Thankful to run

I'm thankful for my ability to run. It sounds basic, but today provided me with an opportunity to test myself physically and mentally. Put one foot in front of the other. Go fast or go slow. Walk a little. Run a little. The Color Vibe 5K was a great "first" experience for me. My friend Amanda made it so much more tolerable. She's an "expert" runner in my opinion and she really motivated me to keep going. We had a blast getting color ALL over us and spending time with our CFI family.

  

We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
- Romans 5:3-4 

Slow & Steady

Oh, HEY! It's been a while....

I came across this picture today... it's a doozy.

It made me think about how much I've changed over the last 3+ years.

May 10, 2012 - Pre-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs

December 18, 2011 - 1 month before delivery

January 9, 2011 - 2 days before I delivered. This is what 235 lbs looks like on me.

February 6, 2011 - 1 month post-delivery. 210 lbs.

May 28, 2011 - almost 5 months post-delivery. 190 lbs.

December 2011 - almost 1 year post-delivery. 183 lbs.

September 29, 2012 - after I started CrossFit in July. 163 lbs.

March 31, 2013 - And NOW at around 160... and STRONG!

It didn't happen over night - it was slow & steady. I started with my diet by counting calories, and then I was introduced to clean eating. I started running, then I decided to try CrossFit. Through CrossFit, I was introduced to Paleo eating and Advocare supplements. These three things - CrossFit, Paleo, and Advocare - have been essential to maintaining and fueling my machine. I had to double check when I saw that my weight had not really changed from this time last year, however, my friends can tell you that there is a definite difference between my 163 last year as compared to my 163 this year. My body is the same weight, but it's muscle mass and capacity is completely different.

Moms - don't get discouraged. It took 9 months to get there, and the weight won't come off over night. Hard work and dedication go a long way. Recruit your family to hold you accountable. Figure out what motivates you and surround yourself with positive things. If you have a hard time resisting temptation, steer clear of those things that tempt you most! Set clear goals and reward yourself when you achieve them! And most importantly, if you need a friend to keep you motivated and accountable, get in touch with ME! :)

24DC: Day 8 & Birthday WOD!

Food for my birthday was as follows:

Breakfast: Fiber drink and meal replacement shake. I finally found a way to mix this shake that is perfect for me (a big thanks to Kelli Rhodes!). My magic recipe is 10 oz of water, 5 ice cubes, and a blender bottle. Success!
Snack: Banana with peanut butter
Lunch: Dad took me to Lek's Railroad Thai... one of our favorites. I had Pud Thai. Yum.
Snack: I had a Spark before I left work for the gym
Dinner: Pork tenderloin and roasted veggies (squash, zucchini, mushrooms, onions)
Snack: Birthday Banana Bowl! A banana, peanut butter, and dark chocolate chips!

Birthday WOD!
Several people wished me a happy birthday as I walked into the box. We worked on Clean and Jerk for strength, and I was able to get a new PR of 75#. Josh Carter helped me fix my power clean... I tend to pull my shoulders forward and down and it puts strain on them, so now I have no pain!

1600m Run for time! (that's a mile-ish)
9m 8s... my fastest mile ever!

30 squat cleans @ 55#
I'd never done these before... and they suck. Better yet - I suck at them. I made a lot of progress, though. It felt good to get them done!

When I got home I was reading through my birthday comments on Facebook, and a fellow Crossfitter friend mentioned "birthday burpees." I thought it was a great idea, so I busted out 23 burpees in the living room! Carter was intrigued, and attempted some himself!

Tonight is my birthday celebration with my parents and Greyson. I'm looking forward to a steak dinner! Yum! And my birthday present from Josh is supposed to be in today - I can't wait to show them off!

On Ramp: Day 6

Yesterday Shannon talked me into running intervals because I want to lower my time on the 400m run. So, when I got home from work I ran two sets. 1m 47s my first interval, a walk, 1m 50s my second interval, and a walk. My 400 on July 16th was 1m 52s, so now I have a new time to beat :) However, intervals seemed like a bad idea when I saw what was part of our On Ramp class today...

Today we had Josh and Bucky for coaches!

Warm Up

200m run

10 DNR

5 burpees

20 ham swings

With a PVC Pipe

5 DL

5 PC

5 PP

800m Run for Time!

4m 10s

Skills Covered

Power Clean Review

Push Jerk

Clean & Jerk

Man... this felt like the longest class EVER. First of all, I surprised myself with my 800m run (half mile) - my goal was 6 minutes, and I blew that out of the water. PLUS, I was the first girl in, second overall - only because Shannon (aka - Get Away Sticks) has an injury and decided to take it easy :) We spent the rest of the class perfecting our form on the push jerk and clean & jerk. I'm lovin' liftin'! It reminds me a lot of cheerleading (I was a base...) and most of it comes naturally to me. I worked with a couple of really sweet girls today. We were moving 55# for practice, and Hillary and I tried 65# a few times just to get a feel for it. No WOD today... I was a little disappointed about that!

