SobeTober

SOBERTOBER is nearly upon us.

so no more of this...

 Sobertober is our Fall Fit Challenge 

(things look so much more official when you capitalize them). 

My lovely friends (and BRIDESMAIDS) Jenn and Em dreamed up this SOBERTOBER challenge and I've decided to take part because well... I love a good challenge... and I've been talked into writing up some meal plans. So now I think you all should do it too.

The focus of the meal plans will be primarily paleo or primal.  I'll be posting shopping lists and recipes each week. Look for an update each Saturday. Each recipe will make enough for a small family (or indicate otherwise), so you'll have leftovers! woo!

New to paleo?
Study this...

Or check out this awesome infographic from PaleoHacks. Its fantastic. Seriously. Go read it.

The other piece of the challenge is fitness focused, but that is customizable to you!

My fitness goals for October:

• Continue my doubleunder awesomeness and learn to string them together. Practice these each time I work out.
• CrossFit/BootyCamp four days per week
• Do five unassisted kipping pull-ups
• Compete in the Gorilla Take Over Garage Games

What are your goals? Weight loss? Muscle building? Extra bendy flexible awesomeness? All of the above? Write it down, post your goals in the comments below or if you know our awesomeness in real life--- join our SobeTober event on Facebook!

weddings and fitness and sugar OH MY

Well.

It has been brought to my attention that I am seriously slacking on my presence in the blogosphere.
Its not that I didn't want  to write anything, its just that I really didn't have a ton to say. 

This summer has been awesome and transformational in so many ways. Continuing to sculpt my booty at the Love Life Be Fit booty camp and working on my wedding arms at CrossFit Stumptown (did I mention Shane and I are engaged? WOOO)

My last post, Midway adjustments  (on what turned our to be an uber fail of a detox) really kind of sums that weird fitness funk I was going through last spring

But this summer, and especially September was a good turn around for me! I decided to embark on yet another 21 Day Sugar Detox because well I feel like there was a lot of this happening in my life....

and this

and not enough of this

So, I challenged myself to a 21 day sugar detox and ordered a pair of "goal jeans" to hopefully shimmy into at the end of the challenge. Fantastically enough, they fit PRE-CHALLENGE.

What up. Hullo size 8.

That's been my ultimate goal size since I was 16 years old, so needless to say, that was a pretty emotionally awesome night for me.  

Speaking of success--- I FINALLY GOT MY GODDAMN DOUBLE UNDERS. 

In the middle of the WOD yesterday, something just CLICKED and I did one! And then I had to yell at myself to keep jumping. Then I did two, three, four, before thwacking the shit out of shins. But I was giggling and smiling like a maniac in the middle the gym. 

So life is pretty fuckin rad right now. I'm about to embark on SobeTober challenge with some of the most inspiring folks I know. I'll save the details for another post--- but full paleo, booty campin, boozless October filled fun.

Mid-Way Adjustments

So my month-long May challenge has reached the half-way point. I had every intention of going full-bore, super strict, sugar is the devil, I will rid my life of everything sweet- ass kicking mode.


That's not exactly how things have panned out, but I refuse to say the first half of this month hasn't been successful.
Shane and I have not only decided to run a half-marathon, we've even started our training program. Last night was our first run---nailed it, bam bitches.

Run run ya'll

Annnnnnnd now on Saturdays we roll out of bed and train at Em's
outdoor bootcamp in the beautiful Irving park.








Last summer, we were the couple that beat the heat by sprawling in front of the ac unit to watch tv. Now we are climbing, disc golfing, running and lunging around public parks.

So yes, this month challenge has changed, but my goals have too.
I started my first 21-day sugar detox in March because I felt like my 80/20 approach to diet had become more like 60/40 (sixty for who and forty for who?!) and my weight loss had stalled considerably.
I reigned in my sweet tooth and developed a more conscious awareness of what was on the end of the fork. Great.

But like many before me--- I falter at what to do on day 22! How do I apply all the things I learned during this detox to real life. I started to feel like I was off track again, thus the reason for wanting to jump back into another detox. But, I've started to realize I forget there is a reason its a 21-Day detox or a Whole30 and not a 365 fast.

If I consume something that is wildly outside my dietary lifestyle (sigh there was a mini- apple-turn over incident during the Dalai Lama visit) is it a fail or simply a choice? I really appreciate the Whole9 article approaching this very topic: hypocritical or human? 

Sometimes you can't turn down an opportunity to try a really delicious bourbon or scotch, especially after dealing with angry parents for three hours straight (#commencementticketfail #longstory #Ilovehashtags).

