I almost forgot the ass kicking that was this weekend and my achievement! The workout on Saturday was 5 rounds: 400m run, 15 overhead squats (arms locked out overhead with 65 lbs on the bar) and 15 kettlebell swing. Normally I use the 32ish pound kettlebell because that is what is prescribed for women. However, coach Rich made Janessa and I use the 54 pound bell, the one Matt uses! I was pretty proud that 1: I didn't puke and 2: I used that bad boy for the whole workout!
This is a last ditch effort to get ready for sectionals, but I am being real and know that this year is not MY year for sectionals. Will I try all of the workouts and give them my all? yes! Do I expect to place very high? No. I do expect to do decent in the Oregon Games this summer though and next year, well watch out 2012 because I have my eye on you!!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Day 30 - Yikes!
Holy crap, I'm already halfway through my challenge! I'll provide an update on the weight loss progress tomorrow, my morning routine was all messed up today! Fingers crossed that I can report that I'm at least close to being halfway there. Life just seems to get in the way. However, today was the first morning where I weighed myself and wasn't up 3-4lbs from the weekend!
I am super excited because today is my first laser hair removal appointment, which is why I worked out at 5:30am this morning! I'm also excited because I got a PR in my deadlift this morning. I am NOT good at mental math, especially at 5:30 in the morning. So as we're working on our 1 rep max I put what I thought was 235 on my bar. Lifted it but it seemed heavy (my old max was 245). I then added enough plates to reach 250 (or so I thought) which would be a PR. I tried my hardest to lift that damn bar, but it wouldn't budge! That's when coach Rich comes over and tells me I've added everything all wrong. What I thought was 235 was actually 245 and what I thought was 250 was actually 265. So once I got it all figured it I lifted 250, which is a 5 lb PR! I am really excited about that!
In two weeks we will be redoing the crossfit total, which is your 1 rep max in deadlift, squat and press. Since we started I've added 15lbs to my crossfit total, but I'd like to see that go up over the next two weeks. So, that means I will be working out 2xday, 2-3 a week, yikes!! Nutrition is going to be key as I try to push myself. I know the scale is going to show my hard work PLUS it's exciting to see how much strength I've gained since I started Crossfit!
Now for some odds and ends. First, I changed my hair and I love it! It will take a bit of upkeep to maintain the color, but its super fun and got good reactions at work....just not immediately from the hubbs!
Second, I went to Harvey's Comedy Club on Saturday with a few girlfriends and had a blast! It was a fundraiser for Chief Painter's family and Officer Dodds. A great cause and tons of laughs! I want to go back soon, so much fun! PPD SGT Willi Halliburton put on the fundraiser, such a funny guy!
Third, I am currently reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I love it. I'm not sure what I love more, the book or the fact that I have made time in my day to read, for pleasure, just because I want to read!
I am super excited because today is my first laser hair removal appointment, which is why I worked out at 5:30am this morning! I'm also excited because I got a PR in my deadlift this morning. I am NOT good at mental math, especially at 5:30 in the morning. So as we're working on our 1 rep max I put what I thought was 235 on my bar. Lifted it but it seemed heavy (my old max was 245). I then added enough plates to reach 250 (or so I thought) which would be a PR. I tried my hardest to lift that damn bar, but it wouldn't budge! That's when coach Rich comes over and tells me I've added everything all wrong. What I thought was 235 was actually 245 and what I thought was 250 was actually 265. So once I got it all figured it I lifted 250, which is a 5 lb PR! I am really excited about that!
In two weeks we will be redoing the crossfit total, which is your 1 rep max in deadlift, squat and press. Since we started I've added 15lbs to my crossfit total, but I'd like to see that go up over the next two weeks. So, that means I will be working out 2xday, 2-3 a week, yikes!! Nutrition is going to be key as I try to push myself. I know the scale is going to show my hard work PLUS it's exciting to see how much strength I've gained since I started Crossfit!
Now for some odds and ends. First, I changed my hair and I love it! It will take a bit of upkeep to maintain the color, but its super fun and got good reactions at work....just not immediately from the hubbs!
Second, I went to Harvey's Comedy Club on Saturday with a few girlfriends and had a blast! It was a fundraiser for Chief Painter's family and Officer Dodds. A great cause and tons of laughs! I want to go back soon, so much fun! PPD SGT Willi Halliburton put on the fundraiser, such a funny guy!
Third, I am currently reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I love it. I'm not sure what I love more, the book or the fact that I have made time in my day to read, for pleasure, just because I want to read!
Forth, the hubbs is now solo at Salem! I am so proud of him for making it through FTEP so quickly! Not that I ever doubted him, I mean come on, have you seen his awards shelf?! Lets just put it this way, I DO NOT have an awards shelf and he has one that is completely full and needs a second just to house all of his awards. No, I don't have a complex about it....well maybe there is a little bit of jealousy there!
That's all for now, have a happy and healthy Monday!
Day 27 - Stuck
Okay so I realize that although I love my routine and having everything planned, it's probably not ideal to eat the same things every single day. I'm stuck right now so I need to make myself add a few new items to the menu in an attempt to continue losing at a reasonable rate.
Woo Hoo's and Boo's of the week in summary:
Woo Hoo - Although I might be stuck, I am feeling strong and thinner than before. I am down a total of 5.8 lbs, so yay!
Woo Hoo - It's Friday!
Boo - I've been super stressed this week and am having a difficult time being disciplined at work and staying organized
Boo - My house is a mess which means I need to do some serious cleaning this weekend!
Woo Hoo - I am going to go to my first comedy show this weekend. Even better, it is a fundraiser for Officer Dodds and Chief Painter's family
Boo - I can't add pictures to my blog when I'm at work! Although I guess I am at work, so thats what I get. I should probably be working instead!
Woo Hoo - I bought a laser hair removal groupon awhile ago and have my first session on Monday!
Woo Hoo - I have a totally new hair color, with lots of red it in (picture to come once I get home tonight)
Woo Hoo - I've said no to chocolate cake, cheesecake, doughnuts, fried greesy sandwiches, candy, an entire tray of assorted pastries and an entire tray of desserts....all this week, all at work! Yay me!
Boo - The hubbs is working this weekend (however hopefully he'll get a new shift next week and fingers crossed we have a shared day off!)
Woo Hoo - I ran the dogs last night and plan on running them today as well!
Woo Hoo's and Boo's of the week in summary:
Woo Hoo - Although I might be stuck, I am feeling strong and thinner than before. I am down a total of 5.8 lbs, so yay!
Woo Hoo - It's Friday!
Boo - I've been super stressed this week and am having a difficult time being disciplined at work and staying organized
Boo - My house is a mess which means I need to do some serious cleaning this weekend!
Woo Hoo - I am going to go to my first comedy show this weekend. Even better, it is a fundraiser for Officer Dodds and Chief Painter's family
Boo - I can't add pictures to my blog when I'm at work! Although I guess I am at work, so thats what I get. I should probably be working instead!
Woo Hoo - I bought a laser hair removal groupon awhile ago and have my first session on Monday!
Woo Hoo - I have a totally new hair color, with lots of red it in (picture to come once I get home tonight)
Woo Hoo - I've said no to chocolate cake, cheesecake, doughnuts, fried greesy sandwiches, candy, an entire tray of assorted pastries and an entire tray of desserts....all this week, all at work! Yay me!
Boo - The hubbs is working this weekend (however hopefully he'll get a new shift next week and fingers crossed we have a shared day off!)
Woo Hoo - I ran the dogs last night and plan on running them today as well!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Day 25 - Back to the daily grind
You will probably find this weird, or at least a few people will. I LOVE my daily routine. I seriously do! The ability to plan out my day and stick to my plan makes me so happy! As long as I can have my day planned out by the time I go to bed the night before, I am a happy girl! I don't do so well with the inability to plan things out, not at all! I eat the same things every day, at pretty much the same time. I do the exact same things each morning, in the exact same order (for the most part) and it makes me happy. My workday isn't always 100% predictable, but my neatly color coordinated to-do list and heavily jotted in notebook helps me prioritize and make it through my day. My Outlook calendar is up to date and each day I generally know what to expect assuming my clients don't get crazy on me!
I don't count my weekends in my planning freakishness as I do enjoy and need time that is open to whatever life throws at me. My house may not be super clean and organized but that's okay because I didn't say I was an organization freak or a clean freak, I am a planning freak. When I have control over my daily plan I feel less stressed, make WAY better eating decisions, have better workouts and generally feel a sense of accomplishment that I stuck to my planned day. Making my lunch and snacks is planned in to my day, going to the gym is planned in to my day. When I have something planned that will throw off my normal routine I find pleasure and joy in the fact that I can plan around it! I'll switch my gym time, get up earlier if needed etc to ensure that I can maintain a planned day and stick to my routine.
The hubbs suffers a bit because of this right now since his schedule is ever changing. If he is up in the morning when I'm used to having the house to myself, I get a little cranky. He was working graveyard for several weeks which allowed me to make small meals for myself in the evening and end each night with a nice hot bath and ample reading time. Last night he was home but I really wanted to stick to my routine. He went and picked up his own dinner and I stuck to my plan!
HOWEVER my planning pays off, I am back to losing weight and feeling great! I'm down a total of 5.6 lbs today, woo hoo! I'm getting my hair done tonight from my soon to be sister in law so I packed extra snacks and changed my workout days so today is my off day instead of Thursday. Now I have to be honest, last night I was set on getting up early this morning and going to the gym at 5:30am, HOWEVER since I always take one day off during the week I just switched my day off.
Wow, I just sounded CRAZY! Haha, just a little truth to throw at you this morning!
Also, sorry for the pictureless posts, when I blog at work (yes I blog at work) I get a server error when I try to upload pictures!
Have a happy and healthy Wednesday!
I don't count my weekends in my planning freakishness as I do enjoy and need time that is open to whatever life throws at me. My house may not be super clean and organized but that's okay because I didn't say I was an organization freak or a clean freak, I am a planning freak. When I have control over my daily plan I feel less stressed, make WAY better eating decisions, have better workouts and generally feel a sense of accomplishment that I stuck to my planned day. Making my lunch and snacks is planned in to my day, going to the gym is planned in to my day. When I have something planned that will throw off my normal routine I find pleasure and joy in the fact that I can plan around it! I'll switch my gym time, get up earlier if needed etc to ensure that I can maintain a planned day and stick to my routine.
The hubbs suffers a bit because of this right now since his schedule is ever changing. If he is up in the morning when I'm used to having the house to myself, I get a little cranky. He was working graveyard for several weeks which allowed me to make small meals for myself in the evening and end each night with a nice hot bath and ample reading time. Last night he was home but I really wanted to stick to my routine. He went and picked up his own dinner and I stuck to my plan!
