Working Out and Raspberry Leaf Tea

Today I put cholula hot sauce on my eggs and it reminded me of a time when my friends and I used to go to brunch every Sunday and eat all kinds of things that were no good for us. Anyway, 2 eggs, 2 bacon strips, kale with tomatoes and avocado, butternut "homefries" and iced tea all went quickly this morning. I woke up very late today and don't know if it's because I had trouble falling asleep last night, me being lazy or just because that's what my body needed. Hopefully a nap will not be as necessary today as it has been the past couple of days.

I think that this will be the last day I eat the "homefries." I definitely need to lower my caloric intake. This may be one of the reasons my body isn't budging with that extra weight. In my quest for the perfect amount of vitamins and minerals on my plate... I added too much food.
So, today's lunch was a smoothie with greens. (Not that fruit is helping much either, but this is on a workout day.)

Working Out
In preparation of my Level 1 CrossFit certification this weekend, I wanted to do a bar complex that involves all of the basic movements to work on my form.

Today's WOD:
5 cleans
5 shoulder presses
5 push presses
5 push jerks
5 snatches
5 overhead squats
5 front squats
5 back squats
5 clean and jerks
5 deadlifts
5 sumo-deadlift high-pulls

2 rounds with 45 lbs.

The first time through my coach watched and corrected the movements, so some of them got 10 reps or 7 or 5. The second time I wanted to hold on to the bar through the first 4 movements, the next 3 and then the last 3 movements as individuals. My personal record for deadlifting is 215 lbs, so 45 is extremely light. But, by the end of the complex it was a nice rest.

Raspberry Leaf Tea
I mentioned this tea as a great thing to drink during pregnancy in an earlier post, mentioning that I was a little wary to try it just yet. I am glad I waited as I have discovered a little more about it. According to my 100's book red raspberry leaf is "probably the best known pregnancy herb. Herbalists and midwives recommend red raspberry leaf for morning sickness and to tone the uterus and help ensure a good strong pregnancy. It is also used to stimulate the onset of labor and to promote an easy labor."
It says that in studies, the herb can actually induce contractions in uterus cells removed from pregnant women but has no effect on those from a woman who is not pregnant. Pretty cool. However, some people think that it's effects on these cells can possibly be harmful for a woman in her first trimester. After all, you don't want any contractions going on at that time when the poor little thing isn't really hanging on all that well. So, I will wait to hear from a doctor or midwife before giving this one a shot.

Today's dinner is brought to us by Herondale Farms CSA. We are having pork chops that are surprisingly the last of our supply. Thankfully our next CSA pickup is next Wednesday and will contain 15 pounds of lamb, beef and pork. I can't stop thinking about the lamb burgers we had... amazing! Pork chops and roasted acorn squash with arugula salad on the side for dinner.