fitness friday: rest and recovery days

        Well my week back to crossfit has been amazing! My body is so sore and I love every ache and pain. It amazes me how sore I can get from just taking two weeks off.  As much as i dreaded those two weeks I have to say they made a huge difference in my performance this week. My body feels like it's almost back to normal, feeling as good as I felt pre pregnancy! I came back this week stronger and healthier. And I am learning to listen to my body again  After a long week of working,gym, and catering to my son I am pretty tired today so I took today off to rest up for the first Crossfit open wod 14.1 tomorrow.  I took Thursday off from the gym but used it as an active rest day and did some double unders light kettle bell swings and ab mat workout in my garage after I put the baby down for bed. My little gym in my garage is slowly coming along and works out great now that I have a baby. Since I enjoy working out in the evenings so much better than mornings I do not mind staying up a little later to get my workout done. I'm going a little backwards on my schedule this week but Wednesday night was an amazing night at my Oly class I did a 75# snatch which I have not done since before I was pregnant because one I got pregnant and then two I hurt my shoulder (which is still hurt). Then Tuesday night did 60 front squats at 85# 60 pull ups ran 800m all in 6:22 I was very focused on Tuesday. And finally Monday my first day back I felt little weak bu still felt like I accomplished something 65# strict press 85#push press and 105# jerk.

          Earlier I mentioned active rest day. Although rest is needed you still want to stay active on those days. Our bodies just like our minds need stimulation everyday. On your rest and recovery days the worse thing youu could do for your body is nothing. So personally I like to take an active rest day which is very light workout and stretching you can even go as light as taking your dog for walk. Then I have a full day of rest and recovery I do nothing but stretch out.  I think a day of nothing is great for your mind and body. You do not want to burn out mentally I know we have all been there a time or two. And most important of all get good SLEEP. Sleep can play such a huge factor in your workouts it can really drag you down.  Whenit comes to health and fitness just always remember  1) stay active 2)Stretch out loosen up 3)Sleep our bodies need to heal both mental and from physical stress from our workouts 4)Diet stay in tune with your diet you need the proper foods to help your body recover from your intense workouts.

Talk about it Tuesday! paleo cookbooks

           So often I get asked where I find most of my paleo recipes. Well when I first started the paleo diet I was like most people and did not know much.  I was full of questions.  So I took it upon myself to start doing some research and find recipes and ingredients. I came across a few recipes that were not the best but I learned slowly how to adjust most recipes to my liking.
             A couple of my favorite websites I find recipes on are Against All Grain and PaleOmg. Both of the sites have amazing recipes as well as cookbooks!

      You can find Against all Grain at Wal Mart,Amazon,and Costco!

You can find PaleOmg cookbook online at onlinebooksplace.com and valorebooks.com, wordery, and eBay!            

These cookbooks are a great investment and will help you understand paleo paleo recipes a little more. For days that I'm at work and I have a break it's so easy to just jump on each  website and figure out dinner while I'm at work. Each one has very detailed recipes to very quick and easy recipes!! Once you get familiar with paleo cooking then you can venture out and start making up recipes on your own which is exactly what I love to do now. And I have my loving husband test them a

quick and easy asparagus

One of my my favorite go to vegetable. Drizzle little olive oil with some garlic salt cook at 375 for about 15min.

Crossfit Open 4 months postpartum

  This time last year I was signed up for the Crossfit Open and competing pregnant.  I was in my very early stages of pregnancy.  I remember getting so frustrated at times because I could not workout as hard as I could pre pregnancy..... I now ran out of breath very quickly and my body literally just would not push any harder than it wanted to.  It taught me a lot the one thing I love that I learned from it was how to pace myself I really think setting a good pace during these WOD's is a way to get through them with a good time.
     Here I am 1 year later with a 4 month old (almost) and ready and willing to try again. This should be very interesting considering I have only been back at the gym for about a 2 1/2 months with a few set backs.  What Im looking to get from the Open this year is more experience I want to see where I stand now and what I really need to work on for next year. The first workout is realeased Thursday and we are all super excited!!!
     What is the Crossfit Open?? The crossfit games are put on by Reebok and the crossfit open begans with worlwide competion there are 5 workouts for 5 weeks that everybody in the worls is allowed to register and sign up for. Competitors get ranked both worldwide and in region.  You can compete as an individual or as a team.... then in the end the top men and women will compete at regioals which is a 3 day event to see who is the fittest man and woman in the world. So pretty much signing up for this I can see where I rank in the worls compared to other athletes pretty amazing right? Too bad I can't add that I just had a baby to my profile haha!
        No matter how hard this is going to be i cannot wait I am always up for a challenge!!
      "What are you waiting for? Be proud but never satisfied. Success is the best form of revenge"

