Stuggles with Weight

So this is something that has been bothering me, and normally I wouldn't use this to be really negative but, I feel like I need to get this out.

So many people struggle with their weight & feel like they are doing everything to change their body but for whatever reason they are unsuccessful. They have been overweight all their lives & have struggled every step of the way.

It makes me so angry/annoyed that at 20-something years old, a person would go and get lap-band surgery (that's not the part that makes me angry) & then tell everyone that they are losing over 100 pounds because of "hard work" & "dedication". When asked "How did you do it?" I've even heard this person telling people that they do juicing & go to the gym. Girl, you did it because you went & got an afternoon surgery that you're telling no one about. I have nothing against you getting surgery, I'm sure you had your reasons, but don't run around telling people that you're putting in so much work. We went to the gym the other day & while I was doing squats & lifting, you were taking selfies...

Again, I have nothing against people who need to get surgery, and I'm not saying that you aren't putting in work. But by telling people you did it straight from diet & exercise, you're giving them a false sense of reality & ultimately lying about your accomplishments.

My aunt got her stomach stapled a number of years ago & dropped weight really fast after having 3 kids & severely over weight. But she owns that decision, and tells people why she is happy or unhappy that she got it. She doesn't tell people that she woke up one day & became a gym rat, because that's just not true.

This is me owning my decision: I decided to go to a doctor about my weight, I felt like every time I tried to lose weight, I would lose maybe 10 pounds & then I would bounce right back. I ate well, and exercised almost every day, and I did a lot of cardio. Nothing was helping. I have been overweight since high school & couldn't seem to take the pounds off. So when I talked to him, he ordered blood tests, and put me on a medication called Phentermine as a test.

Phentermine is an appetite suppressant, and needs to be prescribed by a doctor. Some of the side effects include sleeplessness, general shakes, and upset stomach, it is NOT for everyone. So far, it has helped me by cutting down on the number of times I snack throughout the day, however, sometimes I feel just not hungry & I forget to eat properly, it makes me feel full all the time & I feel like sometimes I have to almost force myself to eat, which I do, because I know that not having enough food intake & then trying to do a workout is very dangerous.

Anyways, that's my crazy rant. All I want is for people to own their decisions, and be honest about them. Keep on keepin' on.

Returning to Fit

Ok, so it's been a while since I've posted. I've gone back to crossfit consistently for about a week, although I don't go as often as I used to and I don't go as hard as I used to. But it's been good. I've been trying to see how heavy I can go on the weights without hurting myself. I've found that I have a real problem with sitting still and taking it easy. Sometimes I need to remind myself that while it maybe feels ok right now, I could be irritating something & need to take it slower.

I'm also contemplating signing up for my first half marathon. It would be in February of 2015 so that's plenty of time to learn to run. I've NEVER been a good runner. Ever. We'll see how that goes.

No CrossFit Lately

I got into a car accident on 2/14/2014. Valentine's Day. Nice right? Anyway, I haven't been to CrossFit since that day and it's KILLING ME. All I want to do is go work out and I haven't been cleared by my doctor to do so & I really don't want to mess anything up. I'm hoping that I can start going back in April.

I didn't make my meals this week either, although I haven't been eating badly either. I was sick & working on a 12 page paper for school so between the two I made the choice to not cook over the weekend. It's going fine though, like I said, it's not like I've completely given up & started going to McDonald's every day.

I'm going to try to start doing workout things at home, push-ups, sit-ups, just some body weight things to get my muscles moving again. I also have a Bosu ball that basically just sits in the corner, I should start looking at using that too.

Meal Prep Part 2

This was my second attempt at meal prep for the week. I'm still learning, It made 11 portions, although some portions are a little skimpier than others. I used chicken as the protein for all of them, some of the sides included: butternut squash (seasoned with nutmeg & cinnamon), sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (all steamed, no seasonings added -- yet), and sautéed asparagus that I'm certain I used too much olive oil on. I try not to use too much olive oil when I cook, I accidentally added way more than I meant to in the pan last night :(

I baked the chicken in the oven, covered with aluminum foil & seasoned it with black pepper, cayenne pepper & garlic powder. Hopefully its good -- I suck at cooking meats, I never get the timing right so I'm just hoping its not dry... otherwise I'm in for a long week lmao

Meal Prep

I had my first experience with meal prep yesterday. It went well, here are some lessons:

1. Fail to plan, plan to fail. It took me about 2 hours to cook, pack, and clean everything up. So, from now on, I'll be doing meal prep on Sunday afternoons rather than at 5:45pm after work one night. One of the main reasons is because I'm also a full time student so that really cuts into my study time. No good.

