Sunday, August 30, 2015

I'm on a fancy omelette kick.

8.30.15

Life
The last few days I've been on a fancy omelette kick. Normally my omelettes are made in my Tupperware Breakfast Maker because I'm fixing meals in a hurry. I've had a bit more time the last few days and have made omelettes in a real pan, thus, they are fancy omelettes.


Omg this. Today's omelette was THE BEST.  Pan fry one slice of bacon in pan and then drain off grease. Throw in 50ish grams (each) of baked sweet potato and black beans. Then throw in some onions (mine were pre sautéed earlier in the week). Next pour in 1 egg and 2 egg whites (beaten) and sprinkle with Tupperware Southwest Chipotle Seasoning. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Flip it out and sprinkle with siracha. Yum yum! Oh! And eat the bacon!  20 protein, 12 fat, 23 carb, 4 fiber (fat is inaccurate due to draining off bacon grease and is actually lower, but I'm just going off labels.)


This omelette was pretty tasty as well! I purchased some huge bags of spinach marked down at Kroger so I sauteed the whole bag with some chopped onions in a little coconut oil. Then I added 3 ounces shredded chicken and poured in 1 egg and  two egg whites beaten. I topped it with black bean dip and Siracha. 43 proteins, 21 carbs, 8 fats, 11 fibers 

Training
This week was pretty hard on this lady! Lots of running and barbell cycling! The biggest highlight though was Jeremy's challenge to me to work my goat every day. A goat is something that you aren't good at and you actively avoid doing. For me, it's wall balls. If you are unfamiliar with this exercise, it goes like this. Hold a heavy ball in front of your face (14# for women, generally), squat with it and then throw it up to hit a target 9-10 foot up. Catch and repeat ad nausem. 

Because I'm 5'3" and blind, this exercise has always been a burr in my butt. 

However, 4 days this week I incorporated wall balls into my warm up. I did varying weights and reps, but always a 5 minute EMOM. (Every minute on the minute). 

And you know what? By the end of the week, they didn't feel that bad! I'm going to continue this goat work until I love wall balls. 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Who am I kidding? I'll never love them, but I can learn to tolerate them.

My reverse dieting is pretty on point, but I can tell I'm still burning more calories than I am eating because Thursday I was hungry and ate all the things. Haha! Tomorrow my calories go up again so hopefully training starts to feel better and recovery is better. I'll keep you posted.

Best Thing I Came Across Lately



I love books, always have and always will. And on Friday I wandered into Angel's Attic and they had all hard backs on sale for 25¢ and all paperbacks on sale for 10¢. Heaven! I keep a list in my phone of books that friends have recommended or that I have heard about that I want to read so I immediately pulled it up. Low and behold, I found a few that were on my list and few that weren't on my list, but were by the same author. Score! My hint to you is to keep a list of books you are interested in and just a generic wishlist of things you are looking for so that when you go to the thrift shops or yard sales you know what you need and don't purchase a bunch of random crap. 

Stay Strong Y'all!

Do me a favor and subscribe to my email list. Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, you'll get first notice when I finish this really cool project I am working on! I promise not to spam you or sell your information! 

This project is one that I hope will enrich your life! It's taking a lot of things I've learned through the years and boiling them down into quickly digestible truths. And because I think I'm funny, I think it will be pretty entertaining as well. I've set a goal to be done by Thanksgiving! Countdown to Black Friday!


Friday, August 28, 2015

It's a good day!

8.28.15


Life

Awhile back I talked about how I was renaming my anxiety as excitement. What a difference that has made! I have so many ideas and things I want to do that I feel a level of stress quite often that is annoying. But realizing now that it's really not anxiety (worry), that it is excitement about all these crazy goals and ideas make it a more positive stress.  For example, I woke up Sunday in a great mood and did my normal morning routine. Get up, get coffee, set outside and read. Since I'm reading some really inspiring and life changing books lately, my mind automatically goes into over drive and I am stimulated with a feeling of "go go go go!" Before, I would have read this as anxiety that I'm not doing enough, working hard enough, making enough money, etc. Now I just tell myself how blessed I am by all the possibilities in front of me. I remind myself that I don't have to do anything. I am choosing everything.

