Eat Suite: BEASTIN' & FEASTIN' Days 1-2: Power cleans, burpees, and bacon OH MY!

So yesterday I started training at a new gym, Hercules CrossFit. Now, I'm gonna be honest...I've kind of been avoiding jumping on the CF wagon for several reasons. The main one: it's costly. But now that I've got my grocery budget steady around $400/month for TWO PEOPLE, I have cleared the way to continue splurging on my body. Oh, in case you missed it, check out my blog from a few weeks ago about how I keep my grocery bills so low and still eat local, organic, sustainable, clean foods!

The second I walked into HCF, I fell in love. It's clean, doesn't stink, the groups are small, you get individualized attention, it's welcoming, the music is BUMPIN' and always hip-hop (mega SCORE!), and everyone is friendly and encouraging. It's a perfect set-up for someone who wants to learn CF or who may be intimidated by it (which is very common).

Truth is, I love CF! But from my experience joining classes or doing trial memberships at a few places around the Bay I sensed a bit of an elitist attitude and that really turned me off. It was like a cult, a cult of "superior eating and training Gods and Goddesses." I did NOT like it. So, I let it simmer for awhile; learned the basics on my own and started incorporating them into my workouts. I noticed a difference right away. My body leaned out, my muscles grew, my endurance was phenomenal...I felt light, fast, and powerful for the first time in my life. Straight up athlete status! That was about 3 years ago. My body slowly transformed over that time and with it, my diet.

First time rope climbing in my life...and I made it up to and over that green mark. I could have gone all the way up!

When I started my weight loss journey about 6 years ago, I quickly learned that carbs were the enemy. Soda was the first thing to go. Then, I slowly started changing my habits. Exercising more, cooking at home more, learning about food and nutrition, dining out less, and eating more fruits and vegetables. I didn't do that all at once. I started small. Slow and steady. That's what leads to sustainable change. So, this idea about carbs is now pretty much ingrained in me. And ever since "cleaning" up my diet last year, my carb intake dropped even more significantly. However, now that my goal has shifted from weight loss, to weight gain, I have to reestablish my relationship with carbs. I need more of them, a lot more. And it's really messing with my head!

Just like with all the goals I set for myself, I'm starting small. Increasing my intake by about 100 calories per week. Eating more is HARD, especially while maintaining my clean diet, and doubly hard after I've introduced intermittent fasting into my life. I simply cannot eat 3,000 cal in 8 hours or less. I have, however, found a few ways to get my intake up that don't require me gorging on burritos, rice, or protein powder shakes:

waking up earlier
training earlier (which makes me hungrier)
exercising more
adding more fats to my meals
adding more carbs to my meals
getting more sleep

Breakfast yesterday: chocolate shake made with coconut water, chia seeds, frozen banana, and pure unsweetened cocoa powder. and a heaping pile of kale, veggies, and spicy chicken sausage with sweet potato

Dinner last night.

Today, I implemented a few of these ideas and it was a HUGE success. I reached my calorie consumption goal! SO exciting! I woke up at 6:30am after going to bed at 9:30pm (WOO HOO, 9 hours of sleep!), got all my work done for the day by 9am. Ate breakfast, enjoyed a strenuous (super hilly) bike ride to the gym, worked my ass off, and then rode back, a 7 mile ride in total. Had I known we were going to be doing power cleans for 20 minutes, I probably would have not rode my bike. My ass is SO sore! Like, crazy sore!