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Sleep is essential to our health and well being. All paths that incorporate sleep deprivation lead to sickness. Our bodies need time to recover from the pace of our daily lives: work, exercise, friends and family; sleep is when the body has a chance to balance its hormones and systems out so it can stay healthy.

At night, Melatonin is released allowing us to fall into a deep sleep. Once in this deep sleep,
growth hormones are produced and cells can reproduce allowing proteins to break down,
which helps your body rebuild itself. Also at night, the body can reduce the amount of
Cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone the body releases when stressed. High Cortisol levels leads
to taxed pathways in the brain, leaving one hungry and craving food, especially sugary carbs. Without enough sleep, your Cortisol levels never have a chance to balance out, which leaves you restless, more stressed and feeling lousy. (Sleep is also the only time your body is actually getting stronger, the more quality sleep you get the better your gains will be in the gym!) This is just part of what our bodies do at night when we sleep. By sleeping more you will feel stronger and sharper.

Tips for a better sleep:

• Make sure your room is as dark as possible: this may mean putting up black-out curtains, turn your alarm clock away from you, and computers off. Even a small amount of light can disrupt your sleep.
• No TV, computers, or heavy reading before bed. These tend to stimulate the brain, which means it is not in a restful state, making it hard to get into a deep REM sleep.
• Establish a nightly routine: You want to aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. By establishing a routine, for example in bed by 11 pm after a hot shower, your body will adapt to that routine making it easier to sleep.
• Time your exercise: Try not to hit the gym too close to your bed time. You stimulate your body and it takes a few hours to calm down. Give yourself at least 3 hours after the gym before you plan on sleeping.
• Cut the caffeine: caffeine even 5 hours before your bed time can leave your body over-stimulated, making it hard to sleep. It will leave you tossing and turning and prevent the body from falling into a deep sleep. Also, try not to have too many liquids 2 hours before you sleep. This will help cut back on bathroom breaks in the night.

Difficulty falling asleep? Try these tips:

• Write, such as a journal or to-do list; that way anything on your mind can get off your mind, allowing you to sleep better.
• Exercise your mind during the day with puzzles or stimulating conversations. This helps the mind feel an increased need to sleep at the end of the day.
• Try a hot shower or bath before bed; a little lavender spray on the pillow (keyword little!)
• Avoid daytime naps
• Go easy on the alcohol before bed.

Happy slumber!

 

Just over one month ago I wrote a blog entry telling you a bit about myself and my journey and giving some tips on how to get going on your goals of a physical lifestyle change/transformation.  Since that time, I had a bit of a regression… my desire to get the body I kept saying I wanted (see any of the recent “What is Crossfit?” YouTube videos for my female inspiration) was overridden by my desire to eat whatever I wanted, not sleep enough and pretty much say “f” it all.  I continued to go to ECF 5-6 days a week, but since I was putting crap in my body, there was no physical improvement (except a few strength gains, including an press PB finally!! :) )  I continued to complain about the physical and mental state I had been getting to (clothes stopped fitting as well), but no matter what I or anyone else said, nothing was getting me back in gear.

It took several weeks of self-pity and lack of desire to eat the right thing before I finally decided “enough is enough!!”  I had to realize why I had gotten to the point I was at before I could move forward. I am a big fan of “The Secret” and my favourite quote is “All that we are is a result of what we have thought" – Buddha.  In the past I obviously had an 'eff' it attitude and it has begun to show in my physique. I did a lot of individual reflection and talking with close friends who understood me best.  I feel so strong today and know that my goals take hard work and it doesn’t come easy (see my last blog post.)  My actions and thoughts from now on will be consistent with the goals I have and I will no longer compromise those goals for anything/anyone.  Does that mean I won’t enjoy life still by occasionally indulging in the odd dessert or staying out too late, no of course not.  It just won’t be every day/every weekend.  I’m making everyone aware of my goals and I have no problem with people calling me out on things if it doesn’t seem like I’m acting consistent with those goals.

