Let’s have a lil Thursday Q&A

Ok, so first and foremost I want to say that I’m so eternally grateful for my friends, especially those I count as my Crossfit support system.

So freaking grateful.

I am so stubborn. So freaking stubborn. I’m as bullheaded and stubborn as they come (thanks dad). But when I’m at Red Stick Crossfit, I feel different. I feel like a different person.

I’m like this because of my friends. Because of Ace and Colby and Lauren pushing me. Yelling at me. Encouraging me.

This is why I Crossfit. If I didn’t have the support of my fellow athletes, I don’t know what I’d do.

In fact, I probably would have quit by now.

But I haven’t. And I won’t.

I’m still here.

10 months later, and I’m still here.

8 lbs down, and I’m still here.

Plantar fasciitis, and I’m still here.

An enflamed Achilles tendon, and I’m still here.

Callused, sore and broken down, I’m. Still. Here.

I’m still here because I want to be. Not because I have to be.

I’m still here because I have people who support me and encourage me. These people depend on me to be there day in and day out both inside and outside of the gym.

And now one of these people who supports me and encourages me and sends me texts like “Good morning little bug! Have a great day at work and get so excited about the gym tonight!” nominated me for something called the Liebster Award.

For those who don’t know, the Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. What does it mean? Well it’s German and has several meanings: dearest, sweetest, beloved, kind, pleasant, valued, enduring, and favorite. It’s a great way to share with the blogging community, get to know other bloggers and inspire others.

Rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

My Questions via Eat.Pray. WOD.:

1. Most embarrassing moment? Ok so this is awkward. I was working a baseball game last season and had to climb up a ladder to get on the roof to get a specific shot. Well, on my way down the ladder I TOTALLY missed a step and fell down 3-4’ and landed on my butt. Thankfully, the camera somehow miraculously landed on my lap (I still have no idea how this happened). Well, I look over and the closet door where the ladder is, is open. And there are like, 10 people standing there. Just standing there. Some giggling, some laughing, some just staring in disbelief. People I know and people I work with. So freaking awkward.

2. Favorite recipe? Hmm. Probably my grilled chicken. I marinade it in this light Italian salad dressing overnight and then grill it. Ohmygod it’s so good. It’s amazing hot over a bed of Romaine lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette.

3. Item of clothing you feel most confident in and why? Hmm. Honestly, this would have to be my Nike Epic Runs. I have no idea why but my workout pants make me feel almost invincible. One of my friends even refers to them as my “Wonder Woman” pants.

4. What do you do to relax? Hmm. This is a three-way tie between wine and a bubble bath, zoning out on a walk with Miss Oakley or spending time at the range. Yeah, I know three COMPLETELY different things, but it’s true. These are the things I do to relax.

5. If you could choose anywhere in the world to spend a week, where would it be? Watercolor, FL. Hands down. I love the beach so so so so so much. If I had the funds, I’d just move there, live on the beach and take pictures all day everyday. Oh, and who doesn’t love beach Crossfit?!

6. Favorite beer? Lol. This is funny. I don’t drink a lot. If I’m out late socializing with friends, I’ll sip on one vodka water all night. If I’m out at dinner or a sporting event and I just want a beer instead of wine I’ll go with Michelob Ultra or Corona Extra with a lime.

7. Least favorite way to sweat? Working. Definitely working. It absolutely sucks when you’re standing on the sideline of a football field or baseball diamond at noon during the summer carrying 30-40lbs of gear and just standing there shooting for 3-4 hours. I don’t know how our soldiers fighting overseas do it in full protective military gear every damn day under the beating desert sun.

8. Would you rather have to wear 80’s style blazers with shoulder pads everyday for the rest of your life OR wear Lady Gaga’s meat dress once a day for the rest of your life? This is seriously a scary situation. Both of these are. I absolutely hate shoulder pads so I’d have to go with the meat dress once a week for the rest of my life.

9. Quote you live by? Eat clean, train dirty. Duh.

10. Favorite color and why? Green. Because it’s the color of money! Just kidding. I love the color green because it’s EVERYWHERE! Grass is green. Flowers are semi green. Trees are green. All of my bedspreads and bed sheets are green. I just love the color green.

