Couch to CrossFit

It was like the nightmare where you're running down a hall trying to escape an unseen enemy, but you never get anywhere.  I completed the couch25k program and I was running 2-6 miles a day and still not escaping my very noticeable enemy...the 60lb of weight I gained during my first pregnancy.  How in the hell was I exercising so much and not losing a lb.  I came to understand how, after I took my first sip of CrossFit flavored Koolaide....and it was good!

My husband Chris and I were planning to attend a company Christmas banquet with all you can eat, deep fried seafood in December 2011.  I reluctantly agreed to workout with him prior to the gluttony.  He told me we were doing a CrossFit workout called "The Filthy Fifty".  "I don't like the sound of this", I told him.  But I told him I would give it a shot.  More than two hours later, I had finished 50 box jumps, pull ups, lunges, kettle bell swings, knees to elbows, push presses, back extensions, wall balls, burpees, and single unders.  Ok, so this was a baptism by fire into CrossFit, and he knew it....but what can I say, I like the pain, just a little bit, and there was plenty of that over the following week. 

Less than a month later, we were opening our own "box", the nickname us cf'ers use to refer to our gyms.  Chris pretty much lived at the gym, and I understood how much attention a new business needed, so I stuck it out with him and worked out almost every day.  These were some grueling workouts.  The workout never got easier, but I got stronger.  A couple of months in, I started looking through some photos of my son as an infant and noticed that I hardly recognized myself in the pictures.  I hadn't realized just how much I had changed.  My weight hadn't fluctuated enough to account for how different I looked... That's the day I stopped weighing myself.  The thing about CrossFit, is that it is not unusual to see a drop dead gorgeous and lean woman that weighs 150+ lbs.   As you pack on the lean muscle, the fat seems to drop off. 

After 6 months of CF

Before Crossfit

I'm not going to lie, my training did seem to plateau every now and then.  Chris and I started to focus more on our diets.  Most elite cf'ers stick with a combination of paleo/zone diets.  I had a really hard time considering giving up bread, potatoes, rice, cheese.  Another cf'er told me this analogy;  "Your driving a high end sports car now...you cant piss in the tank and expect it to run well".  That's the Gods honest truth when it comes to nutrition and CF,  sadly enough.  I slowly weened myself off of everything that wasn't meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some fruit.  Nothing processed is really acceptable.  This is what we call "clean eating".  The truth is that no matter how much I fight it, when I fall off the wagon, I really pay.  Eat like crap=feel like crap and perform like crap.  This leads me to the point of starting this blog.  I am a fat kid at heart.  I adore food and cooking.  I have had to adapt to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay happy.  A Virginia cannot survive on grilled chicken and steamed broccoli alone.  I need flavor, texture, and interesting presentation to keep myself happy.  I have created and stolen several recipes that have become staples in my household over the last year that I would love to share with anyone who feels the same way as me.

This month I am starting a fitness challenge and my goal is to start truly utilizing Zone portioning along with paleo foods.  As a disclaimer, several of my recipes include non-paleo foods, for example, garbanzo beans, though they are included in acceptable zone foods.  I don't follow either diet religiously.  I choose a healthy blend of both concepts.