Oh hey, friends! Sorry I went MIA, again. I guess it turns out that I just might not have what it takes to be a daily blogger, or shit, even a weekly blogger, but that doesn't mean that I don't think of what I want to say to you guys on a daily basis. Which, is probably a lot like me having way too many internal conversations, haha, but it gets me through the day!
I think its the holidays, or I'm going to at least blame them for now, for my stress levels being a little crazy over the last few weeks. Ryker is officially at the age where he understands what is going on around him, he is anticipating Christmas, and so I want to make it extra special. Combine that with a tight budget, and I got in my head big time and stressed about giving him the best holiday possible. Luckily, Cora is happy with my Glade plug-ins and her brothers toys and lights up whenever her family walks in the room, so she's super easy to please!
I also have managed to get super in my head about trying to take advantage of my slight but growing following on social media. I got involved with 1st Phorm as a Legionnaire because I thought it would be a nice way to get a discount on my supplements, while also working with a company that I think is pretty awesome. Well, leave it to me to get stressed out about the fact that while I genuinely enjoy 1st Phorm's supplements, I really missed my PEScience Alphamine and my Optimum Nutrition peanut butter chocolate casein, so I avoided them. That is so dumb! So, I'm clearing my Instagram bio and most of my posts of those affiliations from here on out. Not because we aren't still using their products, but because I'm not in a situation where I am married to them, and I like to change my proteins and stuff just like sometimes you want to try a new pizza place. I still think they have fantastic products, and I'm typing this in my Dedfit joggers, so don't think that I'm not still obsessed with them and ice cream sandwich protein, I'm just not meant to be a sales person. I hate sales. That's why I'm a stay at home Mom now, I quit a sales job, haha!
I guess I just discovered that I don't have exactly what it takes to try and be a social media influencer, in the terms of business. I thought maybe I did because I truly enjoy helping the people who reach out on a daily basis, but when I decided to try and align those goals with the help of those who know how to use social media for business, I just got overwhelmed and frustrated. So, no more. I still have discount codes and links, but I'm just not going to mention them anymore. I truly want to be genuine and open with people who take the time to look at my pictures and read my blogs and captions, so here ya go. Trying to be anything more than a mom that loves to workout and share information and pictures of myself and my family is just more than I want to be, so I'm going to stick to what I know. I've done something similar since I got out of the Navy, where I sit and peruse job boards, knowing full well that nothing will make me as happy as being a stay at home Mom, I guess I just like to overfill my plate! So, I'm cleaning my plate and not in the way that will result in water weight, haha. I've stripped my social media of anyone that I followed that doesn't actively inspire me and I encourage you to try and do the same! Clear out the bullshit. Enjoy yourself and those that you let into your day.
I'm also cleaning house in terms of our real house, donating stuff, getting rid of broken or run down toys and clothing, and tightening up our monthly budget big time. We like to get what we want, when we want it, and most of the time we are just being silly. So, we've decided to foster my increasing love for cooking, to get Ryker involved in the kitchen and to really narrow down what we have to only be what we really enjoy!
The list came out last night of the IFBB Pro's (professional bodybuilders) that will be competing at the Arnold Classic, the professional show that will run the same weekend as the Arnold Amateur, and I am so excited to see so many of my teammates and other professionals on the list! Some of the women that keep me pushing in the gym every day are on that list! This show is a big deal, and we're just over ten weeks away! I'm ready to enjoy Christmas and then really drop the hammer like no other in preparation.
Thanks for listening, guys! This platform helps me a lot, and whenever I get just the tiniest of feedback is really makes a big difference in my day. I know I ramble a lot, haha, but I really do appreciate your taking the time to listen!
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Friday, December 9, 2016
Blogmas Day 9: What was I talking about?
It can't be just me, but seeing as I'm easily the worst about it, maybe it is. I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached, except for the part where I'm constantly playing with my hair. Can you tell that I don't have a real topic for this post today?
I spoke with my coach, Kim, yesterday and he's got me "ready to roll" as he likes to say! Vic and I went out for dinner Wednesday night a our final date night until prep is done. I refuse to go out and have someone else cook me a boring, unseasoned chicken breast and vegetables just so that I can put pepper on them. So, we wait until prep is done or until Kim sends me out to eat a steak and potatoes! We went to a restaurant here in Temecula's Old Town that we've been itching to try forever, its called Goat and Vine and serves up some awesome pizza and cocktails. We shared the breadsticks appetizer, which was just their crust with mozzarella and their sauce for dipping and let me tell you, we could have left after that because it was so good. We ordered a lime carnitas pizza, and didn't like it that much. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't "Oh my God" good. I did have an amazing Christmas Punch cocktail that had homemade pumpkin syrup, orange juice, rum, cinnamon and my favorite...it was topped with champagne. Afterwards, we went to a local bakery that I've also been dying to try and we shared a red velvet cupcake and a brownie. I brought back a cupcake, packaged all cute, for our babysitter, only to remember that she just started her first bikini prep four days ago....so Ryker and I ate the cupcake.
Knowing that I was about to go into a dieting phase again, I decided to not just get something like McDonalds or Dominos that I knew would taste the same as always and that I would most likely say "well that wasn't worth it as a cheat meal", so we finally took the plunge to go to these restaurants that we've been eyeing forever, and then we ordered without abandon and just enjoyed ourselves. The best part, instead of feeling like I should finish my part of everything, we brought home so much! I have found that if I go into these situations and don't start off by depriving or negotiating, I can come out of it feeling successful and not overstuffed, while having tried everything I wanted.
Here is the real kicker. So, I sampled and enjoyed. I had two cocktails that had me almost drunk before I started the second (#lightweight), and then I woke up and had to weigh myself for my first Road to Arnold check in with Kim. I GAINED FIVE POUNDS OVERNIGHT! I shot up to 140.1, which by the way, is one pound shy of where I started my last prep. I successfully undid the weight loss that took three months in just one month. But here's the best part....I can still see a tiny resemblance of abs. My size 25 7 for All Kind jeans still fit just fine. Why? Well first, because those five pounds were water. But secondly, because all of this lifting is actually rebuilding my body. While I may be up in weight, for the first time in my life it isn't all going to my pooch! This is why bodybuilding can be so exciting and addicting. If you take the time to learn about the process and your body, you can mold yourself into a different package. For instance, after that weigh in and pictures were taken, all my Coach had to say is that we need to start training shoulders more often, those are our goal right now. So, more shoulders it is! I sheepishly tried to explain away why my weight is so high and he sounded like it just didn't phase him a bit. After nearly five months of getting Morning Face Christina in her underwear/bikini sent to his inbox, I'd have to wager that Kimbo has a pretty good understanding of how my body works at this point, which is why I'm so comfortable submitting to his instruction!
To continue with that, I woke up this morning for my weigh in. I don't have to weigh daily, but I enjoy seeing the chart that my FitBit app provides when it is fully populated. Control freak, much? I crossed my fingers and hoped that I had budged a little from post-pizza-cupcake-extravaganze and TA-DA! Back to 137. Three pounds over night. Did I restrict yesterday? Did I avoid all carbs? I did something truly crazy....I followed my plan. I FOLLOWED THE PLAN CORRECTLY! I ate my oats and my sweet potatoes, damn near a pound of extra lean ground turkey and a shit ton of spinach, cauliflower and asparagus (my favorites!). I didn't restrict salt, but I did drink all but about ten ounces of my gallon of water. It isn't exciting, I didn't take anything, I didn't eat magical Unicorn hair sprinkled with TinkerBell dust, I went to the gym and did a heavy back day, I did my 30 minutes of cardio and I ate a balanced day of foods.
