Say What?!

It is almost time to (oh goodness) go down another cup size in my bra. I mean, really?! Granted, I started at DD and love the idea of being a C cup...but I have a feeling it isn't going to stop there and I am going to have prunes for breasts. I'm just calling it like I see it. They still look good now but I seem to trade off and lose fat from my breasts then butt then back to breasts then back to butt. My weight loss seems to be very fair this time....

It really is crazy to look and see your body change. Every other weight loss has been about smaller size clothing or a number on the scale. This is about fitness, performance and health. It just amazes me me when I look down and I see my muscle definition starting to peek out. It's SO weird. I like it. I feel good but it isn't an arrogant thing..it's more like, "This is how life should feel."

Today, I am sore as all get out. SORE. SORE. SORE. I skipped Crossfit. With greater range of motion has come first day soreness. AGGGH! That's ok. I'll push through this and get there.

Alright peeps. Go get 'em. Share the changes when they happen because it's fun to celebrate.

Yummmmmy

This was dinner last night. Almond crusted chicken with avocado, baked applesauce and roasted asparagus. Completely paleo using almond flour. I was so satisfied at the end because it tasted REALLY good and was so filling. I have been into efficiency lately and that causes me to eat boring food...something that sets me up to eat crap later. You see, if my healthy food becomes monotoneous (same five flavors), eating clean seems undoable in the long term.

Here's the recipe:

Almond Chicken

1 egg beaten

1/2 cup of almond flour

salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and basil (you decide the amounts)

chicken cutlets - yes, they even make the good kind this way

Prepare two bowls. One has the beaten egg in it. The other has your spices and almond flour mixed together. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon to tablespoon of coconut oil and let heat (use olive oil if that is what you have). As it heats, coat the chicken with egg and then the flour mixture. Make sure both sides are coated.

Cook about 4 minutes on each side - or until coating is golden brown. The chicken is thin enough that it should be cooked through. Plate it up with your favorite veg and fruit and add sliced avocado on top...eat a little avocado with each bite of chicken - YUMMY!

You can also turn this into a chicken parm recipe by serving it over spaghetti squash with marinara...oh wow! I may have to try that variation next time!

Mange!

This Really Works

I don't have a full length mirror in my home. I have three mirrors total - one in the bathroom that you can see your head and shoulders, one in the bedroom where you can see from hips up, and one in my roommate's room where you can see head and shoulders. We have discovered that the front door works perfectly as a mirror. I check myself out as I exit the house. If something is horribly wrong, I'll go back in and fix it..but usually I'm fine with the outcome.

Today, I stopped, looked at my reflection and thought, "This Crossfit stuff really works. My body is changing."

There are changes I see in the head and shoulders mirror. My shoulders are more defined. I have killer biceps. My face is thinner. My collarbone is back. Today was the first day that I looked in the full length mirror and thought, "Wow. I am changing."

The novelty of Crossfit has worn off. That's good. It's no longer a new thing I'm doing. It's now what I do. Eating clean and Crossfitting are a part of my life. The changes have not been overnight but they have been consistent. I'm no longer staring at the scale or measuring every week. I'm just doing it and letting the results follow.

Here are some other things that have changed..slowly but surely:

1. I can walk hills and stairs without losing my breath.
2. I fit into an airline seat without flowing into the seat next to me.
3. My stamina has improved.
4. My shoes are too big - you know you are losing weight when your shoes are too big.
5. I want to meet my friends to do active things.
6. I prefer to eat in rather than eat out.
7. I prefer my healthy food to the unhealthy stuff I used to eat.
8. I get sad when I see soda and junk food commercials.
9. I don't get the headaches and body aches I lived with all the time...I am sore but not in pain like I used to be.

Crossfit really works. Keep at it. One day at a time.

Useless Without Pictures

I need a quick moment to vent about something on the Crossfit Message boards. I love the success stories. Everyone does. That's why you see them on every single fitness/diet/training site in the world. People love to know someone has done it and that success is motivating.

Pictures are fantastic with success stories. It is great to take a quick glance and see the success. However, reading stats are great, too. I love knowing someone lost 40 pounds in 6 months eating ABC and working out X times per week at Crossfit. That is motivating, too.

What irritates me are these bobos who comment on success stories with a 'this post is useless without pictures'. What?! Why? The part that is most annoying is 9 times out of 10, it is on a woman's post.

I am not some crazy feminist. I get that guys like to look at women's bodies. I get that these Crossfit guys are into super fit women and they get excited looking at their bodies. Whatever. What bugs me is that a success post is seen as worthless to these guys without a picture for some horny guy to oggle. What's worse are the horny guys who mistake the site for a porn site and comment on success pictures posted by girls in a sexual manner..like:

• I'm saluting you
• Good thing you can't see me below the waist
• I'll spot your back squat anytime

Really?! Some girls love it and respond. Doesn't matter. Crossfit spends hours talking about how they are a serious sport and that you can take your shirt off in the box without feeling like it is a meat market. Why, then, are the message boards allowed to be filled with this type of crap?