11. Who would play you in the movie of your life? Hmm. This is a tough one too. Honestly I freaking love Jennifer Aniston. I’d only hope that I’d be honored enough to have her play me in a movie. I mean, she’s 45 years old as of Tuesday and she’s still in amazing shape.

Ok so now that that’s done, here’s the fun part.

My questions:

1. What’s your spirit animal?

2. What’s your favorite cheat meal (if you have one)?

3. Favorite guilty TV show?

4. Where were you born?

5. Have you ever had a Choco Taco?

6. What’s your favorite sport? Both to watch and participate in.

7. What time of the day do you write your blog?

8. What’s your personal therapy?

9. What’s your favorite book?

10. Who do you look up to?

11. What are three goals you have for 2014?

My nominations:
1. RanchCookie
2. Fossils and Gooseberries
3. The Health Hump

Sidebar: I know you’re supposed to post 11 blogs by other bloggers but I’m legit losing my mind trying to find more. 

Ready…….Set…….GEAUX!

One of those days

So last night after a great WOD with some great people, we got together for a paleo dinner and talked about random things.

Those are the best nights, right?

Oh yeah.

Well, before that happened, I was dealing with drama within a different group of friends.

Have you ever had someone come to you and tell you “No one wants to hangout with me anymore,” or “No one includes me in social gatherings anymore”? I have. And I went through this yesterday with someone who I thought was a good friend of mine.

This person thinks that his way is 100% the only way possible. That his ideals are the only ones that matter. His way or the highway.

Seems a little controlling, right?

And I tried explaining to him, maybe, just maybe, could this be why you’re not included in social events anymore? I mean, coupled with his crude sense of humor and general behavior, sometimes he goes a little overboard. He calls people names thinking it’s funny and he’s being coy, but in fact, it’s rude. This person just doesn’t get it.

Well, our argument took a turn for the worst when he started pushing me to run again. Although this is something I really want to do, I can’t until I get cleared by my doctor because he told me not to run or do high impact movements for a few months. You see, I have really bad plantar fasciitis plus a strained achilles tendon. And yeah, it hurts. A lot. Even though I don’t want to further injure myself and am waiting to get the green light from my doctor, my ‘friend’ keeps telling me that I’m making excuses and to listen to my body not my doctor. Even my coach and one of my best friends will yell at me if they see me doing something that could further injure me.

But what if my body is agreeing with my doctor? What happens then?

Well, this person keeps telling me that the only way I’m going to lose weight is by running. And while I want to lose weight and whatnot, I know that the scale isn’t always the answer. One of my friends explained it the best last night at dinner. She said that weight is just the amount of gravity it takes to keep you on the ground. That’s it!

It doesn’t count for strength.

It doesn’t count for muscle.

It doesn’t count for beauty.

It’s doesn’t define you.

Weight is just a number. A silly little number.

So how do you deal with someone like this? Me, I usually get into an argument with them, eventually telling them to shut up and that they’re stupid and being ignorant.

And that’s exactly what I did.

When you have a goal you want to reach, whether it’s health, fitness, career, relationships, WHATEVER, you can’t let the negatives tie you down.

You have to listen to the people who are going to support you and help you reach your goals no matter how out of reach you think they are. Part of getting stronger physically is getting stronger mentally. If you don’t go out of your comfort zone and try new things, you’re letting those who speak negatively to you win. And you don’t want that.

So what do you do with those people who want to bring you down? Honestly, they’re only hurting themselves by pushing you away. If they really cared about you as a friend, they wouldn’t be breaking you down and telling you you’re stupid and ignorant. If they really were a friend you could talk to and count on, they’d be supportive. Because that’s what friends do.

The friends that matter are the ones that you can text late at night, excited about hitting your 1RM power clean PR and possibly passing your goal for 2014 and respond with “That’s awesome!!! I know you could do it!!!” (Because yeah, that happened yesterday too.)

Oh, and PS I have my girl over at Eat.Pray.WOD. to thank for a lot of this motivation.

Woohoo it’s Wednesday!

So it’s been a while. Sorry blog, I kind of let you down.

Anyway……

As many of y’all know this weekend was the Super Bowl. And while I wanted Peyton to lead his Broncos to victory because I support the hometown hero (yay New Orleans), we all know that was an epic fail.

