This is what 8 MONTHS of hard work looks like!

Just a little over eight months ago, at the end of February this year, I was fed up with how I had allowed my body to become. Sick of it. I felt like crap all the time. All I wanted to do was sleep. I missed training and fighting MMA. So I decided to do something about it. I decided to I wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop me from reaching my goals and being happy. I decided I was going to make sacrifices even if it was hard. It would be worth it.

It's been damn well worth it. That first picture is from the beginning of March. I weighed 181 pounds. I felt disgusting. The middle picture is 6 days after my last fight, at the end of October. I weighed 154.8. I felt pretty good, only gaining ten pounds back after cutting to 145 for my fight.  The last picture is today, November 9th. I have a fight tomorrow, but my opponent wasn't going to make weight, so I didn't end up having to cut at all. I weigh 149.2. I've lost nearly 32 pounds in 8 months, and I'm pretty proud of that.

Looking at that first picture, I can hardly believe that's me. I'll never be that girl again. Ever. 

I had back rolls! No more! Between the second and third photos, two weeks apart, I stuck to a pretty strict paleo diet (by strict I don't mean I starved, I mean I stuck to paleo principles. I was never starving :)) and cut out ALL sugar, including artificial sugar and fruits. I've been doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox for 11 days now. Between those two pictures I lost 5 and a half pounds. BOOM.

All this took was a goal, some hard ass work, motivation, inspiration. I've had plateaus and setbacks, gained a few pounds back then kicked them to the curb, and I'm not done yet. I'm only 5 pounds from my original "goal weight", but the number on the scale isn't my only concern. I want beast muscles and my abs to show. I have more of a "look" goal than a number goal.

Whatever you do, if your not happy, change something. If you have a goal, chase after it with everything you've got. When you make progress, be proud of yourself.

:)

20 Random Facts About Me

1. I love crafts. I have so many projects that I want to try stockpiled, they will probably last me the rest of my life.

2. I'm addicted to Pinterest. Admitting it is the first step. Except I don't want to quit. I love all the ideas and inspiration! Follow my boards!

3. I still can't sleep on Christmas Eve. I know, I am a child.

4. My wardrobe consists of more workout clothes than it does "go out in public looking decent" clothes. Cut-off t-shirts and sweats are my uniform.

5. I love to bake. Cupcakes are my favorite, but just about anything baked in my kitchen makes me happy.

6. I am super jealous of girls with abs. I'm working on mine, but they're still a little buried.

Goal Abs!

7. I was never super athletic or intimidating in high school. Now people fear my face-punching skills.

8. I work as a housekeeper as a hotel. I'm terrible at keeping my own house clean.

9. When I was little my mother made me get a bowl cut hair cut. I was often confused for a boy, and it was traumatizing.

10. One time I fell off my bike and smashed my face on the gravel road. My face was all bloody and an old lady walking by took me home. When my mom answered the door, the old lady said, "Your son fell off his bike." My bike was pink.

11. I am still as clumsy now as I was then.

12. I have nice new slippers, but I still wear my old ones because they are worn-in comfy, contoured to my foot, and I don't have to worry about them getting dirty.

13. I would rather spend money on food than clothes.

14. I am going to college for an associate's degree. I have a Perry the Platypus notebook.

15. I almost cried watching the most recent Batman movie. Alfred was so emotional...it got to me. If you haven't seen it, do so as soon as it comes out on DVD! Seriously!

16. I am a pathetic typist. Please don't judge me based on my typos.

17. My hair is naturally curly and it drives me insane. It's almost as temperamental as I am.

18. When I was little I wanted to grow up to be a horse.

19. I have a cat named Zebra.

20. I desperately want a dog. A miniature pinscher. I had one, named Rufus, and my old apartment building made me get rid of him. A**holes....

Anywho...now you know more about me than you did before. Congratulations! Come back soon.

21 Day Sugar Detox: Days 1-3

I'm in love with cashews. I'm even more in love with the cashew butter I made today. I think I love it as much as peanut butter, which I've been avoiding since it's a legume which is not a paleo food.

I've been eating paleo for almost a month now, with a few cheats here and there, and I like it a lot. I just feel better. Plus I get to eat bacon. Mmmmm bacon. Even though I love the paleo lifestyle, I was still having a hard time saying no to chocolatey processed sugary carby nonsense. Like the bag of cookies and cream chex mix and mocha frappacino I consumed Sunday night. That is when I decided I needed to crack down, and decided to start the 21 Day Sugar Detox the next day.

For my personal detox, I've chosen to eliminate all sugar, natural and artificial, including fruit. Since I've already been eating paleo the simple carbs like bread are a given. I am thinking that I will probably cheat with the carbs once, because I have a fight in 11 days, and will need to refuel, but I'm not going to eat chocolate and drink sugary sports drinks or have pancakes and syrup like I often do.

