Holidaize!

So the last time we talked I was going on about trying to get up for a workout early in the wee dark cold hours of the morning. Well I did it, I got up, got over there and got my workout on!

Early Morning Wod

Bench press 1 rep max

(thanks to my awesome partner) 80#

10 min amrap

10 box jumps 20"

10 dead lifts 85#

10 ring dips scaled with band

3 rounds + 6 deadlifts

Cherry - 800m run (yes I did that too)

5:05 (I think, it was either this or 5:15)

This was such a good idea in the moment, but it was one I would pay for later. I don't get much sleep when I am at my dads because the kids wake up all night long so I knew I would already be losing sleep and the 2 extra hours I would have got Wednesday morning would have been perfect. Alas, I really wanted that workout and I felt great all day. So while I was tired and am still paying for it I am glad I went. I am dying to find out my 1 rep max dead lift!

So when I packed up for our short trip I packed running clothes, I needed to do a 25-30 min run for the running class. I wasn't sure if I would run but the prospect of running with my stepmom was in and of itself exciting. Wednesday night I was talking about running and my cousin said she was running a turkey trot, I had planned on running one here until we decided to spend Thanksgiving with my Dad so I was like oh I should go. Then when I was up at 7:30am after no sleep the next morning I was like no I need to rest, my legs were sore (I am out of omegas yikes!) then I saw everyone on facebook talking about their turkey trots so then I felt like a bum for not going. So I just got dressed and decided to run, luckily my awesome stepmom went with me! We did a short 21 min 2 mile run. I had to stop twice because we were running some country hills and my legs were literally on fire and just gased. Hear me now people...nutrition is essential to recovery. I have not truly zoned in 3 days and I am feeling it. Still it was great to finally be able to run with her and chat!

So for Thanksgiving I didn't really eat much. For one I have limited choices with my allergies and for two I am just not that into food. My older brother asked me what food I looked forward to the most during this time. I thought and my mind went blank, like meditating blank. I used to the all about the food. Not so much the turkey, but the noodles and potatoes and dressing. Yum! I would be in a carb daze for like 12 hours. Oh and the gravy...gravy. But this year I wanted two things, protein and to not eat anything that makes me sick. I don't expect people to accommodate my allergies. I had wanted to make something but was told repeatedly no, so I didn't bring anything. So I knew turkey was safe and that the mashed potatoes weren't instant and thus safe. I had some plain green beans, cranberry sauce and called it dinner. However, this conversation and my reaction left me thinking a lot. Because I did used to be a food junkie, I have the pictures to prove it. I have always been, but it started showing after I hit my 30s. Now food is a fuel and in some way an enemy. 

I only think about food when I am actually hungry and it is usually in terms of what is going to give me optimal energy and well not make me sick. I think between my allergies and eating a mostly paleo diet I have changed my mental outlook on food. I am happy about this because I think I have a good healthy relationship to food where as before I would say not so much. So in a nutshell, lots of turkey, some sides and never once felt stuffed or even full, just nicely satisfied. I did gut a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie though, mwah! I should also give some props to the Whole30 because I am sure that doing that has landed me where I am. 

So tomorrow no running class but coach class and WOD, I am going to throw in a home wod from my running workouts because I have kind of slacked on them this week. I was planning on hitting the box today but I am just so tanked from my lack of sleep that I doubt I would be able to do anything, plus I am a tad moody when I am tired. So some simple dinner, a hot shower and I am going to bed. 

Working for the Turkey

Ha, aren't we all? How many times have you been like I am going to do X workout so I can have Y? Me I wasn't exactly thinking turkey with my workout it was family. I am going to see a lot of Family in the next two days I haven't seen since my Grandma died in August. There has been a big change since then and I am excited.

I am starting to think that I have some sort of CrossFit addiction, or maybe an endorphin addiction. When I go more than 2 days without a good hard CrossFit workout I tend to get a little...well bitchy. I start getting crabby and restless and just a general feeling of wanting to go DO something.  Because of this I am stressing a little over this week and the Holidays, I mean Thanksgiving is on my workout day! I am trying to get as many workouts in as I can before we head over the river and through the woods, then jump right back into it after. CrossFit Regeneration has a great schedule this week but I fear there may be a 5:30 or 6:30 am class in my future...yikes!

This was me today during today's wod...on paper it didn't seem so bad, or I should say as bad as it ended up being. It was so hard for me I was all but chanting this as a mantra for the last round. Here are the deets..

Back Squats (3X10) 45# (way too light!)

3 rounds for time

20 wall balls 10#

20 burpee pull ups (scaled)
Time - 21:23

Yep, you read that right, 21 minutes and 23 seconds. This workout kicked my a** and took a couple of hits at my lungs while it was at it. I am getting strong, I am lifting more weights than I had in the beginning and I can tell I am getting more fit (9:18 mile anyone?) but I am still really weak in the cardio condition area. I was dying in this workout. I used a 10 lb wall ball because I knew 14 would kill me, but for the burpee pull ups I had to scale it to a point of pure hell. We did 10 burpees, 10 pull ups, repeat. There were 2 times during this part of the workout where I thought for sure I would yack on the floor. It was coming, I could feel it. I think the saving grace was the fact that my body was so taxed from the workout it didn't have the power to throw up. 

I had planned on doing back to backs like I did Saturday, today there will be a running class WOD and I wanted to throw them both in at once. After this workout I was shaking and felt so sick I could barely choke down my protein...funny thing is, it was gone about 10-15 min after. I was fine, ready to do the second workout. However, I had Firecracker with me and needed to go so I decided just to do the running wod at home tonight. 

I had a proud paleo mommy moment today, after the workout I chugged chocked down a protein shake and  since I needed some fat brought a jar of coconut oil. Since Firecracker was there I brought her a snack too and after she ate it she wanted some spoons of coconut oil. Then she wanted a sandwich for lunch and I watched as she ate her turkey and cheese and left her bread, haha. She did chomp her chips though. But still, love my little cave girl. 

So the rest of the day I have become more and more tired, I really needed to do the running wod so after dinner, Daddy-O helped me get the kids to bed, and he got to put on his coaching hat and keep time for me. 

Running WOD

400 m run

tabata 

squats

sit ups

push ups

20 sec work, 10 sec rest 8 rounds each

1 min rest between sets

400 m run

So I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be counting, if you count anything on tabatas. I had Daddy-O running a tabata timer to tell me when to stop and start. Let's just say I was excited for him to see how fit I am compared to before I started this journey and welp that didn't happen. I was gased, The run was surprisingly easy even doing it with my new running posture but dang, that first squat I knew I was in trouble. I have been pounding protein and even more starches all day, recovering from earlier but I guess I just tanked my reserves earlier. I wasn't going to stop even though I was home I soldiered on. Let's just say the squats were the best part of the evening...I could barely do 3-4 push ups per round. Scaled push ups!!! Tanked. 

So I am planning, and I use that term lightly, on going to the 6:30 class in the morning. I am NOT a morning person and not too happy about getting up before the sun, BUT I get really cranky when I miss so many days of CF (as I mentioned before) and I want to prevent that with just stock piling for the next couple of days, plus tomorrow's wod is awesome!! I reiterate I am not a morning person, so don't be shocked if I choose bed over a cold box in the morning!

