Weightlifting, Crossfit, Paleo, and Randomness!

Hello World . . . Again!

2011-08-21T17:00:00.002-05:00

I am well aware that it's been a little bit over 3.5 months since my last blog post, in which I proclaimed to "have my routine back". . . but I guess I spoke a bit to soon! To anyone and everyone out there following my blog - I really am sorry to have been MIA for so long!

Over the last few months, I've been on a bit of a roller coaster - one that I know I haven't been riding alone. I would eat really well for a few weeks, and then get sucked back under by one of many different "justifiable reasons" (insert sarcastic tone here!). Among the things that have derailed my good intentions - high-stress periods at work, business trips, birthday parties, summer bbq's, and a plain old-fashion lack of will-power. I temporarily lost sight of the REAL reasons behind my decision to stick to a Paleo "diet", and without those reasons as motivation, I "fell off the wagon" repeatedly.

On a positive note, I have managed to stick to my training, but on the flip side, my nutrition has definitely been lacking.

But, I've finally come to the point where enough is enough. I need to get back on the right track, and I've recently been reminded of exactly why it is that I decided this path in the first place. The primary reason that I have chosen to follow the Paleo "diet" principles for life is that I want to live a long and healthy life, as free from illness as possible. As many of us have a tendency to do, I've taken my health for granted to date. Up until about a year ago, I'd always been very healthy, and the most severe ailment I'd ever had was a case of appendicitis. This has made it easy to ignore the fact that some of the things that I've chosen to put into my body very likely could contribute to health problems in the not-so-distant future, especially if I continue to consume them on a regular basis. It's so easy to ignore the facts about gluten's involvement in auto-immune disease, among other things, when there isn't much of an immediate consequence upon consuming it (other than maybe some gut discomfort which can easily be chalked up to overeating, and over time is barely even noticed as anything outside of "normal").

So I'm making my good intentions public once again. Beginning right now, this minute - I plan to clean up my act and eliminate all gluten, grains, dairy, soy, legumes, and processed foods. I've got a fridge full of veggies, chicken, fish, and Grass Fed Beef. Food Prep for the week (Spinach muffins, guacamole, etc) is done. My Meal plan for the week is complete, and I'm ready to go :)

This week's meal plan includes:

Breakfasts:

Omletes stuffed w/ tons of veggies and homemade guacamole

Lunches:

Salads w/ wild tuna, tons of veggies, avocado, HB eggs, homemade may dressings

Leftovers from previous nights dinners

Snacks:

Spinach Muffins w/ Guacamole

Limited fresh fruit & raw almonds

Raw veggies & Paleo Hummus (zucchini & tahini based rather than chick pea)

Dinners (M - F) are:

Crock Pot (Grass Fed) Meatballs & Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Wild King Salmon w/ Tomato Basil Relish and a salad of field greens

Chicken & Broccoli Coconut Curry Stirfry (From Paleo Recipe Book by Sébastien Noël)

Curry Shrimp over Zucchini noodles

"Salsa Chicken" over Shredded Cabbage topped w/ Avocado

I'm not starting another Whole30 just yet, but plan to do so within the next few weeks. I'm working to get back into the routine of planning and prepping all of my meals first. After a week or two of 95%, I'll be jumping back into another Whole30 head first!

Training is going to stay about the same. I'm going into my second cycle of Wendler 5-3-1 Training, which I'm combining w/ bodyweight assistance exercises and complimentary CrossFit WODs. I'm also really focusing on my "goats". I got my first HSPU about a month ago (BIG happy dance!!), and have been working them regularly ever since to increase the # that I can do in a row, and decrease the amount of rest that I need in between sets. I'm also working on improving my ring dips (I can still only do 2-3 in a row, and after a few sets of 2-3, I'm done. . . I'm still working on my Olympic Lifts also, but not as regularly. I'm really focusing on increasing my strength first and foremost. Once I get some of my baseline #'s up a bit (squat, shoulder press, deadlift), I'll switch my focus back over to improving my technique and form on the Olympic Lifts - I truly enjoy training the Olympic Lifts more than just about anything . . . but I feel that I've hit a wall and won't break through it until I increase my strength.

I'm really going to try to check back in regularly in the upcoming weeks and months to share my successes & struggles, ask for advice, and maybe even give a little from time to time ;) If all goes according to plan, I'll also be sharing some new Paleo Recipes as I get back into the routine of "playing w/ my food".

One last thing that I have to share - and this little bit of news has got me grinning from ear to ear - we're talking Cheshire cat grin here. . . My wonderful Hubby has decided to give CrossFit a try! He started about a week ago, and so far he loves it. I am so very proud of him and excited for him, and it is SO wonderful to be able to share something with him that has become such a large part of my life.

Well, I'm signing off for now - but will do my best to post again before another 3 months roll by!

I've Got My Routine Back!

2011-05-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hello World - It's nice to see you again :)

Yes, I'm alive and well - but I have been MIA from my blog for a few months, and I would like to offer a sincere apology to anyone who had been following my posts. I initially planned on taking only a week away, but a week turned into two, and then three . . and now here I am 3 months later - embarrassed and apologetic.

I don't plan on going into a lot of detail in my blog posts regarding the reason for my absence, but I will be brutally honest: Over the last few months, I have made some less-than-stellar food and fitness choices. I won't make excuses for why this happened - regardless of extenuating circumstances, I am responsible for the choices that I made.

On to the GOOD news: I'm 100% back on track and feeling awesome! I'm reminded once again that we sometimes don't realize how much our bodies are affected by our bad food choices until we eliminate them, and then: SHA-BANG!! It feels A-Mazing to have a "clean" body again! I didn't realize how bad my body felt until it didn't feel bad anymore . . does that even make any sense? It may not if you've never experienced it - but I think anyone who's done a Whole30 can relate.

I learned several lessons from my mistakes during my little hiatus, and will gladly share these with the world with the hopes that I can help one person avoid having to learn these lessons the hard way.

Lesson Learned #1: I am a Creature of Habit, and I love having a routine!

I think that a lot of us are creatures of habit. If you've done a Whole30 before, I'm sure that you will agree - the first week is rough because you're not used to prepping all that food. You're used to the convenience of Grab-and-Go Processed foods, and your cravings really kick in when you suddenly realize that it's lunch time, and you don't have anything already prepped - Am I Right?

By the end of a Whole30, a lot of people describe the last week as being "fairly easy" and finally feeling "normal". This is because they have learned to set time aside to prepare meals, and always have something on hand prepped in advanced that they can eat in a pinch. Setting time aside to cook is no longer a chore, but just simply part of the day-to-day routine.

But some people fall off the wagon, and then find it very hard to get back on because they lose that "routine". Once I got out of the habit of cooking breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, it seemed like such a CHORE! I was tired, and Subway was easy - I would cook tomorrow night. This soon became my mantra nearly every night.

The same thing went for my workouts. Once I got out of the habit of going to bed by 9:15 and getting up at 5 to go work out, I forgot how to do it! Suddenly, I was staying up till 11:30 every night, and getting up with just enough time to shower and get to work. Once I broke my routine, it was really, really, really hard to fix it again!

This time around, I had to sit down and pencil out my schedule for the first week. I wrote in my work hours, grocery shopping times, meal prep times, workout times, and my going to bed and waking up times. I had to FORCE myself to stick to this plan for the first few days, and it was aweful! But now it's feeling "normal" again, and I love it. I'm back to the point of wondering why I ever lost this routine in the first place, because it feels so darn good :) Starting a new routine (or getting back to one that's been abandoned for a while) is never easy, but once it's established, boy does it feel great!

Little Victories are the BEST!

2011-01-26T20:17:00.003-06:00

Little Victories - I'll Take 'em!!

I just had to share. I'm currently sitting on top of Cloud 9 as a result of a workout for the first time in a LONG TIME!

Tonight's WOD:

"Erin"
15 DB Split Cleans (Female RX 25 lb DBs)
21 Pullups

5 RFT

I know that I've done this WOD before, but I refuse to look at my previous time. I'm sure I finished much slower than before "It", but I'm only concerned with doing my best in the moment with what I've got to give right now.

Before the workout, I was just hoping to make it through the whole thing w/o having to go to a band. My pullup performance has decreased a lot recently and I've found that in workouts with more than about 50 pullups, I can only get about 1-2 in a row towards the end w/o having to fall off the bar in between. At that rate, I'd be better off using a band and stringing more together.

Tonight, I DID make it through the whole thing RX.

And the BEST part of it was that I was able to string between 5 - 8 pullups together all the way through the end of the workout! I never got less than 5 in a row - THAT is progress, and I'll take it. Official time was 21:16.

The Little Victories, after such a long time spent going down hill, feel pretty freakin good.

Thyroid Update

2011-01-26T16:00:00.000-06:00

I've had several people ask me how I became aware that I had problems with my Thyroid. In short, there were several "warning signs" that I should have noticed (Fatigue, Muscle Weakness, Difficulty Concentrating, Cognition Problems), but the thing that really clued me in was the golf-ball sized knot on my neck. The picture above is not me, but the girl's neck looks very similar to the way that mine did.

As the knot began to grow, it started to hurt, and I knew I had to get it checked out. Long story short, My blood tests showed that my TSH #'s were so low that they barely registered (0.02), an ultrasound verified the existance of several large nodules, a Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy ruled out cancer (thank goodness!), and I underwent Radioactive Iodine Therapy to "kill" the nodules.

The hope was that the majority of the iodine would be "sucked up" by the nodule which was in overdrive mode, and that it would leave my Thyroid alone, but I was told that it was possible that my thyroid would absorb some of it, and as a result, it would reduce the ability of my Thyroid to function properly. Unfortunately, it appears as though this is what happened.

Fast Forward 6 months and I have gone from having "Hyperthyroidism" to having "Hypothyroidism". This has NOT been a fun roller coaster ride! It has significantly affected:

My emotions - think crazy mood swings and unexplainable sobbing episodes for no discernable reason whatsoever
My ability to concentrate -I feel like a teenager who desperately needs a ritalin prescription much of the time
My cognition - I feel just plain dumb a lot of the time lately - I'm having a hard time absorbing new information, and this is NOT like me at all - I'm usually a pretty smart cookie - really!
My Athletic Performance - My strength and endurance have both decreased significantly over the last several months, at an even faster rate than they were decreasing when I was "Hyper"
My Energy Levels - Some days it takes everything I have just to get out of bed, even after 8-9 hours of sleep. It doesn't make any logical sense and it's been very frustrating!

Apparently, that little teeny tiny butterfly-shaped organ controls just about EVERYTHING. . . who knew!?!

Sooo, when my Doc called me on Monday to tell me that my most recent blood tests showed
that my TSH levels have risen to 4.8 and I was officially "Hypo", I was not at all suprised, and actually rather relieved to have a firm scientific reason for the way I had been feeling (You mean I'm not really going crazy - that's GREAT news!).

According to some scales, a TSH level of 4.8 is just barely outside of the normal range, but by the way I've been feeling, I could tell that something was waaayyyy off. Thank goodness, I have a great Endocronologist who confirmed that we should be trying to get my TSH levels down below 3, and preferably in the 1-2 range, and a friend of mine who has been through a similar situation assured me that the symptoms that I've been experiencing are perfectly normal for someone w/ my TSH levels. (More affirmation that I'm not really going crazy is always a good thing!! - THANK YOU - you know who you are)

So I started a Syntroid dose on Monday and have hopes that I will soon notice a difference. We'll be checking my TSH levels monthly and adjusting my dosage accordingly until we've got me in the TSH "sweet spot" :) I'm already starting to notice little differences - my ability to concentrate seems to have improved dramatically already, and I couldn't be happier about that. I'll take every little improvement I can get!

Ode to Guacamole

2011-01-24T12:21:00.007-06:00

I L-O-V-E Guacamole.

Anyone that has been checking out my food blog can attest to this.

I eat Guacamole with everything. On top of Eggs, Chicken, Steak, and Salads. Mixed in with canned Wild Tuna or Ground GF Beef. Scooped onto Raw Jicama Strips, Carrots, and Celery. Spread on top of a Spinach Muffin. It is my firm belief that guacamole would make just about anything taste better!

So in an attempt to profess my undying love for this creamy, delicious, wonderfully chock-full-of-good-fat condiment, I have written a brief poem.

Ode To Guacamole

Guacamole is so Yummy
I love to put it in my Tummy
When I run out I feel just Crummy
My fingers start to get all Drummy!

Don’t have to share it with my Honey
Because he thinks that it tastes Scummy
(But I think he’s a big ‘ol Dummy!)
His taste buds must be wired Funny :)

That's right Folks - A Poet I am not!

Well, after all that talk of Guacamole, I figure it's only fair that I share my recipe. Please note that I rarely measure spices when making guacamole. I typically just sprinkle until it looks right, taste, and then sprinkle some more if neccesary. So the spice measurements below are estimates - adjust to your own tastes :)

Christie's Homemade Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients:
4 large Avocados (or 7-8 small)

Juice of 1 Lime (sometimes 1.5 - 2 limes if I'm in the mood for a more tangy guac -play with it to match your tastes)

3 Cloves Garlic, finely minced

2-3 tsp Ground Cumin

1.5 tsp Chili Powder (Substitute .5 tsp for Cayenne Pepper if you like it spicy)

Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped (I buy mine from the farmer's market, and it's really strong because it's picked w/in 12 hours of purchase. If you're using "grocery store" cilantro, you may need to adjust this amount up)

1/4 - 1/2 of a small red onion, finely diced

3 Serrano Peppers, seeded and finely diced (Omit if you don't like any spiciness at all - this just adds a little "kick")

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered (Optional - I usually leave out b/c they seem to make it brown faster. Sometimes I'll stir them into a single serving)

Directions:

I start by chopping/prepping all of my veggies, peppers, and cilantro ahead of time so that I can just stir them in when I'm ready. You don't have to do this, but if you mash your avocados first, and then they sit out while you chop your veggies, they will have a greater chance of browning due to exposure to the air.

Peel and Remove Seeds from avocados. Mash together with lime juice in large plastic or glass bowl , using wooden spoon. Mash until desired consistency. I like to leave mine pretty chunky.

Stir in Cumin, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (if using), Garlic, Cilantro, Sea Salt, & Pepper. Mix Well.

Taste. Add Spices as needed.

Stir in Red Onion & Serrano Peppers. Mix Well.

Fold in Tomatoes Gently (if using).

Chill and Serve.

On Everything.

Really!

Recipe: Grilled Broccoli

2011-01-24T08:48:00.006-06:00

I LOVE vegetables :) But sometimes I get tired of eating "sauteed this" or "roasted that" and I want to do something a little bit different.

I recently discovered "Roasted Broccoli", and it is absolutely delicious, but it stinks up my house something aweful whenever I cook it. Enter Grilled Broccoli!

Grilled Broccoli tastes very similar to roasted broccoli, and it gets nice and crispy outside but soft inside, like roasted broccoli as well. The advantage is that the cooking is done outside, and my house doesn't smell like dirty socks for 3 hours after I'm done preparing it :)

I also like the fact that I can cook this alongside some steaks, chicken breasts, or turkey burgers on my grill, and not have to worry about monitoring both a grill and a stove simultaneously.

And Great News! This is yet another recipe that even Picky eaters will likely eat without complaints (Yes, I know this from experience . . . . )

Grilled Broccoli

Ingredients:

Several Heads of broccoli cut into florets (but leave about 1 - 2 inches of stem intact)

EVOO (the amount will depend on how much broccoli you are using. I'd guesstimate about 1 Tb per full head of broccoli)

Freshly Minced Garlic (1 clove per head of broccoli)

Sea Salt to taste

Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (1/2 lemon per head of broccoli)

Instructions:

Toss Broccoli in a big bowl with EVOO, Sea Salt, and Minced Garlic. Mix well (toss for at least 2-3 minutes to make sure that all florets are coated w/ Olive Oil. The longer you toss, the better the end results will be!

Spread Broccoli out on a Grill Pan (I use disposable grill pans like the one pictured below. If you don't have a grill pan, you can cook without, but you'll want your stalks to be a little bit longer so that you don't have to worry about them falling through the grates)

Grill Pan

Place Grill Pan with broccoli on Grill over low heat, and cook for about 5* minutes, or until underside begins to brown/crisp.

Using Thongs, flip each piece of broccoli over, and cook for another 2-3 minutes**

Remove from the Grill, Sprinkle with Lemon Juice, and Serve!

*If you like crisper (less cooked / al dente) broccoli, turn after about 3 minutes. I like my broccoli pretty "well done"

**You don't absolutely have to cook both sides if you're in a hurry - grilling just one side is fine - that side will just be a little crispier while the other side will be a bit softer.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Middle Eastern Chicken

2011-01-21T10:11:00.004-06:00

I've continued to have fun playing with food and my new toy, the Pressure Cooker over the last week, and have come up with another winner!

I'm by no means a Pressure Cooker Expert yet, but I'm definitely getting the hang of this thing, and I really love the fact that foods cooked in it seem to be so much more flavorful - I think that Jamie (my hubby) has actually licked his plate after every single pressure cooker meal that I've prepared - and that's saying something considering he typically is not a huge fan of any "Paleo Meals" that I prepare for him.

The following recipe took a lot of modification from the original, which called for yogurt, flour, potato starch, and rice - so I knew I was taking a "risk", but it turned out great - so good that I felt it was "share-worthy".

I was a little hesitant to add the mint because it just really seemed like an odd combination, and I've never used mint in a recipe before, but it was very good and I don't think the dish would have been the same without it.

Pressure Cooker Middle Eastern Chicken (Paleo Version)

Ingredients:

3 lbs Chicken Breasts or Tenders
1/4 cup Olive Oil
6 Green Onions, Minced
5 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
1/2 cup Parsley, Minced
1 Tb Dried Mint
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (read label to avoid sugar/soy/gluten/etc)
3 Tb Fresh-Squeezed Lemon Juice
3/4 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk (Divided into 1/2 cup & 1/4 cup portions)
Sea Salt to taste
1/2 tsp White Pepper (ground black pepper would work if you don't have white)
2 Egg Yolks
1.5 Tb Arrowroot Powder

Instructions:

Heat Olive Oil in bottom of pressure cooker, and then briefly brown chicken on both sides (in batches).

Remove chicken to a plate, and set to the side.

Add Green Onions, Garlic, & Parsley, and saute in hot oil for 2 minutes, then add Chicken & Stir.

Sprinkle with Mint & Cumin.

Add Broth, Lemon Juice, 1/2 cup Coconut Milk, Salt, & Pepper, and stir well.

Secure lid and bring to pressure over high heat (will take approx 10-12 minutes).

Reduce heat to medium (but maintain pressure), and cook 10 minutes.

Remove Pressure Cooker from heat and let pressure release naturally (natural-release method).
Remove lid, Remove Chicken, and set on a plate (leaving sauce in pressure cooker).

Ladel out 1/2 cup of the broth, add remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk, and whisk into egg yolks.

Whisk ArrowRoot Powder into the egg yolk mixture, and then stir back into cooking liquid in Pressure Cooker.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until thickened (about 10 minutes?)

Spoon over chicken, and serve.

This dish is tangy, savory, and creamy all at the same time!

I served mine with grilled broccoli and Mel's Creamy Spicy Greens, and this was a great combination.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

2011-01-17T22:12:00.003-06:00

Another Pressure Cooker Success!!

I am absolutely in love with my Pressure Cooker, and wondering why in the world I waited so long to break down and buy one! I have never in my life had chicken breasts and tough cuts of meat (like stew meat) come out so tender, and with so little effort, and in such a short amount of time! If you've never used a Pressure Cooker - Warning - there is a small learning curve, but I highly reccomend purchasing one. I don't know that I'll ever cook chicken or roasts any other way again!

One of the first meals that I made in my Pressure Cooker was Chicken Cacciatore. I was craving Italian and Olives, and this meal fit the bill. I searched a ton of websites, pulled multiple recipes, and used a little bit from here and a little bit from there to come up with my own creation.

The result was absolutely phenominal (If I do say so myself!). I literally shredded the chicken w/ a fork when it was done - it was that tender!

Pressure Cooker Chicken Cacciatore:

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
3 Shallots, Chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
1 Green Bell Pepper, seeded & diced
1/2 cup Organic Chicken or Vegetable Broth (be careful of sneaky sugars/soy/gluten/etc)
1 8-10 oz package mushrooms, sliced
5-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (good sized ones, not midgets - you'll want leftovers!)
2 Cans Organic Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tb Organic Tomato Paste
1 Can Pitted Black Olives (I used Whole Foods Brand - just olives, water, salt)
Fresh Parsley
Red Pepper to taste (I used a healthy 1/2 tsp, but I like spicy!)
Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a 4-quart or larger cooker. Add the shallots and bell pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the shallots soften slightly, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the broth and boil for 2-3 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the cooker.

Stir in the mushrooms and garlic. Set the chicken on top. Cover the chicken with crushed tomatoes. Do not stir. Plop the tomato paste on top.

Lock the lid in place.

Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 8 minutes.

Turn off the heat.

Allow the pressure to come down naturally. Remove the lid.

Stir in the olives, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

I served mine over a heaping serving of shredded cabbage, and it was AWESOME!

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

2011-01-16T21:16:00.009-06:00

I am FINALLY getting the chance to really put my pressure cooker to work, and loving every minute of it! The new Pressure Cooker works like charm. The very first time I used it, I started to freak out just a little b/c it seemed to take FOREVER for the regulator to start to rock, and steam was coming out of the lid lock/air vent even though it was in the "up" postion. . . but after a few minutes of this it rattled into place, and then the regulator started rocking a few minutes later - YAY- Pressure Cooker Success #1!

I've cooked several meals in my pressure cooker over the last week or so, and every single one has turned out AWESOME!:

~Paleo-ized Chicken Cacciatori - A-Freaking-Mazing! (recipe coming in the next week :)

~Paleo-ized Chili (Mel's recipe w/ some revisions to cooking method and meat type)

~"Salsa Dancing Chicken" (stolen from the Everyday Paleo Website - YUM!!)

~Sweet Potatoes

~Beets

~. . .and lastly - a Pot Roast-esque Dish that turned out so good I had to force myself to stop eating it after one serving - I totally wanted to go back for more!

I can't keep this amazing discovery to myself - so here it is!

The backstory: I promised my hubby I'd cook him pot roast this weekend, but when I opened my box freezer to pull out one of my GF Roasts . .**Gasp!** . . .there were none to be found! I dug to the very bottom because I swear I still had at least one roast in there. . . but no such luck. So what's a girl to do? I couldn't bring myself to go a buy sub-par grain-fed roast, but I don't live in an area where you can just drive to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's and pick up a piece of GF Meat!

So I improvised - it's funny - I've noticed that some of my best creations have come out of improvisation when I'm out of something that I thought I had! I used 3 packages of GF Stew Meat instead of a roast (approx 3 lbs)

Then, as I was getting the veggies out to prep, I realized that I didn't have any sweet potatoes either! **Palm-Face** So I scoured my fridge to try to figure out something I could sub for the Sweet Potatoes. . .Brussel Sprouts to the rescue! So I ended up making an "odd" Pot Roast-esque dish with Stew Meat, Farmer's Market Carrots, Brussel Sprouts, Onions, & Celery - and I swear that it is the BEST "PotRoast" I have ever had in my entire life!

Please forgive me - I tend not to measure spices and such when I'm "creating". . .so the measurements below are my best estimates!

Pressure Cooker "Pot Roast-Esque Dish"

Ingredients:

3 lbs Grass Fed Stew Meat
2 Cups Organic Beef Broth (Read Label - make sure no "sneaky" sugar or gluten or soy)
1 Bunch Carrots (5-6 medium), cut into chunks
1 bag Fresh Brussel Sprouts (15-20?)
3-4 Stalks Celery
1 Large Vidalia Onion
6 Cloves Garlic (or less if you're not a big garlic fan
Cumin
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
2 Bay Leaves
Coconut Aminos (2 Tb?)
Olive Oil

Directions:

Prep Veggies - Cut Carrots, Celery, & Onions into good-sized chunks, mince garlic, halve brussel sprouts.

Pour Olive Oil in a large skillet, add Stew Meat, and sprinkle meat with Cumin, Sea Salt, and Pepper. Mix around really well so that spices cover all of the meat, and then lightly brown it (approx 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly).

While browning meat, saute onions and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes (until onions start to soften) in bottom of pressure cooker. Once the meat is slightly browned, toss it with the onions an the garlic in the pressure cooker. Add 2 Cups Beef Broth, 2 Tb Coconut Aminos, and 2 Bay Leaves.

Secure Lid and bring to pressure. Once Cooker builds pressure, start your timer, and cook for 17 minutes.

Release the pressure under running water, remove Pressure Cooker lid, Dump in veggies, stir, and replace lid.

Return Pressure Cooker to heat, & bring back up to pressure. Once Pressure is built, reduce heat to low (but make sure regulator is still rocking). Cook for an additional 7 Minutes.

Use the Quick Release Method once again, remove lid, and serve. If you're a softy like me, reserv the broth to sprinkle over your dog's food ;) If not, I recommend draining it - The meat and veggies wil be fall-apart tender with no need for additional "juice" :)

And yes - this one even managed to past the "picky hubby test" with a request for seconds!

Starting Over after "IT"

2011-01-14T10:57:00.011-06:00

Many of you out there in the "Internet Realm" who follow my blog don't know me personally, so I feel that it's necessary to give a bit of background before diving into the "heart" of this post.

Background

I started CrossFit about 3 years ago, and progressed on about an "average" level. I was instantly addicted due to the constant improvement across a wide range of movements, and I aspired to one day reach the "Competition" level. I've been competitive and athletic my entire life, so this gave me a new outlet for my competitive spirit to fly free.

I started Weightlifting (in addition to CF) about 2 years ago, and quickly fell in love with it. I'm very flexible and this gave me an advantage in movements like the Snatch. I made "okay" progress over the next year and a half. Nothing spectacular, but steady and consistent progress - so I was happy and content.

My strengths are Weightlifting (Single Reps w/ recovery in between - very different from most CF Weightlifting Conditioning WODS) and lengthy-but-light-weight-MetCons, while my weaknesses are gymnastics movements and lifting heavy weights for more than 1 or 2 reps. (I can lift MUCH more for 1 - 2 reps, or if given time to recover between reps than I can if I were asked to lift a weight multiple times without rest.)

