Lazy Sunday

Today I have done nothing I have not wanted to do. Except for maybe be my dogs' jungle gym. As I type OC is sitting on my chest. Not to mention his consistent stepping on the giant bruise on my leg. Geeze Louise... Dogs!!!

Really though, it has been a great day! 

I made Bacon Wrapped Salmon for Lunch... 

Is your mouth watering? It should be!!! It was so good, and so easy!!! Take some Salmon (I use the frozen Salmon from Costco), wrap it in bacon, and throw it on the George Foreman!!! I use the George Foreman, because I don't have a real grill. It works for me though! And it made the bacon nice and crispy on this! Mmmm... 

I will be having that again in the near future. 

I also made Baby Kale Chips. I used this recipe. They were pretty good! I'm not sure if I like kale though. I'm going to say that if you like kale you'll love these. If you're unsure about kale then these are pretty good, but you probably won't be able to eat a lot! 

I think that getting in shape and taking better care of myself has really inspired me to be an overall better person. I see that I'm never "stuck" the way I am. We are always able to change. Hopefully that change is for the better. I do my job believing people can change, so why the hell can't I change???

Those are my thoughts for today. 

Fruit, Squash, and Daddy's Day!!!

I don't mean to brag, BUT I'm kind of a genius. 

The other day I was thinking, "Man I need more fresh fruit in my green smoothies, but it takes so long to prepare it that it makes me late for work."

Then I had a thought...

"By Golly, I should chop it all up before hand!!!" 

And let me tell you, it turned out beautifully!!!

Don't you think??? 

I used apples, grapefruit, oranges, strawberries, and cucumbers. 

The citrus in the grapefruit and oranges keep the apples from turning brown. 

I take a cup full of it and throw it in my blender. I then add half a frozen banana, half a cup of frozen berries, and fill the rest of the blender up with fruit. I've also been adding half a cup of coconut water and half a cup of regular water. 

Mmmm...

Then I got even smarter. I thought, "I want a popsicle." 

So, I blended up 2 cups of my fruit mixture with a tiny tiny bit of water and put it into popsicle molds. 

Mmmm...

So, then I thought, "I'm going to brag about my Paleo popsicles on Instagram by taking a cute picture of me eating one, and saying something quite like 'Sweet Summer Time'." 

Yea...

Apparently, taking cute pictures while sucking on things is a practiced skill. I cant' say that I'm disappointed that I'm not good at them. 

But total FAIL!!! 

Also, I bought these baby squash, because they were cute. Now, not all things are better small... BUT a lot of things sure are cute when they're small!!! 

I cooked them like I cooked regular squash. Next time I'm not going to cut them as small though. I'm going to just cut them in half. 

They were pretty yummy in my tummy!!!

Anywho... It was Father's Day this weekend, and I'm pretty proud of what I produced for him...

A Carona Cake!!! Isn't it beautiful??? Just a few of his favorite things. He was pretty excited, but did point out that I didn't have it on ice... I just can't ever do anything right... Haha... Just kidding. He loved it. 

Now this last pic is from way back in the day... But it is one of my favorites!!! 

I wish everyone could have a father as great as mine!!! 

If you're not first you're last!!!

I'm going to say something, and you're going to say, "Uh, duh Stefani!" 

The fitness world is very competitive. (I know, I know, Duh!)

Now, I get it. I am just as competitive as the next person, and athleticism is competitive at it's core. Going way back to the Greek Olympics. 

(Note: Historical information may not be factual). 

Here's the problem, I think that the competitiveness has flowed into the wrong places, and that it's becoming increasingly unattractive and confusing to people. 

Everyone has an opinion on what strategy is the best way to be healthy. Lift a lot of reps at a light weight. Lift as heavy as you can. Do tons of cardio. Don't do cardio. If you don't check in on Facebook your time at the gym doesn't count. 

