Progress

Using this as an updated 'before'... Looking forward to seeing it side by side with some 'during' pics! Also? Here it is 7pm and I'm left with 600 calories to eat. Going to try and make them healthful. Also... I can barely move after yesterday's WOD. Blarg. 

Ouch!

Day 1

Kinda went fantastic but I'm like 500 calories short... Erg. I was very conscious of eating healthy foods.. Guess I just didn't do enough of them. Maybe after the babes go to bed I'll indulge on an apple and almond butter. 

I have been in contact with the nutritionist, I'll probably call her 'M' from now on and love what she's put together for me! It's not totally paleo as she is allowing things like Greek yogurt, oatmeal and hummus... Huzzah! 

I am 30 shades of exhausted right meow but I think that has more to do with crazy day with the kids and less to do with the foods I ate. 

Feels good to have a start on this!! I know myself well enough to know that once I see results I'll be suuuuper into it; just gotta fight to keep myself committed in the meantime. Got. This! 

30!

I turn 30 tomorrow and in the spirit of ushering in a new decade of health I'll be starting a 30 day paleo challenge the following day. Super excited to see how it fits. I'm human. I like testing new ideas... Shit I've done weight watchers, juice cleanses... Maybe even some form of Atkins way back when. I'm not looking for a quick fix or a fad but I am looking for a bump start, a solution and a sustainable diet. I figure I'll put 30 days to it and see how I feel... I may go longer. When I gave up gluten I liked the changes so much that I never went back. 

Because this is my first go at paleo I'm planning on 80% and allowing myself an indulgence everyonceinawhile. I'll pick a cheat meal or snack or something once a week. I went I the grocery store today and stocked up on veggies and meat and nuts and nut butters. I got some staples that my family is used to and I know I'll be challenged by things like tortilla chips and Greek yogurt. Looking forward to it and will be working with a nutritionist that will help with meal planning and grocery lists. Yay! 

Obviously, tomorrow I will over indulge with things like a latte, pizza and cupcakes (gluten free of course). 

 Here I come 30 and I am going to own you. 

Spaghetti squash

1. Cut the ends off the squash and slice it lengthwise. Bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes cut side down. 

2. Scrape the "noodles" out with a fork. 

3. Serve with whatever spaghetti/meat sauce that floats your boats. 

4. Trick your kids into eating squash.  

Bonus points if you convince them that coconut water, chocolate whey and ice cubes blended is indeed a "frosty" for dessert. Boom!

Deadlifts and toes to bar

RX-ed it. 

I feel bad for my own hands right meow. 

Power

Last night's WOD was a good one! It started off with a 2000 meter row which took about 10 minutes and went right into a buy in of 50 double unders then 4 rounds of chest to bar pull up/25 wall balls and a cash out of 50 double unders. I had to pee before the cash out because babies destroyed my downtown. Anywhoo. Because of my potty break I was the last to finish which is no big deal in my book. The 6pm class was already there and ready to get started... I could feel eyes on me during the last round to c2bs and double unders which, of course helped me push harder. 

As I was leaving a little group of people said good job which is very typical of supportive crossfitters and I thanked them though short of breath. One bearded dude said, "your pull-ups are awesome!" And I said thanks and teased a bit that I only do a couple at a time because linking them is proving to be a tough skill to master. He replied, "you're so powerful... You just fly right up there!" I laughed and sarcastically wished them all luck with their WOD. 

As I drove home I let it sink in. What a compliment! "Powerful". There are a number of areas in my life I feel just the opposite but not in the box. There is where I feel and look powerful. I. Loved. It. That random dude made my night and probably doesn't even know it. Crossfitters are a wonderfully supportive little community. 

Also the other night at work I was wearing a racer back tank top and a gal I work with very randomly asked me I I could do pull-ups... I said yes and she was like, "I knew it!", touching my back muscles that apparently made her her think I could. 