Okay, now for the "meat and potatoes" of this post -

Up until about 8 months ago, I was making steady progress and thriving both mentally and physically on the consistent improvement in most areas. Then "IT" Happened.

"IT" will be different for everyone, but in all cases it's something that happens in your life that sets you back (a little or sometimes a LOT), and you have little to no control over whatever this thing may be.

The "IT" in my life was thyroid problems. My energy levels started to fall, I could no longer go as long or as hard, and some days it took everything I had just to get out of bed. Then, my strength started to decrease, and that was the last straw for me - I marched my butt to the Dr. to find out what in the heck was going on. The diagnosis was an Autonomically functioning Thyroid Nodule. I had a "hyper-thyroid" condition, and the options to fix it were to nuke the nodule w/ radiation or have surgery to remove the nodule along with (at least) half of my thyroid. I opted for the "nuke it" option because there was a better chance that my thyroid would recover long-term and that I wouldn't have to go on Synthroid. I was warned that when they "nuked" the nodule, it would likely also affect my thyroid function for several months, up to a year, and that I would probably become "Hypo" until my thyroid regulated itself. If it failed to regulate itself in an acceptable amount of time, I would have to go on medication to get my Thyroid levels where they needed to be. Sooo, at the end of August, I had my Thyroid "nuked".

Since then, my performance in the gym has continued to decline, but at an even faster rate. I now officially have "hypo-thyroidism", and my levels are getting worse every month (not better).

Initially, I kept a positive attitude. I knew that this was a temporary setback, and as soon as I got "IT" straightened out, everything would return to normal. I suffered through discouraging workout after discouraging workout, but did my best to keep plugging away.

Over the last two months, however, my workout frequency has decreased significantly more. It got so hard (mentally!) to drag myself to the gym when I was no longer seeing steady progress, but was instead seeing a steady decline in my performance and strength. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to throw myself down on the floor and have a temper tantrum. I just wanted to feel better and perform better, and get back to where I was. I felt like I was being forcibly pushed backwards in time to the level I was at when I first started CrossFit and Weightlifting. And I had worked SO HARD for the progress that it was really hard to see it ripped away by "IT".

Every workout, I would compare my results to my previous PR's (set before "IT" happened), and got more and more discouraged - because numbers just don't lie - I was getting worse, not better. My Fran is much slower, I can't string even half the pullups together that I used to be able to, I can't Snatch or C&J my max anymore for even 1 rep, I get winded and have to rest after just a few thrusters or box jumps or burpees.

In addition to all of this, I had FINALLY conquered the HUGE milestones of HS Pushups (off of an abmat) and RX Ring Dips prior to "IT". These are things that I had struggled with and worked on religiously for months and months to get, and was overjoyed when I finally "got" them. I realized about a month ago that I can no longer do either movement. And trust me, it's NOT for lack of giving it everything I had just to try to get 1 single solitary rep. I just am THAT much weaker.

So for the last two months, I've gradually been getting more and more discouraged and it's been harder and harder to force myself to workout because I'm fighting with my own head. I'll tell myself that "I feel GREAT today, and I'm going to kick this workout's butt!" and then 5 minutes into it I realize that I have no energy at all left, and I finish it, look up my previous time, and realize that I got nowhere close to kicking that workout's butt, regardless of my good intentions.

I FINALLY realized just today that I've been my own worst enemy. I've been de-moralizing myself and setting myself up for failure by comparing my Current Performance/Strength Level to my Performance/Strength Level from before "IT". I'm basically comparing apples to oranges, whether I want to admit it or not. I am NOT the same athlete that I was 6 months ago, through no fault of my own - but I need to accept that, re-assess where I am NOW, and try to improve from my current position. That means setting new goals, focusing on the here and now, and forgetting about what I may or may not have been capable of 6 months ago.

What brought on this realization? I was reminded of the Serenity Prayer:

"God, Grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, COURAGE to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference."

The realization of what I had been doing hit me like a lightning bolt. I need to trust that I will never be burdened with more than I've been given the ability to handle, and know that everything really does happen for a reason, even if I never figure out just what that reason is.

So I am going to do my best to simply accept that I am where I am in terms of strength and conditioning, and there is absolutely nothing that I can do to change where I am right now at this moment. It's out of my hands.

And while I won't be able to change my performance & strength levels overnight, or return them instantaneously to where they used to be, I do have the ability to change my the way that I look at the situation, my focus, and my goals.

So over the next month, I am going to update my "Current 1RM" and all of my performance measurement metrics so that they reflect where I am right now. I will no longer refer to any of my previous benchmarks in my training logs or on my website because that was the past, and this is the present, and I need to stop dwelling on the past if I ever want to be able to move forward.

Going forward, I will measure my progress against these current numbers, rather than where I was when I was at my "peak" 6 months ago. I hope that this shift in the way that I look at things will help me to be less discouraged at the end of my workouts, and to appreciate that I still have the ability to do the things that I love, even if I may not be able to (presently) do them as well as I used to. And that's okay with me!

So if you have recently faced a setback as a result of an "IT" in your life, it may help if you stop dwelling on the past, re-evaluate where you are in the present, and make goals & plans for the future based on your current situation. Whatever the "IT" is in your life that may have sidelined or de-railed you - You can overcome it if you are able to stop focusing on how things were before "IT", accept how things are now, and move forward from your current position.

I'll end this post with one of my favorite quotes:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude,
to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the
education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than
what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance,
giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The
remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will
embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact
that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only
thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I
am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” ~Charles R.
Swindoll

And now, after that HEAVY post, here's a little something to make you Smile before you leave! (Cause who doesn't love cute puppies?!?)

What a difference a day makes!

2011-01-07T13:20:00.002-06:00

Wow - it really is amazing to me how much things can "turn around" within a single day!

I've had a few really rough days with super duper low energy/motivation levels, & insane cravings, but today I feel like I'm on top of the world. . . I'm hoping that this means that I have FINALLY turned that corner and that the worst is behind me for this Whole30. Only time will tell, but I'm going to ride this energy high for as long as it lasts!

I got up this morning, got my Fran on, and it's been onwards and upwards ever since. Granted I didn't even get close to PR'ing my Fran, but that's okay. I'm just happy I was finally able to drag my booty out of bed and to the gym for a morning workout!

I think that increasing my FAT intake yesterday really helped, and although the results were not instantaneous, it seems that after a good night's sleep they are finally showing themselves. I'm trying to take in a little more fat today to see if it continutes to help with my energy. . . . We'll See.

Here's a quick collage to my love of HEALTHY FAT and all of it's energy-providing goodness:

Adding to my GREAT mood is the excitement I feel over attending the Foundations of Nutrition Workshop and the Trainer's Workshop this weekend in Houston! AND if that weren't enough, I'm finally going to get the chance to meet Whole9's Mellisa & Dallas, and Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan (whose recipes I would SURELY DIE without!) in person **happy dance**

AAANND I'm going to get to shop at WHOLE FOODS while in Houston this weekend - does life get any better than that?

Ever just have one of those days?

2011-01-06T15:15:00.003-06:00

**Illustration by Clay Sneller**

Meh.

Ugh.

Siiiggghhhh.

Ever have one of those days? Well excuse me for just a moment while I throw a really brief pity party. . .

I'm usually a REALLY upbeat, optomistic, look-on-the-bright-side, pick-a-friend-up kind of person. You'll rarely see me without a smile on my face. But every now and then, I just have one of those days . . .or weeks. . . . !

I am tired & grumpy, have absolutely zero energy, and am craving the hell out of every single sugary abomination known to man. I have only worked out one time this week because my energy levels have been soooo low, and the lack of exercise makes me feel even worse!

I KNOW that I will pull through this shortly. I KNOW that it's just my thyroid levels screwing with me combined with turning the "strict" dial up on my food choices - but MAN - something has got to give!

Having no energy combined with being tired and grumpy is bad enough - but when you add to that the intense cravings that I'm fighting off at every turn, I swear I'm a walking Mood Swing!

So now it's time to turn on my Optomism switch! What do I need to do to fix this funk?

I'm drinking lots of water and eating extra fat (to help with the cravings), getting to bed super early and making sure I get a minumum of 8 hours of sleep a night (even if that means that I miss a workout. . .), and trying to convince my neurotic Type A brain that missing a few workouts while trying to get my sleep/clean eating habits/meal timing back on track is not going to kill me.

I'm on Day 6 of my Whole102, and I know that this is the "rough patch" - especially considering the fact that I really overdid the sugar on New Year's Eve. . . meaning that there's even more crap trying to clear out of my system then usual. So I'm going to "Suck it up, Buttercup", Push onward and upward, and hopefully be back to my normal up-beat sane self that's not plagued by sugar demons w/in the next day or so :)

You may be asking yourself WHY I'm sharing this pity party with the world - well I guess it's because I want those who follow my blog to see that I struggle too! If every single one of my posts were about sunshine and rainbows and puppydogs (Paleo is Great! CrossFit is Great! Weightlifting ROCKS!. . . I got a PR! . . . you get the point), it would be a little bit unrealistic. If I'm going to maintain an open an honest blog, I figured I should probably be sharing the "down's", few and far between as they are, as well as all of the "UP'S" that go along with a Whole30 stint, CrossFit Workouts, etc!

So what do YOU do to pick yourself up out of a funk? I know we all have them from time to time - I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Pressure Cooker Adventures #1

2011-01-06T11:56:00.003-06:00

Yes, my initial Pressure Cooker adventures were an Epic Fail!

I attribute this to the fact that I bought a $19.95 Pressure Cooker at HEB. . . I tried several times to use it, but it never seemed to build up pressure correctly.

According to the instructions, I was supposed to put it on the stove on high heat until the regulator began to rock, and then reduce the heat to medium or low so that the regulator continued to rock gently. The instructions also said that I shouldn't start timing the cooking until the regulator began to rock (meaning that the pressure had built up enough to do it's job).

Well, my regulator never rocked, but tons of steam leaked out from around the handle each time that I tried to use it, and water dripped down the side of the Cooker - so I'm pretty sure that it never built up the proper amount of pressure because so much steam was leaking out.

I tried steaming cauliflower, but because the regulator never rocked, I didn't know when to start timing it. I ended up WAAY overcooking it and ended up with a soggy mess!

So, you live and learn I guess! I refuse to quit on my attempts at pressure cooking because it looks like such a healthy alternative and the convenience and speed of it is really appealing to me also.

So I upgraded to a $40 Presto 8 Qt Pressure Cooker over the weekend, and am very much looking forward to trying it out next week - I only hope that I have better luck this time, and that the previous Pressure Cooker really was faulty and that it wasn't just "user error"!

I'm going to start scouring the web this evening for some yummy Paleo Pressure Cooker Recipes, but if anyone out there reading this has some "winners", (Or Pressure Cooking Tips!) please share!

Recipe: Prawn Cakes

2011-01-02T22:21:00.003-06:00

I found this recipe in an old cookbook from my Figure Competition days - I tried it out tonight with a few minor revsions, and it turned out GREAT! My picky hubby even asked for seconds :) That makes it a keeper in my book!

These are kind of like a healthy non-fried, non-breaded version of Crab Cakes.

I also made roasted garlic for the very first time tonight (Yay Me!), and made some sauteed spinach w/ caramalized onion and roasted garlic - This was the perfect compliment to the Prawn Cakes!

Prawn Cakes - From Gourmet Nutrition: The Cookbook for the Fit Food Lover by Dr. John M. Berardi, Michael Williams, & Kristna Andres (with minor revisions by your's truly)

Ingredients:

12 oz Raw & Peeled Chilled Prawn (I used HEB Wild Gulf Shrimp - Frozen, but thawed them)
1 T Olive Oil
1/4 cup Leeks, sliced
1/2 cups Mushrooms, sliced
2 Tb Coconut Milk
2 Whites
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
Handfull of Fresh Cilantro, choped
Sea Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Dry any moisture from the prawns with a paper towel and return to fridge.

Saute Leeks & Mushrooms in 1 tsp of olive oil until leeks are lightly browned.

Remove mixture from pan and completely chill in fridge.

Add All ingredients, including the raw prawns, to a food processor and puree until combined but not smooth.

Preheat oven to 350. Preheat a cast iron skillet on medium heat w/ remaining olive oil.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the mixture into your hands and form into round cakes approximately 2 inch diameter by 3/4 inch thick.

Add to Pan, leaving a little room in between each cake.

Sautee until lightly browned, flip and then brown the other side (2-3 mintues per side).

Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven.

Bake until cooked through (8-10 Minutes).

My "Whole102" Starts Today!

2011-01-01T12:13:00.006-06:00

That's Right! I'm officially re-starting today and making my intentions public. I'll be eating squeaky-clean-love-my-body-Whole-30-Compliant foods for the next 102 days. No, that's not a typo - that does indeed say One Hundred and Two!

My "Whole102" will run from today (January 1st) through April 12th. My Birthday is on April 13th, and I'm looking forward to celebrating this one feeling the healthiest that I've ever felt, both inside and out!

As I mentioned in the previous post - I will be keeping a Pictorial Food Log at http://www.christiesfoodlog.posterous.com/, and will be posing snapshots of every single bite that goes into my mouth. There's a Link to my food log in the top right-hand corner of this page, so feel free to check it out if you're ever curious what I'm eating on a day-to-day basis while on the "Whole30". There are a few reasons for my decision to keep this pictorial food log on a separate site:

Perhaps the most obvious reason - it will help to keep me accountable

I find myself "grazing" a LOT lately with a little bite here or there in between meals. While those little bites may be Paleo Compliant, they still add up, and I need to get out of the habit of mindless grazing due to boredom or stress. Additionally, these "little bites" are usually carb-dense snacks (like lara bars or sweet potatoes or fruit) that I really don't need to be munching on mindlessly anyway! If I have to take a picture and upload it to my food log of every single one of these bites, I'm guessing that it will help me to be much more mindful of when I'm mindlessly grazing, and will reduce the frequency that I do it.

I'm want to give any "newbies" a glance inside the "real world" of Paleolithic eating so that they can see that it's REALLY not that hard! It's usually just meat, veggies, and fat thrown together in a stir-fry and tossed on a plate, or a salad, or something super easy and quick. I do get "fancy" every now and then to keep things interesting, but it's not necessary - hopefully by seeing the simplistic meals that I eat and enjoy "newbies" will be a little less hesitant to give it a try.

I'm pretty sure that my friends and family are getting a bit sick of seeing all of the food pics that I've been obsessively posting on Facebook lately! By maintaining a separate Pictorial Food Log, no one will have to be forced to view pictures of my food if they don't want to :) Only those people who actually want to see what I'm eating will click through to the link (Your Welcome Facebook Friends!! LOL)

I'm also very excited to be attending the Whole9's Foundations of Nutrition Workshop and Trainers Workshop January 8th & 9th in Houston!!! I'm sure I'll learn all kinds of great stuff and I can't wait.

So my blog posts in the upcoming days/weeks will most likely document some struggles as I work to lock up my sugar demons again, and also the small victories that I notice along my Whole102 journey. I'll still be posting Weightlifting and CrossFitting stuff of course, and any new recipes that I come up with as I'm "Playing with my Food"!

The Hostage Negotiation of Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T11:16:00.008-06:00

Okay, so THIS is about what I felt like by the around 9:15pm on Christmas Evening. . . . but let me start from the begining.

Paleo Christmas Eve Feast - A Success!

Paleo Christmas Dinner - A Success!

We went over to a friend's house for Christmas Dinner - I knew that there would be tons of stuff there that wasn't "Paleo-Approved", so I took along some Waldorf Salad and some Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Icing. I figured this way, I could still have dessert along with everyone else, and not feel the least bit deprived. . . well. . . it was a good plan anyway. . . but would have been even better if I'd stuck to it!

We had a great time on Christmas evening, and I had already decided ahead of time that I would have a glass or two of red wine because it was a special occasion, but would stay otherwise Paleo-Compliant. I had about two glasses of wine before dinner, and then ate a sensible and Paleo-Compliant dinner. No Problem. I wasn't even tempted by the mashed potatoes or stuffing - really! I was quite satisfied with myself after dinner, and decided to go ahead and indulge in a third glass of wine.

About half way through that third glass, the hosts broke out the DESSERT. And yes, that is DESSERT in ALL CAPS!!! My God - I have never seen such a spread in one place at one time in my life! And it wasn't like it was store bought pies and cookies. . . oh no . . this was all home-made decadence, and gourmet cupcake shop debachery - all sitting there staring my slightly un-inhibited self in the face.

Tollhouse Cookie Pie (still warm from the oven w/ Whip Cream!), Red Velvet CHEESECAKE, Gourmet Mini Cupcakes from a local bakery (Chocolate w/ Peanut Butter Icing!!), Creamy Decadent Yule Logs, Godiva Truffles . . . . and that's just listing the highlights!

Suddenly my "Paleo Cupcakes" weren't looking quite so hot anymore!

Anyone that knows me personally knows that sugar is my weakness. When I've been strict Whole30 Compliant for a good stretch of time, my sugar demons go to sleep, but alchohol wakes them back up in a heartbeat (yes - unfortunately, even red wine).

Soooo I ate a Paleo Cupcake and sat there staring longingly at the dessert table trying to summon my willpower.

After what felt like 3 hours, but in reality was more like 3 minutes, I said to myself "Screw it - it's Christmas, and I'm having some friggin REAL dessert!" I then proceded to fill a DINNER PLATE with desserts of every shape and size, and dug in. (Reference Picture of Young Child above - yep, that's about right!) Then I went back for a second helping of Tollhouse Pie. Yes. Really.

After about 15 minutes of indulgence, I was able to turn the switch off, and publicly swore that my meltdown was over with, and that I was back on the Paleo straight and narrow as of that moment. I knew that I'd be in for some serious digestive distress, but at that moment (3 glasses of wine in), I felt that it was totally worth it but knew that I needed to get a hold of myself before I started snowboarding down that slippery slope.

As we left, the host was gracious enough to give my poor deprived hubby a big tupperware container full of "real" mashed potatoes and stuffing. They had listened to his tails of woe regarding my mashed cauliflower and stuffingless dinner table, and had pity on his poor soul.

On the drive home, my hubby reminded me that he had some cheesecake in the fridge that a friend of mine had given him (another "pity" gift!). He asked me if I needed him to "hide" it when we got home so that I wouldn't be tempted, but I ensured him that my sweet tooth was fully satisfied, and there was no need to go hiding food. I was in control again.

Around 11:30 that evening, we were laying there in bed, and my hubby got up to have a midnight snack of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cheesecake. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the NEED to have cheesecake RIGHT THAT INSTANT. It wasn't like I was sitting there and thought "hmmm. . cheesecake sure would be nice". No. This was "I. MUST. HAVE. CHEESECAKE. NOW!!"

This is where the hostage negotiation began. I walked out to the kitchen where my husband was eating cheesecake straight out of the tupperware container. I batted my eyes as softly as I could, gave him my best "come hither" look, and in my sexiest voice said "Hey Baby - I sure would like just one bite of that cheesecake. . . . " He proceeded to dutifully remind me that I had just sworn off sugar again not even 2 hours prior, and swore that he was doing me a favor by not giving me a bite. But in my cheescake craving frantic mind, I could not see reason.

All I could think about was a bite of that cheescake. So I changed the angle of my argument. I told him that my friend that had made the cheesecake would be insulted if she found out that I went off my diet for a few minutes, and didn't eat any of her cheesecake (yeah, lame excuse, I know - but I was desperate!) Well, he didn't buy that either, and slowly began a countermanuever around the kitchen island and into the living room.

As I began to follow him, he picked up the pace - before long I was literally (yes. . . this is real - you have to see this mental picture) chasing my husband around in the circle that goes through our kitchen and living room. He was holding the cheesecake out in front of him at arm's legnth, running full speed ahead, pulling every evasive manuever he could think of - and I was nipping at his heels, fury in my eyes, screaming all kinds of obscenities and threats of what I would do to him if he didn't give me a friggin bite of cheesecake. Reason had left the building!!

After about 5 or 6 laps, I had a brilliant idea. I knew that he was covetting the mashed potatoes and stuffing that he'd been sent home with, so I decided that I would take it hostage. Oh Yes I Did. On about my 7th trip through the kitchen, I ripped open the fridge door, pulled out "his precious" and strutted over to the sink with a sadistic grin on my face, ripped off the lid, and held it at a 90 degree angle to where it was just shy of dumping down the disposal. He froze opposite of me and we locked eyes. It was staredown time. He yelled "YOU WOULDN'T" and I shouted back "JUST WATCH ME!!!"

This exchange was followed by about a minute of staring each other down in silence. He was weighing his options and trying to decide if I would really dump his sacred Christmas food down the drain. I was trying to read him to see if my threat was working, and drooling over the cheescake that was still in his hands and just barely out of my reach. As he started to draw back, I tipped the container just a hair more and he yelled "Nonononononononono!!!!! Fine - You can HAVE your freaking Cheesecake! Just Don't Throw That Food Down The Drain!!" I slowly walked around the island and made a grab for the cheesecake, but he pulled it back at the last minute and made a grab for the mashed potatoes and stuffing that I was still holding hostage. Fast Forward a moment or two and we were chasing each other around in circles again (You just can't make this stuff up kids!) Right about now, the dogs come out of the bedroom and start chasing us around as we're chasing each other. So I'm screaming threats and profanities, the dogs are barking frantically and nipping at our heels, and my poor husband is simply running for his life and wondering how he ever got himself into this situation and how he can save his food.

In the long run, I was able to catch my hubby (Thank you CrossFit!!), and rip the cheesecake from his hands, simultaneously shoveling it into my mouth with my bare hands. He made the split second decision to save his mashed potatoes and stuffing, and give up on the cheescake. . .

We ended up the night on the floor rolling in laughter reflecting on what had just happened. I mean really. In what household does the wife go ballistic over cheesecake and hold mashed potatoes and stuffing hostage over the garbage disposal? I'm almost willing to bet Vegas Odds that this is a first. And part of me wishes we'd had a hidden camera somewhere because we definitely would have won an episode of America's Funniest Videos!!

So I may very well be the only person on the planet that has gone batsh*t crazy when I had a massive sugar craving - but somehow I doubt it. While most sane people out there have probably never taken the pursuit of their object of desire in a moment of weakness to such great legnths, I'm willing to bet that many have at least contemplated it! Hopefully my honest disclosure will help others to realize that they're not the only ones that have moments of "craziness" when in the grips of a sugar craving.

As for my "Recovery" . . I woke up the next morning with the worst belly-ache of my life. I asked my husband why the hell he let me eat the cheescake - and then we both laughed some more. This unfortunate incident did wake up my sugar demons with a vengance and I'm having to be very mindful of everything that I eat right now. I'm craving sugar a lot, and just having to suck it up.

I've made the decision to start a "Whole100" on January 1st, so I am being a little more "relaxed" with my diet over the next several days, but I refuse to fall of the wagon completely as I have in the past. It's so easy to say "Well, I'm starting the Whole30 (or **insert diet name here**) in a week, so I have to eat this and that and this and that and this and that and this and that BEFORE I start so that I can get it out of my system". How do I know this? Because I've Been There. Done That. I refuse to do that again. I have to remember that I want to hold on to all of the progress I've made so far in my journey to becoming a healthier person, inside and out. And a week long binge would NOT do much to set me up for success! All of my main meals and snacks have been 100% Paleo, but I did allow myself a single serving of ice cream last night. This was different though. Ice Cream is the #1 Item on my "Healthy/F-Off" scale, and I had made the concious decision a long time ago that I would have one scoop before January 1st when I will dig in for the long haul.

Also, I started a Pictoral Food Log that I plan to update with EVERY SINGLE BITE that I put in my mouth during my "Whole100" Journey. I started it this week so that I could work out all of the technical difficulties before my journey begins, and also so that I can get in the habit of snapping pics of everything before I eat it. There's a link to my pictoral food log at the top of the navigation bar on the right side of your page. If you're ever curious about what I'm eating, check it out! I hope that my log will help to show others that being "Whole30" Compliant REALLY isn't as hard as some people make it. It's basically just meat, veggies, and healthy fats - with some fancy stuff thrown in there from time to time to keep it interesting. Hey - if I can do it, ANYONE can!

A Very Nice Christmas (& a touch of Naughty. . )

2010-12-26T12:13:00.006-06:00

Christmas in the Tracy Household was AWESOME :) As promised, I prepared a Paleo Christmas Feast, and actually found that I enjoyed every minute of it! Every single item on my Christmas Menu was 100% Paleo and 100% made from scratch - the only cans/bottle I opened were the Coconut Milk and the jar of Raw Honey . . . I drew the line at cracking coconuts and extracting honey from bumblebees!!

Anyway, to say that I was proud of myself would be a massive understatement . . . I'm sure that my facebook friends are all sick of seeing pictures of my Christmas Food - but this is the first time that I have ever in my life prepared such a feast from scratch, and I really was glowing with pride! You know how they say that people who have jobs where they work with their hands and actually produce things often have a high rate of job satisfaction because they get a real sense of accomplishment from creating tangible things . . .well I can totally see that now! The sense of accomplishment while sitting down and devouring my Christmas Eve Dinner was one of the best natural "highs" I've felt in a very long time (Yes, even better than a PR on "Fran"!)

Here's a picture of the Proud Paleo Princess Herself (No Makeup, Still Sweating from working in a hot kitchen, but Glowing with Pride LOL):

My Final Christmas Menu included a Pastured Turkey (brined for 24 hours), Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad, Southern Style Farmer's Market Green Beans, Mashed Cauliflower, Whole30 Cranberry Sauce, Cranberry Apple Waldorf Salad, Sweet Potato Casserole (Ah-MA-Zing!!), Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon Icing, and a Paleo Pumpkin Pie.

I also cooked a Ham for my hubby, and I saved the Ham Bone to use in my Green Beans before I glazed it (okay - to be honest - before HE glazed it . . . LOL - I couldn't bring myself to dump a sugary glaze all over that beautiful ham!)

So it looks good, right? But the real question is how did it TASTE!?! - I can honestly say that my taste buds have never been so thrilled. I couldn't have been happier with the way each one of the dishes turned out. My husband liked the Turkey, Broccoli Salad, and Green Beans. He wouldn't try the Sweet Potato Cassarole or the Waldorf Salad because he said that it just wasn't "right" to make these dishes w/o Marshmallows. As for the Mashed Cauliflower, well, he wasn't a fan - but that's okay - I thought it was awesome :) I guess if you're used to creamy mashed potatoes with gravy though the Mashed Cauliflower must have tasted a little "sad" - haha!