The truth is that how you work out depends on your goals. Body builders are going to have a different work out plan than a basketball player. My grandma is going to work out different than I am. Some people want to get stronger. Some people just want to look good. Some people want to be super strong and look good (ME!). 

Depending on your goal, you will do different work outs. It doesn't necessarily mean that that work out is bad or good, (Well, maybe some scientists can argue about that, but I ain't got no time for that.) yet I constantly hear people putting down other people's method. Now, I've done it jokingly... but some people get down right nasty about it! (I'm pretty sure it's because they know that if their not doing CrossFit they'r doing it wrong... Hehe)

Where I'm going with this is that I don't understand why people insist on tearing each other down. No matter what kind of work out you do, you are trying to better yourself and I guess I don't see how that can ever be bad. 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE CrossFit and you will hear all about CrossFit from me because that is what works for me. Tell me about what you're doing and I'll be just as excited for you! 

That being said, I think that we get a little over competitive in our categories as well. We all have competitions. It could be weight lifting competitions, the CrossFit games, body building competitions, marathons, etc. And during those competitions you're going to be competitive  You might also be competitive with your friends in the mean time. I think sometimes people take it too far though. It's one thing to compete with people on your level, but make sure you're picking on someone your own size. Also, make sure to encourage each other. It's OK to cheer people on and be excited for their accomplishments even if their greater or less than yours. (If you don't know how come visit The Pack... We'll show you how it's done.)

I think if people were more opened arm and less competitive then maybe less people would be so intimidated by the fitness world. Let me tell you, if I would have found a gym like The Pack sooner, I would be smokin' hot by now! Everyone is so encouraging. They push me to be better every day and build me up. And we definitely have our competitive moments, but at the end of the day we all have the same goal... 

TO GET HOT!!! 

er... I mean... 

TO GET STRONGER!!! 

&&& To have fun doin' it!!! :) 

Rough Day

So... for the last couple days I haven't really been hungry. Like at all. I really could care less about food. Then today at 10:30am hunger struck.

I thought I was going to die. I'm pretty sure it was touch and go for a second. I really really really needed something sweet. Well... maybe "need" is the wrong word. But it felt like it.

At lunch I ended up going to the store and getting a fruit leather (or two) and some organic peanut butter cups. Uh, I threw a way the wrapper so I don't know what they were called but they were amazing!!! They were made with "cane syrup" which I think is just a fancy way to say sugar, so I'm probably going to go through withdrawals soon... BUT THEY WERE SO GOOD!!! Nom, Nom, Nom!!!

Needless to say I did a lot of eating for the rest of the day also, but the rest was all pure Paleo. So, crazy how hungry you can get!

Good day at CrossFit though. I think that I've got myself kind of under control mentally so that helps. Also, my endurance is better. I can go for longer, and actually feel like I can start increasing my weight. It's so awesome!!!

I'm pretty proud of my pups today. OC was adopted from a shelter and they think that he was abused. He hates little people and men. When I adopted him they were basically like "Uh, are you single or a lesbian?" Haha... He's my personal social work problem. Anyways, he's a yappy little shit and hates when people are in their yards and he can see them. Apparently he rules the neighborhood. BUT today he was able to maintain his composure while some neighbors were in the yard! He even was able to pee! Which normally he won't do because he's so distracted barking. I know, I know it took a year to get to this point, but I'm so proud of the little guy!!!

Finally, I really love watching the sun go down on my porch. It's so awesome! I can't wait until I get a fence though. A little more privacy would be cool!

Life Post-Cleanse

Man, I don't feel like much has changed. I still try to stick to Paleo. I did cheat on a couple meals this weekend. I ate some yummy Mexican food and all the beans, chips, and tortillas that went with it. I also had some crab, shrimp, artichoke dip that I'm pretty sure God created right after he made Adam and Eve. Just saying. Some say he rested on the 7th day. I say that he made that yumminess.

Not going to lie though... I have no desire to really eat bad. Even in those moments I tried to make some healthier choices. Well... maybe not the dip. And it was delicious  but I also had some ceviche and I wish I would have just had that. It was much better for me and better tasting! I didn't feel like a blimp after!!!

