Closing Out 2012

Well it's New Year's Eve and another year is coming to an end.  2012 has been a roller coaster ride for Steven and I.  Our lives together started out with lots of bumps and we are ending on such a high.  It's hard to even figure out where to start...

Our year started with us struggling financially and living two separate lives in the same house.  We hadn't quite made the one year mark of marriage.  Many friends told us the first year would be the hardest.  Not because we weren't meant to be married but because we were both older when we got married (lets face it, when you get married and your both in your thirties your "older").  We were both pretty much set in our ways as individuals and we struggled with communication as a couple.  Then reality hit us in the face at the beginning of February.  Our dear friends Steve and Jen Martin told us that Steve had stage 4 melanoma.  Talk about kick you in your face!  Here we were arguing over leaving a dirty bowl in the sink for someone else to clean-up and they were dealing with the reality of STAGE 4 CANCER!  Funny thing is that they didn't dwell on the negative and sadness of the cancer, instead they started a war against cancer which has lead to Steve still being here 12 months later!  Here's a link to Jen's blog http://martinfamilyjourney.blogspot.com

Our one year anniversary arrived in March and we celebrated with an amazing dinner at Damian's in downtown Houston!  Probably in my top 5 awesome moments in life.  I got to cook like a real chef!

I'm even wearing high heels while I cook my master piece!  

Steven and I had overcome a lot of our issues by March.  We were plowing through the first part of the year and creating memories along the way!  In May we took a wonderful trip to New Mexico for some great hiking and relaxation!  It was fantastic!

I was goofing off during this photo and nearly fell backwards down the cliff.  Lesson learned...don't goof off while at the edge!

So the first half of our year was pretty exciting and we had overcome our bumps in our marriage!  The second half of 2012 was very busy and lots of fun!

My Mary Kay business was having it's own success!  I was the first runner up in the Rockstar unit for court of sales.  My good friend Lori was the queen!  Steven and I went to our very first Mary Kay Seminar in August.  It was lots of training and we got to play fancy dress-up a couple of nights for awards.  It's always fun dressing up for events!  My success in Mary Kay allowed me to donate $450 to the Martin Family's AIM for Melanoma walk in September as well!

Steven decided to leave 24 Hour Fitness where we had been kind of working out together and joined Crossfit Champions.  I stayed at 24 Hour since I had a personal trainer.  Our weight loss was up and down all summer long.  Not really seeing any progress because every time we lost weight we had a bad weekend or week(s) and gained it back.

In last August I took the plunge and joined Crossfit Champions.  I thought it was the dumbest decision I made at the time but whatever I was giving it a try.  Immediately after I joined Steven left on an out of town trip for the ENTIRE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER!  Oh great, I joined this new place and my husband left!  In September the gym had an AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge which I participated in and didn't have much success.  The only real improvement was that I took 2 minutes off my workout.  I will stay the unsuccessful challenge was COMPLETELY MY FAULT!  I quit the last 2 weeks of the challenge and the results suffered because of it.

October was about the same.  We were working out and taking our AdvoCare supplements but not really eating clean and healthy.  In November we took our annual trip to San Antonio to watch the lights come on the Friday after Thanksgiving on the River Walk.  We had a great time!

After Thanksgiving we decided to do a 24 Day Challenge together. This my friends was the turning point in our weight-loss and life that Steven and I both needed!  We had amazing results with weight and inches lost.  We both felt great and had energy that we had never had before.  We didn't eat out for 24 days!  Our checking account was gratefully for that!  At this point I had figured out that Crossfit was EXACTLY what I needed!  It was a giant family and I loved it!

So now the end of the year is here and what's next?  2013 is going to be full of greatness and lots of success!  We will continue to get healthy together and we will also start helping others.  There are so many people out there that want to get healthy but just need help from real people who have been through the same struggles!  We're hoping to do just that!

Happy New Year to everyone and may your 2013 be a great one as well!

What's a 24 Day Challenge?

Cheris and I recently did the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.  I've never done one before even thought Crossfit Champions has done a couple of them since I have been a member there.  Cheris has done a couple without success and follow thru.

The first ten days are a herbal cleanse.  Don't worry it's not a make you have the poops cleanse.  That is the first question I got when I told people what I was doing.  Most people say that the first ten days is the hardest.  To me its just the first couple minutes of the day that were hard.  You take a fiber drink in the mornings on days 1-3 and 8-10.  The taste of the drink is not bad but the texture is a little on the blah side.  I did learn a good way to drink it is to take a big breath of air and drink as much as you can and then repeat.  So really you just have to muster a minute or two of courage and its over.  Through out the first ten days I only experienced one day of carvings/hunger but i said on course I would just eat my snack earlier than I plan that day.  my first ten days consisted with having fruit for breakfast, turkey jerky for a snack during the day.  Thankfully we went to San Antonio the day after Thanksgiving and we got to load up on turkey jerky from Buc-ee's.  For lunch I usually had a protein and veggies.  Dinner was a protein and a veggie also.  No processed foods nothing came out of a box or from a restaurant.    Its easy to control what goes in your body when you are the one making the food.

