The Jasmine Challenge

So the Spartan Challenge has ended and I didn't really do it because of how crazy life has been lately. On Thursday, after Crossfit everybody was stretching, and somebody asked me about the Spartan Challenge and Crystal replied for me, "Jas is doing her own challenge."

She's right. This challenge lasts my whole life but is particularly important for the next year while I wait for Geoff to come home. Today's blog post is going to focus on the Jasmine Challenge for the next 6 weeks.

I am going to Arizona on August 8. That will mark then end of my challenge. Crystal will do my measurements and I will report my successes. Now for the goals!

1. 120-125

This is a weight goal. I know weight isn't everything. Fitness and health are more important and weight can be an inaccurate measurement if you are strong etc. That being said, a person who is only 5'2 even with muscle and curves should weigh between 115-125 (without muscle and curves, a 5'2 girl could easily be 100-110 and not look sickly). My current weight is 129. The weight I was before Geoff got home in May 2009 was 116. The weight I was when I got married in August 2009 (when this picture was taken) was about 122. As you can see, my weight slowly crept up over the year. In 6 weeks, I would like to lose 5-10 pounds. So when I leave for Arizona, I would like to be 120-125. I think this is reasonable but it's going to take discipline (which leads to the next goal).

2. 90% Paleo

More blogs on Paleo later. This means one cheat meal a week. I read the Paleo Diet book and the best idea it gave me was to try to stay at 100% and say no to temptation whenever possible. But if that 10% time is unavoidable, do it and don't hate yourself over it. This happened this week. I have been 90% Paleo for one week. Yesterday we were tubing all day and the group of people I was with wanted to stop at Taco Bueno. Although it's the opposite of Paleo, I had tortilla soup and a beef taco. I didn't even finish the soup though because I am not in a cheating mentality. But after a whole day of tubing (of which I was the one pulling the tubes and getting the exercise), I needed some sustenance.

3. Run, Yoga, and Crossfit at least once a week

I'm happy doing 4 days a week of Crossfit but I need balance in my life. I used to love running and be a lot better at it. I want to get there again. I also enjoy the challenge of yoga and the personal strength it gives you. Fitness, in my opinion, is being able to do a variety of activities well. This is my variety.

I have so many other goals. I would like to do a handstand push up (first I need to be able to get up on the wall unassisted), I would like to run a sub 8 minute mile again (first I need to set up a plan for this), I would like to be able to do Angie unassisted in sub 20 minutes (100 pushups, 100 squats, 100 pullups, 100 situps). I can do Angie RX but my hands tear too soon at the pull ups and the whole thing is thrown off. And I have a million personal goals (mostly to get a school law job and graduate with honors). Also, I'd like to become more proficient in Spanish. I bought Rosetta Stone Levels 1-5 and my goal is to complete it by the end of the year.

But this blog and my main focus for the next 6 weeks will be to complete the 3 big goals above. They all go hand in hand and they are all part of my "Jasmine Challenge."

No More Excuses

So I had some really good reasons to not be Paleo/Crossfitrific the past couple months. I had finals then a cruise in Europe then Geoff's family came to visit and finally the last few days with Geoff before he left for Afghanistan. I let my diet go and I prepared myself for the worst, telling myself that it was worth it. And it was....

But the reality is that I feel and function better when my diet and fitness is on track. It feels pretty ick to have gained 8 pounds in a month and a half. And it would feel amazing to drop those again. But right now I am just enjoying how good it fuels to put good food into my body.

This summer should be the summer of fitness. I have no more excuses. I live alone and have complete control over the contents of the fridge and pantry. I even did a "kitchen cleanse" with Crystal and we got rid of all the bad food. The only way to have bad food in my house now is if I actively go out and buy it. So the "Geoff excuse" is gone... I can't nibble pasta off his plate or end up eating huge unhealthy restaurant portions just because Geoff wanted to go out. Now it's all on me.

I also have an abundance of free time now to work on my fitness. No more missed classes! Okay, I don't necessarily have an abundance. I'm working 30 hours a week this summer, learning Spanish through Rosetta stone, and have some summer duties as Editor in Chief of The Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy. But those hours are flexible and can be worked around my fitness schedule. I've also signed up for yoga and I intend on running 1-2 times a week in addition to the 4 days a week of Crossfit.

My next post will be my goals. This post is about the no excuses attitude I'm taking on this summer. I've jump started this all with a 10 day herbal cleanse of which I am on day 3. So far so good. I feel good! I feel confident I can whip my body back into premarital shape. More on all this later.

A Present to My Body

So since February I have been doing Crossfit intense WODs at Crossfit Central 5 days a week (M, W, TH,F, Sat). I've been "resting" on Tuesdays and Sundays. But usually one of those days I try to do yoga or running so it's not even really resting. Well, the past two weeks by the fourth day in a row of working out my body has been screaming at me to rest. On Thursday of this week we did cleans and then Friday morning I did more cleans, and by Friday night, my shoulders hurt so bad that Geoff tried to massage them and I was literally screaming in pain. I've decided to stop doing Saturday workouts. This means my new workout schedule is Crossfit Women's on M, W, Th and then Crossfit Co-ed on Fridays.