I prepared this meal on Christmas Eve Morning, and we our main Feast early afternoon on Christmas Eve . . and then I ate leftovers for dinner, and Breakfast and Lunch on Christmas day. We went to a friends house for Christmas Dinner, and I took some of my Waldorf Salad and Pumpkin cupcakes to share :)

My Entire Christmas Eve, and up until about 8pm on Christmas Day, I stayed 100% Paleo Compliant with no issues whatsoever. I HONESTLY didn't even want a bite of Mashed Potatoes or Gravy or Stuffing or anything else that would traditionally mark "Christmas Dinner". . . . . . that is until they broke out the desserts on Christmas Evening. . .

And then there was Naughty. . . .

But more on that in the next post - to be titled "The Hostage Negotiation of Christmas 2010"

For now, I'll leave you w/ a Pic of my sweet Buster on Christmas Evening - He wore himself out playing w/ the toy that Santa brought him!

New "Toys"!!

2010-12-19T16:02:00.003-06:00

Christmas came EARLY in my house this week!!

I am so excited!! I ordered an Organic Pastured Turkey, a package of GF Steaks, 3 lbs of Pastureland Organic GF Butter, some "Gold Label" Virgin Coconut Oil, and some Coconut Cream Concentrate last week, and it arrived on Friday - what a perfect start to the weekend! I've got BIG Plans for my turkey for Christmas Dinner :) And I'm going to try to make my own coconut milk using the Coconut Cream Concentrate - If it turns out well, I'll post instructions and notes.

I also finally caved and bought a Pressure Cooker this week - I've been contemplating making this purchase for a few months now, but my hubby was concerned about the safety issue. I looked into them and found that they've come a long way and now have a ton of safety features built in, so I made the purchase - and I'm SO EXCITED to play w/ my new toy! I'm going to use the heck out of it when preparing my Christmas Feast this year! I'll post back about my success, failures, and lessons learned while experimenting.

Another Fun Moment of the week was planning out my Paleo Christmas Feast, and doing all of the grocery shopping in preparation. I hit the Farmer's Market early this weekend, so I actually got there before they were picked over and MADE OUT w/ all kinds of leafy greens and root veggies: Beatiful Swiss Chard, Sweet Spinach, Sweet White Turnips, Red Rocket Radishes, Multi-colored Sweet Carrots, Onions, Apples, Kale, Peppers, and some squash. Lots of inspiration for this week's dinners. I've currently got a Garlic Beef Stew cooking in my Crock-Pot that I dumped a ton of these veggies into - I can't wait to see how it turns out - it smells AH-MAZING right now!

Speaking of my "Christmas Feast", here's what I've got on the menu:

Roasted Pastured Turkey - Brined in home-made Brine of Sea Salt, Cranberries, Apples, Orange Peel, Juniper Berries, Black Pepper, Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage.
Cranberry Sauce
Paleo Sweet Potato Cassarole (my own recipe - I've combined different parts of a bunch of different recipes that I've found online - if it turns out good, I'll post it after the holiday!)
Southern-Style Farmers Market Green Beans - Slow Cooked w/ Hamhock & Sweet Onions (Another of my own recipes)
Mashed Cauliflower - Will be making w/ Clarified (at home), Organic GF Butter
Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad
Cranberry Waldorf Salad
Pumpkin Pie

I'm really looking forward to preparing this feast and gloating as my hubby (who's been doing a bit of "griping" about Paleo-izing this year's Christmas Dinner) scarfs down every last bite!

And now for a quick update on my Whole30 Progress: So far, so good!! I'm not even quite sure what day I'm on right now - I'll have to look it up, but I think it's probably around day 20-ish. I'm past the "this is hard" part, and am cruising right along, enjoying every minute of it. Mid-week last week, I did go a bit "off the deep end" w/the Dried Mango and Dates, much to my tummy's dismay! I'll cover this "divergence" in another post though. One concession that I'm making - I plan to use a smidge of raw organic honey in the Pumpkin Pie that I'll be making for Christmas, and will also be using a bit of Clarified Organic GF Butter in my Mashed Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Cassarole - neither of these items are Whole30 approved, however I'm making the concious decision to consume these items in moderation on Christmas, thus ending my "strict Whole30" at a "Whole25". I will then jump right back on the Whole30 bandwagon on December 26th and start another 30 days. I'm making this decision for personal reasons, and I woudn't reccomend it to many others, but I know that I'm living a "Whole30 Life" and will be for as long as I'm graced w/ breath to breathe - so going slightly off the Whole30 bandwagon w/ some Clarified GF Butter and a smear of Organic Raw Honey is totally justifiable to me because I was never looking at this as a 30 day journey in the first place. Make Sense?

Recipe: Spicy Spanish Chicken

2010-12-17T15:15:00.002-06:00

It's been really cold here in South TX for the last week or so, and as a result I've found myself craving spicy food like crazy! For some reason, whenever the weather turns cold, I start craving dishes w/ HEAT!

I made this one last night, and was pretty impressed w/ the way it turned out, so I thought I'd share:

Spanish Chicken Skillet

Ingredients:
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp dried Thyme
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
Sea Salt to taste
1/8 Cup Coconut Flour
4 Medium Size Chicken Breast, tenderized
2 Tb Olive Oil
1 Green Pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 Red Pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 Sweet Onion, cut into wedges
1 (14.5 oz) Can Diced Tomatoes - Undrained (I like the Organic Fire Roasted kind)
1/2 cup Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

Instructions:

Combine Coconut Flour, Sea Salt, and all of the Spices except Red Pepper.
Use 2-3 Tb of this seasoned flour to coat both sides of chicken (I sprinkled it on, patted it a little, and rubbed it in).
Heat 1 Tb Olive Oil in a large skillet. Brown both sides of chicken (about 2 min per side).
Remove Chicken from Pan.
Add remaining oil, onions, and peppers to the skillet and cook until tender (about 5 minutes).
Stir in tomatoes, broth, remaining seasoned flour, and red pepper flakes
Return chicken to skillet, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.

I served mine over a bed of fresh spinach. The warm chicken and peppers wilted the spinach just enough, and it was really good! This would also be good over some Spanish "Cauli-Rice". . . . hmmmm . . I think I have inspiration for another recipe. . . to be continued :)

Whole30 Week 1 Summary

2010-12-07T11:15:00.003-06:00

GF Steak, Crispy Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Homemade Paleo Ketchup - YUM!

Yesterday marked the end of week 1, and so far things are going. . . okay.

I have to admit that I had some CRAZY cravings in the first week but I was able to ignore them and am still going strong. Reflecting back, I definitely ate a bit more fruit than I really should have in the first week, so I am going to be more mindful of my fruit intake this week. I didn't go hog-wild or anything but I can definitely think of 4 or 5 instances where I was craving the hell out of some sugar and reached for a piece of fruit to quiet the craving - not a good habit to get into if I want to put my Sugar Demons back to bed!

I have made some uber delicious meals this week though :)

Paleo Veggie stuffed Meatloaf with a Balsamic Glaze & Grilled Broccoli w/ Garlic Olive Oil
Nitrate/Sugar Free/Organic Chicken Sausage and Sweet Peppers and Onions over a bed of baby Spinach, topped w/ homemade guacamole
Grilled GF NY Strip with Crispy Roasted Brussel Sprouts & homemade Paleo Ketchup
Lots of salads for lunch chock full of colorful veggies, Avocados, HB Eggs, Pistachios with Wild Tuna or Sardines or Chicken
Delicious GF Beef Stew with Brussel Sprouts and lots of other veggies (was really good when I was sick!)
Curry Chicken and Cabbage
Breakfasts have been Poached Eggs over Broccoli Slaw w/ Avocados & Sometimes the addition of blueberries and walnuts (YUM!)

I bought a bag of bing cherries mid-week and those things were like candy! They were juicy and delicious but I don't think I'll be buying any more for a few weeks because I did tend to "crack out" on them a bit when I was craving sugar.

I also bought a few small tangerines and these were really juicy and delicious too, but I was able to "control myself" much better with these. I think I'll buy 4 this week and make them last.

Yesterday was my first day back to CrossFit after being out for vacation and then being sick as a dog for 2 weeks with the flu - I got my booty handed to me on a silver platter! I hurt EVERYWHERE today! But it's that "good hurt" that just reminds me that I'm doing something right :)

My energy levels are still way off and at this point I don't know whether to contribute it to the after-effects of the Flu, my Thyroid, or the adjustment back to Paleo. I really don't think it has so much to do w/ my adjustment back to Paleo because I only went "off-course" for about a week and a half. I've got to get back in to get my Thyroid levels measured again. The last time I had them checked right before vacation they were continuing in the wrong direction, and the doc told me that she'd have to put me on Thyroid meds if they continued that way, so I've been dragging my feet a little with the followup. . . .but I think it's time to get myself in there!

So to summarize - all in all it was an "okay" first week. I stuck to the plan 100%, and prepared lots of yummy foods, but fought my fair share of cravings and also was sick the first half of the week. I hope that next week goes a little more smoothly as a result of my returning to the gym, and no longer being sick.

I am a Food Evangalist!

2010-12-06T11:18:00.005-06:00

The Whole9 Crew recently rolled out a few new t-shirts that I absolutely love - my favorite being the "Food Evangalist" T-shirt pictured above.

When I saw this T-shirt, it actually caused me to spend a few minutes asking myself - Am I really a food evangalist? I am proud to say that I truly am, and will be able to wear my new t-shirt with pride!

You see, I'm one of those people that can be very charasmatic, and when I find something that changes my life, I just can't stop talking about it - I want to share with the world how GREAT this new "thing" is!! I somehow find ways to bring it up in almost every conversation, without even meaning too. . .and while I know this may be annoying to some, something about my enthusiasm usually (although not always) sparks interest rather than annoyance.

Two of the things that I've found myself talking about A LOT over the last few years are Paleolithic Eating and CrossFit. These to things have together changed me forever - both physically and emotionally. I have a very different approach to food (no longer emotionally attached) and I no longer work out simply to "look good" but instead in order to become stronger and more capable in my every day life. This shift in thinking has resulted in my being a much happier person in general.

Most of the time, I have no idea whether my ramblings ever end up actually making a difference, as often the people that I'm talking to are strangers or very casual aquaintances that I don't keep in contact with. Occasionally though, someone tells me that something I said really stuck with them and as a result they have been able to change their life for the better - and I can't even begin to tell you how great this makes me feel. I've found these amazing things that have improved my quality of life 10-fold and to know that someone else is experiencing the same quality of life improvement is absolutely awesome!

I'll just share one recent example: My husband and I take a vacation every year and have found a resort in Jamaica that we love, and have returned to for several years in a row. We just recently returned from our 2010 vacation to this resort. We were boarding the bus on our last day of vacation to head to the airport when I heard someone call my name - I turned around and a girl said to me - "Are you Christie from TX"? When I said yes she said "We were on the same bus to the airport last year, and you were telling me all about the Paleo Diet and the great changes it had made in your life - I just wanted to let you know that when I got home from vacation I looked it up and started it right away. I love it and can't believe how easy it has become. And I've lost 60 lbs over the past year by just following a Paleo Diet and becoming more active".

Now I have to admit that I felt REALLY bad because I didn't remember the girl's name (I am SO bad with names!), and only vaguely remembered the bus trip from the year before, but it felt great to know that something I said had caused her to go home and re-evaluate her diet and make positive changes that improved her life! Unfortunately, the bus driver was waving us on to the bus and I didn't have time to catch up or get any details or even exchange contact information with her but the fact that she recognized me and shared her amazing accomplishments with me really made my day :)

This experience also encourages me to continue to be a "Food Evangalist" - because if I share the "good food word" with even one person that uses it to change their life for the better, and then they share it with one person and so on, maybe, just maybe one day it will help to reverse the rising obesity and unhealthy lifestyle epidemic that this country is facing.

If you think this shirt is as cool as I do and can't live without it in your wardrobe, visit the Whole9's shirt store HERE where they have several cool shirt designs :)

Don't Worry. . .Be HAPPY!

2010-12-03T13:25:00.001-06:00

SMILE!

It really is that simple.

I'm a glass-half-full kind of girl, as anyone that knows me personally can confirm :)

I make a concious effort to go through life looking at the positive side of things. I can't control what happened in the past, so I try not to dwell on it. Don't get me wrong - I take into consideration past mistakes and learn what I can from them - but then I move on. The same goes for the future. If I policed every single move that I made because I was worried about it may affect my future, I'd be a stressed out mess! I make responsible adult decisions but I also do my best to live in the moment and enjoy the heck out of life while I can.

If you're having a particularly bad day, analyze the things that are bringing you down - see if you can find one potential positive outcome for each of those negative things. And then focus on bringing about the most positive that you can from the "bad" situations. You'd be amazed at how much smoother the ride through life is when you choose to look at it with rose-tinted glasses :)

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things." ~Albert Einstein

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” ~Unknown

“Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” ~Stacey Charter

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” ~Frederick Keonig

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” ~Hough Downs

I was going through some old pictures, and noticed that I really tend to have a perpetual smile. It takes a lot to bring me down - here's a brief slideshow of me from Newborn to present - and you'll see that I have a big fat Joker-like grin in 99% of the pictures - I used to hate that grin and think that it made me look goofy - but as I've "grown up" I've learned to appreciate it as something that makes me unique :)

(Oh, and hopefully you'll get a laugh from the many different crazy hairstyles and colors that I've tried over the years as well . . . HAHA!)

Excuses, Excuses!

2010-12-02T09:32:00.003-06:00

Today is Day 3 of my Whole30 and I've got to say that the first three days has NOT been easy. My brain has come up with all kinds of crazy excuses to eat "just one bite of this or that". I feel like I've been one huge craving monster for 3 days straight. . .I know it gets better, and this knowledge will help pull me through to the "smooth sailing" part. . . but I have to say this is BRUTAL!

For the record - I'm still sick as a dog. I've got the flu that just will NOT GO AWAY! I have never been this sick for this long before in my entire life (well, other than when I had mono in high school . . .). The tricky thing about this particular strain of the flu is that I'll start feeling better and see a light at the end of the tunnel. . . then I'll get up and start becoming a bit more active and BOOM it comes back with a vengance.

Anyway - yesterday I woke up with horrible, horrible nausea. I couldn't even fathom eating anything. I think that it was probably my body's reaction to the Tussionex that the Dr. prescribed to help w/ my cough/chest congestion. It has some Codein in it, and since I usually won't even take IbuProfin my body tends to react a little more strongly than typical to any kind of medication. . .

After I visited the porcelain god a few times all I wanted to do was eat a nice warm bowl of Cambell's chicken noodle soup and some saltine crackers. The thought of anything else sent me running for the bathroom again, but for some reason saltine crackers just sounded sooo good to me. I started rationalizing again and saying to myself "You're sick - you have to eat something and if saltine crackers are all you can keep down, then you should eat saltine crackers". . . but I managed to talk myself down from the ledge with some frozen grapes. Frozen grapes actually worked out really well b/c I could suck on them a little bit and then they were very soothing to my sore throat :)

I love my hubby, and he's only looking out for my best interest of course, but he has said several times "You should really wait until your not sick to go back on that diet". My reply every time has been "Honey - I'm not going back on any diet. I'm just choosing to only feed my body the whole, nutritious foods that it needs to heal itself. Saltine Crackers have absolutely no nutritious value and will not do anything to help me heal any faster." And of course he supports my decision, but I still see him shaking his head every now and then as I go on another coughing jag!

I think the fact that I haven't been able to work out in nearly 2 weeks is just compounding things - you know how when you work out, it kindof makes you WANT to eat healthy because you don't want to undo all of the hard work in the gym with a Snickers Bar? Well, absent that post-workout healthy eating urge, my cravings seem to be a bit worse.

Okay, I'm done throwing my little pity party now! The good news is that I am on Day 3 and going strong. I have made up my mind that nothing is going to "throw me off the wagon", and hey, I can't stay sick forever right?!?!? The end to this funk is just around the corner, and I can only imagine how good feeling "healthy" will feel after having been in the sicko trenches for 2 weeks :)

I'll leave you with this little cartoon, which I found particularly funny given the time of year, and my current health

Okay - Vacation's Over!

2010-11-28T18:42:00.008-06:00

<<-- "BUSTED!"

I know I've been MIA again for a bit, but it's been for good reason this time :)

My husband and I recently celebrated our 10 year anniversary a few months early with a vacation to Jamaica. I didn't post anything about it ahead of time because I try to be "smart" about the kinds of personal info that I put out there for the world to see. . .:)

Anyway, we spent an amazing 10 days in Jamaica from November 13th through the 21st. We stayed at an all inclusive resort, and I made the concious decision ahead of time that I would try to make the majority of my meals Paleo Compliant, but would allow myself a few desserts and sugary frozen drinks. I also decided that I would workout most of the days of vacation because I actually ENJOY working out, and it's not a "chore".:)

Vacation was AWESOME, and I did stick to my plan for the most part. Most of my meals were made up of only lean meats, fresh veggies, and delicious fresh fruits. I wasn't as careful about sauces and seasonings as I would typically be at home, but I did avoid any sauces/seasonings that were obviously cream or milk based or overly processed. Most everything on all of the menus was comprised of WHOLE FOODS and it was very yummy. I never had a problem asking for veggies to be subbed for starchy carb sides.:)

Where I went off-track a little bit was on the desserts. . . . yikes. I had slayed my sugar demons back in August but I woke them up with a VENGENCE on vacation! I found myself eating desserts (albeit small ones) after almost every lunch and dinner. . . so while the actual MEAL was Whole and Natural. . . the desserts were most definitely not!:)

As I said earlier, I had already planned on eating a few desserts, so I didn't beat myself up over this stuff (even though I ate considerably more desserts thant I had planned). I truly believe that you have to live your life to the fullest. I made a very personal decision to stray from my typical eating habits while on vacation, and I did this guilt-free. . . although I do have to say that my digestive track gave me a hard time over it! I had planned to do another Whole30 round starting the day that we returned from vacation in order to put a stop to the sugar cravings that I would have undoutedly re-awakened, and get myself back on the right track. (More on this in a moment!):)

As for drinks, I did drink a ton of water, but also drank my fair share of drinks with various liquors and fruit juices. . . I’ll leave it at that.:)

As for working out – I did work out the first 5 mornings of our trip and it was AWESOME! Burpees on the beach in Jamaica suck just as much as burpees in the back yard – but the scenery was a heck of a lot better! By the end of the vacation though, I found myself staying up later, drinking a bit more at night, and failing to drag my lazy butt out of bed . . .I didn’t officially “work out” the last 3 days, however I did play 3-5 agressive games of beach volleyball daily, so that’s got to count for something! :):)

The day before we left my hubby and I started feeling a little bit icky, and by the time we got home we had come down with a full fledged case of the flu. And this is the Flu that would just not die! We were sick as dogs from the 22nd through the 27th. . . we’re both just starting to feel human again today.

As I mentioned earlier, I had planned on going back to strict Paleo the day we returned home, but the Flu threw a wrench in my plans. I’m guilty of “justifying” an extra week of junk eating with “rational thoughts”. Looking back it was stupid and I probably would have recovered more quickly on a diet of whole, natural foods . . . but my “justification” was that I felt like crap and was running a 102 degree fever and couldn’t even contemplate drumming up the energy to go grocery shopping and prepping a bunch of food. So I picked up a ton of soup, a turkey, and **gulp** some ice cream (for our sore throats . . .some justification, huh?) Not exactly “Whole” foods. . .

So here I sit after 10 days in Jamaica of splurging, and then another 7 days at home eating “sick” foods that were most definitely not Paleo. . . and I feel nasty inside. And not from the flu!

Of course the fact that I’ve been entirely too sick to work out for the last week doesn’t help matters either!

But it’s time to put down my foot and say enough is enough!

I’m starting another Whole30 on Monday Morning (yes, tomorrow!) – and can’t wait! I am aware that this will take me through Christmas, but I’m A-Okay with that :) I’m actually looking forward to preparing a Whole30 compliant Christmas dinner to show my hubby that it CAN be done!

If anyone wants to start on Monday with me, let me know, and we can help keep each other accountable ;)

Oh, and here's proof of those burpees on the beach:

Why?

2010-10-29T18:16:00.003-05:00

Why Do I Live the Paleo Lifestyle?

I remember when I did my first round of the Whole30 Program in July, I had a TON of people ask me why in the world I would "put myself through that".

When I say a TON of people, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Family, Friends, CoWorkers, Waitresses in Reastaraunts. . . . . No one could understand my motivation.

I tried explaining myself, but most people just shook their heads and said "Well you're crazy, but good luck!" (By the way - when I get called "crazy" from time to time - I take it as a compliment. . . it means I'm different - and I want to be different! Who wants to a carbon copy of everyone else?!?)

At the time, I had a ton of reasons for wanting to "Put myself through it" ranging from health issues to vanity reasons. After about two months of strict Whole30 Compliance, I sat myself back down and re-evaluated the reasons that I have chosen this way of eating. I am one of those people that won't do something unless I understand WHY it is that I'm doing it. In other words, I have to understand the Why? behind the How? before I can fully commit to a decision.

So what are my personal reasons for choosing to stay Paleo?

#1: Prevention of Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disease runs rampid in my family. It would be easier to list the autoimmune diseases that DON'T run in my family than to try to list the ones that DO. But a short list of the biggies include: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), Interstitial Cystitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Autonomic Neuropathy, Ulcerative Colitis, and Thyroid Disease. Additionally, adult onset Diabetes and Osteoporosis are also prevalent in my immediate family.

I love my family dearly and I hate to see them suffer with the pain that these diseases cause. I would do anything that I could to make it go away for them. Unfortunately, I don't have the power to take their diseases away, but I am going to do everything in my power to prevent the onset of these diseases in my future.

The elimination of Grains, Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nightshades, Legumes, and Artificial Sweetners has been linked to the remission of many auto-immune diseases, and there are a ton of studies out there that suggest that adhering to a diet free of these inflammatory foods can prevent the onset of autoimmune diseases in people that are pre-disposed to them. THIS is the BIGGEST reason that I have chosen to follow the Paleo Diet for life! My health and quality of life is worth a little "inconvenience" when it comes to finding and preparing approved foods!

Here's a few links to interesting articles and testimonials regarding The Paleo Diet and AutoImmune Disorders: http://www.thepaleodiet.com/autoimmune.html

http://thepaleodiet.blogspot.com/2010/03/paleo-diet-and-crohns-disease.html (General)

http://paleozonenutrition.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/remission-of-auto-immune-disease-lupus-with-paleo-diet/ (Lupus)

http://paleozonenutrition.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/hashimotos-auto-immune-thyroid-disease-avoid-gluten-like-the-plague/ (Thyroid Disease)

http://paleozonenutrition.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/my-mums-lupus-small-airways-disease-improve-on-paleo-diet/ (Lupus)

http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/9-simple-steps (Addresses Inflammation associated w/ Autoimmune Disease)

http://robbwolf.com/2009/03/19/paleo-vs-osteoporosis/ (Osteoporosis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhkmDHLCUEs&watch_response (MS)

#2 - I Feel Better!

My personal experience has shown me that I feel like a million bucks when I adhere to a strict Paleo Diet. I have all kind of digestive problems that all but dissapear when I'm "strict". My mood in general is better, I have more energy, I sleep better. . .I just plain feel better. MUCH better. So much so that I can't imagine ever going back to feeling like I did before!

I honestly didn't think that I was "sick" or that I didn't feel good before. But in comparison to how I feel now, I realize that I was tired, sluggish, and drained most of the time. When you've felt like this for a really, really long time, it just becomes "normal" to you, and you forget what really and truly feeling GOOD feels like!

#3 - I'm Vain!

Yep - you heard that right - I'm admitting it. I'm Vain. I look and peform SO MUCH better when my diet is dialed in. . . . and I like that! And you know what? I like it when people notice it too! I love the feeling of squeezing into a pair of jeans that I couldn't get my big toe into 3 months ago. And I don't ever want to experience the feeling of having those jeans get too tight again! I like going to the beach and not worrying about taking off my shorts and exposing my cellulite! I love setting PR's in the gym and watching my strength increase. I love watching the little "turkey neck" that I had under my chin dissapear (no more gobble gobble!!), and watching my abs show up a little more each week. Lastly, I love that for the first time since I was a teenager, I'm 95% acne free.

Well, those are my PERSONAL responses to all of the "Why's". These reasons may or may not motivate you to try or stick with a Paleolithic Diet. I have found that it's not worth doing unless I want to do it and have good, solid reasons to fall back on when I have a moment of weakness and really want a DQ blizzard. . . :)

So if you're considering trying a round of the Whole30, or you're finishing it up and trying to decide if you're going to make this new way of eating a way of life - do yourself a favor and do a little self-reflection. Determine what YOUR reasons are for wanting to eat this way - write them down - and pull them out to remind yourself from time to time.

Paleo-ized Chicken Tikka Masala

2010-10-19T12:15:00.003-05:00

Chicken Tikka Masala (Paleo-ized Version)

I stumbled across this creation in my kitchen earlier this week, and it turned out REALLY great, so I thought I'd share!

Ingredients:

2 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tb Coconut Oil

1.5 lbs Organic Free Range Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size cubes

1 Sweet Onion

2 Tb freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 (14.5 oz) can Organic Diced Tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup Coconut Milk (FULL FAT!)

1/2 Tb Arrowroot powder

Sea Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, onion, and liemon juice; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink (about 10 minutes). Add all of the spices except red pepper and cook/stir 1 minutes

Stir in tomatoes and mix well. In a small bowl, stir together coconut milk, arrowroot powder, and salt until smooth. Gradually stir coconut milk mixture into skillet. Stir in Red Pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently.

This dish was slightly ethnic and spicy and just what I was craving on a crisp fall evening. . . I served mine with "Curry Fried F'rice" - an amazing cauliflower recipe by Melissa Joulwan.

Oh, and no - the serving size on the plate did not even cut it. . . I ended up going back for another generous serving of the "Fried F'rice" to sop up more of the yummy Tikka Massala sauce with!

Two Weekends of Fun!

2010-10-18T15:03:00.006-05:00

The last two weekends have been full of athletic adventures - and SO much fun!

Saturday, October 9th a bunch of friends and I traveled to Houston to compete in the Oktoberfest Obliteration II CrossFit Competition - What a Blast!

Sunday, October 17th, several of us ran in the Harbor Half Marathon right here in Portland - which ended up being a lot of fun as well!

