My Third Thirty!

[Bethany Gingerich]

Day 27, Part 2...I'm becoming obsessive with my chronicling I think, but I really do want to be detailed as I'm finishing, mostly because I did this in a bit more of a complicated way this time around.  As in, I had two separate physical challenges running concurrent with W30.

 

Yoga: After this month, I think I'm safe in saying I can never do too much yoga.  It is just the best thing I can do for my body.  In fact, I think I've turned a corner to where I can say if I had a gun to my head and could only pick one physical activity for the rest of my life, yoga would be it.  I've done yoga every single day of this W30 except for that one physical meltdown day, which I still haven't made up, although I said I was going to on Day 25.  I only made it once that day, because of mother nature visiting me and some pretty gnarly cramps and thinking I'd taken ibuprofen but found it later, still sitting on the counter.  When I tell you I'm brain dead in the morning, I'm not kidding.  And I know now that I can't blame it on wine the night before, or sugar, or flour, or corn, or...or...or.....lol!  Anyway, the point being, I still want to make up that yoga class.  W30 has not cured my OCD!   I need to do it on Monday because Tuesday I have my final cleanse appointment which will interfere with morning yoga. So Monday it is. AKA Day 29!!!

 

And on to CrossFit....when I say yoga is #1, it's not to downplay my sheer, pure love of CrossFit at all, in any shape or form.  It's more that yoga gives me the foundation and ability to do CrossFit at my best.  I'm so overjoyed and happy that I found CrossFit over a year ago.  The programming and motivation it provides are so valuable,  it can't be overstated.  I seriously live in a different body than I did before I found CFit.   I have upper body strength for honestly the first time in my life.  I feel better and more confident every day.  It's the first workout I WANT to do, instead of MAKING myself do.  I've made so many friends through it, and the community is just unreal.

 

When people criticize CFit saying it's expensive and dangerous, I have to fight to keep from laughing AT them!  Particularly if I know they go to a gym already.  Because compared to personal training, CFit is bargain basement, and you're getting incredibly varied, far more motivating training than I've ever gotten from a trainer.  As for dangerous, show me a workout that ISN'T. There's potential for getting hurt anywhere, anytime you're moving. The worst neck tweak I've ever had happened in YOGA for pete's sake, and read above how I feel about that!   I know some CFit gyms are more safety oriented than others, but the majority of injuries I hear about are either a) freak tweaks that happened doing a completely routine movement (pullups are a very common offender, and come on, how can you find fault with telling someone to do pullups?) or the person admits they did something stupid that they shouldn't have done.   My bf is currently nursing a 4-month-long injury because he jumped down after a box jump, which he usually didn't do and being a bigger dude shouldn't be doing, but he didn't go whining that CFit hurt him.  He took responsibility for his own safety and will never do that again.  Done.

 

Oh, another common thing I hear re: injuries in CFit is old sports injuries flaring back up.  Again, probably would have happened in any intense workout program. But all anyone sees is "another injured CrossFitter."  

 

So yes, if you want to pay a trainer $80 an hr. to hold your hand and count every rep for you and make sure your form is correct on each and every one and that your ego doesn't make you do something out of your ability, you MIGHT be less likely to get hurt.  (You still might get hurt.)  Or, if you want to spend hours of your downtime figuring out your own programming, you can probably save yourself $100 a month by having a basic gym membership instead of a Crossfit memebership.  But again, you'll probably get hurt eventually because chances are you're not a trainer with extensive knowledge of body mechanics.  

 

I'm not saying CFit is right for you or ANYONE.  It's just that the arguments I most commonly hear against it are kind of humorous when you look at them from where I am right now.

 

So yeah.  Just super grateful right now.  For all of it, the new food knowlege I have, the incredible workout regimens I've been so lucky to stumble upon, and a million other things.  This board!  It's so nice to read everyone's stories.  Love it!  

[Bethany Gingerich]

Day 28!  

 

Pretty proud of myself today, and pretty proud of W30 for how stable it's made me.  Spent the late afternoon and evening at a party last night where EVERYONE was drinking a TON and our steaks (we brought them so I'd have meat that was definitely fine) got thrown on the grill along with everyone else's stuff and I got about 2 bites of it!  For some reason, I wasn't really very hungry and had some chicken too and some almonds and was fine.  Certainly not in the ballpark of a template meal, but at that point I just didn't want to eat anything that wasn't on plan, please people, I'm 3 days out!    Not blowing it now! 

 

Off to yoga and then a tasty brunch! 

[melbournegirl]

Looking good!!!

[Guest Annie B]

Two full days to go girl! We are rock stars. 

[Bethany Gingerich]

Day 29!  