Saturday WOD...two days late

All weekend I kept meaning to sit down and write up deets about Saturdays fitness goods but 1) I started reading a new book series and 2) we renovated our bathroom. So if I wasn't painting or reorganizing I was reading...well and there was some motherly duties in there as well, I don't completely neglect my family when I am reading a new book...no completely.

So Friday I started reading The Mortal Instruments series, it is right up my alley. I hate to say this but young adult books are so much better than chic lit and such. Besides the teenage angst they typically contain story lines which are much better, imo. It is a good book , I finished it in 3 days...another plus for YA books, quick reads. 

So Me!!

So Saturday I got up read a chapter then headed to CrossFit Regeneration for my first running class & the coaches class. I am fairly excited that CF.com has started adding 2013 certification class dates, whoop! So anyway about my wods...

WOD #1 aka - running class

We started the class by video taping us run, wow no pressure. It was funny and it felt like I was auditioning for a running commercial. Afterward we lined up to run 1 mile for time. I knew we would probably run some sort of distance so I grabbed my phone & headphones and plugged in to some Bruno Mars. I love his new song "Locked out of Heaven" because reminds me of Journey, Kings of Leon, and the Police all wrapped up into one. After the mile run we got a lesson on running form...wow, forget everything you have ever been taught about running. This concluded with us watching our running postures. I was praying more for no visible jiggle as we watched me move in slow mo...

At this point the coaches and competitors class was filing in so I ran grabbed a protein shake, changed shoes and chugged it down. The running class was moved outside for drills while I stayed in to start the coaches class. I want to be a better runner but I want to be a coach first, plus Coach Kari rocks and she offered to take a moment after class to go over what I missed. 

Running class summary

1 mile for time

time - 9:18 

(previous best 10:27)

You read that right, improved my time by over a minute!!

Okay where was I? Oh yeah coaches and competitors class. So we started this out with going over Kettlebell clean and jerks. This was one of those moves where my brain is in over drive and also if you do it wrong you will get bruised and of course I got a few good whacks in...

                                  

This is my arm the day of, at about 5pm                       This is my arm Sunday morning, gnarly

It felt like I had been given a bad shot, I had a knot and everything, well still do. It is pretty crazy, good thing it is time for long sleeves. 

So after our instruction on some kettlebell moves we got down to business. Saturday's WOD #2

100 double unders buy in

3 rounds

10 KB taters

10 KB clean & jerks

10 HR push ups

100 double unders cash out

Time 17:58 (scaled)

So I used a 15 lb kettlebell mainly because I wasn't sure I could do the workout with heavier and the 25 one kept beating up my arms. I decided to go light rather than do anymore damage including but not limited to busting out my teeth on the taters. I loved the taters BTW. I also scaled the DU with 300 single rope jumps. 

In the future I am not sure if I will do a WOD with jump rope involved. I was having all sorts of problems with my fribroid while taking taekwando, problems I wasn't having with CrossFit and was unsure why. I know why now, with TKD you are in constant movement, bouncing around, kick, punching. Jumping rope made for some massive irritation of the thing residing in my uterus. I am sure this is why you aren't supposed to do these types of things pregnant, like hard bouncey things. I do have hope that this will get better as my torso and core get stronger, we will see. 

After this wod I finished up some more basics from the running class, grabbed my junk, a paleo kit and headed home. The rest of that day I was pretty tanked. No matter what I ate I seemed to just be completely out of energy, I took a couple of short naps while trying to do stuff around the house but it never seemed to get any better. I was in bed and reading for the night at like 9 I think. Exhausted!

Speaking of Paleo kits, I got my first box of goods from Steve's Original. I grabbed some of the Apple pie kits, paleo krunch and some berry kits. 

This is stuff is amazingly good. Daddy-O and I split a regular kit which is a perfect meal replacement for 1 adult. Lots of protein and fat, the snack size is what I had post wod and it was also a perfect portion, I have been wanting to try these for a while. I thought they were perfect because it is hard to find allergy free jerky for me and/or quick grab snacks. I plan as much as possible but there are always times I go hungry because I am not where I can eat regular food or I am somewhere that doesn't have food I can eat. I can throw one of these in my purse and always be prepared. I know a bar would be easier but most bars are mostly sugar and fat if they are paleo and I need protein. Protein bars are out...allergens, sugar and junk, not thanks. An added bonus to these kits is they will go great in an emergency kit. I bought a sample of stuff to see what was good and how filling they were, I will be buying more for our kits. The Paleo Crack Krunch was just something I wanted to try. I have always loved granola and while this is purely a fat and calorie supply and mainly for enjoyment, it would be a good snack grab in a pinch. It was superb...yikes, too good actually. I couldn't seem to stay away from it. Then...it was gone. 

So speaking of emergency kits, we are supposed to hit a pretty nasty winter around here so I have been planning for such. I was a Jeep girl before I succumbed to the minivan so big snows weren't a huge deal. Now I drive a front wheel drive mombus...not even all wheel, I am not going to go gallivanting out like I would in the Jeeps. Because of this, I am going to have some emergency stocks in case we get snowed in. We have a nice freezer to stock and I am going to start stocking the pantry, but I also want to have items for times when we are stuck without power. I have been researching preparedness and kits and stuff and I have to say...some people have it right but some people miss the boat on food. 

When I get ready to stock our kit I will not be turning to cereals and dried grains, so I will be turning to proteins and fats. Sure you can stock up on calories with grains and such but your body will burn right through them, where as with protein and especially fat it is a slow release of energy. I have been buying extra jars of coconut oil for this purpose, the zone has really opened my eyes to this. I find the only time I am hungry is when I haven't had all of my fat blocks. I also don't want to spend the zombie apocalypse in serious pain and agony from living off of allergy foods. So I am trying to keep a stash of high calorie, high protein and high fat options. 

CorssFit Regeneration had a charity event Sunday featuring the workout "Fight gone Bad" this is an amazing workout i was dying to do. I was still incredibly sore and tanked from two classes in one day so I had planned on going to watch and donate. Then this happened...

   

     Awful Aqua and peach bathroom (with Fircracker as a butterfly)  New concrete gray and white!

I don't really have a good picture of my bathroom before. It had an old white vanity we had painted after we got married and shiny silver accessories. We painted it a bright aqua to match a curtain and try to tame the obnoxious peach tile. This is the last room in our house that needed a major overhaul so we found a new vanity, mirror and paint color. We spray painted our shiny silver stuff with a satin nickle rustoleum, took down the bulky over sized 80s dated wooden medicine cabinet and voila...new bathroom! I actually found a bathroom on Pinterest and copied it almost exactly. I didn't want to go out and buy a ton of new decorations so I just kind of robbed different rooms in my house to achieve the same look and finished it off by printing some photos of us as a family from last Fall. I am pretty proud of it. Daddy-O and I are total DIY people so this was fun. 

It's not swagger, I am just sore. Ranting & Roast Chicken

First off I want to say I love re-reading a post I wrote while completely exhausted, it makes for good laughs. Not that my editing is great on a good day but last night was hilarious! Okay enough about that.

As I said before sometimes when I leave a workout I feel like I need to go back and do another because my recovery has become really quick. To me this was an indication that I was ready to try two days in a row. My goal is to get up to 5-6 days a week, this may not necessarily be a WOD every day, but that or a run or a home wod, because of scheduling and such. I do want to reach a point of working out, hard, most days. So yesterday was my first 2 days in a row workout. Today...I feel like I did after beginner workouts. Sore, tired, amazing. Man, it is really hard not to walk around with the CrossFit walk sometimes. I went to bed early last night slept 9.5 hours and I am still tired today. I am dosing my protein blocks and omega 3 and trying to stay away from nuts for today.

