Friday February 19th

So this week has felt good getting back to eating right and back to CrossFit. I had been working our Hematology Oncology conference last Friday through Monday, so the combination of really long days, hotel food and not being able to eat consistently really threw me off. But I am back on track!

So this is how I started my day:

This week has been a CrossFit only week, meaning there is no lift before the WOD. That might sound like it would be an easier week but it just seems to make the WOD's more intense and longer. The workout was:

Row 500

10 burpees

20 ring dips

10 burpees

30 pull ups

10 burpees

40 Kettlebell swings at 1 pood

10 burpees

50 push press with 45 pounds

10 burpees

60 walking lunges with 25 pound weight being held overhead

It took me 32:49 minutes to complete this series. The hardest part was the 50 push presses because my shoulders were on fire by this point.

These were my zone meals for the day. Pretty standard for me I need to work on mixing up my meals. I also think I want to transition to a more Paleo zone diet . It is similar to the zone diet but with less dairy. Tomorrow morning I am going to the Olympic Weight Lifting class and afterwards there is a group of us that are getting together to talk about our progress on the Zone so I am hoping to get some advice on this.

Breakfast: 1/2 tortilla, 3 oz cheese, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter, 1 pk instant oatmeal

Snack: 1/2 cup of yogurt, 6 almonds, 1 oz cheese, 1/2 cup of grapes

Lunch:3 oz turkey breast, 2 cups of green beans, 1/4 cup chick peas, 9 almonds

Snack: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 6 almonds, 1 cup of grapes

Dinner: 3 oz turkey breast, 1 slice of bread, 2 cups of celery, 1 tbs dressing

Thursday February 11th

So we got back from Seattle Sunday night. What an awesome trip! It was so nice to get away. I went into the trip with the attitude that I would try to follow as close to the zone as possible but knowing that it wouldn't be perfect. I started out really good. I would go into grocery stores for my snacks and try to find healthier options for meals there and then sticking to meals in restaurants that got their carb sources from fruits and veggies and not pasta and bread. By the end of the week (we were staying the city at this point) I did not do so well. There was one afternoon that my husband and I literally ate our way through Pikes Street Market. By Sunday both of our stomachs were not happy with us!

But Monday morning I made started my week out right with my 4:30 am CrossFit and 100% zone meals all day. That first workout was especially rough but four days later I feel back in the swing of things which leads me to today...

This is how I started my day:

The workout was intense but mostly because all the workouts this week have been especially brutal on my quads and this one was no exception. The lift was 3 sets of 5 of dead lifts. I got up to 134 pounds. It is not the most I have ever done but it was still a good lift for me.

The WOD was a Tabata drill which is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 16 rounds. The first 8 rounds were tabata dead lifts but the 10 seconds rest period in between wasn't actually rest because we had to hold the bar standing upright. The last 8 rounds were tabata air squats, so 20 seconds of constant air squats and the 10 second rest period is you holding in the lowered squat position (not a rest period at all!) By the end my legs were on fire and needless to say it hurt to walk today.

These were my zone meals for the day:

Breakfast: 3 oz cheese, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter, 1 pk instant oatmeal, 1/2 slice of bread

Snack: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 6 almonds, 1/2 apple, 1/2 cup of blueberries

Lunch: 3 oz chicken breast, 3 tbs of rice, 9 almonds, 1/4 cup of corn, 1/4 cup of black beans

Snack: 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 oz cheese, 1/2 cup of grapes, 6 almonds

Dinner: 2 oz chicken breast, 1 oz cheese, 4 cups of spinach, 1/2 apple, 1 cucumber, 1 tbs dressing

Tues Feb. 2nd

Today is the official start of my vacation so I will not be able to post for about a week but I just wanted to share my workout this morning which was rough. The WOD was 100 pull ups for time and this picture shows what 100 pull ups for time will do to your hand. I had my doubts I would be able to get through it since I just started being able to do kipping pull ups without a band but I got through and it took me 15:09 minutes. It hurt though.

Monday, Feb. 1st

So today is the last day before we go on our Seattle/Canada vacation. I am a little apprehensive because I will not be able to completely control all of my meals. This process has really made me not enjoy the thought of eating out at a restaurant because it makes it so much harder to control what the food is being cooked with and how much food is being served. My meals today were great. I feel really strong and I can tell my workouts are improving.

