I have an editorial calendar that tells me what to publish/write each day. It is booked a month out. It keeps me accountable & on track, but sometimes you just have to write what is on your heart and mind. And so today’s original post will be published at later date.

I will make the assumption that you’ve been reading the last few days articles. If you haven’t, I encourage you to go read them.

You know that I attempted to run another 100 mile ultramarathon a few days ago. I only ran 80 miles because I missed the cutoff by one minute. ONE FREAKING MINUTE. I’ve had a lot of people ask me about that one minute. How did it feel? Why did it happen? Am I upset?

I’ve had time to reflect, analyse, and sleep on that ONE MINUTE and here my thoughts.

Sometimes what we think is a horrible thing, is actually a blessing. But too often we are so caught up in being pissed off with that ONE MINUTE that we don’t look for the blessing. When Joe (the race director) asked me for my timing chip back I burst into tears. Running for 24 hour straight hours might have had something to do with it! I pleaded with him to let me finish what I started, but the answer was no (if he let me, he would have to let everybody do it). I accepted it and gratefully sat down collapsed on the chair in the darkness.

That ONE MINUTE all comes down to perspective. Either you can be bitter or you can be thankful. If you gave it everything you had and then some and still more, you will have no regrets. Use that ONE MINUTE to show others that God knows what He is doing.

I believe that God gave me that ONE MINUTE as his way of saying, “you know what Sarah, you’ve had enough. Go get some sleep. I love you and care about you and I will spare you”. While I always start what I finish, this was a new concept for me to grasp in the middle of being up for almost 30 hours on end. I’ll finish what I started, just not this time around. (Yes, I guess that means I’ll be back.) Instead of being upset at that ONE MINUTE, I’m actually thankful for it. Yes, thankful for it.

You see, life isn’t a fairy tale. Real life has major disappointments. Setbacks. Challenges. ONE MINUTE’S. We can either accept our ONE MINUTE and look for the blessing or be bitter. We control how we react. React with bitterness and you’ll see everything from a deep, dark place. React with grace and courage and see things with mercy and compassion and God’s faithfulness.

What is your ONE MINUTE? Look at it from a different (positive) perspective. It may just change your outlook on life. And bring you closer to God.

peace, sweat, love: life

Photo credit: O2Images

For the next few weeks, each Monday is a new series called “How I Eat.” Last Monday I gave you an overview of my food journey. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, I urge you to go back and read it. It will help you to understand the context of today’s edition.

I wrote seven different points last week and I’ll cover them in the coming weeks. Today I will talk about what I DO eat and DON’T eat. And try to answer the questions that you might have as you are reading.

First a few beliefs I have about food and our body.

1) Our body was made by God (1 Cor 6:19) and we should take care of it (personal responsibility)

2) If we have the ability/option to eat real food, we should

3) Our food supply/system has been drastically modified (no pun intended)

4) The majority of us don’t know where our food comes from, how it grows or how to gets to our plate

5) Our relationship with food is because something happened to us (negative or positive) VS starting with the earth (see point 4)

6) We misuse various terms like: “in moderation,” “I earned it,” “occasionally,” “my reward”

7) Our body ages and with it, comes challenges that we can either ignore or take positive steps to help improve

What I Do Eat/Drink

• Fresh veggies (organic where/when possible)
• Fresh fruit (organic where/when possible) 
• Nuts (and occasional nut milk/cheese)
• Meat/fish (organic, nitrate-free, farm raised)
• Earth based supplements (hemp hearts, brewers yeast, chia seeds, flax seed oil, etc) 
• Water (herbal tea on occasion) 
• Eggs

Most people are fimilar with the phrase “when bad things happen to good people.” I don’t believe that God tests people with “bad things.” I do believe that God uses the tough times in our life to remind us that we need Him in everything we do, no matter if we are in the valley or on the summit.

There is also another part to this. Good people can do everything right and “bad things” still happen. I was reading Genesis 39 and 40 the other morning and was reminded of this. If you aren’t familiar with the story, let me recap it for you.

