C is for Community...

Gimme a C, Gimme a R, Gimme a OSSFIT! (Ok I was never a cheerleader) Whats that spell...CROSSFIT. But lets focus on the C shall we....

C is for Community.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think going to Crossfit over a year ago would impact my life so greatly. But not in reps or PRs or weight lost. For me the biggest impact is the community. The many awesome people I now call my friends.

I would say that I am perceived by others as outgoing, fun and personable. (Just go with it.... ;) I thrive in social settings and love to interact and meet new people. After having my daughter 3 years ago, I became a stay at home mom. I left the teaching profession after almost 10 years and settled in to mom life. And I was so lonely.

A lot of people don't talk about how sometimes isolating being a stay at home mom can be. And maybe its not for everyone but it was for me. Eventually I went back to work part time but I still had little interaction with many people and because we moved farther away not even with my friends.

I started at Titan Crossfit to battle my post baby body (that battle is more like a war that I am still waging a year later). I had no idea that anything would change in my life other than my pants size. I didn't know that the people who I at first envied for their ability to do pull ups or run when I could barely jog would become my friends. Good friends. Friends who constantly push me to achieve and try harder. Friends who keep the pessimist in me feeling positive. Friends who don't let me give up. Friends who constantly inspire, strengthen and support me.

I don't have a day that goes by where I don't talk to or text with many of my Titan friends. Yes mostly with things like "Whats the WOD??" or "I am so SORE" or "I hate running"....but also about our lives. These people have become like family to me. I look forward to going to Titan Crossfit not just to see if I can survive the WOD but to check in with my friends. To share stories, talk trash, high five and laugh.

Crossfit athletes are such a diverse group. Fire fighters, police officers, accountants, stay at home moms, college kids, trainers, nurses, musicians etc... And on paper I may have little in common with all of these people. And what started as just having Crossfit in common has grown into so much more. Happy hours, birthday celebrations, beach weekends, destination weddings, house warmings, laughs, smiles and friendships.

So when people ask me "how's that Crossfit thing going?" I smile. I answer and explain how much better I feel and how empowering being able to lift heavy weight as a female is. But to me "that Crossfit thing" is my more than that. Its family. A big, strong, awesome family :)

Here are just a few of those awesome people.... :) 

Pretty Sure Iced Vanilla Lattes are a Gateway Drug

Day 13 in the Whole 30 challenge and I can honestly say I feel pretty good and I have definitely adjusted to this way of eating. Except for one thing. And of all the things that I was expecting to miss this is the one I thought wouldn't be that big of a deal....

Grande Iced Vanilla Lattes from Starbucks. 

I wish I could drink the screen....

Just typing that out made me want to get in my car and drive directly to my nearest Starbucks and chug one down. Forget the straw I will just mainline it.

My question is WHY of all things is this the one that I just can't stop thinking about. I have a pantry full of snacks and treats and I easily bypass them several times daily. But I literally wake up thinking of these Lattes. 

I started really thinking about why this is and I have come to a few conclusions:

1. Starbucks puts crack in these. Thats not syrup. Its liquid crack. 

2. I have turned my latte habit into something that is a part of my daily routine. Surprisingly my little podunk town has a not only a Starbucks but one with a drive thru no less. I discovered this when my daughter was a baby and would fall asleep in the car and there was NO WAY I was waking her up. So I would drive around and get a coffee and play Angry Birds in my car. That was 3 years ago. And yet, here I am 3 years later and I still go to that drive thru several times a week. Its right by the grocery store! It has a drive thru! What could be easier? So accessible....

3. Coffee. That one is simple. I love it. I love it with a little creamer and a little sweetner (in my non Whole 30 life I prefer stevia for the record). I drink it habitually every morning and then whenever the opportunity for Starbucks arrives. I can literally subsist on these lattes and forego food. Truth. 

4. Sugar. Yup. I am not a "sweets" person. I prefer french fries or chips. Something salty. But I realized that is because I get all the sugar I need from those damn lattes. I looked it up. 28g in one 16 oz drink. Sad face. 

So there it is. I am addicted to Starbucks. Its fast. Its easy. You can find it on any corner. It makes me feel good. It costs way too much. I need it. I crave it....is there a Starbucks recovery support group? 

Holy Whole 30....

