Thanks to Me

Recently, I read a quote that went a little something like this...

At first, I took this as "Put down the donut. Your future self will thank you for not giving her crippling abdominal pain and bloating."

Then, it slowly morphed into, "Take the stairs- it'll hurt later, but your future self is going to have a great butt!"

Finally, I arrived to Monday- when I took one look at the beautiful weather and thought "....A run actually sounds kind of good..."

Well, my past self was thinking of my future self and they tag teamed up for this little photo op:

A great big THANKS to me!!

Pay no attention to me wearing virtually the EXACT same outfit.....

That's right- I high-fived myself 6 days apart!! 

Since that first day, I've been trying to get myself out to run just 1 mile every day- and so far I've been off to a good start! But I have to give a giant shout out to past me, because if I hadn't started that first day, I wouldn't be running still. (Which you all know is something I normally loathe entirely.)

You have to go back and read that in the Grinch's voice, btw.

What's something you plan on doing for YOUR future self? Comment on here or on Facebook- or better yet, tell a friend! Get them inspired to join you! Suffer together!!!

Until we sweat again!!

Spring Fever

I know you've all been bursting at the seams to read my next blog post and I have been bursting as well- with sickness.

Your biggest question: "What do you mean, you were sick??" My answer: "Seriously just don't ask. It's not cute."

Your second question: "How'd the 21 Day Fix Extreme go!?!?" My answer: "Eh- again this loops back to the being sick junk. I made it through a grand total of 11 days and got hit HARD with nastiness of all kinds, which made working out completely impossible. However, I'm back on the 21 Day Fix Extreme grind once more and will post before and after pics in a few shorts weeks!"

Now- I know I have readers from all over, but I'm assuming most of you are from Iowa (cause, you know, I don't know many people from anywhere else.) The weather here has gone from bitterly cold to Spring in a matter of .2 seconds and we all know what that means!

EXERCISING OUTSIDE!!!!!

I recently told someone that I HATE running. I despise it. My legs get all crampy and my running pants slide down my butt and my chest is a freaking spectacle to passersby... UGH. And when they pointed out that running is great because of all the wonderful scenery, I was a little like, "Yeah I suppose... if you're anyone but me since I just stare at the ground the whole time so I don't trip over a piece of gravel and face plant in front of God and everyone." (Can you tell I have issues with being a klutz?)

Then, after school today, I had a strange powerful urge to go for a run. Nothing huge, just a quick mile to get myself moving. (I mostly just wanted an excuse to rock my brand new Under Armour headband. Seriously adorable.)

I walked the first really huge hill because I had to get warmed up, right? Riiiight. After that, I reached the first straight stretch and just kept thinking "Left, right, left, right, left, right..." (Seriously. That is all I'm thinking while I run. "Just don't die, just don't die...") Before I knew it, I was cruising right on past families walking their dogs and college kids hanging out outside... I felt like a total champ- like Rocky Balboa (...only doing WAY less work.)

Oh Yes. Love me some Rocky.

This is where the urge to potty hit me like a brick wall. I've been told that as you get older, you start to need to potty more often. I, however, didn't think this would start happening at the age of 25. All I can say is it was a MIRACLE that I was a few houses away from my friend and boss whose darling children let me in to use the ladies' room (and snag a quick sip of water) and I was off again.

The restroom break really threw a wrench in my stride. My legs had tasted the sweet temptation of NOT running, and they were in no hurry to leave their state of rest. I legitimately tried to run up hills and down hills and along straightaways, but it was useless. My legs were lead. I ultimately jog-walked the last half mile home where I sat on the front steps, stripped off my jacket, and thoroughly enjoyed the cool breeze for the first time today. I even took a selfie.

Moments later, I would realize my neighbor was watching me. Creeeeeeeeeepy.

This is good! I ran... and I didn't even die! Just think of all the wonderful possibilities ahead of me. I could actually get some cardio in that doesn't involve Autumn Calabrese yammering on the whole time. Yay!!! (Also, Under Armour headband. Cute, right??)

