Just went from a 9 to a 12!

Woot woot!!!!  First serious lifting scar tonight baby! This is gonna be a goodun. Holy smokes.  So here's the story. And pics of course. Normal workout, just doing some circuits.  First circuit was some lateral squats, step-up and overs, med ball slams and box jumps.  Now I think EVERYONE hates box jumps and now I have a pretty damn good reason. I'm actually ok at them and have been getting better, but I certainly don't enjoy them.  Well tonight I was on round 2 of my circuit and guess who missed her jump???

This girl did!!!

Yup, I totally freaking just missed it and ripped my shin open on the box. Excellent.  This is what happens when swimmers try to do things on land that require coordination. So of course I do this when the pair of guys I really enjoy watching lift (because they're intense, usually doing some impressive oly lifts in circuits with actually good form, push each other hard- they kinda really inspire/motivate me a decent amount honestly) are standing right next to me. They're chatting up one of the trainers when I walk over and say "Sorry to interrupt, but I think this is worth it. Where do I get a bandaid?"  They all look down at my leg and jaws drop as they see the giant gash in my leg starting to pour blood.

So the nice trainer took me upstairs, took out the first aid kit, we cleaned me up, bandaided and taped the crap outta my shin. And then, this part is my fav, I'm actually stupid enough to go back and finish my workout!!!  HA. So I walk back down and the guys are still there, still doing their thing. We chat it up a bit. They ask me if I'm patched up OK and I tell 'em I'm hanging in there.  They're clearly impressed at my badassness as I joke around with my leg pretty much still gushing through the medical tape. Then the extra fun one of the two tells me "You're awesome.  You just went from like a 9 to a 12 in my book!" 1) I'm laughing having a good time. 2) He just called me a 12!!!! 3) My workouts were impressive enough that he's taken notice of me before and mentally labeled me a 9?!?!?! 4) Crap, my leg is still gushing.

Something tells me this will never be me, besides the obvious facts of being white and a woman.

So I guess this is how I'm supposed to impress men? Is that the moral of the story? What do I need to do to get me a husband? Oi. So I went to CVS, got some gauze and tape, went home, showered, sang myself a song about how much showering was gonna hurt, cleaned it up and called my Dad to figure out if I needed stitches lol. So for now, I'm sitting my ass in bed with some elevation and compression and hoping this bleeding stops soon enough that my dad doesn't guilt me into a trip to the doc.  Sucessful night if I do say so myself.

My first good gym scar and a pretty ridic story to go with it. I just straight up missed the box jump.  Good job Katie. Grace and balance always were my talents.

Really?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... We. Are. Fucked.  Really, just really, how are people expected to be anything BUT obese in this world? I love my parents to death, but recently had a super frustrating discussion with my mom the last time I was home.  Found out she doesn't eat breakfast and typically has a light yogurt and a piece of fruit for lunch.  So that means she's eaten, what, MAYBE 250 calories by dinnertime???? She then of course is starving, overindulges in a big dinner and maybe too often gives into her sweet tooth after that. I love her to death, but she think she's eats "mostly healthy" and it breaks my heart really.  Her blood sugar's gotta be all over the place and the feast/famine pattern is just awful for you.

Less isn't always better, which a lot of people don't get. I've been particularly entertained lately by the battle of the diet processed foods. Progresso has a new series of commercials comparing a serving (aka half a can- LOVE the trickery there) of their soup to a "whopping" 300 calories and 8g of fat in "other frozen diet meals." No, I'm not the biggest fan of frozen meals (though I admittedly will indulge sometimes - especially to kill a Chinese food or pizza craving), but at least they have some substance and sustenance to them. It's not a bowl of broth filled with carbs. That's not going to do jack to keep you full, satisfy you or really fuel your body at all. But it's only 80 calories a serving, and that's going to win the waifs (and waif-wannabes) guaranteed. Guaranteed. LESS DOES NOT EQUAL BETTER. uggggggh.

