Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Who Do You Think You Are?


Who do you think you are? by Mark Driscoll

I figured I would take a little break from the Paleo challenge posts and just post about my current read. 

I'm on chapter 7 of the book and I highly recommend reading it while listening to pastor Mark teach through Ephesians (which is what the book is based on). 
Here he takes us through the book of Ephesians and shows us how Paul continuously explains how our identity needs to be found in Christ and not through earthly pleasures or concerns. This is something I've personally been struggling with lately. I mean, it is not a new concept to me but a difficult one to grasp. I have been on this kick of "improving myself and life" for a while now. I have goals and I'm very determined to reach them (not a bad thing of course). I know full and well that the goals I have for my life will not happen unless I put strong effort in every single day. That has been my mind set for some months now whether its through work, school, crossfit, health, relationships etc. What I love about this series is it is really challenging me to stop focusing so much on these goals and just trust in God's plan. Now it doesn't mean give up and quit and wait for God to send me a genie in a bottle to make all my dreams come true, it just means give him full control over each part of my life and try to see and understand how he wants to use me through these situations. I do not believe that we have desires and passions for no reason. We just need to learn how to use those passions and desires to glorify God and do it so they can be fully accomplished in every way. If what we do does not point to God, it is pointless and has no eternal value. 

I may have just rambled for a moment here.. but in conclusion. Challenge yourself to look at all of the aspects of your life. Do you allow God to be a part of each aspect? Pray about how God can use you in each situation. Possibly look into reading this book and especially reading through Ephesians several times. Listen to the sermons if you are interested. They are great! For IPHONE users you can even download the MARS HILL app and get the sermons right on your phone. 

"To him be the glory and the power 
for ever and ever Amen" 
- THIS IS THE GOAL HERE. 



Day 36

So as far as the hunger thing I had talked about a couple blogs earlier.. I have received some advice/information about fasting for 16 hours a day while eating within an 8 hour period. I did this today and although it's only the first day, I do like it a lot. I was actually hungry for lunch and dinner. Not starving but hungry. I wanted to eat. I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to eat food. (It's so odd that I'm saying this because I typically have never had to "force" myself to eat.. there was no such thing). I'm going to continue to try this out for a while and see how it goes. While reading up on the benefits, one of the ones that stuck out to me the most was that eating this way releases that constant thought of food from your mind. You learn to not worry about when you will eat. As embarrassing as it is to admit it, this is something I've prayed over a long time. Have you ever known someone who says they just don't think about food or eating really? I find that breed rare as I've never thought that way. Growing up it's always what's for lunch?- at the breakfast table, whats for dinner?- at lunch time and what's for breakfast tomorrow? - during dinner. I just find that odd.. food should not be thought about THAT much. It just shouldn't. I know many people would disagree with this style of eating because it "slows your metabolism" etc.. but I've read differently that it actually does not and am willing to give it a shot. When I was in middle school I actually only ate 1 meal a day and I wound up losing 45 pounds while unintentionally fasting (I was a chunker). Now of course I wasn't as active as I am today so I won't be eating 1 meal a day as I need good fuel, but I'm going to experiment and see how this goes..

Coffee: 9:00 am & 3:00 pm
Meal 1- 1:00 pm - Pork Ribs and a Sweet Potato 
Meal 2- 8:00 pm- Pork Ribs, Kale, Egg and Bacon with a glass of Almond Milk

WOD:
Strength: Complex: 1 Squat Clean from the Power Position, 1 Squat Clean from the Hang Position 1 Squat Clean from the ground followed by 1 Jerk.  Max Effort Weight: @100 Pounds

Conditioning: "Grace" - 30 Clean and Jerks for Time @95 Pounds- TIME: 5:31 RX

POST WOD:
500m Row, 30 Burpies, 400m Run - Time: 8:17 min


Pork Ribs- So good!!