snack prep sunday/basic grocery list/muffin and cookie recipe

    Every week I have my Sunday routine as soon as my feet hit the floor my day begans. I get the baby fed then hubby and I feed ourselves laundry is started once im finished eating the house cleaning begans. Im very particular and hate starting the week if my house cleaning is not done. Once everything is done I get my weekly grocery list together. Which typically consists of :
   Eggs,chicken,ground turkey, steaks, almond flour,honey,fresh fruit,fresh vegetables,almond milk, these are my main foods I run out of weekly.
   I also have my certain foods that I make sure are always in my freezer, refrigerator and pantry which are:
     Frozen fruit and frozen vegetables for emergencies and quick throw together meals I also like to have a bag of frozen chicken its quick and easy to prepare for either my lunch in the morning while I get ready or for a quick throw together dinner. In my pantry I always stay stocked up on Almond flour,coconut flour, flax seed,flax meal, arrowroot flour,shredded coconut,coconut sugar, honey,agave,almond butter, chia seeds, all nuts and seeds except peanuts (you can make a variety of granola with nuts and seeds I will post my favorite recipe soon) olive oil,coconut oil, sea salt, lots of spices and seasonings!! I'm sure I am missing something but you get the general idea of what you should always have in hand and are the most popular ingredients in most paleo recipes .
 

       Once I finished my grocery list I went to good old Jamba Juice had my shot of wheat grass and a juice blend of fresh orange juice  and berries! So refreshing and a great way to start my shopping trip to Whole Foods (grocery heaven).

     Last part of my day is getting some snacks prepped for the week.  Today I played around with a lemon cookie recipe that tasted delicious I mixed up 2 cups almond flour 1/2c coconut sugar 8tbls ghee, agave to taste 3tbls of coconut flour 1tbls arrowroot flour 1/2tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 egg 1 tbls vanilla extract and fresh lemon juice and zest to taste!
   I also baked up some apple muffins this recipe I mixed 2 cups almond flour 2 tbls flax seed 1 apple cored and chopped in food processor 1 egg 1 tbls vanilla extract almond milk til consistency is little thicker than pancake batter its about 1/4-1/2 cup of almond milk dash of sea salt 1/4 cup of almond butter and all spice seasoning to taste. This is one of my favorite muffin recipe's I've made!!! You can enjoy these muffins any time of the day I love mine in the morning with either almond butter on them or just honey drizzled on them.
   Both of these snack are a great way to get through a sweet tooth craving. I love my sweets and would never survive if I did not have recipes like these.

green smoothie obsession

Took an afternoon walk to get my daily green smoothie. I am slightly obsessed. If you have never tried a green smoothie you should. They are a great all natural  energy booster that tastes amazing.  They are also great for your digestive system. My daily green smoothie consists of freshly squeezed orange juice,  spinach,bananas,strawberries,pineapple, chia seeds and honey.

Chicken Curry Salad

Chicken Curry Salad:
 -chicken breast
 -celery (if desired)
 -grapes or you can even use craisens or I use blueberries too
 -little bit of mayo
 -garlic salt to taste
 -curry powder
  You can boil or bake your chicken. Once your chicken is done shred it up add all your ingredients and enjoy!! This salad is so quick and easy. What I typically do is prep my chicken on Sunday for the week. Then I have it to either eat in a green salad or just for dinner on late nights and for my quick curry salad. Say you need a quick lunch idea and you did not prep it the night before grab a piece of of chicken out shred it add your ingredients and your done lunch is ready. Another great way to eat the chicken curry is with spinach either blueberries apples or craisens and I drizzle a little olive oil and vinegar and then I have a yummy spinach salad. I don't know about you guyd but I get tired of same old boring salads. Hope you all enjoy!!

Happy Thursday

     There is no breakfast  like a warm breakfast. I look forward to my Thursday mornings. Every Thursday my husband takes our son to grandma and grandpa's along with our dogs. So I am so lucky to wake up to a very peaceful house. I've learned as a mom not very often do I get to eat warm meals and there is now no such thing as a hot cup of coffee!

Meet my son Braxon Lee Vasconcellos! This is the little man who has not only stole my sleep,warm meals,and hot cups of coffee but he has completely stole my heart and has his dad and I wrapped around his little fingers!

