Monthly Progress Photos: February 2019

I'm trying something a little different this year because Weight Loss Wednesday posts started to become a pain in the ass. My dogs weren't cool with waiting for potty time each week while I weighed myself, measured my body fat, and changed into my bathing suit for progress photos. If I took them out first, I inevitably forgot to take measurements and/or photos, or started drinking coffee, which throws off measurements and photos. Now I do all that jazz on the first of the month. I weigh myself most mornings and take a simple progress photo that I store in MyFitnessPal.

These are many January 1 to February 1 comparison photos. I weighed 152.8 lbs on January 1 and 151.6 lbs a month later. My Omron recorded my body fat percentage as 23.9% on both days. I don't put much stock in that thing because it can be heavily impacted by hydration and sodium intake, but it's good for keeping an eye on trends.

My arms look bigger and my bed is made this month so I'm declaring this a win!

CrossFit is Better with Friends

The most magical thing happened last week! My friend Erin was in Atlanta and she dropped in at CrossFit Identity. Erin and I went to college together, but we didn't know each other well. Years after we graduated, we both got into CrossFit and rescue dogs and started chatting about our shared interests on Facebook. Erin and her husband are fantastic dog parents. Their dog Chance is the coolest, and he has been a wonderful foster brother to TWENTY-SEVEN foster dogs. I am so thrilled that I got to spend some time with Erin in-person at the box. She's super strong by the way.

To make the day even better, my brand new Endless Summer by Nikki Leonard Fleo shorts arrived! These babies are the 3.25 contour, which have become my favorite Fleo short style. Just long enough to minimize chafing during runs, but still short enough to be cute, sassy, and #teamnopants.

We retested a workout that most people dislike but I kind of secretly love. You pick a heavy odd object and run 1,000 m around the loop. Our gym is located on this random street that has everything from psychologist offices to a tech incubator to 3 different yoga studios to a framing place run by veterans plus a nature preserve. The run route is a mix of parking lot, gravel, and mulch trail. On June 13, I used a 50# dumbbell and finished in 9:32. On August, I used a 50# dumbbell and finished in 8:35. Progress folks.

Compliant

I used to work with a nutrition coach. I think working one-on-one with a coach is helpful, especially when you are new to flexible dieting and need someone to prescribe you some macros. My biggest frustration with coaching was that I didn't feel accountable. I either hit my macros each day or I didn't. The most important part of any diet is consistency and so most of the time I didn't have much to say during my check-ins. By the end I was getting frustrated because it felt like I was becoming a guinea pig for things she learned about, such as carb-cycling. I got this email about intermittent fasting and carb-cycling the first week of the 2016 CrossFit Open. The last thing I wanted to do before 5 weeks of competition was fuck around with my carbs. Ultimately, I decided to part ways with my nutrition coach because she started posting about "upleveling her business," which I think means she automated most of her content. My best advice to internet entrepreneurs is to avoid sending emails to your current clients about how you changed your program so that it can be mass-produced, ultimately undermining the very product your clients originally purchased.

Anyway, I kicked around the idea of getting a new coach. I tried to map out my own reverse diet and freaked out because I felt I was getting fat. I was researching coaches because of this freak out when I happened to listen to a podcast with Layne Norton, PhD, aka Biolayne. He talked about his company Avatar Nutrition and the cost of $10 a month seemed more than reasonable. About a month later, I signed up.

For the first time since I started tracking food (back in 2009), I feel like I have a system of being accountable because I weigh in each week AND I have to check a box saying if I was compliant or non-compliant with my macros during that week. I wasn't compliant for the first three weeks of using AN, and then I started feeling pretty dumb about that. I'm really good at weighing and tracking food. I'm really good at eyeballing portions. Why did I keep saying fuck it and ruining my progress? Well, I had gotten myself into a habit of just moving on to the next day. And if you have more fuck it days than compliant days, you're not moving towards your goals.

