Taking Up CrossFit

When I went to my doc to talk about my anxiety and depression, he told me to focus on several things over the course of the month before talking about starting medication. One of those things was exercise. Over the course of the last year, I had been working out with an awesome group of ladies doing HIIT type workouts. Starting in February, they all started slowly moving away, onward to new duty stations. At the beginning of July the last lady left, and I fell into complete mourning. Why would I get up and go workout without my squad? It was lonely, and I slipped hard.

So, fine. The Doc wants me to focus on working out. Gene and I had been getting up and going to the gym to train for Fuji next summer, so I knew I could get up to the gym everyday and do at least 30 minutes on the treadmill. I was feeling motivated, but I missed the feeling I had from our workouts over the last year... so I joined a virtual CrossFit Box called Street Parking!

Let me tell you what: I have never felt so sore, and so strong, and so overwhelmingly proud of myself for getting after it! It's been about a month, and I really have to force myself into rest days. I'm actually thinking of doing "100 WODs in 100 Days" to get myself into the habit of taking care of myself. I mentioned it to my Doc and he didn't seem to be worried about it. Of course, he told me to take it easy until then, but I'm on my 15th consecutive day of getting after it at the garage!

I was nervous about doing a workout technically labelled "CrossFit" because you hear about injury, and you hear about these super fit people doing it, and let's be honest: are there fat CrossFitters out there? HERE I AM, BABIES!

I didn't take beginning measurements, but I wish I had, because I see me body composition changing! I did think to take them at the end of August and I'm trying to focus on how I feel and how my clothes are fitting over what the number on the scale says! I basically hurt all over- you know, that soreness that comes from using muscles you didn't even know existed, haha. But it is a feeling I am craving. Switching one addiction for the other, I guess! Most mornings I end up in a puddle on the floor wondering what I'm doing with my life, but once I collect myself I feel awesome!


I'll keep you all posted on how I'm doing with it! My advice right now though: DON'T BE AFRAID OF IT! It's such a good workout where you compete against yourself and your previous best! Go out there and get after it if you're curious! I also FOR SURE recommend Street Parking (I don't get anything by saying that). They have such an overwhelmingly supportive online community, videos of every single workout so you know how to do the moves, and plenty of tips on how to scale it down to your fitness level!

My August 2018 Plus Size Stitch Fix

I got my August Stitch Fix in this week and man, it was a 50/50 box! I was excited to get this box in as they have really been fabulous lately. If you aren't familiar with Stitch Fix, it's basically a personal stylist who finds five pieces to send you at a frequency of your choosing (I do every month or every 2-3 weeks depending on if I have events coming up).
This month I got a pretty good box: a pair of capris, a sweater type tank top, a cotton/linen tank top, a 3/4 sleeve blouse, and a pair of shoes! I kept three pieces, and sent two back.

First, let me rave all about these capri jeans! THEY ARE FABULOUS. They fit like a dang glove, I didn't have to keep pulling them up all day, and in my feedback on the site I actually said I wouldn't mind another pair of the exact same ones in my next box! I have already worn them for an afternoon of volunteering, and they were just a dream, guys! So: I obviously kept them!

Talk about a bad angle, hahaha!

Next up in the ol' keep pile was that green tank top. It's a thicker tank top and one I won't wear during Okinawa summers at all, but I will get to wear it come October when weather starts cooling off! Heck, depending on weather I might even get to wear it to events during December! No lie. That's a tropical island for you! Things should be warming up in time for me to wear it in March as well! I normally stay away from this kind of cross front tops, but the cleavage wasn't out of control in this one, so I kept it because the color is just phenomenal! It's a little tight now, but we're getting back to healthier habits and I know that bloat will be gone by the time I wear it!

Along with that tank top, I kept a blouse with, I don't know, 3/4 sleeves? It's an interesting style, and an interesting pattern, but I kind of love it and I know I will have plenty of events coming up this year to wear it to!
What I sent back was a chambray pair of TOMS. I have a denim pair of TOMS already, and just couldn't justify buying a pair so similar to ones I already own. I also sent back an awkward top that was a little too big in the chest, but a little tight in the tummy and had cleavage FOR DAYS. I just don't do that kind of top, so it was a no go!
Overall, I'm really satisfied with this fix, though! I've started volunteering at one of the base gift shops here on island where the dress is "smart casual," so I've asked my stylist for some specific pieces for that! We'll see what I get! I switched my frequency back over to every 2-3 weeks so I could amass some pieces for volunteering outfits!

