8-Week Nutrition Challenge!

My CrossFit box is having a nutrition challenge for the next 8 weeks and I was crazy enough to join!!  It was a $50 buy-in, but I have an opportunity to win it all back!!  Here's the rules, as written by one of the coaches:

Okay, if you're not as skilled in reading messy handwriting (I've had life-long practice with my dad's atrocious writing..you'd think he was a doctor); I'll explain here:

1. It's a combination of zone and paleo (don't worry I'm not done explaining).
2. For the paleo aspect: 
1. Eat all meats, nuts (NO peanuts are not nuts), seeds, and veggies
2. Some fruit is allowed (eat it with breakfast or post workout; try and avoid it later at night, unless you workout at night).
3. Little starch (a little is allowed around workouts and morning)
4. NO SUGAR! (fake sugars are included in this, so dump that crap down the drain!)
5. Keep alcohol VERY limited
3. For the zone aspect: 
1. He took our measurements (weight, body fat %, butt, waist, and arm)
2. Based off all these he gave us our "blocks" (instead of using calories, zone uses blocks, so that you eat more balanced- carbs, fats, and protein)
3. I was given 12 blocks a day 
4. We have to break that into 5 meals a day, so I chose: 3 2 3 1 3
1. This means that at a given meal I will eat that many "blocks" of EACH macro- carb, fat, protein
5. Then we went over what constitutes as a "block"
1. In general, most lean meats are 1oz=1block
2. Eggs: 1egg=1block
3. It varies with veggies and fruits, but if you google "zone diet" there's really good documents that have how much amount of food= a block
4. Every night we have to fill out our charts that give us points, or take away, for everything we've ingested and our workouts.
5. We are also suggested to start taking fish oil (or eat fish) and multivitamins
1. I choose a fish oil (I HATE fish) and it has a special coating, so it doesn't taste funky
2. I have a multivitamin from HyVee based on GNC's women's mega (for WAY cheaper)
6. We also are told to pick 3 meals a week and not worry about zone or paleo.  This does NOT mean to let loose and go crazy; still try and stay healthy, but don't get caught up on staying within the exact blocks.

Okay, so that was a pretty simplified explanation, so if you have any questions: comment below or ask me on my Facebook or Twitter!  Of course, I will still be eating my ENERGYBits before workouts because they fit within my guidelines and they've improved my performance SOOO much!!

Now, why am I doing this?!  Well, recently at CrossFit we've been talking about our weaknesses and nutrition is definitely one of them!  I mean I eat pretty healthy, but I could do so much better!!  Also, it really hit me when one of the girls, that I usually try and keep up with during workouts, said, "I just want to do it to show off all the hard work I put in here."  It's SOOO true; I work my ass off and only eat "pretty" healthy?!  Does that make sense..yeah doesn't to me either!  My sister-in-law tells her friends/coworkers that I'm a "shit, brick house."  Well, I'm pretty small and built, but I'd like anyone on the street who saw me to say that about me!

Also, I decided it was time to make a change and hold myself accountable after the coach took our measurements...yikes!  Now they're not horrible, but NO WHERE near where I would like them.  Here goes..don't judge:

1. Weight: 125#
2. Body Fat %: 22.5%
3. Waist: 29.5"
4. Butt: 35.5"
5. Arm: 10.5"

I'd like my BF% in the teens (not low teens though) and my waist closer to 27-26."

I'll leave you with a picture from my breakfast this AM: 1/4 cantaloupe, 3/4 cup egg whites, and 2.25 cup kale sauteed in olive oil.

Do you follow any special diets?  If so, which one?  

ENERGYBits Review

How many of you take a pre-workout booster?  How many of you pop dozens of supplements everyday? How many of you drink endless amounts of coffee a day?  Well, I DO (I did that is).  I recently got to sample the energy booster, ENERGYBits.  