For the next 14 days is the fat burn stage.  You have a meal replacement shake for breakfast.  I decided to have vanilla shakes.  They were very good a little thick but it tasted like vanilla cake batter.  It reminded me of my childhood days of licking the mixer blades when my mom was finished making a cake.  As far as food, it was basically the same as the cleanse but I did add a couple of foods back into my diet like eggs and bacon.  I did not go overboard on them but it was nice to have them again.  During this time I got a new boss that was a tech in my crew in the past. Right away he noticed that I was looking thinner since the last time he had seen me.  This is always a cool feeling when you are working towards something and someone else notices it.  I will not lie I did have once bad day while on the 24 day challenge.  It happened on a Sunday there was some dark chocolate morsels that Cheris uses when she makes her paleo cookies.  I had a couple hand fulls of them which after eating them I felt like pooh.

All in all the challenge was a complete success!  I would recommend this to anyone to get jump start on your weight loss, healthy eating habits, need to drop a quick 10 pounds or whatever your reason might be!  

So what's next??  We are continuing on with the the healthy/clean eating habits and taking our supplements.  Why change something that is working?!

Cheris and I are kicking off another group 24 Day Challenge, Monday 1/7/13.  Join us as we all work towards living longer, looking better, feeling better and just finishing our goals! 

Little scale humor for Thursday...

 

24 Day Challenge Results

Recently Cheris and I took the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.  It combines clean eating with wellness and weight loss supplements.  The challenge is broken into a ten day herbal cleanse and a 14 day fat burn process.  We will post a more detailed blog about our experiences on the challenge in the up coming days.  But we are so excited by our results that we wanted to post a short results blog.

BEFORE PICTURES:

AFTER PICTURES:

Cheris lost 3/4" off her flexed arm measurement, four inches off of her waist, and three and  1/4 inches off her hips.  That is a total of 8 inches lost in 24 days.  She also lost 8 pounds too.  Cheris is able to wear clothes that she has not been able to wear in three years!!! Truly amazing results.

I lost 1/2' off my arm flexed measurement, 3 and 1/4 inches off the my waist and gain 3/4" in his shoulders for a total of 3 inches lost.  I also lost 13 pounds in 24 days.  Some people might wonder about the gain in the shoulders but it's OK because remember part of my success is CrossFit workouts and I've set some serious PR's in the last 24 days as well.

These results are by far the best we have seen in our dieting over the last 2 years!  Our challenge isn't over though.  We took a small 5 day break for Christmas and are right back on track today!  Success isn't easy to achieve unless you work hard at it which is exactly what we did.

We are kicking off another challenge Monday, January 7, 2013.  Let us work with you to help achieve your goals!

www.advancedadvocare.com

Whose the bomb?!?!?!

For the first time ever, I pretty much felt like a bad ass tonight during my workout!  I'm normally not one to toot my horn quite so loud but I pretty much rocked my workout!

Let's see...Back Squat 145lbs (PR) and Shoulder Press 90lbs (PR)

What I did learn tonight is that I'm a strong person who has come a very long way in a short amount of time. I started Crossfit just a short 3 months ago a very weak and broken woman.  I had little self-confidence that I could actually succeed at Crossfit.  I thought I would have quit by now actually.

I haven't quit though and it's because of the Crossfit family environment.  Everyone supports each other through everything.  You could be the fastest but also be the weakest, you could be the weakest but be the fastest it doesn't really matter because we all support each other.

Black Friday WOD

The gym that we train at was closed the week of Thanksgiving but our trainers had "special" Thanksgiving WOD's and we were able to get in a free workout for the week!  Friday morning happen to be when Pam and Matt had their Black Friday WOD.

I now know that anytime the word "excited" is used with WOD, it really means...Get ready for a killer workout that will make you never want to eat carbs or pie AGAIN!  Seriously folks, it was probably the hardest workout I've ever done!

Black Friday WOD (partner workout):

Run 600M (200M each round)
45 Burpees (15 each round)

180 Jump Rope (60 each round)
45 Pull-Ups (15 each round, jumping pull-ups)

Rowing 600M (200M each round)
45 Box Jumps (15 each round, 20" box)

Steven and I actually completed the WOD!

So what did I learn on Friday?  I'M AN EXTREMELY STRONG WOMAN!  3 months ago I would have probably taken an entire hour to complete this workout but it took just a short 29 minutes (my time, combined it was 34 minutes) to complete the entire thing!  I'm sure their are people that did it faster but I don't really care because this was a huge milestone for me personally!  I'm not saying I need this type of WOD every week but it's good to have something that challenges you beyond your comfort zone.  If you stay in your comfort zone all the time then how to you measure progress?

My personal challenge going forward is to always push myself out of the comfort zone!  If I can complete this hard cardio workout, then I can complete anything that I put my mind to!

