Low-FODMAP Diet-What Is It?

So, in my previous post, I talked about how I'm trying different dietary changes to see what's been causing my GI problems. For the first month, I did lactose-free. The plan for this month is lactose-free, low-FODMAP. Most people have never heard of low-FODMAP diets, but it can be an extremely beneficial lifestyle if you have symptoms like I did.

What are "FODMAPs" and what foods are they in?

FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. These are a collection of molecules that are found in many foods. The FODMAPS in the diet include:
-Fructose (some fruits, honey, high-fructose corn syrup)
-Lactose (dairy products)
-Fructans (wheat, onion, garlic)
-Galactans (legumes such as beans, lentils, soybeans)
-Polyols (sweeteners containing isomalt, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol; and stone fruits such as plums, avocado, cherries, peaches, and apricots)

How do they affect the body?

FODMAPs may not be digested or absorbed well. When these molecules are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, they travel to the large intestine and become a food source for the bacteria found in the large intestine. The bacteria digest/ferment these molecules, which causes symptoms often associated with irritable bowl syndrome. These symptoms include diarrhea, bloating, gas, and cramping. Since I had all of those symptoms, my doctor suggested trying the low-FODMAP diet.

How do you do it? Isn't it hard?

Yes. It is hard. It requires A LOT of planning. Many foods that I enjoy eating have been cut out of my diet. I'm still trying to get used to it, but I have a list of foods I can eat that I carry around with me everywhere. I pull it out at the grocery store, and had it out when we went to a restaurant for lunch on Mother's Day. I have to read EVERY food label. If the ingredients list a high-FODMAP food, it's out of the question (unless its the last ingredient on the list). Since I'm "testing" myself, I'm trying to be very strict.

So, what's next?

Although wheat, barley, and rye are on the "NO" list, technically being strictly gluten-free is not part of the low-FODMAP diet. Gluten-free breads do not contain wheat, barley, or rye in them so low-FODMAP diets can sometimes become gluten-free. I haven't really been paying close attention to my gluten, as the FODMAPs are the most important right now. But next month, I will start a strict-gluten free diet along with  lactose free and low-FODMAP. It's definitely going to be hard. But it will be worth it to get a diagnosis.


I go back to the GI doctor at the end of June, and we will decide how to proceed from there. It's important to note that I can still eat pretty much anything if I wanted to. It will just be followed up by bloating and gas, but I can still indulge if I choose to. There are lots of people on low-FODMAP diets that only stick to them 90% of the time. Eating these foods will not hurt me and is technically not life-threatening (unlike with Celiac disease or Crohn's, where specific foods MUST be avoided).


My doctor put it this way:

" Feel free to still eat what you like...but maybe not on date night *winkwink* "



Baby I'm Back

Hey betches. Did you miss me? You probably think I've been sitting on my ass the past 3 months but that could not be further from the truth. Yes, I took a step back from heavy lifting, but it ended up being the best decision I ever made. Here's why.

I've talked about my health issues on this blog before, but here's a quick recap. In October I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia. My doctor told me that it was small so I shouldn't worry about it. I had a meet coming up in December, so I didn't give it much thought. After that meet, I allowed myself one month to eat whatever I wanted and enjoy the holiday season with my family.

By January, I was feeling shitty all the time. I was constantly bloated. And not just a little bloated--uncomfortable, looks-like-I'm-pregnant bloated. I couldn't hold my stomach in, it hurt to do direct core work, and if I lifted too heavy it would be 10x worse. I had no idea what was going on and just blamed it on the hernia I THOUGHT I had. I was having major digestion problems (throwing up, diarrhea, constipation, you name it. It wasn't pretty). I was feeling shitty about myself. I was in a dark place. It's important to note (as much as I HATE to admit this) that my weight went up to 130 lbs. I compete in the 114 weight class and my weight usually sits around 118-120.

I finally reached out to my friend Jordan Syatt of Syatt Fitness. We talked about everything I had going on and he agreed to train me. We decided that until I saw the doctor about the hernia, everything would be light. We would work on building a strong base with high reps and lower weight. This ended up being the best thing I ever did for myself. Using submaximal weights has had a HUGE impact on not only my training, but my physique. I am getting leaner and dropping weight while also getting stronger. Proof? My 1RM bench press before all this happened was 105. In the past month, I've repped 105x3 twice and repped 110x2. It's awesome!