Joseph was hated by his brothers, thrown into a dry well, then sold to slave traders. (When you do everything right and bad things still happen.) He ended up at the Pharaoh the King of Egypt grounds and he became a house servant. Now this would probably make us pretty upset at God. How could such a thing happen? Where is God? But the story gets better. Potiphar – the King – saw that the Lord was with Joseph and promoted him to personal assistant. Joseph was in charge of Potiphar’s entire household and everything he owned. A pretty important role in the those days! Now an interesting thing happened. God began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake (Genesis 39:5). His crops and livestock were bountiful and his household was running smoothly. God was blessing Joseph through Potiphar. Translation to us today: God might bless someone because we are doing our job that God has called us to do.

Then the story takes a turn. Joseph was handsome. (In my own mind I’m picturing tall, blue eyes, handsome and a killer smile.) Potiphar’s wife noticed the handsome man and wanted to sleep with him. But Joseph refused. One day when no one was around, she grabbed him by his coat and begged him to sleep with her. Joseph fled from her and in the process his coat was left in her hands. When she realized this, she gathered the servants and said “Look! my husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his coat with me.” Genesis 39:14-15.

Now you and I both know the truth. Joseph fled because she tried to get him to do something wrong. When you do everything right and bad things still happen.

Moving on in the story. When her husband, the king, came home she showed him the coat and told him the untrue story. The king was furious and threw Joseph in prison. PRISON!! Can you believe it? When you do everything right and bad things still happen.

The story takes another turn. I love verse 21 “But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love.” See, even when we are in the dark valley God is still right there with us. Powerful. “And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Long story short, Joseph was put in charge of the other of the entire prison. Verse 23: “The LORD was with him (Joseph) and caused everything he did to succeed.” Even in prison. Even in our dark valleys, God is still with us. Always remember that.

Now I’m not Joseph, but if it was me, my reaction and attitude would have been “this is not fair! That’s not the truth! Your wife made it all up – I was doing the right thing.” I probably would have felt sorry for myself and asked God “why are you punishing me for doing some good/right?”

What would your response be? Think about it. Moving on.

The story keeps going though. Now Joseph was a dream teller and some of the prisoners had dreams. Joseph explained what they meant and sure enough what Joseph had said would happen, did. Fast forward two years later, the King had a dream. Actually two dreams. And he was very troubled by them. And all of the magicians and wise (smart) men of Egypt could not tell the King what the dreams meant. Then the king’s butler went to the king. (The butler was one of the prisoners that Joseph had interpreted the dream for a few years ago and had forgotten all about Joseph. When you do everything right and bad things still happen. )

The butler explained what Joseph had done and the King called right away for Joseph to tell him what the dreams meant.

Genesis 41:16 is an important verse: “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” Meaning man can’t know the future, only God can.

So the King told Joseph his dream and Joseph responded with God told him to. The dream was the classic story of seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Jumping ahead, Joseph was put in charge of the ENTIRE LAND OF EGYPT. Can you believe it? What a roller coaster! From being sold by his own flesh and blood (his brothers) to then being the King’s personal assistant to getting thrown in jail for something he never did to being forgotten about by the butler to being put in charge of a country. When you do everything right and bad things still happen. 

Joseph was a good person, did everything right and “bad things” still happened to him. Did he get angry or bitter? From reading the Bible, it doesn’t say. It does say that he was faithful to God in whatever he did.

This entire story reminded me that things will happen to us that make no sense whatsoever. Instead of questioning “why God” or “why me,” getting bitter or angry, remain faithful in what God has called you to do. God still loves us. God still cares for us. And God is with us in the dark valley or bright mountain top.

When you do everything right and bad things still happen, God still blesses you.

Most people write about the end of the year around the end of December or January. But I’m not most people.

While the calendar may say it is Feb. 4, 2012, today is my end of one year and start of another. Today also happens to be the day I am running 100 miles. Yes running. Yes all in one day (or less). When I first registered for the race, I didn’t notice the date. Till a few weeks ago. I don’t believe it is a coincidence. And for some, running 100 miles seems impossible. But for what I have been through in my life, 100 miles doesn’t really seems all that bad. I don’t know you how celebrate surviving one tough year, but as fate (?) would have it, I am running 100 miles. True Sarah Stanley fashion (I ran my first 100 miler on my 30th birthday to celebrate it). 

2011 was (another) tough year. Let me highlight a few of the majors.

