These are my People

~ Rodney Atkins ~

Isn't it just the most amazing feeling when someone "gets you"?  It's so tiresome defending your way of life to other people (and sadly mostly to family) that when you sit between people that are in the same boat, the universe gives a little sigh of pleasure. Be it people that want to loose weight, trying to eat healthier or doing exercise it's so much easier to communicate with these like minded souls.

I get excited when I up my front squat to 80kg. That's.Alot.Of.Fucking.Weight. I should be damned proud that my body can do this, instead I keep it to myself. Perhaps I'll post it on the Sleek Girls page, not even on the Sleek Geek page cause some of my acquaintances will see it & I'll get comments like this...

I have to look at photos of parties, gardens, children, shoes, boob selfies... and somehow me holding a weight above my head or stating that I went to the gym offends their being.  I'm desperately trying to stick to my eating plan and all they want to do is go out drinking and eat chips & potato salad. I hate that little pause over the phone when I ask if someone is bringing a green salad. You would think this nation is built upon starch...

 

Is it worth keeping these people in your life? I know it's difficult, but yes, they do have a place in your life. My friends are different & weird & wonderful & that's what makes them my friends, and they in turn love my other weird & wonderful quirks. I love my friends, but I need my online communities & my gym buddies: we support each other, we celebrate each others successes, and gladly lend a helping hand to one another when things are going down hill.

A prime example of this happened on Saturday. Our box organized a workout on the beach and for once PE's wind played along beautifully. Afterwards we all went for breakfast - and 99% of the group had some sort of query for the poor, poor confused waiter.  Is there mayo on the wraps? Salad instead of chips.  How many eggs in the scrambled eggs? Is it three? Cause I want three. Exactly three. Make sure it's full cream milk. Fresh orange juice, no, not out of a bottle fresh, actual oranges. And not once did anyone at the table look at one another funny. It was normal. It was amazing.

Since adopting Paleo I have become much more adventurous in the kitchen. Sunday night is now becoming Paleo Pancake night. Topped with berries & macadamia nut butter it was a wonderful healthy treat.

I have entered (along with thousands of others) into the Crossfit Games which starts end February. We are training hard - I've come to embrace sweaty wet underwear and a stinky body. 

After a brief WTF moment last week ("three weeks clean eating - nada to show") I have seen the light, between my legs. Hahaha... I don't care for a thigh gap, it's just nice to see my legs taking some sort of shape. Any shape. I spent the rest of the night pushing a hockey ball through the hole.

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Writing in the Margins (Part 1)

~ John Gorka ~

It seems that blogging is becoming more & more popular everyday. There are various reasons you can start a blog: simply for fun, love of an actor or a hobby, a passion for ugly Renaissance babies...  Whatever the reason, one of the key factors to be successful is having a passion for your topic. 

When I started blogging I started to connect with like-minded people. I've received so many links to other wonderful blogs simply because I started blogging. It also lets you know that you are not the only one going through a particular struggle. But mostly I use it for myself, to keep myself accountable, to give myself an outlet, and to find weird shit on the Internet. Seriously, weird, weird shit.

Blogging teaches you to write, and you need to write well not to sound like an uneducated pleb, cause who will take you seriously if if you do?  I think daily writing can only make you a better communicator, as you are constantly putting your private thoughts to "paper".  And if you have confidence in your communication skills it can only filter through to other aspects of your life.  I've found that it makes it a bit easier to socialize with people & to express my thoughts.

It also makes you do research on your topic. You know last week when I gave you some info on the Crossfit moves we were doing?  I didn't know half of that before writing the evening's post. Google becomes your research friend. Fellow bloggers become your inspiration. Mrs Prava becomes your cookbook.  Butternut & Bacon? Yes, please!

I've also found that I start to jot down notes during the day, or just bullets of topics I want to focus on. Normally I'm all over the show - jumping from one idea to the other like there's no tomorrow [Ask me about my attention deficit disorder or pie or my cat. A dog. I have a bike. Do you like tv? I saw a rock. Hi.] - so this aspect has really helped me to keep on topic. Most of the times. Sometimes.

Tonight & tomorrow I'll be continuing this post:  what I've found awesome about blogging, reasons blogging sucks some nights & how to keep track of all the spectacular ones out there.

