My Before & After..so far.

It's been 2 months since I've started Crossfit and started working towards getting my body fit and healthy! As you know, I've had some ups and downs. Some weeks I had more downs than ups. We all have good days and bad days, right? I've had my share of bad days..but I must admit I feel like I'm finally starting to get it! It's like it's all starting to click. I'm starting to love working out and dare I say..I'm falling in love with Crossfit! It is the most rewarding feeling seeing yourself improve. Two months ago I struggled with 10 pushups and today I did 20! I think every improvement, big or small, deserves a celebration! Woot!

This week has been extra exciting for me because I am finally beginning to see and feel a difference! That's when I knew it was time to pull out the measuring tape again to actually see the difference in numbers. Here is what I discovered:

                                                             Before    Now     Loss

Weight	133.5	128.5	-5 lbs
Stomach/hips	36”	34”	-2”
Waist (smallest)	29.5”	28.75”	-3/4”
Butt	38.25”	38”	-1/4”
Thighs	22.5”	22.25”	-1/4”
Left&Right Arm	11”	11”	--
Right Calf	14.5”	14.25”	-1/4”
Left Calf	14.25”	14.25”	--

My reaction to these measurements was nothing short of excitement. I couldn't wait to tell my husband!

I've been contemplating whether or not to share my before and after pictures. Weightloss can be such a personal thing, especially sharing the "before" pictures. But I decided to share because it will keep me accountable as well as give me even more incentive to work hard so when I share my progress again in the future you will see even MORE of a difference.

Looking at the before picture (ew!) I can still remember exactly how I felt. That was my body 11 months postpartum and I wasn't working out and I was eating junk. I always felt bloated and wore a lot of baggy clothes to try and cover up.

Now here I am, 13 months postpartum, and I'm feeling great! My clothes are fitting better and I feel so much more confident! I still have some work to be done but I'm more than pleased with my progress!

I've been trying to work hard on watching what I eat. I still struggle in the area of discipline when I eat out. I knew I shouldn't have eaten cake at BOTH birthday parties I went to this past weekend. Before the parties I kept reminding myself, "don't eat the cake, don't eat the cake"...and what did I do?! I ate cake! Don't get me wrong, I think a cheat here and there is okay especially if you keep it small portions, I was more mad at myself that I ate the cake when I don't even LOVE cake! It didn't taste all that great yet I ate it anyways. Someone please smack me in the forehead next time! 

I'm learning that diet is just as important as working out. I used to run and be able to eat whatever I wanted and not worry about gaining. But after a baby, things change. I always knew losing weight is hard, but I didn't know it would be THIS hard! It's constant work. It's a constant mind battle for me between I shouldn't eat this or that and convincing myself to get up and exercise. 

 When I started working out again I thought I do what I always did before. Exercise and then eat whatever  want. WRONG! I was slightly naive. I wasn't improving in the least as you probably already guessed. So now I'm realizing how important it is to also watch my diet. It's a waste to work so hard exercising and blow it all away by eating junk. Not only is it a waste, eating junk is less than satisfying to me now. I feel so much lean and light if I eat lean and light.

It's exciting and motivating for me to see these changes! I can't wait to see what changes I can make in the next couple months! I know the things I need to focus and work harder on as well as aknowledge the areas I've done well on and continue to do so.

The Paleo Diet Pros & Cons-My personal view

Paleo this and Paleo that! When I began my adventure into crossfit I started to hear about the Paleo Diet. I had never heard of it before but it seemed to be everywhere in the crossfit world. At first, I almost felt that if I was going to commit to doing Crossfit I also must commit to the Paleo diet too! Crossfit and Paleo go hand in hand, right? (Just kidding!) It just feels like they go together because the only time I hear about Paleo is from someone who also does xfit. I was about to "jump on the wagon" until my husband asked me why I was going to do this diet. It caught me off guard. I wasn't sure, I just thought that it was the thing to do since it seemed all the crossfitters do it.

As you could guess, and should know, that's not a good enough reason. I decided to do a little more research into the paleolithic diet itself. My husband is slightly a "health nut" so he helped me do some research as well as gave input on prior knowledge he already had on what kinds of foods are good and bad for the human body and how certain foods affect the body.

Together we learned that in short, the paleo diet discourages eating dairy, grains, processed foods, and starches. It encourages you to eat a lot of protein, fruits, and vegetables. It's called the "Caveman Diet" because it values the diet a caveman would've eaten when there was only natural plants and wild animals available. While learning more about "going paleo" I was able to not only figure out what I didn't like about it, but also take great concepts from it to incorporate into my own diet as it does have some pretty terrific principles.

I know this is a hotly debated topic, so let's go ahead and do the worst part now, let's talk about what I feel are negatives of eating paleo. The biggest concern I have with an all paleo diet is restriction of what I feel are nutritious carbohydrates. I'm not talking about enriched flour products, but rather 100% whole grain nutrient dense foods. Whole grains have been shown to improve cholesterol, help with weight loss, and help with digestive health thanks to dietary fiber. I do recognize that you can get carbohydrates from other sources as well, but I personally see more of an upside to whole grains than a downside. The only other concern I have with the paleo diet, is the large amount of meat consumption but that can be easily remedied by eating healthier cuts and types of meat.

I do see positives of the paleo diet that I feel can be beneficial to everyone as well. The most important aspect of the paleo diet to me, is avoiding highly processed foods. I don't think there is a person in this world who can come up with a substantial argument against eating whole unprocessed foods. I enjoy eating foods that I can pronounce every ingredient of, or better yet eating foods that only have one or two ingredients to be pronounced! They make me feel like I can take control of my nutrition in a world in which that is becoming increasingly difficult to do, and these foods are also typically much better for me as well. I think this is a wonderful part of the paleo diet that everyone needs to be more considerate of, whether they consider their diet paleo or not.

Overall, I neither fully agree nor disagree with this diet. While I don't have to agree with everything the Paleo diet entails, I can use the principals to improve my total health while still maintaining my own personal beliefs. You may probably see me make a paleo meal here and there, but I by no means am eating strictly Paleo. I believe in a well balanced meal that includes not only meats and veggies, but breads and dairy as well.

If you would like to learn more about eating Whole Foods and cutting out unprocessed foods you should visit 100 Days of Real Food. This is a wonderful website that has taught me SO MUCH!! She talks about all the junk that has been added to the food we eat here in America and also teaches how to read labels to learn what ingredients are in the food you eat. I wish I could say I eat all natural, but unfortunately I do not. It's not easy! I'm striving to become better and I think it's something everyone should strive for as well! For me, it's a constant battle! I love my baked cheetos and shells&cheese!! Agh! Don't even talk about such cheesy goodness! MMmm...Anyways, the important thing is I am trying and I'm getting better everyday! I haven't bought shells & cheese in over 2 months! That's a big deal for me! Woot! What food is your enemy? One thing you don't want to part from...?

Curse You Burpees!!

Word of advice, never trust a friend who says she enjoys burpees. It's not physically possible to enjoy those. I don't even want to call them by name I hate them that much!! I'd rather run for an hour than do 30 burpees! I'm not sure how some people can do them so quickly. It takes all I got just to plop myself onto the ground...but getting to the ground isn't the hardest part. Then it seem I'm scraping for energy just to try and pick myself back up! It's a sad sight to see really. I keep telling myself they will get easier, but who am I kidding?!  Curse you BURPEES!!

Oh, and a shout-out to my first followers on facebook! You guys are the best!

Now go get your sweat on!!

Falling Short.

If you're hoping to find a blog with a perfect crossfitter who never misses a workout, eats strictly paleo, and would never even dare take a sip of soda...then you're on the wrong blog.I wish I could say I ate healthy all the time, worked out every single day and loved it, and never sipped soda. Truth is, I'm far from that! Yet that's what I want to strive to become. It's a struggle for me and I don't think I'm alone. So I may fall short sometimes, but the most important thing I believe is that I haven't quit trying. With that being said, I have another confession...

I was all excited about Crossfit and even stuck to it for 30 days! After that 30 days I decided to take a break and get back to running because I love it so much! But what do you think happened? Do you think I was dedicated in my running?! I wish I could say I have been, but I've been lazy. I've been bad..I took a couple weeks off. So I'm picking myself back up, once more, and gonna get my body fit and healthy!

On my refrigerator I made a lil poster to remind me of why I want to get fit and healthy. It's just a little something to motivate me as well as remind me to grab something nutritious out of the fridge instead of some sugary snack.

30 Day At-Home Crossfit Challenge

    I decided I would share my 30 Day At-Home Crossfit Challenge with you in case anyone wants to join me..and this way I don't have to bore you with posting my WODS everyday with you! I wanted to share my at-home workouts with you because I know I'm not the only one who can't afford to go to a box (not to mention the closest one is an hour away)! I am a beginner so I don't have much equipment...I have a 15 lb kettlebell and one 8 lb dumbbell. That's it! Even if you don't have that, just find something heavy to use until you get one. As for box jumps, I don't have a box either, so I jump up 2 steps on a set of staircases.

No excuses.

Before you begin, know that you WILL be sore. You will hurt. You will want to quit. And if you are like me, you will HATE it...at the beginning that is. But the more you do it, the more you will love it. You just wait and see!

On the schedule, you will notice on REST days I still have down to run or walk one mile. It's still good to stay active even on a rest day. It doesn't even have to be a walk or a run. You can go swimming, go for a bike ride, or play JustDance on the wii!

I believe one of the most important things to remember is...Never compromise your form! These workouts are tough! You will get tired and will want to rush to be done. This is when injuries normally happen. If you have 20 pushups left to do and your back is arching and your body is not align..stop. Take 1 minute to catch your breath. And then try again focusing on your form and keeping your body tight/align. If you still cannot complete your pushups, finish them by doing "girl pushups". There is nothing wrong with having to do girl pushups. Don't over do it to the point you hurt yourself. Listen to your body! (But don't listen to your mind. Your mind will always give up before body.)

Also, before and after pictures are always fun! Take a picture of yourself before the challenge as well as after! If you do, be sure to share! I will be posting some photos and sharing my progress next week!! Eek!

Now go get your sweat on!

30 Day At-Home Crossfit Challenge

“Be stronger than your strongest excuse.”

Day #1 Run 400m 15 squats 10 pushups 20 kb swings *4 rounds	Day #2 7 burpees 14 kb swings 21 situps 10 squats 7 lunges *5 rounds for time	Day #3 10 burpees 15 pushups 20 bike crunches 25 scissor abs 30 squats *5 rounds	Day #4 15 burpees 25 situps 25 pushups 20 tricep dips *4 rounds	Day #5 5 burpees 10 pushups 15 situps 20 squats *8 rounds
Day #6 Rest Run/Walk 1 mile	Day #7 20 goblet squats 20 splitlunges (each leg) 10 box jumps 20 kb slashers 20 swings *3 rounds (5 for advanced)	Day #8 AMRAP 20 min. 20 db thrusters 10 pullups 10 bicep curls 20 overhead squats	Day #9 Run 800m 6 pushups 6 boxjumps 9 squats *4 rounds	Day #10 AMRAP 20 min 15 kb swings 10 burpees 15 squats 10 pshups
Day #11 10 pullups 100 jumpropes 10 boxjumps 10 pushups *5 rounds	Day #12 AMRAP 15 min 10 hand-release pushups 12 air squats 100 m sprint 10 inch worms 7 burpees 12 alternating lunges 100 m sprint	Day #13 REST Run/walk 1 mile	Day #14 AMRAP 20 min Run 200m 9 burpees 30 crunches 5 pushups 10 squat jumps	Day #15 Run ½ mile 10 pushups 20 squats 30 situps *6 rounds!
Day #16 Invisible Fran (for time) 21-15-9 air squats & pushups	Day #17 Run 400m 15 squats 10 pushups 20 kb swings *4 rounds	Day #18 15 burpees 25 situps 15 pushups 20 tricep dips *4 rounds	Day #19 REST Run or walk 1 mile	Day #20 5 burpees 10 pushups 15 situps 20 squats *10 rounds
Day #21 Run 1 mile 33 pushups Run 1 mile 33 air squats Run 1 mile 33 burpees (Don’t give up!)	Day #22 10 burpees 15 pushups 20 bike crunches 25 scissor abs 15 squats *5 rounds	Day #23 20 goblet squats 20 split lunges (each leg) 10 box jumps 20 kb slashers 20 kb swings *5 rounds	Day #24 REST Walk or Run 1 mile	Day #25 Run ½ mile 6 pushups 20 jumpn-jacks 10 squats *4 rounds
Day #26 10 pullups 100 jumpropes 10 boxjumps 15 pushups *5 rounds	Day #27 AMRAP 20 min. 15 kb swings 10 burpees 15 squats (air) 10 pushups	Day #28 Invisible Fran for time (*see day #16) Jog 1 mile	Day #29 Run 1 mile 33 pushups Run 1 mile 33 air squats Run 1 mile 33 burpees	Day #30 5 burpees 10 pushups 15 situps 20 squats *12 rounds

KB=Kettlebell
AMRAP=As Many Rounds As Possible (in the set time)
Air Squats=Squats without weight
400M= m means meters (400m is 1/4 mile)

Good Luck!!!!

If you are NEW to working out or haven't done exercise in a LONG time, you may find you need more rest days. Feel free to take a rest day every 3-4 days if need be. Rest days are actually good for you, just don't get in the habit of taking too many days off. Don't let yourself go more than 2 days without working out. Because if you do, it will be THAT much harder to get back into it! Trust me.

 One more thing, feel free to mix this schedule around to better fit your work/home schedules. For example, I know some people don't like to workout on Sundays so you can kind of play around with this schedule and change it so Sundays are always your REST days. Just know that I put them is certain orders for a reason. After a HARD day, I try to make the next day not quite as hard. (But face it, everyday is a hard day in crossfit!) Or if I ran/squat a lot one day, I try to focus more on situps or pullups the next day so you don't have too much wear and tear on your legs.