This is why I love this. I love the accountability and I love the simplicity of following the rules and getting the results. I love the process! No weightlifting for me today, it is a weights-rest day, but I do still have to knock out my cardio. I'm thinking that if the weather cooperates, I might push the double strolled up the hill to a cute little park in the next neighborhood! Get a little outdoors time for myself and the kids, get them sleepy and finish cardio all at once? That sounds like the best way ever to start the weekend!
This blog is getting too long, so I'll shush now and go back to perusing all the cute stuff on Young Living's site. I found a dinosaur diffuser that my stinky little boy could use in his room! Now to talk his Daddy into it....wish me luck!
As always...
Coaching inquiries: c.kassel@yahoo.com
All of my favorite supplements (cinnamon cookie batter, oh my goodness): 1stphorm.com/Christina
My favorite all around town gear: dedfitshop.com and use code Christina to save money!
Want to make your house smell amazing like mine?! Ask for my limited Young Living knowledge, I've got friends that know it all ;)
I spoke with my coach, Kim, yesterday and he's got me "ready to roll" as he likes to say! Vic and I went out for dinner Wednesday night a our final date night until prep is done. I refuse to go out and have someone else cook me a boring, unseasoned chicken breast and vegetables just so that I can put pepper on them. So, we wait until prep is done or until Kim sends me out to eat a steak and potatoes! We went to a restaurant here in Temecula's Old Town that we've been itching to try forever, its called Goat and Vine and serves up some awesome pizza and cocktails. We shared the breadsticks appetizer, which was just their crust with mozzarella and their sauce for dipping and let me tell you, we could have left after that because it was so good. We ordered a lime carnitas pizza, and didn't like it that much. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't "Oh my God" good. I did have an amazing Christmas Punch cocktail that had homemade pumpkin syrup, orange juice, rum, cinnamon and my favorite...it was topped with champagne. Afterwards, we went to a local bakery that I've also been dying to try and we shared a red velvet cupcake and a brownie. I brought back a cupcake, packaged all cute, for our babysitter, only to remember that she just started her first bikini prep four days ago....so Ryker and I ate the cupcake.
Knowing that I was about to go into a dieting phase again, I decided to not just get something like McDonalds or Dominos that I knew would taste the same as always and that I would most likely say "well that wasn't worth it as a cheat meal", so we finally took the plunge to go to these restaurants that we've been eyeing forever, and then we ordered without abandon and just enjoyed ourselves. The best part, instead of feeling like I should finish my part of everything, we brought home so much! I have found that if I go into these situations and don't start off by depriving or negotiating, I can come out of it feeling successful and not overstuffed, while having tried everything I wanted.
Here is the real kicker. So, I sampled and enjoyed. I had two cocktails that had me almost drunk before I started the second (#lightweight), and then I woke up and had to weigh myself for my first Road to Arnold check in with Kim. I GAINED FIVE POUNDS OVERNIGHT! I shot up to 140.1, which by the way, is one pound shy of where I started my last prep. I successfully undid the weight loss that took three months in just one month. But here's the best part....I can still see a tiny resemblance of abs. My size 25 7 for All Kind jeans still fit just fine. Why? Well first, because those five pounds were water. But secondly, because all of this lifting is actually rebuilding my body. While I may be up in weight, for the first time in my life it isn't all going to my pooch! This is why bodybuilding can be so exciting and addicting. If you take the time to learn about the process and your body, you can mold yourself into a different package. For instance, after that weigh in and pictures were taken, all my Coach had to say is that we need to start training shoulders more often, those are our goal right now. So, more shoulders it is! I sheepishly tried to explain away why my weight is so high and he sounded like it just didn't phase him a bit. After nearly five months of getting Morning Face Christina in her underwear/bikini sent to his inbox, I'd have to wager that Kimbo has a pretty good understanding of how my body works at this point, which is why I'm so comfortable submitting to his instruction!
To continue with that, I woke up this morning for my weigh in. I don't have to weigh daily, but I enjoy seeing the chart that my FitBit app provides when it is fully populated. Control freak, much? I crossed my fingers and hoped that I had budged a little from post-pizza-cupcake-extravaganze and TA-DA! Back to 137. Three pounds over night. Did I restrict yesterday? Did I avoid all carbs? I did something truly crazy....I followed my plan. I FOLLOWED THE PLAN CORRECTLY! I ate my oats and my sweet potatoes, damn near a pound of extra lean ground turkey and a shit ton of spinach, cauliflower and asparagus (my favorites!). I didn't restrict salt, but I did drink all but about ten ounces of my gallon of water. It isn't exciting, I didn't take anything, I didn't eat magical Unicorn hair sprinkled with TinkerBell dust, I went to the gym and did a heavy back day, I did my 30 minutes of cardio and I ate a balanced day of foods.
This is why I love this. I love the accountability and I love the simplicity of following the rules and getting the results. I love the process! No weightlifting for me today, it is a weights-rest day, but I do still have to knock out my cardio. I'm thinking that if the weather cooperates, I might push the double strolled up the hill to a cute little park in the next neighborhood! Get a little outdoors time for myself and the kids, get them sleepy and finish cardio all at once? That sounds like the best way ever to start the weekend!
This blog is getting too long, so I'll shush now and go back to perusing all the cute stuff on Young Living's site. I found a dinosaur diffuser that my stinky little boy could use in his room! Now to talk his Daddy into it....wish me luck!
Coaching inquiries: c.kassel@yahoo.com
All of my favorite supplements (cinnamon cookie batter, oh my goodness): 1stphorm.com/Christina
My favorite all around town gear: dedfitshop.com and use code Christina to save money!
Want to make your house smell amazing like mine?! Ask for my limited Young Living knowledge, I've got friends that know it all ;)
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Blogmas Day 8: I'm the worst, BIG NEWS, and essential oils!
Hey guys! So, who is the worst at Blogmas? This girl! Turns out, its kind of crazy to commit to even a little blog post every day unless I carve out an exact timeframe that will be used just for this, so, I present you with a blog written at 5:41 am while my crew snoozes. I'll be writing make-up blogs today, so I promise to fulfill my commitment to get 25 blogs out by Christmas!
I was going to wait to bring this up, but that wouldn't feel right and I could use your motivation, so guess what?
We're going to the Arnold! I found out this week that my application was accepted and I'll be competing in the bikini division!
The competition is March 2-5 in Ohio, which is exactly a week before my 30th birthday. I'm pretty excited to send my twenties off in a big way and I'm excited for this prep. Before anyone is concerned about my health and coming off of one prep to start another, don't worry, I have an appointment with my doctor for a full blood panel and check up, but so far no one is concerned. However, we are responsible people, so I'll make sure that my GP is up to date, and maybe I'll try and get bloodwork done at the beginning and end of prep to see what changes occur.