They are these little tablets that are made from 100% organic spirulina algae.  Algae is NOT a supplement, it is a food!  Algae is actually a crop, grown!!  I was sold once I read about just that.  Supplements are made in labs.  Chemists mix all different sorts of things and put it in a gel casing, but what are they really going to do to your body?  I’d much rather put a crop into my body any day.  

MY EXPERIENCE:

I had just spent ALL DAY in classes or studying for other classes and was feeling REALLY sluggish.  I hadn’t gotten a work out in yet and almost didn’t because I was dragging during my night class.  I knew I just needed to kick my ass into gear and go to the gym for a late night workout.  After my class I shuffled back into my car and popped open my container of ENERGYBits.  I swallowed all 30 tablets.

As I was walking up the hill towards my college’s gym, I noticed a surge of energy.  By the time I made it to the free weight area that I wanted to do my workout in; I WAS PUMPED.  I wasn’t jittery though, like I usually get after taking pre-workout boosters.  To say I “owned” or “powered” through that workout would be an understatement.  I felt AMAZING!  Here’s the workout I completed (part of which is from The Blonde Ponytail’s blog GNC Gonna Make You Sweat).  

WORKOUT #1:

Reverse Lunges with Front Squat Bar Placement

4 rounds of 5x each leg for Maximum Weight

2min break

WORKOUT #2: Blonde Ponytail Blog

5 Rounds of:

30 secs Med Ball Thruster

30 secs jump rope

30 secs Med Ball Push-ups

30 secs jump rope

30 secs Wood Chop (Right)

30 secs jump rope

30 secs Wood Chop (Left)

30 secs jump rope

REST 1MIN

2min break 

WORKOUT #3:

4RDS- 400m Row, Rest 1min in between each round (3% resistance)

4RDS- 100m Row, Rest 1min in between each round (3% resistance)

COOL DOWN- 800m Row (NO resistance)

Not only was I able to own that workout, but then afterwards the trainer on the floor came up to me and gave me one of the BEST compliments I have ever received.  One he told me I was a beast and second he told me that he wished more of his clients would push to my work ethic.  He said that if his clients would work that hard, they would ALWAYS see the results.  My response: “my theory is that if I’m going to be here, I might as well make it worth it!”

Now what you may be wondering is if I will be buying it?  The answer is YES, after I get payed, of course :)

They are perfect if you compete in sports or anything like that because most supplements have banned substances, but ENERGYBits do not because algae is the ONLY ingredient..how awesome?!

There are also other Bits to support your needs:

RecoveryBits

VitalityBits

SkinnyBits

I chose ENERGYBits because they are designed for athletes and active lifestyles and it was PERFECT, but don’t just take my word for it though; check it out!!  

Here’s their website: http://www.energybits.com/

Twitter: @EnergyBits

Facebook: EnergyBits Facebook

And On The 7th Day, She Cooked

"If you fail to plan, then plan to fail."  

Such a TRUE statement for anything in life, even your diet.  That's why I am always cooking food in advance if I know that I won't be home for a meal.  Sometimes I have a big cooking day, like Sunday's or I'll cook during my class breaks in the week.  I don't usually cook these massive, amazing concoctions.  Usually it's just ground turkey, chicken, and some sort of meat in the crock pot as well.  I'm a pretty simple kinda girl.  I don't like to put a lot of time or effort into my meals, so it usually ends up being meat and a veggie or salad.  If I can mix it all together into one dish...YIPPIE!

Here's a pretty common example of a meal.

Cooked ground meat, sauteed veggies, mix together, and TADAA..AMAZINGNESS :)

For some reason this week though I was channeling my inner Rachel Ray.  The first two recipes are based on different ones from PaleOMG.  If you haven't checked out her blog...DO IT!  The first one was egg muffins.  I put one whole, beaten egg in a muffin tin and sliced up a piece of bacon inside of it.  You can honestly put anything you want with it- veggies, bacon, cheese, etc.  I just think bacon is the BOMB DIGGITY!  Next, I made a turkey dish.  I baked cooked ground turkey, hot sauce, and sweet potatoes...yummy in my tummy.