Today was Firecracker's Thanksgiving Feast at school, this is where they get to bring their favorite food and share with the class. Firecracker settled on goldfish, she didn't seem to really get that she wasn't picking snack for her snack week and kept bouncing between snack foods, finally settling on the goldfish. Geeps took shrimp to his last year, he went all out. So before the feast I grabbed a cheese stick and an apple and some coconut oil, I know I know but it is an easy fat, life has been crazy and I am being ultra lazy. I am a room mom so I was setting up for the party (btw this is why no CrossFit today),and I was looking like some crazy lady trying to get this table cloth on with my sore arms and shoulders. Then every time I would squat down, getting up was a challenge, I really wanted a sign that said I wasn't disabled just sore.

My little pilgrim eating a fry!

So when I got home I was good and hungry and Firecracker was full of all kinds of crap so rather than cook I just grabbed some more chili...I know I know I am pathetic. I told you I am a fiend for the stuff. I just hate that you are getting boring food posts, but worry not, keep reading I am cooking up something fantabulous for dinner! But more on that later, I wanted to say that that I think I have hit the mark on this zone paleo...I am seeing the scale move as well as a few places feel leaner (aka not so much padding) but the biggest thing I have noticed is that I am sated at meals and don't get hungry again until about 10-20 min before the next meal. I am also all about all 5 meals. I feel like I eat smaller meals than before but it is a good amount because I get hungry when I should and I am sated when I should be.

**Rant Warning**

So this afternoon I was chatting with my friend FitChick, now if you haven't checked out her blog do it, you can view it here. Not only is she a friend but she is my fitness and health partner in crime. We compliment each other very well and have some great fitness & nutrition discussions. She is very inspiring to me, she is the main reason I skip simple cheats and show restraint with food and well try when it comes to eating healthy 100% of the time. This woman has the resolve of a bull and more willpower than anyone I have ever met. She has fought hard for a 70+ pound weight loss (so far, she isn't done yet) and she has changed her life. One of my favorite things to do is talk about all of this stuff with her. Her blog is also amazing and inspiring...well on that blog she got an unwelcome comment. In so many words someone got extremely high on their horse and extra judgey of her methods.

See FitChick is on a medically supervised low calorie diet plan that involves shakes and such. She did a lot of research and found this plan and decided to commit to it. This person decided to ride in and go all, well here is my opinion, which involved passively aggressively attacking her life. Sound exaggerated? It isn't, she knows nothing about her but what is posted and she felt it was okay to get on there and let her have it. She veiled it in a post of "concern" and even after FitChick politely replied and defended her choices and current lifestyle this chick still came back to attack her...with "concern". I get it, we are online, our posts are seen by tons of people and we are going to get opinions, I am lucky I don't have the following she does which equates to less drama. This girl on her -I just graduated from college with a degree in your standard exercise science program- had no right to come and attack FitChick and it was stupid wrong. It made me quite mad, don't mess with my peeps! I ask that the 2 of you who read this please go check her site and give her a big ole you rock, because she does. I have seen her go from unhappy and unhealthy to a model for anyone wanting to live a healthy lifestyle and she has never posted peanut butter banana "healthy" cookies on her site.

Okay now onto some Nosh!!!

I have mentioned before I love nom nom paleo she has the best food porn on her site and she is a crazy cooking nut like me. A while back she posted a recipe for a quick and easy chicken and I am addicted to it. It is so good and worth the prep time. I don't get to make Thanksgiving dinner and I am apparently in the mood this year so I have been making a lot of roast chickens. You can find the original of this recipe here.

Roast Chicken and Veg
1 brined organic chicken
Roasting vegetables, I used parsnips, carrots, pearl onion, celery, and mushrooms
butter

Peel and cut up all of your veggies and place them in a roasting pan, dot with butter. Spatchcock your chicken, place over veggies and massage butter into the skin. I sprinkled with Old world seasoning from Penzeys. Place in a 425 degree oven and cook for 45-55 min until done.

before the magic

after the magic!!

I love Trader Joe's, I know I have said it before. The main reason is that it is easy to get the foods I like at a good price, but the close second is that they sell their foods in seasons. Like now they have tons of parsnips! Yay for me, I love these little roots. The only root I love more than parsnips are beets...mmm beets! I love parsnips so much that I cut up 2 whole bags of them for this recipe to make sure I had some leftovers. If you don't have a TJs nearby that sells organic brined chickens you can brine your own, it makes the best roast chicken ever!!

I am really itching to cook some good Thanksgiving eats, I am going to be traveling this year but I am considering making a paleo pumpkin pie-ish and maybe some other goodies to take. Jury is still out however. I really want to make some paleo truffles so look out for those before Christmas for sure. 

The day that wasn't...

YAWN! It is going to be a long day, I woke up early this morning to go eat breakfast at Geeps school to raise money for a family in need. I had gone not planning on having any options to eat and lo and behold I was able to get eggs and bacon & some orange juice, even coffee with real cream. Shocked I was, the only thing I was missing was some extra fat which I got by eating a couple spoons of coconut oil when I got home. Yep I did that.

Afterward I came home and had a couple of hours to get some work in before hitting CrossFit Regeneration again today, eeek yes I know two days in a row...I am a lucky girl. I ran into a food dilemma today before I hit the box. Typically I eat breakfast an hour before a workout, but since today was more of a lunchtime wod I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go. I do pretty good in the energy department if I get my 3 block meal in at least one hour before hitting the pavement (or bars whatever) so I was concerned what a 1 block snack, which is typically post workout nosh, would do for me before the workout. 

After much mental debate I decided to have another 3 block meal an hour before the workout and hit a 1 block snack post wod. So for my 3 block meal I had leftover chili with sour cream and 2 blocks of nuts. I wasn't really very hungry but I knew I would need it for today's workout so I ate it up, dropped Firecracker off and headed to CrossFit Regeneration. Today's workout deets...

Skill practice - I worked on double unders

then

9 sit ups

21 thrusters (45#)

15 sit ups

15 thrusters

21 sit ups

9 thrusters

time: 13:47

cherry

5 min amrap

10 toes to bar (knees to boobies for me)

10 push press (45#)

10 burpees...

1 round + 8 push press

I really think that my body is starting to become the crossfitter my mind wants me to be. Sure I have a LONG way to go to be the fittest but today I did 45 thrusters with 45#...if you remember last time I worked on thrusters it didn't go so well, I needed major help from some warp drive engineers, but today while I didn't own it it wasn't completely horrible and in hindsight I would have probably performed even better if I wasn't a bit sore and fatigued from yesterday. Maybe. 

Afterward I downed some nuts and cheese, I need to hit the grocery! Somewhere in between the 100 errands I had today I stopped by my house to grab a second 1 block snack and since I had about 2 minutes to find something I just grabbed a scoop of protein and drank it up with some nuts. I am pounding the omega six today!