HOWEVER my planning pays off, I am back to losing weight and feeling great! I'm down a total of 5.6 lbs today, woo hoo! I'm getting my hair done tonight from my soon to be sister in law so I packed extra snacks and changed my workout days so today is my off day instead of Thursday. Now I have to be honest, last night I was set on getting up early this morning and going to the gym at 5:30am, HOWEVER since I always take one day off during the week I just switched my day off.
Wow, I just sounded CRAZY! Haha, just a little truth to throw at you this morning!
Also, sorry for the pictureless posts, when I blog at work (yes I blog at work) I get a server error when I try to upload pictures!
Have a happy and healthy Wednesday!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Day 24 - Back From Vacation
So I tried to be good on vacation, but the vacation mindset got the best of me. All of a sudden I am realizing that 30 days is fast approaching, which puts me halfway through my own personal 60 day challenge. Time to dial in the diet again and step it up a bit at the gym. I'm thinking I might need to have some double workout days in order to get back on track!
Sunriver was awesome, as always! I am proud to report that Matt and I went on a 3 mile run on Sunday and stopped by Oregon Crossfit in Bend on Monday for a workout! It was a great workout with a lot of fun people! I got a 10lb PR on my back squat, taking it to 185 and that was AFTER a tough workout. According to the scale this morning I am down only 2.6 lbs since I started this challenge, yikes! Too much alcohol and not keeping portions under control this weekend will have that effect! I definitely have some ground to make up but I am confident in myself that I can do it. PLUS I get to stick to a regular schedule for the next few weeks which is always a plus.
Anyways, not much time today, work is crazy busy, I'm taking a SQL class for work AND am working on a new website for Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center, so I'm a little busy these days!
Happy Tuesday Everyone!
Sunriver was awesome, as always! I am proud to report that Matt and I went on a 3 mile run on Sunday and stopped by Oregon Crossfit in Bend on Monday for a workout! It was a great workout with a lot of fun people! I got a 10lb PR on my back squat, taking it to 185 and that was AFTER a tough workout. According to the scale this morning I am down only 2.6 lbs since I started this challenge, yikes! Too much alcohol and not keeping portions under control this weekend will have that effect! I definitely have some ground to make up but I am confident in myself that I can do it. PLUS I get to stick to a regular schedule for the next few weeks which is always a plus.
Anyways, not much time today, work is crazy busy, I'm taking a SQL class for work AND am working on a new website for Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center, so I'm a little busy these days!
Happy Tuesday Everyone!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 20
Woke up, stepped on the scale, did not make my goal of getting to 7lbs lost. I'm stuck at 6.4 and today I'm not so happy go lucky, positive is my middle name about it. I'm pissed because I feel like I worked hard this week, stuck to my diet and should have lost than extra pound I wanted. I was tempted this morning to just eat whatever the hell I wanted because I was pissed and the whole attitude of "Oh well, F*** today, I'm going to eat what I want" was coming on really strong. I resisted and stuck to my diet this morning. However, I got to work and after two hours of meetings decided to eat 4, yupp, 4 pieces of chocolate from the candy bowl I detest so much. They are not huge pieces, meaning they aren't candy bars, but they are bigger than hershey kisses. So now I'm mad at myself because that was just stupid! I'm a little stressed about work, the turtle ridge website I'm working on and getting everything packed and ready for Sunriver, so I'm blaming my splurge on that.
I ate a healthy lunch and am going to go to the gym and give it my all and get refocused on the positive and not on how stressed I'm feeling right now! So there you have it!
I ate a healthy lunch and am going to go to the gym and give it my all and get refocused on the positive and not on how stressed I'm feeling right now! So there you have it!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 19
Boo - Soggy apples. I HATE soggy apples.
Boo - WINCO, why, because that is where the soggy apples came from. Oh and also, because its WINCO.
Woo Hoo - Duke's benefit concert for Chief Painter's family. So much fun! Great music, got to meet a lot of great people, great cause!
Woo Hoo - Heading to the sis-in-law's (well future but close enough) to try on bridesmaid dresses tonight!
Woo Hoo - Going to Sunriver on Saturday, nuff said!
Boo - Scale is on the fritz! Stepped on it three time and each time I gained 1 lb from the time before SO I don't know if I'm on track to get that 7th lb off my body or not.
Boo - Today's workout is running, just plain running. Sounds boring to me and something I should probably do with my dogs rather than at the gym. HOWEVER I would like to see what my time might be BUT I owe it to Po and Remi to run those fools!
Woo Hoo - Super cute new clothes from H&M, Nordstrom and Target for my birthday!
And now for some random workout pictures in which none of them seem like I'm working very hard!
Boo - WINCO, why, because that is where the soggy apples came from. Oh and also, because its WINCO.
Woo Hoo - Duke's benefit concert for Chief Painter's family. So much fun! Great music, got to meet a lot of great people, great cause!
Woo Hoo - Heading to the sis-in-law's (well future but close enough) to try on bridesmaid dresses tonight!
Woo Hoo - Going to Sunriver on Saturday, nuff said!
Boo - Scale is on the fritz! Stepped on it three time and each time I gained 1 lb from the time before SO I don't know if I'm on track to get that 7th lb off my body or not.
Boo - Today's workout is running, just plain running. Sounds boring to me and something I should probably do with my dogs rather than at the gym. HOWEVER I would like to see what my time might be BUT I owe it to Po and Remi to run those fools!
Woo Hoo - Super cute new clothes from H&M, Nordstrom and Target for my birthday!
And now for some random workout pictures in which none of them seem like I'm working very hard!
 |
| Janessa and I working through the squats during the Murph workout |
 |
| Wall balls and pit sweat! |
 |
| Well at least I'm getting ready for pull-ups in this one |
 |
| More wall balls, different workout, luckily no pit sweat here |
 |
| Downside of a pullup, or maybe I'm going up....who knows |
 |
| More squats |
 |
| Matt working on his pull-ups, me thinking about it |
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Mitigation Tactics
I need to take a look at my calendar as I'm not sure what day I'm on. I guess I could do that right now...okay its Day 18. I told you yesterday I wasn't going to weigh myself until Friday. I woke up this morning, went to the bathroom, showered, dried my hair and weighed myself like normal, even though I said I wouldn't. I am only up 1 lb from last week so that makes me happy. Today I'm thinking alot about challenges and things we can't control in our day to day lives. So below you'll find my gripes and mitigation tactics for getting through the unexpected, or expected but can't do anything about that I've encountered the past few days.
Car nearly breaks down (think STRESS!)
Didn't see it coming, can't really plan for it. The impact of this was a lot of added stress while Matt and I tried to figure out how to get it towed, how I was going to get to/from the gym and then waiting to find out how much it was going to cost. I made it to the gym but didn't have a very good workout. Stress got the best of me.
Mitigation Tactic: The fat kid in me wanted to eat away the stress. Trust me, I opened a bottle of chocolate milk but didn't drink it. I contemplated doubling my dinner portion from what I would normally eat. I looked at the wine rack, pretty seriously. However I decided to take a nice hot bath and read my new book. IF and this is a big if, I was still stressed and craving something outside of the zone diet after my bath then I would let myself. So I made a cup of hot chocolate (made with water and the 25 calorie packets) and settled in for what ended up being an hour. I wasn't stressed anymore and in fact was so tired I couldnt' wait to get comfy sweats on, watch the rest of biggest loser (a show that randomly makes me want to eat while watching it) and go to bed. I've found that if I can distract my mind for a bit I end up not being hungry and not wanting what I originally wanted. Diet crisis avoided.
Corporate Purchased/Provided Lunch
I don't know why, but it is nearly impossible for my work to provide healthy lunch options when providing lunch. I've been in all day training for the past days and lunch has been provided. Yesterday it was pizza and salad already drenched in dressing followed by brownies. Today it was sandwiches, already covered in mayo and other dressings with chips, sweets and thankfully, some fruit. As I sit here, watching everyone eat their brownies I am tempted to have one myself. Then as it it makes it better I think to myself, what if I don't eat the brownie but go dig in to the candy bowl and only have a few pieces of candy. However, I was aware I would be in training and assumed lunch would be provided.
Mitigation Tactic: I knew about this training and since it's in my office there is no excuse to not bring my own lunch, and snacks. So as everyone broke for lunch I stepped out to put together my own lunch. I did get some grief from people but overall I found that they were jealous of my healthy lunch. See, while they are sitting eating their pizza they are thinking to themselves, man how am I going to make up for this. Meanwhile, I'm eating my turkey sandwich and half apple feeling great about my choices! Planning ahead helps me feel in control and is the one thing that if I'm not able to do freaks me out! Anyways, diet crisis avoided!
Happy Hour/Concerts/Not At Home
First off, I am not complaining about going to happy hour, concerts, hanging out with friends or anything related to fun. However, those things can make it difficult to stay on track and can add in a rapid amount of calorie consumption that was originally not intended. Tonight I am likely going to happy hour and then a benefit concert. Tomorrow I am going over to my soon to be sis-in-laws house to try on dresses and likely eat/drink. Friday I will be heading down to Salem so we can leave the following morning for Sunriver and then...I'm in sunriver! So all awesome things, all things that take me out of my comfort zone of planned eating, work out times etc
Mitigation Tactics: Make time for the gym, even if it means getting up super early. If I'm likely to stray from my diet I need to make sure I also don't stray from the gym. Eat an early dinner and pack a purse snack! I will be going to the gym AND eating my own dinner before leaving for happy hour. I might have 1 drink, but that is all...just 1. I'm going to pack some almonds in my purse so that if I get hungry I can snack on something healthy rather than bar food. For Sunriver I am going to make up a big batch of zone chili, to share of course, that I can eat as my meals since I know exactly what is in it and how many blocks a serving is. I'm also going to just empty out my fridge and bring my own food. I may need to eat my meals before/after since I likely won't eat the shared meals but the same thing applies as above. Eat my own dinner and bring snacks along to avoid mindlessly eating/drinking whatever is around me.
General Tips
On a minute by minute basis (at least it feels like that sometimes) I am tempted to stray from my diet and I've found a few things that help me make it through those moments.
Car nearly breaks down (think STRESS!)
Didn't see it coming, can't really plan for it. The impact of this was a lot of added stress while Matt and I tried to figure out how to get it towed, how I was going to get to/from the gym and then waiting to find out how much it was going to cost. I made it to the gym but didn't have a very good workout. Stress got the best of me.
 |
| My towing situation could have been worse |
Mitigation Tactic: The fat kid in me wanted to eat away the stress. Trust me, I opened a bottle of chocolate milk but didn't drink it. I contemplated doubling my dinner portion from what I would normally eat. I looked at the wine rack, pretty seriously. However I decided to take a nice hot bath and read my new book. IF and this is a big if, I was still stressed and craving something outside of the zone diet after my bath then I would let myself. So I made a cup of hot chocolate (made with water and the 25 calorie packets) and settled in for what ended up being an hour. I wasn't stressed anymore and in fact was so tired I couldnt' wait to get comfy sweats on, watch the rest of biggest loser (a show that randomly makes me want to eat while watching it) and go to bed. I've found that if I can distract my mind for a bit I end up not being hungry and not wanting what I originally wanted. Diet crisis avoided.
