Guest Post

Here is the guest post, as promised:) 

My name is Shelli and I'm Briana's younger sister. At the beginning of her blog she told you of her journey with the primal lifestyle and what a difference it has made for her. Well, I was on the sidelines watching the changes and decided to try it as well. But first, a little background... 

I'm nothing like Briana. I was effected by the normal american diet with stomach issues, depression, and being over weight. All through life I believed it was normal for my stomach to feel upset at least once a day or every other day. That is what it had been like for as long as I can remember. Also, when I got stressed I would have shooting pains and ulcer-like symptoms. Probably the most affected aspect was that I had been conscious of my weight since I was in third grade. I even remember the day that I came home from school and asked my mom why I was fat. I even said "fat"! I had asked this because several kids had asked me. I didn't have an answer. Neither did my mom, honestly. Lastly, I had episodes of depression throughout my life. Some mild and some pretty drastic. Mild consisted of little interest in anything and other times drastic to the point where I couldn't find a reason to get out of bed and wanted to avoid people completely. I hated anything and everything and would get upset over a butterfly. The butterfly's not true, but you get the picture! 

Now and then I would go on a run with Briana. After a while it became an outlet for me as it did for her. I also loved being outside: hiking, riding horses... anything and everything outside sounded good to me. I was active and also ate just like everyone else, so why was I so physically different? 

Then, Briana told me about 'The Primal Blueprint' and the 21 day challenge. It made perfect sense! I jumped into the challenge within the next week and my stomach felt completely different by the second day. It had not even made a peep nor did I feel gross... nothing. By the end of the first week, my body was looking different, too. The bloating was gone and I lost at least 5 pounds. By the end of the second week, I was a very different person and by the end of the 21 day challenge my results were phenomenal. It was night and day! I wasn't in my constant haze, I felt awake and alert all day! Overall, I was happy and my body seemed to handle life stressors as I was giving it the nutrients it needed. All of my clothes were fitting loosely. I am now never worried about how things fit on me. I feel okay about trying on new clothes and I am now a size 7 from a size 12! 

Needless to say, I love this way of live. It makes my body happy and it makes me overall happy! It can be difficult now and again as I am a college student, but I can actually tell those kids in third grade now why I was "fat". I also understand what it takes to make and keep a healthy body and mind. 

Here is my before and after picture!

Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday! Today my husband and I went to our local farmer's market and stocked up on some goods for the upcoming weeks. Check out these large-and-in-charge blueberries...

My cute husband is on a pickling spree! He has bought pickling cucumbers every week for the past few weeks to pickle along with cabbage and cauliflower. He ferments them by using distilled water. If you use tap water, you would let it set a while due to the chlorine content. It's actually very easy {according to my husband!} We let them sit for a few weeks {sometimes less} and enjoy with meals or for snacks.

It is delicious to say the least! 

P.S.

Tomorrow's guest post...

My lovely sister Shelli's Primal story!

You will love her :)

Fit Friday

Thrusters.
This is a curse word to my ears, but it's a functional movement {to lift up kids/babies? who knows...}
I like this first video for you to get an idea of the movement all together. I also love that it is emphasized to explode your hips and ensure that you have full hip extension before the bar is extended. The power in your hips is what will help you get the bar up.

This second video is great  for breaking down the steps, so great....that I'm not going to repeat them {you're welcome!} 

Any questions?

Let's try a WOD... a really popular, er, well-known, Crossfit WOD:

"Fran"

For time:

21-15-9 reps of

Thrusters
Pull-ups

Like all the WOD's I post, modify as necessary. If you have dumbbells, use those instead of the barbell. If you don't have a pull-up bar, perform chair dips or go get on the playgrounds monkey bars!

"Fran" is a WOD Crossfitters use to determine how they are doing in their fitness. As time goes by, one will see a decrease in their "Fran" time. It's used as a base to see one's progress. So, write down your "Fran" time!

The above picture shows the aftermath of an almost Rx'd {prescribed or not scaled/modified} WOD. In the barbell picture there is a spot of blood from that nasty old callous/blister that won't go away! I have taken 2 days of rest after this workout. The Rx'd 135# deadlifts played a number on my lower back muscles.

This was the WOD:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of

chest to bar pull-ups
box jumps {30"/24"}
deadlift {195/135#}

Any questions?

Update on my "project": it's coming along very well! eeek! Will post about it in a couple weeks:)

Food For Thought

I was reading 'The Primal Blueprint' the other day and wanted to share a paragraph with you...

I was reading the summary section after the 10 Primal Blueprint laws were given {these are mentioned in my post explaining what being primal means} and it dawned on me, "WOW! That really is it. Everyone would want to know this-how easy it is to be healthy and look great without the stress and constant worry of not doing enough."

If the picture is too small, it reads, "Now you can enjoy natural, delicious, nutrient-dense foods that promote health and effortless weight management by moderating insulin production. Now you have permission to back off from uncomfortable workouts and regimented schedules and instead enjoy an active lifestyle with regular low-intensity aerobic movement punctuated by occasional brief and very intense efforts. You can even hang out in the sun and take a nap in the name of health!"
-'The Primal Blueprint' by Mark Sisson

Who doesn't want a simple, yet effective, lifestyle? I truly believe in the saying to "simply your life" in order to be happy. In today's world, it seems to be the opposite.

{This picture was changed to black & white via instagram}

It was enough for me to try it out and it was simple! All I did was change the way I ate, kept harmful chemicals out of my body, and moved as much as possible at a slow pace. My results were clear skin, energy all day, fat loss, the ceasing of abdominal issues, and just feeling good all day long.

That's it and I hope you try it, too!

