So...technically it was more like 27 days because we had friends over on Saturday and I didn't want to limit what they were eating (although we did manage to stay gluten free. We did not manage, however, to stay away from sugar. Pick your battles). But I have to say, those 27 days went by fast and fairly painlessly.
The premise and the challenge. Challenged myself and my husband to do 30 days of very strict Paleo. And not just paleo, but primal eating as Paleo can *sometimes* flex the rules a bit (like drinking alcohol, eating baked coconut flour goods, etc). I made everything from scratch, the only "processed/pre made" food I used along the way was bouillon once, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, coconut milk, curry and bacon. We completely cut out alcohol, dairy, grains and legumes. The only thing I couldn't do consistently was buy grass fed meat.
The reason I wanted to embark on this challenge to myself was we had just spent a good month and a half basically gorging ourselves. My inlaws had been in town for awhile and my mother in law is an EXCELLENT cook. We were eating very, very well with dessert often, and a couple of bottles of wine a week. I wasn't gaining any weight as we were still making it to CrossFit consistently, but I found myself dragging through some of the workouts, particularly after those binge nights were I was having two glasses of wine, a lot of cheese/cream, and probably two pieces of dessert. So as their visit was coming to a close and my progress at the gym was stalling a bit, I knew I had to get back on the wagon and it had to be drastic in order to reset my body and my mindset. So I made sure my husband was on board (he was hesitant at first, especially the thought of GIVING UP BEER. OMG), rounded up some forum references/recipes, and purchased a wonderful Paleo/Primal cookbook, "Well Fed" by Melissa Joulwan at the recommendation of another Paleo eater (that was probably the best $30 I could have spent before embarking on this whole thing!). I also went through my fridge/pantry and tossed a lot of stuff. Always a good idea to purge these on occasion, even better when you have a purpose.
So, get on with the results, you say. Very well.
Lost some weight. Although this wasn't at the top of my reason list for doing this 30 days I knew it was going to happen. I just didn't have a set number or goal going into it. I didn't weigh myself before, but I know when I started I was around the 184 range. I had been fluctuating between 182-185 for a few months with not much movement since the first two month of starting CrossFit.
On a quick side note, I did a slightly involuntary liberation from my bathroom scale when we moved. The scale was packed away, I was too lazy to unpack it, so I didn't weigh myself for a good two months. That was probably the best two months, ever. Seriously. It takes SO much pressure off you to "lose the weight" and just eat more intuitively, and THINK "how are my clothes fitting? How am I feeling?". Obviously it went a bit off the rails for me with all the eating but I am 99% sure I was able to maintain my weight over those two months. It might have fluctuated a pound or two, but for the most part, the fit of my clothes didn't really change much so I was comfortable.
Anyway...after not weighing myself for two months, I decided that I was going to do these 30 days not weighing myself either, since the goal wasn't about weight loss. So when I finally stepped on the scale, I was pleasantly surprised. I *knew* that I had lost some weight since I was able to fit into some clothes I hadn't worn in awhile (or in one case, EVER. WOOT!) and guesstimated the number to be around 10 lbs (I've done the weight loss game so many times I know for my body, I generally drop a size around the 10 lb mark). Lo and behold, it was 10 lbs. I clocked in at 174 when I stepped on the scale on Friday. That means in less than a month, actually, I dropped 10 lbs. Not too shabby!
Started eating more intuitively. I know I mentioned I was already doing this a bit, but doing the 30 days really drilled it home. One of the great things about Paleo is its a lifestyle change, not a "diet". At least not a diet in the traditional sense where all the goals are short term. Thats part of why I started this whole CrossFit adventure in the first place, right? I had always been so short sighted in the past when it came to my health so I inevitably lost weight only to gain it right back. All the "diets" I had done before were either VERY restrictive (I did Medifast for over a year. Thinking back on forcing that powdered crap down my throat for that long now makes me want to vomit. BUT...it did help me lose 35 lbs, which I promptly gained back with a vengeance) or focused really heavily on calorie counting/measuring. Paleo does no counting, no measuring. Just eat until you are full. Eat real food. Focus on how you're feeling. These are all ideas I could get behind and more importantly, maintain in REAL LIFE. Not only that, but I found myself listening to my body more, like what makes it feel good, what makes it feel bad. Case in point, I mentioned our dinner guests on Saturday. Some of the leftovers were consumed by me on Sunday and oh boy...my stomach was not happy with me. Instead of accepting that as okay, I had green beans for lunch. My body was CRAVING something green and so I feed it that. After, I felt much better, more energized. Funny how that works...