Oh - and Shannon jumped on the big box today!!!! :) I'm so proud of her!

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Notable Quotables

"What do I get if I do it?"

- Shannon, while I was talking her into jumping on the "big" box

"Stay in front!"

- Shannon, encouraging me from the finish line on the run

"See, intervals make you faster!"

- Shannon, on my 800m run

"One word... Piatt! I don't know what y'all eat, but I'll be dining with you guys soon!"

- Josh Carter, on the video Hillary posted of my push jerk

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I'd also like to mention that I have a pretty awesome husband. When I got home from class, he'd changed C's bag, given him a bath and had him ready for bed, cooked dinner, AND cleaned the kitchen while I was in the shower. Be jealous!

Body Fat, Crossfit, & Meal Planning

This weekend has been SOOO laid back... especially after the crazy week with my family being in town for the 4th. I got up bright and early yesterday morning and had a cool, long (3 miles) run in the rain. It was slow, since I haven't been consistent here lately... about a 12:31 pace. When I got back to the house I threw in a core workout... EMOM 15 situps/planks for 5 rounds. Yesterday Josh and I grocery shopped for what seemed to be the first time in a month. We're getting back on the healthy train since I'm starting crossfit tomorrow :) I've been like a little kid before the first day of school... I've even planned all of my outfits for the week... haha! My friend from work, Shannon, is starting the on-ramp class with me, and she also recently became an Advocare distributor. Advocare is like the sister-cult to the cult of crossfit. Anyway... Carter and I accompanied her to an Advocare informational meeting this afternoon at Kathy and Brandon Eiff's home. Brandon is a trainer at Wynlakes Country Club, and also at River Region Crossfit. We enjoyed the get-together... and as always, never a dull moment... ended up having to change Carter's bag while we were there - so Shannon got a crash-course in colostomy changing! :) While there, Brandon conducted a body fat analysis on anyone interested. I definitely wanted to know going into crossfit, as I'm interested to see the affect it has on my body. Here are my stats:

Devan Piatt

167.2 lbs

Age 22

Tri 21/Supra 24/Thi 27

BF%   27%

Acceptable Range

There's my starting point - we'll see where this crossfit adventure takes me! After the meeting, Shannon and I took the kiddos to Mellow Mushroom to carb-load one last time (yeah right). You may be asking why I'm up at such a late hour...well, I've been busy in the kitchen. I know that I'm horrible about eating badly when I haven't planned ahead -- a little planning can go a long way. Sunday night is my night to stock up for the week. Tonight I accomplished:

A dozen egg muffins for Josh's breakfast this week

Froze the remaining egg muffin filling for next week

Taco meat for dinner tomorrow night

Prepared some veggies for a dip I'll make later this week

Portioned out snacks for the week

One thing I noticed while I was on the Cat Food Diet was that I relied heavily on fruits for snacks instead of veggies. While it helped keep my sugar cravings at bay, I'm sure I could've achieved better results had I limited them more. With that in mind, I decided to go with pre-bagged carrots, cucumbers, and celery. For now, I'll have them with light ranch... I'm waiting for my avocados to ripen to make a cucumber-avocado dip that I picked up on CFD. My lunch bag will also feature flavored almonds, peanut butter (for the celery...), unsweetened applesauce, and some EAS Carb AdvantEdge protein shakes for my afternoon/pre-workout fix. I managed to pull all of this together in about 2 hours, including cleaning the kitchen up. Did I mention this is helpful for those of you who have husbands who don't mind cooking as long as it's minimal effort? Josh can cook just about anything if I leave a detailed recipe, and since he's so willing to cook, I try to make it as easy as possible on him. If you know you're planning something that has boiled chicken in it - go ahead and boil it on your "planning day". Taco meat, meat sauces for spaghetti, or just plain old browned ground beef are great to have in the fridge or freezer for quick, mid-week meals. Same principle with ground turkey, which we love in spaghetti. If you fire up the grill for dinner, throw on some seasoned chicken tenderloins for easy lunches - they're great on salads or pastas. Alright, I'm done with my rambling, and must get to bed. Make it a great week, and plan what you can!

