Lessons from the Sunshine State

We  have learned more in the short 7 months that we have been in Florida than we could have ever learned anywhere else. Our journey to Florida was incredible, honestly we thought that Florida would be the place we would settle down, collect ourselves & the shatter pieces of our dreams and build something new. As I look back I know that Florida was a necessary stop in our journey, was it a mistake? Financially yes! In the big picture, no. The cash we've spent hauling our crap around the country  was a small price to pay for the experiences that we have had here. As I look at our clutter apartment I can't help but smile.

Love Packing.....not!

The biggest lessons that I will take from FL:

1. You really can do anything you want, the only thing stopping you is you. 
2. Great people are everywhere and you have the choice to hang out with them and be influenced by them or continue to be around people that bring you down.  
3. Follow your heart and everything will always be okay.
4. Nothing can replace time with family. 

We found ourselves here. We discovered our passion for CrossFit, the paleo lifestyle, we met amazing people, we understood that AdvoCare is our only outlet to become independently wealthy and we discovered how lucky we were to have family that supported us through all of our crazy endeavors.  Life is so crazy like that. Never in a million years did I think I would live in FL, I never thought Jere would be passionate about health and fitness like I am,  I never thought I could make it through financial crisis, and when I left Olmsted Falls I never ever thought I would miss it. My heart tells me I'm in the right place.  I've never had a problem  following my heart, half of the time its what gets me into all these crazy situations. Personally I think its a blessing. You never have to worry about me being happy and or not telling you how I feel. I'm happy because I follow my heart, I wear it on my sleeve and I share it with everyone I meet. Yes sometimes I get hurt because I live like this....but I make a conscious effort to keep the walls down. I don't know how to experience life any other way. I'm not great at making and sticking to plans because I do what my heart tells me to not what the plans on the paper say. I don't want to change that about myself because it gives me the right away to be free. I choose to be this way. I choose to live a passionate life. NOW, I'm not saying to give up on things that get hard because it is uncomfortable....I'm saying to listen to what your heart says. If you listen, it will tell you when to stick and when to leave. If you're honest with yourself you will know when you're doing something because you're following your heart or because you are pleasing someone else. Don't be a people pleaser....its exhausting. You will make millions of people happy by following your heart, by living a passionate, purposeful life you give others permission to do the same. We need more passionate people in the world.



Passionate Peeps we'll miss from FL:

Our AdvoFam

CrossFit Fam

lululemon Fam

In food News:
Back to Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS):

"Just like my Workout, My Multivitamin kicks your Multivitamin's ass." - Jere

Extra Probiotic....keeps my digestive system working

Extra Omegas keeps inflammation down

Chicken cordon blue wrapped in Bacon with frozen veggies

So the other night after the Nuclear Winter Challenge we had melted dark chocolate to dip Strawberries in....this is the leftover chocolate. YUM!

Bacon topped Meatloaf Recipe from Heath Bent, we subbed turkey for pork.

Sauteed (in the juices from the meatloaf) kale and spinach with garlic and sea salt

Put that over a sweet potato, baked in bacon grease.

Ate like royalty in our half packed apartment. 

Nuclear Winter - a celebration of pain

Yesterday was another milestone in our CrossFit career. This was my second competition and Jere's first. It was mostly for fun but the atmosphere was very similar to my first competition the Iron Curtain, awesome energy from a community of people that are all cheering each other on. It reminded us that we are in the right place and that our dream to open a CrossFit gym is one worth fighting for.

CrossFit EVO ladies before the competition.

Jere & I right before the start, yes my shirt says "I heart my hubby"

The WODs

When I found out about the "max pull-ups" WOD I was scared....I have this thing with Pull-ups, but I was determined to overcome it today.....I'm humbled to say that did not happen. Nope, I got up on the bar and let myself or my ego tell me again that I wasn't good enough. Its okay. I acknowledge that its there and move forward. I might have to battle my ego 700 more times before its gone completely, which is also okay with me. Today I did 10 pull-ups unbroken. Jere did 27.

Jere doing max squat snatch #135

My max squat #83 a PR....this is me missing #88

hahahaha this was written on the white board up in the VIP club

 Jere doing "grace" #105 @ 3:38

Me doing "grace" #83 @ 5:12

This is what "grace" looks like.... 30 clean and jerks

Set up for the final WOD

The Chipper =

1500 Meter Run
30 Single Unders
30 Push Ups
30 Box Jumps (20")
3 Rope Climbs (15')

1000 Meter Run
20 Single Unders
20 Push Ups
20 Box Jumps (20")
2 Rope Climbs (15')

500 Meter Run
10 Single Unders
10 Push Ups
10 Box Jumps (20")
1 Rope Climb (15')

Run

Double unders

Push-ups

Box Jumps

Battling my ego as it tells me to skip the rope climb, which was an option

Winning the battle this time! I did every rope climb in the WOD.

Finish time 38:19

Jere's finish time 30:31

I learned a lot about myself today and am excited to have benchmarks to compare myself to in the future. I'm terrified of heights and so climbing that rope was a huge accomplishment for me. I would have liked to do better in the other WODs but for today that was my best. Now I know my weaknesses and I can make a plan. My new warm up will consist of pull-ups, ring dips, handstand walks and snatch practice. Using the baby step method I will be a better crossfitter by our next competition. Then of course I will probably discover more weaknesses. There were some amazing athletes out there this weekend. I know with hard work and dedication I can get to that level too. And I will.....

After I celebrate my accomplishments for today!