Without going into details, many of you remember that on the way to St. Louis for Regionals I got some really bad news of a family member's cancer diagnosis. Everything about that situation is looking up and hopefully, is completely over. Thank you all for you thoughts and prayers!

Training

I feel like my CrossFit engine is coming back! Training two-a-days is starting to feel normal and my body is cooperating pretty well. We've been running a lot, which is not something I normally enjoy, but I'm learning to embrace it. 

This week we racked up over 8 miles in various time/ speed domains. Hello calves and feet! 

Here's an idea of a track workout we did.

4x400 with a 3 minute rest between
3x300 with 2 minute rest between
2x200 with a 1 minutes rest between
5x100 with a 30 second rest between

And then lots and lots of lifting, pull ups, muscle ups, handstand push ups, squats...you know..just the usual general physical preparedness stuff.


I randomly decided I wanted to learn to throw a tuck.
I'll have it by the end of the year.


Best Thing I Came Across Lately


Tick Tock, Tick Tock

More interesting to us, elevated cortisol also skews time perception – making us feel as though we’re always behind schedule and time is always running out. As T.S. Wiley and Bent Formy, authors of Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival write, “Chronic high cortisol… makes you feel chronically rushed.  It’s the altered time perception that fosters much of the late-night stalling before bed, while you stay up under the impression that there must be more to do or that you haven’t finished your work.”  So it’s like the worst kind of chicken/egg – we are stressed because we think we’re behind schedule, but we think we’re behind schedule because we are stressed. Brutal.
                                                                 From Stress Addicts Anonymous

OMG this article is on point. If you constantly feel, stressed, busy and on a tight schedule, maybe you are a stress addict.


Stay Strong Y'all!

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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

A rant. Death to Toned and Bulky!

I've been working hard this year to eliminate negative words from my vocabulary. So far, I'm doing great. Now I must move on to bigger things and help all of womankind by encouraging the elimination of a deadly phrase.


This phrase makes my ears bleed and my vision go red.

It makes the muscles of stomach clench up and my jaw jut out and my nostrils flare.

For everyone's safety, this phrase should never be said in my presence again.

Ever.

"I just want to be toned"







It just frustrates me that women have been brainwashed into thinking lifting heavier weights will make them "bulky!"  They think they want toned, but they don't realize that toned is only achieved via lifting weights!


Webster-Tone: having or showing strength or firmness

Urban Dictionary-Toned- Visible definition in muscles as a direct result of having low body fat and reasonably well formed and built muscles.


According to Webster, you have to have strength to be toned. Strength is developed by progressive overload of the muscles. This only achieved through lifting progressively heavier weights.

According to Urban, to be toned, you have to have low body fat. And body fat is 90%  a result of diet! And since I'm ranting, strength training causes more metabolic activity than cardio therefore you will get a bigger calorie burn from heavy squats than running a jillion miles. And muscle is more metabolically active than fat so the more muscle mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate (BMR).


Even if I decide to live with the word, toned, how do you expect to get that way without lifting heavy AND watching your diet?

I don't think people mean they only want to be "toned", I think what they are expressing is that they don't want to be "bulky".

And then that just blows me up as well, but.....

 If they mean big like a bodybuilder when they say bulky, then that is no accident and is a result of really hard work and diet. Those ladies are kicking all our asses in the hard work and dedication department.

If they mean bulky like just big overall, then that's all diet. Step away from the excess fat and carbs.

And then if they are referring to me as bulky then I'm just confused.

Stay Strong Y'all!

Friday, August 21, 2015

IIFYM Part 2: What Are Your Caloric Needs? My amazing daughter and some wise words on competing.

8/21/15


Life

This was a wonderful week! My daughter started her third year of college and got offered the position of director of the local theater's production of "Yes, Virginia". She is really talented in all things theatrical and has acted and sang since she was in fourth grade. She started directing as a sophomore in high school and has professionally directed for the last three years (if she gets paid, it's professional right?).


