Blerg

Today is Day One of the nutritional challenge at my gym and I am feeling it.  Oh man I want all the bad things, all of them but instead I am eating a cucumber.  That's right a freaking cucumber.  I feel pretty solid on sticking with it though.  Yesterday I did the dunk test which measures body fat etc.  I took a body fat test in 2011 so since then I've dropped about 14% body fat and increased lean muscle mass by thirty pounds.  The dude administering the test asked me immediately if I played collegiate or competitive sports.  I laughed and said why and he said "Normal people don't have this much lean muscle mass."  I walked back in the gym a little shell shocked because I assumed my numbers would be the same as last time and I was honestly just hoping they weren't worse.  Anyway, that's all I've got in the tank today. Laters

Oh the Run

Yesterday I met with one of the coaches at my box to talk about Pose running or running with a forefoot strike as opposed to the heel.  My goal with running is not only to increase my endurance and have better health, but I've also signed up to do a 6k in June with some friends.  Anyway in preparation for that I've really got to get my run on.  I found a pretty nifty Couch to 5k program that I'm going to use.  However, in all my research of running I've found it's way more efficient and less taxing on the body to strike the ground with the ball of your foot.  So now I'm looking into that as well.  For now the plan is to continue with the running plan, which only calls for three workouts a week, and with the other four days focus on improving my technique and transferring to a forefoot strike.  I've got to have two cavities filled today, so hopefully after that I will still feel like working out a bit.  

The workout last night was....

Strength WOD:
4 sets of:
Back Squat 5-6 reps 20x1 (weight should be very tough working sets)
(Rest 2 minutes)
Bent over Barbell Row 8-10 reps
(Rest 2 minutes)
Conditioning WOD:
AMRAP 12 Minutes:
200 Meter Run
20 Jumping Lunges
20/10 Push-Ups

The weight part was good, we worked squats at 135 lbs which was challenging thanks to the tempo.  The barbell rows could have easily been heavier, I think the weight was 70lbs the last two sets.  The conditioning WOD kicked my ass, running and lunges are not my movements let's say that.  My push-ups are better, but man I need to work on lunges more.  Perhaps as part of my warm up I'll throw some sets of walking lunges in.  Anyway, after the WOD I went to sushi with my gym girls and as always that was a lot of fun.  

Side note this video cracked me up earlier in the week.

Lean for Life

Yesterday was the kickoff meeting for the Lean for Life Nutritional Challenge at my gym.  We got a lot of information, maybe more than we needed at first.  It doesn't officially start until next Monday, I thought it would start today so I'm just going to get a head start.  Each day is broken into small goals and as we meet each one we get a point.  This may seem childish but damn I am excited.  I do well with checklists.    The first homework assignment is to keep a food journal.  Already, I'm noticing that I don't eat right when I wake up, so something to change.  The majority of the my gym friends are doing the challenge too, so it will be nice to have that support.  Tonight's challenge is to start cleaning out the fridge and pantry.  I realize I live with other people who don't eat as healthy, but man I think there is some rotting food in our fridge. We'll see how it all goes.

Morning Glory

Doing this in the morning is so much easier than trying to do it at night.  Anyway, tonight is the official start of the nutritional challenge at my gym.  I'm a wee bit nervous but I've been gradually easing myself into the paleo lifestyle these last few weeks so I think the complete switch won't be too bad.  However, I already know I'm going to miss cheese and alcohol. The challenge is eight weeks and includes a body fat dunk test at the beginning and end.  As of right now, I plan on doing the whole thing strict paleo, minus three dinners that are already planned, but even then I plan to do as best as possible.  I don't necessarily need to be super skinny, I just want to get rid of the belly!!!!!!!!!!!

My test is less than two months away now.  I've still got to submit the application but I should be doing that at the end of this week.  I've been trying to slowly chip away at the material during the week and then spending hours on the material over the weekend.  The only resources I've got are some study questions and some indexes to help break it down.  Hopefully, I become familiar enough with the books to do well.  I'll have more time to study at work as soon as I finish up the paperwork side of a project.  

I'm still not exactly where I want to be with school, I'm on time with all of my assignments and quizzes but ideally I'd like to be ahead of schedule to give myself a buffer zone in case anything should come up.  Next Tuesday my second class starts...eeek.

My budget this month is looking spot on at this point.  Hopefully, I don't blow it over the last ten days.  What, I haven't done is write down all my expenses on a spreadsheet.  At some point I will do that and then I'll know truly how well/bad I've done.  If I go over budget the plan is not to rob savings to cover the gap.  Anything over will be deducted from the next month's budget.  I think if I do go over in February, I'll more than make up for it in March, I've literally got nothing going on.

