Weigh-in

At work yesterday one of my coworkers called me over to him and whispered to me, "so how much weight have you gained, you know after xmas and all"? So naturally, I woke up this morning and weighed myself just to see how much damage I did over x-mas.
111.8 lbs /19.3% bodyfat.
Not too bad considering the amount of alcohol and sugar I consumed and the very little exercise I did. Now, if I can just make it through the new year's parties, I'll be one happy (and lean) girl!

8:30 am
500mg Arginine
Egg white Omelet w/ Spinach
1.5 cups of berries w/ 1/3 cup Almond meal and Flax seed meal
=3 Blocks

11:00 am
2 oz Chicken breast
1 Orange
1 piece of chocolate
6 almonds
=2 Blocks

3:30 pm

3 oz chicken breast

1 grapefruit

1 small apple

9 Almonds

=3 Blocks

Workout Today: Crossfit Wod-Run 5k
Normally I would skip this wod because I hate running but I did it this time= 24:27

Supplements

I have recently been reading up on the benefits of taking amino acid supplements. In doing my research, I discovered that aside from whole foods, amino acid supplements may just be the best legal thing you can take, particularly for weightlifters and those participating in strenuous exercise aka Crossfit. Fortunately, the information available on the web is endless. A Google search will result in scientific study after scientific study that strongly concur that amino acids are very valuable compounds. Now that we have decided that they are essential supplements that support human function, the question remaining is which ones to take. I think that it is very easy for most people to get carried away and start popping pills, but one should really do their research to find the ones that will benefit you the most.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and muscle tissue. All types of physiological processes relating to sport - energy, recovery, muscle / strength gains and fat loss, as well as mood and brain function - are intimately and critically linked to amino acids. It's no wonder amino acids have become major players in athletes' supplementation, especially among bodybuilders. -Bodybuilding.com

L-Arginine and Glutamine are the two that I have recently started taking.

Workout: 3 out of 5 Rounds of "Barbara": 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 squats (3 min. rest between each round)

I hate being sick!

I recently caught a nasty cold and am not taking it very well. It just crept up on me literally knocked me on my ass. I'm slowly starting to feel better but am still not fully recovered, until then I will take it easy and listen to my body.

10 am
Scrambled Eggs w/ jalepenos, onions, salsa, guacamole
Fruit Salad w/ grapes, strawberries, melon
2 pieces of Dark Chocolate

3pm
2 Poached eggs w/ spinach and a small salad
1 Apple

8pm
3oz ground beef
1 lb mixed greens w/ apple and onions
1 cup strawberries
2 pieces of chocolate

Total Blocks today=7 Blocks (very low as a result of my sickness)

Workout Today= "Fran": 21-15-9 of Thrusters & Pull-ups
***I had to scale it down to 45# thrusters-Time 10:21

Tis the Season

Today was my sister's annual Gingerbread House decorating party (I know, that's a long name for a party). Anyhow, my sister makes the gingerbread houses the week before the party and then we all get come over and decorate them with all kinds of candy. This year there was a prize given to the person with the best house, adding a touch of healthy competition to the party. In the spirit of my recent health kick, I brought along some fruit & nuts instead of candy. I also thought it would be only be appropriate to convert my "healthy" gingerbread house into a gym. It was sweet! The gingerbread gym was fully equipped with all the fixings of a true gym including rings from gummy LifeSavers, dumbells made out of toothpicks and Juniormints, a pull-up bar and it even had a licorice rope hanging from the ceiling of the roof. Aside from the awful tummy ache I got from munching on all the sugary treats, I had a blast creating my little gingerbread gym, even if it only got one vote.

No Workout today:)

Rest Day

I woke up feeling super sore from yesterday's killer wod. It was the very first time I was able to complete it as Rx'd: 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats. It felt great to be able to finish it with out scaling it down, even though it took me almost 48 min and I came in dead last in the 6am class. Still, I am glad I did it. But boy am I paying for it today! My entire upper body is sore and I just feel wiped out. I don't know how much of it is due to the lack of sleep I have been getting the past few days but I am gonna listen to my body and REST!

7:30AM
Egg White Omelet w/ Spinach
1.5 cups Mixed Berries w/ 1/3 cup Almond meal & Flaxseed meal

12:15PM
18 Asparagus Spears
1.5 oz Grilled Lamb

4:45PM
3 oz of Chicken
1.5 cups Mixed Berries w/ 1/3 cup Almond meal & Flaxseed meal

Going out for dinner :) I'll try to keep it zone.

Total BLocks= 7.5 (Target tonite =10 blocks total)

Workout: NONE

The Contents of my Paper Bag

Almost on a daily basis my fellow co-workers ask me, "what's in your bag today?" Well, it's pretty boring, it usually consists of 6 blocks of protein, fresh fruit, an avocado or nuts and some veggies on a good day. A very good day. In the morning I weigh and measure my food into two 3-Block meals to equip myself with the food necessary to stay in the zone through the greater part of the my day. This also prevents me from "cheating" as there is always a taco truck that rolls into our site at break and lunch with an abundance of greasy Mexican food and sugary treats.