So, why the disappearance for a few days? I found out about the Arnold on Monday or Tuesday, and it kind of hit me like a truck. I don't entirely understand their application process, but I wasn't really thinking I'd be headed to Ohio this year. So, when I got the good news it took a minute to digest. We've also got a lot on our plate with some other future ventures that we are looking into tackling in the next year, and all around I found myself a bit overwhelmed. I can be a basket case of an anxious person, and one of my tactics is to just quietly wait it out, so....that's what I did. I focused on deciding about another prep (which will go through the holidays) and after a few days, I am so frickin' ready to go.
We'll talk more about that for sure, but before this goes too long I wanted to bring up self-care. I am SO bad about self-care, but am getting better, and I encourage you to really look at whether or not you are giving yourself the opportunity to truly relax and recharge, even for a just a few minutes. I know that running outside in the morning, taking bubble baths or just reading a book are all great ways for me to unplug, so I've been trying to incorporate them into my day more often. Kids obviously require a lot of focus, but I also waste a shit ton of my day on my phone, and I'm pretty sure just the brightness alone makes me grumpy.
So, I'm going to work on reducing phone use around the family, while upping my reading of books around Ryker, and I mean the one's with no pictures. My little copycat wants to do everything we do, so I figure I'll let him see me doing more reading, we'll spend more of our days on outdoor walks. Improving my flexibility will only help my posing, I'll also be trying to increase my time spent on recovery, with RomWod, stretching and rolling out with my foam roller.
I like that a new prep is kind of like a New Year, I've got resolutions and all. But who needs a new program or a New Year for that? It's a new Thursday! Yay! Now decide on even just the tiniest of things that you'll commit to improving for yourself. Be gentle with yourself.
On the note of being gentler, I have to bring up the cutest little addition to our home!
My dear friend, Christi, is the only person besides Vic, and at points even more than Vic, she has the ability to look at me and say something and I know the words are so true and are coming from somewhere so special. She was there for the birth of both of our children, and her support and love leading up to their births and afterwards will make her a part of the Kassel Family forever and always.
When I was in a truly crazy labor with Cora, she offered some lavender oil for my belly to help during contractions, and I LOVED it. I buy essential oil lotions, essential oil bath bubbles and so on...but I've never just bought essential oils because of the price. Christi had a special going with a $25 gift card, and so I finally jumped aboard and got myself a starter kit with Young Living. I've been diffusing their Christmas Spirit oil, until I remembered how amazing Peppermint can be for your overall mindset, so I decided to do Peppermint Oil with just a bit of the Christmas Spirit. Just imagine the minty, cheerful uplifting scent of peppermint mixed with oranges, cinnamon and spruce. Dude. I'm a total sucker for plug-ins around the house, but this has changed the ball game. I'm really excited to learn more about Thieves and using it around the house. Is Crunchy Christina coming back? I think so! I'd greatly appreciate any insight on oils you may have!
And finally, I always share the links and codes for the awesome companies that I'm working with. Considering we'll be traveling to Ohio for the Arnold, and that I'll be working with my Coach and all, my relationships with 1st Phorm, DedFit and YoungLiving are that much more exciting for me. If you've been considering any of their products or haven't taken a chance to look yet, please do! And please let me know if you have any questions about anything! Shout out to my hubby for being so supportive and damn near losing his mind with pride and happiness when he found out I was going to compete at the Arnold. He's pushed me to get involved and follow my dreams, and we're doing it, friends!
I promise to speak to you again soon, I won't disappear! Thank you for all of your support!
1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track! (Current obsession, cinnamon cookie batter Level1 or the lemonade BCAA's mixed with vanilla Phormula1 and Ignition!)
dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER! The all black line is super legit.
youngliving.com It's easier (and cheaper!) to sign up to order oils as a distributor!
I was going to wait to bring this up, but that wouldn't feel right and I could use your motivation, so guess what?
We're going to the Arnold! I found out this week that my application was accepted and I'll be competing in the bikini division!
The competition is March 2-5 in Ohio, which is exactly a week before my 30th birthday. I'm pretty excited to send my twenties off in a big way and I'm excited for this prep. Before anyone is concerned about my health and coming off of one prep to start another, don't worry, I have an appointment with my doctor for a full blood panel and check up, but so far no one is concerned. However, we are responsible people, so I'll make sure that my GP is up to date, and maybe I'll try and get bloodwork done at the beginning and end of prep to see what changes occur.
So, why the disappearance for a few days? I found out about the Arnold on Monday or Tuesday, and it kind of hit me like a truck. I don't entirely understand their application process, but I wasn't really thinking I'd be headed to Ohio this year. So, when I got the good news it took a minute to digest. We've also got a lot on our plate with some other future ventures that we are looking into tackling in the next year, and all around I found myself a bit overwhelmed. I can be a basket case of an anxious person, and one of my tactics is to just quietly wait it out, so....that's what I did. I focused on deciding about another prep (which will go through the holidays) and after a few days, I am so frickin' ready to go.
We'll talk more about that for sure, but before this goes too long I wanted to bring up self-care. I am SO bad about self-care, but am getting better, and I encourage you to really look at whether or not you are giving yourself the opportunity to truly relax and recharge, even for a just a few minutes. I know that running outside in the morning, taking bubble baths or just reading a book are all great ways for me to unplug, so I've been trying to incorporate them into my day more often. Kids obviously require a lot of focus, but I also waste a shit ton of my day on my phone, and I'm pretty sure just the brightness alone makes me grumpy.So, I'm going to work on reducing phone use around the family, while upping my reading of books around Ryker, and I mean the one's with no pictures. My little copycat wants to do everything we do, so I figure I'll let him see me doing more reading, we'll spend more of our days on outdoor walks. Improving my flexibility will only help my posing, I'll also be trying to increase my time spent on recovery, with RomWod, stretching and rolling out with my foam roller.
I like that a new prep is kind of like a New Year, I've got resolutions and all. But who needs a new program or a New Year for that? It's a new Thursday! Yay! Now decide on even just the tiniest of things that you'll commit to improving for yourself. Be gentle with yourself.
On the note of being gentler, I have to bring up the cutest little addition to our home!
My dear friend, Christi, is the only person besides Vic, and at points even more than Vic, she has the ability to look at me and say something and I know the words are so true and are coming from somewhere so special. She was there for the birth of both of our children, and her support and love leading up to their births and afterwards will make her a part of the Kassel Family forever and always.
When I was in a truly crazy labor with Cora, she offered some lavender oil for my belly to help during contractions, and I LOVED it. I buy essential oil lotions, essential oil bath bubbles and so on...but I've never just bought essential oils because of the price. Christi had a special going with a $25 gift card, and so I finally jumped aboard and got myself a starter kit with Young Living. I've been diffusing their Christmas Spirit oil, until I remembered how amazing Peppermint can be for your overall mindset, so I decided to do Peppermint Oil with just a bit of the Christmas Spirit. Just imagine the minty, cheerful uplifting scent of peppermint mixed with oranges, cinnamon and spruce. Dude. I'm a total sucker for plug-ins around the house, but this has changed the ball game. I'm really excited to learn more about Thieves and using it around the house. Is Crunchy Christina coming back? I think so! I'd greatly appreciate any insight on oils you may have!
