An Unwanted Mini-Vacation

I think I have the worst luck/immune system. Ever.

For a few weeks I would get random fevers that would go away within a few hours. Then this past week, boom. It hit me like a brick wall. I wasn’t able to breathe due to swollen tonsils and glands. My fever was at 102. And I was having awful side pains. I have mono. I go to the ER because I literally feel like death. I got a sonogram of my spleen and it was enlarged (why it was hurting so bad). Since my spleen is so enlarged, it’s easy to rupture if I’m doing high impact activities. And apparently rupturing your spleen is serious shit.

Of course the doctor asks, “Do you do any sports?” I cringe because I have a partner CrossFit competition on May 10th. The doctor informs me that I can’t be working out for six weeks with mono. My heart sinks and I’m fighting back not bawling like a baby. I should be thinking about my health, how I need to rest, how I’m just going to sleep for six weeks. But that’s the last thing on my mind.

I have some glimmer of hope when I have a follow up appointment with my family physician. I told him about my competition, asking if there was anyway I could still do it. He said at the end of April I should get another sonogram. If my spleen is back to normal size, then I am able to compete. Hallelujah. But, he said feeling tired and lethargic can last for a few months after I’m cleared from mono.

While fighting this virus, my diet has gone to shit. My daily schedule: Drink tea, eat ice cream, nap, repeat. Ice cream was the only thing that would give me some sort of relief for my sore throat, but, at the same time I freaked out about gaining weight. After avoiding the scale for a few days, I finally decide to step on and face reality. To my surprise, I have lost weight. Yet I am still worried about losing muscle and coming back to the box and not being able to do anything again. I’d start back at the beginning.

This kind of thinking has mind fucked me into a mopey, self-pity party. But I have to look at how far I’ve come, and how far I will continue to go. This time a year ago, working out 6 times a week was taboo for me. Doing my bi-weekly, one hour of elliptical was what was going to get me to lose weight. Oh, how times have changed.

On the left was my junior year of high school, still not at my heaviest. On the right was this month -30 pounds down.

 

On the left was about 8 months ago, fresh into CrossFit. On the right is this month.

Now I’m more concerned about accomplishing goals of lifting weights, and doing movements that I still can’t get at the gym. I’m more concerned about keeping on muscle than worrying about my thighs not touching. I’m more concerned about being better than I was the day before.

Slowly but surely I am getting better as the days progress. And it’s just my luck that I have finals this month.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”

21 Day Super Hero Challenge Update

The Open is over and I managed to only do one of the workouts. I, regretfully, didn’t sign up for the open this year. Not knowing much about the Open and still not having a lot of the important movements down in day-to-day workouts scared me away. I could have done almost all of the movements in 14.1-14.5 except for the muscle-ups. Really, Dave Castro? Muscle-ups?

Awaiting the Open workout announcement

The only Open workout I ended up doing was 14.5, which I really enjoyed! Out of all the workouts, I think this one really tested character for all of the athletes. It took such great perseverance to not stop (or take very short breaks) during this one! It was a doozy!

This Challenge is coming to an end pretty quick! I wish I could say I was as disciplined as I was on my Paleo Challenge. I am guilty of cheating on this challenge and it really threw me off. Once I ate badly I thought, “I f*cked up, might as well keep eating like crap”. Until I had one of my wake up calls yesterday, realizing that it’s getting hot….it’s almost summer…it’s almost bikini season. Eeek! One of my goals during my weight-loss journey was to feel confident this summer in a bathing suit. And this is one I strive to accomplish.

Salami, turkey and avocado salad

So what better way to kick off healthy eating than meal prepping?! That is what my Saturday has consisted of and it was exhausting, but worth it. My morning prep consisted of sweet potatoes, bacon, boiled eggs, organic sausage, Mexican quinoa, and boiled chicken. Going back to what I know and what works for me, strict Paleo.

Prepping for meal prep

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Super Hero Challenge

I’ve been working out now more than ever. I’ve been having so much stress in school and my personal life– the only thing that gives me some sort of peace is the gym. It has been paying off, too! I’m starting to get kipping hand stand push ups, getting more double-unders in a row, and RX’ing more of the work outs. The only thing that has not improved is my weight. I’m trying to be that person that says “don’t worry about the scale”, but it’s harder than I thought. My numbers on the scale keep going up and I think it’s adding to my stress.

So I wanted to find something to kick-start my healthy eating habits again! I follow Emily Schromm on Instagram (emilymtv) and she has a program called 21 Day Super Hero Challenge. Some of the girls from my gym and I have decided to do this challenge together! For me, it’s always easier to surround myself with people who eat healthy or eat the same as I do; and I’m lucky that most of my friends do! The challenge entails 21 days of eating paleo, while earning points for: working out/mobilizing, taking fish oils, no alcohol, etc.

-30lb difference

I have already come so far in my weight loss journey. I’m excited to see a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of being at my goal weight. What is also exciting is to see an increase of weight in my lifts and never being satisfied with your current personal best. This Challenge is going to be my push to get back on the horse and have a ‘clean slate’ with my diet.