My appointment with the GI Specialist finally rolled around (after waiting 4 months). The exam went something like this:

Doc: "Uhhh Christine...I'm not feeling a hernia"
Me: "Sorry what?"
Doc: "Yeah you definitely don't have a hernia"
Me: "WUT"

She did say I had abnormal inflammation and ran a few tests. The blood test results showed elevated CRP, which is an inflammation marker. For now, we're just doing 3 months of dietary changes first to see if that helps. Then I'll go back and have further tests if necessary. First month was lactose free. THIS SUCKS. You all know my favorite food is cheese. My top 5 favorite foods are grilled cheese, cheese pizza, cheese and crackers, ice cream, and mozzarella sticks. Well, those are gone from my diet now. Interestingly, I lost 3 pounds the first week I cut lactose, and my bloating has gone down significantly. Karma is a bitch sometimes! This month I'm adding low-FODMAP and the third month I'll add gluten-free. So, in June, my diet will be low-FODMAP, lactose-free, gluten-free. That one will be tough, but it will be worth it to finally get a diagnosis. For those wondering what low-FODMAP is, I'll be doing a blog on it coming soon!!

Anyways...after being seriously pissed off that I was misdiagnosed with a hernia for a day or so, I realized that maybe this was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because I *thought* I had a medical problem, I was forced to take a step back. I was forced to work on my weak spots (like my bench). I was forced to use lighter weights. And this ultimately made me stronger. I know, it's crazy and weird to think about. I was skeptical at first. I don't know how many nights I spent crying on my boyfriend's shoulder about how I was "losing all my gains".

BUT I DIDN'T! I didn't lose my gains!! They just took a little break for awhile. But now that I've got the green light from the doc, I'm ready to KILL. IT. I have seriously never been this motivated in my life. My diet is on track, I'm getting my weight back down, I look so much better, and I feel amazing. The future is bright for this lifting diva, and I could not be more excited!

So be on the look-out for new things coming from me. I've already done 12 weeks with Jordan, and I started my next 12 today. This blog will go back to being my training log, with some useful info thrown in here and there. I'll go back to doing diet updates and I started #TRXTuesdays on my Instagram which I will link up here as well.


LET'S DO THIS, BETCHES! It's good to be back!

Pancake Party

Going on day 2 of being snowed in and although yesterday I went a little stir crazy, today I am fully enjoying this time off. Monday night and yesterday we had 8 people in my apartment (with 1 bathroom!) and it got a little crazy! Today there's just 3 of us here, so I feel like I can finally relax! I spent the morning shoveling the driveway with my cousin, so that's my workout for today! Currently have a bag of ice on my back....can't wait to go back to the chiro!

Anyways....yesterday we made a breakfast buffet feast which included corn muffins, scrambled eggs, sausage with peppers and onions, bacon, and...protein pancakes! It was an amazing meal, everything was so good! And my protein pancakes were a hit with all my roomies and their boyfriends. Protein pancakes that are boyfriend approved?? I did good!! :) Now, I'm going to share my two favorite pancake recipes with you guys! I make pancakes at least once a week-they're that good and that easy. Plus, you can save them for other breakfasts throughout the week! I've saved them up to 3 days and they've tasted just as good, if not better heated up! 

Recipe 1: Classic Protein Pancakes

1 cup raw oats or oat flour (I use oat flour)

1-2 scoops protein powder (I use 2 scoops of EAS Whey vanilla protein)

3 egg whites (for fluffier pancakes, use the whole egg)

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I actually never measure the cinnamon, I just dump it in)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 packets stevia

Mix all ingredients together and bake like regular pancakes. I use coconut oil on the pan instead of cooking spray. 

Recipe 2: Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

1-2 scoops protein powder

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs whites

1/2 cup oats or oat flour

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water

3-5 packs stevia (I use 3)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and bake like regular pancakes! Again, I use coconut oil in the pan. For both pancakes, I use sugar free, low calorie syrup. Yum!

Here's a bonus pic of our breakfast spread from yesterday:

What are your favorite protein pancake recipes? I've been wanting to try the classic recipe with chocolate powder (sans cinnamon) and topped with protein peanut butter. I think that's going to be my next baking adventure!! Hope everyone stays warm today in the snow! Don't hurt yourselves shoveling!! :)

I'm in a relationship with grilled cheese.

No, seriously. I am. And it's a problem. Grilled cheese and pizza. If I could eat these 2 foods every day for the rest of my life I would probably be happy.