Small Things

This weekend Steven and I celebrated "Steven's Day".  It's a completely made up day obviously but we had so much fun with it! We created a day built of doing that that Steven wanted to do.  It was nothing special or fancy just a day of being together.  Here's a run down of what we did:

*Shopping at Old Navy, Michael's, Barnes-N-Noble, Gander Mtn

*Dinner at Salt Grass while sitting at the bar watching football

*Grocery shopping at the new Fairfield HEB (it was awesome)

While this doesn't seem like anything special, it meant a lot to Steven.  THAT'S WHAT MATTERED THE MOST!  It wasn't about how much money we could spend or what kind of adventure we went on; it was about doing things he wanted to do for the day (I must admit Michael's was my idea but he found a great treasure).

His Christmas guy he bought from Michael's below.

Back at it: "Murph"

For those of you who have not had the pleasure to experience the joy that is Crossfit let me give you some knowledge.  There are certain workouts called "Hero WODs".  They are workouts that honor servicemen, police officers, and firemen that have lost their lives in the line of duty.  These WODs are very challenging since they are made to honor these men and women.  On Monday I had the pleasure of being introduced to "Murph".  The prescribed workout is one mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and to finish it off one mile run.  Oh yea almost forgot you are doing this while wearing a weighted vest.  The workout is in honor of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy , 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.   This was his favorite workout.

Well since I am not close to being an elite athlete yet and struggle with cardio based workouts I did a half Murph.  So my runs were 800m instead of the full mile.  I started out strong I was able to run first 800m leg without stopping.  I am very proud of this because that is the farthest I have ran without stopping in years.  My plan for the movements was just do as many as I can and then move to the next one and so on and so on until I had finished all of my push up and pull ups and squats.  Then came the last leg of 800 meters. 

I was tired and my arms were dead.  I would run/jog as much as I could and then fast walk.  While fast walking I would think about Murphy and what he and his fellow brothers went through and it would give me the drive to start running again.  Now I am not saying that my struggles compare to his but sometimes you need to focus on something to get you through the wall.  To realize what you are going through is not that terrible at all that it is just a short inconvenience.  I finished strong and completed my WOD in 31 minutes. 

But for me the WOD is not done.  I want to learn more about this man and his fellow brothers.  There is a book that was written about his unit called "Lone Survivor".  I plan on reading it this weekend.  So thank you Murphy for your sacrifice for this country and thank you for making me a better person. 

Bad=Good

My morning started off with tears.  That's right, at 5:45AM tears are rolling down my face as I'm getting ready to head out the door to work for the day.  Thanks goodness for waterproof mascara!  I decided to weigh this morning for the first time in a month and was rather disappointed in the results...putting it mildly!  What a way to start a Monday! 

On the flip side of Monday, I found AMAZING success in my workout today!  When Pam first sent out the workout, I thought "she's lost her mind"!  My workout today was:

200 M Slosh Ball Run (40lbs)
300 M Sand Bag Run (50lbs)
300 M Run

Followed by:
90 Second Workout-50M sprint then max rep front squat (55lb, 21 reps)

I kicked total butt on this workout today which for me is unheard of when it comes to any cardio workout!  I normally pretty decent at holding my own on strength workouts and completely SUCK at cardio!  Not today though, I was determined to do more during my workout today and I accomplished just that!

It's time to raise the bar on myself and push myself way out of the comfort zone!  I'm so proud that I was able to use my horrible morning as a spring board to have a fantastic day!  Ate 100% clean all day and had an amazing workout!  Look out world because I'm ready to take you on!

Cooking for a Week

Each Sunday we attempt to cook for the entire week to make life easier and ensure that we eat healthy all week.  For the first time in about 2 months we actually cooked enough for our entire week today!  Here's a little list of everything that was prepared today (all purchased from Yonder Way Farms):

*Pork Shoulder Arm
*Pork Loin Chops
*Beef Fajita Meat
*Ribeyes
*Chuck Roast
*Whole Chicken
*Bacon
*Grilled Green Beans
*Grilled Squash and Zucchini
*Grilled Bell Peppers

After everything is cooked then comes the task of weighing meat, measuring veggies and putting it all in containers for lunches for the next 5 days.  Dinner time is easier because we just weigh and warm up what's already cooked.  We also have fruit throughout the week but we take care of that in the mornings along with 4 scrambled eggs each morning (2 for each of us).  The bacon is a treat we allow ourselves on days that we have Crossfit.  We cooked it ahead of time as well so we just grab 2 pieces and add to our lunch boxes.  That's right, I said lunch boxes!!

For weeks we have been wanting to do this but our lives have been really busy and we haven't taken the time to commit to the process.  It took us about 3 hours to prepare, cook and measure everything but it will save us many headaches over the coming week as well as bad food choices for lunch/dinner. 