And along with that, started reading labels more carefully. I had to be VERY aware of what we were eating since we were supposed to have NO GLUTEN/GRAINS. And let me tell you...finding ANYTHING prepared without gluten is pretty impossible. Gluten is everywhere. Its used as flavoring, coloring, binding, etc etc. Its amazing, really. So I came to really feel for people who have legit cases of celiacs. But, that is essentially why I started making a lot of our sauces from scratch. Yes, they do not last as long but you have the control over what goes into them. And, newsflash, they taste better. It takes a little bit of effort but its well worth it. Doing that is not something I'm planning to stop because HELLO, homemade mayo? Its freaking awesome.
Performed better in the gym. This was really the top priority. In addition to having the energy to attend more consistently (which I'm sure also helped my performance) I have been able to go longer, improve my endurance, and lift heavier in certain WODs. I did my first full workout with unassisted pull ups, used the 35lb dumbells and RX'd a couple WOD's here and there. I felt like my energy levels throughout the workouts stayed more consistent too.
So. Overall, this experience was definitely a positive one. Was it all roses? Definitely not. That first week I was craving shit LIKE MAD, YO. I would longing stare at a piece of bread. However, as we got further and further in, I would look at bread and sigh, but I wouldn't be fighting so hard to resist. I also had to drink my coffee black. That was a HUGE adjustment for me, since I really only started the whole coffee drinking this year and I've always loved it with lots of cream and sugar. However, that too I really came to appreciate on its own. The ONLY thing that remained a challenge throughout? No alcohol. I do love my wine.
So going forward...we are sticking with Paleo, but definitely loosening some things. I'm willing to reintroduce chocolate into my life. Wine is DEFINITELY coming back, but obviously not as often as before (I think one bottle a week is reasonable). We're also going to let ourselves have one cheat day a week which still doesn't involve gluten (so we can have sushi, sans soy sauce) but could involve some other form of carb (french fries, ice cream, tortilla chips, etc) just so we don't go too crazy. I would also like to lose another 20 lbs to get to my ideal weight but honestly, its not a huge concern. I'm also going to continue my relaxed relationship with the scale. I have a couple of pairs of pants in my closet that once I fit into them, I think I'm pretty golden on my weight. So I'm excited what the next couple months will bring!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Its been awhile!
Since I last posted, not much has happened. Have had a couple of really great rides on Arwen, and then a couple of so-so ones. But nothing HORRIBLE.
Did have a pretty extensive flat lesson with M last weekend that was good. In talking to her, we decided that pretty much every lesson I do with her from here on out is going to be on the flat. I think thats better for my brain, and its also really good for Arwen. I always try and do some of the flat stuff we were doing when I warm up/hack by myself, but it does make a difference having that groundsperson telling me what I'm doing wrong. Like one of my really bad habits is I soften that outside rein waaaaaaaay to much. I essentially throw away all the hard earned contact when Arwen finally softens. Or, I take my leg off at the wrong time, which causes her head to pop up. Basically, anytime Arwen's head pops up its an evasion to my aids, so we are going to be working on getting her and I more connected.
