My Crossfit Journey

Today was a milestone in my crossfit journey. I was getting ready to start my skill work when Jennie said,”Staci, try a pull up without the band. You have fresh arms!” I basically chuckled and said ok. I was not expecting anything as I have been trying and trying day after day always falling short. Of course we had a large ladies class and everyone was watching hehe. I jumped on the bar got two good kip swings and up I went. I came down and asked how close I got and they all said I did it!!! I was so used to not getting it that I didn’t even realize when I did! I am so excited and will be practicing everyday to maintain it and eventually get to the point where I can do them in workouts 🙂

As many of you know, I am a vegetarian. You will not be able to convince me otherwise 🙂 I love all animals and have a hard time deciding which ones to make pets and which ones to eat so if I had a choice I would make them all pets!!! Anyway, on my quest to find foods that give me fuel and are good for me I have been playing around with many combinations. I have been relying on dairy for protein but my results on the scale have not been impressive. I have decided to cut out dairy as much as I can. No more milk, ice cream or cheese (R.I.P.). I have decided to add back into my diet whole grains. I know this goes against paleo, but so does not eating meat 🙂 I have been really happy whith the results the past week. I have tons of energy and the scale is moving again!

Todays workout was “Angie”. I have not had an encounter with her since my very first week coming to the fort. At that time I scaled everything to 50 reps and had to do pull ups on the green band. Today I did 100 of everything and did my pullups on the blue band!!! Yahoo!!! I love progress. I am still working on that unassisted pull up which I am feeling any day now. On a side note I got into a pair of pants today that I havn’t been able to wear in a year 🙂

Yeterdays workout was really hard for me at first.  I could not get into the rhythm for double unders.  By the time we got to round 3 I was able to string 10 together which really helped.  I have whip marks all over my right arm!  The workout was:

AMRAP 6:00
25 Double Unders
10 Burpees
100m Sprint
Rest 1:00

3 rounds

As for food I have been sticking to my meals of omelettes, apples, almond butter, broccolli, olive oil, cheese…

I feel like I am starting to make some good progress in the strength department.  I have 10 solid blue band pull-ups and I am working towards being band free!  My running is improving (thanks to Bill and Jennie!) and I finally feel like I can “compete” in workouts as I am able to use prescribed weights on some workouts.

I am committed to coming to the Fort as much as my body can take hehe.  Heres the meal plan for the day:

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette
Lunch: Salad with Fruit and Walnuts
Dinner: Brocolli with curry sauce and olive oil almonds and a piece of dark chocolate

Yesterday we went to the U2 concert at Soldier Field.  It was AWESOME!!!  I was worried the festivities of the day would derail my progress. To my surprise no negative impact on the scale this morning!  I did pre plan and did my best to stick to my diet.  For breakfast I had a cheese omelette.  I stopped and got an iced coffee (no sugar) for the ride there.  Lunch was a veggie burger, no bun with a side salad.  For dinner I had two pints of Guinness (who could resist hehe) and a bunch of dark chocolate covered almonds that I snuck in.  Not the best dinner in the world but who is perfect.  We parked about two miles away so I got a good workout in while wearing my high heel boots!

I am so excited that I found Lindt 85% cacao dark chocolate.  It only has 4g carbs per 2 squares!!!  I love chocolate so much and I don’t discriminate so dark chocolate is just fine with me.  Thank you everyone for your suggestions on meals.  This is really hard for me and I am trying to get it right!  Yesterday I did not go to the Fort becuase Dan finally has a day off.  I did go on a 30 min bike ride to get some sort of action it.  Today I will be absent from the Fort as well due to a closing in Elgin…yay for money, boo for no fort :(. I think I will go for a 2-3 mile run.

Breakfast: 3 egg omeleltte
Lunch: Cheese, almond butter, celery, carrots
Dinner: Salad with apples, walnuts, olive oil with a side of broccolli (sp?)
Treat: two squares of dark chocolate

The scale has finally moved!!! 2 pounds down

I love you chocolate 🙂

Ok, so we are a few days in to the Better Body Challenge.  I have cast away the nasty little carbs that I love so much and am left with a feeling of constant hunger.  I will admit after leaving the fort last night I felt so hungry that I had to stop at the store to get a piece of cheese.  I feel like to matter how much “good” food I eat, the hungry feeling does not go away.  I know this will change after a few days when my body is used to eating the new way.  It is taking enormous amounts of will power to not stop into every baskin robbins or krispy kreme doughnut store I see! 

Meal plan for today:

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette
Lunch: Cheese and almonds with a little celery
Dinner: Goat cheese salad with olive oil

What I Need to be Eating

What I Think About

Yesterdays workout was a lovely combination of:

5 rounds for time

15 Dead lifts (50% of 1 rep max)  I went through at 40K

30 Double Unders

Sexy Deadlifting Ladies

The deadlifts were not too bad last night.  It seems as though the past few times we have done them in a workout have required much heavier weight.  It was refreshing to be able to string 10 together!  The double unders on the other hand, not my friend.  My arm and legs look like I have been beaten with a whip!  I was able to string 10 -12 together, but when I missed oh did I miss!  

As for the eating front, I am trying to get on the right track with the right foods.  Yesterday I had an apple, almonds, grapes, grass fed hormone free cheddar (I know its bad but I don’t eat meat!), more almonds, carrots, celery, and an omelette.  Any suggestions on how to expand my vegetarian diet are welcome 🙂

Yesterday was my official start day of the Cross Fit Fire 60 day body challenge. I am excited and ready to see what I can do! I am getting married on November 14 so this challenge is perfect timing to get sexy for the honeymoon. I am a self proclaimed carb addict and I LOVE chocolate. This will be my greatest challenge to avoid those little evil beasts. I just keep telling myself “they will only hurt me and make me FAT haha”.

Yesterday was the first day sans carbs and by the end of it I was ready to claw through the pantry to find some. I did resist…just stear clear for the next few days 🙂

I think the best and worst part of this is my pictures up for all the world to see. That in my opinion is the ultimate motivation. Every time an ugly little carb tries to con me into eating it, I log onto the blog and look at myself; its amazing how that craving disappears. 

Working Hard!