Humbling Friday

I had such a good weekend! What made it so good? I didn't eat like an animal! I actually stuck to my usual diet, only straying (but not much) for dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I also got in a nice, long workout on Saturday which made me feel so much better about going out both Friday and Saturday nights. I'm hoping I can remember this feeling and stick with it so I won't feel like such a fatty on Mondays.

too much pizza

I missed a post on Friday because I was busy visiting schools who are collecting money for my campaign, Pennies for Patients. I do kick-off assemblies where I get to teach students at participating schools about blood cancers and tell them how important it is for them to bring in their spare change. At one of my assemblies, I got to chat with an 11 year old who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL, the most common form of childhood leukemia) when he was just 8 years old. He is in the "maintenance phase" of treatment, meaning he's in remission but must still travel from Chauncey to Columbus (1.5 hours) once every three months for treatment for the next two years. If everything looks good after that, he'll switch to less frequent visits. He was such a cool dude and was so positive; I left the school feeling very blessed that I never had to go through that and said a little prayer thanking God for keeping Thomas, Evan, Avery, Andrew, and Ella healthy. I can't even imagine what it's like to hear that your child (or niece/nephew) has cancer at the young age of 8, let alone younger than that. Meeting young cancer survivors, as I often do in my profession, is very humbling.

Anyway, since I didn't post on Friday, I didn't get to tell you about the newest treadmill interval I did: the 5k treadmill challenge.

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Challenge is right; this one was quite tough. I've never ran faster than 8.0 for 1 minute on the treadmill and this one had me running 8.5, 8.7 and 9.0 for a certain distance, not time (like all the other ones.) It was about 3.5 minutes of running before taking a break to walk for .1 mile. The workout went by in a flash so I walked a little bit afterward, but it is a great workout for anyone looking to pick it up a notch!

Julie posted the questions James Lipton asks every actor at the end of their interview on Inside the Actor's Studio. Every time I watch that show, I wonder how I would answer them. Welp, it looks like today's the day!

1. What is your favorite word?
2. What is your least favorite word?
3. What turns you on?
4. What turns you off?
5. What sound or noise do you love?
6. What sound or noise do you hate?
7. What is your favorite curse word?
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
9. What profession would you not like to do?
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

My answers:

1. "F***" (I know it's not appropriate but it is my favorite word...)
2. "Disappointed"
3. Tattoos
4. Rudeness
5. The sound of my dad's voice
6. The sound of someone I love crying
7. F***
8. Playing the tambourine/banjo/drums in a band
9. Tax accountant
10. "I'm proud of you."

I'm interested to see how other people would answer these questions as well so let it rip if you'd like.

Comfort food

Oh my gosh. I am overwhelmed with the love and support I've received since writing about my dad's most recent diagnosis. Less than 24 hours after I posted about him and my fundraising, I've hit my goal because of the generous people I am so lucky to know, people who haven't even met my dad but still want to help him and me in finding a cure. I told him how fast everyone was to respond and he said, "wow, that's pretty sweet." In Dan Dupler language, that is a HUGE thank you!

If you've never fundraised before, for any cause or for any reason, I highly suggest you do. I've been doing it for three years now and I am still blown away by how generous people are. It really makes you feel like paying it forward. If you're looking to get involved in something, LLS is a great place to start! :)

Shifting gears, I've been really feeling like eating comfort food lately. The weather is wet and cold which makes me want to eat hearty foods I haven't been in the mood for during this hot, hot, HOT summer. Also, with my dad's diagnosis, I feel like all I want to do is eat. Not cool. I know where that road leads, and it ain't pretty (for me.) Luckily, I have some healthy alternatives already waiting in the wings to help fulfill my comfort food craving.

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Since I'm a huge fan o' pumpkin, I decided to change up my usual morning breakfast to incorporate the yummy orange fruit. I've recently taken a liking to overnight oats. It's like oatmeal but you let it sit overnight in the fridge so in the morning, it's a nice, thick, oatmeal consistency. I would love to have my oatmeal warm especially when it's chilly in the morning but since I have very limited time in the mornings, my hours have recently changed to 7:30am-3:30pm, I've found overnight oats are a nice alternative. This morning I made the pumpkin pie vegan overnight oats from Oh She Glows and it really hit the spot. It leaves me feeling full but not too full, and it helps me get through my long mornings so I'm not dying of starvation by lunch.

Another comfort food I usually turn to when I need it is pasta. I loooove pasta. Let's be real, who doesn't? I haven't had it too much since I started dieting but if I make a whole pot, I can freeze what I don't eat and pull it out at a moment's notice. A pasta dish I've really enjoyed before and am dreaming of making soon is Bethenny Frankel's chicken, pasta, peppers, and onions. It's spicy so it warms you up but it's not so heavy you feel like you can't move after eating it. Of course, pizza is my all-time number one comfort food but I'm trying to avoid it like the plague. It hasn't been working so well...

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Something else I've stumbled upon that I just canNOT get enough of is MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Peanut Spread. Yes, you read that right. It is good on everything. And by everything, I'm talking bananas, apples, strawberries, toast, pretzels, graham crackers...you name it, it works! It's not as sweet as peanut butter or nutella but it's all natural (with less than 10 ingredients!) so I don't feel too bad when I eat it every day...which I pretty much do. Try it out; you won't be disappointed!

What are your favorite comfort foods? What are you looking forward to eating in the colder weather?

Update on the Dadster

Hello world. I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! The weather yesterday was perfect for laying around and not going to work!





