Are YOU Ready for a Challenge??

UPDATE:  I have just updated ETC to include my:

"Want a Challenge?" Page

Some rights reserved by RezaG!

This page has an index of challenges and rules that will make you better!  Competitions get me excited and they make me better.  Choose from 6 Different Challenges today and start getting better!

My favorite (and a challenge I am starting today!):

POST HERE: what challenge are you going to pick???

Shoulder Pads in the Mail! (and the end of the Whole30)

The roster for the Militia has not been finalized yet, but I have made it through January cuts and position moving!  Consequently it looks pretty good :)  First game against @ D.C. Divas April 2nd.

In other news I completed the final day of my Whole30 experience this past Wednesday!!

The Whole30 was a great experience for me.  I cleaned up my diet more than I ever have in my life.  I took sugar, salt and processing out.  My body feels great!  I have consistent energy levels throughout the day, there is never a day where my stomach hurts, or I don't feel "quite right."  The best, and completely unforeseen result has been my sleep.  In the last week and a half of the Whole30 I started waking up 10 minutes before my alarm every morning.  At first I thought my body was just making a mistake but it has been consistent every day, and I am not going to sleep or waking up at the same time either.  I am not sure what the "science" is behind this.  That said, the past week and half, my mornings have been the calmest and most lovely part of my day.

Honestly, I would keep the Whole30 going just to have mornings like this, and I think that is exactly what I am going to do:

5 Lessons Learned: Day 15 of The Whole30

Some rights reserved by Chris Blakeley

Today I am starting my 15th day of the Whole30 Challenge and I am feeling full.  I am also feeling excited about the things I have learned and realized.  When you are doing something hard and worth while, take a moment to think about what you have accomplished.  Those accomplishments show your strength and your commitment, and that is the strength will carry you through stressful days and "wintery-mixes!"  Keep it up! 

Here are the Top 5 Things I Have Learned/Realized thus far:

1. There is nothing that tastes good enough to make me "cheat."  I have spent too much time thinking about this to make a mistake AND no cheat is worth starting this challenge over.
2. I DO like to cook and I like to chew slowly
3. Dried fruit = a cheat for me, I still like sugar too much
4. Sleep is crucial!  When I do not sleep enough my desire to cheat rises exponentially.
5. When you can only eat "primal" eating for "fun" seems pointless.  Eating primal makes me feel more full and with no added salt or sugar the addictive quality of food is lost. 

Thanks for checking in.  Post your own adventures and lessons learned HERE!

SUGAR IS A DRUG

More MUST KNOW information on The Taste Trifecta.

I was recently sent this article posted on GOOP by a friend who, after reading it, decided it was time for a sugar-detox.  This article is a powerful and concise reminder of why I am detoxing as we speak.  Dr. Frank Lipman in, Overcoming Sugar Addiction also offers many tips to deal with sugar cravings for WHEN you decide to get off this "socially acceptable" drug.  Check out this article and/or see my short summary below!

The Taste Trifecta: Sugar, Fat, and Salt

I love sugar.  I have always loved sugar.

For a long time, I thought it was that simple: I just loved candy.  Recently, I have begun to realize that there are many more layers to this love.  Two things have sparked this realization: beginning the Whole30, and simultaneously working my way through The End of Overeating, by David A. Kessler, MD.

Day 6 of the Whole30 already has made blueberries taste especially sweet, and made my toothpaste taste simply chemical.

While I am good at abstaining from sugary foods for set periods of time like the Whole30 (or a similar Crossfit Body Composition Challenge at Crossfit Center City earlier this year), I am not good at eating "just a little" sugar when my rules are less stringent.  I have casually wondered why this was, but assumed it had to do with my great desire to keep eating candy corn and hoped I would grow out of it.

The Whole30 and A(nother) Public Display of Data

We can accomplish more together.

If we share our goals, I will know why you want to succeed.  I can challenge your strength and you will do more than you thought you could.   

If we share our fears, I will know why you are scared.  I can help you find strength in a moment where you thought failure was inevitable.  I knew you were never weak.  

You will hold me accountable and I will do the same for you.  Our fears and our desires are our strongest propellants; both are hard to admit to ourselves, and they are even harder to admit to someone else.  BUT say you did, say you could.

When you ask yourself what you really want, and you set goals that seem a little impossible, but they are really what you desire, believe that you are strong enough to share your goals and your fears with someone else.  

You will hold yourself more accountable if you have figured out WHY you want something.  You will hold yourself more accountable if you know someone is going to ask you if you accomplished your goal that day.

I have 6 long-term goals that I am committing to; every month there are short-term actions that I need to take to meet those goals.  Not all of these goals are "training" related, so I will leave the others out.  The remaining two are: