Round 2: Week One, I'm BACK

Well hello my lovelies. Long time no chat. I know, I know, I should do better. Well, I am going to do better... at least for the next 12 weeks anyway. Why 12 weeks you wonder? Because the challenge is back and blogging is yet again the best way to keep myself accountable. This time however, I am going to be doing it a little bit differently and only blog once or twice a week. I am making a lot of life changes at this current juncture, committing to once or twice a week is doable, so we will start with that.

The challenge is also set up a little bit differently this go round. We were all put into teams and have accountability through our captains who will handle our nutrition and such. I am signed up for training again, but now we are focusing on strength training instead of cardio based weight loss since Q did such good job last time of teaching me how to do that on my own.  So now I have two people to keep me in line! My team is owned by my favorite Q of course, and my new trainer is Stephanie.  Meet Stephanie, she is kind of a Crossfit goddess:

 

I was a little bit nervous at first to switch to a new system, given I was used to Q being my rock and I didn't know how being trained by someone I'd never met would work out for me... As it turns out, it works really well. Stephanie is a total badass and I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship (thanks for picking a good one Q). So far I have trained with her 3 times and she doesn't take it easy on me at all. She is kicking my ass in the nicest possible way. As you all know, I am a total goofball, and she puts up with me. I think she got jokes of her own though. The other day she told me to make sure when I got home not to just lay around OR I would be sore... well, I went home and stood up for a couple hours while I studied and still couldn't move over the next 3 days... What she should have said was "haha, just kidding, there is no hope for you. I just kicked your ass and your body is going to be jelly no matter what you do". But she didn't say that, she just smiled sweetly and I am still sore almost a week later. This is exactly what she inflicted on me to make me so sore:

 

I look amazing right? Ha, I'm just kidding, I look crazy... 55 pounds doesn't seem like a lot until you are made to pick it up 57 times. It was taking everything in me just to get the damn thing where it needed to go. I did it though. My burpee form severely suffered during the WOD, but I rallied and pushed through.

 

Since finishing the last challenge, the majority of my lifestyle changes and new habits have stuck around. I drink minimally, I try my best not to eat crap food and if I do, I eat in moderation. I split dishes with friends when we go out; and most importantly, I listen to my body. When it says it is full, I stop eating. That is something I was never able to do in the previous 28 years of living. When I weighed in last Thursday, I was lighter than I was when it ended. I have been sitting around 233 for months now.

 

I'm not going to lie though, the fact the scale is not moving is getting on my nerves... but it is my own fault. I did a lot of gallivanting this summer. I spent 2 weeks eating my way through Europe, 4 days in Canada shoveling Poutine in my face, and spent a lot of time down south where fried everything is life. The difference this time is I wasn't only sitting on my ass eating all the artery clogging deliciousness.  I was eating AND hiking, biking, climbing, running, and walking all over Gods creation. It still didn't help me loose any more weight, but it did prevent those Bojangles biscuits from sticking to my ass, so I will consider it a win. But play time is over and it is time to get back to business.

 

This time, the goal is to get below 200, drop my bodyfat by 5% and be able to do an unassisted pull-up. I think it is possible. Getting back on the healthy food only wagon is going to be the biggest hurdle, but with the help and support of my lovelies, I can do anything. Thanks in advance for being here for me ya'll, God knows I'll need it. Here is to a new leg of the journey. Talk to you soon.

 

Day 51: Crossfit for Dummies

I still want a cheeseburger. In fact, that is all I have been telling anyone who will listen to me. I want a cheeseburger and a glass of bourbon. Damn. It. I really want the bread more than anything. I think I would be happy with a salmon burger at this point.... with ketchup. I would very much like some ketchup.

So now that's out of the way, I had a pretty productive day. I woke up and went to Crossfit. I love/hate Crossfit, truly. This was the first time I did the "real" Crossfit class, the other times were just "elements", which is basically Crossfit for Dummies. The class was good, I was the only one in it. Marci instructed, I like her a lot. She is "nice"... as nice as someone can be who is forcing your body to do something that it reeeaalllyyy doesn't want to do at all. I cursed a lot. Shocker.

Deadlifting was the strength portion of class. I started with the 45 pound bar, then added 15 to each side, then 25's, then 40's, and tapped out at 125 pounds; which is what I stayed with. My first round was under 2 minutes. The rest, well, lets just say it wasn't under two minutes. It was super slow. I am not used to lifting heavier weight. This is the first time I have ever deadlifted anything over 80 pounds. The more I did, the dizzier I got. During round three, Marci asked if I wanted to stop, but I pressed to go one more. I was cool. I am not going to let myself pass out.

 

The WOD originally called for 5 rounds and instead of bench dips, it called for ring dips.... but Marci is amazing and modified it for my beginner self. She rocks! I felt like a badass at the end of class.

The rest of the day was wildly productive. I got home and organized my garage (I can finally park back in my spot, YES!), cooked lunch, ran to see a home I will be staging, stopped by the warehouse, headed to Fairfax for a design consult, drove home, cooked dinner, watched an episode of House of Cards, and now I am blogging.... I do this all while struggling to choke down a gallon of water. At 10:56pm, I finished the gallon.

Drinking this much water is the biggest struggle I have. Q is convinced the reason I have been sitting at the same weight for the last 4 days is because I am retaining water.... 'cause I'm not drinking enough. Well, today I drank enough, so I guess tomorrow morning I will see if there is any movement. I will let you know, talk to you then.