 

Wow, the end really does creep up!  So happy I stuck with it!  These last two days are going to be busy and probably fly by.  I have my two yoga classes today (I can skip CF today if I need to, since that goal has been met!) and my last cleanse tomorrow, plus yoga and probably CF.  And work, work, work!  I only have 3 work weeks until our big trip and SO much to do!  

 

So that's it.  I feel really good.  Woke up feeling a little dehydrated this morning, which is not ideal for the day of 2 hot yoga classes, so I'm really going to have to pay attention to my water intake today.  

 

Hope everyone's having a good day!

[melbournegirl]

Chocolate was calling my name last night but I managed to avoid it. Have been craving extra protein and fat lately, strange....

I'm finally in to the fourth week, the hardest in my mind due to extinction burst etc. I keep reminding myself not much will change after I finish so brain it's nothing to get excited about!

So happy you have met all your goals so far, an excellent journey for you!

[Bethany Gingerich]

And just like that, Day 30 is here!  I'm almost tearing up!  OK, I might actually be!  I just can't believe I made it.  I never used to be the person who could stick to any type of eating plan.  Literally, you could have told me I couldn't have something I didn't even like, and I'd crave it until I had it!  Ridiculous.  Whatever Whole30 does to the body, it is near-miraculous for me.  

 

Another poster wrote something about the "sleep of princesses" and I love that!  That is exactly how I sleep.  I get up, barely make it to the bathroom and back to bed, and I'm back out before I've had half a thought.  Impressive!

 

Aaaaaand on to the shallow stuff!  I took tummy pics this morning, and it's not just that my stomach's flatter and I'm thinner, which I could have done by starving myself.  It's that I have more definition than I've ever had in my life.  Seriously, I'm so freaking happy!  I've just simply never had a defined stomach.  When I was in my late teens and started working out and watching my diet, I was pretty thin and my stomach was flat, but zero definition.  During my early and mid 20s, I didn't do much ab work so although my overall body was fairly fit, my stomach was just meh.  It's not naturally flat & toned like some people's, it requires work and attention to get there.  Then, since I've been doing CrossFit, I've built a lot of muscle in my abdominals and back, but my body fat wasn't low.  The combo of adding the hot yoga and eating well has been doing wonders!  My arms and stomach, my two absolute least favorite body parts, both took a great pic this morning AT THE SAME TIME!  Ha!  I'm mostly being silly, I've learned along the way that this workout/eating stuff is a loooong continuum and things are going to ebb and flow along the way, and I'm fine with that.  But I am very happy with the more aesthetic benefits of this!  

 

So yesterday was good, flew by as expected.  I got my two yoga sessions in but didn't go to CF.  Today, I have my cleanse, and CF this afternoon and yoga tonight, and that's all folks!  I can't believe I actually met this challenge.  Every part of it, too!  

 

I'm not really dying for it to be over, honestly.  I feel so amazing.  If this were the weekend, though, I'd be singing a different tune, I think.  It's crazy how much the weekends affect me on this.  I forget how much from one time to the next.  I always start on a Monday, so I'm cruising along, thinking life is just awesome, and then Friday rolls around and I want to just go to happy hour and shoot the sh!t with my friends and have a drink SO BAD!  But for 4 weekends in a row, I did not! And I'm proud of it.  

 

Where you at, Annie and Juzbo?  I'm proud of us!    I hear ya Juzbo, I don't want to change too much either.  Just keep rolling, with a bit more freedom!

[Bethany Gingerich]

Nighttime, Day 30. I wanted to post that I completed my yoga and CrossFit challenges!  And tomorrow when I wake up, will have completed the Whole30.  So happy!  

 

I did 40 unbroken double unders in CrossFit today, which I'm pretty sure is my record.  Since I'm braggin' anyway!    And a lady at CF said she's been meaning to tell me for awhile now that I look really good!  I'll take it!  

 

Yoga tonight was just delicious.  I was "in the room" nearly the whole time, and by that I mean I wasn't distracted or thinking about being elsewhere.  I was just so happy to be there for the 30th time in 30 days!

 

As I type this, I'm waiting for bf to get home so we can eat my absolute fave Whole30 meal, which I haven't made in its complete form this go until now:  Butternut squash, baked with coconut oil, and the lime shrimp from Well Fed (I've made it by itself a few times) made into lettuce wraps with some fresh butter lettuce from the farmer's market, and grilled sweet peppers, onions, and avocado on the wraps as well.  This is a delicious, luxurious meal, and I adore it!  

 

I'm so content and happy that I did this, and that I completed it.  It's worth it, although it certainly doesn't feel like it at some moments.  

 

And that's all, friends!  Hope everyone's doing great!  

[melbournegirl]

Trumpet fanfare and drum roll! Happy end of 30 days. An amazing effort Bethany! Truly!