Spring Training

This week was absolutely beautiful! It only rained once, which is pretty incredible considering the cold/rainy weather we've been clouded with recently. Those sunny 60 degree days yielded large doses of motivation to get outside and exercise! My April Goals have also been highly motivational in the fitness and healthy eating categories. I'm happy to report that I crossfitted 3 times per week, and this week I met my 6 miles per week goal! I know that running 6 miles in a week doesn't sound like much. However, I work through all of the daylight hours on Monday and Tuesday, which exempts them from being possible running days.

Friday, on the other hand, is a glorious running day! I have Fridays off. Go ahead and be jealous of my 3-day weekends. ;) Yesterday morning
I tied my running shoes, clipped Otto's chewed up retractable leash to his collar, and ran a couple of miles around the South Hill. My running buddy did great, especially after running 3+ miles with Hubby on Thursday! This dog has an unlimited energy supply. In the afternoon, I had a really good Crossfit workout, too! Yesterday's WOD was "Lynne:" 5 rounds of max bench press reps followed by max pull ups. I did this workout several weeks ago with a 65 lb. bench press. This time, I did it with 75 lbs. for a total of 54 reps and 50 total pull ups! I'm so encouraged to see my strength improving. I could barely do 1 pull up when I started Crossfit. Holla!

This morning, Hubby and I took Otto for a run through Manito Park. My arms were ridiculously sore/tight from yesterday's WOD, but it was so much fun to run in the sunny

park as a little family. :) To top off our Spring Saturday, some of our wonderful friends stopped by this afternoon for our first BBQ! Isn't grilling out with friends and family one of the best parts of Spring and Summer? I'm a fan.

April Goals

I realize that this post should have happened on Sunday in order ensure a whole month of goal meeting, but I just made these goals this morning. And, inspired by my dear friend Beka at bekastays, I figured I should make them public for a little accountability. I can't break goals that all five of my readers know about! ;) I've written a few health related posts about Crossfit, Paleo, and Zone, which I truly believe are all wonderful tools to health and fitness. But I need to confess that I've been a big fat cheater. It's been a week since I've been to the Crossfit gym. (That streak ends today!) And, my bad snacking habits have taken me far beyond the boundaries of Paleo and Zone. I think part of my failure to really stick to these "diets" has stemmed from a lack of goal setting. That will no longer be an excuse because, oh man, do I ever have goals now! I created a list of workout goals and healthy eating goals along with a plan for following through.

Workout Goals:

• Xfit 2-3 times/week- Improve times and weights
• Run 6 miles/week (Bonus: Tire out the pup at the same time!)
• Ab exercises 6 days/week
• Tone legs and butt- At least 100 air squats and 50 mountain climbers on Xfit off days
• Lose 1 pant size- At least 1 inch from waist, hips, and thighs
• Fill in the gaps with Jillian- Level 3 of 30 Day Shred

Healthy Eating Goals:

• Stay in the Zone! 11 blocks/day
• Say "NO" to excess snacking
• 1 "cheat" meal/month (I'm thinking it will probably be Easter this month) ;)
• Try 1 new recipe/week
• No more than 1 cup of coffee per day-->Drink more tea!
• Drink at least 8 cups of water/day

Follow Through:

• Accountability! This post is part of my follow through plan, but sometimes I need a little extra accountability. Does anyone want to call or send me encouraging/motivational texts? Some days I could really use them! ;)
• Wear workout clothes and sneakers to work. Bang out some of those ab, leg and butt exercises while the kids are taking naps.
• Intrinsic Motivation/ Emotional connection to Goals- Remember that I'm doing this for my overall health and happiness.
• Don't let the weather get me down! I just have to accept that the weather in Spokane sucks 90% of the time. Rain ain't no thang!
• Be motivated. Be tough. Have fun!
• Don't quit.

Do you have any health or fitness goals? How about some advice? I'd love to hear them!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Do you remember the show Kids Say the Darnedest Things with Bill Cosby? It was a family favorite when I was young. My brother and I weren't allowed to call the show by its full title, though. We called it "Kids Say" because darnedest was a "shortcut swear word." ;) Anyway, I'm here to tell you that kids do say the darnedest things. I am a nanny for three preschoolers. I should know. They entertain me daily with their funny words and phrases. I have to share a few of my favorites with you. So far only Hubby has had the pleasure of hearing me quote my little munchkins. The twins, a boy and girl, are 5. Their brother, H, just turned 4. The girl is a little brown haired beauty. She loves singing, dancing, and being the center of attention. To say she has a flair for the dramatic would be an understatement. ;) Her twin is a little smarty-pants. His math skills and piano playing are impressive! Plus, he's super organized. I've never seen a kid's room as immaculate as his! Then there is H. Oh, H. He's all boy. Basically, he loves anything loud, dirty, and rough.