I'm currently on my third day. Days 1 and 2 weren't bad at all, I just had a few cravings that were easy to ignore. Today is Halloween, so of course it's been a little more difficult, but I haven't strayed. I feel like I may be eating a little bit more fat, mostly in the form of nuts, but I think that I can level that out as much cravings subside.

Here's an example of what I ate today:

Breakfast:
3 whole eggs
2 slices bacon
Water with lemon (I'm not counting the small squirt of lemon as sugar. That's just ridiculous.)

Morning Snack:
3-4 Tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds (I haven't been measuring much lately, so that's a guess)
Water

Lunch:
Roasted chicken (some white and some dark meat)
Coconut almond cauliflower "couscous"
A couple tablespoons of cashews
Water

Afternoon Snack:
A few tastes of the cashew and almond butter I made
Baked sweet potato fries (probably about 3-4 ounces)
Water with lemon

Dinner:
2 Bacon meatloaf muffins ( adapted from a recipe on paleomg.com-seriously check this site out, the recipes are awesome and the writer is hilarious!)

Not perfect, but sugar free at least. I'm going to take progress pictures each friday, so we'll see about visual progress in a couple days :)

Caged Aggression 8

Shame. On. Me! I haven't posted in ages. If only I was getting a grade on this, I would be much better at sticking to it. But I'm not, so it gets pushed to the side. I'm a terrible blog owner. Anywho...I had a fight this past weekend, it was a ton of fun, and I'm still undefeated! Woo!

Since I've left you in the dark for such a long time, I'll rewind a bit, go through what I did to prepare for this fight and all that jazz. I did things a little differently this time around.

It's been two months since my August fight, and my diet for most of those two months was a freaking roller coaster. I'm a stress eater. *forehead slap* That's the main reason I decided to fight this fight at 145 pounds. I've had enough on my plate with work and school that I didn't want to have to crash diet for two weeks to get to fight weight. It was a good decision.

Around two and a half weeks out, my nutritionist/personal trainer Danny J made a new meal plan for me, and she wanted me to try paleo. I was excited because a lot of people I know have had success with it, and I get to eat bacon. And whole eggs. And BEEF. It's fantastic. I've been experimenting a little with some paleo recipes and ingredients, making my own almond butter (which did not turn out the first time by the way) and coconut flour, so I can have a treat now and then. And I bought a Ninja food processor. Best gadget EVER. Chops veggies in like 2 seconds flat. Anyway, paleo really seems to work for me. I only had to cut 8 pounds the entire week of the fight, and 4-5 pounds of that was water weight. I didn't have to sit in the sauna nearly as much as other fights, and that was awesome. The sauna is the devil.

My Dad and I after my fight

My opponent was unable to make it to weigh ins, so I didn't get to see her pretty much until the fight started. I was excited. I knew what I wanted and I knew I was going to get it. My coach told me ahead of time that she was going to come straight at me, fast and furious, throwing bombs, and that's exactly what she did. I could have stood and banged with her, but I was looking for a submission or ground n pound win. I went for a takedown right away, but it was kinda sloppy and she stuffed it. I got her in my guard and basically just waited...because I knew she was going to leave an arm open for me if I could catch it quickly. I took a lot of shots there on my back and was really worried the referee was going to stop it, but luckily he let it go on. I'm not sure exactly how long it to me to submit her, she almost got away when I first threw my leg up for the armbar, but i fought for it and secured it and cranked hard. I was going to get that armbar if I had to break her arm. Dead serious, I was thinking that to myself as I bent her elbow backwards. She tapped. My hand was raised. She was not a happy camper. I was pumped.

My totally non-paleo fight day french toast

Right to left: my Uncle Pat, Me, my Dad, cousin Patrick, and family friend Megan

Part of the reason I am excited about this win is because I learned something new about my abilities. There have been times where I've wondered if I was getting pounded on my back if I could fight through and win. I'd never really taken a beating on the ground, and I'd never submitted anyone of my back. I found out I can fight through it. I'm pretty proud of that.

Some of my battles scars-my eye is more purple today, I have a couple vicious scratches behing my ear and on my back, and some little bruises here and there. I like them :)

Now that the fight's over, I let myself eat what I wanted, paleo or not, I chilled, I finished my homework. Now it's Monday and I'm back to the paleo plan. Next weekend I have a couple family parties and I'm going to let myself have some treats there, but for the most part I'm gonna be good. I want to get back to fighting at 135. I'll be lifting tonight and back to training tomorrow. I can't wait for my next fight!

My training partner Courtney and I

Sometimes life knocks you down...

I can't believe its been three weeks since I last posted anything! Sorry I've left you in the dark for so long, but life just got a little too crazy in those three weeks, I was near a major meltdown several times, but (for now) I feel like things are starting to stabilize a bit.

