Primal Lasagna Zoned

So four days into this zone mini-challenge (and 75 days into the 90 days). It's amazing how far I've come. I still don't love zone, and I still struggle to get in all of the days blocks, but I'm trying it and it seems like this has kicked my body into high gear. I've lost several pounds in the four days and food-wise feel pretty good. Last night dinner was my job and I was craving Italian comfort food. What's better than lasagna? Primal lasagna!


Primal Zone Lasagna
2 sweet peppers
1/2 sweet onion
eggplant (1 1/2 small or 1 large, approx 9oz)
minced garlic to taste
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
3 tbsp grapeseed oil (or your favorite fat) 
3/4lb ground beef
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
4 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded)


1. Preheat oven to 375F2. Slice eggplant, peppers and onions into thin slices.3. Heat the oil in a sauce pan over medium heat, add peppers, onions and garlic.
4. Cook until vegetables soften and remove the vegetables from the pan.
5. Brown ground beef in the same pan from the vegetables until cooked through.
6. In a 7x11 (2qt) baking dish, begin layering the lasagna.

- 1/2 cup tomato sauce

- a layer of eggplant, overlapping slightly

- the sauteed vegetables
- ground beef
- ricotta cheese

- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- the remaining eggplant

7. Spread the remaining 1/2c tomato sauce over the layered eggplant. 

8. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes, or until eggplant looks done

9. Remove from oven, increase temperature to Broil (500F).
10. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese

11. Bake for five minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned. 

Makes 4 large servings, each containing
Protein: 4 blocks
Carbs: 2 blocks
Fat: 6 blocks

Truth and Consequences

I guess it took some shame and embarrassment to get me back to blogging. I got complacent and didn't think I was all that interesting, but I should have known that at least some of the benefit to blogging was the accountability I felt with having to write down what I was eating for all the world to see. 

I was plugging along, seeing great results in my weight and performance and attaining goals until ... the vacation. John and I went to Vermont for what was supposed to be a mini romantic retreat for three days last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I had already planned on it being a time for some treats, but I couldn't foresee the devastation that awaited me. 
Eight days later, here I am. I'm up way more pounds that should be feasible in a week. I'm unhappy and embarrassed and disappointed in myself. Was that first treat dessert at the amazing farm-to-table restaurant worth it? I'd say yes. Was the emotional, guilty-feeling, closet-eaten dessert the Nth time worth it? No. Not even a little. 

Luckily for me, Jason has challenged the group to a week of strict zone paleo. The timing couldn't have been better. The fridge, freezer and pantry got their desperately needed clean outs again. The menu got planned and the groceries got shopped. 
So ... I'm back on track at the moment and holding myself accountable again. There's only three weeks left in this challenge I'm not going to negate all of the hard work I've put in over the last 10 weeks. I have a plan for zone and will work it for at least this week and adjust as necessary.

Setting goals

Day 54 - Thursday, February 23, 2012


Last night, Jay held a mid-challenge pep talk/intervention for those doing the 90 day challenge. It seems that a lot of people were hitting a slump and needed a little boost to get through the remaining 45 (now 36) days.


There was a lot of interesting discussion about whether food is mental or physical. I lean towards the side of emotional, but the debate continues.


There was also an exercise that helped you get in touch with what you were thinking, feeling and doing. Really being present in the moment and recognizing your current state. We were all encouraged to do this several times a day. I think it'll be most helpful for me when I'm craving treats, or wanting to emotionally eat. Really thinking about and acknowledging what's driving the behavior is a powerful weapon to have.
Thinking - this is dumb
Feeling - successful with what I've accomplished for far and sticking with it
Doing - writing


Finally, the activity that gets me to the reason for Bobby Orr making a guest appearance above. Jay also had us write down our Fitness, Nutrition, and Life goals for the next 45 days.
My fitness goal was one of my challenge goals - 10 consecutive real burpees.
Nutrition - continue to try new paleo recipes and foods.
Life - too risky to put out here publicly not knowing who will read it, but I had one.
He then had us think about what's possible. Well, all three of mine were deliberately possible, so I had a tough time with this one, but it really got me thinking about my goal setting overall. 