I am a work in progress. I don't have a bikini or sports bra photo and I am not going to have one. When I hit my goal and am hitting Rx and am 80 pounds lighter (down 22 right now), I will post my success and sing Jason and his team's praises from the mountaintops. I probably won't post a picture though. For those who have seen me slog it out day in and day out...they know the post is not worthless - it is priceless. Sorry, just had to let that one out!

Yo, where did you go?!

Wow...it has been almost one month since my last post. Whoa! Dating may not impact my Crossfitting but it does impact my blogging. Actually, work takes most of the blame. It is crazy everywhere - no personal or professional time to blog.

I am still Crossfitting. It is between 3 and 4 times a week. I found that 5 times a week was too much for me. 4 is the sweet spot for me. My weight loss has stalled. I have stayed at minus 20 pounds for the last month. I haven't gained but I haven't lost. I don't think it is because I am having crazy muscle gains. It is because I have loosened up on my diet - and yes, that is because of the boyfriend. I like to bake for him. I cook for us and I keep it fairly Paleo but always add in a grain or starch I wouldn't normally eat.

Here's the best part about today. I have been waiting for the right moment to bring up eating Paleo/Primal with my honey. I am not someone who goes around declaring diet advice. I have been humbled too many times to walk around pretending I know it all. I don't. What I know is that I feel better and my body looks better when I cut out the wheat/processed food/sugar products. Weight drops off. Eating well feels easy. My workouts are better. I get faster on the rower. I get stronger with my lifts. My hormones are balanced and I feel great.

However, I know that a diet change never comes because someone else tells you how great they feel. It has to come from a place that says "I don't want to feel bad anymore. I want to find a solution." My boyfriend does not have a weight problem. He's actually fit from years of manual labor. Still, he has a genetic predisposition for high blood pressure and he's on the verge of developing it. He's also a student now so he isn't doing the level of manual work he once was. He is feeling the changes.

Today, out of nowhere, he said, "I really want to stop eating wheat/dairy - I think I have sensitivites to both and I would feel better if I stop eating these things." I almost did a cheer. THANK YOU LORD! Yes!!! I said, "That is great because that is how I'm eating and I feel so much better." He said, "This is wonderful, we can eat this way together. It'll be fun."

You have no idea what a weight off this is. Now I need to spend time finding good recipes he will enjoy so he'll enjoy the food and see the difference quickly. I could eat eggs, raw nuts, and fish constantly with my veg and fruit but he needs a little more. This should be fun. Here's to going to the next level and hitting my next goal of 20 pounds down!

Food

I am super weird about food. I will LOVE a food and want to eat it all of the time and then I turn a corner and I don't want to look at it. I'm going through that with some of my food plan. I don't want the food that's on it. I'm trying to get creative but it's kind of bumming me out.

It's not that I want crap either. I've had three pints of coconut milk ice cream just waiting for a sweets craving. They haven't been touched. I made cookies for my man and I only ate one. No dough. Just one cookie. I didn't really even want it but I had to do quality control. I cannot feed my man sub par baked goods. Right?! LOL!

I am forcing myself to eat protein, veggies, and fruit (grapes taste super good right now). Sometimes, I'm allowing myself to eat what I want because I really don't want much. It is very strange for me. After years of food being such a crazy and controlling force in my life, it has no hold on me. I could take it or leave it. That's how I know I've gone through a heck of a lot of healing.

I had one moment this weekend when I started to power through a bowl of popcorn. It was sitting there after friends went home. I stopped and thought, "What am I doing? Something is off. What is off?" Within about 5 minutes I knew exactly what was wrong and I was able to address it without food. I just had to stop and connect with my feelings rather than numbing them with food.

All this to say that I am not 100% Paleo. I am about 80% and I'm not really worried about it. I feel really good about where I am with my food choices. I continue to train, my body continues to change, and the scale continues to drop. This is probably something that I will need to address at some point but I don't really feel the need to at this point. I feel at peace and it feels good.

If you have spent years battling food demons, please know that healing is available. There is light at the end of the tunnel. There can be a change. I know because I am living proof!

Effortless

As you know, I have been row, row, rowing my boat for about three months now. There are days, like today, when I hop on the rower and start rowing and it feels effortless. Well, not totally effortless but enjoyable effort. My times are getting squarely around 2:18-2:20...and it's getting easier to stay there. It won't be long until I'm close to 2:00. The physical improvements are crazy. It almost feels effortless...although it is far from effortless. I guess, again, it's enjoyable effort. Shoot, even burpees can feel ok when I'm able to hop back up without a lot of pain. Someday, I'll be the fool in the gym who is smiling throughout the WOD. It'll still be hard but it will never be as hard as when I toted 100 extra pounds around..that is for sure!

Everyday, it gets a little more doable. Wherever you are right now, don't give up. You will see results if you don't give up. Never Give up!