Now that I’ve rambled on about myself for two paragraphs, you may be asking yourself “Ok, so how does this story help me?”  Well I am telling you my recent experience to try and encourage you that if you too are in the midst (or even the start) of a physical transformation, that it is not always smooth sailing.  I’m sure that when you started out this journey, you probably figured “life is going to be so much easier when I’m ____” fill in the blank (thinner, stronger, etc.)  Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.  You often have to work just as hard (if not, harder sometimes) to keep something as you did to get it in the first place.

We all fall off the wagon sometimes, be it for one meal, one week, etc.  What’s important is to realize that all is not lost and we can undo that which we did.  I just wish I jumped back on after one meal instead of after several weeks. Words of advice if you are going through the same thing I have been (or in case you do in the future):

1. Stay accountable to yourself, but let people close to you know that you are struggling and you need help staying motivated and on track with your goals.  Saying it out loud (and even writing it down) will help you stick to it so you don’t have to “eat crow” down the line.
2. Use the power of positive thinking to shift your thinking to “I will”.  A positive thought is way more powerful than a negative one, but it seems to be much more difficult for people to think that way.

Stay tuned and stay positive! :)

1. The shorter the workout the longer the warm up and vice versa. You should warm up significantly longer for a 5-minute effort than you should for a 35-minute one.
2. You can PR consistantly for your first year in the gym as long as you are consistant with your training and you don't eat like a moron. After that some form of periodization works best.
3. Eating Real Food (unweighed and unmeasured) works best after you've struggled with figuring out "The Zone" and "Blocks" only because you now have the ability to eyeball food amounts.
4. Eating Real Food in reasonable quantities is much simpler and will lead to better performance than starving yourself will. On the other hand, don't ask why you're not losing weight if you're eating 3 cups of almonds a day.
5. It all starts with breakfast. If you refuse to start eating breakfast, or skip meals because you 'feel full', you're in trouble.
6. There is no such thing as a 'Paleo Dessert'. Paleolithic man didn't have agave nectar, or vanilla extract.  Just call them low-carb desserts and stop lying to yourself.
7. If you have dreams of competing in CrossFit, regularly scale up your workouts, whether with weight or with difficulty. Do some workouts with strict pullups instead of kipping ones, add weight to your deadlifts, and sprint your runs instead of jogging them.
8. Always train hard, but don't stay redlined in 6th gear everyday, you'll wear yourself out.
9. If you're not a runner and want to get better at running, you've got to run more. Learning how to pace is something that can only be gained with experience.
10. If your grip has ever been a limiting factor, train your grip more often. Pick up odd objects, hold heavy barbells, etc.
11. You need technique and strength work more than you'd like to admit. 
12. Don't cherry pick your workouts. Regardless of what cool workout you saw on a website or in a video somewhere, following a solid stream of programming is the best way to make progress. Constantly varied is the key. Random is NOT.

This title of this blog post is my favourite saying ever, because it is 100% true.  When you decide you want something, does it feel more gratifying to have it instantly or to work hard to get it?  Sure, initially instant gratification wins out in the short term, but the thing(s) that you want and work hard for is the thing(s) you value for a long time.

A bit about me. My name is Michelle. I’m 28 years old and have belonged to Element Crossfit since mid-late March 2010. I can say by far that joining was one of the best things I ever did, but this is not a promotion for Element CrossFit :) What I want to share is some information and knowledge I have acquired over the past 6 years regarding body transformation.  I have had many conversations with people over the years and especially recently, about how I went from what I was (read the next paragraph) to what I am now.  I love to share information and help whenever I can, as I have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people who helped me along my journey as well.

I was never a small/skinny girl growing up. At 5’10”, I was usually the tallest in my class and my dad liked to refer to me as a “big” girl. Despite the many sports &activities my parents encouraged me to join, I refused to be athletic. Sitting around, watching TV, eating junk food was much more appealing to me. I continued to gain weight through high school. Before I went off to university, I recall weighing myself and seeing the numbers 187 on the scale. I didn’t let it phase me really. I somehow convinced myself that I weighed the same all through university, and then reality set in when I was done school and stepped on the scale, only to see the numbers 240. I remember that day like it was yesterday. That day was the day I decided to make a change.  I never liked being big, but it always seems you have to hit your “breaking point” before you are truly ready to make a lifestyle change.