If you are interested in trying Stitch Fix out, you can click on my referral link! When you do- you get your first box without a styling fee and I get a few bucks to spend on my next box! If you try it, let me know how you like it or if you have any questions about it!

My July 2018 Plus Size Stitch Fix

You guys, as soon as I opened this box I just knew I was going to have my husband take pictures for me... a pastime he absolutely loves, hahaha! There were some pieces in here I would have never picked for myself, but SPOILER ALERT: I kept all 5 pieces! I exchanged 2 pieces for a size up, but seriously wore one of the tops the very day I opened my box and another piece the next day!


{If you aren't familiar with Stitch Fix, they are a company where a stylist sends you five pieces in a box to try on! You fill out a survey about your style, can leave a message about what you're looking for, and the stylist does your shopping! Each box costs a $20 styling fee, but that becomes a credit towards anything you purchase from your box! Returns are easy- each box comes with a pre-paid shipping back to drop off at the post office filled with anything you didn't want to keep! If you use any link in this post, you can try your first box for FREE!}


In this box I got:

• 1 "dress," (I use the term dress very loosely. It was SHORT!)
• 1 tunic
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 tank top
• 1 one shoulder top

Everything was stunning. The colors were exactly up my style alley! Not only did I keep all five items, but I was really excited about all five items! I could picture myself wearing them over, and over, and over again! Summer ends later here in Okinawa! It will be warm through September, possibly into October, so I know I will get some good wear out of these pieces!

The dress. It was about the same length as the tunic they sent me! I made sure to leave feedback that as a dress it was way too short, but that I was keeping it to wear over leggings... and IT HAS POCKETS. I seriously wore it out on errands the very day it came in. It's kind of like a burlap material, but not rough? It's lightweight and so comfortable. I think this picture makes it look longer than it actually is, but I love it with leggings and felt so put together!


The tunic. The tunic was a button down, which if you've been around, you know I don't really care for...AT ALL. My chest always looks so weird in button downs because they pucker, but I really loved this piece! It is fresh, and lightweight, and while I think it's a little long to wear over shorts, I knew it would be great over leggings! I wore this out to a festival we went to! We were outside all dang afternoon, and I was so comfortable in this top! It was so comfortable, and while I don't find it overly flattering, I am so pleased that I kept it!

Awkward chest puckering be damned... I totally dig this top!

The top I held onto I am wearing for date day for my husband's birthday tomorrow! (I'll post a picture on Instagram for sure and probably come back and update this post.) I don't think I would ever walk into a store and pick a one shoulder item. I actually have a one shoulder dress in my closet that was accidentally sent with an order from Lane Bryant, and they told me to just keep. I really love it, but I still wouldn't pick something like that for myself. I was shocked when I picked this top out of the box. The color is STUNNING and absolutely perfect for summertime in Okinawa! Tropical, and lightweight, and so fun!

Man, this box was out of the park a HOME RUN! I love, love, loved every single piece! I sent the tank top and the shorts in for the next size up. I have had to just learn with Stitch Fix that size doesn't matter. I have a few 1x tops but usually wear 2x, I get 3x in dresses, I can wear 22 or 24 in shorts- it's been a great mental exercise in not letting sizes get in my head too much since they range so much piece by piece!

If you have any questions about Stitch Fix, feel free to ask me! I've really enjoyed the experience overall! If you are interested in trying Stitch Fix, feel free to use my referral link to get your first box without investing in the styling fee! If you do, I get a credit towards my next box as well!

Whole30 Round Five, Week Four Shopping and Meal Plan

Today is day TWENTY-TWO! I can't believe I am in the final countdown of this round. This round was hard for me, mentally. I never really got over the sugar dragon cravings and I think breaking those down mentally, for me right now, is just going to be a process of having foods on the "no" list. I've struggled with afternoon scavenging around the kitchen and luckily have been able to ward off mindless mid afternoon snacking, but it seems like every day has been challenging.

If you saw my meal plan last week you know I flew through this week by the seat of my pants. I honestly had no clue what we were going to eat much sooner than I was preparing it. But I got a little grocery shopping done before the typhoon we're currently sitting through and have a solid plan to wrap up my round before moving into reintroduction!

Just a few typhoon necessities!

