Day 12: Slow and steady

     Here we are at day 12, almost half way through the Whole30. According to the timeline, this is the day I am supposed to experience boundless energy. So far today, I feel pretty good. My workout was a little drawn out and I was the last to finish (which is getting a little old), BUT... I went, and I did it. Still no struggle or cravings, so I know our menu has been good which definitely helps. So excited to take some time to read the new Whole30 book and check out some of their new recipes this weekend.
   So about this slow and steady thing.... My decision to begin changing my lifestyle and work towards a better me was right around the end of 2012. It feels like I've been doing this forever, and some days I don't feel like I've made any changes at all; I still see that same person in the mirror, and still feel so much bigger than people around me. So, it's been about 2 years and 3 months and I've gone from 276 to 227, 46" waist to 36", and struggling to make it through a basic circuit workout to crossfit 4 times a week. I'm a week and a day out from my first Spartan, and I've truly never felt better in my whole life. While I read things about people losing a 100lbs in a year or see those unrealistic tv shows where they lose 27lbs in a week and sometimes feel like I'm not working hard enough, I also know that the way I'm doing this is a journey, a life lesson, and will be maintainable. I know deep down that THIS is how I will be successful for the rest of my life.
     We have tried SO many different plans and programs all with their own level of success, each ending in some sort of decision to change to something else or to make bad decisions going back to our old habits. But no matter what the changes or how long we stayed on something, we have stuck it out for the most part since that point back in winter of 2012, and this current streak we are on has lasted the longest, had the most momentum, and also the most results. We are happy, we are getting healthy, and we are no longer scared to set big goals for ourselves. Gifts to each other are now fitness related or paleo cookbooks, we geek out in sporting goods stores, and prefer workout gear to dressing up. What a difference in the life we share together, and within ourselves as individuals. There is nothing about this journey I would change.

       This is a little outside my comfort zone, and I took these pics with no intention of sharing them. So consider that your warning, but this is my accountability to myself. The pics on the left are January 2013 and the right are from today. Still a long way to go, but it gets easier every day.

-Jamie

Day 8...

     Today was day 8. But since my last post, there has been days 5-7. Those days had all sorts of things, ranging from emotional exhaustion to flu-like symptoms (which I have now convinced myself are just horrible allergies). Still feeling pretty crappy as far as that goes, and the last couple workouts have really kicked my ass, but I'm feeling the benefits of this way of life in small ways with big impacts. I haven't been eating antacids by the handful as I usually would, I haven't been craving crap food or sweets, I haven't been bored or disinterested with our food as with many other plans, overall it's been good.
     The countdown is in full effect for the Spartan race I am doing on May 2nd. This is HUGE for me, though I'm really trying to downplay it all. I set my goals high so that I could allow myself some time to get my shit together, half thinking it could be a long term goal as long as there's a goal on the table. So I decided that I wanted to do a mud run, but not just any mud run, I wanted to do THE mud run. So... Spartan race!!! And without putting enough thought into it, as it came across my facebook suggested ads one day I clicked on it. Next thing I know... I'm registered. CRAP!!!!!! So... here it is, less than 2 weeks away, and I'm not really freaking out about it like I should, nor am I really training for it per se. I'm doing crossfit 4 times a week, and have run on the treadmill a couple times, but nothing as serious as I probably should LOL. BUT.... it's kind of also a benchmark for me. I'm not going into it with any intention or goal other than to give it my all and to finish. As long as I finish and don't die, I will feel proud and accomplished. I am running it with team bucket list,whichincludes2 other friends (Sarah and Renee), who will hopefully not get stuck pulling my big ass over a wall somewhere! Wish me luck!
     So, our food selections for the week were all picked off of an instagram page called Whole30 recipes. Go check them out cuz this stuff is GOOD! Breakfasts have stayed the same this week(and will stay that way throughout) because it's good and it's easy! 2 eggs, 2bacon, baked sweet potato w/ghee and cinnamon. Lunches are: Salad w/grilled chicken today, chicken salad stuffed tomato w/spiralized cucumber salad, Portuguese kale and chorizo soup, spinach and apple turkey burger w/guacamole. Dinners this week are: Seared peach rosemary pork chop w/marinated mushrooms, lamb stew, spaghetti squash w/Bolognese sauce, chicken wings w/sweet potato fries, mussels in tomato broth. Gonna be a good week! Let me know if you need recipes!
    As for Dawn.... she is making this stuff look easy! Her detox symptoms have been minimal, and she is really not struggling with anything at all... jerk! I'm super proud of her and glad that she seems to be enjoying it so far. She's been hitting up all these crazy classes at the gym and getting it done! She did break one of the primary rules of Whole30 and got on the scale (she's a serial weigher), but to her surprise.... 11 lbs down so far! Pretty awesome! Of course for curiosity's sake after that I did it too... 7lbs! Glad to be off that plateau!
           -Jamie

Day 4: WTF?!?

