hairitis

[hairitis]

Aaaaaand, here’s my video wrapup of #SnatchedForSummer, which includes some profile progress photos that I didn’t bother to post earlier. That’s a wrap!

[hairitis]

[hairitis]

It’s over, Johnny. IT’S OVER! #SnatchedForSummer

I just put a salad in my face, and my day is done. I’m both excited and nervous to see what my final photos and weigh-out will be, tomorrow morning. I just don’t want to be disappointed. I did two workouts today, as planned. A metcon circuit in the morning, and then a flexibility class with some light exercises mixed in, tonight. Okay, I guess it was really more like one workout and a half, but the walk to the stretching class is a little over 2 miles, round trip. That counts for something. Now that I’m regaining some body confidence from my trimmer physique, I think I’ll finally do another lookbook (or is it “look book”?), on my YT channel. People have been asking for more fashion videos, after I did that one lookbook/look book, last November. It’s kind of funny, because that was totally spontaneous. I decided to do it the day before I filmed it, and was ill prepared for the demands of doing that type of video. Anyway, I’m feeling more comfortable in my own skin, thanks to #SnatchedForSummer, so yeah, I think I’d be okay with showing y'all some outfits. And, I actually have a cool idea for a theme/motif, too. I’m off to bed, soon. I’m going to CrossFit in the morning, so I can get a bit of a pump for my final photos. Yes, it’s that serious. To all of you who stuck it out through all 6 weeks of this challenge with me, I appreciate you more than you know. And, congratulations to you on making positive changes in your life. Hopefully, we’re all looking a bit (or, A LOT) more snatched than we were a month and a half ago.

XX

[hairitis]

Well, here’s the video follow-up to my previous post about trying out bootleg Curlformers. They definitely have their downside, compared to real Curlformers, but I’m pretty impressed with how well my hair is stretched, right now. Glad to have these in my arsenal! I’ll just have to be really cautious, with using them.

[hairitis]

Curlfauxmers (a.k.a. Bootleg Curlformers), Attempt #1

Trying the Curlformers again, but this time, I’m using some bootleg ones I got off of eBay. And, fret not, YT fam. I did film myself installing a few, and will be filming the takedown/1st impressions (once they’re out of my head, that is…I’m sitting here typing this whilst they’re still in, since I just finished installing them all moments ago). The installation took me 2 hours, maybe a bit less. It felt pretty fast to me, so I was surprised to discover it had taken me that long. Just part of the finger detangling life, I guess. One annoying this is that I purchased these Curlfauxmers in a 25" length, since the real deal ones that I have are 22", and those turned out to be too short for several sections of my hair. Worse still, the new 25" ones I just got also appear to be too short for some parts of my hair (not as many parts as the 22", though), so I was quite shocked/pissed/pleasantly surprised. I mean, because I don’t think my hair is longer than 25". But, I guess some of it could be? I guess I should be stoked, and not pissed. But, it is still really annoying to have JUST invested in a set of curlers that I’ve already somewhat outgrown! I’d wanted to pick up the 29" ones, originally, and be done with it once and for all. But, the the eBay seller was out of stock on them. Gaaah. Anyway, plan is to leave these in overnight, taking advantage of sleeping on my shaved side, like last time. Still won’t be a picnic, though. Video of the whole experience is coming soon!

[hairitis]

ONE. MORE. WEEK. #SnatchedForSummer

Yeah. That happened, last weekend. I’ve been MIA a few days, because I went on vacation. Actually, I went on BEYcation, because I went to see Beyoncé in San Diego, and then in San Francisco. I know I am ridiculous, and I have no regrets whatsoever. And, seeing Beyoncé’s body definitely reignited my motivation to get snatched. Her ass is, legit, inspiring. Whilst I was away, I stuck to my normal eating as best I could, without going as far as asking wait staff “Is there soy in that?” But, I did indulge in alcohol, which put me over my calorie budget 4 or 5 days. It didn’t feel good to see that in my Lose It! log, but I own my choices. I also managed to get in a proper workout, when I was on vacation. On top of that, I was walking a ton (over five miles, on one of the days in SD), and dancing my ass off at the Beyoncé shows. I think I could’ve done a lot worse. Today I got back to business, and did a proper CrossFit workout this morning, at my local spot. Deadlifts building up to 90% of 1RM, plus a metcon afterward of power cleans and over-the-bar burpees. Since I don’t really know what my 1RM is on either lift, at the moment, I went pretty light on both. Maxed out at 180# on the deadlifts, and went with 75# on the cleans. Rx was 110#, and there was no way I was doing that, since I haven’t been doing CrossFit/heavy lifts for a couple years, now. I’m excited to have a breather, after this challenge is over. It’ll let me scratch any itches I have, craving-wise. But, I think I’ll be launching right into my next challenge in 1-2 weeks, after this one closes. Hopefully, my YT fam will be on board with another challenge coming so soon, because they really do help me stay accountable!