I even considered eating ice cream, but really had no desire for that. That is incredible, because a month ago I totally would have made a trip to buy ice cream.

This weekend I feel like I made a really big move too. I went paddle boarding with friends, and it was so much fun. Granted, I just sat down the whole time. The whole standing thing freaked me out!!! Next time I will stand though! Normally, in my pre-CrossFit days I would have been terrified to go. I would have been insecure about how I looked and thought "fat people can't do that". Granted I honest don't weigh much less (hard to lose weight when you put on 17lbs of muscle), but I feel so much better! I got a new swim suit (that helped), and I felt like I could tackle the world. I'm excited to see what kind of opportunities I take advantage of when I really am fit!!!

Also, I ordered me some Advocare today!!! Everyone should use their stuff. I LOVE IT!!! It's spendy, which sucks. BUT it's so worth it. I'm excited to check out the Thermoplus and the recovery. It should be splendid.

Maybe, I'll cook something cool soon. If you're lucky! :)

Finished!

I've been holdin' out on everyone... Not on purpose but because the scale broke!!!

I refuse to use a regular scale, because I want to see my fat% muscle gain break down. But currently the scale is out of commission. 

I stepped on it 2 different times in 5 minutes and it gave me bogus numbers and two totally different sets of numbers!!!

That's OK though because this pic is cool...

Seriously, I think the craziest part is that it was only 24 days!!!

That's nothing. You can do anything for 24 days!!!

If you're interested in doing this let me know and I can get you the stuff. I'm going to start selling it. 

Paleo is the real deal folks!!!

Now I have 48 days til California. Perhaps I'll have to buy new clothes while I'm there. 

BUMMER, HUH???

UPDATE:: The scale has been fixed!!! I lost 3% body fat. Gained 3 lbs in muscle. Lost 5 lbs over all.

Since March my weight is pretty much where I started. I've lost 8% body fat and gained 17 lbs in muscle!!! So cool! 

Day 23

I'm currently blogging while stretching. This could be a new thing. 

I think I brushed death today. Shook it's hand. Had a convo. And then decided that I was going to finish my deadlifts and box jumps instead. 

TOTALLY beat my mind today. I think that beating your mind is do times better than beating each other. (Hahaha!!! Don't beat each other. It's illegal.) 

Mentally I feel fantastic but physically I'm hurting. 

We did Regional WOD 5 today. I Rx'd the deadlifts (205#) and PR'd my box jumps. Seriously... Death is less painful. I'm pretty certain. 

I couldn't have done it without my CrossFit fam cheering me on though. Seriously, if you haven't tried CrossFit yet you should! It changes your life!

The good news is tomorrow is Day 24! The only thing that will really be different is that I won't have to take pills anymore AND I'll know what the numbers are for my improvements! 

I know, I know... You're excited!!!

I'll post some pics and the numbas tomorrow!!! 

For now I have to go try not to die. 

How many Ibuprofen is too much Ibuprofen? 

Day 22

Today is the best that I've felt about a work out in a while.

I do one of two things normally...

I either freak the f*** out because I don't do as well as I think I should and there are things I can't do.

OR

I just get a "I don't give a f***" attitude, and am lackadaisical about the work out.

TODAY, I think I pushed myself pretty hard. I also think that there is room for improvement. I'm sure there always is. I could have dug a little deeper. I also REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to do a pull up during a work out (with bands). The problem is that my arms are weak so I need lots of bands, but my body weight won't push the bands down anymore and after doing 100 wall balls the leggs in my muscles don't work so well. I like to pretend that I lost so much weight that it can't hold the bands down anymore. (Well, it might be true. We'll find out on Wednesday!) I still do the work out, but I do what we call "Stef-Ups" we take a short PVC pipe and string it between two bands and I pull it down. The good news is that I was pulling lower than I have ever pulled.

