Friday, November 6, 2015

567kate21df Day 2: Ahhh yes...

So day 2 of my 21 Day Fix was yesterday. And it was SO MUCH BETTER than day 1. Holy moly. I'm chalking up my rough Day 1 to detoxing from sugar (thanks Halloween candy.) and stress. Day 2 was easy. Seriously, a walk in the park.

Breakfast: Shakeology with water, ice, a banana and 2 tsp of natural PB, blended. I'm used to my Shakeo with 1 cup of almond milk, 1 cup of water or 2 cups of almond milk in the mornings so going straight water is a change for me. I miss the creaminess of the milk but not that much. It's not making me cranky! lol (1 Red, 1 Purple, 2 tsp)

Morning snack: 2 cuties. YUM. Seriously, you guys. Candy disguised as fruit! (1 Purple)

Lunch: Brown rice (2 Yellow), peas (1 yellow), grilled chicken (2 red) Pretty good! I love brown rice so this isn't a big change for me. I just am eating the proper PORTIONS of foods I like. Amazing how that works, isn't it?! :)

Afternoon snack: CELERY!! My favorite veggie. Do not tease me. It's true. I love celery! (1 green)

Dinner: Spaghetti squash (2 green), shredded moz cheese (1 blue) a little country crock (I did 2 tsps.) carrots (1 green) some almonds (1 orange)

I was so full all day. Good full, not like I ate ALL THE BREADSTICKS at Olive Garden full. Healthy full. I drank tons of water today. I did lemon water, lime water, plain water...I just couldn't get enough water today!

I give myself a 5/5 on nutrition today because I made good choices and my attitude was rocking! That's my biggest hurdle...my brain game. And I won that game on Day 2!

Workout: Upper Body Fix. TOUGH for me. My arms are my biggest weakness. They never got really chunky, thankfully, but they are weak. My legs are strong because hi, I'm a dance teacher. But my arms just aren't. This was tough but not un-doable. I'm definitely keeping it in my rotation. Review: 3/5. Just being real. I can push more. Ugh. I know I can. I need to beat my brain game on work outs more.

And I have to say this...it's only been two days but I felt slim yesterday. Not skinny (watch yo self. I'm not skinny!) but I felt...slim. Like I had lost a lot of bloat or water weight or something. I sent my sister a picture and she agreed...2 days of good portions and tons of water and bam, water weight went BYE BYE.

I got on the scale this morning and I was right... three pounds gone in 2 days. And I've been eating pretty darn well lately...and I still needed this refresh! Goodness sakes.

Okay! It's Day 3. I want to go get my Lower Body Fix in because I'm excited for that! I love having sore thighs and a booty that's on fire. YYEEEEHAWWWW!!!! :)  I'm taking Rory and Trace to see The Peanuts tonight. I'm going to beat my brain game and not have any popcorn! I may sneak in a purple of grapes and a green of cucumbers though. ;)

Thursday, November 5, 2015

A detox, of sorts.

Detox.

It's a buzz word in the fitness community.

I'm on a sugar detox after Halloween. OMG. So many mini-twix. I MUST DETOX!

I'm on a detox. I need to cleanse my toxins.

I'm detoxing all my (insert perceived negative food ingredient here) out for the next (insert certain amount of time here) because (insert semi-famous celebrity who probably knows nothing about actual health and wellness) said I should on Instagram. My detox means I only drink chicken broth and eat spinach for the next (same amount of random days) but omg my skin will glow when it's done.

Sigh.

Detoxing.

It's important to detox. To cleanse. With this, I agree. I'm all for getting rid of junk in our systems and replacing it with good, wholesome, fuel. Our cars need an oil change every few thousand miles, our bodies deserve at least that same amount of love.

When was the last time you detoxed your mind though?

I'm going through a ridiculous upheaval in my business right now. For the last ten years, my dance studio has been housed in the same building. We've been in a second story walk up, occupying an entire floor of an old department store. Old, creaky wooden floors, drafty windows, leaky roof and all...this building was our home.

