Stuck in a Rut, maybe?

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I have now finished my 3rd week of getting back into the swing of consistent attendance at the BOOM Box and 22 Days into Whole30. My overall thought is that I’m not bouncing back in regards to CrossFit like I thought I would. It’s very frustrating. I feel like I’m not getting any better more specifically I think I’m getting worse! I show up, I do the work, I eat clean and I still am feeling BEHIND. No PROGRESS. I’m hoping it’s just a phase. I’m hoping SOON, real soon that I start feeling like I’m doing GREAT and not just surviving. Am I in a rut? Am I stuck? I don’t know. But I don’t like the place I’m in. Anyone else get this way? Is this normal? UGH, I hope it is because it’s seriously bringin me down!

Avoid-Burnout

Skill/Strength: 4 x 5 AHAP Jumping Good Mornings
Was it really just a week ago that we did these? It feels like much longer ago but it was exactly a week ago. This movement still feels awkward but I feel I performed it much better this morning. Even went heavier up to 85lbs vs. the 75lbs I did last week. My hamstrings were feelin the love. We did some extra stretching this time around and I think that was helpful. Last week my left hamstring was not liking me very much. This week = no lasting fatigue.

1/23/13 WOD

1/23/13 WOD

MetCon: 3 rounds: 15 KB Thrusters Right Arm, 200m run with KB, 15 KB Thrusters Left Arm, 10 burpee penalty if KB touches ground). Upon completion we had to do 50 TTB.
Wooo the RX was 1 POOD and that was not gonna happen. I could get one on my right side with a struggle. And I could get one on my left side with a super struggle. So I opted for the 26lb KB. And that was still a butt whoopin’! But what was miserable was carrying that KB baby with us on the run, which turned out to be more of a fast walk! This is a life drainer but I still made it to the end. Although I felt like maybe I would not. There were no burpees taking place so that means all of us kept the KB off the ground! The burpees just weren’t worth it! My shoulders are still smoked from Monday and Tuesday. Add more burpees. No thank you sir! Time 14:12.

The TTB that ended up being Knees to Elbows for me weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. I went slow and did 5 at a time. MY kip came back briefly but I would lose it every few reps. Now if TTB would come back!

Whole30 Days 21 & 22
I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Like I’ve been saying, it’s not so bad, but being so strict gets to be a little unnerving. Don’t get me wrong I’m on top of this thing and it’s probably best for me. And maybe at Day45 I won’t feel like it’s a chore. Even though I’m still getting in the kitchen and cooking, I just don’t wanna! How bad is that? I think my rut is mental and physical so I get a double whammy of dirt to the face.

1/22/13 Lunch – Grassfed steak, asparagus and sweet potatoes.

1/22/13 Lunch – Grassfed steak, asparagus and sweet potatoes.

Ah well. Chin UP Buttercup. Get over it. Move on. Move forward. Right? Just a bump in the road! Have a great Wednesday! Thank goodness for rest days, aka THURSDAY! Go out and show your AWESOMENESS to the world!

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yawn!

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I probably could have used one more hour of sleep last night. I’m sleepy today. I was really sad when my alarm went off this morning even though I knew the WOD for the day would be – Double Unders!

I underestimated how smoked my shoulders would be after the beating I took from Cindy yesterday! And smoked they were and extra crispy now sitting here typing away. Skill/Strength consisted of DU work. I got this! NOT!

1/22/13 WOD

1/22/13 WOD

MetCon: 300 DUs, with 3 burpees EMOM OR 100 burpees with 2 Box Jumps EMOM
I don’t think I would choose burpees as my first option ever but after the way I struggled with the DUs this morning, it may have been a better decision! 3-2-1 GO 3 burpees. Whoa those hurt! It took me a little bit to get into the groove for DUs. Seriously a few minutes. I was struggling for some reason. Then the burpees. I ended having to do 30 but those wore on me fast! I thought I may have cried if I didn’t finish within the minute. Thankfully I busted out my last 30 before 11 minutes came up. Time 10:52 :/ I really thought I’d do much better than that. Ah well.

Whole 30 Days 20-21
Feeling a little more motivated to cook again. Although last night I was pushing it to a little later than I would like. After running some errands and sadly picking up the boys some fast food, I finally got home to cook my dinner. Turns out I really cooked my lunch and ate leftovers for dinner because I didn’t want to be eating at 9pm. It worked out well as I reheated and crispified some delicious Chicken Thighs. Threw the thighs together on top of a spinach salad with tomatoes and blackberries. Had a side of sweet potatoes and some coconut flakes and I was golden! While I was doing all of that I was baking Ernie a sweet potato, cooking asparagus and two hefty steaks. All is done son!

Lunch 1/21/13 - Cut up steak marinated in coconut aminos and other spices, roasted cauliflower, sauteed mixed veggies.

Lunch 1/21/13 – Cut up steak marinated in coconut aminos and other spices, roasted cauliflower, sauteed mixed veggies.

Dinner 1/22/13 – Chicken thighs on a bed of spinach, grape tomatoes and blackberries.

Dinner 1/22/13 – Chicken thighs on a bed of spinach, grape tomatoes and blackberries.

 

Day 21
Sleep is oh so important. It’s taking me a while to wind up for the day. My eyes are droopy and my body is beat down. It doesn’t help I sit at a desk all day. I’m tired! Post workout I had some egg whites and chicken sausage (so delightful). For breakfast I cooked up some cubed sweet potato, threw that in with some beef I had for lunch yesterday and inhaled a ziplock baggie full of baby spinach. My kids think I’m totally insane because I’m just stuffing raw spinach in my face as we are en route to school! Good times, Good times indeed! I’ve been feeling good, never having those HANGRY pains. Just happy to eat. Satiated and good to go until the next meal. Water is KEY and I can tell when I get behind on that. It’s been rare, but it does happen. I haven’t had one craving to snack, munch or nibble on something. And I definitely am not wishing for a power nap in the middle of the afternoon.

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To top it off I gotta figure out what kind of treat to get my youngest for his upcoming BIG 10YR Birthday, but none of the sweet temptations are even tempting on my brain or salivary glands. So I feel pretty confident I won’t just dive into a pile of cupcakes or cookies. So far Whole30 is treating me fairly well. Only 9 more days of super STRICT everything, but I’m not opposed to keep on keepin on. And just save any badness for events that are worthy! I don’t know what reintroducing bad foods will do to me either and sure don’t want to screw it up. After reading ISWF I really wish I could go on in perfect la la land forever! For those of you that don’t know – 80% of our immune system comes from our GUT so why do I want to screw that up after I’ve been eating so well to clean it up! You would think that decision would be easy. Clean HEALTHY living or take a gamble. But you say OH FOOD IS SO GOOD! ENJOY LIFE! TAKE THE GAMBLE! But really? Is it that great having MIGRAINES?!? I had more than my fare share in the month of December. There’s so much more rewarding stuff out there that doesn’t have to do with food. I’m not perfect. I’m not saying I won’t indulge in some ice cream at some point or a cupcake, I’m just saying I really am hoping I can be stronger than I have been in the past! Keep Calm and Whole30 On, Right?