Diet has been my weakness for my entire life. I am the world's pickiest eater. I'm not saying that lightly and I'm not exaggerating. It's a well-known fact in my family and social group that I'm very limited in what I'll eat.

I don't like fish. I don't like most meats, although I do eat burgers and chicken (but only chicken tenders, must be boneless, cannot be breasts/thighs, and I do not do wings). I don't really eat fruit. I eat certain vegetables, the list is short but getting longer. I'm not a big soup person. Sushi, no way.

So what DO I eat? I do LOVE quinoa and kale, so that's good. I eat salads and I do eat SOME Mexican and Asian foods. I'm obsessed with bread and cheese, obviously. I'm Italian, so I love pasta, pizza, and pretty much all Italian foods. I love potatoes in all forms as well as sweet potatoes. I love chocolate, sugar, pancakes, ice cream, and candy. I love crackers, chips, pretzels, and popcorn. I  love hummus, guac, salsa, and queso (duh). I'm warming up to protein shakes. I used to only be able to drink them when I mixed the powder with almond milk, but I found a product that tastes just as good with water (shoutout to 1st Phorm for their amazing protein!). I've never done smoothies mainly because my old blender sucked. Now that I have a Nutribullet, I'm going to find some smoothie recipes I like and actually drink them!

There are a few foods I will absolutely never eat. These include sushi, bananas, pickles, and tomatoes (tomato sauce is fine though). And let me tell you-those smoothie recipes that call for a banana but say you "won't taste it at all!" are LYING. You CAN taste it. And it's disgusting. I once threw away an entire smoothie after one sip because the banana in it made me gag.

SO.....you can see my problem!! Since I am such a picky eater, trying to "diet" is a challenge for me because I only eat certain healthy foods. I eat them all the time and then get completely sick of them. And then I fall off the clean eating wagon and don't get back on for months. It's a vicious cycle and I'm in the middle of it right now. I've decided that this time I'm going to do things a little differently. I'm not going to jump into a "diet" all at once like I normally do. Instead, I'm going to ease into it and make small life changes every week that will stick with me. Trying to do everything all at once is a sure way to set yourself up for failure. I learned that the hard way multiple times, and I'm determined to do it right this time!

Last year one of my new years resolutions for 2014 was to expand my palette and try new foods. I'm happy to report that I did that and actually ended up liking a lot of things! Chicken stir-fry is one of my go-to meals now. I've grown to love quinoa and kale. I've experimented with protein pancake recipes and found a few that I like. I started eating bacon (I know, I know). I tried my dad's lentil soup for the first time and actually enjoyed it! So, I am headed in the right direction.

Another big challenge for me is cooking. I hate cooking. If I had unlimited funds I would hire a personal chef to cook me delicious healthy meals. Since I now eat more healthier foods, one of my resolutions for 2015 is to cook more. Prepare more meals ahead of time. Use my new kitchen gadgets to make quick and easy meals even when I don't feel like it. I think this will be a huge step in my journey to healthier eating.

The last challenge I have is getting enough protein in my diet. Since I don't really like meat I have to force myself to eat chicken. Nothing is fun if you have to force it. I usually stop eating chicken after a few weeks because I get so sick of it. I'm hoping to incorporate protein into my smoothies. I got vanilla protein powder for this reason. I'm also going to continue eating protein pancakes, which I know aren't the healthiest but they're also not the worst thing in my diet. I do eat tons of eggs, so I get protein from those. I'm a huge fan of Quest bars, and I ordered the protein chips during their Cyber Monday sale and they are AWESOME. Total game changer. I had to stop myself from eating all 8 bags in one sitting! My roommates love tofu, so I think I'll put that on my list of foods to try. Other than that, I'm really going to try for a protein shake a day, even on non-training days, just to make sure I'm getting enough protein. Muscles can't grow without protein!!

So here's my plan:
-make one new recipe each week, or, at least 4 new recipes a month
-set aside time for cooking and meal prep
-go grocery shopping. just do it.
-prepare breakfast the night before on mornings that I leave at 5:15am
-also don't go to Dunkin on those mornings
-TRY NEW FOODS!
-more protein pancakes

At the end of each week I'll do a post about what I tried that week.

