Sorry!!!

I extend an apology to all of the readers out there. I took quite the hiatus since my last post. I've been a bit busy, but I do believe I warned you it would be awhile. I was off busy, getting married and honeymooning and all that fun stuff! To bring you up to speed on everything, the wedding was perfect and the honeymoon was relaxing and wonderful. That about sums it up.On more specific notes, related to this blog, here are some of my observations:
- most of the weight I lost came from my "upper body" area. Good thing that dress had some structure to it, because it wouldn't have stayed up otherwise!
- I'm pretty sensitive to sugar. After being pretty good about not eating many sweets, and then indulging in desserts and chocolate, my belly (and digestive system in general) wasn't too happy with me.
- something about the more strict food plan helped me in recovery and pain management. I haven't nailed down what it was - water intake, lemon water, super amounts of vegetables, or less sugar (or a combination of all) - but my back pain (from a nagging injury from earlier in the year) was significantly decreased. Now that I'm going a little overboard on things, the back pain and soreness after a WOD is back with a vengeance, it's time to sort things out.
- Whether it was because I had adrenaline pumping through me, or because I was all glammed up with hair and makeup done, I felt like I looked awesome in my wedding dress.
That was the whole goal of this project, really. So here we are, I'm hitched, but I will probably continue with most of the things Steph helped me with. I've already started back on track since being home from the honeymoon and feeling better about myself just for wanting to get back on track. I may post an update here or there as I continue on this never-ending nutrition journey.

P.S. Go see Steph if you want nutrition help. She's awesome.

What a week!

So if you haven't already heard, the Catalyst Games were held yesterday. A huge whirlwind of a day, two days actually. Friday started at 6am at the gym for a usual work day, and ended at 10pm in a rainstorm loading up trucks and trailers with tires, weights, and floor mats. Saturday started at 6am at the Pavilion unloading and setting up, ending with a giant beer (it was really giant) at 10pm after all had been returned to the Park after a day of crazy awesome competition. In the midst of the busy-ness, I kept my eating mostly on track (save for the giant beer, which was more for my mental health than physical). Probably not eating enough, but doing my best. I find that in order to drink enough water, I need to have a GIANT water bottle. It's in my face and says "yo, I'm here. Drink me." If I have a normal sized water bottle, I'm always looking for it, or too busy/lazy to refill it. So the past 2 crazy days, I have been able to drink a lot of water due to the "in-my-face-ness" of my water bottle.
Matt has also been on board with my eating plan. During the Games, I asked if he could swing by Subway and grab me a tuna sub. I didn't want him to go too out of his way just because I was busy. What did he do instead? Went home and made me homemade tuna salad and put it in a container with a bunch of veggies, and packed a bag with almonds and plantain chips to snack on. SO helpful to have his support. I also may be pretty crude when it comes to eating well ("Matt, don't feed me $h*t, I have a wedding dress to pack myself into!").
So this no coffee thing that Eusebi has got me into isn't all that bad. I was given a coffee at the Games (Thanks Lisa!), drank about half and was thankful for the caffeine boost. I think it just made me pee more, which I really didn't have time for! Back to green tea for this kid after a couple coffees this weekend. Ah well, sometimes, one coffee isn't the worst thing (let's not talk about the burger and fries I had with that giant beer. It was a long day.)
Six more sleeps until the big day. I'm spending Sunday afternoon and evening in the kitchen, making delicious food for the short work-week, and enjoying some peace and quiet. I might be able to sneak in a final blog post with some before and after numbers, before I post pictures of me in my wedding dress!!! Have a great week!

The weekend happened...

Ok, so admittedly, not the best weekend. Not the worst either though, so I won't beat myself up about it. It all started with the HotShots 19 WOD on Saturday morning. This was a tough one - while I was surprisingly not sore after it (a little bit of trapzilla but that's about it), it did cause me to eat EVERYTHING that was in sight. So needless to say, that bag of chips Matt was eating on the way to camp, I helped him out with that. Guilty. Dammit. But I did manage to avoid every single bit of county fair food that passed under my nose on Saturday night at the Chippewa County Fair Mud Runs (what a romantic evening out!). AND, Mom made a fantastic kale and brussel spout salad at camp. Did I actually eat BRUSSEL SPROUTS?! Yes, yes I did. I think the recipe came from Manuela from the morning CrossFit group. So yes Manuela, now I am talking about you on my blog! Great recipe, and it kept me mostly on track for the weekend. Because not only did I eat it as a salad -- I actually threw it into my omelette the next morning (Mom had made a HUGE salad bowl of it, so there were leftovers). She also brought oatmeal cookies to camp. Frig Mom! Why do you keep feeding me delicious not-frozen-fruit-dessert food?!?!
Back to the county fair. The smell of elephant ears and popcorn and cotton candy and BBQ and nachos made me want to barf. I didn't drink enough water on Saturday (when I should have after that WOD) but for a good reason - hear me out. I think it was much better for my health to not drink water and avoid using the porta-potties, than to drink a bottle of water and have to figure out how to pee without touching ANYTHING in those saunas they call bathrooms. Anyways, I digress.
I cooked up a storm while Matt slept for night shift. Veggie filled (but not vegetarian) chili, spaghetti sauce (for my home-grown spaghetti squash!), and my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe. YES, I made dessert - gimme a break. It's going to be a busy week and sometimes a girl just needs a couple cookies to get by.  I did send Matt to work with a few to share though, so it's not like I ate the WHOLE dozen......
Two weeks to go until the big day. But before that, we have the most exciting day of the year at Catalyst. No, it's not Boxing Day Murph - but it's a close second. The Catalyst Games are on Saturday and it's going to be an awesome turn out. This week will consist of getting the Games in order, and continuing allllll the little things that need to be done for the wedding. Oh ya, and training, and work. And cooking delicious food. Right. If you don't hear from me on here, you know why. See you at the Park!