Walked into the gym friday to the words "I found your blog" by Andrew (my coach / life mentor / whatever). I wasn't sure what to think when he said that, but knowing that I've never bad mouthed him or the gym on here, I knew I had nothing to be afraid of. So Andrew, if you're reading this, I will see you monday at 5pm ready to rock.
Also I had a few out of town friends come into town and mention this blog to me, which I'm grateful that people read this, but I'm sometimes confused as to how this has any appeal to the 24-27 year old female demographic. I'm assuming it's my dashing good looks and unmatched charm, because I can't imagine anyone honestly being intrigued by tales of overhead squats and burpees.
(random fact: my roommate is watching Independence Day in the next room, so if I slip some quotes into this post that's why)
(follow up random fact: Independence Day is a fantastic movie and should be watched every July 4th, if only because how many 4th of July movies are there??)
At the gym on friday a group of us were discussing diets (because that's what crossfit people discuss before class, that or extremely hard previous wods) and I casually mentioned how much weight I had lost in the last 2 months, to which (all girls at this point) started complaining how unfair it is that guys can "magically" lose weight. This of course makes me laugh, because I can assure you there is no magic involved in what I'm doing at all, but I refrained from taking a pompous attitude (for the first time in my life), luckily Andrew chimed in and we started shooting out dietary facts and how we eat. What I discovered is that many of the people (girls and guys) that are doing crossfit purely to lose weight, are still refusing to change their diet. When we explained that a good paleo eater doesn't eat any grains, they refused to hear it. It dawned on me that they (and most people in general) were looking for the magic answer, rather than "eat meat and veggies, some fruits, some nuts, and some seeds", they wanted to hear "just add grapefruit every morning and you are guaranteed to lose 20 lbs this month" (thats not true).
I think this is the same reason people are always looking for the next workout fad (yes I know, crossfit is a fad (one thats not going away I hope)) and why infomercials continue to make money selling the promise of "lose 10 inches in a week and look like this model in just 20 minutes a day 3x a week".
There's no such thing as a magic solution. Trust me, I've been looking for it. There's no one device or magical food that will allow you to transform yourself. Actually I'm lying, there is a magic formula:
exercise + healthy diet = voila. Amazing how that works right?
Finally, it's amazing to me how my goals have transformed (I've used that word a lot in this post) since starting crossfit. Originally my motives were complete vanity, I wanted to change the way I look. However, my goals have shifted from "looking good" to "being healthy". There's a big difference, just because someone is skinny doesn't mean they're healthy, it just means they had a bit of luck in the genetic pool. I know how I feel when I cheat my diet, not emotionally I'm talking physically. The upset stomach and bloated feeling not to mention sometimes paying for it in the bathroom (see once again, have no clue why anyone would read this with these kind of references lurking), just isn't worth it. I'm caring less and less how I look, and much more how I feel.
Since starting crossfit (and changing my diet, okay A LOT of it is from changing my diet) I've noticed an increase in energy levels, more discipline in other areas of my life, and a sense of confidence in myself that I've never had before. I've had energy to go home and help out more (dishes, take out trash, cooking, etc), have been reading A LOT more (my purchase of a kindle is proving to be well worth it) and otherwise have been feeling great about myself, which that feeling alone is worth the monthly fee I pay for my gym.
(guess I didn't slip any quotes in)
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