Gaining Weight and the Tight Pants Dance

You know when you have to do a couple air squats to get those tight pants on? Ladies (and hipster boys) - you know what I'm talking about! Well slowly but surely I needed to add a few extra air squats to my morning regimen.

Thats right...I have gotten bigger, even put on a few pounds. But for the first time in my life, I'm okay with it!

If this happened anytime from age 14 to even just a year ago, I would probably be upset, beating myself up and stepping on the scale everyday just to see if I lost a couple pounds.

So what changed? Simply put, I started looking at food differently. I now eat in order to fuel myself for my daily life and workouts. Since I started this mental shift I have seen some extreme gains, especially in the past couple months!

CrossFit forced me to look at food differently. I no longer look at a meal and think, "Man, this is going to make me feel fat and put on at least a couple pounds!" I look at my meals and think "this is going to help me in my workout today, tomorrow and a month from now."

This isn't to say that you can just eat whatever you want in order to "bulk up." The quality and types of food you choose are still extremely important. When you take an approach of eating as fuel, you will then choose foods that help your performance.

I recently used a calculator on eattoperform.com (great website!). In the end it told me I should be eating close to 2500 calories a day! I was amazed! In high school I probably only ate close to 1200! I used to go by the model "calories in = calories out." However, this thinking is just plain wrong. It doesn't take into account basal metabolic rate (BMR) - which simply put is the amount of calories your body needs to functions on a day to day bases.

Now 2500 may sound a bit much for a 5'4 girl, but I have to say it has done nothing but good for me.

Yes, I have put on weight; not only on my body, but on the barbell - and that's what counts for me!

Maybe one day I will be able to back squat 300lbs like Camille LeBlanc (maybe...)

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THE Banana Pancake Recipe

This is one of my FAVORITE recipes! If you go to CrossFit 7 Mile - you've heard me rave about these! I found a version of it when I was doing the Whole Life Challenge a couple months back and doctored it up a bit to get it exactly how I like it. It is a great substitute for traditional, high fat, high sugar pancakes.

The following recipe is easy, clean, gluten free, dairy free and paleo!

Ingredients:
Bananas (ripe)
Eggs
Spinach
Nut Butter
Coconut Oil (to cook with)

Prep:

• Mash up 1 banana and put it directly into the blender
• Crack 1 egg into the blender
• 1 cup of raw spinach
• 1 teaspoon of your favorite nut butter (I use hazlenut butter; however, you can use almond butter or whatever butter you prefer...but hazlenut will be the best...I have tested this!)
• Combine all ingredients in the blender until the mixture is a pancake batter-like consistency

Directions:

• Heat pan on a low-medium heat - I use around 4 - 4.5, but this will depend on your stove 
• Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• When pan is hot with coconut oil, pour batter directly into pan and make 3 small pancakes in the pan approximately 3 inches in diameter. You can experiment with how large you want to make the pancakes, but I suggest starting small so they are easier to flip.
• Cook for approximately 4 minutes - unlike regular pancakes you won't see the edges browning as much, so be sure to set a timer
• Carefully flip the pancakes and cook on the second side for approximately 2 minutes
• Take pancakes off pan and onto a plate

And you are done!

I usually just add grass fed butter on top and eat! Feel free to mix it up and add fresh berries, bananas or any fruit! No need for syrup on these - they are already sweet enough!

A couple tips:

• It may take a couple times to get the correct temperature and time on your specific stove, just be sure to cook on a low heat so the egg is fully cooked.
• I usually make a large batch of these at a time 5 - 6 bananas and keep the leftovers in the fridge and use for the next few days.
• If you use more than one banana all the other measurements match the number of bananas you use: example: 5 bananas, 5 eggs, 5 cups spinach, 5 teaspoons nut butter.
• You will NOT taste the spinach - trust me I have tried this with and without spinach. It is just an easy way to add some veggies into the meal! If your kids ask why they are green, just explain they are special St. Patty's Day pancakes (all year round)! They won't care anyways once they try them!
• You can also add cacao powder or dark chocolate chips if you are in chocolatey mood

Just One of Those Days....

Coincidence is a funny thing...

Today was not the greatest day to say the least...it was quite stressful actually. I had all these negative thoughts and was holding on to my anger for a good part of the day. Then I was trying to catch up on some homework and lone behold the chapter was all about positive thinking! Go figure!

I took a moment to really evaluate my day and in the scheme of things I have so much more to be grateful for than to be upset about. If I continue to put out this negative energy, all I'm going to get back is negativity.

It never really occurred to me that the concept of positive affirmation/thinking works in everyday life. I know, this sounds like a given, but it was like a lightbulb that went off today. I have been using this strategy for years in sports - every time I went up to bat in softball, serve the ball in volleyball, step into the wresting ring, or pick up a barbell I would tell myself "you can do this...you got it...go get it!"

One of my biggest pet peeves as a CrossFit Coach is when people look at a barbell and say "I can't do that!" My response: "Well you're right when you approach it like that!"

Now it is time to bring this mindset into my everyday life and be grateful for everything I have and exude positivity! After all I am writing this from my porch, looking out at the water, in Grand Cayman!

TIP:
Here is something I'm going to try and you should give it a try to:
Every Sunday make a list of things that are positive or you are grateful for in your in life.

Use this list to get you through any rough patches of the coming week. Repeat.

How Heavy Are Cruise Ships?

Do you ever sit there and look at a cruise ship and wonder how something so big can stay afloat??

I not only wonder how the ship can stay afloat, but how it can keep floating once all the passengers are onboard! About 2/3 of Americans are overweight. I would say 3/4 of cruise ship passengers are overweight...at least...

My husband and I took a cruise last week and we were hanging out by the pool before we left port in Miami. I turned to my husband and said "this is the reason I will stay in business..."

Everywhere you turn on the ship there are obese people...I'm not talking overweight, but severly obese. Many of them were "veteran" cruisers who go on multiple ships each year and spent the majority of their time stuffing their faces.

To be completely fair, I feel like you step into a little "cruise bubble" when you board the ship. A bubble where people have no shame and eat and drink whatever they want, whenever they want. All the food they ever wanted is right at their fingertips 24/7. Not only that, but many people feel they have to get their money's worth.

I like to think I have a lot of self control, but being on the cruise I have to admit, I fell victim to this "bubble"world.

I completely understand why people choose cruises, especially now for how cheap they are! However, is the deal worth the detriment it does to your body? In order, to go on a cruise and not leave 5 pounds (or more) heavier each time, you have to show some self restraint, which obviously the majority of these people do not have in their daily lives, so it is magnified even more when you get in that "cruise ship" state of mind.

I guess the moral of my story is that temptation will always be around in our daily lives. We all deserve a vacation now and then, but being on vacation doesn't give you a free pass. Those calories do still count! I'm not saying you can't take let loose a bit - we all need this. However, do it in moderation. The next time you take a little break, be a bit more mindful of what you are putting into your body.