We are by no means experts in healthy eating.  Honestly this is our first week we are hoping to have 7 great days!  By that I mean NO EATING OUT!  We seem to always fail on the weekends but the important part is we pick-up our extra pounds and head right back to Crossfit no matter what!

www.yonderwayfarm.com

Sunday Rambling...

Oh my goodness...My feet are feeling great but my knees are still aching after spending Friday and Saturday volunteering for OOIV.  It was a truly amazing event to not just volunteer at but to also watch some amazing people compete.  Most of the people I watched compete are complete strangers but it's funny how spending 10 hours with the same people you just start chatting about random life things.  Being a volunteer can be quite taxing on your body but it makes it all worth it when at the end of the day after all the athletes are tired, final WOD is getting ready to start and they give you a simple "thank you" as they walk out to their final WOD!  Just melted my heart yesterday because at that moment I figured out my next step!

I have a passion right now for Crossfit that I'm not sure I can really explain.  It's more than about just working out 3 times a week in a box, it's about changing my life and finding people that truly care!  One of the primary reason I joined Crossfit Champions www.crossfitchampions.com was the family that owns and works the box!  I had been a corporate gym member for about 4 years and it had gotten to the point that it just wasn't working for me anymore.  I was terrified about leaving what was comfortable but knew I needed to change.  Matt and Pam run Crossfit Champions and to them it's more than an income, it's a way to help people achieve whatever goal or dream they might have.  I certainly wasn't finding that from the owners of my previous gym (didn't even know who owned the darn thing). 

Their PASSION for nutrition, supplements and healthy/clean eating isn't forced down any one's throat.  It's advice and guidance they provide for FREE!  I decided to take the advice and am 200% thrilled I did.  Steven and I are eating amazing food, feeling better, stronger than ever before and most importantly we are HAPPY! 

So my life is changing right now which isn't a bad thing at 31!  My priorities have been refocused so I can focus on MYSELF!  Often I find myself committing to hundreds of things or people and then I always let taking care of myself be last.  That's OVER!!!

What is your passion?  Do you even know what it means to have a passion?  I looked up the word and a description I found was "A strong fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for something".  Can't get anymore accurate about my current passion!

GOD FIRST, FAMILY SECOND, CAREER THIRD 

Attitude and Food

Where do I even start...

This weekend has been an OK weekend but I've been in a crappy mood for most of it.  Why I'm not really sure.  What has happened is that I let my crappy mood allow me to eat awful food.  I ate out most of the weekend and went to a wedding on Saturday evening.  After all of this my mood is even worse.

I find myself sitting wondering how did I let this happen?  The easy answer is to say that I was busy and didn't have time to cook but I know that's not true because I cooked food tonight but still ate out!  Seriously what is wrong with me! 

I think a lot of us feel this way at times.  If we have a bad day then it's OK to have a bad meal but then that bad meal turns into an extra 40 pounds that you are trying to get rid of.  Tomorrow is Monday and I'm picking myself up off the ground and getting right back into the swing of my healthy habits that I have created over the last 6 weeks!  I don't feel any better for eating the bad food, in fact I actually feel WORSE!  Dwelling on the on the weekend won't make me feel better either though. 

New day and back on track is what I will wake up to everyday from this point moving forward!  I'm even going to post this statement in my bathroom to remind myself everything morning to stay on track!  I honestly feel better when I eat the right foods and workout on a regular basis! 

Tears AGAIN!

Who knew that Crossfit would bring me so many darn stinking tears!  It happened again yesterday!  It's always tears of joy even though when they are flowing down your face they feel like tears of hate, anger, sadness and fear!

Yesterday's warm-up was high knee skipping for 200M (might as well be jogging for me), strength was weighted pull-ups and our WOD was 21-15-9 of burpees, chest 2 bar pull-ups (ring rows for me) and wall ball shots.  I did scale the burpees to a big ole 15-12-9 but then went back to 21-15-9 for the other two items.  I was physically exhausted and in pain afterwards!  After I finished my workout and was sitting in my car, I cried!  Why?? I was happy because I did an OK job during the WOD.  Wasn't the prettiest burpees but they got finished!  Yet there I sat in my car crying over a WOD all because I felt I should have done better.  I felt like my WOD effort maybe wasn't as good as others in my class.

So why tell everyone all of this?  It's OK to be the weak or the new person in your class!  If each class didn't have that person then how would other people ever feel comfortable to join a Crossfit?  It's not about how long you've been working out or how much better you are compared to others in class; it's about always showing up and giving 200% during your WOD's.  The person that gives 200% will have much better success results than the person who give 80%. 

I'm proud to announce that I AM THE NEW PERSON AND I'M WEAK!  Those two items are going to allow to me to grow and becoming a stronger person physically and mentally!

What's Next?

The 24-Day Challenge is officially over.  I had many ups and downs during the challenge but ended with success!  The most important thing was that I completed my workout 2 minutes faster!  That is a huge step for me!  I was the girl that hadn't really been working out and definitely didn't push herself to get outside the comfort zone.