Well I decided to go to a little Super Bowl gathering at a friends’ place and brought some crazy awesome looking cupcakes that a friend made for me.

Over a month of eating clean and 90/10 Paleo along with the 24-day challenge by Advocare, I thought I could treat myself to a cupcake.

Just one, simple, little, itty bitty cupcake.

Hah. No.

Talk about a shock to your system! I never want to go through that again. Y’all, that cupcake was amazing but I don’t recommend eating super clean and then downing a homemade from scratch (aka lots of sugar and butter) cupcake.

Don’t. Do. It.

So Monday, I tried my hardest to get back into the groove and eat clean again. I barely made it. I nibbled on things here and there but really wasn’t even that hungry, nor did I feel like eating anything.

Even yesterday I could barely do it. I ate bread. I needed it. It was the only thing that didn’t bother me so I honestly don’t care.

Now back to eating clean.

Yesterday I cleaned out the fridge, went to the grocery store and picked up a few things.

I juiced some juice, baked some muffins and food prepped.

Lately I’ve just been mixing things up and juicing them, writing the ingredients down on a post-it note and sticking it on the cabinet and keeping it there for future reference.

The new juice I made is a green veggie juice. Super easy, super simple, super clean.

Green Juice 2.0
– 1 bag spinach leaves
– 3 cucumbers
– 4 large carrots

This mixture made three 10 oz jars and a little leftover.

Now for the fun part.

Muffins!

I know everyone loves muffins, so why not create some that taste absolutely amazing, are clean and Paleo friendly?!

Rise and Shine Muffins

What you need:
– 1/2 cup mashed yam (sweet potato)
– 1/2 raisins
– 1/2 chopped walnuts
– 1/4 cup honey
– 1/8 cup shredded carrots
– 2 eggs
– 3/4 cup almond flour
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tsp baking powder

What you do:
– Preheat oven to 350* F.
– Combine everything in a large mixing bowl and blend well.
– Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (or use paper liners) and divide batter among six cups.
– Bake 25-30 minutes or until the muffins are cooked all the way through.
– Allow muffins to cool before serving.

So this recipe says it makes six muffins, but mine made eight. And mine were cooked through at 25 minutes.

The recipe that I based this off of came from here. 

Oh, and Happy Hump Day y’all! The weekend is almost here!

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Y’all, I am so stoked about my new purchase. After talking with friends and fellow Crossfitters and picking through and going through my options I got myself a Breville Compact Juicer!

I have been having the time of my life juicing since I got it last Thursday. I even made juice for my parents! They weren’t too fond of it but hopefully it will grow on them.

Now, these recipes will DEFINITELY be joining the recipe posts I make on here. So far I’ve only made 2-3 different kinds of juice. One of which I call “Green Juice!” and the other is a “Sunrise Citrus”. Both are incredibly clean, paleo and healthy. I’m trying to only eat/drink fruit in the mornings, none after 11am, so I drink my Sunrise Citrus first thing in the morning. It’s crisp and clean and super sweet! The Green Juice is one I concocted to drink in the afternoons, kind of like a jolt to keep me going if I feel myself starting to fade.

After I make my juice, I pour them into Ball’s Mason Jars. I picked up a 12-pack from Amazon for less than $10.

Y’all, this whole set up is mess-free! You can take apart the whole juicer and put it in the dishwasher if you want to. It’s pretty quiet too. A lot quieter than my blender but Miss Oakley still runs and hides when the juicer gets rolling. The jars are also easily cleaned by hand or dishwasher (I wash the lids by hand). Just be sure that you’re prepared to drink all the juice you make. Otherwise, it will go bad pretty easily.

Juicing is such an easy way to consume veggies and fruits during the course of your day. Granted, I still eat my veggies at every meal, but being able to drink them just adds even more yummy veggies to your diet!

I should also add that I am not doing a juicing “cleanse”. Like I said before, I’m juicing so I can add in additional vitamins, minerals and amino acids into my clean eating lifestyle.

Did you know that eating 6 large carrots is equivalent to eating 8 oz of carrot juice?

Who doesn’t love fun and random facts? Click here for other fun and random fun juicing facts!

