Chapter Three

This week marks my eight month CrossFit anniversary. Other than jobs (which typically have a two year limit before I get bored with them) this has been pretty much the longest period of time I've spent consistently doing one thing. It's felt good to have this focus in my life and the results have definitely been worthwhile. It's been eight months well spent.



My first CrossFit Competition - BHC Garage Games

I think of the past eight months in two chapters. Chapter One took place when I lived in SW Virginia and trained at Brickhouse - from the end of April (when I started CrossFit) until the end of August. This period of time was spent falling in love with and learning the fundamentals of CrossFit. I got a great nutritional foundation and gained an acute awareness of how food affected the way I felt and performed. Getting a handle on nutrition and finding an exercise program that I enjoyed and that allowed me to see results finally made me feel successful. I was able to get my HA1C levels under control by changing the way I ate and increasing my exercise. In all the years that I have been overweight I had always felt like I was never in control. That my weight dictated the way I lived my life. There had always been things I couldn't
 do, or ways I had to do things, because I was overweight. In those first four months I got a glimpse of hope that my life wouldn't have to be that way anymore.

In Chapter Two - the last four months (September to December) - I have been living in DC and training at District CrossFit. This period of time, in every way, has been dedicated to transition and adjustment. With everything being different in my life, having CrossFit as a constant was essential. Even though I had to adjust to a new box, new coaches, new movements, I still had an ultimate goal I was working toward and the foundation and tools were the same. It would have been very easy for me to have given up when faced with all these changes. Moving was extremely stressful and I felt my control slipping away many times. My progress in the past four months hasn't been as dramatic (in my mind) as it was at the beginning, but sitting here at the end of my eighth month I can see that my progress has continued steadily and I am still seeing results. I have even been able to stop taking all of the medication that I previously had to take to control my diabetes.

One major milestone from this chapter came last weekend when I competed in my first Olympic Lifting competition. One of my coaches commented that putting yourself out there in competition isn't easy. I hadn't really thought of entering the competition in that way. I was nervous about competing, but before I started CrossFit I would never have been able to stand alone on the platform in front of three judges and a room full of strangers and do much of anything. I didn't really give that part of it a second thought. I was more worried I'd fail on all my lifts than I was about what people would think of me. Even though I didn't come close to winning, I did go for a personal record on both of my lifts and actually got a PR on my snatch. I had fun and learned so much in the preparation and in the competition itself. This is definitely something that I want to continue pursuing in the coming year.

Capital Affiliate League Olympic Lifting Open
Snatch Attempt 3 - 92 lbs



Capital Affiliate League Olympic Lifting Open
Clean & Jerk Attempt 2 - 115 lbs

My Current Motivation

I have set many goals for myself throughout the course of the last eight months and most of them have been related to weight loss as I have felt that was the most important aspect to focus on. My first goal was to be under 300 pounds by my 30th birthday - a goal I missed by a few weeks but ultimately hit. My second goal was to lose 100 pounds total by New Year's Eve. With about a week to go and 20 more pounds to lose, it seems likely that I will miss this goal as well. I have been surprised that I have taken both of these misses in stride and not let them derail my efforts. I think ultimately that it's not as important to hit my targets on the arbitrary schedule that I set as it is to have them to shoot for. I am realizing that trying the reach a goal is the most important thing. Missing my goals has taught me that as long as I keep trying, the weight loss will happen eventually. In my workouts I set goals to lift more, do more reps, or master new skills. I have also been using clothes as motivation, even though replacing my work wardrobe every couple of months is getting pretty costly.

I didn't really plan it this way, but the start of the New Year (basically) coincides with the start of my third chapter. The next four months will complete my first year of this journey and I have many things planned that I'd like to accomplish. I won't be making new resolutions this year, but will instead continue along the path that I've been following. I hope that if I continue in the same manner as I have over the last eight months that I will hit my 100 pound weight loss sometime in late February or early March. I hope to continue working on my Olympic lifts, become a USAW member, and compete again in April. I have also signed up for the Rugged Maniac 5k in early May. I hope to become more independent and more settled into life in DC.

I am looking forward to what the next chapter has in store for me. I'm sure that many more opportunities to challenge myself will come in the next four months and I plan to take advantage of every one that I can. The most rewarding experiences I have had in the last two chapters have come when I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and put my new-found courage to the test. Every day offers the chance to learn and grow if only I am open to the experience.