Nobody was all that interested in my silly little 30 day $30 prize, but I’ll tell you my teenager was like I’ll do it. I told him if no one showed interest by Friday then I would let him and Ernie duke it out. See who stays on target, IF THEY CAN STAY ON TARGET! $30 is still a lot to a 13 yr old. If I could give away $300 I would. One day, One day!

Have a pleasant day. Relax a little. Breathe! and Be Awesome!

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Mental, Mental, Mental

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Yup it’s true, and most of you know by now, I’m mental. Sometimes I exude overconfidence but mostly I’m just a basketcase! I have officially made it to day 20 of Whole30! Only 10 days to go. This weekend I struggled the most with wanting NOT GOOD FOR ME CRAP! Not sure why. A little more stressed than normal. Hormones playing with my emotions. I stayed on course and ate my meals and followed through, but mentally I struggled a little more than I had thought I would at this point. Only because it’s been pretty smooth sailing until Friday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing in the towel. But boy a taste of ice cream would have been delightful! In the END I stayed STRONG! It’s not that hard folks.

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You gotta stop the excuses. Seriously. In It Starts With Food they have a lot of tough love moments and to me it’s really not even tough love, it’s REALITY. The reality is we are all grown ups. We all know what’s good and bad for us but we just make excuses. Being overweight, having PRE-DIABETES, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, joint pains, migraines, high cholesterol, etc are not good for you and YOU know that. Those are side effects of eating processed foods, sugary foods and those said foods cooked in VEGETABLE OIL (yes highly processed oils made from vegetables). Those are side effects of eating CHEMICAL SUGAR with no Calories as well! Yet here is the majority of society not giving a damn. Or those trying to give a damn by counting calories or points. If you just lay off the JUNK (btw it’s not food, just JUNK), eat real food, drink plenty of water and drop those “DIET DRINKS”, I can PROMISE you that you will not only feel change, you will see change. Ya I’m not a Dr., but I know change will come. I don’t think a Dr. is going to tell you it’s BAD for you to try to eat real foods. I’m sure there will be some that advocate grain and milk but I bet they can’t tell you something bad will happen if you don’t eat them. Once again, I ask you to give it a try. Suck it up and just SEE. 30 days!

My heart wants everyone to be healthy. And sure there are “many” ways to get healthy but fretting over calories and snacks will drive you to insanity and FAILURE. Want a prize? I’m up for giving something away. It won’t be large because I don’t have the income that provides large. Let’s go with a $30 incentive. Since I’m asking you to go for 30 days. Again it’s not a lot but I’m thinking some sort of gift card that you can use towards something for your kitchen, to help you out for prepping your whole, clean and healthy foods! Have you eaten your weight in girl scout cookies? Can you not let go of that ice cream after dinner habit? Then why not try something NEW? If you’re up for the challenge, then comment below. We’ll go over details. YES it’s going to be based on WHOLE30. Yes that’s called clean eating. Paleo. Whatever. Just do it though! I know you could all be a bunch of liars, but I’m hoping whoever is up for it will be truthful, take before and after pics and also keep in touch with me every couple of days to let me know their status. So it’s out there. A small prize for you making a little bit of effort. Anyone in?

1/19/13 WOD

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Ours was pretty good. I finally got to cleaning my house which was way overdue. Now if someone would just mop my kitchen floor for me. That would be fantastic! But before clean fest happened I did stop in at the good ol BOOM Box!

MetCon: TABATA of Hollow Rocks and Superman Rocks 2 minute rest then Death By Thrusters (65lbs)

Hollow Rock, you rock in this position. Killer on the ABS!

Hollow Rock, you rock in this position. Killer on the ABS! Flip over on your stomack for Superman Rocks.

I know TABATA anything will hurt. Little did I know Hollow Rocks are horrid in TABATA fashion. Superman Rocks are another one of my strengths, DUs being my other. So those weren’t so bad.

1/19/13 WOD

1/19/13 WOD

It was Death by Thrusters that scared me. I went and looked through my blogs and didn’t find that we had done this workout previously. I was sure we had but at this time I came up with nothing. So coach thought 65lbs was a doable weight for all the females and it was just fine. It’s been a while since I have done Thrusters with a bar because of dumb shoulder pain. The pain was still there but I was determined to overlook it. After a few rounds I didn’t feel it much. It was my wrists that caved in early! I was in pain. Only made it through 8 rounds. I think I could have at least made it through 9 had my wrists not been dying. I couldn’t fight through that pain at all. 8 rounds, not so bad I suppose.

1/21/13 WOD
Strength/Skill: 3 x 3 Back Squat at 90% of 1RM
Whew that gets heavy fast! My warm up weights were good, I was getting good depth and popping right back up. Put on 130lbs and that slowed me down a bit. I surprisingly made it through the 3 sets. It’s only 3 right? But it was a struggle.

1/21/13 WOD

1/21/13 WOD

MetCon: CINDY
Ah Cindy, I do not like you. I’ve told you this before. My feelings have not changed. Something as simple as Pull Ups, Push Ups and Air Squats can be soooo evil! Especially when it’s a 20 minute AMRAP. Cindy I know I’ve done. I have one blogged record and although it was a lower score at 6 rounds 4 rep, I was only using one green band. Today I was using one green and one blue band. :/ I suck so bad at Pull Ups. I managed to get through 10 rounds 3 reps. I’m a baby. Cindy is Mean. The End.

Whole30 Days 17-20
I wasn’t very good at taking pictures this weekend of all my foods, but to be honest it was a lot of the same. Protein (ground beef), sauteed up with spinach and sweet potatoes. I would change it up with some cauliflower or broccoli but nothing EXCITING. I was in Clean house mode so I just needed fuel. And fuel is what I made.

1/18/13 Lunch - Ground beef, Sauteed Broccoli, Roasted Cauliflower, 1/2 Avocado and a Kiwi

1/18/13 Lunch – Ground beef, Sauteed Broccoli, Roasted Cauliflower, 1/2 Avocado and a Kiwi

We are on our last package of Pork Belly and our handy dandy butcher hasn’t had any since we last stocked up 😦 So I ordered some Sugar-Free Bacon from US Wellness Meats. It should arrive today. I’m rather excited.

