New progress pics and a new eating plan: Eat to Perform: Day 1 Control Day

I can't believe that it's almost been a year since I started this journey. I'm so proud of how far I've come - I feel so much better, I'm so much stronger, and I never would have thought I'd be wearing medium tops/dresses, and size 10 pants (still having a blast shopping for a brand new summer wardrobe)! What's even more amazing is how EASY it's been to maintain my progress so far instead of sliding back into old habits and regressing after a few months like I've done EVERY TIME in the past that I've had some success. I'm finding it so easy to avoid dairy and gluten and limit most other refined stuff - just knowing how crappy it makes me feel makes it easier not to crave it. Not gonna lie though - pizza still smells amazing, and it kills me a little not to dig in to my kids' pie!!!

I finally took some updated progress photos. I can see a little change between my last 2 sets of pics - I think there's a little more definition in my arms and back, and a little less muffin top. I have to say that I do love seeing some definition in my arms - for the first time in my life, my wardrobe consists of LOTS of sleeveless tops instead of hiding my arms under 3/4 sleeves all summer.

  

However, I feel like I've plateaued lately. For the first few months, I saw such amazing changes in my body so quickly. However, for the past 8 months, I've only averaged about a pound/month of weight loss. Although I know that my body composition has still slowly been changing for the better (definitely been packing on some lean muscle mass), it's still frustrating to see such slow results now. I try not to weight myself too often since I know that the scale isn't a true reflection of health. But I also feel like my progress at CrossFit has been plateauing. I've tried twice over the past few months to hit a new PR for my power clean and missed (came so close to 145#, but just not there yet). And I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to do any heavy squatting due to the knee pain I've been battling (which is slowly getting better too - seems like time is the answer more than physical therapy). 

So, after trying to Zone my meals for the last couple months without much success (too much work to figure out every meal in the exact macro ratio, and I feel like I've been eating less protein), I've decided to change up my diet a little. I'm going to try a program called "Eat to Perform" which basically theorizes that you need to properly fuel your body to gain lean muscle mass, which in turn will burn more calories, causing you to lean out. For almost a year now, I've been trying to keep under 2000 calories and 100 grams/day of carbs, but according to ETP, I need almost a third more calories and at least twice the carbs to have enough energy to perform fully and make gains. They also want you to eat your body weight in ounces of protein. Based on those factors, you fill the rest in with fats and try to maintain a specific macro ratio within your calories as calculated by your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) (but throughout the day, not Zoning each meal). So, I signed up for a month-long trial in their "science lab" which gave me access to a forum with coaches, research, and a community of people doing the same thing. For me, they suggested the following:

• 2500 calories (which is slightly less than my TDEE/Total Daily Energy Expenditure of 2780, but I'll work my way up to it)
• 225g carbs on the days I do WODs, and drop to 100-125g on rest (control) days
• 185g protein
• 95g fat

So, it's a small leap of faith to eat more calories and carbs after seeing such success with the low-carb way I have been eating for a year, but I'm going to give it a try for a few months. I think the tricky part will be getting all that protein in each day, and to get into the practice of leaving out those extra 100g of carbs on my "control" days once I get accustomed to eating them again (especially since they encourage "white" carbs like cereal, rice, white potatoes, and even rice krispie treats - all things I've considered off limits for so long!). I'm going to try to stick to the program really well this week so that I have lots of fuel in the tank for my No Baby, Leave the Socks On throw down on Sat 7/12. After much debate (specifically dreading of the 2nd WOD), I finally signed up for the scaled version since I just haven't been feeling very RX-y lately. Hoping to really kill the scaled division! Also focusing on drinking a full 3 liters of water/day (half my bodyweight in oz).

Here's my first day on ETP, which is a "control" day since I didn't WOD today. However, I'm supposed to load up on some carbs for dinner and right before bed so that I'll have enough fuel to WOD at 5:30 am in a fasted state to maximize fat burning.

