Can’t Stop Now

It’s Day TEN of the Whole30. I am 1/3 of the way there and I’m still truckin’ along. And it’s a ROLLERCOASTER of emotions! Days TEN and ELEVEN are described as the ‘hardest days’. Yay for that, right? NO, not at all.

I’m really at a loss for words on how I feel. I don’t feel bad but I don’t feel super awesome at this moment. I’m doing the work, eating the foods but I’m just so blah. I’m definitely proud of myself for being strong for the past 10 days but I’m losing steam fast. I need a recharge. I have 20 days to go!

1/14/14 Lunch

My food is still tasty and yummy but again losing the excitement! I definitely don’t want to become humdrum when it comes to my meals. Since we decided to do the pork recipe again, I’ve been slacking on making the sides for Week 2 from Weeknight Paleo. Until last night, which I was interested in making because I would be using Parsnips and Turnips. Turns out I DO NOT LIKE either one. So not my flavor pallet and now I have 3 containers full of root veggies I am not happy with. Part of me says suck it up and EAT IT but last night was a struggle. I was so over it, I didn’t even take a picture. How do I make roasted turnips and parsnips into a winning meal? Maybe Ernie will eat them all 😀

Turnips! Bleh!

Two Days of BOOM Box
1/14/14
50 heavy Russian swings
Coach left it up to us to pick our own version of HEAVY. But we all know we need to still pick up his version of heavy! 1 1/2 POOD. I was very low energy last night and was not having much fun with these KB swings. I did 20 right off the bat and then broke it up.

Midline: Max Plank Hold (Everyone must accumulate at least 5 minutes)
Ugh. Planks are a pain in the arse. I held for 1 1/2 minutes before dropping and pretty much held the rest of the 5 minutes owed in increments of 30 seconds to 45 seconds. I’m not good with long holds of any kind.

1/14/14 WOD

MetCon: 800m run, 21-15-9 of Ring Dips and Strict Pull Ups, 200m sprint!
Oh for the love. You all know I despise running. It’s the worst. But GUESS WHAT? I trotted the whole 800m without walking or stopping!!! I ran it UNBROKEN. I haven’t done that in over a year! Mostly cause I’m a big baby, but also cause I’m just a little fatty who eats like shit! But now, with 9 days of Whole30 under my belt, I’m just a trottin’ away. I even got a little faster on my second lap! But my calves were smoked. Instead of RING DIPS, I was tasked with incline pushups on a bar set on the pull up rig. At first I was a little slow. Not sure my wrist would hold up but once I got comfortable I moved a little quicker. Pull Ups were super slow and took forever! I never thought I’d finish the 21, and that’s with BANDS! If it weren’t for me sucking at Pull Ups so bad I would have had a much better time. When it was time for the 200m SPRINT, it was more like a jog, walk, trot, walk, trot to the finish. Time: 24:32. Boy I’m slow!

1/15/14
I was really debating on showing up at 5 a.m. I laid in bed and had an internal conversation/argument with myself. My body is tired. My brain is awake. It’s cold outside. I could use another 1 1/2 hours of sleep. GET UP. GET MOVING. JUST GO. I should have played THE GRIND. I’ve shared this before but it’s just so darn good. Here it is again:

So I went and the parking lot is EMPTY. Where are my 5 a.m. peeps? Hellooo? So it’s just me and Coach T.

Midline: 30 evil wheels
Now that I have more faith in my wrist, I can roll out a little further. Not so evil today!

Strength: DL 4×3 Heavy but make it look good.
I worked my way up to 185lbs for my HEAVY. This shouldn’t be heavy to me because my 1RM is 235lbs. But today it was heavy. I was telling coach, that it’s not that I don’t think I can go heavier, but my HANDS hurt so bad. Just holding onto the bar with 150lbs hurts my sad old hands. Anyhow 4 sets of 3 at 185lbs was just fine for this morning.

1/15/14 WOD

MetCon: 4 min elimination (like 13.5) 3 rounds 30 Air Squats 10 Burpees If you don’t make the first cap you owe your coach 400m run on the spot. Go for as long as you can! DU Practice if time remains.
I knew coming in this would be deceiving. It’s easy movements but it won’t be an easy workout. I just didn’t want to run, at all. And it’s cold outside. 3-2-1 GO! Bam I did the first round in 1:07. I thought I could get get under a minute but on my 7th burpee I slowed down. Not good. Got up for the second round and the Air Squats felt like I was in QUICKSAND, no wait, CEMENT! I couldn’t just GO. I was struggling. I slowed down too much. As for Burpees, forget about it. Those were so bad. Time was ticking. I go for Round 3, look at the clock and was like, crap I have to run. I managed to get in 20 Air Squats before the 4 minutes was up and off I went. Boooo! Final: 2 rounds + 20 squats. That was a poor showing indeed.

That’s a Wrap!
Still excited it’s Day TEN and I’m going strong. Emotionally I may not be feeling it but I’ll get there. Soon Enough! In other news, I have a giveaway coming up soon! Paleo Parents is releasing a new book called 3Phase Paleo.

I am in the middle of reading it myself, but when I’m done, I’ll be reviewing it here on my good ol’ blog and I’ll hosting a giveaway to one of you!

It’s Hump Day! Make it a good one!

Crawling out of the Hole

Crawling out of the hole of irritability! Man oh man, feed this girl in a timely manner or she loses her sH!†.

Seriously! Whilst Ernie and my oldest were rocking out at the AFI concert last night, I got baseball practice duty. That’s all fine and dandy, but it was a rush to get home and a rush to get to practice and it was time for this mama to eat! My poor kids had to deal with my irrational nerves the whole way home and the whole time I was heating up my food. The sad thing is I SEE how I’m behaving while I’m behaving in such a short tempered way. I apologized the whole time telling the kids over and over. Once the dust settled and the food was eaten, I was like WHEW. And kindly apologized AGAIN to my kiddos for being an insane lunatic! This Whole30 thing is no joke! FEED ME SEYMORE!

I was feeling exhausted last night and that was probably due to the long break between lunch and dinner. But I woke up feeling much more refreshed. No headache and an overall better disposition. The downside is that I was too exhausted to get a head start prep for some foods I’d like to cook later on in the week. I’ll just fit in this evening or tomorrow, I suppose

It’s Day NINE folks! And beside a breakdown as described above and a couple of headaches, I’m kickin 2014 in the BOOTAY! Nothing feels better than to NOT FEEL BLOATED 24/7.

I forget how miserable I feel day in and day out until of course I clean my act up. I’m not dealing with as many cravings as I thought I would, which is a bonus. I think I was just over junk food in general, so I’m more mentally prepared. What I was not expecting was the irritability! But it’s getting better. My energy levels have also been a roller coaster, but I’ve coming out of a really bad diet for the last 6 months. So that makes sense. I’m looking forward to Day FIFTEEN.

Day EIGHT lunch.

Day EIGHT dinner.

PEP TALK
Ya, I know what you’re thinking. She’s already rambled this much and she still wants to ramble more. Well this will be short. I promise

I know it’s hard ladies and gents. From the outside, it seems like too much work. It’s daunting. You think you’ll never get it together. It’s too time consuming. Or whatever EXCUSE you have. I’ve been there, done that. I’ve also been where I’m at now. On the journey. And NO it’s not easy breezy. It’s just not. But it isn’t this ginormous mountain I’m trekking over. And no one is going to judge you if you start then mess up. Just start over. Or continue. You can make it as easy or as difficult as you want. The KEY is just starting. Set your goal. Make your plan. EXECUTE!