     Day 4, and thankfully a half day at work so I could hide out under a blanket for the rest of it!!! My emotions are running on full blast today, and it's serious! Instead of the anger and annoyance I've been feeling so far, today was a little different. My frustrations with some things at work finally broke me. In the middle of an inservice day, I literally BURST into tears in the middle of a session on writing a syllabus. NOT good! I'm an angry crier and once it starts, there's no stopping it until the ducts are empty and that wicked headache behind the eyes sets in. That's where I'm at right now, squinting at the screen and tapping the keys gently so as to not feel the typing in my head. Off tomorrow, so I can work through what will hopefully be the last of the crappy feeling days.

  So, here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 bacon, sweet potato w/ghee and cinnamon
Snack: cucumber spears (4)
Lunch: Sonoma chicken salad, apple
Snack: 2 hard boiled eggs, small handful nuts & dried fruit
Dinner: Pork mexi-bowl

Yea... still snacking. Feeling really hungry throughout the day. Still feeling good about the decision to do this, and positive about the changes being made. Sticking with it is easy to do and I know that how my body is feeling right now will pass soon enough.

Days 2& 3 "The Hangover"

     We read the Whole30 timeline in depth and still I felt just a bit blindsided today when I found myself getting angry and frustrated with the simplest things. Things I encounter daily, behaviors that people are known for, pretty much EVERYTHING! I knew, I expected, and still strangely surprised. To the point that I almost wanted someone to provoke me just so I could unleash on them!
     The cravings have been fine, nothing unbearable and not really even anything specific. I am, however, VERY persuadable when it comes to food stuff. So talking to a coworker about a nice chai latte or a kitchen that is engulfed with the smell of brownies baking is still a bit hard. The food we are eating is still tasting good and keeping my interest, which also helps a lot. Here's a list of what I've eaten:
Day 2: (Super hungry today)
Pre-workout- Handful of nuts and dry fruit
Post workout- Apple and almond butter
Breakfast- 2 eggs w/hot sauce, 2 bacon, baked sweet potato w/ghee and cinnamon
Snack: 2 1oz meatballs and 2 strip bacon
Lunch: Sonoma Chicken Salad lettuce wraps, larabar, apple berry la Croix sparkling water
Snack: Epic bison bar
Dinner: Slow roasted pork Mexican bowl (sautéed red cabbage, cilantro,onion, tomato, avocado)

Day 3:
Breakfast- 2 Eggs, 2 Bacon, Sweet potato w/ghee & cinnamon
Snack: 3 strips bacon
Lunch: Beef & Turkey chili w/tons of veggies
Snack: small handful mixed nuts and some grapes
Dinner: Chicken Cacciatore

    Yea, I know... not supposed to be snacking but I'm just so hungry sometimes! So it's not too bad so far. More to come!
  -Jamie

Dawns take on days 2 and 3..

Surprisingly, they are not as bad as I expected.  Like Jamie said, the food we are eating is quite tasty, but I miss my snacks!  I noticed that I woke up with a headache yesterday (typical hangover, right) and then shit just went downhill! Little things, but enough to irritate me.  Then I couldn't sleep last night and became irrational. Very irrational. So I went to the couch at 2am where I slept until 5:15am and then became a happy camper.
Tonight at work I brought in 'snacks' for my group. It consisted of chips, salsa, and queso. I could get done on queso.  As I watched the group eat the treats, I snacked on carrots and had to remind myself why I was doing this.  I am doing it for so many reasons that one day I will write down, but for now I am happy where this is going.  Friday I have a training for work where they cater breakfast and lunch so that is what I am focused on now...Until then, happy/healthy eating...and onto day 4!

Whole 30 Day 1 complete!

     So here we are at the end of day1... not too bad! The food was good, I picked up a meal plan client, and got my ass back to the gym! Feeling good, motivation it up there, I'm excited, no complaints... YET! So, if you're not familiar with the Whole 30 program, you can definitely hit up their website (www.whole30.com) for more information, but the basic jyst of it is: NO gluten, NO grains/legumes, NO dairy, NO alcohol, etc. So, basically 30 days of super strict clean eating. The part that'll likely be the hardest is going from a plan that encouraged snacks between meals, making 5-6 small meals a day to one that promotes a 3 meal way of doing things. Today was definitely a hungry day, so there were small approved snacks to fill the gaps until I adjust.
     Here's what I ate today...
Pre-workout: small closed handful of raw mixed nuts, water
Post-workout: apple and almond butter
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 bacon, baked sweet potato w/cinnamon and ghee
Snack: Blueberry larabar
Lunch: Big salad w/homemade tarragon vinaigrette
Snack: Epic turkey bar
Dinner: Shrimp "tacos" with tomatillo slaw and avocado

Had a couple cravings for sweets after meals and a soda in the afternoon, but not giving in to that stuff, especially on day 1 hahaha.

My plan is to write a little every day just to chronicle my journey and the details of the 30 days. Bare with it! Thanks for reading.
  -Jamie

One thing after another...