I've summarized my experiences at both events below:

Oktoberfest Obliteration II

This was CrossFit Competition at it's absolute best. The organizers of this event (CrossFit Champions) did an amazing job of putting it all together. The programming and organization of the entire event couldn't possibly have been any more perfect.

I competed in the Standard Women's Division - I won't spell out all of the details of the WODs (you can check out the link for that), but I have to say that when they were announced, I was THRILLED to find that there were no gymnastics movements! After my initial elation though, I started looking at them a little more closely, and realized that there were HEAVY squat cleans in one of the WODS - I love Oly Lifting - so I had been initially thrilled to see Squat Cleans. . . . but then I realized that they were set at 125 lbs and my current 1RM Front Squat is 130! Ruh Roh.

The good news (for me anyway) was that the heavy Squat Cleans were in the first WOD of the day, so I was able to get that one over with, and then stop worrying about it!

I did the best that I could - there was a little strategy involved with this WOD - I knocked out all of the other required movements (KB Swings and Runs) first before starting my Cleans. I started my Cleans with about 5 minutes remaining . . and tried. . . . and tried. . . . and tried some more to squat clean that weight! After a few failed attempts, I decided to Power Clean it, and then Front Squat it (also acceptable). I power cleaned it without too much trouble several times, but kept failing at the bottom of my Front Squat. When the whistle blew to signal that the allotted time was up, I hadn't completed a single full Squat Clean. And you know what? I was totally okay with it!

Was I frustrated that I had DNF'd a WOD at competition? Sure.

A little embarrassed that I hadn't gotten a single rep of the Cleans? Yep.

But did I walk away knowing that I had given everything that I possibly could have of myself during the WOD? Yes I did - and THAT is why I was A-OKAY with the DNF - there was not a single thing that I could have done differently to change the outcome - and I know with all of my heart that I left it all "on the court". . . so I had no problem walking off the blacktop with my head held high and mentally preparing myeslf for the remaining WODS of the day.

Lesson Learned: I need to continue to focus on building strength, and never, ever, ever skip a squat day! :)

The rest of the day went great - I saw some absolutely amazing performances by good friends and strangers alike and left at the end off the day feeling inspired by those performances. And also motivated to continue to work hard on my own performance!

That's the thing that I love about attending CrossFit Competitions - no matter what level I am at, I will always find inspiration in those competing around and with me. It's just so amazing to watch someone push themselves to their limit, and then keep on pushing. And the look of satisfaction on a person's face when they've finished a WOD and know beyond a doubt that they gave it their all and dug deeper than they realized that they could - that is more inspirational, uplifting, and motivational than words can describe.

Harbor Half Marathon

I found out the weekend of Oktoberfest Obliteration that a fellow CrossFitter and friend of mine was running the Harbor Half Relay marathon the following weekeend, but needed a Relay Race Partner. Let me state for the record here, that I am NOT A RUNNER!! . . however this race did sound like a lot of fun, so I told her that if she was unable to find another partner (who actually WAS a runner!), then I'd run it with her.

I'll be dead honest here - I was initially dreading it and praying that someone else would want to run it . . . but then a few days before the race when I realized that it was probably going to be me, I started to look forward to the challenge of it! I hadn't run more than 3 miles in a single session in at least 2 years (and probably double that). . . so the thought of running 6.5 miles was both terrifying and tempting at the same time. In the end, I decided to use this opportunity to prove to myself that I was capable of more than I thought I was - and that I really could push past the 3 mile mark if I put mind over matter. I didn't want to let my friend down, and I figured if nothing else, that thought would be enough to keep me moving forward.

I have several friends that are runners - and any of you reading this are probably laughing. I realize that 6.5 miles to "a runner" is nothing. It would probably be the equivalent of me squatting 90 lbs . . it takes a little effort, but it's not really "hard". To a "non-runner" though, 6.5 miles is very intimidating! Especially when you throw trekking up the Harbor Bridge into the mix!

Sunday morning 5am rolled around, and I found myself waking up to my alarm actually excited (Suprise!)

My Relay Partner and I met before the race and psyched each other up, and then it was "off to the races" . . . literally!

I ran the second leg . When she passed off to me, I just started at a nice easy pace, and did my best to maintain it. I think this must have been the trick. Before I realized it, I was coming up on the bridge and realized that I'd already covered about 4.5 out of my 6.5 miles! I guess that's when the runner's high kicked in because I just zoned back out and before I realized it was crossing the finish line . . and thinking to myself "Wow - I can't believe I just did that!"

I'll be honest - I don't think either of us gave a second thought as to our placement at the start of the race - My goal was just to run the full 6.5 without slowing to a walk. One foot in front of the other at least at a jog, and I'd be happy. Turns out that we finished in 15th place out the 100 Female Only teams that ran! I was so proud of us! And happy to have a friend that was willing to push me outside of my comfort zone :)

Lesson Learned: Sometimes, just convincing myself that I'm capable of something is enough to make it true! I think that if we could just get our heads out of the way half of the time, we'd be capable of a lot more than we give ourselves credit for!

Oh, and I still don't consider myself "A Runner", but I did have a heck of a good time, mostly due to great company and re-connecting with several friends that I hadn't seen in too long. And who knows? Maybe after my stregnth building cycle is over with, I'll start running just a little more often. . it was suprisingly relaxing to zone out to my I-pod and let my legs just go.

Update on my Paleo Progress

2010-10-11T14:44:00.003-05:00

I know I've been neglecting my blog again, so it's time for another update -

I've stayed strict Paleo with very few exceptions since the end of July when I began my Whole30 journey. I found that this kind of nutrition just "works" perfectly for me, and I don't want to mess with a good thing! The only exceptions that I have made:

I have made an absolutely "to-die-for" marinara sauce from scratch and used a little bit of red wine in the recipe. I wanted to see if I felt any ill-effects from it, and fortunately I did not - and the sauce was AMAZING!! I served it over some calamari, steamed shrimp, broccoli, and kelp noodles. . YUM! So I'm going to allow myself to use a little wine for cooking from time to time going forward. This isn't going to be a daily thing, but more like a "once=or-twice-a-month" kind of thing. Of course this wouldn't be condoned during a Whole 30 stint, but I'm in "maintenance mode" at this point :)

A week or so after cooking with red wine, I decided to have one glass with dinner. I nice medium-rare grass fed steak paired perectly with a glass of Merlot. I had only one glass, and had no desire to go back for a second or third glass - it just served as a great complement to an awesome dinner. Again, I felt no ill-effects that evening or the next day, so I have decided to allow myself the occasional glass of red wine with dinner - but again, this will not be a regular thing - only once every month or so as a special treat.
I competed in Oktoberfest Obliteration II at CrossFit Champions this last weekend. I had been perectly strict with no cheats whatsoever other then the wine mentioned above up to this point, so I decided a few weeks ago that I would treat myself to a frozen yogurt after the competition. They have an awesome Frozen Yogurt chain called "FreshBerry" in Houston, and a girlfriend and I swung in after a grueling day of competition. I ordered a regular size yogurt w/ shredded unsweetened coconut as a topping. . . and it was just what the Dr. ordered! My tummy was admittedly a little upset for the rest of the evening - no doubt due to the re-introduction of dairy. As a result I do not plan to indulge in frozen yogurt on a regular basis - maybe just once or twice a year as a special treat. . .

Lastly - over the weekend, my hubby baked some sugar cookies. . . they smelled SO GOOD and I managed to resist them all weekend long. . but had a moment of weakness this morning and decided I would have just one. . . Oh My Goodness. . . NEVER AGAIN!!! Gluten is definitely something that I do not have any desire to re-introduce into my diet, even as an occasional treat. My stomach has been screaming at me ALL DAY LONG - I've literally been doubled over in agony several times. Lesson Learned though! And the good news is that I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to eat any more of those darn things, and now fully remember why I cut that stuff out of my diet in the first place!

So since I did a "Whole60" from July 29th - September 29th, with the exception of the Edamame slip-up around day 28. After 60 days of 100% compliance, I've "tested the waters" just a few times (listed above) to see what does and does not affect me negatively. I've found that I can cook with wine occasionally, or have a glass with dinner from time to time but don't plan to make a habit of it - I'll only splurge here occasionally as a special treat byt outside of this I plan to pretty much stick to Whole30 principles for my day-to-day life.

So how has the last 75-ish days of Paleolithic nutrition affected me?

Mentally, I feel clearer and more "in tune" than I have in ages. I'm leaner than I've been in a long time, and my performance has finally started to come back up in the gym. I did have the complicating factor of some thyroid issues that I'm still working to resolve, and this has affected my energy levels, stamina, and recovery ability however I feel like all of these would be even worse than they are if I hadn't jumped back on the "Paleo Wagon" when I did.

I plan to continue to work to build my strength by focusing on the Strength Programming that Coach Wilkes has provided and limiting my MetCon. Once I have built up some more strength, I'll gradually add a little more MetCon back in to my routine.

Patience is a Virtue. . .

2010-09-25T09:51:00.003-05:00

For someone with my personality, patience is one of the things I struggle with the most. Not patience with others, but more patience when waiting for things to happen or in this case, waiting for injuries to heal. I want to get back in the game ASAP even though logic is telling me that I need to take it easy for a few days. . .

On Tuesday I was doing a WOD that involved a lot of Hang Power Snatches at 65 lbs. To me, this weight felt heavy, but definitely not unmanagable. Unfortunately though, as fatigue set in I started to let my form slip and as a result I tweaked a muscle in my back on one of the very last reps. Throughout the rest of the day my back got tighter and tigher as it continued to spasm every time I'd move a certain way, so I decided to give it a few days off. I've been keeping ice on it taking anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling. It's feeling much better, but not quite 100% just yet.

The "smart/logical" side of my brain is telling me that I need to just chill out for a few more days and let it heal completely before resuming my training. I know that if I go back too soon I will prolong the healing time and it could turn into a nagging injury that holds me back for months. Unfortunately, the "other" side of my brain is less logical and feels like I'm losing ground every single day that I don't train!

Fortunately my wonderful husband is my voice of reason, and every time I say "well maybe I'll just do something light" he threatens to chain me to the furniture and reminds me that I will make a lot more progress if I wait just another few days and go back at it when I'm 100%.

So good luck to all the CrossFitters out there doing Fight Gone Bad today! I'll be cheering you on from my couch . . . patiently!

Where Does All of the TIME Go??

2010-09-22T15:19:00.010-05:00

I recently received the following question through email, and thought that I’d answer it in a blog post because I think it involves a topic that a lot of people (myself included) struggle with!

Hi Christie, I have read your blog and what you blogged on Whole9. My goal is to get in shape before I turn 30 - the only thing I seem to be having a problem with is Time. I am currently in Chiropractic College and it takes up all of my time. Do you have any advice?

Unfortunately, I know that much of the all of us end up feeling that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. We all have different things that require our time (spouses and children, work, school, workouts, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, household chores, etc). . . it can be a bit intimidating to consider adding anything to our already full plates! Then we read Robb’s great new book “The Paleo Solution”, and realize that we’re “cock-blocking our fat loss efforts” (his words!) if we’re not getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night . . . REALLY Robb??? But I’m different, right? I’m fine on 6 hours, right? Apparently . . . well . . . .NO!!! I’m not. And neither are you.

So what do we do?

Do we give up on trying to eat right and hit up Mickey D’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (hey, it’s quick, cheap, and easy, right??)

Or do we take the time to cook nice healthy meals at the expense of letting our workout time slide into never-never land?

Or do we ignore our schoolwork and procrastinate constantly, stressing ourselves out of our minds at the last minute to finish assignments with all-nighters because we HAVE to fit in our workout and meal preparation at all costs?

Or maybe we call our bosses and tell them that we’ll be working 5 hour days from now on because time spent in the office has fallen below time spent in the gym and in the kitchen and catching our Zzz’s on our own personal prioritization scales.

Seriously – these are some of the options that have run through my mind, even if only in a sarcastically joking self-speak kind of way. I mean, what in the heck ARE we supposed to do when we run out of hours in the day? Where do we draw the line, and how are we expected to set priorities when EVERYTHING is a non-negotiable priority?

Here are a few things that I’ve done in the past that resulted in an epic FAIL:

I’ve prioritized my health (workouts and meal prep) over my schoolwork. I procrastinated to epic lengths only to find myself pulling all-nighters out of my butt in order to meet my deadlines. The result? Cortisol levels THROUGH THE ROOF due to lack of sleep, and the extreme amount of pressure resulting from the rapidly approaching deadline. I ended up turning in a poor quality paper with weak references because let’s face it – no one does their BEST work when they’re sleep deprived and stressed to the max. Then after turning the paper in, it took me at least a week to get my sleep schedule straightened back out. . .not fun at all. I was a big hot mess.

I’ve sacrificed “healthy eating” in order to make some extra time in my day. When I didn’t have to plan or prepare meals or go grocery shopping, it freed up an average of 1-2 hours a day and more on the weekends. For about 3 months, my diet consisted of primarily fast food. Really. It started innocently enough with a Subway salad . . . then I graduated to daily Subway Subs. Then I started adding the obligatory Cookie. Before I knew it, I was eating Big Macs, Bean Burritos and DQ Blizzards for Lunch and Dinner, and skipping breakfast most days. They’re not kidding when they say that fast food is addictive. I justified this in my mind by working out harder. I was religious about my workouts and for a little while I maintained my weight. The first thing that I noticed was that my workout performance and strength started to decrease. . then the jeans got tight. . then I couldn’t button the jeans. . . that was the last straw for me. Whole30 to the rescue and by the grace of God I was able to turn it around. But not without a lot of work and willpower!

I’ve sacrificed sleep so that I can fit in everything else. M – F I’d get up at 4:45am for my MetCon at the gym. Then off to work. I’d squeeze my Oly Lifting in on my lunch break, and then head back to the gym to help coach classes in the evenings. I’d walk in the door at 7pm, and cook dinner. I’d end up eating around 8pm which made going to bed before 10 or 11pm an absolute impossibility. After a few months of this the sleep deprivation really started to catch up to me.

Through trial and error, I’ve found that the only thing that really works for me is prioritization, pre-planning, and refusing to over-commit myself. I have found that when I’m able to “control” the Workout and Eating Right parts of my life, everything else kind of falls into place. When I start to lose control of my “routine and schedule” surrounding workouts and meal prep, everything else spins hopelessly out of control as well. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems to happen like this Every Single Time.

So here’s some time-management steps that I have found helped me when trying to squeeze everything in. I know that these won’t apply to everyone, but hopefully they help at least one or two people de-stress their lives just a little! Life is too short not to enjoy every minute of it!

Put ME first, and don’t over-commit – I know this sounds selfish, but it’s got to be done if I want to maintain my sanity. I had to look at my life, evaluate which of my responsibilities/commitments I absolutely had to do, and which ones I could cut out or scale back without the world coming to an end.
Consider cutting back on your workouts – you may just be overtraining! If you’re always feeling tired and run-down and begin to get the point that you’re not looking forward to every single workout, it may be a good idea to cut a day or two out and see how your body reacts. This will free up more of your valuable time for other stuff too!

Plan Ahead – Schedule/Plan your meals and time commitments a week in advance. I sit down every Sunday Morning and figure out what I’m cooking for lunch/dinner for the entire next week (breakfasts are usually left-overs). Then, I make a grocery list from my meal plan and walk through the house to make sure I add any other things like toiletries, cleaning supplies, and dog food to the list. There is nothing that is a bigger waste of time than making multiple trips to the grocery store in a single week because you forgot “one thing” that you must have. After I’ve planned my meals and made the grocery list, I pencil out a daily schedule for the week. I write in MetCon times, Oly Lifting times, Meal Prep Times, Work hours, Coaching Hours, SLEEP HOURS, Famiy time, grocery shopping time, and any additional commitments that I have that particular week. Some weeks I have more commitments than others, and I can see from the start that I won’t be able to fit in everything. So I cut out a workout or two or maybe reduce family time by an hour one day in order to make everything fit in. By planning out my schedule at the start of the week, I don’t feel stressed mid-week when I’m trying to cram everything in and just run out of hours in a day. Missing a workout every now and then (and scheduling it that way!) is not going to be as detrimental to my health as running myself into the ground.
Take advantage of left-overs! I cook for 2, however most meals that I make, I scale up to serve at least 4. This way I can use leftovers for breakfasts and lunches and often only end up having to physically prepare one meal per day.
Make the Crock-Pot your best friend! CrockPot cooking is healthy because it slowly cooks the meat and the meat is not exposed to much air during cooking. This reduces the oxidation and the amount of free-radicals created by cooking meat! Not only is it healthy, but it’s such a big time saver. . . and most crock-pot meals are big enough to feed my husband and I at least twice! There are a million recipes out there on the internet, so just plug in a Google search for “Paleo Crock-Pot Recipe” and let the internet work it’s magic! Since I’m talking about time-saving tips – they make these things called “crock-pot liners”. They are made by Reynolds, I think. They’re great, and significantly reduce the cleanup time!
Dedicate a block of 2-3 hours at least once a week for “Food Prep”. My block of time is usually on Sunday night. During this time period, I make the following:

• PWO Sweet Potato/Egg White Puffs
• Spinach “Muffins”
• Big Vat of Guacamole
• Hard Boiled Omega-3 Eggs
• I bake a pan of chicken tenders with whatever spices I’m “feeling” at the moment
• I cook one lb of GrassFed Ground Beef
• I Dice/Chop lots of veggies for use in meals during the week: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Celery, Jicama

The preparation of these items sets me up for the week with:

• My PWO Meals (Sweet Potato Egg Puffs)
• a handy veggie snack that I can just grab and go with or add to a breakfast/lunch/dinner that’s a little low on the green stuff (Spinach Muffins)
• Guacamole which I use as a snack (dip carrots or Jicama in it), and on my eggs in the morning, and on salads at lunch, and sometimes I’ll even slather some on a chicken tender for an in-between-meal fix.
• Hard Boiled Eggs (O3 Variety) which are a great protein/fat source – I’ll add them to salads or just grab one with a chicken tender and a spinach muffin or 2 for a quick meal on the go,
• Chicken Tenders which are a great protein source that I can grab on the go or add to salads, or serve as lunch or dinner in a pinch w/ a bag of veggies steamed in the microwave.
• GF Ground Meat – I’ll mix this with some Guac and throw it on a salad (or eat it right out of the bowl), or I’ll sauté it for a quick moment with some broccoli slaw and a poached egg for a quick and easy breakfast.
Take advantage of Pre-Cut Veggies – I L-O-V-E Broccoli Slaw!! It’s just fresh shredded broccoli hearts, cabbage and carrots in a bag. This stuff is SUCH a timesaver. I use it all the time to add veggies to my breakfast (just throw it in a skillet for a moment and top w/ a poached egg or two and some avocado). It also makes a really quick skillet meal or dinner – in literally less than 10 minutes. Throw it in a skillet w/ a meat and seasoning of your choice – cook until the meat is done, and that’s it!

Well, that’s all the tips I have off the top of my head, but hopefully that helps! I’m not in school any more, but I do remember how stressful things were when I was trying to juggle my coursework along with a full time job, family time, and a healthy fitness/eating plan. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to do the best that you can, and not beat yourself up if you fall a little bit short every now and then. But seriously – preparation and planning is the key! A few hours on a Sunday prepping some basic stuff saves me HOURS of work and an unlimited amount of stress and lost sleep during the week.

Good Luck!

Portable PWO Paleo Egg & Sweet Potato Puffs (& Spinach "Muffins")

2010-09-20T09:03:00.004-05:00

Portable PWO Paleo Egg & Sweet Potato "Puffs"

Here's another "Christie Original Recipe" . . . try at your own risk! Just Kidding - this one's REALLY good! One of the only things that I have found myself "missing" since going 100% Paleo was the ease and portability of my PWO Shake. I have been making mashed sweet potatoes, and getting organic and low sodium sliced deli turkey, and taking a thick slice of turkey with about 2-3 oz of sweet potatoes as a PWO meal. (I would roll up the sweet potato in the piece of turkey and chow down!) This is pretty yummy, easy, and portable, but I wanted to get away from the processed deli meat. I liked the idea of egg whites and sweet potatoes, but wanted something a little more portable than scrambled whites. . .hence my creation!

These are soooo Good, Super Easy - a great combination for me!

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sweet Potato (around 14oz worked for me)
15 Egg Whites
Cinnamon
Sea Salt

Directions:

Peel and dice Sweeet Potato into fairly small cubes
Put SP in a skillet sprayed w/ a little Pam (I usually use olive oil or coconut oil to grease my pans, but want to keep my PWO meal as low in fat as possible, hence the Pam)
Sprinkle w/ Cinamon and Sea Salt to taste
Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring a few times (just long enough to soften the potatoes up a little - you don't want them "mushy")
Distribute SP Cubes evenly between 12 deep-ish muffin pan holes
Beat 15 egg whites together until they are a little frothy
Pour egg whites evenly over the SP cubes in the 12 muffin pan holes
Place in Oven at 350 and cook about 20 minutes
Pull out of oven and turn pan upside down onto cooling rack
Let cool completely before placing in fridge (If you don't let them cool completely, they'll get mushy and soggy)

I store mine in a tupperware container stacked on top of each other. Each morning, I grab two "puffs" to take with me to the gym, and put them in a ziplock bag. I've found that storing all of them in a ziplock bag in the fridge makes them go soggy and mushy too.

One additional note - these will "shrink" a little once they've cooled, but if they are cooked long enough, they won't shrink too much. The combined pics at the top of the post are of a "puff" after having been refrigerated overnight.

Easy Portable Spinach "Muffins"

On to another awesome portable recipe that I stumbled across this weekend: Spinach "Muffins"!
I'm including this recipe in the same post because I found that it was easy to prepare these at the same time as my PWO Puffs, and I could even cook them together in the oven. The inspiration for these came from Melissa Joulwan's recipe here, and I just made some edits (including entire egg rather than just whites, and using some different spices, and changing quantities up a bit).

Ingredients:

4 Omega-3 Eggs (yes, yummy yolks and all!!)
4 9oz bags/boxes of frozen spinach
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1-2 Tb Italian Spice Blend (or your own blend of oregano, basil, etc)**
1 tsp Garlic Powder**
1 tsp Onion Powder**
Sea Salt to taste
Red Pepper Flakes to taste (if you like spicy stuff)

Directions:

Defrost spinach in microwave
While Spinach is defrosting, beat your eggs well
Drain Spinach REALLY WELL!! (I like Melissa's tip of cutting a small hole in the corner of the bag, and then squeezing it like your life depends on it until you can't get any more water out)
Dump Spinach into a bowl and stir in minced garlic & spices/seasonings to taste**
Add Beaten Eggs to Spinach, and mix well
Spoon evenly into 12 muffin pan holes, and pack down a bit
Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-35 minutes. (I baked mine right alongside my PWO Puffs, and just pulled my puffs out about 10-15 minutes before my Spinach Muffins)
Pull out of oven and turn pan upside down onto a cooling rack so that "muffins" can cool.

**Note - I don't really measure my spices most of the time - I just use the sprinkle - taste - sprinkle - taste method. . so the measurements above are guesstimates (although I think pretty close to what I used)- you should tailor them to your own tastes.

These will "deflate" a little as well, but not much if they are cooked well enough. The final pic is of one of my "muffins" after a night in the fridge. These are REALLY YUMMY straight out of the fridge! I had one this morning with a handful of raw almonds at 5am on my way out the door got my WOD on. I usually don't eat before my workout (it's just so dang EARLY!!), but this sat really well with me and it seemed that I had a bit more energy to get through the WOD. These definitely will be a new staple in my fridge!

And on a side note - I have NEVER been a fan of frozen spinach. I love fresh baby spinach in a salad or wilted under some meat, but I just haven't ever been able to stomach the frozen stuff. . I think it must be a consistancy thing. . but I really, really liked these, so give them a try even if you're not a fan of the frozen stuff - I think that they'll pleasantly suprise you!

Well, that's it! If you try either of these, and love (or hate) them, or have suggestions of revisions that would make them even yummier, please leave a comment and let me know!

The Best Thing since Sliced Bread!!

2010-09-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

Portobella Mushroom "BUNS"!!!

I have my friend and fellow CrossFitter / Whole30 Participant Monique (AKA DLQ!!) to thank for this one. . . .

It was labor day weekend, and I was feeling sorry for myself b/c I was on quarentine while everyone else was out enjoying the beautiful weather, BBQs and Beaches. . . I couldn't work out or do anything to burn off some frustration, but I decided rather than resign myself to being in a crappy mood all day long, I'd spend my time as productively as I could around the house. I'd already cleaned the house and done the laundry, so I decided to get a little bit creative in the kitchen :)

Since all I could think about was going to a Labor Day BBQ, I figured I'd bring the LD BBQ to me! I searched the web for a good burger recipe and ended up taking a little bit from a few different recipes. I don't remember exact measurements, but my burgers were made of:

GrassFed Ground Beef
Finely Minced Scallions
Finely Minced Garlic
Shredded Carrots
An egg or two
Almond Meal (just a little to hold them together)

I combined these ingredients, formed them into patties, and grilled them to perfection . .

Then, I made the Guacamole from the recipe on the Whole9 website (OMG - SO GOOD!) and sliced up some beautiful home grown tomatoes that I'd purchased at the Farmer's Market.

Monique had mentioned earlier in the week that she'd used Portobella Mushroom Caps as "buns" for a burger, so I gave it a shot. I flash grilled them, and proceeded to create my burger by layering 1 mushroom cap, a burger patty, a HEALTHY serving of Guac, Tomatoes, and then another Mushroom Cap.

On the side, I fixed what we call "BS French Fries" at my house (Basically just roasted brussel sprouts). To make these, I needed:

1 bag of fresh brussel sprouts
Olive Oil
Sea Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste.

I cut the little stems off each brussel sprout, peeled off the loose leaves, and sliced each one in half (or quarters if they're the monster brussel sprouts that we sometimes get down here in TX). Then, I tossed them in a big ziplock bag w/ olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Shook them up really well to coat evenly, and the prep is done! I then put them cut side up on the top rack in my oven at 450 degrees, and cook them about 15 minutes give or take a few. I pull them out when they're just starting to brown up and get crispy around the edges.

We call them BS French Fries because they actually taste a little similar to french fries (at least in my perverted paleo-fied mind!) They are good!

This meal turned my mood right around :) There's nothing like a big fat juicy burger to put a smile on a girl's face!