Yesterday, I had to workout twice!!!  I'm still hellbent on making commitment club, which means that this week I'll have to workout six times, and I can't use Friday and probably not Thursday.  First I did the gym's WOD,

Strength WOD:

Six sets of:

Shoulder Press x 2-3 reps @ 20x1

Rest 2-3 minutes between sets.  Use this time to work on hip mobility

Conditioning WOD

Four round for time of:

10 Push Press (115/75)

20 Box Jumps (24/20)

30 Double-Unders

For the warm-up we did a ridiculous amount of single jump ropes, which I'm counting as a drill/practice for running...woot, woot. I PR'd on the should press with 100 lbs :).  For the conditioning WOD, I used a 12 inch box and did 90 singles instead of the 30 double-unders.  I don't remember how long it took me and I forgot to write it how, but I think it was in the 12-15 minute range. After that I did this WOD from Renegade Rowing, 

"Clean Your Erg!"

For Time

500m row, 5 Cleans (155/105), 5 Push Ups

400m row, 6 Cleans (135/95), 6 Push Ups

300m row, 7 Cleans (115/85), 7 Push Ups

200m row, 8 Cleans (95/65), 8 Push Ups

100m row, 9 Cleans (95/65), 9 Push Ups

That was a beast that I finished in 16:59. I was sweating like it was going out of style.  But I actually really enjoyed it.  Plus, one of the girls at the gym who is a beast and incredibly fit said my push-ups were looking good.  It's the little things that make you feel happy, haha.

After working out, I took my mom to sushi because she is leaving town for a week :(.  Anyway, my whole family has been raving about this new sushi place that is all you can eat.  I was pretty excited to go and oh man, it was absolutely disgusting.  I'm getting a bit nauseous writing about it.  

All in all, yesterday was good I accomplished everything I set out to do, I even did some finger exercises on the guitar before I went to bed!!  

Wander on my friends, wander on.

Starting Over

I took some time to readjust my life once school started and also to refocus my energy as I've been a bit scatterbrained lately. I've had a crazy couple of weeks trying to find my balance and now I think I've got it. So I'm redeclaring my goals and shuffling around the emphasis.

• First the biggest priority in my life would be my job.  Without it I would not get to do pretty much anything else.  So with that in mind, goal number one is to study for my state licensing exam and to submit the application for said exam this week.
• Second is school.  I want to obtain a BS is Civil Engineering and am taking two classes this semester to ease back into school.  I want to get As in both classes, so I've definitely got to stay on top of them.
• Three to stay on budget and be ready to purchase property by July of this year.  I think with the state of our government and economy the best way I can set myself up for retirement and for my future family is to buy an income property.
• Four to eat clean.  I'm not going to beat myself up if I have an event or go out with friends, but it's time to start treating my body better.

My next few goals are something I want to strive for but if the first four and more important goals are being compromised, then these ones will go right out the window.  No guilt and no shame. I list them here in no order of importance.

• Practice guitar every day even if it's just five minutes.
• Try and improve my running, which physically is my biggest weakness.  If I can't get out there and go on a run, then I can practice drills at home.
• Make commitment club at the gym.
• Be an NSO for roller derby.  I really want to play roller derby but do not have the time for that kind of commitment but I can at least be involved and volunteer.
• Blog on a regular basis.

I don't want to overwhelm myself and I don't think I have, but I've definitely got to work on my discipline.  I get everything done but not in a timely fashion.  Also, I'd like to try and see friends more often because sometimes when I've got a lot going on I tend to forget about the people who care and that's not exactly fair to them.  Anyway, looking forward to tomorrow.

Until then, wander on my friends, wander on.

Balance

I started classes last week and have yet to find the balance....  As for all my goals they went right out the window as my life got a little messy - typical me.  I'm going to give myself some major leeway until Saturday, but Saturday I will be dialed in.

Fail

As usual, I forgot about this thing.  Anyway, where to start.  Friday I started my first class.  Orientation dragged on and on, actually it probably wasn't too bad but I had somewhere to be so you know how that goes.  After I met my friend Brooke and we went to a roller derby league info night, I want to do this very badly, but I have no time until after April/May.  Hopefully next year the timing will be right.  Saturday was a bore I worked all day then had some pho and went to bed.  Sunday was better.  Started off with some Bunco and Brunch and finished off with a chocolate and beer pairing.  I sucked across the board on all of my Feb goals :).  The happy face is because I don't care right now.  I did run yesterday and will be running on a more regular basis since I have procured the pepper spray....why pepper spray? Because in the last few weeks the police have caught two separate burglary groups in the YL and even though I doubt they'd have any interest in my fat ass running down the sidewalk, I'd just feel more comfortable.  That's it.  Later ya'll.

2/6/13

Man, today went off the rails.  Work was a bit more intense than usual plus I got my monthly visit from Aunt Dot today.  The bright spot was my guitar lesson, I'm finally starting to feel a bit more confident with my playing.  I've got my tax appointment tomorrow and I still haven't received my tax prep guide in the mail so I'm just going to have to wing it. Ahhhhh!! Goal roll call...

