Success

This week I have been on an upswing. Maybe it is the fact that Casey and I had a long weekend in Fredericksburg with wine tasting, old friends, and time with family.  I feel as though I had a chance to reset and recharge.  

My workouts, although challenging, seem to be coming together. I love my job, and I feel as though I am starting to find balance.  

I continue to struggle with maintaining a balanced diet all the time, especially while on our weekend getaway. However, I am comfortable at the moment.  I am in the process of making small changes each day to better my eating habits. Next week I plan to take on another Advocare 24 day challenge to jump start things even more.  My biggest challenge is my love for good wine. I love a glass or two to unwind some nights.  Ok, most nights... It is a work in progress though.

I am extremely excited that the last week of the CrossFit Open is this weekend, and I feel like I crushed the workout on Friday. Thanks to my amazing coaching staff, especially Coach Vic, at CrossFit Hays, I was able to do the workout with unbroken thrusters (for those of you unfamiliar with this movement, it is a brutal barbell, front squat and push press combined).  I am proud to say that I pushed outside my comfort zone for the first time in a long time and it felt really good!  

Seven weeks to train for a partner competition in Fort Worth!  Game on!!!

Altered plan

I have talked about my Whole 30 recently.  I must confess; I have not followed it 100% and have been completely ok with it.  My biggest goal is to make some overall life changes.  So... I can't say that I am doing a Whole 30, but I can say that I am working toward changing my eating habits and lifestyle habits to improve how I feel day to day for 30 days.  I have had a roll at dinner out; I chew gum; and my bacon has less than 2% cane sugar in it. And.... I do not feel that I have completely gone off plan.  I feel good about the choices I am making and the lifestyle changes that are happening.  It feels really good to be at peace with every choice I make when it comes to food, exercise, and overall balance.  

This week, the CrossFit open has started.  Although I do not feel as prepared physically as I did last year, I am much more comfortable with where I am in general with diet, exercise, and balance.  I am excited to see how things go!  Looking forward to the next few weeks!

Whole 30 week 1

This week has been great!  Feeling good, a little tired, may be my body trying to detox from all the not so great choices I have made prior to starting this journey.  Next week, the CrossFit Open starts. I don't feel as prepared as I was last year, but I hope that in the next week I will have more energy and feel stronger.  Looking forward to conquering some goals this year!!!

Restart X 2

Tomorrow begins a 30 transformation for me.  I will be doing a Whole 30 (whole30.com) I will be consciously eating real foods and making informed food choices for the next 30 days. I will be transforming my mindset and looking for healthy, tasty meals that are less processed and more wholesome!  I can't wait. It has been nearly 2 years since the last time I did a Whole 30 and I loved the way I felt afterwards.  Please help keep me accountable!

Thanks,
Nicole

Restart Button

So, it is time that I press restart.  I have been making some terrible food choices lately, but for the first time in a very, very long time, I am not beating myself up for it. Just trying to make better choices the next time.  I am not thinking of these meals as "cheat meals" but as a food choice and I made a choice to eat something that may make me less healthy, and that is ok.  

Now that the negative is out of the way, let's look at the good things to come next week and the positives for last week: This week starts Barbell Club at CrossFit Hays.  I can't wait to get in there and start training some technique and throwing some heavy weight around!  I am excited to try something a little different! 

Last week I worked out 3 days and I decided to use lettuce as a bun on my burger to add some color to my food.  I call that a win.  I am working toward finding balance in my life as well, and I feel like I am slowing finding ways to do that.  One evening a week, Casey and I take time for a "date night" which could be out on the town or simply having a meal at home.  Just time together.  I am working out when I can, and finding ways to balance things at work as well.  Always a work in progress!

Unexpected Week

This week was an interesting one.  Casey and I have been going strong with our pledge to not drink and to eat healthy.  I even stepped on the scale, and I am down to 182.2 lbs!  Feeling pretty good. Then Thursday came and we got news that Casey's grandmother passed away.  This changed our plans a little bit, however, in life you must adapt and be flexible. Although we are still committed to living a healthy lifestyle, a glass of wine and date night to Chick-fil-a was in order Thursday.  I will say that the Chick-fil-a fries did not taste as delicious as I remember them being.
With travelling this weekend, we have stepped slightly off plan, but I am not beating myself up about it.  I know that we are still making healthy choices overall, and we will just have to make due with the available options while on the road this weekend.  I want to continue to be open and honest to keep myself moving in the right direction.

In the past two weeks, I have kept up with my goal to go to church weekly and have hit the gym 4 times last week but only 2 this week.  I felt that my body needed some recovery time this week.  Next week, it is on, getting into the gym 4-5 times is my plan. I am still working to find the overall work/train/life balance.  I know this post is scattered, but that is where I'm at right now. Life is not always planned and predictable and we must adapt and that is what we are doing!

Ups and Downs of Week 1

This week started out rough.  Monday I was "in my head" with a lot with negative thoughts and discouraging words to myself.  I was frustrated that I didn't lift more or feel like my clothes fit better or workout more than one time a day.  I was mad that I had let myself get to this point with my health and fitness, I know better.  Luckily, my accountability partner from work is AMAZING and kept me on track and helped to pull me back from the brink of reverting to old habits, ie a glass or two of wine at night with pizza and chocolate. Between her, another co-worker and my husband, I managed to shake myself out of the funk that I had been in on Monday.

The remainder of the week have been much better.  Now, I am struggling with finding the right balance of nutrients to fuel my body and the changes I have made.  With a new AM workout schedule 3 days a week and a PM workout schedule the other two days, I am working to figure out my recovery strategy.

I have started listening to podcasts lately. Abel James, of FatBurningMan.com seems to have some really knowledgeable guests on his shows.  I feel as though I am hearing these podcasts at exactly the right time. This morning I heard one with a question regarding adequate recovery and performance at the highest levels. Without adequate recovery, you can not have adequate or elite performance.  I feel like this is what I may be missing this week.  A good balance of work and recovery.  I will continue to tweak my routine until I find the right balance. http://fatburningman.com/read/

I also started tracking my foods on my Lose It app on my phone which has helped keep me honest about what I am putting into my body.  I don't know if it is 100% accurate due to the multiple ingredients in my foods and the guessing game I play with the amounts sometimes.  It also doesn't have a "CrossFit" exercise icon to log those calories.  I'm not really concerned about calories, but it has opened my eyes a bit as to how much I may be burning and how much I may need eat to fuel my workouts and daily life.

Although this week started out a little rough, things are moving in the right direction. Thank you all for the awesome support and encouragement especially this week!