listen to our bodies

           
                It's Wednesday!! That means we are that much closer to Friday which puts me that much closer to Monday!!! Why am I so excited for Monday?? This momma has been restricted from the gym until Monday. If you know me you know this is driving me crazy,if you can't tell. Im literally counting down the days.
                 Your probably wondering why I can't workout? Well long story short I pushed my body to it's limit.  I got a sinus infection shortly after my son was born and continued to push myself and workout through it. Well needless to say it never went away then I came down with the stomach flu as well pure exhaustion. Unfortunately it came to this for me to learn that I need to listen to my body and not ignore how I feel. I mean if I can't care for myself how can I care for my son?
                 I wanted to share this story because 1 it is very very important we listen to our bodies. In my situation I was pushing myself because I had my first postpartum crossfit competition coming up. Well not letting myself heal just made things worse. I was not able to compete to my ability and I was too sick to compete on the 2nd day of the competition. Huge lesson learned. 2nd reason I wanted to share this story was so that other new mom's could learn from my mistake. Is it ok to go back to the gym 2 weeks postpartum? Answer is yes if you had a natural delivery and of course if you feel up to it go right ahead and start back slowly. Being a new mom takes a lot out of you then throw a full time job in the mix and the gym well let's just say some days just seem like a blur. What I learned from my experience is take a day off here and there heck even a week break is great for the body. By Monday I will have been off for 2 weeks and I cannot wait to train hard again but this time I will not be testing my bodies limits.

stuffed mini peppers

Stuffed mini peppers with chorizo and eggs. Last night once the baby was asleep I cooked up some chorizo and eggs then cut the tops off my peppers rinsed them then stuffed them. I then baked them in the  oven on 400° for 12 min. They are delicious!

quick tip

It can be very challenging to eat healthy if your a mom with a full time job like myself.  So what I like to do is prep my breakfast and lunch the night before. You can also get everything you need for dinner in order. It definitely makes my mornings much smoother... to make my mornings even easier I shower the night before, and I get my little guy's clothes ready as well as his diaper bag. Just a little tip for the evening.

Talk about it Tuesday: Clean Eating

  Hope everybody had a fabulous Tuesday. I spent the day with my son at the the salon talk about a stressful day, thank goodness I have very patient clients!! Let's get to to today's topic: Clean Eating. Many of us have a different outlook on what we think clean eating actually is. If I talk about my "diet" the first question I get asked is "why are you on a diet?" So I have learned to explain my "diet" as clean eating instead of dieting.  Let's be realistic diets don't last forever but if you choose a clean healthy lifestyle that can last forever. Clean eating does not mean going to McDonalds and ordering a snack wrap. A clean and healthy lifestyle means more fruits,veggies,and meats. When you go to the grocery store think stay away from the ailes. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. There are many more key points to clean eating and non processed foods but we will just start here first. Once you slowly limit process foods you will start noticing your weight dropping. Eventually you will plateau and that's when you need to start tweaking your daily food intake with things such as how many carbs are you eating? How late are you eating carbs. Once you get your eating down then the workouts began but not going to touch on that subject yet, because you can do tons of cardio and never change the way you eat and you will never see your body change that's just how it is. Diet and exercise go hand in hand.

             My healthy style of eating is the Paleo plan. Paleo is non processed foods, meats veggies fruits no legumes or grains. Some people choose to do strict Paleo which limits dairy. I have chosen to do dairy and when im working out hard I actually like to have oatmeal or grits for breakfast on my high carb days. Typically in a week right now trying to lose my baby weight I do 2 low carb days and 1 high carb day this way the carbs shock the body when u go back to your low carbs it kicks back up and starts burning fat and calories again. 

              Start taking baby steps towards Paleo diet do not try to do it all at once because more than likely you will fail and also you will feel weak and tired because your body has been so dependent on sugar!!! (Our enemy)  Staying fit is about 70-80% diet and 20-30% exercise so lets get our eating in check before we get fitness in check. Once your diet is under control you will have twice the amount of energy to workout. Alllll natural energy no red bull needed. 

        "6 out of 10 Americans have given A LOT of thought to their diet and exercise"

very pregnant modified pull ups

weighted dips

About 7 months pregnant weighted dips

introduction

        My name is Crystal I'm a full time mom,hair stylist,and crossfitter! I started my journey with cross fit 2 years ago. It has been such an incredible addition to my life. I started crossfit for a few different reasons 1. I was sick of the same gym routine and scene 2. I needed a challenge and 3. I needed a sport I grew up playing sports and was starving for something I could compete in and push myself beyond my own limits and crossfit does just that. So here I am 2 years later I still have my full time job a 3 month old baby and I still have my passion for crossfit. I finally decided to start my blog because I'm always asked questions about my diet plan, my energy, and what do I do to stay fit. And now with my baby my most frequently asked question is "how did you bounce back so fast ?".
         My goal with my blog is to reach out to all woman of every shape and size. I would like to not only influence moms but also woman without children. I want to be an inspiration to all and help you realize anything is possible. In my blog I will be sharing my workouts, my crazy daily routine, and tons of recipes, and how can  I forget cute hair, make-up, and clothing for the gym. I can not wait to start answering questions and help you all meet your fitness and health goals. Let the journey began....
          "Even if you lose 1/2 a lb a week, you will still lose 26 pounds by this time next year" so keep on pushing!!!