Quick Update & My Experience w/ 100% Cacao

2010-09-13T10:53:00.009-05:00

Wow - I didn't mean to go so long in between blog posts. . . it's been a crazy few weeks in the Tracy household!

I've been having thyroid issues for a long while now, but it took my Dr. forever to agree to refer me to an endocrinologist . . . long story short, I finally got the referral and the treatment that I needed :) I went in for Thyroid Radiation Therapy last week. . . the treatment itself was a piece of cake, but I was on "quarantine" for a full week after the treatment - and that sucked! They told me that I wasn't allowed to do anything that would make me sweat for 7 full days. . . wow . . . for someone that works out 6 days a week, that was torture! Living in S. Texas, you can't even step foot outside for more than 2 minutes w/o breaking into a sweat!! In addition to this, I couldn't go grocery shopping, or be around the general public. My hubby and I had to have separate bedrooms for the week, and couldn't sit next to each other on the couch. So my Labor Day weekend was no fun at all! I had some minor side effects from the radiation like lack of energy, a face full of zits, and a mildly sore throat, but it's over now, and I'm back into my normal "routine", thank goodness!

I've continued to stay Whole30 compliant, and am still having fun finding and preparing all kinds of new recipes. One quick note regarding the Whole30 - Recently, Melissa and Dallas agreed that using 100% cocoa in moderation was "ok" as long as it was not used to feed a craving or to substitute for "candy" (See "The Great Cocoa Debate" for more details). . . so I thought I'd give it a try. . . NEVER AGAIN!!! Here's what happened:

I found some Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Gourmet Baking Chocolate "nibs". They came in a black zip-top bag and looked kind of like flattened out mini kisses. They were completely unsweetened with the only ingredients being 100% Unsweetened Chocolate. A 16g serving (approx 18 pieces) provided 80 Kcal, 8g fat, 5g Carb, 2g Fiber, 0g Sugar, & 2g Protein. I thought to myself . . "Hmmm. . well, I finished out 30 days of the whole 30 and am around day 45 now . . I think I've banished my sugar demons for good. . so I'm going to pick these up, pop them in the freezer, and maybe sprinkle a few nibs in my fruit salad in the morning every now and then." HA!!! Boy was I wrong on SO MANY FRONTS!!!

Apparently, I have NOT banished my sugar demons 100%.. . at least not in the presence of chocolate in any shape or form

"Every now and then" turned into every single morning, and then multiple times a day . .

"A few nibs" turned into a full serving. . . initially once a day, and then . . well . . you can guess where it went from there. . .

I started by mixing in 5 little frozen nibs (yes I counted) with some blueberries, strawberries, almonds, unsweetened coconut flakes, and a splash of coconut milk in the morning. This was REALLY YUMMY, and fully Whole30 compliant, and really nutritious as well. But when the chocolate hit my tongue, it awakened this monster inside me that I thought I had banished. . . and I craved more chocolate for at least 2 hours. I caved and had a few nibs after lunch . . and then recognized that I was doing just what I was NOT supposed to be doing - using these things as a crutch for my cravings which I thought I had done away with. The next day I found myself mixing some nibs in w/ a Tb of Natural Raw Almond Butter. . . Oh Crap . . It was oh so good. . . but OH SO BAD for me mentally.

Long story short, after three days of fighting with myself every time I walked by the freezer, I threw that bag away and took the trash bag not only outside, but all the way to the dumpster at the curb to prevent myself from digging it back out. . lol. . yes, I love my chocolate!

Moral of the story? For me personally, it is not a good idea to add Chocolate in any shape or form back into my diet. I'm not in the slightest "blaming" the Whole30 crew for their decision to allow it - I think that there are plenty of people out there who could use it in moderation as a supplement and spice to a healthy diet (similar to how I use cinmamon, cumin, tumeric, etc). I just happen to NOT be one of those people, and can recognize it :) So no more chocolate, Cacao, Cocoa, or whatever for me. . .

On to more pleasant things in life - -

I'm planning to max out my lifts later this week once some of my soreness has gone away. . . taking a week off definitely took it's toll on me! But I'm almost back to "normal" again :) I'm really looking forward to re-assessing where I stand and continuing to move forward in my journey to become stronger and more athletic :)

**Additional Note Added Later**

One more thing that I thought I'd point out regarding my mental/physical reaction to the cacao. Over the last week, my face has broken out horribly - I've got about 4 monsters on my chin/forhead (you know, the kind that HURT and are deep as hell?!?!), as well as a bunch of little "under-the-skin" bumps. Initially, I contributed this really bad breakout to the radiation therapy that I had done. I assumed that I had swallowed a pill that effectively had POISON in it, and the breakouts were a result of this poison working it's way out of my system. . .and that may very well be the case. However I think it's also worth pointing out that the breakout also occured at the same time that I was trying to experimentally re-introduce 100% Cacao into my diet. I know that it's supposedly an "old wives tale" that chocolate makes you break out, however in the past I always seemed to break out when I'd eat more chocolate than normal. . . . so it could be that this breakout is a result of the radiation therapy, or it could be my body's reaction to the chocolate. . . or mabye a little bit of both. I'll never really know for sure, but I thought it worth pointing out!

Recipe: Curry Beef & Cabbage

2010-09-03T12:46:00.011-05:00

I am so proud of myself! I've never considered myself a "cook" because I'm not very creative in the kitchen. I can follow a recipe pretty well, but have never actually "created" one before. . . until last night!

This was SUPER easy, and I swear the most flavorful and satisfying meal that I've eaten in a while!

Curry Beef & Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 lb Grass Fed Stew Meat
1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/2 Vidalia (sweet) onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 Tb Coconut Oil
1 Can Organic Coconut Milk
3 Tb + 1 tsp Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste (can be found at just about any Asian Grocer)
Black Pepper to taste

If you don't have Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste, or wanted to do this from "scratch" (why??), the ingredients on the label are: Lemon grass, garlic, shallot, salt, galanga (ginger), dried red chili, coriander seed, kaffir lime peel, cumin, cinnamon, mace, turmeric, cardamon.

Directions:

Combine Curry Paste and 1/2 can of Coconut Milk over low heat. Heat until small bubbles start to form, then stir in remaining Coconut Milk.

Add Stew Meat, and cook slowly over low heat. The more slowly you cook it, the more tender it will be!

In seperate skillet, saute onions in 1/2 Tb coconut oil - cook

thoroughly until caramalized.

When Stew Meat is almost done, stir in cabbage and caramalized onions.

Add Black Pepper to taste.

Cover and cook about 5-10 minutes, until Cabbage is softened.

Remove lid and simmer a few minutes until sauce thickens up.

Note: I was tempted to add sea salt b/c I've never NOT added salt to a cabbage dish, but this dish DOES NOT NEED IT!! I promise ;)

Pushing the "Reset" Button on my Cravings

2010-08-28T09:16:00.004-05:00

I've had several people ask me if I REALLY (like for reals??) don't crave sweets anymore. And I can understand their skepticism! Anyone who knows me personally knows that I L-O-V-E sugar.

My nickname is D.Q. for goodness sake (b/c of the affinity that I had for DQ Blizzards!!) My two biggest weaknesses were Krispy Kreme donuts and Dairy Queen Blizzards.

So it doesn't bother me that my friends are a bit skeptical of my claims - I think I would be too if it were someone else claiming that they honestly didn't crave sugar anymore. A month ago, I thought it wasn't possible!

I've tried to kick my cravings about a million times before. I've done everything from just trying to ignore them (epic FAIL), to going on a month-long protein drink diet that was supposed to extinguish cravings (yeah, don't ask. . . how is consuming nothing but sweet protien shakes for a month going to help you get over sugar cravings?? What was I thinking?)

I've gone "mostly" Paleo for long stretches of time in the past (up to 6 months), but each of those times, I still had to fight my cravings regularly which never failed to put me in a bad mood. I enjoyed the healthy foods that I was eating, but I still craved sugar daily and it was a constant battle within my head to refrain from eating it.

So what did I do differently this time? I followed the Whole30's instructions not to try to "paleo-fy" Non-Paleo foods - No "Paleo Ice Cream", "Paleo Pancakes", "Paleo Pudding", etc.

In other words, No Fakes!

In the past when I've done my stints of eating Paleo, I'd find ways to paleo-fy EVERYTHING. One of my favorite snacks was raw honey, almond butter, and cocoa powder heated for a few secs and stirred together. While those ingredients were technically "Paleo" (although not Whole30 approved), the combination of them effectively created a dessert. So any time that I'd crave sugar, I'd whip up one of these snacks. I always craved dessert after dinner, so I'd end up eating one (or. . gulp . . two) of these snacks just about every single night. I also stumbled across the "So Delicious" Coconut Ice Cream in the myriad of flavors, and justified to myself that the ingredients were 99% Paleo, so this stuff was okay . . and I'd crack out a few times a month by eating half a pint (or sometimes a full pint) of the stuff. . . yeah, that didn't do much to kill my sugar cravings either!

I'd found recipes for coconut macaroon cookies that used a crap-ton of Agave Nectar or Raw Honey. . . and I'd found recipes for cookies and puddings. All using technically "Paleo" ingredients. . . but essentially just junk food.

Additionally, I didn't cut artificial sweetners (Splenda, Truvia) out of my diet. So I would sprinkle them on everything. I'd put 2-3 packets in my coffee in the morning for a sweet treat. I'd sprinkle them on grapefruit, and even on sweet potatoes (like they're not already sweet enough!!)

So every time that my sugar craving would kick in, I'd answer it with exactly what it wanted - Sugar (or fake sugar). Even if it was from more natural sources - it was still crap!

This time around, I did not Paleo-Fy a single thing. I used no artificial sweetners, honey, or agave nectar. I avoided even "good" foods that I knew might start up a craving. One example of this is fruit.

I know that fruit is good for us, and am not going to sit here and suggest that anyone cut fruit entirely out of their diets. But for me personally, I have chosen to significantly cut back my fruit intake during the Whole30, and will continue to do so after experiencing the results. I only eat fruit once a day, and it's almost always in the morning with my breakfast (usually berries). I also avoid super sweet fruits like pineapples, mangoes, and melons because I've learned from experience that these tend to kick off a rampid sugar craving. I eat a piece of pineapple, and start craving a krispy kreme donut. . go figure!

Of course I understand that not everyone's body reacts the way mine does to fruit, so if you're able to eat it without having it send you on a sugar binge, than great!

I think it's a combination of all of these things that have helped me to kick the sugar habit, and I couldn't be happier. I've never been so in touch with my body, and the way it responds to different types of foods - it's really actually kind of cool :)

**Additional Note (added later)**
I realized after posting this that I should mention that I DO plan on allowing myself the very occasional Paleo Treat or piece of pineapple - it's not that I've cut them out of my diet forever and ever amen. But I have been able to finally gain control of my sugar cravings, so I know when I do something that may bring one on, and can brace myself for it :) So I may occasionally eat some pineapple or a Paleo Dessert (the key word here being occasionally - as in not often), but I will do so knowing that it will likely spur a small sugar craving - and I'll be prepared for it!

Acne-Free Skin Can Be YOURS!!

2010-08-27T08:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, so enough with the info-mercial title - but seriously - it's true!

I started the Whole30 a month ago because I wanted to feel healthy again. I was tired of feeling rundown and crappy all of the time, and also tired of the guilt I felt after nearly every single meal that I ate. Those were my primary motivations for starting this new way of eating. . . but over the course of the last 30 days, I've noticed a few other unexpected bonuses!!

CLEAR SKIN!!! - I had acne as a teenager, but always assumed that it would go away when I "grew up". Unfortunately, I'm in my early 30's, and was devastated at the fact that I still had regular breakouts! Rarely a day went by that I didn't have at least one blemish on my face, and most of the time, I had several around my chin and nose. I just assumed that it was my genetics, and did the best I could to minimize them with skin care and prescription topical acne meds. Even with the prescription meds, I broke out regularly though. About half-way through the Whole30, I noticed that my skin had cleared up - I was skeptical, and braced myself for another round of breakouts, but they never happened! I've been 100% acne free now for about 15 days. . . not long enough to prove anything really, but I'm confident that my new way of eating is responsible for my clear skin. It's the ONLY thing that I've changed :) Reference the pic above - I took this pic last week after a haircut - but notice that there are NO blemishes on my face - this is absolutely the first time I've been blemish free for as long as I can remember - and I'm LOVING it! Not only am I blemish free, but my skin looks much healthier in general - it's no longer dull, and has a little bit of a "glow" to it!

Weight Loss - My primary goal was not weight loss, but I knew I had a few inches to lose from my hips and legs that had crept on as a result of my crappy diet. I didn't take measurements before hand, and didn't weigh myself throughout the month because i didn't want to be a slave to the scale or the measuring tape. I DID weigh myself the day that I started though (July 29th). I was 154.4 lbs. I weighed myself again this morning, and was SHOCKED to see 140.4 pop up on the scale! I've somehow lost 14 lbs in the last month. I haven't gone hungry one single time - I'm eating a much larger volume of food than I was before - it's just healthy, clean food! My jeans are falling off of me (Darn - guess I'll have to go shopping!!), and my workout pants nearly landed around my ankles when doing double unders this morning! And I can say with confidence that I haven't lost an ounce of muscle. My strength gains over the last month have been great!

Improved Performance in the Gym - All of my WOD times are steadily improving. I can do more pullups in a row than I could 30 days ago (23 vs. 6 - really). I can lift more weight, and do it faster. I don't get winded as easily (more stamina). Really, what more could I want?

No More Energy Dips - I'm no longer experiencing a roller coaster of energy levels throughout the day! I'm not a slave to the coffee pot (although I still enjoy a cup of black coffee in the morning), and I don't find myself nodding off mid-afternoon! I sleep better at night, and have more energy throughout the day - it's great!

Emotional Stability / HEALTHY attitude toward food! - I'm an emotional person - always have been. I cry at chic flicks, and I'll get weepy at the drop of a hat. But aside from that, I was on an emotional roller coaster that I couldn't seem to get off of over the last several months, and most of it was driven by food, and guilt associated with food, or frustration over trying to refrain from eating foods that I was craving like crazy - and then ultimately guilt again when I caved into the craving. It was a vicious cycle that I couldn't seem to break. I was constantly fighting myself. I couldn't ever be happy because I was obsessed with food. I was always either fighting a craving, or feeling guilty for giving into a craving - there was never any "peace". I know this sounds crazy to a lot of people, but I love food - I had an emotional attachment to food. I used it as a reward and as consolement when I was feeling bad. I snacked constantly when I was bored, and every achievement was "rewarded" with food, most of the time bad food, which killed the feeling of accomplishment that I got from whatever the achievement was. When I was extremely happy - I ate to celebrate. When I was extremely sad - I ate to comfort myself. I can now HONESTLY say that I have finally broken this cycle!! This for me is the BIGGEST accomplishment of the month. I don't crave crap anymore, which means I'm not fighting myself constantly - which results in me being less grumpy, crotchety, and irritable ALL THE TIME! I am able to view food as nothing more than a fuel source. I eat when I'm hungry, and don't eat when I'm not. It's that simple. I never thought I'd get to this point, and am absolutely awestruck that I managed to get here in such a short period of time. Don't get me wrong - I still LOVE food! But it doesn't rule my world and my emotions any more :)

There are probably a ton of other subtle improvements to my overall well-being, but these are the ones that I've most appreciated. I am a new woman. I am a happy woman. I am a healthy woman. I am an energetic woman. I am NEVER going back. Not ever. No amount of sugar or chocolate is worth it!

Evil Edamame!

2010-08-26T12:52:00.003-05:00

This is a public service message for anyone following Whole30 or attempting to eat within Paleo Guidelines - EDAMAME is NOT an approved Vegetable - it's a Soy BEAN. . . A.K.A. a LEGUME.

This is common knowledge to most, I know - but I made the inadvertent mistake of eating a half of a bowl of edamame on Day 28 of my Whole30, thinking that I was eating a vegetable! I know better. . . I really do. . . .but for some reason, it didn't compute to me that I was eating a legume until I was about half way through the bowl. . . crap!!

The final day of my business trip (yesterday), I was invited out to lunch with several of the employees from the office I was visiting. Building rapport and working relationships with other members of my company is very important to me both personally, and as a part of my career. I did not want to be the person to order a dish with 15 revisions, and give them the impression that I was high-maintenance!

Explaining my choice to follow a Paleolithic “diet” to friends and co-workers doesn’t bother me at all – it’s just that it usually centers the conversation around me and turns into a 45 minute discussion/debate – not the kind of first conversation you want to have with co-workers that you just met over a casual lunch meeting!

We went to a very nice Sushi restaurant (I told them I was unable to eat Gluten that morning when I passed up a bagel in the breakfast meeting, so they were gracious enough to find a place that I could easily find a gluten-free option).

I used to LOVE Sushi Nigiri & Sushi Rolls, but am happy to say that the rolls/etc on the menu didn’t even tempt me!

I scanned the menu, and found the “Seafood Salad”, which was a bed of fresh greens topped with Avocado, Sautéed Shrimp & Calamari, and an Asian dressing. I was easily able to make this Whole30 compliant by simply asking that they hold the dressing and sauté the Seafood only in olive oil. (And by the way – it was DELICIOUS!!)

As an afterthought, I also ordered a bowl of steamed edamame as an appetizer so that I would not appear “rude” or go into a 15 minute explanation by refusing food as everyone else was sharing appetizers of Sushi Rolls & Tempura. I thought to myself – “Hey, I’m increasing my veggie intake to boot – Yay!”

I had eaten about half of the Edamame when I suddenly had the realization that I was eating . . Soy BEANS. . . which I’m pretty sure are legumes. . . CRAP! Here I was thinking “veggie” and instead was eating “legume” . . . darn it!

I did some research to see just how much I may have screwed up the Whole30 “reset button” that I’m trying to press.

Here’s what I found about Soy Beans/Edamame:

Apparently, Soy beans contain a ton of “anti-nutrients” – more so than most legumes. To make matters worse, the particular kind of anti-nutrients contained in soybeans are not removed by cooking them. . . yikes!

My research informed me that Soy beans contain Enzyme Inhibitors which block the action of enzymes that are needed for protein digestion. In other words, these prevent our bodies from absorbing proteins and amino acids in our foods – No Bueno!

Additionally, soy beans contain Phytic Acids which block the uptake of essential minerals in the intestinal tract – blocking absorption of these minerals by our bodies. In other words, the good minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, and Zinc that we would normally obtain from our foods is not able to be absorbed by our bodies when Phytic Acids are present, and instead is passed straight through in our waste. . . Ick!

Finally, Soy beans contain Goitrogens, which can suppress thyroid function . . . again – Wow – Who knew?!?!? And these things are legal, and toted as “healthy”???

So I’d say that my inadvertent slip up yesterday definitely broke my Whole30, as I’m sure that there were some negative reactions within my body as a response to the Edamame, which interfered with the healing cycle that I was trying to complete – but that’s okay – upward and onward – I’m going to stick with it the remainder of the 60 days, and I’ll just call it a Whole 28/32!

Oh, and I looked at several different sites when researching this info, but most of it was found here: http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/avoid_soy.htm

Yeah. . .that's going to hurt in the morning!

2010-08-23T21:17:00.004-05:00

Okay, I'll start with a quick update - I'm wrapping up day 26 of the Whole30 Program, and I feel absolutely fabulous! About the start of week 3, this way of eating began to just feel "normal" again, and it is no longer a hassle at all. I'm currently on another business trip, but staying Whole30 compliant on the road is even easier this time than it was the last! I cooked my dinners in advance, and cooked up a big batch of eggs for breakfasts. Once I arrived in Cleveland, I stopped at a Whole Foods and picked up Salad Fixings and Wild Planet Tuna for my lunches - and that's it :) Easy!

I'm planning on stretching my Whole30 into a Whole60 - that basically just means that I'm going to stay very strict for another 30 days with absolutely no deviations from 100% Whole Foods. After the 60 days is over, I may occasionally cook a pot roast in some red wine, or make a very rare decision to deviate slightly for a special occasion - but I don't see any reason at all that I can't maintain this way of eating for good! I'm finding that I don't miss artificial sweetners or salad dressings at all. The smell of warm bagels doesn't bother me in the slightest any more either! (And yes, my hubby is happy about that!!) The only lingering craving that I occasionally have is Ice Cream, but I can live with ignoring the occasional ice cream craving, and I'm assuming that these cravings will soon diminish as all of my other cravings have.

Okay, now to explain the picture and title of this post! As I mentioned, I'm on another business trip. I was super excited about this one because it would bring me through Cleveland! I'm a huge fan of Kate Rawlings, and knew that she coached morning WODs at CrossFit Cleveland, so I was oh so very excited about getting to attend one of her classes! I showed up this morning at CF Cleveland to find this on the board:

400 Meter Walking Lunges - For Time

Anyone that has not personally experienced this work out first hand would probably look at this and think "wow - that's not bad at all". . . and they'd be DEAD WRONG! You see, I've done this one before . . . twice. And each time I remember clear as day the agony that I was in 48 hours after completing this WOD. The workout itself hurts enough - but it's the after-effects that REALLY kick your butt!

I know from experience - The 2-3 days immediately following this workout are pure torture. Each time I've done it before, I've found new muscles in my legs that I never knew I had before - and they screamed bloody murder at me for two days straight in an attempt to convince me to NEVER put them through that again. . . I guess I just don't learn!

So I looked up at the board and said "Well, Crap!" You see, I usually work remotely from my home office, and spend my days in sneakers or flip flops, so having insanely sore legs would be bad enough under normal circumstances. . . . But it just so happens that I'm on a business trip, and will be wearing skirts and high heels for the next three days - Doh!

Picture if you will a baby giraffe that just learned how to walk - and then put it in roller skates. I think that's about what I'm going to look like attempting to walk tomorrow!

As much as I've whined about it though - I really do like this workout. I've got pretty long legs, and great stamina, so I'm able to take long lunges, keep a steady pace, and do the full 400 meters without pausing for a rest, which makes for a great time :) I finished this morning in 8'32" which is a PR for me by about a full minute!

But much to my dismay, my legs started complaining within minutes of finishing. I was standing there chatting with Kate about the cool-down exercise when suddenly my left but cheek decided it was going to have the spasm of it's life. I literally let out a little yelp , screamed BUTT CRAMP!, and crumpled to the floor - talk about embarassing! And not a good omen of things to come!

I took all of the precautionary measures that I could - I stretched REALLY GOOD after the workout - and then again around noon. This evening I did my Olympic Lifting Programming at CrossFit Nasti in Cincinnati (which helped to loosen my legs up some more), and then stretched yet again. All I can do at this point is continue to stretch, stay well hydrated, and hope that I'll be able to get out of bed in the morning - wish me luck :)

I also want to take a quick moment to thank Kate and the morning crew at CrossFit Cleveland for making me feel welcome this morning - I really enjoyed working out w/ you guys - even though my legs will be complaining for days!

I also want to thank Stephen and Brent of CrossFit Nasti for letting me borrow a platform in their gym this evening so that I could get my Olympic Lifting in - they graciously welcomed me as part of their "extended family" as well :)

Recipe: AMAZING Paleo CrockPot Meatballs!

2010-08-19T20:21:00.014-05:00

I LOVE CrockPot cooking - who wouldn't! There's nothing like spending 10 minutes of prep time in the morning, and having dinner ready by the time I'm done lifting or coaching in the evening!

My CrockPot has been working overtime the last few weeks - I've experimented with several different recipes - some have been great, and others well. . . not so great. . . but I made a CrockPot Meal today that was absolutely TO DIE FOR!!!

It was so good, I had to share the recipe! I used the recipe that I found here as a starting point, and made some modifications.

AMAZING Paleo CrockPot Meatballs

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lb GrassFed Ground Beef (mine is approx 85% lean)

1/2 lb Lean Ground Pork

1 Stalk Celery

1 medium-sized Carrot
1/4 Vidalia Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

2 Omega-3 Eggs
1/4 Cup Almond Meal

1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Sea Salt to taste (about 1-2 tsp?)**

Sauce Ingredients:

1 16 oz can Organic Diced Tomatoes

1 small can Organic Tomato Paste

1 handfull fresh basil leaves, torn

5 cloves garlic, minced

Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Coursely Chop Celery, Carrot, Onion, and 2 Cloves Garlic in Food Proccesor. Combine chopped vegetables with the rest of of the meatball ingredients, and mix well (knead with your hands). Form into large Meatballs, and place in the bottom of a lined Crockpot.

Mix together Sauce Ingredients, and pour over meatballs in Crockpot.

Cook In CrockPot for 8 hours on low.

I served mine with Roasted Brussel Sprouts tonight, and it was soooo good! It took self control not to go back for another helping!

**EDIT AFTER THE FACT**

On 9/20/2010 I added "Sea Salt to taste" to the meatball ingredients. I made these last week, and didn't realize until after I tasted them that I'd left that out of the ingredient list initially. . .oops! It makes a BIG difference in the flavor. They were fairly bland w/o a little sea salt.

Working My Weaknesses. . .

2010-08-18T16:07:00.008-05:00

THIS is what I felt like today when trying to deadlift a measly 195 lbs for 3 unbroken reps. . . .

I know that deadlifts are one of my weaknesses - In fact they are my weakest lift and when compared with my other numbers, my deadlift number is ridiculously low. I also know that I should work on the things that need improvement. . . but for some unknown reason. . .

I. . HATE. . DEADLIFTS!

I think part of it is the slam to my ego that I get every time that I do them in a group setting - watching other CrossFitters pick up considerably more than me and make it look easy is frustrating! Don't get me wrong - I love to see other people succeed (Really, I do!), it's just a bit disheartening to watch someone else do something so easily that I struggle with so much.

It's only common sense that I won't get better at something unless I practice it - but it's so hard to practice things that I'm bad at when working on things that I'm good at is so much more fulfilling!

The cold hard truth is that if I ever want to have a prayer of picking up more weight, I've got to start working on my DL form and technique - so I'll suck up the ego to make way for progress :)

Right now, I dedicate my Saturday's to "active rest" where I spend about an hour doing skill work on the areas that need improvement, like HSPU Progressions, Ring Dip Work, L-Sits, etc. Somehow I think adding deadlifts to that list would eliminate the "rest" part of the active rest though, so I will have to find another way (i.e. ask Coach Wilkes!) to work them into my programming more frequently. But I will get them in, and I will improve . . . time to STOP ignoring my biggest weakness just because I don't like working on it!