Corporate Purchased/Provided Lunch
I don't know why, but it is nearly impossible for my work to provide healthy lunch options when providing lunch. I've been in all day training for the past days and lunch has been provided. Yesterday it was pizza and salad already drenched in dressing followed by brownies. Today it was sandwiches, already covered in mayo and other dressings with chips, sweets and thankfully, some fruit. As I sit here, watching everyone eat their brownies I am tempted to have one myself. Then as it it makes it better I think to myself, what if I don't eat the brownie but go dig in to the candy bowl and only have a few pieces of candy. However, I was aware I would be in training and assumed lunch would be provided.
 |
| Not the actual pizza but this made me not want to ever eat pizza |
Mitigation Tactic: I knew about this training and since it's in my office there is no excuse to not bring my own lunch, and snacks. So as everyone broke for lunch I stepped out to put together my own lunch. I did get some grief from people but overall I found that they were jealous of my healthy lunch. See, while they are sitting eating their pizza they are thinking to themselves, man how am I going to make up for this. Meanwhile, I'm eating my turkey sandwich and half apple feeling great about my choices! Planning ahead helps me feel in control and is the one thing that if I'm not able to do freaks me out! Anyways, diet crisis avoided!
Happy Hour/Concerts/Not At Home
First off, I am not complaining about going to happy hour, concerts, hanging out with friends or anything related to fun. However, those things can make it difficult to stay on track and can add in a rapid amount of calorie consumption that was originally not intended. Tonight I am likely going to happy hour and then a benefit concert. Tomorrow I am going over to my soon to be sis-in-laws house to try on dresses and likely eat/drink. Friday I will be heading down to Salem so we can leave the following morning for Sunriver and then...I'm in sunriver! So all awesome things, all things that take me out of my comfort zone of planned eating, work out times etc
Mitigation Tactics: Make time for the gym, even if it means getting up super early. If I'm likely to stray from my diet I need to make sure I also don't stray from the gym. Eat an early dinner and pack a purse snack! I will be going to the gym AND eating my own dinner before leaving for happy hour. I might have 1 drink, but that is all...just 1. I'm going to pack some almonds in my purse so that if I get hungry I can snack on something healthy rather than bar food. For Sunriver I am going to make up a big batch of zone chili, to share of course, that I can eat as my meals since I know exactly what is in it and how many blocks a serving is. I'm also going to just empty out my fridge and bring my own food. I may need to eat my meals before/after since I likely won't eat the shared meals but the same thing applies as above. Eat my own dinner and bring snacks along to avoid mindlessly eating/drinking whatever is around me.
General Tips
On a minute by minute basis (at least it feels like that sometimes) I am tempted to stray from my diet and I've found a few things that help me make it through those moments.
- Gum - Peppermint gum works for me. I buy Orbitz because I like the flavor and it lasts forever. I used to eat sweet gum thinking it would help but I found it only increased my craving. Peppermint gum is sweet but the minty flavor makes whatever you eat after chewing it not taste so good. It helps me get through small cravings and since the flavor lasts so long I usually forgot about whatever else I wanted as the gum distraction works long enough to get me through it.
- Water - When I start to feel a little hungry I drink a bunch of water. I prefer room temperature, I don't know why. I drink it fast so it fills up my stomach and usually can get me to the next planned meal/snack time without issue.
- Lip gloss - Haha this one is random but its a distraction and once I get my lips all pretty and shiny I like to keep them that way, at least for a few minutes. So when I start to crave some candy or something sweet, I put on my sweet lip gloss
- An extra, pre-measured snack - I always intend on only eating one snack before working out but I always bring two because some days I find I am more hungry than others. This way if I end up getting hungry I already have a healthy, measured snack ready to go, which is always better than the candy bowl!
- Coffee - Coffee helps fills me up. I'm not a big tea person, don't know why, but tea would probably work as well. Having a nice hot cup of coffee to sip on helps pass the time and curbs hunger. I just need to be careful that I don't drink too much caffeine!
- Blogging - It helps pass time and also holds me accountable. I can't start being honest and blogging and then all of a sudden stop, people will call me on it!
- Reading - (or playing Wii!) I've found that if I sit and watch too much TV then I start to want to snack. So instead I've been reading a lot more and playing my Wii! If I get up and move or occupy my brain in a more active way I don't have any craving to snack!
Day 13 - 1 day away from cheat day
I'm starting to get anxiety about cheating tomorrow on my diet (which I will be doing since it's my bday celebration, so alcohol will be consumed for sure!). I am down exactly 6 lbs, but I'm not really celebrating that because that is the exact 6 lbs I lost BEFORE Thanksgiving, so while it's great to be down 6 lbs, I've only caught back up to my original progress. After cheating on my diet last week and eating pizza/drinking wine on Saturday it took a few days to get my weight loss back on track, so I'm getting some anxiety about tomorrow and how long it will take to get back on track weight loss wise because the next pound I lose takes me BEYOND my pre-holidays progress, so it's an important one. My goal is simply this, limit cheating to one thing or the other. Its either alcohol or it's food, it cannot be both or it will take too much time just to get back to where I was before the cheat occured. So one thing or the other OR both but in moderation. And since I know that I will have more than one drink that means I must make sure I eat healthy, plain and simple.
I went to the gym yesterday after taking 2 days off. I stuck to an upperbody workout and will likely do the same today. My hip was pretty sore last night, throbbing all night. I spent some time and massaged my hip with a lacross ball, which was pretty painful. Its feeling a bit better today, the throbbing is less noticeable, but I think I need to go easy on my hip for another day or 2. I haven't run since Monday but I have started playing Just Dance 2 which actually gives you a decent workout, so I fully intend on playing tonight, by myself since its fun and will help burn off some extra calories.
As far as my 60 day challenge, I'm down 6lbs with 12 to go before I hit my bigger goal of 145 and 8 lbs away from getting BELOW 150. 8 pounds, thats all?! Wow, feels good to say that, feels good to know that my first goal is single digits away! I'm targeting 145 because I think I can still be pretty strong at 145 and can maintain that. As 2012 approaches and the idea of competing I'll likley drop down a bit more as I pick up the training, but that is far away and is not a goal of mine. My goal is 145 and I'm excited about it! I want to get there soon so that I can just maintain during the summer, which will be the first summer in a LONG time that I wasn't trying to lose weight, just maintain. Man that sounds so good!
Going in to the next few weeks which will pose challenging diet wise my hope is to lose 1 lb a week. I can be really happy with 1 lb a week for the next few weeks.
I went to the gym yesterday after taking 2 days off. I stuck to an upperbody workout and will likely do the same today. My hip was pretty sore last night, throbbing all night. I spent some time and massaged my hip with a lacross ball, which was pretty painful. Its feeling a bit better today, the throbbing is less noticeable, but I think I need to go easy on my hip for another day or 2. I haven't run since Monday but I have started playing Just Dance 2 which actually gives you a decent workout, so I fully intend on playing tonight, by myself since its fun and will help burn off some extra calories.
As far as my 60 day challenge, I'm down 6lbs with 12 to go before I hit my bigger goal of 145 and 8 lbs away from getting BELOW 150. 8 pounds, thats all?! Wow, feels good to say that, feels good to know that my first goal is single digits away! I'm targeting 145 because I think I can still be pretty strong at 145 and can maintain that. As 2012 approaches and the idea of competing I'll likley drop down a bit more as I pick up the training, but that is far away and is not a goal of mine. My goal is 145 and I'm excited about it! I want to get there soon so that I can just maintain during the summer, which will be the first summer in a LONG time that I wasn't trying to lose weight, just maintain. Man that sounds so good!
Going in to the next few weeks which will pose challenging diet wise my hope is to lose 1 lb a week. I can be really happy with 1 lb a week for the next few weeks.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I'm 27
Today is my birthday. I've had a lot of mixed feelings leading up to today. First thought, OMG I am in my late 20's and getting ever so close to 30! Second thought, I feel old, I need to go out and PARTY for my birthday. Third, who am I kidding, I don't really want to go out, I just want to hang out with family and friends and have a good time. One extra glass of wine and I usually end up with a headache, so lets keep it tame! On any given day I was happy, excited or depressed about turning 27. However, as the day got closer I started to be okay with it. I started to be excited about what this next year of my life might bring. I started to reflect on the amazing people that have entered our lives this past year and the wonderful friends and family we have had the pleasure of sharing our lives with for so many years!
I'll admit that I struggle with feeling like I haven't really accomplished anything yet. I haven't figured out exactly what I want to do with my life and it starts to feel a bit overwhelming! Throw the idea of having kids in the mix (don't get excited just yet, we're still quite a ways away from that) and it's easy to get overwhelmed while at the same time feeling like time is slipping away before I can enjoy it! However, as I got up this morning and got ready to go to work like a big girl, I felt content. Yes it's my birthday and I'm working, but I had a wonderful 3-day weekend celebrating with friends and family. I am happy with where I am at right now and I am hopeful that this next year will be a great year for Matt and I! So, happy birthday to me!
Alright, my 60 day challenge. Whelp, lets just say I am not going to weigh myself until Friday. Why? Because my cheat day extended beyond what I originally intended. I didn't go overboard, but I've learned that my cheats stick with me for a few days. So Friday I will weigh myself BEFORE we head to Sunriver. My hope? That I break through my old progress which was 6 1/2 lbs and get to 7! That means I need to lose 1 lb from where I was last week, so not bad!
Po has been cracking me up lately because he is a running dog! Who would have thought!! I took last week off and it was driving him crazy! I took both of the dogs on a short run yesterday in the beautiful weather! We ran 2.25 miles and when we got back they both went crazy for awhile in the front yard! I week of pent up energy was just too much for them to deal with. My hip wasn't bothering me until I ran, so crap! Its not horrible, but its annoying.
I've been in training ALL day today but planned ahead and brought all my own food. Good thing because guess what was provided for lunch?! Pizza! Of course it was, my company is anti-healthy food options. It just doesn't happen, it's almost ALWAYS pizza, or pasta but mainly pizza. So I sat in a room full of IT guys eating their pizza with my healthy turkey sandwich and half an apple. To tell you the truth, I think some of them were jealous. They are trying to lose weight but were shoving pizza in their mouths and wondering how in heck they were going to lose weight this week while eating crappy food. I'm proud of my turkey sandwich, its a statement to my dedication!
I went shopping yesterday with my H&M gift cards from my parents and Matt's credit card! Man was that a fun way to spend alone time :) I did some great damage as many stores and walked away with several new outfits! My favorite thing to wear these days? Leggings and jeggings! I am wearing leggings right now and feel great! I look good and am comfortable at the same time, what more can a girl ask for! Here is a picture from Saturday night with my jeggings! PS - another motivational factor for losing weight, smaller legs look better in leggings than big thick legs!!