She is majoring in theater now after trying to find a more "stable" career path the first two years of college. Moving to New York and getting into theater is what she really wanted to do after high school, but mean old mom and dad suggested college first. She loves bringing awareness to mental health issues so she started with psychology. She also loves the SVU and Criminal Minds applications of psychology so she was actually a double major with criminal justice. While she enjoys them, she knew that it wasn't truly her passion and has absolutely found her niche in the Murray State Theater Department. She now plans to get her MFA and maybe teach college....or head to New York!



Watching her in that environment makes my heart sing. I know that is where she is truly happy. That is where her heart is. I hope she always is able to stay true to her passions and be blessed by always being able to do what she loves.


And I hope she is able to support herself since she isn't going the "stable" route. :)

Learning

Let's talk IIFYM, Part 2. Last week we talked about what macros are and this week we will figure out what you caloric needs are. If you missed last week, check it out here.

First, let's define a calorie. 

According to Merriam Webster a calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius. 1000 of these calories is called a 'large calorie' and large calories are what we commonly think of as food calories. 

How do we know how many calories are in foods? Well, this is one of my favorite things ever. It's the ....

BOMB CALORIMETER 

Well, it's not really one of my favorite things ever, but I love the name. It's almost like a super hero's name!

Back on track. The bomb calorimeter is a device that they place food in. In there it is surrounded by water and they magically set the food on fire. As the food burns, it lets off heat and the heat raises the temperature of the water. BOOM, see calorie definition above! Yeah, that's the bomb calorimeter in action!

Our bodies need calories for fuel. Generally, the younger folks need more calories than older folks. Active people need more calories than inactive people. Bigger people need more calories than smaller people. 

Most Americans have a very messed up view of calories, but that is a post for another day. 

How many calories do you need? Well, there is no way to know exactly, but a good start is to first determine your approximate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is how many calories it takes to keep you alive, while doing nothing but laying in bed. Just breathing and....breathing.

If you enjoy math, here is the formula.

Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

If you would prefer to not do any ciphering, here's an online calculator


Now we move on to the Harris-Benedict Equation. This takes your BMR and adjusts it based on you activity level. Be honest with yourself here and think about your entire day, not just the hour you are at the gym.


Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:


  1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
  1. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
  1. If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation =      BMR x 1.55
  2. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
  3. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Now, if you are very muscular and lean, it will slightly under-estimate your calories and if you are extremely obese, it will over estimate your caloric needs. If either of those apply to you keep that in your back pocket for later.

Yay! You now know your approximate daily calorie needs to maintain your weight!

Click here to read IIFYM Part 3!

Training

I'm not dead. That's about it. 

Best Thing I Came Across Lately

A friend from another box has started chronicling her CrossFit journey and I really enjoy her posts. This one, on competition, is spot on.
Competition.
There are 570 million results when you Google this word. It can mean fighting for awards, recognition, a mate or status. In CrossFit it is about bettering yourself...ultimately. But there is competition between athletes...oh yes.

Read all her thoughts at Only Five More Pounds.


What topics related to nutrition and/or IIFYM would you like me to address? I'm not a registered, licensed dietitian, but I do have my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certificate. And I read a lot about sports performance nutrition. And I scored a perfect 36 on the reading portion of the ACT. So, that's about the same, right? Lol, sorry, I couldn't resist. 


Stay strong y'all!


Proudly linked up at:

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Do me a favor and subscribe to my email list. Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, you'll get first notice when I finish this really cool project I am working on! I promise not to spam you or sell your information! 

This project is one that I hope will enrich your life! It's taking a lot of things I've learned through the years and boiling them down into quickly digestible truths. 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

I'm not perfect....what happens when my macros are "whatever"

8.19.15

Life

Just so you all don't think I'm perfect or anything (lol!), let me tell you about the week since Dallas. After weigh-in, I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted, in any quantity until Sunday night. And let me tell you, I can eat with wild, reckless abandon! I can eat way more than J!

 Here's the highlight reel over the course of 5 days....

Cici's pizza buffet- so many slices and so many cinnamon buns!

Hardee's thickburger and large curly fries

A donut (yeah, only one. Weird huh?)

3/4 of a Chocolate Reese's Cake

1 package of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies

3/4 of a pan of chocolate eclair

Little Caeser's Deep Dish Pizza

6 Cookies and Creme PopTarts

A lot of milk chocolate chips

A lot of candy corn

2 Cliff bars

A huge peanut butter and jelly sandwich

I regret that I did not make it to a Cold Stone Creamery for a ginormous Chocolate Peanut Butter Perfection.