This is what I made last night. My mom and I went to Costco in New Orleans and picked up a whole bunch of clean fruits and veggies! Apples, oranges, tomatoes, kale, spinach, cucumbers, bell peppers, celery, lettuce, and strawberries.

Green juice!
Yields 3-4
Ingredients
– 4-5 cups of kale
– 4 apples (I use fuji)
– 2 cucumbers
– 6 stalks of celery (8 if they’re short)
– 1 lemon, peeled
– 2 incles fresh ginger
– 1 cup water

Sunrise Citrus!
Yields 3-4
Ingredients
– 6 oranges, peeled
– 3 apples
– 4 stalks celery
– 1 cup water

Both of the above recipes made a 4 jars of both juices at a little over 12 oz.

Just remember to shake them up gently before consuming because the juice will settle and separate.

Enjoy!

Five on Friday!

Ok so it’s finally Friday and it’s my first Friday night of no work in a few weeks. It’s also the first Friday that LSU students are back in town from being off on Winter Break. What does that mean for me? Oh it most definitely means sweatpants and Dexter with Miss Oakley all night after I go get my Friday workout in.

Back to Five on Friday. It’s been kind of an uneventful week so bear with me.

(1) I’ve basically given up carbs. At least through January. I know this sounds CRAZY but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Lots of veggies and water and you’re set to jet. This isn’t just some random spontaneous thing I’m doing. Rather, it coincides with my Advocare 24-day Challenge (which by the way is going decent) and Paleo challenge. This was pre-carb detox. Three days of food and snacks.

(2) I’m obsessed with ZZ Ward. I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to start listening to her but this one song just does it for me. Windows down, sunroof open and the volume up. That’s how I plan on leaving work today.

(3) Everyone fails at something. And it’s not a one time event. A lot of people fail at different things at different points of their life. Last night, I failed at a snatch. Granted, I haven’t done too many of them in my life, but I wanted to keep 65lbs on the bar for yesterday’s insane “Open Test” WOD. Well, I couldn’t. I completely failed and thankfully only 2-3 people at the gym saw it happen. I was mortified. After getting through all the movements before having to touch the bar, I realized I couldn’t even do 65lbs so I knocked it down to 55lbs for the cleans and jerks. Snatches? Moved it down again to 45lbs. I’m kind of happy I didn’t push myself yesterday because my back is telling me today would have been a lot worse on the sore-o-meter.

(4) I have the coolest friends ever. First off, I can tell over the past few months (since starting Crossfit) that my attitude has changed. I’ve definitely changed as a person. While some of my ‘friends’ make fun of Crossfit, others are incredibly supportive. And they don’t even lift! They understand what Crossfit has done for me and support me for that. In one particular group of friends I’ve garnered the nickname of “Wonder Woman”. Yeah, I know. At first I was like, seriously? I don’t even look like her. Then I realized that it wasn’t all about looks but strength rather. And I kind of liked it. Well, in this group of friends I mentioned that I needed a new journal for the new year to keep track of my WODs, weights and skill work. Guess what showed up the next day. If you guessed a Wonder Woman journal, you’re right.

(5) Some of my favorite TV shows are back for the spring. I don’t have cable and rely on an antenna and Hulu+ to watch them, and I don’t consider myself THAT much of a couch potato (well, except at night) but I’m kind of excited. So far Parenthood, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Nashville, New Girl and Modern Family have been pretty epic. I cannot WAIT for Grey’s Anatomy to be back in February. Prepare yourself for a gif overload.

Enjoy yourself this weekend, but don’t go too crazy!

Peace out y’all!

Five on Friday! 

Five on Friday!

It’s finally Friday! My first work-week of the Advocare 24-day challenge + paleo challenge is almost over! I’ve been religiously hitting the box everyday since starting but was too sore to go yesterday. Y’all, when your body is telling you to take a rest day, TAKE A REST DAY. I learned that the hard way a few months ago.

Well, in preparation for a semi-calm weekend of work, I figured I’d throw together a little Five on Friday for y’all. Not only is this my first Five on Friday of 2014, but it’s my first one ever!

