The weeks just slip by ...

Well the nutrition challenge was a complete failure for me. I basically just dropped off after a week when I wasn't losing any more weight.

Basically I just got discouraged.

It's been one week that I've been doing CF @ 6AM on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'm liking it ... A LOT. Marcy is going with me too which I love. It's great that we can support each other during the trauma that is crossfit.

I'm feeling stronger then I have in a long time and I hope I can keep this up. I'm just tired of the ups and downs. I need to make a life change ... but I'm realizing that John Maxwell is sooo right ...

‎"Real, sustainable change doesn't happen in a moment. It's a process." John Maxwell, Today Matters

Those are words I need to live by ... when things don't come quick, I need to remember that it shouldn't and that I need to work through it and it will happen.

Week 1 is done!

I've had a good first week on the challenge. Had a slip up here and there, but I'm down over 10lbs in the first week! w00t!

The first week I dialed in my nutrition and now I'm back at the gym. Today's WOD was HORRIBLE! Here's what it was ...

5 Rounds For Time ...
- 15 Pullups (Green Band)
- 15 Dips (Box)
- 10x 135lb Power Clean
- 200m Row

It took me a whopping 32m 48s! HOLY CRAP! That's the way to get back into it! I was excited because I actually RX'd the weight!

Got a friggin' charlie horse in my leg already though, so I've drank a bunch of water, had 16oz of Gatorade and ate a banana! Hopefully that will make it so I'm not waking up in pain tonight. Hopefully I'm not TOO obliterated to make it to the gym tomorrow. We'll see ...

It's been far too long ...

So ... I haven't done a post since the last day of the challenge and it shows. I've gained about 21lbs back ... although 9lbs of it is muscle that doesn't help with the 12lbs of fat gained. Ugh!

Well today I started a new "Nut" challenge ... and I AM going to win this one and also, I'm not going to just drop it at the end of this challenge. I am moving past this and going to my target weight of 205lbs by the end of the year.

It's gonna be tough, but I can do it. Wish me luck!

Nutrition Challenge : It's Over Folks ...

Above is a picture of my DEXA scan results. Down 36lbs! I'm totally stoked and looking forward to continuing the trend.

Currently I am readin the book "The 4 Hour Body" and getting some more ideas to help me ... we'll see how that goes and I'll document them on my blog.

Tonight I am doing my Fight Gone Bad WOD ... I'll let you know how I preform.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 70 - 2 more weeks ...

So tDay definitely set me back ... but I am down almost 33lb and I feel great.

I plan on being in the 260's by the time this has ended ... I want to lose 40lb+ and I will do it.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 60 - We are on the downward slope ...

Only 24 more days ... I'm down in the 270's (started at 308lb) now and I'm stoked. I've stuck pretty well to the no cheating the final 5 weeks ... basically not doing straight up carbs like I would usually.

It's my 1 year anniversary starting CrossFit on December 7th ... In a years time I've lost 80+lb and I can't believe how much better I feel.

A few days ago I did my first handstand! I had my feet over my head, back against a wall support all my weight with just my arms ... all 280lb of me. I had some help getting my feet over my head. I look forward to being able to do it anytime, anywhere!

Thanksgiving is in 5 days ... and I'm gonna eat to my hearts content and I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I'll never be able to eat the same now that I know how I SHOULD be eating.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 50 - 5 more weeks ...

This has been a good week ... I've lost 4lbs this week and did probably one of the most ridiculous workouts I've ever done!

Here's what the workout was ...

"That's a lotta back squats!"
50x 95lb Back Squat
5x Rope Climb
40x 115lb Back Squat
4x Rope Climb
30x 135lb Back Squat
3x Rope Climb
20x 155lb Back Squat
2x Rope Climb
10x 175lb Back Squat
1x Rope Climb

It was horrible. The first round I did modified rope climbs for the first time. Lay flat on the floor and pick yourself up VIA the rope and bring yourself back down ... 3 - 1 ratio. I couldn't even budge myself a couple months ago. The rest of the rounds I did 6 - 1 ratio ring rows.

The next 5 weeks I'm going to attempt absolutely no cheating ... I want to see if it speeds up my weight loss.

I'm looking forward to seeing my results at the end of this and to continue showing results far beyond this challenge.

Checkout my "Spotlight on ..." here Nutrition Challenge 2010 Blog.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 43 - 6 weeks down ... 6 to go.

So today begins the second half of the challenge. This has been extremely good for me. It's really made me aware of what I eat. I absolutely love the journaling portion of this. It really helps me be accountable and to test out new foods and see how it effects my weight loss goals.