2. 5lbs of chicken is NOT enough for 7 portions. So, I'll need to buy in serious bulk. Sam's Club it is. Luckily I have a membership. Had I researched this & learned a little more before I went shopping, I would have probably gotten a little more of everything so I had enough. I only ended up making 6 portions, which is lunch & dinner for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday this week (I can cook at home during the weekend & because I just decided on this yesterday, I didn't have food for Monday or Tuesday.

3. Don't be a snob, Wal-Mart works  just fine for your meat & veggies if you pay attention to what you're picking up. I'll admit I've had a few bad rounds there, but pay attention to what you put in the cart, not all of their produce is bad. However, if you have serious qualms about buying from Wal-Mart, to each his own, you can find whatever store works for you -- I went to Wal-Mart last night & with my containers (I bought 7) and food, it was only $40 which will last me 4 days. So that's not too bad. Of course it won't be that expensive for a whole week.

I think altogether this is really going to help me with staying on track with my eating habits in the future. I'll keep posting as I learn new things, you know, in case anyone actually reads this blog. Who knows. Maybe it'll help someone out there.

Back with a Vengeance

I haven't posted on here in so long. Not because I hadn't been working out, but between working out & work & life in general. This sort of took a back seat. Here's what's been going on:

In my personal life: My boyfriend moved back down from Missouri & we've been working things out, if I didn't previously post about this, disregard. Haha. Things have been going good so far so I'm a happy girl. I still live with my grandparents, and it's been kind of hard, I still feel like I'm invading their space in some way, even though they try to tell me that of course I'm not, I'm family & their home is my home. My grandparents are so loving, I'm very grateful they've opened their home to me.

I completed my first Tough Mudder! In November of 2013 Austin, myself & my friend/co-worker Jay trudged through 12 miles together & crossed the finish line as a team! I had a calf injury on Mile 1 and they still were so supportive getting me through the whole thing. Next time I definitely need to train more haha but I'm so proud of myself for completing it, and we've signed up for another one!

I got a new job, which I think I posted about back in March -- I've been here almost a year. It's a really great company with really great people, but they have so much food around here it's hard on a girls diet lol

I started CrossFit -- which I'm IN LOVE WITH! My friend finally convinced me to go, and I'm straight up HOOKED. It's such a challenge and so much fun. I love it. I've never done the same thing twice, and apparently I'm kind of good at it. So happy I started going. I went to one day & cancelled my LA Fitness Membership (although I do miss spin... a lot). I did my first crossfit competition on February 1st, didn't place very high, but had an awesome time doing it, actually made it through my workouts, and actually got my PR (Personal Record) for my clean & jerk!

I kind of fell off the bandwagon with my food, but that's part of why I'm starting with this blog again because I need something to keep myself more accountable. I started using the MyFitnessPal app again, so hopefully that'll help. The downside, I've been eating bad for a little while so 1. I've gained some weight back (boooo), and 2. Because I've been eating in large amounts, starting to eat less, and eat different is making me SO HUNGRY SOMETIMES! But I need to find good snack options and really start planning my meals again like I used to. I'm going after work today to buy chicken and veggies, chicken and veggies. I WILL succeed this time.

So there it is, in all it's honest glory. Good or bad, there is no avoiding it. I'm back to finding my athlete.

Challenge Yourself

I did two spin classes today. Back to back! 15 minutes rest in between them! AND I MADE IT THROUGH BOTH OF THEM!

When I first started to get back to the gym I could do MAYBE 30 minutes on the elliptical before I was begging for air & seriously contemplating taking the next day off. I'm so proud that I took a chance & started to take spin. It's SUCH a great workout! I burn 500-600 calories every time I go, today was even more than that (I think partially because the A/C in the room was broken!)

I've decided to make Saturdays my "Challenge Day" Where I'll try something new every weekend to challenge myself & push myself to see how far I can go.

Chasing fitness & Loving it!