Tonight's workout will prove to be yet another ass kicking! I'll just assume it's my birthday present from CFA!
Oh, I almost forgot!! Do you like country music? Do you want to support Chief Ralph Painter's family?! You should come to Duke's on Wednesday for a benefit concert, I'll be there! Starts at 9:00, all proceeds go to Chief Painter's family! I'll post something on Facebook about this as well! I'll be getting up EARLY tomorrow morning and working out at 5:30 so I can attend!!
So, in summary: Happy Birthday to Me! Random post is over!
I'll admit that I struggle with feeling like I haven't really accomplished anything yet. I haven't figured out exactly what I want to do with my life and it starts to feel a bit overwhelming! Throw the idea of having kids in the mix (don't get excited just yet, we're still quite a ways away from that) and it's easy to get overwhelmed while at the same time feeling like time is slipping away before I can enjoy it! However, as I got up this morning and got ready to go to work like a big girl, I felt content. Yes it's my birthday and I'm working, but I had a wonderful 3-day weekend celebrating with friends and family. I am happy with where I am at right now and I am hopeful that this next year will be a great year for Matt and I! So, happy birthday to me!
Po has been cracking me up lately because he is a running dog! Who would have thought!! I took last week off and it was driving him crazy! I took both of the dogs on a short run yesterday in the beautiful weather! We ran 2.25 miles and when we got back they both went crazy for awhile in the front yard! I week of pent up energy was just too much for them to deal with. My hip wasn't bothering me until I ran, so crap! Its not horrible, but its annoying.
I've been in training ALL day today but planned ahead and brought all my own food. Good thing because guess what was provided for lunch?! Pizza! Of course it was, my company is anti-healthy food options. It just doesn't happen, it's almost ALWAYS pizza, or pasta but mainly pizza. So I sat in a room full of IT guys eating their pizza with my healthy turkey sandwich and half an apple. To tell you the truth, I think some of them were jealous. They are trying to lose weight but were shoving pizza in their mouths and wondering how in heck they were going to lose weight this week while eating crappy food. I'm proud of my turkey sandwich, its a statement to my dedication!
I went shopping yesterday with my H&M gift cards from my parents and Matt's credit card! Man was that a fun way to spend alone time :) I did some great damage as many stores and walked away with several new outfits! My favorite thing to wear these days? Leggings and jeggings! I am wearing leggings right now and feel great! I look good and am comfortable at the same time, what more can a girl ask for! Here is a picture from Saturday night with my jeggings! PS - another motivational factor for losing weight, smaller legs look better in leggings than big thick legs!!
Oh, I almost forgot!! Do you like country music? Do you want to support Chief Ralph Painter's family?! You should come to Duke's on Wednesday for a benefit concert, I'll be there! Starts at 9:00, all proceeds go to Chief Painter's family! I'll post something on Facebook about this as well! I'll be getting up EARLY tomorrow morning and working out at 5:30 so I can attend!!
So, in summary: Happy Birthday to Me! Random post is over!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Day 12 Feeling So Good + Healthy Recipe!
Okay well actually I'm working through a hip injury so I'm not feeling 100% and haven't been to the gym for 2 days. HOWEVER...I'm now down 4.8 lbs, which if you round up is 5 lbs! It feels so good to be back on track! I'm heading back in to the gym today and am going to modify and make up my own workout so I can keep making progress in the gym while giving my hip another day or two of rest.
My new favorite thing?! Just Dance 2! I broke a sweat last night playing that game on my new Wii, so fun! There is something that just feels so good about dancing like a fool and hoping your blinds really are shut and no one can see you. There is also something about breaking a sweat that just feels good, makes me feel good about myself. I fully intend on playing today and tonight!!
• 6oz mozzarella cheese [6P] (This is the cheese you put on top and you can use whatever cheese you want)
• 3 cup onion (petal) [2C] (About 1 whole medium onion)
• 2 cup green pepper (chopped)[1C] (1 cup of chopped peppers equals about 1 medium to large pepper, just FYI)
• 2 cup red pepper (chopped)[1C]
• 4 cup tomato (chopped) [2.5C] (I used canned diced tomatoes, so much easier!)
• 2-12oz cans V8 juice [4C] (Winco sells individual cans)
• 3/4 cup canned tomato puree [1.5C] (I used tomato paste, less than 1 small can)
• 1-1/2cup black beans [6C]
• 6 tsp olive oil separate [18F]
• chili powder
• onion powder
• basil
• parsley
• cilantro
• crushed red pepper
• sage
Directions:
• Brown ground beef, salt & pepper and some spices in 3 tsp of oil. (I added a little hot sauce to the meat to give it a little kick!)
• Place all other ingredients in crock-pot, except for cheese.
• Add 2 cups of water. Add browned meat. Add spices to taste. (I did not add the water and don't think this step is necessary, it will make it more like soup and less like thick yummy chili!)
• Cook in crock-pot for several hours until hot through out, stirring occasionally. (I just let is simmer all day, house smelled so good!)
• Divide into 6 serving (2-cup servings) bowls and top each with 1 oz of cheese. May be frozen/refrigerated for later consumption.
Remark: Makes six 3-block meals, 2 cups each
Tip - To make the Chili last longer, add more cheese and some fresh avocado (once scoped out in to a bowl) to increase the protein and fat rather than adding more cups of chili (which ends up being too much volume in most cases). You can sub 3 blocks of fat for one serving of carbs, so its easy to make it be a 5 block meal while still getting your 6 servings out of it. Enjoy!
My new favorite thing?! Just Dance 2! I broke a sweat last night playing that game on my new Wii, so fun! There is something that just feels so good about dancing like a fool and hoping your blinds really are shut and no one can see you. There is also something about breaking a sweat that just feels good, makes me feel good about myself. I fully intend on playing today and tonight!!
I think one of the best ways to ensure you stick to your diet is to plan ahead, cook extra portions so you always have something healthy to eat. The zone diet is easy to follow but its been hard for me to find a meal I can make a largo portion of and easily scope out a portion for me at 3 blocks and a portion for Matt at 5 blocks. However, I found this Zone Chili recipe (add whatever spices you want, I added tons of Chili Powder, lots Red Pepper Flakes, not quit as much Cayenne Pepper and some Garlic, like those measurements!). Anyways, if you follow the recipe 2 cups plus 1 oz of cheese on top equals 3 blocks, which is the perfect lunch/dinner for me! I made it up on Sunday and have a little bit left today. My goal is to find more recipes like this that I can take to Sunriver to help me make it through the trip and stay remotely on track. So without further delay:
Zone Chili
Ingredients:
• 18oz ground beef 10% lean [12P] (I used 7% but its close enough)• 6oz mozzarella cheese [6P] (This is the cheese you put on top and you can use whatever cheese you want)
• 3 cup onion (petal) [2C] (About 1 whole medium onion)
• 2 cup green pepper (chopped)[1C] (1 cup of chopped peppers equals about 1 medium to large pepper, just FYI)
• 2 cup red pepper (chopped)[1C]
• 4 cup tomato (chopped) [2.5C] (I used canned diced tomatoes, so much easier!)
• 2-12oz cans V8 juice [4C] (Winco sells individual cans)
• 3/4 cup canned tomato puree [1.5C] (I used tomato paste, less than 1 small can)
• 1-1/2cup black beans [6C]
• 6 tsp olive oil separate [18F]
• chili powder
• onion powder
• basil
• parsley
• cilantro
• crushed red pepper
• sage
Directions:
• Brown ground beef, salt & pepper and some spices in 3 tsp of oil. (I added a little hot sauce to the meat to give it a little kick!)
• Place all other ingredients in crock-pot, except for cheese.
• Add 2 cups of water. Add browned meat. Add spices to taste. (I did not add the water and don't think this step is necessary, it will make it more like soup and less like thick yummy chili!)
• Cook in crock-pot for several hours until hot through out, stirring occasionally. (I just let is simmer all day, house smelled so good!)
• Divide into 6 serving (2-cup servings) bowls and top each with 1 oz of cheese. May be frozen/refrigerated for later consumption.
Remark: Makes six 3-block meals, 2 cups each
Tip - To make the Chili last longer, add more cheese and some fresh avocado (once scoped out in to a bowl) to increase the protein and fat rather than adding more cups of chili (which ends up being too much volume in most cases). You can sub 3 blocks of fat for one serving of carbs, so its easy to make it be a 5 block meal while still getting your 6 servings out of it. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The big picture
So as of this morning I am down a total of 3.2 lbs. I'll be honest I'm having a hard time being okay with this as I expected to be losing at a faster rate. However, my cheat meal stuck with me for a few days and then the Duck game yesterday didn't help. But I'm looking at the big picture here. In 9 days I lost 3.2 lbs. That's not bad. I haven't even hit the two week mark so I need to applaud myself rather than feel down about it. I'm also struggling because my hip has been bothering me for about 2-3 weeks and yesterday's workout, at 5:30 am, did me in. My hip and upper quad are pretty painful which means I'm taking today and tomorrow off from the gym, completely. I know I can go in and modify the workout, but I know myself and I'll 'try' to see if I can do something which will result in furthering the injury. This scares me because normally I workout 5-6 days a week, even if it's just a run with the beasts.
The thing I'm having the hardest part with? Over the next 2 weeks my schedule is not normal. Birthday parties, company holiday parties, a sunriver trip. All fun things, yes! All things that will be challenges in maintaining my diet, yes! I am going to do my best to control the Sunriver trip by bringing all my own food. I know I'll get grief for not eating what everyone else is eating, but its the only way I can try to maintain some sanity and weight loss without driving myself crazy! I also will be missing a few workouts here and there beyond the ones I'm missing this week because of my hip, so sticking to my diet is going to be even more important.
The part of me that wants instant results is screaming pretty loud right now. This is the destructive part because when I don't get instant results the next thought pattern is, what the hell, I'll eat (insert food here) because it's not like I'm going to lose weight quickly anyways. I am struggling with that part of myself right now because the alternate option, still driven by this part of me, is to not eat today, or not eat very much. Which never works out and ends up in me binge eating later on because I'm so hungry. So I'm having an internal argument with myself right now and trying really hard to stay positive and realize that this is a much longer process than 9 days. Maybe its because the Duck's lost last night which just has me down :)
Anyways, it helpful to put these thoughts down because I can quickly see how ridiculous I'm being. I know I'm not the only person that struggles with these thoughts, but it feels very much an individual battle right now and truly is because its up to me to stay focused and realistic about what I can and should achieve.
So on a totally random note, I need to finish decorating my kitchen. I want to create a little wine nook and I want to hang this on the wall above it, but I don't know what color yet. I can be found on Etsy, here.
Oh the possibilities, if only I had the motivation to actually do something with these ideas :) Happy Tuesday!