And finally, I always share the links and codes for the awesome companies that I'm working with. Considering we'll be traveling to Ohio for the Arnold, and that I'll be working with my Coach and all, my relationships with 1st Phorm, DedFit and YoungLiving are that much more exciting for me. If you've been considering any of their products or haven't taken a chance to look yet, please do! And please let me know if you have any questions about anything! Shout out to my hubby for being so supportive and damn near losing his mind with pride and happiness when he found out I was going to compete at the Arnold. He's pushed me to get involved and follow my dreams, and we're doing it, friends!
I promise to speak to you again soon, I won't disappear! Thank you for all of your support!
1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track! (Current obsession, cinnamon cookie batter Level1 or the lemonade BCAA's mixed with vanilla Phormula1 and Ignition!)
dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER! The all black line is super legit.
youngliving.com It's easier (and cheaper!) to sign up to order oils as a distributor!
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Blogmas Day 4
I didn't forget about today, I've been working on my Pardomas Recruit application! Check it out over at my YouTube channel, here!
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Blogmas Day 3: A peek into our kitchen
Better late than never, right? Vic and I actually managed to get a full NINE HOURS of sleep last night, so our morning started a tad bit later than usual. We both tend to wake up between 5 and 6 every morning, so sleeping past 7 am was pretty exciting. We ventured out to get bagels and then braved Costco, right as they opened. We think we're somehow permanently stuck on East Coast time, because we didn't go home until nearly 11 and we were like "well, there goes the day", haha. Ryker is way too cool for naps these days, so we introduced him to the Grinch while Cora took a much needed nap after our Costco adventure. Ryker called it the Not Scary Christmas Alien movie and enjoyed it! It has been fun introducing him to movies that aren't cartoons!
I'm pretty impressed with our Costco haul this time around, we loaded up on so many veggies and I've already tried a new recipe with the zucchini and apples that Cora and I loved. Cora is teething this weekend, so wish us luck. She's nearly 18 months old and is just now popping out a handful of teeth at once. She's been only wanting soft sandwiches and warm sweet potatoes, so I tried something new and was glad to see she liked it! She then went straight back to being absolutely pitiful, and the poor thing has just been sleepy and fussy all day. She spent a good portion of the afternoon strapped to my back so that she could snuggle me and I could be productive. She's only got eyes for her Momma when she's feeling down.
I diced up one pink lady apple and one zucchini and sautéed them in one tablespoon of Kerrygold butter, cinnamon and a sprinkle of salt, until they were soft. I got Vic and Ryker to eat the apples, but I can't trick them into zucchini.
I keep saying that I'm going to start cooking one meal that works for all of us, but honestly, it has just become easier to make sure I have everything I need for the staples that we all enjoy, and then I can whip up what everyone likes quickly. For the kids that means grilled cheese, berries, broccoli or green beans, blueberry waffles and chocolate milk. They basically survive off of the above and Goldfish. Considering I can get them both to eat a pretty solid amount of fresh produce on a regular basis and they both get more protein than the average adult, I don't stress on the stuff they enjoy. Silly fact about them, Ryker likes jelly sandwiches, but Cora likes peanut butter sandwiches. Ryker hating peanut butter blows my mind.
 |
| I'm pretty sure he's mostly made of Fairlife Chocolate Milk. |
Things that we HAVE to have in our fridge at all times:
Fairlife Chocolate and Whole milk
Extra lean ground turkey
Lean ground beef
Archer Farms frozen asparagus and sweet potatoes
Flavored Muscle Egg
Egg Whites
Reddi Whip
Berries
Shredded Cheese
Whole Eggs
Kerrygold Butter
Spinach
Romaine
Frozen broccoli
Things we always have in our pantry:
Multigrain Sandwich thins
Natural Skippy PB
Goldfish
Some sort of yummy cereal
Eureka bread
Oats
Oh Yeah One Bars
1st Phorm Phormula 1, Ignition, Level 1
We add in random stuff that we wander past when we shop at either Target or Costco (use Carthwheel and Ibotta for deals!), but those round out our staples! We like to try and keep what we eat at home pretty balanced and simple, so that when we want to go out we don't have to feel guilty about indulging a little bit.
1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track
dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER!
Friday, December 2, 2016
Blogmas Day 2: let's get even more personal (some struggles)
Oh hey, guys! Does anyone else wake up extra early to enjoy their house in silence? I adore my mornings where I get to sip my coffee, scroll through emails and pay bills, while the rest of the house is quietly sleeping. It's just so peaceful!
This morning, I wanted to open up about something that I have struggled with for over 15 years. It's shaped a huge part of myself, and is an important factor of my story and especially my fitness story, but it's something that is pretty embarrassing to discuss. Coming off of my competition prep, I've had a new version of the same old problem and you know how they say in school that if you have a question, someone else probably has that same one so you should definitely ask it out loud? Well, I'm hoping this reaches someone who needs to know they aren't alone. Get ready, shit's about to get kind of heavy.
I've struggled with bulimia and binge eating since middle school. Luckily, I was able to overcome the purging with my marriage to Vic. Early on, he had an inkling that something was up and I honestly just felt so overcome with guilt after going out to Buffalo Wild Wings one night (I'll never forget this), that I broke down and told him all about it. What is funny about that, is how as soon as I said something, spoke the words, but didn't ask for help, I just felt so much lighter. My eternal teammate knew the problem and was prepared to help me get through it. Did I just magically become healed from a constantly nagging eating disorder? Hell no! But, over the years I developed the tools and strategies to get me through the hard times and work on myself, both mentally and physically.
Pregnancy was hard for me in that sense. Gaining weight is a tough pill to swallow for anyone that has struggled that intensely with controlling their weight. At the worst, I'd have plowed through a giant plate of French fries or a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and have this dialogue about how my baby didn't want food like that and how I was already failing them. Jesus, Christina, that's crazy! But do you see how I remember all of this so clearly? It's crazy how it really cuts itself into you.
Through my healing process, I've developed the ability to be pretty good at extremes, which is why I think my competition prep wasn't too miserable to get through. Don't worry, I haven't travelled over to a new side of disordered habits, I've just found a new way of looking at my body. 95% of the time I can eat for fuel, eat for what my body needs to do (endurance running, cutting, building), but, the problem I am having post show involves binging. I can stay solid on my plan all day, and then mindless snacking starts and I realize "shit, now I've blown my macro plan!". What happens next? Usually an internal conversation about "well, I could do damage control and move on....OR, I could eat that whole box of cereal and all the Lenny and Larry cookies so it isn't here tomorrow and then I start over!" Do you think that second option actually helps me? Absolutely not! But, it's happening and all too often. I've gained 10 pounds since my show, and this morning I weighed in at 136 even. The day of my second show, I walked on stage at 121, but that is a depleted, dehydrated state, so I'm not counting what I lost during peak week. I know that stage lean is so unrealistic and dangerous to try and maintain, but like I said earlier, any weight gain, even the healthy and necessary kind, is pretty scary.
So, I shared this in the hopes that A) it will help me be more accountable for my binging at night, because quite frankly, I don't want to gain any more weight, I'd like to build my physique at my current body fat percentage to reduce the amount of work that needs to get done in my next prep, if even by a little. B), I always want to be open, honest and REAL with you guys. I'm pretty sure like four people read this and my captions regularly, but I figure if one person needs to read it, maybe I've helped them not feel alone today.
