Thursday, December 30, 2010

30 DAY PALEO -- TAKE 2 !!

So, if you have been following my blog for a few months now you should already know that in November i took a stab at a month of 100% paleo! It wasnt successful in respect to my goal because i did eat a few non paleo items during my Big Bend Trip as well as during my Thanksgiving make-up feast and birthday celebration at my mom's house! Other then that i maintained a strict paleo diet and was extremely proud of myself. I did eat more sausage and bacon then preferred, but HEY! its still considered paleo ;)

In January i will be attempting another 100% paleo diet for 30 days!! The Whole-9 challenge states that no dairy products, protein supplements, alcohol OR paleo-fying should be used ... But i am doing my own version, in a way!! I am still going to stay alcohol free for all thirty days (hopefully) and because i am working on muscle growth i will be using protein powder after work outs, etc! As for dairy- its basically out!! I will mix my protein powder into a smoothie with natural fruits, water, and coconut milk, or with just water only .. but no dairy milk!! Paleo-fying is taking an unhealthy meal and turning it into "paleo" by substituing certain ingredients. For example, I sometimes bake "paleo brownies" which instead of all the sugar and God only knows what else goes into the batter- I add carob powder, Almond Flower, Eggs, and some coconut flakes! All of which are considered "paleo" because they are natural ingredients, but they are not exactly considered paleo-healthy! I will be paleo-fying certain foods this month, but i wont be eating any paleo brownies or paleo candy bars throughout the 30 days! i will make things like paleo pancakes and paleo chicken alfredo.

So technically, i will not be taking part of the Whole-9 challenge, but i will be doing strict paleo for the entire month of January! i have no excuses this time, such as "uhhh but its thanksgiving .. i only eat this food once a year!!!" or "It's my birthday, i can eat i what i want .. its just ONE peice of chocolate cake" and "What the heck! We're in Big Bend, in the middle of nowhere .. i can have a peice of bread, its only for survival" Ha, silly excuses-huh? But this month i will tell you, i have no reason for excuses nor will i make up reasons to make an excuse!! if you want results- you'll stick to the diet 100% no matter what :)

Personally, even though its only been a month since i last attempted this plan, I meantally do not feel prepared! Luckily, my friend Kayla will be doing the diet along with me- so we will have eachother to keep accountable! Readers- you can help to, words of encouragement are the best motivator to keep pushing through!!! 

So my rules for the January Paleo Challenge consist of the following
1) NO dairy products
2) No alcohol (tequila and soda water are acceptable on occasion ONLY)
3) Incorporate less sausage and bacon into the diet
4) No processed foods and NO Bread, Beans, Rice, Corn and NO added sugar!!
5) More veggies!!

Help keep me accountable -- If i start eating eggs and bacon every day for breakfast (which might happen because its easy when you have to be at work at 7:00am) then call me out!! :)

Im ready to see extreme changes and improvements in my crossfit work outs, its time to get serious!

I hope everyone has a happy and blessed New Years!!
2010 has been the best year yet, and i can only imagine what 2011 will bring :)

Monday, December 27, 2010

hamburgers -- no buns please (:

Today i tried two new recipes 1) protein pancake and 2) hamburger patties!! The 2nd dish is obviously not as exciting as many other paleo recipes, but you have to start somewhere, and ive never cooked hamburger patties before :)

Below is a picture of the protein pancakes which contain 4 egg whites, a scopp of protien powder, and blueberries with a layer of almond butter on the top!! It was an interesting taste to say the least- I used vanilla protein powder but think that chocolate would actually make it taste is a little better. I hear its a great "pre-work out" meal ...
And no -- its not chicken topped with beans (ew) which this picture has been mistaken as- haha
Below are pictures of my hamburger patties and veggies-- everything turned out very well and i was pretty proud of myself for this being my first time cooking patties!