I truly do thrive on verbal praise and things like these just make me so happy. The bottoms line is I'm (hopefully somewhat secretly... Ha!) vain as fuck, aren't we all? The mental and physical changes are keeping me motivated and the fact they are noticeable is just icing on the (beef) cake. Hehe. I also think I'm quite clever ; ) 

More exciting changes on the horizon. Keep moving in the right direction. 

BB/TT

Booty building, tummy taming.

Summer bodies

Are earned in the winter. 

This is a random picture I found while crusin' Pinterest so I stuck a strawberry on the chicks face : ) 

I love that she looks strong. Maybe more petite than my frame but only time will tell how my body changes through this process. This is my ideal shape and for now, my own goal as far as appearance. 

Ermergerhd!

 Right before Christmas my crossfit box changed hands... same location, new coaches, more equipment, more class times, bigger community. Some of these changes are fantastic but I'm a little resistant to change. The programming seems harder... not necessarily harder work but more sporadic... less focused; like their entire intent is to cram as much ass kicking stuff into the hour as possible. I'm a little concerned that while I am getting a killer workout my lifts are going to suffer and I love lifting.
 It's kind of amazing how directly linked my exercising is to my mental well being. Lately I have been struggling a bit with anxiety... I always kind of have but I've never given it much credit. I take a few deep breaths, tell myself to chill the fuck out and before I know it it has passed. I'm not surprised that I've been noticing these blips of anxiety more often lately... I've been having a harder time talking myself into going to the box.
Because I know I deserve to get through the day without those blips of panic and because I know how to control it this week I am setting some goals for myself.
*Drink a gallon of water everyday.
*Be active at least 5 days this week with a minimum of 3 of those being Crossfit.
I am looking forward to how these things affect my mood and will post a recap and new goals next Sunday.

Worth reading

Some articles hit home.. feels like I could have written it myself : )
The stock photos within the article seem a little contradictory but I doubt that has anything to with author.

http://breakingmuscle.com/crossfit/on-being-strong-how-crossfit-ended-my-war-with-my-body

Rrrrrrrrriiiiipppps

Growing up as a gymnast I used to get rips on my hands from the swinging around the bars.  Not something I've experienced in the last 20 years until the last couple months and they're back. Now the calluses get built up from all the weighted bar work and rip open or off when I'm doing pull-ups, knees to chest, toes to bar, ect. Not gonna lie.. There is a weird part of me that is pretty proud of being all burley. 

Tonight's WOD was brutal. It was set up to be shared between two people, a partner WOD but since there were only three of us in class he had us all do it individually. Logic would say that since the workout isn't shared that you would cut it in half but nope... Crossfit would say 'suck it up, Buttercup." And get started. 

I love these workouts. There really is something symbolic of chipping away at the impossible until it's done... Even if it's just 5 movements at a time. 

I did all the doubleunders... Linking 12-15 at a time and getting whipped in between. Total rowed was 2500 meters! And it was 40 stepups holding a weight overhead, 40 hand release push-ups, 30 weighted steps ups, 30 hrpus, 40 weighted stepups and another 40 hrpus... Ugh! The weight ended up on my head instead of extended over it by the end. 

We only (that should be read sarcastically) had to finish off with 75 knee to elbows and no planking. I'm pretty good at the body weight stuff thanks to the gymnastics background... But Jesus balls that was a tough workout!! 

Brought the Taters along; Spud was working. They did great. Thank goodness they are just old enough. I remember the painful days of trying to workout with a baby in a buzzy chair, getting interrupted to nurse, trying to jog with both of them in a stroller, blah, blah, blah. 

Since the Spud is working late I threw together an easy peasy 'dinner' that we all loved. 

Greek yogurt, carob chips, almonds and banana slices. Taters shared a little ricecake, too. Nom!!

Little victories

I let myself get a little discouraged the past few days... I was feeling puffy as fuck and craving nothing but junk food... How I didn't realize I get that way this time of every month is beyond me. Anywho. Today was pretty much the same... Telling myself to eat clean, eat enough, and track of errything on myfitnesspal. I think what I really need to to do is just take a deep breath, keep doing what I'm doing and have faith in my process. There are certainly dietary changes I plan to make but I doubt a hormonal state of panic is the place to start. I can however babystep (my preferred pace) in the right direction and up my water game. 

