My name is Craig, and I like my coffee black. I love food like most of the human race. I am an avid Crossfitter and as I creep closer into my 40's I have finally realized the necessity of eating well and consistent exercise. However, I never knew quite how to put it together in a way that makes sense for me. I work full time in a public school, and am a father of a son and daughter. My wife wife and I share the same passion for eating well and being healthy. We buy local, fresh and as organic as possible. We are part of food shares, co-ops etc. so we can get fresh veggies and other good stuff. We attend our local farmer's market when in season, and we get our meat from local farmers
exclusively. (or as much as possible.)
exclusively. (or as much as possible.)
I've always been active. Throughout my youth and high school, I was an avid soccer player and played basketball in the winters. If you told me to weight train, I'd find a way to get through it or fake it, but if you told me to work hard and run, I was game. Here's a couple of pics of me at age 18. Not sure what's going on with the basketball pic other than that ball should be spinning and I'm not sure how I made any shots with those thick socks on, but ode to the 80's!
As I got to college, I started to gain weight. I attended Hanover College, a small liberal arts school along the banks of the Ohio River in Southern Indiana. I was a kicker on the football team and did anything I could sto stay out of the weight room. Heck, it's division 3 football. We brought our homework to practice!
After college (pic to the right), the pounds continued to find me, but I continued to stay active. I played racquetball competitively, indoor soccer, and started to dabble in running, but I was far from healthy. I reached an all time high of 279 lbs. and the picture below shows about every pound of that. There are two amazing things about that picture. 1. That the boat did not sink. and 2. That I caught a fish as I do not fish much.
ENTER: Weight Watchers. At age 30 I had enough of feeling large and not in charge of my health. I went full tilt into counting points, attending meetings, and it took me about 9 months to look like this.....
My lovely wife still works part time for Weight Watchers nine years later. To this day, I can still tell you how many points many food items are. It's a great program. However, like anyone I gained a lot of the weight back and I was not eating "good" food. I lost a ton of weight, but I ate anything that was under my point value, hence not the foods I've come to find are healthy for me today. I ran a few half marathons throughout my early to mid 30's and just a couple of years ago set a PR at 2 hours 7 minutes. But like I said, I found a way to balloon back up to 265 lbs. at age 37.
I joined gyms. I did P90X. I hired a personal trainer for six months. But I never put a sound dietary lifestyle and working out together....at the same time.....as a lifestyle.
As I got to college, I started to gain weight. I attended Hanover College, a small liberal arts school along the banks of the Ohio River in Southern Indiana. I was a kicker on the football team and did anything I could sto stay out of the weight room. Heck, it's division 3 football. We brought our homework to practice! After college (pic to the right), the pounds continued to find me, but I continued to stay active. I played racquetball competitively, indoor soccer, and started to dabble in running, but I was far from healthy. I reached an all time high of 279 lbs. and the picture below shows about every pound of that. There are two amazing things about that picture. 1. That the boat did not sink. and 2. That I caught a fish as I do not fish much.
I joined gyms. I did P90X. I hired a personal trainer for six months. But I never put a sound dietary lifestyle and working out together....at the same time.....as a lifestyle.
Then........I found Crossfit, and it has literally changed my life.
I'm stronger, more alert, and more educated about what my body needs to feel nourished, healthy, and to last longer. While the lbs. have not fallen off like they did years ago, the landscape of my body has changed dramatically and I have gone from doing zero pull up's to making it through a Workout of the Day (WOD) doing unassisted pull up's, something I never thought I'd do. I have discovered the Paleo diet and have done the Whole 9 30 day challenge and it's changed my outlook on food yet again. Remember, I love food! I love all foods!! There are not many foods I do not like! You can click on the My Progress tab and see my before and after shots.
When searching for resources online, I noticed there were not many, if any, sites our there by folks like me: the average middle class guy who works full time, is enthusiastic about Crossfit, health, and wellness and wants to share and absorb from others. So..........my hope is for this blog to be devoted to the following: Crossfit, eating well, full mind/body wellness and all the topics those encompass. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Live a Healthy Life.....
Craig
