Spring Picnic: These people are for real...

Friday night's community picnic was awesome! Most parties and picnics are an excuse to pig out - cheat - or just slip in a few bites of something that's not usually on your plate. NOT THIS CREW - either the CrossFit Central clients are scared of the coaches or they are for real about living the lifestyle. We had everything from kale salad, bacon wrapped dates, to crust less pizza bites to to along with the sausage, bison and burgers!

Thank you to everyone who joined us Friday night. PICTURES

BenderThiel's Green Drink...Back by popular demand!

I made this for a few of you at last month's Nutrition Meeting at RunTex and have had several people bring this recipe up lately. With the I AM CROSSFIT - Lean Turkey Challenge under way it seemed like a great time to revisit this yummy drink!




1/3 can coconut milk
1/2 avocado
1/2 cucumber - skin and all!
Handful of spinach
2-3 stalks of Kale
Splash of lemon juice
Squeeze of honey
2-3 dashes of cinnamon
Splash of Vanilla
1 serving of veggie based protein powder






I've told a few of you about my new favorite mixture and I thought you ll might want to try it for yourself. It's surprisingly refreshing and sweet :)

Put all of the above in a blender with enough water for it to "blend". I like to blend ice in mine to make it really refreshing.

Do you have a creative way to get your veggies? Tell me about it!

Dedicated or Dorky?

The CrossFit Invictus crew in San Diego

This weekend Jeremy and I enjoyed a very relaxing weekend in San Diego, CA. To some our vacation would have seemed a little too tame. We went to Old Town, visited Balboa Park, ate in the Gas Lamp District, went Sea Kayaking....however, we also did a WOD at CrossFit Coronado and CrossFit Invictus, rented a mini-frig and went grocery shopping at Bayside Market (think local Whole Foods). Even on vacation it's worth it to stay on track and continue to feel great and eat clean. Check out the foods we packed our hotel room and mini-fridge with this weekend.

Do you ever find yourself eating differently than those around you? Do you have to explain yourself for refusing bread before your fish and veggies? What do you say when people ask you about your diet?

Check out the Paleo Pitch from Whole9. Take notes and let me know if you have a quick and easy way to "defend" your food choices!

THE PALEO PITCH
I eat “real” food – fresh, natural food like meat, vegetables and fruit. I choose foods that are nutrient dense, with lots of naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, over foods that have more calories but less nutrition. And food quality is important – I’m careful about where my meat comes from, and buy produce locally and organically as often as possible.
It’s not a low calorie “diet” – I eat as much as I need to maintain strength, energy and a healthy weight. In fact, my diet is probably much higher in fat than you’d imagine. Fat isn’t the enemy – it’s a great energy source when it comes from high quality foods like avocado, coconut and nuts. And I’m not trying to do a “low carb” thing, but since I’m eating vegetables and fruits instead of bread, cereal and pasta, it just happens to work out that way.
Eating like this is good for maintaining a healthy metabolism, and reducing inflammation within the body. It’s been doing great things for my energy levels, body composition and performance in the gym. It also helps to minimize my risk for a whole host of lifestyle diseases and conditions, like diabetes, heart attack and stroke

Thanks to the CrossFit Coronado crew for letting us join them for the 5pm Thursday WOD

Sweet Treat!

A yummy sounding suggestion from a boot camper. Some of you guys are much better chefs than I - let me know how they turn out.

Goodness Bars:

• Throw 2 cups assorted nuts(i used brazil, almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds), 1/2 c finely ground unsweet coconut, 1/2 c flax meal, 1/2 c almond butter, and 8 dates all in food processor enough to grind it all up,
• Then add: 1 cup assorted dried fruit ( i used cherries, cranberries, mango, apple), coconut oil (melt 2 TB and add 1 TB unsweet cocoa), few squirts of agave nectar and grind til all spreadable
• Then spread in 8x8 dish and put in fridge for an hour.
• I then cut them up and freeze them individually.

WATCH OUT!! I blew out one food processor making these (it gets thick) so make sure you have a strong processor

We're all in this together!

1 week down - 7 to go! As you committ to making changes over the next 7 weeks - remember, you're not in this alone! Tune out the nay-sayers and listen to your teammates....

Kris and Jeff acted on my suggestion to document the I Am CrossFit journey and sent me this photo from their dinner at Trudy's RIGHT AFTER the nutrition meeting!



Trudy's Tex-Mex Adventure from last night--yummy! (No chips were harmed in the making of this photo--the red chip in the middle of the guac is just for show, I promise!) Kris & Jeff


Melisa is working hard to stay Paleo - check out the recipes, shopping tips and the SUCKOMETER entry from Jan 8th! Melisa's Blog


Take a look at Catherine's dedication to the challenge as she reflects on the importance of having friends take the "I call BS on YOU" motivational approach (Jan 11th)! Catherine's Blog



Do you have some to share?
If you're documenting your I Am CrossFit adventure - we'd love to see it!