Monday, January 28, 2013

Day 37

Today was a fairly productive day. I woke up and got some laundry/chores done around my room. A friend is coming to stay with us this weekend so I'm trying to get all of my stuff done prior to her arrival on Thursday. Crossfit was a bit challenging today too. We did "Isabelle" which is 30 snatches for time. I started with 85 pounds on my bar (RX was 95) and I got half way through and had to shed the weight down to 75 pounds to finish. I do not remember Isabelle being that difficult but today it was. I definitely need to work on my snatches. I have a hard time always using my hips when I lift and if I learn to be efficiently using my hips I'll be able to get through it a heck of a lot faster. But hey.. that only leaves room for improvement right? :)



Breakfast: Eggs and Turkey Bacon
Lunch: Bacon Apple stuffed Pork chip with Kale and sweet potato mash
Dinner: Prime Rib with Kale and zucchini and onion smothered in red sauce. Good stuff! 

WOD:
Heaviest weight to complete 3-position snatch complex:
1 snatch from power position, 1 snatch from hang position and 1 snatch from ground)- Max weight for me was 85 pounds. Snatching from the hang is awkward and a little difficult. Something to definitely work on. 

POST WOD:
3 Rounds:
Row 500m + 30 Sit Ups   TOTAL TIME: 15: 45 min



Day 40-39-38


Recap of this weekend:
I almost had a really bad accident at Crossfit on Friday. I was going for my PR on my back squat at 260 pounds and lost balance and wound up falling forward where the bar rolled past my head. It was scary but thankfully I was absolutely fine! God is good! That's all I'm saying... Between that and the 260 pound dead lift I am very sore and took off Saturday and Sunday to rest/recover. Though I only went to Crossfit 3 times last week again, this week I will be making it at least 4 and am scheduling some extra credit work for myself for after the WOD's. PR week was fun (minus the scare) and I want to work on my strength and skills a bit more so I'll be using my after WOD time for that. 

Friday:
Breakfast: Eggs and Bacon
Lunch: Burger and Kale/Veggies 
Dinner: Chicken Salad with strawberries and blueberries & Apple
Coffee: 2 cups 

WOD:
1 RM Back Squat 255 Pounds
1 RM Push Press 90 Pounds
1 RM Dead Lift 260 Pounds 

Saturday:
Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash
Snack: Blueberry cobbler- Paleo over coconut milk
Lunch: none
Dinner: Prime Rib + Salad (toppings: broccoli, carrots, sweet peppers, cucumbers, celery, sunflower seeds). 

NO WOD

Sunday: 
Breakfast: Eggs and Bacon + Blueberry Cobbler over Coconut milk 
Lunch: Burger + Kale/Veggies 
Dinner: Bacon/Apple Stuffed Pork Chops, Sweet potato mash & Green beans
Desert: Blueberry cobbler over coconut milk

NO WOD


Burger and Kale/Veggie Mix

So Easy and So Good!!   

Sweet potato Hash, bacon & eggs!

Prime Rib & Salad

Paleo Blueberry cobbler over coconut milk 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Day 41


So I have some new research to do. I have been curious if I am missing something with the Paleo challenge. I never feel hungry and almost feel like I could really only have 1 meal a day. Now I hear that is bad obviously and that I should make sure I eat breakfast for sure and at least one other meal a day. Right now I'm having a solid 3 meals with maybe a snack of some sort so I know I can cut out a meal or snack out of the day, but I don't know if that is beneficial or not. I've never not been hungry like this so this is a very new concept to me and I just want to make sure I'm going about things correctly. I guess it is obviously not a bad thing that I'm not hungry but I just want to pin point the why as I feel like I'm eating less than I normally do. I'll research and talk with a couple coaches/team mates and then post what I find in the next couple days. 

