Thoughts on Completing 12 Weeks of Crossfit

For a number of reasons, I've taken a little while away from the intertubes (or at least blogging). The election got too scary after the first debate to be funny and some last days of sunshine took precedent over spewing incoherent non-sense into the void.

The election is over.

The sun is gone forever (or at least May, assuming the Mayans are wrong).

 Please forgive me for being a bit extra self indulgent and intellectually light today.

In mid September, I started Crossfit with Meg out of a feeling that if I did not do something radical to change my habits that they were going to kill me. Not in a dramatic way mind you, but something slow and sad brought on through diabetes, emphysema and liver disease. I got winded on one flight of stairs. I was 214lbs. A six pack every night was an unnoticed part of my routine.

The last picture taken before I started class. Please take note of the beautiful man titties

Jump Start brought about immediate changes. For the first month, I adhered very strictly to Paleo to the frustration of many. I went to classes twice a week which I augmented with nightly runs and walks of 2-6 miles. By the third week, I had lost 24 lbs, and transitioned 6-10 additional lbs from fat to muscle. It was a revelation.

As the second month began, I started taking harder classes and going three times a week (MWF). The classes for these last 8 weeks have been block programming focused on building essential skills and strength. The experience is very different from my Jump Start class both in the level of difficulty and in the level of commitment from other students. There is a sense of shared motivation and suffering in these classes that builds a community. While my weight has  stabilized, I am seeing significant changes in my body both in size and strength.

Where them titties go?

Where I am struggling is maintaining a commitment to Paleo. After the first month, I started letting myself have treats on Saturday. By the end of the 6th week, I was finding that my "cheating" had made an incursion into weekdays, and that I was only following strict Paleo about 3 days a week. Now will come the challenge of re-igniting my motivation to shop, prep, cook and eat foods that are better for me.

For three years I had built a "balanced life" where self-indulgence was on one side of the scale, and money was on the other. I told myself that as long a I had a good job, the rest would sort itself out. 12 weeks ago, I added crossfit to this balance, and changed the way that I think about almost everything.