Mood: Again, besides mother nature barging in and making me feel bleh. I still feel pretty good, full of energy and no lulls in the day. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post though, I was mental. I wanted bad stuff. Mostly for the sake of convenience I think but also because it sounded a little bit good. Not good enough to throw Whole30 down the drain but it did surprise me to have that desire. I’ve been so good and so on point with no cravings and now more than halfway through my brain says GIVE ME GIVE ME GIVE ME! Seriously? UGH. I’ve read in ISWF about that happening, but not to me! Right? Oh but it did!

Ten days to go! Have a week’s worth of veggies and grass fed meats to get me through. I also remember to snap a picture of the Pasta Sauce I use, Organic and NO SUGAR added = PERFECT. So many pasta sauces have some sort of sugar or odd chemical. This brand happily does not.

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Hopefully I get over this mental battle and just power through. And hopefully I don’t waste food. It seems that towards the end of the week, I was becoming a little forgetful and left food out instead of putting it away. That’s a fast way to throw money in the trash!

Hope everyone has a great day. It’s Monday Funday? NO it’s just MONDAY! Take care of your mind and body! and BE AWESOME!

aaa

FRIDAY – I welcome you!

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At last it’s Friday. And looking to be a beautiful weekend – keeping fingers crossed. You never know in Texas! Been plowing away at Whole30 like a champ. And needed that day o’ rest! Nobody jumped at my sponsorship request so I guess I just gotta barrel through. I’m really wishing the warm weather would reappear. Thirty degree mornings are wearing me down!

1/18/13 WOD
Like I said, it’s cold and I’m over it. And today’s workout involved rings and the bar for Toes To Bar! UGH. And I’ve done ZERO practice in regards to pull ups so I’m just a glutton for punishment.

Skill/Strength: 3 rounds of Max Ring Dips
I busted out my handy dandy green band and although I feel strong doing this movement with the green band if I use anything less I have nothing. There’s not in between. Plus my rotator cuff, inside of my shoulders hurt like a mofo! I managed to do 10, 6, 10 for my 3 attempts.

1/18/13 WOD

1/18/13 WOD

MetCon: 21, 15, 9 of TTB and a 200m run after each set.
Where o where did my Toes To Bar go, o where o where did they go? POOF, At one point I could string a few together now I can’t even touch the bar with my feet! WTH? I’m getting worse, not better. This is not good. Knees to elbows here we come AGAIN! And it sucked cause I’ve lost any semblance of a kip as well. Argh. So needless to say this was not my best WOD. Stumbled through and got a final time of 8:43. Boooo :/

Whole30 Days 15-17
I left you on a good note for this Whole30 journey and still on it. This whole Mother Nature BS has finally got my mood dragging. But other than that, had a magical wake up on time moment. That’s hard to do when your wake up time is 4:20!

My food has either been chicken soup or ground beef hash/mixup with whatever veggies I have lying around. The kids and Ernie have been on quick to go food mode, mostly due to baseball practice and well cruelness to me! Jokes, Jokes, like I said the whole mother nature thing was dragging me down and I had no motivation to really cook. Although I did bake Spaghetti Squash and Acorn Squash to have as readily available cooked veggies.

1/17/13 Lunch - Chicken Soup with Kale, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes and Chicken. See my ramekin full of coconut flakes!

1/17/13 Lunch – Chicken Soup with Kale, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes and Chicken. See my ramekin full of coconut flakes!

1/17/13 Dinner: Leftover ground beef with leftover cabbage and added some spinach. That avocado was heavenly!

1/17/13 Dinner – Leftover ground beef with leftover cabbage and added some spinach. That avocado was heavenly!

In other Whole30 news, I had run out of GHEE, gasp, and went to a Sprouts nearby work to see if they had any. Well they had clarified butter but not from grass fed cows, so I took a pass but I did find Coconut Flakes, note not a big fan of coconut! Turns out I liked the flakes, maybe my taste/flavor profiles are changing! Score for me. A new heatlhy fat to add to my arsenal! And I found Avocado oil, cold pressed! I’ve read to use Avocado oil for Paleo Mayo – Super stoked!! And by the end of the day Ernie and kids went to Whole Foods to get me some Ghee! It was a WIN overall!

WOOHOOO!

WOOHOOO!

I also made more bone broth. I distributed it in several containers and let it sit to cool before I threw it in freezer. WELLLLL, I woke up this morning to see said containers still sitting out to cool. EEEK! They were loosely covered, but not sealed tight. I threw them in freezer cause I had to get to the Box but was this wise? Should I have dumped it? Is it safe? I’m thinking it should be fine. I did google it and I found people on both sides of the fence. So I’m going with keeping it and praying I don’t have ill effects from a future soup!

I have chicken thighs defrosting for tonight/tomorrow. Gotta get my mojo back for cooking! Other than that, I’m just peachy. I’ve been strong. More than halfway there and I got this.

Have a super duper weekend. Do something fun! Be awesome!

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Holy SNIKES, It’s ThunderSnow!

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And in Texas we don’t just get one or the other in the form of elements falling from the sky. Nope we get SLEET, RAIN, THUNDER, SNOW. ThunderSnow is what they were calling it on the radio and I like it! And it was mucho frio (cold) this morning at the BOOM Box. It was still above 40° in the box but soooo much colder feeling knowing pellets of ice are falling from the sky. And I’m pretty sure the bars are much heavier when it’s cold :/ right? Can I get someone to confirm that? Thanks!

Skill/Strength: Snatch/OHS
We went through all the PVC warm ups and all the Bar warmups and then worked on Snatch technique because it was in the MetCon for the day. I did a handful that I felt were right. The rest of them just felt weird. I started off with gloves because the BAR is COLD! But that’s not natural feeling so I threw those off, taped up my thumbs and felt a little more confident that way. Eh I gotta do this no matter what so just deal with it.

1/15/13 WOD

1/15/13 WOD

MetCon: 12 minute AMRAP of 10 HSPU OR 30 HR Push Ups and 5 Power Snatches (65lbs)
Well, Well, Well, I was not expecting a X3 modification. 30 Push Ups in lieu of Handstand Push Ups. That took up plenty of time as my shoulders fatigue fast. I was looking at the clock but it wasn’t registering in my brain. When I finished my first 30 I just expected to SNATCH that bar but I failed like 3 times before I got it up. So drained. I fought through the best I could but I ended up muscling up the weight up more than anything. I felt that my hands were not cooperating with me and I just might let go of the bar or something. Silly I know. I’m not willing to just let the bar go, but my grip was not confident. I finished 4 rounds and got 1 lonely Push Up in.