Below is a picture of the veggies i used to top of the hamburger
Onions, lettuce, and tomatoes

and whaa-laa :) The finished product. An extremely easy meal to make with a side of Asparagus!
I have three extra patties i will bring with me to work tomorrow also



Also, earlier today i completed my own crossfit workout in the comfort of my own home :)
3x
50 air squats
21 KB swings (35lb)
12 Pull ups
Its a version of Helen but instead of the 400m run i completed 50 air squats. Cant do much running in a small apartment! It was a great work out and felt good to use all my new equipment .. i am excited to start getting more stuff also! Jump rope, dumb bells, and another kettle bell (25lb) My time was 12:40! blahh

Everyone have a great day!
Stay active and healthy :)

Friday, December 24, 2010

XMAS!

Hope everyone is having a very merry christmas :)

Me and my family opened a few presents tonight and my dad gave me a 35lb kettle bell AND a pull up bar for my bathroom door in San Marcos!! I am extremely excited because now i will have NO excuse for not working out when i cant make it to Austin and dont wanna drive to the REC!

Also, Me and Kayla (another member of Westlake Crossfit) are going to do a whole month of 100% paleo in January!!! Robb Wolf has a 30 day paleo meal plan in his new book, "The Paleo Solution" so hopefully i will be able to incorporate some delicious new recipes, instead of the same ol' eggs and bacon, avocado, tilapia and sausage diet i usually consume.

This morning i made paleo pancakes for my family, which were delicious!!

2 eggs
1/2 cup nut butter (i used almond butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

It sounds very interesting and looks a little different, but it tastes extremely good with a great cinnamon kick! Robb Wold suggests topping the pancakes with applesauce (no added sugar) blueberries or real maple sugar! We used real maple sugar, which was great .. but because it does contain natural sugars it was pretty sweet. I might try something different as a topping for next time!

If anyone is into the paleo diet or wants to know more about why in the heck we dont eat bread, rice, beans, and corn- you need to read "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf! It is an incredible and entertaining book that will literally tell you everything about the paleolithic diet. Its amazing and i have learned so much!!

After reading, it is almost impossible not to share all the knowledgeable information you have learned , but you will soon realize the simple mindedness of those who are unwilling to change their eating habbits due to lazyness ... even after you share the reality of what certain foods can do to their bodies! Ugh, it gets annoying. I know a few people who rave about wanting to eat healther, but still make excuses for everything! If you REALLY want to do something, than do it .. dont cheat just because its your "favorite restaurant" or it was a special occassion! (I actually need to work on the "special occassion" aspect of this as well) And NO!!! you really dont NEEED bread ... and its easy to live without it, trust me :)

MERRY.CHRISTmas.EVERYONE!!!
its almost the New Year, so start setting your goals NOW and be fully prepared to implement them once 2011 rolls around :) you can do anything you set your mind to!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

CROSSFiT KATY!!

So today, i was finally able to take a few days off work in order to visit my family in Katy, Texas! I stopped by Crossfit Katy where the work out consisted of a 20 minute AMRAP!
10 Toe to Bar
20 Ball slams 12#
30 double unders (60 singles + 6 burpees)

I completed 6 rounds and 5 toe to bars within the 20 minutes and could tell my toe to bars were improving because i was finally able to string multipe ones together without having to readjust on the bar and "re-kip" .. it felt good and was great work out!!

I also got a sneak peak to one of my Christmas presents which is a 35lb Kettle bell :) :) I was SOO excited and am ready to get my work out on whenever i cant make it to the gym!!  Basically, my dad thought i wouldnt be able to lift 35lbs so he had to bring it out in order for me to show him it was in fact the right weight, haha!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

GOALS!!

What is it that makes someone want something so bad that they will go to any extreme to accomplish that goal? Do i REALLY want to eventually compete in crossfit? Do i REALLY want to get a muscle up? Do i REALLY want to eat 100% paleo in order to help me accomplish these goals? YESSS!!! I can honestly say i do want to eventually accomplish all of these things listed above, but what makes me different from any average crossfiter? I can honestly say i LOVE crossfit and have changed in so many positive ways, but then why can i not get my butt in the gym more than 2 or 3 times a week? Why do i go for that half eaten christmas cookie sitting on the counter and WHY dont i arrive early for my workouts to practice ring dips? Its time to start getting back in the game!!! I started crossfit with an extreme drive that has faded throughout my five months as a member of Westlake Crossfit. Maybe its because i pushed myself so hard in the beginning- But i am LEARNING! I have learned a few important concepts of self-talk in order to keep me driven throughout extreme WODS and i am certaintly in the process of learning patience.

