Barbell in the Kitchen: December 2016

Best of 2016 | Top 10 Posts

6:00 AM

This is it. Another amazing year, much of it a blur in the truest sense, but so many feelings come up as I think back month by month about how much has changed.

We started the year as a family of three, awaiting the arrival of our sweet little Emerson. April came along and she was here. Aria turned two - I still cannot believe it. She has grown and changed so much this year, turning into a sweet and smart little girl, I love her more everyday. Becoming a mom of two has created it's own changes within me, as a mom & wife. Learning how to raise our girls, be more patient, nurturing, and function on two hours of sleep has been humbling to say the least. Then we took on creating and launching an app! I can't even tell you when that idea actually stuck, but we ran with it. And somewhere along the way I decided I wanted a digital store and opened my Etsy shop. With all of this, you are all still here. I can't thank you enough.

My aim has always been and will always be to uplift, motivate & inspire with this blog, while simply trying to be a better me than I was yesterday. I originally thought that if I could make even one person's day a little bit better by visiting here, that all the effort would be worth it. All the late nights of code and emails, cropping images and research, etc. To hear that someone had made my soup for their family, or tried one of my workouts or completed a monthly challenge, is so so incredibly rewarding. Starting to earn money from my blog for my own growing family while typing late at night, testing and retesting a recipe to make sure it was right, creating chalkboard prints for my Etsy shop during nap time and taking pictures of our activities together became such an additional blessing from this blog.

As I put together my goals for 2017, I found myself reviewing 2016 and blown away at the response to some of my posts. Thousands of you finding something helpful, useful or reassuring. Since some of the posts seem to take off a little while after they were put together, I thought maybe a recap of the top posts, those that seemed to be the most useful for many of you might be helpful for someone new to this blog.

1. To start, my Top reasons Whole 30 is Perfect for Pregnancy

2. Paleo Pineapple Chili - maybe I'm a little obsessed, because I posted about it twice, haha! Newest version is here.

3. My simple postpartum experience ranking in the top 3 really surprised me.

4. I may have to hold another summer 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge. ;)

5. This Mexican Machaca is simply delicious. I'm so thrilled that so many of you tried it.

6. Because everyone wants to join the no-sleep party.. just kidding. Here's why we threw out Babywise.

7. I feel good as new after the Postpartum Hernia repair, but prior to the surgery, I was seeking out some sort of information to know what to expect and was quite disappointed. I'm so happy I could be a resource.

8. For having just put together these Gift Guides last month, I am floored at where they went. Although these were created during the holidays, these fun ideas are perfect year-round, birthdays, anniversarys or just for a sweet surprise. For the special guy in your life and your sweet little ones, Thank you for supporting the brands that support us.

9. You guys love lists.. and so do it. The Top iPhone Apps for Moms, Bloggers & Instagrammers was so fun to put together & share.

10. And lastly, our app was a project of passion. Health & fitness consume our everyday lives and to bring these diets to you and make it easy to follow made us so happy. To think that we now fall into the category of "a small startup", and to see so many of you read my post & download our app blows us away. I shared some simple progress pics from the diet we follow and we can't wait to see your results.

I am so excited for the year ahead, all the fun things in store and I want you to join me. None of this would be possible without you, so my sincerest gratitude goes out to you. Happy New Years to all of you.

XOXO, McKenzie

Family

Our Christmas & December Highlights

6:41 AM

It's 5:45am, my second cup of coffee is halfway finished, the house smells like a York peppermint patty (Stress Away + Peppermint) and Bubble Guppies are already apart of my morning. Our day started at 4am when both girls decided it was time to wake up. I never know if it's a tiny human collaboration, a Thursday morning mutiny or the result of one's noise waking the other.

Probably all three.

I took a little break from social media and electronic devices in general over the holiday and it felt so good. I literally made an effort to leave my phone in the back room as much as possible and realized I should do that more often. Christmas was upon us a little too fast, and after our power outage, where the hours seemed to creep by, left us realizing the holiday was literally only a few days away.

One afternoon was reserved for a little Pajama Christmas Party for the Aria and her little girlfriends to decorate mini gingerbread houses and play while us mommies enjoyed coffee, cocoa and a little wine. I only wish I took more pictures - but toddlers & icing + sprinkles required a little more involvement, it was SO fun.

