Open the Door, Get on the Floor, Everyone Eat Like a Dinosaur?

Alright.  Here it is. Time to buckle down and get serious.  I had thrown out another set of short-term goals a few posts ago, and I've met half of them already.  This means, I'm either not setting the bar high enough for myself, or I'm straight up awesome.  OK, it's true, I'm straight up awesome.  Anyway,  there are two residual short-term goals remaining from the last set.  One is to run an 8-minute mile, and the other is to complete a 30-Day Paleo challenge.  Although I don't want to overload myself with short-term goals, because my focus is already split in so many different directions,  I will add just one more for good measure.  DOUBLE UNDERS, I'm comin' to getcha!  So, what does this mean for the near future?  My guess is misery.  Just kidding.  Sorta.

To be honest, the goal that I'm most scared of tackling is the Paleo challenge.  With the holidays coming up, it's almost now or never to get it out of the way without guaranteed personal failure.  While I don't necessarily intend on having a pants-unbuttoned-Thanksgiving, I would like to enjoy a reasonably-sized piece of pumpkin pie without feeling guilt, or fear that the Paleo gods will reign their hellish fury down upon me.

Over the last 5 months, after reading The Paleo Solution, stalking message boards, and asking tons of stupid nutritional questions to those who seem to be successfully engaging in a Paleo-type lifestyle I've been able to make some major dietary changes.  While I've dabbled here and there (see Paris), bread has been kicked to the curb along with his best friend pasta.  I've been hanging around with his pals rice and corn, but not as much. Despite my tendency to gag, I've incorporated chicken and eggs into my diet and I've rekindled my relationship with red meat and bacon (OK, that wasn't tough). 

I'm hoping that with the effort I've put in so far, an attempt to eat "as clean as I can" for 30 days should not make me excruciatingly unhappy.  I know that in the end, it will probably be the best thing I ever do for my body, but it also may be the hardest test of self-discipline I've ever attempted/endured.

Now, there are several authors who have written great books on Paleolithic diets, and while they are all super smart, they all disagree on certain things when it comes down to exactly what is or isn't "Paleo."  There are also a bunch of folks on the "Paleo" message boards who are quick to call someone on the carpet when they see Paleo violations based on their personal set of Paleo laws or beliefs.  I honestly don't have the time or scientific knowledge to research who is wrong and who is right, and for the most part, I don't care.  Like religion, these people are all telling a similar story, with a great message but some different characters, and I have to take what I can from each, and move forward with what works for me. With that being said, I technically can't call what I'm about to embark on a "30-Day Paleo Challenge."  There are certain widely-accepted Paleo rules that I will knowingly not be abiding by (see below), and I'm OK with that, because in my mind, going in 85% - 95% for 30 days will be better than attempting to go in at 100% and failing on Day 1.  I will be doing the "Jill Special - A 30 Day Adventure in Clean(er) Eating."

Here's how it will go...

I will:

• Start this upcoming Monday, October 17 (mark your calendars).  This will ensure I can get in one last hurrah with an apple-spiced donut at the farm with my nieces on Sunday.  Go ahead and judge me!
• Track my starting weight and measurements on Day 1 and Day 30 and share any progress made
• Track my food consumption daily and make my food journal available to anyone who would like to see it
• Not stress too much about the amount of calories I'm consuming or my daily macro nutrient split
• Allow myself the following items which are banned or questionable during my 30 Day to ensure I don't kill myself or anyone else:  caffeine, fruit, limited feta and/or blue cheese, seeds, wine, and very dark chocolate for emergencies only
• Openly document any failures

I welcome your tips, tricks, advice, and heckling. Wish me luck!

I see London, I see France...

To any frequent readers out there, please accept my apologies for the recent blog hiatus. My big strong man and I went on a European vacation (Ooh, la la!).

We started in London, hopped over to Paris, and swung through Iceland on our way back to New York.  The vacation was romantic and relaxing - a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary! I initially had every intention of doing some hotel WODs, but due to a little bitta back pain and a whole lotta lazy, I scrapped that idea shortly after crossing the Atlantic. Upon landing, I proceeded to eat and drink my way through the trip like a kid fresh out of fat camp. 

OK, so I wasn't lying in a pile of pizza boxes, covered in chocolate syrup, but I was livin' on the edge.   I had dessert every.freaking.glorious.night and I didn't even muster a thought about the calories or nutrient breakdown in any of the delicious things I was shoveling straight down my pie hole.  Being naughty felt so damn good - until it felt really bad.  I ate freshly baked bread (fuck yeah, I did) I ate Nutella-filled crepes, I ate plain croissants, I ate chocolate-filled croissants, I ate macarons, I ate apple tarte, and then... I almost shit my underpants. TWICE. I'm serious.  No amount of Pepto could compete with the war these orgasmic treats were waging on my stomach, but regardless of these two VERY close calls (which were incredibly stressful at the time, but funny now), I continued to enjoy every flaky, buttery bite. Le sigh...those were some good times for my mouth...and my eyes - Paris is breath-taking. 

Thankfully, I left vacation accident free, but sadly, it's over, and it's time to get back to business before I spiral out of control. My first WOD back was vicious. I got that awful burny/phlegmy feeling back in my throat that I hadn't had the pleasure of feeling since my first few weeks of CrossFit (yuck).  I was sweaty, tired, and sore when it was done, but I was also utterly relieved.  Yes, of course, I was relieved that the WOD was over; there is nothing quite like moaning "Tiiimmme," after a particularly rough WOD, however, I was relieved because I was ready for more.  I was already excited to see what the next day's workout would be, and then what it would be the day after that.  A part of me was scared that I had gotten so used to being lazy again on vacation, that I would come back and lose my motivational spark, but we're all good people.  CRISIS AVERTED! 

So I'm back at the box, back on the blog, and will be back on track with nutrition once I'm done going through severe sugar withdrawal, but in the meantime, here are some progress updates!

Pull-ups:  I successfully moved up to a less resistant band (green).  I'm hoping to get to the next level (blue) before the end of the calendar year.

Push-ups:  My knee push-ups are lookin' pretty fly and I've got a good 5 or 6 in a row on my toes.  I hope to complete a full WOD on my toes (regardless of the nasty clock) by the end of the calendar year.

Deadlift: I started at 40 pounds straight out of foundations and went up to 90 shortly after.  I think I updated you last when I got up to 125.  I'm now at 165 for a 3x5.  I need a little work with my grip and form, but once I nail that, I'm lookin' forward to movin' up a smidge more :).

Nutrition:  I'm still playing around with this A LOT.  I have managed to cut out most gluten (vacation aside), and I'm focusing on getting more protein in my body, but it's still difficult for me to keep my carb count down where it probably should be without feeling miserable and unsatisfied.

Fight Gone Bad
I did my first Fight Gone Bad on 9/11.  Thank you to everyone who donated.  It was absolutely the most physically grueling 17-minutes of my life to date, and for the cause, it was worth every second. 
Check out the recap video my hubster did below:

Barbells for Boobs
We will be doing "Barbells for Boobs" at our gym on 10/29.  This is to support breast cancer.  I'm super excited to be working out for yet another great cause.  It's so refreshing to be a part of a community that spends so much time looking for ways to give back.  The link for that info is below:
http://www.barbellsforboobs.com/

Thanks so much for reading.  Feel free to post questions, comments, or topic requests directly on the blog or e-mail me directly at tattoosandpuppies@gmail.com.