Breakfast: Paleo Blueberry Muffin 
Lunch: Paleo Pizza 
Dinner: Salad with grilled chicken, veggies and fruit
2 Cups of Coffee
1 Cup of almond milk and a Paleo blueberry muffin

(Ok ok I'm done with the muffins.. Even though they are Paleo I know I shouldn't eat that many of them. I'm restricting myself now OK!) :)

WOD: 
REST/RECOVERY DAY


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Day 42


Today I took the day off Crossfit  My knee was hurting from the heavy squats when trying to PR this week. I've learned that once it starts bothering me I need to just give it a rest for a couple days or I will end up having to take off 1-2 weeks to rest.

However I did work out a bit. I had some friends over tonight to make them paleo pizza, paleo cauliflower bread sticks and paleo blueberry muffins. The girls came over a bit early and I had them do a quick travel WOD + abs right in our living room. We gotta work for that food! :) 

Breakfast: None
Lunch: Chicken salad with blueberries and raisins - no dressing
Dinner: Paleo pizza, cauliflower bread sticks and blueberry almond meal muffins
Coffee: 2 cups (Not b/c I needed it.. I just have a deep love for coffee... )

WOD:
Warmed up with jumping jacks, toe touches, lunges, wind mills, arm circles etc.. 
Jumping jacks with friends is fun.. I highly recommend it ;) 

5 Rounds:
10 push ups
10 air squats
10 sit ups
       THEN: 
30 second plank hold 3x's with 30 second break in between
30 second leg raises 3x's with 30 second break in between

I'm proud of my girls :) they gave their all and we laughed while we worked out which makes it all the more fun! 


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Day 43

I would like to announce that I made it through the entire day today without coffee!! I didn't do it on purpose.. it just happened.. I didn't need it or even crave it! (now no promises for tomorrow.. ) I just found that interesting lol. 
Today we worked on our PR for the squat clean + split jerk. I did PR! by 5 pounds :) my 1 rep was 120 and it is now 125. That is a very hard lift to do.. JUST SAYIN. 

I had a little treat after dinner today. One of the girls on my team texted us a picture/recipe for a quick Paleo friendly desert. It was sliced sweet potato and diced apple with cinnamon and almond meal and vanilla. It was pretty good :) 

Breakfast: Eggs and Bacon
Lunch: Pork, Paleo veggie mix: kale, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onion
Dinner: Same as lunch but I added left over collards. 
Desert: Sweet potato/apple crisp 

WOD:

1 Rep Max Squat Clean & Jerk - 125 Pound PR! 

Conditioning: 
100 M Sprint every 30 seconds for 5 minutes- 3 min rest
50 M Sprint every 30 seconds for 3 minutes - 1 min rest
25 M Sprint every 15 seconds for 1 minute 

POST WOD:
10 walking lunges with two 20 pound dun-bells 
10 Push ups
 - 10 Rounds for time: 10:15 min



Day 44

Yesterday was a good day. I hit my personal record on my squat snatch at Crossfit. I haven't been able to do PR week in quite a few months because of my accident so I wasn't sure what I could do really. It was encouraging to hear the coaches say that I could do a lot more than than 100 pounds. I just need to work on my form and dropping faster into the squat. I'll be working harder on my snatch from now on so next PR week I can go heavier! Today we will be working on our one rep max of the Squat Clean + Split Jerk. The split jerk is a bit awkward but we'll see how it goes! 


Breakfast: Eggs and Turkey bacon and Almonds
Lunch: Chicken and Collard Greens 
Dinner: Eggs, Kale, Bacon,
Late Night Snack: Mixed Veggies and Pork.. Shouldn't have done that but I was still hungry so I had a bit. :/
Coffee: 2 Cups
1 Cup of Almond Milk

WOD:

Strength: 1-Rep-Max Squat Snatch. My PR to beat was 90lbs and I got 100lbs! Yay!! 

Conditioning: 5 min AMRAP
5 Burpees + 5 Dead Lifts @ 95lbs 
I completed 9 full rounds + 4 Burpees 


NEW TANK

Monday, January 21, 2013

Day 47-46-45


Catching up on my posts.. 

