My triumphant return... (and the 2.8 lbs)

...to Crossfit!  I was SO excited to get back to Crossfit last night, until I got to Crossfit.  Ha.  Just warming up was a workout for me, but I did run the entire 800 meters that was called for despite the suggestion that I only run 400.  The WOD was 5 rounds for time; 100 meter bear crawl, 100 meter broad jumps with 3 burpees for every 5 broad jumps.  I completed the WOD in 15:22 seconds.  Bear crawling is not as fun or easy as it sounds.  We did it outside in the parking lot because there was a nice cool breeze (it was more of a gusting wind), so the palms of my hands feel pretty sweet today.  And my butt hurts too.  Guess that's normal. 

On another note, today was my second Zerona treatment.  While I was at the office I asked for a copy of my paperwork so I would have my measurements and because I couldn't remember what my weight was on Monday.  I am not hung up on "the number" on the scale at all, but I am interested to see how that number changes as I continue to workout and go through the Zerona procedures.  That being said, on Monday I weighed 125.8 lbs.  That is actually an increase of almost 2 lbs from before my 10 day travel bonanza began.  Along with the travel I ate like crap and barely worked out.  So its not that I'm shocked to have gained 2 lbs.  In fact, I'm shocked I didn't gain more to be honest.  But I digress.  The point is that today I weighed in at exactly 123 lbs.  Now, I am guessing this can be attributed to the fact that I have been eating much healthier over the past 2 days, I have gone back to Crossfit (yaaay) AND I have begun Zerona.  At any rate, Ill take it!   

So my beginning measurements were as follows:  (I will repost these when I post my before/after pictures and results.  But if you care - here they are up front.)
Weight                                          125.8
Body Fat                                      27.6% (gross)
Base of bra                                   28 7/8
Waist (4" above belly button)        26 5/8
Mid-Ab (2" above belly button)     32 4/8
Hips                                              33 4/8
R Thigh                                         23 3/8
L Thigh                                         23 3/8

Zerona!

As promised, a post dedicated to Zerona.  (You re welcome, Nick.)  Oh yea, I need to disclose that Zerona is in fact the product that my boyfriend Nick sells. 

What is Zerona, you ask?  Zerona is a low level/cold laser therapy used for body contouring, also known as non-invasive liposuction.  The laser forces the fat cells to open up and drain out, at which point your body can metabolize it.  The typical treatment schedule is to go in 3 days a week for 2 weeks (6 total treatments).  The procedure is totally painless and only takes 20 minutes on the front and 20 minutes on the back.  Generally it takes about an hour.  To get the maximum results patients are asked to avoid alcohol, drink a lot of water and get 10-30 minutes of exercise a day.  It is also advised to wear compression garments if possible. 

Before you start to think that I am crazy, let me say that I am getting Zerona treatments for 2 reasons. 
For one, they are free.  Dr Wyatt at Zerona Vinings is using Nick and I as models for his own portfolio of Zerona patients.  He is interested in seeing the results that various size and shape patients get in order to set expectations down the line.  To contact Dr Wyatt about Zerona please call 678-293-6627.  He is awesome and being in his office for an hour every other day is pretty fun.  His practice is at 4199 Paces Ferry Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30339. 
The second reason I am getting Zerona treatments done is pretty obvious if you ask me.  I mean, a quick easy painless way to lose inches of fat?!  No brianer!  Combined with Crossfit and 6 weeks of almost no booze, by mid November I should be in damn good shape.  I am definitely willing to find out if it works!

My first visit was yesterday, which meant taking the dreaded "before" pictures again.  Mark (an office assistant) is emailing me the pictures and I will post them all at once, after my final treatment.  I will also post my before and after measurements, horrifying as the before's might be.  After taking my pictures and measurements, I laid face up while Mark positioned the lasers to cover my belly, hips and thighs.  He set the timer for 20 minutes and I took a nap.  Then he came in to reposition them on my love handles, butt and thighs while I laid on my stomach for 20 minutes.  The timer went off, I got dressed and went home.  Now the goal is to drink tons of water and go back to my Crossfit routine in between sessions. 