Pretty decent on the fitness front too, I've consistently been getting to the gym 3 times a week for the last month (with the exception of last week, only twice. Wah). I'm also approaching the end of my 30 days of strict Paleo, so when that happens I will definitely have a write up. So far, I can tell you I have a lot more energy, I do still get a little sleepy sometimes in the afternoons (especially if I've had a larger lunch) and all my clothes are fitting me much better. In fact, I wore a pair of pants yesterday that I haven't worn since Esty and I got married...almost FIVE YEARS AGO (yes, I hang onto clothes that long vowing that I will wear them again *someday*). Granted they were a smidge tight, but whatever! They fit(ish). I think wherever I end up falling in the scale numbers, with another 10 lb weight loss on top of that, I would fit into pretty much everything in my closet. Its a nice feeling, especially since I wasn't really embarking on this 30 days to lose weight. Any weightloss is just an extra bonus to feeling the healthiest I have in awhile!
Did have a pretty extensive flat lesson with M last weekend that was good. In talking to her, we decided that pretty much every lesson I do with her from here on out is going to be on the flat. I think thats better for my brain, and its also really good for Arwen. I always try and do some of the flat stuff we were doing when I warm up/hack by myself, but it does make a difference having that groundsperson telling me what I'm doing wrong. Like one of my really bad habits is I soften that outside rein waaaaaaaay to much. I essentially throw away all the hard earned contact when Arwen finally softens. Or, I take my leg off at the wrong time, which causes her head to pop up. Basically, anytime Arwen's head pops up its an evasion to my aids, so we are going to be working on getting her and I more connected.
Pretty decent on the fitness front too, I've consistently been getting to the gym 3 times a week for the last month (with the exception of last week, only twice. Wah). I'm also approaching the end of my 30 days of strict Paleo, so when that happens I will definitely have a write up. So far, I can tell you I have a lot more energy, I do still get a little sleepy sometimes in the afternoons (especially if I've had a larger lunch) and all my clothes are fitting me much better. In fact, I wore a pair of pants yesterday that I haven't worn since Esty and I got married...almost FIVE YEARS AGO (yes, I hang onto clothes that long vowing that I will wear them again *someday*). Granted they were a smidge tight, but whatever! They fit(ish). I think wherever I end up falling in the scale numbers, with another 10 lb weight loss on top of that, I would fit into pretty much everything in my closet. Its a nice feeling, especially since I wasn't really embarking on this 30 days to lose weight. Any weightloss is just an extra bonus to feeling the healthiest I have in awhile!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Back on track...sort of
So after Thursday's semi decent lesson, we had a really nice lesson on Saturday. Kept things very low and simple, but it was good. Just focused on the canter and looking beyond the jumps. I tried not to mess with Arwen much before the fences, and focused on my upper body. She was great, for the most part. We didn't have any rushy spots, she was listening, and our distances were pretty much on key. I was definitely trying to relax and just get out of my head again, and I think it helped a lot. So, hopefully onwards and upwards from this point. I'm a bit nervous about all the shows that are coming up in April (probably two weeks worth) where I will have to lesson with M again.
Things have been going well on the fitness and eating front. Just wrapped up the second week of strict Paleo and feeling good! In fact, I know that I've lost some inches because I was able to wear a pair of breeches this weekend that I haven't ever worn. I bought them probably over two years ago, and at the time was maybe 10 lbs too heavy for them. So although I'm pretty sure I'm about the same weight I was when I bought them, I'm slimmer from actually working out.
Was able to hit up CF 3 times last week too. WOD's were are killers. Will have to post a massive WOD update soon, so that I can have that record.
Things have been going well on the fitness and eating front. Just wrapped up the second week of strict Paleo and feeling good! In fact, I know that I've lost some inches because I was able to wear a pair of breeches this weekend that I haven't ever worn. I bought them probably over two years ago, and at the time was maybe 10 lbs too heavy for them. So although I'm pretty sure I'm about the same weight I was when I bought them, I'm slimmer from actually working out.
Was able to hit up CF 3 times last week too. WOD's were are killers. Will have to post a massive WOD update soon, so that I can have that record.
Friday, March 9, 2012
So I had a bit of a mental breakdown yesterday...