Last week, I used my new spiralizer for the first time to make zucchini noodles! I loved the spiralizer so much that I also used it to make a salad, a hummus wrap, and a mason jar salad....I went a little crazy with it last week! I started with the zucchini because it's supposed to be the easiest veggie to spiralize since it's so soft. I used my mom's homemade sauce that I had in the freezer for the sauce. Raw noodles are a substitute for regular pasta. The zucchini was a little crunchier than normal spaghetti but it did taste pretty much the same! I loved it and will be making them again. Next time I might even try to make my own sauce to go with them! So, successful first week of 2015 and staying on track with my goals!! Anyone have any healthy recipes I should try out? Let me know!!

Top L: Zucchini noodles with tomato sauce and parmesan. Top R: spiralized cucumber and carrot over kale salad and quinoa. Bottom L: Spiralized cucumber and carrot with hummus on whole wheat. Bottom R: Mason jar salad

Hello 2015!!

I hope everyone had a FABULOUS holiday season! I had a really nice time at home with my family,  not to mention a few much-needed days off from work! I got some fun new toys from Santa, which I will get into later on. I wanted to do a year-end post to help ring in 2015 and reflect upon 2014. It was a whirlwind year for me-from moving home, to starting two (!) new jobs, to moving into the city....plus two competitions and lots of training ups and downs! This year FLEW by, I can't believe it's already almost New Year's Eve! First, I'm going to do a quick reflection on my past year:

Although I technically moved back home to Framingham, MA in December 2013, I still consider it part of this "year in review". I left New Jersey after 6 months to come back home and started a part-time job as a Fitness Specialist for LifeStart Wellness Network, a corporate health and wellness company. I had been trying to get a job like this since I graduated college, so I was pretty excited about it. 2014 started out a little rough, I was still getting used to a new schedule and big changes. Once I got in my groove, everything turned around. I was eating well and following my training plan. I felt great and looked great! I trained for a competition in April, in Ithaca, NY. Although I didn't do as well as I hoped to, I hit a squat and deadlift PR and placed first in my division. After that competition, I started online training with John Gaglione and had a huge improvement overall in all my lifts. I joined the 1st Phorm Athlete Search and "met" (on social media) so many inspiring people through that that have helped motivate me and have supported me. I moved out of my parent's house to Somerville in September and, a week later, started my current job as a full-time Fitness Specialist for FitCorp. This is where I was met with a lot of challenges. Again, I had to adjust to a new schedule and to living in the city. The biggest adjustment was giving up the freedom of having a car and learning to depend on trains and buses. My training and my health suffered. But, I continued to train and never missed a workout through this time which is something I'm very proud of. My next competition was just a few weeks ago at the beginning of December in Long Island. I hit squat and bench PRs, but again was not happy with my performance. I know I have to make a lot of changes in 2015, and I've never been more motivated to do so.

So, what's the plan for 2015?

First things first, I need to get healthy. This means going to a doctor and assessing my hernia situation. In the meantime, I'm going to continue training and working on my weak spots. I obviously can't lift heavy (UGH), so I'm going to be focusing on lighter weights, higher reps. I've actually already been doing this since the competition, and so far it's going well! I'm not going to let this medical issue prevent me from training-instead I'm going to find ways to work around it and make sure I don't lose too much. As far as my training goals and competitive future, I'm not making any plans to compete again until I feel ready. I don't want to leave a meet anymore feeling like I could have done better. I've set goals for myself and once I hit them I'll feel ready to compete again. I'm hoping that will be sometime in the summer or fall. There's no reason for me to rush into JUST to compete. I'd rather prepare long and well than feel shitty about my performance.

Since I'm not going to be stressing about training for a competition, I'm going to focus almost entirely on my diet. Since I moved to the city, I have REALLY been slacking in this area. It's just straight-up laziness-no point in sugarcoating it. It's hard to go grocery shopping without a car, and most nights I just don't feel like cooking anything (plus its hard when you go from having mom and dad cooking your dinner to having to cook it yourself). I'm going to work on making a real lifestyle change in the new year. I can do extreme dieting for when I need to cut down, but none of those actually stick. Last year I did IIFYM and it worked really well for me. I fell off the IIFYM wagon after my competition in April and never really got back on. For Christmas, I received a Nutribullet and a spiralizer and I can't wait to start using them! I'm hoping this makes it easier to prepare healthy food ahead of time and make me more inclined to eat it! I'm also planning on using the slow-cooker more. My roommate has one but I've never used it. I've already started looking up recipes and have a bunch lined up for the new year.

