Day 5: What are my goals?

Tomorrow I have my first private training session. Will asked me what my goals were. I wasn't quite sure.

Any reasonable person would look at me and think, "Why is that skinny girl even bothering with this challenge? She doesn't need to lose weight/work out/eat better/get stronger/[insert other goal here]." Sometimes I wonder myself what I hope to accomplish because the answers seem so odd.

What do I want to do? Squat 185 pounds. Deadlift 225. Complete a sub 10:00 Helen and get 15 rounds of Cindy.

Why does a suburban housewife and mother need to accomplish all these things? There's no rational explanation for it. Maybe it's because my body is one of the last remaining things I can control, and working out is one of the last purely selfish activities I can take part in. Everything else is subject to others - my husband, my child, my boss.

Why do I want to be able to squat 185 pounds? Because I can. That's reason enough.

Day 4

The good news is that I slept last night. The bad news is that I woke up around 2 am with a migraine, not unusual for this time of the month but a bummer nonetheless. I took 800 mg of Advil (sorry, Will) but still had the headache when I got up around 5:45 am.

Typically, when the migraines come, I go into survival mode. I alternate Advil and Excedrin Migraine every few hours, load myself up with carbs (wonder why I turn to carbs when I'm not feeling right - emotional eating?), and avoid exercise. But in Day 4 of the Challenge, it's way too early to go astray. So I stuck to my plan and had a healthy breakfast - eggs and sweet potato-sausage hash - along with my multivitamin and fish oil. I reduced my caffeine intake and drank lots of water.

By lunch, I was feeling 100% better. Well enough, in fact, to go to CrossFit for Benchmark Thursday. I did Wood in 31:13 - the best time of the night, even beating the men. More importantly, I felt really good through the workout. It was tough, and I was tired, but I really pushed myself. When I dropped the bar, I picked it up. As soon as I stepped down from the box, I was ready for another burpee box jump.

Despite today's crappy start, I now feel fantastic. Looking forward to Day 5.

Day 3. Tired.

I had insomnia last night. Can't remember the last time I had honest-to-God insomnia. I just kept laying there, sweating, staring at the clock, getting increasingly anxious. I think I finally conked out around 1:30 am, then woke up at 5:30 am. Maybe it was the workout and my late-night energy burst. I've also decided to cut out caffeine after noon, maybe that will help.

In any case, I'm exhausted today. And I'm discovering a link between rest and nutrition. I am tired, therefore, I want to eat a burrito. Or some other sufficiently fattening, greasy, carb-laden food. I don't know if there's some actual biological mechanism at work or if I'm just craving comfort food because I feel so out of sorts. But it's been a struggle today.

I'm going to escape from the office during lunch, get some fresh air, practice my double-unders, do a quick Tabata workout and get rejuvenated.

Hoping I can sleep tonight...

Day 2

I'm sticking to the meal plan, I've gone to CrossFit twice this week, and so far so good. We did "Kelly" tonight. Ordinarily, I would've skipped this workout. Runs? Wall balls? Box jumps? My least favorite movements. And for five rounds, no less, a real test of my lasting power. But I really want to build my endurance and speed, and I won't get better if I avoid these workouts.

So I went.

It was terrible.

Finished in 31:23. Not a proud showing, and I walked on a lot of the runs, which always makes me feel bad about myself. I'm guessing the extra 10 pounds I've put on didn't help my time. But at least I didn't get a DNF?

In any event, I came home and had an incredible burst of energy. Cleaned the house and cooked two meals. Needless to say, I didn't eat until almost 9 pm (not good) and now I'm ready to crash. Must remember to get sleep or else I'll never last.

Month 1: Starting Measurements

Weight: 129.5

Skinfold
chin - 6
cheek - 8
tricep - 10
subscapular - 10
ax - 5.5
ic - 7
bb - 12
thigh - 22
calf - 11.5

Measurements
shoulder - 39 1/4
chest - 32
abdominal (bb) - 27 3/4
hip - 38
bicep - 10 3/4
thigh - 22/15.5
calf - 14

Day 1: And So It Begins

First day of the Challenge, starting off with my usual cup of coffee and milk. After this past weekend of indulgent, careless eating, I'm ready for a change.

Preparation is going to be the key to this Challenge, which is unfortunate, because pre-planning is not my strong suit. Nevertheless, I am striving to come up with weekly meal plans that inform my grocery shopping, ensuring that I always have healthy foods on hand. I'm also planning to pre-cook a lot of meals in advance and pop them in the freezer so they're ready when I need them. I hope I can stick with it. All of this will be good, not just for my chances at winning the Challenge, but for keeping my life and family organized.

So here's the meal plan for this week:

- Fish tacos
- Moroccan fish
- Pork tenderloin w/roasted butternut squash
- Chicken stir fry

This cooking should generate lots of extras for leftover nights. I'm also going to cut up lots of salad so I can just grab it and go.

Next task for the day... first CrossFit workout in the new year and getting my starting measurements!

Dead Man Walking

It's my last day before starting the Challenge, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I've hit rock bottom over the last two days with a steady diet of sugar, carbs, and fat. If I had started my food journal yesterday, it would have looked like this:

Breakfast: Cinnamon bun
Breakfast II: Nonfat latte and one pancake, courtesy of McDonald's
Snack: Goldfish crackers
Lunch: Salad with broiled salmon
Dinner: Mushroom pizza
Late-night snack: More pizza

It's been pretty disgusting. If I can be as committed to the Challenge as I am to eating like crap leading up to the Challenge, I should have no problem winning that trip to Mexico.