Fighting the Temptation to Overtrain

2010-08-17T16:15:00.004-05:00

Anyone that knows me personally knows that I have a Type A++ personality! I’ve never been afraid of working hard toward a goal, and once I have my mind set on something, I’m willing to do everything in my power to make it happen, regardless of the amount of work required. I can also be very hard on myself – I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my own successes and failures.

I think that this is one of the reasons that I love the CrossFit Community so much – I have found in my experience that A LOT of CrossFitters have Type A personalities just like me – so I fit in pretty well within the community :) This makes me wonder though if others have to consciously work to “hold themselves back” to prevent overtraining . . . let me explain:

Overtraining occurs when the volume and intensity of exercise exceeds a person’s recovery capacity (Mondey). In other words, when we don’t give our bodies enough time to heal (a.k.a. RECOVER) after a workout, we risk suffering from overtraining. Symptoms of overtraining can vary from fatigue, irritability, and loss of motivation to constant muscle soreness, recurring sickness, reduced work capacity, and increased incidence of injuries.

So why does overtraining occur if everyone knows about it and its negative symptoms??

I don’t know about every one else, but I find that when I set my mind on a goal (either short term like mastering Hand Stand Pushups, Ring dips, a Snatch PR. . . or long term like competing at an Oly Lifting tournament or qualifying for the CF Games), I tend to let my Type A personality take over. A little devil on my shoulder tells me that if I train harder, longer, and heavier - I’ll reach my goals faster. I mean, in the other areas of my life harder work = faster/better results, so why wouldn’t this carry over to my training to, right? WRONG. (Or so I’ve been told by some very wise people who are trying to help me reach my goals . . . )

I’ve also found that chronic lack of proper nutrition can lead to overtraining symptoms for me, even if my training level hasn’t increased much. This is because when I’m eating poorly, I’m not giving my body the fuel that it needs to repair itself and get stronger after intense exercise. So it doesn’t heal as fast as it normally does when I’m giving it the right “fuel”. As a result, even though I’m not exercising more frequently, my body isn’t able to fully recover from an exercise session before I start the next one because of the lack of fuel, and as a result, I begin to see overtraining symptoms creep back in.

Finally, for me at least, exercise is addictive. The rush of endorphins that I get when working out is amazing, and I’m almost always left feeling a little bit euphoric after a Lifting Session or CF workout. Add to that the awesome feeling of accomplishment that I get when I am hitting PR’s, and it’s like my “happy drug”! It’s human nature to do things that make us feel good, so as a result I can sometimes go “of the deep-end” with a few to many 2-a-days. . .

You may ask why I’m writing this if I already have it “figured out”. . . well that’s the thing – I know about the dangers of overtraining, but recently I’ve found myself doing it yet again.

It started out with little things – like it’s a rest day, but there’s an awesome WOD on the board, so I say to myself “I can’t miss THIS one”, and do it anyway. . . after doing this a few times, I started to notice the fatigue and chronic muscle soreness creeping back in. So “Smart/Logical Christie” had to pull “Type A Just-Do-It Christie” into a corner and talk some sense into her head. . .

The fact of the matter is that we’re all capable of overtraining, regardless of our fitness levels. My husband refuses to CrossFit because he says he sees too many people getting hurt and putting themselves out for months at a time with injuries – and he says that several people that he works with feel the same way. And really, he has a point. . . . I do see a lot of injuries in CrossFitters at all levels, but I don’t think it’s actually CrossFit that is causing these injuries – I think it’s a bunch of Type A personalities like mine that are addicted to success and progress, and think that the harder that they push themselves, the more results they’ll see. . . again . . . WRONG.

One of the symptoms of overtraining is increased frequency of injuries. If we don’t give our bodies a chance to heal themselves in between workouts, they are going to start breaking down eventually. . and we begin to see injuries occur more and more often. It’s my personal opinion that the perception of CrossFit being “dangerous” comes more from people who injure themselves as a result of overtraining than it does from the type of training that we do. If we went into every workout fully recovered, I think we’d see a lot less injuries, and as a result more progress. . . . Of course, this is referring to our every-day training, and not competitions – occasional 2 or 3 a days in a competitive atmosphere are great – as long as full recovery time is given after the fact, and our every day training doesn’t become a string of 2-a-days.

So the moral of the story is – in some cases – less IS more. Reduced training frequency (more recovery time) can and will lead to better and faster results for someone who has regularly over trained in the past. Listen to your body – and if it’s screaming for a rest day – give it one

Road Trip! (+ Update)

2010-08-11T11:56:00.006-05:00

This is just a quick update because I've been horribly neglecting the blog this week!

I had a last minute business trip come up last Tuesday, so I had to scramble to get my travel booked and all of my "travel food" cooked and prepped and packed . .oh yeah, and had to pack my suitcase too . . . but food first!

I've been on the road in the great MidWest this week (Illinois, Wisconson, & Michigan). This is the first trip that I've taken since going back to strict Paleo, so I was a little bit anxious about my ability to maintain my clean eating while on the road - fortunately, it really hasn't been too bad!

I prepped and packed a ton of food before leaving (HB Eggs, Chicken Tenders, GF Ground Beef, Carrots, Almonds, Coconut Flakes, Kale, Bok Choy, and other misc stuff). Boy did I get some funny looks from the people in airport security about that cooler! But the let me through with it, so all was good.

I took the advice of the Whole9 crew and used frozen sweet potatoe cubes as my "ice packs", and they worked like a charm. I also took some extra ziplok bags and filled them with Ice from a FF restaurant after passing through the airport security.

I'm staying at a series of Extended Stay America's, and I've got to say that they make Paleo life on the road SO MUCH EASIER!! My company would put me up at a Hilton or Sheraton if I wanted, but I'm much happier in a cheap hotel w/ a full kitchen :)

I hit Whole Foods upon landing in Chicago and picked up some pre-cut veggies, some meats, fish oil, olive oil, and a few spices. With these basic ingredients, I've been living off super easy but insanely delicous skillet meals prepped on the stove top in my hotel room.

I also found a local CF Box (CF Arlington Heights) that is graciously allowing me to do my Olympic Lifting on a platform during their class times - and I even joined them for a WOD earlier in the week - I love the CF community! The Owners, Josh & Jimmy, as well as all of the members welcomed me w/ open arms and it's been great to spend my evenings with like-minded people getting my sweat on instead of sitting in a hotel room! I'm very happy to say that I haven't missed a single day of my Oly Lifting Programming while on the road - - it all comes down to planning and preparation - without it, I've learned that I'm screwed - but with proper planning traveling really isn't so bad!

I'm leaving for Michigan in just a few, and am going to try to get in w/ a CF box in Grand Rapids while I'm in the area - staying at a Double Tree up there, so I prepped several skillet meals last night to bring along - that and Salads, plus my Sweet Potatoes/Turkey for Post-WO and I'm good to go!

I also want to leave a quick note thanking Melissa and Dallas for the great write-up on their blog - I hope that everyone that stops by my blog for a visit finds something useful :) I love to share all the tips and tricks that I have for Paleo living and fitting in workouts when "life" interupts, but I'd also love to hear any tips or tricks that readers may have too!

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering - YES, I have stayed 100% Whole30 compliant since July 29th when I started the program - even through the travel, airports, business lunch meetings, and hotels :)

Okay, off to hit the 5 hour road trip to MI - wish me luck!

A House Divided

2010-08-03T07:55:00.004-05:00

As I was doing some casual reading last weekend, I ran across this quote from former President Abraham Lincoln:

"A house divided against itself cannot stand"

Well, I am very much hoping to prove the exception to the rule in this case!

You see, when I made the decision to begin the Whole30, and make this way of eating a life-long thing, I tried desperately to get my husband to do the 30 days with me on a "trial basis". I love him dearly, but his eating habits had slid as much as mine had over the last 6 months, and they are starting to impact his health. In his defense, he has made an effort to improve the quality of the foods that he is eating (no more McDonalds/fast food, and he's cut down his Pepsi consumption from 2L a day to 20oz a day), but he was just not ready to go "all in" with me - and I have to respect his decision - you simply can't force this way of life on someone who is not ready for it - it has to be something that a person wants for themself.

As a result, I haven't been able to "purge" my house of non-paleo foods. Mainstays in my husbands diet are (white) bagels w/ cream cheese, toast, cereals with milk, sandwiches with cheese, baked beans, sodas, sweet tea, and frozen desserts like popsicles.

Fortunately, he doesn't complain when I cook Paleo dinners (I refuse to cook two seperate meals!), but I have found it hard over the last week to be sitting at my desk in the morning, and suddenly have the heavenly smell of a toasty bagel floating through the air, tempting me! It's equally as hard to watch him eat a popsicle after dinner, which is when my sugar cravings tend to kick into high gear. Lastly, I found out early in the first day that opening my pantry and seeing the bread, cereal, and bagles was not a good thing for my will-power . . or my sanity!

I know that many people who follow a Paleo lifestyle have family members or children who are not Paleo-Compliant - I would have to assume that it is difficult for them as well, especially in the begining as they are trying to go "cold turkey".

So what can be done to make things a little less difficult, without forcing the Paleo lifestyle on those that we live with who do not want it for themselves?

Here is my solution:

I set up a seperate shelf in my pantry, above my eye level, and I put all of my husbands "non-paleo" foods on this shelf. I have two shelfs at eye level and below that are full of all of my Paleo-compliant foods. So when I reach into the pantry for olive oil or coconut milk, I don't have to reach past his bagels :)

I did the same in the fridge - there is one shelf dedicated to his soft drinks, baked beans, cheeses, and anything else that doesn't fit into my diet - there are also two condiment shelves with the salad dressings, ketchup, mayo, ect. Then I have MY shelves stocked full of veggies, fruit, lean meats, and water :) When I open the fridge, I can go straight to my shelves, and don't even have to glance at the stuff on his shelf that would normally tempt me or set off a craving.

I've also asked him not to leave the bagels or toaster on the counter-top, as both make me think of bagels, and tend to set off a craving - he's been great about putting these things away when he's done with them.

Lastly, I just leave the room after dinner when he's enjoying his popsicle - I can easily use that 5 minutes to straighten up in the kitchen, lay my workout clothes out for the next day, or sort some laundry - it would be unfair of me to ask him to leave the room!

I have found that these simple steps have helped me a million times over in surviving the first week of my new Paleo way of life. They have also helped to reduce some of the tension in the house (because I'll admit - I can get a little cranky/moody when I'm craving something, and he's sitting there eating the very thing that I want!)

I also remind myself that I could have these things if I wanted them, but I am making the choice to cut them out of my diet in order to improve my health, both now and in the future. Looking at it in this light helps me to avoid the feelings of "restriction", and help to make me less grouchy, and a little easier to live with ;)

I'm in Love

2010-07-30T20:22:00.004-05:00

I'M IN LOVE!!!

With Olympic Lifting that is. . . .

So tonight was my first backyard session in a loooong time with my trusty 'ol barbell and bumper plates. I started back with the programming from Coach Wilkes I was using before my hiatus.

Tonight's Workout (Day 1):

20 sets of 1 rep Snatches at 70% of my max
15 set of 1 rep C&J's at 70% of my max
Full recovery (i.e. - sit my ass down!) between each rep

I was really tired when I got off of work, but knew I would feel better once I got outside, so I sucked it up, changed into my w/o clothes, and headed out into the 95 degree sun on my back porch. I put on some Breaking Benjamins and Puddle of Mud, and started warming up w/ some double unders, some PVC work, and the Burgenger Warmup.

I wish I could put into words the feeling of euphoria that came over me as I picked up the barbell for my first lift. I honestly can't even explained it. It was as though all the world was right, and this is exactly where I was supposed to be, and the bar felt great in my hands, and the ground solid under my feet.

As I went into my first lift, the bar literally jumped up over my head, I hit full squat depth, and stood up with a solid core - and thought to myself "Oh hell yeah. . . . this feels good!!" The thud of the bar hitting the ground as I dropped it brought back feelings & memories of PR's and progress. . . such a great feeling.

As I continued my snatches, I concentrated on proper form, a good pull, full depth, and a tight core. It just felt SO GOOD to lift like this again. I got an adrenaline high that I'm still coming down from, and I just wanted to lift and lift and lift forever. . . .

But all good things must come to an end . . . My Clean & Jerks felt just as wonderful, and as I finished the last one, I smiled. The smile grew to a Cheshire Cat Grin, which is still plastered to my face an hour later.

I can't believe I ever let myself get pulled away from this routine - it feels so good, and there is absolutely no turning back, and no more excuses from here on out.

While I'm on the topic of workouts, I'll mention the results of this morning's WOD as well. It incorporated plenty of my weaknesses!

Today's WOD: "Mary Poppins"

As Many Rounds as Possible in 20 minutes of:

10 Ring Dips
10 Pistols
200 meter run

I scaled this WOD, as my ring dips are still very, very weak, and I can't do more than one or two pistols at a time RX. I used 1/2 of the red (smallest) resistance band for the Ring Dips, and held onto a ring (as little as possible) as I did my Pistols.

Total Rounds Completed: 6

Hope everyone reading this has a great weekend! I'm planning an early morning visit to the Farmer's Market tomorrow to stock up on goodies :)

Feeling (Suprisingly!) GREAT

2010-07-30T07:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday began my Whole30 journey, and I am honestly suprised to say that I made it through Day 1 without any trouble whatsoever!

I was expecting at least a mild headache, some fatigue, and maddening hunger/cravings, but I really didn't experience any of this. I think that having all of my food prepped and ready made a huge difference, because there was absolutely no stressing over "what am I going to eat next".

Breakfast was a huge omlet w/ tons of veggies & avocado, and also my own personal version of "fruit salad" with a few strawberries, blueberries, 1/4 peach, some Organic Unsweetened coconut flakes, a few walnuts, and a little bit of coconut milk. YUM!! This breakfast filled me up, but I didn't feel that icky bloated/stuffed/cranky/guilty feeling that I have been experiencing all to often lately after breakfasts of donut holes or some other sugary nightmare.

I was absolutely shocked to look up at the clock at 1:00 and realize that I hadn't had any mid-morning crashes or sugar cravings! I fixed a huge salad w/ baby spinach, avocado, HB Egg, Jicama, red beets, carrots, onions, cucumbers and Wild Planet Albacore for lunch. I didn't even need any dressing b/c the brand of tuna that I use is cooked in it's own juices in the can, and was moist enough that I didn't even miss a salad dressing!

Mid-Afternoon (around 4pm), I snacked on a handful of almonds, a few slices of Jicama, and 1/2 of a clementine - and then headed off to help out w/ CF classes from 4:30 - 7:30pm.

At this point in the day, I hadn't had a single craving, no hunger pangs, and had plenty of enerygy to spare!

I did have a slight "zone-out" session/drop in energy around 6pm while at the gym, but it passed fairly quickly and wasn't bad at all - I may not have even noticed it except that a member started pointing at me from across the gym, waved at me, and said "you okay over there Christie"? - which made me realized that I had kinda zoned out and was just staring into space a little .. . oops!

At home after classes, I had some grilled chicken and roasted brussel sprouts sprinkled w/ olive oil, black pepper, sea salt, and a little cayanne pepper. I had cooked the frozen Tyson chicken breasts with no added seasoning, and while it tasted great, I was suprised to find that it was really, really salty! I guess a day without added salt had already woken my taste buds up a little bit. I am going to try to go for the "all natural" chicken in the future and avoid the pre-frozen stuff that has a sodium solution - it was just too much salt. I think I used a touch too much sea salt on my brussel sprouts too - they tasted great, but my fingers were a little swollen when I woke up this morning.

Yesterday was a "rest day" at the gym, so no pre or post workout nutrition.

My legs were REALLY sore yesterday from the previous day's workout, so I was thankfull for the rest day!

I turned in about 9:30 last night, and slept like a baby until my alarm went off this morning at 4:45.

I'll summarize Day 2 (today's) WOD and such in a post tomorrow morning.

Right now (7:30am, morning of day 2), I'm feeling absolutely awesome! Although I'm a little full from my post-workout sweet potatoes/turkey (think I'll cut down the portion tomorrow). I'm really looking forward to my first Oly Lifting session in ages tonight when I get off of work!!

Yay Snatches!

Whole30 - Here I Come!

2010-07-29T13:57:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm back after a long hiatus from blogging. . .

Long story short: I fell off the Paleo Wagon big time, and my Oly Lifting has suffered as well over the last 3 months because of a lot of unexpected business travel, making it difficult to find locations that would let me do my "own thing" during an Open Gym time.

No Excuses, and I'm right back up on the wagon. . . I just hope Coach Wilkes will take me back. . I've literally fallen off the face of the planet . . .

So I have a two-part game plan to address both nutrition and training.

Part One: Nutrition

I'm jumping back in head-first, no excuses, and balls-to-the-wall Nazi-style hard core Paleo! I saw such great results when following a Paleo nutrition plan previously, that it blows my mind that I ever stopped. . .but the past is the past!

I started the Whole30 Plan today, as detailed by Melissa Urban and Dallas Hartwig on their website: http://www.whole9life.com/

Basically, this means 30 days of Paleo, but stricter than I've ever gone before. I'll also be cutting out all artificial sweetners and Protein Powders. Nothing but whole, natural food for the next 30 days. . . and then some.

While this is a 30 day program, I fully plan to continue past the 30 days. I know that I've done a ton of damage to myself over the last 4-5 months by pigging out on Junk Food, Fast Food, and Sugar. . . I am using this 30 day program to spring-board me back into the "routine" of eating right, and plan to continue the lifestyle at the end of the 30 days. I'll be posting regular updates here througout the month.

I have learned my lesson in the past about just "jumping into something" w/o preparing first, so I made sure to fully stock my fridge and prep most of my food last night, so that there will be no moments of "Crap - there's nothing to eat"!

I've chopped up and bagged Fresh: Broccoli, Kale, Collard Greens, Brussel Sprouts, Zucchini & Squash, Scallions, Jicama, Artichokes, and Spinach

I've cooked & portioned: Sweet Potatoes (for post-workout), Lean Ground Turkey (to mix in w/ my SP Post Workout - YUM!!), HB Eggs & Red Beets (for salads)

I've stocked up on Avocadoes, Olive Oil, Olives, Unsweetened Organic Coconut Flakes, Coconut Milk, Almonds, Walnuts, Strawberries, Blueberries, FISH OIL, Omega-3 Eggs, Bagged Spinach, Baby Carrots, Mushrooms, and Wild Planet Canned Tuna

My Freezer is now full of: GrassFed Steaks, GF Stew Meat, and GF Ground Meat, Wild Fish, and "Natural" Chicken

And Lastly, I have THROWN OUT all: Salad Dressings, Splenda, Stevia, Coffee Syrups, and Junk Food

My husband isn't doing this with me (I tried. . . . trust me!!), but he's agreed to let me put all of his bread products, cereals, ect on a single shelf in the pantry so that I don't have to rifle through it when reaching in for almonds or olive oil . . . he also has a dedicated shelf in teh fridge for his milk, soft drinks, ect.

I'd say that I'm about as prepared as I'm gonna be!!!

Part Two: Training

The first thing that I need to do is get in touch w/ Coach Wilkes and see if he would be willing to continue to provide my Oly Lifting Programing and Coaching. . . I kindof fell off the face of the earth on him with no notice (and feel horrible about it), so I'm hoping he'll take me back.

I haven't been consistantly Oly Lifting for the last 2-3 months b/c of all of that travel, so I know that I will have to back-track a little bit to get back to the level that I was at before my hiatus.

I plan to spend the next month getting back "up to speed" using the programming that was working for me just before I disappeared. Then I will re-evaluate w/ Coach, and go from there.

I plan to WOD at CrossFit XLR8 M, W, F, and Sat mornings. REVISED 8/3 - Will only do MetCon on M, W, & F. Cutting Saturday out so that I can spend more time on Saturdays doing skillwork.

I'll be Olylifting/Squating and doing Skill Work in my Backyard Gym in the evenings M - F.

I plan to run 1 day a week, either on Tuesdays or Thursdays in the morning. I am going to limit my running b/c I don't want it to hold back my stregnth gains, but I need to start running a little bit because I'm slower than a tortoise, and have got to improve my speed a bit. I'm not talking long runs here - just 2-3 miles, with some sprints thrown in the mix occasionally. REVISED 8/3 - I will only run 1 -2 times per month, rather than once per week. I want to focus on stregnth gains right now, and I'm worried that too much running may slow that down.

Well, that's the plan! Now I just need to put it into action. I'm not making any promises about how often I'll update here, because training and nutrition have to take priority over blogging. . but I'll do my best to update regularly. . if nothing else, it helps to keep me accountable!

New Snatch PR - 100 lbs!

2010-02-02T07:38:00.003-06:00

I was VERY excited to get back to some Oly lifting yesterday afternoon . . .

Since ramming my foot into the couch, I had been unable to perform the Oly lifts for about a week and a half and I was going stir crazy!

I'd been gradually increasing my use of the foot, and while I still wasn't able to get a shoe on it, I felt comfortable going through the motions with a few light barefoot snatches, being careful to keep my weight on my heels for the most part.

The funny thing was that they snatches felt soooo good that I just kept taking the weight up. Before I knew it, I was at 95 lbs (my previous PR), and it flew up like it was weightless - what a great feeling :)

So I said "what the hell?" and went for a PR of 100 lbs. A little background on this - I've been chasing a "Triple Digit Snatch" for what felt like FOREVER!!! I know that 100 lbs isn't that heavy in the big scheme of things but this stupid weight had formed a huge mental block in my mind and seemed insurmountable to me for the longest time. . . for some reason that third digit just scared the hell out of me and made my form and technique go out the window on every previous attempt. It still amazes me how much my state of mind can affect my lifting!

So I tried not to get my hopes up - I loaded on the extra measly 5 pounds and failed on my first attempt - I didn't even come close to completing my pull before I started dropping under the bar. I feel sure that Coach would have slapped me silly for that half-ass pull!

I dropped the weight back down to 95 lbs and again pulled it easily. . . so back up to 100 lbs I went - and snatched it on the 2nd attempt :)

To say that I was ecstatic to finally have reached this goal would be an understatement. I hopped around like a little kid on Christmas morning with a big 'ol grin on my face!

After a few minutes, I attempted 105 a few times and missed it each time - again, I wasn't completing my pull before begining to drop under the bar. At this point, my foot was starting to really throb, so I called it a night - but I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I'll hit 105 on the next attempt. I'll be even better off when I can get back into my "magic shoes" (my VS Weightlifing shoes)!

Momma Always Said . . . .

2010-01-27T07:30:00.002-06:00

"Don't Run in the House"!!!!

Coach Wilkes was kind enough to remind me of this after hearing about the great "Toe Incident of 2010" in which I managed to ram my foot into the couch leg at "mach 5" when running to let the dogs in. . . . resulting in a broken 5th digit . . pretty, right??? lol

So my training plans have been sidetracked slightly, but I'm trying to make the best out of the situation by using the next several weeks to work my upper body and core, both of which are in desperate need of improvement!

I was supposed to max all of my lifts next week after a light week this week, but that just isn't going to happen . . . will post-pone my max efforts until my foot is healed up - hopefully by the 3rd week in February.

Today, I decided to work on some L-sits, Handstand holds, and Ring Dips - what a humbling and horrifying experience! I was mortified to realize how much I have been neglecting my core work. . . my L-sits were embarassing at best. Handstand holds were okay. . . and Ring Dips were non-existant w/o the help of a band.

Game plan to improve? I brought home some parallettes. I'll be working on L-sit progressions nightly - about 15 minutes per night. Starting with legs bent in, then one leg out at a time, and finally a full L-sit (Thanks Greg for this progression suggestion!!). I hope to be able hold a full L-sit on parallettes for 20 seconds by the end of February.

As for ring dips, the problem is clearly in the strength of my triceps (or lack thereof). I'm going to take Lance's suggestion and do 50 triangle pushups nightly in order to abuse the hell out of my triceps and hopefully increase my strength. I'll continue to work on Ring Dips once a week and monitor my improvement. I hope to be able to do RX ring dips by the end of February as well.

January 2010 Progress Video

2010-01-25T20:28:00.003-06:00

Video of January Lifts

Tuesday 1/19 Snatches & Deadlifts

Thursday 1/21 Squats

Getting Stronger :)

2009-12-31T11:34:00.003-06:00

I know I've been MIA from the blog since vacation . . . but I'm going to try to be more faithful w/ posting going forward.

Lot's of exciting things going on, but I'm crunched on time, so here's the Cliffnotes:

Started back on Wilkes programming a few weeks after returning from vacation. Been back in the "routine" for 2 full weeks.

Maxed my FS and BS today, and both have increased 15 lbs since mid-October . . .Coach Wilkes' programming is working it's magic! What a great way to finish out 2009 :)

I'm helping to organize the Paleo Challenge sponsored by Portland's CrossFit XLR8. The challenge will run from Jan 4th - Feb 21st, and I'm SUPER excited about it! My diet has definitely been far from ideal since Nov 15th when I left for vacation, and this is going to help me get back on track, and hopefully take my performance and strength gains to the next level as well!

I registered last week as a competitor for the Southern Region CF Sectionals to take place March 13th - 14th in Austin, TX. I have lots of prep to do to get ready, but I'm excited about the opportunity to compete! If I place in the top 30 women at sectionals, I'll go on to compete in Regionals in Dallas in May.

That's it for now. . Happy New Year everyone!

Recipe: Crock Pot Chicken & Butternut Squash

2009-12-15T13:29:00.000-06:00

Crock Pot Chicken & Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, gizzards etc. removed
1/2 butternut squash, cubed (about 3 cups)
carrots, sliced thick (about 1 cup)
celery, sliced with some of the greens included (about 1 1/2 cups)
5-6 garlic cloves, left whole
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced thick
dried thyme leaves
ground pepper
paprika
Sea Salt
1 bay leaf

Instructions:

Clean Chicken, pat dry, and place in crockpot
Place Bay Leaf in bottom of Crockpot next to chicken
Add veggies around the chicken so that it ends up "nestled" in veggies
Sprinkle the thyme leaves, ground pepper, and paprika over the top of the chicken & rub into skin

Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt over chicken and veggies

Cook on High for 2-3 hours, then turn to low for another 2-3 hours

This dish makes it's own (delicious!) juice so there is absolutely no need to add liquid.