Twin Girl has picked up the phrase "dang it" recently. The other day we were coloring a picture together and she accidentally used the wrong color. She said, "Oh dane it!" I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty cute. I haven't corrected her because I don't think I should teach her the correct form of her "shortcut swear." Twin Boy has the most adorable speech impediment. I work with him on correct pronunciation, but part of me hopes he'll keep speaking the way he does. Honestly, it's cute. L's are tricky for him, so words like girls and pills become gews and pews. H is constantly asking "what's this" questions or telling me something that he knows. "Guess what Befany..." I hear those three loud, high-pitched words a lot!

"Befany, we can't watch that movie. It's chouched." Translation: Bethany, we can't watch that movie because it has fingerprints and has been scratched. Thank you for your wisdom, H. He is a big fan of "up sleeve" shirts and shorts. You may know them as short sleeve shirts or T shirts. I'm pretty sure he would go out in a blizzard in shorts and "up sleeves" if I let him.

What funny words and phrases do the little people in your life throw at you?

Triple Threat

Today, I'm going to attempt to blog about a few completely unrelated subjects in one post. Cool? First subject: Otto, the escape artist. On Friday evening, Hubby and I came home from the gym and were greeted at the door by our mischievous pup. This would be wonderful if we trusted Otto to have free reign of the house. We do not. He managed to escape from his crate by opening the zipper that he had previously weakened by chewing some of the teeth off. The damage was minimal. We actually expected much worse for his first home alone experience. He chewed the corners of a couple books, but they're still readable. Unfortunately, one was Catching Fire (you Hunger Games fans know how upsetting that is)! He also got ahold of my running gloves, one of hubby's shoes, and his leash. Luckily nothing was damaged beyond repair. When we left for church this morning, we barricaded his crate against the wall with the couch so he wouldn't be able to get out, even if he opened the damaged zipper. That didn't stop Houdini Dog. He somehow opened the undamaged side zipper. Otto made himself comfortable on the couch and chewed the crap out of his retractable leash. At least we know he's a smart dog, even if he's destructive. On a good note, Otto's eye seems to be healing well from his "puppy tacks." It's a good thing he's not trying to scratch it because, you guessed it, he destroyed the second cone we got him by running into the stone wall. Smooth, Otto.

Second subject: Zone Paleo. This section is probably only interesting to those who care about diets and nutrition. If that's not you, skip this paragraph. ;) As I've previously shared, hubby and I have been "following" a Paleo-ish diet for the past several weeks. I was hoping that my general avoidance of grains and dairy would help me shed some "I ate too much junk over the holidays" body fat. I was also hoping this high protein diet would boost my strength and overall health. What I've actually found is that I've gained a few pounds! Now I know the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" saying. But, my jeans aren't just tight from more muscle. I have been getting stronger, though! Friday, I dead lifted 160 lbs. and bench pressed 90 lbs. That may not seem like much, but I'm only 5'3", and they were both pr's!

Paleo has been great for helping me eat more protein and produce while greatly reducing the amount of grains and dairy in my diet. The piece that I've been missing is portion control. I think my biggest Paleo error was that I was eating lots of sweet fruit and nuts, which are at the top of the Paleo food pyramid. So, I decided to combine Paleo with the Zone diet. I'm not the first to think of this. Many Crossfitters eat a Zone Paleo diet because it's better portion control than just eating any foods that are considered Paleo. Zone is based on the idea that you should eat the macronutrients of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in a 40:30:30 ratio. What I love about Zone is that it lists foods and portion sizes that you should be eating and ranks them from best choices to worst. If you are looking to improve your eating habits and/or lose a few pounds, I highly recommend checking out this website. Also, Zone may be more appealing to you because it does not require you to completely eliminate dairy and grains. Something that blew my mind: 10 cups of raw spinach has the carbohydrate equivalent of 1/3 of a banana! Needless to say, I've been eating a lot more spinach and a lot fewer bananas.