And the reward for this hedonism?

I puked while training.

I had night sweats.

I couldn't sleep.

I got some kind of sickly crud.

I gained about 6 pounds of bloat.

(Now is a great time to mention I'm a nutrition coach, right? Lol, hit me up for coaching. I know the struggle is real!)

Someone asked me yesterday if it was worth it. 

I don't think it was! Yeah, that junk tastes great going in, but my body did not like it at all! Normally, I allow myself treats whenever I want them, within moderation. So if I want cookies, I'll get a couple. If I want pizza, I'll have some. I have been doing IIFYM for about a year now and 95% of the days I am on point, but you do have to have some fun. If you have a big contest or meet coming up, then your fun gets limited because you are choosing to put your goals ahead of your temporary food enjoyment.

When I allowed myself to just go whole hog for fun, wow! I cannot imagine how people walk around eating junky all the time, not realizing that the reason they feel crappy is because of the food they are eating! Obviously, (I hope!) no one eats as much junk as I did those days. But the American diet on a day-to-day basis isn't much improved over my celebration consumption.

I am pleased to say that I'm back on the healthy veggie and meat diet for the past two days and my crud is going away!

Completely random, but have you tried Thred Up, yet?

Have you heard about Thred Up? It is an online consignment store that is so simple to work with. First, the clothes on their site are super nice and very reasonably priced. Second, they will pay you for your clothes! All you do is request a free bag and then stuff it with your gently used, name brand clothes (kids and ladies!) and then stick it in your mailbox. Shortly after, you get an email telling you how much you earned! Easy!

Right now Thred Up is offering my readers a deal! If you sign up through my link, you will get a $20 credit on your first order. Yep! $20 dollars of free stuff! Start shopping here!

Hint: My favorite thing to do is go straight to the clearance section and filter by my size! So many cute, inexpensive yet quality items!


Training

We have a really big team CrossFit competition coming up in a month. We have sent teams the last two years and done ok, but this year we are going for the podium! It's been really exciting around the box because we have so many people interested in competing that we are having to have tryouts! I fully intend to earn a spot on one of our team so that means me training has amped up to a new level. With weightlifting I did a lot of work, but I also got to rest between sets. Now, there ain't no rest for the wicked! I'm doing two-a-days trying to get some cardio back and last night I did so many dang sprints....so many.... I was trying my hardest to catch J on each one, but he always stayed just a tick ahead of me.

I'm definitely not as good as I was prior to my CrossFit hiatus, but I'm stronger and my wods aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. My recovery time is getting better and my endurance is picking up. All in about 5 days so in a month, watch out!

Best Thing I Came Across Lately

Secrets to perfect health, from "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne


  • The placebo effect is an example of the law of attraction in action. When a patient truly believes the tablet is a cure, he receives what he believes and is cured.
  • "Focusing on perfect health" is something we can all do within ourselves, despite what may be happening on the outside.
  • Laughter attracts joy, releases negativity, and leads to miraculous cures.
  • Beliefs about aging are all in our minds, so release those thoughts from your consciousness. Focus on health and eternal youth.
  • Do not listen to society's messages about diseases and aging. Negative messages do not serve you.
Stay strong y'all!

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Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, I'll send you my weekly planner printable! 

**Affiliate link** When you use the link above to shop at Thred Up, they give you $20 to spend and they give me $20 as well. It's a WIN WIN! 


Sunday, August 16, 2015

The Day Everything Went Right. Masters World Cup 2015



Everything about the Masters World Cup is still very surreal and emotional. The last time I stepped off a platform before MWC, I was crying because everything had went wrong and I had bombed out of the meet. If you are unfamiliar with that story, read about Regionals here.  This time, I stepped off the platform crying again, but for a totally different reason.

I had intended to regroup and go for it again at the Pan-Am Masters, but scheduling the trip was going to be tricky and then my back flared up.That finalized my decision to not lift at Pan-Ams. 


