Paleo Challenge Photos

Below, you will find my pictures before the Paleo Challenge followed by my after pictures (taken 9 weeks later). The quality isn't quite the same because my bf took them with my iPhone as opposed to our official CrossFit 919 photographer in the first set, but I think you can get the idea.

I did not weigh myself before or after the challenge because I am trying to get stronger, so I hope to gain muscle and lose fat. However, I did take measurements. While I have noticed toning in my arms, they stayed exactly the same, as did my chest and waist.  However, my hips lost 1 inch (the booty, I guarantee it) and EACH thigh lost 2 inches. Woah! That is the kind of improvement I am talking about.

Paleo reflections: My brother was the first to tell me that eating 100% paleo is not a sustainable diet. It's just ridiculously hard (and somewhat unnecessary). I have found, though, that eating paleo 80% of the time is a great goal. That means I'll eat cheese and yogurt again (of the highest quality, that's important!), but I still won't buy pasta and breads.  Those things I will enjoy when I go out to eat. I have noticed that when I do eat carbs and sugar now, they make me feel unbelievably tired in the morning. Super interesting.

In the following weeks, I will post some of my favorite paleo (or paleo-esque) recipes. I will also continue to track my CrossFit progress. I plan on measuring myself every 9 weeks since that's how I started, and we'll see how it goes.

CrossFit PRs I hit in these 9 weeks:
170# dead lift
103# back squat

Paleo Challenge: Day 3

I am now a proud member of CrossFit 919. It has quickly become my favorite activity and being there means it's my favorite time of the day!

One reason why I (finally) chose to drink the CrossFit Kool-Aid (figuratively, because that's so not paleo... and neither is Gatorade) is because I want to be stronger.  I am at athlete at heart, having played either softball or soccer since my preschool years.  However, after college, I stopped playing team sports and became a runner.  I loved (and still love) running.  However, I missed the conditioning aspect of working out as a group... the stuff that really makes you push your body instead of just allowing yourself to slowly jog a 10 minute-per-mile pace, never making yourself work too hard outside from your comfort zone.

Well, it was time to push myself a little harder.  I didn't just stop with joining Xfit. I also decided to sign up for the Paleo Challenge.  It's a 9-week eating commitment with Benchmark WODs to be completed at Xfit. About 20 of us signed up as a team so we can encourage each other to eat "clean."

Anyways, I could go on about Xfit and the Challenge, but for the rest of this post, I just want to share my first attempt at making bison flank steak. I have never cooked a steak in my life (as I stopped eating steak in middle school), but the Whole Foods man told me to cook it on very low heat for an hour or so. And I did. It was a little overcooked for my taste (pun intended), but not bad for a first try. I had this with sautéed spinach, onion, garlic, and mushrooms.

Also, Sunday night before the challenge, bf and I were celebrating his younger brother's 18th birthday. We brought treats from Whole Foods for the occasion, so these were some of my last non-paleo foods for a while.  I'm not craving any sweets yet, but I'm not sure how long that will last... this weekend, I may try out my first paleo baking experiment.

Morning gospel

This morning, I awoke to find my talented cousin, Glenn, had posted a fabulous video of himself singing a Mavis Staples cover.  While I'm not sure whether he did this on purpose, he is wearing what reminded me of Joseph's technicolor dream coat.

Jacob blesses his son, Joseph, with the Coat of Many Colors
Source: Wikipedia

(I have now decided to look up more about the story of Joseph because I don't remember it as well as I'd like.  Thanks, Glenn, for the inspiration!)

I love Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat because my church put on this production when I was in fifth grade.  Because we were both in the choir, my brother and I participated.  Occasionally, those songs will still randomly pop up in my head.

So now this song put a smile of my face this morning, and I hope it makes you smile, too.  All voices are Glenn, and he mixes the music as well.  Such a talent he has, and I am blessed to have watched him grow up, as we are about 6 years apart.

Please enjoy!

Also, please keep Glenn in your thoughts and prayers, as he is studying abroad this semester in Cuba.