Whole30 Days 13 & 14
I finally purchased Sunflower Butter and have been eating it sparingly to use as a fat with my meals. For lunch I just dipped a carrot in it and it was pretty delicious. Got home for dinner and went into prep mode. Cooked up some Steak, Sweet Potato Chips and Asparagus. All the while I did more Cauli-Rice experimenting. Trying a creamy mushroom idea. Cooked it, did not taste it but brought it for lunch so we’ll see! Crossing fingers it’s good cause it’s a good portion of my lunch!

1/14/13 Lunch: Roast Chicken, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes and Carrot with Sunflower Butter

1/14/13 Lunch: Roast Chicken, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes and Carrot with Sunflower Butter

1/14/13 Dinner: 12oz Steak of which I only ate half, Sweet Potato Chips (cooked in Ghee) and Asparagus with Olive Oil Drizzle

1/14/13 Dinner: 12oz Steak of which I only ate half, Sweet Potato Chips (cooked in Ghee) and Asparagus with Olive Oil Drizzle

Mood: I woke up without alarm and felt great! But sadly I forced myself back to sleep for 15 minutes! I know I know, I shouldn’t do that but mentally I felt I needed that sleep but my body knows better. Argh. I’ll get better I promise. Except losing the motivation to prep and prepare food constantly I’m still riding the Happy Train. I can’t say this crappy weather doesn’t deter my feeling great, cause it does but I know physically I feel good.

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After watching just a little bit of Biggest Loser, I wanted to throw It Starts With Food at every contestant and to the NUTRITIONIST lady as well. I’m almost finished with the book, HOORAY. Again I’m glad they are starting somewhere in regards to finding good health and fitness, but if I took a shot everytime she said eat healthy WHOLE grains, I would of been drunk off my ass. Now I haven’t had alcohol in almost 2 years now, so I wouldn’t really be taking shots but HOLY COW I wanted to punch the lady in the face.

That’s it for today! Have a CHILLY Tuesday and I’ll see you tomorrow! Be Awesome!

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Womp Womp!

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Argh, this morning my stomach was not feeling settled and I chose not to go to the BOOM Box. In the end I felt fine a couple of hours later and now I sit here wishing I had been able to go. Ah well, it is what it is. I still have Saturday’s workout to recap and of course I will break down my Whole30 weekend. Still going strong and my book came in – It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig (founders of Whole30). I’m about halfway through and if this book can’t convict you to change how you eat then you just don’t care about much at all including yourself. Harsh? YES. I know it is but they really make all the “science-y” stuff make sense to those of us who aren’t well read in how our body functions.

1/12/13 WOD
Let me get to Saturday’s workout before I forget all that we did! It was actually humid and not so cold and we did our MetCon outside. I wish today was humid and semi-warm but it’s not!
MetCon: 10 minute AMRAP of 1 minute of Air Squats and Straight and 1 minute of Straight Legged Sit Ups.
Of course it doesn’t sound horrible but give it a whirl trying to get as many reps as possible and your legs will be all jelly-like! And I promise my ABS are still sore today. I started off strong and really slowed down midway. Bad idea. I tried to pick it back up for the last minute but not good enough. Total reps: 261

Skill/Strength: Open Skill Session
Work on your weaknesses is what I say! So I worked on Snatch. It’s been a while since I’ve really done any Snatch work so it was back to the basics for me. I didn’t try to put any weight on the bar, just work on technique.

Whole30 Days 10-13
As I mentioned last week Day 10 lunch was comprised of leftovers and I also finished the day with a dinner of leftovers. I didn’t feel like making anything fresh which was fine by me because I was tired due to my lack of sleep from the night before.

1/11/13 Lunch

1/11/13 Lunch (notice my book!)

Day 11
Of course, NO PRE-WORKOUT meal. And I hung around the BOOM Box for too long after to make any use of a Post Workout Meal, well at least in my opinion. I know BAD FORM but I made sure my breakfast was legit and full of all the things I needed. Besides heating up some spinach with my Shredded Pork it was more leftovers. I have plenty! Egg Muffins by the way are great reheated! I’m getting rather boring with the leftovers, but I make sure it’s a little bit of everything.

For dinner I remembered I had some bone broth in the fridge that must be utilized so I took some chicken leftovers, cut up some sweet potato, carrots, kale, mushrooms and scallions. Tossed it all in a pot and let it boil then simmer until sweet potatoes and carrots were soft. Now let me tell you, I eat Kale, and I try to find crafty ways to cook it but it’s still not my FAVE veggie. I know it’s packed full of goodness but it’s on the lower end of veggies I will CHOOSE to eat. In soup however Kale is less intrusive on my taste buds and definitely easier to eat. With that said, I’m still trying to integrate Kale into my life more often. The soup was delicious and I wish I had made more but really it was enough. I was plenty satiated when it was all said and done.

1/12/13 Dinner - Chicken soup deliciousness

1/12/13 Dinner – Chicken soup deliciousness

Day 12
We were in a hurry to get out of the house since we slept in longer than we should have. I had more Egg Muffins with some veggies and reheated chicken. Scooped it down and we were on the road. For those of you new to the blog, we travel about 35 miles south of where we live every Sunday and pick up our grassfed beef, pastured chicken, pastured pork and pastured chicken eggs. We could make one trip a month or two times a month but it’s fun and we’ve become friends with the folks that work there. So it’s a field trip to a great little place called Burgandy Pasture Beef. Every now and then we also eat lunch there. They only serve Burgers and Frankfurters but they are delicious, and we eat ours bunless!

Sneaky Ernie taking pictures of me looking over some asparagus. Ended up being a colorful shot so I thought I'd share it!

Sneaky Ernie taking pictures of me looking over some asparagus. Ended up being a colorful shot so I thought I’d share it!

After we finished our shopping for the day, we headed over to my dad’s house. He had leftover pancake breakfast foods to share and well I couldn’t partake but I brought the last of my pulled pork, kale and broccoli and a few macadamia nuts, Whole30 says these are the best nuts to eat, good cause they are my faves! I also made more Egg Muffins, Kale included, to share with my dad. Hopefully he likes them. I have to get him on track to a healthier life so he can stick with us a little longer! It’s a hard task though. For dinner, I used up the last of my spaghetti squash I had saved in the fridge. Added some kale, poured pasta/meat sauce and dinner is served. I also had a kiwi to go along with it. I think I’ve done GOOD in the eat more kale department! While I was heating up my dinner I was also prepping today’s breakfast/lunch. By now I’m tired of prepping. Yup, it’s gotten old and I wish I had someone to do it for me. I know I can’t let it bring me down but as of last night I just was blah about it all. Ernie jumped in to help while I ate my dinner. He was a little worried at his slicing and dicing skills. NO they weren’t the way I would have done it but I was relieved to have a small load taken off my shoulders. Thank you kind sir!