As some of you know, my dad has been going to a blood oncologist since the beginning of this year because of some "alarming" lymph nodes. He's been seeing a fantastic physician, Dr. Scott Blair, who I know personally from my job at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. About two weeks ago, my dad had a lump on his neck that was painful, along with night sweats and flu-like symptoms, so he went to the emergency room and had a cat scan. He wasn't admitted but because of the results of the cat scan, Dr. Blair asked that he get the lump removed. He had two lumps removed last Tuesday and on Friday we found out that my dad does indeed have lymphoma. So, the disease that I've been working towards finding a cure for for the past three years is the disease my dad is now fighting. Oh, the irony! I do feel confident he will be able to get past this but I don't think it's going to be pretty or easy. He is no spring chicken, and with the possibility of chemotherapy, I worry about him being sick and by himself. You never like to see your loved ones sick with anything, so it's definitely not going to be a good time. However, my dad is a fighter, having almost every kind of health problem you can imagine (including getting a toe amputated) and he's still kickin' it, so I have faith that he will get through this, no matter how shitty it is.





That being said, I would really appreciate donations toward my fundraising and training for LLS through our Team In Training campaign. I've mentioned this before on this blog, but I'm training for the Columbus Half Marathon while raising money for blood cancer research. This is my third half marathon this year and my second TNT event. My first was the Capital City Half in May of this year, and literally two days after that race, I signed up for TNT again (before thinking it would ever be to help someone in my family, let alone my dad.) I'm committed to raising $750 and I'm at about 61% so I still have a ways to go. The money is due the end of this month, so I'm really cutting it close. I have a give-away on my fundraising website to win a certificate for 1 dozen bagels and one coffee tote once a month for a year. I've had some people ask about this so I want to clarify: one person wins the certificate and they can use the certificate to get a dozen bagels and a coffee tote once a month until October 2012. Each $10 donation enters your name to win the certificate, so if donate $20, your name will be entered twice, if you donate $100, your name will be entered 10 times, if you donate $1,000, I'll just give you the certificate. I really appreciate anything you're willing to donate because shit just got personal.

My First Time

Blogging, that is! Thanks so much for checking out my page! I'm new to the blogging world but I've been following a few people lately (like Peanut Butter Fingers and Oh She Glows) and have been inspired to start my own. I've been working towards finding what makes me happy since the beginning of the New Year (better late than never, right?!), and it's working better than my previous attempts, so I thought I would share with the world what's working for me. Obviously, this is all based on personal experience and everyone is different. The great thing about the Internet is, among other reasons, you can always find something out there that suits your situation, body type, lifestyle, habits, and interests. This is just one person's account on how I'm making changes in my life toward happiness.



high school
senior year, 2004



A little (or a lot) of background on how I got to this point: I recently realized that I've never been truly healthy my whole life. Sure, I was thin before, but my eating and exercise habits were not what I would call healthy. I was always an athlete in high school, playing sports year round. However, I wouldn't eat the right types of foods. My family never ate together, no one ever cooked, so I would be on my own for meals, which usually meant eating out or eating junk. I would feel guilty after eating almost a whole box of crackers and 3/4 block of cheese for dinner, so I would go for a 40-minute run at 8pm, and then come home, not eat, and go to bed so that I would feel hungry in the morning. Not healthy.



summer after
sophomore year, 2006



at my heaviest,
summer 2009

When I went to college, I put on about 10 pounds over my freshman year through the start of my sophomore year. I started to feel very self-conscious and un-happy with my appearance, so I began exercising 3 or more hours a day, obsessing over calories eaten, and literally crying on 60-minute runs because I felt so guilty about something I ate. I did this for all of my sophomore and start of my junior years of college, getting down to 125 pounds. On my 5'8" frame, there was no way I was able to maintain that weight. From all the running and bootcamp classes I was doing, I ended up getting a stress fracture the spring of my junior year of college and, since I couldn't exercise as much as I wanted to, I went the completely other way and stopped working out and counting calories altogether. (I've also realized that I'm an all-or-nothing type of person.) Needless to say, I gained about 30 pounds in 6 months. I didn't look huge, but in my mind, I was disgusting. I literally stopped looking in the mirror. I couldn't stand the sight of myself and I couldn't stop eating. When my mother passed away the winter of my senior year of college, I continued eating whatever and whenever I wanted. I would attempt to go on diets or run, but since I couldn't run like I used to (I could barely run a mile) I would get discouraged and eat some more. This lasted for about three years and I don't know my highest weight because I stopped weighing myself, but I know I was well over 200 pounds.

 

I did it!
May 2011

January 2011 was the beginning of my new life. I decided in order for me to be happy, I needed to get back to what I do best: run! I signed up for a half-marathon with the organization I work for, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, on one of our campaigns, Team In Training. I was given a 5-month training calendar and a race date of May 7, and I was dead-set on following the calendar and completing the race! In the spirit of doing this the healthy way, I decided to get a personal trainer so I didn't get burnt out on just running. I actually love exercising, I forgot how much I love it, so it's been relatively easy to get back into a routine. However, where I've always struggled is diet. My trainer as well as the blogs I've been following have helped me come to a balance. I've been learning so much about what's good for my body type, my level of activity, and my personal tastes that I actually look forward to cooking new, "clean" meals. I've also told anyone and everyone about my weight-loss and race goals so they will hold me accountable. Before, I would never let people know exactly how much I was exercising or how little I was eating, but this time around, I'm determined to make it happen for the long-haul and that means letting everyone and their brother know about my plans!



May 2011



To date, I've lost 22 pounds and am inching closer to my overall weight-loss goal of 58 pounds. I've also completed my first half-marathon (in 2 hours, 14 minutes) and am registered to run another half in August and then the Columbus Full in October, again with TNT. Blogging will also serve as another way of holding myself accountable and show others that it is possible to lose weight and feel great with a little bit of salty sweat (and some salty tears, too!) Stay tuned!