As you know I've been obsessing mulling over my issues with Arwen lately and just feeling a bit down and out about the whole thing. After a week of so-so lessons where I felt my head was really stuffed full of new information about how I should be riding, I finally broke down in a pile of complete self pity and wallowing. I was leaving work and on my way to my lesson with Trainer (who was just back from the show), knowing she was going to ask me how lessons with M went. I was thinking "crap. What do I tell her?" I mean honestly, they were not bad. They could have been worse. I just felt like there was a lot of time when I froze up there because I was trying to ride and follow instructions and just go everythingatonce! Which then made Arwen refuse, or rush or whatever, and ended with me very frustrated.
I then started thinking about some comments M made about choosing horses for your level (I don't think she meant this in any mean way-she's a very tell it like it is person, and I know there is some truth to what she said. I think thats why it bothers me so much) and how its the trainers job to choose a horse the client can ride, with the horse's experience/abilities only slightly above that of the riders. It wasn't said, but it was implied that Arwen is pretty much way above my level. Which I don't necessarily disagree with. She is a very challenging ride, but is teaching me a lot. Trainer and I have had this discussion quite a bit about the fact that I could have bought a much easier ride and would probably be jumping around 3'+ courses easily. But what would that have really taught me? True, getting a horse like that is a very big confidence builder and I admit on a scale of one to ten, my confidence is about a 3 right now. I wanted a horse I could grow into, not one I would have to sell on in 2 years. Would I be having a lot more fun, instead of agonizing how much I suck right now if I had bought that easy ride? Probably. But the big part of riding is learning. Learning how to connect with your horse, and form that partnership and be a RIDER. At least for me it is. I mean I know plenty of people who would be happy to own that push button ride that isn't complicated and doesn't require much of a sense of feel or thought. But not me. There are certainly DAYS where I think "man, it would be so nice if Arwen stayed straight and balanced and on tempo without my help" but not all the time. It would be too easy if that were the case.
But...those are not the thoughts that were running through my head last night. Last night, of course, I was thinking "crap, maybe M is right. I bought a horse way too advanced for me. Maybe I should sell her". As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I started tearing up. The more I thought about selling Arwen, the more the tears started rolling down my cheeks. The whole time I'm throwing this pity party for myself, I'm thinking how stupid I am for crying about it. But I just couldn't stop myself. I also figured heck, might as well get it out of my system now before I see trainer otherwise I might turn into another crying mess. So there I am, driving down the freeway, tears flowing, feeling sorry for myself. The only thing missing was some sad country music.
I finally get to the barn, little to no expectations for how the lesson is going to go. Trainer of course asks me how it went, and I tell her honestly how I feel. That I was a little overwhelmed, but everything that was said to me was true. And that M did try and help me, but she didn't give me a lot of room to work things out on my own (which is one thing I really love about my trainer). Also, I think I just wasn't in the right headspace to take the way M teaches due to already being a bit frazzled from the previous couple weeks of Arwen acting up. Trainer tells me "okay, lets just see how she does tonight and we'll go from there. Just ride her like you know how to ride her". And I did. And it goes great. Arwen was listening to me, wasn't trying to run away, and a couple times I actually got her too collected down the lines so we did some serious adds, and had one refusal where I rode her down to nothing.
I will say, there were some things that I really thought about that M drilled into me the last week. One was softening right at the fence. I did not do that. Another was I kept my shoulders back, leg on, auto release, like we practiced. So to say I didn't learn anything last week would be untrue. I mean I definitely had some great learning moments, but then also some lows where I felt like I couldn't ride. Either way, trainer had a good point when she told me "just take what you can from this. Even if its one thing, thats great. You learned something". And I definitely did. From here on out, hopefully its onwards and upwards.