The best quote Whole30 has is: “It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your ‘struggles’. – Whole30

They got some flack for this because some people have eating disorders and I can see where that would be equally as hard. But without taking too much offense to that quote, you can see what they mean. It’s just changing your food for 30 days people. No one is asking you to even work out. No one is asking you to trade in your first born. No one is asking for blood.

You got this, whatever THIS is.

That’s a WRAP!
I don’t have a workout until this evening, so no BOOM Box report. But I can tell you I’m dreading it already. The MetCon starts with an 800m run and ends with a 200m SPRINT. Both will be a crawling trot at best for me. UGH. So not happy about that.

Drink Water. Eat Clean. Get Moving. Get Rest!

Chugging Along – Whole30 Day EIGHT

I SURVIVED THE WEEKEND! WOOOHOOOO! The weekend is where I typically crumble. We got things to do; I don’t want to plan; And then I cave in for BAD FOODS. I don’t just cave though, I disappear into the bad food, junk food abyss. But this weekend, I was prepared. And I made it!

Day FIVE Lunch/Dinner
My meals were just a combo of leftovers. A little bit of matchstick salad. A little bit of salmon. A little bit of chicken. Nothing exciting or major.

Day SIX
I started off my morning trying out YOGA at the BOOM Box. I’ve dabbled in a class or two in my past but never got into it. It’s been several years since I’ve attempted anything yoga related. Boy oh boy, do I suck at this. But as I warmed up and understood the tempo and how things went along, I did get a little better. I realize how tight everything is when I’m trying to relax. Even so far as my cheek muscles didn’t want to give. It was beneficial to me and I hope to keep on attending as the classes pop up.

When I got home, I did a quick heat of some grassfed ground beef, onions, spinach, tomatoes and over medium eggs. Ate a handful of raw trail mix and out the door we went. Good thing we came home in time for me to eat lunch, but I did have hardboiled eggs, fruit and some salad packed up just in case home wasn’t an option! Instead I stir fried some leftover chicken, threw in some broccoli and a handful of coconut flakes and voila! Lunch. And dinner was pretty much the same. Heated up and finished up leftovers. Also had a nice mug of Bone Broth. I could be an addict. It’s sooo good.

Day SEVEN
One full week in Wooooo! Before we headed out to do our shopping for the day I had some eggs, broccoli, tomatoes and a clementine. I can’t remember what fat I had but it was probably coconut flakes.

I had my shopping list in hand ready to purchase foods for Week 2 of Weeknight Paleo. Ernie really really like the pork from last week. So instead of Steaks, we are going to redo pork and just make the sides that would go with the steaks. I’m excited for the menu because it has new things like turnips and celery root, both of which are foreign to me. When we got back home, I went straight into prep mode. I was a little less enthusiastic this time around. My head started pounding. My stomach wasn’t happy and I was not feeling the prep time. I still muddled through most of it before I took my lunch break.

Paleo Chicken Salad and Sweet Potato Chips. Not a pretty pic but yummy!

I took leftover roast chicken, way too much onion, green apple and diced it all up. Then I threw in some paleo mayo (on the verge of expiring), and voila Chicken Salad. I also took some sweet potato slices and fried them up in some coconut oil for some chips. I probably could have thrown some kind of green veggie in there but I was dragging, starving and not feeling well all at the same time. Finished up some of the prep then took a NAP! I felt a little better when I woke up and waited for my Pork Roast to finish before I did anymore food prep.

By the evening I had all of my PWO meals made. I had emergency hard boiled eggs made. I had Pork to last us a couple of meals and a few other veggies chopped and ready to go.

Day EIGHT
BOOM Box 1/13/14
Midline: 30 hollow rocks
I think I will never like these. My ribs are broken.

Strength: Front Squats 4 sets 3 reps @ temp 103X1 (10 sec neg, 3 sec hold, fast up, 1 sec at top) without dropping 10 reps AFAP
I CAN FRONT RACK THE BAR! I CAN FRONT RACK THE BAR! But that is all. Now that I know can do this, I just need to work the movement regularly. My wrist is tight but not pained. When I added weight, well that’s a little scary. So I definitely need to work my way up slowly.

As for this tempo Front Squat, negatives and what not. It was hard on me today. My left shoulder was not on my side today. It was in pain and limited mobility. So after a few reps in, the frankensteining was taking a toll. I had a hard time holding the bar up. So even though I did try to stay on track, I just couldn’t. I still got work in, just not the kind of work Coach was wanting.

1/13/14 WOD

MetCon: 7 min AMRAP 5 HSPU 5 Clean & Jerks 135/95
For me it was Ring Push Ups and Dumbbell Clean & Jerks (25lb dumbbells). I never felt right doing the Ring Push Ups but my triceps and shoulders were on fire, so something was working. And for the Clean & Jerks, as I got through, they seemed to get easier. Just working overhead in general is a work in progress. But I’m glad I’m working my back. Final: 6 rounds + 5 Ring Push Ups

As for PWO meal, just some chicken and pureed sweet potatoes. It was breakfast that is still OH SO HARD to eat. 1. I’m not hungry. 2. I’m not hungry. 3. I don’t want to chew my food. But alas, I had 2 hardboiled eggs, a cup of broccoli, handful of cherry tomatoes and some trail mix. At least it holds me till lunch. I just wish I could drink the meal. But Whole30 frowns on drinking your meals. Something about the chewing of food and the messages that sends your brain. Work in Progress. Just fighting through today for sure.

That’s a wrap!
As you can see, the shiny new excitement has worn off just a touch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in this. I just am so blah about it right now. I guess the best description I have for it now is that it’s more of a chore than exciting. I need a personal chef. That would help tremendously! For real!

I hope you all are getting your workouts in and sticking to whatever healthy plans you are on! Don’t forget to stay hydrated! And Stay Strong!

Kill Some of the Things

Rockin’ Day FIVE here on the Whole30 and they (Whole30) say that days FOUR and FIVE is the KILL ALL THE THINGS phase. Yesterday I was slightly agitated and today slightly more irritable on all fronts. Not necessarily wanting to kill all the things but I can tell I’m off a little bit. Patience is thin. Energy wise, I feel good.

So far, so good on eating, cravings, and what not. I seriously am not salivating at the thought of dessert which is my weakness. I’m doing good by not indulging on too much fruit. I think the last time I did this, I didn’t enough veggies. Now I’m not saying I’m the veggie queen now, but I’m making an effort to eat at least 2 cups of something veggie related for at least 2 of my meals. Breakfast is still hard to eat after a PWO meal, so I probably only choke down 1 cup of veggies, mostly spinach.

Day 4 Lunch. Leftover Asian Five Spice Chicken with Matchstick Salad. Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Blackberries, Coconut Flakes, Bone Broth. I seriously am addicted to BONE BROTH now. It’s soooo yummy!