So, how did things actually go last week? Here ya go:

• MONDAY: we grilled up some Bubba Burgers! I topped mine with Tessemae's BBQ sauce and some caramelized onions! Served alongside a big ol' salad! 
• TUESDAY: I marinated bone in, skin on chicken thighs in Tessemae's BBQ sauce, and baked them up in the oven (at 375 for about 50 minutes). I served them along with some green beans.
• WEDNESDAY: We hit up a burger place on base after a function we attended. I had the usual ol' bunless burger (and after eating at base restaurants several times for lunch this week as well: if I have one more burger I think I'm going to scream!)
• THURSDAY: I had more bone in, skin on chicken thighs so I marinated them in Tessemae's Zesty Ranch and baked them up as well. I served them alongside a big ol' salad!
• FRIDAY: I made up some ranch sliders (inspired by this @kellymcnellis recipe!) earlier in the week for lunch and had the leftovers for dinner!
• SATURDAY: I whipped up some enchilada meat for enchilada potatoes a la Living Loving Paleo's recipe!
• SUNDAY: It was a Just Jessie B day around here! I made up some marinated chicken thighs (I use boneless, skinless chicken thigh strips for this one) and some crispy green beans from her blog! These green beans, guys, TRY THEM!

For part of this week it's just me at home, so it might not go according to this plan, but here's how I'm thinking I will finish out this round of Whole30!

• MONDAY: I have a little of the marinated chicken left from yesterday, so I'll be air frying it up and having that for dinner with a salad!
• TUESDAY: TACO SALAD TUESDAY! I'm just going to make up some taco seasoned beef and have a big ol' taco salad for dinner! 
• WEDNESDAY: It's July 4th, and I don't plan on really doing anything! I've been toying with having some Ishigaki Beef I brought back from my trip, and I think I'm going to grill some up today with salad!
• THURSDAY: Sliders. I think I'll probably make the ranch sliders again. They are just so easy and so dang yummy. Y'all, seriously, try the recipe!
• FRIDAY: most likely, Yakiniku! I love yakiniku and the place we go has never said anything to me about bringing in my own seasoning or dressings for the meats.
• SATURDAY: I'm not sure yet! We'll see what Gene wants to do and we'll maybe go out to eat again Saturday night! If not, I might try my hand at some buffalo chicken bites! 
• SUNDAY: I saw a really good recipe for a Whole30 Mississippi Roast! If I can find compliant peperoncini peppers, it is on! If not, I might try my hand at making a bbq roast that @therealfoodrds shared over on @whole30recipes! 

After this round I'm going to try a little reintroduction before basically going back to Whole30. I just feel my best when following the protocol and I don't know how ready for food freedom I am right now. I'll be able to share all about my reintroduction in the coming weeks! Gene's birthday is kind of in the middle of my reintro and he wants to do Brazilian BBQ for lunch. I am not going to try to figure out how they prepare their meats- that's a little harder here than in the States. So I will use that as a reintro day with a buffer of a few Whole30 days before and after, but it's almost the last day of reintro, so it won't be too bad!

You can follow along on Instagram @cheerstomyhealth to see in real time what I'm making and how things are going!

Whole30 Round Five, Week Three Meal Plan

What a week it has been! If you guys saw my meal plan last week, let's just say I very loosely followed it, hahaha. It was just a random week where I didn't feel like cooking and we had so much other stuff going on that we didn't get around to most of what I had planned.
I've eaten out a few times and I don't think we stuck to our dinner plan at all- so here's what I actually ate this week!

• Monday we had planned on eating the mini meatloaf sliders from @melissasfoodfreedom and we actually did! I served a salad alongside them with dump ranch!
• Tuesday Gene had a late meeting at worked and stopped at a burger joint on base to get us burgers! I got two patties without the bun, cheese, or sauce and just bacon! I served them up with a salad and dump ranch! 
• Wednesday we made up the cheeseburger bowls from Dolly's Whole Life! I just roast the potatoes in the oven since our potatoes here never really cook up right in the skillet! This one is such a yummy dish!
• Thursday I made up carnitas from the Whole30 book! I served it over a baked potato and topped it with home made paleo sour cream that @cookathomemom shared recently on @whole30recipes!
• Friday night we had burgers again, from the on base burger joint. I was accidentally caffeinated on Thursday night and I crashed hard on Friday afternoon, so Gene so sweetly ran on out to grab compliant dinner!
• Saturday we were on the run for most of the day, and my caffeine crash continued. I'm maybe the most sensitive person you know! So we went out for dinner and I stuck with a burger with fried egg and bacon!
• Sunday we made some awesome ranch burger sliders inspired by a recipe @kellymcnellis shared recently!

