January Whole30(+5): Days 1 - 5

Paleo Pad Thai made with Chef Jeff and Arley on Sunday night.

Day 1, Monday 1/9/17 - I wanted to go to sleep early, but it didn't happen and then I slept like crap.  I debated skipping the gym and climbing back into my warm bed, but instead I plopped dinner in the crockpot and got in my car.  The workout was a bunch of wall balls and snatches that I Rxed, but I was definitely feeling the lack of cardio endurance from the two weeks I basically took off over the holidays.  I'm still getting over a cold from last week, but I don't feel too bad.  I was pretty exhausted midday, but had more energy when I left work.  Dinner was super tasty.  I fell asleep on the couch before 9 pm.

Crockpot Beef, so simple but so good.

Day 2, Tuesday 1/10/17 - I got over 8 hours of sleep and it was glorious!  All day I was wondering if I was going to face the dreaded carb flu which usually manifests itself as a late afternoon headache for me, but I felt fine.  I went to the gym and did the bonus workout for the nutrition challenge, a 50 calorie row that I completed in 2:26 and then hung around to work on my snatch at barbell club.  I hit a full snatch + hang snatch combo at 95#, which is 10 less than my max, and it felt great.  I didn't have time to make the dinner I had planned, so Dave helped out and we had a simple dinner of roasted sweet potato, butternut squash, onions, and peppers with some apple chicken sausage and dippy eggs.  It really hit the spot. 

Day 3, Wednesday 1/11/17 - Woke up and went back to the gym!  Wasn't my favorite day with push presses and jerks followed by a WOD of deadlifts and burpees, but I did it.  They had a free breakfast at work and I filled my plate with fruit, but boy did that monkey bread look amazing.  For the second day in a row, I couldn't finish the lunch portion I had packed for myself, which is not usually a thing in my life haha.  My back was feeling a little cranky (I guess going 3 days in a row after taking almost 2 weeks off will do that), but it felt great after leaving the chiropractor.  Again I was wondering if I would end the day with a headache, but instead I took the dogs for a warm walk at the park and whipped up dinner.  I did get a cute zit on my chin though.

A quick tomato cucumber salad appetizer followed by Bora Bora Fireballs and some roasted broccoli.

Day 4, Thursday 1/12/17 - I woke up feeling nice and refreshed.  I was a little tired after lunch but not terrible.  Our friends invited us to their holiday party at the country club they both work at.  I knew there was going to be lots of food that would be off limits for me so I ate some leftovers before we went.  These kind of events are usually my downfall and to be honest, when we got there I figured I would probably eat whatever protein and veggies they had and not really stress if it was 100% compliant or not.  But when I saw the food, I decided that none of it was worth it... although I died a little inside watching everyone make their own loaded tots at the tater tot bar.  I was really proud of myself!  Avoiding the open bar was easy and didn't stop me from dancing the night away and singing some karaoke.

Day 5, Friday 1/13/17 - Even though I got 7 hours of sleep, I felt pretty exhausted from staying out late last night.  I was starving when we got home from the party but just went to bed, so my breakfast of leftover crockpot beef really hit the spot!  I skipped the gym in the morning to get more sleep, but I went at 5 pm and I was really excited for the workout!  We were retesting something we did last July and I knew that I could beat my score!

Last time I got through 9 of the burpees, so my goal was to get to the barbell for the power cleans.  Since my double unders have improved so much, I figured I'd cruise through them and make up a lot of time there.  My jump rope had other plans.  The screw holding the handle on flew off immediately when I started!  I couldn't believe it, I was pissed!  I tried to use someone else's rope and it was way too short and I couldn't do one dub.  I grabbed another rope and it was too long.  I was like the freaking Goldy Locks of jump ropes.  I was struggling so much, I actually considered quitting completely.  I kept going and managed to connect some dubs and finally got through the 50.  I was so upset, it literally ruined my whole workout.  I had quite a few no reps during the chest to bar pulls ups and I really thought there was no way I would beat my score, but I managed to get 13 more burpees than last time.  I was too annoyed to be happy about it.  I'm considering retesting it in a few weeks.

After the gym, I hit the grocery store.  Wild Friday night!  I came home and marinated some pork while Dave whipped up an easy dinner of roasted asparagus, tomatoes, and garlic with baked flounder.

5 days down, 30 to go...

January Whole30(+5): Kicking Things Off + My Meal Plan for Days 1-5

You know how it goes.  Hate to be a stereotype, but the Christmas cookies are gone and my pants don't fit, so here we go!

I was already planning on doing something in January when my Whole30 support group started chattering away on facebook.  Then my coach announced a nutrition challenge at the gym, so I was locked in!  I was only planning on doing 25 days, but the gym challenge is 5 weeks, so I'm doing my first Whole35.  Ew lol.

What is the Whole30? 

• Yes: Eat real food.

Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed.

• No: Avoid for 30 days.

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial
• Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking.
• Do not eat grains.
• Do not eat legumes.
• Do not eat dairy
• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites.
• Do not try to re-create baked goods,  junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. 

• One last and final rule: You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program.

Today is Day 1 and I'm feeling excited!  My menu for the week is full of tried and true favorites, some simple and quick, mixed with others that require a little more effort.  Healthy eating does not have to be boring!

