Round 2!!

It is time to rock another 24 day challenge!!!

What hard do you choose? 

At the beginning of the summer I decided to hop on the AdvoCare bandwagon that I was seeing on the Facebook. I had been doing CrossFit since January and had already run 3 half marathons, yet I was dissatisfied with what I saw when I looked in the mirror. How could I work out so much and not see any tone and still feel lethargic? For me AdvoCare was such a positive experience. During my last 24 Day Challenge I lost 11 pounds and 8 inches from my body. I not only saw my energy quadruple, but I was also able to commit more of myself to my workouts. During the challenge I committed to and ran my first FULL MARATHON. (I will never do that again without training, but I like to think AdvoCare helped make that stupid choice manageable.)

For the sake of full disclosure I am going to show you all my before shots taken today.

For comparison's sake these were my before pictures in June when I did my first 24 Day Challenge:

I hadn't weighed myself or taken measurements since I moved down here, so it was exciting to see the numbers weren't nearly as disappointing as the numbers in my head. 

Damn that voice in my head that distorts everything. 

[Unfortunately I acquired a loud voice when I was a coxswain in high school and college. Much like horse jockeys we are encouraged to be as close to the minimum allowable weight as possible. In college that meant I needed to try and be as close to 110lb. as possible. I am short, but I haven't weighed less than 117 since my freshman year of college. For most of college, and to be honest sometimes today, I feel unworthy if I am not near that weight. For years I was weighed in at the boathouse and nosy people would inquire about my weight. I constantly felt judged and felt that my worth was based upon my weight.  Well ladies and gentlemen I am nowhere near that weight, but I am loving everything that my body does for me and that is way more important than any number on a scale.]

I was convinced I had gained several pounds, but nope, I actually weigh less than when I finished my last challenge. I think part of this has been because I haven't been incorporating heavy lifting as much, and as such have probably lost a fair amount of muscle. That being said look at this sweet flex shot: 

Definitely not my prettiest face, and I have no idea why I always have a three pack... but this is why we are doing the challenge right?! Maybe that fourth one will finally come out and join the party. 

After all... 

If anything this is what I have taken away from my experience with AdvoCare - working out only gets you so far. Knowing how to fuel your body is so important to seeing results.

That and drinking a lot of water. 

The 24 day challenge is the first thing that has finally gotten me to monitor and maintain my water intake. At first it was so hard to fit in a gallon a day, but now it is second nature. I can really feel the difference when I don't drink enough. Crazy how a little thing like H2O can change you energy and happiness levels. 

Back to the fuel. I know that my body is the most happy when I cut out gluten, coffee, soda and refined sugars. I also know that the structure of AdvoCare helps me to stay on track. When you write up a long list of everything you can't eat, it makes the whole experience a lot more intimidating and seem a lot less attainable. 

                                                                                    

Over the weekend I met up with some Running for Brews peeps to paddleboard and run through some beach "training." 

I know I shouldn't compare my body to other people's, but when I saw these pictures this morning my first thought was "Thank god you started the challenge today." Knowing that I am in control of my body, how it looks and how I feel about it makes it a lot easier to see pictures of me in my swimsuit on the interwebs. 

Tic-Tac-Toe... literally! 

Hating me some thrusters right about now... 

                                                                                    

Yesterday was my first class of graduate school. It is just an hour long discussion session, since the real lecture is available online. I already love the professor and can't wait to learn more from her. I knew I needed to sweat some nerves out, so I headed to the gym to check out the spin class. 

BEST. IDEA. EVER. 

I loved the class. It was the instructor's first week and she rocked it. Her energy was perfect, I loved the music and she had a good mix of hills, jumps and other fun bits. We even did a Tabata! Loved it. 

I did not however love this sketchy locker room. I am only 5'2 and I could barely fit under the shower head... might have to re-think the workoutbeforeclass thing! 

                                                                                    

Tuesday night the rec center held an open house and I went with a few friends to check out the different club sports teams. The triathlon club was really friendly and I am definitely going to have to go to their meeting to check them out further. I also got some info from the club swim team. I love swimming, but I get bored of it really fast and am not good at imagining programming to keep me interested. I think joining other people in the pool will help a lot! 

I also found out about an opportunity to become certified as a group fitness instructor through the rec center. The idea is to interview before the training, so that they only train people they would like to hire. What a great job for me!! I would love to get paid for workouts that I am going to do anyways. 

That's about all I got for you for tonight. Tomorrow I have 7 hours of orientation for my diagnostic clinic rotation. We will learn a lot of the basics of administering the various screenings. I am excited but also apprehensive. I can't believe that this is really my life! I don't feel like I know enough to be doing this, and I am always a little afraid someone is going to notice soon that I don't deserve to be here. But that is the stupidest fear ever. I worked hard to be here and they would not have selected me if I wasn't up to the challenge! 

Now that we are back to the topic of challenges I also want to say that I am excited to cleanse my body at the start of this great new adventure that is graduate school. Moving and starting a new program has me redefining myself and acquiring new identities, it is nice to be able to foster an identity I know I already love (aka fitness junkie!). In order to keep some stability and sanity I need to be working on personal goals outside of my identity as a clinician. 

Ok, gotta get some sleep so that I can sit still tomorrow! 

xoxo Sweat&Sparkle