The secret is, there are no secrets.

I think that most people initially have trouble with weight loss because they have this idea in their mind that there are all sorts of tricks and tips out there. They make it more complicated then it needs to be. They seek out weight loss "secrets" and quick fixes. Tips and tricks and fad diets just don't work in the long run. And you'll make yourself crazy by over thinking something that is truly simple. There are no secrets, there is only the hard truth. You need to throw away the junk food you keep in your house. You need to buy real foods, and you need to cook. And you need to MAKE time to workout. It is that simple.
It took me about 8 months to get to my goal weight in a healthy way. That's a pretty long time, BUT I've maintained my size. I didn't gain it all back like lots of people do who turn to crash dieting. If you're not willing to truly make a lifestyle change then it's just not gonna stick for you. You have to come to a point where you're done living unhealthily.

23 and 26

So life at InShape Suisun has been getting a little better. The employees don't seem to care about anything so I move equipment around all over the place to set up my own wod's. I think the morning regulars are used to me now and I'm not so crazy any longer. The only thing is that I somehow hurt my foot and as a result haven't been able to run. I got into a routine of running after my workouts and I'm not sure if I just over did it, if it was my shoes, or the fact that I'm running on a machine, but boy oh boy does it hurt. It's been a little over a week and it doesn't seem like it matters what type of shoes I wear, it only feels ok if I'm not walking on it. But I'm still working out, did the wod "Jackie" today 1000m row, 50 thrusters 45#, 30 pullups. Fun times ;-)

And this is totally random but why are brussels sprouts so hated? I have been terrified to try them for so long because I've never heard anything good said about them. But I made some last night and no joke, new favorite vegetable!

Oh, am I offending you by being awesome??

One of the reasons why CrossFit was no longer affordable was because I messed things up for myself back in August. At that time I thought I was going to leave CFS (because of the cost) and start working out at InShape near my house. So I signed up at InShape because those jerks promised me a good deal. Well then Steve and I talked and he told me I shouldn't leave CFS because I loved it so much. So there I was paying $135 a month and had one membership I wasn't even using. So that is how the InShape membership came about. If I had it my way I would have gone back to 24 once I left CFS. But once you sign a contract with InShape they have a death grip on you. It's convenient because it just around the corner from my house, and for the most part they have what I need to workout the way I want to. It has however been hard to adjust. No bumper plates, no letting weight drop, and I get some pretty funny looks. I go early morning, and am almost always the only female in the free weight area. I do thrusters, I squat, I clean & jerk, I get looks. I don't care, but I think it's kind of sad that men act so surprised to see a female lifting heavy weight. Oh sorry, I forgot I'm supposed to be on the elliptical! Some guy even had the nerve to ask me if I needed help re-racking my weight. I of course get offended and respond with, "I just pressed this over my head, I can handle putting it away." I'm sure "I've got it" would have done the trick, but I was irritated. 

Overall it's working out just fine, but I'm sort of the new freak in town.

Just like my way of working out is ever changing so is the way I eat. When I first started to lose weight all I did was cut out junk. Fast food, fried foods, sweets, pasta with gobs of cheese, but when I think about it I really didn't think a lot about nutrition and fueling my body. I just worried about what NOT to eat. Before I even started crossfitting I discovered paleo. At the time I was striving to eat clean, grains and dairy were still a part of my diet and I was at a standstill in the losing weight department. That is why I tried paleo. I did it to lose my last 10lbs. Then I started to learn more about it, I liked how it made me feel. I started to realize that most dairy made me sick and grains often left me feeling bloated. My body wasn't really a big fan of either thing and I had never put two and two together. Today I'm back to being mostly paleo. Every now and then I make brown rice or beans, but I still cook clean. I do what works best for me. But most importantly I have learned that my food needs to fuel my body. I need to eat to keep my body in the best shape possible. No matter how hard I train in the gym, If I'm not getting the right balance of what I need those hours will never show in my physique. There is no one diet fits all. You have got to learn what works well for you. And we have to stop looking at food as a treat and see it for what it really is, fuel. I'm not saying I don't indulge (because I DO), but like they say, "you can't out train a bad diet." It's great you joined a gym this year, but you won't see the results you want if you don't change your eating habits. And that doesn't mean stop eating McDonald's and start buying Lean Cuisine, there's no nutrition in those frozen meals. Cook real food.

This is the freezer at my work. Every day everyone is microwaving their frozen lunch. And I hate to break it to you but none of them are in good shape. Not having time for food prep is a bunch of bs, I know mothers of toddlers with jobs who cook every day.

Just a little progress pic, I've got some work to do.

"That one hour spent in the gym is important, but the key to seeing results is how you spend the rest of your 23."

ta ta for now :-(

These past 8 months at CrossFit Solano have been challenging, frustrating, empowering, uplifting, and expensive. lol. I am so glad that I made the decision to join CFS, I have learned so much and grown so much in my time there. So it is with lots of sadness that I have to say, I'm walking away. I'm hoping it will not be a permanent thing but for the time being I'm going to have to say goodbye. As much as I love it, it's just not in the budget anymore. I have to make a grown up decision to do what is best for right now.
As far as staying and shape and working out is concerned I'm not worried. I've done it all on my own before, with great success, and I know I can do it again. But the atmosphere and people of CFS is what will be hardest to be without. I have been coached, motivated, and befriended by some amazing people. I am so thankful for all of them.