Next and even more amazing is the new Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet.  Really.  REALLY????  I don't think I can even write enough really's to describe how that makes me feel.  Talk about trickery. Geeze. It's one thing to say "this is the best option when fast food is truly your only option" (which it never should be with a little planning....) but to actually say "this contributed to my weight loss" ???? Wow. They even have a registered dietitian endorsing this? Who would put their name next to a fast food diet (other than obviously David Zinczenko who I'm sure would have no problem with it).  Yes, ok, some choices are better than other but who in their right mind promotes this????  I hope the $$$ was worth her credibility. At least the KFC version has some sort of vegetables and is using grilled chicken. Still definitely far from a health food.... but definitely a step up from freakin' Taco Bell.

I'm speechless on this one.

Good job America.  Good job capitalism.  Good job screwing ourselves over.  $'s converted to #'s.  Excellent.

Round 2

Updated pics are posted.

Feeling good and doing good. Just trying to keep the focus going now. Definitely in the grind.

Ode to Cute Gym Guy

CUTE GYM GUY, WHERE ARE YOU??????? Seriously, this is starting to get ridiculous. He's been MIA for weeks now. Who am I supposed to drool over when I'm bored? Don't get me wrong, I love me my scrawny white boys (truly, I do), but I also enjoy dabbling in the more traditional eye candy, especially when trying to keep my own motivation going. Seriously, I'm not sure it gets much sexier than a Nate Green one-arm overhead snatch.

So in memory of my personal favorite local gym hottie (creatively nicked Cute Gym Guy by yours truly), I decided to write him an Ode.  And what better form to follow than that of the Ode to a Radish from one of my favorite obscure Disney movies, The Reluctant Dragon.  If you haven't seen it, or at least Morris the Midget Moose, get on it! They're wonderfully entertaining, as hopefully is my Ode. Enjoy.

Gym guy so cute,
Gym guy so cute;
Why don't you approach me? Why every day mute?
Is it because I sometimes let out a toot?

Gym guy so hot,
Gym guy so hot;
My oh my, what an amazing ass you've got.
But where did it come from? You don't squat a lot.

Gym guy so sturdy,
Gym guy so sturdy;
I'd melt in your arms if you called me purty.
But I'd like you even more if I knew you were nerdy.

Gym guy so cut,
Gym guy so cut;
It's great looking at you when I'm stuck in a rut.
I'd like to wisk you away to a private beach hut.

Gym guy so built,
Gym guy so built;
Love watching you with that medicine ball when side to side you tilt.
Eating whipped cream from your body, I would have no guilt.

Gym guy so buff,
Gym guy so buff;
Forget this poem. I've had enough.
Screw unique rhymes, I wanna see you in the buff!

Delicious!

Supplewhats?

One of my simultaneously most enjoyable and most frustrating topics to talk about is supplements... or "supplements" as I prefer to think of them. Now be warned, this is probably going to turn into more of a rant or ramble, with no clear ending or point. I find it hard to draw the line myself. So maybe this is just something to get you thinking about what you put in your body and why. It's kind of a personal decision (I'm channeling my inner guidance counselor) and I can't make that decision for you, but maybe I can make you question some things you haven't before.

OK, first some background.  There are 3 main macronutrients- protein, carbs, and fats. I'm excluding alcohol for simplicity. In general, I'm a proponent of  what's referred to as "clean eating" - focusing on whole, unprocessed foods (and no, raw sugar is not included in that like Haagen Das 5 Ingredients bullsh*t would like you to believe). Aka if it's green, runs or swims, then eat it. Now am I perfect about this? Hell no. If you've spent 5 minutes with me, you know of my love for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But we'll get back to that later.... For now, into the good stuff.

When people think bodybuilding, the first supplement they usually think of is protein powder. Wait, wasn't protein one of those macros you mentioned before? Hrmmmm.....If it's a major macro, is it really a supplement? If I walked around the gym noshing on a plain chicken breast, would you say I was supplementing? If I chugged egg whites, would you say I was supplementing? If I fed my baby a powdered formula would you say it was supplementing? Am I starting to make you think? Is pea protein or hemp protein less of a supplement because it comes from a plant than whey or casein because of their dairy base? Does that mean my cheese is a supplement too??? Oh and while I'm here, please, don't ever say "take protein." Taking is for pills or steriods, not something you drink or cook with.  You don't TAKE chicken, so why do you take protein?

Much tastier than raw egg whites. Trust me.