My day just didn't want to slow down or stop so after picking up Geeps I ran some more errands then took little man to taekwando, which went way too fast. It was spirit day at Chikfila for Geeps school and since I was beyond exhausted from a full day of running around I had Daddy-O grab dinner for us. I thought about getting the grilled nuggets like I always do and making some healthier starches at home with some fat but it wasn't happening. So I ended up having 6 grilled nuggets, fries (let's all gasp) and a dt coke, they I went there too! We got shafted because I should have had 8 nuggets so since my protein was lacking I grabbed on of the kids cheese sticks to full in, 2 tsps of coconut oil later and I was finished. Not my best day of food ever but hey. 

So it is late, I am tanked and ready to pass out! While I was great during today's workout I am feeling the effects of two days in a row...need sleep!!!

It's Tuesday

I gots nothing clever for a title today. My brain is just not working for me. Plus I typically write my blog throughout the day but today was full of fun surprises and fussy kids, so...

This morning was my typical crazy day getting everyone ready for their day. At 5 minutes before we needed to leave Daddy-O informs me he needs to be at work early...so I offered to take Geeps to school for him and save him about 20 min...I had 5 min to get Geeps ready, Firecracker dressed and ready as well as myself (not to mention I was trying to finally make my breakfast). I was a champ, got everyone dressed and bundled up but...moi. So here I was taking Geeps to school in my PJs, bed hair and all. Oh yeah, and my PJs were some cotton shorts and a long sleeved shirt. It was 28 degrees and I have leather seats...all I can say is thank God for Uggs & heated seats (and not being late thus having to walk Geeps in). When I finally got home and got Firecracker settled with some electronic entertainment I was able to make my breakfast which today is my pre WOD fuel.

Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled with cheese, mushrooms, green onions & topped with hot sauce
                 3/4 avocado
                coffee with milk

This was a really great breakfast, I have decided to go ahead and cut my carb/starches and up my fats. One reason is 3 cups of broccoli is a lot of friggin food and I can't seem to eat all of my blocks of carbs. This is mainly because I don't eat things like bread or beans, it would be easy that way to get those starches in, but I eat a mostly low glycemic carbs so the quantities are huge. So today I had 1 block of carbs at breakfast and upped my fat to 6 blocks. This is why I think so many paleo zone people eat a crap ton of avocados, I wasn't going to eat 2 tsps of butter, so I opted for 1 block of butter, 5 blocks of avocado. It was quite tasty. This meal, which I fought to get in my gullet at least an hour before I hit my workout, was a gem. I had loads of energy during the crazy hard awesome WOD and had zippity quick recovery. Win, win. I think I found my formula. Here are some WOD deets...

Overhead Squats 3X10 35#

then

1000m row

30 HSPU

50 KB swings 25#

800m run

time 19:36

This was a crazy wod, I didn't know what to think about it last night. I mean after doing a pretty good workout with the over head squats you started a new one with 1000m row. This doesn't sound like a long distance but it sneaks up on you, then after you finish and your legs are numb, your shoulders tired, and your hips and butt gassed you have to work your HSPU & KB swings. When you finish that 50th swing your ass has to get moving for the run. 

Now I haven't posted in a few days because I was sick most of last week, then my allergies flared up so I had a fair amount of gunk in my head today. When I went out to run I got a little choked on all of that crap and yep...you guessed it...threw up. I was feeling a little sick during the KB swings and it just came to fruition when I choked while running. It was fairly small, not very dramatic and no one was around me. But there it is...

Post wod I grabbed my snack of 1 oz turkey, avocado, and tangerine. I think I am going to have avocado as my block of fat for all of my post workout snacks, it was very soothing to my belly. Score. 

After picking up Firecracker I scrambled home super hungry. Got her lunch all together and decided to make my old favorite, salad soup. Typically I like to eat my post workout meal before the 2 hour mark after working out. Today I was fighting like I did for breakfast...kids don't give two hoots about time frames haha. Firecracker was settled while I made some chicken salad-ish and chopped veggies for the soup. It was cooking and just as I was sitting down to eat the chicken salad-ish she started screaming in pain. Me = freaked...it ended up being her belly and was fixed with a good rub and a hot water bottle at which time she promptly passed gas and passed out. It is so much fun to be a mom!

While she snoozed I worked and finally got to eat my chicken salad-ish and salad soup. After picking up Geeps from school I was starting to feel tired and hungry. My recovery post workout has reached a point where sometimes I leave thinking I should workout again because I feel so good, but I am still hitting a point in the afternoon where keeping my eyes open is a challenge, add hunger to that and I am practically narcoleptic. So while the kids were chowing some after school nosh and watching Fanboy & Chum Chum, I grabbed some milk and walnuts. Milk is a combo food an counts as a protein & carb block, I threw in some nuts for fat. It livened me up a bit and sated me enough to get me to dinner. 

Speaking of dinner, we had chili...again. I am a self proclaimed chili nut. I am not exactly sure exactly how often I could eat chili before I got sick of it but I am sure it is a good amount. I also rarely make my chili the same way twice. Today I made a veggie filled version of a paleo chili. Oh ladies and gents it was tasty. Hit the spot and I added some sour cream for fat. 

Veggie stuffed Paleo Chili

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

10 baby carrots, chopped or cut into "coins" as my kids call them

2-3 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

2+cups beef broth

1 28 oz can of tomatoes

toppings - cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, avocado

Brown beef and onion (seasoning with salt & pepper) until cooked through, drain off fat. Add chopped veggies and cook until soft. Add tomatoes, broth and spices and stir to combine. Bring to a boil adding a bit more broth if it is too thick. Let cook about 20 min to meld and and cook the veggies. Adjust chili powder, salt & pepper to taste. 

Serve topped with sour cream (or other toppings, I just used sour cream) yum.

So I have to get up extremely early tomorrow for a breakfast at Geeps school (a wheat loaded breakfast I might add) but it is for a good cause so we are all going and well Geeps thinks it is fun to have us at his school. I am not a morning person and I want to make sure I have lots of coffee and a hefty dose of protein before we leave so, early night for me. But before I decided to turn in Daddy-O brought me a treat!

Coconut milk nog...dang! I love egg nog, like I could drink gallons of the creamy dreamy stuff. I am real partial to it to, it has to be good stuff. The best I ever had was like real deal home made liquid custard, hard to find that and I have never tried to make it. Although Mark's Daily Apple has one I might try this year. This stuff however hit the spot, it is early I know but if it is cold Nog is perfectly acceptable haha. He said they also had this mint chocolate too, sounds good but I would want it hot and I am a snot about my hot cocoa. I drink one kind...Penzeys hot cocoa, or mint hot cocoa...that is it. 

This stuff was amazing, had a bit of a coconut milk taste which I like and lacked that eggy custard flavor but still really good. You can see a picture of this in my glass on Instagram...are you following me on instagram? No? Well you should...supermomsteurer 

Motivation Monday

Also check out this post by the ever most awesome FitChick about self-control something I threw out of the window at the first sign of heavy stress today!! I might also add she has lost over 70 lbs and is a HUGE motivation to me and many others!

Atmospheric Pressure

Happy Election Day! Today was a crowded beast at the morning class and seriously the most fun class since the end of the beginner session. Don't get me wrong I love my small morning classes but I got to workout with two friends I never get to see anymore and a whole lotta others. Apparently election day gives a lot of people a day off so we had about 16 (maybe) people in class today where we typically have 4. It was hoppin, it was also awesome.