This is how I started my day:

The lift of the day was 3 rounds of 3 presses which I did with 63 pounds. This was good for me because a month ago I was able to do one rep max weight of 63 pounds of the press so I was excited. The WOD was 7 rounds for time of:

3 Handstand Push ups

5 Power Cleans

7 20 inch box jumps.

It was a fun workout. My weight for the power clean was 73 pounds and I finished in 12:09 minutes. This was a tough weight for me but I still felt like I had the power to make it all the way to the end. It felt good!

I am going to go to CrossFit tomorrow morning and then I will miss it for three days this week since I will be on vacay. I hate missing it but I am trying not to over think it because I still want to enjoy our trip!!

I was looking around on YouTube and saw this video about food shopping made by a CrossFit affiliate in Florida and thought it was interesting. All were good tips for the zone diet. I also loved how the grocery trip was for time!

Thursday January 28th

Today was a good workout day and a bad food day. It really wasn't all bad- just the dinner. I usually eat the same meats to get my protein block: tuna, turkey breast and chicken breast. There is not much variety there but I'll get to me meals in a bit.

This is how I started my day:

The lift of the morning was three sets of five front squats. I was able to do 83 pounds. It is more than I have done in the past. It was right at the point where I could do the three sets but it was definitely hard which is right where I want to be.

The WOD was three rounds of as many rounds as possible in three minutes of:

3 Power Cleans

6 Abmat Situps

9 Air Squats

So you repeat this three times with 1 minute of rest in between rounds. I lifted 63 pounds on my power clean and each round I was consistent. I finished three complete rounds plus started another set of Power Cleans, so I was 3+, 3+. 3+. It was fun too. During the workout I wasn't sure if averaging about three rounds per round was bad or good but I was in line with everyone else. I think that is a thing with CrossFit that I struggle with. I am so motivated about my workouts and lifting that I always want to improve and I find myself comparing myself to the other people that I work out with and sometimes that can be deflating because when the person next to me is dead lifting 300 pounds ( which clearly I do not think I will ever be able to do). I think I need to remind myself that I need to compete with myself and beat my personal time/weight and improve that way.

These were my zone meals of the day:

Breakfast:3 oz cheese, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter, 1 pk instant oatmeal, 1/2 slice of bread

Snack: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 6 almonds, 1/2 cup of grapes, 1/2 apple

Lunch: 30z tuna, 1 cup of celery, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter, 1 slice of bread, 7 cherries

Dinner: 6 oz cooked firm tofu, 2/3 cup of raw onion, 3/4 cup of okra, 1 1/2 cups of cooked spinach, 1 tsp olive oil

My breakfast, snacks and lunch were pretty typical for me. I am noticing I am starting to figure out what I enjoy on the list of favorable carbs, proteins and fats on the block chart and sticking to them. For dinner I thought I would branch out and try tofu (which I love - but only when it is cooked well). I also wanted to try some different veggies. When I think of Okra it reminds me of my Grandma in North Carolina, all her wonderful cooking and her deep fried okra which is just amazing. So I cooked everything, it all looked good, took a few bites and pretty much hated everything. I realized the okra needs to be deep fried for me to like it, canned spinach does not even compare to fresh spinach, and the tofu I got was pre flavored which was not a good idea. Since I didn't finish everything, I just had an apple and then called it a night.

Monday, January 25th

Week two of zone and it is getting easier. It is taking me less time to prepare my meals in the morning which has been nice. I am getting better at estimating how much food portions weigh although I still double check it with the scale. I still think the hardest part is for dinner time making an actual complete meal that sounds like something you would eat at dinner time and not just different random foods mixed together to get the right amount of blocks.

So this is how I started my day:

The lift of the morning was 3 sets of 5 of Back Squats. My last set of 5 I was able to lift 93 pounds. The max I have ever lifted for the back squat is 103 and that was a 1 rep max weight about a month ago, so I am definitely stronger because I think I could have done another set of 5 with at least 5 more pounds.

The "WOD" was very brutal on the arms. It was 3 sets of 21- 15- 9 reps of one arm (right) dumbell thrusters with 25 lb dumbells, one arm (left) dumbell thrusters with 25 lb dumbells, and pull ups. My arms were on fire by the end of the workout but it was great to have a workout with pull ups because the more I do the better I will get.