We then did the freeze game again:
Thinking - I don't have good goals
Feeling - uncertain
Doing - getting anxious


Jay then had a few people volunteer to share and I noticed a trend. Oh shit ... I was supposed to get more positive after the goals exercise?
Oh.
I was the only one who got negative (or at least to admit it). I just don't feel like I've ever been good at setting goals. Not in my personal life, my professional life, my health, anything. When I had to come up with goals for the 90 day challenge, I really struggled with coming up with things that were reasonable, attainable, but still challenging enough. The standard crossfit goals never really appealed to me. I don't really, truly care if I'm ever able to do pullups, or do a body weight back squat, or Rx'd Fran. These are just not things that are important to me.
And then, Chad, one of my fellow challengers said something that truly resonated with me. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like, if you're having trouble setting goals, think instead about what the goal will get you. Oh! It's like a little light bulb (GE of course) just went off in my head. 
So then I started thinking about the things I want. This is still a challenge for me, but much easier to do. A few examples.

• I want to be able to go for a hike with my boyfriend and my dog without being a hindrance to them.
• I want to look better in the mirror and in the white dress.
• I want to have less joint pain.

So now I'm onto the step of figuring out what goals I need to set to accomplish these things. It's still not easy for me, but switching it around, I think, will help. 

Maybe this approach will help some of you with your goals as well. We're all different and we're all shooting for differing targets in this challenge and in life, but in order to get there, we at least need to know which direction to take that first step.

A content note: I'm no longer blogging my daily food and workout logs. Rest assured, I am still tracking them, I just decided no one really thinks these are interesting.

The C Word

no, not that C word either

No ... not that C word. 


"Can't"


Kim called me out on it (and didn't even want to hear my intelligent, reasonable rebuttal excuses).
For a very long time at Crossfit I've had an enormous list of can'ts/sucks/goats. Lack of strength, flexibility, courage, and fitness, and an abundance of asthma and weight all conspiring against me and keeping me from being able to do things scaled, try or even show up to the WODs.
I've had some time to think about this today. During the last 49 days of this challenge, I've finally started breaking down some of those barriers and am making real progress. 
Some examples: 

• Just this morning I did my first ever bridge (with a little help from Kim, but not a lot according to her), my first pike handstand from my toes on a box instead of my knees and my first ring pushups from the floor.
• Thursday night I had my first banded pull-up ... one of my challenge goals
• Last weekend I competed in my first competition
• The week before I had my first tripod stand

All of these firsts are starting to really add up and were, in the not so distant past, "can't"s.
So what's the lesson here.
Before I say can't, I'm going to stop and think for a few seconds about why I don't think I can do something. Am I afraid of getting hurt? or looking stupid. Am I underestimating myself? Am I forgetting the progress I've made, the weight I've lost, or the muscle and skill that I've developed? And then ... I'll try. At least try. And if it's truly a can't YET, I'll keep working with the coaches on scaling options that I CAN do and making progress towards the can do without scaling. And soon, the balance of those lists will shift in my favor.

Throwdown recap

my comeback event ...
I'm either frowning, or pooping

It's been a week since I last posted. The lead up to, execution of, and coming down from the Tri-State Throwdown on Saturday was intense,exhausting and exhilarating all at once. 
In the days leading up to the throwdown, I was trying to brush off the negative nerves. I knew that even just showing up and trying was an accomplishment for me and something so out of my comfort zone I never would have dared try before. I even worked in a little self-sabotage, letting my diet slip the day before. I'm such an emotional eater and the stress was getting to me. 
The morning of the competition, my stomach was in knots. I wasn't nervous per se, just anxious to get started, to get there, and get the first WOD under my belt. At least I wouldn't have long to wait. Lucky me, I was in the first heat of competitors.


WOD I: 8 minute ARMAP of 9 box jumps, 6 hand release pushups and 3 65lb front squats
- This was a terrible way to start my day. I thought my problem was going to be the pushups. WRONG. It was the stupid box jumps, or in my case, step-ups. Mine are slow and I have a lot of weight to move on and off that box. I finished with 5 rounds plus 12 movements. Definitely far worse than anyone else I talked to about their results. I was hearing numbers bigger than nine, and I had struggled through five. This was certainly a bad way to start the day.
WOD II: Scaled Grace, 30 clean and jerks (65lb) for time
- As soon as this was announced, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I knew that for this one my endurance would run out before my muscles. A 65lb clean and jerk is pretty easy for me so it was just about getting through the quantity as fast as I could. I ended up finishing somewhere around 2:30. I can't remember the exact time, but I know my hand was shaking so badly I could barely sign my score sheet. I felt good about this one though and glad to have at least one event for the day that I could feel good about. 
WOD III: 6 minutes to establish 1RM continental C&J, 4 min rest, 6 min max meter row
- Seriously?! Another event I can do! We'd done a 1RM continental C&J about two weeks previous to this in a Strongman class so I knew about where to aim for. The six minutes was more about moving around the weights and struggling with the darn clips than being worried about finishing. I put up 75, then 105 and then matched my previous PR of 125. My judge was yelling at me to put on more and I attempted 135. Twice. And wet my pants both time. I just really need to work on getting under the bar. I need split jerk practice. I've never really learned it properly. One more try (and fail) at 130, but I was happy with 125. I knew it was the highest weight in my heat and that felt good. After four minutes of rest came the row. I really underestimated how toasted I was at this point but I didn't know if I wanted to die, or cry or just curl up in the fetal position next to my rower. Thank you to my very supportive and encouraging judge who didn't let me quit and kept cheering for me the entire time. The good news was my 1,355 seemed to be pretty close to the other numbers I heard thrown around. 
WOD IV: 3 rounds - 7x135lb deadlift, 14x air squats, 21 single unders for time.
- Oh thank goodness. I've managed to last the entire day without embarrassing myself with a single burpee. That's actually what was running through my head when they announced this workout. The deadlift was light, my airsquats were slow, and my rope jumping needs practice, but I finished. I have no idea what my time was. I was just so glad to be done and still in one piece and not hurt. 


