Weekend update

Things are going really well. Dipping my feet into the Paleo world has gone pretty smoothly, so far. :0) I've cut out breads/rice/grains/legumes out of my diet at about 80/20 ratio. I give myself one "cheat day" each week because I know myself and if I completely cut them out I will just end up binge eating. I say dipping my feet into the Paleo world because I have not strictly Paleo yet. I still eat sugars, dairy, cheeses, etc. just trying to slowly cut down on those. I know some will only succeed if they completely jump into the cold water...me, I need more of a "OMG THAT SHIT'S COLD" method ;0) 

But in all seriousness - switching into a more Paleo lifestyle has been much easier than I anticipated it would be! I thought I'd have serious cravings for the bread/rice especially. We would often have each or both at dinner every night. I thought I'd be craving Subway or sandwiches just because I couldn't have them, but it hasn't been like that at all. This could be because my mind and body are on the same page regarding getting my butt back into gear, OR it could just be that I've PLANNED this trip each and every day. If you plan, you are less likely to fail. Every Saturday I sit down and plan the menu for the following week. Every Sunday I go grocery shopping to get the items I need. Every night before I go to bed I set out any meat that needs to be set out. Every morning when I wake up I make sure everything I need is together.

The days I've forgotten to set out meat or forgotten to put something in the crock pot that was on the menu, we've ended up having to grab something for dinner. On these days, I DO NOT ALLOW the circumstances to convince me that I should just grab whatever. I research the menu's of nearby restaurants, and often times this means I fall back on my "I will allow myself a salad from Bojangles, even though I know the chicken is breaded" theory I first talked about. I know that the next step of cutting out sugar's is going to be a challenge, but I'm hoping the training I'm doing will just be more motivation to eat and drink 100% healthy and the cravings aren't too bad. Time will tell!

Speaking of my exercise routine - we are still doing CrossFit twice a week. I'm seriously contemplating upping it to 4 times a week, but in the meantime 4 of the other days we are going to the park and doing a walk/jog/run/walk backwards routine of at least a mile each time. The rest of my family is not interested in upping their days, and frankly, I don't know if I could afford to up the entire family's membership. They all agree that it would be good if I did it though, so now it's just a matter of working out details, checking price, and seeing if it will physically work for me. Sometimes having one day in between the two days we go my body is still hurting, yet once I start working out again it feels better. So maybe this is just me being afraid to step in a little deeper? I'm not sure. Time to do some soul searching, I suppose.

In other news of my life - I found out today that I made the Presidents List at my college for maintaining a 4.0 last semester. I knew that I had the 4.0, but nothing was ever sent to me like friends at other colleges received so I just figured "oh well", at least I still have the 4.0 for last semester LOL This is a very proud accomplishment for me because I run my own business, attend school full time, and I'm a wife and mother full time as well, so I'm taking the time to state everywhere possible that I've made this list :0)

Here's to another amazing week! Oh, and for those wondering - I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY NEW SHOES!!!

Crossfit Day 13!

Tonight's exercise:

Warm up:
800 meter run
6 Burpees
12 Lunges
6 Burpees
12 side lunges
6 Burpees
12 high kicks

Tabata exercises tonight. Tabata focuses on doing quick, powerful exercises. You don't count the reps you're doing, you just go full speed as fast as you can and don't stop. You exercise for 30 seconds and take a 10 second break. We did 8 minutes of sit ups and 8 minutes of air squats.

400 meter run
Mobility exercises (essentially stretches/cool down)

CrossFit Day 12

Tonight's warm up:

400 meter run

20 Kettle bell squats

20 Lunges

15 sit ups

10 push ups

Work out:

400 meter run

20 Pull ups

10 Push ups (I really need to get better at these, 10 freaking kill me!!)

20 Barbell Thrusters

My first CrossFit event :0)

Ok, so BIG announcement for me! My 17 yr old and I have officially registered for our very first CrossFit event. We will be participating in the 31 Heroes WOD (workout of the day) on Saturday, August 4th.

From the website: "The 31Heroes Project exists to honor our fallen heroes killed in action August 6, 2011 through fitness and raise funds for programs that provide support to families of all fallen military heroes—past, present, and future."

Our gym had a few members that were part of the 31 heroes referenced and I've loved the idea of these events honoring military members who have given all since hearing about the Memorial Day Murph (which I fully intend to participate in next year!). This WOD is a partnered activity and 17 yr old has agreed to do it with me.