I will be doing a weekly update of the Challenge

Recipes for the Week!

School started this week and I’m less than thrilled. Lounging around the house and going to the gym when I please is such a luxury. Since I’ve been in and out of a back injury I decided to take an entire week off of working out to heal. So far, I haven’t been to the gym in three days and it’s driving me bonkers. I still go on my Box’s website each morning to look at the WOD, pathetic I know. But I miss the sound of weights dropping, the texture of chalk, and the people that I call my Cross Fit family.

So to distract myself, I’ve been cooking a lot. I’ve been making some food out of my new cook book, Primal Cravings, that I got for Christmas. And also testing out some new recipes from the always great paleOMG. Making all of my meals will hopefully balance out my lack of working out. My weight-loss has been at a bit of a stand still, so not being able to hit the gym sucks that much more.

These muffins are the bomb-dot-com. By far my favorite thing I’ve made this week! Even my picky boyfriend is addicted to them.

(Recipe from paleOMG)

This is a great, quick, meal that tastes amazing. Homemade pesto, gluten-free noodles, frozen shrimp and voila!

(Pesto recipe from All Recipes— did not use cheese in the pesto)

This pizza casserole is definitely a crowd pleaser! Added some feta cheese for extra flavor.

(Recipe from paleOMG)

These are the perfect on-the-go breakfast ‘muffins’! There are a lot of ways to mix them up and make them your own. Next time I think I’m going to add ground Italian Sausage!

(Recipe from Primal Cravings cookbook)

Did you hear? It’s a new year!

Welcome, 2014! Wow am I ready for a fresh start in this new year. Not gonna lie, December has been a month of ups and downs for me. For half of the month I ate pretty healthy with little to no “cheats”. But towards Christmas I started to fall back into my bad eating habits and beer. Lots of beer. I was at my Dad’s house most of the time and did not cook as much as I should have (Note to self: don’t let Dad make his delicious cookies when I come over). I kept telling myself, “On New Years day I will start eating healthy again”. Those are dangerous words! It is so much easier to gain weight than to lose weight and I learned that the hard way. I put on about 4 pounds in December but I’m not letting it get me down. I have come too far and am not in the same mind set I was this time last year.

For Christmas I got a few goodies from my love! I got a few ROGUE clothes and a NutriBullet! I was stoked to get the Bullet because I haven’t had a food processor/blender in years. I have already made a green smoothie and homemade pesto!

 

Post work out cuteness. Just showing my love for this green smoothie.

So it’s time to establish my 2014 Resolutions. But for me, these are promises that I’m making to myself. Promises that I will hold myself accountable for.

• Of course I have weight loss goals, but I also have lifting goals. By March, I want to be able to back squat 200lbs and front squat 185lbs
• I am going to do more things that make me happy
• I will save more money (this will be a tough one)
• I am going to volunteer more at my local dog shelter
• By this time next year I am going to graduate Texas State University

Basically, I want to make 2014 my b*tch. I want to be proud of what I accomplished and not pray that the next year will get better because of previous downfalls. 2013 has been a roller-coaster, lets see what this year has in store.

“It always seems impossible until it is done”

-Nelson Mandela 

Grace Off and Blogging

Above is a video of the boys at my box doing Grace!

When starting to eat healthy, I looked to others when making food or exercising. I got most of my inspiration from other female bloggers around my age. When I got an assignment for school to start a blog I felt like it was a sign to start my ‘personal brand’. By being able to write about my daily triumphs and struggles, I feel like this is almost an open journal for others to read. Some of my closest friends don’t even know some of the personal struggles that I convey on my blog. Why do I do this? Because I hope someone like me 6 months ago will read this and find some helpful tools or advice. But most of all, because I can’t stop writing about a lifestyle that I have learned to love and practice!

As I go on with my blogging, I hope to improve on many areas. I hope to ‘personalize’ my blog more by more pictures of my daily life. I have noticed that the more personal my blog posts are, the more replies/likes there are. I also would like to network more and have sincere connections with other bloggers. That I could find others to guest blog on my blog or to be a guest on theirs’ is a goal of mine as well. I am a Mass Communications major and getting a job to blog for a company (or myself) would be a dream career.

Paleo Meatloaf Monday!

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This cold weather has made me crave some good ol’ Southern food. I was able to find a Paleo Meatloaf recipe online that had great reviews! Most of the ingredients I already had at home so it was easy to whip together (took around 30 minutes). This recipe yields about five adults so my boyfriend and I put the other half of the meatloaf in the freezer. So it will be nice to get out again on those nights where you just don’t feel like/have time to cook!

In other news, as of today I have lost 20 lbs! It’s kind of blowing my mind that I have gotten to this point because in the past, I have not been able to reach long term weight loss goals. My advice? Diet diet diet. It’s all about your diet! I think I have even been working out less because of the holidays and the school semester coming to an end. That to me just proves that it’s all about what you put into your body. Fuel not food! Now it has gotten to a point where I don’t look at it as a diet, but a lifestyle. Has it gotten easier? No. But I’ve gotten better at saying ‘no’ to things. When I see something that is super unhealthy that I’m craving I think to myself, “a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips” haha.

