Let's Get Visual!

I know that a large part of the human population is made up of 'Visual' people. I'm usually not that type of person; I just need some kind of concrete goal (such as an upcoming competition) and alittle peer support and I'm good to go.

However, lately on Twitter, all I've been hearing about is "Dream Boards" and "Visual Boards" and "Dream Books" (like scrapbooks). As I was cleaning out my closet the other day, I looked up at the big empty wall behind my bed. I really haven't done much with my room since moving here four months ago because I may be moving to a new neighborhood soon, so why bother? Everything is currently pretty plain in my room.

Well, I may not be a fully visual person, but when I see an empty canvas, I see lots of opportunity. (Have you seen my full back tattoo?! Enough said) So I hightailed it to Target this past weekend and bought some corkboard tiles for my wall. Observe....



I decided on the tiles instead of a board so I can add and organize and rearrange as necessary. I know, it's pretty empty as of now; I'm still trying to figure out how this thing works! :)

While I was at Target, I ran across a sticker sale. Who doesn't like stickers?! Some of the coaches at Crossfit Invictus have even given out stickers after MetCons....what can I say, we're a fun bunch! Anyways, I picked up some nice shiny star stickers for only a $1, and here is what I'm using them for:



Between all of my travels, Crossfit events/competitions, and personal appointments, the only way to keep everything straight sometimes is by using a big ol' wall calendar. So now, at the end of the day, I have started awarding myself with stickers if I had a personal excellent day.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, at first I was going to do it only if my diet was spot-on for the day. But then I decided to expand that to include days where my diet might not be 100% the best, but I did accomplish other things such as PR on a lift, spent some time meditating or reflecting and making great decisions for my future, or setting time aside to do some personal writing.

The stars are a great visual aide for me, to set a goal to see how many days I can get in a row. Every time I think about cheating or making a decision that isn't the best for me, I think about how badly I want to put the star on the calendar at the end of the day, and it has thus far kept me on track.

How do you stay motivated? I'd love to hear other ideas!

Mmmmmmm....Paleo Meatloaf!

While visiting my girl Heather in Seattle last weekend, she introduced me to a meatloaf recipe so yummy, that I had to make it first thing when I got home on Monday. Since I was, of course, bragging about it on Twitter, it has been requested many times that I post the recipe. So here ya go! This is one of my favorite types of dishes - inexpensive, easy prep, paleo, and can be cooked in your crockpot, which also means it makes enough for 3-4 days worth of meals.

For this recipe, I chose to use 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of ground grass fed beef. Heather told me that the original recipe called for ground pork and ground grass fed beef; either way, you can use whatever type(s) of ground meat that you want.

Turn your Crockpot on low and throw in a big can of diced tomatoes. Dice/chop up your choice of 'stew' veggies and mix them in with the diced tomatoes. For this particular batch, I chose carrots.

Using my Ninja, I pureed spinach, onions and red bell pepper. I combined those in a bowl with 1/3 cup of coconut flour and an egg, and then mixed everything together with a hand beater.



After that mix is blended well, I added in 2lbs Ground Meat of choice and continued to blend with the hand mixer. Shape the mixture into a football and place on top of the stew mix in the crock pot. If you desire - and you should - wrap that baby in bacon and then cover for 5 hours.



Sooooo yummy! Enjoy.

No-Oats-Meal!

It's time for another recipe! Always my go-to blog item for when I'm not feeling very inspired and don't want to waste your time with fluff.

Thanks to my Chicago girl Jenni (@TinyDancer06) for sharing this link with me.

As I'm always saying, I don't really miss gluten or wheat; it's always sugar. I don't miss pizza or bagels or sandwiches....but I do miss oatmeal. This recipe is a good substitute for when you need that comfort food. Depending on how big your 'handful' of nuts is, this recipe actually makes 2-3 servings for me. I've recently cut out fruit so I've subbed canned pumpkin for the banana and it has worked out great! I was also excited to test out my new Ninja food processor.

No Oat Oatmeal....No-atmeal!

