I feel good

(na na na na na na na)

Day 11 - January 11, 2012

11 days down! Woohoo! 12% through the challenge and I'm feeling pretty good. Preparation and planning are obviously a huge piece of this. The community of fellow 90 day challengers and bloggers definitely keep me motivated. The coaches willingness to work around my challenges and to support me has never been this strong. Two of them mentioned yesterday that they could tell I've lost weight. They might be full of it since the small loss so far is such a low percentage it's probably not possible,  but it still feels good. (I knew that it would, now)

Food:

Breakfast - apple, pork sausage

Lunch - vegetarian vegetable soup

Dinner - chicken and lettuce wraps, green salad with ahi tuna

Workout:

morning 2 "mile" row

CCP:

I: Partner warmup

   3 rounds, 20 squats, suicides, 5 burpees (ugh)

II: 50 pushups (scaled to 25, went to elevated box after 15)

    2 minutes rest

III: 20 box jumps (ballistics box, step ups) 

    20 pullups (ring rows)   

    15 box jumps

    15 pullups

    10 box jumps

    10 pullups

    5 box jumps

    5 pullups

    2 minutes rest

IV: 50 pushups (scaled to 25, elevated on 9" box)

(13:27 for II, III, and IV combined)

My first cheat "meal"

Day 10 - January 10, 2011


I had a whole 'nother post written that I was going to put up last night. One full of optimism and pride. And then ... the migraine struck. I'm not sure if it was the stress and cloud of cologne at the car dealership, or the monthly hormonal impact, or just the full-ish moon, but damn this one knocked me down. I spent the evening from 5pm to 11pm huddled under a blanket in the dark sleeping on and off while cursing how loudly I could hear the hockey game on the TV, and how hot the cuddling-because-she-knew-I-wasn't-feeling-well puppy was in her attempt to wedge herself between me and the back of the couch (successfully, I might add.) I hate setbacks like this. And because I was sleeping, and because he was watching the hockey game, John didn't make dinner and so when I woke up still head-achy and hungry I decided to say fuck it and had a bowl of ice cream and went to bed. Would I have done this if I weren't miserable, and hungry and hormonal? Who knows. But I did. And now I've written it down and moved on and gotten back on track this morning. 10 days down, 80 to go in the challenge, and a lifetime beyond that.


Food:
Breakfast - bacon and egg muffins, small banana
Lunch - leftover hamburger with bacon and avocado, green salad, trail mix
Snack - leftover chicken with ham and pepper jack cheese (this was supposed to be my pre-WOD snack)
Dinner - none, slept off my migraine
Snack - Breyer's chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate chips (at least there's no unpronouncables in it, right?) 


Workout:
None (see above mentioned migraine that caused me to sleep through it)

Counter-intuitive progress

Bacon wrapped egg muffins

Day 9 - January 9, 2012


I woke up once again barely able to move. My back was still super stiff and painful. To the point where I called the chiropractor and decided to work from home today. Some adjusting later (and boy did I need it) I was still sore, but could definitely feel that my foundation was better. I talked to Murph and he said he had a plan for me to be able to workout tonight, so off to CCP I went. Actually it didn't go too badly. Now that I'm home and fed, my back actually feels pretty good! Weird. I guess the combination of chiropractic care, movement, and mobility did wonders! Who'da thunk!?


Food:
Breakfast - two egg muffins (sun dried tomatoes, peppers, onions, egg, bacon), small banana
Lunch - leftover ham-stuffed chicken, trail mix of cashews pecans raisins and dark choc chips
Snack - leftover bacon wrapped dates
Dinner - avocado bacon cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, four dark kisses


Workout:
I: Warmup - 500m row
II: 5 rounds of 10 ring rows, 10 air squats, 10 pushups (knees) with 2 minutes rest ... 13:20 (note: I felt strong tonight. I know this was scaled for my pain, but I was able to go mostly unbroken for the first two rounds)
III: 10 minutes light rowing (1740m)
IV: couch stretch, childs pose, cat/cow, forward bends

Temptations & Accountability

Day 8 - January 8, 2012

Buffalo chicken dip with tortilla chips, pizza bread with broccoli, ham and cheese, chocolate cake, candied pecans, onion dip, wine, apple-tinis, and more. These are all of the foods that were spread out in front of me last night. So many delicious delicious temptations. Luckily John and I had made bacon wrapped dates and I put together a fresh veggie platter and included guacamole as an option. I certainly wish there had been more, but I stayed strong. How? Because I knew I'd have to write down what I ate. And I knew people would see it. And I didn't want that. One of the best part of this challenge is the incredible community and support network that's grown between the participants. Recipe sharing, advice, nutrition information and plain old sanity support are certainly making this the best challenge I've ever been involved in. Everyone is really working together even though there are big prizes at stake. Just one more thing that makes the ACF/CCP community so amazing.