Of course, I am going to make a plan anyway for this upcoming week! We didn't get grocery shopping yet, but plan to tomorrow when we are down at the bigger Commissary! This week I am planning on keeping really low-maintenance! We are busy around here and I don't want to burn out on cooking, cooking, cooking with everything going on! Here's what I *think* I'll be making for the upcoming week!

• Monday: Honestly? Some kind of chicken thighs. They are thawing out and I might just either marinate them in Tessemae's zesty ranch or BBQ sauce... I don't know what! 
• Tuesday: I have ground beef thawing out and we will probably be making those sliders based on @melissasfoodfreedom's recipe!
• Wednesday: Seriously? More chicken thighs. I have two packs thawing and so the other pack I will bake or grill up tonight! Honestly, I will probably bake them after marinating them in zesty ranch, so let's just say BBQ for Monday.
• Thursday: We'll play it by ear. This is going to be a busy day and so we'll either grab something out or just grill up Bubba Burgers? At this point, your guess is honestly as good as mine.
• Friday: Dinner for one. So... I don't know. Will there be anything leftover in the house? I think it's payday so forget about going out to eat and dealing with crowds! 
• Saturday: I am honestly sad at this point that I can't just eat ice cream for dinner since it will be just me, again! There is a music festival going on so I won't even dream of going anywhere near the base Chili's for to go food. I don't know... I guess this means I will be having bubba burgers, or maybe treating myself to a steak since I'm flying solo. 
• Sunday: I guess you can tell I am pretty much over cooking at this point in this round, and you know what? I will be on day 21 come Sunday! DAY TWENTY ONE. So close. I don't know if I have anything in the freezer I can pull out for food- I think I have two servings of soup, and in the heat of Okinawa winter that doesn't seem too appealing. I guess you'll just have to wait and see at this point, hahaha.

As always, I try to post all of my meals on my Instagram @cheerstomyhealth, so be sure to follow along over there or on Facebook! This week will be an interesting week, for sure, since I will be winging my way through it like I usually do!

The Hospital Corpsman Ball (On Whole30)

If you are just getting into Whole30, I would really sit and look at the calendar and see what you have coming up over the next 30-45 days (45 allowing for reintroduction). If you have a wedding, a big event like a huge family reunion, your birthday, graduation, anything of the sort coming up, you might want to think twice about doing a Whole30 during those times. (The Whole30 books are great resources for more information on this.) We have the opportunity to go to about two or three military balls a year, and so I don't consider those events big enough, "once in a lifetime" events to stop a Whole30 for (and let's be honest, the food is never that good at a military ball). In all honesty, I did contemplate waiting until after the ball to start this round of Whole30, but in the end, I knew it wasn't a big enough deal and that I would be able to overcome the obstacles a seated dinner event would bring up!


We didn't have enough insider information on the event, so I ran through various scenarios in my head:

• There's probably going to be shrimp cocktail. I can eat my shrimp, and maybe Gene will give me some of his.
• There's going to be salad, maybe I can ask them to grab me one without dressing if they're dressed!
• The side will probably be steamed veggies and potatoes. If there's too much sauce on the meat, or if the meat is sitting in sauce, I'll give mine to Gene and take a Chomps stick with me!
• I will stay away from the bread basket! I will decline dessert or pass it to someone at the table!

I had a plan and I was ready to dominate! Just in case, though, I asked Gene if he would be too embarrassed if I took an avocado with me in my clutch! He said it was ok, and let me tell you, I crammed a can of La Croix, Larabar, a Chomps stick, an avocado, and dump ranch into my clutch. I wanted to be prepared in case there was nothing I could eat.

A note about the avocado: I sliced it, removed the pit, and scooped the avocado out of the shell. Then I put everything back together, closed the avocado up, and wrapped it in aluminum foil before leaving the house. It was easy to pop out at the ball.

Everything fit nicely into my clutch! Luckily, I travel to balls light, so there wasn't much else that needed to fit in there!

Luckily, when we got to the event, there was a spread out for cocktail hour with a veggie platter (and fruit, and cheese, and bread). The salads were already on the tables, and they already had dressing on them, so I filled an appetizer plate with cucumber, celery, and carrot sticks to dip in my dump ranch. Honestly, the salad on the tables looked pitiful anyway: iceberg lettuce with the worst looking ranch drizzled over top! I just sat there dipping my veggie sticks into my little jar of dump ranch and nobody said a word!


There never was shrimp or any appetizer course that came around, I suppose since they had the cocktail hour bar set up. While eating my veggies the bread baskets were brought out, and I wasn't even tempted by them. Bread baskets are my weakness and I usually want to ask if anyone is going to have any of the extra bread in them, but I was so set on my goals that I easily ignored their existence!