So it's Saturday right now and I didn't workout and mentally, I was feeling lazy and want to beat myself up. But I'm sitting outside right now on my back porch and I took a moment to stop and listen to my body and I feel like my body is saying thank you. I need to learn balance and recovery. So it starts today. I am going to take Saturdays off completely. No yoga, no running. Sundays I am going to run. And on Tuesdays I will do very gentle yoga in my garage. I'm going to test this out for April and May and take some Advocare Night Time recovery. You're welcome, body.

Eh is a Thing of the Past

My last post was rather uninspiring which is funny because I've had a few inspiring moments since then. The first was last week when I discovered on my first attempt that I could do two kipping pull ups in a row. Next up 3-5. The second was Friday morning's workout where I knocked out 18 pull ups (2 rounds in the WOD included 9 pull ups- actually there was a third round but I didn't get to it). Then yesterday we did Angie and I did my first attempt at an RX Angie. Crystal capped the pull ups at 10 minutes, but I stopped at about 9 minutes when I realized my hands were too cut up to go any further. Even though I only did 35 out of the 100 pull ups, it still set a new record and I'm still counting it as RX. My total time was 23:47. The 100 squats and situps are like nothing to me now but I still get a little caught up on my pushups. I don't feel sore from them today so I think that was mental and part exhaustion and leftover pain from the pull ups. Anyhow, I feel pretty inspired that I can RX almost any Crossfit WOD (still some weights are too heavy) but I also know there's A LOT of room to grow especially with my speed and endurance and definitely some of my lifts (hello, flat back deadlifts).

So my most inspiring workout moment of the week is that I decided to do the Spartan 300 Challenge. This is my third year doing it (crazy!). The first year I did it was August of 2008. I had just joined Crossfit and I didn't do the whole challenge, but got to do the end workout anyway. Box jumps were step ups, the weight was just the barbell, the pull ups were jumping, the pushups were on my knees, and my kettlebell was the light silver one. Fastforward to the 2009 Challenge and the pushups were on my toes, the weight was intermediate, the pull ups were still jumping, but the box jumps almost all jumps with maybe a few step ups. Now for 2010, my goal is to do it RX. I'm pretty sure I can RX the weight but I know I can do 25 pull ups without stopping. The pushup and box jumps are going to be hard but more than doable.

The hardest part of the challenge will be self-discipline and nutrition since it begins in Geoff's final months before he leaves for Afghanistan. But he is a very supportive husband and I know he is proud of me. This challenge will make stronger on a personal level and strength is something I am going to need to get through this next deployment.

Eh

This week's workouts have been kinda "eh." My front squat was only 100 and I think I could have done more so I'm kinda mad at myself. Today the workout included deadlifts and sumo deadlift high pulls and I think my form was kinda crap so my back hurt so I wasn't that good. So "eh." Mostly I'm just trying to get back into the Paleo groove but it's hard because I haven't had any weight loss with Paleo so I'm not totally convinced it's working for me.

Found a Recipe

What you need/what I used:
-1/2 butternut squash, peeled, quartered, seeded, and cut into slices or big cubes
-asparagus (how ever much your heart desires) cut into pieces
-1 red bell pepper
-2 tsp. olive oil
-sea salt, pepper, basil, and dried oregano
-2 pork tenderloins
-1 orange, halved

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet toss together squash, asparagus, and bell pepper. Spray with organic olive oil pam (a generous coating) and season with sea salt, pepper, and basil. Roast 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, season pork generously with sea salt and pepper; sprinkle (I like to pronounce it sprankle) with oregano. In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Cook pork until golden brown on both sides (about 8-10 minutes). Nestle pork among vegetables on sheet; roast until vegetables are tender and pork is cooked through (about 15-20minuets).

3. DON'T SKIP THIS PART! Remove pan from oven, cut the orange in half and squeeze half the orange over the pork and veggies. Let cool a bit and serve.

4. ENJOY :)

Tom Ka Gai aka Coconut Ginger Chicken Soup.
Time – 20-30 mins
Ingredients
1 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken (cut into strips)
1 “A Taste of Thai” Coconut Ginger Soup Base (I use this brand found at HEB as it is easier than tracking down Thai ingredients like Galangal and Fish Sauce – it’s got a trace amount of Sugar but no gluten or preservatives.)
1 can Coconut Milk (not the Lite kind please)
14.5 Chicken Broth (make sure you don’t get one loaded with preservatives or ingredients you can’t pronounce)
1 Lime
1 Carrot
1/4 Cauliflower
A couple of sprigs of Cilantro
In a pan, combine the Soup Base and Coconut milk over high heat, bringing it to boil. Add chicken, cauliflower, carrots, stir and bring to boil. I toss in the carrots and cauliflower to get my daily dose of vegetables. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked. Add the Chicken broth, stir and return to boil. Add the lime based on the level of sourness you would like. Remove from heat, garnish with Cilantro and voila – a quick easy and filling meal.