When you're ready to eat, remove the chicken from the pot. It will be tender and may fall apart, so be careful! Serve with the veggies, and top with some juice from the pot.

I've found that this is a particularly good post-workout meal because of the butternut squash. I usually lift in the evening in my backyard, so if I have this cooking, all I have to do when I'm done liftin is come in and fix a plate - this eliminates the need for me to fix a post workout snack, wait an hour, and then eat dinner :)

Recipe: Mini Meatloaf "Muffins"

2009-12-15T13:21:00.000-06:00

Mini Meatloaf "Muffins"

I'm always looking for ideas for portable “snacks” that are high in protein. . . One popular favorite is the “mini-meatloaf”. These are super easy to make, and ultra portable! You can play around with the veggies and swap out different kinds (mushrooms, squash, cabbage, ect) to tailor these to your personal tastes.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
½ can tomato paste (No Salt Added if available)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ of a green bell pepper finely diced

Loafs:
1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, buffalo, lamb, pork, or a combination!)
½ of a green bell pepper finely diced
½ of a red bell pepper finely diced
½ of a white (or yellow, or red) onion finely diced
½ shredded carrot
1 egg (Omega-3 if available)
½ can of tomato paste (No Salt Added if available)
1 tsp garlic powder (Minced garlic works great too)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

OPTIONAL: 4 slices of nitrate-free, no sugar added bacon chopped (If you want to increase your fat intake)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sauce:
This part is easy. Add water to tomato paste until you get a nice consistency and mix all ingredients together. A nice consistency would be one similar to ketchup.

Loafs:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a big mixing bowl.
2. Fill Muffin Tins about ¾ full with meat mixture
3. Paint some of your sauce on top of your mini-loaves.
4. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
5. After cooked, paint some more sauce on top of your loaves and serve.

These make perfectly portable snack-sized protein/veggie portions! They can be frozen and thawed at a later time as well!

IT'S OFFICIAL - I'VE FINISHED MY B.B.A. COURSEWORK!!!!

2009-11-02T01:41:00.004-06:00

This is going to be a short and sweet post b/c I am EXHAUSTED and have to work tomorrow. . . but I just officially completed the final assignment of my B.B.A. with a concentration in Accounting!!!!

As soon as my teachers are done with the grading, I will (FINALLY) be an official college graduate!

Okay . . off to bed . . . CAN'T WAIT TO OLY LIFT AND CROSSFIT TOMORROW!!!!!!

Coach - if your reading this - ready for the squat program now :)

A weekend full of Schoolwork . . Again

2009-10-24T11:42:00.005-05:00

Okay, I am soooo close to finishing my degree, but am so far past the point of burnt out, it's not even funny. I know that I can probably wrap up all of my remaining assignments this weekend if I just buckle down and DO them, but every time I start to do research or write a paper, my mind wanders off to Weightlifting stuff, or CrossFit stuff, or I start thinking about creative paleo recipes that I could try, or I start daydreaming about my upcoming vacation. . . It's like my brain is hell bent against my finishing.

I am so tired though, and the classwork is just hanging over my head like a cloud and making everything else less enjoyable. I know that if I just knock it out, I'll be able to get on with enjoying all the other stuff in my life. . . so why won't my brain cooperate???

So I have made myself (and my husband) this promise - I will not log into facebook, blogspot, yahoo or ebay. . and will not do one single CrossFit workout or Oly Lifting session until I have completed the rest of my coursework. If you know me personally, then you know that I will go absolutely mental if I am forced to go more than 2-3 days w/o my workout "fix". . . so I absolutely MUST just suck it up and finish the course work.

Wish me luck (Lord know's I'll need it!!!). . and hopefully I'll be back posting an update that I'm finished by Monday!

A Fridge stocked with Paleo food is a Beautiful thing!!

2009-10-22T11:28:00.009-05:00

I went grocery yesterday morning on my way home from CrossFit, and stocked up on all of my grub for the week, but I decided yesterday afternoon that I would go ahead and prep most of it all at once.

Usually, I cook meals each night, and throw together a salad from scratch every day at lunch, but it's interfering w/ my schoolwork in the evenings b/c by the time I cook and clean up from dinner, I feel like half the night is gone!

So I transformed into Chef-Boy-R-Paleo last night and cooked up a storm :)

My fridge is now stocked with:

Cooked Ground Bison, already portioned into 3-4 oz servings

Cooked Egg Whites already portioned

Cooked Breakfast Turkey Sausage Links

Baked Chicken Tenders (enough for 3-4 days)

Paleo Turkey Meatballs (a John Berardi Recipe that I LOVE! I'll share it below!)

Collard Greens/Onions/Garlic Sauteed in Olive Oil

Green/Red/Yellow/Orange Peppers/Onions/Garlic sauteed in Olive Oil

Roasted Beets (YUMMY!!)

Broiled Brussel Sprouts

Carrots already diced up for salads

Scallions already diced up for salads

Pre-cut broccoli & Cauliflower

SOG Paleo Hummus (another YUMMY recipe find!)

SOG Paleo BBQ (yep, yet another great home-made paleo condiment)

Hard Boiled Eggland's Best Eggs (for salads)

Watermelon (cut up and portioned)

AIN'T IT PURTY?!?! :)

I also have some meat that I didn't cook yet, b/c it will be easy to just throw it on the grill or in the oven for a quick dinner:

Wild Salmon
Wild Snapper

Bison Steaks

And of course, I have the essentials that don't require prep:

Fresh-Ground Almond butter

Pastuerized Egg Whites

Baby Spinach (for salads)

Avocados / Tomatoes / Onions

Coconut Water (for PWO)

I feel SO great having 95% of my cooking done for the week, and the combinations are endless w/ the stuff above!

One of my favorites: Throw some of the sauteed peppers/onions in a bowl w/ ground bison, a diced tomato, and half an avocado - YUM

Now, I'll have my evenings free for the rest of the week to concentrate on nothing but schoolwork - Yay!

Here's the link to the Turkey Meatballs reference above: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi85.htm#14 - I make it exactly as directed, except I only make the turkey "meatballs", and not the green beans b/c the green beans aren't 100% paleo.

A fully stocked fridge, and a backyard full of fitness "toys" . .it doesn't take much to make me happy ;)

Coach's Comments - Things That Need Work

2009-10-21T10:15:00.004-05:00

Okay, got feedback from Coach Wilkes on my videos, and here are the things that I really need to focus on correcting ASAP:

STOP LOOKING UP!! - I have this "habit" of looking up when I Snatch. Don't know when it started, but it's throwing off my balance, and it MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY. I spraypainted a spot on the fence in front of where I lift so that I can focus on an area directly in front of me.

Finish Extension / Don't pull with arms/bend arms early - In the rapid-fire photography shots that I had taken of my Snatch, it is clear that I am rounding forward and pulling the hell out of the bar with my arms. I don't even begin to finish the pull, and my elbows start bending at the begining of the lift b/c I'm trying to muscle the bar up. I HAVE TO FIX THIS NOW before it becomes a habit that I have to spend months trying to correct.

Don't Dip Forward on Squat - Keep Chest Up - I tend to dip forward badly when coming up from my squats, and I really need to work on staying upright/keeping my chest out.

Don't "Flop" in the bottom range of squat - control full range - Another bad habit of mine is to control the top range of a squat, but then to just kind of collapse into the bottom, and then stand up. I really need to work on controlling the weight through the full range of motion.

One of my problems is that I sometimes don't realize that I'm making these mistakes because I don't have anyone in my back yard to correct me, and there are no mirrors so I can't see myself when I'm lifting. Solution - I'm going to record each workout session with my camera, and quickly review my lifts at the end of each session.

In order to help myself stay focused on correcting these things, I will be applying "motivational consequences" (as Coach Burgener called them!). When reviewing my video, I will make a note of every time that I make one of the errors above. I will then do 15 burpees for every error made. . . . . Last night I did 60 burpees - Rounded forward badly on my squats on 4 seperate occasions.

I think that reviewing my lifts daily will help me to notice where I am making mistakes, and will help me to be able to correct them immediately rather than continuing to make them and forming bad habits. Additionally, the fear of the dreaded burpee should help me to really stay focused on keeping my back straight, controling the weight in the bottom range of my squats, and not pulling with my arms on my Snatches. . . .

Maxed Front Squat & Deadlift today

2009-10-20T21:09:00.002-05:00

Keeping this post short and sweet.

Did the last of my 1 rep maxes today - front squats and deadlifts.

Front squat was 109 lbs and deadlift was 165 lbs.

Not thrilled with these numbers, but I know that this is just a starting point, and it only goes up from here!

One thing to note is that my 1 rep max #'s for the squats are literally ass to the grass. My butt probably gets w/in 2 inches of the ground. If I were to do "typical" squats like they do at the globo-gyms to 90 degrees, I could squat a hell of a lot more. The thing is, the primary reason I'm squating is to improve my Olympic lifts. And it is absolutely imperative that I increase my stregnth in the bottom range for these lifts.

One of the things that I noticed both on my Back Squat and Front Squat max days is that my legs feel that they could lift a lot more, but my core strength sucks. I tried SO hard to keep my chest up, but as the weight got heavier, I started to dip forward on the drive up. I will continue to squat with lighter weights until I can increase the weight and still maintain proper form.

Upping my Caloric Intake

2009-10-19T14:08:00.004-05:00

Okay, it's official - I need to put on some (healthy) weight in order to really maximize my potential in Olympic Lifting.

Have you ever seen a 5'9" 135 lb Oly Lifter at the competitive level? Yeah, me neither!

Here's the game plan (changes to workouts):

Cut out CrossFit Endurance sessions (for now)
Continue to follow Coach Wilkes Oly Lifting Programing 5x per week
Do CrossFit MetCon workouts 5x per week (3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off), but spend more time working on skills like ring dips, chest to bars, hand stand pushups, ect. . . . and also concentrate more on proper form, technique and full ROM than speed - I think that the speed will come if I improve the rest of it

Here's the game plan (changes to eating plan):

Staying Paleo, but increasing Caloric Intake from 1,300 range to 1,800 range
Majority of extra calories will come from red meat and healthy fats
More Steak, Ground Beef (grass-fed), Whole Eggs, Avocado, Nuts, Nut Butters, ect.
Will eat steak/ground meat w/ slightly higher fat content (85-90% lean instead of xtra lean)
Still going to try to keep fruit and simple carb intake to a minimum, but will eat approx 6 oz sweet potato immediately post-workout (after my Oly lifting sessions, not MetCon)

I've never actually tried to put on healthy weight before - I hope that a considerable amount of it will be muscle, but I know that the "other stuff" is going to come along for the ride, and I'm okay with that, as long as my performance and lifts increase simultaneously.

I have no idea how quickly I will see a difference, as I've never done this before and don't have any past experience to draw from. For now, I'm going to set a goal of reaching 145-150 in the next 4-6 months, with a large portion of the gain hopefully contributed to increased muscle mass (and resulting increased strength).

If anyone has reading this has any suggestions or critiques of my plan, please feel free to fire away! I'm new to this, and it will definitely be an experimental process - and I'm sure I'll make adjustments along the way.

If you don't think my goal is realistic, or if you think I'm under-shooting it, please feel free to chime in there too!

ANOTHER PR!!! YAHOOOO!!!!!

2009-10-18T20:20:00.004-05:00

This weekend, I had the absolutely awesome opportunity to attend an Olympic Lifting Certification in San Antonio with Coach Burgener - What a great learning experience!

I think the thing that I enjoyed the most was learning how to explain and teach the basics of Olympic Lifting to people without a lifting background. This will be extremely helpful as I teach Jamie the lifts over the next few months :)

It was also a great opportunity to have my technique analyzed and areas for improvement pointed out. I am by no means a world-class lifter, and there is plenty of room for improvement! It was great to identify a few of those areas and be taught drills that I can do that will help me continue to improve on my weaker areas and the things that I'm not as comfortable with.

I have high hopes that my lifts will be going WAY up over the next several months, as long as I stick with Coach Wilkes programing, and continue to apply the corrections to technique that I learned this weekend :)

One of the things that I know that I have had a problem with is bending my arms and trying to "muscle up" the bar when doing a snatch. I know this is one of the reason that my snatch stalled several months ago, and I haven't been able to increase it since. It is only humanly possible to "muscle up" so much weight! I've been told several times to pull myself under the bar, and not to bend my elbows so early, but for some reason I just couldn't seem to make this knowledge translate to my lifts. . . . This weekend, Coach B and his trainers went into a lot of detail explaining how to pull oneself underneath the bar. They also emphasized over and over again that you do NOT pull the bar overhead - you accellerate it through the middle, and then pull yourself under it as soon as you finish your extension. For some reason, it FINALLY "clicked" for me!!

After the Cert, I decided to do a few quick lifts with "real weight" in order to help all of the information that I learned sink in (we used PVC and stripped barbells for most of the drills during the cert).

I started by warming up with the bar, then snatched 65lb, then 85lb like it was NOTHING! My previous PR was 87lb . . . . I took the weight up to 95lb, and nailed it on the third attempt!

Then I dropped it and did the happy dance! lol :) The best part is that Jessica from Atlas CrossFit in Chicago got a picture of me in the bottom of my 95lb snatch! I'll post it once I get a copy :)

I really think I could have gone even heavier, but I didn't want to wear out my welcome, and it looked like the Alamo crew was packing up and getting ready to call it a day - so I will have to max out again next weekend and see just how heavy I can go :)

Playground Complete . . and DEADHANG PULLUPS!

2009-10-16T17:41:00.008-05:00

I am SO happy to announce that my Backyard Playground is finally complete!

Here's some pics of my completed Squat Cage (w/ spinning pull-up bar and wall-ball target), pull-up bars, and ring bar:

I'm heading to Alamo CrossFit in San Antonio this weekend for an Olympic Lifting Certification with Coach Burgener (YAY!!), and when I get home I am going to finish up my class work, and then it is ON! I am so excited that I will finally be finished with school, and have the time to take my training up a notch!

On to food - Still staying 100% Paleo :) I've successfully reduced the amount of carbs I'm eating by cutting back on fruit, and I'm feeling really great! The extra fat is helping me to maintain good energy levels, and I'm already feeling like I'm running more "efficiently" w/ less bloat, ect.

I found an AWESOME "hummus" recipe that is 100% paleo here: http://www.sonofgrok.com/2009/06/primally-delicious-hummus/

Enjoyed it with some fresh broccoli for a snack today!

I'm getting ready to bake some chicken, grass-fed beef, and veggies to take with me this weekend so that I can stay 100% on the Paleo Wagon while in San Antonio.

Then I'm going to knock out as much schoolwork as possible before the end of the night, and then crash by 10pm so that I can get up early and leave for SA tomorrow morning :)

OH - I ALMOST FORGOT - MAJOR HUGE GINORMOUSMILESTONE/ACCOMPLISHMENT TODAY!!!

A little background first - I've been CrossFitting for approx 18 months or so now, and I kip all of the pull-ups in the WODs. My kips aren't bad, but I've got grip strength issues to work on - right now I can only do about 5 in a row before my grip gives out. . .

Anyway, Long story short - I have not ever done a dead hang pull-up before. I tried (extremely unsuccessfully!!) for the first 3-4 months, but just couldn't do it - I mean not even close! Then I learned the Kip, and kind of forgot about my inability to do "strict" pull-ups.

Earlier in the week, I was reading a bunch of stuff about dead-hangs on Melissa Urban's blog (http://www.urbangetsdiesel.com/ ), and decided that I needed to make mastering the dead-hang my next priority.

Sooo. . .I strolled into CC CrossFit this morning, warmed up, and then casually grabbed the bar, hung, and attempted a pull-up . . .

I'll be honest - I had already pretty much convinced myself that I would not be able to get one, and that this was something that would require a few weeks of work. . .

So imagine my surprise when I practically floated up over the bar!!! OH MY GOD!!! I almost fell off the bar out of pure shock! So I lowered myself back down, still in shock, and then said to myself "okay, that was a fluke".

I got Mary's attention, and said "hey - check this out!" figuring that it didn't count unless someone saw it. Again, I hung from the bar, and BOOM - before I knew it, my chin was a good inch over the bar again! Mary's jaw hit the floor!

So I grabbed Eduardo, and was like - hey - CHECK THIS OUT! And proceeded to do it again. . and again. . and again!!

So guess what - it's not a fluke! Apparently my strength has increased significantly over the last 6 months through CrossFit and Olympic Lifting. . . and I hadn't even realized it!

Sometimes it is hard to notice progress because I train every day, and typically only improve my times or lifts by a few seconds or a few pounds at a time. It is easy to get a little impatient with myself or feel that I'm not progressing as quickly as I could or should. . .

Then I get a wake up call like this, and it really reminded me that I AM making weekly progress - and when I add up a bunch of small weekly accomplishments, and look back at where I was 6 months ago, compared to now, I really have nothing to complain about.

Can I do Chest To Bars or Muscle-ups yet? No

Does that bother me a little? Sure!

But am I going to continue to work my ass off and appreciate even the little improvements until one day I wake up and surprise myself with a Muscle-up or Chest to Bar? HECK YES!

PROOF of Dead-Hangs!
at home tonight. . . a little tired, as this morning's WOD involved 120 Kips! But I've still got it!

Gotta love PRs!!!

2009-10-14T12:43:00.005-05:00

It's been a little bit since I've posted an update, but things are going REALLY well!

I've stuck with the Paleo Diet 100% - for 12 days now - not a single bite of anything non-paleo. The next step for me is going to be to cut out the little things like Stevia in my coffee. I am also planning to try to reduce my carb intake a little by reducing the amount of fruit that I'm eating. I "binged" a little on Saturday by eating waaayyy too much Almond Butter. . and then did it again on Sunday with waaayyy to much Pineapple. . .but at least I stayed paleo! :)

I'll be trying to log in each evening and just list what I ate that day in order to keep myself accountable, and also to provide the information for anyone that may be curious about the Paleo Diet and what kind of foods it allows.

I'm taking this week to determine my current Max lifts:
Mon - Snatches

Tue - Clean & Jerks

Wed - Back Squats / OH Press

Thur - Front Squats / Deadlifts

I maxed outmy snatches at 39.5K / 87 lbs on Monday. This is equal to my previous PR so I was a little dissapointed initially, but then I really thought about it. The last time that I got this weight, it was extremely difficult, and I barely got it by the skin of my teeth, and couldn't have repeated it if you'd offered me all the money in the world. This time, the weight honestly just went right up on the first attempt - it wasn't that bad, and I felt like I could have repeated it 10 times if asked to. I just couldn't manage to get the next weight, but I think it was more a mental block than anything, and feel confident that I'll get it next time I max out my snatches. The other difference that I noticed was this: It used to be that standing up from the catch at the bottom of the snatch was the part of the move that held me back. My squat was just so weak that I had a very hard time standing up, and would often fail in the bottom position. This time around, the standing up was EASY!! I mean, literally easy as pie. It felt like nothing to stand up with that from the bottom range of my squat, so I know that my OH squat has improved drastically over the last month :)

As for Clean & Jerk - I blew my last PR out of the water last night!!! My previous C&J PR was 95 lbs, and I'd cleaned 99 lbs a few times without the Jerk. Last night, I maxed out at 109 lbs!! That is a FULL 14 LB INCREASE! To say that I was ecstatic would be an understatement! I'll be honest, it was ugly as hell, and I barely got it, and couldn't have repeated for the life of me - but I got it! I am a very happy girl b/c this proves that Coach Wilkes programing is working very well for me - I don't expect these kinds of increases every month - but boy was I happy with the first month's results!

Okay, back to food - I mentioned earlier that I'm going to try to significantly reduce the amount of fruit / carbs that I'm eating. Because of this, I'm increasing my fat intake so that my energy levels (hopefully!) won't be affected too much.

I found some AWESOME Nitrate Free, No Sugar, All Natural Bacon at HEB, so this morning I made a yummy breakfast of egg whites, spinach, portobella mushrooms, and bacon - I mean food porn at it's finest! Didn't miss my fruit one little bit :)

One other note regarding food - I have found that I am VERY carb sensitive. Also, I have great willpower, but once I have a bite of a high GI carb, I spend the next 3 hours fighting off the sugar cravings - which is the other reason that I'm reducing my fruit.

I picked up a few Larabars this weekend at HEB, and those suckers didn't stand a chance! I officially can NOT have those things in the house any more! They may be Paleo, but they are definitely not the best choice for me because they do nothing but wake up my sugar craving demons big time!

Happy, happy, happy, happy Girl!!!!

2009-10-08T14:07:00.007-05:00

SO EXCITED!!!

My Bumper plates, dumbells, 1 pood kettlebell, 1K and 0.5K plates, and gym chalk just arrived!!! I feel even more giddy than a kid at Christmas! :)

According to tracking, my Oly bar should be here tonight as well - OH I AM SO HAPPY!!!

Quick update - I'm still staying 100% Paleo - no cheats, and not even any oatmeal! I am a little bit low on energy, but I'm going to give it 2 weeks to see if I adjust before I decide to add back in the oatmeal.

I had an AWESOME lift at the Community Center last night (Wednedsay)! Something just "clicked" with my snatches, and the bar was flying up over my head with next to no effort! What a GREAT feeling :) I'm on cloud 9 right now!

Gonna head to Tractor Supply tonight to pick up some Stall Matts, and then I will be all set!

Yay for no more metal plates!! It sucks when I have to bail from a snatch and throw the bar at the community center b/c the plates are so loud the whole gym stares and half the guys run over to see if I'm okay - embarassing as hell! Now I'll have bumpers, and I can bail any time I need to . . . yipee :)

UPDATE 5PM - THE BAR IS HERE!! :) WHOOPEE! Time to go get my first backyard lift in!

UPDATE 7:30PM - Stall Matts are Down! Tomorrow's Lift is gonna be AWESOME :)

Making Progress :)

2009-10-05T22:00:00.009-05:00

Had another really good day today, but running a little low on energy.

Started the day w/ 5am CrossFit - 100 Burpees for time - 7'21". My best time was 7'06" so I'm still off a bit, but not by too much.

After work, I got my lifting in at the community center. Squats are getting easier by the week. My shoulder presses still need a ton of work :( And I swear the Planks get me EVERY TIME! But I am getting better at the planks and can hold them a lot longer than I could the first week.

Had an awesome lunch today of grilled chicken, avocado, and salsa served w/ steamed broccoli and slivered almonds :) It's amazing how much jucier and more flavorful the all natural organic chicken is than the frozen stuff I'm used to!

For Dinner, I made an awesome Red Snapper recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray. I'm too tired to type the whole thing out right now, but it was a-freaking-mazing! And totally Paleo :) I cooked up some spicy collard greens to go along w/ the fish, and it was a very satisfying dinner.

Studying is done for the night, and I'm off to hit the sack.

Productive Day!!

2009-10-04T21:00:00.003-05:00

WOW! I had such a productive day today :)

I got a ton of schoolwork knocked out, and then tonight, I got most of my cooking for the week taken care of!

I just finished cooking:
Paleo Bison Meatballs (perfect for snacks)
Mini Swt Potato/Spinach Frittatas (perfect early morning pre-workout)
All Natural Organic Chicken Breasts (enough to get me through Thursday)
Baked Sweet Potatoes (for my post-workout recover snack)
Hard Boiled Omega-3 Eggs (for salads and late-night snack)

I've also got all of my meals planned out for the week - lots of yummy stuff on the agenda: Wild Salmon, Wild Mahi Mahi, Grass-Fed Beef Steaks, Organic All Natural Chicken Breasts, Bison Meatballs, Frittatas, Collard Greens, Organic Broccoli, Baked Beets, Mashed Cauliflower, Brussel Sprout "fries" . . .Yep, it's going to be a GOOD week :)

WooHoo ;)

A little more schoolwork, and then I'm hitting the sack!

Feeling Better!

2009-10-03T22:51:00.004-05:00

Had an AWESOME day today!

Started out with my first CF workout since Monday - I hate being sick, but when you start feeling better it's like you're a new person :) Today's workout was 75 Power Snatches for time. I did RX weight at 55lbs and finished in 9'26". I was really focusing more on maintaining proper form than I was on my time though.

Went to Sun Harvest after CF and bought some Wild Salmon, Wild Red Snapper, Grass Fed Beef, Buffalo, and some Organic Veggies (oh yeah, and a few of those yummy date rolls too!)

Came home, knocked out some schoolwork, and then went for a nice long run this evening. . . well long for ME anyway! I ran 3.55 miles. I had to stop and rest for about 5 minutes at the half way point, and again at the 3/4 point, but it still felt really good to get out there and run. It was a beautiful night for it with a cool breeze and a pretty sunset :)

After my run, I came home and cooked up the Wild Salmon - sooo yummy! I tried a new recipe tonight and it turned out great!

Salmon
Onion
Tomato
EVOO
Salt/Pepper

I drizzeled the salmon w/ a little EVOO, then sliced the onions and layed over the salmon, and then sliced the tomato and layed on top of the onions. Then I drizzled a little more EVOO, and sprinkled with some salt and freshly ground pepper. Then I wrapped it in foil and baked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. It turned out PERFECT! I served it with some sauteed zucchini and squash.

Bed time now!

Unplanned Rest Day

2009-09-30T12:25:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I've officially got a nasty cold :( I've been fighting it off since early this week, and it finally got the better of me.

Tossed and turned all night last night w/ the sweats and chills. . .hate that!

Sticking to a Paleo diet today, but not going to make the gym . . obviously.

Note regarding food today - I really feel crappy and have next to no appetite so I'm not going to get in the calories that I normally would, but I'm missing my workouts today too so It's not like I need a lot of extra energy from the food anyway.

So far today:

8:30am - 2 mini fritattas, 4 oz Trop 50 OJ
late morning snack - 1 TB almond butter
12:00pm - 1 Lean Turkey Sausage Link, salad w/ spinach, tomato, onion, carrot, avocado, 1hb egg, and balsamic vinegar
Snacked througout afternoon on: 1 peach, 2 baked chicken tenders, 6 oz Trop 50 OJ
7:00pm - 6 inch Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sub

I know, the sub was totally not paleo, but I felt like total crap and really didn't feel up to cooking anything, and being sick absolutely killed my willpower against starchy carbs :( But I was good and got it w/ vinegar instead of mayo!

Not feeling so hot!

2009-09-29T11:20:00.004-05:00

Ugh, I really feel crummy today :( This cold has finally gotten the better of me! I felt okay when I woke up, but have been feeling worse and worse throughout the day.