Cat Food Challenge: Day 15 to Present - Vacation series

Days 15-17

I don't remember all the details... but I know my dear husband made the zucchini pasta with homemade tomato sauce one night. I made the sauce ahead of time on Monday, and we had ground turkey in it - this was my favorite cat food recipe so far. Josh was surprised that he liked it, and I was, too! Another night we had lean hamburger patties, and Josh made fresh baked sweet potato sticks (yummmmm). I made some homemade guacamole to top them... this was an amazing combination... it's my new favorite burger. We had a cook-out at work Thursday and I stayed away from the chips and potato salad and ate a ton of protein and a little fruit. I think I ended up consuming two hamburger patties, a smoked chicken thigh, and half a smoked chicken breast.... I couldn't have snacked that afternoon if I wanted to. Tuesday night I did body sculpting and zumba, Wednesday was abs and kickboxing, and then Thursday was body sculpting and zumba again.... and our last night with our instructor Caressa :(  She's moving to Tennessee. I did a short mile one of those days... I don't even remember - it's logged in dailymile though!

and now.....

Present

Let me explain.... I was stressing about my vacation because I didn't know if I'd be able to make cat food choices work... no alcohol... blah blah blah. At our work cookout we were talking about the alcohol limitation, and one of the guys tells me this fun fact: distilled liquors 80 proof or higher contain ZERO sugar. So I did some research. It's the truth. Any alcohol 80 proof or higher has ZERO sugar... and your liver converts in to straight up acetate. YAY! That afternoon I was telling Shannon about my discovery and we were discussing my vacation... and she told me not to stress about it - just enjoy myself and get back on the wagon when it's over. That was exactly what I needed - for someone that was supposed to be keeping me accountable to give me "permission" to fall off the wagon! :) Thanks for enabling me, Shannon! Hahaha. So yesterday I started off with a smoothie (no sweeteners) from Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and mom got cookies... so you know I had a little... this was the best, first "foreal" cheat. I am definitely a chocolate addict. I sipped my smoothie while we got a pedicure, and then we made a bee-line south on 231 for PC. We went to Dillard's at Pier Park and I got my first post-baby bikini. We went to a little beach bar that had a guy strumming and crooning = LOVE. I had a dozen oysters Rockefeller and a top shelf margarita... and a few bites of Nichole's nachos. The other half of the crew got in around 8, and we got ready to go out. Nichole, Danielle, and I went to Rum Runners. Josh and I spent most of our honeymoon at the one in Destin last year... I fell in love with this type of fun. WE HAD A BLAST LAST NIGHT! I had too many margaritas, we met a Tim Tebow look-alike. I randomly asked "Timmy's" friend if he did crossfit - pinned him! Bragged about my hubby a little bit... and then Danielle drug/drove us back to the resort. I paid for those oysters/margaritas. For breakfast I had a hangover... along with two advil, two cups of coffee with real creamer, a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, and two bottles of water. I just got in from what I think was a mile run... and I'm about to do some planks and abs before hitting the beach with the rest of the crew. I'm enjoying every minute of this vacation... it's long overdue. I miss my little man and Josh, but I know they're doing just fine. I'm so thankful that I have a husband that is capable of holding down the fort so I can have a few days of fun :)

Speaking of that guy... he is all about some crossfit competitions now! We're planning on going to Dothan the end of June for another one. He has the fever. We were watching a re-run of last years ESPN competition... and he said he wants to be on there. I love his competitive spirit... and his drive to better himself.

Well, I'm off to get some sun - everyone enjoy your weekend.... I know I will! :)

here we go again...

Sunday night... *sigh* ...the night before Monday. Monday's eve. Ohh the horror. Just kidding :) I can't wait to start another week. Last week finished up wonderfully. The bake auction went well, the golf tournament - even better. I had a blast playing with my dad, Chris, and Jeff. Saturday morning Carter and I did Walk of Life with Mrs Terri and Nichole. The rest of the day we hung out with Meemer.. did a little running around to Hobby Lobby and Walmart. Carter and I took a massive nap from 4-7pm. Then we ate dinner, did a bag change, and headed home for more sleep. This morning Josh got home and cut the grass, then we went to Montgomery to Salsaritas, the Vitamin Shoppe, and Academy. Got myself some motivational items: a new hat to run in, new socks since mine were causing blisters, weighted gloves for my kickboxing class, a new sports bra, and some body glide. This afternoon when we got to mom's I did a 2 mile loop around Richfield - it was beautiful and breezy. My goal for this week is to log at least 10 miles. Josh registered for his first Crossfit event - #4#, and I registered for the Color Run 5K in Birmingham. He sure hates me spending money, but is trying hard not to discourage me from my fitness efforts ;) This week will be much more low-key, thank goodness. I think the most exciting thing is teacher appreciation week! This is why I'm up so late... I've been baking cupcakes.

Devil's food, fluffy white icing, and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

...And Josh some Southwestern Egg Muffins...

