Coach Kirstin

Does a great athlete make a good coach great? Or does the great coach make a good athlete great? Or do they make each other great? One of my little hidden obsessions is GSP. If you don't follow MMA that name may mean nothing to you, but google image search him and you too will fall in love (or lust). Better yet, pick up my second favorite hobby of YouTubing him, most specifically his Under Armour commercial . First of all, UA commercials make even the mildly motivated want to jump up and get some UA gear to be that person on the commercial. For me, they push me to be great and expect great things from myself. Yes I can be easily swayed by advertising but back to the original thought that crossed my mind as I watched the commercial. There is no doubt GSP is a good athlete. There is no doubt Firas Zahabi, GSPs cutie of coach, is a good coach. Side note: what I wouldn't do to just hang out in training camp and watch all the hoties, bonus they would be fighting! But who made who gr...

I like to think I have complete control over what i eat, how much and when. It's my body, who else would have control? Over the last week, I have realized the level of influence the person you live with can affect it. I have lived for a while with someone who has no self control and thus sees a package of cookies on the counter and eats the entire thing or eats an entire 1 lbs bag of PB M&m's in one sitting. So instead of eating just one of my favorite cookie, I would eat 3 or 4. Yes I know cookies will not be gone forever but in that instant I become territorial and eat more than I normally would. It makes me wonder about the strange behaviors those in large families must have about food. Clearly our parents define a lot about the relationship we have with food but this realization brings to light a whole new level of influence on my eating. There has been a package of cookies on the counter that's been there since Monday and is still half full.

About Sunday afternoon/ Monday my appetite started to come back. As I always do, i tried listening to my body on what it could handle. Things are pretty much back to normal, maybe just in smaller portions. Getting back to my previous level of training has been a bit more difficult. On Monday I did 7 rounds of Bas before teaching and felt good. I taught 3 hours that night and then had 3 hours to teach the next night. I attempted to do Bas again after teaching and was empty. The hard part for me is admitting its not best for me to train and I need to take a day off. I felt a bit defeated by that but recognize my limits. Last night was a good return though. I taught a class and then worked for an hour with a fellow instructor, reviewing the material for phase B. After that I wrapped up with 7 rounds of Bas and felt good. And I mean that in the best sense of sweat dripping but muscles feeling fresh. Now it's just a matter of monitoring my sleep and eating to stay on track and put muscl...

Yesterday I went to the baptism of the beautiful Miss Samantha Trent. Other than surviving setting foot into a church, I had a minor miracle of food sounding good. After the baptism we went to the parents house to celebrate. I was dreading it until just about when I pulled in the driveway when my stomach began to growl. After getting inside and helping set up, I couldn't help but grab a slice of turkey. I almost immediately went back and filled up a plate. I continued to snack for most of the next hours. I was actually hungry. But for having eaten so little the last few weeks my stomach shrank and couldn't hold much. So that was the last thing I ate. But I was also hungry for breakfast and lunch today. The irony of it all, is that I had planned on having this BBQ chicken I had made that didn't taste so good. I figured if I was forcing it down, I'd force something that didn't taste so great. Now I'm stuck eating it all week and I'm actually wanting to eat. Go...

I’ve thought a lot about if I should write this post or not and if I did write it what would I say.  This blog is about things that I see in life that interest or captivate me.  And I write my posts so that people can see that an average person, like myself, can tackle athletic endeavors of any kind.  My life revolves around my training, fitness and most importantly food.  And thus those topics are the focus of most of my posts.  And that’s why I was unsure about this post, it’s of very personal nature but impacts all of my usual topics.  Last week, I was blindsided by my boyfriend, whom I live with, breaking things off.  I was blindsided because despite the trouble he had been having with a monogamous relationship, I thought we were both working towards a better relationship.  But one of us was working his way out and the other was giving too much.  This situation has become exponentially difficult as we are planning to ope...

All my life I have fought one thing, sugar.  For as long as I can remember, I have loved candy and pop.  Even as a little kid, it wrecked me.  I'd have a pop at a restaurant and fueled by the sugar, I would run the restaurant being that annoying kid.  My parents actually figured out how to "overload" me, they gave me coffee and I'd shut down and go right to sleep.  So my parents stopped giving me sugar in almost any form.  Plain cereals, no syrup on my pancakes or waffles, etc.  Once my diet became my own and I wasn't much better at controlling it.  I'd easily drink 3 litters of Mountain Dew in college, thank goodness for my Dads genetics'.  After moving to DC, I'd wake up and have 3 or 4 butterfingers mini's and go for a run.  All very fantastic habits, I know.  But the reality of diabetes set in as I watched my grandfather struggle with it.  His blood sugar spiking and dropping, having to go to the hospital via ambulance. ...

I love my grandparents dearly but in all reality, just like every other old person, they are pretty crazy.  Its just one of those things that you nod your head at and don't even notice.  Until this week.  I will do anything for my grandparents but this week has been a test of that.  On Sunday my grandfather was taken by ambulance to the hospital for gut pain, ultimately being a blockage, and was released today after 5 days in the hospital.  For quite some time our family has tried to convince them that they may not be what they used to and should consider a senior living community.  Of course if you ask them, they are fully capable.  Don't mind the fact that they have trouble with the 6 steps up out of their apartment more or less the 6 more to get to the laundry room or that they don't clean or cook.  They are perfectly capable.  And old people are crazy.  As trying as this week has been on the whole family, it made it quite clear to ev...

I try to keep my posts to the fitness, food and health realm and I suppose this is but not of maintaining and growing but of ending. Due to circumstances out of my control, I'm directly involved with the care of my grandparents. As their health continues to fail, it brings many things about my life into sharper focus and adds a lot of perspective. I have spent the past 52 hours watching my grandfather struggle. And not seeing the will to live in his eyes. I see the desire to not hurt and to not want to struggle but not to live. I see my grandmother struggling more than ever without him around. Together they function as a semi-capable person. Apart, they don't know what to do. Despite all of my love for them, I never want this for myself. And wonder if there becomes a time when you decide to give up. For me, I have no desire to live any way but under my own faculties. I have expressed this to my love but have yet to put it on paper. Shame on me but there are currently many ot...