So, some milestones from the first 6 weeks:
- Started Creatine, MicroLactin and Beta-Alanine. They have REALLY helped my recovery times and assisted me in CrossFitting for 14 out of 16 days. I've never done that much ... normally after 3 days I'm done and need a break.
- I've lost 25.3lbs!!
- I feel SOOO much better overall ...
- Did a bluebanded pullup ... Sweet!
- Doing pullup WODs with a greenband now ... woot!
- Situps are my friend now.
- Am able to to ring dips now with a greenband.

There's a lot more ... but I'm just so excited to see what the next 6 weeks bring.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 36 - Wow ... Time flies.

Today is the first day of the 6th week. 5 complete weeks down, only 7 more to go. I have CF'd 14 out of the last 16 days but last nights workout nearly killed me. It was a Hero WOD called Helton. I am stoked that I actually completed it ... PJ wanted me to scale, but I really wanted to finish it. Here was the workout:

3 Rounds for time ...
- 800m Row
- 30 Squat Cleans w/ 25lb kettlebells
- 30 Burpees

I thought I was gonna die after this workout. It was horrible!

Also ... guess what. I AM UNDER 290lbs! I am 289.2lbs! That's the lowest I've been by 3lbs during this process ... so I've recovered my gains from the beginning part of the year and then some. Also, if you factor in the nearly 5lbs I put on from the Creatine I would be at about 285lbs! w00t!

Also, yesterday I was able to 1, yes only 1, blue band pullup! I am sooo close to doing a normal pullup I can taste it!

Nutrition Challenge : Day 30 - Whoa nelly ...

Well ... all I have to say is "Whoa nelly". I am a HUGE believer of proper supplements now. I'm on my 3rd full week of supplementing with; 5g Creatine, 2g MicroLactin and 3g Beta-Alanine. My recovery time is ridiculous. I basically am fine the next day now. Also, I can really push out 1 or 2 more reps more after feeling "fatigued" during a workout ... so my intensity is really increasing.

I'm down about 20lbs now and my body composition is really changing. I'm down about 2.5 belt loops and clothes fit me again.

This week hasn't been my best diet wise. I've taken a few liberties that I normally wouldn't but hopefully I'll make up for it at the gym. It's gonna be an awesome workout tonight! w00t!

Nutrition Challenge : Day 23 - On a roll and terrible news.

Last night during our WOD one of the CFO family wasn't feeling well ... and left before the WOD started. He collapsed outside from a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. About a 1/2 hour later Marcy found him by his car and we called an ambulance. It was horrific ... he's had surgery and is stable now but we'll know more in about 48 hours in terms of his overall recovery.

This event really opened my eyes to how short life is and how we need to enjoy every minute we have.

We are collecting gift cards for his family that's taking care of him to help ease the pain a bit.

I've Crossfit'd for 4 straight days and I feel great. Normally I am completely broken after 3 days ... I think I'm gonna go for 6 straight this week.

O feel this has a lot to do with my supplements as this is my second week on Creatine, MicroLactin and Beta-Alanine.

Last nights workout was a total break-through for me ... I was able to push myself harder then I ever have. I can't wait to see what the next 3 weeks brings.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 21 - 3 weeks down, 9 to go.

The first 3 weeks hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it would ... I truly feel soooo much better!

I'm into the 2nd week of my new supplements and I really do feel a difference. On Thursday we did 4 minutes of tabata squats (20/10secs) and I was able to push myself much harder then I would normally. So much though that my lets HURT SOOO MUCH 2 days later that I thought I had broken them. LOL. That'll happen when you do 125 squats in 160 seconds. Ugh! I fully recovered in 3 days from that ... but normally it would have been much longer.

Also, I've had some weight gain due to the Creatine Monohydrate ... but I'm now seeing the scale go down again which is nice.

Doing 3-3-3-3-3 backsquats tonight ... I'm pumped and ready to set a PR.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 16 - Pullups ... nice!

So for yesterday's warmup we did pullups ... and I am now on a green band! I started with a black and green band ... then 2 green bands, then 1 black band and now a green band ... and it was THAT difficult. The 15lbs of weight loss certainly helped. I'm stoked!

I'm really in the groove now with my food too ... and the supplements already seem to be having effects. I was able to do all the burpees during the warmup without stopping and normally I get tired after 2 or 3. All systems go!

Supplements ... what I am taking.

So, here is a list of what I'm taking for supplements.

I purchase all my supplements from vitacost.com. They have great prices and their stuff seems to be great quality.

- NSI ToCoQ10 - 200mg
- NSI Synergy Once Daily Multi-Vitamin (Version 3)
- NSI Mega EFA Omega-3 EPA & DHA - 2126mg
- Glucosamine HCI - 1500 mg / Chondroitin Sulfate - 1200 mg
- NSI Creatine Powder CreaPure - 5000mg
- NSI MicroLactin - 1000mg
- Jarrow Formula Beta-Alanine - 3000mg

I just started the Creatine, MicroLactin and Beta-Alanine so the jury is out on those ... but MicroLactin is known to promote good sleep and HOLY CRAP I didn't move for 8.5hours last night. It was AWESOME!