We had a great group of firefighters who came over to join this morning's wod, I am assuming they are new to CrossFit because they got a little tutorial during skill practice. Ahhh, I remember my first days of class, feeling insecure, nervous...you know that crazy stuff. After you hit that first WOD you get over it. It is hard for everyone, the key is sticking to it. The class was so large today we got to break the group up in to 2 sets for the WOD. So the seasoned peeps went first while the beginners watched...no pressure. I just tried to look like I wasn't dying so they would actually want to do the WOD haha. But it isn't really like that.

CrossFit atmosphere is unlike any other. You walk in and whether you are lifting Rich Froning's weight or just a bar and you are all equal, everyone is doing a workout that is hard for them. So you bond, you cheer, you meet & greet. I met even more new people today and had a great time of it. I think about this a lot because when I used to go to a globo gym I remember going to my first strength training class at 6 am...no one is happy at 6 am but these banshees looked like I was invading their hive. I went for a month and still never got a hi, good morning, wow you killed that workout...I get that at every CrossFit workout. Every person I have met or even seen there walks in ready to work and happy to do so...I swear I started paying attention and the people walking in to a local Globo Gym look like they are going to burst into tears or shoot themselves before they reach the door. Honestly you could compare it to Cheers, there aren't strangers there, you may not know someone's name but you will before you leave. Everyone talks to everyone, there are no snotty gym rats or my bicep is bigger than yours egos. Most people really do check themselves at the door. So today's WOD

5 min AMRAP

squat clean & jerk 55# (scaled)

44 reps

Cherry

1000m row (of death)

5:17

The Rx weight for today was 110#, heavy and not just in a Bill & Ted kind of way! On my best day no friggin way. So I scaled to 55# a lighter than I could have weight because of my bum ankle. It wasn't easy I was really short of breath but it wasn't super hard. The rowing...ugh. 1000 meters is a really long distance. I really need to work on adding some running days to get my lungs going, but then we all know what happened last time I got that brilliant idea.

So today's zone looked good. I am still filling in with some random wtf stuff. I mean this time change thing is a pain in the rear when you have kids, their clock doesn't change.  Here is my day...

Meal #1 (pre wod) - eggs, red & green bell pepper cooked in bacon fat, coffee with cream

Snack #1 (post) - 1 hard boiled egg, mashed sweet pots with walnuts

Meal #3 - chicken "tortilla" soup with a bit of cheese and sour cream

Snack #2 - cheese stick, 2 cucumbers, 3 walnuts

Meal #4 - Tacos, salsa

Where do we go from here...Zoning

So the challenge is officially over and what do I do now. Well I have said I am going to do a whole 30 to lean out even more, but I am also looking to maximize my fitness through CrossFit. I am looking for shorter recovery times, more energy during workouts and hopefully building my fitness faster. In my opinion nutrition plays a HUGE part in athletic conditioning. You have to fuel your body right. I have yet to do a hard CrossFit workout where I wasn't a meat maniac after. My body begs for protein, which makes sense because I am breaking down tissue which gets it's building blocks from protein. Muscles also feed off of glycogen which is why I avoid starches and fruits post WOD in maximize fat burn. While I don't want to be in an endless state of ketosis, a ketogenic state for a week or 2 tops will help me lean out more.

So at the end of the challenge I had lost 4 lbs but gained 2% body fat. This was a bit disheartening but not an end all. First off I know I lost fat, I have hip bones where there was just a shelf of fat, but something didn't go right. I blame this on 2 factors, first and foremost...me, and secondly I think the amount of starch and fruit I allowed myself to eat. I also paid with points for treats I typically don't ingest...see me.

I spent the weekend researching the best option to lean out, enhance my performance and recovery, while also trying to put together a manageable plan for me and my friend. I ended up coming up with a Zone Paleo plan. Essentially following the Zone diet using paleo foods (with the exception of some cheese and cream...so well Primal). Zone is based on blocks of protein, carbs and fats. It is a weights & measures plan but the more I read and watched the more I realize I just need to suck it up and be disciplined. So here are some details about the plan.

Zoning

My zone will be based on an 11 block day. I obtained this by calculating 10% of my lean muscle mass. I was able to do this since I just had my body fat tested. You can do this by finding out your body fat % in pounds, subtracting that from your total weight and then take 10%. My days will look like this.

No WOD days
Meal 1- 3 blocks
Meal 2 - 3 blocks
Snack 1 - 1 block
Meal 3 - 3 blocks
Optional Snack 2 - 1 block

WOD days
Meal 1 (pre) - 3 blocks
Snack 1 (post) - 1 block
Meal 2 - 3 blocks
Snack 2 - 1 block
Meal 3 - 3 blocks

The way this works is I get 3 blocks of each group (protein, carbs, fat) at each meal and 1 block of each at snack time. So say 1 ounce is a block of chicken I would eat a 3 oz chicken breast, if 1 cup of lettuce was a carb group I would eat 3 cups, if 3 almonds is 1 fat I would get 9 almonds.

I have decided to alter my snacks on no wod days. I am just not as hungry when I don't workout, however I am going to be evaluating how this makes me feel in regards to energy and recovery, also if I am hungry I will eat the other snack. There is no telling how I will feel, one video said that if you are doing this right to lose fat you will feel hungry for a bit. So here are some more deets.

1. Follow plan based on 11 blocks
2. Measure portions for at least one week (or more) to learn to gauge correct portions
3. After first week evaluate blocks for adjustment (see below)
4. Drink 3-4 liters of water
5. Eat only Paleo/primal foods from list
6. 3 grams of Omega 3 supplement per day
7. Avoid all added sugar, I get one break with one treat on Thanksgiving...one paleo treat ;)

After my first week I am going to take a look at things, see if I am losing, how my recovery feels and if I notice any leaning out. I read a lot of carb sensitive people who half their carb blocks replacing them with double fat to lean out. I debated starting this way because I do really well on low carb, this will probably be what I do in the end, but since this is new I don't want to be miserable. Start as prescribed then tweak it. I know I do really well on paleo low carb, but I have hit a plateau. The answer is portions so this Zone is perfect.

Here is what my day looked like

Meal 1 - 3 blocks
2 german sausages
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 cup home made sauerkraut
2 mandarin oranges
Coffee with cream

Meal 2 - 3 blocks
chicken tortilla soup with 1 ounce of shredded cheese
1 small avocado
water

Snack 1 - 1 block
1 ounce of cheese
2 small cucumbers
3 walnuts

Meal 3 - 3 blocks
3 onces ground beef
1 cup salsa, peppers, tomatoes
1 cucumber
9 almonds

Today wasn't planned well so I was kind of grabbing to fill in. I found out my meat portions are much bigger than I thought and that I am not eating the fat I thought I was. This should be a good learning experience.

I also learned a lot of other tid bits during my research so look for some great posts coming your way. They may be a bit sparse for a while, my laptop took a bad dive and it crashed my hard drive. After the files are all retrieved then I will be back to having a new one. But look for some good stuff on sugar (fructose vs glucose), recovery nutrition and evaluating your nutrition through performance.

Discipline...new CrossFit class

I love this quote and it was mantra this morning as I fretted about my house trying to decide what to do. See yesterday during an impromptu run, when I was feeling particularly amazing, I waved to my family driving by, then caught the shadow of my new toned muscular thighs, thus losing focus and concentration and rolled my ankle. I came down on it just right for it to roll under and make the all but familiar "crack" that my ankle does when I sprain it. Damn it. At first I hopped a couple of time then realized it wasn't awful (as in the time I had to use crutches) so I walked on it testing it out, then tried to run again. No go. So I just walked a half mile home, into my house grabbed an ice pack, ace bandage and advil. Plopped my but on the couch, propped my foot, wrapped, iced and medicated it. Then I sat quietly outing and praying. 

