Off to Korea!!

I am about to head to the airport!! I didn't really get much sleep last night because I am so excited about my trip, but I hope to get some good rest on the plane. Last night was a rather rough night... I had pre-packed many zone-friendly snacks and meals for the long (approx. 15 hour) flight. Well my parents felt that I was taking too much food and said some things that really hurt and upset me... I am just trying to eat as healthy as I can while on the plane and in the airports...what is so wrong with that?! oh well... today is a new day and it's the beginning of my fabulous vacation!! I can't wait to see Andrea and Alex!! Prepare yourself for amazing stories when I return!!! Adios... or rather.. "Han Yong" (Goodbye in Korean)!!!!

Not feelin well..

Last night I ate like crap... way too much cereal ... and I feel sooo shitty today. I've had a tummyache all day... ugh... the cereal was sooo NOT worth it!!
On a brighter note... I'll be on a plane to Korea and on my way to see my bff in a couple days!!!! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by!! I am super excited and I definitely NEED a vacation.
Well I gotta finish my defensive driving course before I leave for Korea... so I'm gonna get back to doing that now while layin on my tummy so it doesn't hurt as bad. I'll try to write more before I leave!!!

Spartan 300

Last week as I was checking out CrossfitCentral.com I saw this link and I have to admit that my body got super hot, I started sweating, became flushed, and started breathing heavy and hard. I got really nervous and didn't want to watch this because I was afraid of how ridiculous I might look. Well, I took a few deep breaths and clicked the link: CrossFitter Mindy McDonagh shares her experience after finishing the Spartan workout
I look absolutely horrible, but hell, I just did the SPARTAN 300 WORKOUT baby!!!! What do you expect??! I emailed the link to my Uncle and he described the video and how I felt perfectly.... "You looked exhausted but exhilarated and I am proud that you were able to accomplish your goal." So although at first I thought this video was extremely embarrassing, I now think it's pretty cool and I am thankful to have a video of my 1st Spartan workout experience!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

I am really excited about this weekend!! It is going to be a very busy weekend but also a lot of fun! Doggie sitting, birthday parties, driving to sa, housewarming party, hair appointments, spartan workouts, packing for Korea, spending time with family, friend's brother dj-ing, cooking yummy zone meals, and the list goes on! This weekend is going to fly by!!! And before I know it, I'll be on a plane on my way to see my bff Andrea in Korea!!!!!! Today, out of the blue, my mom asked me to teach her about zone and paleo!!! I am so psyched to teach her!!!! Well I am off to begin my weekend!!! I hope everyone has a super weekend!!!