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled with spinach, green pepper, and onions (the line cook added a little butter - hope that doesn't wreck my stomach!) sausage patty    topped with hot sauce 1/2 grapefruit
Lunch: 6 oz pulled pork tenderloin topped with BBQ sauce 1 cup broccoli
Snack 1: 4 oz Boar's Head Cajun turkey/chicken with 1/2 T coconut oil 1 cup strawberries & blueberries
Dinner: 6 oz London Broil Grilled asparagus 1 sweet potato (as oven baked fries with coconut oil)
Snack 2: Healthy & Fit Chocolate egg-based protein shake 4 oz lite coconut milk 1 frozen banana

Totals	2,077	122	96	192	24	4,631
Your Daily Goal	2,500	219	97	188	15	2,500
Remaining	423	97	1	-4	-9	-2,131
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Fiber	Sodium

Huge 5k progress in a year!

May 2013 vs May 2014

It's been a full year now since I ran my very first race in May 2013: the Ten Penny Shamrock 3.3 miler. Since I was NEVER a runner my entire life, I remember being so proud of myself that day, particularly that I was able to jog the entire time and never had to stop to walk (except for a quick water break here and there). A couple months earlier, I didn't think that was possible! But my sister's trainer convinced her to try it, and she asked me to come too, so I jumped in. That race marked the beginning of a little addition to races, and I did 4 other 5Ks after it last year, improving my time slightly each time. I also incorporated a lot of jogging into my workout routine (lots of 5K jogs around the neighborhood, and even on 2 vacations!), so I was really getting into a running mode. All that stopped when I started CrossFit in September though! 

On May 18th, I ran the same Ten Penny Shamrock 3.3 miler course again so that I could see just how much I've improved in a year, and I am so pleased with the results! I beat last year's time by 6:20! That's huge! I took off almost 2 mins/mile! I was particularly pleased since I haven't run more than a mile straight since my last 5K in October (where I averaged ~11:50/mile). But I've definitely been strengthening my endurance in CrossFit WODs.

2013: 40:56 (~12:40 mile)

2014: 34:36 (~10:48/mile)

I weighed 214 when I ran the race in 2013, and was about 187 this time. So that's "only" a 27 pound difference, but I know my body composition is so much different now than it was then - so much stronger, thanks to CrossFit. And I think my cardio system has improved too - although my heart rate was up, I was able to carry on conversations with some fellow runners into the 3rd mile. CrossFit is doing amazing things for me.

Although we have signed up for some obstacle courses this year and a couple 5K fun runs, I don't really feel that compelled to sign up for lots of timed 5Ks like I did last year. I'd rather focus on CrossFit and the CrossFit throwdowns (like No Baby, Leave the Socks On coming up in July!). Maybe I'll try one more 5K at the end of the year - perhaps repeat the Y's 5K Spooktacular on the same course to see how that time improves from last October. And hopefully, I'll have dropped a few more pounds and gotten even stronger by then!

However, I do plan to run the  Ten Penny Shamrock 3.3 miler again in 2015. Goal: sub-10-minute miles! 

Team Human Cone kicks off 2014 with our third FitAthlon

Team Human Cone has big plans for 2014. We have 6 events planned (in orange below). And I have another 5 events (mostly CrossFit). Busy year! Love these challenges! 

Unfortunately, our first event, Color Me Rad, got rained out (well, for Team Human Cone, anyway). The event still went forward, but we opted not to do it in 45-degree rain because that just didn't sound like fun (lesson learned - don't sign up for races in April). So, since I wasn't running a 5K, I decided to go to CrossFit and do that WOD...which included running 1.5 miles in the rain (some of which while carrying 2 53# kettle bells!). Couldn't win!!! But now I feel silly wearing the Color Me Rad t-shirt I picked up... However, we then signed up for the Color in Motion 5K on 6/14 (same idea). So we'll get our color run in after all.

So, Team Human Cone reunited at FitAthlon as our first event, albeit a much smaller team than last year. One teammate was sick, and 2 others decided they were done with FitAthlons after last year's event. So, it was just the 3 of us this time.