2013 I'm so excited!

Ok yes I'm excited for 2013 but this is my recap of 2012. 2012 was one awesome year for me. All sorts of new fitness related ventures, and I got myself  a fiance in February. I started crossfitting in April, ran my first half marathon in June, participated in a crossfit charity event in October, and competed in my first crossfit competition in December. This past year my fitness goals changed drastically. For so long my goal was weight loss, that was always my reasoning for working out and eating clean. All I wanted was to be thin. The need to be skinny went away when I joined Crossfit Solano. My goal went from wanting to be skinny, to wanting to be strong. For months when I first started losing weight, I wanted to see parts of me get smaller and they did. But all that "feet together, thighs apart" "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" nonsense is complete horse sh*t (pardon my french). Images like this should NOT be on your inspiration board:

Forget that! My thighs touch and I can back squat 170#. Crossfit opened my eyes, it gave me direction, and drive. I was in a rut before I joined, and now I can't picture my life without it (yes it's that damn awesome). The end of 2012 sucked the life out of me, I mean almost literally, I was sick as hell. So I haven't been in the gym for quite some time, but I'm ready to get in there and set new goals for 2013. As of today I'm back on the paleo/clean eating band wagon and plan to stay pretty darn disciplined through the month of April. Once May rolls around I don't really care, I'll be married and allowed to get fat. Haha just kidding!! 

Bayside Beatdown

135lb deadlifts

35 lb Kettle bell swings

65 lb Cleans

65 lb Shoulder to Overhead

400m Run

55 lb Thruster

55 lb Sumo Deadlift High Pull

25 lb Weighted Sit ups

5 days...

When I was little I would get so excited about vacations and fun events that I would make myself sick. My excitement would turn into anxiety and I would be a big ball of nerves, sick & anxiously awaiting a trip to Santa Cruz. I'm an over thinker, I stress about things that are so teeny tiny. I let excitement turn into stress. We all have our down falls and that is definitely one of mine. So where am I going with this?
If you didn't already know, my first crossfit competition is this Saturday the 8th. The wod's (workouts) were announced yesterday afternoon and my excitement quickly turned to panic. I know physically I can do it. I'm confident and comfortable with all the movements. But I let the time caps totally throw me off. Seeing that there's a limit, a time to be under scared me. It's so silly. Because what each wod comes down to is giving 110% for a few minutes of work. I know I can do that.
Thank goodness a light bulb went on in my head this morning. I can't spend this whole week worrying about a time cap. I just need to be in the gym, practice, rest, and chill the heck out.

Regardless of my results the fact that I signed myself up for all of this is enough for me to be proud. I was so intimidated back in April when I started working out at CFS. Surrounded by so many amazing athletes and thinking jumping into a competition would never be something I was ready for. And here I am.
What an amazing journey these past 2 years have been. Size 12 Sheri had no confidence in herself. I would never have dreamed of something like this 2 years ago. This journey has been all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, trying something new, embracing things I was afraid of. As I sit here and play it all back in my mind, I feel overwhelmingly happy. So thank you to everyone who has been in my corner cheering me on, thank you for your encouragement and your positive words. And of course, thank you to the haters...

Here are the workouts for Bayside Beatdown:

Scaled WOD #1:

8 kettlebell swings 35/53lbs

8 Deadlifts 185/135lbs

*4 rounds for time. 5 minute cap

NO dropping weights, 3 burpee penalty if you drop.

Scaled WOD#2:

As many reps as possible of:

3 minutes Burpee Broad jump, must start with burpee

2 minutes Cleans 95/65lbs, from the ground

1 minute Shoulder to overhead 95/65lbs

There is no rest between stations.  Burpee: Must touch your chest to the floor, hands behind starting line and clear the 4 foot jump with your feet. Clean: from the ground, must show control at the top. Shoulder to overhead: Must touch shoulders and lock out at the top.

Scaled WOD #3

400m Run

20 Thrusters 75/55lbs

20 Sumo Deadlift High Pull 75/55lbs

20 See the lights sit ups 25/35lbs

400m Run                                                

 *For time. 10 minute cap

And here are my heat times if you are free on Saturday and want to come watch!

Heat 9 - 9:10                      11:20                                   1:40

Dun Dun Dun...

Well I am less than two weeks away (11 days to be exact) from Hercules Bayside Beatdown aka my first crossfit competition. Heat times have been released and seeing my name on that list made it REAL. I'm now anxiously awaiting the release of the WOD's on Sunday. I spent all day yesterday beating myself up for how I spent Thanksgiving weekend (eating and not working out) but I'm back in the swing of things and I'm feeling pretty good in the gym. I've worried for weeks if I was truly ready to jump into this competition. But you know what, it is what it is. When I signed up for it I was doing it purely for the experience, a push out of my comfort zone, to try something new. And I have to remember that. Sure I want to do well but I'm also being realistic. I'm trying to focus on being excited about the experience, about moving forward in crossfit. I've been at CFS since April, I'm not great at every movement, I still hate getting upside down, and forward rolls scare me (LOL) but without a doubt I am stronger, I  am determined, and I am more confident.

Don't get me wrong, I'm scared shitless about this comp but I'm ready to get it done!