144.8 lbs on August 2, 2017

Weight Loss Wednesday 4.26.17

So this week's Weight Loss Wednesday post started as a Monday Macros post. I started it Monday morning, but decided that yesterday's workouts were relevant to how I've been feeling about my diet. This week I lowered my macros to 120 g protein, 175 g carbs, 65 g fat. The only number that changed is the amount of carbs, but it's still more carbs than the last time I was eating 1,765 calories a day.

Monday's WOD went great. We did Nancy, which is 5 rounds for time of a 400 m run and 15 overhead squats. The Rx for women is 65#, but I scale to 55#. The desired stimulus is to go fast and hard, so the OHS should be unbroken. I think yesterday was the first time I've done all 5 rounds at 55# unbroken. I finished in 14:31, which is 2 minutes and 46 seconds faster than the last time I did the workout on April 6, 2016. This is why you log you workouts folks. Data is awesome.

I was particularly proud of my color-coordinated outfit for Nancy on Monday. Couldn't care less about what I wear for work, but my workout clothes are on point.

I was so hungry Monday night before bed that I had trouble falling asleep. I wondered how much of that was mental, just knowing that I had eaten less, but I definitely felt less strong at the 6:30 AM Crossfit yesterday. I hit my 6x2 split jerks at 65#, 75#, 80#, 85#, 90#, 95#. That 95# did not feel as light as it has recently. The metcon had squat snatches at 145#. I probably would have used 125# at an evening class, but scaled to 105#.

Weight Loss Wednesday 2.1.17

I took these photos at 5 in the morning before my flight to New Jersey. That's how much I love you guys. I weighed in at 143. I ate all the carbs the night before and it felt glorious.

Progress: Seeing the Big Picture

Last week I drove to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a conference. I got to the hotel, obviously a Hilton, and was delighted to find the world's most flattering mirror in my room. I took that as a sign to take A LOT of selfies. (Note that "a lot" still has a space in between the a and the l, even when it's capitalized. It is my biggest Instagram pet peeve and apparently every fitness-related account can't be bothered to learn that ALOT is not a fucking word.)

Anyway, I went for a quick run around the mall parking lot on Thursday morning before the sessions started. Basically, I just wanted to get Starbucks so I took the longest possible route to get to the location that was directly next to the hotel. It was a little cold so I wore a long-sleeved shirt.

Since the mirror was just chilling out there on the closet door every time I walked near the bathroom, I felt compelled to document what I looked like post-run.

Fat Kid Strong Diet

I upped my macros to 145 P 145 C 65 F and told myself I have to eat that as a minimum every day. It's been rather freeing to see those numbers as the baseline and not the limit. I've hopped on the scale a few times but have purposely told myself to ignore the number. I think I look more defined weighing in at 145-148 lbs this week than I did when I hit 140.2. I'm sure it has something to do with water weight.

I've been kidding around that I'm a fat kid diet, but I really just want to get strong again. I returned to CrossFit last fall pretty weak compared to where I had left. I had lost and then gained weight and lost muscle mass. I don't compete in Olympic Weightlifting so it's not like I have to make a weight class. I want to start PRing lifts again.

Sometimes I get down on myself because I see girls at the gym who now move 95# overhead like it's big deal and I used to be stronger than them. I know I need to work on my mobility and fix my right shoulder. I know that I took time off last summer and then went away all fall. But it still frustrates me. I've also felt torn by too many goals that are all over the place, so I decided to simplify things - get as fucking strong as possible.

Body Fat Retest

I've been trying to get my body fat retested since February. Between conference food catering, travel, and Sunday Fundays, something has always come up that's made me postpone the test. I finally got my opportunity on Saturday.

The good news. I have retained all of my lean body mass. I have lost only fat.

The bad news. I didn't lose as much body fat as I had hoped, or did I?

Hydrostatic body fat testing is the gold standard of testing. You submerge yourself in a tank of water, blow out all of the air in your lungs, and the technician measures the results. Bali takes three readings to find the accurate amount of lean body mass. I had always assumed that the test had to be an accurate reading of body fat, because come on, science! But then I realized that results have room for error.

