Welcome to 2014

We loved our lives in 2013 and all the amazing memories we've created!  We've made some really amazing friends and love all of them!

2014 is upon us and most people are making resolutions that they won't keep after January is over.  Let's get real and face the facts folks...we all slip up and life takes over!  Steven and I have certainly struggled with our healthy lifestyle over the last 5 months.  It's been a train going full speed ahead with no stopping in sight.

Instead of making resolutions that we knew we couldn't keep we decided to make commitments instead to each other (we've even got a little shaming system setup with each other for when we fail).  We started with making a list of things we wanted to accomplish in January.  We planned out on which weekends we would complete the items.  We are off to a great start...ok let's get real we are only 3 days into January and we completed 2 whole tasks on a list of about 10!  The important thing is that we are making a commitment to each other.  It's time to learn how to say NO and commit to doing what we need to get done in our lives.  Some of our big goals in 2014 include the following:

*Run a 1/2 marathon
*Build our home gym
*Take a few hiking trips in the fall throughout Texas

I will wake up tomorrow refreshed and ready to start my day off in a positive spirit.  The negativity hurts and drags us down.  Life is full of ups and downs so embrace them!  Don't be afraid to always start over on your goals because you don't accomplish them the first, second or tenth time!  I've lost weight, gained weight, lost, gained, gained, gained but I'm still going to wake up tomorrow and do another workout!

Been A While...

It's been a very long time since I sat down and focused on myself.  This morning I decided to do just that.  I had the chance to do a very challenging workout at Crossfit called 31 Heros but time to myself for reflecting and recharging was much more important this morning.

My life has been upside down and absolutely crazy the last 60 days.  I'm working all kinds of crazy hours including working on the weekends at home.  My workouts have been fewer and fewer as each week goes by because I'm choosing to let it be that way.  My clean eating habits rarely exist as I make excuses why it's "ok" to eat the crap food!  Mentally and physically I'm worn out and needed to take this morning to spend time reflecting.

So what did I figure out?  Not only am I suffering by living/letting myself live this way it's also affecting those around me.  When I'm bitter and angry it flows out of me and into every aspect of my life.  I have so many positives in my life why in the world would I choose to be this way?  That's just it...IT'S A CHOICE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH ANGER AND BEING BITTER!

It's time to wake up and take back my life!  I have so many great things in my life and I've been ignoring all of them (family, friends, Mary Kay, Crossfit).  My Mary Kay business brings me absolute joy and happiness.  Just this last Tuesday I was my units first runner up in Queen's Court of Sharing!  Woohoo!  That's two years in a row of being recognized in my unit and I've only been in this business for two years!  It's not about getting rich for me because I absolutely love the women and products.  The girlfriends that I have made are friendships to carry for life and all because of Facebook and a spa afternoon!

Crossfit is another joy for me.  I feel amazing when I workout and I'm stronger every time I walk thru those garage doors!  I placed 2nd in a beginners competition in June and it's time to get my rear in gear to move out of the beginners category.  Can't do that though if you don't show up for your workouts!

Are you letting all the negative things run your life?  Are you doing what your truly love?  Are you spending time with only people who make you better?  If you aren't then stop and restart!  The only people who fail at something are those who never try again!  Life isn't perfect and never will be; we all have to keep trying!  We all deserve only the best that life has to offer!

Big Thighs

Strange title to my post right??!!  Don't worry it will all make sense after you finish reading.  So I'm just completing my ninth month of Crossfit at Crossfit Champions.  It's been a roller coaster of emotions and struggles during these last nine months.  I find myself in a constant state of comparison against others; weather it's at the box or other women I see in throughout my day.  I look them over head to toe and compare my own size against them.  It's a vicious cycle that I have ultimately paid the price for.  Did you know that stress and depression have a negative impact on weight loss?  Constantly comparing your body to other women or men is horrible!  All of us eat different foods, workouts vary and our overall body make-up is just different.

This weekend Steven and I went to the South Central Crossfit Regional competition in San Antonio.  We had a blast!  It was the most inspiring Crossfit activity that I have been to yet!  It was a chance to see some of the fittest women in South Central competing to go to the Crossfit Games.  The inspiring part was that all of these women were built differently.  Tall, short, small, medium and large.  They were all athletic but all different!  Not all of them had the body that you see sculpted for the photograph in Men's Health magazine either!  Don't take my last statement the wrong way but let's be realistic people...athletes posing for magazines like that spends hours taking thousands of pictures to get the one perfect shot, then the one perfect shot is enhanced with computers.

It's back to reality tomorrow for me but with a different attitude and outlook on myself.  I'm starting a 90 day challenge of health and fitness!  That's right, I'm going to commit to 90 days of getting stronger and healthier all while during the summer time!  I've got big goals on my poster and the only way to achieve them is to STOP COMPARING MYSELF TO EVERYONE ELSE!  I'VE GOT BIG THIGHS BECAUSE I'M AN ATHLETE!!

I'm posting my goals on the world wide web so they can never be erased:

1.  Run 2 miles
2.  Get a double-under
3.  35lb kettle bell during a full WOD
4.  No Mexican food for 90 days (yikes!!)

       

Been A While...

It's been over a month since I've last blogged!  I'm going to get back on track with this because it's really a great way for me to be able to not only share my journey but I've met some pretty amazing people who read my blog.