1 small handful of walnuts
1 small handful of pecans
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 banana, mashed
3 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (add more if you prefer it a little runny)
2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds for topping
1 handful of goji berries or fresh berries for topping



Directions:

Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse it down to a course grain, making sure to stop before it’s totally ground into a powder. Set aside.


Whisk together eggs and almond milk (Doug uses a Blender Bottle) until the consistency thickens a little bit into a loose custard. Thoroughly blend together the mashed banana and almond butter and add it to the custard, mixing well.


Stir in the nut mixture. Microwave or gently warm on the stove until the “no-atmeal” reaches your desired consistency; this should only take a few minutes. In both cases, stir the mixture frequently as it cooks.

Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and berries on top. Add more almond milk if you want. Lick the bowl clean!

My Community - Part One

Call it a good cult. Call it a bad cult. Call it whatever you want - but I call it a "Community". And that is only because I haven't found the right word for it yet, as I feel that 'Community' is an understatement at times.

I'm currently on my fourth straight week in Dallas; it has been 30+ degrees hotter here than in San Diego every single day, the travel back and forth is exhausting, and I miss my dog & my gym. However, I still consider myself one of the luckiest girls around. The Dallas Crossfit community has been more than welcoming, and everytime I drop into one of the boxes, I feel like I'm WODing with homies versus just being some visitor from out of town.

The first box that I got to visit when I first started this project was
Crossfit Strong (Twitter: @CrossfitStrong). I was invited to drop in by Jake, owner of Compete Every Day (Twitter: @CompeteEveryDay), who I had met recently on Twitter. I was pretty shell shocked by the heat, even at 630am, but I made it through the WOD plus got my hands on a sweet tank - the Tahiti Compete Every Day tank. I highly recommend you check out his line of shirts & tanks; I loved my Tahiti tank so much that I bought the same one as a gift for my P.I.C. back in San Diego.

During my second week in Dallas, I decided to drop into Crossfit Richardson to throw down with Mr. WODStack himself, Brandon (Twitter: @bgadoci).
Oh course, the WOD contained Double Unders, which I am horrible at right now so lets just say I did not represent Crossfit Invictus very well. Either way, I still had a great time & met some awesome people. Turns out, two of their box members were just in San Diego and paid a visit to Crossfit Invictus the week before.



I love both CF Strong and CF Richardson, but it was recommended that I also hit up Crossfit Dallas Central and meet up with Chase (Twitter: @CaptAmericaXFit). So that is exactly what I did for Week 3. The WOD was Diane, and I was super excited for it, despite the heat, as I've not had a chance to do this one yet. The 155# Deadlifts were cake but lets just say it was good practice for my HSPUs. Congrats to Crossfit Dallas Central for placing 13th at the Games last weekend!

This week should be my last week in Dallas for a while, and although I'll be happy to be home for a bit, I will miss my Dallas homies alot! (Just not the heat, ha!) Mike (The Common Sense Warrior Blog , Twitter: @TCSWarrior) was visiting the Dallas area for work as well and suggested that we drop in on Jake again at Crossfit Strong. Cesa and Jared from Fight Through (Twitter: @FightThrough) also
decided to join us for what would be the hottest WOD I've ever done. I was a bit excited to see that the WOD for yesterday was the 11.2 Sectionals WOD; Deadlifts and Push Ups are easy for me, but Box Jumps, not so much. But either way, I was hoping for a PR. Did I get it? Not so much, ha. I wanted to die. The temperature capped off at 111 degrees, and I'm just not built for heat. Either way, we all had a great time meeting each other, killing ourselves in the heat and the enjoying some paleo dinner afterwards.



Although all of my travels can be pretty cool at times, it does really make me miss home when I'm forced to be away from it for weeks on end. But being part of an awesome community and knowing some great people makes the world of difference and I'm very thankful for the Dallas Crossfit Community!

Never Shop When Hungry!

Everyone knows they should never shop when hungry. I made that mistake yesterday and this is what I ended up with - all for dinner!