So this morning I had to admit to myself I have a level 1 sprain and I can't go do the glorious workout on the board today at my box. I was super excited about today. It is a "triathalon" WOD of 3 glorious ladies...all barbell work. Be still my heart...the workout of my dreams. I spent last night watching all of the particulars examining the effects it would have on my ankle. Grace I could do but not the other two. I got up this morning with my 8 o'clock alarm and hoped for the best. Maybe my quick actions left me with some miraculous healing. Not so much, still sore, slightly swollen and bruised. Looked amazing compared to the last time I injured it but still I had to make a decision. 

Do I do what I want right now or do I focus on what I want most? I want most to be a CrossFit beast. Outside of my kids and Daddy-O it is the most consuming thing. So do I go do this intense, squat laden WOD less than 24 hours after an injury or do I just suck it up and wait to go the coaches and competitors class. The entire morning I was preparing like I was going, and repeating this over and over. Do not sacrifice what you want most for what you want now. 

Since I have such a mild sprain if I stay off of it all weekend & Monday I should be golden for Tuesday and then I can get back to it. So I decided to end the battle in my brain and go with discipline. After all I am still going to learn about coaching and competition but just not get in a good hard gnarly wod. 

I am sure somewhere down the line I have done a post about discipline and I am sure I talked heavily about my dislike for it and lack of it. I am just not a disciplined person. I can have tremendous will power and strength if I want but as far as consistent discipline...nope. It is something I strive for in life. Actually I thrive on it. Before my kids I was a fly by the seat of my pants girl much like my Dad. Go with the flow. I always joked that besides waking up and going to work I never did the same things twice the same way each day. I did have periods of discipline and routine but they were always temporary. Since having kids though I have learned the importance of routine and I thrive on it. So since I have routine down I am working on discipline. 

When I say discipline I don't mean the red room of pain, or corporal punishment. I am talking having and keeping a resolve to do something without breaking or wavering from it, ever. In our house we have dinner at 6 every night and start bedtime routines at 7. I do this because I know that this keeps my kids happy and calm. If we waiver from the 6 o'clock dinner, they turn into crazy monkeys, if we don't start bedtime routine and get them lights out at 8 we have melt downs and behavior problems. I try to remember this in my own discipline. I try to realize that if I start a routine and stick with it I will only thrive. It's true, it never fails to make my life better, and me a better person. 

So today was a point where I had to say nope to working out this morning so that I could say yes to more working out later. I did however go to CrossFit Regeneration for the coaches & competitors class. It rocked Yo! Besides the fact I got to meet some awesome new peeps, we learned basics of being able to ref and coach a good vs. a bad rep. When we are in class we don't have someone calling our reps, even though sometimes a coach may point out if you are using incorrect form. A coach can call a no rep on you but the peeps to coach ratio doesn't always mean you will get called for bad form. This is where you own accountability comes in to play, and remember if you don't call your own no rep you are only cheating yourself! The goal of the box is to get more coaches in place...disco!

I love CrossFit, I don't know anyone who has tried it who doesn't feel the same (I am sure there are people out there but I haven't met them) it is like the exercise I have always wanted to have in my life. LURVE it...had I found it when I was younger and single or sans kids I would have tried to become a competitive level CrossFitter. Now I have two options, wait for the Master or coach. So coaching it is. I am starting to take steps now to learn to be a coach and hopefully one day get certification. So today's class was taking that first step, even though I had to watch the entire time and not participate in the workout.

I will tell you now this was hard. While everyone was warming up and we were learning to catch bad form and no reps I tried a couple with a pvc pipe, it felt good so then I tried with a 45lb barbell and it was all good...there was that one moment where I told myself I was going to go ahead and do the workout with the 45lb bar! Then I remembered my morning mantra and forced myself to not. So watching everyone fighting through their reps left me longing, sighing and wishing I was also doing the wod...stupid ankle. I was not left longing for information Coach Charlie gladly answered my many questions.

So tomorrow...Food and efficiency.

Tuesday WOD

I hadn't planned on posting anything but I want to document my WOD and get a good CrossFit post in. Today was my regular day for Crossfitting but I barely feel like I went. It was another...yep you guessed it, whirlwind day.

I started my day dreaming about sleeping...weird don't you think? Not when you are lucky to get 8 hours of solid uninterrupted sleep! Anyway got up, somewhat remember the blur of my morning then rushed to CrossFit Regeneration. Today's WOD is a good one, I spent a half hour last night watching "Bear Complex" on You Tube because it is as close to a CrossFit dance routine as you are going to get. Today's workout...

Push Press (4x10) 45#

Bear Complex

15 min AMRAP

1 power clean

1 front squat

1 push press

1 back squat

1 push press

= 1 rep

25 reps

45#

I LURVE this workout. I really  really realllllyyyy like bar work. This one had all of my favorites in it. I had gone in thinking I would use the prescribed weight 65# but then chickened out and dropped to 45#. In hindsight I could have probably done 65# and had far less reps. In further hindsight I am glad I went lighter because I get to hang with Cindy again Thursday. 

I just really hate leaving there thinking I didn't use the heaviest weight or push myself the hardest I can. I have been feeling that a lot lately, like I am just surfing my workouts. I am starting to think it is post Angie syndrome. I worked out so hard for Angie that I feel like the rest of these are cake or I donno. Plus I mentally think I am weaker than I actual am and I need to figure out how to get over that crap!

I did grab a pair of wrist wraps today which made such a difference in my wrists. They have been aching a bit and really seem to get agitated during bar work. So I grabbed some Rogue ones and dude...huge difference. I don't want to become dependent on them on in a long or heavy bar workout they are going to be my bff, no doubt. They kind of look bad ass too. 

The Morning After

Happy post Halloween! I love Halloween but I am glad it is over. It was a fun night. I didn't get a picture of me dressed up as just, well a creepy bat lady thing. I love dressing up but tend to not have any time anymore. So I will have to share the kiddos...

Zombie Geeps

Spider Girl Firecracker - yes she looks like a pink oompa loompa but she insisted on make up since Geeps was getting some and she wanted pink...in hindsight I should have just dressed her up and called her pinkalicious!

I also had to share this, this is my sister and her super bad a** costume as a bath puff! Love it so much!

So now the grit...

Ugh...it is one of those mornings, too much party not enough control. Yeah that was me last night. I am so hungover...from sugar. No I didn't drink myself into an oblivion passing out in front of my children but I did eat a lot of Halloween candy. Little fun sized candy bars as all of my favorites were making an appearance and I gladly obliged their need to be eaten. So this morning as I am waiting for a big CrossFit day to start I am feeling awful. I have a headache, something I so rarely get these days. I am super tired even though I got 9 hours of sleep and I tingle all over. bad times.

Today is the first day in a very long time I woke up about to die from hunger. It wasn't because I didn't eat, I had 2 bowls of my paleo chocolate chili last night which was my safe food for the party but the I grabbed some candy here and there which piled into a sugar tail spin, sending my body into a sugar spike which resulted in a crash this morning. I am pretty sure I have most likely eaten my last piece of candy ever...but then again I said that about Vodka in college. So no hair of the dog this morning, I packed the candy, out of site out of mind (for everyone) last night. This morning it was a strict high protein, high fat breakfast for everyone.