So what have I been doing the last six weeks...

I competed in the Crossfit Open 2013 this year which was a big first step for me.  I was pretty impressed with my overall performance.  All the workouts were on different levels for me physically but the mental aspect was about the same.  Just don't quit was my motto going into every workout.  I completed all five weeks and was happy with my results.  Overall I was stronger physically and mentally by the first week of April.

This picture is from 13.2 I'm pretty sure but I could be wrong...That's 75pds for those who are wondering!  It was darn heavy!

The Open came to end but then I started the Spring Into Summer 24 Day Challenge with my AdvoCare group.  It was time to drop a few pounds, inches and increase my cardio performance.  I started out strong the week of April 8th...then it all came to a screeching halt this week.  I was mentally exhausted, frustrated, depressed and my stress level was thru the roof!  Why?  I'm my own worst critic in life and I'm not talking about a little bit harsh.  I'm talking about failure is what I see most days in my own life as I reflect on my over all health and workouts.  I am terrible about hiding all my feelings inside and then they blow up like a bomb (right Jana and Pam!!).  

I've done a lot of self reflecting over the last three weeks and I refuse to let myself see the progress that I've made in my lifestyle over the last five months.  The positive things I seem to forget is that my marriage is stronger than it ever has been!  Steven and I rarely have arguments (if any) and we've found the perfect balanced of happiness while working on having a successful future together.  There's just one thing holding us back and it's my mental weakness.  I've got to believe in myself and my abilities. 

I'm not telling you all this for pitty or sympathy votes; I'm telling you because it's reality.  Everyone of us is faced with the reality of life and not believing in ourselves at some point.  What makes us successful is overcoming these obstacles and becoming a better person from the lessons you learned along the way.  

It's only failure when you give up completely and never try again.

13.1 In The Bag

The Crossfit Open officially kicked off Wednesday evening after the announcement of the first workout.  As the news quickly spread about the details of the workout my heart quickly sank.  The more that I read the workout the more that I let fear set in.  I've been doing Crossfit for seven months and there are three things I haven't been able to make much progress on which are running, burpees, and manmakers.  My running is getting better every month and I just completed my first mile a week ago.  Burpees and manmakers are horrific.  Anytime I see them listed in the workout I cringe!

13.1 Workout Details:

17 Minute AMRAP
40 Burpees
30 Snatch (45lbs)
30 Burpees
30 Snatch (75lbs)
20 Burpees
30 Snatch (100lbs)
10 Burpees
Max rep Snatch (120lbs)

Now you see why my heart sank and fear set in...LOOK AT ALL THOSE STINKING BURPEES!!  Saturday was getting closer and closer but the fear only got worse.  I had lots of uplifting positive people providing endless support for me (Pam, Matt, Jason, Clay, Jana, Steven and the list goes on).  They had the faith in me that I was going to do great.  Saturday arrived and it was time to kick some butt!  I woke up positive and refreshed, ready to face my fear of burpees!  This would also be the first time I have ever competed in an athletic competition.  It was my turn to do the workout and something absolutely amazing happened...I KICKED BUTT!!  My burpees were stringing together smoother than any workout I had ever done before.  I was physically exhausted but mentally I was racing so I kept going.  In the end I survived the workout and had a great score!  I even set a PR during my workout by doing a 75lb snatch!

75lb Snatch

Kicking Burpee Butt

Can't wait to see what 13.2 brings this coming Wednesday!!

Ready, Set, Go!!

February 18th is almost here which means it's time for me to buckle down with my health and fitness goals!  That means it's AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge time! The cleanse starts tomorrow and I'm so ready for it!  I'm ready to clean out all the funk from my body from the last 7 weeks of a crazy busy life.  Ready for some awesome workouts and moving myself to the next level of training.

The challenge isn't all about weightloss.  For me personally, it's a spring board in my workouts.  I also run faster (ok jog faster), lift heavier and push myself past my mental limits.  I'm 31 yrs old and have honestly never felt better in my entire life!  I'm feeding my body great clean food and amazing supplements!  

Bring on Monday because this girl is ready to blow it up!!

Frustration

Today has been a day full of frustration, anger and confusion.  Steven and I have dreams that are wonderful and amazing but they will take hard work and dedication to accomplish them.  At what point though do you ever feel like your on the "right" path to accomplishing those dreams?

Our dreams take big sacrifices that can take a toll on our emotions.  For the couple that doesn't have any kids we aren't home very often.  2013 was the year to have a baby...yeah right!  Not sure when we are suppose to fit that in!  We seem to over commit ourselves to everything else and in the end we pay the price.  The price being that we don't focus enough on our own marriage and dreams.  We push those things to the "next free weekend" and then that never seems to roll around.  But we feel selfish when we tell family and friends no.  

Now here we sit 6 weeks into the new year still not focused on our financial dreams, health and wellness to the level that we want to.  We makes excuses constantly but we never put ourselves first!  So how you do press the reset button on life?  It's hard!  We've tried about 4 times in the last 3 weeks and still haven't reset.

We are faced with how to move forward and start living the life we have always wanted to.  We've done it before but somehow we have to get back on the right track!  So if we take a step back from the social calendar of life, don't take offense.  We're focused on starting a family, financial freedom, and accomplishing our goals for 2013.