Our handprints are all over this building, literally and figuratively. I've poured my time, money, heart and soul in to this building. I've painted walls, built walls, repaired the bathroom floor when it was rotting underneath us, Dave even repaired the roof when the rubber roofing was flapping in the wind. We love our home. Even when the outlets fail us, circuit breakers pop every two seconds, the old straight pins from it's days as a tailor shop work there way out of the floor boards and in to our feet, when the cold winter winds whip through the windows that just don't close all the way...when it's so hot in the summer the mirrors are fogging over, when the water in the bathroom sink has never run hot a day in it's life, when the 27 stairs to get up to the door feel like Mt Everest and we have to carry 30 boxes of costumes up...we love our home.

When you can hear the laughter from the other dance rooms while you're teaching in the big room...
When I see my students handprints in paint on the ceiling and walls from the last time we painted and I let them "leave their mark..."
When my mom's babies hang their coats on the hooks made by a friend of the studio...
When I sit on the benches lovingly made, so crookedly and haphazardly, by a dance mom who has since died of cancer...
When the middle schoolers dare each other to open the fridge that smells like garbage because it's broken and laugh until their stomachs hurt and I get to hear them from my office...
When I hear little feet pounding up the stairs, ready for another hour of cartwheels and giggles...
When I get to change the decorations on the tree at the top of the stairs...
When I have to chase down the UPS guy because there's no where for him to leave our packages...
When I get to have a chat with a student who's mom can't find a parking spot outside on Wednesday nights and has to circle the block for 15 minutes and I learn about favorite colors, tv shows and tiny secrets...

When I remember the many hours we spent sharing stories during candle share, crying and laughing with each other while we realized we really are the same...
When we got to bring home our first "big trophy"...
When Jet Set was finished...
When Kaari landed her first aerial...
When Rory came to the studio for the first time as a squishy little baby...
When Allison walked for hours, holding Trace, so he wouldn't cry...
When Elizabeth went in to labor instead of coming to her baby shower...
When Allie surprised us all with her baby news...
When Jordan and Brittany had World War III and we hid in the bathroom, even as adults...
When Sam put her feet through the wall...
When Sarri came back after her Grandpa passed away and we all cried with her...
When...
When...
When...

How do you say goodbye to a place?
To a place that changed your life? To a place that you brought babies home to, just as much as you brought them home to your own house? To a place where your memories are, where you children made so many of their first memories, where you watched your students grow and change and flourish? How do you just pack your things up, put the ribbons and tambourines in boxes, move it to a new home and leave the music behind?

How?

How am I supposed to let go of half of my heart like that?

When we moved to this studio, after one year at the tiny studio, I wasn't married. I wasn't even engaged.

I ran up these stairs to show Crystal my engagement ring.
I had one of my bridal showers in the front dance room.
I threw up discreetly for four weeks in the bathroom at the studio when no one but my family knew I was pregnant.
I...
I...
I...

I think what makes moving the hardest is that I didn't get a choice. I didn't get to say it's time to move on. I didn't get to get excited and parade my joy around. I had to put things in boxes, pack up my memories and move on because I had no choice.

I was forced to detox from my dance home. And it hurts. My head hurts, my stomach hurts, my heart hurts. I KNOW that our new home is a good thing. It's a beautiful location, it's a wonderful spot for us to be and it will be a great match for us. I know full well that I will make hundreds and thousands of more memories in the new studio. I know that, I accept it, I look forward to it. I'm very excited for the new home. I love the idea of being on the first floor (no more steps!!), TWO bathrooms (both with hot water!), gorgeous pin free floors, warm windows and heaters, a cute round lobby...so many wonderful aspects to the new building.

I know that full well. I'm a mature, rational adult. I do my personal development every day.

But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt to detox sometimes. And today, it hurts. <3 p="">

567kate21df: Day1...The one where I thought I was dying.

Welcome to my 21 Day Fix Daily Recaps...because everyone needs more laughter in their life!

So. The 21 Day Fix.

My genius, little, tiny brain decided starting a few days after Halloween was PERFECT because I could "detox" off the miniscule amount of Halloween candy I would eat and finish up in time for Thanksgiving. Win win, right?

HAHAHA. OMG.