I then started thinking about some comments M made about choosing horses for your level (I don't think she meant this in any mean way-she's a very tell it like it is person, and I know there is some truth to what she said. I think thats why it bothers me so much) and how its the trainers job to choose a horse the client can ride, with the horse's experience/abilities only slightly above that of the riders. It wasn't said, but it was implied that Arwen is pretty much way above my level. Which I don't necessarily disagree with. She is a very challenging ride, but is teaching me a lot. Trainer and I have had this discussion quite a bit about the fact that I could have bought a much easier ride and would probably be jumping around 3'+ courses easily. But what would that have really taught me? True, getting a horse like that is a very big confidence builder and I admit on a scale of one to ten, my confidence is about a 3 right now. I wanted a horse I could grow into, not one I would have to sell on in 2 years. Would I be having a lot more fun, instead of agonizing how much I suck right now if I had bought that easy ride? Probably. But the big part of riding is learning. Learning how to connect with your horse, and form that partnership and be a RIDER. At least for me it is. I mean I know plenty of people who would be happy to own that push button ride that isn't complicated and doesn't require much of a sense of feel or thought. But not me. There are certainly DAYS where I think "man, it would be so nice if Arwen stayed straight and balanced and on tempo without my help" but not all the time. It would be too easy if that were the case.
But...those are not the thoughts that were running through my head last night. Last night, of course, I was thinking "crap, maybe M is right. I bought a horse way too advanced for me. Maybe I should sell her". As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I started tearing up. The more I thought about selling Arwen, the more the tears started rolling down my cheeks. The whole time I'm throwing this pity party for myself, I'm thinking how stupid I am for crying about it. But I just couldn't stop myself. I also figured heck, might as well get it out of my system now before I see trainer otherwise I might turn into another crying mess. So there I am, driving down the freeway, tears flowing, feeling sorry for myself. The only thing missing was some sad country music.
I finally get to the barn, little to no expectations for how the lesson is going to go. Trainer of course asks me how it went, and I tell her honestly how I feel. That I was a little overwhelmed, but everything that was said to me was true. And that M did try and help me, but she didn't give me a lot of room to work things out on my own (which is one thing I really love about my trainer). Also, I think I just wasn't in the right headspace to take the way M teaches due to already being a bit frazzled from the previous couple weeks of Arwen acting up. Trainer tells me "okay, lets just see how she does tonight and we'll go from there. Just ride her like you know how to ride her". And I did. And it goes great. Arwen was listening to me, wasn't trying to run away, and a couple times I actually got her too collected down the lines so we did some serious adds, and had one refusal where I rode her down to nothing.
I will say, there were some things that I really thought about that M drilled into me the last week. One was softening right at the fence. I did not do that. Another was I kept my shoulders back, leg on, auto release, like we practiced. So to say I didn't learn anything last week would be untrue. I mean I definitely had some great learning moments, but then also some lows where I felt like I couldn't ride. Either way, trainer had a good point when she told me "just take what you can from this. Even if its one thing, thats great. You learned something". And I definitely did. From here on out, hopefully its onwards and upwards.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Its been awhile...
Haven't posted on here for awhile, which isn't to say that there haven't been new developments (not all good)
Lets start out with the riding first.
When we left off, Arwen was being so so, I believe. Well, for about a week or so after it started going seriously down hill. Not listening to me, charging down the lines, etc etc. Just like before. I, of course, had a bit of a mini meltdown because where I had been feeling like "man, I can finally ride my horse!" I was suddenly back at square one after a years worth of pretty hard work.
But then I got to really thinking about it.
How much did I *really* do to work on changing how I rode? Sure, I started working out which helped a ton. But, other than that I think during the last year its been more about me learning "feel". And then maybe slightly changing my ride (learning to sit back more, be more tactful, react quicker, etc). But now, this year I REALLY need to work on changing the way I ride. Releasing a lot of the tension I hold in my back and hips, making sure my leg stays on, making sure I'M doing the right things to keep Arwen engaged and listening to the fences. I had some eye opening lessons these past few days where really consciously thinking about some of these things made a pretty big difference in the way Arwen went. I mean in a span of ONE lesson, she was rushing to responsive to rushing, depending on how much I ACTIVELY thought about my ride. Pretty interesting stuff, right? So I'm going to my goals for 2012. I want to just really work on being a more active participant, instead of a passenger. Because I think that is where a lot of my issues start. For some reason, I have an expectation that Arwen will help out a lot more than she should. And that makes her uncomfortable. She wants to be told what she should be doing, and if she isn't, her decision is obviously going to be "well, I'm going to do whatever is easier for ME" which is getting flat and strung out and rushing around a course. So at this point, I don't care about fence height or showing or anything. I just really want to spend the year drilling down how to ride my horse to the best of our abilities every time. And yes, there will still be bad/hard rides in there, but I think there are A LOT of tools that have been given to me over the past year to be able to deal with it. I KNOW how I'm supposed to be riding her. I just need to spend a lot of time developing the muscle memory to do it.
