Sept 25, 2012 Change (190lbs) When i first started Crossfit in January of this year, i entered the doors of PortCrossfit looking to make a change. My goal was to lose weight and look better, i was so tired of feeling ugly because the those dreaded numbers on the scale or the size i had to wear. I seriously thought if i returned to a previous weight or size i would be "happy". 3 weeks into Crossfit i stepped up onto a step and placed my other foot on the next step above, i previously could only take one step with both feet at a time. I couldn't believe that i had become stronger already, especially since i had worked out at a gym for a year and the problem became worse. My mind set changed, the wods became about being strong, my eating became not about numbing emotional pain but fueling my body to increase strength and i for the ABSOLUTE first time in my life i forgot about the scale. ECTD (170lbs) In April i jumped at the brass ring of opportunity and entered my box's Eat Clean Train Dirty Challenge. I thought that this challenge was a good way to keep myself on target with eating a paleo diet and challenge myself to become fitter. I was very nervous about having to be measured, i felt so embarrassed about letting myself go, i didn't want my coaches to know. Test in day i waited til the very last second to have my measurements , and before picture taken. I will never forget the coach asked me how much i weighed, ugh, in that second i could have replied a made up number but i would know it was a lie, that i would be forever bound to my scale. I struggled because i knew i had to confront the feeling of humiliation i had regarding my weight, in order to change it...so i told the truth. It was a relief to say my weight out loud and My coach well, he didn't blink an eye. I only lost 6lbs in the 5 week challenge, but dropped my body composition by 31 points and WON the Challenge (female winner). I was dumbfounded to say the least....i knew my exercise pants were sliding down my body but i had no clue...i didn't focus on the scale at all. I put all my energy into showing up to classes and trying. The all the coaches were smiling at my success, truly a no judgement zone...me i had a beauty pageant moment and cried all the way home. Festivus Games (159lbs)
As i was putting in extra time into training for the ECTD challenge i was asked to join a group of new crossfitters in the Festivus Games, a beginner Crossfit Competition. I truly thought they were crazy ..why me..i cant do anything...compete that's just craziness...i am 47 years old! Then i remembered how when i walked thru those doors of PortCrossfit i truly could not do anything...how they scaled EVERYTHING for me. HMMMMMM.... why not me, why not compete for the first time at 47? I signed up the first week of may. I started to PR everything....it was as if my body had been asleep and just woke up. I became stronger, faster, fitter...i freakin amazed myself on all my own accomplishments. I knew my hard work was paying off...eating clean, showing up to classes consistently, and just trying. I was getting very nervous 2 weeks before Festivus, one of my kids dragged the scale out of where i had hidden it, i started jumping on the scale every day. I became so frustrated because the numbers didn't move, i approached my coach and said i think my weight loss stalled. He replied "you lost how much?" Me "30lbs" He said "in how long?" Me "in 6months" He said "why do you think you have stalled" Me "cause every time i jump on the scale over the last 3 weeks it doesn't budge" He replied "STAY off the F***ing scale" All i could do was laugh soo hard, got to love the coach! Then he proceeded to reassure me that i lost the large majority of the weight i had gained and now my weight loss would be slower and that my body would change in ways that i couldn't measure, to be patient. Me "i just want to be Fit" He replied "You ARE Fit!". WOW i never had thought of myself that way. I went on to Festivus with a new confidence and PR'd my row by 2mins, PR'd my deadlift by 40lbs and did well on the "chipper" and place 16th this was all done in front of my kids, my coaches and a few crossfit friends who came to cheer me on. This is the first time i thought of myself as a crossfit athlete...sooo cool! Lurong Living Paleo Challenge(156lbs) I was approached by many women about the challenge...their concern? Being measured, before and after pictures, weighing in for "christine" workout. I was able to convince a couple of the women to sign up for the challenge by explaining that the coaches are professionals and they could guess your weight within a few pounds accurately, the only one your keeping the secret of your weight from is you, you are not just a number on a scale, if you can confront it you can change it. i also made a promise to one that if she signed up i would post my measurements, weight and before pictures. I truly feel that strongly about adapting to a paleo lifestyle and crossfitting that i gave her my word. my advice to get you thru the next 8 weeks: 1. STAY OFF THE SCALE...throw it out, hide it, have a family member hide it so you cant find it...it will prevent alot of frustration and emotional ups and downs based on the numbers that come up on the scale. 2. remember you entered this challenge to CHANGE ...you are so much MORE than the number on scale 3. you will feel healthier and perform better in class by eating clean and consistently showing up 4. MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY .....put yourself FIRST on your to do list!! 5. Sleep (8hrs is best )is JUST as important as eating clean and woding make this a priority!! 6. BE PATIENT...if your eating clean, showing up consistently, sleeping 8hrs you will see a change in the 9 weeks...i promise!! 7. If your struggling REACH OUT to a fellow crossfitter, or your coach and share your frustration ...we have all been there! GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!! I PROMISED Before Sept 22, 2012 weight 156lbs height 5'5" waist 32 1/8 hips 42 3/8 chest(measured under breasts) 31 1/8 right arm 12 3/4 right thigh 24 3/8
75 Friggin Power Snatches for time, i did this wod scaled @35lbs in 5 minutes and 17secs. We did a 750 meter row to "warm up" and I don't remember how many hang snatches, muscle snatches and power snatches we did prior to this wod, so by the time we did the Randy WOD , I was exhausted! IT IS A "Indiana Jones" TYPE OF NIGHT After the Randy WOD i went to work all pumped and excited i Pr'd my power snatch from 55 to 65lbs, i finished the WOD in a good time..it was awesome! Hahahahaha then a couple of hours into my night shift the muscle soreness set in..it hurt to wash my hands! I remember those first weeks of Crossfit, which made me feel like the scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Mary asks Indiana Jones "what doesn't hurt" and he points to his eyelids, because i swear that was the only part of my body that didn't hurt. I remember it hurt to grip the steering wheel, to get out of the car i used the fire prevention tip...STOP, DROP AND ROLL, and i shuffled to my door like the comedian Tim Conway when he did his "oldest man" skits on the Carol Burnett show. If you have never seen it ...watch it its funny!