 

Challenge Accepted

This May is going to be full of challenges: some work-related, some self-inflicted.

The first half of May, and really the weeks leading up to it, are the busiest time of the year for my office. Commencement is right around the corner (uh Sunday), and things are HIGH STRESS.



I'm trying to maintain the best of attitudes, but its a little intense.  I am frantically checking things off my to do list, trying to maintain a consistent presence at CrossFit, and desperately resisting the urge to drown my stress in bourbon and ice cream.

To focus my energies during this absurd time, and to help with the boozy ice cream float craving (sorry to plant THAT seed) 

I've decided to tackle another 21 Day Sugar Detox. 

BUT

This time....

I WILL DO IT FOR ALLLLLLLL OF MAY.

31 days sans sugar....

Please note aforementioned self-inflicted challenges...

But

I'm doing it with the support of my one of my fantastic trainers, Emily Celichowski

I've been training with Em for a year and half now and thanks to her encouragement and training, I've gone through some incredible transformations.

  we do fun things like this

    These really get my heart rate up too

Okay not exactly like that... replace the kittens with kettle-bells, resistance bands, weighted plates or barbells... But Em spews sunshine, so really broad jumps around the block may well be as fun as playing with kittens, unless you're allergic to kittens... 

But really, this woman is incredible. She's demanding during workouts, constantly asking you to push yourself, but she always has a smile on her face.

So some days I can't help but do a few moves like this...

Signature dance move right there... oh yaaaa

If you're in the Portland neighborhood, you should for sure take advantage of any opportunity to train with her. 

Interested? Wanting to shape up for Portland "summer"?

 Lucky for you... Em is now teaching a new outdoor boot camp through Honest PT. 

She's put together a 10 Week Summer Slim Down for all those wanting to show off that new bra top at the lloyd center this summer, or perhaps just feel and look like a badass. 

Either way, its a full meal STEAL OF A DEAL: killer workouts, nutrition guide, and fantastic coaching. Ch-ch-ch check it out! 

Starting slow isnt my strong suit.

A pinched rib and super inflamed muscles kept me from doing pretty much anything for the last month. But! I  got clearance from the doctor last week to slowly start working out again.

Well. I slowly dove headfirst back into workouts this week and its been glorious.

Tuesday and Thursday, I hauled my half-asleep ass out of bed at five in the goddamn morning to go lift heavy shit at CrossFit Stumptown.

Tuesday: 13:09

3 Rounds For Time Of:

• 400m Run
• 20 KB Swings (53/35)
• 10 HSPU

Thursday: 3 R + 1 burp
 AMRAP 15 Minutes:

• 25 Double Unders or 100 singles
• 20 KB Push Press (10 per arm) (53/35)
• 15 Burpees

This weekend though was the greatest. 

Emily Celichowski thoroughly kicked my booty Saturday and Sunday. I've been training with her for a year and half now-- first at Portland Fit Body Bootcamp, now at CrossFit Stumptown. And NOW this badass woman is on her way to starting her own outdoor bootcamps.

 

Liz Evans, Emily Celichowski, Jessi Garver and Jenn St. John killin it. 

 So if you're in the Portland area, you should for sure check her out. She radiates sunshine and smiles, so when she asks you to do 10,000 burpees or lunge around the block 

you really don't mind  

 Both hour long workouts left me collapsed stretched out on the floor, in a pool of sweat, with steam coming off my body.  

Sexy. I know. 

But hot damn, it is the greatest feeling.

 I love crossfit but there is something unbelievably satisfying about a boot camp style workout, especially those written by EmC. 

Saturday's partner wod by Em... Jen and I managed to finish 17 rounds during the AMRAP. Cue: pool of sweat. 

 Still amped up on adrenalin from lunging around the block (no I didnt make that up), the Suzz managed to talk me into going climbing at The Circuit Sunday afternoon.

 

Suzz climbs the inverted wall like a goddamn champ.

flying up the wall in my orange rockstar pants.

 The weekend was so gloriously active. I love it. Now I am starting this week off energized and moderately stress-free.

27 small steps to go

I freaked out earlier this year from the seemingly backwards weight gain from my newly dedicated crossfit lifestyle. I'm also sure it had nothing to do with holiday treats and sweets.

But after reigning in my sweet tooth through the 21 Day Sugar Detox and focusing on healthy habits (like sleeping!),  I've finally shed that stubborn seven pounds and happily not in the form of muscles. I like my guns, thank you very much!