Speaking of nutrition, a few months ago I signed up for the pre-sale of the Precision Nutrition course for March. I've officially decided that I am going to do it, so starting in March I'll be studying nutrition and actually learning about it! This is going to be great not only for my career, but also for my personal health and wellness. I can't wait. PN is the best nutrition certification out there. I did a ton of research when trying to pick a nutrition certification to do. I've heard so many great things about PN and heard one of the founders speak at the Cressey seminar in September. I also know a few people who have it and they agree that PN is the, bar none, the best one to get. I'm very excited to start it!!

My other big goal for the new year is to do better with this blog! I've been slacking on updating it and I think it's because I've just been bored of it. There's only so much I can say about my training each week before it becomes repetitive! So I'm going to start adding other things to this. I'll probably post about food and share the recipes I'm trying out. Since I am TRX certified, I think I'm also going to start a weekly feature "TRX Exercise of the Week". Would people be interested in that?? If anyone has any other ideas of things you would like to see on here, please let me know! I'm very open to suggestions :) I'll still be writing about my workouts and such, but with other things thrown in there to mix it up!

So that's my plan. I'm looking forward to this year and I think it will be one of my best years yet. I've never been in a better place personally, socially, and mentally. I'm so happy and things can only go up from here. I can't wait until I start feeling better and (hopefully) looking better! I'm kicking off 2015 down on Cape Cod with my family, my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and my amazing boyfriend. I can't wait! I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year. Here's to the future!!

Gaglione Strength Clash for Cash Recap

This weekend I competed in the 6th full power meet, Gaglione Strength's Christmas Clash for Cash in Long Island. This was the first meet I went to completely by myself, and also the first meet that I had my coach there with me. While I overall didn't do as well as I wanted to, I won the 114 division (and had actual competition this time, 2 other 114s!) and also received the "Soaring Eagle Award", which really meant a lot to me (more on this later).

As you can probably tell from my lack of blog posts, the prep and training for this meet was the hardest I've ever gone through. I went through some major life changes right around the start of this training cycle, which I've written about in previous posts. I wasn't always focused on my training and a lot of the time I just got it done to do it. My diet was completely out of control-moving to the city and out of my parents house meant a lot of nights of "I'll just eat whatever I have" and throwing shit together. I rarely cooked actual meals and I was ordering out a lot. I gained about 8 pounds, which made this weight cut incredibly hard. Yes, some of that weight was lean mass and yes I do feel like I have put on muscle but still. I felt awful for most of this cycle and as a result had more bad workouts than good. My back was at its worst and I had some health issues that made me lose a week or so right in the middle of my program. I couldn't afford to make it up, I just had to skip those weeks and move on. Did I go into this meet feeling confident? Somewhat. I was confident in my squat and bench, but had zero confidence in my deadlift. I've written before that I never allow myself to miss deadlifts in competition.....well this time I did and it made me feel absolutely awful.

The Weight Cut
I compete in the 114 weight class, but my "regular" weight during training usually sits somewhere between 116-118. I usually only have to drop 2-4 pounds to make weight. Since I knew I was up higher (in the 120-122 range) at the start of this training cycle, I decided to start dieting down about 6 weeks out. This basically meant cleaning up my diet and stopped drinking alcohol. Around Halloween I had some stomach issues and could only eat bland foods for about a week. If you don't know, bland foods is just a fancy phrase for empty carbs. I was bloated, weak, and felt awful. As soon as I felt better, I got back to dieting and cutting. After 4 weeks, I had only lost 3 pounds and was stuck at around 119. I thought I wasn't going to make weight and I was so confused as to why I wasn't losing anything. I did everything the same as I have in the past-being aware of macros, avoiding processed foods, preparing all my meals...not to mention spending a shitload of money on food twice a week. I basically had to skip Thanksgiving, which was the hardest part of this prep. One week out, I was still at 118. I decided to do water loading as well as cut all carbs and dairy the week of my meet. I used Caitlyn Trout's water loading protocol via an article she wrote which can be found here. Basically all I ate all week were eggs, chicken, and broccoli. Luckily it paid off and I weighed in at a light 113 pounds. HOWEVER-lesson learned. As soon as Christmas is over (come on, give me a break I missed Thanksgiving) I'm going to keep my diet clean as much as I possibly can to avoid having to do this again. Definitely the hardest weight cut I've ever done and yes, I do think it affected my performance.