Eating disorders are like alcoholism (fun fact, I have both running through various parts of my family tree), you don't heal and move on. It doesn't go away. There are always triggers. But, I decided when I wanted to have children, back in my Mustang crying to Vic outside of Buffalo Wild Wings, that I would not give my children a Mom who literally couldn't stomach herself due to something as silly as food. There is no magic here, I decided that I was done and then I stuck with it. The family that I wanted to build and nurture meant more to me than my terrible habit. I was enough, I AM ENOUGH. Every day, I stick with it. Every day, I decide that I am bigger than my demons and that it may be hard, but if I just stick to my guns, I can get through anything. YOU CAN, TOO. I'm here, friends, and I think this is WHY I'm here. Please reach out if there is anything that you need to get off your chest so we can move forward together.
Forward progress, every day. Never settle.
Love you guys,
Christina
Lifestyle Coaching: email me at c.kassel@yahoo.com, lets work for a more balanced life, together!
1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track
dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER!
This morning, I wanted to open up about something that I have struggled with for over 15 years. It's shaped a huge part of myself, and is an important factor of my story and especially my fitness story, but it's something that is pretty embarrassing to discuss. Coming off of my competition prep, I've had a new version of the same old problem and you know how they say in school that if you have a question, someone else probably has that same one so you should definitely ask it out loud? Well, I'm hoping this reaches someone who needs to know they aren't alone. Get ready, shit's about to get kind of heavy.
I've struggled with bulimia and binge eating since middle school. Luckily, I was able to overcome the purging with my marriage to Vic. Early on, he had an inkling that something was up and I honestly just felt so overcome with guilt after going out to Buffalo Wild Wings one night (I'll never forget this), that I broke down and told him all about it. What is funny about that, is how as soon as I said something, spoke the words, but didn't ask for help, I just felt so much lighter. My eternal teammate knew the problem and was prepared to help me get through it. Did I just magically become healed from a constantly nagging eating disorder? Hell no! But, over the years I developed the tools and strategies to get me through the hard times and work on myself, both mentally and physically.
Pregnancy was hard for me in that sense. Gaining weight is a tough pill to swallow for anyone that has struggled that intensely with controlling their weight. At the worst, I'd have plowed through a giant plate of French fries or a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and have this dialogue about how my baby didn't want food like that and how I was already failing them. Jesus, Christina, that's crazy! But do you see how I remember all of this so clearly? It's crazy how it really cuts itself into you.
 |
| She deserves a healthy, happy Momma |
 |
| 12/1/2016 My weight is up, but so is my energy and my strength! |
Eating disorders are like alcoholism (fun fact, I have both running through various parts of my family tree), you don't heal and move on. It doesn't go away. There are always triggers. But, I decided when I wanted to have children, back in my Mustang crying to Vic outside of Buffalo Wild Wings, that I would not give my children a Mom who literally couldn't stomach herself due to something as silly as food. There is no magic here, I decided that I was done and then I stuck with it. The family that I wanted to build and nurture meant more to me than my terrible habit. I was enough, I AM ENOUGH. Every day, I stick with it. Every day, I decide that I am bigger than my demons and that it may be hard, but if I just stick to my guns, I can get through anything. YOU CAN, TOO. I'm here, friends, and I think this is WHY I'm here. Please reach out if there is anything that you need to get off your chest so we can move forward together.
Forward progress, every day. Never settle.
Love you guys,
Christina
Lifestyle Coaching: email me at c.kassel@yahoo.com, lets work for a more balanced life, together!
1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track
dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER!
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Blogmas!
Welcome to Blogmas, Friends! If you haven't heard of Blogmas or Vlogmas before (I may do both!), they are a great opportunity to kind of kick yourself in the butt and use the month of December to push yourself to put out more content on a regular basis. This is something I desperately need to do, so here we go!
I was thinking that for this opening post, we should do a "get to know Christina", since I haven't blogged in way too long! So, here it goes, I'll try and keep it short.
My name is Christina. I'm a stay at home Mom with my son, Ryker, and daughter, Cora. He's 3.5, she's 1.5. They are so much fun, but can be total shit shows as well, so they keep me on my toes. Lately, as Ryker gets older, he blows my mind and becomes more and more like our roommate and that loud guy we hang out with! Cora is a year and a half with no teeth and she refuses to walk, so that's fun. The teeth are there, I can see them wanting to come out and chew food, and she can walk if you hold her hand...as you can see, I'm starting to become aware of how much trouble she may be as her stubborn self gets older. She just learned how to throw a tantrum, so keep me in your thoughts, haha.
I served in the Navy for six years before getting out in late September of 2015. I enjoyed the Navy, but I accidentally fell in love with my other half after three months of joining, and here we are nearly seven years later with two kids and a mortgage. This girl wanted to be home with her family instead of sailing the seven seas, so I ran when my contract was up. For a second, I worked for a cyber security firm, but quickly found that I hate being a sales person and that I preferred hanging out with my kids all day, so here I am!
While my husband has helped fuel the fire of my passion for fitness and wellness for years, following the birth of Cora and my second journey into postpartum weight loss, I decided to try my hand at bodybuilding competition. Holy cow, it's so much fun! I competed this fall, twice, and received seventh and third place finishes. My third place finish made me qualified for a National level show, so that is where my focus is at now. I've also found a love for destroying my kitchen with Ryker while we bake up some new concoction, and he loves to help me in the kitchen. We try new recipes regularly, they are rarely aesthetically pleasing, but generally taste pretty damn good! I'm trying to prepare meals that all four of us can/will eat, and promise to start sharing my successes and failures more often so you can laugh, cringe and say "yum!" along with us!
I've been given the awesome opportunity of representing DEDFIT Apparel, whose link can be found here, dedfitshop.com. If you use the code Christina you get 10% off! Their clothing is awesome, but the work ethic and drive of those involved with the company is absolutely amazing. Definitely check them out! I also work with 1st Phorm for all of our supplements, and even Ryker looks forward to his protein oats! Check out 1stphorm.com/Christina for free shipping! If you have any questions about the products or how they can best help you, PLEASE reach out to me!
My mom asked me a simple but important question yesterday while we spoke about my application to compete at the Arnold Amateur this year. "And you love doing this?" I do. My heart sings for this. I soul is so happy and grateful when someone reaches out to me with questions or concerns and we work together to help them start on their own fitness or wellness journey. A client of mine recently met his goal well before the time allotted, all by making one small change with his diet and adding a bit more conscientious activity. I want to put more smiles on people's faces by teaching them how to keep a smile on their face and not falling back to old, detrimental habits.
I hope you guys enjoy following along with myself and my family. We welcome you into ours!
Blogmas Day 1: Complete! Let's do this, fam :)
#DDFIT 10% Christina
#iam1stPhorm
Coaching: c.kassel@yahoo.com
I was thinking that for this opening post, we should do a "get to know Christina", since I haven't blogged in way too long! So, here it goes, I'll try and keep it short.
My name is Christina. I'm a stay at home Mom with my son, Ryker, and daughter, Cora. He's 3.5, she's 1.5. They are so much fun, but can be total shit shows as well, so they keep me on my toes. Lately, as Ryker gets older, he blows my mind and becomes more and more like our roommate and that loud guy we hang out with! Cora is a year and a half with no teeth and she refuses to walk, so that's fun. The teeth are there, I can see them wanting to come out and chew food, and she can walk if you hold her hand...as you can see, I'm starting to become aware of how much trouble she may be as her stubborn self gets older. She just learned how to throw a tantrum, so keep me in your thoughts, haha.