[hairitis]

Turkey, This Time

#TurkeyBurglar

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I Call This “Not Annie”

50-40-30-20-10 d-unders squats sit-ups This is the workout I did today, putting a spin on the CrossFit benchmark wod “Annie” (my favorite wod of all time). Years ago, when I was in beast mode full time, I was able to do Annie in under 5 minutes. This bitchier version of Annie, with the squats added in, took me 14:31– which is a sad state of affairs. I’d like to be able to complete this in 9 minutes or less, by the winter, so it’s time to put in some WORK.

[hairitis]

ROASTED GARLIC LETTUCE-WRAPPED BURGER = LUNCH (And it’s only around 300 calories!)

[hairitis]

#SnatchedForSummer - Halfway There!

So, this is where I am, so far. The photo on the left is from day 2, because I am an idiot and forgot to take pictures on day 1 until it was really late in the day, and I didn’t have enough light to get a good shot. The photo on the right is from this morning. Not a massive change, but a noticeable one, nonetheless. My love handles are smaller. My hips and thighs are less sloppy. And, the definition in my abs is coming back. Week 3 has been the toughest, workout-wise. Toward the end of week 2 and the beginning of this week, my energy has been on the low side. So, I was sticking to walking a good deal during that time, rather than my usual kettlebells, CrossFit, etc. I think I’m going to have to find a good balance between super tough workouts, and not-so-demanding stuff, like long walks. I’m still aiming to get in 4 tough workouts each week, though. Yesterday, that manifested as a Flywheel class, at 7:15am. It was an absolute shit show, but I got through it. Today, I’m hitting up that CrossFit/stretching class that I’ve mentioned before. Tomorrow and Saturday, I’m planning to train at home. I’m glad I took photos, though, because it is quite sobering to see what a mess I was, at the start, and it is encouraging to see what difference can be made in just 3 weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing what more I can accomplish in the remaining 3!

[hairitis]

#SnatchedForSummer Officially *Feels* Like a “Challenge”

I mean, I don’t feel that bad. But, the fatigue is real. I suspect my body is really just beginning to detox from all the sugar, wheat, alcohol, etc. that I was enjoying before the challenge began. And, since I’ve been feeling so low energy, I’ve relied on having a little green tea before my workouts to help perk me up, and I walked 4+ miles on Friday and yesterday in lieu of my usual metabolic conditioning. In fact, I suckered the boyfriend into walking with me, and we turned it into a movie date. We caught an early show of Green Room (it was actually pretty good!), and then hit up one of my go-to spots for lunch afterward, Tender Greens.

My eyes turned out to be bigger than my stomach, so I wound up splitting that tuna plate into lunch *and* dinner. Perhaps I’m beginning to adjust to the reduced caloric intake? I dunno. My energy level would indicate otherwise. Other than feeling tired, though, I do feel pretty good. Also, I finally made paleo-friendly coconut flour pancakes this morning. I’ve been meaning to try this out for, literally, about 3 years. And, today I learned, coconut flour pancakes are kind of hard to flip. Exhibit A: The pancake in the upper right corner of my skillet.

Regardless of the minor technical difficulties that arose whilst making these pancakes, I’m REALLY excited about how they turned out.

I was delighted to notice that they, indeed, smelled like pancakes, after a minute or so on the griddle. The recipe I followed yielded 4 pancakes, each about 3" to 4" in diameter. We’re going to ignore the fact that the recipe indicated I should have gotten *twice* as many pancakes as that… Once they were done, I ate just one (pretty much just picked it up and ate it like a cookie; I don’t often eat syrup with my pancakes, because I am weird like that and tend to prefer them raw dog), and wrapped the rest up to enjoy later. Oh, and I also had 2 eggs with some mashed avocado, just to round out my breakfast. I’m really happy about this development. I mean, I can have pancakes?! I’ll admit coconut flour pancakes definitely not exactly like eating traditional pancakes, but they’re pretty fucking tasty, especially since I love coconut, already. And, it was pretty easy to figure out the nutritional breakdown, using my Lose It! app. Basically, one pancake worked out to be 250 calories– which is why I made sure to put the rest AWAY for now. It’s not a low calorie food, or anything, but it’ll be so handy for weekends, when I’m craving pancakes. Considering that I wake up craving pancakes every single day Sunday, this is truly an exciting development.

