Amanda - Week 6, Wednesday - Trip to Hillsboro

Well, I woke up at 4:40 this morning and was 1 pound from my goal. That means I lost 1 pound in the last week, which doesn't seem unreasonable at this point. I should probably just expect that from here on out.

I went to Crossfit this morning at 6AM:
Strength:

6 sets:

5 Pullups (I used the red/purple band)

5 Ring Dips (I used the purple band - least resistance)

30s rest after each exercise

Conditioning:

5 Rounds:

500m Row

10 KB Step-up (45/25)*

10 Burpees

* Box height is (18"/12")

I wasn't very happy with my performance on this WOD. I got done in 22:56. I used the 25# Kettlebell and the 12" box per RX. I was the last person to finish by a minute. The class seemed to consist of people who were fairly experienced. Plus, there was a Level 3 class going on at the same time. The whole mix made me feel very inadequate. It did inspire me however to get 'invited' to the Level 3 class. I'm in the Level 2 class right now and have a ways to go to get to Level 3. The requirement is to be able to do everything RX, so no scaling. My first step toward that would be to get my Kipping pullups. I'd probaby have to knock out like 10 of those before I could even consider being ready for Level 3. They were inspiring to watch!

So, today is a big day. The rest of the week will be my first really big test, as I'm going to visit my family. When the challenge started, I made several commitments, which I've stuck to and it's paid off. I stated that I would allow myself one cheat weekend during the 9 weeks. A "weekend" consisted of two days. "Cheating" meant that I could eat whatever I wanted for those two days with the exception of desserts/sweets. I could also drink as much as I wanted. Well, I'm leaving today and then will return to Chicago either Saturday or Sunday (probaby Saturday). I want to outline my commitments for the days I will be gone, as it will help me not stray too far.

1. Wednesday: I already got my WO in so that's taken care of. I will follow my Meal Plan exactly with no deviations. I may have a glass or two of wine.
2. Thursday: I will weigh myself in the morning on my parent's scale. I will either go to the gym or to Yoga. I will follow my Meal Plan exactly with no deviations. I may have a couple glasses of wine or a mixed drink.
3. Friday: I will weigh myself in the morning on my parent's scale. I will either go to the gym or to Yoga. I will follow my Meal Plan for the most part, but I may have a Subway sandwich (with chicken/vegies/oil/vinegar on wheat), for example, or something comparable, instead of one of my regular meals. Alcohol - do whatever I want.
4. Saturday: I will weigh myself in the morning on my parent's scale. I will follow my Meal Plan for the most part, but I may have a sandwich (with chicken/vegies/oil/vinegar on wheat, or something comparable, instead of one of my regular meals. Assuming I go back to Chicago, alcohol won't be a factor. If I stay, I'll drink what I want.
5. Sunday: I will weigh myself in the morning. I will follow my Meal Plan for the most part, but I may have a sandwich (with chicken/vegies/oil/vinegar on wheat) instead of one of my regular meals.
6. Monday: Everything is back to normal.

General Commitments for the trip:

• I will workout or go to yoga two days. This will mean that I will have only worked out 5 days this week, which is in line with the commitments I set forth at the beginning of the challenge. I allowed myself 2 of the 9 weeks to only workout 5 days versus 6.
• I will not have any sweets or dessert.
• I will weigh myself every morning.
• I will blog what I've done at least 2 days while I'm away.

Final Thoughts
Typically, going away for the weekend, especially my parent's, sabotages my program. It will normally take me 10 days – 2 weeks to lose the weight that I’ve gained over the weekend and get me back to where I was the day I left. The number of times I’ve allowed this to happen is countless and frustrating. I love the idea of being “out of my environment/safety zone” and it not affecting my lifestyle. I want to want to (not a typo) continue my lifestyle regardless of whether I’m traveling or not. I’ve gotten into the mindset before that weekends away are ‘reprieve’ from a structured/disciplined program, but I need to shift my thinking. I can’t think of it like a ‘program.’ It has to just be my lifestyle. The weight gain/weight loss/weight gain/weight loss merry-go-round is exhausting and discouraging. In the past, I’ve never been willing to consider not having those ‘cheat weekends’ when I’m away. It felt as if they were required in order to get me through the disciplined times. The disciplined times didn’t seem doable or worth it without those indulgences. I feel like I have a different mentality right now, and I think it’s due to a few factors:

1.      Every meal I eat on this plan, I love. That’s never been the case before. I’ve eaten things because I’ve had to, and then when I was done, I didn’t feel satisfied. A lot of times I felt deprived. I haven’t felt deprived with this plan. Without the Coconut Oil, I don’t think I would feel that way. I swear it triggers the satiation switch in my mind. So the fact that I enjoy my meals and I’ve gotten the results I have, makes me want to keep doing it. I don’t feel like I need those indulgences to get me through.

2.      Crossfit. I enjoy it. It challenges me. It gets me among other people who are driven to improve, as I am. Though small, I feel like I’m constantly seeing progress. There always seems to be another thing to strive for, to get better at. It’s motivating for me to keep going so I can conquer one more exercise or activity. I’ve never felt the same sense of accomplishment with any other workout. It makes me want to be better.

3.      Due to the above two factors, I can see my body transform. It’s improving every week. There’s no greater motivation for me than progress. I haven’t seen progress like this, at this pace, for nearly 10 years. It’s given me hope that I can take my fitness and health levels to places I’ve always wanted.

In the past, I always believed it was possible to achieve my health/fitness goals, but I never had a path that I truly wanted to stick to long term. The cost was never worth the benefit. Because I found something that I enjoy and that fulfills me, I want to keep doing it. And because of that, I can see what possibilities lay ahead. It motivates me to take another step closer to those possibilities versus further away from them.

Lastly, I’m not fooling myself into thinking that I’m never going to want to eat dessert again or creamy pasta, but I do believe there is a way to only want those things in moderation. In the past, I’ve just wanted to keep eating them, not knowing when I’d ‘allow’ myself to have them again. Right now though, because my wants are driven by my belief in what’s possible, it seems to be trumping any desire I have for those foods and activities that only delay realizing those possibilities.