I go back tomorrow and Friday and repeat that schedule next week.  While 6 is the standard and recommended number of treatments, Dr Wyatt and I will review my results next Friday and determine if additional treatments are necessary and would improve my results at all.  Ill keep you posted ;)

Its been way too long

WOW, its been forever since Ive blogged!  Holy smokes.  I feel like there is so much to catch up on that I don't even know where to start.  I have been traveling for over a week so on one hand its like there is a lot to say, but on the other hand, its all boring and you wouldn't care anyway.  The trip basically went like this.  Charleston Fri - Sun, Orlando/Daytona Beach/Lakeland/Orlando Sun - Thurs, Buffalo Thurs - Sun.  It was exhausting.

A few things I will say relate to everything else I talk about.  For one thing it has been over a week since Ive done Crossfit.  We did go to Crossfit Intergritywith my friend and her husband during our visit to Charleston and we had a blast.  It was great to visit another gym and meet some new people.  The WOD was 4 rounds; row 500 meters, 21 wallballs.  Nick finished in just over 15 minutes, I finished in 16:40 and Jenn finished one minute after me.  We all did great and had a wonderful time.  We had such a wonderful time that after our workout we decided to also stay and do the beginners workout.  It was AMRAP in 10 or 15 minutes (to be decided by the trainer during the workout) of 5 pull ups, 8 push ups, 11 sit ups and 14 air squats.  I completed the most rounds in 15 minutes, with a total of 8.

After the workout we went back to Jenn and Austins house to throw their daughter a first birthday party!  The party was gorgeous, everyone had a great time.  In my attempt at full disclosure I must admit however, that I did drink that night.  Nick and I went out with Jenn and Austin after the party.  I should point out that Jenn is one of my oldest friends and there is a long history of crazy nights and too many glasses of wine between us.  She is also currently trying to get pregnant with her second bambino.  So, I made the choice to enjoy a glass of champagne and a few glasses of wine with my friend that night.  And she also pressured me a lot.  And I mean, A LOT!   But at the end of the night the choice was mine.  I cant believe that one night of wine in the month of October will be the reason I do not reach my goals. 

The next big fun thing that I want to share is that Nick and I started our Zerona treatments today!  But, you ll have to read the next post to hear more about that!  I have to give credit where its due, so I'm devoting an entire post to that.

Pity Party of 1, your table is ready!

Yep, thats right.  This post is going to be one long whine fest.  Dont feel obligated to read it if you dont want to, I understand.  No one likes whining, least of them myself.  But I just have to rant.

Lets start with my hair.  I am not generally one to get all worked up over my hair.  Mostly because I never really like it anyway.  It takes a lot for me to have a good hair day and it usually lasts until the second I walk out the door.  So whatever, it is what it is.  Ive worn my hair long, shoulder length, short and just about everywhere in between.  Since the beginning of the year I have let my hair grow out.  It wasnt "long", but it was on its way.  In August Nick convinced me to cut it short again.  So I was referred to a new salon and went for it.  And it looked great!  I really did like it a lot.  This is what it looked like the day I got it cut. 

So it had been over 2 months since it was cut like this and I was over due.  My hair grows like a weed and it was pretty long.  I have been on the fence about cutting or growing it out for a few weeks and finally decided to have it cut again.  I went in to the same girl and showed her this picture as my "inspiration". 

So I made it clear that I wanted the option of being able to curl it a little to look like this.  This is not a whole lot shorter than the last cut I had in August.  I sat back, relaxed and waited to see my new do.  THIS is the MESS I ended up with!  Super F'ing short.  What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

Needless to say, I hate it (In fact, I am only smiling in the picture so I dont look to pathetic).  I think it looks terrible and there is no way it looks anything like the Katie Holmes cut.  The front pieces by my face are shorter than the rest, which I hate the most.  And the fact that I have NO HAIR in the back.  I actually cried last night over it because I hate it so much.  Nick continues to tell me he likes it, but I think that is because I cried over it.  Theres no way he can honestly like this disaster.  Thank GOD that my hair grows so fast, maybe I will hate it less in a few weeks.  For now, I will avoid pictures and being in public.  This should also help speed up Sober October.  Ha. 

The next thing I choose to whine about is partially my own fault.  I bought a brand spanking new pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes for Crossfit last week.  I have been wearing them around the house a little to get used to them, as suggested.  Theyre very cool.  It definitely takes some time to get used to the feeling of your toes being spread out instead of squashed together.  And its a different feeling that any other shoe on the sole of your foot.  You can actually feel the ground under you.    

