weigh in wednesday. 25 may 11.

another weigh in wednesday......

looks like today i'm at 153 lbs.

this is where i was (wwaayyy) back in november...... before the back slide.

so, i'm pretty pumped. and i feel good. i can tell...... from 160# to 153#..... i look better. clothes fit better.

and as my dear robbo commented last week (when i was bummed for being "stuck" at 155#), there's more to it than just the numbers on the scale.........

we have been working out for the last 6 weeks, my workouts have already shown progress. so, a little weight loss and gained strength.... that's gotta say something. right?

after primal con, we decided to start working out again & what better plan than to follow the primal blueprint fitness plan.

it covers the 5 essential primal movements...
1.push up
2. pull up
3. squat
4. overhead press
5. plank

the week after primal con, we did the primal blueprint "ken korg's self assessment test"

here's how i did.......

push ups....... full "real" push ups. 11.
pull ups ..... no pull up bar...... but, i know i can't do any unassisted.
squats ...... 40 full squats.
overhead press ...... dive bombers. better start with just jack knife press.
plank..... forearm/feet plank. 62 seconds.

if you follow the primal blueprint plan, based on your assessment it gives you a starting place for your new training program. we've used this workout for 4 weeks for our heavy lift day.

here is what i did today. for the workout, you do 2 rounds of these 5 elements.

push ups....... knee pushups. 30.
pull ups....... we have been substituting kettlebells rows ..... until a suitable pullup station is constructed.
rows ...... 35 lb kettlebells. 12 rows.
squats ..... bench squat (or in my case, today was ball squat). 50.
overhead press...... first time to try jack knife press. one set of 20. second set i did elevated jack knife press. 20.
plank ...... hand/feet plank. 90 sec. ugh. so hard. this is the only core workout anybody ever needs.
side plank.......... forearm/feet. 45 sec.

about 2 min rest between sets. total workout ~ 30 min. once a week.

hand/feet plank pose.

in the four weeks, today was my first day to advance to jack knife press (from elevated jack knife) and first time to do side plank on forearms (from hand/feet side plank). pretty good progress. :)

the past 6 weeks, we have also been doing sprints once a week............ following the beginner sprint training plan from primal blueprint fitness. and the rest of the week... slow move & / or play...... lots of frisbee. walk. ride our bikes. slack line.

slack line.

playing frisbee at the park.

we even did stand up paddling for the first time about a week ago!! awesome!! :) wish i could go everyday............

stand up paddle boarding on lake grapevine.

what did you do this week?? anything new?

happy wednesday,
coley

weigh in wednesday. 18 may 11.

it's been forever since a weigh in wednesday, right?

so, the truth of the matter is that before primal con, robbo & i started sliding. we were probably 80/20 primal most days, but the 60/40 or the 50/50 days got to be more and more frequent....... i was back up to 160 lbs just before primal con.


and, here we are about 4 weeks out since primal con and back to 155 lbs..... still not my lowest ...... i feel good. we have done really well the last 4 weeks. i think we've really been 100% primal since primal con. and we are playing and moving more than we have in long time....... frisbee. sprints. primal blueprint fitness challenge. slackline. whatever else sounds fun..... i am anxious to see how things continue to change as we continue to live primally......




i hope you noticed i added a few new tabs also......
books ........ my favorite books. some life changing. some still worth recommending.

deliciosity ...... favorite foods. favorite recipes. :)

soaps & such ....... favorite d.i.y., eco friendly recipes for bath, beauty & cleaning.

happy tuesday,
coley.

reconnect.

at primal con, mark talked about his next project. he has a new book coming out (in a year or so....) about "reconnecting." his premise is ..... what's next? eating primal. moving. playing. taking care of ourselves... physically. but, what else? what he mentioned at primal con was this idea of reconnecting with the earth.

i'm excited, because this is where everything comes together for me....... several things have been changing all at once within me. i feel like i'm in a new place. growing to be a new person. a paradigm shift. it's my own reconnecting...........