This year, we decided to up the ante and signed up for the Challenger division. It wasn't too much different from the Beginner division that we did the first two times last year - just added a couple more rounds of push ups/sprint/burpees at the start and a little more distance to things like the lunge walk. Our team ended up in different heats since we arrived a little late. Brian and I ended up in a heat of only 5 people after our teammate's heat, which was a little silly. And I really felt like a dork when I was the last one on the field finishing up my final round of push ups/sprint/burpees while everyone was cheering me on. Oh well, I know I was doing the movements with proper CrossFit form, which takes a little longer.  

O M G, THE LUNGE WALK. It HAD to be a lot longer than previous years. It had to be at least 300 meters, and, as Challengers, we had to do an extra 20 yards or so. Brian and I both started the walk doing proper lunges - hands behind head, and knees fully to the ground. Our legs were burning after a while, so we had to take breaks after seats of 10 or so. But we slowly made progress. One of the volunteers even complimented us on our form. But soon the next wave of Beginners started catching up to us, mainly because the majority of them were doing some of the most pathetic lunges possible. More like just walking with a little dip. I stuck with my good form for about 3/5ths, and then I figured, if you can't beat them, join them. Even still, my legs were wasted from so many good lunges already that I was still slow. At this point, I envied the decision the other Cones made to skip FitAthlon this year!!!

I definitely felt stronger in a few of the events due to all of my CrossFitting. The tire flips were a breeze, as were the backpedaling chain pulls thanks to my better grip strength. And I found the rope slams to be really easy, and then I noticed that I was subconsciously really driving the motion with my hips to use more power (definitely Oly lifting experience at work there!). Climbing the 10 ft walls with ropes was a breeze too, although the fact that they were nice and dry helped a lot there too. I still wussed out on the 5' walls though - instead of trying to just launch myself over, I still used the little steps. But I definitely got over them more easily since I didn't end up with the huge bruises on my legs that I had in previous years. And, I did a lot more jogging between obstacles, so my endurance was definitely better. 

The highlight of my day was that I actually did the monkey bars!!! The volunteer there said he would help me, to which I replied, "You mean like I help my kids?!!!" Well, I wasn't about to let him do that! So, I did it all by myself! Woo hoo!!!  And at the end, I still had enough in the tank to do a really good sprint to the finish line (I even heard someone say, "Whoa, look at that girl go!"). Very proud of those 2 accomplishments.

I ended up finishing in about 1 hour 25 minutes. Although somehow, I missed the ruck sack run. Oops. My watch said I burned about 1120 calories. Not bad for a morning's work. 

I knew while I was doing the lunge walk that it was going to hurt on Sunday. And I was definitely right... My quads and glutes were already getting a little stiff Saturday night, and were KILLING me by Sunday morning. Once I got moving though, they stretched out, and I was able to handle the WOD "Annie" which is 50-40-30-20-10 reps of alternating DUs and sit ups. And I even chased my son around the soccer field a little right afterward (but should have worn knee sleeve since that really hurt my left knee - the knee sleeves are really making a huge difference in supporting my knees). But after taking a nice nap with him in the afternoon, they were a mess. And continued to be a mess throughout Monday and into Tuesday. Ouch. Did some major growing!!!

Another CrossFit throw down in the books

Did the Festivus Throw Down on 4/19/14, and had a blast! It was so nice to have both Brian AND my sister Amy there competing together! Loved seeing them push themselves to the limit!

This was my 3rd throw down. Definitely  seeing improvement:

• 10/19/13 - Festivus (Novice division - came in 26th out of 29)
• 12/7/13 - No Baby, Leave the Stockings On (Scaled division - came in 40th out of 72)
• 4/19/14 - Festivus (Intermediate division - came in 11th out of 22 - top half!)