I served in the Navy for six years before getting out in late September of 2015. I enjoyed the Navy, but I accidentally fell in love with my other half after three months of joining, and here we are nearly seven years later with two kids and a mortgage. This girl wanted to be home with her family instead of sailing the seven seas, so I ran when my contract was up. For a second, I worked for a cyber security firm, but quickly found that I hate being a sales person and that I preferred hanging out with my kids all day, so here I am!
While my husband has helped fuel the fire of my passion for fitness and wellness for years, following the birth of Cora and my second journey into postpartum weight loss, I decided to try my hand at bodybuilding competition. Holy cow, it's so much fun! I competed this fall, twice, and received seventh and third place finishes. My third place finish made me qualified for a National level show, so that is where my focus is at now. I've also found a love for destroying my kitchen with Ryker while we bake up some new concoction, and he loves to help me in the kitchen. We try new recipes regularly, they are rarely aesthetically pleasing, but generally taste pretty damn good! I'm trying to prepare meals that all four of us can/will eat, and promise to start sharing my successes and failures more often so you can laugh, cringe and say "yum!" along with us!
I've been given the awesome opportunity of representing DEDFIT Apparel, whose link can be found here, dedfitshop.com. If you use the code Christina you get 10% off! Their clothing is awesome, but the work ethic and drive of those involved with the company is absolutely amazing. Definitely check them out! I also work with 1st Phorm for all of our supplements, and even Ryker looks forward to his protein oats! Check out 1stphorm.com/Christina for free shipping! If you have any questions about the products or how they can best help you, PLEASE reach out to me!
My mom asked me a simple but important question yesterday while we spoke about my application to compete at the Arnold Amateur this year. "And you love doing this?" I do. My heart sings for this. I soul is so happy and grateful when someone reaches out to me with questions or concerns and we work together to help them start on their own fitness or wellness journey. A client of mine recently met his goal well before the time allotted, all by making one small change with his diet and adding a bit more conscientious activity. I want to put more smiles on people's faces by teaching them how to keep a smile on their face and not falling back to old, detrimental habits.
I hope you guys enjoy following along with myself and my family. We welcome you into ours!
Blogmas Day 1: Complete! Let's do this, fam :)
#DDFIT 10% Christina
#iam1stPhorm
Coaching: c.kassel@yahoo.com
Monday, October 17, 2016
Silly low carb diets, Trix can be for everyone!
Ok, I was recently asked about this so I wanted to jot down a few thoughts on low carb diets, to help people get a better understanding of why they are so appealing, and why that shiny, brand new diet stops working so well after a while.
First, let us talk about carbs for a second. Carbs are valued at 4 calories per gram. EVERY. SINGLE. CARB is worth the same amount of calories, whether it comes from a pop tart or a strawberry. I'm not going to dive into complex versus simple carbs, but let's just say that they are both 4 calories, and the distinctions have more to do with their ability to be broken down, and nothing to do with how many calories they are. One is not necessarily better than the other, but it is good to try and always go for variety in food sources. We all know where carbs come from, because they are usually our favorite food groups. Ice cream, pizza crust, cookies, fruit, so on and so forth.
Low carb diets divert your intake from carbs and redirect you to an increase in protein and fat intake so you don't starve to death. Generally, people will see a rapid weight loss from starting a low carb diet, most of which is the result of losing water weight. Now, water weight can be an extremely obnoxious concept to work with because water weight increases or decreases can get confusing when it comes to your physique goals. This is what I want you to remember today....carbs hold water.
Your body needs carbs to get through life. Glycogen is stored throughout your body. "Approximately 400 grams are stored as muscle glycogen, 90-110 grams as liver glycogen, and 25 grams circulate in the blood as glucose. When the body needs more glucose than is available in bloodstream to support energy demands, glycogen stores are used to raise blood glucose levels." (IAState.edu) When you ingest carbs, your body holds on to both water and sodium in order to process everything and keep your body balanced the way it would like to be. This water retention can be about 3g per gram of carbohydrate. Just think about that for a second! For your rice cake, which has about 7 g of carbs, your body will hold on to roughly 21 g of water and sodium...resulting in a possible and temporary water weight gain.
So, when you cut carbs from your diet, your body isn't holding that water and you may drop weight quickly. As long as you don't add the carbs back in, you may even keep it off for a while. But, if you add in carbs, and especially if you do it quickly, YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT. It may just be water weight, but you will jump up. For most people, this is what sends them spiraling out of control, because they are frustrated and thats understandable.
You need carbs to get in a good workout. Workouts help you reach your goals...so eat your carbs. If it makes you feel better to stick to natural sources, that's awesome! Berries are a great option because they have a ton of micronutrients and you can have so many strawberries for 20 g of carbs. Cutting out an entire food group, or in this case, attempting to cut out an entire macronutrient option is just not a good idea and I can almost guarantee that you will regret it, especially after a few days on "no" carbs and you see someone with a cookie! Find your balance, if you need help with that just reach out and ask! I could talk your ear off, but just wanted to put a little tid bit out there for now!
I'll include some articles below for more information.
Glycogen storage- Illusion of easy weight loss: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/56/1/292S.abstract
Glycogen Metabolism: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21190/
Can a high carb diet cause you to retain water?: http://www.livestrong.com/article/309135-can-a-high-carb-diet-cause-you-to-retain-water/
First, let us talk about carbs for a second. Carbs are valued at 4 calories per gram. EVERY. SINGLE. CARB is worth the same amount of calories, whether it comes from a pop tart or a strawberry. I'm not going to dive into complex versus simple carbs, but let's just say that they are both 4 calories, and the distinctions have more to do with their ability to be broken down, and nothing to do with how many calories they are. One is not necessarily better than the other, but it is good to try and always go for variety in food sources. We all know where carbs come from, because they are usually our favorite food groups. Ice cream, pizza crust, cookies, fruit, so on and so forth.
Low carb diets divert your intake from carbs and redirect you to an increase in protein and fat intake so you don't starve to death. Generally, people will see a rapid weight loss from starting a low carb diet, most of which is the result of losing water weight. Now, water weight can be an extremely obnoxious concept to work with because water weight increases or decreases can get confusing when it comes to your physique goals. This is what I want you to remember today....carbs hold water.
Your body needs carbs to get through life. Glycogen is stored throughout your body. "Approximately 400 grams are stored as muscle glycogen, 90-110 grams as liver glycogen, and 25 grams circulate in the blood as glucose. When the body needs more glucose than is available in bloodstream to support energy demands, glycogen stores are used to raise blood glucose levels." (IAState.edu) When you ingest carbs, your body holds on to both water and sodium in order to process everything and keep your body balanced the way it would like to be. This water retention can be about 3g per gram of carbohydrate. Just think about that for a second! For your rice cake, which has about 7 g of carbs, your body will hold on to roughly 21 g of water and sodium...resulting in a possible and temporary water weight gain.
So, when you cut carbs from your diet, your body isn't holding that water and you may drop weight quickly. As long as you don't add the carbs back in, you may even keep it off for a while. But, if you add in carbs, and especially if you do it quickly, YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT. It may just be water weight, but you will jump up. For most people, this is what sends them spiraling out of control, because they are frustrated and thats understandable.