Next up, fats.  Generally this is going to be fish oil, flaxseed oil or maybe CLA (aka FATS). Now hold on there...wasn't fats one of those macros too? Would you consider someone eating fish for the fat benefits supplementing? What about adding my ground flaxseed to my oatmeal? But when we get the good stuff out and concentrate it, even though we haven't added anything, it's now a supplement? Something sounds fishy there to me (yes, pun intended). And what about capsuls versus oils? Does that make one more or less of a supplement?

Now let's take it a step further. Vitamins. Pretty much the same idea, right? Processing provides a pill that contains the stuff you want without all the extras. But this time, it gets a different name.  That calcium pill isn't a supplement, it's a vitamin. Ohhhhhhhhh. Makes so much sense, right? Along the same lines, what about stuff like ginseng or bee pollen or valarien root... so called herbal supplements.  Are they really different because they come from herbs? They get their own name so they must be, right?

Like I said, no real answers there, just stuff to think about. Now back to my love of CTC and how that fits in with eating clean. Eating clean today is tough. No ifs, ands or butts about it. There's so much hidden crap in everything and anything, and it tastes DAMN GOOD. Don't get me wrong, I love a bowl of fresh fruit, but it's no Cinnabon, and I don't think I'll ever totally lose my sweet tooth. Typically, I aim for about 90% eating clean, and I would be totally lying if I said that other 10% wasn't made of total crap and I'm not sure I expect that to change.

My 10% of deliciousness.

Yeah, maybe my protein shake is a little more processed than that chicken breast, but it's a lean, convient, cheap source of protein that helps keep me on plan and allows me to enjoy myself. Really, it's sooooo versatile for baking, and protein pumpkin pancakes are amazing. Yes, I'd rather include more fatty fish in my diet, but I don't really like it all that much and forcing myself to eat it certainly isn't the way to stay on the wagon or live life even. And that calcium, well considering that I'm lactose sensitive, you're not going to see me with a milk moustache to meet my daily requirements.

So my real thought comes down to what's the lesser of evils in my diet? Is avoiding that extra bit of processing really worth it, especially when I'm honest about what my other 10% is going to be like? For me, hellllll no. That extra bit of processing is a life saver, a pants fitter, a fat burner, healthy dessert maker and a muscle builder. I wouldn't give it up for the world. Not now at least, and some things (like my fish oil) I don't think I ever will. Is it worth it for you? In my opinion, probably, but like Counselor Katie said, that's a decision you have to make for yourself. Hopefully I've given you some things to think about in the meantime!

Damn right, cause I like them both, just like my clean and not-so-clean foods.

Both have a place in my life.

The Year in Review Post

Oh so stereotypical, but I figured it was time to do a year in review and maybe some resolutions.  It's been an interesting year for me... lots of ups and downs to be honest, but I guess who doesn't have those?

Year started kinda bumpy (ok... maybe first 6 months? lol). Relationship going very much downhill- same shit, different day (different year even....geeze). Something different in 2009 though. I finally grew the balls to draw the line and honestly, that's something I'm really proud of myself for. ::pat myself on the back there:: Kicked him out. Started taking much better care of myself.  Got a roommate. Sorted my life out.

OK, well maybe I'm still working on that "sort life out" but again, who isn't? And again, patting myself on the back, I've been doing a damn good job of it. I've made some great new friends, feeling a lot better at work, got my butt back in shape, started reading more, keeping in better touch with old friends, started volunteering, going back to church more, have overhauled my eating habits, had 4 (5?) adoptions this year and am just so much more relaxed nowadays.  Really, got a lot of my to-do list accomplished and that's pretty awesome. So I'm still majorly addicted to trashy VH1... not such a crime in the long run, right?

 With studs like Real and Chance, how do I say no?

So I guess that brings me to 2010, right?  Well I think for now I've still got a pretty damn good running list to work on. I really would like to get more green, but that's still a bit overwhelming to me. Really excited to keep on the path I'm at right now nutrition/exercise-wise and finally get to some more serious strength training (pull-ups.... pulllllllupppppppssss). On a lighter note, definitely excited to do some cheesey dating things with my single gals (speed dating anyone? lol), cause some things you really just have to do for the story. Oh and maybe I'll get my little snots to like me this year. That would be good too :)

So insanely in love with each other.... Stop spooning and love me!!!

So I guess that's about it for now....aka VH1 is calling my name. Goodbye 2009 and hello 2010. Like the blog says- here I am, still intact.