The thing I'm having the hardest part with? Over the next 2 weeks my schedule is not normal. Birthday parties, company holiday parties, a sunriver trip. All fun things, yes! All things that will be challenges in maintaining my diet, yes! I am going to do my best to control the Sunriver trip by bringing all my own food. I know I'll get grief for not eating what everyone else is eating, but its the only way I can try to maintain some sanity and weight loss without driving myself crazy! I also will be missing a few workouts here and there beyond the ones I'm missing this week because of my hip, so sticking to my diet is going to be even more important.
The part of me that wants instant results is screaming pretty loud right now. This is the destructive part because when I don't get instant results the next thought pattern is, what the hell, I'll eat (insert food here) because it's not like I'm going to lose weight quickly anyways. I am struggling with that part of myself right now because the alternate option, still driven by this part of me, is to not eat today, or not eat very much. Which never works out and ends up in me binge eating later on because I'm so hungry. So I'm having an internal argument with myself right now and trying really hard to stay positive and realize that this is a much longer process than 9 days. Maybe its because the Duck's lost last night which just has me down :)
Anyways, it helpful to put these thoughts down because I can quickly see how ridiculous I'm being. I know I'm not the only person that struggles with these thoughts, but it feels very much an individual battle right now and truly is because its up to me to stay focused and realistic about what I can and should achieve.
So on a totally random note, I need to finish decorating my kitchen. I want to create a little wine nook and I want to hang this on the wall above it, but I don't know what color yet. I can be found on Etsy, here.
Or this (I supposed I could also make something like this!) found here:
Or this, found here:
Or this, found here:
Oh the possibilities, if only I had the motivation to actually do something with these ideas :) Happy Tuesday!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Go Ducks
I really don't want to write about working out or eating healthy or any of that. All I want to write about today is how unbelievably excited I am for the game today! I have been waiting for this day since December 4th! For Civil War I bought an Oregon balloon and an Oregon State balloon. After the game we destroyed the Oregon State balloon (the only fitting thing to do). HOWEVER, I would like EVERYONE to know that the Oregon balloon is STILL floating! I think this is a good sign :) Below is a picture of my outfit (you won't see my green and yellow bracelets or my green and yellow earrings, but you get the point) and a picture of my cube, all decorated!
So there you have it, my mind is unable to focus on anything but the game! Matt is picking me up at 3:30 and we're heading out to Luke and Sara's for a little tailgating (ritual beer pong game) and to watch the game!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Weekend Update: From First to Last
So I slacked and didn't get my Friday post up until 2 minutes ago. In it I talked about how my goal was to go in to the gym and give it my all, push myself further than I thought I could go. When I walked in to the gym I made sure to not look at the wall, I didn't want to know what times everyone else had gotten because that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I push myself as hard as I can and I still come in last because at least I pushed myself!
Anyways, the WOD was 5 rnds 10 155lb deadlifts, 20 kettlebell swings (35lbs) and 30 air squats. I started strong and pushed myself to keep going even when I wanted to take a break. I felt strong and frankly lower body stuff is more of a strength of mine relative to upper body (I still need to improve on both). I ended up with a time of 11:46, coming in 3 minutes faster than the second fastest girls time and a little over a minute behind the top guys time. I smoked it! I felt so great about the workout, how hard I pushed myself and that I did it just to push myself, not to beat anyone!
Fast forward to Saturday morning's WOD, 2 rounds 100 double unders (jump rope passes under your feet twice for every one jump), 75 situps, 50 pushpress (55 lbs) and 25 pullups. I went from feeling on top of the world on Friday to finishing dead last on Saturday and feeling like I just got my ass handed to me on a silver platter! I couldn't string together more than 10 double unders and the push press was horrible! I was gassed and honestly could have pushed myself a little harder but this workout was so tough I was scared to push through to that next level. The picture below if from earlier in the week when we had to do double unders, I had a jump rope that was too big and kept whipping myself with it:
Those are whip marks, I still have them 5 days later! Anyways, I don't feel down on myself for Saturday's workout, I pushed myself to my limits that's for sure. Maybe could have pushed a little harder but I certainly was tired, sore and sweaty after it was done. My reason for sharing? This is an example of failure and being okay with it. My upper body strength is weak, especially compared to my lower body. I know this and I know I need to work on it. This is why I did so well with Friday's workout and struggled so much with Saturday's workout. This is what Crossfit is about though, finding what your weaknesses are and then working on them. Any given workout is going to challenge you, some more than others and its what you do after the workout that determines whether you make improvements or not.
Now on to cheat night! We had Paddington's pizza and plenty of wine for the girls! It tasted great and was a good time! My weight was up this morning, which is to be expected after a carb loaded night. I'm back on track today and about to go for a run with the dogs. I will weigh myself tomorrow and hopefully will be back to my Saturday morning weight. Tomorrow promises to be a challenge as it's the big game! I am trying to plan my meals out ahead of time in hopes of not going too far off track. I HAVE to drink my Coors Light tall boy though and play some beer pong, so it's even more important I stay on track today and get a run in and workout super hard tomorrow morning. Anyways, boring post but that's my quick weekend update! GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, the WOD was 5 rnds 10 155lb deadlifts, 20 kettlebell swings (35lbs) and 30 air squats. I started strong and pushed myself to keep going even when I wanted to take a break. I felt strong and frankly lower body stuff is more of a strength of mine relative to upper body (I still need to improve on both). I ended up with a time of 11:46, coming in 3 minutes faster than the second fastest girls time and a little over a minute behind the top guys time. I smoked it! I felt so great about the workout, how hard I pushed myself and that I did it just to push myself, not to beat anyone!
Fast forward to Saturday morning's WOD, 2 rounds 100 double unders (jump rope passes under your feet twice for every one jump), 75 situps, 50 pushpress (55 lbs) and 25 pullups. I went from feeling on top of the world on Friday to finishing dead last on Saturday and feeling like I just got my ass handed to me on a silver platter! I couldn't string together more than 10 double unders and the push press was horrible! I was gassed and honestly could have pushed myself a little harder but this workout was so tough I was scared to push through to that next level. The picture below if from earlier in the week when we had to do double unders, I had a jump rope that was too big and kept whipping myself with it:
Now on to cheat night! We had Paddington's pizza and plenty of wine for the girls! It tasted great and was a good time! My weight was up this morning, which is to be expected after a carb loaded night. I'm back on track today and about to go for a run with the dogs. I will weigh myself tomorrow and hopefully will be back to my Saturday morning weight. Tomorrow promises to be a challenge as it's the big game! I am trying to plan my meals out ahead of time in hopes of not going too far off track. I HAVE to drink my Coors Light tall boy though and play some beer pong, so it's even more important I stay on track today and get a run in and workout super hard tomorrow morning. Anyways, boring post but that's my quick weekend update! GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Day 6 So Sore
I kept my promise to Po and took the dogs out for 2.25 miles this morning at 6:00am and guess what, Po ran away from me when I tried to put the leash on him! Jerk! I guess he's not a morning dog and prefers running at night, just like me! Eventually he woke up and the two dogs enjoyed their run. I weighed myself after my run and was down a total of 4 1/2! I'm very happy about my results this week. I know the bulk of it is likely water weight but it's always encouraging to see the scale go down regardless of the reason. Tomorrow morning will be day 7 and I'm hopeful for a good number. Tonight will be difficult because it's a Friday night, I'll be home alone since Matt is working and I'll likely stay up late. Normally I would have some wine, dark chocolate, a snack here, a snack there. This would be fine if it was my cheat night, but it's not so I need to be very aware of what I'm eating and why.
On another note, I am SO SORE from Wednesday's workout. My legs from hip to ankle and abs hurt just to breath and today's workout promises not to let up at all! Being so sore got me thinking about my weaknesses and lets be honest I have a lot of them! It would be difficult to name everything I can't do correctly, can't do the prescribed weight, can't do very fast, can't do very efficiently. As much as Crossfit makes me feel good about what I accomplish, it's also bringing awareness to my weaknesses and to the idea of failure. Failure is not something easy to deal with but is something you need to be okay with, something you need to welcome in order to improve. No one is good at everything and in fact most of us are not good at most things.
More often than not I don't finish first, I don't lift the most weight and I don't run the fastest, I can't do as many reps or as many rounds. In my head I feel like I can and should be able to be the top girl in the gym but in reality I'm not and probably won't ever be. This idea of failure and weaknesses is something that I used to get hung up on. I would focus so much on what everyone else was doing I couldn't appreciate the gains and progress I was making. I really don't know where this changed for me, but one day I stopped stressing about what everyone else was doing. Do I want to finish first, lift the most? Yes! Do I try every day to be first, lift the most etc? Yes! Do I get discouraged when I don't? No, not anymore. This has probably been my biggest achievement.
My next achievement that I want to make? I want to be able to mentally push myself further. I want to learn how to train through breathlessness, I want to be able to dig deeper than I have been and find that inner bitch that says I'm going to finish this and you're not going to beat me (even if I do get beat by someone or the workout itself!). I find myself getting to that point of no return. That point where I really might pass out, I really might throw up but then I stop, I take a few seconds to catch my breath. Do I think you should train this hard every day? No, it's probably not healthy. However, I really want to see myself push beyond that point, go beyond my comfort zone to a place where I don't know what to expect next. I don't know what my body is going to do but I don't care because mentally I'm taking myself there. Its that badass self that I know is in there and I like to pretend I am all of the time, but I'm not. Its that badass part of myself that I need to tap in to in order to really see what I'm capable of doing!
My nickname, given to me by one of Matt's Sergents at LO is Bad B. At least this is one of my nicknames. It hasn't caught on at the gym yet and so my goal is to earn that nickname. To be Bad B! When I do the WOD today I'm going all out. I'm not going to look at the wall to see what everyone else did, I'm just going all out. I pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and I'm not stopping until I'm done. Whatever my time ends up being doesn't matter. What matters is that I pushed myself and know deep down that I couldn't have given more. And then guess what, I'm going to do it again tomorrow! I get to take Sunday off so you know what, suck it up and do it!
Wow, I just tough talked myself in my own blog while sitting in my cubicle at work, I love it! Time for lunch and I can't wait! Running in the early AM speeds up the metabolism that's for sure!
3:01 - Today has been super slow at work, I just re-read my self tough talk and am pumped. I'm pumped for the gym and lets be honest, SUPER PUMPED FOR MONDAY!! I can't wait to watch the Ducks play Auburn. I've been trying to not be that annoying Duck fan but come on now, we're playing in the championship game on Monday!! Anyways, I'm excited for the workout and I'm excited to push myself through my soreness and see what I can achieve. I'm feeling strong today, at least mentally strong, and can't wait. About 30 more minutes at work then I'm out of here, going to try to warm up early and go through some mobility work before the WOD since I'm so sore.
On another note, I am SO SORE from Wednesday's workout. My legs from hip to ankle and abs hurt just to breath and today's workout promises not to let up at all! Being so sore got me thinking about my weaknesses and lets be honest I have a lot of them! It would be difficult to name everything I can't do correctly, can't do the prescribed weight, can't do very fast, can't do very efficiently. As much as Crossfit makes me feel good about what I accomplish, it's also bringing awareness to my weaknesses and to the idea of failure. Failure is not something easy to deal with but is something you need to be okay with, something you need to welcome in order to improve. No one is good at everything and in fact most of us are not good at most things.