1. If you’re challenging yourself to eat better, whether its cleaner, more paleo or whatever, don’t give into your cravings. I can’t tell you how hard those first few days are, but once you pass them it’s clear skies and sweet freedom. I keep fruit and a bag of veggies in my fridge now, and when I get a craving I’ll grab a sweet piece of fruit to satisfy it. It’s been five days since I’ve had anything remotely chocolate and it feels great!

2. Over the past few days it’s been ridiculously cold down here in South Louisiana. I don’t know how you Northerners do it. I was wearing probably five layers just to walk outside and convince Ms. Oakley she needed to go to the bathroom before we could cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie.

3. I started extensive meal planning this week with my Advocare 24-day challenge + paleo challenge. Every Saturday, I sit down with an excel spreadsheet and plan out every single thing I plan on eating that week. No lie. I even have water listed (even though we should ALL be drinking a ton of water, I put it on there as a friendly reminder). Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, pre-workout, dinner, snack, water, water, water. It’s all planned so when I go to the store on Sunday morning I know exactly what I need to buy so I can save money and only buy what I need. There are no excuses if you’re prepared and plan ahead.

4. I learned that there are always people who want you to fail. Always. And you know what happens when you realize that? I pick yourself up off the ground (that’s only if you’ve fallen down), brush the dirt off your butt and keep on with your life. Why? Because it’s YOUR life. It’s your life, your stage, everyone else is just a guest in it. You have to do you first. I had a great talk with one of my good friends over at Eat. Pray. WOD. last night about this same thing. There will always be mean girls who push you around because they’re jealous, insecure, or whatever the reason. From middle school, high school, college, even in the workforce. Just let it go. You can’t let people bring you down. Ever.

5. Lastly, learn to spread your wings. I’ve been job-hunting and up until recently had been limiting myself to Louisiana. Why? Because I’m scared of change. I’m scared to lose the friends I’ve made in Baton Rouge, scared to leave my family in New Orleans, and I’m scared to leave my box and all the great people I’ve met through it. But you know what? There are other boxes out there. There are other cities to call home. There are people out there who can become your future friends and boxmates. You just have to be ready to let go of what’s holding you back and dive on in. Moving can suck. But moving can be good. It can be healthy. Think of it as a new, clean slate. You just have to be ready and accept the challenge.

Five on Friday!

So it’s January

Yesterday was January 6th, which happens to be Kings Day/Twelfth Night, and is the official start of Carnival Season in Louisiana. King Cakes, debutante balls, beads and beer are pretty much the only things that come to mind when I think of Kings Day/Twelfth Night.

But it’s also a new year, and a fresh start for a lot of people. Last year I went through some drama and it wasn’t fun. I told myself that I wouldn’t let affect me in the future or hold me back. Well guess what, it still is. And that kind of sucks.

So forget last year. After all, everything that happened then is so last year. Live in the present. Live for now. Do you.

2014 Resolutions
1. Be happier.
2. Eat Clean, Train Dirty.
3. Get in shape.
4. Spend more time with friends and socializing.
5. Go after my dream job / pursue a career.
6. Take more pictures.
7. Be in more pictures.
8. Hit more PR’s at the Box.
9. Travel more.
10. Live more.
11. Love more.
12. No regrets.
13. Learn to say No.
14. Quit stressing.
15.  Have fun.

I’ve posted this before, and I know how much people just LOVE the “New Year, New Me” hype, but I’m going to share it anyway.

In 2014, I want to be a better person.

I’m going to pay it forward, be welcoming and appreciative to everyone.

I’m going to stop talking down to myself and be more encouraging both personally and to others.

I’m going to walk more. Run more. Enjoy the outdoors with Ms. Oakley.

I’m going to be healthy and I’m not going to let others bring me down.

I’m going to focus on me and let all of the other pieces fall into place.

Happy New Year y’all.

24 day challenge via Advocare paired with Paleo

First of all, I know everyone is just SO ECSTATIC about reading and hearing about each others’ New Years Resolution. If you’re one of those people who can’t really handle any of that right now, you might want to go look at some of my recipes over here. Otherwise, brace yourself.

So it’s Monday. It’s my first day back at work after two weeks off (kinda sorta) from Christmas and New Years. But you know what else it is?

Today is Day 1 of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.