After a solo late night trip to Target (which I highly recommend ;) and a gift-wrapping marathon, we were all set.

Christmas morning was here and Emerson was clueless as to why were were encouraging her to rip the paper, because scaling the packages was the obvious task at hand. Aria, though was beyond excited. The fact that Santa was coming and bringing presents seemed to be a little more understood the 2-3 days prior, which only added to the magic & fun of the morning as she unwrapped each present.

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. I was briefly sad to be done with Christmas, but our tree was a crispy critter waiting to ignite, so it had to come down. I seriously could do candy-cane hunts with Aria and top Emi's baby cheeks with Santa hats all year. But it felt so good to clean and organize the house as we took down all of the the decorations.

With all of that, I am officially ready for Spring. I wouldn't mind snoozing through January & February. I cannot believe how fast the time has passed this year. To think I was 2/3 of the way through my pregnancy with Emerson at this time last year blows my mind.

I wish you all a wonderful New Years! Ours will most likely be low key with a kiss & a toast at midnight (who am I kidding, it'll be 9pm ;). I also have to say THANK YOU to all of you for reading and supporting this little blog. My little space to share with you all has grown and is growing and I can't wait for this coming year.

XOXO

Family

Every light in the House is on

11:38 AM

Well not exactly - but they should be. We had a powerful ice storm hit us last week which made the Willamette Valley look like a war zone. Huge old trees split in half, and if they didn't break, they bent over themselves touching the ground. Water-logged and frozen limbs came down over power lines, pulled up sidewalks and crushed cars and houses that lay in their path.

If you've never heard a tree fall, it's quite a daunting sound, and more so if you cannot see it, nor know which way it's falling. Right as it was getting dark last Thursday we could hear so many tree limbs falling and cracking, it sounded like the Fourth of July. After several cracks, you'd see the low lying clouds and exteriors of home flash and glow blue as another electrical transformer blew.

At one point I was walking toward the kitchen and hear the unsettling sound of another tree succumbing to the weight of the ice, but with it the ground trembled just enough to let me know it was much closer this time... I ran out to the living room, scooped up Emi, Seth grabbed Aria and we ran toward the front of our house - the furthest we could get from the ten massive cedars and giant maple tree in our back yard.

We sat there shaking for a moment, rattled but thankful that our house was in one piece. We figured the maple tree had broke, but Seth and I looked at each other with same thought, we needed to see what came down. One look outside and we realized that it wasn't one of our trees that fell, but our neighbor's. In the dark we couldn't quite tell what actually happened. Did it hit their house? The branches are over the fence.. they have a sunroom... the fireplace.. they have little kids.. are they okay?

Seth ran next door. He returned a few minutes later after he found that their house was intact, only by couple inches. The once giant oak tree obliterated the backyard, patio and all the contents, snapped the powerline, but did not break the glass or damage the house.

Around this same time - we lost our power, most likely due to another large tree in the distance.

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For four nights we were without power, prepared for a fifth as the temp outside averaged 28 degrees. I can only explain it as going on a camping trip in the winter that you weren't prepared for. Thankfully, our neighbors across the street never lost power, and had a generator they loaned to us to use. With that, we kept a small space heater going at all times. We bundled up in more layers than I could count, and brought out all the candles, flashlights and blankets we could.

A couple times a day we would disconnect the space heater to heat water in the electric kettle and fill a couple thermos containers so we could sip on something hot and keep our hands warm. We sectioned off our house with a thick blanket nailed to the walls to keep at least part of it a toasty 60 degrees. When we'd venture in the other half, you could see your breath. I could only imagine if we didn't have that generator and heater; we wouldn't have even been able to stay in our home.

Our neighborhood is so kind and generous - bringing us hot meals and coffee to keep us going. The girls were troopers. We played games, did all our puzzles, read stories with a flashlight & snuggled under blankets. We ventured over to our in-laws to shower, do some laundry and warm up a couple times. On Sunday, after spending the afternoon over there to do laundry (and bake some cookies because Christmas ;) - we pulled up to our house. The first thought that came to my mind was that I didn't remember leaving the lamp on in Aria's room - and before I could even finish the thought I yelled out - "oh my God, we have power!!".