Breakfast - 1 cup leftover chocolate chili topped with 1 fried egg, 2 sl bacon
                 Coffee with heavy cream

So essentially I am going to go all whole 30, I am going to allow cream but I also have coconut cream for my coffee so it wont be all of the time. I actually debated not having any coffee today because it can spike insulin levels but I feel so exhausted it just happened. But anyway I am going to go all whole 30 since the challenge ends today. I am going to work in a zone type way, but I am working on a post to outline all of that goodness. So after gobbling my food, I dropped Firecracker off at school and went to get my WOD on...ugh

Today's Workout

Front Squat 1 rep max 105# (big pr)

Cindy

5 pull ups

10 push ups

15 air squats

20 min AMRAP
10 + 2 pull ps

Not today...

Driving to CrossFit Regeneration I debated not going, I knew I wasn't going to do well because I was just exhausted and feeling like poo. But I can't skip CF, I just can't...that is what obsession dedication does to you. Since I knew I wasn't going to have the power in me (even though I was wearing my new crossfit wonder woman tank) I decided to max out my front squat. Last time we did a basic front squat max I hit 55#. I will be honest, I didn't try my heaviest last front squat, because I was saving energy for Cindy (first round) but today I just kept adding and adding until that last rep was dang hard to get up from. 105#...I will take it. Cindy on the other hand, she was pissed at me. I partied too hard with the candy without any consideration of our date today. She made me pay like a two timing boyfriend. Actually it wasn't that bad I was just so tired and didn't have my umpf in me. I found my pull ups to be getting easier and easier. Squats were no big deal even after the front squats, but push ups were really hard for me today. You would think after Angie they would be a bit easier, especially since I am still on my knees but I am re-learning them in the correct way not the cheater globo gym push up way. I am not trying to fool myself, I wanted to quit 4 min in from just being exhausted, feeling like I would hurl and being in a crappy place because of a day of well crap, so while the push ups were my weakest move, I was just weak in general. 

Post WOD I tried to do a kipping pull up sans band but I could only get about half way up. I am dying to get rid of the band because I feel like it starts swinging me and my form would be better without it. I think this is going to be my skill practice for a bit. Maybe try a few pull ups then work on other things as well. I need some focus. I have been pouting today because I look forward to my workouts, I feel better mentally after them and I love feeling how strong my body is and how fit I am getting. Today was a big let down. So after talking to my pal Fitchick, I decided to wallow in my own self pity for 30 min then move past it. So here I am driving past my self pity waving bye...

I am on some levels so happy this happened. 

I grabbed this from Women of CrossFit = Strong on facebook, I love it. Honestly, I can sit here and whine about having a bad workout but it is my own fault. So what do I do? I suck it up realize how important this is to me me, dig in my heels and keeping working toward my goals. So crap eats are out. Am I saying during the holidays I will be an a** or "that guy" about my eating, no. Will I have 14 pieces of fudge, no. I just need to push past today just like Fitchick told me. 

So today when I got home from the box and picking up Firecracker I grabbed 4 oz of leftover braised roundsteak and 1 overflowing cup of braised kale, added water and called it lunch. It was nice filling, sugar free and what my body needed. I still feel really tired and taxed but I am hoping this will speed up getting better.

I didn't have any snacks today because I am just not wanting it, I am typically an eating beast on CrossFit days so what does that tell you about today's AMRAP? I didn't push, I didn't have push in me. So for dinner it was leftover night because we have a fridge full of them, I ended up heating up chili and eating that. Quick, easy, yummy. I know I know chili again? I can eat chili forever, I love it.

So no post tomorrow again,  taking a small road trip to go see some Olympic gymnasts. I am so going in my  "I would rather wear chalk than lipstick" shirt, sure it is a CrossFit shirt but they won't know they difference haha. Planning on getting a good workout in Saturday as well as attending a coaches and competitors class. I can't wait! 

Longest post ever...

This is going to be a long one so tuck in grab a beverage and hang on tight. Crazy busy weekend with lots of activities and such. It is Sunday and I still have yet to sit down and map out a whole 30 menu & list for my friend. I have carried my materials and note book around all weekend and have still been unable to get it together. Today I am cleaning and painting my house getting ready for our annual Halloween Chili dinner on Wednesday and I am taking a short mental health break to start this post. Shhhh...

So let's get to the fun stuff first. I actually got to WOD Saturday which I didn't think was going to happen because we were going to the theater and I thought we had to be there early...but alas! Saturday WOD

Grace

30 reps for time

clean & jerks

55#

5:09

Cherry

Tabata rows - 8 rounds

distance - 710

I really love Grace, because I really like clean and jerks. They are hard without being a thruster or back squat which makes you want to jump off of a crossfit cliff. I was also pretty excited to do them with 55#. Last time I did Grace I finished in 3:00+ minutes with a 35# barbell. I was happy to have some decent weight and still have a decent time. I really could have pushed faster in this wod because half way through I was taking breaks I didn't need, like I mentally thought I needed them but physically I was fine. Apparently my mental fitness has not caught up with my physical fitness. I gotta work on that. 

The tabata hit me fore another revelation. I am getting fit, I hadn't rowed yet, not even in our beginner class so this was my first time, I waited until the last heat to do mine because I was sure I would die...it really wasn't bad at all!! Like I could have rowed more, it is mostly legs and I am getting some strong legs. After rowing I was sitting there thinking, wow...this is amazing...CROSSFIT RULES! Plus Coach Kari rowed with me so I wasn't alone and nothing better than to have an elite athlete next to you to motivate your butt!

See I have been having this mental pity party. Pre-children I could sit on the couch for a few months and then decide to get back into the fit swing of things and run 5 miles right off of the bat. No problem. I could hit the gym, lift, yoga whatever. However after a good 5 years of nothing but child play it has been really hard to get it back. I had convinced myself that I had lost it and it would never come back because I was running 3-5 days a week and was still struggling. The problem was I was going about it wrong. First off as a teenager I went to a high school that had a "health related fitness" program I was in. we spent 2 days in the gym working out, 3 days in the classroom leaning basics of fitness and nutrition. Besides that I ran track and was basically active most of the time. In college I hit the gym at my university and ran as well. I had a good foundation and even if I had months of being inactive, that foundation was still there. I could get back into shape and lose weight quickly. After having kids...OY! So while I was hammering out miles and miles trying to get fit again, my definition of fit being running long distances, I was losing momentum and staying completely frustrated with my lack of progress. I was so focused on my aerobic conditioning I didn't give much thought to my strength. 

Fast forward to 8 weeks of CrossFit, I am a completely different person. I am so much stronger, leaner, happier, healthier. It has very little to do with age, my genes are still the same, athletic...it is just the years of inactivity has caused me to lose the muscle mass and strength I had. I kept thinking if I ran and ran and ran I would lose the weight and then I could work on strength...all wrong. So wrong, and while I have always loved weight training I never really looked at the prospect of heavy lifting until CrossFit. Now I want a 200# dead lift, #95, 3:00 min Grace! I have barely run since I started, but when I do it isn't this long droning painful activity, I am powerful, strong and I enjoy it more. And while the scale doesn't move much I am shrinking everywhere. I am fine with this because I would rather be fit than skinny fat.

