Charmed Inspiration

Nicely matches my itty bitty sample from Crisco..

I have met so many cool and colorful personalities in the online primal / paleo world. One such gal, whom I've mentioned before, is now in maintenance after 6 years spent dropping 111+ lb. - and she is a working mother, to boot!

She didn't do it all as a paleo eater - but she went paleo to drop the last few body fat percentage points, and now she is a ripped triathlete!

I am always so impressed by her dedication, her persistence, her sheer chutzpah.

She's given me a lot of advice (at my request!) about exercise and food journaling, which has been so helpful. One day on PaleoHacks she mentioned that she had a kettlebell necklace. I, of course, being obsessed with charm jewelry, added a comment to that thread asking where she found such a piece of jewelry. She had found them on Etsy for a steal - and had actually bought quite a few with friends in mind over the holidays.

Long story short, just a short time later, I was opening my mailbox to find a small envelope containing not one, but FOUR of these adorable teeny tiny pewter kettlebell charms, which are smaller - about the size of a pencil's eraser. I soon came to the conviction that I wouldn't wear any of them until I met some mini weight loss goals - which I then proceeded to set for myself.

Last week I hit the first minigoal - 1/4 of the way through my overarching goal! I was so stoked to put on my single bitty bell. It's a great reminder to me of this gal's surprising, touching gesture of support - and that if she did accomplished her truly huge (pun not really intended) feat, then my more modest feat can be tackled, too!

Back in the (Kettlebell) Swing

It's 2011, and in the words of Matt Foley, it's time to, (arms a'pumpin':) "get back on the right track." (Oh, how I tried to find embeddable footage of that, but YouTube's been very much restricted by SNL, it seems.)

There's a lot of talk on the primal / paleo blogosphere about folks going for a "full paleo" January - no grains, no sugar. Some are going even further by eliminating dairy, fruit, and even nuts, but for me, forgoing sugar and grains is still challenge aplenty. I think I can probably cut out milk and cheese, since I still have weight loss goals, so the dairy for me this month will probably consist of organic heavy cream and Kerrygold butter. My main workout goals are a) to, uh, work out in the first place, and b) to do so fasted, when possible, which for me will usually mean midmorning when my baby is taking her nap.

So, Veronica and I got reacquainted this morning. It had been several weeks since my last kettlebell workout, and I did a double-take when I hoisted Veronica over the baby gate and downstairs to the basement. She was much heavier than I remember. ;o)

I've kicked off the new year with a few inspirational tools at my disposal. First and foremost, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave me a Gymboss for Christmas. Sweet! This very simple interval timer worked so well this morning, I just might give it a name, too.

Now that I'm not necessarily beholden to whatever music is shown in online kettlebell workout videos, I've started so surf Grooveshark, where I can find even the most obscure songs and compose playlists. (Go try it if you haven't! Free to use and the artists are paid royalties by Grooveshark, so it's legit.) One of my long term goals is my own personal "ultimate kettlebell workout" playlist.

When I was doing an Atkins style low carb diet in 2005-2006 (until my first was conceived and my doctor wisely told me to lay off the soy), I was doing crazy chronic cardio - 60-90 minutes on an elliptical trainer, several nights per week, along with a lightweight (d'oh) free weights regimen. Thus, I had a huge list of 140 BPM-165 BPM songs to get me through that time on the elliptical.

But now? I'm looking for some intense music that motivates and uplifts at the same time. Loud? Sure. Rage-filled? Not really my style. I'm in need of positive themes to go with my tunes. Beats per minute don't need to be exact, as long as the beat is driving and the melody rollicking.

I'm also on the look for some broody/beat driven slower music to do kettlebell weight work on. Accoustic guitar / spare piano, and/or soft electronica are good.

Any suggestions out there for good kettlebell and workout music? What tool and tricks are YOU using to build momentum and motivation in January?

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