Day 13
Whew, I’ve made it this far and I’ve done well, in my opinion at least. I made some broccoli to go with the chicken I roasted last night and the sweet potatoes I also cooked up. I had some of the sweet potatoes this morning with a hardboiled egg and some pork belly. I wasn’t really all that hungry due to my stomach being all weird but I ate anyways. Gotta keep the food habits in place. As always the day of, I’m not sure what dinner will be but I know it will be good. I may make more chicken soup. I think the kids will enjoy it as much as I did. I also gotta get some beef bone broth going. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, we’ll see!

MOODI’m pretty sure feeling great is here to stay. I would typically take a nap on a Sunday but yesterday I was not tired. Only the boredom of monotony got me last night, but that’s a mental thing. A lazy thing. Other than my stomach feeling woosy this morning, which could be attributed to a number of things I suppose, I feel spectacular. And guess what?

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My fat girl pants that were borderline snug are dramatically loose again. It takes time folks. And you must find patience. All in a matter of 13 days. It’s amazeballs!

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It Starts With Food
I’m only halfway through the book so I’m not going to review it now, and I’m not really sure how well I can review a book. I’m wordy but the book is so good so far, I’m afraid a review from me won’t do it justice. As soon as I’m finished with it, I’ll think it over again. I do highly recommend it though. The Hartwigs do a great job in breaking it all down, giving you food for thought and have nice testimonials from folks that have been really “sick” and have either eliminated their sicknesses or on the way to eliminating them! Reading the book also gives me great backup to not screw this Whole30 up.

Now I know why I could eat a whole bag of OREOS! It Starts With Food, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

Now I know why I could eat a whole bag of OREOS! It Starts With Food, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

And holy guacamole it’s Monday again! Hope you all make the best of it! Remember last week I encouraged you to make a change, even it if it was a baby change? How are y’all doing? Did you ditch the chemically flavored beverages? Cut out sugar? Make a vow to eat breakfast finally? If not, let’s try it again! Make one small change. It doesn’t even have to be food related. Spend 10 minutes in scripture, meditation, whatever, just do something new. Try and make it a habit. Do something for you! And of course be AWESOME at it.

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Hard Yolks, Runny Yolks, METAL YOKES?

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I definitely did not get enough sleep last night. Stayed up too late and had a hard time waking my sleepy head up. Alas, I did wake up and hauled my butt to the BOOM Box. I better get to bed soon tonight because I have my 5th WOD for the week in the A.M. This is my first full week at the new scheduling. It’s not that I have never shown up more than 4 times a week. But typically the 5th day would be a community work out and more group/fun based. I’m not saying we didn’t put in work but it was a different atmosphere. Granted I won’t be able to tell much after one week, but I can at least gauge how I feel as the weeks build upon each other.

Skill/Strength: 2RM Press
My shoulders have been plaguing me. Mostly I believe because I sleep on my sides and I don’t do enough mobility. So this morning I really had to stretch out and warm up for any part of my shoulders to feel good. As I warmed up I was feeling good at 65lbs. Did 2 reps no problem. 70lbs is my 1RM and I’ve been stuck here for quite some time. Today I made a tiny dent by getting 2 reps at 70lbs. In my excitement I jumped up a WHOPPING 5lbs and it was a fail! I should just be happy I had more than 1 rep at 70lbs! I guess :/

1/11/13 WOD

1/11/13 WOD

MetCon: 4 rounds of MAX YOKE CARRY for 20 seconds, MAX PUSH UPS for 20 seconds
I’ve been calling the YOKE that EVIL SLED, EVIL PROWLER, but in the end it’s a YOKE. A 185lb one at that! The ladies were supposed to put 25lb plates on each corner for this MetCon. I however dropped to 10lb plates. The reasoning behind this is that I picked up the yoke and it was way low to ground and I did not feel confident. So 10lb plates it is. And I also had the bar lowered to get a little more air between the ground. After the bar was lowered I realized it was a little easier and 25lb plates would have been feasible, but this was after I started. No time to change it now :/ A little disappointed knowing I would have been fine at a higher weight. Ah well. 20 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot but it does add up. I did fine until the 3rd round. I think my core had had enough between Push Ups and carrying the Yoke. I dragged on Push Ups which wasn’t good at all. I ended up carrying the Yoke 96yds and completing 32 Push Ups. It was mentioned we will do something similar soon so mentally I will be ready!

Whole30 Days 9 & 10 (1/3 of the way there!)

Pulled Pork ended up being FABULOUS. My lunch yesterday made me a happy camper! For dinner I went with my old fallback of Spaghetti Squash and Pasta Sauce with GrassFed Ground Beef! This time around, since my squash had been sitting in fridge, I sauteed the squash in GHEE with some garlic and shallots. This was very nice flavor profile when combined with the meat sauce. Added some roasted broccoli to the mix and dinner is served! I did end up eating some fruit after all, 6 cherries.

1/10/13 Lunch of Pulled Pork, Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli, Asparagus and Avocado

1/10/13 Lunch of Pulled Pork, Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli, Asparagus and Avocado

Day 10, 20 to goSmooth sailing from here I hope. It’s hasn’t been all that bad in the first place as long as I’m prepped. And since I don’t want to fail I have made sure I have defrosted protein and at least one veggie that is easy to cook. This morning I didn’t feel like I exerted my self the same as earlier in the week so I only had one Hardboiled Egg with some Sweet Potatoes for my Post Workout Meal. For breakfast I had some Pork Belly, Kale Chips, TBS of Sunbutter, and I heated up some more Sweet Potato and an Egg Muffin. This is all very easy to eat on my commute to work. Whew. Lunch will be more leftovers of Steak, Broccoli and Cauli Rice.

1/10/13 Dinner of Spaghetti Squash, Roasted Broccoli, Pasta/Meat Sauce, and Avocado

1/10/13 Dinner of Spaghetti Squash, Roasted Broccoli, Pasta/Meat Sauce, and Avocado

Dinner is TBD as it typically is, I have some Pulled Pork left as well as Pasta/Meat Sauce and plenty of veggies so that will probably be the plan. Like I have previously mentioned, it does get old and routine. I don’t have time to hit up the grocery store daily and my meals tend to have that Wash, Rinse, Repeat rhythm but at least it all tastes good and I’m hitting the mark.

Mood: Overall my BRAIN is clear, my EYES are bright, and I’m just in a good place. Today I’m dragging a lil bit but I know that’s due to not enough sleep.

Have a fabulous weekend. Hopefully there won’t be torture waiting for me at the BOOM Box tomorrow morning!! Other than that Be AWESOME and all that Jazz.

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Whole30 DAY 9 – Feelin’ Fine!