Does this sound like YOUR plan?

Are you one of the many people who can't just sleep more, as suggested above, to get your fitness/nutrition on the right path?

Do you need a more detailed plan to meet your, fitness, body composition or weight loss goals?

NOW is the time to set your goals and I can help you reach them.

Contact me to set up additional workout sessions to ramp up your training or schedule a time to sit down and dive into your nutrition plan!

Personal or Small Group training available - (price varies with session package)

Private Nutrition Paleo/Zone Meeting - $75 (initial meeting & food log follow up)
The Private Nutrition Meeting is great for anyone who would like to know more about the Zone, Paleo, has any questions about how to correctly follow the Zone or Paleo diet, or would like to know how to quickly see results in CrossFit Central programs. This is a step by step private meeting with me on how to get started or tighten up your eating habits. You will receive:
Zone/Paleo Body Assessment, Zone/Paleo Shopping List, Learn How to Zone/Paleo while dining out, how to cook, and how to shop the Zone/Paleo, and 1 Week Food Log Assessment and Follow up.

CrossFIT and still having FUN! Kelley Delesandri

I've had the pleasure of knowing Kelley for a couple years and the pleasure of coaching her for few months. Read about her CrossFit Central experience and personal transformation:

I've been "crossfitting" with Crossfit Central for almost a year now.However, it wasn't until this summer that I decided to get serious about my training. I finally realized (with the help of Coach Bender) that I wasn't going to see real results unless I actually stuck with the program (ie- no more skipping class, taking "months off", or attempting to zone a few times a week when it was convenient for me). It wasn't that I was super over-weight. I was in the "Smedium" size range, too big for a small and too small for a medium. I just wasn't fit. Didn't look fit. Wasn't in great shape. Just didn't feel that great about overall health and fitness.
I was stuck in a mind-frame that committing myself to a CrossFit Central program would cut in to my "fun time" and my love of eating out. My first love- FOOD AND DRINKS! How could I zone and still eat at my beloved Maudie's? Two blocks of carbs... so that's how much beer? Only 3 almonds?!These were questions running through my head. The first week that Lisa made me food log, I tried extra hard to make mine look good. When we sat down to talk about it she marked it up with a red pen like my 6th grade English teacher. Too many carbs. Not enough protein. Where's your fat?! Yikes! This was when she gave me a "Zone Diet For Dummies" talk and really made me understand what 2 blocks of chicken look like, gave me some meal/snack suggestions, etc. The most important part of the conversation was how to make the Zone Diet realistic for my life without going crazy and binging. This conversation was key to my success this summer. If I'm going to fall off the wagon on the weekends- don't lay around on the couch dwelling on,"How fat those Margaritas made me feel!" Get up, get moving, and get back on the Zone!
The next piece of the puzzle is obvious- the actual working out part. I'm the type that needs to be pushed. Crossfit coaches seem to have a special way of doing this. If it were up to me I'd go for the 10 lb dumbbells every time. Nice and easy. The first time Coach Bender put 15's in my hand I thought this lady is crazy. In fact, that happens pretty much every morning when she gives us the workout. I'm always thinking, "There's no way I can do that.." The cool thing is, I can! Yes, the 15's are hard and yes sometimes I struggle with the workouts, but I always do it and feel like a champ afterward! That's one of my favorite things about Crossfit- the workouts are always intense and a struggle, but I know I'm going to feel great afterward and the Coaches wouldn't push me to do something that they didn't already know I could do.
To sum things up- YES- Crossfit works. I'm stronger, faster, and leaner than I was on June 1st. I'm still a Smedium, but I look better in my Smedium clothes! Nothing is a cooler feeling when you've been working hard to see results and people notice. I love all of the compliments I've received this summer and it pushes me to work harder.

If you think committing to a Crossfit Central program and seeing results means no more going out and having fun, eating good food, and crazy workouts, just come spend a week with me!

Kelley before

Kelley before

CrossFit Kelley!
CrossFit Kelly!

Breakfast! My favorite meal of the day.

When clients come to me for help with nutrition, one of the most prevalent questions is WHERE DO I START!?? How about with breakfast? No matter if you're going gluten free, trying Paleo, or Zoning, I suggest you start by making changes to your breakfast first. Check out The Breakfast Lab for a few creative ways to start your day on the right foot.
Adjusting the way you eat is a process! Know your goals and start with simple changes.

Thanks to Katherine for introducing me to a fun new site!