Unlike most of the hobbies and sports i was involved in while growing up, crossfit has so many different elements that i can honestly say will take me a long while to get everything down. Cheerleading was something i was naturally good at- i tried out for the 12 person squad in sixth grade without any prior knowledge or practice. It all just came to me without any extra hard work or practice. After making the squad i joined tumbling classes where after a few weeks of lessons i already had a backspring. But crossfit is my new passion and it is different because in order to achieve the goals i have listed above, i will need to do hours of extra training and practice in order eventually be able to compete. Double Unders, Handstand push ups, and muscles up are things i am going to need to devote extreme time to practice. And the reward will outweight all the extra time spent in the gym.... Now, its just getting me to stop being lazy and do these things!!!!

Everyone has goals, EVEN YOU! And although they may not be relevant to crossfit they are necessary to have in order to progress and grow through life.  You will never accomplish anything magnificent if you do not set out precise goals. It will also be almost impossible to know the feeling of satisfaction if you have nothing to work up to.

Goals are not easy and it takes a lot of hard work in order to meet them, and as i am coming close to graduation this is finally coming to my realization. I have my "perfect plan" set out within the next two years such as graduate in May, move to Austin, find a good job, take a year off school to study for the GRE and finally get accepted and attend graduate school at the University of Texas! Sounds easy, right? To me, someone who has rarely failed at anything i have attemped, this seems do-able. But when i sit down and think about all of the hard work and preparation needed in order to accomplish all of these tasks, it gets overwhelming. And it should, because that is ALOT!!!! But today, i realized that i need to take things ONE AT A TIME! And so do you- if you seem overwhelmed by life obligations that need to be fulfilled. Take the first task or goal and work on it alone, and then move on to the next .. and if need be, you can move back and continue working on a previous goal that has not been met.

As for me (outside of crossfit goals) i am limiting myself to ONLY looking for jobs right now to have after i graduate. Then hopefully by May i will have a decent job set up for me and i can begin studying and preparing for my GRE. If we are working on too many goals at one time, we can lose focus on the reason WHY we have set those goals in the first place. So take it one goal or task at a time, maybe devote one week to each goal. An example for me would be one week looking for a good job and one week studying for the GRE, then one week continuing looking for a decent job and so on! For crossfit i would devote one week to focusing on ring dips and muscle up progressions and the next week working on double unders and so forth... you can do this also with any type of goals or tasks that you have!

Its time to get my head back in the game and start focusing on my goals that i want to accomplish both inside the gym and outside. Five months untill graduation is a SCARY thing and i can seriously say i cannot fully wrap my head around the changes that will come into my life whenever May rolls around. I hope by setting acceptable goals i will not become overwhelmed when graduation time comes.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

KNOWLEDGE

Fall semester is finally over and i came out with a 3.75 GPA!! I was hoping for a 4.0 but considering my extremely busy schedule this semester i am satisfied. So while being stuck at my awesome job with no school work to do- today i will start reading "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf. I am SUPER excited because as much as i believe in the paleo diet, i can honestly say i am not too familiar with the logistics of why we cannot eat certain foods. I am ready to learn a lot more about the paleo diet so that i can better explain and teach others why it is good for our bodies to abstain from grains, rice, and beans ... the crazy questions people always ask!!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

WORK OUTS!!!

So i have finally worked out FOUR days in a row and my work outs have been amazing!! Knowing that you gave a work out everything you have is a great feeling when the time runs out or you complete all the rounds, and the motivational phrases the coaches yell during the work outs only help you throw everything out into your work out untill its over!!