[hairitis]

#SnatchedForSummer Week 2 Wrap-up

Taking a break from the Nicoise Life. Today will bring week 2 of the #SnatchedForSummer Fitness Challenge to a close. But, my WOD is still ahead of me. I’ll be burning one of my ClassPass sessions for a CrossFit/Stretch class at 7p. I went to this class last Thursday night, and since I detest stretching, I thought it would be good for me to do again. Basically, you do a WOD, but then you a guided stretch and foam roll, at the end. Quite frankly, I’ll only stretch if someone else makes me do it, so it’s definitely a god one for me. Once that workout is on the books, it’ll bring me to a total of 5 workouts + 1 pretty-doggone-long walk, for week 2. My energy this week has been in the gutter, which I attribute to the adjustment period of going h.a.m. again in my workouts after some time off, as well cutting calories. Counting calories has been going pretty well, but it’s also provided some sobering insight into just how much I was eating before. For years, I preached that what I ate mattered far more that how much I ate. But, if that were 100% true, I probably wouldn’t have gotten stuck at the same weight, despite clean eating and exercise. So, I’m eating just under 1,600 calories a day, though I do earn a bit more calorie budget each day from my workouts. Supposedly, sticking to this amount of food per day will get me to my goal at a rate of about 1 to 1 ½ pounds lost per week. And, while I haven’t weighed myself since day 2 (forgot to do it on day 1…), I think I’m looking a lot more like my normal, “living right” self. The bloatation is signifcantly reduced, and my legs are less fluffy. I think by week 3, I’ll really start to regain some confidence in my botty (read: “body”). I’ve been coping with the fatigue well enough. I’ve been getting a little extra sleep. And, there have been a couple days when my body is screaming “REST DAY NOW PLZ OK THANKS BYEEEEEE.” So, if my mind’s telling me “nooooo,” but my booodddyyyyy is telling me “yeeeehhheeeesssss,” I don’t see nothing wrong with a rest day. Well, maybe an *active rest* day, where I go for a walk or some ish. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. I’m hoping to adjust a bit more in week 3, but the truth is, weight loss is pretty taxing on the body. I’ve been through this many times before, and I always forget just how much of a strain it can actually be. But, when I imagine being at my goal, it’s all worth it.

[hairitis]

#SnatchedForSummer Week 1 = DONE

Another day, another Nicoise. Can’t stop/won’t stop. I just fatfucked some lunch (pictured), and I am feeling a lot better than I did half an hour ago. Cutting/counting my calories has been taking some adjustment; but, overall, it has been quite pleasant! I am very surprised! This first week of the challenge went fucking great for me. Usually, when I start one of these things, I like and need to do 1-3 days of detox, usually via juicing. You know, to help sweat out all that sugar and bullshit in one go, so I’m not plagued by cravings for weeks on end. But, I didn’t really want to do that this time. On the other hand, I was worried about my willpower to actually stick to my program, if I was still allowed to eat realtively freely the first few days. But, knowing that there are other people doing this challenge with me kept me honest. And, I do feel a certain, healthy pressure to keep my nose clean and set a good example, since I’m, you know, leading the challenge, and all. It’s only been a week of eating 100% cleanly again, and I’m pleased as punch that it went so smoothly, and that I don’t have intense cravings for junk food. My free trial week at the CrossFit gym is pretty much over, which is a bummer, because I really have been liking it. But, with my ClassPass membership, I’ll be able to go there a couple more times, before my ClassPass first month is up. I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to cancel the ClassPass after that, but I *offically* have my home gym back, so it could really go either way. I’m fickle like that! To my surprise, I was toying with the idea of joining the CrossFit gym for realsies, even if only for a couple of months. Problem is, shit is MAD expensive. Like, my old CrossFit gym was already expensive. But, this place makes my old gym seem like a bargain basement box. Of course, this place has the added allure of being walking distance from my apartment… Anyway, week 1 was mostly WODs at the gym, along with Flywheel at 7:15am today. I am NOT a morning person, but I’ve been feeling super motivated to get up and make my workouts every day this week, except Monday, of course. After just one week, I feel a lot less bloated, and my sleep quality is way higher. I’m really looking forward to seeing what other improvements come in week 2!

[hairitis]

7 A.M.

A Tabata day is a good day.