You need carbs to get in a good workout. Workouts help you reach your goals...so eat your carbs. If it makes you feel better to stick to natural sources, that's awesome! Berries are a great option because they have a ton of micronutrients and you can have so many strawberries for 20 g of carbs. Cutting out an entire food group, or in this case, attempting to cut out an entire macronutrient option is just not a good idea and I can almost guarantee that you will regret it, especially after a few days on "no" carbs and you see someone with a cookie! Find your balance, if you need help with that just reach out and ask! I could talk your ear off, but just wanted to put a little tid bit out there for now!
I'll include some articles below for more information.
Glycogen storage- Illusion of easy weight loss: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/56/1/292S.abstract
Glycogen Metabolism: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21190/
Can a high carb diet cause you to retain water?: http://www.livestrong.com/article/309135-can-a-high-carb-diet-cause-you-to-retain-water/
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Beefy Pumpkin Tarts
Beefy Pumpkin Tarts
Ingredients:
1 pound of 93% lean
ground beef
1 TB garlic powder
.5 TB McCormick
Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup pumpkin puree
(add salt, cinnamon and McCormick seasoning to taste, about .25 tsp each)
1 bag of steamable
veggies (I used Archer Farms sweet potato, kale and cranberry mix)
2 Pillsbury Thick Pizza
Crusts
1 TB Kerrygold butter
1 TB parmesan
(optional)
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Traffic, Disneyland and Muffin Cookies
It has been a week, let me tell ya. I'm the kind of person that professionally stresses, like really...when is someone going to start paying me for all of this stressing I do? This week, I have my final project for a Sports Finance class to do, the class is the last one in my Sports Management graduate certificate to go with my Masters, and I just want it done. The class is pretty far over my head, I'm not a balance sheet kind of girl. So, I decided that I would take the kids to Disneyland this last Thursday for some magical R&R before diving into this powerpoint over the weekend. I wanted to get there when they opened, because the lines are shorter and they do some special stuff with the characters in Toontown first thing in the morning.
So, we left at 6:30 in the morning...and I hit the worst traffic EVER. Siri had me weaving through side streets to avoid the terrible freeway, and then dumped me at a freeway entrance that took almost an hour to get onto with the traffic lights and congestion. We finally get to Disneyland, Cora has been screaming the whole way, and they loop me around the park three times before sending me into the parking lot that is furthest away. Now, here's the thing, I go to Disneyland sometimes for my cardio! So the walk wasn't really a problem, except that I had been in my car for an extra hour and a half and really had to pee. I unload the car and load the stroller only to realize there is a piece of metal sticking out of my low tire. I call Vic freaking out, and we decide to call USAA and have roadside assistance meet me after I get a few hours of Mickey with the kids. Fast forward to running back out to the car, it turns out the metal was barely in there (I didn't mess with it too much for fear of creating a leak) and we were on our way home. There were so many tears from all three of us in the car, but in the end the day was great and I actually wanted to try again the next day. Disney problem much, anyone?
Days like that are great for perspective, and helped my parenting a bit. I was a terrible Mom in the car, despite the whole trip being about giving the kids and I a great day! Cora wants to hold my hand, from the back seat, while we drive. All the time! So, she's screaming at me, Ryker wanted her to be quiet and wanted to know when we would be at Disneyland and traffic was making me crazy. I muttered to myself that I was going to throw Cora out the window if she didn't shush, and that sent Ryker over the edge. "Don't throw Cora out the window, Mom! She's my best friend!" It took a good 20 minutes to calm him down and convince him that I didn't mean it, that I was just frustrated. He's so aware, and at three, I forget that he's turning into a real little person, he's not a baby anymore. He thanked me and apologized for "making you impossibly crazy" all day. All I wanted to do was ease his little mind's worries and get a smile on his face, and Disneyland never fails there! I generally have a long fuse with the kids, but with my prep and everything it has definitely gotten shorter. That morning was a reminder that I chose to do this for me and I need to keep my shit together for them!
Now, on to the fun stuff. The recipe I'm going to share is from a family cookbook. It is supposed to be muffins, but I baked them as cookies to make it easier for Cora to hold them. I don't suggest the cookie route, they were too moist and Ryker got weirded out, so, we'll stick to muffins! It's been hard for me to not snack on these all day, they've got a good amount of pumpkin and banana, so they're healthy in my book, haha! I ran the macros for the recipe done as cookies, and for 40 little cookies it came to roughly 120 calories, 4 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein. Let me know if you try them!
So, we left at 6:30 in the morning...and I hit the worst traffic EVER. Siri had me weaving through side streets to avoid the terrible freeway, and then dumped me at a freeway entrance that took almost an hour to get onto with the traffic lights and congestion. We finally get to Disneyland, Cora has been screaming the whole way, and they loop me around the park three times before sending me into the parking lot that is furthest away. Now, here's the thing, I go to Disneyland sometimes for my cardio! So the walk wasn't really a problem, except that I had been in my car for an extra hour and a half and really had to pee. I unload the car and load the stroller only to realize there is a piece of metal sticking out of my low tire. I call Vic freaking out, and we decide to call USAA and have roadside assistance meet me after I get a few hours of Mickey with the kids. Fast forward to running back out to the car, it turns out the metal was barely in there (I didn't mess with it too much for fear of creating a leak) and we were on our way home. There were so many tears from all three of us in the car, but in the end the day was great and I actually wanted to try again the next day. Disney problem much, anyone?
Days like that are great for perspective, and helped my parenting a bit. I was a terrible Mom in the car, despite the whole trip being about giving the kids and I a great day! Cora wants to hold my hand, from the back seat, while we drive. All the time! So, she's screaming at me, Ryker wanted her to be quiet and wanted to know when we would be at Disneyland and traffic was making me crazy. I muttered to myself that I was going to throw Cora out the window if she didn't shush, and that sent Ryker over the edge. "Don't throw Cora out the window, Mom! She's my best friend!" It took a good 20 minutes to calm him down and convince him that I didn't mean it, that I was just frustrated. He's so aware, and at three, I forget that he's turning into a real little person, he's not a baby anymore. He thanked me and apologized for "making you impossibly crazy" all day. All I wanted to do was ease his little mind's worries and get a smile on his face, and Disneyland never fails there! I generally have a long fuse with the kids, but with my prep and everything it has definitely gotten shorter. That morning was a reminder that I chose to do this for me and I need to keep my shit together for them!
Now, on to the fun stuff. The recipe I'm going to share is from a family cookbook. It is supposed to be muffins, but I baked them as cookies to make it easier for Cora to hold them. I don't suggest the cookie route, they were too moist and Ryker got weirded out, so, we'll stick to muffins! It's been hard for me to not snack on these all day, they've got a good amount of pumpkin and banana, so they're healthy in my book, haha! I ran the macros for the recipe done as cookies, and for 40 little cookies it came to roughly 120 calories, 4 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein. Let me know if you try them!
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Head down, thoughts high
Yesterday was my Grandmother’s birthday, she turned 75! Her birthday happens to be my half birthday, which has been a fun little thing for us to share and laugh about for years. When I called her yesterday, we spoke about what is going on in her life (she’s about to move closer to all of us), and she asked about how my competition prep is going. I told her about how Vic and I both had the flu this week, and how after 8 weeks of prepping, I’m starting to get burnt out and a little frustrated. I told her that I didn’t know if I could ever do this again, that I love the results but that the grind and focus on needing to do more is starting to wear me down.