CF this morning was good. Did 15 Deadlifts/15 Pushups - 10 rounds. RX was 95lbs on the Deads, I did 99lbs. Wow did they get heavy by the 6th or 7th round! My final time was just over 20 minutes. I did the first 2 rounds of strict pushups, and then went to my knees to avoid compromising my form.

Lifting was AWESOME last night! I FINALLY pressed the 65 lbs for all sets. . . . they were really ugly, but I did it! Only thing is that I did bounce a little bit at the bottom of each rep (okay a LOT by the final set). I'm going to drop it down to 60 next week and concentrate on eliminating the bounce before I go back up in weight.

Okay, on to food. I'm on day 3 of being strict.

So far today:

4:30am - 2 mini sweet potato frittatas (pre CF)
6:30am - 3 oz sweet potato + 1/4 scoop Protein powder (post CF)
8:00am - 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1 T Almond Butter, 1/2 scoop Protein Powder (needed energy!)
11:45am - 4 oz Tilapia + Salad w/ spinach, tomato, onion, avocado, 1 hb egg, carrots, and balsamic vinegar
Afternoon - Snacked on 1 TB Almond Butter & a few saltine crackers. . .later had 1/2 plumcott
6:30pm - 1 Link Lean Turkey Sausage + Zuchinni, Squash, and Onions sauteed in EVOO

Really felt crappy by the end of the night. . I know the saltines weren't Paleo, but I had to do something to settle my stomach mid-afternoon.

Missed my Oly lifting session tonight b/c I felt absolutely horrible, not to mention I don't think the others in the gym would have appreciated me sneezing and coughing all over them!

Sweet Potato Frittata Recipe + Update

2009-09-28T07:20:00.007-05:00

Okay, I haven't checked in for a while b/c I've been CRAZY BUSY between school, work, and lifting, but I'm going to try to be a little more regular w/ my updates going forward.

A quick update - My diet has NOT been going so well :( It's not that I have been eating total crap all of the time, but it has definitely not been Paleo, and there has been a good amount of crap thrown in there. . .

Back on the wagon yesterday though, and so far so good :)

It never ceases to amaze me what a HUGE difference my diet has on my performance. Perfect example - I did the "Nancy" WOD about a month and a half ago, and PR'd it at 14'50". Did it this morning, and it nearly killed me, and my time was 21'42". That is seriously just sad. Granted, I was sick all weekend but still, I have to contribute the majority of the excess time to my crappy diet.

It was nice to have a little "reminder" like that this morning - even though I had already committed myself to cleaning up my diet again ASAP, and have already prepped all of my food for the week - that extra little reminder will help to keep me on track and remind me just why I'm following Paleo Guidelines.

As for my workouts - I've gotten 95% of my lifting workouts in, but have only been making it to about 3 CF sessions a week b/c of school/work schedules. I will be SO happy when I'm finally done with school!! Only a few weeks left :) My Oly lifts have been getting better, but my CF performance has gone down significantly due to my crappy diet. I can only imagine how much my Oly lifts would have improved had I stayed strict w/ my diet over the last month! That's okay though - the past is the past, and all I can do is concentrate on the future.

For the next week or so, I'll be updating my blog with what I'm eating in an attempt to keep myself a little more accountable.

Mini Sweet Potato Frittata Recipe:

I created the BEST recipe this weekend that is PERFECT for me for pre-work out :) I call them "Mini Sweet Potato Frittatas". I sauteed onions, red peppers, yellow peppers, spinach, and tomatoes in some olive oil, and cubed some sweet potatoes and cooked them in a skillet until they were soft and mushy. I combined all the veggies and the sweet potatoes, added a little salt and pepper, and then spooned equal amounts into 14 muffin pans. Then, I beat 3 eggs + 8 egg whites really well, and then poured the eggs over the veggie mixture in the muffin pans. Then, I baked them at 375 for about 15 minutes, and that was it :) I froze about half of them, and the other half is in the fridge. 2 of the little mini-frittatas makes a perfect pre-workout snack for me :)

And in case anyone is wondering what's in my homemade oatmeal pancakes:
Old Fashioned Oats, Egg Whites, Protein Powder, Apple Sauce, Banana, Cinnamon

I'll be phasing these out over the next day or so b/c I want to try to go strict Paleo without the oatmeal. If I have a problem w/ energy loss again though, I'll add my oatmeal back in.

Okay, so far, here's what I've eaten today:

4:30am - 2 mini-frittatas (pre-workout)
6:30am - 3 oz sweet potato + 1/4 scoop lean dessert protein powder + 2 walnuts (post-workout)
7:45am - 1 homemade "oatmeal pancake" + 1 T Natural Almond Butter (breakfast)
11:00am - 4 oz lean steak grilled + salad w/ spinach, 1 hb egg, avocado, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and balsamic vinegar
3:00pm - 3 oz chicken breast + 1/2 plumcott + 5 brussel sprouts w/ evoo
7:00pm - 4 oz tilapia + 2 cups broccoli + slivered almonds + evoo

SORE AS HELL!!! (And Loving It!)

2009-09-11T08:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, so olympic lifting has been going really well this week.

Last night I had more Snatches (65 lb) and C&J's (90 lbs) and I swear they felt twice as heavy as they did the day before!

WOD yesterday morning was 12 Pullups, 12 Burpees - 10 RFT. I did Ring Pullups b/c my hands were so shredded, and I think this may be one of the reasons I was sooo sore for lifting last night and the weight felt heavier than normal.

Still made it through all rounds though! Just took plenty of rest in between reps, and powered through.

By 9pm last night, every single muscle in my entire body from my toes to my hair follicles was on fire! I hate being so sore, but love it at the same time b/c it's not an injury sore - just a soreness that reminds you that you're busting your ass in the gym :)

Didn't go to CF this morning b/c I already did my three in a row Tu, Wed, Thu, plus I needed the extra sleep!

Tonight will be a hellof a lot of squats and core. . . .so I'm looking at the bright side - at least no upper body! lol

Diet has stayed Paleo - hard boiled some eggs earlier in the week, and have been LOVING them on my salads :)

Getting ready to hunker down for another weekend full of schoolwork as well.

Another good day :)

2009-09-09T18:38:00.003-05:00

Today's been pretty good so far!

Made it to WOD w/ the 5am-ers at CC Crossfit - had a bit of a different WOD today.

I had the chance to work on my Hand Stand Pushups :) I did them upside down under the pullup machine w/ the green band as assistance. Got 24 in Four minutes. I wanted that 25th one sooo bad, but my shoulders just gave out on me!

Pretty uneventful day at work - which equals a good day!

Got off a little late, hit the community center about 5:15pm for my lift.

OMG - you should have SEEN the looks on the guys faces when Lil' Ol Me started doing snatches and split jerks in the middle of the floor! It was absolutely priceless!

Today I had 66 lb snatches, 88 lb C&J, and 100 lb RDL's programmed - I feel like it went pretty well.

The snatches felt light, but gave me a chance to really focus on technique, and NOT LOOKING UP!

Cleans were so-so. I did 90lb b/c it was the closest I could get to 88. It didn't feel heavy, but I had a little trouble w/ rounding my back on the last few reps.

RDL's felt a little light, but again, gave me a chance to really work on full ROM and good form. My rear's already twitching a little, so I'm pretty sure I'll be feeling them tomorrow!

Okay, off to schoolwork - I have an Economics paper due tonight. . yuck!

DAY 1 of Coach Wilkes' Oly Lifting Program!!!

2009-09-08T19:21:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I have been MIA for about a week due to insane amounts of stress and school. . . but I HAVE been sticking to my Paleo ways (well. . . for the most part anyway!), and I've been squeezing in as many CF workouts as possible between school and work.

I spent the ENTIRE Labor Day weekend doing schoolwork - literally from the minute I woke to the time I went to bed - Fri night, Sat, Sun, and Monday. . . .BUT I knocked out a hell of a lot of work!

I found out early last week that I wouldn't be able to Oly lift in the mornings anymore at CC Crossfit, so I had to make some other arrangements. . . cause hell if I'm gonna quit lifting!

Starting today, I'm CF'ing in the morning, and then in the evenings I'm Oly lifting up at the Community Center. It's not the ideal setup - they don't have rubber bumpers, and it's pretty packed in the evenings, but they do have bars and iron plates, and technically that's all I need to get by :)

So my (revised) schedule this month is:
Up at 4am for 5am CrossFit
Work from 6:45am to 4pm
Lift from 4:30pm to 5:30pm at the Community Center
Schoolwork from 6pm to 10pm

I will be SOOO happy when this month is over, and I can take the schoolwork out of the equation!

So anyway, like I was saying - today was my first day of following Coach Wilkes' Olympic Lifting Programing - and I really liked it! It feels SOOOO good to be lifting again after nearly 2 weeks off! I REALLY missed it!

The squats felt pretty light, but by the end were starting to get heavy. I really concentrated on keeping good form- and got down loooowwww on every rep :)

The OH presses were another story altogether!! I was supposed to press 65 lbs but couldn't manage more than 60, and could only get 3 reps at that weight. I ended up dropping the weight by 10 lbs to 55 and doing the appropriate # of reps and sets. I have full confidence that my pressing stregnth will increase, and I'll bet that I'll be pressing 65 w/in a month!

Then were the planks. . . the new dirty word in my vocabulary! I swear it will be a miracle if I can sit up tomorrow morning! They hurt SO GOOD!

Well, that's my update for the day :) Back to the schoolwork. . . .

Costa Rican Coffee & PR's!

2009-08-28T06:52:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a GOOD Day!! The day started off w/ one of my favorite benchmark WOD's at 6am: "Nancy". This WOD is 15 OH Squats at 65lb and 400 meter runs - 5 rounds for time. I finished in 14'52" which is a full 4 minutes faster than my previous PR! Pic to the left is of one of my squats . . . not quite at the bottom of my range. I do see that I'm coming off my heels a little though, so I need to work on that next time!

Then, on the drive home from CC Crossfit, I saw this amazing sunrise. Talk about a perfect start to a day! I LOVE South Texas :)

Got home from my workout, and made some YUMMY Scrambled eggs (using 1 whole egg + 4 whites). Cut up some peppers and onions from Wednesday nights stir fry into my eggs, and they turned out AWESOME! AND a friend brought me some Costa Rican Coffee earlier in the week that is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING . . This stuff is like liquid velvet in my mouth, I swear - it's to die for!

Then had a really productive day at work - got a ton done. . .and then buckled down w/ the schoolwork. All in all, a very, very good day :)

Not a Weiner

2009-08-26T14:03:00.005-05:00

So Jamie and I bought $10 worth of Mega Millions Tickets last night on a whim since the Jackpot is up to some kind of crazy amount over $250Mil . . . and am devastated to announce that we are not wieners. . . lol :)

I got 9 hours of sleep last night, and it felt A-Freaking-Mazing!!

Up this morning at 5am for 6 O'Clock Crossfit - had my favorite WOD on the board when I walked in, so I knew it was gonna be a GOOD DAY!

WOD involved Pullups, Situps, and Walking Lunges. I have super fast sit-ups, and my walking lunges are fast too b/c of my looong legs :) My pullups really slowed me down this morning though. Couldn't seem to get the rythem right. The first set I got abotu 5-6 in a row, but after that I was only getting 2-3 at a time, and then just singles, so it really slowed me down.

Posted a time of 14'45" which I was okay with, but got home and checked, and my previous time was 14'08", so I definitely need to do more pullups to get them back up to speed!

Having a productive day at work today (got to LOVE those!)

Planning on taking the evening off from schoolwork so that I can unpack my luggage (yes from the trip that I returned from LAST WEEK!! - I'm so bad about that stuff). . . and do some laundry and just give my brain a break!

Hope to be in bed by 9 tonight so that I can get 8 hours of sleep before CrossFit tomorrow morning.

Planning to cook Fajita steak, peppers, onions, and tomatoes for dinner tonight w/ a little Guac on the side. . YUMMY!

<---- Pic of Dinner - It turned out GREAT :)

<---- And Plenty left over for tomorrow's Lunch too!

Oatmeal Pancakes and Lack of Sleep

2009-08-25T18:43:00.004-05:00

Okay, so last night I ended up pulling an all-nighter in order to complete my comprehensive project in my Master's Class which was supposed to be due by midnight Arizona Time. . . I ended up finally finishing it about 7am CST and submitting it - I may get a few points deducted for the tardiness, but at least the system let me submit it :)

I had only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before b/c of coursework deadlines, so to say I was a royal bi-atch this morning would be a complete and total understatement. . . even the puppies were hiding!

I plugged through the first hour of work, but then had to take a quick power nap - I do NOT function on zero sleep - will never try that again!

After a 2 hour nap and a shower I felt like a new women - got up and got back to work.

Bummed that I missed CF this morning, but I can only do so much, and I have to recognize my limitations, and prioritize the completion of my degree over my CF addiction right now :(

After work, I decided to try to make some of those oatmeal pancakes that I've been buying from Molly's Friend, Mary. She makes these pancakes that are TO DIE FOR with oatmeal, egg whites, bananas, and sometimes some all-fruit perserves.

I experimented by combining the following:

1 small banana
1/2 cup Organic Unsweetened Applesauce
Dash Vanilla Extract
8 Egg Whites
2 Whole Egs
1 Scoop Cinamon Roll BSN Lean Dessert Protein Powder
2 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, Dry
a Crap-Ton of ground cinamon
2 packets of Stevia

I mashed the bananas up really good w/ the applesauce and vanilla, and then beat them till they were frothy w/ a mixer. I then let the mixture sit on the counter for about an hour to get warm (the applesauce was cold from being in teh fridge).

I then beat the egg whites and eggs till they were "thick"

Next, I mixed together the banana/apple mixture w/ the egg mixutre, and then stirred in my dry ingredients, which I had already combined.

I let this concoction sit for about 20 minutes so that the oats would absorb some of the moisture, and the "batter" would thiken up. Next I pre-heated a couple of skillets on super low heat, rubbed them w/ some olive oil, and proceded to make pancakes. The entire batch made 9 good-sized pancakes, and I figured out the following Macro Breakdown per Pancake:

Calories: 139
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 20g
Sugar: 5g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 10g

Not too shabby! These things are great frozen. Then in the morning, I just pop one in the toaster on my way out the door (usually for 2 cycles), and then NOM on it while driving down the road to Crossfit at Oh Dark Thirty!

Here are pics of my experiment! (I couldn't resist. . . .already ate 1 of them, hence ony 8 in the pics . . . ):

I'm getting ready to clean up the kitchen, and then hit the bed by 7:30 tonight to try to catch up on a little sleep.

CAN'T WAIT TO CROSSFIT TOMORROW!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Night All!

When Schoolwork interferes w/ Working Out!

2009-08-24T22:31:00.003-05:00

I'm taking a quick mental break from the paper and figured I'd post a quick update :)

I was up until 3:30am this morning working on schoolwork, and consequently missed CrossFit this morning. I hate it when I miss a morning workout because it just throws my whole day off! I'm so exauhsted that I can barely see straight, but my Master's Class officially ends tonight, and I have a cumulative project worth 25% of my entire grade that I must turn in before midnight PST. Trying not to let the time pressure get to me . . staying positive and just plugging away to the best of my ability.

I can tell that it's going to be another 3-4am night and I'm PISSED that I'm going to miss CrossFit AGAIN tomorrow morning, but I've got to put my schoolwork ahead of my fitness pursuits . . . .trying to be a responsible adult and all . .

Anyway, had a fairly busy day at work today. I made time on my lunch break to call Allstate and file claims for BOTH vehicles that I wrecked. . . . The first girl that I spoke with told me that I would have to pay the full deductible for both vehicles. . . That was going to SERIOUSLY hurt the pocketbook! I told her that I'd discuss it with my husband and call back after we had worked out the finances. When I called back an hour later, I got a different representative. She checked our account, and it turns out that we have something called "Platinum Coverage", and because we haven't ever filed a claim before, our deductibles on both vehicles for this incident would be waived! Additionally, our insurance rates would not go up, as long as we maintained Platinum Coverage, and did not have another accident. . . . can you say HAPPY DANCE!?!?!?

After getting off the phone w/ Allstate, I nuked a bag of broccoli and heated up some chicken that I cooked this weekend, and had a very satisfying lunch:

Baked Chicken w/ Garlic, Rosemary, Basil, Oregano, and Red Pepper Flakes & Broccoli drizzled w/ Olive Oil and sprinkled w/ Slivered Almonds . . . NUMMY!!!

Got off work, went straight into schoolwork, thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head, took a 15 minute power nap, got up, and back to the schoolwork. Breaked for a dinner of Steak & Spinach Salad w/ tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, avocados, and HB egg. . . then back to schoolwork again.

And here I am! Well, gonna end it here and get back to this paper. Will be SO happy after this is submitted as it will signify the end of the Master's Level class that has been kicking my butt for 12 weeks now. I will have one more HUGE comprehensive project in another class to complete by Wednesday, and then will have a few days off before my final 3 classes start on Sept 1st :)

Night All!

Kick-off of 8 Week Paleo Challenge!

2009-08-24T08:42:00.007-05:00

I had such GREAT success with the 8 week Paleo Challenge that I did with the Alamo Crossfit Crew that I decided to start one of my own!

During my last challenge, I was strict Paleo (w/ the exception of steel cut oatmeal each morning) from June 1 through July 26th. In the process, I dropped 15 lbs of fat and 3 inches off my hips, and all of my PR's improved. Additionally, I felt awesome and had very few cravings for crap! I FINALLY found a healthy way of eating that I can stick to and not feel deprived!

I stayed pretty strict Paleo w/ an occasional cheat after the challenge ended, up until last week at my parents house. Last Wednesday, I went out to dinner with a girlfriend, and CHOWED on some killer Mexican food at Abuelo's. . . followed by an ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery! I had every intention of jumping right back on the wagon, but proceded to continue with cheats over the next week. Bagles, Beans, Cheese, and Chocolate - you name it - I ate it!

As any idiot would deduce - this led to feeling like CRAP! Why do we do this to ourselves when we know what the end result will be??

Before I get into the details of my challenge, I've got to post a picture of the food porn that I gorged myself with last night, as a send-off to my non-paleo week of hell:

That would be a juciy Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe, HOT, FRESH and CRISPY Wendy's french fries (w/ the obligatory ketchup of course!!!), a Coke Classic, and an Oreo McFlurry from McDonalds. . . yes, that's right folks . . the Wendy's ice cream machine was broken so I drove my happy ass to Micky D's to get my final ice cream fix!!

While I do have to admit that this all tasted heavenly in my homework/stress induced feeding frenzy at 11 pm, I definitely paid the price! I feel like HELL this morning. . . .and am thrilled to be back on the Paleo Wagon!

So, here are the details of my Paleo Challenge:

Dates: August 24th - October 17th (8 weeks)
Vices: Oatmeal & Protein Powder
Incentive: $2 per strict Paleo Day, $1 per PR (Lift or CF Benchmark), and $5 per week that I complete all scheduled training sessions (5 sessions Oly Lifting, 5 CF WODS, & 3 CF Endurance WODS) added to "splurge" pot.
Penalty for Cheating: I do not plan to cheat. I will not cheat. However if some freakish thing happens and I do happen to eat so much as one bite of a non-paleo item that is not one of my vices, I will be forced to empty my "splurge pot" with no chance of earning back the money lost.
At the end of the challenge, I will take the money in my "splurge pot" . . . and SPLURGE on something totally off-the-wall that I would typically not treat myself to - like a really nice pair of jeans or something along those lines

So basically, I will eat strict Paleo with the exception of oatmeal. I have made this modification because the goal is to follow a nutrition program that works for me, improves my performance, and is something that I can live with for the rest of my life. I have learned through trial and error that I am NOT gluten sensitive, and that my energy levels hit ROCK BOTTOM mid-day if I do not eat 1/4 cup of oatmeal in the morning. Additionally, I start gassing out mid-WOD because I simply run out of fuel.

Regarding the Protein Powder - some consider this acceptable under Paleo Eating and others say it's a "no-no". I don't really care what anyone else says - again, I'm doing what works for me, and I have found that there is no better recovery food for me personally than mashed sweet potatoes & protein powder! Recovery time is the only time that I will use PP though.

Potential "PitFalls":

Business Meeting in late Sept (will have to deal with airports, travel, and "social events" while staying strict paleo; will have to take substantial amount of paleo food w/ me; will have to deal with peer pressure of all of my co-workers to "eat something")
Oly Lifting Cert in San Antonio mid-Oct (will have to deal w/ travel and "social events" while staying strict paleo; should be easier than business meetings b/c will be around other "health-oriented" people)
Final month of college classes is September and I'm taking 3!! - this will cause significant stress and long nights of study. My coping mechanism for stress has always been food, and I like to reward myself after the completion of a difficult assignment with ice cream. I need to break this cycle of rewarding good behavior with food.

Goals for Paleo Challenge:

I don't have any specific goals such as "drop x # of lbs"
My goal is to remain strict Paleo the entire 8 weeks without a single cheat
I also hope to increase PR's and cut body fat so that I'm at my ideal "fighting weight" by the end of the challenge

So that's it! Wish me luck! I'll be posting pics of my yummy Paleo Eats over the next 8 weeks, commenting about my energy levels and performance gains or losses, and probably doing a little bit of whining in the first week too!

Stress is at Max Levels!

2009-08-23T14:41:00.008-05:00

Okay, so today started off with me making the most bone-headed move EVER! I mean this was like Epic bonehead stuff that you only see in the movies . . .

I decided to get up early and knock out my grocery shopping before getting into my schoolwork for the day b/c the grocery store is typically really empty on Sunday mornings. I jump in my car, open the garage door, throw it in reverse, and hit the gas. . . .went about 2 feet before I was suddenly jolted to a stop with a loud "CRUNCHing" sound . . . . NOT GOOD!!!

I look in the rear view mirror to see my hubby's pretty new Tahoe sitting outside in the driveway w/ my rear fender imbedded into it's front fender . . . CRAP!!! Since when does he park in the driveway?!?!?! He ALWAYS parks his "baby" in the garage!! Guess I should have noticed it wasn't there when I had gotten into my car a few minutes earlier . . .

Then comes Jamie running out the door and he just went white. . so I knew it wasn't pretty :(

Leave it to me to go and wreck two of my own cars at the same time.

So yep, we're going to have to get them both fixed. . . . and pay two SEPERATE deductibles . . . YAY ME!!!

Pics of the damage:

So I go grocery shopping, come home, sit down to schoolwork, and am working on my assignments, when I notice the end date for my Master's level class is 8/24/09 - that's TOMORROW!!!!! CRAP!!!! I thought it ran until the end of the month - 8/31/09. So now I've got less than 48 hours to turn in all of the rest of the assignements. . . . I forsee two all-nighters in my future

So just for the heck of it, I check on the other class, which I was nearly positive ended 8/31. . . NOPE . . that bad boy ends on 8/26/09. . . I'm SO SCREWED!!

But I will remain positive - going to buckle down and knock out as much as I possibly can. I have requested extensions, but there is absolutely no guarantee that I can get them . . . wish me luck!

For obvious reasons, I'll likely be MIA from the blog until 8/27 once I've turned in all of my work for these two classes. .

Pics from CrossFit Chesapeake

2009-08-23T14:31:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I mentioned in my post on Friday about visiting CrossFit Chesapeake while in VA. Those guys ROCK!! I've posted a few pics below of some of the "fun" I had "playing" with them. . . . Good times!

Sasha telling me to get a move on!

Um . . yeah . . THAT's a pretty face! lol

Last set of Pullups w/ Bryan

DONE!!

Back Again. . . yeah, I know . . . it's been a while!

2009-08-21T20:09:00.010-05:00

Okay, so I decided to start my blog back up b/c I'm getting serious about training for the Crossfit Games 2010 and I'd like some place to track my progress, make notes about workouts, meals, and vent when I'm sore or frustrated without pulling down a friend or my hubby!

So here we go ;)

Since January a lot has changed, and I'm not detailing it all b/c I doubt if anyone will be still checking in from TDP or "back in the day" when I was training for figure competitions.

To Summarize:

I found the Paleo Diet, and LOVE IT!
I eat strictly Paleo 99% of the time with the exception of 1/4 cup of steel cut oats every morning. I modified the diet to work for me and my energy levels, and feel better than I ever have, and don't feel even a little bit deprived!
Started my Paleo way of life with an 8 week "challenge" that ran from June through July 2009 - I came in second place, but ate strict paleo every day of that 8 weeks (w/ exception of oatmeal), and dropped 15 lbs of fat in the process and 3 inches off my hips ;) The weight and inches have stayed off since.
I am now eating for performance and not for physique. The physique is following nicely, but I am not measuring anything - I'm eating strict paleo choices, Zoning most of my meals/snacks (via eyeballing method!), and eating when I'm hungry - usually every 3-4 hours, but not always
My PR's have been steadily increasing since going Paleo
I am currently CrossFitting at CCCrossfit (http://www.cccrossfit.com/ ) 3 days on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off
I started Olympic Lifting 5 days a week w/ Molly, Pam, and Eduardo at CCCrossfit about 6 months ago, and this replaced my "standard" lifting in the gym

Okay, now for a little update on my life outside of just the workout/nutrition stats ;)

Still in School, but graduate either end of Sept or Oct!!!! SWAMPED and STRESSED right now, but all of this will be over soon!!
Attended the Crossfit Games in Aromas this year with Molly and the Alamo Crossfit Crew (http://www.alamocrossfit.com/ ) - had a blast and got a fire lit under my butt! I Want to Compete next year, and am going to do EVERYTHING in my power to make that happen!!
Recently went home to VA for 2 weeks for personal reasons, and had the IMMENSE pleasure of training (O-lifting) under Coach Wilkes and his boys (Cody, Coard, and Caine) at Chesapeake Crossfit while I was there (http://www.chesapeakecrossfit.com/ <---CHECK THEM OUT!!)
Also had the pleasure of WODing with the AWESOME group of people (Brad, Andre, Grant, Brandon, JRock, Austin . . . ) at Sparta Fitness Crossfit while I was there - another great affiliate in the Hampton Roads Area (http://www.spartafitness.com/ )
Back home in TX now with a more well-rounded and diverse view of all things CrossFit!!

I'll be posting tomorrow with a list of short term and long term goals, and my "plan of attack" that I will implement in order to accomplish them.

I'll then be posting regularly w/ random thoughts, workout times and weights, meal ideas, pictures, and whatever else spills out of my head!