Third subject: We got a motorcycle! It's a '92 Yamaha FZR 1000. It's a sport bike, so maybe it's not as cool as a Harley. But, we'll have fun with it, (safely, of course) and it will save us some gas money when Hubby takes it to work instead of the gas guzzling Bronco. Pictures and updates to follow as soon as we see some of that beautiful weather in Spokane that everyone else in the country has been enjoying! Share the love, Midwest!

Spring is in the Air!

Lord, thank you for this beautiful day!

I don't think I was even aware of how badly my mind, body, and spirit needed sunshine and mild temperatures! It's gorgeous out today, and I've been taking advantage of this awesome weather. Hubby and I started the day with our favorite paleo breakfast, paleo pancakes. I add a splash of vanilla and some cinnamon. They are as easy as the boxed variety, but grain and dairy free! Plus, we like them even better. Make them. Eat them. Love them. You won't be sorry!

I took Otto for a sunny walk/run around our neighborhood and to a small nearby park. While running through the park, we came across a pit bull mix without a human. Otto and said pit bull had a grand old time jumping on and sniffing each other. Otto was definitely doing the majority of the jumping. After about a minute or so of this puppy play, I was ready to resume our run. I tugged Otto away so we could continue. Guess who followed? I couldn't ditch the wandering dog! He kept jogging behind us despite my best efforts to get rid of him several times with a stern "go home!" He followed us right to our door, which is at least 1/2 mile from where he found us. Hopefully the friendly guy made it home safely!

By the way, Otto has had that cone on his head for less than a week because of his "puppy tacks" to fix an issue with his left eyelid. Yes, it is currently held together with an obscene amount of duct tape. He's destructive, to say the least.

Between jumbo loads of laundry (it really piles up around here) and dinner prep, we've also been out to do some yard work. Ok, I did yard work while Otto chewed sticks.

How else can I take advantage of this day? I'm hoping this afternoon's crossfit workout has a running component! I'd like to be inside as little as possible. Let's have some more days like this one!

How do you make the most of a beautiful day in early March?

Paleo Update: Top 3

First of all, let me apologize for my extended absence. I've been meaning to sit down and fill you in on this Paleo experience, I really have! Unfortunately, this combination of being busy, unable to pull my thoughts together, and guilty for cheating several times have kept me away. Shame, shame. There's my confession, so now let's get to the good stuff!

Sometimes Paleo sucks. There's really no other way to say it. Like I stated here, carbs are definitely one of my favorite things. Avoiding them (mostly) has been difficult. But thankfully, there are many talented cooks and bloggers eating grain and dairy free. I've relied heavily on their recipes to make this diet somewhat enjoyable. Three of our favorites so far have been this fish chowder (with a few alterations), this pumpkin chili, and this chocolate pudding! So, so good!

*Side note: this post is taking me FOREVER to write because I'm constantly having to stop to get this naughty pup off the couch!

You won't regret giving any of these recipes a try, regardless of your grain and dairy intake! They're all delicious! The chocolate pudding has more of a fudge-like consistency once refrigerated. It's amazing as a dip for strawberries! Happy Paleo eating! :)

Paleo

Fad diets are not my thing. Now get this: I am (reluctantly) ditching grains, legumes, sweets, and dairy for a Paleo diet of lean meat, nuts, eggs, fish, and tons of vegetables and fruit. This weekend, Hubby and I are starting a 30 day Paleo challenge at our CrossFit gym. We've been doing some research on this eating style, and we really like what we've been learning. Want to learn more? Others can definitely explain it better than I, so look here and here. In my opinion, Paleo isn't a fad diet because it's a lifestyle that can be kept for a lifetime. I'm all about a "diet" that lets me eat until I'm satisfied.

My reservations come from a strong love of all things sweet and packed with carbohydrates. No cereal or oatmeal? Seriously? Skipping cheese and yogurt is going to be difficult, too. I don't think I'll miss milk too much because I can still drink unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which is 10 times better than cow milk! I'm really excited to start this eating plan. This high-protein lifestyle is supposed to provide tons of energy, which meshes really well with CrossFit. Honestly, I'm still kind of skeptical that I'll be able to keep this up past the 30 days. But the nice thing is that occasional grains and dairy aren't going to kill me. The idea is to mix up the food pyramid. Paleo claims that meat, fish, and eggs belong at the base of the pyramid rather than carbohydrates like bread, grains, cereal and pasta.

What are your thoughts? Any wisdom from Paleo-eaters? Carb-lovers?