1) Setting a goal of running all 18 RnR’s and raising funds and advocating for different causes (the FIT Project)

2) Sensing God’s call to move to Colorado and four weeks later I packed whatever would fit in my car, took the rest to Goodwill, drove 2,000 miles solo in the worst winter storm in 50 years and spent the first night in Colorado in my car (it was 9 degrees). Feb 4, 2011.

3) Lost several part-time jobs and a roof over my head

4) Had former friends (some so-called Christians) not only turn on me, but stab me in the back AND chest

5) Being falsely accused, mocked, bullied, attacked and hated

6) Betrayal of agreements and promises

7) Sometimes flying to the races I was committed for and not knowing where I would stay or how I would get there (because of 3)

But I want to focus on 2. I left the Washington, D.C., area on Jan. 31, 2011 and started making the trek to Colorado. That evening I ended up in Columbus, Ohio due to a bad ice storm moving in. I got stuck there for the next 36 hours. Finally, on Wednesday morning, Feb. 2, I was able to start driving again and drove through some nasty weather to end the day in a foot of snow in Kansas City, Mo. Feb. 3, I left Mo. and started the eternity drive across the state of Kansas. I thought it would never end. God bless all of you who live there. I spent all day driving through it! I shouted out loud when I saw the wooden “welcome to Colorado” sign! Driving over the mountains on Route 70 I hit a blizzard. Welcome to Colorado, Sarah. I finally made it to the promised land. Barely knowing a soul. 150 percent knowing that God wanted me here.

Feb. 4, 2011. Unknown future. Uncertainty. But a peace that calms even the most stressed out soul.

I was in a brand new place, new state – everything was unfamiliar. Unknown. There were moments when I wondered how I would ever make it, let alone survive. While the full details of 2011 will be disclosed in my book, I can say that I did survive (who else would be writing this?!) and in spite of some VERY tough times, I kept the faith. Was it easy? No. Was it hard? You bet. Was it the right thing to do? Absolutely.

So today as I run 100 miles, it is a celebration of living and surviving a very tough year. Running 100 miles will be a piece of cake, comparatively. Because when God wants to do a good work in AND with you, you heed that calling. Even when it is tough and rough and dark and lonely and just doesn’t make sense.

I listed the seven major things that made 2011 a very tough and rough year, but I always believe in the positive in spite of the negative.

1) That friendships I thought were good, but God knew they weren’t and replaced with much better ones

2) I learned that God always provides, but not in the way I thought he would

3) Strength doesn’t come when we are strong; strength is made when we are weak

4) Determined to keep living with the passion and the faith and the grace that brought me this far

5) Forgiveness is healing

6) A few key people that made me believe in friendships and trust again

7) That just because I had/have tough times, it doesn’t mean I quit/give up, it means you dig deep and keep the faith

Perhaps you just found this site because of what I am doing today (running 100 miles) and you are having a rough, tough year or just plain life. You might feel alone, depressed and wondering why you are here. Let me assure you that God not only loves and cares for you, but has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). That plan looks different for each one of us, but the one thing that remains the same is this: God loves each and everyone of us, no matter what state of that plan we are in.

Dear 2011, you taught me to never give me up. Dear 2012, remind me of 2011 when I am tempted to give up.

And Lord, to all of those who are struggling, help them not to give up. May my struggles help them to see that you are a God who cares and loves. Even in our darkest valley. Amen.

peace, sweat, love: life

Each Friday we feature a real-life person who has embraced a healthy lifestyle from a former sedentary life. We hope their story inspires you to start living and breathing a healthy life!

Today’s story is from Adrienne who lives in Phoenix, Ariz.

Sarah: 2003 was the year that started the change for you, can you share with us what happened?
Adrienne: In 2003, I moved to Arizona to take yet another job in television. While I’d been somewhat athletic growing up, I was always raised to think it was better to be smart, than pretty. And it showed. By the time I arrived in Arizona, I was at least 50 pounds overweight, a complete party girl, with many health issues looming on the horizon (diabetes, stomach issues, etc) and most of all, my self-confidence was shot. And I didn’t realize ANY of these things.