I can honestly say I’ve never hit a “starving” point or had a craving meltdown. And yes I know it’s only Day FIVE. So much can still happen. But overall everything is going great. I tend to be a sucker for boredom grazing. But those thoughts aren’t even creeping in and I’m loving it. Last week, I would eat anything just to eat it. Chocolate? Sure give me the whole package. Chips? Why yes, can I have a coke too? Beer? No make it a whiskey. You get the idea. If it was edible or drinkable I was consuming it.

And BONUS, I have FAT KID jeans. You know that pair or pairs of pants that are your LIMIT. Like I’m not buying a bigger size jeans/pants. So I have those and well they were at their limits of containing me without busting at the seams. In just 5 days, these FAT KID jeans are no longer busting at the seams. Granted, they still are THOSE jeans that I’d rather not be wearing but at least I’m at DEFCON 4 instead of 5. So yay for a little progress!

BOOM Box Recap
Although I’m awake and not groggy or flat out so sore I can’t move, I’m still struggling getting out of bed and on my feet. I’ve been running a few minutes late to the box for the 5 a.m. class. I gotta fix that ASAP!

1/10/14
Strength: 200 ft KB farmers carry x 3 (heavy)
Thank goodness it’s not cold outside. It was pretty humid and probably 60° out. But that didn’t make the KB’s any lighter! I had two 53lb KBs and they were heavy and my shoulders and forearms were not happy. I was pretty much a big ol baby the whole time but I still carried the damn weight.

1/10/14 WOD

MetCon: 3 person team WOD with running clock – 20 minutes 3 rm Back Squat for each member 0 rest 10 minutes Row Max Calories. Add all the lbs and all the cals for score.
We ended up with a 4 person team cause that’s how many of us that were there so we went with it. I wasn’t really sure what my 3RM Back Squat would be. We’ve been doing a lot of Front Squats and because of my wrist, I haven’t been going as heavy as I would like. So Back Squat was a mystery. There were two of working together so we got ample rest in between sets and I was surprising working my way up nicely. My hips were good, my mind was clear, I was chugging along. Worked my way up 160lbs for 3 reps. My 1RM is 175lbs. And I figured I’d lost some strength in general since I’ve been such a slacker but I felt pretty good at 160, so I went up to 165 with like 2 minutes left and I failed on the first rep. I think the time limit got in my head and I was trying to rush. Ah well. I’ll take 160 for 3 reps.

As for the Row, we just were going to go hard then switch until the 10 minutes was up. I went first for 1:50 and only got 25 calories. But the rest of the team was getting after it. I got back on near the end for a minute but didn’t pay attention to how many calories I rowed then. Probably 5, lol. Who knows. Rowing is not easy for my short self. But I’m trying! Final: 855lbs total for Back Squat + 173 Calories = 1028.

An afterthought pic of my PWO meal. I only had roasted Sweet Potatoes for this morning. I do prefer pureed so I will make sure next week I’m covered. Also a little lean grass fed ground beef with tomatoes and onions.

That’s a Wrap!
I fear the weekend will my hardest days of this Whole30. With a work/school schedule, I have structure. With the weekend it’s all loosey goosey. We are still busy, but weekends are the times where drive thru’s are the best. Oh, we are all hungry? Ok, where shall we eat? It sucks. I just need to focus on packing up food I need and food I can eat in the midst of all our driving around. Or if we are home being lazy, then I need to stay focused and do something productive. That won’t hurt either I suppose. Just gotta stay focused!

Anyone else out there on the Whole30 or some other journey to better health? Chime in. Let me know how you’re doing. And it’s never too late to start if you’re still going back and forth. It’s doable. It’s worth it. Don’t neglect YOU anymore. It’s time to take time for yourself, for your family and get things rolling! Don’t sit there and sigh and tell me “it’s easy for you to say” or “I’m just not ready”. You just have to do it. Make the decision and do it!

Happy FRIDAY! Make the weekend SHINE!

Not so drained, but a little agitated

With the right mindset all things are possible. That is for sure. Over the past year I’ve tried getting back to it with the 21 Day Sugar Detox, Advocare, Weightloss Comp at work and whatever other promises I made to myself. But not one was fruitful. Now that I’m determined and willing, this is a walk in the park. Ok, it’s not like a lackadaisical stroll through some fairy tale wonderland but it’s definitely easier than my previous attempts at being good. Those before pics I took were really really motivating. Maybe one day I’ll share them with you. MAYBE!

Day FOUR! I’ve made it. I know it doesn’t sound like a big triumph. You might be saying “You’re only 4 days in. That’s nothing.” But seriously, 4 days of super clean eating. Proper eating. Getting in all the right portions, that’s no joke.

As for how I’m feeling, well, I was a little slow moving this morning but I’m not feeling anything negative physically at the moment. A little more on edge, irritable but in general I’m feeling fine. I thought I was getting a sore throat so I drank some water with apple cider vinegar. I’m becoming a firm believer in this stuff. And I’m not one for much of the “home remedy” type stuff. But everyday I’m becoming more and more of that person. I woke up and there is no sign of sore throat!

As far as eating is concerned, I had my Day THREE lunch of leftovers. A hot mess of the Carnitas tower sans the avocado cause I forgot it, but had leftover asparagus to go with the pork and cole slaw. Threw in some coconut flakes with blackberries and that keeps me satiated through to dinner. No cravings. No daydreams of chocolate running into my mouth.

Lunch 1/7/14

For Day THREE dinner, I had the Salmon I made on Tuesday night. I never tasted it when it was fresh because I was too busy creating my leaning tower of carnitas. Well it was fantastic! It melted in my mouth, full of flavor and oh so good. I heated up the asparagus in a little bit of avocado oil and added a little bit of the butter lemon sauce that my other recipe was cooking in and it was to die for!

My attempt at making it more presentable.

Just in case you forgot how delicious the salmon looked!

I like being in the kitchen so prepping, slicing, dicing, cooking are not chores. Except for making things matchsticks. That sucks and I do not want to do that again. I’m sure there’s a fancy thingamajig that will do it for me, but I had a knife and a cutting board. And the recipe I was following from Weeknight Paleo called for veggies and fruits to be cut into matchsticks. Little did I know I am not good at this and it’s time consuming! It’s not hours of work but more work than I’d like to do regularly. I’m definitely finding the thingamajig that will make it easier.

But doesn’t it look so pretty?!? Asian Five-Spice Chicken with Matchstix Salad, Weeknight Paleo

I only cooked ahead for tonight because we will be busy and I won’t have time to “make” anything. Reheat I can do and that’s easy. And that’s where the Matchsticks came in. It called for radishes, jicama, fuji apple, bosc pear and carrots to all be cut into matchsticks. Ay ay ay! While I was cutting that up, I was heating up a modified schezuan sauce. The recipe called for things that I could not find without sugar and honey which is not Whole30. So I just eliminated and hoped for the best! After my sauce cooled, I tossed it in with the matchstick salad. As that was all marinating, I heated up a skillet with Coconut Oil. I took chicken tenderloins and coated them in Chines Five Spice (which I’ve never used and wasn’t sure I’d like by the smell of it) and a few other spices. And off to the skillet they went. After a few minutes of cooking I added grassfed butter and lemon juice and let the tenderloins finish cooking. Plated the matchstick salad and topped with the chicken and it was fabulous. I ate half a serving of that and half a serving of my salmon. Turns out I was right about the smell of the Chinese Five Spice because it had anise, fennel and cloves, bleh. Not my favorite spices, but all together with the butter lemon sauce it turned out rather tasty. And maybe in my past experiences the flavors were too potent for my tastebuds back in the day. Ugh I’m getting old!