STUFF MY KIDS SAY All my kids have a great sense of humor and of course teased me about being so sore in those first weeks of starting Crossfit. Here is some of the stuff I heard them say: My son was helping me thru the door after a Crossfit WOD and he said to me..."Hey mom your birthday is coming up what would you like a walker with wheels or a touch screen wheelchair?" My son "hey mom that's so great you can jump on a box i would give you a pat on the back but if i touch you you may fall over" My daughter takes my wallet, runs away and says "hahahahahaha catch me if you can" My son now Crossfits with me .....awesome payback! My daughter is playing field hockey but wants to Crossfit when that season ends and before her softball season starts....hmmmm more payback. Seriously tho, I am very grateful they kept me laughing thru the pain. Laughter is truly a great pain reliever. I HAVE ASTHMA my asthma has been so bad recently it kept me away from Crossfit for 2 straight weeks, went back 1 day and was out again. I knew that going back would be tough and that i would be sore. I also knew i would just have to "embrace the suck" of WOD-ing sore there is no way around it. I kept in the back of my mind that i would be doing the Lurong Living Paleo challenge that i needed to be wise take care of my asthma so i could come back WOD stronger and faster and do my best in the challenge! NEW CROSSFITTERS when we have new crossfitters and they reveal that they are sore, i let them know my "indiana jones" story so that they know muscle soreness in the beginning is normal, the pain will get better and it is survivable...i promise! For the rest of us doing the challenge who are increasing the number of wods per week, increasing the intensity of your wods and increasing weights...we will be sore..it will suck...but the results will be worth it!
Sept 17, 2012 i moved today..... As i was trying to hang a shower rod and curtain so i could shower before work (i work the overnight shift)... I suddenly realized I couldn't find my clothes. I burst into tears overwhelmed by a long day of moving and having committed myself to the Lurong Paleo challenge which started today. My kids sprung into action, my son (16yrs)hung the shower rod and curtain, my daughter(21yrs) dug thru laundry baskets to find stuff for me to wear. WHY? Sitting on a bare mattress, In between my sobs....i thought WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!!! Why would i commit to the paleo challenge during an already high stress time in my life? i began to list the reasons why i wanted to do take the opportunity to participate in this first ever national challenge, and i started to calm down. I CAN I was married and divorced two times. What i rarely talk about is why those marriages ended. My first marriage ended with me running out the front door of my home to save my life with three small children in tow. My second marriage end with my ex husband paying all of his debts off, emptying and closing our bank account, leaving one day and never came back. Both marriages were filled with verbal and emotional abuse. Both men controlled everything from the money i earned (i am an Registered Nurse), who (including my family) i could speak to and associate with, to what underwear i was "allowed" to wear. There wasn't a thing about me that these men didn't assail...my being a woman, what kind of mother i was, how i kept my house, how i did the food shopping, my job as an RN, what i wore, my makeup, my friends, my family, my sexuality Being free from these tyrannical men..i make my own decisions, voice my own opinions, talk to anyone and everyone, and take opportunities. MY HEALTH 5 years ago after my second husband disappeared...i was so depressed over the failure of the marriage ( i also switched from day shift to working night shift) i stopped caring about myself and gained 49lbs. In December of 2011 i had a complete physical and although my ekg and blood work were textbook perfect....my blood pressure was not. My doctor gave me 2 options either start blood pressure medication or diet and lose the weight. As an RN i know all the side effects associated with blood pressure medication...no thank you. I had just signed up for my Crossfit on-ramp classes , so i chose to wait and recheck with my doctor in 8 weeks. Now after 9 months of crossfittng am 34lbs lighter, blood pressure is back down to normal. MY MOTHER My mother was warned in her late 30's that she was pre-diabetic. I also warned my mother, in her early 40's that she was at a greater risk of developing Diabetes because she was over weight and her father had diabetes. My mother chose to ignore all the information given to her and by her early 50's she was diagnosed as a diabetic. By 62 my mother had a stroke which has left her cognitively impaired. She cannot speak a sentence, recall words, she has memory impairment and cannot recognize her family, cannot do activities of daily living like put on her makeup, or dress herself. She now at 69 lives in a nursing home. We all owe it to the special people in our lives to take care of our health. I made a promise to my children that i would do everything i could to stay healthy because i love them that much. I also love myself that i want to be healthy and enjoy my life. SETTING THE EXAMPLE Eating a paleo diet and crossfitting i teach my children that our bodies and health are precious and important. I am leading the way, setting the benchmarks for health and fitness for my kids, friends and family to follow. When my home box, PortCrossfit announced they were going to participate in this challenge, quite a few younger men and women who i Crossfit with sought my advice about signing up. I am happy and honored that i could influence them to not only change their bodies, but transform their minds and life in ways they could never imagine by entering and following thru on this challenge. I never found all of my clothes and went to work with no bra and no socks(thank God my scrubs are too big for me now)......but established a renewed perspective of what is important to me and my reasons why.