Sarah: How did you start your healthy life journey?
Adrienne: Through circumstance, a co-worker was successful following the Weight Watchers program, so I thought, “Why not?” In April of 2004, I’d removed 56 pounds to reach my goal weight, and was approached by Weight Watchers about becoming a Group Leader – and helping others reach their goals. Again, I thought “Why not?” and agreed to take the facilitation training and start part-time. Within weeks of the training, I realized that TV was no longer a good fit for me, and came to work for WW full time.

Sarah: Wow! That is incredible! Tell us about your new job!
Adrienne: Fast forward eight years, and I’m now one of the Managers of the company, helping with training, media and still leading members to reach their goals each week, some even taking off more than a hundred pounds.
This isn’t a WW commercial, though. Losing the weight sparked me to find ME. I often say “My outside matches my inside now.” I’m confident. I’m raising my family to be healthy and active, so they can avoid the struggles I had. My daughter has a fabulous self-image, which means the world to me, since I didn’t have that kind of role model growing up.

Sarah: Tell us how you started running.
Adrienne: After having my daughter, I was trying to find “my thing.” That thing that was mine, that wasn’t work. Or family. And some friends across the country reminded me about running. I’d dabbled in running here and there, but didn’t think much of it. Well, having a toddler was enough to make me lace up my running shoes and hit the pavement.

It was quiet. I could think. Or not think. And my feet just kept moving. The miles became my therapy. And I felt stronger and more confident than ever before. That was fall of 2010. Since then, I’ve run two half marathons, and more than a dozen other races. And then, less than two weeks ago, I crossed the timing mats of my first marathon. Needless to say, I’m hooked.

Sarah: What is life like today for you?
Adrienne: I’m healthier and happier at 34 than I was at 24. My goal used to be just to see my next birthday. Now my goal is to be that healthy, white-haired woman who passes the young whipper-snappers at races, while encouraging them the whole way.

Sarah: Do you have any healthy goals for 2012 and beyond?
Adrienne: My  goal is to run seven races. Raging from four miles to two marathons. I have specific time goals for the marathons so I’m working with a coach on that. Incorporate some cross-training and continue to live a healthy life!

Adrienne before

 

Adrienne after (finishing a race)

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve seen the photos I post of the meals I prepare and eat. While this is second nature to me, I’ve realized that the rest of you are curious about the food I eat. Over the next few weeks I’ll share with you my food journey, the foods I don’t eat, the foods I do eat, the foods I crave, what I drink, what I don’t drink – my personal seven health principles.

But first, an overview of my food journey.

I’ve always been a really healthy eater. From childhood, the food on my plate was a lot of fresh, organic veggies (that I planted, raised, harvested with my bare hands), fruit, organic whole wheat flour (that I ground), whole milk and then skim milk, goats milk that I milked (make sure they don’t eat onions!), honey versus white sugar, 100 percent pure maple syrup that I helped make from maple trees on our farm (fun fact: it takes 40 gallons of raw sap to make one gallon of pure maple syrup), drank my first soy milk when it first came out (1986? 1985?), ate kale before it became the 2012 buzz word (back in the early ’80s), only drank water (no soda, barely any juice and no coffee), and if we ate meat we killed it. I knew where my food came from, how it was raised and the blood, sweat and tears it took to get that tomato on my plate.

I started cooking and baking at the age of 5. I began making breakfast then lunch and dinner. Everything was made from scratch, all organic and of course tons of vegetables. I enjoyed experimenting and creating new dishes. I cooked with fresh herbs and whatever was in season. It’s probably why the kitchen is one of my favorite rooms in a house. I love, love to cook and prepare tasty, colorful dishes for other people. If you’ve ever had my cooking, you know this first hand.

For four years (1994-1997) I had a successful bakery with my two younger sisters where we made everything from scratch. We ground organic wheat berries to make the whole wheat flour, we used honey  (I remember lugging 50 pound buckets of fresh honey up to the kitchen) vs. white sugar, we used all organic ingredients, fresh, in-season fruit, fresh organic brown eggs, organic dairy and of course made with a lot of tender loving care.

Translation = no processed crap, no food dyes, no additives, etc. in the food we ate. If it was a cookie, cake or tart, it was made with the freshest, purest and organic ingredients.

I remember when Muir Glen, Garden of Eden, Cascadian Farms and Stonyfield Farms weren’t household brand names. Yes, I now feel old.