one of the key moments that started these changes was reading the book serve God, save the planet by matthew sleeth. it changed my life. dramatic, i know. first, it is about living more sustainably from a Christian perspective. deep inside, this is something i've always questioned. it hasn't really been a struggle, but when i finally read this it made so much sense! second, it was written by an emergency room physician who has retired from medicine and gone on to teaching / speaking / writing about living a more sustainable lifestyle. i don't know, somehow i was able to identify with dr.sleeth's struggles of the expectations of how a dr. (or anyone successful) is suppose to live in our consumer focused society. this has been a struggle....... people think vibram boy and i are crazy for driving older cars and for buying the little house instead of a mcmansion.

so, back to the book.................. from a Biblical perspective, dr. sleeth talks about saving our earth's resources, spending more time with family and consuming less. this is all part of being a good steward for Christ. it's not just about tithing our 10% back to the church. right? it's being wise with our money and our time and our crap stuff. it's making good decisions and to not live beyond our means. to give generously to others. and, the earth's resources too.

this was completely eye awakening for me. of course! this is where it all started to come together........ we've always been conservative. safe investments. savings. don't overspend. pay off debt. i got it. i was a careful with money. all of a sudden, i understood why i recycled. why i tried to make things. to re-use and re-purpose things. why we didn't have television (we have lived without t.v. since we've been married. ok, a short stint when we moved and had 3 free months of cable...) i understood why i felt the deep down desire to consume less.

i want my house life to look like a magazine. i want nice things. the perfect kitchen, beds made, cozy living room, manicured yard. always ready for company with a pot roast in the oven. but, i've come to understand that there is a more important life out there.......... we all know this. we know life isn't really about the clothes or the cars or the big house, but, so many of us give into those things anyways. and, let's face it..... it's easy to do. especially in america. thank you product marketing.... magazines, ads, commercials, infomercials, billboards, junk mail (and they know..... i am a total. sucker. for good design.)

so, reading serve God, save the planet was the beginning to overcoming consumerism. how does this tie into being primal? it goes back to this idea of reconnecting. not too long after reading s.G.s.t.p. we also started reading mark's daily apple. we slowly worked our way into the primal lifestyle. and, kinda like being a good steward, isn't just about money......... being primal isn't just about eating meat. it's an entire lifestyle that gets to the roots behind what we are eating and why, and how we can best take care of ourselves. the primal blueprint offers suggestions on how to work out efficiently and be the strongest, leanest, healthiest body. mark addresses sleep and playing and living with less stress. it is an entire lifestyle that addresses how to live our healthiest life.

and, now mark wants to address my same question......... what else? what's next?

putting these things together is helping me focus on my own reconnecting............. what's next? reconnecting with God. reconnecting with people. with nature. with a simple, yet fulfilling life.

things we do now....... baby steps remember............. recycle. buy grass fed beef. buy seasonally. buy locally. buy organic (this could be a whole other blog topic....). support local businesses. use the library. i try to "upcycle" old clothes into new pieces. shop at goodwill or consignment or antique stores. shop at the local farmer's market. eat meat and vegetables. play outside...... walk, sprint, lift heavy things, frisbee, catch, hike, yoga. keep things low key..... honestly, we don't have much stress. sleep 8 hrs a night. yes, really (ok, my sleep schedule can be unpredictable...). avoid harmful ingredients (parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, petrolatum, etc.) make bath & beauty products.... we make our own laundry soap, tooth paste, face wash, moisturizers, etc.

our ultimate 5 year plan.............. compost. garden. have chickens for eggs (and meat, i guess). goats for milk and meat. vibram boy says rabbits for meat ..... i'm not there yet......... bees for honey. collect rainwater. use grey water. have solar panels and wind turbines. to be 75% off the grid (maybe 100% off in 10 years). to be flexible, strong and healthy and maintain our ideal body weights. to live in a tiny house or airstream trailer or storage container. to be saving for retirement (my goal is to retire from medicine in 2018............ then i'll open a yarn store or yoga studio or sell eggs at the farmer's market).

other books i've read that just continue to support my new ideas (might be nice to post book reviews, huh?)........

the four agreements by don miguel ruiz.

the gifts of imperfection by brene brown.

affluenza: the all consuming epidemic by john de graff, david wann & thomas naylor.

the alchemist by paulo coelho.

the vegetarian myth by lierre keith.

topics may seem a little broad, but these books are part of my personal paradigm shift are helping me get to this place of living my most authentic self, living for God, living a healthy, sustainable life and keeping things simple.

how are you reconnecting??

happy wednesday.

vibram girl.