[hairitis]

@spicy.mayo

[hairitis]

#SnatchedForSummer: Day 4

Well, slight change of plans for today.  I was going to hit the CrossFit gym to work out at 7am this morning, but like a thief in the night, Aunt Flo came to town (”Aunt Flo”?  HOW OLD AM I?!?!), and stole my energy.  So, I woke up around 5:30 feeling too crampy and drained to handle box jumps and the like, and let myself get a bit more sleep. It’s nearly noon, now, and I feel much better.  Hardly a shadow of a cramp, a just a touch of bloating.  But, my motivation level is pretty good, so I think that, rather than take the day completely off, I’ll go for a walk later, after the sun starts to set so it won’t be so doggone hot. Right, so that’s sort of it.  Looks like I did end up doing 3 days on, 1 day off, to kick off this challenge, after all.  But, I expect I’ll be able to bump it up to 4 days by next week.  It’s probably better not to go h.a.m. too soon, anyway. How about y’all?  How’s your Monday going?

[hairitis]

This Is What My Morning Looked Like. #SnatchedForSummer: Day 3 Well, it’s day 3 of the first ever #SnatchedForSummer Fitness Challenge. I’m so sore that I can barely walk down a flight of stairs. And, I feel excellent. Almost immediately after cutting the shit from my diet, and resuming proper workouts, my mood, sleep quality and motivation have all improved a great deal. Sure, I may look like an 80 year old man trying to get off the toilet, every time I pee, but I honestly don’t mind being sore. In a perverse way, I find it fun. I guess I like to feel my muscles, and know that I’ve done something to for my body. In completely atypical fashion, I haven’t planned out my first week/first few weeks of workouts. I still don’t have my living room ready for me to work out at home yet, which is a big part of how I got into trouble in the first place, with slacking off. So, I joined ClassPass the night before the challenge kicked off, getting the mini pack of 6 classes/month, rather than unlimited. It’s pretty expensive, in my opinion, so I figured I should start small, since I’ll most likely cancel before the month is over, once I’m able to work out at home again. Then, while perusing which classes I wanted to take for the first week of workouts in the challenge, I decided to go over to the websites for the various gyms and studios I was considering. I wanted to see if they offered free classes and stuff like that for first timers. That way, I’d be able to get a bonus, free session at each place, before burning any of my ClassPass sessions. Long story short, I scored a free class at a circuit training place for Friday (day 1), and a free WEEK at a CrossFit gym, which I went to yesterday and today. Both places are walking distance from where I live, so my plan is to finish out the week at the CrossFit gym, since it’s free. Following that, I’ll start to dip into my ClassPass stash. What can I say? I love to stretch a dollar. By the time that’s all done, I’ll have my living room back, and will be able to do my own thing again. My meals have been pretty simple. Eggs and avocado for breakfast, adding in some fruit yesterday and today. And, I’ve had mostly salads for my other meals. I don’t like to fuss too much over my food. Just keep out the bullshit (dairy, grains, soy, sugar), and I’m good. I also downloaded an app to help me count calories. I DETEST counting calories. But, I’m up a somewhat shocking amount of pounds right now (I’d estimated 8, but based on a weigh-in yesterday, it’s nearly twice that amount!). Plus, I still keep getting stuck at the same weight, when I’m trimmer, and can’t get past it to reach my goal. So, the only simple answer to why I’ve been plateaued for over a year is that I’m eating too goddamn much, even when I’m eating well. My friend Dave Lacey has successfully lost over 100 pounds over the past 2 years or so, and every time I see him, he looks even trimmer and more vibrant. His secret? Counting calories. Only recently did he actually start working out again, so his success is truly inspiring. I asked him a few months ago what app he used, and finally broke down and downloaded it last night. It’s this one, if you’re interested. To my surprise, I’ve really enjoyed using it, so far! It’s sort of like a game, where you can put in your food and activity, and make sure you don’t go over your budget for the day. And, when you first set up your profile, you can tell it how much weight you want to lose, and how fast, and it tailors your daily calorie budget accordingly. Back in the day, there were no apps for that. You had to write shit down, add it up yourself– possibly even carry around a Calorie King book with you, just so you’d have a reference to look things up (remember, we didn’t always have computers in our pockets). It was a fucking nightmare. I’m so relieved to see that calorie counting doesn’t have to be that bad, thanks to modern technology. When I woke up today, I’d planned to do 3 days on, 1 day off, with my workouts for the first 1-2 weeks, as I work on getting my conditioning back. But, I felt so great walking home from my workout this morning, I kind of want to do it again tomorrow. So, I may move up to 4 days on, 1 day off, sooner than planned. Despite the pain from DOMS, I’m feeling really happy, hopeful, excited and encouraged by how this challenge has started for me. I hope any of you participating are thriving!