So lots of fun stuff this weekend. This week is officially the last week of the nutrition challenge, I have lost 4 lbs total but I know I have lost a ton of fat because even my underwear don't fit anymore. Since I am starting the whole 30 I will be keeping things really tight to work harder on leaning out. I had planned on starting the whole 30 today but life passed me by and I made the mistake of eating a Reese cup at my mother in laws last night...not sure why chocolate or peanut butter needs wheat but apparently it does, I spent last night sick as a dog and even went into migraine mode. I have not had a migraine in a couple of months. In my opinion based on observation, my migraines are caused by a) foods b) hormones. Since I avoid allergy food & my hormones are starting to behave I have been not only migraine free but headache free...I forgot how bad those suckers hurt. Totally not worth the candy, even though I love my some peanut butter and chocolate.

Yesterday we had pizza night, we deem Saturdays Family Fun Day because our weekdays are always so busy we don't get a lot of quality family time. We love to hang out, the four of us and play or watch movies and as the kids get older even play games. So last night we decided on Pizza night where everyone makes their own pizza or as my kids call it "decorate" their own pizza. Daddy-O had bought us some gluten free pizza crust but I decided to make my first Meatza.

She loves to cook

Pizza artist

Daddy-O getting instruction from Firecracker

MEATZA!!!

1 lb ground beef

marinara sauce (sugar free)

pizza toppings of choice

cheese

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  I seasoned my beef with Penzeys pizza seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper. place the beef on a baking sheet and start working it into a circle. I worked it until it was about a half an inch thick. 

Bake in the oven about 15 min. When you get it out drain the fat that has accumulated. I patted the top dry with a paper towel. Then I took the marinara added it, topped with some great stuff and then cheese. I put it back in the oven for another 15 min until my cheese was melted and bubbly. YUM!

.....

Today I made some pumpkin cranberry muffins from Practical Paleo and added some dark chocolate chips for fun. This is by far my favorite recipe in the book. My kids eat them up. They are super tasty and hard to resist.

Mmmm these are so good!

While these were cooking I had Daddy-O start me some sauerkraut also from Practical Paleo, this isn't our first fermented kraut but the first time using her recipe. It was so easy because Trader Joe's sells shredded cabbage so there was less work. I can't wait for this! We have this great contraption Daddy-O came up with to keep the fermenting process neat and tidy. There are benefits to knowing a brewmaster. haha.

Outside of my morning muffin with coffee I didn't eat well today. I am still feeling the after effects of the wheat and I was on a mission to clean my house. I used to be someone who didn't sit still much and really had a clean house. Every month or so I would wipe my kitchen down from head to toe and I was on a steady rotation of spring & fall cleaning. Then I had kids, and got sick and blah blah. The old me is slowly coming back, I have so much more energy and just basic strength to do stuff. I have also regained my balance that had left me after having my son. I was my nimble catty self climbing all over my counters and stools  to wipe down my kitchen again. I was a sweaty pig when I was done so I count it as a pretty good workout.

I was so into my cleaning I just grabbed stuff throughout the day and didn't cook dinner. I am paying for it now because I need to good day of clean eating to recover from wheat, I haven't done that so I get prolonged symptoms...yay me!

As I mentioned we have an annual chili dinner at our house on Halloween for family. We started this tradition when my son was born as a way for everyone to get together, see the kids costumes and enjoy Halloween. I had thought about going all out on a paleo menu but life is insane at the moment so I am going with a paleo chili and then just some regular sides. I won't have much posting going on this week until after the party because I will be on a cleaning frenzy and my kids tear up my house faster than I can clean.

I will try to check in with some menus & wods but after Halloween I will for sure have a list up for you and a menu for a week of Whole30 meals. 

The CrossFit Walk

Why does morning come so early sometimes? It is even harder to get out of bed when it is dark out and one of your kiddos is snuggled up next to you...but alas I must get up! I can't wait for the time change, I hate waking up in the dark, it just isn't natural...I mean roosters do not crow until the sun is coming out.

So I reluctantly got up and started cooking some sausage bites. Tomorrow is grocery day and today it is slim pickings at our house. We have what we call a Friday kitchen, you know one thing and not the other. I didn't really want eggs so I just ate a couple of sausage bites and an apple. I drank a coffee with some milk and a pinch of sugar, and water. Not my best breakfast ever but I was really tired. 

So I sucked it up and went to CrossFit today fearing the worst. Show up...it is never as bad as your mind makes it. On paper the WOD looked horrendous, in practice, with scaling it wasn't bad at all. Today's workout.

25 sit ups

1 muscle-up

20 sit ups

2 MU

15 sit ups

3 MU

10 sit ups

4 MU

5 sit ups

5 MU

Time 4:59

Cherry

Hold arms out with weights for time

35 seconds 10 lbs weights

I love muscle ups, ask any crossfitter and they will tell you that is their goal. They are bad a** and anyone telling you they don't want to be able to do a muscle up and talk about it, is fibbing. This is a goal for me and the prospect of them is far off in the future and will involve lots of work but the progression I did today was fun and felt really good. I just need to get my arms stronger. I enjoyed doing them so much I want to go rig up a pseudo ring kit in my garage to practice ha. I am a mess.

At CrossFit today we were talking about spotting a crossfitter out in public and Charlie mentioned the "walk". I totally know what he is talking about because I try hard to not have the walk. I mean just because I feel massively badda** doesn't mean I should walk around like I am one. It is hard to resist. I mean seriously, ask yourself how you would feel after doing 100 pull ups in Angie? I wanted to tell anyone who would listen because hey...it was tough and I survived. I love when people bring up crossfit, although if you see me and mention it you may want to run away because it is my favorite topic these days. It is pretty consuming, I do it, I like to talk about it, I read about it ever day, I mean I burn up my phone battery watching you tube at night. Nothing like watching really hard WODs to get you to sleep ha. There is just something about it once you start doing it. I totally get why there are things floating around pinterst that say it is a cult, I am sure people around me feel like I am recruiting. I just love to see people happy and healthy and man CrossFit makes you happy and the healthy part comes along. Not only do you get the biggest endorphin high ever, you feel like you are a superhero because you have done this insane workout and lived and...want to do it again. I am consumed and I completely understand the CrossFit walk.

Let's also not forget that it makes your body strong and look good. I mean have you seen these athletes...hot stuff. I was working what I thought was really hard to lose weight and get somewhat back in shape. In the 8 weeks of crossfit my entire body has changed. I have been looking for my old measurements to compare because today I put on a shirt that I used to completely fill in the belly area and it was HUGE on me. Not to mention the fact that I do not own a single pair of underwear that fit me, as in the fall off as I walk (or ahem workout). Even my workout pants are getting too big and when I try to run in them they just slide down...score! Ladies, hear me now if you want a way to lose fat fast, CrossFit. The scale doesn't move much but I am like the incredible shrinking woman!

Okay I told you, it is my favorite topic outside of my kids and Daddy-O :D. So I am not going to post tomorrow for the 2 of you who wait with bated breath for a new post. I am going to work on a menu and meal plan for a friend who is going to whole30 with me. I will also not start this until Sunday because of plans we have this weekend which will leave me with little allergy free options much less Whole30. But...starting Sunday, whole30...more pictures, more recipes and good stuff. Stay tuned 46ers!