Sure, it's all veggies, it's all healthy. But I bought this on a Saturday night and I'm flying to Dallas for another week on Monday - and I hate to waste. :-/ Looks like I'm packing up this following recipe with me to take with me on the plane tomorrow. It has been awhile since I've posted a recipe and I made one of my favorite dishes last night; it's easy, healthy and a perfect one to share!

I think one of the things I love the most about this recipe is that it can potentially make a crap ton of food to last you throughout the week.

"Pork Loin and Veggie Hash"

Pork Loin
Any Veggies you want
Seasonings

I like to rub the pork loin with olive oil and then sprinkle on curry powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. For the veggies, I like to cut up a nice variety of low, medium and high starchy veggies, throw them in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Throw it all in a pan and roast on 375 for 35 minutes. Let the pork sit for 10 minutes before cutting into it. Easy, simple, fast, inexpensive.



Right now, I'm trying to cut all sugar from my diet and remain strict paleo without going down the low carb route. If I consume a 'sweeter' veggie during my meals, such as a bit of sweet potato, butternut squash, or carrots, then I find that my sugar craves aren't as bad throughout the day. Of course, I can't just nosh on those three veggies alone, as I don't want THAT many carbs. :) I try to ensure I mix up the hash with healthy greens, like collards, brussel sprouts and broccoli.

I recommend going to your farmers market and buying up any and all veggies that look appetitizing to you and then spending just one hour in the kitchen, cutting everything up and making a big bowl of this hash for the week. You'll find that it goes well with everything - any kind of meat or even with eggs for breakfast.

The law of the farm

I'm in Dallas this week, as some of you know, and I've been communicating with one of my coaches, George, who is also my nutrition guide, via email concerning my diet. I was telling him how hard it is to be patient, and how I'm worried I'll be a certain eating plan and then months down the line, we find that it was the wrong one and I have to start over and lose all the months of trying. He responded by quoting the following article.....it speaks volumes......

"This is an old message from a strength coach named Mike Boyle. Seems like a good time to share it...


I think I remember Stephen Covey in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People making reference to what I believe he called “the law of the farm.” The reference was meant to show that most of the truly good things in life take time and can’t be forced or rushed. Covey described the process of farming and alluded to how it requires patience and diligence to grow crops properly. In addition, farming requires belief in the system. The farmer must believe that all the hard work and preparation will eventually yield a long-term result.

As a strength and conditioning coach, business owner and personal trainer, the concept has always stuck with me. The process of exercising is much like farming or like planting a lawn. There are no immediate results from exercise and there are no immediate results from farming.

First, the seeds must be planted. Then fertilizer (nutrition) and water must be applied consistently. Much like fertilizer in farming, too much food can be a detriment to the exerciser. Only the correct amounts cause proper growth. Overfeeding can cause problems, as can underfeeding. As I sit and wait for my lawn to sprout or crops to grow, I feel many of the same frustrations of the new exerciser. When will I see results? How come nothing is happening? All this work and — nothing.

The key is to not quit. Have faith in the process. Continue to add water and wait. Farming and exercising are eerily similar. Continue to exercise and eat well and suddenly a friend or co-worker will say, “Have you lost weight”? Your reaction might be, “It’s about time someone noticed.” Much like the first blades of grass poking through the ground, you begin to see success. You begin to experience positive feedback. Clothes begin to fit differently.

When my friends or clients talk to me about their frustration with their initial lack of progress in an exercise program, I always bring up the farm analogy. We live in a world obsessed with quick fixes and instant results. This is why the farm analogy can be both informative and comforting.

An exercise program must be approached over a period of weeks and months, not days. The reality is that there is no quick fix, no easy way, no magic weight loss plan, no secret cellulite formula. There is only the law of the farm. You will reap what you sow. In reality, you will reap what you sow and care for. If you are consistent and diligent with both diet and exercise, you will eventually see results. However, remember, much like fertilizer and water, diet and exercise go together.

Try to grow crops or a lawn without water. No amount of effort will overcome the lack of vital nutrients.

The law of the farm.

Plant the seeds.

Feed and water properly.

Wait for results; they will happen, not in days, but in weeks and months.