For those interested in learning more about this event and what we will be doing, check out their website at: 

31 Heroes

New shoes and Saturday exercise

SQUUUUUEEEEEE my new shoes (Merrell Women Barefoot Pace Glove Shoes) just got here! They said they wouldn't get here til Monday or I would've waited to exercise! Aren't they pretty (other than my already swollen ankles from exercising today LOL)?

My exercise today consisted of walking/jogging/walking backwards for 1.75 miles. No idea how to figure out the calorie burn on that, but I know I burned more than if I sat my butt on the couch or computer playing, so I'm happy with that! My legs are still feeling like jello from the "mash up" exercise at Crossfit on Thursday! They always do after a workout that includes lunges. I say burpees are hard, but I swear the lunges take longer for me to recover from and if I coined any of the workouts I did as "Satan's exercise" as I've heard burpees referred to, it would be lunges! Anyone else?

Crossfit Day 11

Tonight's workout

Warm up:

(totals are in parenthesis we did 20, 15, 10, 5 and then reversed back up 5, 10, 15, 20)

20 air squats (40)
15 meter bear crawl (30)
10 lunges (20)
5 burpees (10)

Work out:

(Every 30 seconds switch from one exercise then rest for 30 seconds, then to next exercise. Total workout time, 16 minutes)

Power snatch
Overhead squat
10 lb. kettle bell swings (this was mine, everyone had different weights)

Crossfit Day 10

Ok, lets see if I can remember all of my workout. Thankfully, my hubby's still up to help me because I forgot a few LOL

Warm up:
20 lunges
2 minutes stretching (specific) exercise
2 minute jump rope
10 Ball Slams (ha, ha!)

Work out:
45 push ups
45 sit ups
60 air squats
600 meter run

Now, I'm going to crash - HARD!!

Crossfit Day 9!

Our membership at our Crossfit gym (yes, I know everyone calls it a box…it just sounds weird to me not to say gym) is only for 2 days since we’re just starting, so today we’re (some of us) pumping it up to 3 days a week, adding in a Saturday at the house as well - not that I ever actually sit around on a Saturday, but it’s not planned exercise it’s wherever the wind takes me - so I created our own little Saturday WOD for our official exercise today. It kicked our butts; proof that it’s not about the location, to get a good work out you can be at your own house! We tried to record video, but my memory got full halfway through Dylan’s LOL oops!

50 jump ropes
50 sit ups
50 squats
jog on my property (Me: 800 meters, boys: 1200 meters)
50 burpees

Times:
Me: 22:47
16 yr old: 10:02
14 yr old: 19:20

We were pretty accurate guessing how far our 400 meter run was after converting the info from the pedometer from miles/meters. The boys did 1200 meter jogs and I did 800.

DAMN…I can kick my own butt on the weekend, but it’s still too hard to force a smile at the end LOL Excuse the blurry image…it’s hard to have a steady hand when you’re so tired ;0)

I have to say, I’m pretty darned proud of myself this week! I started no breads/grains/legumes, and I’m doing awesome. I had one bite of a bread stick at Olive Garden the other day and that has been it since Sunday! Almost a full week. It’s funny how many times you realize you were reaching for food though and then remind yourself NOOOO that’s a bread/grain!! It’s also pretty funny how great the food tastes when you don’t have those “fillers” (that’s what I consider them) and how much you actually start craving fresh veggies. Maybe after my b-day (4th of July) I will try cutting out the added sugar as well. :0)

Crossfit Day 8!

Barely feels like we did a work out tonight at the gym, which means we probably won't be able to walk tomorrow! LOL I even ran extra to get more of a burn in.

Warm up:

400 meter run

21 Burpees

15 Air Squats

21 Back extensions

WOD:

15 Overhead Squats with a 35 lb barbell (the first time we've actually used the bar, but Cierra did not use this one, she used a learning bar, not sure how much it weighed)

5 Glute-Ham Developer (GHD) Sit-Up's

400 meter run

Crossfit Day 7 :0)

We are officially on day 1 of our Paleo lifestyle (modified, see my last post), and we made an AMAZING dish from Everyday Paleo called Everyday Paleo Pancit which is based upon a Filipino recipe. You should definitely check the recipe out, even if you aren't following the Paleo lifestyle because it's DEEEE-LICIOUS!! It got 4 approvals in our house, and would've gotten 5 (I think), except my 16 yr old isn't here.

So, onto our exercise for today. WOW!! It totally kicked our butts! I'm already feeling the burn in my body, and I don't usually feel that until later in the evening! We loved it and once again - I'm surprised at the differences I can see in not only myself, but my family as we take this journey together.