    Ever feel like no matter how hard you try it just doesn't work? Or like the harder you try the more life throws at you? This is where I'm at right now. Not necessarily today or this week, but right now this moment. I'm feeling sorry for myself and completely defeated. BUT... here I sit typing this "confession" to whoever may read this hoping that by letting goof the words and the feelings it will free me to get back to my motivation and my goals.
     As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been trying to sort out some medical stuff, which resulted in a prescription for a very common drug that I've taken other forms of before with no issue. Well, this time the dose was considerably higher and attacked me with side effects. The worst of it all was dizziness that had me unable to stand up straight on Monday, and having to call out of work (which I can't even remember the last time that happened!). This was after a kitchen accident on Sunday where I lost a fight to a mandolin, which cost me the tip of my finger. Already feeling crappy... So, these 2 things had me unable to start the week with crossfit, which also makes me unhappy. With no idea about the side effects and trying to figure out what the hell else is wrong with me, Dawn started doing some research and determined it's the meds. I stopped taking them, and am currently waiting out the time release factor.
     Meanwhile, there was Easter on Sunday, my birthday on Wednesday, and who knows how many other excuses I could come up with for why I've already failed at my 30 day commitments. But ultimately... no matter what I say the reasons were, it happened, and I moved on.
     Batch cooking this week was minimal, but we made a batch of chili that was really veg heavy, cooked up some sausages with peppers and onions, made some oatmeal, and left room for things like the fantastic taco dinner one of my students made for my birthday dinner. We have made plans for the weekend, that of course have food and drink involved, and I'm not sure how I feel about it... guilt? disappointment? apathy? disregard? I dunno.
     Meal plans intrigue me and dietary information or claims that all these different chefs or trainers or celebrities or doctors make grab my interest, and while I'm not opposed to trying any of them or all of them (partly for the experience and partly to find what works best for me), I feel like I'm always explaining my food stuff to someone or talking about what new plan I'm on this week. It gets frustrating and it's hard to try to maintain some sort of social calendar without food or drink being involved.
   So... that's where I'm at with things right now, and it's not a great place to be, so I'm hoping this little venting helps with that. I am always open to thoughts or opinions or words of encouragement, so feel free....
        -Jamie

Bloggin' ain't easy!!

     And just like that it's been 3 months since either of us has written anything... sorry. So what has happened in that time?? Ugh... what hasn't!?! Dawn has found herself in a job that is right in line with the dream she had for her career, she has backed off of both boxing and crossfit due to injury (tendonitis in her wrist and thumb), has signed up for her next 5k, and has realized that with the season change it's now time for a new smaller wardrobe. I think that about covers the bulk of it. As for me... Still doing crossfit 3-4 times a week (and holy crap am I getting stronger!), am counting the days until my Spartan race, I have registered for school, and have also had some wardrobe changes. All in all, things are good... I have some health issues we are currently trying to figure out, but the results so far are steering away from anything serious, so that's good.
     So... the weight situation is a touchy subject... we have both been at a plateau for almost 2 months, which is SUPER frustrating! We have both seen changes in our body composition, and that's great, but sometimes you just wanna see a different number on that damn scale!!! With that, I've made the decision that we are going to try something a little different: 30 days of clean living. No eating out, no alcohol, no gluten, no dairy, minimal sugar, etc. Worth a shot, right?!? It couldn't have been timed better though, since I'm on spring break and able to cook fresh every night rather than batch cooking, but that's only one week, so back at it on Sunday.
     This week we are keeping it pretty simple: spinach shakes for breakfast every day, hard boiled eggs and clementine for snack 1, deli meat lettuce wraps for lunch, raw veg w/guacamole cup for snack 2, protein & veg for dinner. Also trying to grill as much as possible! Just because lol. Starting to look for recipes now for next week, will tell ya all about it as soon as I know.
     Now for the "other stuff"... last week there was a WOD that absolutely kicked my ass, and it was awesome! It was a Tuesday, which are always benchmark workouts; the ones named after heroes or have some level of status in the crossfit community. I was one of the last 2 people working while all the fit people had finished and were gathering their things to head out, I kept my head up and gave it everything I had. As I looked around, everyone had stayed... they were cheering on those of us not yet done. It felt good... they knew my name, they knew I could do this even if I didn't, they knew I needed that in that moment. I dug in deep and found every last bit of grit left in my and as I pushed through my final thruster, I dropped the bar and feel to the ground. I burst into tears and let go of everything that had ever held me back. It was that moment that I've read about in so many other weight loss journeys, but never had my own. THIS was my breakthrough. I grabbed my stuff and walked towards the exit, thanking everyone that was telling me "good job" as I left. I got into my car and began a full on sobbing scene. It felt good, it gave me clarity, it made me realize things about myself that I had never thought possible. That moment has help me set new goals, hit new PRs, lift heavier, dig deeper. LOVE IT!
    Thanks for reading, I know that was a lot of catching up, but I will definitely try to keep up on this thing more now that I have things to write about.
      -Jamie