Scared!

I have my makeup I Am Crossfit Benchmark workout in a few hours. I feel kinda nervous, almost want to just not go. I don't want to feel bad if I don't finish the workout in the 12 minutes. I'm afraid of my cleans, last time I couldn't get it done quick enough. I'm trying to reflect on everything I ate today, trying to make myself drink water. I really want to finish. I lost 4 and half inches and 2% body fat. I can kip. I should be happy no matter what. But I tend to focus more on what I do wrong than what I do right. So I'm scared! But I think all real achievements come from risk. Successful people don't play it safe. I'm going to do my best and then work on accepting my best for what it is and trying not to wallow in regret (like how poor my diet was this weekend because of vacation).

I am also a little concerned because yesterday was a crazy workout. 75 situps, 50 pushups, 25 pull ups, 15 jumping squats (2 Rounds). It wouldn't have been so crazy if I hadn't insisted on doing every push up on my toes even if it meant doing one at a time at the end. Now my arms are a bit sore and I'm going into my benchmark workout. But no excuses! I just need to "get 'er done" and then move on.

Zone my Paleo

Ugh. I actually really like the Paleo diet, it makes so much sense to me and I feel great. But... I haven't lost ANY weight. So I'm going to stop saying that I'm eyeballing my zone portions and I'm going to go back to MEASURING. This is going to suck. I am going to be hungry. I am only allowed 10 blocks which the Zone website doesn't even allow, it's such a small amount of food. Actually, I should only get 9.3 according to a calculation by Coach John at Crossfit Central that used my current body weight and body fat. I might have to do 11 blocks to start off with, just for the sake of my marriage (I'm not a happy person when I'm hungry). Day 1 starts tomorrow. I found a couple good websites:

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf

and

http://www.mitymous.net/weights/zoneblox.htm

I just need to make myself do it to see what happens. If nothing happens, then I'm back to regular Paleo.

Date Night

It's kinda hard to eat healthy and be social. Tonight my husband and I went on a date to our favorite Texas Mexican restaurant, Posados. He ordered a gigantic margarita, I had iced tea (2 of them!), he ate the chips and salsa, I sat on my hands. He ordered a cheesy enchilada and chilly relleno, I ate fajitas without cheese, tortillas, or sour cream (basically, meat, grilled veggies, and pica de gallo). Sometimes I feel funny when eating at a restaurant, like the waiter and other customers think I'm crazy. A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a burrito without the cheese or the tortilla (and it was delicious!). Anyhow, it's part of my lifestyle and I'm proud every time I walk out of a restaurant knowing that I ate well. (Although, I must have a guilty admission, I took a tiny bite of Geoff's cheesy enchilada). Even though I haven't lost any weight on Paleo, I feel good about it and it makes sense to me and it is my new lifestyle. I'm never hungry but I feel confident that I'm feeding my body pure energy and nutrients. This is the new me and I like it.

Bench Press 5x5

65/75/85/85/95 (fail, didn't go down enough)

Goal- Anything above 100.

SOOO CLOSE

So I've been trying to do a kipping pull up for... what feels like half my life... but is actually about a year and half. I've gotten close then a little bit farther away and then close again. In the past week or so I've gotten down to the thinnest band at Crossfit Central and only using one thin band at my house. Then today, after multiple band pull ups and a dead hang hold for 48 seconds (a new record), I tried to kip and my chin touched the bar!! It didn't go above the bar so I'm not counting it but it's so close I can literally almost taste it. Okay, not literally, I'm not doing pull ups with my tongue out but you get the point... I'm close!

Accountability

I'm back to blogging after a very LONG hiatus. I initially blogged for Geoff to read while he was in Iraq. Then I had a friend start blogging about Crossfit and I thought, hey I forgot I even had a blog. So when I went to check it, I realized it was useful to see how I had progressed or regressed from last year. Then a few days ago, I found really great Paleo recipes and I didn't know where to put them so I quickly posted them to my blog for my own storage. I've been thinking about it though and I think I will start blogging again, just to track my Crossfit progress AND because Geoff is leaving for Afghanistan in a few months, this will give him some reading material. Today I'm not even working out, it's been snowing all day and it's my rest day so Geoff and I are playing a board game. I will try to get on here tomorrow and write up about my workout and my pull up progress.

Paleo Recipes

No-Oatmeal
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
1 handful of goji berries or fresh berries

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 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-oatmeal” reaches your desired consistency; this should take only 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. Enjoy!

Veggie Medly
Saute a red onion chopped up in olive oil. I cook mine until they caramelize which takes a good 10-15 minutes. Then add in chopped garlic and cook for about 60 seconds. After that, add in all your favorite vegetables. Today I added orange bell pepper, broccoli, and squash. Saute for a few minutes until slightly tender, then add the secret ingredient. Canned tomatoes! **warning** Check the label before buying! Add those and cover for another 15 minutes stirring occasionally.