Food:
Lunch - turkey and cheddar rollups
Cafe with Nacho - cappuccino (side note: hooray for getting this instead of the latte with whipped cream after asking the guy what was in it and seeing a list of weird ingredients instead of "cream")
Snack - cashews
Dinner - chicken with ham, honey glazed carrots


Workout:
mobility/stretching
(my back is killing me! time for a visit to the chiropractor)

The no good, very bad day

Last night's meatza
(my half is on the right with the veggies)

Day 7 - January 7, 2012

WARNING: this post is comprised almost 100% of whining. Proceed at your own risk.

My back hurts. I can't breathe. My cough is getting worse again. I have fifteen people coming to the house today and a ton of cleaning to do (thank you, honey for all you do). So what does this mean for the 90 day challenge. I won't be WOD'ing today. I won't be Gym-nasty'ing. I'll be stressing about what to eat and how to avoid all of the dishes my neighbors will be bringing into the house. The things John and I are making are probably the only ones I'll be able to eat, minus the peanut butter and chocolate bars he's making. I'm feeling pretty awful and just not all that motivated today. But it's just one day.

Food:

Lunch - leftover meatza from last night

Snack - turkey/cheddar rollups, figs

Dinner/cocktail party - bacon wrapped dates, raw orange bell peppers with guacamole

Post-party 1am cleanup snack - that darn peanut butter and chocolate bar 

Workout:

none (blah)

Bonus recipe day

Yum in a bowl, with a fork

Day 6 - January 6, 2012

What do you do when you're starving, trying super hard to be on plan, and don't have a lot of time to make a meal? 

Chicken Salad Plus+

1 can chunk chicken (check the label for weird stuff)

1 avocado

Plus raisins, pecans, apples, onion, celery, whatever else you can think of!

Mash the avocado and the chicken together and stir in your add-ins. Ta-da!

Not an original recipe (see Jason's), but a go-to for me for breakfasts or lunches where I don't have a lot of time left on my hangry clock. 

Food:

Breakfast - bacon, orange juice (the greek yogurt I brought with me was spoiled!)

Hangry snack - cheddar cheese

Lunch - Chicken salad plus+, 3 dark chocolate kisses

Dinner - Ground chicken crusted meatza with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, red onion, red bell pepper, and pepperoni

Workout: 

ten minutes light rowing

mobility and stretching

I tweaked my back somewhere between Crossfit and home Thursday night. Perhaps during the Cindy inspired asthma attack. I'm having a ton of pain in my lower back/SI area and can't do much. Pretty bummed out about the set back.

Good Idea ... Bad Idea ...

Day 5 - January 5, 2012

Good Idea: Yoga

Bad Idea: Yoga with a sinus infection

Good Idea: Having a friend named Cindy

Bad Idea: Doing "Cindy" after two+ months away from crossfit

Good Idea: Eating clean

Bad Idea: House cleaning

Ok, maybe most people wouldn't agree with that last one, but seriously, I hate cleaning my house. Thank goodness house elves show up while I'm not home/sleeping and do a lot. Still doing pretty well with the food. Struggling a bit with the workouts after so long away and recovering from the pneumonia and other respiratory issues. I wanted to die during Cindy, but managed not to cry and to finished with a rather pathetic score. In good news, it can't be worse 90 days from now, right?!

Food:

Breakfast - Omelet with red peppers, onions, ham and cheese, Natural orange juice

Lunch - Leftover cajun stuffed chicken breast, grapes

Mid-afternoon Snack - pecans, figs

Dinner - steak tips, steamed broccoli, rice

Workout(s):

Morning - 5 minute row

Evening - 

1RM Deadlift (215lbs)

5 minute row for distance (960m)

Cindy (8+13)

20 min AMRAP:

5 pullups (scaled to ring rows, toes 42" from wall, bottom of rings waist high)

10 pushups (scaled to rogue box for first four rounds, 20" box remaining)

15 squats