I GOT THIS

Even though I have felt drained, irritable and still may have not seen the worst of withdrawals, my optimism is high! I can already feel the bloating going away. I don’t know about everyone else but when I’m eating poorly, I feel like the stay puff marshmallow at all time. Today, I can sit, stand etc and not feel like I’m busting at the seams. It’s a nice feeling. And helps keep my attitude in a good direction. I’m not hungry in between meals and I’m not CRAVING in between meals. It’s the cravings that get me. Cause I can have those any old time and not even be hungry.

You can do this too!
If you’re reading and are on the fence about doing the Whole30 or any other program for that matter just know you can do it. It is possible. For me it’s 30 DAYS. I just had to put on my big girl panties and stop with all the whining. I put my game face on and I’m going to destroy this little chunky monkey that I’ve become. You may or may not have weight to lose. You may need to get rid of those migraines that are bugging you. You may have allergies. Or maybe your joints just hurt and you’re on 17389 medications. Eat clean! Get moving! Cut out all the crap. 30 days isn’t FOREVER.

So I don’t eat grains, but you should get the idea!

That’s a wrap!
It’s my REST day so BOOM Box recaps today. Back to it tomorrow and maybe trying out a Yoga class on Saturday. It’s at CrossFit Boom, so you know that’s my second home. We’ll see. In regards to food, it will be a lot of reheating over the next two days. If you have questions, need a cheerleader, or someone to vent to about making that change for better health, then I’m your girl! Have a fab Thursday!

And then I got tired

I was feeling pretty good Day ONE and Day TWO. But it caught up to me. The HANGOVER as Whole30 states may happen in Days TWO & THREE. And I felt it this morning at the BOOM Box. Normally after the warm up, especially in the mornings, I finally wake up. The blood is flowing, the heart rate is up and my brain starts to work. But today, I was like a slug. Moving slow. Spaced out. Eventually adrenaline kicked in but the rest of the morning has been so blah. I know this will pass but right now I just want to crawl into bed. The good thing is that I truly believe the Clean Eating is instantly helping my sad muscles recover much more quickly. I’m not near as sore as I have been the past couple of months and my body is overall feeling better for the most part.

Many Whole30ers report headaches, fatigue, and general malaise during this part of the program. This, my friends, is completely normal. Your body is working its way through a whole host of junk it stored from the foods (or food-like-products) you used to eat. This process lasts a day for some folks, but for others it can take a few days longer. Relax, drink a lot of water, and keep making good choices. And do your best to earn sympathy and support from friends and family,
– www.whole30.com

And even though I’m feeling like the only thing I should do is sleep right now, let me tell you how excited I am that my meals are turning out great. That’s like the bright side to this nasty food hangover. The meals from Weeknight Paleo by Amber Beam are tasty and aren’t taking up much of my time. And no, I’m not getting compensated for plugging this book! LOL I WISH! Seriously though, the meals are great. And a success among all of my family… ages 10-29! Hehe.

I still am struggling with eating breakfast after my Post Workout Meal. And I fear that I always will. I have a good time frame of 1 1/2 – 2 hours after my PWO and it’s still so hard. It’s like I don’t want to chew. And part of Whole30’s thought process tells you to not drink shakes/smoothies! Chew your food! UGH! My face hurts!

Day TWO Everything
I decided to just give you all a run down of the day instead of splitting it all up! Maybe this will be better and less boring. I hope. Maybe. Don’t leave me! 😀

You should have already seen my beautiful breakfast in yesterday’s post and I only described Lunch. Got home, hit the BOOM Box and reheated some pork for the Carnitas–Style Taco Tower. But also remembered I had Salmon I did not throw in the freezer and needed to cook that ASAP. Turned out lovely, just lovely!

BOOM Box 1/714
30 heavy Russian Swings
Used the 1.5 POOD. Not fun, but did the work

Skill: Pull Up progressions
So Coach wanted us working on the Rings! Ugh, me and rings. I have dumb fears, Hanging from those is another one of them. But I almost got Toes to Bar on those. Just need to practice.

1/7/14 WOD

MetCon: 8 rounds for reps of 1 min Over Head Lunges w/plate 45/35 and 1 min Burpees to the plate
Ya, I knew this was gonna hurt! I wasn’t sure how the OVER HEAD part was going to work with my wrist and well I learned real quick it wasn’t going to work. I did about 10 reps with the 35lb plate but my wrist won’t bend all the way, so I was off balance. I tried going to a 25lb plate and it was still a NO GO. So I just did lunges. I felt bad I was scaling way bad. But I totally sucked without weight too! The burpees got me. BAD. Final: 214 reps.

DINNER
So I said I came home to reheat some pork. I made the Cole Slaw that goes with it the night before. SUPER EASY. And I improvised on the “tower” part. I didn’t purchase the metal ring thing that was suggested. But I had this handy dandy cup/measure thing that I used to attempt a tower. As you will see in the pictures, it came out OK, nothing restaurant worthy but I just want to eat!

My contraption, nothing like what the cookbook asks for!

Hehe, my LEANING Carnitas tower! May not be purty but it sure is tasty!

And what the cookbook shows! (Weeknight Paleo) As you can see I was a little heavy handed with the guacamole in the pic above!

In between reheating and trying to create a masterpiece, I cooked up the Salmon for the Herbes de Provence-Crusted Salmon with a Citrus-Herb Sauce and Asparagus in Weeknight Paleo. Besides the “juicing” of the citrus fruit, this was quick and easy. Maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. Seriously EASY and QUICK and kind of fancy looking! So yummy!

Fresh out of the oven.

My attempt at making it more presentable.

SLEEP
Working out in the evenings makes it a little harder to sleep but once I did fall asleep I was out! I woke up fine when my alarm went off at 4 am but ended up hitting snooze till 4:35! Doh!

Day THREE
So I rolled in a few minutes late to the BOOM Box…. you can’t fault me for that when I’m showing up at 5 a.m.! Coach T already has his wheels turning on what I would be substituting for the WOD. Cause it was Thrusters and Hang Cleans on the board.

Midline: 30 evil wheels
With my wrist and lack of core strength I could only roll out so far, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t putting a beating on me!

Strength: EMOM 20min 3 thrusters AHAP. Once you have past 5 minutes you must keep that weight.
I am soooo glad I can’t do Thrusters with a BAR! They are misery! But I did get the opportunity to use 20lb Dumbbells. Of course the weight wasn’t there but I’m still working up my upper body strength since it’s been slow rolling. Still sweating and still a good heart rate.

1/8/14 WOD

MetCon: TABATA of Air Squats, Hang Cleans 115/75, C2B Pull Ups
Sometimes I love TABATA and sometimes, like today, I don’t care so much for it. Maybe cause I was already feeling drained after the Evil Wheels. So tired! 3-2-1 GO. I started off OK with Air Squats getting 20 in the first 20 seconds, then 16, then 14, then 12… I stayed at 12. Instead of Hang Cleans, I did Power Snatch with the 35lb bar. I did like 7 on the first 20 seconds, then held out with 5 for the rest of the time. By the time I got to my BANDED Pull Ups, I was just happy to be alive. I struggled a lot and ended up with a score of 2! Boooo! Final: 12, 5, 2

PWO MEAL
A serving of pork and a serving of Sweet Potato Puree. As exhausted as I felt, the food was good and went down easy. But as soon as I got home, I was already dreading breakfast!