Back in action

After an Epic cheat day I'm finally starting to feel normal again. Yesterday's WOD was rough, overhead squat max #113 a PR but my shoulder was hurting and prevented me from going any heavier....definitely inflammation from the gluten and terrible eating, my back hurt last night as I was trying to sleep too. Today and yesterday I doubled up on my omegas in hope that the inflammation and pain will go away before the Nuclear Winter CrossFit competition tomorrow. 

In other news, we are set up to meet with the high school my Mom works at about their wellness program! Think we'll  go in do a few nutrition seminars teaching very basic nutrition. Some people don't even know what a protein or carbohydrate is and if they think they know its mostly BS that the lying food industry is selling.  Education is the key to change. Our goal is to go in and shine a little light on the truth. Just get them to think differently about what they are putting in their mouths. Of course it will be paleo and AdvoCare bias.

 We are officially signed up to get CrossFit level 1 certified February 19-20 in Charlotte! At $2,000 for both of us to get certified, this was a very expensive and nerve wrecking decision. After we move home, our plan is to reach out to the crossfit gym that is in Strongsville (about 25mins from where we want to open our gym) and see if we can coach at their gym for awhile. Our thinking is that if they will allow us to build our clientele base in their gym, we'll pay them a commission for the use of their space and equipment, and their clients can use our classes without them having to pay us as coaches. We're going to be open about our intentions to start our own gym once we have 20 members.  This Sunday we have an affiliate meeting here is FL we'll be bouncing ideas off of some crossfit gym owners to see what their approach would be if they were starting up new. Our plans might change if we find a better way.

Here's some exciting eats from the past two days:

Homemade Beef Jerky. Jere marinated Beef brisket in apple cider vinegar and spices

Cut it into thin slices and threw it in the dehydrator for 36hours

Jerky without MSG or Sugar!

Processed foods are not my first pick, these sausages have no weird crap in the ingredient list. Great for an occasional quick fix.

with frozen veggies they are pretty amazing! 

Water game! I love my lululemon water bottle. I play a game with Jere....who can drink more water bottles in a day. My goal is 4, which usually will beat Jere. : )

Something that helps with water intake is herbal fruit tea, brew it and pour over ice,  NO SWEETENERS!

If you have been refraining from sugar, this will taste sweet enough without adding anything.

This is probably going to be our kids favorite, chicken "breaded" with coconut flour, then brush with an egg wash, and then roll them in crushed pecans and various Italian spices. Bake at 375 for 20-35mins. Tastes better than the real thing.

Homemade burger (mix of organic free range beef & chicken) on a portabella mushroom bun, with a side of asparagus. If we make it again we will cut the portabella in half...too much mushroom.

Inspired by Diane @ BalancedBites: Beef, Kale, Cilantro soup. Steam kale, brown beef, add to boiling water (enough to make the broth) throw in TONS of fresh cilantro, tomatoes and mushrooms right at the very end.

I use to make protein balls all the time with peanut butter, when I went paleo I quit, peanut butter was the hardest thing to give up. I was reminded by my friend Gina @ Fitnessista that we could make them with almond butter! YES! The best desert ever!

Excited for the big move...which I am procrastinating the packing for today by blogging. Wish me luck tomorrow at the Competition! : )

Will post a competition recap asap.

Best cheat day ever!

We get one cheat day per week for two reasons:

1. Get all our cravings out of the way and keep paleo manageable
2. Spike our caloric intake once a week to keep our metabolism working hard. 

The rules of cheating are as follows:

1. Pick 1 day a week to cheat and stick to that one day. Avoid spreading small cheats out over the week.
2. Eat whatever  you want and don't feel guilty. 

That's it! Pretty easy right? Following this 90% paleo plan, supplementing with AdvoCare and crossfitting 4-5 times a week, yoga once a week  my body fat has gone from 23% to 15.9%, I'm stronger than I have ever been and I haven't had an injury.  After over ten years of trail and error with hundreds of different workout methods, supplements, diets, lifestyles and wellness techniques, this is the combination that works for me. It works for Jere too,  actually it works for any client that I put on it. This is my secret weapon. The cheat meal day is a huge part of that success. Yesterday was my birthday and Jere and I did it right:

Every 27 year old wants to go to Disney for their Birthday

First Stop Canada!

Ate bread for the first time in 8 months.....usually skip on the bread because it makes me feel bad the next day.

The best Filet mignon I've ever had with mushroom risotto, Jere and I split the meal

Yoga in Canada! Yes please...this goes out to my lululemons.

Handstand in Canada! : )

Off to the UK

For Guinness. Carl, the bartender at the pub was awesome! Go visit him if you are at Epcot

Napoleon pastry and Espresso in Paris.

We didn't eat in or drink in Morocco but it was my favorite

Breathe deeply..

More kissing in Japan

Sake!

Germany = beer and pretzels. Jere and I split the pretzel...not the beer.

China, these kids were amazing!

Absolutely amazing.

Oh boy..

Normandy

Mexico

Split Nachos and a margarita. It was not as good as it looks.

Played some 3D games....in future world

Paleo Heaven = Texas De Brazil

Changed our jackets in the car and we were all dressed up.

Amazing!!! Salad bar  and they bring you fresh grilled meats until you can't take it anymore.

It felt so good to eat paleo after a day of unhealthy shenanigans. I told Jere. "When I get to heaven I hope it's Texas De Brazil and I never get full." Amazing!!! And if its your birthday you eat for FREE!! Sign up for their members club to get the coupon. All day today I had a food hangover. My joints were achy, I had no energy and I had really bad cravings for sugar. Most cheat days we do not eat this bad, most days we are eating beans or sweat potatoes or coconut ice cream or drinking wine,  but every once in a while its good to get crazy.  Especially on your birthday!


What is your favorite cheat meal?