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It’s a rest day for me from the BOOM Box so today will be all about the Whole30. I had planned on reviewing Choice Organic Tea as well but I’m still waiting to hear about possibly doing a giveaway as well. So if you love TEA stay tuned in.

Whole30 Day 9 FEELIN’ FINE!

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I’m on my 2nd day of week 2, almost 1/3 of the way there. YAY! And so far it’s been superb. This morning was probably the only day so far where my meal wasn’t so balanced. But it’s still clean. I don’t think there’s a rule that tells me I have to start over based on an unbalanced plate. Please don’t tell me I have to start over!

Last night, we roasted a chicken, put pork shoulder in the crockpot (link to recipe below) and boiled, stir-fried and roasted a slew of veggies. This morning I FINALLY broke down and made some Egg Muffins as well! And they were a WINNER and now probably a staple in our kitchen for quick breakfast solutions. The kids really enjoyed them and they were full of goodness 🙂

1/9/13 Dinner

1/9/13 Dinner

Now let me get back to that pulled pork. I haven’t tried it yet, but the kids sampled it this morning and their only words were MMMMMM. I know that’s not a word, so their only sounds were MMMMMM. As most of you know I did the 21-Day Sugar Detox last year in May. And I struggled a bit with that but came out with positive results in the end. Recently I saw a facebook post about PULLED PORK. I love pulled pork preferrable drenched in some yummy bbq sauce on a bun with some coleslaw on top and topped off with another bun! Now seeing as that I can’t have a bun and I’m too lazy right now to find a Paleo cole slaw solution, I was just intrigued in general that it was pulled pork and it was fit to be on the 21-Day Sugar Detox. It just so happens it’s in line with Whole30 as well. I really couldn’t imagine why it wouldn’t be as they eliminate the same food groups for the most part. So I clicked the link to the post HERE and found the recipe. It comes from the folks over at PaleoPot whom I had never heard of until now. I am anxious to see what other recipes they have to share. I indeed had all the ingredients except for SMOKEY PAPRIKA so mine probably tastes a little different because I used plain ol paprika. Either way it smelled WONDERFUL in my house this morning. And it did PULL apart pefectly. I’m excited for lunch today so I can know it tastes as good as it smelled.

In the CrockPot, don't mind the "burned" sides, I'm sure it's fine, but I didn't have time to scrub it down. Pulled apart so easily!

In the CrockPot, don’t mind the “burned” sides, I’m sure it’s fine, but I didn’t have time to scrub it down. Pulled apart so easily!

Sampler plate for kids to taste :) MMMMM!

Sampler plate for kids to taste 🙂 MMMMM!

As for the egg muffins, I’ve read about them for a while now and although they sound tasty I am an OVER MEDIUM EGG or Hardboiled egg kind of girl. So scrambled and baked eggs aren’t at the top of my list. We have a lot of eggs we need to get through so I figured EGG MUFFINS would help use them up. I have a feeling we’ll be running out of eggs instead of figuring out what to do with them! As I was perusing PALEO EGG MUFFINS I found tons of recipes. One stood out to me mostly because it sounded like my kind of muffin. I added and took away some things but in the end it’s very similar to the recipe over at EASY PALEO, which in turn comes from Paleo Comfort Foods, which I HAVE but haven’t flipped through it in a while, OOOPS! Ah well, I’ve slightly modified the recipe as to how I made them and I’m glad I found Jennie Harrell’s post at Easy Paleo 🙂 I’ve only read her About Me but she seems quite interesting and has a great story. Check her out!

Fresh out of the oven. I should have included my boys hovering around in the pic!

Fresh out of the oven. I should have included my boys hovering around in the pic!

Breakfast Egg Muffins

1 TBS olive oil

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 package of Chicken sausage

12 large eggs, whisked

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

You can pretty much add any veggie that sounds good to you!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook Chicken Sausage over medium heat in one pan and Saute onions in olive oil over medium-high heat in another pan for 2-3 minutes. Add peppers and mushrooms, and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.

While veggies are cooking, whisk the eggs in a large bowl.

Once veggies are cooked, remove from heat and let them cool for a few minutes. Dump them into the egg mixture, and stir well, sprinking in the salt and pepper.

Coat a large muffin pan with oil. Add some chicken sausage to each muffin cup. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill each muffin cup with your egg mixture. For me this was enough for 18 Egg Muffins!

Place in oven for 10-15 minutes. The muffins get fluffy and golden. Remove from oven and eat em up. Store the rest in the fridge or freezer. Heat up when you want some more via microwave!

Ready to serve. One batch browned a littler more on the edges but no concern there because they still tasted yummy!

Ready to serve. One batch browned a littler more on the edges but no concern there because they still tasted yummy!

This was a big winner and easy to eat! Woohooo! As far as breakfast for me I had 2 egg muffins and some pork belly. I was missing out on the veggies but I think I’ll be ok :/ Lunch will be comprised of Pulled Pork, roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Asparagus and 1/2 an Avocado. No fruit today in case you all may be wondering if I truly AM eating too much fruit. I’m not! It’s been a downfall in my past but not this time around!

Whole30 Mentality
Mood for today is still GREAT. Loving the energy. According to my Whole30 daily email, I SHOULD BE FEELING this way and I’m glad I’m chugging along with this. Here’s what Whole30 says I should be feeling:

In addition, days 7-11 are generally when people report feeling some of “the magic” kicking in. You might start experiencing these positive side effects:

  • Your energy is ramping up, and becoming more consistent over the course of your day.
  • You’re falling asleep easier, and sleeping longer and more soundly.
  • You’re recovering from your exercise or sport faster.
  • Symptoms like allergies, skin issues, digestive distress, and stress are gradually improving.
  • Mood swings, a short attention span, and crankiness are starting to be a thing of the past.
  • You’re strangely…happy.

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YES YES YES YES YES and YES

Looking forward to tomorrow since IT’S FRIDAY! Be AWESOME today and every day from now on. GOT IT? Ok GOOD. Happy Thursday!

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Happy, Happy, Happy

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So I had this whole post that I had written and of course hadn’t saved and something happened with the interwebs and I lost it all! So it’s taken me a while to get back to it and I’m late in posting.

Other than that ENERGY is still great! I am happy, giddy, and just overall GOOD. Joint pain is greatly reduced, head has not ached and I am into deep sleep mode as soon as my head hits the pillow. I’m still on track and happy to be on it. I’ll get back my Whole30 after I recap my BOOM Box morning.

I Feel Great

1/9/13 WOD
It was cold and rainy this morning and although we need the rain, it has been non stop and miserable. The good thing about the rain is that we didn’t have to push the PROWLER this morning as part of our warm up. It’s EVIL I tell you, PURE EVIL! I know my WOD recaps are still a lil Debbie Downer but it is frustrating working my way back to a better place since I was such a slacker.