BREAKFAST
Bone Broth! I’ve made the broth before but with less chicken carcasses and only used it for soups and seasoning veggies. But now I’ve made it properly and now I know that drinking it by itself is beautiful. And knowing all the health benefits makes it that much more the reason to drink it! Click HERE for more info!

I also had boiled some Eggs on Sunday, so this was going to be my breakfast. I was moving slower than normal and was glad I had this back up for food. I packed 3 eggs up, a sandwich bag full of spinach and a handful of cherry tomatoes. I figured I would eat this around 7:45 a.m. on my drive in to work. OH MY the spinach was so hard to eat as well as the EGGS. I was tired of eating that I failed to eat one of the eggs. I realized I was missing my “healthy” fat also but was so over it. I think/hope I’ll survive till lunch!

That’s a Wrap!
So there you have it for this lovely HUMP DAY. I’ll have REST until Friday morning! How sweet it is! This gives me time to cook up some chicken and ground beefs to hold me through Friday and maybe through the WEEKEND. I’ll be checking in tomorrow, hoping I’m not sooo tired and let you know how any food prep went down. Until then, take that step to cleaner eating, more physical activity or just getting more sleep! Do Something! Make a Change!

You may be asking…. What is Whole30?

So I’ll break it down for you. They do it quite nicely over at Whole30 but I know sometimes you just want to know what other people say. Sometimes you just might think that it’s too much or too hard or IMPOSSIBLE. I’m no one special. I don’t have anything that sets me above and beyond. I’m just a regular person with too much to do and too little time. I have faults and I have awesomeness but I am nowhere near perfect. I struggle with life’s curve balls and the little things that creep up daily. We all have our downfalls, struggles, success, wins, etc. It’s how we deal with them that either makes us or breaks us.

But to me at the end of the day, if I’m not aiming to be healthy in all aspects of my life then I’m letting myself down and my children down too. This blog is aimed at Fitness and Health. More specifically CrossFit and Clean Eating. And if you know me, I can totally kick ass but as you may have learned I can let it all slip away in the blink of an eye. I’m HUMAN! It happens.

So I’m back at focusing on CLEAN EATING. I’m true to my CrossFit but I’ve let the eating get in the way of performance and progress. I was at my best last January-April when I was following Whole30. And to me Whole30 is PERFECT. But even after success, I just flushed it all down the toilet shortly after. Yup, you can feel good and KNOW how good to be but it’s still so easy to fall down, dig a hole and stay in the hole.

There is a science to it all with Whole30. The Hartwigs are good about backing up their statements. They have the research behind them, but they don’t BORE you with it all. Some folks NEED that science but it’s not necessary. It’s not exact to each person. There are days you have to experiment to what makes you feel good. Do you need more fat in your day? Are you eating enough carb dense veggies? There are days you will feel exhausted and days you are full of energy. For a lot of folks this is NEW. Clean eating is NEW. There are so many “easy to eat” processed products out there, some folks forget what REAL FOOD is. But in the end, hopefully, you are learning what makes you tick on the inside. What foods are best for you, ratios, portions, etc. Whole30 is a reboot for your health – the brain, the gut, and your immune system.

Whole30 is an elimination program. Cut out all the junk. Eat only real foods. Follow their guidelines on eating proteins, veggies and fats. FOLLOW THEM WELL. You will see results. You will feel better. You should lose weight. You should learn to appreciate and like new REAL FOODS.

You CANNOT half ass the program. If you do – You will fail. You will give up. You will quit. You can’t say “it’s just this one meal I’m cheating on day ___, I’ll be back to it tomorrow.” You NEED to commit to the full 30 days. Sometimes even longer. NO CHEATING. But LESS than 30 days is not going to do it. Below are their foods to cut out. You can find them HERE as well with more details. The idea is to keep processed, sugary junk out for good. For some folks it’s easy to do, for folks like me…. well it can be hard. I’m a glutton for punishment. My body will tell me the food is not good for me but my brain is stubborn.

Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.

Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)

Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.

Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)

Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits (chips and fries) and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold, and fingerling potatoes off your plate.

Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.

No Paleo-ifying baked goods, desserts, or junk foods. Trying to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold will ruin your program faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” This means no desserts or junk food made with “approved” ingredients—no banana-egg pancakes, almond-flour muffins, flourless brownies, or coconut milk ice cream. Don’t try to replicate junk food during your 30 days! That misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.

Are you running away now? I know it’s a lot to think about but it’s totally worth it! I promise. If you feel after 30 days you just can’t LIVE without something, reintroduce it, see how you feel. You experiment from there. If you just can’t let go of the fact that WHEAT is bad then bring it back in. Do you turn into a hot sniffling mess? Get bloated and achy? Maybe that wheat wasn’t such a good idea. The same goes for sugars, dairy and other grains. Just cut them out though for the 30 days and see what happens before you decide to go back to your old ways.

I started yesterday and had a SUCCESSFUL DAY ONE! I planned/prepped/cooked over the weekend. It took time. It is work. It’s not a snap of your fingers but it’s not draining either. You don’t have to be a chef to be successful, you just have to make a plan. KNOW what you will eat for at least one week at a time. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

If and when you commit to the program, you will find that there is a good community in the forums. Find folks you can relate too. There are numerous websites and blogs out there that share meal plans, ideas, tips, etc. But if the interwebs aren’t for you then SHARE the program with friends and family. Challenge your family to do this. Make it fun. Learn together!

If your still not sure then check out It Starts With Food. Last year the Hartwigs published this book. For me this was what I needed to read. It gave me enough explanation on how our body works, because truthfully, I HAD NO CLUE. I don’t know how my innards work but they tell you. I had many “aha” moments while I was reading the book. It was definitely helpful in me committing to the program.

I hope this was enough to spur your interest. You can start any day that ends in Y. I advise not to just JUMP in without any support. Research and plan. Then do it. It’s so easy to fail but if you are prepared then you will do great!

Day ONE and DAY TWO Whole30 RECAP
Yesterday I went over my Post Workout Meal and that it was easy to take in in such a short amount of time after working out. REAL FOOD. Chicken and pureed sweet potato. But breakfast 2 hours later was a little more challenging to get down. But I survived and wasn’t let with any cravings. I wasn’t even STARVING when lunch came around but I knew I had to stick to the schedule of eating.

Lunch consisted of Roasted Chicken, Sweet Potatoes and a Spinach Salad (2cups spinach, olive oil, cherry tomatoes, coconut flakes, cucumber, green onions, mini sweet peppers). I really had all the workings of a Whole30 recommended meal. It was nice and held me over till I ate dinner at 7pm.

Dinner was already premade thanks to Weeknight Paleo by Amber Beam. I made her Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork with Stellar Sweet Potato Home Fries on Sunday and all I had to do is a little reheat and I was done. Granted Sweet Potato Home Fries are much better right out of the oven, but they are still tasty as a leftover. I added some Kim-Chi to my pork and I was set.