Anyway, last night I wore them to Crossfit for the first time.  I ran 400 meters to warm up and then did the WOD.  3 rounds; 200 meter run, 30 lb weighted farmer walk, 12 burpees.  I finished and felt great!  Then the trainer said we all needed to go run a mile.  I felt pretty good through about 75% of the mile and then my toes started to hurt.  It wasnt unbearable, but it wasnt a great feeling either.  As I ran back into the gym the trainer said "Oh wow, I forgot this was your first workout in the Vibrams.  I probably should have only had you run 1/2 mile!"  Ahhhh.  Oh well, done and over.  Until today that is!  My calfs are burning (as I was warned they would) and my toes are a bit sore.  So, for the next week or two I will go back and forth with these and my old running shoes.  Hopefully that helps.

The last thing I need to complaing about is that I did in fact take "before" pictures the other day.  But, I am so disgusted with them that I refuse to post them.  Maybe when I look better and can brag about how much I have changed my body through hard work and strict nutrition I will feel differenly about it. 



October...the worst possible sober month?

It has recently occured to me that October was quite possibly the WORST month of the year to choose for a sober month.  Nick and I have something going on just about every weekend that would normally be considered acceptable to drink at. 

Just this past weekend alone we went to the Thrashers home opener and two consecutive Braves playoff games.  I generally equate sporting events with drinking beer, especially when the weather is so gorgeous and we tailgate for 3+ hours before a baseball game!  But alas, I did not drink.  I have kept my word and not had a sip of alcohol since Oct 1. 

This weekend we are going to Charleston to visit one of my best friends and her family.  It is her daughters first birthday and they are having a party, which naturally means everyone will be drinking.  It hasnt really bothered me all that much not to drink this month.  But this is different.  Its Jenn!  She and I have a bit of a history together, especially when it comes to weekend visits and bottles of wine.  Her husband has witnessed this the most, but even Nick will tell you its something to see.  So, this will probably be the hardest weekend yet. 

But, I said I would go 30 days and I will.  This just means that Jenn and I will have to plan another weekend visit soon. 

My first "chipper"

First I would like to point out that it has not been 5 days since my last workout, just my last blog!  We had our "on ramp" class on Mon and Tues, which is when we learn the fundamentals of Crossfit.  Both nights there was a workout to do that implemented what we learned, I did the workout on Monday but not Tuesday.  I was in severe pain and did not feel that any good could come from doing a workout.  So I went to class, learned the skill and hung out while Nick did the workout. 

Now, about my first chipper!  Essentially it is a long list of skills that you do one at a time, "chipping" away at the list if you will.  Sounds fun, right? 

Well in light of my trip to the chiro yesterday during which it was suggested that I most likely have a pinched nerve in my right lower back/hip, I decided to scale the WOD back a little.  I skipped the back extensions and substituted jump squats for burpees.  (I attempted the burpees and felt my back pinch with each five that I was able to make it through.  Ugh.)

For time
Run 400m (backward)
     *note that this is much harder than it sounds! try it!
30x Sit-ups
15x Push press (15# dumbbells)
20x Pull-ups
30x Push-ups
100x Squats
Row 500m
50x Sit-ups
30x Box jumps
20x Push press (15# dumbbells)
5x Burpees
10x jump squats
Run 400m (forward)

This was one of my most challenging workouts to date.  I hate that I had to make so many changes just to get through it all.  But I can appreciate that I am still a Crossfit newbie and that I am not in ideal physical condition yet.  Yes, I said yet! 

Anyway, I did finish my version of the WOD in 27ish minutes.  If I can do the full workout in that time someday I will be happy!  For now, its another day that I went and did something I wasnt sure I could do, and Ill take that for now!

Death by Dead Lifts

I didnt realize that dead lifts was quite as literal of a term as it appears to be.  Yesterday the WOD was 10 rounds of 15 dead lifts (95lbs) and 15 pushups.  I finished in 16:52 but, honestly I did my pushups on my knees.  They look fantastic today by the way. 

Anyway, as it turns out 150 dead lifts leaves one with painfully tight and fatigued back and legs.  And the pushups do wonders for your shoulders.  So needless to say we are both moving and moaning like a couple of geriatric patients today.  (No disrespect intended to geriatric patients.)

Starting this week we have our "on ramp" classes on Monday and Tuesday nights.  Im not sure how I will be able to lift anything heavier than a glass of water tomorrow but Ill worry about that tomorrow. 