Friday-Sunday I was on the other coast with friends and watching WODAPALOOZA! I had such a fun time watching the competition. It was super motivating to go and see how hard people train for those things. And about 10 of my crossfit buddies were the ones competing  Some of the events were insane. The last event was probably the most fun to watch and looked like a killer! It consisted of wall walks, squat snatches and double unders. Just an FYI... WALL WALKS SUCK!!! I HATE them.. and these people were climbing up and down those walls like spiders.. I was a bit envious as I am horrible at them.!

As far as working out Friday-Sunday.. that did not happen. :( I kind of figured that would happen.. I planned to do my 100 burpees in the hotel but we got up so early and got there so late I didn't get around to doing them. This week however is our personal record week at the box and I am hoping to PR in a few things.. On a side note, I ate clean and did not cheat! Even when my friends were savoring cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory I resisted.. =) 

Friday:
No breakfast
Lunch: Eggs, Brussels Sprouts, Turkey Bacon (odd mix but it's what I had left in the fridge) 
Dinner: Pork Roast and Green beans 
Coffee:2 cups

Saturday: 
Breakfast: Eggs and Bacon and Fruit 
Lunch: None
Dinner: Chicken, Asparagus and mushrooms 
Coffee: 3 Cups
Snack: Almonds and Turkey Bacon

Sunday:
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Chicken and Paleo Veggies (paleo truck at WODAPALOOZA . 45 min wait but great food! worth it!) 
Dinner: Steak with sauteed veggies and sweet potato 
Coffee: 2 cups 
Snack: Almonds


 Bayside Park was a beautiful place to have this!
Liz and I hitting a 278 pound dead lift :)
PALEO PALEO PALEO! YUMM-NESSS!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

48


So this morning was unsuccessful getting up early to head to the gym at 6 am. I had an insomnia kind of night and was tossing and turning for hours on an off. So today is going to be a rest/recovery day for me. I am trying to make it to Crossfit at least 5 times a week but this week I will have to suffice with 3 since I am leaving for Miami tomorrow. I'm still feeling very tired. Not sleeping well doesn't help. I had a late night tonight doing 2 classes after work and posting a couple of assignments that were due by midnight. That being said.. straight to bed I go...zzzzzZZZZZ....

Breakfast: Eggs and Turkey Bacon
Lunch: Bacon burger with sweet potato chips and Brussels sprouts. 
Dinner: Balsamic Chicken and Brussels sprouts and sweet potato chips
Coffee: 2 cups
Almond Milk 

WOD:
REST DAY! 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Day 49


Man was I tired today! Reading up on what to expect on this challenge it says that there will be a point where you will have a dip in your energy level. When this happens it means my body is going through withdrawal from the sugar and carbs.. I definitely feel like this is happening as I felt like pealing over on the floor next to my desk and passing out today at work. I will be upping my caffeine to try to get me through this phase.. blah!! :p

Breakfast: Eggs and Bacon
Lunch: Balsamic chicken with Collards and sweet potato mash
Dinner: Bacon burger wrapped in lettuce with tomato and onion with a side of sweet potato chips & avocado 
Snack: Apple
 & 2 cups of Almond Milk 
Coffee: 2 cups
Tea: 1 cup

WOD: 

Strength: 5x1 Muscle up transitions 
 Then 3x2 Pull ups suppersetted with 3x2 Max Effort Ring Dips 

Skill: Pistols 

Conditioning: 7 Min AMRAP of:
3 Pull ups + 3 Burpees
6 Pull ups + 6 Burpees
9 Pull ups + 9 Burpess.. (increasing by 3 each time).. I got 81 reps total. 

Post Wod:
Row 2000 Meters 

BACON BURGER!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Day 50!


10 days down.. 50 to go! I'm staying strong and being very consistent with working out and eating Paleo! I'm very determined to stick it out through this challenge. I seriously feel great which is making it easier to say no to crap junk food that is in front of me. Last night my friends were eating pound cake and rolos and I kinda wanted a piece but remembered how crappy it makes me feel. Plus it literally takes me 2 days to recover from a bad meal! I also texted my team mates for some support. We make each other laugh and make jokes about it when we are in these kind of situations and tell each other we will be making Paleo brownies soon and it will be worth it to hold out! It helps having a support system! I'm very grateful for the team that I have! 