Bedtime
I went to bed at 10pm. I rarely have problems falling asleep in general but I felt better overall, mentally. I’d done GOOD! hehe. I woke up thinking I would be seriously dead in the ABS and Legs with all the work we did at the BOOM Box and surprisingly NO PAIN! One day of clean eating and I’m already recovering that quickly? Not entirely sure but I’ll keep you posted if the DOMS hits me later today!

Day TWO
Breakfast
I wasn’t really hungry and I’m really not much of an early breakfast kind of girl but I have to plug away and do this right. I made two eggs over medium using Avocado Oil (delicious). After those were done, I plated them, then threw in 2 cups spinach to same pan with a little more oil added along with some green onions (precut on sunday). Had a small handful of raw trail mix and breakfast is down for the count!

Lunch
I had a choice of Pulled Pork or more Roast Chicken (made on Sunday as well) so I went with chicken. Last night as I was reheating my food, I did a quick boil of water, threw in Asparagus for 4 minutes, drained, added olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and there you have it, green food for lunch today! I still have some sweet potatoes left over as well. Throw in some Coconut Flakes for that healthy fat and a few blackberries and my LUNCH is legit!

That’s a wrap!
My workouts will be pretty much back to back. One class this evening and then another at 5am. I should be able to still get plenty of sleep and still have PWO and healthy dinner. The plan for the left over Pulled Pork is to make Carnitas–Style Taco Tower. I don’t have the tool to make it look fancy but I’m sure it will be tasty all the same! I’m so excited that I’m finally committing to this again. I feel good and positive about everything. I’m not dreading the days to come. I will conquer this! You can too! Don’t be scared! Have a Happy Tuesday!

It has begun – Whole30

Happy Monday folks. If you’ve been following along most of you know, I put off my New Year’s resolution till today. This has worked out just fine. I had plenty of time to prepare mentally and get my ducks in order food wise. So this past weekend, consisted of eating mucho food and then shopping to get my health back to goodness. I know, I could have just made any day D-Day, but today seemed logical. I’m ready to do this. And I really don’t want to be back to this OOMPA LOOMPA state again, EVER. I already thought I was past this and would never return, especially to the extreme I’m at now. Sadly I did return and now it’s time to ANNIHILATE this chunky monkey.

The day before Day ONE – PREP and COOK
I mentioned last week that I purchased Weeknight Paleo, by Amber Beam over at www.paleosavvy.com. The decision to buy this cookbook was spurred by the fact that it had some interesting recipes that were a little bit outside my comfort zone but not completely way out there. I tend to get stuck in “food” ruts, which leads to boredom, which leads to laziness, which leads to me swimming in the abyss of junk food. The book lays out shopping lists, when to cook/prep things and how long I have to use the foods.

So off we went to Whole Foods. I told Ernie to be patient with me as I was buying specific items and not our “normal” veggie and protein stash. We had our shopping trip down to a science. A very boring science. So now I’m shopping for Jicama, specific fruits, and stuff off my normal radar. I’m also shopping for cuts of meat I’m not accustomed to asking for at the meat counter. To be safe, I still got some of our go to staples. This made my overall total bill a lot more than I’m used to but the meats are easily frozen to be used for another day.

Some of the foods already packed up and ready to go!

My first step in prepping was to get my PORK SHOULDER ROAST going. Then I was on to chopping up veggies for salads during the week. I also roasted a chicken and split it up into portions for post workout meals. Pureed some sweet potato to go with my PWO meal. Roasted sweet potato for meal 1 of the Weeknight Paleo. And I also boiled some eggs for quick breakfast when I don’t have time for much else. This took me a couple of hours but I think it’s well worth it to be prepared.

Day ONE
Well it’s only the beginning of Day ONE but my PWO meal went down easily. My breakfast on the other hand was much more of a chore. I just am not a big eater in the morning. Like I told Ernie, had I been sipping on a nice coffee drink and a sweet pastry, it would have been gone in 3 seconds. But 3 EGGS with veggies, however tasty they were was just a beating to get it down. I had to keep telling myself that I was resetting my gut, rewiring my brain, etc. Mostly rewiring my brain. I’m such a baby. But I ate it all and I survived. And I’m pretty satiated at the moment. My lunch is packed to the specifications of the Whole30 guidelines and dinner is pretty much ready to go. Just gotta heat it up. Woohooo. Day ONE should be successful… let’s just hope Day TWO and beyond reach the same success.

BOOM BOX recap
1/3/14
MetCon: (running clock) 3 minutes Elbow Plank, rest 2 min, 5 minutes max Wall Balls, rest 5 min, 5 min AMRAP of 20 Double Unders and 10 snatches 75/45. Score Wall Balls + reps from AMRAP

How’s that for a Friday workout. Doesn’t seem to daunting right? First off the Elbow Plank. Ya I suck at this. Barely made it a minute in without having to drop. Then was barely getting 15 seconds at a time after that. The rest following the plank was much needed. Because Wall Balls were about to destroy me. It’s been at least 3 or 4 months since I’ve done a Wall Ball. Doesn’t help I’ve been injured. I started slow with a 10lb ball and seemed ok, then moved to the 14lb ball. HOW IS THIS SO MUCH HEAVIER?!?!? I could get it up there but I was scared as I fatigued that catching it would put too much stress on the wrist. So Coach ALLOWED me to let it just drop and catch on the rebound! WHAT? I loved this idea! Cause I’m a bum. But that fun left pretty quickly. I only managed 50 Wall Balls in 5 minutes.

1/3/14 WOD

Then it was time for the 5 minute AMRAP of DUs and Snatches. How does 5 minutes in Wall Balls last forever and 5 minutes of this AMRAP finish in a minute. Oh my rebellious brain. Before we started I wanted to test out my Snatch. So I got the 15lb techniqe bar and threw it up and NO PAIN. So I moved to the 25lb bar and NO PAIN. I was scared moving up to the 35lb bar but I picked it up and BAM, NO PAIN. Coach had me stay at 35lbs which was fine by me. And it was so much more fine once the AMRAP started and my shoulders were DYING! I got through 3 full rounds, 20 DUs and 4 Snatches. Final: 164 reps.

1/4/13 Track WOD
Oh why oh why did I show up for this misery. Because I need to get back to it and start being a mini beast. That’s why. But it sure does suck at this moment. I also got my kids up for this crap. Good thing for them is they are good at running!

Warm up: Leg swings, 400m jog, dynamic movements
Let’s just say the 400m JOG was practically a crawl. More sucking at life.

Conditioning
A: 50 yrd sprint x 6 (walk back for rest)
Uh, ya, no fun. And I typically like sprinting. This was hurting my shins and my right hip, lower back.

B: Team WOD 400 m run, 100 yd Buddy Carry, 400m run
I was done as far as running was concerned. TOO. MUCH. PAIN! So I teamed up with my kiddos. Only one person working at a time but since I was barely hanging in there Coach let me walk one 400m while the other two ran. I barely finished the walk to keep up with them. Then it was my job to buddy carry them. So I carried one kid halfway, then swapped out for the way back. At the end of that I was DUNZO, so they ran the 400m and I cheered them on! So proud of those boys! They worked hard.

C: 50 yd Lunge, 50 yd sprint for time
And here I thought we were done after those 400’s. NOPE. I had a 50 yd lunge and then a 50 yd hobble. At least I showed up!

