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.