Breakfast: Eggs and Turkey bacon (just trying to finish the rest of the TB I have in the fridge then it's 100% nitrate free I go!)- I'm a college student.. I cant afford to waist food! 

Lunch: Balsamic chicken with a side of mashed sweet potatoes 

Dinner: Balsamic chicken and collards + 1 cup of Almond Milk 

Coffee: 1 cup



WOD:

Strength: 5x1 Squat Clean/Split Jerk @105lbs
 THEN: 3x3 Clean High Pull @95lbs  Suppersetted with 3x3 Push Press @95lbs

Conditioning: "Dirty Dozen" 15 min time cap: 
1 Push Up + 25 yd sprint, 2 Push Ups +25 yd sprint, 3 Push Ups +25 yd sprint etc.. all the way to 12... THEN: For score: remaining time is max effort anyway overhead @85 pounds- SCORE: 33 Reps overhead. 

POST WOD:
 10 Dumbbell snatches @ 30lbs 
 10 Ring Rows
 800m Run 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Day 51


I was extremely tired today. I felt very sluggish. I am still very sore all over from Friday and Saturday's WODs. Even after a full days rest yesterday I still felt like I could have taken another day's rest but I decided to go to Cross fit and push through it. I'm glad I did. I had a lot more energy after the work out. Since I ripped my hands Saturday I didn't want to do pull ups so I substituted pull ups for push ups. It was a good workout for sure. Afterwards I got to have a girls night with some of my favorites. We made Paleo Chili which is very meaty and has a kick to it! It's very good! 

Breakfast: Eggs and Turkey Bacon
Lunch: Balsamic Chicken and Collards 
Dinner: Paleo Chili and the rest of my lunch that I didn't finish. 
Coffee: 2 cups


WOD:
Strength: 5x1 Squat Snatch @85lbs
   THEN: Supper set of 3x2 Snatch High Pull & 3x2 Snatch Balance both @ 75lbs

Conditioning: 50 Dead Lifts @115lbs 50 Push Ups 50 Kettle Bell Swings @35lbs

                   




Sunday, January 13, 2013

Day 52

      I had one of those lazy day's today.. and it was well worth it! I'm extremely sore today from the workouts the past couple days so I needed a day of rest. I ripped my hands doing the toes to bar in the WOD yesterday. I'm not sure if I'll be doing cross-fit tomorrow or not. I may just do my own workout to let my hand's heal a bit more. 
      Since this is my first week back to school I start my early morning study sessions before work. So for lunch/dinner the next couple days I made balsamic chicken in the crock pot. I've never made it before so I'm excited to try it!   Then I made some collard greens to go with it. 

Breakfast: Eggs wrapped in green pepper with tomatoes and a side of bacon.
Lunch: Lettuce wrap burger with tomato and onion with a side of sweet            potato chips and squash.
Dinner: Eggs over sweet potato chips with a side of collards and bacon
(this nitrate free bacon is amazing!) 



WOD
    REST DAY



Saturday, January 12, 2013

Day 53

Today began with a WOD at Real Fitness. I got to work out with my team which was nice considering I don't get to during the week. Also to touch base with our team trainer to review the week and see how I did and if there are any changes I need to make. We have to keep a journal and bring it to him once a week so he can review our workouts and food we are eating. It was encouraging to hear that he said I'm doing great and to just keep doing what I am doing. The only thing he recommended I change is if I decided to have pizza I should make a meat crust rather than using the gluten free pizza crust since it still has some carbs in it. I will definitely be trying the meat crust next time! He also said he would prefer I eat regular bacon (nitrate free reg bacon) rather than turkey bacon because turkey bacon still has a lot of preservatives in it. Makes sense.. so I'll be switching that up. I'm also going to cut back on the fruit. I bought a big bag of apples last week and just wanted to eat them before they go bad but I wont be buying fruit anymore. If I'm hungry and want a snack I'll be eating protein. 