The WODs:

• WOD 1:
• 1k row for time. 6 min cap
• Once the running clock hits 6 minutes move on to WOD 2:
• WOD 2
• Athlete must establish a 1 Rep Max clean in 6 minutes.
• This will be scored as 2 separate WODs. The athlete may rest as needed after finishing row before the 6 min mark. If an athlete does not finished the row in the 6 min they will be penalized :01 for every METER under 1k
• WOD 3:
• •10 KB swing 53# male/35# female (intermediate) and 35# male/26# female (novice)
• •20 sit ups
• •30 Box overs 24″ male/20″ female
• •8 min AMRAP
• Score is reps
• WOD 4:
• 2 minutes max wallball 20# male/14# female (intermediate) and 14# male/10# female (novice)
• Rest 1 minute
• 2 minutes max double unders (intermediate) and singles (novice)
• Rest 1 minute
• 2 minutes max burpees
• Score is total combined reps from all 3 movements

I started off really strong since the first event was a 1K row for time. I'm a pretty decent rower, so I decided to go all out to see what I could do. I finished in 3:45. By the end of my heat (which was the 5th heat), I had the #1 row score - woo hoo!!! Then 2 girls in subsequent heats beat me by a few seconds, so I dropped into third. But I was pretty psyched about that while it lasted!

But I think I used a little too much gas in the row since I couldn't hit my current PR in the clean, which is 140#. In fact, I only got to 125#, which I was a bit bummed about. I tried 135# twice, and just barely failed the second time. A fellow boxmate asked to borrow my 2.5# plates, so I couldn't try for 130#, which I think I could have gotten. If I'd gotten to #130, I would have tied for 10th place (and landing in 9th because my row time was better). Oh well. My friend hit a new PR which is pretty awesome.

The box overs in the 3rd heat killed me. Although I was happy that I was able to do them at all since my left knee had been bugging me for a couple months. It was finally feeling decent enough to do these just a few days prior, and mostly thanks to the Rehband knee sleeves (these things are life savers!!!). One of my favorite coaches, Jill, was my judge, and she kept cheering me on to go faster, but I just couldn't. Maybe if I'd been able to practice the technique over the previous couple months... So got a pretty crappy score on that WOD (3rd to last). 

However, I was thrilled to watch my sister do WOD 3. She'd been having quite a hard time stepping onto a 20" box with her short legs and the amount of body she had to get up there. Since starting CrossFit 4 months prior, she'd been stepping onto piles of plates, slowly working her way up to 20". She'd just finally stepped up onto on 20" box a few days prior, but with a little help from a coach to catch her hands at the top. So, Coach Tim ("Mr. Festivus" himself) allowed her to step up onto a 20" stack of plates instead of the box (after he put the kibosh on her attempt to withdraw from the Games for fear of this very WOD). And she did! Again and again!!! It was definitely mind over matter. And the more times she did it, the more confident and faster she got! So many people were gathered around to cheer her on - it was awesome. Huge physical and mental progress for her!

In the 4th WOD, I was pretty happy with my wall balls (almost completely unbroken) and burpees (unbroken), but the DUs were not with me! So frustrating! I'd been practicing DUs quite a lot over the previous 2 months, and had gotten to the point where I'd hit 30+ unbroken a few times, and could consistently do runs in the teens. But they just weren't coming together. So, that dragged my score down a bit. 

So, in the end, that row really saved me in the rankings to get me into the top half (BARELY since I was tied 11th of 22, but just edged ahead since my row time was the tie breaker). I was really concerned about entering as a Intermediate instead of a Novice since I certainly don't meet all the Intermediate criteria (can't do pull-ups, can't deadlift 1.5x my body weight, just barely 6 months of CrossFitting, >10 min mile...). But, in the end, I think I was in the right division. I would have taken 1st in the first 2 WODs, and done really well in the 4th WOD doing single unders. The box overs still would have slowed me down a bit though. But I think I would have ended up in 2nd place, and feeling like I shouldn't have been there when most of the other girls I WOD with regularly were in the Intermediate division.

