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Read MoreThe Sugar Alarm
Welcome to The Clothes Make The Girl, where I screw up, so you don’t have to…
It’s 4:00 a.m., and I’m wide awake. I should be nestled, snug in my bed, while visions of sugarplums dance in my head. Instead, I’m twitching and fretting and clearly, not getting the sleep I need to tackle our CrossFit Austin workout in two hours.
Why?
Because I ate sugar. Like, a LOT of sugar.
Yesterday, Dave and I turned up the oven, cranked up the holiday tunes, and transformed our kitchen into a cookie factory. Then our friend Stefanie joined us to make Russian Teacakes. A bottle of wine might have been opened. Our cookies might have been sampled.
I’m not going to lie: It was delightful.
But now I’m remembering what my nightlife was like before I cleaned up my diet.
For most of my adult life, I routinely described myself as a “bad sleeper.” I fell asleep like I was drugged around 10:00 p.m., then woke up almost every night at 4:00 a.m. It was always a crapshoot to see if I would eventually fall back into sleep – or if I would lie there for hours, fretting, waiting for the alarm to go off, thinking the whole time, “I should be sleeping! Should I just get up? Should I stay here and try to sleep? How am I going to do my workout and get through the day on six hours of sleep?!”
When I stopped eating grains and sugar, the 4:00 a.m. alarm disappeared. I slept through the night and woke physically and mentally rested.
So here I am, awake, halfway regretting the cookies in my belly – but not the fun of making them and hanging out with my besties. I’m also NOT fretting, which is a welcome change from the ghost of sleepless nights past.
I am, however, thinking about the CrossFit Austin workout I will be doing in less than 120 minutes. I can only hope the sugar from the cookies somehow kicks in like reindeer rocket fuel, because this workout looks fun… and it looks like if I do it right, I might have to lie down when I’m done.
“Crossfit’s The 12 Days of Christmas”
1st Day= 1 x 20m sprint
2nd Day= 2 x push-ups
3rd Day= 3 x air squats
4th Day= 4 x situps
5th Day= 5 x dumbbell swings (55lbs, 35lbs)
6th Day= 6 x back squats (95lbs, 65lbs)
7th Day= 7 x push [resses (95lbs, 65lbs)
8th Day= 8 x hang cleans (95lbs, 65lbs)
9th Day= 9 x bent-over rows (95lbs, 65lbs)
10th Day= 10 x deadlifts (95lbs, 65lbs)
11th Day= 11 x box jumps (24″, 20″)
12th Day= 12 x burpee pull-ups
[Update 8:06 a.m.: That workout was cumulative… 1st day, then 2nd day + 1st day, then 3rd day + 2nd day + 1st day, etc. I scaled to 45# and finished in 28 minutes. Whew! I’m wicked tired and happily anticipating a nap later. And yeah, I already ate a cookie today. Shhhhhh…..]
After that, I’m refueling and hitting the park to do the Jingle Balls and Reindeer Games workout with my Austin friends.
So dear readers, if you indulge in your favorite holiday treats, enjoy every bite and remember that there might be some consequences to be paid… but just like Scrooge, you can be redeemed by lessons learned, good behavior, and the love of the season.
Happy, happy! Merry, merry!
[Just for fun: here’s what some other people have been doing at 4:00 a.m.]
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What gives? I woke at 4:37 (CST) this morning, too. On my day off, even! Sheesh.
Happy holidays to you and Dave. Sounds like you're off to a good start, despite the early wake-up today.
Happy Happy Merry Merry to you too!!!
Scott and I are going to tackle this one tomorrow! But, we'll use kettlebells (35/53lb) and do SDLHP instead of "Bent-Over Rows". I built a pull-up bar in our garage, but it is too high for me to jump to (Scott's tall…not quite a tall as Dave, but tall, nonetheless), so…hmmm…I'll have to figure out what to do about that. This sounds fun, brutal but fun.
I really can't imagine doing it so early in the morning and on such little sleep…you're pretty badass!
FYI…I'm anticipating a painful Sunday morning, as my Christmas dinner plans are far from Paleo. I'm making homemade pasta with bolognese (it will be simmering all day tomorrow) and have a really great bottle of champagne…and maybe this special bottle wine I've been saving…
JEN! How was the workout? And more importantly, how was your feast?!
I ate SO many Russian Teacakes and almond macaroons… and I even ate some cheese! So far, I don't feel too bad, but I am sick of sugar. Believe it!
I was going to wait until Jan. 2 to clean up, but I decided to start today instead. I'm craving vegetables.
But I thoroughly enjoyed my indulgences: sparkling wine, buttered popcorn, chips & salsa… I ate sugar in all its many, evil forms. WOOT!
Happy almost 2011!
I enjoyed the following:
Eggs Benedict w/Savory Waffles
Homemade Pasta w/Bolognese (it cooked all day and was work every bite!)
3/4 Bottle of Bubbly
Pretty much carb mania! I would've loved to have partaken in your Russian Teacakes…YUM!!! We didn't have any dessert, but I think I did enough damage with everything else.
I had a blotch of eczema on my hand as I went to bed and my stomach felt funky, but today is a new day and I feel great. Yesterday was indulgent and I don't feel at all guilty about it! And, we move on… 🙂
As for the workout…we did it today (yesterday was rest and indulge). Here's what we did:
1: 20M Run (there wasn't much "Sprinting" at the end)
2: Push Ups
3: Air Squats
4: Sit Ups
5: Kettlebell Swings (35/53lbs)
6: Back Squats (65/95lbs)
7: Push Press (65/95lbs)
8: Hang Cleans (65/95lbs)
9: Overhead Walking Lunges (10/25lbs)…instead of Bent-Over Rows*
10: Deadlifts (65/95lbs)
11: 24" Box Jumps (Step-Ups/Jumps)
12: Burpee Box Jumps/Burpee Pull Ups
This workout was AWESOME!!! *The BORs were not a movement that I had ever done, so I didn't feel comfortable doing them quickly…so, did the OWLs with a 10lb plate. And, I stacked 4-45lb plates to make a "box" for my BBJs…Scott was using the pull-up bar, which is too high for me to jump to. Also, I did step-ups in the 24" box, because that's what we have and 24"s scares me to jump on…I have shins I'd like to keep covered with skin.
Overall…we loved it! And, we bought a 2nd bar so we were able to go head-to-head…even better! Thank you for the WOD and a Very Merry Day After Christmas to you!!!