Some of the things I really need to work on:
1) upper body. I feel like I'm sitting back and up, but I still tend to lean forward a lot. I don't think its a strength thing, but it could be. So I'm going to ramp up the core work.
2)getting Arwen engaged at all times. I've been struggling with this for awhile, but because at this point in time she's not wanting to carry herself, we really need to work on her using herself, especially on the flat. Because that translates to how she is going to jump, and also, developing MY feel for when she's getting a little flat/strung out
3) timing of my aids. I really need to work on not taking my leg off, or softening too much at inappropriate times. This for me, means lots of transition work and ground poles on my own.
I'm also planning to take a couple of dressage lessons to shake things up a bit. I did a lot of flatwork stuff in my lesson yesterday and man...I really do enjoy flatwork. So I think not only will it help with my sense of feel and getting Arwen engaged, it will be something different to do just for a little while.
On the fitness/health front:
I've actually been pretty good about hitting up the gym! In the past month I've been able to go pretty consistently 2-3 times a week (3 times more often than not). Feeling really good again which is nice. I've also started to really rein in the eating because it definitely affects my performance at the gym. So until the end of March, hubs and I are doing a strict Paleo diet (will write more about this later). So far, so good. It hasn't been super hard to give up a lot of the stuff we were eating and I think I've actually been more creative with our menu planning in advance. So hopefully will this not only affect our waistlines and fitness, but our wallets! Its nice to be able to bring my lunch to work instead of eating out a couple times a week because I didn't cook anything for dinner.
The major win is I hadn't weighed myself for two months and when I stepped on the scale yesterday (after a week of strict paleo) I was down 6 lbs from the point I had been at two months prior! Pretty awesome. However, I made a vow that the scale isn't what I'm concerned about. What I'm more concerned about is how I'm feeling and performing at the gym (and on a daily basis-am I still crashing around 2 because of my blood sugar? Not lately!). So I'm not going to weigh myself again until the 30 days are up. I don't want to be a slave to the numbers (because really, the whole CrossFit thing was never really about losing weight, it was about getting healthy. And I don't want to lose that focus)
And other things...
Learned how to ride a motorcycle this weekend! Hubs and I did the motorcycle safety class that is done by the CHP. It was pretty basic, but a good course for both of us. I was the only one in the entire class who had never sat on a bike as the driver and I think I did a pretty good job! Had some trouble at first with stalling (letting go of the clutch too fast, not enough gas) but got the hang of it pretty quickly. Second day I started having an issue with braking and revving the engine, which I think will take some time on a bike to resolve. But, all in all a very good experience. Now I just have to go to the DMV to take my written test and will then be an officially licensed motorcycle AND car driver! I honestly don't think I'm going to ride much, but its nice to have.
Lets start out with the riding first.
When we left off, Arwen was being so so, I believe. Well, for about a week or so after it started going seriously down hill. Not listening to me, charging down the lines, etc etc. Just like before. I, of course, had a bit of a mini meltdown because where I had been feeling like "man, I can finally ride my horse!" I was suddenly back at square one after a years worth of pretty hard work.
But then I got to really thinking about it.