If you are unfamiliar with the 21 Day Fix, it's a portion control teaching system that forces kindly suggests you eat clean for 21 days. It comes with 30 minute workouts, a different one for each day of the week, to get you up and moving. It's a great way to make sure your eating is on track without being totally ridiculous in restrictions/rules.

To prepare, I did all sorts of planning and prepping. Because my life is insane, ya'll.

For those of you just stumbling your way to 567Kate, let me introduce myself...my name is Kate Undercoffer. First of all, I'm a Christian. Jesus is my main man, for real. I can't even begin to accomplish everything I do without His grace and mercies. Secondly, I'm Dave's wife and Rory and Trace's mama. R is 6 and in first grade, T is 5 and in pre-k. Rory is a dancer (sometimes) and a drama queen always. Trace is a future Penn State kicker (For real) and the funniest little man. Dave is a golf obsessed, Penn State loving, hard working man who hates to snuggle just like me. (This is why we work...no touching while we sleep. Gross.)

I own a dance studio in real life and I do love what I do. I'm really blessed to get to do what I think is so important and enjoy every day: invest in the lives of children. There is no one more worthy of our time and energy than our children. They are our future! They deserve all that we can pour in to them. (Another post for another time, perhaps)

I am also a Beachbody coach.

Say what?

Yes, I am a Beachbody coach. I am not perfect, my body is far from perfect (haha 2 C-sections in 17 months and a love for Chicken McNuggets haha) and I am still working on my fitness, yo. But I am a coach because I am DOING this thing. Every morning I am waking up, making the choice to make today a good day. I'm eating 75% healthy, 25% indulgences. I'm getting my butt off the couch at least 30 minutes a day and sweating. I'm drinking my Shakeology and reaping the benefits (sleep is glorious!) I'm drinking 100 oz of water a day. I'm posting my entire progress on the internet for people to see.

That's scary, you guys. And I don't care. There will be haters. People will look at my mom body and say why in the world is this crazy lady giving me fitness advice?

But what you don't know, until you dig deeper, is how far I've come. I've lost over 40 lbs so far and I've got even further to go. And I'm happy to have people come along with me. If I inspire one person to get off the couch, then it's all worth it!

So. Now that we are friends...grab a glass of lemon water and let's chat about how Day 1 of the 21 Day Fix went.

Workout: Total Body Cardio Fix
Review: I liked this one! It was challenging but not "un-doable" I hated the up down knee things with weights. (Technical name, I'm sure) But I get how good it was for me. I loved the format of the workout...1 minute on, 20 seconds off. You can push through 60 seconds of just about anything. It was tough but I can feel it will be easier every time. I'll definitely be using this one even after my fix is over.
Rate: I give myself a 4 out of 5.

Food:
Brkst: Shakeology and an apple
Snack 1: 2 Cutie Oranges
Lunch: HUGE Salad!
Snack 2: Celery sticks and 2 tsp of natural PB
Dinner: Brown rice, peas, baked garlic and herb chicken
Review: All delish! It was a TON of food. Paired with all the water I was drinking, I felt full all day. Almost too full. I'm going to try shifting more of the volume of my food in to the mornings, I think. I don't get hungry during my classes in the evening so having to "choke down" all that food doesn't work too good. Maybe switch breakfast to a "cooked meal" and make my dinner my Shakeology? Hmmm....
Rate: I give myself a 4/5. I didn't eat anything off my plan but my stomach...yuck.


Overall:
Day 1 was rough. Not because of the food or the workout, but because of my crazy, insane stress level right now. My work is out of control bonkers right now. This probably was not the smartest time to start a big change in my eating but that's okay. I'll push through. Last night, my bedtime snack was a migraine pill, a Zofran for nausea, a small glass of diet Sprite (not 21DF approved but necessary for my stomach) and a bunch of essential oils. I crashed hard and slept better than I anticipated. Limiting myself to 1 cup of coffee and having NO refined sugar all day (just a little stevia in my coffee!) definitely contributed to my headache (detox blows) but my sleep was a lot better because of it...I pushed through and survived. And I didn't wind up with my hand in the kids' Halloween candy. SO THAT is a win in my book!