The Whole Life Challenge Is On!

Tuesday, Jan. 14th: I'm pretty excited about my success through day 4 of the WLC. I've been perfect in my eating and other scoring. No cheats - at all. For those of you that aren't in the know, the WLC is a Paleo based challenge that incorporates other lifestyle aspects, as well, and Crossfit Littleton is hosting a team this winter with big prizes to the top 3 winners. So, in a nutshell, the rules are: no sugar of any kind, nothing artificial, no added chemicals, no grains, no dairy, etc. and no alcohol. There is also a daily requirement of taking a supplement (I do fish oil), 10 minutes each of exercise and stretching and one "lifestyle" requirement (the first 2 weeks is to drink 1/2 oz of water for every pound of body weight). So, basically, nothing processed. Eat real, whole food: meat, eggs, fish, chicken, lots of fruits and veggies. Makes perfect sense.

We also did our pre-WLC workout, measurements and photos at the gym on Saturday and lets just say, I was not thrilled with the results. I knew it wasn't going to be good, but I wasn't prepared for my hips and waist to be inches bigger than where I started the challenge last year. My hips are nearing 40 inches!!! Ouch. Although, after much thought, I realized that I've been doing a lot of squatting at the gym. Squats build glutes. So there.

So, without further ado, I present you with my "before" photos.

 

Tuesday, Jan. 21, day 11: I'm happy to report that I am still perfect for point scoring except for one missed workout day. I've been on my bike trainer a few times for 60 minute interval training sessions and my long run on Saturday was great; a full 1 minute average pace faster than my last 8 mile run about 3 weeks ago. Granted, there was a bit of snow and ice on the trail that day, but even so, I felt better on this recent run. I felt "bouncy"! I walked at the mile marks and sometimes a few seconds in between, but I'm OK with that. I'm training for an Ironman, after all. I expect to walk. A lot. Hopefully not A LOT, a lot, but lets face it, there will be walking. Especially on the hills. And I hear there are a lot of hills.

As of this past Saturday, I was also down 2 pounds from weigh-in day, so I'm happy about that, too! The eating part has been pretty easy, as I've been working pretty diligently to do lots of prep on the weekends. Now, when we open the fridge, just about 90% of the food in there is WLC compliant. That makes it really easy to put together a healthful and satisfying meal at moments notice. Oh, and Jason is down about 15 pounds in 10 days. Men! (I'm so proud of him.)

I haven't been hungry much between meals so the snacking is at a minimum, which is kind of the point. And my workouts have been strong and steady. No light-headedness or weakness.

That's all for now. Keep on Keepin' On!