So now I'm faced with moving forward.  The challenge is over but what's next?  What I learned over these last couple of weeks is that it's just beginning for me.  My results my be slower than others but I'm changing my entire lifestyle right now.  Little run down of what has changed since September 10, 2012:

1.  Eating meat ordered through Yonder Way Farms
2.  Eating organic fruit and fresh veggies
3.  No processed food at all
4.  Cage free eggs
5.  Raw milk drinker
6.  Crossfit 2 times per week
7.  Personal training with Crossfit coach once a week
8.  No caffeine products

That's a huge list in less than 30 days!  So what do I do next?  I'm going to continue everything above, that's what!  My weight loss and measurements are dropping slowly but my workouts have improved drastically.  I'm also going to add interval training twice a week to my schedule.  I've been making minor changes to my proteins (less bacon throughout the week) that seem to help with losing some extra weight.  I definitely could use to increase my veggies but I'm sure that's most of America!

I'm very excited to see that the rest of the year will bring to me as I move forward!  It's a lifestyle not a temporary fix!  My big goal through all of this is to be able to show other women who have similar goals that they too can workout with the best athletes and eat good food in the process! 

Time to Open My Eyes!!

OK by now those of you keeping up with my posts know about the 24 day challenge.  Yesterday I was having a large pity party for myself as I feel I haven't lost enough weight during the challenge.  Pity party of 1 is a favorite past time!!

The light bulb come on late last night!  IT'S NOT ABOUT THE 24 DAY CHALLENGE AT ALL!  These last 24 days I have been laying the stepping stones for myself to continue to follow the rest of my life.  The healthy eating habits, WOD's, interval cardio training and mental awareness are going to continue to improve of the coming months.  So while I may not lose the most pounds or inches, or have the fast improved time in the WOD; I've set myself up for much greater success in the coming weeks and months.

My journey is just now beginning and I have a long road ahead of me.  Not only do I need to lose 40pds in order to try and have a baby, I need to figure out how to live a healthy lifestyle forever! 

Whatever happens Saturday, I will count it as success in my book!  I mean seriously people, I'm competing in a challenge against others who have been eating health and doing Crossfit for months!  They had to start somewhere as well in the journey.  And then I think, how many of these same people only did the challenge so they could drop a few pounds or percentage of body fat but are going right back to eating crappy food??

So to everyone out there that needs a starting point, remember it's just that!  A starting point to lay the stepping stones down to follow for the weeks, months and years to come in living a healthy lifestyle!

Cheris

Hurdles Everywhere!

It's day 17 of the challenge and I find myself questioning and over thinking everything right now.  In the process of doing so, I haven't been eating enough food.  I know, I know...made it 17 days how it can be bad now!  It's a hurdle that I am working on crossing and will over come it by Friday. 

I do feel that this challenge has brought me many successes so far though.  I was able to buy new pants this past weekend, I feel like I have been killing my workouts considering I've only been doing Crossfit for about a month now, and my overall energy level seems to be better.  I have a small sinking spell on the way home sometimes but that could be related to the long drive with the warm sun beating down on me.

So as I move into the final week of the challenge I have some serious things to get done. 

1.  Eat more veggies and eat more food in general
2.  Get in more cardio workouts
3.  Survive the Mary Kay Advance next Thursday and Friday

That's right, I'm the crazy person that is going out of town for a night the DAY BEFORE my final weigh in.  I will be the crazy lady that brings snacks and protein shakes with me to the event!  Who cares if they stare because I'm the one trimming down and looking fine!

So wish me luck as I cross these next 3 hurdles during the last week of the challenge!

10 Days in the Bag

Well the first 10 days of the challenge are in the bag!  Thank goodness because that means I get to eat something more than fruit for breakfast.  Seriously, 1/2c of fruit for breakfast is killer!  Thank goodness for Spark each morning because it got me jump started.  Now I move on to day 11 feeling pretty good.  I've noticed that my clothes are fitting better and my energy level is strong.

As I move into the last 2 weeks of the challenge I find fear starting to set in.  Not sure why as I am accomplishing more and more with each workout.  Tonight was one of the most challenging workouts for yet.  Primarily because I had to do a warm-up of 400M and then part of the WOD was another 400M. 

Work Out of the Day-For Time
400M Run (Jog for me)
40 Front Squats (15lbs)
40 Box Jumps (12")
40 DB Good Mornings (15lbs)
Finish time was 9:35

Not bad for this gal!  The run is my biggest struggle by far!  Hopefully continued interval training with help to improve the running.  Friday is bringing yet another workout with Pam and I.  This time it won't be raining so I'm sure we will be outside the entire time working on my cardio. 

I've got this challenge in the bag!  I can't find to have my final weigh-in, measurements and WOD on Oct 6th!

So far so good!

Well I'm 3 days into the challenge and feel like it's going pretty good.  I don't really find anything hard yet.  I actually feel better since I'm eating so clean and healthy.  I have tons of energy (that may be thanks to Spark) and sleep like a baby at night!  I am taking the Advocare Night Time Recovery as well which is helping on workout days.