I’m starting the challenge today, having had planned out my meals and the like for the week. I’m going for the best results possible, so I’m double timing the Advocare with a strict paleo diet. Between this and Crossfit 5x a week, I’m hoping to get off the plateau I’ve been stuck on for the past 2 months.

No alcohol. No bread. No dairy. No sweets. No coffee. No hot chocolate.

I wanted to start the year off with a clean slate, and being that January 1, 2014 was a Wednesday, I wanted to wait until a Monday so that I could have the whole week start to finish to begin the challenge.

So I’ve taken my measurements and recorded my weight and now I’m just trying to find my footing with this setup.

I’ll try and incorporate my progress and postings into the blog as I progress through the challenge, but bear with me on it. I’m keeping up with recipes and noting all of my food prep so I’ll be sure to share that down the road as well. If anyone would like my meal plan setup, feel free to ask!

2013 in a Nutshell

So I’m sitting at home watching the series finale of Treme with my dog sound asleep next to me and I can’t help but think over the last year and what I’ve done.

In January I started grad school. Something I was proud of at the time but then realized I had jumped the gun too quickly. I also got rid of some extra baggage I was carrying around and found a new apartment to escape from my crazy neighbor.

February was ok.  Moved into my new apartment and woke up every morning drinking coffee on the patio and waving to my ex-crazy neighbor. I started a new part time job. New Orleans hosted a Super Bowl and the LSU baseball season opened.

March is the best month because it’s my birthday month. It was a month filled with shenanigans and the travelhood of the sisterpants. Operation “Wet Kiwi” was a success after two of my best friends broke into my apartment and surprised me with birthday shenanigans and general craziness. Oh, and that crazy neighbor? He got evicted.

In April I shared a plate of crawfish with Kirk Herbstreit and other members of the ESPN Gameday crew. It’s is the month that I’m most proud of. April is when I started Crossfit at Red Stick Crossfit.  Joining that gym was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I can’t thank the coaches and my fellow athletes enough for pushing me to my limits and beyond every day.

May was a month filled with craziness. Ms. Oakley turned 1 on Cinco de Mayo and we celebrated accordingly. I quit grad school, put it on the backburner and tried to figure my life out (which no 23 year old should have to do because it’s not fun).

June meant summer. Summer means freedom, well, kind of. LSU baseball made it to Omaha on the anniversary of Warren Morris’ 1996 CWS winning homerun. Tiger Stadium got a new field. Many sunny days were spent at my friends’ rooftop pool in New Orleans, and one of my friends taught me that those fancy sleeves they put on coffee cups is called a zarf.

The rooftop shenanigans and late nights in New Orleans continued all through July, with many trips to the Bulldog, car rides, and kids movies at 10pm on a Saturday night. I made my mom a TOTALLY non-paleo incredibly dirty yet incredibly delicious birthday cake (think cookie, brownie, cookie, brownie, cookie with vanilla icing between each layer covered in chocolate icing and sprinkles galore).

August brought me into the green smoothie lifestyle. Many summer WODs were completed in 90^o+. There was a beach trip and Ms. Oakley found her way into the Gulf of Mexico and played in the sand. I started eating paleo and doing food prep. I also lost my car to a negligent driver to couldn’t see around a truck at a stop sign but thought it was ok to go anyway.  RIP Puf Daddy.

September meant fall (kind of). Fall means football. LSU football started and September also let me go play on the boat in the marsh and bayou for a few days. I got my first RX at Red Stick Crossfit and was incredibly proud of myself. I became addicted to stuffed pork tenderloin. I got a new car that I named Roux and became a grownup with a car note.

October was just junk. Roux got hit by a drunk driver in Downtown Baton Rouge. I had a 28-day rental in the form of a Ford Focus (aka tiny car). I got a crown and was told I was a princess by my dentist. FINALLY hung photos in my apartment after living there for almost a year. I stuffed pork tenderloin with bacon. Yep, I sure did. And I got Roux back just in time for Halloween.

In November I went full paleo and became obsessed with bacon. I tried cooking everything with bacon. And I mean everything. I even tried to convince my mom to wrap the Thanksgiving turkey with bacon. Yep, that pretty much sums up November.