I was frustrated. Then I decided to accept the USAW/IWF invitation to lift in Dallas at the World Cup and I committed to myself that this experience would be completely different than Regionals.


If you have heard of the power of positive thinking, I decided to employ it wholeheartedly for this journey. I am generally a positive person, but sometimes, the gremlins in my head get rowdy and drown out any sweet nothings the little maguies might be saying. 




First was a positive reminder on my phone.  My knee sometimes gives me fits because my quad gets too tight and my back tightens up thanks to my tight hamstrings. This positive thought would appear every single time I looked at my phone. Because of this reminder, I did my stretches and all the things I needed to do to overcome the aches and pains. Also, every time I saw this I visualized the medal being placed around my neck. 


Then I laid out my training plan and my nutrition plan for the next ten weeks. I was weighing around 53 to 54.5 on any given day, but the goal was to lightly cut down to 52.5 so that weigh in would be a breeze. No repeats of St. Louis were going to happen.


Two weeks out from the event I started visualizing every lift I intended to make. As I sat drinking my coffee each morning, I would visualize what the bar would look like. What color plates would be on there and how it would feel in my hands. I mentally went through stepping on the platform, finding my focus point and making the lift. I saw the judge giving me the 'down' signal and I heard 'good lift'. Then I smiled as the gold medal was placed around my neck. 


And then the day came that we arrived at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. 


When we got to the hotel it was about 6:30 PM, I immediately began unpacking and prepping for the morning. On the bench at the foot of the bed I laid my bra, undies, jogging pants and zip up jacket I would wear to weigh in. On top of the fridge, I placed a drawstring bag with my credentials, drivers license, room key, good luck card and pop-tarts inside.

I got out my shaker cup and put in two scoops of Progenex Belgian Chocolate More Muscle. I brewed two cups of coffee and poured them in, shook and then placed in fridge. A post it note that said, "grab shaker cup" went on top of the drawstring bag.

Can you tell I was serious about this going smoothly? I had to weigh in at 6:30 AM and I am not a morning person so I was taking no chances. I wanted to be able to roll out of the hotel room, weigh in and immediately start hydrating, caffeinating and fueling.

Then I had some work I had to do for the business in order to truly quiet by mind. If I left that stuff to do later, it would just bug me the whole time. About an hour and a half later I closed the computer ready to completely focus on the task at hand.

At this point I had some pre-game jitters and Jeremy was gone to Tiger's Den CrossFit to get his workout in. To calm my mind and nerves, I decided to wander around the hotel and get my bearings.

The first place I went was to the check scale.




Then I went to the training hall and actually thought about picking up the barbell a few times, but as I was pondering this, two gentlemen came in and struck up a conversation. We had a great discussion about weightlifting and CrossFit and how CrossFit has been great for increasing the interest in weightlifting.

Whereas I am fairly new to weightlifting, one of the gentlemen had come out of retirement for this meet and was a former Olympian! Like, the real Olympics! He wrestled in Seoul in 1988 and competed in weightlifting in Sydney in 2000. Alex and Craig were both super nice and we chatted until I realized how late it was and how my booty needed to be in bed.


As I laid down to fall asleep, I again visualized the big lifts I was going to hit. My goal was 55 in the snatch. I saw the yellow plates, the little plates and the Eleiko clamps. I saw myself step on the platform and hit it smoothly. My goal in the clean-and-jerk was 75. I saw the big reds, the little plates and the clamps. I addressed the bar, cleaned it, stood it up quickly and drove my head through on the jerk as hard as I could. 

At 6:15 my alarm went off. I brushed my teeth, put on my weigh in ensemble and grabbed my stuff.



There were already a lot of women sitting out in the hall waiting their turn. As I joined them I saw a lot of familiar faces. Ladies I had lifted with in previous meets, ladies I followed on Instagram and ladies I had stalked on Instagram since I knew they were in my session. Haha!

We were all in really good moods and we were chatting and sharing stories of how hungry we were and how happy we were to be there. We all probably looked like little homeless children with our ratty hair, scruffy clothes and knapsacks filled with food rations! One lady was asked about the tattoo on her foot and her story really moved me. If you missed it, look here.  One really cool thing I've experienced with weightlifting is that even though we are sort of competing against each other, we all recognize that it's really us against the bar. Everyone is generally nice and I talked to all kinds of great women that morning, both in my session and not. We all know that it doesn't matter what anyone else does, we can only control our time with the barbell.