Breakfast: Eggs and Turkey Bacon
Lunch: Apple/Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops
Dinner: Spinach Salad: Chicken, Bacon, Tomato, Onion, Sweet potato, Brussels sprouts
Snack: Almonds 

[[I was all about the bacon today... but it's encouraged as long as it's the right kind so bring on the bacon!]]






(Just to clarify..this salad was split with a friend.. I ate a lot of bacon but not that much!) LOL... 


WOD:

Warm up: 
      Death by bur-pees: Start with 5 in the 1st min, then 6 in the 2nd min, 7 in the 3rd min etc.. 
      I completed to 12 rounds

Conditioning: 
      Buy in: 10 Tire Flips
                 THEN: 10 Toes to Bar, 10 Squat Snatches, 10 Wall Balls x 5 Rounds 

Post WOD: 
       Row 2000 Meters   

Friday, January 11, 2013

Day 54

Yay it's the end of the week! I actually did everything I planned to do this week! I ate what I planned to eat, I worked out when I planned to work out and I did all of the post WOD's that were assigned. This is huge for me.. I'm not known for following through with plans 100%. After one week I can already feel a difference in my mood and energy. I actually feel giddy and energized ready for whatever the day brings. I'm having a blast experimenting with new recipes and making new friends to WOD with. I defiantly feel encouraged to keep moving forward. Week 1 complete...here is to week 2! (toast!)

Breakfast: Fried eggs wrapped in green peppers with turkey bacon
Lunch: Paleo Meatballs and Kale
Dinner: Paleo Meatballs, Eggs and Kale 
    [[ I love kale... ]] 
Snacks: Apple, Turkey Patty
Coffee: 2 cups
1 Cup of Almond Milk



WOD:

Strength: 5x1 Back Squats with 5 sec pause at bottom @205lb
       THEN:  3x2 OHS @85lb Superseded with 3x max effort Hand Stand Push Ups

Conditioning: "Power Clean Ladder" @95lbs .. I completed up to round 9.. didn't fully complete round 10. - TOUGH WORKOUT
(Segment is: 1 power clean the 1st min.. 2 the 2nd min.. 3 the 3rd min... etc..) 

POST WOD:
3x1 minute plank holds
3x1 minute leg raises 
30 Bur-pees and 50 Ab Mat Sit Ups for time: 4:47min

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Day 55


I had an internal battle getting out of bed this morning and getting to the gym at 6 am. Not gonna lie... I came up with a list of excuses not to go:

- "I had a long day yesterday and didn't get home from class and in bed till late.. I need my sleep.."

-"I have work all day and then class again until 9 pm.. it will be a long day..."

- "It is a tough workout.. I don't know if I'll have the energy to do all that this early.." 

- "I'm working out Saturday, and I normally don't so if I skip today I should be fine.." 

Well it was 5:40 am and I had a decision to make quickly.. I decided that I can never regret going and I will ALWAYS regret not going. So here is to no regrets! Cheers! (yes I toasted to myself) I got my butt up and headed out the door. When I came back home- I didn't regret it one bit! It was a tough workout but a good one and I felt great ready to tackle the rest of the day!

Breakfast: Eggs wrapped in green pepper with turkey bacon
Lunch: Paleo meatballs and zucchini spaghetti 
Dinner: Bacon wrapped chicken strips with kale
Snacks: Apple, 1 bacon wrapped chicken strip.
Coffee: 2 cups



WOD:

Strength: 6 Tire Flips (I flipped the guy tire for the first time.. pretty proud of that!), 5 Rope climbs, 3 prowler suicides.

Skill: 30 wall balls @16lbs 

Conditioning: 400m Sprint [1:42 min]
   Then: 6x400m run with a 30 sec rest in between each