Two weeks in and hitting the wall

This past week was truly a struggle full of many highs and lows!  I started the week by venturing into my Pinterest files and co-CrossFitter blogs to find some yummy recipes and was successful!  I went through the painstaking process of making my own Paleo mayo, but it was so worth it!  From that yummy mayo, I was able to make a very tasty chicken salad and egg salad.  I also enhanced my morning staple of eggs by making my friend Tarah's recipe for banana, french toast muffins.  Those were fantastic and satisfied a little bit of my craving for sweets.

The problems began toward the end of the week as I was beginning to have cravings for carbs and sweets. I was feeling weak overall - especially during the WODs and worried about having stamina for my 6.5 mile run on Sunday morning.  I really wrestled with my decision, but Saturday night, (with Josh's support) I made a chicken & spinach quesadilla for myself using a flour tortilla.  I doubt that the limited carb intake will completely sabotage this entire challenge and return my body immediately to pre-Paleo challenge form, but I still feel mentally defeated for cheating.  I owe the jar $1 and the box 30 burpees!

On a positive note, the run went well and my body showed no side effects from ingesting non-Paleo approved food (I also out paced everyone)!  I happily jumped back on the Paleo wagon for Sunday meals and prepared some new Paleo recipes for this week.  Only 3 more weeks to go..... (sigh)

Week 1 of Paleo Challenge and No Meltdown Yet!

The first week of eating Paleo wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be.  I'd like to think that my mostly "healthy" food choices on a regular basis made the Paleo selections fairly easy to accommodate into my lifestyle.  The only wrench in the program was getting the NASTY flu bug on New Years Eve and spending the next two days in bed!  I only consumed a banana, handful of grapes and some scrambled eggs during those two days, so that was interesting!  :)  So far, I haven't had the urges to cheat or eat sweets like I thought I would.  I'm hoping week 2 goes as smoothly!

Most exciting last week was the initial weigh in and body fat analysis at CF.  Since signing up for CF, 4 1/2 months ago, I've lost 3% total body fat and 5 lbs!  I was shocked by the transformation of my thigh measurement the most - down from 25 to 16.5!  My gymnast thighs are my most hated body part, so hearing that amazing news made me even more excited to see this Paleo challenge through!  The challenge WOD we did last week was "Cindy" and I was able to complete 14 rounds + 5 reps.  I'm super happy with that baseline considering I was so weak from the flu and coughed through the entire WOD!

I tried a few new recipes last week, but kept it to a minimum as to not be overwhelmed.  I made the Paleo version of turkey meatballs (basically, my exact recipe but with more veggies thrown in), some egg muffins and some Paleo blueberry muffins.  The meatballs were fantastic and I plan to eat more of them for dinner over spaghetti squash (which is another new food item for me!).  The egg muffins I found on Pinterest and were the perfect thing to make ahead and warm up each morning after a workout.  The blueberry muffins however were AWFUL!  I took one bite and threw them all out.  I'm told that when baking soda is required for recipes, it can hinder the taste.  The muffins tasted exactly like baking soda - no flavor whatsoever!

Turkey Meatballs

On the agenda for this week are recipes for Paleo mayo (to make some chicken salad!!), Paleo Chili, and Tarah's banana / french toast muffins.  I'm determined to find something to eat for breakfast aside from eggs everyday!

New Year Brings New Views on Living the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle

Wow, can it really be true that 2013 is just days away from being a thing of the past?  It seems like yesterday I was planning out 2013 - new resolutions, running schedules and promises to myself to always put my health first.  As usual, the plans were short lived.  I didn't do much running and for the first year in a long time, I didn't run a marathon.  I think I was burned out from the constant training of years past and felt defeated that I hadn't qualified for Boston.  So mentally, I hit a wall and basically retired the running shoes.

While teaching Zumba one night, I mentioned how I missed running but didn't want to continue training as I'd always done before.  My results were stagnant and being a competitive perfectionist, that just wouldn't do! One of my students suggested CrossFit as a way to cross train for marathons, so I stopped by Four Barrel CrossFit and signed up for the intro classes.  I've been a CF athlete now for 5 months and it has absolutely changed my life.  I dropped 2% body fat in the first 60 days and have tripled my strength!  I can now lift my 70 lb special-needs son with ease - which was another driving force for signing up for CF.  In addition to added strength, I felt mentally stronger & confident so I decided to take those running shoes out of retirement.  The transformations in my running speed, form and muscle control (i.e. stronger hamstrings and glutes have kept injury away) have been nothing short of amazing,

Now that I've gotten a firm handle on the physical side of my overall wellness, I decided it's time to include healthy, clean eating to the plan and make 2014 the ultimate lifestyle and body transformation year!  As of January 1, I will be a participant in the FBCF Paleo Challenge.  I have eagerly begun gathering recipes and look forward broadening my cooking skills to prepare these clean meals.  I will be blogging my experience, mainly for myself, as an opportunity to review when / why I struggled - if I do.

So, as the calendar switches to another new year, I'm actually excited about the overall transformations I'm set to make and know that not only my body will be positively affected but my mind and spirit as well.  I'm a bit nervous about the clean eating, but know that if I put my mind to it, I'm capable of finding success with just about anything!