Weigh in was taking too long in my opinion, and when they finally called me it was already 6:50. I handed my drivers license over to the marshal and declared my opening attempts at 45 and 65. As I was talking, I was stripping. I wanted  to get this part done so that I could start hydrating and eating!

I had been visualizing that the scale would read 51.5, and from the weigh in the night before, I knew that is what it would say.

I got a happy surprise though when it actually read 51.21! I opened up my pop-tarts and protein coffee and started celebrating!

As long as I was under 53.0, I was fine. But our session was extremely close in totals and I knew there was a good chance I could tie with someone. If that happens, the lighter person wins. This 51.21 was amazing and was the lightest I can remember weighing ever as a non-preteen.

I went back to the room and took a shower. I drank a bottle of water and then went to the warm up area at about 7:30. My session started at 8:30. I found a platform and started doing some dynamic stretching while listening to my favorite lifting music. At this point, 1/3 of the battle was over and it was time to start getting my mind focused on lifting.

When you enter a weight lifting meet, you declare your opening attempts at weigh in. I declared that I was going to take my first lift at 45 kg. In reality, most people do not actually open with their declared opener. You can increase your opener two more times before you actually go out on the platform. J and I had agreed that I would open at 50 and then probably go 52 or 53 and then 54 or 55. We have a great partnership and agreement that he makes all the warm up decisions and platform decisions and I just lift the barbell.

When they called us out to do introductions, I was overcome with giddiness. I felt so ready. So prepared. I knew it was going to be an amazing day!





In the back, I started my warm up lifts. When you are in the warm up area, there is a screen where you can see what weight is on the barbell on the platform and who is lifting. J tries to keep me right with the platform, but on the snatch, I need a lot of repetitions to warm up, so sometimes I like to get ahead of the bar a bit. 


I was lifting and watching the screen and the bar got to 44. A few ladies lifted and then it went to 45 and my name popped up. J went to the marshals table and bumped me to 47. I hit 47 in the warm up area, then 49. When my named popped up again at 47, J moved me to 50. According to our plan, I hit 50 in the warm up area so that I would be completely confident on the platform. 


And then it was real. They called my name for 50 kg and I walked out on the platform. The lift went off like nothing and I was grinning ear to ear. That was the most I had ever hit at a meet so anything I hit after would be personal record! 


J declared my next lift at 52 so I had a couple of minutes to rest. I closed my eyes, put my head phones in and visualized hitting it over and over. I've done 52 multiple times in training, but I've tried 52 at 4 different meets and never hit it. Today was going to be my day. 


And I did it! I teared up and was so excited that I had set a new PR! 


The decision had to be made though, 54 or 55 next?


While I had visualized 55 and wanted 55, we decided to go with 54. It was still going to be a 4 kg meet PR and I've never been 3/3 in the snatch. 54 sounded good to me. 


And then I was up again, just like that. I chalked up, found my focal point and addressed the bar. I smiled as I set up because I knew this was happening. And just like that, it was over my head and I was getting the down signal. I heard "Good Lift!" and was just overcome with joy!




I got some high fives in the warm up area from those around me and then grabbed some food and drink. There were still a few ladies that were snatching and then there was a ten minute break before the clean-and-jerk. Since my lifts were pretty high in the c&j, I had a decent wait before I had to lift again.


I wanted to stretch and process for a bit about the snatch session before I turned my mind to the clean and jerk. But as I was stretching I started hearing, "no lift" and "she needs this one to keep her in the competition" and "no lift" again and it set my mind into territory I didn't want it to go in. Some thoughts that ran through my head were...


"Oh shit, no lift. That sucks!"

"But if she bombs out, that helps me!"
"Stop it, Angie!"
"That's mean! You want to win but not that way!"
"Your thoughts manifest themselves into reality, if you think about her 'no lift', you'll get one, too!"

All these thoughts are running around in my head with the 30 second buzzer going off and 'no lift's bouncing around the room. 


