Why I don't even want to cheat anymore

I went to a wedding last weekend and ran into people I hadn't seen in months, and in many cases years. Naturally I got a lot of questions about "how did you do it?" (this is not me bragging, just stating fact, which I guess can be considered bragging) referring to the slimmer new madams2.0. I don't mind this question at all because it gives me an opportunity to talk about crossfit, fitness, and the positive changes its had in my everyday life.

Usually I initially respond by saying something to the effect of "crossfit 4x a week and a sensible diet", to which some people responded with "that's it?". That's it?? That line always gets me, because while it sounds simple, it has taken a lot of discipline to avoid certain foods, to come home and eat healthy during lunch, to ignore all the distractions trying to keep me from attending my workouts.

Another thing that I find amusing is how many people try to get me to "cheat". Let me tell you, its not going to work. If I'm going to cheat, it's going to be on my terms. I've been eating very healthy with very few "cheats" since about may 15th. In fact I ignored all forms of dessert at a wedding I was at (on June 11th) earlier this summer, and haven't really partaken of any since then. Last saturday I decided to give it a go and have 2 cakeballs because the creators of these fabulous bundles of joy demanded I try one, so I picked what I thought would be my 2 favorite flavors, sought out the ladies who created the magic and ate them in front of them. They were absolutely delicious, but I later learned that night that my body can't handle that much sugar anymore.

I'm not sure if it was the 3 sodas (not diet either, so many many grams of real sugar) or the 2 cakeballs, but there was a rumblin in my tummy all night long. My body was honestly revolted by the fact it had to break down and process all that sugar. That's why its easy for me to say I'm done with cheating, because I know how I feel afterwards. If a few cakeballs and soda can make me feel that way, I can't imagine how I would feel if I were to pound a whole piece of pie or go nuts at some buffet. The feeling isn't worth it.

So I say goodbye to the feelings of wanting to cheat, because I know better now.

Ups and Downs

First things first, I managed a ONE ARMED pull up today!

Its been over 2 weeks since my last post, but I assure you I didn't quit fitness / crossfit or my quest to be as healthy as possible. Over the past few weeks there have been a few changes, namely I changed up my living situation (moving before a crossfit workout is the worst), meaning my computer was packed up into a few a boxes (I have a desktop, a decision I made after realizing I'm not in college and don't need to do "study" at coffee shops, therefor made no sense to pay the money for a laptop when for half the price I could get a mac mini (its the size of a sandwich people!)), naturally impeding my ability to post here.

I've stopped weighing myself, which is a good thing (last time I weighed myself I was 167) because it's very hard for me to talk about the dangers of getting obsessed with a number instead of how you look and feel, and then proceed to post my weight every week.

I've been working out at pinup crossfit under the coaching of Charlie and Andrew since the beginning of April. For about 15 weeks (just counted, didn't count the first 2 weeks since I only made it once a week) I've been dedicated to crossfit, and for about 11 of those weeks fully dedicated to the paleo diet and can say the results have helped me change my life (ask my roommate, he rolls his eyes when people ask me about it because he's heard me talk about it so much and is tired of my gluten-free-ness). During those weeks I've lost about 22 lbs (on the scale, but added muscle weight so the total change is probably closer to 26-28 lbs), felt my energy levels shoot through the roof, and have improved my fitness / health in just about every facet. Every week was fun because I was constantly improving, never hitting the "wall" or "plateauing" that many life long exercisers talk about.

Then these past two weeks happened (weird, corresponding with my blog absence, not a coincidence I'm sure). I've definitely been in a "valley" or a "down" in terms of my performance. I've been making an effort to not "scale" (meaning change the workouts to make them easier, generally achieved by using lighter weights than prescribed) because I want to get stronger. However for whatever reason my body wasn't recovering as fast as usual (signs of maybe working out too much?) and I was struggling to finish some of the workouts.

To combat this I've increased my eating (while keeping a certain watch on my waistline), mainly by adding in sweet potato on days I'm working out as a pre-workout snack. The benefits of eating sweet potato before workouts are numerous, I suggest you research them for yourself. Also when I say 'I eat all the time', I mean from waking up till I finish my dinner (usually by 730 pm) I go no longer than 3 hours between "meals".

Generally my meals look like this:

6:30 am - Breakfast - scrambled eggs with sauteed onions / peppers

9:00 am - Protein Shake

11:15 am - Grilled Chicken Breast w/ vegetables (broccoli / onions / peppers / celery that I've sauteed up (I make large containers early in the week so that all I have to do is heat up smaller portions throughout the week)), sometimes a spoonful of cashew butter or almond butter

3:00pm - Protein Shake #2 (okay so I go a little longer between these meals, I'm still trying to find the sweet spot, might move this to 2:30)

4:15 - sweet potato (not a whole sweet potato, I make a large container of sweet potato puree and then portion out some on a plate, heat and eat)

5:00 - Crossfit Workout

6:00 (immediately after) - Recovery Shake

7:30 (not a set time) - Generally Same as my 11:15 am meal

Yes I know this meal plan makes me sound like a robot, and for the most part right now I am. The added sweet potato has really been helping with renewed energy during my workouts (I've only had thursday and fridays workout to test it), but the real important lesson I've learned is patience.

My problem with my recent struggles, is that I was enjoying my rocketing pace and didn't give one notion to the fact that it couldn't last. I was worried that I was no longer improving and wasn't seeing results. Yesterdays workout had overhead squats (I have a love / hate relationship with OHS) and I repped out 15 at 65lbs. A mere 13 weeks ago I was barely able to do them with 25lbs. In 13 weeks I've not only increased almost 300%, but I'm REPPING it. That's a big deal, and a big improvement.

It really puts things in perspective. Just remember in all of your goals that there will be ups and downs, and that's why it is important to write down where you started, because its easy to lose sight of how much you've improved and get complacent (like in my case).

Im actually not dead

Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually not dead. This week I've been dedicating it to what I call a "digital detox". I took my computer out of my room, and don't turn on the tv when I'm at home. Everyone should try this, its really quite fascinating how much time we spend watching tv or mindlessly surfing the web (and believe me, I'm as guilty as anyone). Luckily for me there isn't much good tv on right now (except for law and order re runs), so there hasn't been much withdrawl. (On the subject of TV, I was introduced to the show 'suits', and I really enjoyed the pilot. Its one of my goals to get in on a great tv show at its inception, rather than being really late to the game (I.e. arrested development, mad men, modern family, 30 rock)).

As far as working out goes, I've been diligent to the least. Managed to avoid the terrible (but delicious) foods of july 4th celebrations, because I still haven't achieved my goals. I made a decision to stop scaling the gym (scaling means to lighten the load) if possible. It seems like a no brainer but its much harder than it sounds, mainly because I now no longer finish anywhere close to the front of the pack. Yesterdays workout of 55 thrusters / 55 burpees (thrusters at 95lbs) took me forever, because the weight was uncomfortably heavy. Andrew agrees this is the best strategy to 'forging elite fitness' (the motto of our gym). So yes its humbling as now I'm coming in nearly dead last, but I'm working much harder and will reap the benefits.

I weighed myself yesterday afternoon and came in at 166.7, which is crazy because I'm not sure the last time I've ever seen that number on a scale. I'm definitely not fixated on my weight, but improving my body composition, however its always fun to say I've "lost 22lbs" to people asking about crossfit, because all they ever want to hear about is potential weightloss if they start (even though factoring in muscle gains, I've probably changed more like 27-28lbs).