If you are the person who can "stick to it" during the holidays, 2 things...
1. I hate you.
2. How, oh how do you do this?

I mean, for me...
No person could convince me not to eat mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving...or stuffing, possibly my favorite food in the world.

Yes, I ate stuffing on Thanksgiving and turkey and mashed potatoes.

BUT...
I skipped the thousands of calories worth of sweets that I usually stuff in my face.

I have learned, during this journey, that NOTHING packs weight onto my body faster than sugar.

I didn't do perfect. I drank and ate and I didn't work out...ekk, that was the worst part. I hang my head in shame.

I did skip almost all of the sweets though. I know, I know, I'm not looking for a medal...well maybe a tiny one. What?! Just say no to sugar...SO HARD FOR ME!


So here are my mini-goals to complete before the end of the holiday season:
1. Drink a TON of water. 8 glasses a day.
2. Find the Crossfit in Durango so I can keep up with my workouts in CO.
3. Only drink 1/2 of the Black Box* instead of the whole thing over the course of the week...I kid, I kid...I think ;)
4. Curb the sweets. I can't say none at all because that will make me too sad. But I can certainly stay far away.
5. Go sledding and running and playing with my family...lots of calories to burn!

*Yes this is boxed wine but don't hate. Try it. It's super good wine. Mmm, Black Box Cabernet. Yummo.

Yeah for the Christmas season and non-food deliciousness:

Christmas Lights

Christmas Tree Smell

Family Time

Snowballs and Sledding

Do you ever try on your pants and realize that you're fat?
So, you start working out and eating right, hard core. Gettin' your ass to the gym, lean protein, lots of veggies, lots of water and then...and then nothing happens?

Or you lose 1 lb?
Or, worse, you GAIN weight?

MOST FRUSTRATING FEELING EVER.

So, you say, "Eff it, I'll be fat. My body just wants me to be fat cause it doesn't like losing weight."

And a few days later you cry, cause you re-realize you're fat and you can't just wish yourself thin.

Oh yes, I have been there.

Progress is so slow it seems non-existant. But, guess what...you're changing. It's happening. I found this quote and I think it's such a good reminder that although progress is slow, you're still progressing.
So...I say, stick with it. Give it 12 weeks.

Not to disappoint my faithful followers (thanks Dad and Best Friend) but this blog won't be quite as self deprecating as most.

Why?

I am.

So, here's why I'm so kick ass.

I didn't go to the gym on Thursday. That's all a story for another blog entitled...well I'm still deciding between titles:
"10 Reasons Car Maintenance is Important"
"Why the !@#$ Am I Not Married Yet?!"
"Thank You Dad for Saving My Ass for the 10 Millionth Time"

Moving on. I didn't go to the gym on Thursday.

So, on Saturday when Derek and Boomer told me we were running...a post I read while I was on glass #4 of wine, I wasn't especially excited.

In fact I believe my exact words to my friends as I read were, "Seriously, this guy is a sadist. As if running isn't enough he wants us to do it at 6:30 in the GD morning ON A SATURDAY and as if to throw it in our faces he doesn't even break a sweat and runs twice as fast." I don't wanna go.

I went. I was late.

But...

I ran a mile without stopping.

I sprinted 12 100s...ok, I'm not that fast...ok, I'm way behind everyone. But I did it.

Then, I went to Crossfit 480.

We did a bunch of explosive lift-the-bar-over-your-head movements. I don't know all the names but I remember there was a Snatch in there which, I'm sorry, but every time someone says I feel like a 13 year old boy snickering because someone just said that.

Anyway, lots of those...done.


THEN, I stayed for the other workout.

500 meter row
25 Thrusters (life the bar over your head)...PS. Do you think someone gave these movements dirty names on purpose?!
30 Box Jumps
35...what was this? Something hard.
40 Sit-Ups
45 Air Squats
400 Meter Run

DONE. AND I kept up, on my time, with Mrs. Hot Gym Owner and Mr. Hot, Cut Boy. (I did need their encouragement A LOT on the last bit though. Thanks guys :) )

Oh did you think I meant in love with a man?! Ah, you young and naive readers, you ;)...but hopefully that's a soon-to-be-posted blog.

I have found a new love though...Spaghetti Squash. Why oh why didn't anyone introduce me to this deliciousness earlier?!

For those of you who have been living in a hole and have no idea what this amazing meal I speak of is, I give you "Spaghetti Squash for Dummies."

What is it?
It's squash (you know...of the ghord family, thinking pumpkins).

Why do they call it Spaghetti Squash?
After you cook it, the stuff inside (hmm, what's that stuff called? Looks like you're not the only dummies here :) ) comes out like strands of spaghetti.

Why is it awesome?
You eat it rather than pasta (no carbs, yahoo). It tastes amazing. It so versatile. You can put any kind of sauce on it.

How do you make it?
2. I put mine in a microwave-safe dish and put it in the zapper for 11 minutes (yeah, that's a long time).
2. Then I cut it length wise and use a fork to remove the strands.
3. I put red sauce on mine...with some meat (ground turkey) because I am a carnivore.


