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!

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?

The first post-holiday post

It's taken me a little longer than I had initially thought it would to get back in the blogging saddle. (I know that sounds incredibly corny, but I couldn't resist). When I started this blog a few weeks ago I thought I'd be posting at least once a week. I'll try harder to make that happen from now on. But as my hubby gently stated a few minutes ago, maybe my life is too boring to blog about. He was kidding.

Our Christmas celebrations included flying East to be with our wonderful families. We saw my parents and brother, sister-in-law, and beautiful niece first. Then, my parents drove us to Bennington, VT where we met up with Russ' parents. We stayed with them in NH until New Year's Day. It was so good to be with our family and see old friends. I knew I missed them, but didn't realize how much until we were all together again. As always, it was over way too quickly. One thing I don't miss, however, is the holiday calorie intake! Oh my goodness, did we eat well (and by well I mean soooo badly). There were too many delicious meals and cookies to count.

After a painfully long day of flying, we opened the door to our humble little house, cranked the heat back up, and plopped down on the couch for the rest of the evening. It was good to be home. Just three short months ago, home was my parents' house in NY. Even when I lived in Michigan last year, I still considered their house my home. But now, that comforting word has a new meaning for me. I saw a quote on Pinterest last month that defines this word so well. It simply says, "Home is where your husband is." So for now, home is with my hubby in Spokane, WA.

We're back to our pre-holiday routine. It's back to work for my hubby and back to nannying for me (sure to be a source of many future blog posts). Plus, now I'm joining my hubby at the Crossfit gym. Oh Crossfit...workouts that have the power to destroy every single muscle in your body. I'm counting on it to destroy the holiday fat, too. ;)

How is the New Year treating you?