Enough about my story (for now).  I asked Alex if I could write a blog post or two regarding what I have learned over the years, so I can help people who are looking to make changes and are either afraid to ask for help, or want something documented so they can go back to it.  Let me start by saying that the hardest part is making the decision to change your life.  Once you have made that decision, implementation is fairly straightforward if you believe in yourself and the outcome.  Lifestyle changes are simple, but they are not easy.  Here are the facts...you will change your body composition if you:

1. Eat a proper diet (including all food groups)
2. Perform anaerobic activity
3. Perform aerobic activity

In my opinion, that is the order of importance as well.  Let me clarify that I am not a nutritionist, dietician, personal trainer, etc.  Everything I write is purely from experience.

Before this post gets too long, I will give the few pieces of advice I give to people when they tell me they are ready to make a lifestyle change:

1. Log everything you eat (what and how much)....everything for one week.  Even if it is pizza!  Knowing how you got to where you are can help you figure out what you need to do to change your direction.  After the week take a look at what you ate and see if there are things you can remove, reduce, and replace. Ask Rachel or someone else that is knowledgeable to help you identify areas of improvement (i.e. eating less, maybe eating more, more often, more protein, etc.)  I’m available to help!
2. Move! Walk, walk faster, jog, run, take the stairs, lift something heavier than a bottle of beer.  It all adds up.  (Join ECF :) ).  Just get your heart rate up (within reason of course.  Make sure you have been checked out by your doctor before starting anything new.)
3. Write down your goals.  Writing them down makes you significantly more likely to achieve them.
4. Tell someone about your goals.  This helps you stay accountable.  Tell someone who is supportive and will help you when you are feeling down and motivate you when you are feeling great!
5. Realize that the body you have is a reflection of all your past thinking, eating and activity/lack thereof.  You can absolutely change what you are if you want to.  Believe it and visualize it.
6. Take measurements, with a tape measure, not the scale.  By using the scale you can get frustrated, especially if you are working out since you could be in the sweet spot where you are losing fat and gaining muscle.  The scale won’t tell you that.  How your clothes fit is the best indicator.  I only finally accepted this and that is why I no longer own a scale.  You can say hi to it as it now is property of ECF.

I think I will end this post with some visuals.  Most people don’t believe I used to weigh 240.  So here are some photos...one of me on vacation in Feb 2004 and one of me on vacation in June 2010 (note the bruise on my knee from doing burpees! Haha).  I’m not exactly sure how much I weigh now, probably somewhere in the 150’s.

  

Did it take me a while to go from A to B?  Yes. 

Was it difficult?  Yes. 

Did I want to quit?  Yes and I did several times. 

Is it worth it now?  Absolutely!  Am I where I want to be? 

No, but I’m a work in progress and I enjoy the journey.

I hope to share more information/experiences in the weeks/months to come.

I recently visited Whole Circle Farms, in Acton, Ontario, and joined their CSA program. For less than $15/week, they provide me with a 2-person basket of fresh produce.

A Community Supported Agriculture program provides a direct link between the farmer and the consumer. The farmer receives your support for local, sustainable food, and you receive a seasonal variety of the best quality produce, in one convenient weekly package!

After visiting their farm, seeing their cows and chickens roaming free in the grass, I'm going to avoid the grocery store as much as possible! I look forward to trying different vegetables and recipes each week.

Take some time and learn more about a CSA program in your area. It will get you out of a food rut and into healthy, fresh eating. You won't have to try to be creative with your food planning, and you certainly won't have to worry about where your food is coming from!

If you're not ready to commit to a CSA, at least get out of the big box and shop and a local Farmer's Market. Homegrown food is fresher, tastes better, and is healthier for you and the environment. Enjoy it in the summer while we can!! To get an idea of what to expect each month, check out this month-by-month List of Ontario Produce.