and the winner is...

ME!

i won the nutrition challenge. :D when i thought about doing the challenge, i wasn't going to be a paid participant, i was just gonna follow the diet and see what happened. paige talked me into being a full participant and now, i'm certainly glad i did! i never thought i would win though...i just wanted to change the way i ate and see how it would affect my workouts and how i felt. it changed everything for me and it has certainly changed the way i look at food and at life in general.

i have already, but i sincerely thank everyone (coaches, fellow athletes, my family, friends, etc.) for their love and support. i couldn't have done it (nor have stuck with it) without them. i'm gonna do it again in 30-day increments until it becomes second nature for me. :) i'm looking to see what the next 30 days will hold and what the results may be.

oh, btw, i won the pot. 440$. i sure could use that right now. :)

13.2 lbs...boom!

the 30 day nutrition challenge is complete! i made it 30 days without a sunkist, potato chips, bojangles, etc. it actually wasn't that hard because most of what i was making and eating was actually really delicious! i promised to post pictures and i will...in the near future. for the remainder of the week, i am vegging. i had bojangles for dinner last night, i am drinking sunkist (although i'm not over-indulging)...i actually even almost forgot about my girl scout cookies.

as for my results: in the scope of body composition, i moved up in bmi brackets from moderate to good. awesome! with regard to weight loss, i lost 13.2 lbs. amazing! of that 13.2 lbs, 7.6 was fat mass and 5.6 was fat-free mass (which is not great, but is contributed to variables like calorie intake, dehydration at time of testing, etc.). in terms of measurements, i lost inches everywhere (chest, waist, hips, thigh, biceps), with the greatest change being at my hips with a difference of 1.75". in the photos, there wasn't a huge difference (at least to me) from the front, but definitely from the side.

in more tangible results...after swapping my winter wardrobe for spring/summer duds, i found 3 pairs of jeans that i've held onto. the first pair i pulled out was a size 2 long from gap. my reaction, "when was i ever a size 2?!" just for kicks, i tried them on - zipped and buttoned. my response, "TODAY!". WHAT?! a size 2? holy moly! today, i tried on pants at ATL after my shift. my next purchase will be black pique crop pants with zipper detail..in a size 4. the size 6 was just too big. weird!

so, i'm taking a few days off my "diet" (also to include celebrating my irishness on saturday) before i get back into it next week. i'm gonna do another 30 day challenge, go get another body composition test/have paige measure me and compare my results. i am SUPER close to my goal weight...about 3-10 pounds left.

the moral of this challenge: what you consume makes a HUGE difference in how you feel, how your body reacts, how you look. couple diet with working out (i prefer crossfit) and changes happen, baby!

*day 3*

i was back with drew tonight. another 3 round "game" but different than monday. :) the first round consisted of 1 minute jump rope, 12 burpees (modified), 12 knee lifts and 12 shoulder presses. second round: 1 min. jump rope, 9 burpees, 9 knee lifts and 9 presses. third round: 1 minute jump rope, 6 burpees, 6 knee lifts and 6 presses.

a burpee, if you don't know, is basically when you do a full push up and then jump to a squat and then jump with your hands over your head. my modified burpee was everything except the push up. knee lifts: hanging from a bar like you're going to do a pull up but instead of pulling your body up, you pull your knees up to work your abs (again, modified...the intent is to get your knees to your elbows!). presses: dumb bell presses from your shoulders straight up.

and then of course, you go for speed. i did it in under 10 minutes (the jump rope got me caught a few times).

so in looking at my times, just under 10 on monday; just under 20 for tuesday (the HARD day!) and just under 10 today....so now i have a jumping off point.

this week, i am trying a new gym: forged fitness. it's the same gym where paige & paul train, in the crossfit program (they have other programs like martial arts). i get three free sessions before i decide if it's something i want to pursue (i still have a week free voucher from o2 fitness i won in a raffle at church). yesterday was my first one. drew is my coach and paul, now certified, is my co-coach/cheerleader.
*day 1: i warmed up by running around the building 3 times..man, i am out of shape because i could barely make it around the 3rd time! :( Then, we played a "game". game, my ass. the game consisted of 3 rounds of 30 step-ups, 5 push ups, 10 sit ups and 10 ball squats each. it sounds easy, but it wasn't. step-ups are not regular box step-ups. these, you stand at the top of each step and push your hips forward), the push ups were the knee kind, which made it easier but still hard when you're trying to go fast!. the sit ups were not "normal". you put your legs in the butterfly position with your shoulders on the floor. you do a sit up but it doesn't count unless you sit straight up. and these ball squats...were tough to get a handle on. i'm used to squats that you sorta lean forward..with these, you curl your toes up so that your weight is forced back on your heels. then you push your hips/butt back (like you're sitting down) and down to touch a medicine ball with your butt..using your arms to keep your balance. it took me 10 minutes to do 3 rounds. after the second, i thought about giving up...the idea of doing 30 more step-ups wasn't my idea of a good time..but i did it! i would've been mad if i had quit.

i'm a little bit sore, mostly from the push ups because i stretched my legs quite a bit afterwards...it was fun. friendly faces since i've met quite a few of the members at social functions for the bsd's and paul's birthday. plus, it's a way for me to spend more time (at least in the same space) with paige (& paul). i go again tonight at 7...drew said it's better to go back-to-back so that i don't get as sore. i tried to get some details from paul but all he told me is that we wouldn't be doing the same thing as yesterday. i imagine there's some rowing and kettle bell lifts in my future. :) and, as much as i hated it, i'm actually looking forward to going back tonight...am i crazy or what?! ;)

*day 2: i actually made it around the building 3 times...i was gonna go around for 4 but i didn't want to push it too hard & if i had known what the workout was, i definitely wouldn't have gone 4 times. 4 rounds of: 300m rowing, 10 lunges, 12 wall balls, and 15 kettlebells. rowing on the machine was tough, since we were going for speed. lunges to the wall. wall balls were the squats i did yesterday coupled with throwing and catching a medicine ball above the line on the wall (that was tough). kettlebells are squats with a kettlebell and then swinging it up over your head and then back down. they had to decrease my weight in the balls and bells. i only made it through 3 rounds which i'm kinda disappointed in, but i also didn't want to kill myself! i don't know my time but i know it wasn't fast considering i was doing the class with 2 fit men (father and son) who were able to get through their 4 rounds. i didn't watch them much because i didn't want to get more flustered. i'm alive, but my quads yell at me everytime i walk down the stairs or sit down! today is my off day...and boy do i need it?! i didn't sleep well last night at all, and i have my interview tomorrow morning so i need to be well-rested. we'll see what day 3 will hold tomorrow night. paul won't be there b/c he has band practice...but, i'll be okay. i just want to get the techniques down well enough before i really try to go for time.