So one of the things that I try to do after the WODs to help loosen my back is to take one of the bands and lay on my back and try to stretch my legs with them.  It helps take some of the tightness off of my lower back.  So I thought that it would be good to get one for home that I could do in the evening or even sometimes when I first wake if I can't even make it out the door because of the pain.  So I explained to Katie what the bands look like that we use in class.  I told her that it's like a huge rubber band I need one of the green or blue ones because they are the strongest.  She found some yoga bands on the internet but they weren't like the ones that we have in class.  So I explained again what they look like and she didn't find any.  She said I should just get a yoga one but I patiently explained to her that those weren't the ones that we use in Crossfit and so we should keep looking.  The yoga ones weren't a full circle like the ones in class and so I didn't want them.  She said I was being stupid but I told her that those ones work and so I need the full circle ones.  She said I didn't.  I said I did.  She asked what we used them for in class and I explained how they help people learn pull ups and how they tie them to the bar.  She asked if I needed it to stretch my legs or if we had some pull up bar in our house that she was unaware of.  So I said, "shut up", and ran upstairs crying. (Just kidding, I don't "run" anywhere)

So here's my yoga stretching band that Katie bought me.  It works pretty good.  I'll use it while I'm watching tv to take some pressure off of the lower back.  I've mentioned that I feel like my lower vertebrae seems to be grinding and as I use this, it seems to take a little pressure off of them. I also still try to go to the chiropractor a couple times a week and that helps but I still need something else because some days, I can't even stand up straight.
As for the diet, we've been in our clean eating mode for almost a month now.  It's been frustrating in the fact that I can't really measure my progress in if it's making me stronger or faster because I don't really know from day to day, which of the WODs I can actually do at full strength.  If I were to do it again, I would have done something like do the Airdyne for as far as I can for 10 minutes and then do it again at the end of the month.  I also don't know how much my body fat was a month ago because I didn't get measured because I'm not part of the official contest.  I do know that the diet is working though as far as plain weight loss because I've lost 12 lbs.  So as for now, I'm sticking with my goal of losing weight and continue to try to build strength in my core.  I would love to be able one day again do hang cleans and push presses at my regular weight.  I'm getting sick of saying this but....patience.  It will come one day.  Right? Maybe? I hope?

June 1st- 275 lbs

<--- June 1st. (My idea of taking a picture a day, has quickly fizzled out. How about a picture a month?)

July 1st-263 lbs

<---July 1st.