Nutrition Challenge : Day 15 - Results ...

So it's been another week ... here are some more milestones.

- Lost 15lbs!
- Gone 2 weeks without dairy ... and I think I'm gonna keep going.
- Gone 2 weeks without grain ... and I think I'm gonna keep going.
- I think the Beta-Alanine / MicroLactin is already working. I had VERY little soreness from Monday's workout and normally I would have a lot of soreness from the type of workout it was.
- Started Creatine also this week ... and promptly lost it all in the toliet. LOL. Not going to do the loading phase and just start out at 5g per day.
- Realized that "Cheat" days don't have the same effect on me ... Not sure they are as necessary any longer now that I'm developing self-control. Even when we have cheated the quantities are much less and higher quality.

I'm excited to keep going!

The Creatine has escaped my body ... explosively!

I was hoping for explosive results from Creatine ... but not like this.

About 2 hours after taking it I was on the toilet and it wanted OUT! I should have read my notes better ... I didn't need to load up for the first 5 days. I'm going to start in at the 5g maintenance mode right off the bat and hopefully that will ease up the side-effects.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 13 - All systems go!

I'm really in a stride now when it comes to the Nutrition Challenge. It feels good to eat properly and my body isn't getting the same cravings it was before.

So here's my accomplishments since the last update ...
- 12 pounds lost total
- Down a belt loop
- PR'd in overhead squat (??? > 155#)
- Journaled my food intake for 13 continuous days.
- Did 320 reps in 32 round tabata workout (20secs on / 10secs off), up from about 240.

So I'm going to be adding some supplements to my regiment ... here' what I'm doing.

- Creatine | 20g load phase daily for the first 5 days and 10g daily for maintenance.
-- I'm starting this to assist with my lean muscle development to hopefully take my body fat percentage down.
- MicroLactin | 2g load phase daily for the first 5 days and 1g daily for maintenance.
-- Quicker recovery and anti-inflammatory action.
- Beta-Alanine | 4g daily
-- Helps with; total work capacity, power output at lactate threshold, delayed onset of muscular fatigue during high-intensity exercise and improved sub-maximal endurance performance.

We'll see what happens!

Nutrition Challenge : Day 8 - Whoa nelly ...

Well, this last week has gone really well. Here's the accomplishments I've made in the first 8 days.

- Lost 10lbs
- Journaled all my food intake
- PR'd CFT by 95lbs
- PR'd DL by 30lbs (375 > 405)
- PR'd BS by 25lbs (290 > 315)
- Did ring dips in a WOD for the first time ... and did them pretty well I think.

I'm very happy with this so far ... and I look forward to what the next 12 weeks will bring.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 2 - Much, much better ...

So today was a lot better in terms of hunger pains ... The food seemed to satisfy me more.

I wasn't able to make it to the gym unfortunately because we had a Open House / Carnival at Natalie's school and then I got called for a work emergency and was on a conf call from 6:30PM to Midnight. Yay!

Currently I'm back on the same call as the issues continue ... w00t! Hopefully I'll be able to hit the gym.

Nutrition Challenge : Day 1 - HUNGER PAINS and CrossFit Total

The first day was a TOUGH day ... I was eating food ... but I've cut my carb intake as I know that I'm very carb sensitive. Basically i'm doing The Zone ... 20 blocks protein, 20 blocks fats, 12 blocks carbs.

I had "hunger" pains all day ... until I got to CrossFit by Overload.

We did our CFT (CrossFit Total) and I was pumped ... but I totally thought I'd blow it this time as I haven't really trained hard for over a month.

My last totals were as follows:

Back Squat = 280lbs
Shoulder Press = 135lbs
Deadlift = 355lbs

CFT = 770

I felt really good today ... nothing hurt ... I was ready. My first attempt at the Back Squat and I felt really strong ... so I just went for it ... 290lbs was the most I ever had on my back ... and I did it twice. So I bumped upto 315lbs and BAM, I did it! It wasn't going to be as bad as I thought afterall. So, to make a long story short this is what my CFT was:

Back Squat = 315lbs (+35lbs)
Shoulder Press = 145lbs (+10lbs)
Deadlift = 405lbs (+50lbs)

CFT = 865

I am very happy with this ... originally I wanted 410lbs by the end of the Nutrition Challenge ... Now I'm aiming for the 500lb Deadlift Club & a 1000 CFT! I can't wait to see what these next 12 weeks will bring.