I'm a little fearful of Friday though.  Pam tells me today that I get 3 special sessions since I'm participating in our group challenge.  I'm not sure if that's a get thing just yet.  See it's one on one time with her while only doing cardio...Did I mention that cardio SUCKS!  I've always wanted to be a runner but struggle no matter how much I try.  I find easy excuses for failing as well.  "Oh I have larger thighs than other women so it's harder, my knees hurt, it's just hard".  So hopefully Pam will help me to be able to overcome this mental battles that I have with myself.

Day 4 here I come tomorrow!  Steven better watch out because he's going to get a brand new wife out of this new lifestyle that I've chosen to live!

Cheris

24 Day Challenge

So for all those who don't know, I started doing Crossfit about 3 weeks ago.  Some people have a fear of Crossfit as they think it's only for extreme athletes (which I am definitely not) but it's the complete opposite.  Crossfit is the perfect workout for anyone that is looking to challenge yourself mentally and physically.

Crossfit Champions (where I workout) is having an Advocare 24-Day Challenge that starts Monday 9/10.  So I took the plunge and signed up!  This past Saturday we did our stats and weigh-in as well as a WOD.  OH MY GOODNESS, OH MY GOODNESS I'VE LOST MY MIND!  The WOD for the challenge was very hard for me!  The purpose of this specific WOD was to create your initial time so that at the end of the challenge you repeat the exact movements and improve your finish time.  Want to know what we did and my time?

Run 200M
15-12-9 (reps)
Deadlift (65lbs)
Med Ball Sit-Ups (8lb)
Run 200M
5 Rounds of the following 3:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups (on my knees)
15 Squats
Run 200M

My finish time was 16:46.  I struggled a lot after the second 200M run.  Your suppose to keep moving but my mind tells me to take a break and rest.  My run is more of jog at this point but that will continue to get better over the coming weeks.

My biggest struggle in getting ready to start the challenge and improve my workouts is mental.  I let little things derail my success.  So while the challenge is about changing your eating habits and improving your performance; it's also about improving my mental health over the next 24 days.  Realizing that I am successful and I can succeed!

The Day Matt got Creative and Tried to Thin the Herd

The day was July 4th.  A day to remember our country's independence from British rule.  Well Matt Munson the owner of Crossfit Champions came up with a creative way to celebrate this great day.  This also was the beginning of my second  month of crossfit.  Matt made the workout to equal the date 7-4-1776.  It was seven rounds with four movements in each round for time or sixty minutes which ever came first.
At first I thought maybe Matt is trying to thin the herd down.  You know like a lion looking for the weak of the herd to pick off.
Well the workout was as bad as I thought it would be.  I try and make mini goals for my workouts so I wanted to make at least four rounds.  I knew it would be hard since I still get gassed easily.  It was a killer workout.  I started to get that sour feeling in my stomach halfway through the workout.  I got to round four and mustered my way through it.  I told myself to keep going and get that fifth round.  With about two minutes to go all I needed to do was one last row to complete that fifth round.  Well I was dead basically I was tapped out.  Then Coach Denise got on the machine next to me.  She just needed to finish her row to complete all seven rounds.  She started to talk to herself willing herself  not to finish on the machine.  It inspired me to finish not on the machine also.  It gave me that last bit of kick to finish my fifth round.  Thanks Denise for getting me to the end.
Since that workout I have notice that I am able to go a bit longer in my workouts.  They also seem to be not as intimidating.  Then it dawn on me Matt was not thinning the herd but making it stronger.  By breaking my body down I am able to do more.  Not just physically but mentally too. 

Counting Should be Easy ....Right?

Just a fun quick hitter for the Crossfitters out there.  So there are two things that seem to be a challenge for a newbie crossfitter like myself.  The first is breathing.  I mean its a simple process breathe in and then exhale.  Nothing to it I been doing it for as long as I have been alive.  I mean I am a pro at it now, been doing it for 36 years.  I can even breathe through my nose or my mouth.  I excel at this movement.  So it makes me wonder why that sweet 02 plays hard to get during WOD.  I know she will come around eventually but does she have to be soo stubborn. 
The second challenge for a newbie crossfitter is counting.  Once again an easy process just add one to number.  I pretty much got that nailed down many years ago even checked my old progress reports to verify.  So today's WOD was 150 wall balls.  Not a problem I have counted pass 150 numerous times.  Well lets just say I am pretty sure I did more than 150.  Keeping track up to the 50s was pretty easy but from then on as I grew tired I found myself just doing the movement and not counting.  So I would add to my totals in a conservative manner.  I would hate to resort to counting on my fingers and toes during WODs.  I am sure that would get in the way of the movement. 
So crossfit is more than just tuning you body to me it tunes the whole package.  Mind and body.

