Welcome to the new blog!
I'm simplifying my world. And that made this a good time to refresh the blog. The old one had become a place where I complained at lot. I'm not really a complainy person (I don't think), and it was bothering me that all the posts had a negative bent.
Shari and I are still sharing this blog. I'm going to introduce myself (for anyone who doesn't already know me), and let Shari make her own introduction soon.
So....
I'm Krista! Here is part of my story. As with most stories, there are lots of moving parts and many things aren't addressed here. It would take a novel to tell it all.
I've struggled with my weight off and on since I was a teenager. More on than off since about 20 years old. I don't ever remember being confident about the way I look, even when I was a size 6 (probably a size 4 in today's evolving size charts). I thought I was fat. I ate a breakfast sandwich in the morning, an orange for lunch, and dinner with my family on most days. I was so hungry at lunch time, but really really didn't want to be fat. I did ballet and tap dancing through high school and I ran with my boyfriend when we were both around during my senior year. I'm 5'7" and I weighed 125 pounds. That's the very bottom end of the healthy weight chart. And I thought I was fat.
I gained the dreaded freshman 15 when I went to college. I didn't let the meal plan go to waste. I walked around campus and occasionally tried to put the running shoes back on and jog around campus, but I was too self conscious there.
I trimmed up a bit after college when I moved to Nevada with my new husband. I worked at a mine and the job required some time away from the desk. Not to mention the site was an hour from town and there were no opportunities to grab extra food. You brought a lunch or you went hungry. We got good use from our bread machine and made fantastic healthy sandwiches for lunches. We also bought our first bbq grill and did a lot of cooking outside.
My husband learned to cook at this time. The Food Network was at it's peak in popularity and it was on in our house all the time. My husband tried to make everything. He became a fantastic cook who got a lot of enjoyment from it. It was a good match, because I do not enjoy cooking and only get by at it. But I don't mind eating!
I joined Weight Watchers with some ladies I worked with. I had a lot of success with it. I was logging what I ate. It forced me to keep track of what I was doing. I also made a friend who liked to walk. We'd strap the babies into carriers and walk along trails in the dessert. I got to about 20 pounds of what my current goal weight is (it was about 50 pounds from my goal I set in Weight Watchers). I did WW after my first baby was born up until my second one and again after that.
Then we moved back to Idaho. We lived with my parents for a year while we looked for a house in the middle of the housing bubble. Eventually we found one. By then the Weight Watchers journalling was over, the husband was cooking when he was home (he was a pilot and wasn't living at home a lot of the time), and I was working and being a mom to two rowdy boys. Good eating or exercising habits weren't on my radar. By the time I was divorced I was at the unhealthiest I'd ever been and was ready to make a life change.
I joined my kids at Aikido. I was going twice a week and was working through a lot of feelings in there. I liked it a lot and earned my yellow belt. I'd been considering Crossfit for a while (I went to a bootcamp with a friend once and really enjoyed it), when I saw a sign for a brand new Crossfit gym in my hometown. It was literally blocks from my house. I *immediately* sent an email to ask about pricing and let the coaches know that I'm interested, but I'm 100 pounds overweight and incredibly out of shape. They assured me that was no problem and they had a special for new clients. I signed up that week. That was 4 years ago this month.
I made a lot of progress for the first 3 years. Slow progress, but still forward moving. I signed up for a Spartan Sprint and I did a Dirty Dash. I felt **AMAZING**. A year ago I ended up with a shoulder impingement. I swear it was from the way I slept one night. I struggled with shoulder pain and then depression for a year and lost some momentum. I finally got my shoulder worked out and was excited to start feeling better. I joined North Idaho Strength and signed up for an Olympic Weightlifting competition. I've gained 50 pounds and lost a lot of progress but I'm back on the right track again. Then I was derailed again, this time with Shingles. I had to take about a 5 week break.
I may have lost some progress, but I'm still so much farther ahead than when I started 4 years ago. My "box jump" to start with was to jump on a 10 lb plate. That is only about an inch and a half high. I couldn't hang from the bar from more than 6 seconds. I couldn't squat below parallel. I don't think I could squat TO parallel. There was no way I could attempt a push up. My ankle mobility in my right ankle was a disaster (I had a bone graft in 1996 which caused less range of motion and, as it turned out, an ankle that wasn't seated correctly - for 18 years! I didn't know it could be different).
Today I regularly box jump on 16 inches. I can do 20" if there aren't a lot in the workout. I can hang from the bar and I can do scap retrations (I'm still working on pullups). I can plank and do negative pushups, but I'm still working on regular pushups. My right ankle is seated and I have equal mobility on both sides. After a year of struggling with a shoulder impingment, I've even got that worked out. My chief gripes now are all related to keeping up, muscle soreness from working out, aerobic capacity (which I don't work on enough), and random mobility issues that seem to change regularly.
I've recently recharged my efforts. I've lost 10 pounds again. I'm consistently meal prepping. I'm trying to find my "Why".