April 2016 Goals

Life and Wellness goals: I slept more in April than I think I have in the rest of 2016. It was glorious. I've even managed to go to sleep without taking anything more than a few times. I've spent time with friends and enjoyed some time at the pool, because this is Georgia and yes, it is already pool season. The boyfriend and I have made our relationship even better, which is fantastic. Life is good and I am happy.

Pure Barre Goal: I took class 4 times in April, including the Row. Tone. Om. class in Piedmont Park. That's 35 classes in 2016. I bought myself a class pack and I'll probably use the 20 classes by the end of August.

CrossFit Goal: 45/200 WODs. I went to CrossFit 11 times this month. It is so awesome to be back in the box on a regular basis. I PR'd my hang power clean at 135# (10# PR) and got my very first strict pull-up. I've gotten 2 more since then. I'm also loving the opportunity to see my CrossFit friends on a regular basis and being included in fun things outside of the gym. Being away all of the time sucked because I felt like I wasn't a part of the community anymore.

Mileage: I ran 20 miles this month, including a 5K. I love my Garmin 360 and my Brooks Ghost 8s. You can also follow me on Strava, although I'm not exactly sure what that means.

March 2016 Goals

This month was humbling. I wanted to be someone who could accomplish a ton of things and be a ladyboss, but it became apparent that I had too many things on my plate. The quality of my work at my real job suffered. I was constantly tired. I even got so stressed out, I yelled at my dogs. I don't want to be a person who yells at her dogs. Even when one of them refuses to potty outside and the other refuses to stay outside long enough for the first one to consider going potty. I accidentally tazed myself this morning. I was so tired and it was 4 AM and instead of pressing the button that locks Frank's retracting leash, I pressed the button on my taser and I tazed the shit out of my hand. I was so tired that it took me a few moments to even realize where the pain was coming from. It was in that exact moment that I knew I had made the right decision. My first priority is sleeping enough to succeed at my job and to be a good dog momma.

I withdrew from my GMAT class because it became painfully obvious that I am significantly behind in the math content. Once I have become proficient enough in the work that pays my salary, I am going to get myself a math tutor. Veritas Prep told me I can re-enroll without penalty whenever I'm ready. I have also put in my notice at Pure Barre and will only work a few shifts this April. The 4 AM wake up on Wednesday and Thursday was killing me, especially since I produce my best work between 6 and 10 AM. By the time I got home, I couldn't concentrate and frequently needed a nap. I was also late for my shrink every Thursday. I am disappointed that I didn't get to enjoy a free membership. It seemed like I was asked to cover a shift every time I signed up for class - like legit, Hey we see you're signed up to take the 4:45 PM. Can you show up at 4 and leave at 8? I'm a hard worker and I understand that helping to pick up weights is a small sacrifice to make for free class, but I didn't want to get pulled in to cover the desk every time I went near the studio. I have a relatively flexible work schedule that allows me to exercise during a typical work day but that's only because I make up that hour before 9 AM or after 6 PM. It doesn't mean that I'm free to work 4 hours in the middle of the day or that I can drop everything to handle an apparel shipment at 11 AM. If it sounds like I'm pissed, it's because I am. I'm a big fan of the studio and the owners and everyone who works there, but working there isn't the right thing for me anymore. I'm going to buy myself a class pack and go back to being a client.

Life and Wellness goals: FAILED. I didn't sleep enough and I certainly didn't live in the moment because I was miserable and panicking on a regular basis. I got so stressed out that I tried to find things to give up that weren't GMAT or Pure Barre so I told Jenna I needed a break from nutrition coaching. Even thinking about my macros changing made me freak out. The good news is that I'm back on track and have a carb cycling and workout plan set for the month of April.

I'm looking pretty lean but I'm still working on losing more body fat.

