June-30 Days of Clean

In June, I focused on cleaning up my diet and adding in plenty of morning cardio. As you can see from the photos in this post, I did  a lot of cooking. I'm glad it was cooler in June than now or I would have been very hot cooking all those delicious meals. I had 30 clean eating days and 29 sessions of fasted cardio. While I did not weigh or measure myself over the month, I noticed clothes getting loose, skin clearing up, and energy levels amped up.

Paleo Pizza

Wow! Just 30 days and I did not even go to the extreme of Whole 30 this time. I cut alcohol, most sugars, dairy, and grains. I stopped eating potato/starchy carbs and fruits by 2PM. Due to my knee injury, I did limited intensity for most workouts and focused primarily on upper body lifting. Morning workouts consisted of modified crossfit, swimming, yoga, pilates, and some interval training.

Egg, Sausage, and Vegetable Casserole

Zoodles

Despite the adjustments to my workout schedule, my knee continues to be a pain (literally and figuratively). Luckily, nothing is torn but I definitely have some funky tendinitis, etc. going on in my left knee. The physical therapist was able to pinpoint the cause to a weak core and weak hips. So, the next step is training my body to move in different ways to take pressure off the knee. I'll be in PT most of the summer and opted to switch from crossfit to pilates for a month or two. I'll still swim/yoga/walk in the AM, but since I can't run, squat deeply, or lift heavy weights with my legs, it seemed like I needed to change my emphasis for a bit. I am super bummed because I love crossfit (and running!) and the camaraderie of the gym, but this was the right thing to do in this moment. I earned brownie points with the physical therapist for signing up for pilates! Looking for a studio in the area? Try out Concord Pilates as it has some wonderful instructors.

Keep your eye (and social media feed) open for I Tri Training posts again in the fall as I am signing off the blog for the summer. I am going to focus on healing, enjoying some time with friends and family, and training our new Golden doodle puppy, Penny, who we bring home on July 27th! I'll be on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, so feel free to continue to follow me through those mediums. I'm also hoping to have a fresh look to the blog in the fall with the help of a fabulous graphic design friend. Enjoy a safe, happy, and fun summer--it is the most wonderful time of the year!

~Laura

Penny at 5 weeks!