Needless to say, after feeling the frump I was in need of a little victory. I bought this coat at a thrift shop late last summer but it was a little too tight... The price was right and I knew I was on the shrink so I got it. Slipped 'er on today and it fit fine. Woohoo!! The pants, also thrifted have been a staple pair of work pants and the fit is changing like woah. They used to be tight in the waist (and I would wear spanx to smooth the muffin top; seriously. that was my jam not too long ago. Weird) Now the waist fits fine and the booty is a little tight 😊

I worked again tonight and noticed my steps just from 4pm to nearly 11pm were almost 16,000! Woot woot! 

Hopefully these little victories are enough to pull me from behind my cloud. If not I'll just hook it up with some Mydol. 

Short shift/short legs

I worked at the restaurant tonight and wore my heart rate monitor to track my steps. My shift started at 4 and I was hustling right away... It wasn't until 5 that I realized I hadn't flipped the pedometer on (damn! Probably a couple thousand steps in the hour). Anyway it is very nice to be reminded that even on a slow night and in a short section I came close to 10,000 steps in just over 3 hours. 

Friendly reminder...

... to myself!! 

Get your shit together, Self. 

Feeling good

A good run of workouts always has a way of making me feel great.... Healthy, confident and just generally awesome. A good thing to remember heading into a fresh week. I got three WODs this week and am aiming to do at least the same every week. 

Unicorn Slayers!!

I designed and ordered these at the beginning of December as a Christmas gift from my Dad (he's the best) and they finally arrived today! 6pm WOD to try em out and I seriously can't wait : )

As promised

A selfie and food pics. Woot woot! Ha. 

Cleaned it up for dinner tonight and tossed it in the crockpot early so it would be (mostly) ready when we got home from the box. Spud is pretty ravenous after a workout : ) 

This is one of my favorite recipes and the taters even like it for it's sweetness. Easy peasy, too! 

Chicken, curry powder, coconut milk, salt and pepper. I served this with steamed broccoli and white rice. 

This just in... Killer WOD... Vurped during and full on vom-town after... 20 minutes of burpees and cleans after a bunch of front and back squats and finished it off with 4 minutes of death by core..  

Taters did great!!

Gotta start somewhere

Here we go.
This is going to be a little place for me to post my trials and tribulations of my fitness journey... it is also a place that I'll share vain selfies and pictures of food without feeling like a total douche. Haha!
The last half of 2013 brought great change to my life. I found and fell in love with Crossfit. It has been wonderful. It's the hardest workout I've ever experienced but it is slowly and surely changing more than just my body. Most importantly it's been changing the way I view my body. I am strong and capable and I am loving pushing my limits and watching them move further.
I have started 2014 with a handful of very attainable goals, a good attitude and the understanding that for me slow and steady equals sustainable. Whenever I give myself hard limits and restrictions I immediately want to rebel. "No refined sugar = eat everything in pantry with refined sugar in it."
I'm also taking it easy on myself in the expectation department.... at least regarding this blog. For now it is at the bottom of the totem pole far beneath family, health, budget, work, blah, blah, blah.
I may post a lot or barely at all so I guess I'll just see when the mood strikes : )
In an effort for accountability I mentally listed the things I've ingested so far today and there is plenty of room for improvement!! 2 or 3 cups of coffee with CoffeeMate, 3 tiny gluten free pancakes with carob chips, greek yogurt, a handful of conversation hearts and some tortilla chips... hmmm. I can totally do better.

This picture marks about 8 months of change... I am so excited to stay on track and fight for more progress today, tomorrow and the rest of the year. 

6pm WOD at the new gym with the Husband and the girls. A friend from highschool/college and her fiance are also planning on coming tonight so that should be awesome to see her. Here's hoping the girl's are on their best behavior since it will be their first time with the new coaches.