Skill/Strength: 4×5 Pendlay Rows
This is a new movement to me and it was really awkward at first. I worked up and finished at 75lbs. As I moved up in weight I really lost form because I wanted to JERK the weight but that is NOT how you do it. It should be a continuous movement, back stays in place. I was trying to lift my back up and it was all wrong. I learned and finished out relatively strong. Still awkward feeling but at least I know for the next time.

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MetCon: 4 rounds – 10 TTB, 20 KB Swings (1POOD), 30 DUs, Rest 1 minute
HIATUS = SKILL LOSS
It’s been a while since I’ve done TTB and I used to at least string together 3 in a row, but not today. I couldn’t even bust out ONE! Knees to Elbows here I come. That was silly too. I lost my kip! I seriously could not get a rhythm! Ugh. My first two rounds went along rather smoothly but my THIRD round was miserable. My hands were burning. I couldn’t string the KTE together. That’s all that took up time was hanging on the bar. I busted out the KB Swings and DUs pretty well. I finally finished with a time of 11:45. Looking foward to my new rest day THURSDAY!

1/9/13 WOD (sorry for the blur)

1/9/13 WOD (sorry for the blur)

Whole30 Day 7 & 8
I left you yesterday with a review on my newer experimental version of Spanish Cauli Rice and my unknown dinner. I will tell you that I mentally patted myself on the back the rest of the day yesterday for my faux rice! I also told a couple of people repeatedly of it’s awesomeness. It was excellent. My last version I used Salsa to get a MEXICAN RICE flavor. This time I used tomato paste and my own seasoning preferences. It was wonderful! I didn’t have enough to share with the kids but they approved the small taste I gave them at dinner time and Ernie said he enjoyed his with his lunch! WIN! Next time I make it I will be better at measuring my ingredients so I can share with you 🙂

Ground beef, YUMMO Spanish FAUX Rice, Broccoli stir fry

Ground beef, YUMMO Spanish FAUX Rice, Broccoli stir fry

As for dinner, Steak was on my brain but when I got home and looked at all the leftovers I knew we had to clean that up and get it eaten. I ran out of broccoli on the kids so I used my now favorite go to SPINACH sauteed with whatever protein I’m warming on on the stove. This time it was the roast in GHEE, my now new favorite cooking fat! Also had those Chicken Thighs I made the other day after I crisped them up with more GHEE! Leftovers got eaten up and all was well in our house.

Leftovers: Roast with spinach, Chicken Thigh, Cauli Rice, 1/2 avocado (ended up being less after kids took bites)

Leftovers: Roast with spinach, Chicken Thigh, Cauli Rice, 1/2 avocado (ended up being less after kids took bites)

After dinner, I went ahead and prepped more food for the morning and possible dinner tonight. Yes it does take some extra time to stay on track eating clean, but it’s not consuming my life. And it’s not hard manual labor. Just a few extra steps. And like I said earlier I am feeling great. I was telling a friend earlier that I believe I’m quicker to happiness because my body is just happy I’ve returned to clean eating rather than a shocking bolt to my system like it may be to those trying it out for the first time.

SNACKING

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I had another friend asking me about writing a post about mindless snacking like when you’re bored or BORED! I told her she probably wouldn’t like the answer. And it’s hard to tell someone when they are still eating SAD (standard american diet). Since I’m on the Whole30, I tell you how my brain translates what they have to say.

DON’T SNACK! If you MUST then make it a 1/2 meal. But try to stick to 3 meals a day. Before Whole30 and my off the wagon stint, I was eating 3 meals a day and 2 snacks a day. So essentially 5 meals a day. Now I’m to 3 meals a day per the rules of Whole30 and a Post Workout Meal because so far I haven’t woken up early enough for the Pre-Workout Meal.

The idea with Whole30 is that if you start off with a great grassfed protein, plenty of veggies and a thumbsize serving of healthy fat for your THREE meals then you should be set. So far this is TRUE. I have no HUNGRY moments in the day and I don’t have any desires to SNACK. I’m on Day 8. NO SNACKING required. I also follow the water intake rule of 1/2 my body weight in ounces. I also have 1-2 cups of hot tea. Mostly to keep me warm at my desk, but I do love me some tea.

In regards to CRAVINGS, I have yet to have any. The only day Ernie was buying chocolate, I could SMELL the candy and it smelled good. Chugalug on some water and I was fine. Cravings are definitely a mental battle though so I know it can be tough. I choose to subscribe to the Whole30 daily emails which are great by the way and worth the $14.99 to me. Well in one of the emails they talk about cravings and they say if you can think about steamed fish and broccoli and that really sounds good when you are having a craving, then eat, but eat a meal or 1/2 meal. If you are just craving sugar then most likely it won’t sound good and you need to occupy your brain with something else and drink water!

On a NON Whole30 perspective, all I got is eat a small serving of protein with a healthy fat because that is what I would do. Carbs will just spike your insulin and make you more HUNGRIES!

Please note I’m not a nutritionist or a professional. I’m just learning as I go, changing things as I go but not before I give something a chance. I’m not changing things daily. It’s a learning process and you learn how your body functions and tolerates certain foods with time. If you recall I did the 21 day Sugar detox because I was eating too much fruit and honey! It was a killer on me! KILLER. But I got through it and lost 7lbs! I’m not ready to eliminate fruit again but I eat a whole lot less fruit at this point. So I feel ok about it. If I need to eliminate fruits again I will but it will be hard on me mentally!

Hope everyone has enjoyed their day so far. REST DAY tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll still be sharing my Whole30 food and mood. I may also have a review of some organic tea that I’ve been trying out. Not sure I’m going there yet, but it’s coming soon. You know the sign off … BE AWESOME.

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Get Moving!

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Yup if you watched the Biggest Loser last night then you know I straight up took it from there. And Yes I am watching the Biggest Loser! I’ve watched it off and on throughout the years and YES the fact that Bob Harper drinks the KOOL-AID keeps me intrigued to watch it currently. And YES it’s made for TV drama – pulls on your emotions kind of thing and now they’ve pulled in kids to really tug those emotions. I’m not going to make it a point to recap the show regularly or whatever but it’s fresh on my mind right now.

It does make me a lil happy that these people are trying. Judge me, Judge the show, I care not. At least they are making efforts. I don’t know what their lives will be like when they get home and I probably will never know. I can just hope they inspired others to get fit and that they continue to stay fit. One of the best quotes from one of the ladies on the show was “I’m not here to get skinny, I’m here to get STRONG”. Hell ya lady. That’s the right kind of attitude. I loved it! The whole idea of last nights show was to GET MOVING. And it’s so right on.