I really enjoyed watching my husband compete too. That was the part I really missed when I did the Stockings competition since it was only girls and he stayed home with the kids instead of coming with me. I liked sharing the day with him and watching him, and having him cheer me on too. And having my sister there made it even better! My Dad even stopped by, but he just missed our heats in the first 2 WODs, and didn't stick around log enough for the next WOD. Oh well. 

So, all in all, another great event. Looking forward to moving into the top quartile in my next event (Baby, Leave the Socks on in July!)

Food prep, bone broth, and knee sleeves... Oh my!

So, still stuck in my plateau. It's been a couple months now, and it is growing frustrating. Granted, I put a little dent in my stride when got a little friendly with booze a couple weekends ago (a couple drinks on a date night Thursday, a couple more at a show on Friday, and a couple drinks Sat afternoon at our CrossFit End of Opens BBQ and then again at another show that night...). Okay, A LOT friendly. That's pretty out of the ordinary for me - I typically only have drinks once/week a couple times/month. 

So, I recommitted to eating clean after that weekend so I could try to drop a couple pounds before Festivus. It's been 2 weeks of pretty clean eating (I didn't even have a drink a my Book Club on Friday, but did indulge in some potato chips...), but no progress on the scale. Grrr. Maybe now that Aunt Flo has come and gone... 

The coaches at our box offered to start doing 2-month break-out sessions in small groups for people who have some goals they want to work on. I jumped on board, and was assigned a great coach - one of the owners, a former body builder who was on his way to the CrossFit master's regionals until an injury sidelined him. So he knows a thing or two about training and nutrition! He suggested I follow more of a Zone macronutrient ratio (40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat) instead of the more low-carb/high fat ratio I've been following (averaging 20% carbs/30% protein/50% fat). So, I'm going to try to add a few more starchy-carbs in, especially right post-WOD, and see if that changes things. He also suggested trying intermittent fasting, which I also just read about in Chris Kresser's book, Your Personal Paleo Code. These are my 3 goals:

1. Bust through this weight loss plateau and lose a couple pounds (tweak ratios to follow Zone, maybe do so intermittent fasting)
2. Make progress toward first strict pull-up (do some eccentric work 3x/week, more volume with just red band)
3. Work on mobility for IT bands to prevent future knee issues (need to stretch and foam roll EVERY DAY)

Coach Glenn is also a big proponent of having a meal prep day (or two) each week, which we've been in the habit of doing for a while now. We had a good prep day on Sunday: 

• chicken & bacon cooked up and portioned for salads (and salads & homemade dressing prepped)
• pulled pork from the crock pot with sides of coleslaw (w/ homemade mayo) and cauliflower
• great big frittata sliced up for breakfasts
• son's lunches packed
• fruit portioned out for us and the kids

I also started making and drinking bone broth. It's supposed to be really good for you since it contains so many minerals and collagen, especially for healing the gut and helping with joint issues by reducing inflammation. So, I cooked up my first batch using the Whole9's recipe with a rotisserie chicken carcass (although it's probably crappy quality since it's from Sam's), and it is pretty delicious. I've been drinking  cup a day like a hot tea before bed. Last night, I got the bones from the T-bones and rib-eye from dinner with my Dad and sister - these bones are from a local family farm, so they should be a little better quality. I'll cook up that batch tonight and see if I like chicken- or beef-based better.

My left knee is finally coming around, just in time for Festivus. Yay! I was actually able to do a WOD with 200m runs yesterday, which I could not have done a week ago since the back of my knee was still really tight. I still can't bend my left knee quite as far as my right since there's still a pain on the outside, just below the joint, but it's far better than it was. I went to see the ortho doc again, and they gave me a topical steroid that I use instead of the Mobic (maybe I'll make the switch once I run out of this 3rd round of Mobic). And they prescribed more PT, but not sure I'll go if I can really commit to the IT band mobility stuff - why pay for it at PT when I can do it myself?! 