More often than not I don't finish first, I don't lift the most weight and I don't run the fastest, I can't do as many reps or as many rounds. In my head I feel like I can and should be able to be the top girl in the gym but in reality I'm not and probably won't ever be. This idea of failure and weaknesses is something that I used to get hung up on. I would focus so much on what everyone else was doing I couldn't appreciate the gains and progress I was making. I really don't know where this changed for me, but one day I stopped stressing about what everyone else was doing. Do I want to finish first, lift the most? Yes! Do I try every day to be first, lift the most etc? Yes! Do I get discouraged when I don't? No, not anymore. This has probably been my biggest achievement.
My next achievement that I want to make? I want to be able to mentally push myself further. I want to learn how to train through breathlessness, I want to be able to dig deeper than I have been and find that inner bitch that says I'm going to finish this and you're not going to beat me (even if I do get beat by someone or the workout itself!). I find myself getting to that point of no return. That point where I really might pass out, I really might throw up but then I stop, I take a few seconds to catch my breath. Do I think you should train this hard every day? No, it's probably not healthy. However, I really want to see myself push beyond that point, go beyond my comfort zone to a place where I don't know what to expect next. I don't know what my body is going to do but I don't care because mentally I'm taking myself there. Its that badass self that I know is in there and I like to pretend I am all of the time, but I'm not. Its that badass part of myself that I need to tap in to in order to really see what I'm capable of doing!
Wow, I just tough talked myself in my own blog while sitting in my cubicle at work, I love it! Time for lunch and I can't wait! Running in the early AM speeds up the metabolism that's for sure!
3:01 - Today has been super slow at work, I just re-read my self tough talk and am pumped. I'm pumped for the gym and lets be honest, SUPER PUMPED FOR MONDAY!! I can't wait to watch the Ducks play Auburn. I've been trying to not be that annoying Duck fan but come on now, we're playing in the championship game on Monday!! Anyways, I'm excited for the workout and I'm excited to push myself through my soreness and see what I can achieve. I'm feeling strong today, at least mentally strong, and can't wait. About 30 more minutes at work then I'm out of here, going to try to warm up early and go through some mobility work before the WOD since I'm so sore.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Day 5 No Loss
I had a feeling today was the day which is why I made myself get right last night. I didn't lose any weight this morning, in fact I was up 1/2 lb. I know daily weight gains and loss's are normal and I'm not upset at all. I'm still down 3 1/2 lbs and that is great! I'm working from home today which means food is more readily available so I have to be very mindful of staying out of the kitchen unless it is time for a planned meal/snack. Today is also a rest day at the gym which means I'm only eating 11 blocks, NO MORE! My legs are super sore from the workout yesterday and I know that I"m probably retaining water in my sore muscles so I'm dedicated to a nice walk with the dogs, plenty of water and a stretching/mobility session! I actually can't wait to work on some of this soreness in hopes of feeling better tomorrow! The one thing I'm nervous about is that we are eating out with friends today. My diet consists of so much measuring that I'm nervous to eat without knowing exactly the measurements. However I know that I need to stick to lean protein, tons of veggies and I should be fine!
8:53 - Well I managed to keep myself busy enough that I didn't have time to blog throughout the day. I am feeling pretty good about what I ate today and didn't eat, most importantly. We went out to dinner and I ordered a salad that actually was pretty good and fairly close to a 3 block meal. I might have eaten a little too much protein but didn't touch the chips and salsa at the table which is a huge achievement in my book! I also didn't drink any alcohol tonight, although a nice glass of red wine sounded mighty nice. I'm saving that for my cheat day as well. Once my weight is where I want it I might add back in a few cheats like a glass of wine here and there on non cheat days, but for now I think it's best to stay as much on plan as possible (at least I say that now). We'll see what the scale brings tomorrow, but even if it doesn't move at all I'm okay with that because like I said earlier, I'm still down 3 1/2 and as much as I want to see a loss tomorrow I'm not going to let that ruin my motivation to stay on track.
I have NOT got up early to run in the morning yet. I did run the dogs on Monday evening and since my toe and hip have been bothering me decided not to run the rest of the week to see if some rest would help. However, Po has turned in to a running dog, its crazy! He used to be so lazy and would refuse to run. Now he sits by the front door and looks at me then looks at his leash like, come on mom, take me on a run! It makes me feel so bad when I don't run that I am making a promise to him (I know, lame I'm making promises to my dog!) that we will run tomorrow morning BEFORE work. Ugh, which means it's time for me to go to bed. Good night everyone, here's to 5 days of staying on track in 2011!
8:53 - Well I managed to keep myself busy enough that I didn't have time to blog throughout the day. I am feeling pretty good about what I ate today and didn't eat, most importantly. We went out to dinner and I ordered a salad that actually was pretty good and fairly close to a 3 block meal. I might have eaten a little too much protein but didn't touch the chips and salsa at the table which is a huge achievement in my book! I also didn't drink any alcohol tonight, although a nice glass of red wine sounded mighty nice. I'm saving that for my cheat day as well. Once my weight is where I want it I might add back in a few cheats like a glass of wine here and there on non cheat days, but for now I think it's best to stay as much on plan as possible (at least I say that now). We'll see what the scale brings tomorrow, but even if it doesn't move at all I'm okay with that because like I said earlier, I'm still down 3 1/2 and as much as I want to see a loss tomorrow I'm not going to let that ruin my motivation to stay on track.
I have NOT got up early to run in the morning yet. I did run the dogs on Monday evening and since my toe and hip have been bothering me decided not to run the rest of the week to see if some rest would help. However, Po has turned in to a running dog, its crazy! He used to be so lazy and would refuse to run. Now he sits by the front door and looks at me then looks at his leash like, come on mom, take me on a run! It makes me feel so bad when I don't run that I am making a promise to him (I know, lame I'm making promises to my dog!) that we will run tomorrow morning BEFORE work. Ugh, which means it's time for me to go to bed. Good night everyone, here's to 5 days of staying on track in 2011!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Day 4 Getting Back to Normal
Today has been a much easier day compared to the past 3 days regarding hunger levels. It's 11:20 and I'm hungry, but just started feeling that way. The past few days have been rough as I feel like I'm either eating, or thinking about the next time I get to eat. I feel like the very hungry caterpillar, remember that book?!
I'm down another 1/2 lb, which makes me feel good! I weighed myself Sunday morning, and every morning since then and although I know I shouldn't be losing weight every day I expect to see a loss every time I step on the scale because of how hungry I've been! Since it's starting to level out I also expect the scale to level out and fall in to a more normal weight loss pattern of 1-2 lbs a week. I think mentally I'm in better shape now that I've added in some supplements as well. I know it's impossible that they have already made a difference but mentally I feel better. It's just a placebo effect, but anything to keep me going strong I'll take! As I mentioned before, I will be having cheat days and cheat meals. This weekend we are celebrating Matt's birthday by enjoying Paddington's pizza (I am going to drive down to Salem and get it for him while he's sleeping since he's on graveyard right now). I plan on enjoying the pizza and therefore am trying to stick my diet as much as possible until then.
I've added a bit more fat in and had 12 blocks yesterday instead of 11 which helped a lot! I'm willing to slow the weight loss down to a more reasonable level if I can deal with my hunger a bit better. The extra fat also helps keep me full longer as well as give my body the energy it needs to perform. Yesterday's work out gassed me, as it did to many others and I'm sure I would have done even worse if I hadn't grabbed some extra almonds beforehand.
1:54 - I just had a breakthrough, hunger wise :) It's 1:54 and rather than thinking to myself, man I just need to try to wait a little longer to eat my afternoon snack I had to think about making myself eat in time to taking my supplements and being properly fueled for my 4:30 workout. That didn't come out right...um I'm not starving and am actually going to make myself eat BEFORE I'm hungry so I'm ready to workout. Yay! Today is a much better day than yesterday that's for sure. However lets me honest, I picked up a chocolate covered something or other and raised my hand towards my mouth....held it there for a few seconds and then threw it away. That was a close call! I HATE working in a corporate environment, there is crap everywhere! Chocolate this, cake that, carbs here, sugar there....it's endless! I'm sure most of you out there can relate. There are plenty of people at my work that could benefit from a little less junk food scattered about the office, that's for sure!
Since I'm feeling good figured I'd post a picture from after a hero workout we did a few weeks ago that kicked my ass!
The workout is Whitten, named after Army Captain Dan Whitten, 28, of Grimes, Iowa, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who died February 2, 2010, when enemy forces in Zabul, Afghanistan, attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
The Whitten WOD is 5 rounds for time of:
Man it was a tough one, but a good one!
7:51 - My legs are broken from the WOD today, whew it was a tough one, mainly the pistols (think 1 leg squats with butt going down to the floor). I ended up going to the 6:00 class instead of 4:30 because Matt wasn't able to go at 4:30. There for a few minutes I went in to a panic mode, what am I going to do, I already ate my pre-workout snack and took my supplements and now I have 2 hours more than more than I expected before my workout. Then all of a sudden I snapped myself out of it, um hello, you are not an elite athlete, you took two pills and ate a 1 block meal, you can eat again if needed, its not the end of the world and the supplements aren't going to make a difference either way, you just started taking them! WHEW, glad I got through that one :) Turns out I just grabbed a handful of almonds before heading to the gym and was just fine.
I'm bracing myself for my morning weigh in as I know I'm likely not going to see a loss and I need to get right with that now. I talk a big talk but at the end of the day I expect overnight results! I did a bunch of situps today at the gym and therefore expect to see at least one ab muscle tomorrow morning, ha! As much as I'd like to say I'm kidding here, I only half am, half of me really struggles day to day with not getting the instant results I so badly want.
What's keeping me straight with this right now is that I really want to compete next year, so I'm not just working out to lose weight, I'm working out so that I can do big things in 2012, like go to sectionals! Anyways, I'm sitting here and my leg muscles are twitching because of the workout and I know walking tomorrow is going to be painful. Time to chug some more water and stretch in hopes of reducing the anticipated pain that tomorrow brings :)
Goodnight everyone!!
I'm down another 1/2 lb, which makes me feel good! I weighed myself Sunday morning, and every morning since then and although I know I shouldn't be losing weight every day I expect to see a loss every time I step on the scale because of how hungry I've been! Since it's starting to level out I also expect the scale to level out and fall in to a more normal weight loss pattern of 1-2 lbs a week. I think mentally I'm in better shape now that I've added in some supplements as well. I know it's impossible that they have already made a difference but mentally I feel better. It's just a placebo effect, but anything to keep me going strong I'll take! As I mentioned before, I will be having cheat days and cheat meals. This weekend we are celebrating Matt's birthday by enjoying Paddington's pizza (I am going to drive down to Salem and get it for him while he's sleeping since he's on graveyard right now). I plan on enjoying the pizza and therefore am trying to stick my diet as much as possible until then.