Using the pittance of pocket money I could scrounge up, I was able to purchase few key wardrobe upgrades. Wearing the same damn pair of pants almost daily gets really old.

I surprisingly slipped into a size 8 dress. Two sizes smaller than I was at Christmas this year, but my weight is the exact same. It was a good lesson in remembering that the scale is not always an accurate representation of progress.


I have twenty seven pounds to go until I hit my ultimate goal weight. Twenty seven, that's it. I can do this right? Admittedly, I am longing for the early weight loss days, when I was seeing the scale drop three pounds a week, sometimes more. Its much more difficult now. My body composition has changed drastically (yay) but that makes it more difficult to lose that last bit.  

This coming summer is going to be full of huge life changes. I'm sending off four of my closest friends to LA, house changes are frequent and will continue, people are moving in and out, friends are getting married etc. etc.

I want to be prepared to tackle this exciting and stressful time and hit my UGW by the end of July.

Sixteen weeks. 

         Full of: Crossfit. Plenty of sleep, plenty of water and plenty of sunshine(here's hoping).

Fifty down, twenty-seven to go.

Best friend Britt tells it like it is:

Liz: Thats 1.75 pounds per week to lose

            BAH

          I CAN DO THIS 

Britt:  YES YOU CAN!!

           SI SE PUEDE!!!

            listen to dora

          she's fuckin explorin

          and she doesnt give a SHIT what anybody else thinks

           BOOM.

21 Day Sugar Detox

March 4, I kicked off the 21 Day Sugar Detox, or the Whole 30 on crack as I like to call it, through balanced bites.

My weight loss has slowed substantially since the holiday season and while I could tell my body composition was changing, its been fairly discouraging to see the scale stuck in one spot (or creeping up in the wrong direction).

There hasn't been anything inherently wrong with my diet. I'm sticking fairly close to my paleo(or primal) 80/20 rule, but that 80 has been comprised of a lot of fruit and nuts (paleo sugar!!!) and some not so careful label reading. Thus the stall in a year's worth of infinite progress.

Which brought me to the sugar detox.

I unknowingly chose both the best and worst time to attempt the 21 day sugar detox.
A back injury half-way through, kept me from my beloved Crossfit stumptown, but my 25th birthday brought the temptation of booze and sweets on several occasions.

However, in spite of temptation the detox went well. I did allow some cheats, but they were methodical and planned out, not the source of giving in or stress.

In 21 days, I lost 5.5 pounds and dropped a pant size, which is GREAT. 

BUT 

More importantly, I learned some valuable things about my emotional response to food and 

kicked(or slowed) some bad habits.

•  Ode to artificial sweetener! 
• The plague of diet soda had crept back into my life, almost on a daily occurence. Something about diet dr. pepper just brings joy to my life. But as my sister would say, its cancer in a bottle, so I said buhbye to it this whole detox. BAM. 
• GUM. I swear I am a serial gum chewer. I chew a pack a day, constantly smacking my jaw up and down, popping winterfreshy goodness with my tongue. Its absurd. Somehow, I managed to nix this habit through the whole detox (save one "I just ate fish" necessity). 
• Fruit was my go-to snack
• I come home from work, I go straight to the fruit bowl for an apple, orange or banana. Same story if I'm hungry at desk. Sometimes is dried cherries, apples, or banana chips. Never carrots or celery. 
• I had to come up with new snack ideas
• Green Apples with homemade sunbutter
• hard-boiled eggs
• sliced ham or turkey lunch meat with carrots or celery
• Or just drinking tea or water, because I wasn't hungry, I was bored!
• Stress equals sweet-tooth.
• Anytime I got overwhelmed or stressed I discovered my initial response was to walk straight towards the treat door for some dark chocolate or really whatever I could find. 
• The detox forced me to find other ways to unwind. Now, I make a cup of tea, take a walk with the dog, or practice my piano to quell the crazy.
• Emotional Balance
• I've always known that the less sugar dependent I am, the more balanced I feel, but I never realize to what extent it is until I remove sugar completely. 
• After the first week, allowing my body to adjust to the fact that I wasn't going to get that banana or dark chocolate fix, I started to feel better. My energy was up, my sleep was deeper, and the fact that I couldn't make it to the gym was far less emotionally-disastrous than it would have been a month ago.

I broke my sugar fast this weekend at my family birthday celebration with some delicious peach crisp my lovely sister made for me. So sweet, so good, but I couldn't finish the helping I was served. Truly a treat, instead of a staple. I'll surely incorporate fruit back into my diet, but with more moderation and care than previously exercised.