The Meet
Let's start out by saying I had very high goals for myself for this meet and I hold myself to a very high standard. My goals were 200 squat, 105 bench, and 250 deadlift and AT LEAST a 500 total. I went 5/9 with 180-95-195 and a 470 total. Squat and bench were meet PRs, but my deadlift was absolutely embarrassing. The week of the meet my left hip flexors seized up to the point where I couldn't even walk. I had an emergency chiropractic session before I left on Thursday to release them, which did help a lot. Then sitting in a car for SEVEN hours (seriously, LI traffic can suck it) made them tense up again but after stretching and rolling they felt better. I felt pretty good after rehydrating and eating on Friday. The morning of the meet I felt normal again, just a little nervous as always. My squats felt pretty good during warm-ups and I crushed my 170 opener. I took 180 next and got a little stuck at the top but pushed through to get it. I've hit 190 in the gym, so I assumed that's what I would be going for next (coach was calling all my weights, which was awesome. I didn't have to worry about it), but I took 185 as my third, got stuck halfway up and couldn't push through. Miss. I was upset, but 180 is a 5lb meet PR. Not a huge PR but still a PR! Bench came next, which also felt great during warmups. I took 90 as my opener-already a 5lb meet PR-and got it easy. 95 was next. I didn't set-up correctly and ended up touching too high on my chest then not being able to push it all t he way up. I missed it, so had to take it as my third attempt. Luckily I got it, for a 10lb meet PR. While this is still a really awesome accomplishment, I really wanted 105 or at least 100 on bench. I was feeling a little upset over this but had to push it out of my mind to focus on deadlift. In training, my deadlift has not been going well. I had a lot of back issues that have been fixed, but I lost a lot of strength due to that. I haven't been able to hit anything over 185 in training since the summer. So I wasn't expecting a miracle, but I was hoping that meet adrenaline paired with my own personal desire would help a little. Warm-ups actually felt pretty good. I could feel my hip flexors a little as I got heavier but I just ignored that. I was taking 195 as my opener-a weight I hadn't hit in months. Missed it. I was in shock. I couldn't believe I had missed my OPENER. How embarrassing. I came back and easily hit it as my second attempt, but at this point I now needed 225 to total 500. We decided to go for it. The bar didn't move at all. I was upset, embarrassed, shocked-I was ending with a 470 total, down 25 pounds from my last total (which was 495) and equal to a total I hit over a year ago. I should be improving, not moving backwards! John knew I was clearly upset and said to just focus on the accomplishments. I had 2 meet PRs, which is great. I knew deadlifts weren't going to be good. I just expected more from myself. The Soaring Eagle award was a surprise-so much so that I almost cried when John announced that I had won it! It really put things into perspective for me. Yes, I had a lot of rough patches while training for this meet, but I still showed up and worked my hardest. There will be others and I will do better in the future. Now I'm more motivated than ever to hit-and surpass-my goals. Videos if bench and deadlift are below, unfortunately I don't have any squat videos :(

The Future
Before I plan on doing any more events, I need to see a doctor about the hernia in my stomach. After bench was done, it was killing me on Saturday. Maybe this had something to do with my dismal deadlifting performance, maybe it didn't, but I need to figure out what's going on with that. I was planning on doing the Ithaca meet in March, but I might not be able to now. I would really like to do a local meet. I've never done a meet in Boston, I always travel to them. I do think this affects my performance because traveling is very taxing on the body. I also want people to be there for me. This may sound stupid but having no one at the meet with me was tough. I made friends, of course, but its not the same as having your loved ones there supporting you. When I travel, its hard for them to come. I'm lucky enough that my parents have been to a couple, but no one came with  me this time and I was pretty lonely. Doing a local meet would mean my family and friends could be there to support me. I think that would also help them better understand why I love doing this. I'm also hoping to reach out to a few people in Boston to see about training with them-even once a month would help. The environment in which you train really makes a difference. I've noticed this both times I've trained at Cortland. Having someone there to push you helps so much and I don't have that. I train by myself and as much as I love being an independent woman in the gym, it really sucks sometimes! So if anyone in the Boston area is reading this....I'm on the hunt for a training partner! :)

I've set new goals for myself, and I can't wait to get back into training. I'm more determined than ever to get to where I want to be. Shoutout to John Gaglione for everything you've done for me so far and for being there for me this past weekend! Congrats on another successful event! Can't wait for the next one!!

Stay STRONG and Stay FIERCE!!

Crunch Time!