• No gym, I'm feeling a bit crampy.  I did get a massage and had some serious knots worked out so it wasn't a total loss today.
• Crap food today...period cravings haha
• No run...crampy
• Still on track with budget
• Study break day
• Blogging at night..success
• Practiced guitar today

I've decided that after April 17th I will change the format of this blog, but until then I've got so much going on I find the blog roll call helpful to keep myself mindful of what I want to achieve, sorry if I'm boring you one reader!!!

2/5/2012

This morning I am so incredibly sore from working out yesterday. My shoulders and traps are very tight. Solution massage appointment for next week :).  Yesterday I picked up a new Smith and Wesson M&P 15 Sport Rifle, I'm pretty excited to go to the range and shoot but I most like won't get the opportunity this month :(.  Goal roll-call...

• Hit up the gym. 2/14 of my way to commitment club.  That workout was so incredibly intense.  It read easier than it was.
• Breakfast and dinner paleo.  Lunch was not so now I am 2/3 paleo, my numbers are getting better!!!  Dinner was amazing, my mom makes this bomb pork scallopini (sp?) and she substituted spaghetti squash for spaghetti and it was awesome and healthy.  I want it again!!
• No run, too exhausted after workout, today I am going to try to hit it before the workout.
• Spent $15.38 on lunch. Still on target.
• Study schedule has been created, so I am morphing this goal into following study schedule.
• Forgot to blog last night, hopefully tonight I remember.
• New goal to add practice guitar every night even if it's just five minutes.

I really want to go the the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and see the new Dino Lab soon.  Maybe next weekend as this one is already full :(.

2/4/13

Is it weird that yesterday the most relaxing part of my day was the hour and half I spent at the gym?  Yesterday felt so hectic and I felt rather discombobulated.  Some days just seem to have way more going on than normal, even though I really didn't have much going on.

I'm very close to sending in my application for the exam for which I've already started sending.  I'm waiting on some letters from some people I've worked with and then it's off to Sacramento in the mail.  Hopefully, that all goes well!!!!

I don't really have anybody or anything to be accountable for when it comes to goals.  So I hope perhaps just by writing down how's it going and being really honest about where I'm at, I can shame myself into achieving said goals.  I mean I'd be so embarrassed if my one reader figured out how lame I really am...hahaha with that it's goal check-in time...

• Went to the gym so I am 1/14 of the way to commitment club.  I actually really enjoyed yesterday's workout and did pretty well with my "score."  This week seems to be lift heavy and I like that.  Yay!!!!!!
• My dinner was paleo, my lunch was a sandwich. So 50% for the day...
• No run.  I went home with the intention of running, I truly did.  Before I could go I wanted to start the laundry and get some house things done and that is where it all went to poop.  I was grabbing clothes from my hamper and stepped back onto the wheel of my roller skates and then I proceeded to fall back...all the way back.  After the fall I was done for the day.
• Spent $5 on my lunch, which means I'm still on target.  Another yay!!!!
• Created a study schedule, it's still pretty loose until I figure out what's needed from my classes but I should find that out at the end of the week.
• I'm good with the blogging and reporting.  However, I am going to start trying to do this at night instead of the following morning.

Pathetic

On the first I made some goals for this month.  So far I have blown all of them :). Let's go over my failings...

• I haven't been to the gym yet so no progress on commitment club.  Going today and still have enough days in the month to achieve this.
• Ate like crap this weekend at the events I had previously scheduled.  I'm not going to beat myself up for that, but full disclosure I did not make my lunch today so I will be getting whatever $5 dollar foot long there is today because it's cheap.  Hopefully I will have a good paleo dinner.
• I did not run on any day.  I will be running this afternoon and everyday from here on out.
• Haven't surpassed my monthly budget nor my February transitional budget; however, blew my weekly numbers for both.  I think based on what I've got scheduled for the rest of the month I should be fine, but man this weekend was insane.
• Have not created a study plan, will be doing that today.
• Obviously did not blog every day. Will start today

One of my biggest weaknesses is discipline and self control, which obviously showed up with my lack of progress on goals.  The only solution I have is to try and try again.  

This weekend was more intense than I expected.  Let's recap...with bullets because honestly I love bullet points.