When I went to college, my body was shocked that the rest of the world didn’t eat like I had. It was a great eye-opener. After college, I was happy to be back in my own kitchen and cooking/baking again!

Then in the early 2000s I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. For being so young I thought it was ridiculous that I was put on a variety of medicines instead of being encouraged to look at other treatments. (Prescribing pills is quick. Healthy treatments can be a long process.) I strongly dislike medicine(s) and took myself off them after a few months and began other methods of natural treatment and making sure the food I ate was organic and as fresh as possible. Much like I grew up on. For the first couple of years my body seemed to do well with it and I was happy that I ditched the medicine. Then my training started to increase and other added stress began to take its tole on my body and my endocrinology and adrenal system took a huge hit. My body responded my treating everything I ate as inflammatory. Now a little side note. Autoimmune diseases need anti-inflammatory foods. Combined with turning older (God bless aging), I needed to do something different.

So, I started experimenting with the foods I was eating. I did extensive research and came to the conclusion that I should take grains out of the food I was eating. A few months later I took dairy out. I loved cheese. I thought it would be really hard for me not to have it, but you know what? A few months into it I decided to have a cube of cheese at a party and I couldn’t stand it. Proof that your body can learn new tricks. And by taking grains and dairy out of the food I ate, it pretty much eliminated sugar as well.

Since removing all dairy, grains (not just wheat or “Gluten Free”), legumes (and I loved beans) and pretty much all sugar (even honey) I’ve noticed substantial positive body improvements. My body isn’t fighting with itself (as much). I’m still a work in progress. I do have an occasional – and when I say occasional that means one or two times a month – a baked goodie. Like a cupcake.

Now I have many things to say about all the above. I wish I could write them all right now. But you don’t want to read the entire journey right now.  And I need to keep your interest so you’ll come back and read the rest of it .

However, I’ll leave you with a few thoughts based upon my research, working with people across the country, traveling across the country and my own personal opinions. I’ll explain in greater detail in future parts what exactly I mean by each point. Here they are. Get ready, they are deep (laugh, it’s a joke).

1) Too much dairy in our ‘diet’ (diet meaning the food we eat, not a diet plan)

2) Soy is not a health food

3) We don’t know where our food comes from, how it is made or how it made it onto our plate

4) We mask our disease with pills vs. healing our bodies with real food that God created

5) We buy packaged food – wrappers, boxes, bags, etc. vs. buying or growing fresh produce

6) Farms and farmers are being replaced by developments OR being paid to genetically (GMO) grow crops (corn being a great example) (The food we eat today is vastly different then the food we ate 10, 50, 100 years ago)

7) We are a lazy, sick nation instead of being a hard working, healthy nation when it comes to our health and the food we eat

I believe we have the ability to heal our bodies (granted with God’s help) and it is our responsibility to take care of the body God gave us (as well as the land He created)

In the coming weeks we’ll discuss these points, I’ll share the foods I do eat, recipes I’ve created, some of the myths and truth behind the different foods and why I believe that if everyone took their health as seriously as I do, some of the health problems we are seeing might cease to exist or be drastically reduced.

peace, sweat, love: life

Welcome to Soul Food. Each Sunday on this site we focus on healthy living by reflecting on our soul and God. For if we neglect that, we have lost everything. (Luke 9:25 and Matthew 16:26)

I’ve been spending a lot of time the last two weeks in preparation for Rocky Raccoon 100 miler (in five days if you are keeping track). From being super strict with my already fine-toothed health food plan (I don’t like the word ‘diet’) to getting enough sleep and rest to visualizing the race to planning my nutrition for race day, what I will eat, how much I will eat, what time I will eat … the preparation starts WAY before I even get to the start line. So I could go a few different directions with this edition of Soul Food. 

1) How much preparation do we put into our faith with God

2) The race of faith

3) Visualizing not giving up when it gets tough

But I decided to write about what life toxins.

Like I wrote above I spend a lot-A LOT-of time and dedication to what kind of food I eat and don’t eat. I’m really careful about what goes in my body. Food dyes, chemicals, additives and other toxins are all banned. But how many times do I let other toxins into my life? Is my soul filled with love or hate? Compassion or indifference? Patience or stress? Faith or fear? God’s word or gossip?