Here's some of the things I've had on my plate these past few weeks:
1. COLLEGE. Ugh. The semester started the Monday after my last fight. This is my third year going to community college. I've been part time most of the time, and I have to admit the past two years I haven't been the best student. I just did enough to get by because I hated it so much and wanted to focus on other things. But I want to get it over with and I want to do better because I know I can, so homework has gotten top priority these last few weeks. I'm giving this year my all so I can be the proud receiver of an associate's degree :)

2. Work. I've been at my new job for just over two months now, but it seems like it's been forever. Let me tell you, housekeeping at a hotel is not an easy job. It's exhausting. If you can, tip your housekeepers after a stay in a hotel, because we work our a**es off! The hours vary depending on how busy we are, but I'd guess that I'm averaging about 30 hours a week now. The hotel has been sold out every weekend, and I have one weekend off this month. I am soooo looking forward to that weekend!

3. Dieting/Training: With just the two above things on my plate, it's been hard to get enough training time in. Basically I'm just doing the best I can. Time and money have been an obstacle lately. I'm looking for a cheaper place to live right now that's also closer to the gym, but it'll take a little time to get that all worked out. Dieting has been tough too lately. My craving are always kinda out of control after cutting for a fight, especially after a tough cut, so I've had lots of ups and downs, good and bad moments. I'm starting to get back in the swing of consistent healthy eating though, and a good thing too, because my next fight's not too far away!

4. Housework. Last but not least, keeping up the house. I'm not the cleanest person in the world, definitely not a clean freak or a germophobe, but when my life is chaos AND my house is disorganized as %^&*, that's when I get near meltdown stage. I'm working on doing a little bit everyday to get/keep the house in better shape, because when it all builds up and I have a ton to do all at once, I dread it. I feel much more relaxed in a clean(ish) house.

So these are the major things I've been dealing with while I was away. And of course there's life's little everyday stressors trying to get at you. I know fall is a busy time for everyone, so if you're dealing with being overwhelmed right now, here are some things that I've been doing to help:

-Take deep breaths. Believe you can handle anything that comes your way. Know that things will calm down at some point (even though they won't stay calm forever).
-Prioritize. Obviously, you don't have a choice whether or not you go to work, and if you have kids you have to take care of them, etc. Figure out what is most important that you get done, and focus on those things first.
-Do a little bit every day. I have a bad habit of getting overwhelmed, so I end up not doing anything I'm supposed to do, but in the end that only makes things worse. So do SOMETHING. Do half the dishes, or just start on that research paper, or go for a quick run instead of a long run. Doing something will get you much further ahead than doing nothing.

Don't be too hard on yourself, keep going, cause I'm right there with ya.

Throwdown

Victory! I won my fight last night against Adrianna Runyon via tapout to strikes in the second round.

At the start of the fight, she didn't rush at me as I'd suspected she would (no surprise there, the fight never goes as you imagine ;) ) and I had to come to her. She started throwing haymakers anytime I got close to her, and for most of the first round I got stuck in my old habit of standing and taking blows and exchanging and punch or two at a time. But after that I started to listen to my corners better and my movement and combos improved. Throughout the fight I landed several body kicks that she didn't like, but I didn't unleash as much power in my leg kicks as possible, as I'm still a little uncomfortable with them and need more practice. I'm not sure how far into the second round it was when we locked up, I scored a takedown and full mount and started to rain down punches. She tapped after two or three hard rights hands to the face.

Even though my opponent was not as experienced as me, she was tough on the feet and I got a chance to improve my stand up which was incredibly valuable to me. I went in there looking to have fun and become a better fighter and I did that. Now it's time to get back to work and become even better for my next fight, which should be in October. Watch out, world, I'm on my way up :)

Weigh Ins and FIGHT DAY!

Woohoooooo! Fight day is finally here! I'm pumped to get back in the cage!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but the last week or so leading up to the fight is always a hectic one. I recorded some video blogs during cut week that I'm working on editing for you all, so stay tuned for those!

This cut was a somewhat difficult one, it was my first time attempting to cut to 135 in over a year, and my body is much different now, plus my schedule is much different, so it was kind of a trial run if you will. After I hit 140 my body refused to sweat any more, and after no eating or drinking all day I weighed in at 138.4. My opponent was a last minute match-up and weighed in at 143, so I'm glad I didn't overwork myself trying to get to 135 for nothing.

We weighed in at Hooters, where the event will take place outdoors, and then it was time to drink and eat! I always start off with a Pedialyte to rehydrate quickly, then I had one thing I've been craving for WEEKS: peanut butter, banana, and honey on wheat toast =D It made me very happy. That was followed up by a smart water and some Hooters fries. They had free wings for the fighters, but my stomach is sensitive after crash dieting and dehydrating, so I stayed away from those. We went to an awesome Italian restaurant called Avanti's. I had spaghetti and meatballs, although after all the liquids, the sandwhich, and an appetizer and fresh baked bread, I had a lot leftover to take home :) We ended the night with a couple movies, including Warrior, and snacking and rehydrating more.

This morning started off with pancakes, eggs, and bacon with water and chocolate milk, then I went to get my hair braided and I'm ready for war. There will be more relaxing and eating until the fights tonight..and then it's time for action!

Make sure you come back and check out my first video blogs and results!