Alright lifting pretty babes. I'm officially 4 weeks out from my next meet, which means I am in full meet-prep mode. Started cutting weight 2 weeks ago but had some complications which I'll get to later. I'm also in my last cycle of my program, which will peak me for the competition. I am SO EXCITED to get back on the platform! I love competing, if I could do it once a month I would!


This will be my 6th meet. I can't even believe I just wrote that. I've competed in full-power meets 5 times already! If you told high-school Chrissy that present-day Chrissy would be a competitive powerlifter, she would have laughed in your face and called you crazy. Yet here I am! This will be the first meet where I'll actually have my coach there with me, so I'm excited to see how it will be different from the meets I've done in the past. I'm also planning on writing a post about what I do to prepare for meets so be on the lookout for that in the next few weeks!


My training has been improving a lot in the past 2 weeks. Even my deadlift feels a million times better, and I'm attributing that to the chiropractor I went to last week. I've had chronic back pain for YEARS-it started my sophomore year of high school so almost 10 years (wow I feel old!). I've been to my PCP and a back specialist and no one has been able to give me a straight answer about why I have the pain. When I was 15 I was "diagnosed" with arthritis and scoliosis in my spine. I use that word lightly because I'm pretty sure this was a false diagnoses. While I know it's possible to have arthritis at a young age, that just didn't make sense to me. I've had MRIs, CT Scans, and X-Rays on my back and they all show a normal, healthy spine, except for the slight curve due to scoliosis. So I was kind of at my wit's end. No one could tell me what was wrong and I didn't know how to fix it. I started focusing on strengthening my back and core muscles and that did help a little bit. I've toyed with the idea of seeing a chiro for about a year now, but I was always too scared to go. I finally bit the bullet and OH MY GOD I AM SO GLAD I DID. It was seriously LIFE-CHANGING. My co-worker recommended Dr. Morrissey of Khalsa Chiropractic. She's not the typical "crack your back" chiro, which is what I liked about her. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue injuries, and utilizes various manual therapies to help enhance joint mobility. She used Graston Technique and Active Release Techniques on me. It was INCREDIBLE. I felt so great after! I'll be going to her once a week until the meet! What she found was a lot of tension in my lower and upper back. She also worked on my glutes and hamstrings. When I deadlifted the next day, for the first time EVER, I felt what a painless deadlift was like. I was so happy! I can't wait to see how this impacts me and hopefully I'll go into this meet feeling healthy and strong!


So other than the chiro, I mentioned above that I had some complications. 2 weeks ago I woke up with this sharp pain in my stomach on the right side. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I immediately freaked out because I thought my appendix was bursting. I ended up going to my PCP, and I'm glad I did. She didn't think it was my appendix, but that it was an ovarian cyst that had burst. That day I had a CT Scan on my stomach area, which showed a healthy appendix (thank god!), enlarged lymph nodes, and a cyst on my left kidney. My ovaries looked normal, but my doctor still thinks that's what happened. I was on a "bland foods" diet (read: all carbs, and bad ones) for the next few days until my bloating went down and I felt normal again. I didn't lift for a few days but then got back into it the next week. This messed up my weight cut a little bit. I'm hoping I can still get down to 114, I have about 8 pounds to go. If not, I'll just move up a weight class. No biggie. The cut is mostly mental for me, and I've seriously been slacking on my nutrition since I moved into Boston, so I really want to try to get back on the right track. That's why I'm actually doing a weight cut. It would be easy to say screw it and just compete at 123, but I need to do this. After this meet I'll indulge a little over the holidays but I feel so much better when I eat clean. And I'm convinced my lifts go up too! I fell off the clean eating bandwagon over the summer, and I'm paying for it now. I don't want that to happen again!! Mind over matter! Veggies over pizza! (jk, pizza over everything)


Other than that, things are going well! I hit a squat rep PR last week, 175x2. Will this be the meet I finally hit that 200lb squat?? I HOPE SO!! Bench is staying pretty consistent as well, hit 90x2 last week. Bench is like my powerlifting great white buffalo. I've never hit anything above 88 in competition, but this time I am fully confident than I will. I feel like I need to prove myself on bench, and I can't wait to do that. I'm still a little worried about my deadlift but I'm not going to let that get to me too much. It is feeling a lot  better, just not where it needs to be, Just gotta keep moving forward and working hard these next 4 weeks. Now I'm gonna go heat up some chicken and veggies before my chiro appointment today! Can't wait!!




Stay STRONG and Stay FIERCE!!