Grocery Shopping

Last night I went grocery shopping and as I was walking down one of the aisles I realized how my "grocery shopping habits" have changed over the past few years. A lot of things in my life have changed over the past 4-5 years. I went to college, moved to a new city, moved into an apartment and lived completely on my own and started doing things on my own (like grocery shopping), decided to become a vegetarian, went on awesome spring break trips, was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, started working out regularly, and so much more. When I first began grocery shopping on my own, I bought all the foods I enjoyed eating. The chip and snack aisles were ones I always made a visit to. I never looked at the labels or ingredients. I rarely bought anything from the fresh produce area and I bought a lot of "food" from the frozen section. Frozen pizzas, hot pockets, frozen breakfasts, etc. Grocery shopping was rather simple and thoughtless. As I was swimsuit shopping for our spring break trip to padre in 2007, I noticed I had gained some weight. I realized that it was important for me to begin cooking for myself because I must have been eating too much crap food, so I asked Andrea for some recipes because she is a great cook!! My trips to the grocery store changed a little as I started making my way to the foreign lands of "fresh produce" and "meat". I discovered that cooking was fun!! Then, I made the decision to be a vegetarian. Again, my trips to the grocery story changed as I began reading ingredients and labels and selecting vegetarian foods while still preparing my own meals. I ate as "healthy" as I knew how to, and exercised, but I noticed that I was continuing to gain weight and it seemed abnormal. Andrea suggested I have my thyroid tested. After several doctor visits over a span of many months (I'll tell this story someday)... I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. This explained my continuous weight gain despite my decent eating habits and activity level. Thus, another change to my grocery store trips. I had to make a tough decision... my doctor told me that I need to avoid soy products and most vegetarian foods have soy. Even bread has soy!!! Thus, I slowly began eating meat again and taking thyroid replacement while watching what I ate and exercising. My focus now was to lose the weight that I had gained. Now, my trips to the grocery store changed SIGNIFICANTLY!!! It was no longer quick, simple and thoughtless. I read label after label, ingredient list after ingredient list, checking for soy, amount of fat, amount of sugar, etc. Grocery shopping became something I dreaded and that took a great amount of time. When I first made this change, I was very bitter. Grocery shopping made me feel depressed because I could no longer eat the foods I use to love and enjoy. I was angry and frustrated and really hated grocery shopping. I ate clean foods and lost a good amount of weight from eating well and exercising. Then I went through a phase of finding foods that I COULD have (soy-free, low sugar, low fat) and I found some excitement in grocery shopping. I then tried to find "substitutes" for foods I use to enjoy. I went down the chip aisle and discovered sun chips. I went down the baking aisle and found sugar-free, fat-free jello and pudding. My grocery list changed from 4 years ago, but I was now beginning to be okay with the fact that I couldn't eat frozen pizzas and hot cheetos anymore and realized it was not a bad change, it was actually a very good change. I did more research and learned the importance of eating "clean", non-processed, fresh foods. I then came to realize how bad these "substitutes" really are. They all have artificial sugars and your body is not made to digest that crap. So time for another change........ it was like anything I found that I liked was being taken away from me. No more sun chips, no more sugar-free, fat-free jello and pudding. No more splenda. I was upset for a little bit but then surprisingly, it was easy to stop eating this crap. So last night, as I was grocery shopping, I realized that I don't even go down any of the aisles anymore, I ride around the wall of the store. I now spend most of my time in the fresh produce and meat areas. Quite the 180 from a few years ago. I no longer step foot into the chip and/or snack aisles nor the bread aisle. I cut through aisles if I'm in a hurry and thats when I realized last night how much things have changed for me. As I glanced at the crap-foods I use to buy, I noticed myself feeling soo happy that I no longer buy those crap foods. That was a completely unexpected feeling. After always feeling angry that I couldn't buy snacks and chips and certain foods because of their ingredients and labels, it was surprising to me that I felt proud of myself last night. I was proud that I am now feeding my body the RIGHT foods and GOOD foods. I no longer even WANT the bad foods. weird huh? I feel better now, both physcially and mentally, eating good foods! I use to be angry at my "condition" for taking away the "yummy" bad foods I use to love so much, but now I realize that because of all the changes I had to make, I now have a much better understanding of healthy foods and I know what is good for my body and now I can have "yummy" GOOD foods. Now, my grocery trips have become quick, simple and thoughtless again! It is crazy how things work out! It is very interesting to me how things gradually changed and have played out. It wasn't a sudden huge change, rather it was a slow change that took place due to various unexpected choices and circumstances. I truly do believe that everything happens for a reason, even the things that we see as "not so good things". I now enjoy grocery shopping like I use to and I actually feel better about it now than I did when I bought crap food because I know that I am feeding my body the nutrients it needs!!! Like I said before, eating healthy isn't a bad thing... it's a very very good thing!!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating clean, non-processed, fresh foods! There are a LOT of things wrong with eating sugary, high-fat, crap foods. But frankly, the crap foods are tasty and easy to prepare, that's why everyone buys this crap food. Clean foods are yummy too!!! There is nothing better for your mind and body than yummy clean food!!! It's both good for you and tasty!! almond butter and an apple! strawberries, stevia, and some almond slices! sweet potato with cinnamon and chicken breast! a huge spinach salad with nuts, fruits, and seeds! It is all so colorful and delicious!! I now am so thankful for this crazy round-about way that I discovered how clean foods make me feel good and what foods are good for me. I also discovered a new love.... cooking!!! My Uncle and I both share this love for cooking and it's a lot of fun to share our recipes with each other! Everything happens for a reason... =)

I DID IT!!!!!

I AM SPARTA!!!!!!!!! This past Saturday I completed... yes COMPLETED, the Spartan 300 Challenge at the intermediate level!!!! I did make a few adjustments... jumping pull ups and most of my push ups were on my knees, but not all of them =) .. and I finished the workout in 19:38!!! I literally cried tears of joy after I completed it. I honestly did not think I was going to finish it. I am soo thankful for all my friends and fellow cfers and cf coaches who were there cheering for me!! You all really gave me that extra push I needed and I am so grateful for your encouragement and support!!!

Now the challenge begins... I have noticed that my energy level has been low so Coach Crystal adjusted my "diet". Hopefully this change will give me more energy and also help me reach my goals.

gotta run.. will write more later....

TGIF!!!

Happy Friday everyone!!! Today has gone by sooo quickly!! I began my day with a 6:30am boot camp and I don't think there is any better way to start the day!!! A lot of cfers came today and we had some affiliate coaches watching us!! I am so proud of all the cfers that came out this morning and kicked butt!! It was a tough workout, but we all completed it!! Mel has the brutal workout written out on her blog, check it out!! The hot topic of today was Spartan 300!! The challenge is tomorrow morning!!! I am not quite sure why but my energy level this week has been really low, but I am super excited about Spartan tomorrow and plan to get as much sleep as possible tonight!! I am psyched that Maggie, Mel, and I will be doing the workout at the same time tomorrow (8:40am)!! YAY Team MMM's!! hehe. I know that we are all going to kick butt and surprise ourselves at how strong we really are! I am looking forward to the next 6 weeks and watching my strength increase and body fat % decrease. It's going to be a tough but fun ride!!! I wouldn't be able to get through it all without the wonderful support from all the people I have met at CF. Every single person there is rooting for you and always has a positive attitude. I am so thankful to be a part of such an awesome community!!! Good luck to everyone who is doing Spartan tomorrow!! Get lots of rest and drink plenty of water!!!!