1/6/13
HOLY SCHMOLY, it’s cold outside. I’m talking in the teens here. We haven’t seen sub 20° in a long time! And I almost snoozed right through the 5am class!

Midline: 30 hollow rocks
Getting slightly better at this misery. But still struggling.

Strength: Front Squats @ temp 102X1 (10 sec neg, 2 sec hold, fast up, 1 sec at top) 3×5 then 20 reps AFAP (w/ doable weight)
Uh yaaa. I should have slept in! Taking 10 seconds to hit bottom is HARD. By the 3rd round, at a measley 60lbs, I finally had it figured out but I could only do 3 consecutive. My hip/lower back was dying. Like a permanent cramp. I still did the work, but I was not liking it at all. Then it came time to do 20 reps As Fast As Possible. I did 12. Then racked it. Hip/lower back was on fire. Plus, I’m Frankensteining it and that sucks even more. Finished my 8 reps then laid on a foam roller for a long time.

1/6/14 WOD

MetCon: 3 Rounds For time of 20 Sit Ups, 10 Push Ups, 10 T2B, 5 HSPU
Today was all about the core. I probably won’t be able to roll out of bed tomorrow. Sit Ups and Push Ups, I got. T2B and HSPU, not so much. So it was Knees to Elbows and Overhead presses with the Multi-Grip Bar which I was kind of excited about. I need to work on that overhead strength. I felt I did well with everything but KTE. So frustrating. Hanging onto the bar hurts SO bad! Time: 8:26

That’s A Wrap!
I worked out 6 days! Wooooo! It’s been a while since that has happened. With school and baseball picking back up I fear that it won’t be a common occurrence but I’m shooting for 5 days. I’m all prepped for the week to SUCCEED at the Whole30. And I sadly took “before” pics of myself. It’s funny how one (me) can live in denial about where one is at until one sees pictures of oneself. That’s a slap in the face. Big time. Bleh. I’m definintely determined for those “before” pictures to NEVER BE AGAIN! I’m up MANY pounds over where I’d ideally like to be. And when I say many, I’m mean 40-50lbs over. That’s the icing on the cake for me. So no more icing and no more cake. Gotta shed this weight and get back to the leaner version of me.

I hope you all have a fabulous day and if you’re rebooting, starting something new or making a change today then BE STRONG! BE A ROCKSTAR! I’m here to cheer you on and send you virtual high fives! Whole30 on!

My tshirt that I ordered from Savage Life Apparel! So cute!

Getting Prepared for the Whole30

So I’ve been really lazy this past year and I know all it takes is a little bit of preparation during the weekends to have a successful week of eating. And even though I’m ready to get back to eating clean, my brain is still in LAZY mode. I just want a meal by meal, tell me what to eat, tell me how to cook it, etc plan. I know I’m plenty capable of cooking good clean foods. Hell I did it for a year and was really good at it, but I tend to get stuck in ruts and start making the same stuff OVER and OVER and OVER. And then I’m burnt out. I know food should be fuel, but it should taste good too in my opinion. Some folks can eat plain chicken breast, plain veggies, etc. everyday forever. I, however, am not one of those people. I can do it for a short period then I’m out. I want flavor, I want spice. And that’s how I cook, but I’m still a bum right now. I’m trying to rewire my brain!

So I scoured the interwebs and I found lots of resources out there but one seemed to shine brighter than the others. I found Weeknight Paleo over at paleosavvy.com. Author, Amber Beam, seemed to have a well rounded cookbook with meals that didn’t look boring or mundane. Bonus for me, they don’t look hard or complicated in regards to prep or cooking.

Now not all of her recipes are Whole30 compliant but they can be easily modified to fit in with Whole30. Her website even has a Whole30 calendar with meals you can make for the course of your journey. I haven’t made any of her recipes just yet, but I plan to start cooking this weekend. She offers a checklist of essential Paleo items for your pantry and fridge and in addition gives you a shopping list for each week of dinners/meals. So to prepare, I hit up a Sprouts Market during my lunch break to stock up on some of the essentials I’m running low on and spices that are called for in Week 1 of meals. Below is a picture of what I found at Sprouts. I didn’t find everything there but I’m confident WholeFoods will have the rest of what I need.

About $50 spent here.

Now I know what you are thinking. That’s a lot of spices and they all look expensive. To tell you the truth, some were cheap and some were not. But these are items that will last a while. They won’t be gone after one meal. They should last my Whole30 and beyond. It’s a good investment and they are crucial to having flavorful meals. There are some items like Chinese 5 spice that I wouldn’t have regularly in my pantry but there’s a recipe that calls specifically for it. I’m sure there are many more recipes in the book that will call for it later down the road as well. Amber, addresses the “cost” factor in the Introduction of her book as well. Here is an excerpt:

“The True Cost of Paleo
Either you pay the farmer or pay the physician. Lots of people think that Paleo is expensive. I can say I used to be one of those people. During my first trip to the grocery store as a Paleo newbie, I was dumbfounded by the sheer number of items in my cart when I exited the produce section of my market. I continued to the meat department, where I stocked up on what seemed like an enormous amount of protein. I realized that I was not supplementing the fresh food with processed food. I didn’t need to venture into the
supermarket danger zone—the aisles filled with cookies, crackers, and grains. I was building a menu based primarily on high quality protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. Overall, my grocery bill hasn’t fluctuated very much over what I used to spend. I started buying grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork more often. Organic and farm-stand produce also make a regular appearance in my kitchen. For what I spend on these items, I save by not buying nutrient-void carbs that come in shiny, colorful packaging and cost an average of $3.50 per box. You can do the math. On average, I may spend 10–15% more per week, than pre-Paleo, but I consider that money well spent. Higher quality food often costs more, but is more nutrient dense, so I strongly encourage eating the best food you can afford. I see the difference a quality diet has had on my quality of life. So for me, a slight increase in food cost is merely an investment in my overall wellness. The foods I eat ensure I make as few trips as possible to the physician each year and that’s an enormous cost savings.” – Weeknight Paleo, Amber Beam

I always tell people it’s an investment in my health when they give me that crazy eyed look (YOU SPEND MORE MONEY FOR GRASSFED BEEF). It’s only $2 a lb at Walmart or wherever. And it’s true it is cheaper to buy grain fed meats, just not healthier. In the end it’s my choice as it is yours to buy what you like. It’s my health. I prefer not to be sickly. And in general, my family and I are not a sickly bunch. We are not immune to everything but compared to classmates, co-workers and peers, we tend to avoid most of what’s floating around. I don’t only attribute that to good eating though. Our active lifestyle also helps keeps our immune system strong. But good health starts in the GUT. And if we have clean eating habits then we are better off. Keeping those Dr.s, medications and BILLS away.

And if you can’t afford it right now or are not ready to make the jump, it’s going to be fine. You’ve been doing fine so far right? Just make the best choices you can make with the budget you have. Try to be better. Research. Find the deals. If you can afford to buy organic veggies, then buy them. Here is a link of foods that you should try and buy organic, click HERE.

So that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend. Prepping, planning, organizing and getting mentally ready for this Whole30. It’s not going to be easy but I will make it through. Join me. Make the change. Even if it’s only one meal a week for you. Or even one day a week. Let’s get to clean eating and healthier ways. I promise you, YOU will feel better.