How much did I *really* do to work on changing how I rode? Sure, I started working out which helped a ton. But, other than that I think during the last year its been more about me learning "feel". And then maybe slightly changing my ride (learning to sit back more, be more tactful, react quicker, etc). But now, this year I REALLY need to work on changing the way I ride. Releasing a lot of the tension I hold in my back and hips, making sure my leg stays on, making sure I'M doing the right things to keep Arwen engaged and listening to the fences. I had some eye opening lessons these past few days where really consciously thinking about some of these things made a pretty big difference in the way Arwen went. I mean in a span of ONE lesson, she was rushing to responsive to rushing, depending on how much I ACTIVELY thought about my ride. Pretty interesting stuff, right? So I'm going to my goals for 2012. I want to just really work on being a more active participant, instead of a passenger. Because I think that is where a lot of my issues start. For some reason, I have an expectation that Arwen will help out a lot more than she should. And that makes her uncomfortable. She wants to be told what she should be doing, and if she isn't, her decision is obviously going to be "well, I'm going to do whatever is easier for ME" which is getting flat and strung out and rushing around a course. So at this point, I don't care about fence height or showing or anything. I just really want to spend the year drilling down how to ride my horse to the best of our abilities every time. And yes, there will still be bad/hard rides in there, but I think there are A LOT of tools that have been given to me over the past year to be able to deal with it. I KNOW how I'm supposed to be riding her. I just need to spend a lot of time developing the muscle memory to do it.
Some of the things I really need to work on:
1) upper body. I feel like I'm sitting back and up, but I still tend to lean forward a lot. I don't think its a strength thing, but it could be. So I'm going to ramp up the core work.
2)getting Arwen engaged at all times. I've been struggling with this for awhile, but because at this point in time she's not wanting to carry herself, we really need to work on her using herself, especially on the flat. Because that translates to how she is going to jump, and also, developing MY feel for when she's getting a little flat/strung out
3) timing of my aids. I really need to work on not taking my leg off, or softening too much at inappropriate times. This for me, means lots of transition work and ground poles on my own.
I'm also planning to take a couple of dressage lessons to shake things up a bit. I did a lot of flatwork stuff in my lesson yesterday and man...I really do enjoy flatwork. So I think not only will it help with my sense of feel and getting Arwen engaged, it will be something different to do just for a little while.
On the fitness/health front:
I've actually been pretty good about hitting up the gym! In the past month I've been able to go pretty consistently 2-3 times a week (3 times more often than not). Feeling really good again which is nice. I've also started to really rein in the eating because it definitely affects my performance at the gym. So until the end of March, hubs and I are doing a strict Paleo diet (will write more about this later). So far, so good. It hasn't been super hard to give up a lot of the stuff we were eating and I think I've actually been more creative with our menu planning in advance. So hopefully will this not only affect our waistlines and fitness, but our wallets! Its nice to be able to bring my lunch to work instead of eating out a couple times a week because I didn't cook anything for dinner.
The major win is I hadn't weighed myself for two months and when I stepped on the scale yesterday (after a week of strict paleo) I was down 6 lbs from the point I had been at two months prior! Pretty awesome. However, I made a vow that the scale isn't what I'm concerned about. What I'm more concerned about is how I'm feeling and performing at the gym (and on a daily basis-am I still crashing around 2 because of my blood sugar? Not lately!). So I'm not going to weigh myself again until the 30 days are up. I don't want to be a slave to the numbers (because really, the whole CrossFit thing was never really about losing weight, it was about getting healthy. And I don't want to lose that focus)
And other things...
Learned how to ride a motorcycle this weekend! Hubs and I did the motorcycle safety class that is done by the CHP. It was pretty basic, but a good course for both of us. I was the only one in the entire class who had never sat on a bike as the driver and I think I did a pretty good job! Had some trouble at first with stalling (letting go of the clutch too fast, not enough gas) but got the hang of it pretty quickly. Second day I started having an issue with braking and revving the engine, which I think will take some time on a bike to resolve. But, all in all a very good experience. Now I just have to go to the DMV to take my written test and will then be an officially licensed motorcycle AND car driver! I honestly don't think I'm going to ride much, but its nice to have.
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