It was a stark reminder that I need to be just as diligent about life toxins as food toxins. Life toxins can be deadly. They can eat away at us. Ruin relationships. Make us cold hearted. Bitter. Cynical. And a host of other things. Bottom line is that God wants us to live IN faith. A faith that forgives just as quickly as we say no to that second donut. A faith that views life toxins as harmful to us just like food toxins. 

Call to action. What about you? Do you have life toxins that are eating away at you? What will you do about them?

We’re kicking off a new series called Fitness Friday! Each Friday we’ll feature a real-life, inspiring story of someone who has changed their life from inactive to healthy.

I think you’ll be really inspired by today’s feature!

Matt is 26 and lives with his wife, Lindsey of 3.5 years in Greenville, SC. They hope to adopt a child in the next year. He is a branch manager for a local bank and you can follow him on Twitter.

Matt & Lindsey (before life style change)

Sarah: What motivated you to start losing weight and exercising?

Matt: Three factors primarily: one, was a diagnosis of pre-hypertension (high blood pressure) at age 23. My doctor had me on blood pressure drugs and warned me I might have to take them the rest of my life. Second, I began to notice that the pants which had fit me all through college didn’t fit so well anymore! Finally, and most important, was the quiet encouragement of my dad. He took up running in his late 40s for his health and had even gotten into racing a little. It occurred to me that I couldn’t conscience a world where my own dad could outrun me. Plus, he seemed to be enjoying it so much that I figured I’d should try it.

Sarah: How did you and your dad help each other?

Matt: Well, we live 700 miles apart so chance to actually run together are pretty unusual. But I can tell you, every time we are in the same state on a weekend we are looking for a race to run together! For example, this summer we are planning to do Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN. Also, we text each other often about workouts. We both have to get up between 4-5 am on weekdays to get a run in before the day starts!

Sarah: How long did it take you to reach your goal weight?

Matt: I started my running career at 240 pounds. A fitness challenge at work inspired me to watch my diet and keep up the exercise. Within 15 months I had dropped from 240 to my target weight of 165 – I guess that works out to about 5 pounds per month.

Sarah: love the healthy weight loss! 

Sarah: You have some impressive and inspiring marathon and half marathon times! Share them with us!

Matt: My first three marathons were anything but impressive in terms of time goals (but I had fun!). I really hadn’t built up the physical stamina to run that kind of distance so I ended up walking much of the last 6-8 miles. Then in October 2011 a training plan with much higher mileage finally got me ready and I ran a 3:04:35, just 25 seconds faster than my Boston qualifying time. In that race, I was running with the 3:10 pace group until mile 14 when I decided I was going to go for broke and see if I could make up 5 minutes on the last 12 miles and I did!

My half marathon PR came just a couple weeks ago at a local race. It was 1:23:35. I’m pretty happy with that but I definitely feel like I can improve.

I’ve also done a couple of ultramarathons – one 50K and one 24-hour run. Both were very low-key events with about 80 runners in a state park. Those were surprisingly fun. Not a lot of pressure to finish in a certain amount of time, and you can really enjoy nature and companionship with other runners.

Sarah: What do you love about running?

Matt: Where do I start? I love being able to get out an enjoy the world on foot. I love the fact that I’ve made friends with runners all over the country. I love beautiful sunrises enjoyed in solitude on the trail near my house. I love the thrill of toeing the line at the start of a race, full of anticipation about what will happen over the next 3 or 13 or 26 miles. I love my volunteer work as the social media guy for PACE Running Magazine (on Twitter @pacerunningmag). I love coming in from a hard training run knowing I’ve left it all out there. I love being able to clear my head before or after a busy day at work.

Sarah: In order to drop the weight, you had to not only start running, but also change the way you eat. What is your plate today vs before?

Matt: I worked in foodservice at the university I attended, and that meant all-you-can-eat buffets three times a day. Nice for a college kid on a tight budget but not great for my waistline! Since then, I’ve become much more concerned with eating unprocessed foods. We live less than a mile from a great little farmers’ market, and we probably shop there more than we do a regular grocery store. I limit my meat consumption and have really grown to love some “unusual” vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, and avocado.

Sarah: So many people are looking for a quick fix when it comes to their health. What would you say to them?