With that said, here is what our work out was today:

Warm up: 

400 meter run (I was sooo proud of myself, I actually ran it all!!)
15 push ups
15 air squats
15 sit ups
15 tuck jumps
and a 1 minute plank (I need to time mine because I know I can't make the minute, but at least I'm making it longer each time we do them).

Work out:
400 meter run
20 pull ups (I didn't use a bar, I used rings hanging from the ceiling)
200 meter run
20 air squats
200 meter run
15 burpees
200 meter run

Taking the plunge a little deeper :0)

I'm taking the plunge a little bit deeper in re-gaining my health. I will be upping my workouts a little bit by adding another day ASAP. I'm also going more paleo - as in no breads or grains....with a few exceptions. First, there is a salad I get at Bojangles that contains breaded chicken and I enjoy it most with honey mustard dressing. I don't get it often, but sometimes I get a hankering for it, and it's much healthier than some of the other desires I sometimes get so I indulge it.

Second, if there is a birthday party and I want a piece of cake, I will allow myself a small slice of cake. I know myself, and if I totally deprive myself then I will start binging on the things I'm not allowing myself. There are a few special occasions and birthdays coming up, and I know if I say no cake then I will be wanting to eat an entire one by myself. I'm after a lifestyle change...not deprivation. I do plan to eventually reach the "finish line" where I won't want the nasty processed crap anymore, but it's a slow road to run and I'm pacing myself and picking my battles ;0)

Since I've started doing Crossfit I have eaten better and cooked at home MUCH more often. My first big goal was to STOP eating fast food. I don't recall if I ever stated it on my blog or not, but we used to eat fast food at least 5-6 times per week, often multiple times a day. When we started paying for gym time and working out we all made the commitment to not eat fast food throughout the week, and to enjoy it on Saturday's for one meal. We've done REALLY well with this goal. We aren't perfect, and there were a couple of times we have eaten it and it wasn't on a Saturday (usually a Sunday or Friday night for those times) but overall we've much improved!

I haven't told my family we are cutting out the breads and grains, because honestly...in the recipes I have planned for this week, thanks to Everyday Paleo I'm hoping they don't even notice. I'm hoping they will be enjoying the meals and the tastes so much they don't even REALIZE there aren't breads or grains. We eat a lot of noodles and rice with our meals as side items, but past that we usually have a veggie and our main dish. I figure it's kinda like dealing with kids when it comes to changing something so majorly...if you change it and tell them, they have a chance to complain. If you change it and don't tell them, they probably won't even notice as long as the meals are flavorful ;0)

Outside of our eating, things have been going really well. I guess I can say the theory about "drinking the Crossfit Kool-aid" is true. I've been singing its praises all week. I feel amazing! More energy, less lethargic, looking for things to do that are outside of the house, etc. I FEEL the differences mentally and physically AND I can actually already SEE my body changing. I honestly didn't expect to SEE changes yet. I don't know how else to word it, and I apologize if it makes some of y'all cringe, but I see lumps, rolls, and flab shifting and adjusting. My shape is changing. I recognize at this point it won't be pretty, but to see the changes already is pretty danged amazing!

I can't remember the last time I actually did yard work outside without huffing and puffing and barely breathing, but yesterday we did yard work outside for about 4 hours. We live on 2 acres and there is A LOT to keep up with. I woke up with tons of energy and decided it was time to get the yard working better. Feeling the difference in my body in every day movements is also amazing. I realized yesterday how often I am bending down to pick something up, instead of asking one of my kids to grab it, or using something else to pick something up, etc. It's easier to get up off of couches and chairs than it was...everything is just easier.

I don't pretend I'm shedding tons of pounds, in fact my scale is really confused with me working out. It's been bouncing around about 10-15 pounds daily. One day I'm up, one day I'm down. But either way, I am checking the numbers just to watch what it's doing. I told myself when I started doing Crossfit that I would NOT quit the first month, NO MATTER WHAT. I didn't care how hard it was, how uncomfortable I was in the gym around super-fit people, how embarrassing I felt when doing exercises because of my size - I WOULD NOT QUIT. I haven't felt any of the above, except the exercises being hard - PHYSICALLY. I love my gym. I love the people. They are encouraging, they are inspiring, and I'm really glad I chose this gym to get my Crossfit experience from. I know the scale is bouncing all over the place because of the muscle gain, water retention, swelling from the hot weather, etc. and I'm NOT letting it dissuade me.

That's it for my thoughts this week. I'm trying to log in at least once a week and give a little feedback past "this is what we did today" to track where my mind is at. Hope everyone that reads is doing well. I see I often don't even get any views, but that's ok because I'm writing all of this for me, and if someone happens to get encouraged by it now or in the future, that's cool too :0)