Egg Muffins:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

Beat one egg and pour into muffin tin

Mix in any other ingredients you want

Cook for 10-15min (or until eggs are no longer gooey)

Turkey Meatza..maybe:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

Shred a whole sweet potato

Place in Skillet and cook with Coconut oil for 5min

Add in Ground Turkey and cook until turkey is completely cooked

Add 1/4 cup Hot Sauce

Coat turkey and sweet potatoes evenly

Pour mix into a baking pan and place in oven

Cook for 5min

The next thing I decided to bake is based off of Bare-To-Bake's recipe for peakaboos.  I exchanged some ingredients to make it paleo-acceptable.  

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees

Mix 1/2 cup coconut flour (next time I'll use less), 3 whole eggs, 1tsp of baking soda, 1tsp vanilla extract, cinnamon (to taste)

Place evenly among muffin tins and cook for 10-15min (will still be gooey in center)

Cut in half and place a nut butter (I used cashew) and stick back together

Top with more cinnamon!!

When I went shopping on Sunday, I decided to try something new that I have been seeing on Facebook, Instagram, and LOTS and LOTS of blogs: Kombacha Tea.

I had the mango one.  There is also plain and a chia seed one.  It's pretty good, but it does have a little bite!

So, do you need to make all these meals and spend all this time making meals for the entire week??  No, but make sure every day you know exactly what you are going to eat. Whether you are eating at home or some where else; YOU NEED TO HAVE A PLAN! With that I will leave you with a picture of my scheduled cheat meal this past weekend: FROYO..mmmmm

Hi My Name is Mo and I have a PB Addiction...

This is a safe zone.  Admit it, you have one too...or at least to something.  There's a food you reach for when you have a craving or just a plain bad day.  Mine isn't ice cream, Cheetos, or a bag of greasy chips.  It's a nice juicy peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I don't know what's in between those two pieces of soft, delicate bread that makes my world feel safe again.  Maybe there's some psychological connection between them and my childhood, so I feel like I have no responsibilities and I feel innocent again.  Or more likely....they just taste DAMN good..mmmmmm!

Now, every time I have a mood change or a bad day do I reach for the PB jar??  NO!!  A majority of the time I don't let my emotions dictate how I eat, but every once in a blue moon there's nothing a PB and Jelly won't fix.  Unfortunately, my goals to get stronger and a little leaner don't mix well with soft, delicate pieces of bread coated in peanut butter and sweet jelly.  I have made some adjustments, so that both sides of me can be happy.  Instead of bread, I use one small low-carb, high fiber multi grain tortilla.  Then instead of creamy peanut butter, I use PB2.  It's a dry powder...all it is is crushed peanuts.  I mix 1 part water with 2 parts PB2..much healthier.  Then instead of sweet, sugary jelly I use a organic jelly that is crushed or mashed fruit.  Right now in my fridge is blueberry, so all it is is mashed up blueberries...YUM!  I put a THIN coat of PB2 and jelly on the tortilla, heat it in the microwave, and roll it up.  DELICIOUS!!

What point am I trying to make with this post?  (Well nothing really, but if I must) I just want you to realize that you don't have to give up your favorite foods when you have a health goal in mind.  When you cut out certain food groups or deprive yourself from the foods you love, you'll most likely get discouraged, and give up.  Instead, make modifications to your favorite recipes.  If you love fried chicken..why not try crushing almonds and covering the chicken in almonds and cooking it like that.  You still get your crunchy chicken, but it's almonds..NOT fried fat.  If you love salt and sweet..try a small 100 calorie of popcorn and put a couple pieces of dark chocolate in it.

This also brings up the next box in my TO DO list.  I want to make a recipe for a protein bar or granola.  I LOVE protein bars and granola, but unfortunately most bars and granola you buy at the store are full of additives and sugar or fake sugars.  I also want to make it gluten free because I noticed I tend to do A LOT better when I use less gluten in my diet.  If there's anything you LOVE in your granola or protein bars..let me know!  I'll keep you updated on how the science project goes :)