Matt: It’s not going to be quick. Almost everything in life that’s worthwhile takes time, effort and patience. The most important thing is to write down your goals and your plan to get there. Nobody is successful by thinking “You know, I’d like to be healthier.” You have to have specific goals and a detailed plan on how to get there.

Sarah: What are your goals for 2012? 

Matt: I spent a good amount of time on New Years’ Eve 2011 writing out what my goals would be for the coming year. Here are some of the running-related ones: sub-2:50 for a marathon; sub-1:20 for a half marathon; run 3,000 miles total, and enjoy every day of it. But the one I’m most excited about is this: help at least 3 other people get started with running so they can enjoy this sport that’s become such a big part of my life.

Spinx Marathon 2011

Thank you Matt, for sharing your incredible story with us! We hope this encourages others to take that first step- literally- and start embracing and living a healthy life!

peace, sweat, love: life

Have you seen the Nutella ad on TV saying that it is a wholesome and nutritious breakfast? Well, contrary to what that ad says, Nutella is NOT a breakfast food. It IS a sugary treat that should be used sparingly.

Why is Nutella not a breakfast food? Here are some points to consider.

A Nutella label

1) The first ingredient is sugar

Sugar is not a health food, just an FYI. And just not white sugar, but all the other forms of sugar (sucrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar) too. There are many health risks with too much sugar in ones diet. The classic disease/health risk is diabetes. Sugar can also spike your blood sugar, cause headaches and cause weight gain. Sugar also turns to fat (your cells turn it to fat when not being used the way it should). While you do need sugar for certain things in life – like endurance events, and breakfast is not an endurance event.

2) Modified palm oil is second ingredient

Palm oil is used for the texture to make Nutella. Food manufacturers are trying to avoid trans fat, so they have to modify the oils in order to create the desired consistency of fat. Palm oil is found not just in Nutella but in other packaged food as well.

3) A serving of Nutella has 21 grams of sugar!

No wonder why kids and everyone else like it so much! The average American consumes 170 pounds of sugar A YEAR. Sugar contributes to our obesity problem. Bottom line: eat veggies for breakfast, not a spoonful of sugar.

4) Other ingredients

Nutella also has skim milk in it. Don’t think you’re getting your calcium by having a serving of this. People already consume too much dairy (wonder why more and more people are becoming lactose-intolerant?) and this only adds to it. Get your calcium from real food – like spinach, almonds, okra, blackstrap molasses and broccoli to name a few.

Bottom line? By all means, enjoy some Nutella on occasion, just not for breakfast or a snack or frequent use of it.

Now you know! Eat for health!

peace, sweat, love:life

Do you ever think about the meaning of life? I do. I’m working on writing my life story (aka, book) and as I look back on everything that I have had to go through, I’ve had the chance to reflect on the meaning of life. If I asked 100 people this question, I would probably get a 100 different answers. From sarcastic to I-don’t-know, each answer would be different I am sure. I don’t believe that meaning of life is whoever has the most cookies (maybe kale chips) wins. Here are some of my thoughts on this thing we call life.

Perhaps you are going through some deep, dark, lonely valleys. I’ve been there (and am there). Perhaps you wonder what the hell the meaning of life is all about. Why does bad stuff have to happen to ME?  Sometimes life just sucks. Life hurts. Other people hurt us. Dear friends die. Family members suddenly pass away. Parents abandoning their children. Unexplainable things. Things that will never make sense. 

Here is the thing. Tough (bad) things WILL happen to us, how we react to them is up to us. We can either get mad or cling to the faith that got us this far. See I don’t believe that God tests us, He does use life events to bring us closer to Him. To trust Him in everything we are going through- the good and bad.

See, most of us get mad at God when things go wrong. But how many times are we HAPPY with God when things go right? Probably not much. Perhaps those dark places is God’s way of saying, “hey, I love you and care about you, trust me with your life and follow me.” Maybe those dark places are a chance for you to share how you’ve kept your faith in God when you couldn’t see 2 steps in front of you.

To me the meaning of life is this: To love God and show the world His love by being a light in this dark world by helping/serving others.

The meaning of life. Do you have an answer?

peace, sweat, love: life

Photo credit: How I See Life