Goals: Carrie Underwood’s legs

I remember exactly where I was when I decided to start Whole30 for the first time – it was Juneish of 2017 and I was standing in a 7-11 line holding a “breakfast burrito” full of suspicious but delicious debatable nutritious ingredients, a Red Bull in the other hand, asking myself why after nearly 2 full years of CrossFit, I still didn’t have Carrie Underwood’s legs like my goal board had stated.

I was spending almost a crazy amount of money a month in personal training and gym memberships (invaluable and worth every penny), and when I asked my coach why those glamorous calf muscles hadn’t started to show up yet, he laughed and asked me what I had had for breakfast, reminding me again that you can’t out-exercise what you eat. It wasn’t his fault that I was giving 120% in the gym and 18% outside of it. Those coaches, that gym, changed my life.

To rewind a bit, after some serious nudging from a mentor and friend of mine, I joined a CrossFit gym in 2015. Y’all, prior to 2015, I wasn’t ever considered athletic, I’d never found a “program” that worked for my nutritional needs, I’d never EVER had muscle or flexibility, and here I am, 35 years old and slowing down my body’s aging process.

I’ve never had a program work until Whole30. It’s become a lifestyle for my household, though we call it the Whole27 in our house because grace in every sense of the word is allowed and, well, I like wine. And pizza. And “breakfast burritos”. It’s not even about my pants size or my weight or my shapely legs…I don’t actually own a scale or really know what size of pants I wear. I FEEL great on Whole30, my skin is happy, my sleep is solid and lengthy, I rarely get sick (and I am now, THX HOLIDAYS), my hair grows stupid-fast, and I have more energy with less crashes.

In May of 2018, through both my CrossFit journey and my sister’s uncanny ability to find useful things on the internet, I was introduced and motivated by her to try Street Parking — an at-home workout program that is based around the CrossFit culture and movements, but less competition based and more affordable, time-flexible, and requiring only dumbbells, I actually gained more muscle and found myself in the best shape I’ve ever been in.

I’m sharing this with you because I’m on Day 3 of a strict Whole30 reset after the my wedding & holiday bliss and need to hold myself accountable. And Day 4 is a beast so tomorrow I’m going to read this and hate less my decision to do it, ha!

And I’m sharing this with you hoping that if you’re out there in the new year searching for something that’s doable and have been rolling around the idea of CrossFit or Whole30, I’d love to answer any questions you might have. I have an incredible local gym/box (Colorado) that is offering a scholarship for a free year of training with phenomenal coaches. Street Parking is affordable and doable at home. Whole30 is more basic than you’d think!

Really though, I’m begging you to stop eating things full of suspicious but delicious debatable nutritious ingredients. To find something that encourages you to eat real food, less sugar, and that you get moving a little bit each day. It doesn’t have to be crazy, intense or heavy, just move.

I read something really powerful last week from one of the founders of Street Parking: “Do yourself a favor. Take a moment to write down every single reason you haven’t already achieved what your goals are for this next year. Then practice some self awareness with a side of reality and realize this: Unless your life changes drastically today – every single one of those reasons will still be there tomorrow. Your job will still be demanding. It will still be cold outside. Your kids will still be there. You’ll still be tired. Broccoli will taste like broccoli. Some of the excuses you come up with are just that – excuses. And you need to lose the “poor me” attitude. But some are your reality. And until you alter your goals or in the very least your plan to reach them – the outcome will continue to be the same.” — Miranda Alcaraz