Now it's time to get to bed... the guest bed... he's already snoring like a freight train. Glad he doesn't read my blogs ;) Y'all make it a great Monday! Thank the good Lord for waking you up another morning, even if it happens to be a Monday morning!

Weekend Top 10

You know how sometimes you just have awesome weekends even if there's nothing really that spectacular going on? This was one of them!

1. Josh worked all weekend! Just kidding :) But it is nice for me to have Carter all to myself every now and then. We had a good weekend together - he's the sweetest kid.

2. I did a 3 mile run on a Saturday morning - SAY WHAT?!

3. We went to Greyson's ball game, and even though they lost, we had a really great time! Danielle and Nichole came out to watch, too!

4. We took alot of naps. I'm so glad Carter still takes two naps a day.

5. I finally went through our "big" closet and sorted through all the stuff that just got shoved in there when we moved in. Amazing, the things you find.

6. Carter and I had some allergy issues this morning due to all of our weekend outdoor activities, so we skipped church. During his morning nap, which was extra long due to the crud - I had a date with Pinterest. I planned out my strategy for teacher appreciation week, and also found my recipes for this weeks bake auction at work.

7. We took a trip to Michael's and Walmart for bake auction supplies and random household necessities. I'm so glad Carter loves to go as much as I do! Kid loves a ride in a buggy!

8. I made (translation: applied an iron-on decal to) a shirt for C to wear for Walk of Life this coming weekend.

9. Apparently I was in an organizing mood today, because I went through my jewelry box and scrapped a ton of stuff, too. It's so bare looking. I love it!

10. Laundry is done. Kitchen is clean. Bags are packed for tomorrow morning. Child is asleep. And I still have energy. Which means I get to do one of my favorite things that doesn't happen often anymore - read a book! Currently my kindle is sporting "Kill Alex Cross" by James Patterson (my all-time favorite author).


Tomorrow is Monday - make it GREAT! After a weekend full of accomplishments (no matter how trivial) I'm deciding now that the coming week is going to be full of success and happiness. It's going to be a busy one, so I hope you can keep up ;)

Running from Hitler

In case you didn't know - I'm on a weight loss/fitness adventure as well as many other amazing life adventures. I have an uber high metabolism and age on my side, which helped me lose 55 of the 95 pounds I gained during pregnancy. I plateaued somewhere around 180, and currently I have at least 20 more to go - 30 is my stretch goal. I've been using myfitnesspal to log my calories and exercise for almost a year now... and it's definitely helpful to see how many invisible fat producing grenades we shove in our mouths. I know I've had a good family night at Applebees with Josh and Stephanie if I complete my food diary entry and it tells me "if every day were like today, you'd weigh 6 lbs MORE than you do now." Thanks MFP! I'm gonna go barf my Bruster's up now! J/K! By the way - this happened tonight.. not the barfing part.

ANYWAY, another thing I'm doing to lose it is by being in a biggest loser competition at work. Money is motivation, but so is a friendly competition with the co-workers I'm closest/most competitive with :)  I dropped alot the first week, and weeks 2-4 have been NO CHANGE. Frustrating. Did I mention I joined the Y again (apparently I'm too old and married to use my parent's family plan)? I've been going to body sculpting class.... ab class.... kickboxing.... zumba... you name it! And since I started exercising I've lost no weight. People keep blabbing about this muscle mass stuff... I guess that could be it. SO, this week I started cardio. AKA running. from. Hitler. It's how I motivate myself to run. I've always said "the only way I'm running is if the Nazis are after me!" So sometimes when I really wanna quit.. I have to picture a mustached German on my heels. I'm crazy. I know this. BUT, I've logged 7 miles walking/running on dailymile. That site is super cool. It helps you visualize goals, log training, and motivate others! Josh and I took Carter running today in the jogging stroller... but we had to walk alot because of the dogs that kept "attacking us" (Josh isn't a fan of other people's dogs). We ran 2, walked 1 mile overall, if I had to guess (I can't wait to get my Garmin when I hit my next goal!!)

When all's said and done, I'll be back down to my fighting weight, and then Josh won't stand a chance against me. I may even run a 5K or two. Or a half. And get me one of those stickers for my car that says 13.1.. which I just found out today is what people that run half-marathons do. Did I mention I'ma be a sexy beast? Yeah... you won't be able to handle it.

I've had a really great Friday the 13th, and I hope you have, too! PS - if you didn't catch the Talladega Nights/Ricky Bobby reference in here, Josh would be extremely disappointed in you. Make it a great weekend! Josh is working the whole time (bummer). We're going to run again tomorrow. Hang out at the ball field. Hopefully Skype my mom in Germanyyyy!! Go to church. And some other super-cool-blow-your-mind-amazing things that I haven't thought of yet.... probably along the lines of going to Target.