• Paleo Pad Thai - This one is pretty simple, but has a bit of prep work.  I typically use almond butter instead of sunflower and this time I added bell peppers, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, and shrimp!
• The Easiest and Most Delicious Crockpot Beef Ever - This recipe is so easy and simple.  I sub coconut aminos for the Worcestershire sauce and always add baby carrots.
• Bora Bora Fireballs - I haven't made this recipe in a while, but I know it's awesome.  Pork, pineapple, and coconut... these are a few of my favorite things!
• Krista's Quick and Easy Crab and Veggie Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - This one is packed with veggies and comes together super quick if you have a food processor.  And you can really throw in whatever protein you want.
• German Bratwurst (from Wegmans) with Sauerkraut and Potatoes Sauteed in Ghee - Because sometimes all you want to do is throw some stuff in a pan.

In addition to staying compliant with my diet, I've made a few other goals:

• Gym 4x per week
• Floss every night
• 75 oz of water per day
• 10 minutes of stretching per day
• No coffee
• No frivolous spending (no personal shopping, only groceries & necessary house expenses)

It's time to get my life together and I couldn't be more ready for this change!

Are you doing anything in the new year to turn over a new leaf?

Oh Ever Neglected Blog, How You Ebb and Flow

Sometimes I basically forget that this thing exists, but then old posts pop up on my Facebook memories and I remember how much I love looking back.  I still have a few Italy posts to do... yikes lol.  I feel like I should probably condense them, but there's just so many photos.  I can't even think about all the Hawaii pics yet!

I cannot believe 2017 is just around the corner.  I'm honestly pretty done with 2016, the last few months have been rough.  October was filled with family grief when we lost both my dad's brother Dennis and his mother Valerie within a month's time.  Still can't believe they are both gone.

Then at the beginning of November, Dave came down on his ankle wrong playing football with some of my coworkers which resulted in him fracturing his fibula head and tearing multiple ligaments in his leg including the one that holds your tibia and fibula together.  He had surgery a week later to insert some screws to hold his bones in place.  He's officially allowed to start putting weight on it tomorrow and should be able to lose his crutches completely very soon (Merry Christmas to him... and me!), but he will have a second surgery in 6 weeks to remove the screws and he'll still be in a boot for another 3 months.  So far he's healing well, but it's a slow process and it has been quite an adjustment.

And if all that wasn't enough, November 8th was a nightmare that keeps getting scarier every day.  Enough said.

I'm really looking forward to that fresh start feel of a new year.  But things haven't been all bad!

I've been making it to the gym pretty consistently and the past week has been awesome.  On Friday we retested a benchmark workout called Fran (21-15-9 thrusters and pull ups).  When we did it last October I was coming back from PT and some serious carb loading in Italy.  I felt weak and nervous and did it in 8:16 with only 45# on the bar.  This year I was excited, because I knew no matter what I was PRing since I was doing it Rx with 65#.  I felt strong during the workout and the thrusters went really well.  I did most of my pull ups 2 at a time.  I finished in 7:29 and was on top of the world!

Yes, that's my "top of the world" face.  And no, that's not my boob.

Tuesday night I had another great night at the gym.  We retested our unbroken wall ball max.  Last year I had a goal of doing 20 and I made it to 30, but admitted that I could've probably done more.  This year my goal was 40 and I ended up doing 43!  I was really proud of myself.  Then we built to a heavy double back squat and I did 200#!  That's only 5 lbs under the max I hit at the CF Total, so my coach told me my max is probably even higher.  The WOD was an 8 minute AMRAP of 10 double unders, 3 chest to bar pull ups, 20 dubs, 6 C2B, 30, 9... and so on.  I crushed the chest to bar pull ups and my dubs were great too!  I got through the round of 50 dubs and finished 8 of the pull ups for 188 reps total.  Thinking back to the CF Open in February & March, I know I've grown so much.  I got my first C2B ever during 16.1 and now they aren't even a question.  And I did 16.2 twice (twice ugh!), just trying to get through the 50 double unders, tripping up every 2 or 3 reps and now I can fly through them.  I love seeing measurable progress and I left the gym feeling so amazing!

And last but not least, the gym has been running a 32 calorie challenge on the assault bike.  It sounded horrible from everyone that tried it and I'm still not really sure how I was convinced, but tonight I stopped by just to complete the challenge and my coach couldn't have been more excited.

Coach Erin trying to get everyone on the assault bike.

I had never even sat on the thing before, but as soon as I warmed up on it a little I knew it was going to burn my thighs.  I had zero expectations, I literally just wanted to finish.  I started strong, but soon enough the fatigue was taking over.  I was about half way when I seriously thought about quitting.  I think I might have if Wes wasn't standing next to me repeating "you got this" over and over and over.  I had 10 calories left and it seemed like my legs weren't really working anymore.  I felt like I was going slow as molasses.  But one by one, the calories ticked away.  At 1:55 I felt the sweet relief of flopping off the bike onto the floor.  And then I felt the worst pain that CrossFit has ever delivered.  My quads felt like they were stuck in a horrible cramp.  I tried different positions, but nothing gave me any relief.  I was rolling around, writhing in pain wondering if my legs would feel normal again.  Finally, about 10 minutes later I peeled myself off the floor.  And guess what... turns out I beat all the other girls, including my coach (who is a beast)!  I still can't believe it!

Well Christmas is only days away.  I'm looking forward to homemade pierogies, lots of family time, and a music filled Christmas Eve service.  I hope you enjoy every moment and have a lovely holiday!

Merry Christmas <3