Good Enough is Not Good Enough There is Better

All my life I have been a good enough person.  Results really did not matter as long as the work or task got completed then that was good enough for me.  It did not matter what the results of my labor looked like as long as it was done.  For the longest time I took this approach to getting healthy.  My thinking was as long as I went to the gym then that was good enough.  It did not matter how much effort was put in because I was at the gym.  Well something has slowly started to change in me during this past month.  Good enough is not good enough there is BETTER!

Now I may not improve on every workout but there is always something that I am going to strive to do better.  It is not ok just to show up and go through the motions.  I want to give my all out effort on every workout.  I want that hour worth of time at the box to be my bubble from the world.  No stress from work, family or life.  I want all my physical and mental energy to be focused on squeezing out one more rep until I hear the buzzer.  Why do I want this because I want to be better.  Better health wise, better person, and better husband.  I believe they are linked together.

Had a great weekof workouts at Crossfit Champions.  I set a PR on power clean.  I failed on my first attempt but then was able to rock 143lbs.  Thanks Coach Christian AKA Chris LOL.  I also did some box jumping too for the first time.  I made it all the way up to 24 inches.  Whoop Whoop.  I love the feeling when you push yourself to a new standard and are able to reach it.  Can't wait to get to the box again.  I might have put my foot in my mouth with the wife.  I told her that there are three days in the week I look forward to.  Tuesday and Thursday because of Crossfit and then Saturdays because I get to spend two days with her.  Oh slowly she is coming on board to the Paleo way of thinking. 

Shift Changes and the Whiteboard

The third week of my crossfit experience was a tough one.  I have started a new shift at work.  I go in later in the morning but that means I am getting off later at night.  I also seem to be getting more overtime on this shift than I was.  I don't mind the extra money but its rough on the nights before crossfit because a lot of times I do not get to bed until 10:30 and then turn around and get up at 4:30 am.  So I am not getting a lot of sleep so I think my Thursday workout suffered.  Also my mood was not the best last week.  I  was missing my wife alot.  Due to our work hours we really do not see each other during the week.  Last week I think we maybe saw each other for a total of three or four hours.  Tie all that together and my emotion levels were down in the dumps which usually leads to me being a bump on the log and eating bad.  But after spending the whole weekend with my wife I feel alot better.  This just another thing I have to work through and not let it derail me as much.
The other part of my tough week was my Thursday workout.  It was a brutal one.  I have never done Man Makers or toe to bars and lets just throw in jump roping for a bit of more struggle.  After the first round I was totally gassed.  I kept on stopping to catch my breathe.  By my third round I could barely jump rope.  When the WOD was over with I looked at the whiteboard totals and found that I was next to last in amount of rounds completed.  The only person that I was above was an older lady.  Now I am not sure if  I felt defeated because of where I was on the board or because of my mood.  Probably a little of both.  I talked to Coach Chris afterward about it and I felt a little better about it but it still was bothering me.  My wife noticed it when I was talking about my workout.  She told me something that made sense to me.  She reminded me about how the scale would get her down and I would tell her how its just a number that does not represent how hard she has been working or how great of a person she is.  Well she pointed out that the whiteboard is my scale.  I get so worked up about how everyone else is doing that I beat myself up.  She told me to just worry about me and not what others are doing.   Also Coach Shannan reminded me that I was doing a full  workout, meaning full movement, full reps.  This is the first time I have done the full workout.  In the past my workouts were scaled down since I am just beginning crossfit.  Also she pointed out that others were only doing quarter or half movements and reps.  I would like to thank these three for talking me off the ledge.  I was so focused on the whiteboard that I did not give myself a high five for what I had done.  Giving my efforts enough praise is something I do not handle well.  I do not mean that in a cocky way but I realize you need to be proud of yourself in what you do.
For now on I will not let a shift change derail me or cause me to be less of the person that I am.  I also will look to the white board as a work in progress tool and not a final judgement.  I will use it to drive to be better and not as something that will hold me back.

Stuff is About to Get Real

Looks like Thursday I am going to be measured.  Yea can't wait.  Well really I could but it will be nice to see where I am at.  Need a baseline to build off of.  I can also compare them to the ones I took back in March.  Still thinking about taking a shirtless pic but still not sure.  I usually do not care what people think of me but for some reason being shirtless bothers me.  Maybe I will take one and keep it for myself until I can see a noticeable difference.  Ok enough with my ramblings.

Success Makes a Visit to the Kotaliks

Well last week was a successful one for the Kotaliks.  We ate right all week even when we went to the casino over the weekend.  I may have had a couple of drinks there but I limited them as best as a I could.  Cheris had measurements taken with her trainer to see how she has progressed in her first month of training.  I am proud to announce that she improved in every area.  She was so excited to tell me.  Love to see her face light up when she tells me about her accomplishments.  She has been working hard and eating right glad it is paying off.  Another way she can tell  the results of her hard work is on her clothes.  She has some shorts that were a little tight when she first bought them and now well lets just say they might be a little too big for her.  High five baby so proud of you. 