Oh, and today is day three of SO.  We went to a birthday dinner with 20 people at a mexican resto last night.  If that didnt break me, I dont know what will.  But then again, today the Bills play the Jets at home....

Sunday Funday...errr, Laundry Day?

This is just a general observation, but I'm not sure at what point my Sundays went from being "Sunday Funday" to "Sunday Laundry/Cleaning/Grocery shopping Day".  Not that I am complaining, its just something I thought of the this morning. 

There were weekends gone by when Sunday was the highlight of such.  Cocktail brunches turned into hours long patio drinking/socializing sessions turned into the ever crazy Tin Roof until 4am.  $200 spent on one Sunday Funday was nothing out of the ordinary.  There was one very memorable Sunday Funday where at my friend Paige convinced me that we should go to Vegas that Wednesday.  And we did.  We booked plane tickets and flew to Vegas on 3 days notice.  That trip was incredible.  It is probably what solidified Paige's place in my heart as one of my best friends.  

Today I woke up, sore from Crossfit and too lazy to go to church with Nick.  (For which I feel terrible by the way.)  When I rolled out of bed at 9am I realized the house needed a very good cleaning.  Since it irritated to me to clean when Nick is at home doing anything other than helping me, I took advantage of the fact that I had 3 hours home alone and I got busy.  I dragged several loads of laundry to the first floor and got that started.  Swept and mopped all of the floors, dusted, scrubbed the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, prepped snacks for the football game, and put out of place things into their places.  Somewhere along the line it occured to me how my life has changed. 

I feel settled now.  Content with where I am in life, despite how drastically different of a place it is.  Or maybe because of how different of a place it is?  I often hear about it from my friends, especially the ones I dont see as much anymore.  The ones that I used to rock with on Sunday Funday and Red Door Wednesday.  But you know what, life changes.  Our circumstances change.  And sometimes those changes are the best thing to happen to us, the thing we waited our whole lives for.  I am not saying I will never have another Sunday Funday, but Im also ok with Sunday whatever-else-needs-to-be-done day. 

The tale of two workouts

The tale of two workouts is more than just that.  Its actually the tale of THREE workouts, in two workouts.  Let me explain.

Wedsnesday night the WOD was to complete three sets of the following.  Run 800 meters, 50 back extensions, 50 sit ups.  I am not much of a runner anymore (not that I ever really was, but even less so now).  At any rate, believe it or not this workout was one of the hardest ones I have done yet.  Gah.  Also, it is worth pointing out how terrible McDonalds smells during an 800 meter run.  The gym is located nearly right behind one and while I generally like the smell of hot saltly french fries, nothing makes me want to vomit more when Im running.  Anyway, I finished in 30:22.  About 10 minutes after everyone else, but who is keeping track?  Well, actually everyone is keeping track. 

I wasnt able to get my Crossfit on yesterday because of a business trip to Nashville.  Naturally while I was on said business trip, I also met a friend for dinner and drinks.  It been a month or two since I last hung out with Erica so it was great to see her.  We went to Jacksons and Wiskey Kitchen, ate 3 times and drank...well, enough.  I say this mainly because last night was September 30.  The last day before Sober October! 

Today is October 1.  The beginning of SO (as it will herein after be referred to).  And the day that I did two workouts during my one trip to the gym.  So lets start there.  The WOD was pull up ladders.  Start the clock, do one pull up.  At one minute, do two.  At two minutes, do three.  Etc, etc, etc...until you can no longer complete the number of pull ups required in that round.  I hung in there for 10 minutes and did 55 pull usps.  Disclaimer - my pull ups were all done assisted with the green band.  Dont judge. 

After we finished the pull up ladders and rested for a few minutes we decided to also do the alternate workout.  And by we decided, I mean that Rachel convinced me to.  Ill have to remember to thank her tomorrow.  The alternate workout, my second workout, was to do AMRAP (as many reps as possible) in 12 minutes of 7 weighted squats (15 lbs), 7 push ups and 7 sit ups.  I tried to keep track but I did a miserable job and lost count.  I think I did somewhere between 8-10 reps.  Whatever.  The only thing I know for sure is that I certainly will not be able to lift my arms above my head until Monday.  I also know that Im really proud that I wont be able to!  And Im proud of the blisters on my hands.  And of myself in general.