These were my zone meals for the day:

Breakfast: 3 oz cheese, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter, 1 pk instant oatmeal, 1/2 slice of bread

Snack: 2 oz cheese, 1 apple, 6 almonds

lunch: 4.5 oz ground turkey, 1 cup green beans, 1/4 cup chick peas, 7 cherries, 9 almonds

Snack: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 6 almonds, 1 cup of pineapple

Dinner: 1 slice bread, 3oz turkey Breast, 1 oz cheese, 1 cucumber, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter

Friday, January 22nd

This has been a long day and I am up way past my normal bed time but I got to see Naomi Judd who spoke at our Natural Supplements conference. She was so amazing and inspiring!

So this is how I started my day:

The "WOD" was intense. It was called a 30 minute ladder drill with Kettlebell swings that weigh 36 pounds and burpees and it looked like this....

1 Kettlebell swing in minute 1

2 Burpees in minute 2

3 Kettlebell swings in minute 3

4 burpees in minute 4...all the way up tp

29 Kettlebell swings in minute 29

30 Burpees in minute 30.

I got to minute 14 and thought I was not going to make it. I will definitely feel this tomorrow.

These were my Zone meals of the day. They lacked creativity today because I need to go to the grocery store again but I am still going strong!

Breakfast: 1 pack of instant oatmeal, 1/2 slice of bread, 3 oz cheese, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter

Snack: 1/2 cantaloupe, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 6 almonds

Lunch: 3oz canned tuna, 1 slice of bread, 7 cherries, 9 almonds

Snack: 1 cup of yogurt, 6 almonds

Dinner: 3oz canned tuna, 1/2 cup of pineapples, 1 slice of bread, 1 tsp mayo

Thursday, January 21st

This marks day four of my Zone Meals and I have to say it is getting easier. It was pretty overwhelming at first looking at the list of foods, the portions I could use to make up my the 13 blocks I can eat a day and wondering if I will ever be able to have a normal meal with my husband again. But I have been pleasantly surprised! I feel that I am never hungry because I feel like I am constantly eating and I my body just feels better because I am eating healthier. Another aspect of the Zone I really like, is how aware it makes you of portion sizes. It might seem cumbersome to weigh and measure everything you eat but when I think about the amount of food I was putting into my body without even realizing it, it really does make sense.

This is how I started my day:
Workout of the Day "WOD"
12, 9, 6 (reps) of:
Squat Snatch (53 lbs)
3-1 pull ups and ring dips (36 each round 1, 27 each round 2, 16 each round 3)
My time: 28:09
This was a tough workout but a great day for me because I was able to FINALLY do a kipping pull up ( the CrossFit pull up) without the aid of a rubber band.

This was my Zone meals of the day:
Breakfast: 1 pack of instant oatmeal, 1/2 slice of bread, 3 oz cheese, 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter
Snack: 3/4 cup applesauce, 6 almonds, 2 oz cheese
Lunch: 1 cucumber, 1/4 cup chick peas, 1 cup tomatoes, 3 oz canned chicken,
Snack: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup pineapple, 6 almonds
Dinner: 4 1/2 oz Salmon, 1 cup of green beans, a salad with 3 cups of mushrooms, 4 cups of spinach and 1 1/2 Tbsp on walnut vinaigrette dressing

All in all, not the best meals I have had so far but I still feel better than if I was not following the Zone.

So you are a blogger now?

So I never thought I would ever create a Blog. Ever. But now here I am in a Marketing Via New Media class at UCSD where my grade is dependent upon creating and maintaining a Blog. So I thought to myself what is something that I am very passionate about (some would say obsessed) and what came to mind was CrossFit and my new journey into the Zone meal plans...thus My CrossFit Experience was born.

I have been a CrossFitter since August 2009. I remember my first fundamentals class where I got so light headed after the warm up that I thought I was going to pass out. I have been going back ever since. I have come a long way but I still have an even longer way to go. The workouts continue to challenge me ( thats putting it lightly) and it is very inspiring to work out with others that are also passionate about being committed to health and fitness - even at 4:30 a.m!

I recently felt like I needed something to really help me kick it up a notch so as of this Monday, I have started The Zone diet. I hate to use the word diet because that word brings to mind images of ridiculous celebrities and their "diet" fads. I instead look at this as an overall change in the way I eat, to help better fuel my body and therefore perform better in my workouts and just feel better all the way around. So here goes nothing....