I've added a bit more fat in and had 12 blocks yesterday instead of 11 which helped a lot! I'm willing to slow the weight loss down to a more reasonable level if I can deal with my hunger a bit better. The extra fat also helps keep me full longer as well as give my body the energy it needs to perform. Yesterday's work out gassed me, as it did to many others and I'm sure I would have done even worse if I hadn't grabbed some extra almonds beforehand.
1:54 - I just had a breakthrough, hunger wise :) It's 1:54 and rather than thinking to myself, man I just need to try to wait a little longer to eat my afternoon snack I had to think about making myself eat in time to taking my supplements and being properly fueled for my 4:30 workout. That didn't come out right...um I'm not starving and am actually going to make myself eat BEFORE I'm hungry so I'm ready to workout. Yay! Today is a much better day than yesterday that's for sure. However lets me honest, I picked up a chocolate covered something or other and raised my hand towards my mouth....held it there for a few seconds and then threw it away. That was a close call! I HATE working in a corporate environment, there is crap everywhere! Chocolate this, cake that, carbs here, sugar there....it's endless! I'm sure most of you out there can relate. There are plenty of people at my work that could benefit from a little less junk food scattered about the office, that's for sure!
Since I'm feeling good figured I'd post a picture from after a hero workout we did a few weeks ago that kicked my ass!
The workout is Whitten, named after Army Captain Dan Whitten, 28, of Grimes, Iowa, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who died February 2, 2010, when enemy forces in Zabul, Afghanistan, attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
The Whitten WOD is 5 rounds for time of:
- 22 Kettlebell swings
- 22 Box jump, 24 inch box
- Run 400 meters
- 22 Burpees
- 22 Wall ball shots
Man it was a tough one, but a good one!
7:51 - My legs are broken from the WOD today, whew it was a tough one, mainly the pistols (think 1 leg squats with butt going down to the floor). I ended up going to the 6:00 class instead of 4:30 because Matt wasn't able to go at 4:30. There for a few minutes I went in to a panic mode, what am I going to do, I already ate my pre-workout snack and took my supplements and now I have 2 hours more than more than I expected before my workout. Then all of a sudden I snapped myself out of it, um hello, you are not an elite athlete, you took two pills and ate a 1 block meal, you can eat again if needed, its not the end of the world and the supplements aren't going to make a difference either way, you just started taking them! WHEW, glad I got through that one :) Turns out I just grabbed a handful of almonds before heading to the gym and was just fine.
I'm bracing myself for my morning weigh in as I know I'm likely not going to see a loss and I need to get right with that now. I talk a big talk but at the end of the day I expect overnight results! I did a bunch of situps today at the gym and therefore expect to see at least one ab muscle tomorrow morning, ha! As much as I'd like to say I'm kidding here, I only half am, half of me really struggles day to day with not getting the instant results I so badly want.
What's keeping me straight with this right now is that I really want to compete next year, so I'm not just working out to lose weight, I'm working out so that I can do big things in 2012, like go to sectionals! Anyways, I'm sitting here and my leg muscles are twitching because of the workout and I know walking tomorrow is going to be painful. Time to chug some more water and stretch in hopes of reducing the anticipated pain that tomorrow brings :)
Goodnight everyone!!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Day 3 of an always hungry me
So lets start by recaping the end of last night. I fell asleep watching Stanford spank VT! I have to say that although Vick only went there for a bit, I can't help but want to ALWAYS cheer against VT, so I'm glad they lost and I'm glad Stanford won, go PAC 10! I woke up on the couch around 10 and was hungry, of course, just like I am right now! So instead of going to bed hungry and likely paying for it at 3:00am, I had a few almonds and a glass of non-fat milk mixed with sugar free chocolate, doesn't that sound tasty (it actually is but was funny to write for some reason)! It did the trick though, I didn't binge and ate something that provided healthy fat, protein and carbs.
However it is important to ensure you are fueling your body properly, especially when calories are restricted and workouts are TOUGH! After some research I've decided to add Beta Alanine, fish oil and a good multivitamin to my diet along with a PWO shake (Post workout) after tough workouts. The PWO shake is a small serving (for me) of protein and carbs directly after a workout to ensure your body has enough protein to build lean muscle rather than break it down. It will help with recovery and ensure I'm making good progress in the gym.
It did work though because I woke up this morning hungry, but not starving, which is good. I also was down another 1/2 lb, which is also good! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am OBSESSED with weighing myself every morning, so get used to it :) I did some reading about supplements last night and think I'm going to start adding in a few things to my diet in order to support weight loss and muscle gain, lean muscle that is, don't worry I'm not trying to look like this:
So it's 10:45am and I'm hungry, but I haven't had much water today, so I'm hopping that will help get me to lunch without any issues. Today is easier than yesterday though!
1:32 - Lunch came and went, I think my co-workers are starting to hate me for not EVER going out to lunch with them because I ALWAYS bring my lunch. However, they eat at really unhealthy places and I end up saving a bunch of money by eating my turkey sandwich and apple everyday! However, right now I am hungry and feeling a little shaky, like low blood sugar shaky. Not horrible, but a little on egde :) I also went and picked up a bottle of liquid Omega - 3 supplements with EPA and DHA (think fish oil + more) that claims it tastes like lemon meringue. I'll let you know how that works out.
3:21 - Just tried the Omega 3 supplement, quite tasty and lemony! Trying to wait until 4:00 to have my last snack before the gym. I need/should take the beta alanine with food, about 2 hours before working out so I'm hoping that isn't too early to eat. No one likes to have a growling stomach while working out!
8:18 - Let me start by saying that Beta Alanine can make you face (or in my case hands) tingle in an almost painful, slight turn in to a tweaker kind of way, at least the first time you take it. I took it before the gym and my hands hurt! However, I also took it after the gym and was fine. Anyways, I'm sitting at 12 blocks right now and I feel good about that. I was really hungry today which is okay, I made good food choices so 12 blocks instead of 11 is fine. I had a good workout at the gym, kicked my ass. Came home and worked on stretching and did a mobility WOD, or MWOD. Check it out: MobilityWOD. ANYONE can benefit from doing the daily MWOD to help with mobility, flexibility and general pain in hips, shoulders, neck etc.
I'm feeling good about the day, stayed away from the ENDLESS pile of candy at work and stuck to my diet plan. Now time to watch the Biggest Loser and get some shut eye.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Late night binge
Well as I mentioned in my last post, I went to bed feeling hungry. I went to bed early with the intentions of waking up early this morning and running, yay me! Around 3:30am Phoenix decided to play in the shower, knocking over EVERYTHING and scaring me half to death. I was wide awake and HUNGRY!! I laid in bed for a few minutes but couldn't fall back asleep. I drank some water but my stomach was growling (not loud but loud enough to give me internal justification to eat something). I got up and grabbed a handful of almonds, nice choice! Here is where things went wrong...I was craving something sweet. I wandered in to the kitchen and found nothing (as I made sure to not buy any chocolate for the house). I opened the freezer and found a tub of frozen cool whip (fat free) and dug in.
Now it could have been worse, but it could have been better. I didn't eat the whole thing, but I wish I hadn't picked it up at all. I went back to bed thinking to myself, its okay, it takes time to adjust and plus, you are running in like 2 1/2 hours so it will be okay. This is where the night took a second turn for the worse, my iPhone alarm clock FAILED me and did not go off.
I was woken up by Remi walking around the room at 6:30. Plenty of time to get ready for work, but not enough time to run. So now it is 10:15am (I am blogging through out the day, helps me stay focused on the goal) I am hungry, not starving but being kept alert by the feeling that my stomach might make some noise at any minute. I'm chugging water, trying to make it to 12:00, although may end up eating my lunch around 11:30 if it gets too bad. I know this is all part of the adjustment and soon it won't be so bad, but detoxing after eating so many carbs, sugars and drinking way to much wine is tough. My body wants what it can't have right now!
In search of motivation, and at the request of Karinya, below are pictures of my hands after the workout last Friday. Yes, they hurt, but surprisingly, they are already pretty much healed up. Tender but not bad!
If I can push through that and finish the workout, I can stay away from the chocolate and avoid another late night binge! Another point of motivation, between yesterday and today I'm down 3 lbs. Think about that, that was likely all water weight I was carrying around because I was eating SOOO bad! 3 lbs, woot woot! In order to get below 150 in 60 days all I need to do is lose about 11 lbs, totally achievable! In fact, I think I might need to be a little more aggressive with my goals, I'll make adjustments after seeing where I'm at after the first 30 days.
12:18 - Lunch has been devoured! A turkey sandwich and half an apple. I don't feel full, not even close but my stomach is no longer talking to me so that's good. There is holiday candy EVERYWHERE and even though I know it won't be as good as a piece of amazing dark chocolate, it is tempting!
3:08 - Its funny that I can last a lot longer between breakfast and lunch then I can between lunch and a snack. I'm sure its a mental thing. Anyways, snack consisted of the other half of my apple from lunch, one slice of cheese (1 oz) and 3 almonds. Followed by an entire bottle of water and I'm feeling okay. I read an article about how being on the edge of hunger brings about a certain alertness and readiness. Rather than being stuffed and sluggish, I feel good, fueled and ready for what's next rather than a nap. I think this feeling is ruined by having to continue to sit at a desk all day though....that's another topic though :)
7:56 - Had a second snack right before I left work, applesauce with cottage cheese and 3 almonds. Took the dogs for a 2.25 mile run when I got home then went to the gym where we did the Crossfit Total, which requires you to find your max deadlift (225), max backsquat (175) and max press (80). This is also a 6 week challenge where we do it again in 6 weeks and hopefully see some good progress! I'm sitting at 11 blocks plus a few extra blocks of good fat (avocado and almonds) which is necessary to keep up strength while on this diet. I feel good right now, I'm going to drink a few more bottles of water and go to bed once again with the intent of NO late night binges!!
Now it could have been worse, but it could have been better. I didn't eat the whole thing, but I wish I hadn't picked it up at all. I went back to bed thinking to myself, its okay, it takes time to adjust and plus, you are running in like 2 1/2 hours so it will be okay. This is where the night took a second turn for the worse, my iPhone alarm clock FAILED me and did not go off.
I was woken up by Remi walking around the room at 6:30. Plenty of time to get ready for work, but not enough time to run. So now it is 10:15am (I am blogging through out the day, helps me stay focused on the goal) I am hungry, not starving but being kept alert by the feeling that my stomach might make some noise at any minute. I'm chugging water, trying to make it to 12:00, although may end up eating my lunch around 11:30 if it gets too bad. I know this is all part of the adjustment and soon it won't be so bad, but detoxing after eating so many carbs, sugars and drinking way to much wine is tough. My body wants what it can't have right now!