What are you doing to take advantage of this gorgeous weather?!

Until we sweat again!!

Cravings

It's no secret, I'm dieting learning to eat healthy by starvation learning more realistic portion sizes with the constant nagging help of the she devil lovely Autumn Calabrese.

It's also no secret that I would commit murder for a freaking Jitters donut right about now. (It's a Sioux City thing. As in, totally worth the trip to Sioux City. For real.)

So, the craving thing. How exactly are you supposed to get over it? Because it SUCKS.

I've read up on it and here's what I've come up with so far:

It's kind of hard to read, but the gist of it is this:

If you want........

Chocolate- eat seeds and veggies and fruit

Sweets- eat fruit, veggies, and nuts

Breads/Pastas- eat leafy greens, nuts, and seeds

Oily/Fatty Foods- eat broccoli, asparagus, and figs

Coffee/Tea- eat Veggies, nuts, celery, and tomatoes

Salty Foods- eat Celery, tomatoes, nuts, and seeds

Soda- eat Broccoli, asparagus, and figs

PMS Cravings- eat Pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, and veggies

Basically, if you want to eat something not on your approved dietary list, just shove fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts in your mouth because they're obviously a cure all.

I personally am not a huge fan of just NOT eating anything that you crave. Do I think you should go ape on a box of chocolates? Absolutely not. However, I think if you're having a huge craving for chocolate, you should be okay with having a small piece and moving on.

Recently, with this new workout, I've been putting an ungodly amount of chopped, frozen fruit in my water bottle to give it a little flavor, so that when those sudden urges to chow down hit me, I can chug some water and still get some flavor. (Because no one is appeased by just straight H2O. Let's be honest.) After about half an hour, if I'm still feeling really hungry, I'll let myself have a small treat (or more if it's something healthy.)

Which brings us to another way to tell if you're actually hungry, or if you just want to be eating.

Each time you're hungry, and think about grabbing a handful of chips or a cookie, instead, think of preparing a salad. Think of getting out the spinach, slicing cherry tomatoes, slicing a cucumber, etc. If you aren't hungry enough to go through all of that work, you aren't really hungry. (Try it. It's fool proof... Unless you're me. I almost always just grab a small piece of chocolate. Don't be me.)

Basically, dieting learning to eat healthy sucks. You're all a bunch of crazies if you're doing any of this along with me.

However, I cannot express how much I appreciate all of you sticking this journey out with me. In the words of some rando on Pinterest...

Until we sweat again!

Getting Your Fix

Hey there, dedicated readers.

It's been a couple weeks.

Some things have gone down- mostly, I've decided to bail on Crossfit for awhile and give my undivided attention to one trim, admittedly kind of adorable she-devil. Her name?

Autumn Calabrese

Don't let her smile and her tight bod fool you. This woman is satan reincarnate. She giggles during her workouts. GIGGLES. What kind of a monster thinks making you hold a resistance band at chest height, arms spread, is giggle material?

A sadistic little hell demon, that's who.

Backing up.....

I recently decided to embark upon a 3 week journey (with the aforementioned spawn of satan) in the form of 21 Day Fix Extreme (emphasis on the EXTREME).

Basically, I have a 21 day fitness program, which includes eating a limited number of calories, and only specific types of food, in very specific amounts.

For instance, in a single day I can have:

3 cups of vegetables

2 cups of fruit

4 cups of lean protein

1/2 a cup of carbs/starchy foods

1/4 cup of nuts/avocado/cheese/etc

1/8 cup dressing/seeds

2 teaspoons of nut butters/oils

This should end up being around 1320 calories. Apparently, this is ideal for my weightloss.

Day 1, I was puking up a storm. There was no food (unless you count my protein shake), and there was certainly no workout. (Although, on the bright side, minimal calories!!!!)

Day 2, there was a protein shake, some bell pepper slices, grilled chicken with veggies and mashed red potatoes, celery with PB2, and a grilled chicken salad with salsa for my dressing (Which I think doesn't actually count as a dressing, more of a vegetable). And, as it is Fat Tuesday and every Catholic takes that for REAL, I may have indulged in 4 itty bitty Laffy Taffys. So sue me.

