New Adventures

So, I am focused today.  I made my salads for the week last night, I haven't eaten any wheat or corn today.  No sweets.  YAY!!!  I feel good!

I joined Crossfit today.  I signed up for three months.  I am excited to see what this type of activity does to change my body.  After my first session last week I was hooked.  I loved the amount of focus it took to push my body beyond what I thought I could do.  Last Tuesday I took one look a the posted workout and thought (after they explained the acronyms and other such foreign notation), "If I can get through this, I am a Badass!"

I made it with modifications of course, but I was in love with the intensity and the huge feeling of accomplishment I felt afterwards.  So I decided to join.

And then I had to rest since the workout was a beating and aforementioned Whataburger excursion was followed by Sushi Gluttony and Braums Fudge Brownie Sundae.  Double. Scoop.  It's amazing how much food you can pack into 48hrs over a weekend.  Buuuuuut, I joined today!  Yay me!

Today was not easy either but I loved it.  The challenge of pushing my body to move the weights, to focus on form is relaxing and therapeutic.  I am convinced I will see results quickly.  But as any self-saboteur knows, the high precedes the pits of sabotage.  We'll see if I stay focused or fall completely off.   This was my workout:

And this was my time:

Now I have a baseline.  No, I did not do a Hand Stand Push Up.  I did a Push Press with the Oly Bar.  I attempted a handstand once today.  I got my feets up in the air with an assist from coach guy.  That is the extent of it, but one day I WILL!  HSPU here I come!    That is something I haven't attempted since the third grade.  Ok?

I did take some photos a few weeks ago in preparation for taking my exercise up a notch and not counting calories/points, or otherwise stressing over the minutiae of my diet.  My plan is to keep making healthy decisions on a daily basis and plan for some days that include ice cream or chips and queso.  I re-set my Fitness Pal to be at 2000 calories a day and I'll let you know how that goes.  The pictures and not the scale will be my measurement of success.  One day I might share the pics, but I'm not ready to show the world my jelly.  And yes I have it.  I just hide it under my clothes.

And then I ate this:

With a small chocolate shake.  

My Fitness Pal called me a fatty.  She's a bitch.

Where in the world...?

I have neglected this blog for a while as I went through a bunch of changes in my life.  My husband and I have been trying to conceive for almost a year now.  In early March I was very excited by a positive pregnancy test. A couple of weeks later I was devastated to find that there was not any embryonic development, no amniotic sac.  Just a bunch of pregnancy hormones and placental tissue growing.  Weird, and sad.

I'd been contemplating quitting Weight Watchers for a few months and the minute I thought I was pregnant I quit.  I continued to write down what I was eating and I bought a diet journal.  I didn't want to gain crazy weight just because I was pregnant.  When I found out that I wasn't really pregnant I kind of gave up monitoring what I ate.  I was very sad, especially since it looked like I was going to need assistance shedding the non-baby.  I was in the middle of a TRX bootcamp I'd bought a Groupon for and I kept myself busy with that a couple of times a week even though my eating was out of control.

I'd been feeling desperate for something that would work since I'd stalled out on Weight Watchers.  TRX wasn't it.  I didn't like the body weight only approach.  Yes the reps burned, yes it was hard while I was doing the exercises, but it didn't feel like a tough workout.  I wasn't sore, I didn't see progress.  I am sure the trainer would blame the lack of progress on my lack of dedication to my diet and he is probably right, but the workout still didn't feel hardcore and extreme, which is what I was looking for.  So I went back to my "Weight Training Workouts that Work" book and got after it.  I felt better doing the heavy weight and challenging myself.  I also slowly began working the Paleo eating habits into my routine.  I can say it is a work in progress, but I am definitely making progress.  Wheat and corn are on their way out of my life.  I am just taking it as it comes and not stressing if I eat popcorn or a roll every now and then.  I have to make my eating habits something that I can do forever and I don't know that I can say, "I will never eat popcorn again"  that would be a LIE.

Two weekends after the day surgery to remove the stuff invading my uterus I did the Warrior Dash.  I LOVED IT!  Best fun ever!  The obstacles are all really mental challenges, so I just had a couple of spots trip me up.  I hate heights, but I love climbing things.  So going up and down is no problem unless it is something like the fireman's pole (had a moment of WTF at the top of that one) or the A Frame with 10 foot of wall with no hold on it.  You have to just slide down to get off of it.  The hard part for me was the running.  I am no runner.  I can walk forever, but run? HAHAHAHA!  All the same I made good time and even though I am at the old end of my age group (30-39) I finished in the top third of participants for that group (#249 of 846 total).   I am really proud of that since my goal was to finish and my plan was to walk the whole thing.  I went with my cousin and she wanted to run, so I ran as much as I could.  Thankfully I have some endurance or I'd have died!!!

So I have had some ups and downs and I have really struggled with my eating.  Since I quit WW I have only gained 0.6oz.  So I think I am going to be ok.  Since "abs are made in the kitchen" the clean eating I have been doing for the last couple of weeks has really helped.  I am about to embark on a new adventure and I promise to write about it.  I am finally over my funky slump.