SO, here is my new goal. I will do 5 sets of 10 pull ups every day for 2 weeks before my WOD. Even if we are doing pull ups in the WOD. Because I can't do pull ups in the WOD anyways. I will fight for them. Every last pull up. Then maybe in 2 weeks I'll be able to move down to lighter bands and will be able to do a WOD...

I'll let you know!

Quick, yummy lunch today!

I shredded a chicken breast and mixed it with my avocado dressing. Then I cored out a cucumber and filled it up. 

There were actually 4 of these babies. So yummy!

Oh... 

AND I GOT NEW KICKS!!!

Aren't they beautiful??? 

I'm an official CrossFitter now! :) 

Days 19, 20, & 21

Did you miss me???

I kind of fell of the face of the planet, but it was a good weekend and we have a lot to talk about. 

********* Day 19 **********

I did a little experiment today. My friend gave me the link to these cauliflower tortillas by Simple Palate. I decided to try them out since I was itching for tortillas. First of all, I didn't follow a few instructions  I didn't use a food processor. Mostly because I don't have one. I instead used my hands a cheese grater to rice the cauliflower. I think this worked well, but I have nothing to compare it to... I also thought "Man, this is supposed to make 6 tortillas? What are the smallest tortillas on earth?" WELL, there is a reason she went with 6 tortillas. If you try to make 2 big ones (like I did) they will end up breaking in half or fourths while you try to flip them. 

This is what mine turned out like... 

The good news is that they tasted pretty good, the bad news is that they were not enough like tortillas to quench my craving.

I still ate them though! I piled them on my plate and piled my beef and yam taco mix on top. Topped with my avocado dressing of course!

All in all it was pretty good, it just didn't quite do the trick. 

********** Day 20 **********

Now, today started off with a victory. I went to breakfast with my uncle and ate ALL PALEO while I was there! I had 2 eggs, bacon, and fruit. I asked for fruit instead of hash browns, and I didn't touch my toast. I was so proud of myself. I think more than any thing I proved to myself that I can have a life and still eat Paleo!

Then I went to see my cousins who were here from California. I HADN'T SEEN THEM IN 6 YEARS!!!

Aren't we precious???

I know, I'm not looking at the camera. 

Normally, I would crop this before showing everyone so that you can't see my whole body. I didn't  because my body is looking better than it once did. Also, when I look at this in a month I'll think "Wow! Look at that progress!" and when others look at this in a month they will think, "Damn, girl!" 

Haha... But for real. There is progress. 

After this my family and I were HUNGRY and I had been craving Mexican for far too long!

I had fajitas. An awesome Paleo option. I did indulge in 2 corn tortillas and some beans. Here's how I saw it... I had been craving tortillas and beans for quite a while. There were two options... indulge in a little now OR go NUTS on beans and flour tortillas (my fave) in a few days. I decided to indulge a little now. I also took a sip of my mom's Margarita. I only had 2 of 3 corn tortillas though. 

I think that it was a completely reasonable "cheat" and I don't feel one ounce guilty.

If I'm going to be successful, I'm going to have to give in occasionally. 

********** Day 20 **********

Today, I headed home bright and early. I didn't have my MNS pills, so I wanted to get back here ASAP. I did eat breakfast before I went though. Eggs and Bacon. Yum! 

I had my MNS and meal replacement for my snack. That worked out well. Then I continued on my day. 

I was super productive. I organized my workout room/office/craft room, I unpacked my last box, I cleaned my whole casa, I mowed the lawn and then I made a...

PINEAPPLE BANANA BLUE BERRY SMOOTHIE!!!

(It's easy)

1/2 of a Fresh Pineapple blended into juice. 

(I added 1/4 a cup of water to start the process)

Add 

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup blue berries

Blend until smooth!!! 

It's probably too much fruit for the night time... BUT I'm a rebel.

It's better than ice cream, right???

I mean that in both senses of the word. 

Tastes better and is better for you. 

WIN!!!