I was hoping to end my night with some Peppermint Tea, but I didn't feel like washing out a cup, so here I am, in bed, blogging. (It's a glamorous life.)

What have you been up to, my workout pals? Anything new and exciting I should be trying??

(You know, AFTER Autumn Calabrese finishes mopping the floor with me??)

Keep me posted!!!

Until we sweat again!

Get Angry

I know for a fact that I have posted this quote in another format before, but I feel this is necessary for today's post..

I am not a runner by any means, but here's what I need you to remember about this picture:

The getting angry part; Angry that your body won't do what you know it's capable of doing; Angry that you're pushing as hard as you can, and you're not seeing the results you want.

Today, the workout I did was SUPER simple to understand.

7 Minutes, As Many Rounds As Possible

3 Clean and Jerks

3 Toes to Bar

6 Clean and Jerks

6 Toes to Bar

9 Clean and Jerks

9 Toes to bar

etc...

Before we began, we were doing squat cleans. This is where I first started to get frustrated. I'm trying to remember to pull my body up out of the squat, and straighten myself up before pulling the bar up, and only pulling it up enough to slip myself under it in a squat, but to pull it up with enough force that it just sort of floats in the air for a second (with weights on it, mind you), and jump my feet out 2 inches (ONLY 2 inches) when I land in the squat, and to keep my elbows up when I land in the squat....

Feeling the frustration yet?

After realizing that I just need to work on my front squats for awhile, I spoke with the trainers and was told to just break apart the clean for the workout- so I would do a power clean, then a squat, then up to a jerk. It would be a killer workout, but I could focus on the movements.

This is when my knee started to be a total jack ass.

For those of you that know, my knee was injured almost 5 years ago at Camp Dodge during some training. When I put too much stress on my knee, the pain comes out again full fledged. I start doing the front squats and cue the splitting pain through the back of my knee cap. Then, when I go to do Toes to Bar, I can't get my body to fold up to allow my toes all the way up to the pull up bar.

At this point, I am so pissed that I'm almost crying, wanting to throw my weighted bar, just angry that my body was betraying me and not showing the amount of effort I was putting into the workout. The workout ends with a 1000 meter timed row, which was honestly my saving grace. (That was about the only part of the workout that I wasn't swearing like a sailor.)

After I finished my row, I spotted Trishia, my completely fantastic yoga instructor, and all was saved. That yoga class was completely relaxing and the savasana was EXACTLY what I needed.

(Trishia, you are fantastic and can never be replaced.)

The one thing I kept hearing today, from everyone else, was that I needed to quit being so hard on myself. I kept expecting so much from my body, and when it didn't do exactly what I wanted, I got upset, rather than just listening to my body and taking it down a notch. Both trainers told me to quit bend hard on myself, several other people working out said it to me, and it took Trishia telling me to listen to my body during a very particular yoga pose for me to stop and notice that I was pushing way too hard.

So I'll leave you with this one:

Until we sweat again!

Barbie Arms and Other Stuff

I know, I know. Barbie dolls set an unrealistic standard because any woman with those breasts, that tiny waist, that ginormous head, those hips, and those itty bitty feet wouldn't be able to hold her own body upright. But seriously- just look at her arms.

This is what my arms looked like for several days after doing 75 pull ups last Thursday. I could not for the life of me straighten my arms without using my other arm to force it. OUCH. (Barbie knows the struggle. And it's real.)

That being said, I got myself into a yoga class on Sunday (where I could barely do anything) and by Monday morning my arms were straight(ish) once again!

Moving on- because the title of this post was seriously just for that one little tidbit of information. I'm cool.

So far this year, I have managed to stick with my whole "working out at least 2 times a week" deal. (I refuse to call it a resolution. Those always fail and I will not be failing at this.)

Granted, I don't always look pretty after those workouts... (See "If You Look Pretty, You're Doing It Wrong" for more on that.)