Dinner came around, and Gene signed us both up for beef. It was a big slab of prime rib, I guess? It came with a little bit of gravy on it that I was easily able to wipe off, steamed veggies, and three little pieces of potato. If you were hardcore Whole30, admittedly, you would have probably skipped the beef because of the gravy. Wiping it off with a napkin was good enough for me, though. I ate my veggies and popped out my avocado to enjoy with this course so I would be fully satisfied for the evening.

How the beef dish came to the table. Pretty good luck for having zero control over the dish!

I wiped down the beef one more time before cutting into it. 

In my mind, I was overwhelmingly succeeding at this whole event! I just kept repeating to myself that when dessert came out, I would decline or pass mine over to my husband. At military balls there is a cake, which is ceremoniously sliced and served to the oldest and youngest Active Duty person in the room. We watched all of that happen, but there was never any cake passed around to the guests! I didn't even have to worry about cake or dessert, and I wasn't even mad about it!

The ceremony cake!

I came home so proud of myself for staying on goal, for remaining compliant, for having a good time, and for not caring at all what anyone was going to think when I busted that avocado out of my clutch! Here's the thing: nobody is that interested in what you've got going on that they're up in your clutch business! Nobody had anything to say about me using my own dip for my veggies. One person made a comment when I pulled my avocado out- he said "ooooh! Watchyu got over there?!" in a joking manner, not at all expecting it to be an avocado. Nobody cared that I was doing Whole30- I didn't have to explain why I was being weird.

If you have to go to an event, be prepared! Have a mini-meal before and stuff some complaint things in your pockets or purse. Trust me, if you have to pull them out it won't even be a scary thing!

Whole30 Round Five, Week Two Shopping and Meal Plan

Last week was a sleepy week. I meal prepped a little bit (like making a big batch of breakfast sausage and caramelized onions) but I felt like I was forever in the kitchen! If you remember my meal plan from last week, we hardly kept to it. What we actually had was:

• Monday: I actually made the sheet pan ranch pork loin from Pretend It's A Donut!
• Tuesday: Bubba Burgers with BBQ sauce (we use Tessemae's) and caramelized onions served with the crispy oven green beans by Just Jessie B
• Wednesday: I made a salad with chicken and caramelized onions. It was weird, but it was good. 
• Thursday: Finally made the mushroom shepherd's pie from The Endless Meal
• Friday: we attended The Hospital Corpsman Ball (I'll work on a post all about staying Whole30 at an event!)
• Saturday: Bubba turkey burgers with bbq sauce & caramelized onions served with roasted veggies. 
• Sunday: I'll be making the enchilada stuffed potatoes from Living Loving Paleo

This week I went to the grocery store mid week for parsley (because: dump ranch). I picked up a few staples while I was there- Bubba Burgers on sale & so many frozen green beans (because I'm obsessed with the crispy oven green beans)! I stopped at the farmer's market for some peppers, watermelon, tomatoes, and avocados as well!

Forgot to capture my basket in the store, so I had to snap my bag in the car!

This is the cute little Farmer's Market in our neighborhood!

Then we did a little more intense shopping Saturday and I think I am all set for a good second week of this round. Except, if you know me, you know I'll be at the store one or two days mid week because that's just how I roll.


So what's on the plan for this week? It's a lame one that I put almost no effort or thought into, but here you go:

• Monday: mini meatloaf sliders, using the recipe from @melissasfoodfreedom
• Tuesday: Bubba Burgers with roast veggies
• Wednesday: Carnitas (I use the recipe from the Whole30 book)
• Thursday: Turkey burgers with salad 
• Friday: Cheeseburger skillet from Dolly's Whole Life
• Saturday: One pan bacon apple chicken from The Endless Meal
• Sunday: ISHIGAKI BEEF. I'll write an entire post about this beef because it's honestly maybe the best I've ever had in my life and I think it will be perfect for celebrating making it 2 weeks through this round of Whole30! 

I know we're going to mix these days all up and around this week- I can already feel it! The important thing for us is sticking to simple ideas: meat, veggie, healthy fat! I'll be trying one new to me recipe this week- the one pan bacon apple chicken dish! I saw it on the Whole30 Recipes takeover Kristen from The Endless Meal did last November. It for sure is an autumnal dish, but I'm going to try it now anyway!

I'll be back next week to show you what we really ate! In the meantime, you can follow along on Instagram or Facebook to see the updates of how my second week is going to be going!