Well I kind of sneaked a peek at my weight on Friday just to see where it was.  I am proud to say I have dropped six pounds in two weeks.  I know most people will say that it is water weight or that its just a number but for someone who is heavy it is a mental thing that is hard to shake.  We need to know that what we are doing is working.  It keeps us on the right path.  On the other hand it can also derail us if it shows us a number that we did not want to see.  Its something I need to work at.  I can tell I am getting smaller by the fact that my work jeans are getting looser so yea me. 

Oh yea and one other success story for the week.  We have A/C once again in the house.  I am going to miss our in house sauna.  NOT!!!  Our old unit was undersized so we bought the correct size for our house.  Wow does it make a difference.  I was freezing my rear off the first night.  We actually had to raise the temp the net night.  That is unheard of in our house.

Here is looking to another great week for both of us.  We each have a goal of making it to the gym five times this week.  Oh and there is a rumor going around that we maybe going organic.  More details to come.

Week One in the Box

Have been busy so this is going to be a couple days worth of ramblings  Well week one was a success I did not have to be revived at any of my workouts.  My second workout I got to place my totals on the board.  I felt so proud of my effort.  I may not be lifting a lot of weight right now but I am still proud because that is my number.  It represent the work I did and it is also a stepping stone to bigger and better things.  I wonder if my coach thinks I am a big baby with all the comments about how sore I am.  Heck even I think I am in need of a diaper change from all the crying.  LOL.  One thing I have learn from this week is it does not matter how in shape you think you are, "The Box" will keep your ego in check.  One other thing I learned also was Tabata is a mean heartless witch .  Not sure what I did to her or her family but she is out for revenge.  My goal for each WOD is to try and finish strong.  I do not want to be that person who is looking at the clock as the final seconds countdown.  I look forward to this week coming up.

On the healthy eating front I think I did real good.  I have phased out most of my grains.  I used to have oatmeal every morning but now I am having eggs and turkey bacon or turkey ham.  I feel full without the empty calories and carbs.  I have carrot sticks and nuts for my mid morning snack.  Lunches have been chicken with veggies and fruits.  I still have a Special K protein bar for my late afternoon snack.    A couple times a week I have popcorn as an after dinner snack.  I know there are some areas that need addressing but for the most part I have phased out bad choices and replaced them with good ones.  This weekend I did have a little miss step when it came to my diet.  We went to my nephew's birthday pool party.  I did not have any cake or ice cream but I did have two slices of cheese pizza.  I did swim with the kids so maybe it balanced out.  Me loves some pizza.

One last thing went to HEB and did our weekly shopping.  Normal it takes us 45 minutes to a hour to get in and get out.  This time only 20 minutes.  Main reason we stuck to the outer perimeter.  Mostly buying only fresh vegetables, fruits and meats.  Only two side aisles were visited .  I am so proud of us for making the lifestyle changes we needed to make to be the people we want to be.  One side benefit to sticking to the outer part of the store layout is less stress.  I would get grocery store rage sometimes going down packed aisle after packed aisle.  I also do not do well with people lacking common sense.  So the longer I am there the worse it gets. 


I posted a new video on the photo page.  Take a look and have a laugh.

Surviving is half the battle

Well today was my first Crossfit workout and I am proud to say I did not have a heart attack or even release my breakfast on the floor.  I am calling this a victory.  Now walking tomorrow or the next day might not be so easy.  If anyone has a used Rascal I maybe interested in it so I can get around.  All kidding aside I had a great workout.  It was hard but it felt good.  My instructor took it a little easy on me since the beginning section of class was one rep max chest presses and back squats.  I worked on form more than weight.  I liked this because I am worried about my shoulder since I surgery around this time last year.  I did light weight only 63 pounds but it did let me know that my shoulder was not going to break.  This is something that I believe held me back in pervious attempts to get in shape.  Shannan my instructor took a short video after our WOD.  To say that I was out of breath would be an understatement.  Words were at a minimal but large gasp for air was on high.   Can't wait for Thursday.

Welcome to the Starting Line

Well here we are again starting over in this long journey.  Only good thing about it is we are trying again and not quitting.  This time I believe we will be a success story.  There were things in our life that we had to address first to get into the right frame of mind.  Now that those have been fixed we can fully turn our attention to leading a healthier lifestyle.  Steven will be doing Crossfit twice a week at Crossfit Champions but may add a third day later on.  Cheris has a personal trainer that she will be working with twice a week at 24hr Fitness. 
We also will be changing our diet too.  In the past we ate out most of the week.  I think we did this because it was easier.  Our plan now is to cook at home six days a week allowing ourselves one meal out.  Our meals out will be at a salad place we found recently called Salata.  Once a month we are treating ourselves to some Mexican food.
We will tweak it as we go but I feel this will help us reach our goals.  You are welcome to join us for our little trip to better health.  Hopefully you will enjoy it and also learn something from our success and our mistakes.