Welp, December. December was a month of letdowns. I had two promising job opportunities that I had interviewed for and found out that neither of them wanted to bring me on as a team photographer. Yeah, I was sad but at the same time I realized that for one of them, I beat out 250 other applicants to become one of the 10 finalists. I went to dinner with my dad and the waiter thought we were together. That was awkward. I helped some crazy friends move into their new house, became BFFs with I-12, got the game winning touchdown in a college playoff game, and got excited over a new dishwasher. The filthy fifty Friday and 12 days of Christmas WOD both kicked my butt but I loved every second of it. And I ordered a small large at Reginellis. These things happen.

So it’s New Years Eve.

The last day of 2013.

I need to come up with some goals for the New Year, right? Hmmm.

I really dislike ignorant people. A lot.

So yeah, I really don’t like ignorant people. In fact, I don’t like them so much that I hate them too. And before you get your feathers ruffled about another Duck Dynasty rant, cool your jets. This is a Crossfit blog. I’m talking about those people ignorant about Crossfit.

So I went out with a friend of mine last night. I hadn’t seen her in a while and she was going to meet up with some people so I figured I’d tag along. No big deal, right? Wrong. We sit down at Happy’s and start talking about different things, and when I declined another drink, I got judged for it.

“Why not?”

“It’s just one more drink.”

“Oh come on, it’s one drink. What does it matter?”

Well you know what, it matters a lot. I don’t drink a lot, and when I do decide to “let loose” I stop at like, 2. I know, I party hard.

Well, they began asking why and I simply said that I don’t really like treating my body badly. I’m a health nut and one drink is enough for me.

You know what happened next?

“You Crossfit don’t you.”

Out of nowhere. Neither my friend nor myself brought it up. It just came up in the conversation on it’s own, which was incredibly weird.

So I responded that I did, and that I was going to continue to not need another drink for the rest of the night.

“Man, y’all are all the same. Thinking you’re better than everyone else because you go to the gym and snatch, do front squats and burpees. We did that sh*t in football.”

That set me off like dynamite. I didn’t respond though, just sat there in the corner of the booth making awkward obvious eye contact with my friend, visibly mad.

Do I think I’m better than you? No. Absolutely not. I don’t know your life or honestly want to anymore. But you know who I am better than? The person I used to be.

I don’t think I will ever understand the hate for Crossfit. I will admit, I was a little scared to start Crossfit back in April. Hell, I had wanted to start in December 2012 but I kept putting it off. Then when I finally bit the bullet, walked into the box and started working out, I realized that Crossfit is where I belonged.

I think a lot of people who are ignorant about Crossfit express this for a few reasons.

They think Crossfit is dangerous and you will inherently get rhabdo. WRONG. Do Crossfit properly and listen to your body and you won’t.

Crossfit is going to bulk you up (talking to the ladies here).

Do they look bulked up? Didn’t think so. That’s toned y’all.

Everyone who Crossfit HAS to eat Paleo or Zone. Hah. That’s funny. There are lots of people I know who eat Paleo, either strict or 70/30, 80/20, 90/10. When I started Crossfit, I just ate kind of healthy. Then I started eating Paleo, and I’m not going to lie, I saw a definite difference. But whatever, it’s their life, let them live it!

Lastly, the cult atmosphere. People say that Crossfit is a cult. You drink the koolaid, join a box and BOOM, you’re a member of the cult. Eh, let them think that. But you know what this cult does? Support you. Workout with you. Help you. Guide you. This “cult” that non-Crossfitters judge do so out of ignorance*. The people I workout with have become my friends. We socialize together, hangout, help each other, push each other. If you’re one of the last people finishing up a killer WOD, would you rather just hear the beats of the music playing through the gym or the screams of support from your fellow Crossfitters?

“Push it!”

“You’re almost there!”

“Finish strong!”

I’m pretty sure the vast majority of people would choose the screams of support. Just sayin’.

Don’t be ignorant. Don’t knock it before you try it. Just live your life and let everyone else live theirs. You don’t have to be all up in everyone else’s business.

And lastly, don’t let ignorant people push you down. Stand tall and pick up that weight again.

 

*This sentence was not meant to make you think we’re better than you, but I know it sounds that way so I’m just letting you know that that’s not the case.