A big phew from me for taking on the Fight Gone Bad this morning. And, although the image I chose is more related to doing a marathon, in a way, Fight Gone Bad is like a 17-minute marathon. You're more likely to puke at FGB, but, given the right moment, you just might shit your pants, too. The wall comes somewhere near the end of the second round.

Back in 2002, I finished the Portland, Oregon marathon. I alternated walking and running, but had a plan not to run until about the halfway point (after a major hill). I was so excited the morning of the race that I got to the site and realized that I'd forgotten my timing chip back at the hotel, about 6 blocks away. I panicked and ran all the way back to the hotel and then all the way back to the site. And I still had so much adrenalin that when the starting gun went off, even though I was toward the back, I started running. Luckily, one of my friends reminded me that we hadn't even crossed the start line yet and maybe I'd like to save my energy for the race. I was okay after that and finished the marathon in a little over 6 hours, which I was totally happy about. The next day I was sore, but was still able to go for a hike. Ah those were the days.

Last night I was getting so nervous about the Fight Gone Bad that I started watching videos of the lifting moves and practicing them. This morning, too, I had so much nervous energy that I started to get a little headache from it. I guess this is how I know that an event is important to me. Some of you donated money for me, and that gives this event even more personal meaning. It really means so much to me! I carry that with me into these events and it pushes me to do my best. And I like to see what I can do. I don't really know until I do it. But, just like the marathon, I have to hold the reigns when the buzzer goes off. This was especially true today, since I was doing the FGB after being out from Bulldog all of last week and not attending regularly before that. When I hurled the first wall ball, I knew it really was a fight.

And I made it through, of course. I don't think my number of reps (202) is as high as last year, but I know that my lifts were better in form this year and I felt stronger. I also know that I really need to work on my wall ball technique. This is a new goal for me. I've read in a few places that before you do your workout, it's a good idea to do your warm-up and then take a few minutes to practice something that you suck at. Friends, I'm going to practice wall ball.

Oh --and if you have no idea what wall ball is --it's taking a 10-20 lb medicine ball, doing a squat while holding the ball at chest height and then springing up while hurling the ball at a point 10-12 feet up on the wall, then catching it as you simultaneously go back down into your squat position. I managed to whack my face into the ball twice today, but also, I was just completely exhausted by the movement involved in each hurl. And I was only using a 10 pound ball.

Watching the Crossfit games this week on ESPN2 (next round is on 9/21) and then doing the Fight Gone Bad for my second time, I realized that going to Bulldog and doing workouts, getting better and feeling stronger, are so important to me. But lately I've been struggling with making it there regularly, which really is the key to making progress. So I'm taking the inspiration from this past week to recommit myself to Bulldog and to getting stronger. The first step to being successful with this is to get my ass up (and get to the early workout at Bulldog). Thanks for coming up with this catchy rap, Vanilla Ice: http://youtu.be/ZwQyG7iD92A.

(Thanks to "brilliantly sarcastic responses to completely well-meaning signs" at http://www.happyplace.com for the last image.)

but then
AGAIN!

What's going on here? What have I been up to since my most popular blog entry on August 19th? Let me tell you.

First of all though, thank you all so much for your comments on my WeightWatchers post. I loved the supportive messages and the not so supportive messages, too. I think it's important to discuss this stuff. And I do want to say that during my many stints with WW, I did learn some things. And some of what I learned have been helpful for me on the Whole30. I think the biggest thing that I got from WW is that first success with losing 68 pounds. Yes, there were problems with how I did it and how I couldn't have maintained it, BUT I still remember how I felt when I lost that weight. I remember feeling light and energetic and also like I had found the body that I was meant to be in. I would stop at mirrors and look at my legs and think, are those my legs? I had a shopping spree in taxless Portland and I remember trying on pair after pair of jeans ecstatically, because everything fit and everything looked good. In Portland I had wogged a marathon and went on to hike the next two days. Whoa! I was so fit! So I carry those feelings and memories with me as my goal feeling for eating "clean" after my "Whole60" is complete. I still have more to say about my body on WW vs. Whole30, but I'm going to save it for another post.