Some final thoughts:

• I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm glad I competed. 
• I did way better than I expected and placed 34 out of 49 in my division. 
• I finished all of the WODs and kept moving even when I wanted to cry and/or die.
• I stepped out of my infamous comfort zone and did something I normally wouldn't.
• I showed myself how far I've come only six weeks into the 90 day challenge. I would not have been able to finish most of those WODs on January 1.
• I got to connect so many faces to names from the ACF/CCP groups and I socialized with so many athletes and tried really hard not to be a shy recluse.
• I am not a pretty Crossfitter. I make so many bizarre faces. Photos are candid and my figure is not perfect by any means. But they are proof that I was there, that I did it and that I was working hard.
• The ACF/CCP staff is incredible. Planning this event, programming the WODs, coordinating volunteers (who are in themselves incredible) and herding athletes ... everything went as smoothly as I could have ever imagined.
• There are amazing athletes around me every day I work out. I was in awe of my fellow competitors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, giving it their all.
• Not once did I feel someone staring at me, or overhear anyone saying "what does she think she's doing competing in this." All I heard was encouragement, and all I saw was high fives and smiles. Since this was one of my biggest hangups about competing, I was relieved. 
• I will compete again.

WOD #1 released

Day 40 - Thursday, February 9, 2012
Throwdown countdown: 2


The first WOD got released today for Saturday's throwdown. 8 minute AMRAP including 9 box jumps (step ups), 6 hand release pushups (oh boy) and 3 front squats. As one of the other competitors said, at least we're unable to DNF this one! The movement requirements were really clear (thanks, Kevin and Dean) but I'm still a bit concerned about the pushups. Resting and tapering pre-competition has me getting stiff and sore. Foam rolling should help a bit, but I'm thinking about doing some light rowing (Jay mentioned this is in the pep talk) tomorrow night. I left my comfort zone behind miles ago. I already considered no-showing, but can't face the wrath and disappointment of the coaches if I did that. I've been trying to visualize my strategy and success for WOD #1. Step-ups, no problem. Just make sure you fully extend your hips at the top. Pushups, let's practice a couple. Make sure you hit that top plank position every time. Front squats, take a breath and just do them. This weight is easy for you. I'm not sure what a good score will be for this one, but I'll get through it. Finish. Breathe and finish. 


Food: 
Breakfast - cheddar omelet, bacon, hot chocolate
Lunch - tunafish with raisins and pecans, sweet potato chips
Dinner - cajun chicken breast with andouille sausage


Workout:
prescribed rest day

Preparation

Day 39 - Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Throwdown Countdown: 3

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail"
- Benjamin Franklin

This was my story today. I ended up away from home, and extremely hungry by 9:30. (Not that I have many options at home either, but that's a different story.) What can you possibly get to eat quickly, that's paleo friendly, at this time of night? I certainly couldn't think of anything. So I succumbed to the call of a sausage and egg cheese breakfast sandwich on a bagel. And well, as long as I'm cheating, I might as well treat myself, right?! So a doughnut got added to the order. I'm not proud of it, but I don't regret it either. I haven't had many of these slip-ups and it really did taste good. I definitely felt the sugar impact though. I almost felt drugged! Back to it tomorrow and time to get some meal planning and grocery shopping done. 

Food - 

Breakfast: eggs, sausage, grapes

Lunch: leftover taco salad

Dinner: sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, chocolate donut

Workout - 

none, resting in prep for Throwdown