that net.
What is next for you?
I am going to get back on my diet and compete again. There is another show in October, I am going to stay healthy, stay in the gym, and just stay summer body all year round.
Ebony won 3rd in her first competition for Miss Bikini for Fitness Universe Colorado . She had fun with it in a Wakanda themed costumed! She explained how she wanted to win and we are going to speak it into existence!
I wanted to be un-apologetically black and to me a Wakanda warrior is strong, so that’s what I went for. I made the outfit and did all the sowing and stitching. I love being creative, and it happened to land the weekend Avengers Endgame came out too so that was fun.
Everyone loved the look….so did I. Follow Ebony on IG and be inspired. I thoroughly enjoyed our GIRL Date and her incredible spirit.