Last night was Event 3's re-testing for the in-box challenge.  I managed to increase my ring dip pushups from 39 to 52. My boobs (pecs) are so stiff today; it hurts putting on a bra. The next challenge was a power snatch burpee combo - 10 snatches & then 10 burpees.  You have 7 minutes to complete as many rounds as you can - 6 extra reps this time round!

The power snatch works your upper back & it is especially good for your shoulders as it aggressively works the muscles that rotate the shoulders, and because you use a wider grip it also works the hamstrings, glutes & lower back muscles. It's also a much faster lift than the clean so it's good for improving your jumping ability.  Most importantly, it’s just really fun to say the word snatch in public & make crude jokes.

Officially back on the wagon yesterday after the horror of "The Weekend" - felt real good. We made the most amazing Quinoa salad that consisted of quinoa, bacon(!), yellow pepper, almonds & macadamia nuts, broccoli, cherry tomatoes & Greek yoghurt (the double fat kind).  After the previous very bland attempt this was a 100% improvement & will definitely be made again. 

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Night all!

Skull Tattoo

~ Eagle Eye Cherry ~

Like King George III wrote in his diary (apparently Google says this is a myth, but I'm still owning it): nothing important happened today. It's just a day. No intellectual insights into the human psyche, no lamenting over lost boobs, just a day. (PS: It's also the title of an X-Files episode - loved that show & had the hugest crush in high school on David Duchovney - almost this much - seriously, you have to listen to it!)

I'm quite excited for tomorrow afternoon - getting a tattoo done with BF. I've always wanted a 2nd one & BF has been wanting to get his first for a while, but neither of us could decide on something meaningful we want to ink in permanently.  But then BF came up with the amazing idea of a couples tattoo for our recent 3 year anniversary - we'd get our tattoos AND it would mean something special to the both of us. We are not sure what the final design will look like yet but it will incorporate some of the following ideas. Lu from Otherworld Tattoos in PE will be "doing" us. Will show pictures next week.

On Saturday we will be participating in the Glow Run - it's starts at 7 at night & instead of colored powder we will get splashed with florescent neon paint - cannot wait to see those photos! Baby Mama Mrs T has somehow procured 150 glow sticks - because you can find anything on the Internet. It should be fun :D

BF will probably be working for most of the weekend so that means I will catch up on my Battlefield time.  Sad that I will be missing out on Saturday morning's Crossfit WOD (cause of the tattoo).  The motions are coming a bit easier now, so I've been pushing myself a lot harder the last week and my body is definitely showing it - bruises all around!

Will be trying extra hard this weekend to keep my food on track & eat healthy - will see how it goes.

Remember to follow K&C on Google+ | Facebook | Pinterest | Bloglovin. See you on Monday!

All I want for Christmas is ....

you boobs ~ Mariah Carey ~

If you're like most girls, you have a love/hate relationship with your rack. Your boobs can act all wacko, they itch at inconvenient times, your headlights go on high alert and they disappear (99% of the time) like mist before the sun when you start loosing weight.

Now, I'd rather be fit, healthy and flat chested than overweight with boobage.  And if it bothers you that much you can always have a boob job. Your options are either fork out the cash for the op, wear a padded bra or hide all those kg's under clothes. I know my choice will be 1 or 2.

During the initial (and in my case, ongoing) stages of weight loss, women tend to lose fat in their breasts as a large majority of breast tissue is comprised of fat. Your body takes the fat from where it wants and doesn't really ask your permission first. Apparently the best thing to do is to minimize the amount of cardio performed while emphasizing weight training in an effort to increase the size of the muscles that lies underneath. It won't do much to the size, but it can perk them up slightly (i.e. no rocks in socks...)

Boob jobs are becoming so everyday now, and apart from the cost, are almost available to everyone. I'm just not sure I'll be able to sit on my ass for how ever many weeks it takes to heal up. And I've seen some baaaad side-effect from going back to the gym to soon.

Also, my new Crossfit obsession does not bode well for the gals.

On second thought - I don't mind being part of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee if I can look like these ladies.

Christmas Abbott & Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

I remember my Gran's advice: squeeze a tennis ball between your hands, elbows up & say "I must, I must, I must increase my bust", while squeezing the ball.  I wonder if there are tennis balls in the house....night all.

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