Boom Box Recap
1/2/13
Strength: Front squat: 60%x5, 65%x5, 70% 2×5
Boy oh boy my body is hurting. The last thing I want to do is Front Squats. But I gotta do it. I’m still Frankenstein squatting which takes a toll on the arms but I’m low on options here. Thankfully, I was able to do the percentages based on my 1RM of 155lbs. Which is GREAT. I’m gaining my strength back by not being a big ol girl baby!

1/02/14 WOD

MetCon: 18 min AMRAP 10 HR Push Ups, 10 T2B,10 DL 185/125
GEESH, 18 minutes of misery! After the 3rd round, I was convinced I wouldn’t get past 5 rounds. I am however getting better at doing knuckle push ups. Go ME! I’m not awesome at them but I can bust through them at a better pace. It’s the Toes To Bar that I’m still struggling with. So it’s Knees to Elbows for me. There’s nothing like a big ol’ belly to get in your way and make you super depressed. Well I got myself in this hole. And I’m the only one that can dig myself out of it. Hopefully in the next few months I can regain getting those toes to the bar! As for Deadlifts, they felt pretty light and easy, and after about halfway through I realized I had 35lb plates on the bar and not 45lb plates. DOH! I was only working at 105lbs! No wonder it was so light! Ah well. I did all but one round unbroken. I still was putting in work. Final: 7 rounds. I pushed to the last second to get that 10th Deadlift in!

Mobility: I did it! I set aside 15 minutes before I went to bed and I rolled out and stretched. I worked mostly on my legs but I also got some shoulder mobility in too. Finally. Now let’s hope I make this a habit!

Happy Friday!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. If you’re feeling froggy, jump in with me and lets get 2014 kicked off this Monday with clean eating, consistent workouts and good sleep! You don’t have to do Whole30. You can just start eliminating foods, drinking more water, start walking… ANYTHING that is a change for the better. Let’s do this boys and girls.

Another year, a better year

It’s 2014 ladies and gents. I hope everyone enjoyed not only their Christmas but ringing in the new year as well. As you all know, January is the month to start fresh. Gym memberships increase. Weight loss plans go into play. Etc. Etc. And yes I will join the cliché and “start over”.

I’ve never been one to make resolutions or goals really. I kind of say it in my head what I want to do but never write it down, unless I say it here in the good ol’ blog. I think mostly because I don’t want to let myself down by not meeting my goal or holding on to my resolution. This year will be different! I have some things I need to get accomplished physically, mentally, in the gym, outside of the gym and everything in between. But I’ll only bore you with my health and fitness goals 😀

My Health Goals:

1. Annihilate Chunky Monkey
2. Be a better planner/organizer so that all of my goals come to fruition.
3. Eat Clean 90% of the year. There will be vacations and there will be life celebrations and life just happens. But I really want to live that clean eating dream.
4. Complete at least one Whole30. This starts January 6th for me. And is the boost to eating clean for the year.
5. Dedicate at least 15 minutes a day at home to mobilizing/stretching. Work my way up to 30 minutes a day.
6. Get a freaking Pull Up. This includes making the time to work on this movement at home.
7. Improve my attitude towards running. I think some weight loss will help in this area. A lighter me will be a less oompa loompa me!
8. Lose weight. I’m not putting a number on this. I know where I’m at, where I’ve been and what’s ideal as far as I look and feel. I’ve learned to not weigh obsessively over the past two years and I’m not going to let that get in my head again. I just need these added layers of flub to be gone. Hopefully in the next 3 months.

I don’t think I’m asking too much of myself and I’m just hoping I can make all of the above HABITS. What are your goals? What do you want 2014 to bring?

Boom Box Recaps
12/31/13
Skill: Turkish Get Ups
Welp, with a bum wrist these aren’t ideal for me. So coach had me do some mobility. MUCH needed mobility! And some KB swings. Bleh.

12/31/13 WOD

MetCon: “Annie“ 50-40-30-20 and 10 rep rounds of: Double Unders and Sit Ups
Oh Annie, this is one MetCon I can kill, 8 months ago. But now, not so much I’ve never been so slow at sit ups. In April I had a sub8 time. For the last day of the year I had a time of 9:07. And it was the sit ups that got me! I thought I had my 50 DUs unbroken but failed at 44, then at 46, then at 47. So frustrating. But I did 40 unbroken. At 30 I did like 15, then 15. For 20, I did 18 or something dumb and failed. And I managed to do 10 unbroken. I only stopped twice during Sit Ups but there were on SLOW MO. I thought I was going to puke. Thankfully I did not!

I felt like Annie was a good way to finish the year. And a good benchmark for me to retest in a couple of months. With clean eating and hopefully some weight loss, I hope to destroy my 7:58 time from April 2013!

1/1/13 FRAN NIGHT
I went back and forth on if I was going to go to Fran Night. Every year CrossFit Boom rings in the new year with FRAN: 21, 15, 9 of Thrusters and Pull Ups – the dirtiest girl WOD out there. I knew I couldn’t physically do the actual workout because I can’t do Thrusters right now, but I knew Coach would have something equally as painful for me to do. I wasn’t sure though, if I was going to have the energy to be AWAKE to workout. Well thanks to the Chick-fil-A bowl and my beloved AGGIES making it an exciting game, I was pretty awake. Two of my three kids were home. And one of them wanted to participate with me. So we loaded up and off we went.

After we all warmed up we split into two groups, the 2013 Fran and the 2014 Fran. I decided to make Fran my first workout of the year and I let my son, Justice, do the 2013 workout. I was so proud of my monkey. He is athletic and he is tough but he’s never really done a WOD at the box for time. And he’s for sure never done Fran. Coach gave him a 15lb bar and off he went. And I didn’t let him slack. I NO REPPED him on some Thrusters and several Pull Ups. He eventually had to move to bands to finish out the Pull Ups. Time: 7:18

Then it was my turn, womp womp. I was tasked with Front Squats and Pushups instead of Thrusters. The break down was 7 Squats, 7 Push Ups with fists x 3, 21 Pull Ups, 5 Squats, 5 Push Ups x 3, 15 Pull Ups, 5 Squats, 5 Push Ups, 4 Squats, 4 Push Ups, 9 Pull Ups. This was a beating. A pure beating. And I went from 1 green band and 1 blue band, to 2 green bands, 1 blue band. It was terrible. But I did the work. I haven’t actually done Fran in probably over a year and it was modified. I’m pretty sure I had completed this benchmark in the 8 minute range. For this year it was a slow 10:43! This is another WOD I need to retest in the future.

Looking forward.
And there you have it. I did start of the NEW YEAR strong. And starting Monday I plan to start eating CLEAN!

I have all the resources I need at my fingertips. Now I just need the mental aspect to stay focused. This is a year of Looking Forward, Planning Ahead and Staying Focused. I’m also replacing AWESOME with something else. I think I’ve awesomed myself out and probably all of you as well! Any suggestions on a new WORD/PHRASE for the year?

idrankthecfkoolaid

and it's good

Whole30

Can’t Stop Now

Crawling out of the Hole

Chugging Along – Whole30 Day EIGHT

Kill Some of the Things

Not so drained, but a little agitated

And then I got tired

You may be asking…. What is Whole30?

It has begun – Whole30

Getting Prepared for the Whole30

Another year, a better year

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