In search of motivation, and at the request of Karinya, below are pictures of my hands after the workout last Friday. Yes, they hurt, but surprisingly, they are already pretty much healed up. Tender but not bad!
12:18 - Lunch has been devoured! A turkey sandwich and half an apple. I don't feel full, not even close but my stomach is no longer talking to me so that's good. There is holiday candy EVERYWHERE and even though I know it won't be as good as a piece of amazing dark chocolate, it is tempting!
3:08 - Its funny that I can last a lot longer between breakfast and lunch then I can between lunch and a snack. I'm sure its a mental thing. Anyways, snack consisted of the other half of my apple from lunch, one slice of cheese (1 oz) and 3 almonds. Followed by an entire bottle of water and I'm feeling okay. I read an article about how being on the edge of hunger brings about a certain alertness and readiness. Rather than being stuffed and sluggish, I feel good, fueled and ready for what's next rather than a nap. I think this feeling is ruined by having to continue to sit at a desk all day though....that's another topic though :)
7:56 - Had a second snack right before I left work, applesauce with cottage cheese and 3 almonds. Took the dogs for a 2.25 mile run when I got home then went to the gym where we did the Crossfit Total, which requires you to find your max deadlift (225), max backsquat (175) and max press (80). This is also a 6 week challenge where we do it again in 6 weeks and hopefully see some good progress! I'm sitting at 11 blocks plus a few extra blocks of good fat (avocado and almonds) which is necessary to keep up strength while on this diet. I feel good right now, I'm going to drink a few more bottles of water and go to bed once again with the intent of NO late night binges!!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Holidays got the best of me
It never fails, I always find myself trying to lose weight during the holidays. It never works and this year was no different. Luckily I continued to workout so the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. Right before Thanksgiving I reported I had lost 6 1/2 lbs in a little over 2 weeks. I was super excited about it BUT gained all of that back between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So today marks day 1 in a personal challenge to get back on track with the zone diet to lose weight and also see big progress in the gym. My personal challenge, and therefore I guess my new years resolution, is to create my own 60 day challenge. I am allowing myself cheat days/meals, the resolution is to be honest, to give it an honest effort for 60 days. I have a mental block with weight loss and always give up on the diet portion (read the first part of my blog, you'll see my last attempt and failure at losing and keeping the weight off, ha!). Each time I try to lose weight I get stuck at 150, I haven't been under 150 for many years now. Clearly I have some mental issues to work through, but I think Crossfit is really helping with that. I'm constantly faced with failure at the gym, its part of tackling challenging workouts and I'm learning to be okay with failure and rather than give up, devise a plan to succeed next time. I'm not losing weight simply for appearance reasons but also so I can workout harder and faster, be stronger and hopefully be able to compete at sectionals in 2012!
The first day is always tough, it's like a detox. I think my biggest issue was that I fell out of my normal routine. I am a creature of habit and find I make the most progress when I do the same thing every day. Today I set an alarm to get up reasonably early since I'd been sleeping in during my own little Christmas break. I also measured out all my meals, making sure to only eat my 11 blocks. No wine, no dark chocolate, no cheating. I'll be honest, it's 8:45pm and I am hungry. I want to eat more, but I know the first day is the hardest so I'm doing my absolute best to stick to this. On the days I work out I might eat 12 blocks, but for sure on the days I don't work out I don't get any more than 11 blocks. Writing this helped me pass a few more minutes, its almost time to go to bed so I can wake up and run in the morning with the beasts. My goal is to maintain 8-10 miles a week. Its good for me and surprisingly Po loves running! I never thought he would be a running dog, but he loves it so it helps motivate me to get out the door rain or shine.
Stay tuned for my updates on the good, the bad and the ugly of trying to navigate birthdays, company lunches and offsites etc all while working towards breaking through my 150 barrier!
So today marks day 1 in a personal challenge to get back on track with the zone diet to lose weight and also see big progress in the gym. My personal challenge, and therefore I guess my new years resolution, is to create my own 60 day challenge. I am allowing myself cheat days/meals, the resolution is to be honest, to give it an honest effort for 60 days. I have a mental block with weight loss and always give up on the diet portion (read the first part of my blog, you'll see my last attempt and failure at losing and keeping the weight off, ha!). Each time I try to lose weight I get stuck at 150, I haven't been under 150 for many years now. Clearly I have some mental issues to work through, but I think Crossfit is really helping with that. I'm constantly faced with failure at the gym, its part of tackling challenging workouts and I'm learning to be okay with failure and rather than give up, devise a plan to succeed next time. I'm not losing weight simply for appearance reasons but also so I can workout harder and faster, be stronger and hopefully be able to compete at sectionals in 2012!
The first day is always tough, it's like a detox. I think my biggest issue was that I fell out of my normal routine. I am a creature of habit and find I make the most progress when I do the same thing every day. Today I set an alarm to get up reasonably early since I'd been sleeping in during my own little Christmas break. I also measured out all my meals, making sure to only eat my 11 blocks. No wine, no dark chocolate, no cheating. I'll be honest, it's 8:45pm and I am hungry. I want to eat more, but I know the first day is the hardest so I'm doing my absolute best to stick to this. On the days I work out I might eat 12 blocks, but for sure on the days I don't work out I don't get any more than 11 blocks. Writing this helped me pass a few more minutes, its almost time to go to bed so I can wake up and run in the morning with the beasts. My goal is to maintain 8-10 miles a week. Its good for me and surprisingly Po loves running! I never thought he would be a running dog, but he loves it so it helps motivate me to get out the door rain or shine.
Stay tuned for my updates on the good, the bad and the ugly of trying to navigate birthdays, company lunches and offsites etc all while working towards breaking through my 150 barrier!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year New Me?
2011 is here. The holidays are over. THANK GOD! Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with friends and family, but the holidays have DESTROYED any progress I made in losing weight. So it's time to refocus, get back on track with the zone diet. I lost 6 1/2 pounds in 2/12 weeks when I was focused, so I know I'll see results quickly. The challenge for me is staying on track. I tend to celebrate my weight loss by cheating on my diet, a lot! Oops! I'm not going to make any unrealistic goals and say I won't have ups and downs with my diet, but I am going to make a short term goal to get back on track ASAP!
This last week at the gym was hero week, meaning every WOD was dedicated to a hero who lost his life serving our country. These workouts will kick your ass, they are tough and a reminder of the struggles and hardships endured by the people that serve our country every day. My big achievement this last week is that I did the prescribed weight on all 4 workouts I did! I am so excited about that because these workouts were tough! Thursday's workout was 5 rounds 15 deadlifts (155 lbs), 20 box jumps and 25 pullups. I ended up ripping both of my hands during that workout, but finished! Friday was the mental challenge, the day I pushed through a mental barrier I didn't even realize I had! The workout on Friday was Murph, run 1 mile then do 100 pullups, 200 pushups and 300 squats. You could break up the reps any way you wanted to, but once they were complete you had to finish with another mile.
The workout itself was tough, but the hardest part for me was the pullups because my hands hurt so freaking bad. I got to 35 pullups and could feel the tears behind my eyes, I wanted to quit in the worst way. I kept saying, I'm too much of a sis, I can't do this, there is no way I'm going to be able to get to 100. And then everyone started finishing up and heading out for their last mile run.
Here is where the breakthrough came, I was given an opportunity to quit, to do dips instead of pullups, to not do any more pullups. In my head I screamed no!! Out loud I snapped back, I'm going to do this! I got strong and started back at the pullups, this time not with fear of the pain, not with anger or anxiety building up in the form of tears but with sheer determination to finish. I said to myself, I didn't get shot, I am alive, I am lucky and this pain isn't THAT bad. I worked through my pullups as the last of the others came back from their last mile, they were DONE with the entire workout. I don't like being last and normally this would have set off breakdown number 2, but I wasn't doing this workout to be first. I was doing it for me, to prove to myself that I am stronger than I give myself credit for. I was doing it for me to push myself beyond my comfort zone. I was doing it for everyone who has given their lives so that I can go to the gym and do stupid pullups! It felt so great to get that last pullup and head out to run my last mile. I finished with the slowest time of the day, but I finished and I did it all on my own!
To top things off, I finished the 100 mile challenge and 50,000 meter row!!
In all honesty 2011 won't bring a new me, but I don't want a new me anyways. I don't know if I'm going to make a new years resolutions. No one ever sticks to them, they are way to vague with endless timelines. The only one I might make is to bowl a 300 in Wii bowling!!!
Happy New Years everyone! I hope everyone has a great, healthy 2011!! Back to the zone diet I go....tomorrow!
This last week at the gym was hero week, meaning every WOD was dedicated to a hero who lost his life serving our country. These workouts will kick your ass, they are tough and a reminder of the struggles and hardships endured by the people that serve our country every day. My big achievement this last week is that I did the prescribed weight on all 4 workouts I did! I am so excited about that because these workouts were tough! Thursday's workout was 5 rounds 15 deadlifts (155 lbs), 20 box jumps and 25 pullups. I ended up ripping both of my hands during that workout, but finished! Friday was the mental challenge, the day I pushed through a mental barrier I didn't even realize I had! The workout on Friday was Murph, run 1 mile then do 100 pullups, 200 pushups and 300 squats. You could break up the reps any way you wanted to, but once they were complete you had to finish with another mile.
 |
| This is who the MURPH workout is named after |
The workout itself was tough, but the hardest part for me was the pullups because my hands hurt so freaking bad. I got to 35 pullups and could feel the tears behind my eyes, I wanted to quit in the worst way. I kept saying, I'm too much of a sis, I can't do this, there is no way I'm going to be able to get to 100. And then everyone started finishing up and heading out for their last mile run.
Here is where the breakthrough came, I was given an opportunity to quit, to do dips instead of pullups, to not do any more pullups. In my head I screamed no!! Out loud I snapped back, I'm going to do this! I got strong and started back at the pullups, this time not with fear of the pain, not with anger or anxiety building up in the form of tears but with sheer determination to finish. I said to myself, I didn't get shot, I am alive, I am lucky and this pain isn't THAT bad. I worked through my pullups as the last of the others came back from their last mile, they were DONE with the entire workout. I don't like being last and normally this would have set off breakdown number 2, but I wasn't doing this workout to be first. I was doing it for me, to prove to myself that I am stronger than I give myself credit for. I was doing it for me to push myself beyond my comfort zone. I was doing it for everyone who has given their lives so that I can go to the gym and do stupid pullups! It felt so great to get that last pullup and head out to run my last mile. I finished with the slowest time of the day, but I finished and I did it all on my own!
To top things off, I finished the 100 mile challenge and 50,000 meter row!!
In all honesty 2011 won't bring a new me, but I don't want a new me anyways. I don't know if I'm going to make a new years resolutions. No one ever sticks to them, they are way to vague with endless timelines. The only one I might make is to bowl a 300 in Wii bowling!!!
Happy New Years everyone! I hope everyone has a great, healthy 2011!! Back to the zone diet I go....tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)