Friday

• When I got home from work I opened my winter Eat Boutique box.  It's a lifestyle box that I subscribe to for foodies that highlights small batch goods.  Not everything that comes is paleo, but for the most part it works and what doesn't can be incorporated into my cheat days.  I can't remember everything in the box so I'll post the rest later..but I do remember. Two really awesome looking cocktail (I love cocktails) recipes that used some of the items that came. A cool sticker. White chocolate with caramel, cocoa nibs and sea salt from EH Chocolatier.  I'm not a fan of white chocolate but this was amazing.  This was the only thing I've tried so far. Preserved Meyer lemons from SQIRL.  This jar actually was open, either from shipping or just a bad seal. :(  An apricot and pineapple jam by We Love Jam.  Some seed and fruit filled granola by Tom's Best Ever Granola.
• That evening my friend Sam and I went to The Bruery, which is a local brewery that makes some really amazing award winning beer along with some awesomely strange and weird creations. Every first Friday of the month they release a firkin, a quarter of a barrel, of some interesting/new/strange beer.  This First Firkin Friday they released "faro-style ale with pineapple."  Your first sip was sour but then it finished quite smooth with nice taste of pineapple.  The Bruery served this particular beer at "cellar temp" which is a bit warmer than Americans are generally used to.  I personally like my beer at cellar temp as you can taste more distinct flavors, I think it is a hard concept for some people to get over though.  I liked it, Sam did not. For our second beer we had "Grant is pAle" a nice Belgian style pale ale. It was a bit hoppier than most Belgians in my opinion but it was actually quite nice.  
• One of my favorite things about Sam is that she also really likes sushi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For dinner we headed to Sake Sushi in Placentia which is very good and well priced.  I ate like a madman.

Saturday

• At the gym I've made some really good friends and randomly Friday we decided that we should go wine tasting on Saturday instead of on 2/16 as originally planned so we did.  Five of us met at the gym and we picked up the sixth on the way out.  We went to Doffo, which happens to be my favorite winery in Temecula.  I am in love with their 2010 Zinfandel although their Grenache was stellar as well.  After we stopped at Wiens, I don't know that their single grape varietal wines hold up all that well other than the Barbera (which is sold out).  But they have quite a few blended table reds that are very tasty.  Lastly, we stopped at Leoness and to be honest other than their port which is amazing and maybe one of the best ports I've had, I don't think Leoness's current reds are anything to write home about.  In fact I think I am going to drop my wine club.  The restaurant at Leoness is absolutely wonderful, seriously if you ever go to Temecula for wine tasting have your lunch at Leoness.  I had the pan seared halibut which was killer as usual.  We got an order of the Parmesan and bacon fries, the melted Gorgonzola fries and the mac and cheese for grown ups to share and they were all heaven.  Thus concludes our wine tasting trip!!
• Saturday night my friend Dani (another of my favorites and bests) and I went to The Observatory to see He's My Brother She's My Sister.  Which is a really fun band I love, they're a little bluesy and a little rockabilly and a lot of fun.  I wanted to dance and dance and dance.  The opening bands were a mixed bag, the first was eh nothing special but the second Jenny O was kind of fun.
• Before bed we watched an episode of The Following, the new show on Fox with Kevin Bacon about a Poe obsessed serial killer and his followers.  The show is very well done, it has the potential to be the best thriller on TV.  I'm a sucker for the police procedural but this so far is more.

Sunday

• Dani and I got massages!!!! She had an awesome massage and my massage therapist annoyed me by not working on the areas I highlighted.  Ugh ridiculous.
• Then Dani got her haircut by Brooke.  Two favorites at once, it was overload ;p.  That took forever...because Dani has insanely long hair...and a lot of it.  I thought the color looked great and the cut, however it was trippy to see Dani with straight hair and bangs (this kid has never had bangs before).
• After that we went to a Superbowl party at my gym.  It was pretty chill and low key with some beer pong and giant jenga.  

Which concludes my crazy weekend and brings me to now. 

Next week or so is Valentine's, which I think is a bogus and lame corporate created holiday.  I think that if you're with someone you should do nice/sweet things and celebrate each other often.  Anyway so that night I am going to see The Vaccines with one of my favorite people and bests Brooke :).  This makes me immensely happy and we are also going to Parish, a restaurant that looks killer.  I'm a little excited.  I also just got her a cool present...haha :)

February

Last month I had a goal of making the commitment club at the gym, which I did. Yay!!!!!  This month I've got some new goals.

1. To make commitment club again.
2. To go hardcore paleo.  I've got some dinners and plans already scheduled so I'm not going to beat myself up on being full paleo then, but everything else will be paleo.
3. My biggest weakness is running.....I would like to run everyday for at least a mile.  The hardest day to get will be today, every other day I've scheduled time.
4. Stick to my budget.  I made a very detailed and very restrictive budget, hopefully I can stick to it this year.  February will be more of a transition month as I've got school starting, dental work scheduled and previous plans/commitments in the books. I will most likely go over my ideal amount this month, but I've got a secondary amount in my head for February that I shouldn't pass considering the added expenses this month.
5. Create a study plan/schedule today and stick to it.  I've got a monster exam coming up for work and I need to really start turning on the studying.
6. Finally to blog daily and report on my goals.  I was just getting warmed up in January, haha.

We shall see how it goes.