Primal Project

I have a project underway and I am anxious to share the results with you in a matter of weeks!
Patience for now...

In the meantime, I will soon have the pleasure of sharing a success story of a very close friend {like, sister close;)} who completed the 21 day challenge.

Meet my gorgeous sister {before the challenge}!

Like the rest of my family, I excitedly told my sister about the Primal/Paleo lifestyle and how life changing this knowledge and application is. Later, this lovely sister of mine completed the 21 day challenge soon after I had and told me she could never go back to the way she ate/lived before the challenge {this is a very common phrase among the Primal/Paleo folk!}

Although we are sisters, we have struggled with our own mild health issues, thus having some different results along with many similar results. 

I am excited to share very shortly!

ALL of my two sisters;) and I at my wedding {pre-challenge}.

Fit Friday

The last 2 days of Crossfiting was rough, to say the least. Not that the WOD's were insane {I actually looked forward to the WOD's and thought, "Ah, I can do that! Piece of cake."} But I was wrong. SO wrong. It is so hot and so humid right now. If you're in a warm place I suggest (1) water and lot's of it, (2) chalk up those sweaty hands during your workout {remember my nasty callous picture?}, (3) eat primal, folks!

{Another favorite fluid source of mine besides water. Delish.}

I promised a few days ago to discuss the Clean and Hang Clean. My favorite olympic lift and functional movement {Thrusters are another story...Fit Friday next week, perhaps?}

Okay, so check out this woman doing 5 sets of 3 reps of the Hang Power Clean. She is amazing.

I want to discuss a few things...
(1) This is called a hang power clean instead of a hang squat clean because there is only a partial squat rather than a full squat. You notice in the video she does a full squat due to how heavy the bar is which is a squat clean, NOT a power clean.
(2) Like she showed us, use a "hook grip" anytime you are pulling weight. When pushing weight, you don't need the hook grip.
(3) Let's review the set up: place hands shoulder width apart on bar {your hands are about a thumb length apart from your legs}, feet also shoulder width apart, hook grip {thumbs under fingers}, knees slightly bent, bar resting in hang position {above knees}, shoulders behind bars, and face forward.
(4) Let's review the movement: explode your hips forward {there will be a slight jump} with shoulder shrug to get the bar moving, the bar will be close to your body moving upward like you're zipping a jacket, pop hips completely forward, get under the bar and catch bar at the shoulders {rack position} with your elbows UP.

Here's a Power Clean:

A full clean will be starting from the ground in a squat with your back flat and head looking straight ahead like you're going to do a Deadlift. Everything else above applies except for the starting position. You are also moving the bar longer distance than hang clean, so remember when you are standing up to do a good shoulder shrug to get the bar moving. 

With both the power clean and hang power clean it's important to remember to explode the bar up when you pop your hips. That part should be fast and explosive.

Always stay strong in your core, take a deep breath and hold right before you do a lift or pull, and keep your weight on your heels.

FFFF: fun fact for future...a high hang is with the bar starting at your hips!

Would you like a little WOD to do at home?

21-15-9 {repetitions} for time:

Hang Power Cleans
Box Jumps
Burpees

{So, do 21 hang power cleans, 21 box jumps, 21 burpees. Then the next set is 15 hang power cleans, 15 box jumps, 15 burpees and so on.}

Modify for box jumps if needed. Use something sturdy or use a chair that is secure. I sometimes go outside and use a bench across the street from us.
Burpees: from the standing position, put your hand on the ground, jump back with your feet so you're in a push-up position, do a push-up, jump your feet back to your hands, stand up and jump raising your hands in the air or clapping behind your head.

Primal Lemon Pepper Chicken in the Crock Pot!

Today it was hot AND humid, so it was sounding pretty nice to cook in the crock pot instead of steaming up the house with dinner {plus, I was lazy from my morning Crossfit WOD...hello throw the dinner in a dish and let it cook itself!}.

Currently, we have a lot of chicken sitting in our freezer and we've officially eaten all the good stuff {wink, wink}, so I checked out some crock pot recipes for chicken and came across one that sounded delicious...

But, of course, I had to turn it Primal by tweaking the recipe. Here 'tis...

Lemon Pepper Chicken ingredients:

4 chicken thighs

1/4c coconut flour

1t ground black pepper

1/4c butter

2T dry italian dressing mix

1/2c fresh lemon juice

1/2c chicken broth {you can make this yourself or I used some natural chicken broth from our co-op.}

Dry Italian Dressing Mix:

1T garlic salt

1T onion powder

2T dried oregano

1t ground black pepper

1/2t dried thyme

1t dried basil

1/4t celery seeds

1T sea salt

I used my mortar and pestle to grind up all ingredients and mix together {you will have some extra...you're welcome!}

1. Trim off chicken thigh fat, rinse, and pat dry.

2. Mix together the coconut flour and pepper in a small bowl or plate.

3. Coat the chicken thighs with your flour/pepper mixture {this will be a thin layer}.

4. Melt butter in a saucepan {I used my cast iron pan} on the stove over medium heat.

5. Once the butter has melted and starts to sizzle, place the chicken thighs in the pan and let cook until just golden brown on all sides {do not cook it through}.

6. Coat crock pot dish with coconut oil and place chicken in crock pot.

7. Sprinkle 1T of the dry italian dressing mix over chicken.

8. Mix the chicken broth and lemon juice together and pour over the chicken thighs. Sprinkle the last remaining tablespoon of the dry italian dressing mixture over the chicken thighs.

9. Cook on low for 4hrs.

Enjoy!

This is how I spent the majority of the 4hrs waiting for dinner to be done :)