Food Eaten Today:
7:30Am
3oz Roasted Organic Free-Range Chicken
1 cup Organic Strawberries
1 Persimmon
3 Tbs. Avocado
12:10 PM
4.5oz Baked Salmon
1/2 cup Pineapple
1 Orange
3 Tbs. Avocado
4:00PM
2oz Roasted Organic Free-Range Chicken
1 cup Organic Mixed Berries w/ 1/3 cup Almond meal & Flaxseed meal
7:00PM
Egg white omelet with Organic Spinach and Salsa
1 Persimmon
2 Tbs. Avocado
Total Blocks Today=10 Blocks

Workout: Crossfit Wod-Push Jerk 3-3-3-3-3-3-3
65-75-85-95-90-92-90
(red=weights at which I was unable to get all 3 reps)

Yesterday my family celebrated my father's 65th birthday with a nice home cooked meal. It was a tough decision: make a meal for a family of 12 vs dinning out. While most of my family whined at the idea of cooking a meal at home, I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice my cooking skills and learn a thing or two in the kitchen. My older sister Arcelia, the one who made the "Paleo pecan pie", agreed to teach me how to make a few simple dishes.

This is what was on the menu:
Mixed baby greens salad w/ homemade dressing
Green beans w/ roasted almonds tossed in a lemon -garlic vinaigrette
Quinoa
Main Course:
Roasted Chicken w/ fresh rosemary and lemon zest
Bean & cheese Enchiladas w/ homemade red mole
Dessert:
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Poached Pears in a Red Wine Sauce (this one was really fun to make)

Total prep time for this entire meal was 3 hrs and 15 min. I never expected that cooking, especially for a large group, could be so fun and stress free. Although it required a great deal of patience and concentration on my part, it was definitely well worth it. It made eating it so much more enjoyable. Here's to good ol' home cookin'!

Today's workout: Crossfit (rest day):
10x10 Back squat @ 75# & Dead lift @ 96# w/ 90 second rest in between each

Weigh-In #2

OK, so it's day 3 of Neolithic eating. I've had pizza twice in the last three days. Eeek!!!!!
Today I did a weigh in and it was a bit surprising.

Weight= 113 (this is 1.4 pounds heavier than 2 days ago)
However, my body fat only increased by 0.1% bringing it up to 19.2%

Initially, I was frustrated to see that I was back at my pre-paleo weight. Then I was happy to see that my body fat percentage didn't go up by much, meaning I'm not getting fat. Could this shift in weight be a direct result of muscle growth? Perhaps. That sure would be nice.

Workout Today: Crossfit (rest day)
***I rested yesterday therefore, I allowed myself to do some major lifting.
1. Snatch
35# 2x4
45# 2x4
2. Shoulder Press
55#x1
60#x3
62#x2
3. Front Squat
85# (3x5)

Re-Cap

The 14 day experiment with Paleo has finally come to an end. Hooray! Now, let's take a closer look at what really went on.

Week 1: Pretty painless however, I was eating like a horse and not keeping to zone portions.

Week 2: Got back into the zone (10 blocks per day) and I began having some serious cravings for fat! By day ten just the smell of peanut butter was making me weak. I was and still am, really jonesing for some cheese!

Day 12: I failed miserably! I threw a birthday bash for a few friends and before the night was over I had consumed copious amounts of wine, tequila and yes....chocolate cake!

Day 13: Feeling really hungover, I somehow managed to eat Paleo all day and even stayed zone but that nite was the Crossfit Holiday party at Luka's and I fell prey to peer pressure. I had 2 glasses of wine followed by super sized tequila shots! Uggh.

Day 14: Barley holding on by a thread, I sucked it up for one last day.

I was pleasantly surprised with the numbers on the scale today:
Body fat percentage = 19.1% (all time low for me) Weight = 111.6
Over the two week trial I lost a total of 1.4 pounds and 0.4% body fat.
Not bad, even with all the tequila.

Quick, somebody get me some cheese!!!

Organic Foods vs Chemically treated Foods

As a Crossfitter, it is extremely important to nourish my body with the adequate amounts of healthy foods, preferably in the form of veggies, fruit and lean meats. Hard, strenuous workouts require plenty of nutritious foods to fuel them as well as help in the recovery process. However, not all of nature's foods are created equal. Recently, there has been a great deal of evidence indicating organic produce contains far greater amounts of antioxidants than conventional fruits and vegetables.

Check out this link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7067100.stm

Wikipedia's definition of antioxidant:
An Antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. As a result, antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols or polyphenols.

For more information on the health benefits of Organic foods visit: www.organic-center.org