See? I'm all sweat-tastic.

However, yesterday, I actually maintained some semi-cute hair during my workout!!!

Plus, check out them guns!

I won't lie- I definitely have to talk myself into the gym literally every time I go. Most days, YOU get me to get my butt in gear because I know you'll be reading the blog.... Yesterday, my big reason for going was that I was ticked off and exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. (And happy people don't just shoot their husbands.)

Today, I totally bailed to have family dinner and get nails done with my mom instead. I realize staying healthy is important, and that getting super fit is kind of my end goal here, but- Priorities. 

Without my mother and father, I wouldn't be here to write this obviously fantastic blog, so let's just give a great big shout out to the two of them.

They're just so adorable.

WOW- who's off topic?

Certainly not me.....

(Admittedly I had a lot of sugar today.)

My point! I have one! I think...

My point is that I'm having a lot of fun with all of my crazy ridiculous workouts, and I'm still finding time for family, so I want to hear about how much fun you've been making your workouts- and especially what other fabulous things are taking place in your life. YOU are MY inspiration, so keep ME updated as well!!

Until we sweat again!

p.s. you can always comment in the comments section directly on my blog as an anonymous guest. I would love to hear from you!!

Healthy Eats- On the Go

Hello, lovely people!

Quick update before I get to the food portion of our program: Still doing Crossfit almost daily, still kicking my butt, still taking lots of selfies.

See? So sweaty!

I've even been taking super blurry pictures of other people working out!

She really didn't want this to happen

However, on to the harsh reality about eating healthy.

I suck at this gig. Seriously- if I could, I would eat every single thing containing sugar that I could possibly get my hands on. One of my cheerleaders offered me an Almond Joy tonight, and I seriously WOULD NOT let another cheerleader eat it because I am SUCH a sugar addict. (I actually feel kinda bad about that one...)

Admittedly, I was doing okay for the most part today. I started with a protein shake, had a few organic tortilla chips with organic salsa for a snack, lettuce and turkey wraps for lunch, jicama for my afternoon snack.... (then a kindergartner offered me a cupcake. Tiny hiccup.)

And then..... my night of coaching cheerleading happened.

There is just no way that I can bring Romaine lettuce, turkey, and hummus to a wrestling meet and expect to be able to make lettuce wraps that won't be immediately stolen away. I have to survive on nachos and bunless burgers and hot dogs. They don't sell fruit in high school concession stands- the healthiest option available is water. The meet was a bust- and everyone got to listen to me complain about how hungry I was all night.

Now enter fast food options post-meet. At first I thought, "I'll have a chicken sandwich sans the bun from Wendy's..." then it became, "I'll grab an asian salad from Panera..." ..... and then I couldn't remember where I put my debit card so it became, "Maybe my sister will use Mom's debit card to buy me dinner." (She was an hour and a half away. No dice, grandma. I was SO hungry.)

Where did my little merry-go-round land me? Well, I just peaced 8 hot wings from Domino's. (I found my debit card.) However, this was after I talked myself out of 3 different pizzas. Lesser of 4 evils? I think so.

Why am I telling you this ridiculous story? Because we all slip up from time to time. I had a FANTASTIC day. I felt incredible, I didn't yak up a cupcake during my workout, and I talked myself out of my favorite fatty food- 3 times. Am I going to regret those fatty wings in the morning when I'm trying to toss around a medicine ball? Heck yes. But am I going to let one bad meal tear down everything I'm working for? Not at all. Tomorrow is a new day- with lots of Romaine lettuce ready to go- and new challenges to face (like the birthday party let's-all-go-to-a-bar deal I've got to deal with. SO many calories to turn down!!) Right now, I'm enjoying not having to do any more pull ups, or burpees, or rows. I can just sit, enjoy the pleasantly full feeling in my belly, and remember that one fat meal doesn't make you fat, just like one healthy meal doesn't make you healthy. 5 am can't come soon enough :)

.....well, actually...

Until we sweat again!!!