An End to CrossFit? Not Really.

My 30 Day Challenge this month was 30 Days of CrossFit, more specifically defined for me as working out one day on one day off. Sadly, scheduling didn't quite work out. While the facility where I do CrossFit is top notch, they have been slow to make schedule changes that were previously promised to be published in January. Without changes to the schedule I was unable to do one day on and one day off. To add to the complication, my life changed drastically as I accepted a full-time out of the home work position that made it impossible for me to adapt to the training schedule that was previously set.

I am disappointed and was really looking forward to the physical challenge. However I still maintained the 3 days a week and made it at least 4 days for 2 out of the 4 weeks.

So what changes did I see?

The scale has moved down a bit and each class I can tell the difference in my strength and endurance as we complete the exercises. Around the middle of the month, I was feeling a bit discouraged that I while I could tell I was getting stronger I wasn't seeing change, but now as we are at the end of the month I can see it. My clothes are fitting differently (better) and of course I feel great after every workout.

Lesson Learned

• With my 30 day challenges..be careful when planning a challenge that includes others' plans. I can only control, what I can control. Yeah, that's a no brainer, but worth stating as I think about March's challenge.
• Be patient with seeing the physical change. It does and will come. Not as quickly as I'd like and not that I won't whine about it, but it will come.
• I'll continue my 3 days a week and sometimes add a 4th. If the schedule changes to allow me to adjust I'll revisit this challenge later this year.

February's Challenge - Getting Fit with CrossFit

Last year I said good bye to all the baby weight (and then some) and lost over 50lbs. I can't believe I had that much to loose. WOW! Ever since I've dropped the weight I've wanted to sculpt and tone. While I did some weight training and cardio over the past few months, I've desperately been seeking a regiment that combines both for a comprehensive full body workout. CrossFit does that and more and I've loved every single workout!

So here's where the idea of 30 Days gets me into trouble. 30 straight days of the intensity of CrossFit would not be the best idea for me. I don't want to overtrain or hurt myself. So instead I talked to my trainer to see what he recommended I do. He's recommending one day on and one day off, but I've essentially been doing that for the last 7 weeks. I want to add a little more challenge (and I'm hard-headed) so I'm going to attempt two days on, one day off. This will be interesting because I'm not sure how my body will respond, but at the same time I'm excited to see the results.

February Fit here I come!

The End of Raw

So here it is. The end of my first 30 Day Challenge.

While I did allow for the special occasions, I remained raw for all but 4 days of the month. I cannot explain the clarity that comes from eating raw; my body feels cleaner and my mind crisper. Not to mention I dropped those holiday pounds!

I'm too much of a steak and potato girl to eat like this long term, however, one of the lessons learned is to use it as a tool to detox and start a new when I feel sugary or carby cravings coming on. So what else did I take away and want to try to implement into my life as I move forward....

• How quickly I can throw together a smoothie or salad for a quick meal or bite to eat and how filling they can be. I'll never have an excuse to skip a meal and believe me with 3 little ones excuses are a plenty.
• Allowing for celebrations and to live my life is key to my sanity. If I can't have fun, what's the point?
• I really like the idea of carefully watching what I eat during the week when it is more scheduled and allowing for my weekends to be "free."
• I almost think I'd like a vegetarian lifestyle...again if I wasn't such a steak and potatoes gal. :)

Onto my next challenge....

T - 1 Day

With one day to go there was reason to celebrate and celebrate I did. No raw today. While I could've waited and I thought long and hard about doing do, I'm going back to my rule of living my life. It was truly a special day and deserved to be treated as such.

With that said...a very odd thing happened today. For the first time since I've been raw I had extremely low energy for my very intense workout. This was a complete disaster. I've been including protein in my diet and working out 5 days a week (intense 3 days) have not had any problems except today. Today I could not do it.

The End is Near

It's been great being raw, but now I want a burger! Not a craving. Not that my body needs it, but I just want it. Just a few more days.......

No Cravings!

One of the things I've really enjoyed about going raw is once I got through the first few days (and the sickness) I haven't really had any cravings. Of course I'm looking forward to having a juicy burger at the end of this month's challenge, but I haven't had a real craving for anything carb, sweet or salty. I've even gotten my cycle this month and had no cravings associated with it. Hmmm....must figure out a way to continue this trend. I love the no cravings!

Mid Month Check In

Feels good to be raw.

I took some time off from being raw this weekend to celebrate a few special occasions. It was nice to be indulgent and enjoy, but it feels good to be raw again. My body feels cleaner and less bloated.

I'm a little more than 1/2 way through the month and have started to think about additional lessons to take away from this month's raw challenge.