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely do have my share of ‘cheat meals’. And boy, do I make them count. But most of the time I feel guilty and extremely full after finishing one of these meals. So sometimes I will go a week without having one. Instead, maybe I will have a few beers one night with friends. I’ve learned to listen to my body and not what everyone who thinks they are nutritionists say. If I want carbs, i’ll eat carbs. If I want meat, i’ll eat meat. Simple as that.

The Diamond Games

Below is a link to my Storify where I covered a  Crossfit Competition in my hometown Round Rock, Texas. A few members from my Box competed and got 7th, woo!

http://storify.com/cargatta/the-diamond-games

Eat light, lift heavy

Top- 3 months ago, Bottom- 11/16/13 (-17lbs)

“Don’t rush. Be patient with your progress. Fitness is a quest, a never ending journey and a gift we give ourselves. Don’t compare your gift and many blessings to those of others. Be grateful for your progress and you’ll find you wont have time to envy the progress of others.

Those who sprint the first miles of a marathon quickly lose pace. Those who distract themselves by looking over their shoulder at the other runners only fall out of stride and miss the beautiful view in front of them. Take your time. Your patience is a virtue”

-Chalene Johnson 

Dear 17 pounds, you will not be missed! For about 6 months my workout schedule has stayed the same (Crossfit 5 times a week) and was not seeing any changes on the scale so I knew something had to change.  Around two months ago I started focusing on what I eat for weight loss and that is when I started seeing results. I guess what they say is right; 70% diet 30% exercise! So in the picture above I have lost 17 pounds.

***On this blog I try to be as relatable and honest as possible, but when it comes to posting my weight I feel like it doesn’t help anyone. Everyone loses weight differently so when I see someone’s before and after picture and it shows their weight, I immediately compare myself to them (a habit I continually work on to quit). And that isn’t healthy for anyone’s weight loss journey or self esteem.

Losing this much has made me try harder in everything I do. This has motivated me to be the best ‘self’ that I can be. This will continually be a journey for me and I sure as hell know that it wont be easy. But this time is different; I’m happy with my eating, exercise, and where my life is going. For once, I feel like I have control over me since my parents got divorced. Two years ago I felt like my life was over and  that nothing would ever be good again. I would smoke and take pills to mask the pain and when that wouldn’t work eating and sleeping would seem to do the trick. Then in June of 2013 I started taking back control and got into CrossFit. My Dad told me “Working out is the one thing nobody can take away from you. You are in control”. And I have realized that I am in control; I am stronger than I think.

In my Olympic Lifting class, we got to try to find our new 1 rep max back squat. From a previous post I had said that my previous max was 145#….well my new max is 185#. Crazy, huh!? My coach, my friend, and I were smiling from ear to ear; we could not believe that this was my new PR! I attempted 195# but wasn’t able to do it. My new goal for next month will be 200#! It’s bold but why not, right?

Week Recap

Wow, this week been hectic! I’ve been so busy with school, taking care of a sick dog, and keeping up with CrossFit. In Oly we’ve been doing the Smolov Squat Routine but modified due to how many times we meet a week. When beginning this Routine we found out what our max back squat was. On that day, my max one rep back squat was #145. Personally, I knew that I could go way heavier but mind f*#%ed myself out of squatting anymore. Does this happen to anyone else?

As the Squat Routine progresses, I’m testing my limits and learning that I am stronger than I think. Above is a video when we did 8 sets of 4 reps which I did at #130 (and my one rep max was #145). Yep, makes no sense at all. In another week we will find out what our new one rep max will be and I’m curious to see how far I can push it.

There was a 40% off coupon at Reebok Outlet stores floating around the internet so I figured it was a calling from the Olympic Lifting gods. It was time for me to get a pair of Reebok Lifters. They are Uform so I was able to put them in the oven for a custom fit. I wore them for the first time during an all lifting WOD and they felt pretty different, seeing as I have never tried lifting in anything but my Nanos or Vibrams. But damn I love the sound of these shoes slamming on the wood paneling when doing a snatch.

I’ll end this post with a little bit of Paleo food porn…

Fight For It!

8 months into CrossFit and I have done my first RX’d WOD! Now I know what having a high from exercise feels like! There are still many movements in a WOD that I cannot do (rope climb, kipping pull-ups, etc.) but I have come far in other things too. For the strength WOD (SWOD) I instead did  four power cleans every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 6 minutes at #95. Here is the WOD I did prescribed:

 For my time I got 10:48. Did I get first? No. But I did my personal best and was extremely proud of myself for the first time in a long time. Since it was a HalloWOD, we got a trick! We had to do a second workout. WOD #2 was 21-15-9 of 20lb wall balls and sit ups (Time=4:05). It was a great workout and always amazes me how my day is so much better by going to ‘the Box’.

“Suddenly, it didn’t matter that I was the weakest person in the room. I was stronger than I’d been the week before”

After working out I went out as Han Solo for the night. Hope you all had a great HalloWOD/Halloween!