12.06.10 WOD
5x
10 Overhead Squats (45lbs two rounds 30lbs one round, 40lbs last two rounds)
50 Double Unders (150 singles scaled)
10 Knee to Elbows

17:55 (ish)

Overhead squats are one of my weaknesses when it comes to crossfit movements and as you can tell it took me a few tries before i was able to get a weight that fit me. Its good to practice akward and uncomfortable movements because eventually they will turn into something that feels more natural. It was good to work out the overhead squats, even though it left my upper arms extremely sore!!

12.07.10 WOD
Today i went to Jesse's training group at 7:00am where we first completed a few mobility stretches and then worked on push presses. We did 5x3 starting at 50lbs for me! I completed the first 3 rounds with no problem moving from 50lbs to 55lbs to 60lbs and then completing only 2 reps at 65lbs for the fourth round and moved back down ro 60lbs for my last round ... boring jibberish! yes i know :)

The work outs was 5x of 5 deadlifts and 10 burpees
the deadlifts were at 125# and i completed the work out in 5:21 :) it felt great!

12.08.10 WOD
Today the task was 5x5 deadlifts
five rounds of five rests with about 90 seconds of rest inbetween
125,135,145,155,160
and my back in extremely sore!!!

AMRAP 12 min
5 DB cleans (15lb Dumbells)
7 Ring Dips (red band)
9 Ball slams (14#)

i got exactly 10 rounds- My goal was 9 so i felt great when the time ran out and busted my butt untill the end with minimal to no rest.

12.09.10
Today i went to the REC to complete my own work out at the track
5x
400m run
40 squats
30 sit ups
20 knee push ups
10 lunges (5 left, 5 right)

28:13

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

COMPLETION!!

DAY 29


After work i went grocery shopping and finished up some laundry then headed to Austin for the 6:30 Westlake Crossfit class. The WOD for today was a 15 min AMRAP of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 air squats! I did my girly knee push ups and got FOURTEEEEN rounds with 1 pull up :) i was extremely proud of myself because i was unrealistically shooting for fifteen rounds, tried really hard, and came super close!! I couldnt have done anything different to reach my goal of fifteen rounds because I gave the work out my all- which is an awesome feeling to encounter afterwards! 


For dinner Jesse and I made Paleo meatballs with ground meat, celery, onions, and a few more ingredients with veggies. We mixed bell peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli and cooked them for our side and it was delicious! Jesse made sure i ate ALOT of veggies also :)


DAY 30
I worked out with my 6am Westlake Crossfit class this morning and ate nothing beforehand. The work out consisted of 10x of 2 Squat Cleans, 5 Burpees, and a downhill farmers walk (where you hold a dumbell in each hand and just walk to the certain location) then lunges with the dumbells still in each hand moving uphill (SOO HARD)!! 


I started off using 75lbs for the Squat cleans but after 2 rounds i had to move my weight down to 70lbs! It was extremely difficuly coming up out of the squat, even though it was only TWO reps per round. By the end of the work out i had moved my weight down to 65lbs and used a 20lb DB for the entire 10x of farmers walk and lunges! Lets just say that from Mondays work out AND yesterdays work out ... i can barely move today (Wednesday) from being SO extremely sore!! My time was 17:57 also for this work out!


After the work out i made a protein smoothie with strawberries and blueberries, one banana, water and protein powder!
I had class all day from 9:30-3:30 and snacked on grapes and banana chips throughout the day. 
After class i made three scrambled eggs and snacked on a full avocado and one banana with Almond butter.

6:00 me and my friend went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I first told the lady NO BREAD (just so we wouldnt even be tempted) and ordered a fresh salad with my 6oz sirloin steak with a side of veggies (broccoli and carrots). It was delicious and i ate everything!!


Its Decemeber 1st now and my 30 days of strict paleo was a success for me- even though i did not eat 100% for the ENTiRE month- i did my best and i am proud of the results! I will still continue this diet as well as my blog- but lets just say i have some birthday cake waiting in my fridge for this day that i cannot wait to eat :) So of course i will continue eating mainly paleo foods with the exception of some days where i feel the need to splurge! Everyone needs a cheat day every once in a while!! 


For breakfast, i am on my way to the kitchen to make a protein smoothie! So delicious!! :) Everyone have a great day and thank you for the support and motivation.