The coach we are sharing a platform with asks J where I am sitting in the standings, 


"LA LA LA I don't want to know!"


I quickly grabbed my headphones and cranked the Rob Bailey. I needed to focus on my own lifts, and not what was going on with other people. "When the sun rises...I wake up and chase my dreams..."



With the clean-and-jerk, I don't need as many repetitions to get ready as I do with the snatch. I had declared 65, but the plan was really 70, then 72 or 73, then 74 or 75. My meet PR is 72, but after Regionals, I wanted to play a little conservative. And since I had nailed all my snatches, the thought of going 6/6 was tempting. 


I warmed up with some light cleans with double jerks. Then I started doing singles as it got heavy.


65 and my name popped up. J sent me to 67.


I hit another lift and then all of sudden the bar was at 70 and it was go time. 


I tightened my belt, chalked up and walked to the bar. For a nano-second, terrible, ugly thoughts of how I missed this same weight at St. Louis flooded my mind. I shook it off, smiled and lifted. If you watch the video, it is one of the ugliest cleans I've ever done. My mind wasn't exactly in the right spot and my feet never moved and I sat forever in the bottom. Once I stood it up though, I knew I was good. I smiled again, chomped my gum (a very redneck looking habit, but I NEED my gum) and nailed the jerk. 


I HADN'T BOMBED OUT! I HAD DONE IT


With that lift I had set a new meet total of 124! My previous was 122. Everything else was going to be cake!


We decided on two goals at that moment. Go 6/6 and hit a new meet c&j PR. While 75 would have been tasty, 74 was completely in my confidence range. 70-72-74 was the plan, but J was going to make changes if needed to get me on the podium. My job, was just to lift, not think.


At 72 I was completely calm and ready. The clean was easy. The jerk was not the prettiest, but it was given three white lights. Again, I teared up because now my total was 126 and everything was going perfectly for me!


As I'm walking out to take 74 with 58 seconds on the clock, J grabs me and says, 


"I need to tell you something." 


Even though I know he would never tell me something that would mess with my head, I was afraid of what he was going to say, so I shook my head and said, "No, I don't want to know." and stepped up.


When I stepped on that platform for the last time, I knew that 74 was mine. It would be a 2 kg meet PR and would give me a big 6 kg total increase. I was 100% sure it was going up. 


The clean happened and then I dipped for the jerk. As I locked it out overhead, I about exploded with joy. However, I knew my lock out might have been iffy, so as I dropped the bar , I turned to J and asked,


 "Was it a good lift?"


"Yes, you got it!" he said (Please note, I'm tearing up as I type this)





I cried like a baby and then J says,


"What I was going to tell you was that you had third all locked up and that if you wanted to go big for 75 or 76, you could."

Damn! I should have trusted him! Haha!

Turns out, that 74 was the second best clean-and-jerk of my session.

As I was walking out of the area, I stopped to introduce myself to Rachel Batista. This lady is amazing. I became enamored with her at Regionals because when she steps on the platform, she owns it. She hollers and stomps so loud, you cannot help but snap to attention. It's not an obnoxious display, but rather a commanding threat to the barbell that it better watch out. She coaches kids in weightlifting as well, and just appears to be an all around awesome lady.



We chatted for a bit and she was super nice, she even suggested we take a picture together. Did I mention she's a bad ass? Here's proof. She lifted that day and earned bronze, but had also qualified for Nationals and lifted again on Friday with the young 'ens!

As I stood on the podium at my first international meet with the National Anthem playing, I just couldn't help but smile like a big dummy.



What an adventure. What a day.

Thank you all for following along and supporting me. I know it's just an old people meet, but for me, as a complete non-athlete all my life, CrossFit and Weightlifting have given me an opportunity I never had before. It's given me the confidence to know that I can do whatever I set my mind to.

Make a plan. Execute the hell out of it.




What events in your life have made you realize you can do whatever you dream? When did you realize, "I got this"? 

Stay Strong Y'all!


Freedom units for those that don't speak kilograms

45 kg/99 pounds
50/110
51.21/112.662
52/114.4
53/116.6
54/118.8
55/121
65/143
70/154
72/158.4
74/162.8
75/165

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Friday, August 14, 2015

IIFYM Part 1: What is a macro? And why are they important?