It felt surreal. Like this thing called electricity.. is awesome! We realized the power had probably been on an hour or so as our empty freezer was pretty cold and our house was warming up. It was the little thing that made us so happy; to walk into the bathroom and hit the light switch and actually have a light come on. Walking around without my fingers tucked into my pockets or to wear just a t-shirt felt very freeing. To not have to check that the girls fingers & toes were too cold was such a relief.

With all of this also came the realization of how much we take for granted. How easily available everything is for us - all. the. time. But we also learned how little we really need to survive. Shelter & warmth, food, water.. the basics. As a culture, we consume so much and alot of it is unnessesary. So I must be feeling a little nostalgic as I sit here on the computer with only the Christmas tree in front of me lit up, a candle flickering on the table. The girls are napping, the house is quiet and dim, but warm & cozy. So thankful, blessed & grateful.

Merry Christmas.

XOXO, McKenzie

Fit Friday

Fit Mom Carb Cycling

6:00 AM

The picture on the right is me, currently eight months postpartum with baby #2. And on the left is me, 6 months before we found out we were going to be parents the following year. Nutrition has always been a big one for me, as our health is one of the most valuable things we have. But there is such a difference in how I've learned to eat between these pictures in just three years.

In the first picture, I thought I ate well for the most part, basically Paleo + margaritas. I ate great all day, did Crossfit 3-5 times per week and would enjoy a drink or two in the evenings and on the weekends. I never measured my food, ate however much and whatever I wanted as long as it was clean. I didn't have a problem with where I was at, except I wanted abs ;).

Now three years later, I've learned a lot. I've established new habits, good habits. Eating clean, with some dark chocolate and ice-cream on occasion - and maybe a glass of wine once or twice a month ;) Frequent meals to keep my body fueled for my workouts and muscle growth, without gaining fat - and currently maintaining a milk supply for little Emerson - all while losing weight and reaching my by body composition goals.

I worked my way into what is referred to as "nutrient timing" - eating certain macros at a specific time of day based around my activity. Many athletes have adopted this approach with results geared toward athletic performance & recovery, but I found that the sense of consistency and control after having a baby was awesome.

Nutrient timing ensures you (and your baby if you have one) have all the nutrients that you need without spikes or dips. Maintaining a steady intake of protein and amino acids does wonders for proper weight gain for the baby and weight-loss for you since more muscle = more calories burned at rest. Intake of carbohydrates at the right time ensures your body uses them at the right time; for energy instead of storing them (as fat). You also sleep better with correctly timed carbohydrate consumption, since your insulin is in check. Meanwhile, proper fat intake will round out the important calories you need.

With that said.. we've developed an app!

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Seth and I have followed a particulary style of eating & meal planing over the past year (and intermittently over the past few years. Even while I was pregnant, I maintained a 6 meals-per-day plan to support me and our growing little Emi.

Granite Nutrition Carb Cycling app became a reality when we realized that our meal plans were always on the computer, in spreadsheets. The meals vary depending on activity level and when you are working out vs a rest day. So we would have to refer to those spreadsheets or take a screenshot to save to our phone to have the information on the go. Such a pain in the ass.

My sweet smarty-pants of a husband finally put together the information in way so that I can select the intensity for my workout that day, and select the time I'm working out; or setup a "rest day" or "light day" for those days I don't workout. From there I had meal-by-meal diet plan to follow for the day. There's a huge backstory to this whole thing I'll share with you in some future posts.

Our goal is for everyone to access to a diet plan customized to their goals that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars - whether it's to put on some muscle or lose some fat. Carb cycling sounds serious and sometimes scary, I was very skeptical at first. But it works, and there is so many studies and science on nutrient timing! We've been able to make it much easier and more approachable for those who are new to the concept.

Since many of you are moms like myself, I tend to gear things in that manner, but this app is for EVERYONE. The man in your life can gain some lean muscle and shed some weight too. #sexydadbod ;)

We aren't doctors, it is always recommended that you seek the counsel of your physician before starting any new exercise regime (especially if you are pregnant, nursing or have any pre-existing health conditions).

If you are interested, check out the website; www.carbcyclingapp.com We'd love for you to join our email Launch List for when we launch in the App Store & Google Play. Help us spread the word, sharing on social media is SO greatly appreciated too!

Currently, we plan to launch within the next 10 days. Confirmed date will be posted soon. You can follow Carb Cycling App's launch on Instagram too.

We are so excited to finally share this with you!! Please feel free to shoot me any questions you may have!