Another thing that stayed with me (totally rephrasing, not verbatim) was when the Dr. on the show that tells the contestants their results of all the tests they took. He looked at this guy and says if I told you that you had lymphoma then you would dedicate 2 hours a day to chemo or whatever treatment that you had to do right? They guy was like YES SIR. He goes on to explain that he has arteries of an 80 yr old man and that he should know his disease is SERIOUS and to dedicate the time to fixing his disease of being overweight. POINT TAKEN! If you can’t understand how important it is to take your health into your own hands then what’s the point? Again, you aren’t here to be SKINNY. Be here to be STRONG and you don’t have to be muscle builder status, Just BE STRONG. Heart Strong, Mental Strong, I can push this CAR strong, I know I can do anything STRONG.

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So with that said folks, take a look at you. Whether you’re at the beginning of your journey… debating to have a start point, or well into your fitness. You know where you are. You know if you’re lying to yourself daily. Maybe you’ve hit the healthy point and you just need to keep yourself in check or maybe you’re the person that says I’ll start next Monday. Why wait? Make one baby step to better living today. Put the sugar and creamer down. Don’t buy that fountain drink today. Drink water today only. Then start tomorrow fresh. Walk around the block. I’m the jump in the deep in kind of girl. I tried the baby steps and well there’s too much room for excuses. So COLD TURKEY is best for me. As I see it, it should be the only option. Leaving room for excuses is a bad deal. I will take full advantage in justifying why something is or isn’t good for me. Oh one slice isn’t gonna hurt me, I’ve would typically eat three slices. That’s not right folks. Get dedicated and disciplined first. Then after a few weeks you can, IF YOU REALLY feel that need to eat something sinful then do it. But learn the ways, learn control, know your limits. Hopefully by then when you take a bite of yummy badness it may be too sweet and you can only tolerate a bite. Maybe if you’re like me, will still inhale it but feel like crapola afterwards and really know it’s not worth it.

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Pipe down already. You know I’m a rambler. Moving on to my BOOM Box morning. I was asleep before the WOD posted, thank goodness or I would have forced myself to sleep. I awoke to BAR Muscle Up work and Burpees and Pull Ups. Yay fun!

Bar Muscle UP

Bar Muscle UP

Skill/Strength: Bar Muscle Ups
Let me begin by telling you I’m scared of being so high off the ground. And the rig at the box has high bars. There are some that are lower that I can physically jump up and grab but they are not set up to do muscle ups. So the BAR that is is SCARY! I can’t even do a Muscle Up but it’s scary! So this morning we worked on the movement, the kip and well I’m scared. I remember in elementary school I could freaking get up on those bars, and spin in circles. The lack of fear in a child’s eye. Oh how I wish I had that now. But I don’t.

1/8/13 WOD

1/8/13 WOD

MetCon: 10-1 Burpees Behind Clap, Pull Ups
Anytime you see 10-1, it means you do 10 of the movement and work your way down to 1. So 10 Burpees, 10 Pull Ups, 9 Burpeed, 9 Pull Ups and so forth. As much as I despise burpees, they beat running and pull ups combined. I already wasn’t so great with the pull ups. After my small hiatus, they are even a little less great. It’s really defeating mentally. At some point last year I was really focused on putting in the extra work but it was short lived. I can’t let another year go by without putting forth the practice. But until this moment it hasn’t even been a second thought. 2013 will be the year of my first strict pull up, hopefully multiple and just being better on the bar in general. Yup I just said that. Now I gotta live up to it. But I digress. As for the MetCon, I did well with burpees and sucked with Pull Ups, giving me a sad time of 12:56.

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Whole30 Days 6 & 7
I got home last night and was rather uninspired for dinner. I googled all that I could for unique ground beef recipes that included a majority of ingredients I had in the kitchen. Nothing jumped out at me so I just went with cooking the beef with seasoning I like and use it for later. I cooked a serving side for me in another pan, added spinach and some sweet potato and it turned out being really scrumptious. Nothing fancy but really tasty. While I had been cooking the ground beef I was also baking a few chicken thighs. They were done at the same time I was ready to eat dinner so I threw one on top of my ground beef bowl. It was quite tasty as well. Of course I didn’t take a picture but I promise it was good.

This morning I had what’s become a routine Post Workout Meal of 2 hardboiled eggs and some sweet potato. This hits the spot. For breakfast which I ate an hour later I had 2 slice of Pork Belly, 1 cup of spinach, more sweet potato (I may turn orange soon), and some cherries. I know more cherries, I love cherries and I’m not eating them in excess, I promise. For lunch I brought a Kiwi! On the Whole30 lists, I have so far mostly picked the * items which are the more nutrient dense fruits and vegetables. So I feel good with my fruit selections. Also for lunch I brought the ground beef I cooked last night. I also made a experimental version of cauliflower rice. I sauteed so shallots and garlic in GHEE (which by the way is FABULOUS!), added my shredded cauliflower, let that toast up. I then added Vegetable Stock (I bought this because the ingredients were safe, I was rather surprised that my go to chicken stock had sugar in it 😦 ) I don’t have measurements for the stock as I was just pouring it in a little at a time. After what I felt was enough stock I added a can of tomato paste and stirred it all around. Added a little more stock because the cauliflower got a little thick in my opinion. Seasoned it with Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper and let it simmer away. I barely tasted it this morning and it seemed to good. But the real test will be for lunch. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Day 7 Pre Work Out Meal
2 hardboiled eggs
1 cup sweet potato

Day 7 Breakfast
2 slices pork belly
1/2 cup sweet potato
1 cup spinach
6 cherries

Day 7 Lunch
1 cup ground beef (approx)
1-2 cups brocolli
2 cups cauliflower rice
1 kiwi

Day 7 Dinner
Probably steak but TBD

I had a super burst of ENERGY last night and it’s pretty much seeped into today. I feel really really really refreshed. I know Whole30 has a breakdown of the days and how you may be feeling. Well if Day 6/7 is FEELING REALLY GREAT then I’m on track! Too bad my body is sooooo sore from all the squats yesterday cause it hurts to walk!

On another note, there was Karma payback for Ernie yesterday. All that junk food junkie got him good yesterday. He finally showed up to the box, did a little warm up on the rower, and pushed the new EVIL sled a couple of times and low and behold he puked his guts out! Not that I wish that on him or anyone cause it sucks… but ya, he was done and out. Came home early and I thought he’s really done, he’s quit CrossFit. But he was just sickly. Hopefully today is better for him. 2 days of clean eating under his belt should help.

Have a beautiful day. Change something NOW, not tomorrow, or next week, NOW! And Be AWESOME while you’re changing!

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