As I sit here this morning, drinking my coffee in my silent, sleepy house on a Saturday morning, I am reflecting on that conversation, and a number of other conversations that I’ve had with Vic and my Mom lately in regards to competition prep. I’m typically an all or nothing kind of person, if something doesn’t grab me enough to be an “all”, it will usually end up a nothing. I’ll just move on. There have been a few times that I’ve told Vic “I don’t want to do this anymore”, “I don’t know how people can do this, this sucks”. But then I shut up and I eat my perfectly portioned meal, I drag myself to the gym and I get the work done. While I may have had some growing pains throughout the last couple of months, this has been my “all”. I’ve bitched and moaned about it, but instead of quitting and finding a way to justify moving past this, I’ve fought to continue this prep, to continue to push myself further and find what happens when I commit to changes and new challenges.
 |
| My competition suit! |
As I sit here this morning, drinking my coffee in my silent, sleepy house on a Saturday morning, I am reflecting on that conversation, and a number of other conversations that I’ve had with Vic and my Mom lately in regards to competition prep. I’m typically an all or nothing kind of person, if something doesn’t grab me enough to be an “all”, it will usually end up a nothing. I’ll just move on. There have been a few times that I’ve told Vic “I don’t want to do this anymore”, “I don’t know how people can do this, this sucks”. But then I shut up and I eat my perfectly portioned meal, I drag myself to the gym and I get the work done. While I may have had some growing pains throughout the last couple of months, this has been my “all”. I’ve bitched and moaned about it, but instead of quitting and finding a way to justify moving past this, I’ve fought to continue this prep, to continue to push myself further and find what happens when I commit to changes and new challenges.
 |
| First progress picture |
I hit a new low this morning, so maybe that’s where this veiled positivity is coming from. My coach is hoping we’ll break in to the 120’s at the end of prep, and we are quickly approaching what I thought was an outrageous scenario. I’ve focused on how hard this is, how much I hate it and how I just want to have different goals, and yet I fight for this one, I’ve been desperately clinging to my need to finish this, and to finish strong. Maybe I secretly love this? While the road to the results may suck a bit, I think I’ve found one of the best examples of my personal version of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Competition prep is not for the light hearted, and I don’t know that now, being 8 weeks in and just under 7 weeks out, if I would suggest it to majority of the people I know, but I do suggest this…take a second to reevaluate your words, your thoughts and your actions about the things you choose to spend your time on. I know, after my little coffee revelation this morning, I am going to grind through the next seven weeks with a different attitude. I’m going to honor this choice I made and the work I’ve put in with a positive light, with motivating thoughts and with pride, because I’ve worked too damn hard so far to not take a second and applaud what I’ve been doing.
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| 7 weeks out |
I hope that you have that something like this in your life, and
if you don’t yet, I encourage you to go ahead and jump head first in to that
project you’ve been thinking about. Especially those of us that are parents and
give so much to our families, work on you, and don’t feel guilty about it! And
above all, take a second to look at your attitude and adjust accordingly. Now,
I need a new cup of coffee.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
All Star Weekend
“It
was there during an NBA’s Board of Governors meeting, USA Today sports later
reported, that Warriors President Rick Welts — who is openly gay — told league
owners that he would not feel comfortable attending the All-Star Game in
Charlotte given the passage of North Carolina House Bill 2, a law that removed
some anti-discrimination protections from gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people” (Dawson, 2016).
For
practically any big event, from the Olympics, to the Super Bowl, rugby and
soccer tournaments, and of course, the NBA All Star Game, there is some sort of
bidding process that takes place, where large cities across the United States
put together their best package to offer to the leaders of professional sports
leagues, in an effort to have the opportunity to play host to some of the
world’s largest sporting events. In theory, cities will see economic boosts
from hosting an event, especially if they already have the infrastructure in
place. In some other cases, like the very recent Rio Olympics, it may be a
struggle to pull together what is needed to seamlessly host a successful event.
The
NBA All Star game occurs every Spring, and is an opportunity to show case some
of the more fun aspects of Basketball, like slam dunk contests and skills challenges.
Like many other events, it moves every year to a new city. The 2017 All Star
Game was being planned for Charlotte, NC. On July 21, 2016, the NBA announced
that due to conflicting opinions and values in regards to a recent law that was
passed in North Carolina that has been criticized as discriminatory against
LGBT people in the state, they will not be bringing their game, nor the out of
town fans and economic boost to North Carolina. “We know that hosting an NBA All-Star Game generates a
healthy seven-, eight-figure economic impact,” Gahl said. “There’s also a
marketing win in hosting a major sporting event.” (Taylor, 2016)
Of
course, other cities jumped at the opportunity to put in their bid, but
considering that the conversation was beginning in July, and the game occurs in
February, there was little time to be wasted. New Orleans was recently awarded
the All Star Game, after rushing to quickly deliver their package, representing
the ability to excitement of the city in reference to the opportunity. “In less than a month,
city officials cleared significant hotel space, moved major events and
convinced the league that New Orleans was prepared for an influx of additional
visitors on the already-crowded weekend that opens Mardi Gras” (Dawson, 2016).
Beyond
the need for any city that hopes to host this event to show that they have the
ability to house the many pieces of the All Star Game, to offer hospitality
services to the influx of fans and just generally pull off the weekend, there
is now a new factor that is being considered. Does the NBA, the back office
officials, the players and the fans, want to be associated with your city and
its politics? This brings a crazy new element to state politics, will a change
in laws create a huge political AND economic backlash if they create outcasts? “Louisiana
is the only state in its footprint — including Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia,
Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina, which have NBA cities — that has a state
law prohibiting discrimination against public employees based on sexual
orientation and gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign. That
protection is the result of an executive order signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards
in April” (Dawson, 2016)
Other
cities are not wasting time in their attempt to lure the All Star Game to their
homes and their stadiums over the years, and bidding will start soon for 2019. “Indiana
Sports Corp. would look to secure sponsorships for the event and Visit Indy
would ensure the availability for hotels and the convention center…We know that
hosting an NBA All-Star Game generates a healthy seven-, eight-figure economic
impact,” Gahl said. “There’s also a marketing win in hosting a major sporting
event.” (Taylor, 2016)
With
this new element added to the mix, it will be interesting to see how the All
Star Game travels around the country from here on out.
REFERENCES
Dawson, B. (2016, August 19). 'A huge whirlwind': How New Orleans landed the NBA All-Star Game in 29 days. Retrieved August 24, 2016, from http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/sports/pelicans/article_2df9d922-6661-11e6-8efb-eb99929198f4.html
NBA All-Star Game History. (n.d.).
Retrieved August 24, 2016, from http://www.nba.com/history/all-star/
Steinmetz, K. (2016, July 24). The NBA
Took the All-Star Game Away From Charlotte. Here's Why It Matters. Retrieved
August 24, 2016, from
http://time.com/4419503/nba-all-star-game-charlotte-north-carolina-lgbt/
Taylor, N. (2016, February 13). Pacers
to make case for hosting NBA's All Star Game. Retrieved August 24, 2016, from
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2016/02/13/pacers-plan-make-case-hosting-nba-all-star-game/80341416/
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