At Coach Glenn's advice, I finally ended up buying some knee sleeves, and have worn those at 2 WODs now. They definitely do feel like they give me some support, and DEFINITELY keep my knees nice and warm because they are ALL sweaty when I take them off! I got the original Rehband Model 7051, which is apparently discontinued now in favor of a thinner material. All of the reviews that I read said this older model offers more support since it's thicker. I ordered mediums since I was just barely into the large measurements, and some people have said they'll stretch a little (and I'm hoping my legs will continue to shrink a little more!). So they're definitely on the tight side - it's a little bit of a struggle to get them on and off! But once they're on, they don't slip, which I was concerned about. I was able to run 1400 meters and do a ton of double unders without needing to adjust them once. While wearing them, I finally dared to practice some box overs and wall balls. The box overs felt ok, but the wall balls still got a little pinchy on my knee - I'll just keep staying away from squats until Festivus to heal a little more before then.

My CrossFit 6-month anniversary - big accomplishments and big changes!

Wow, I can't believe it's already been 6 months since starting CrossFit. I am so proud of what I have accomplished in those 6 months. 

I had a huge CrossFit success today, which was the perfect way to celebrate! My latest fixation has been getting my first toes-to-bar (T2B). In the past couple weeks, I'd progressed to getting my feet about a foot away from the bar, and seemed to be getting the hang of the kipping movement when doing knees-to-elbows (or somewhere close, anyway). But now I REALLY wanted one because T2B were included in the fourth CrossFit Opens WOD. After obsessively watching every video on the interweb for tips since the WOD announcement on Thursday, and getting some coaching during yesterday's WOD (and getting soooo close - mere inches away!), I walked into the box today hoping for just ONE T2B. After one more dose of advice from another coach (stand on a couple plates to give a little more leverage into the swing), and BAM! First T2B!!! And then a couple more during warm-up! AND THEN 23 DURING THE WOD! I'm so psyched! 

Some of my accomplishments since starting CrossFit 6 months ago:

• Movements:
• Deadlift: never done other than straight leg --> 235# in Dec (probably more now)
• Squat Snatch: never done before --> 90#
• Power Clean & Jerk: never done before --> 135#
• Box Jump: never done before --> 28"
• Rope Climb: never done before --> 3 in a matter of minutes!
• Toes to Bar: never done before --> 23 in 10 minutes!
• Handstand Push-ups: never done before --> getting down a few inches for several reps
• Turkish Get-ups: never done before --> 35#
• Overhead Squat: never done before --> 85# in Oct (probably more now)
• Double Unders: never done before --> 21 strung together; 76 in 2 mins
• Strict Press: 45# --> 90#
• Pull-ups: using green & blue band in Sept --> got one with only blue band
• Mile Run: pretty slow... --> 8:48!

• Throw downs
• Placed just about last in my first throw down
• Placed solidly in the middle of the pack at my second on in Dec
• High hope for my third one next month, and in the Intermediate division instead of novice!

It's been quite a ride for the past 2.5 years. But I'm proud to report that I'm down 69 pounds in that time!!! And CrossFit has made all the difference in my body composition.

• On 12/7/10, after 3 months of recuperation from my repeat c-section for my son, I got back on the Jillian Michael's circuit training wagon. That day, I weighed 256 (down about 20 from the day I walked into the OR, well, including a baby).
• Over the next couple years, I fought hard to get my weight down to a low of 205, but it was a constant roller coaster. For my son's sake, I stuck to a dairy-free diet for the first 10 months postpartum, which helped, but then I gained some back when I added dairy back in (come on, 9 months without pizza and ice cream?!! Payback time!). This is the story of my life - always yo-yo-ing. 
• On 5/19/13, I ran my first 5K. I got the 5K bug, and did a few more that summer, including a couple obstacle courses. But, despite all that running, the weight just would not come off.
• On 8/11/13, my 38th birthday, I was back up to 221.5 after a couple back-to-back vacations (and lots of ice cream). Typical.
• On 8/12/13, I started my first month of really a strict Whole30 Auto-immune Protocol. My body was SOOO happy to have gluten and dairy eliminated, and in that month alone, I dropped 14.5 pounds down to 207. Wow. Finally finding out about my food intolerances made ALL the difference.
• On 9/24/13, I started CrossFit at 204.5 pounds (I'm still amazed that I LOST WEIGHT during our Disney vacation the previous week). 
• On 3/24/14, 6 months later, I've lost another 17.5 pounds, down to 187. Granted, the rate of loss has slowed down A LOT, but I've also been putting on some muscle at the same time, and I love that I'm getting stronger. Steady progress.