So I have in fact survived the first week of Whole 30. And thankfully so did all my friends and family. There were definitely a few "kill all the things" moments on days 2 through 4....  I sorry ;)

Ok so I did a quick S.O.T.T.(State of the Tiffany) review. Here is where I am with this whole process...

1) I am over the hump of low energy I believe. Early last week I thought I could and may possibly been able to fall asleep standing upright with my eyes open. Working out was a MISERY. And I had the privilege to attempt the "Filthy Fifty" as one of the WODS at Titan Crossfit last week. Lets just say this...It would have been ugly if I was at 100%. Therefore it was more like a soul sucking tragedy of athletic performance on my part.  At one point I just stared dead eyed at a grey wall while my brain screamed "Pick up the wall ball!!!" and my body was like "Girl you CRAY".

2)Sugar is in EVERYTHING. This is not an exaggeration. Its in all the obvious places you expect...anything sweet or processed. But I have found it in places I just don't understand. Taco seasoning? Sriacha? Worcestershire? Salsa? Italian salad dressing? Why people!! WHY!!! Tell me in what way sugar enhances taco seasoning. Sheesh. As a result I have made my own taco seasoning (link) as well as my own salad dressing (link) and my own mayo (link). I am become down right Martha Stewarty.

3) Eating on the go is a BITCH. Sorry but it is. There is no easy way to grab something to eat on Whole 30. Unless (and thank the Whole 30 heavens) you are near a Chipotle! You can have a salad with carnitas, any salsa and guacamole :) and its YUMMY. You can't have the other meats because they cook them in soy bean oil but the carnitas are delish. Other than that you had better start packing a bag o' goodies everywhere you go! I always have the following with me these days....cut veggies like carrots and cucumbers, almonds, an apple or banana and hard boiled eggs. That way I don't starve or turn into a bitchy Whole 30 zombie.

4) I cook for my family every night. But I have NEVER cooked as much as I have in the past week. Everything I eat, I have to prepare. Today alone I spent 3 solid hours stocking the fridge with prepped Whole 30 foods. Mostly because if I don't have something to eat when I am ravenous, then I know I will be more likely to cheat. So I have reaquainted myself with every cooking tool in my house. Crock pot, food processor, spice grinder, mandolin, immersion blender...you name it, I've used it. This is my actual fridge as of this afternoon....

Boom!!

1. Bottom line for Week 1: It sucked. It was hard. But I did it. And I am starting to feel better. My jeans are already looser and my skin looks awesome. I actually happily drink coffee with just plain coconut milk in it. And I am pretty damn pumped that I didn't totally buckle when I felt terrible. Bring it on Week 2 ;)

Whole 30 - Day 1 Musings and Whining

Today is Day 1 of my Whole 30 journey.  While I don't intend to blog everyday about this I figured I would jot down some thoughts on the first day so that I can reflect back....

So what I can tell you so far about Whole 30.
1) It could be called Whole Paycheck. Or Whole Night in the Grocery Store. I spent 2 hours and a lot of money buying food on Saturday night (yes I'm so cool) to prep and stock my fridge for this challenge. I leaned a lot about hidden sugars though I will say that.

2) I have been staring at a black cup of coffee for about 15 minutes. Just staring at it. I think I will eventually take a sip.... I love coffee. Coffee with creamer (i was using coconut milk creamer) and stevia. Yummy. OR my most favorite...Iced Grande Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. I could seriously live off of those things. But alas, for 30 days I will be drinking black coffee. I am predicting that I just stop drinking it all together and that the Starbucks baristas may call in a missing persons report for me....

3) Took a sip of the coffee....sad face.

4) I have a ton of food in my fridge. I have prepped NONE of it. Lol. I need to get on that or I am going to be relegated to eating hard boiled eggs and raw carrots all day.

5) I ate TERRIBLY all weekend. Worse than I have in a long time. I topped it off with a creamy shrimp pasta dish at Carrabas after a day of drinking beer at a Ravens game and then a night cap of Swedish fish. Yes really. At first I thought it was awesome. Then I got so full and grossly bloated and I felt terrible. Before I went to bed last night I was thinking how glad I was that I was going to rid my body of all the toxins I ate this weekend....
Now I just want some creamer in my damn coffee.

6) I can do anything for 30 days. I will feel great in 30 days. Maybe even late next week. This week is going to suck. It just is. But I will be fine....the rest of you, well I would avoid looking me directly in the eye on Thursday or Friday.