Goodbye Yesterday

Yesterday was a tough day for me, both mentally and physically. I have this crazy addiction to granola... yes... of all things... granola. I have been eating so much granola over the past few days that I think I am finally almost sick of it. Well, in the midst of trying to get over my addiction to granola, the other day I found these "veggie chips and fruit chips" at whole foods and thought to myself, maybe the "crunchiness" of a "healthy snack" is what I need, rather than granola. These are basically veggies and fruits that are sliced and baked. They are much lower in sugar and fat vs. granola. So I bought some. I began my day yesterday with the goal to zone all day and get back on track with my fitness goals. Breakfast went well, then around lunchtime, I got a little hungry, but I wasn't starving, so I decided that I would have some of these "veggie/fruit chips". Well, they ended up giving me a bad tummyache that lasted all day. no fun. So I didn't feel like eating at all the rest of the day but I knew I had CF that evening and needed food in order to get through the workout. So around 3 I ate an apple and a little bit of a larabar. Then I felt terribly bloated. I got some coffee and forced some ground turkey down my mouth around 5 hoping some protein would make me feel better. Well I started to feel better as the day ended and made my way to CF. We began our workout and immediately I felt the lack of food affecting my performance. I had no energy. I was still very bloated and this just made me extremely frustrated. Mentally, I got down on myself and started getting frustrated with the fact that I haven't lost any weight over the past few months even though I have been working out and watching what I've been eating. I broke down into tears after the workout... pathetic.. I know. I was also so disappointed in myself because I wasn't able to lift as heavy as I wanted too. I now understand the meaning of food being fuel. You must give your body the right foods in order for you to feel good and to go full out during your workouts. I felt so terrible yesterday and the previous days, that now I am determined to zone and eat the foods that my body needs. So far, I have done really good today and feel great! I'm a little tired, but that is probably just due to lack of sleep. CF tonight at 6pm!!! I'm gonna give it my all!!!

I want to thank my friend Bonita for her constant support and words of encouragement. I met Bonita through my coach, Crystal, and I have never known such a positive and strong woman. She is so driven and inspires me to work hard and to never give up. I send her several emails almost on a daily basis (I probably drive her nuts) and she always replys with positive words and advice. One of the things I love about her is that she doesn't bullshit anyone, she speaks her mind, doesn't care what people say or think, and is always honest. She tells me things that I may not want to hear, but NEED to hear. Her mental and physical strength is incredible!! She is unstoppable! I would not be able to get through many of my "mental battles" without her. Although we have not known each other for very long and we really don't know each other very well, she has had a significant impact on my life and I am so thankful for her unconditional support. Thank you Bonita for being such a wonderful friend.

Gettin Psyched for Spartan!!

I can't believe how quickly time has flown by... this Saturday is the Spartan 300 challenge!! I did a prelim spartan challenge a couple weekends ago with some friends and in the 20 minute time limit I completed 25 pull ups (assisted with band), 50 deadlifts (67 lbs), 50 push ups (most on my knees), 50 box jumps (about 12" box), and 50 floor wipers (65 lbs). I still had 50 kb clean & presses and 25 pull ups left to complete the entire workout. Thus, some of my goals for the final spartan challenge in June are:

- complete the entire spartan 300 workout in the 20-minute time limit
- be able to do at least one pull up with no assistance
- do at least 10 more push ups on my feet than I do this weekend
- zone at least 6 days a week

The hardest part of this challenge will be trying to zone while I am in Korea. I will be going to Korea for two weeks right smack in the middle of the 6 week spartan challenge. I want to enjoy my time in Korea and try all the different Korean dishes, but I don't want to fall off track. I feel silly for worrying about this when I should be excited about visiting my mother's home, my bestest friend and her fiance, and my family; but instead... my worrying-ass is stressing about how I will stick to the challenge while I'm in Korea faced with temptation and having no idea where I will be able to do my WODs. What I am super excited about though is that Andrea and I are going to go hiking and she is so pumped to do CF WODs with me!!! I guess only time will tell how this trip will affect my goals.

A New Beginning

This is the first time I have ever blogged... I am a blog virgin. There have been many unexpected changes in my life over the past couple years and my best friend introduced me to the world of blogging and said that its a great way to express yourself; so given that I want an outlet to help me get through any new obstacles that life presents me with, I am going to give blogging a try. I am now focused on living life to the fullest and my adventures and challenges will be noted here. Strap yourself in and hold on tight, this rollercoaster ride, also known as my life, is like one you've never imagined. Enjoy!!!