3/25/13 - 3/14/14

I am definitely the fittest I've even been in my life, and on the path to keep getting better! For the first time in my life, I feel I am in control of my body, and can achieve the goals I set for myself, and not backslide like I've always done in the past. Paleo + CrossFit is my answer. Only ~20 pounds away from my goal! Fittest by 40 should be an easy road from here on out!!! 

So much for a 30-day Challenge...

Well, that 30-day Challenge didn't go as well as hoped. I was going really strong for the first almost 12 days, until Valentine's Day came up, and I really wanted to have a nice date night with Brian. That delicious evening of chips & salsa and margaritas marked the beginning of my downfall, which was very disappointing since I was really on a roll - I'd hit a new low of 189.5, which was amazing! Then I bounced back up into the low 190s again...seem to be stuck there.

I was a little afraid to look at the scale after returning from a girls' weekend away at the Cape with some friends. A fair amount of booze and salty snack food was consumed. However, I didn't risk getting any fried wings at the bar we went to - I've learned my lesson on that. So maybe it wasn't not too bad...

My right knee is finally feeling 95% better after 4 weeks of PT. However, now my left side is all jacked up. I've got lateral pain on my left knee, and it seems to be affecting my left hip (feels like I've been jogging) and my left calf has been sore for 5 days now, so something is pulling there too. Hoping to visit my chiropractor friend this week to see if she can straighten me out. I also tweaked the lower left side of my back during some heavy deadlifts on 3/1, and that seems to be taking a little while to get back to 100% too. Why the hell am I such a mess?!!!

My knees felt pretty good on Fri 3/7, so I did some deep squats in the CrossFit Open WOD. You had 3 minutes to do 2 rounds of a couplet of 10 overhead squats (65# RX for women) followed by 10 chest to bar. And then repeat that every 3 minutes, but adding 2 reps to each part of the couplet. I still don't have chest to bar, so I was just hoping to get all 10 overhead squats, and I did (maybe it was because I was wearing my brand new Oly Lifters - oooooh!!!)! So I was pretty pleased about that since I've never done that many OHSs with that much weight. I tried for one unassisted CTB (got about 1/2 way), then I did some pull ups with a green band. I wish I'd used a red band too since I fizzled out on the pull ups with just the green - I only got 8 pull ups in the second round. So, I just hung around and cheered on everyone else who was doing the WOD, including my sister who got in a ton of rounds!

Had an appt with my functional practitioner on Thurs 3/6. Typical news - not much change in my thyroid. My cholesterol did increase a little after laying off the fish oil supplements a little, so he said to stay on that dose. The big news was with my bodyfat analysis though. I'M FINALLY ONLY OVERWEIGHT!!! My bodyfat % dropped to 29.1 - woo hoo! And my BMI is 28.65. Back in August, they were 38.5 and 33.3 respectively - big change!!! That's almost a 10% loss of bodyfat, which is awesome. I've lost about 13% of my bodyweight, so having 10% of that as fat is awesome - I know I've lost at least 5 pounds of water weight, so that means I've definitely gained some muscle since starting CrossFit.

I finally bit the bullet and invested in a good jump rope: RX rope with a heavier Buff weight rope. The heavier rope is supposed to help me get the timing of DUs more easily since I'll be able to feel the turnover of the rope better. Can't wait until it arrives so I can start practicing! The countdown to Festivus is on! I like this pretty coral color - hope it matches my Nanos. ;) It was a little pricey to get into this calibur of rope, but at least the replacement cables are only like $10. I'll probably get a slightly lighter weight rope once I've mastered my timing.