Enjoy...Delish.

The best part?
You can enjoy it without feeling guilty at all, or in my case without my coach giving me the What-the-!@#$-is-your-problem Eye.

Yesssss!

I have been doing the Crossfit 480/180 Challenge for 68 days...has it really only been SIXTY-EIGHT DAYS?!?!

Anyway I am learning so much along this journey. Here are the top 5 things I have learned so far.

5. It's a Team Effort
I can't say enough about having other people, the same people each time, work out with you. The people in my class are now my friends. We bitch (quietly so our trainers can't hear), we sweat, we work, we talk about our lives and (my personal favorite) we encourage each other.

4. Our Bodies have Rhythms
There are days where we are working hard not to STRUT around the gym, tapping everyone on the shoulder screaming, "Did you see that shit?! How awesome am I?" There are days that I look forward to going to CF480 all day. Then there are days that I need someone to scrape me off the floor after only doing 5 push-ups. My arms, my legs, my ass, my face...lead. The boys taught me...we all have rhythms and we just need to KEEP GOING.

3. When You're the Busiest is When it's MOST Important that You're There
It's no secret that I have my hands in a lot of pots at work. I say yes to way too many things and I have some perfectionist tendencies. It's right about...eh, 6 weeks ago, when I am super stressed at work, that I would have skipped the gym. There will ALWAYS be a reason not to go. Having CF480 and my class and my coaches give me a reason to go. Perhaps it's because I'm still a little scared of them but whatever it is...I get my ass there. In my world STRESS used to = me gaining weight. Not anymore.

2. I Still Hate Running
Yeah I'm way better at it than I was before...but it still sucks. Maybe next month I'll have magically been transformed into a runner...but you might want to exhale because I'm pretty sure there will be no miracles occurring tomorrow.

1. It NEVER Gets Easier, You Just Get Better
I posted this a long time ago but I have a secret...I totally didn't believe I actually would get better. I thought that was true for everyone else...but not me. Guess what kids?! It's true for all of us. Crossfit pushes me to my absolute limits everytime I go but each day I get stronger. I feel stronger. I can do more.


I'm kickin' ass and takin' names. Stay tuned for more progress.

Because I never remember to do it on Wednesdays :)

Sweat Pants from Victoria's Secret
I believe that if I could wear these comfy things every day of my life, I would do more cartwheels each day than I currently do...I actually don't do any cartwheels, but I bet I would if I could wear these because that's how happy I am when I'm in them. It's actually 85 degrees now so they're not totally necessary but when it dips down to 82...I'm pullin' those babies out!

They're expensive...when we're talking about pajamas but worth EVERY PENNY.

French Pedicure
I once read that when people are "groomed well" they are happier. Did I really read that or did I just make that up? Either way...I am happier when my toes are pedicured up and french toes make me feel fancy...they make me feel fancy when I'm wearing my sweat pants.

Justin Timberlake and Mila (I don't know her last name)
I think the prospect that these 2 might be a couple right now is so hot. They had so much chemistry in Friends with Benefits. I always love it when hot movie couples get together for real. The Notebook couple...so cute too. Now, I wonder if they would listen to me if I called up my friends David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston? Hmmm.

Black Box
Don't judge. Yeah it's in a box but it's not bad wine. My family and I polish one of these off each time we visit each other. Hmmm, perhaps that's not something to brag about? It's just so easy to drink...pour spout and you can't see the fact that you've had over a bottle, until the next day.

Real Simple Magazine
Super cute, super fast, super simple ideas.

I started Crossfit.

After the first month I had GAINED 2 lbs.

I felt like my Crossfit trainers were so disappointed. I felt like they were wondering why they chose me for this Challenge. I felt like they thought I was secretly eating Big Macs in the closet.

I kept coming back but only reason I kept going is because I knew quitting would give them something else to say about me.


I felt like I was getting stronger. I knew I was...but the scale, my pants, nothing was showing it.

I kept going...being terrified of the next time Derek said, "I know you're not gonna like this, but I have to have you get on the scale again."

This past weekend I went to a Halloween party and some of my friends said, "You look great! Your face is smaller. Your arms are smaller." I swear, comments like these are my crack. Ahh...I just can't get enough.

Today, Lauren said, "You look totally different. I was gonna tell you last week."
Ahh, more crack...and I'm such a baby I almost started crying.

Since I was on such a high I decided to hop on the scale (secretly, without Derek knowing just in case things still sucked).

I WAS DOWN 4 LBS!

I know that 4 Lbs in 2 months in nothing to write home about. But things are finally happening. I'm leaner. I'm smaller. And now it's showing on the scale.

I LOVE EVERYTHING. I love you Crossfit Trainers for believing in me and being patient with me. I love you Crossfit friends I have made who I always look forward to seeing. I love you supportive friends and family. I love the Crossfit workouts for being hard and never letting me get comfortable.


FI-NA-LLY things are happening!