CrossFit Open 16.5

One of CrossFit's biggest selling points for me is measurable fitness. You can track your improvements over time and compare performance the same way you can for running, except you get to do things other than race the same distance over and over again. Don't get me wrong - I love running, but racing the same distances slowly turned me a little insane and I started resenting running in general. In CrossFit, we retest workouts to measure our growth and some of those workouts are evil. One such evil workout was 14.5 - a descending ladder of thrusters* and burpees over the bar. We got to do it all over again as 16.5.

*A thruster combines a front squat with a push press. Most people hate them.

Workout 16.5

21-18-15-12-9-6-3:

Thrusters

Burpees

M 95 lb.      F 65 lb.

This is me doing 14.5. I had never done thrusters at 65# before. It was really heavy and I got a lot of no reps. I completed the workout in 20:23, which was actually kind of a good time I learned afterwards. Two years later, I finished the same workout in 14:44. That's 5 minutes and 39 seconds less. It was still a vicious workout, and it should never get any easier because the fitter you get, the faster you go.

Instead of struggling to get three thrusters in a row, I managed to complete the entire workout without a no rep. My coach Eric was my judge and we discussed pacing before my heat. We decided that I should break up the reps as follows: 7-7-7 thrusters & burpees, 6-6-6 thrusters & burpees, 5-5-5 thrusters & burpees, 4-4-4 thrusters 6-6 burpees, 5-4 thrusters 9 burpees, 6 thrusters & burpees, 3 thrusters & burpees.

I would say that the hardest set was the 5-5-5 and I got sloppy on the thrusters. I had to get my head out of my ass, refocus, and was able to complete the remaining thrusters with a lot better form. Once I got through the 12s, I knew I was so close to finishing and had to just get through it. I used my motivational phrases (I like to scream HUNT and MURICA) to knock out the remaining reps.

Today marks the end of the 2016 CrossFit Open. The best CrossFitters will go onto Regionals and compete for a chance at the Games, but most of us end our season today. I'm proud of my performance this year because I got chest 2 bar pull ups for the first time and I proved to myself that I am in fact fitter today than I was in 2014. The Open reveals your weaknesses, affirms your hard work, and best of all - brings the community together for 5 weeks.

MindBody Brand Ambassador

I have been selected to be a MindBody Brand Ambassador so I can share my fitness journey on Instagram and other social media. This means I have to start posting some legit photos of myself and not my awkward selfies, so I recruited my friend Nicole to take some photos of me after the WOD yesterday.

I felt like a pretty Dalmatian in my new Fabletics outfit. Since the workout was EMOM hang snatches followed by rowing and snatches, I really should have worn my lifters, but they don't match this outfit so I went Nanos. Looking good is 3/4 the battle.

I am making a dumb face but you can see the pants a lot better in this shot.

Facebook tells me that I hit a 55# snatch on this day two years ago. Yesterday I did 3 high hang squat snatches every minute on the minute for 7 minutes at 55#. High hang is more difficult because you have less momentum to get under the bar. I also used 55# for the metcon: 500 m row, 15 power snatches, 750 m row, 12 power snatches, 1000 m row, 9 power snatches. I love CrossFit because progress can be clearly measured.

Speaking of progress - I am focused on my macros and getting used to high carb days. Yesterday I had some pasta with my lunch and I measured out 1 serving according to the box. That's 1 serving. It's like a garnish. I don't usually eat a lot of carbs at lunch so buttered noodles with my chicken chick pea salad seemed pretty decadent but I easily eat like four of these when my dad makes pasta. Remember when I was obsessed with informercials? I totally used my Pasta Boat to cook this linguine.

Progress

Yesterday I got to ring the PR bell at CrossFit. It's kind of a big deal because it means you set a new personal record. When you first start CrossFit, you PR practically every day. Now that it's been a year and a half, I might not PR as often but I know that I am making progress. For the first time ever, I completed the workout Nicole Rx. Feel free to clap.

You might be wondering how I got such a flattering angle for this photo. My friend Sam is 6'7" or 6'8" and this is the photo he took by just standing a few feet away from me. Where was Sam when we needed him for all of sorority formal photo shoots??