So, on my first Whole30, weeks 3 & 4, particularly 4, were more difficult for me. I did continue to have more energy than my pre-Whole30 self, but I started getting more migraines (some caused by hormonal changes) and at times I felt that my energy and good feelings were declining. For sure my stress was up and I wasn't getting enough sleep during week 3, but I realized, too, that toward the end of week 3 into week 4, I got lazy on the food prep and planning and started eating mainly beef for my protein. And during week 4, I upped my Bulldog workouts to 3 times per week. I felt fatigued off and on and I got migraines after each workout. Something was wrong. I started to feel disappointed, but deep down, I knew that it wasn't due to the Whole30 food. Melissa at Whole9 recommended that I take a week off from Bulldog and rest. She and Gio (coach at Bulldog) also told me to log everything --eating, sleeping, exercise, energy levels. So that's what this week has been.

I felt quite a lot of resistance to giving up Bulldog this week. I was just getting back into it! Gio had told me "Welcome back!" and I had replied, "It's good to be back." And then, what? I stop going? But I had to remind myself that it's only one week. Why do I have to be so all or nothing? For some reason my brain immediately jumps to saying, "So, it's time to quit Bulldog; well, Body, I told you this day would come." Sometimes I really get on my own nerves! Just to show my brain what's what, I wrote a big Bulldog across the week of September 5th.

And I got some groceries and stopped with the beef for a few days. Lo and behold, my energy levels went back to my earlier Whole30 days -- almost immediately. And my migraines did decrease this week as well. I still felt some fatigue and that is still a little bit of a mystery. I feel it usually in the morning when I get up. It could be a side effect of my preventative migraine medication that I take nightly (although it's an extremely low dose) or possibly my migraine abortive medication, although I have experienced it when I haven't taken any. I'm getting some vitamin D3 to try, since I know that fatigue can be a symptom of low D levels and I did test on the lower side last year. I'm not too concerned since the fatigue tends to wear off as I move around more and start waking up. Maybe some early morning stretching would help. I'll just play around with it and see what helps.

I completed my first Whole30 on August 30th. I posted my results on Facebook, but let me officially report them here, too:

I'm down 10 pounds (without even trying and with no cravings except for one time when I smelled freshly baked bread and had an almost pornographic image flash in my head of me eating buttered toast)

I frequently sleep through the night (for the first time ever in my life as far as I can remember)

Energy levels through the roof and the energy is consistent (no dips at 3 pm and 6 pm); husband still retreating to mancave periodically to recover from too much talking when I get home in the evening.

Reduced frequency and intensity of migraines (after years of trying almost every med, herbs, supplements, acupuncture, and physical therapy)

I'm learning to cook and I find it relaxing and rewarding as something I do for myself (cooking more has been a long-time wish of mine)

Weird eczema/psoriasis patch on my hand is finally healing after a year of treating it

I am also learning to "hear" my body. This is not easy -- and I always thought that I was pretty in tune with it; now I see that sometimes my brain tricks me.

With my first Whole30 complete, I thought carefully about my next step. I read the Whole9 materials for what to do after the Whole30, but I really feel that I need to give this a little more time. Even 3 months after my surgery, I still feel like I am recovering. And after years and years of increasing my junk food intake and also taking way too much relpax (yes, technically abusive levels, so much that my neurologist is "very concerned") for my migraines, I think I have more healing to do. For sure I have more weight to lose, but that will continue on even after my second Whole30 is over. I'm still learning about how this way of eating interacts with what I need to do during the day (including workouts and teaching). I also know that this way of eating doesn't cure everything. There are still things that I need to work on outside of my eating plan -- stress reduction, for example. Also, regarding my Bulldog migraines, although the workouts do sometimes seem to trigger a migraine, it's not the workout itself, but my tendency to hunch up, especially when I am trying to run or when I'm getting tired during a workout. I'm a Crossfitting Quasidmodo!

This hunchiness brings on a tension headache about an hour or two after my workout. That, in turn, triggers a migraine. I need to work on strengthening my postural muscles and I need to be mindful (no matter what I'm doing) of my tendency to hunch. For awhile, the migraines might just have to happen as I work on this -- and I am okay with that.

Most of all, I am excited to be on this new path of healthiness that feels so right to me. I have hope, when a month ago I felt desperate for relief and depressed at the thought of accepting that I would have to be tired and in pain for many years to come. Now I actually have more than hope -- I have success, the best positive feedback ever for maintaining this lifestyle change!

Stay tuned for more reports as I build in workouts and more meditation among other things! If you are trying to eat "paleo" or if you are considering the Whole30, let me know! And if you have migraines, I would really like to hear about how you handle them in your life.