8.14.15


So the big meet is over and I still can't believe how awesome it went! I have a post started about it and I'm adding thoughts and memories constantly to it, but I'm not really ready to let go of the magic so that post will stay offline a while longer. 

I have decided I like this format of blogging that I used the last few weeks, so I'm going to pull it out quite often. I'm personally really enjoying the "Best Things". I hope you are as well. 


Life

I opened the mail at the gym yesterday and got this.




My curiosity was piqued and then I knew who it was from!




"L" was a wonderful young lady that came to our Special Olympics night and she completely stole my heart that night and then again as I read her letter. 



The best things in life are when you can help others better theirs!

Learning

Someone near and dear to my heart messaged me yesterday and asked, "What is a macro?" I realized that I talk a lot about macros and 'If It Fits Your Macros' (IIFYM), but some people may have no idea idea what I'm talking about. I'll talk over the next few blog posts about macros, what they are, counting them and setting yours.

There are (basically) three macronutrients that we all need to survive and thrive. Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats. Alcohols are treated like carbs in IIFYM plans, but they are really a fourth, separate, non-essential macro.

Here is what the McKinley Health Center says about each.

Proteins- We need protein for:
  • Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women)
  • Tissue repair
  • Immune function
  • Making essential hormones and enzymes
  • Energy when carbohydrate is not available
  • Preserving lean muscle mass
Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes, and in smaller quantities in starchy foods and vegetables.

When we eat these types of foods, our body breaks down the protein that they contain into amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Some amino acids are essential which means that we need to get them from our diet, and others are nonessential which means that our body can make them. Protein that comes from animal sources contains all of the essential amino acids that we need. Plant sources of protein, on the other hand, do not contain all of the essential amino acids. 

Carbs- Carbohydrates are the macronutrient that we need in the largest amounts. 
  • Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.
  • Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy.
  • All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy.
  • Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly.
  • Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy.
  • Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination.
  • Carbohydrates are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.
Fiber refers to certain types of carbohydrates that our body cannot digest. These carbohydrates pass through the intestinal tract intact and help to move waste out of the body. Diets that are low in fiber have been shown to cause problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids and to increase the risk for certain types of cancers such as colon cancer. Diets high in fiber; however, have been shown to decrease risks for heart disease, obesity, and they help lower cholesterol. Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products.

Fats- Although fats have received a bad reputation for causing weight gain, some fat is essential for survival.  We need fat for:
  • Normal growth and development
  • Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
  • Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
  • Providing cushioning for the organs
  • Maintaining cell membranes
  • Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods
Fat is found in meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters and margarines, oils, lard, fish, grain products and salad dressings. There are three main types of fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat. 

Click here to read IIFYM Part 2!

Training


Today begins cardio hell! I've reached most of my weightlifting goals and am now returning my focus to CrossFit. I have already done one  baby WOD this morning and see a few more in my future this afternoon. Time to overhaul this little 4-banger into a V8! We have a HUGE team competition coming up at the end of September and I have to earn my spot on the team!

Best Thing I Came Across Lately



While sitting in the hall waiting to weigh in Wednesday morning, all of us ladies were chatting. One lady had a fork prominently tattooed on her foot and someone asked her about it. She said she got the tattoo because her grandmother told her to never send the fork back, because the best things were yet to come. 


I love this! Especially on that day, the pinnacle of my training. The "now whats?" could creep up once it was over. It would be easy to "send the fork back" because I was done. But instead, I'm going to keep the fork, because even better things are coming! 



Stay strong y'all!

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This project is one that I hope will enrich your life! It's taking a lot of things I've learned through the years and boiling them down into quickly digestible truths. 

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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Bronze baby!

Y'all, words can't express how thankful I am for this experience. Thank you to my coach and my hisband, J,  for taking care of me each and every day. Thank you to my amazing daughter Brooke, for being my inspiration and motivation. I want you to know that whatever you dream, you can do. Thank you to my family & friends for your love and support along this journey. I'm so amazed that today happened! I can't wait to tell you all about it, but for right now, I'm just going to sit and enjoy it.

And I'm thinking about fitness. Like "fitting-diss" food all in my mouth!