To your success,

Mike Boyle
http://www.FunctionalStrengthCoach3.com
http://www.OnlineBodybyBoyle.com"

Tuesday's Progress

I personally do not like to write out my blogs each day with a list of food I ate and what my WODs/results are. Nothing against people who do that; whatever helps people stay accountable, more power to them. My food isn't that fantastic and I'm not busting out Josh Bridges and Katie Hogan like WOD results so I don't see the need in doing it on my blog every day.

However, this week will be somewhat different. Since starting a whole new training program last week, I wanted to track my progress between the weeks, plus stay accountable for with my Whole 30.

Le sigh....life again throws me a curve ball. I'm starting to really love this program and now, I'll be in Dallas on Mon thru Fri for atleast the next 3 weeks :( I'll get programming emailed to me from my coaches, but it's not the same. I'll miss the benefit of having them watch me and correct my form. Oh well. I'm lucky to be healthy and with a job, so I can't bitch too much.

Tuesday's WOD:

45 mins Prior to Rowing: Lots of stretching, plus 1 push up OTM every minute for 20 minutes.

5K Row at 530p: We did this on the first day of Row Club 6 weeks ago so this was a re-test. Totally sucked; it was hot and humid out today and I swear I lost 5lbs of sweat. Did it in 22:50 w/ a 2:17 split; last was 23:29 w/ a 2:20 split. Shane said that taking 2-3 seconds off your split is the norm so atleast I did that. Rowing a 5k is my least favorite thing to do in this world.

Deadlift at 630p: 3R x 5; 2 warm ups, 3 working. Last week I ended my 5R x 5 with 3R of 200lb; got really ugly on the 4th so stopped & didn’t count it. This week, I worked on my breathing and I used runner’s body glide on my quads. Ended up doing 123-155-175-200-210 (2). My 200 x 3 looked really good tonight; so much better than last week!! My 210 wasn’t so hot; but Calvin watched the whole time and pointed out my problem areas; my upper back is weak and my inner quad is weak. So I have some exercises now to strengthen those. But my improvement in breathing from the 200 last week to the 200 this week was night and day. Progress :)

Shoulder Press at 700p: 3R x 5; 35-50-60-70-75. Nothing exciting here. 75x3 is probably a PR as I’ve never really tested at this.

Although I had about 56 hours of rest between hiking on Sunday morning and working out on Tuesday night, I was super beat after this class. I made sure to drink some natural, no sugar added coconut water in between classes to replace my electrolytes, plus I did about 45 mins of stretching/rolling prior to row class. Watched Josh Bridges (BW ~160lbs) doing 375lb Deadlifts tonight; definitely motivating.

Meal 1: Leftover Broiled Salmon, Sauteed Zucchini in Coconut Oil
Meal 2: Sausage, 2 Eggs and Berries
Meal 3: Broiled Sea Bass w/ Salad (Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Bell Pepper, Strawberries and lots of Bean-o)
Meal 4: PostWOD: Chicken Breast, Chicken Thigh, Beets & BCAAs

No soreness today from last night; I thought I'd atleast be sore in the booty between all the rowing and Deadlifts. My back is a little tight but no worries there.

Today was a killer. It’s getting humid and hot, even at 7am, especially in the back of the gym!

7am Group Class:

15 AMRAP Testing Day
10 Hand Release Push Ups
15 Wall Balls (20/14)
20 KB Swings (24/16)

I got in 5 rds + 25. Push Ups were 5-7 each set, Wall Balls were 10/5 and KB swings unbroken. I was dripping sweat so bad. The average was 4-7 rounds. Rest the rest of the day until CFE at 630pm. Yes, 2 a day for 2 days in a row. But then just one a day for the next 2, then some rest!

Meal 1: Chicken Breast, Chicken Thigh, Beets & BCAAs (830am)
Meal 2: Leftover Broiled Sea Bass w/ steamed carrots (1130am)
Meal 3: 2 Eggs, 2 Bacon & Berries (4pm)
Meal 4: Steak w/ steamed broccoli & mushrooms (8pm)

And before you call me out, my bacon is Whole 30 approved :)