Tag Archives: blogging

Who is the FFK?

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I am a lot of things…

I am…
a Canadian-born Texan who now lives in Florida.

I am…
a proud graduate of Abilene Christian University and Florida State University

I am…
a Brother in Frater Sodalis

I am…
Megan’s husband
Brittany’s brother
Nancy and Glen’s son
Molly the Dog’s best friend

And since September 18th, 2010, I have been a loser. 

Prior to that date, I didn’t let my weight define me, but it was defining my future.
You see, my whole life then was about my weight in some way or another. Conversations with strangers would eventually lead to it within just a few comments. While I was as incredibly charming and ridiculous as the man writing here today, most people still saw my weight first. Like I have said before, I was letting my whole life pass me by.

For the past three years, I have been working hard to lose this weight and it has hit a score of snags along the way. I have been blessed with minimal injuries and other physical setbacks even when training for the Tallahassee Half. With that, there has been little to no reason why I don’t go out every day and kick my weight loss in the nards. I don’t do it because I have made other things in my life top priority. One of them is my career, but in a lot of ways that makes complete sense <no job/no money/no food/no internet/no means to show readers what I eat>. When in a lot of other ways it doesn’t make sense because I have the means and the constraints to make better decisions with my health (not to mention racquetball being a useful cathartic device after work). For the past year, I was slowly sinking into a hole of listlessness with my blog and other aspects of my life. I needed a jolt, because these weren’t things that defined me anymore. I wasn’t the same legalistic (in a good way) weight loss evangelist I had been and it made me sad.

Then, Fitbloggin’ took over my newsfeed. Last week, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and essentially every blog I read was inundated by this amazing conference. And I was jealous. Ridiculously jealous. I wanted to be there so bad because not only was it in Portland (#Dreamtown) it was the revival that my weight loss could have used. So instead of becoming inspired from photos like this and blog posts like that, I sat at home and sulked…while holding a slice of pizza like it was a newborn made of cheese and pepperoni.

(I am well aware of how weird that analogy is. Let’s just move on and act like it never happened. Unless you thought it was funny and dark and in that case continue to laugh, Julie Dow.)

 

After days of my pity party of one, I have made some fantastic self realizations. The biggest of them being that  I have a new job where being incredibly passionate about what you do and the causes you believe in is job 1!!! I work with people everyday that want to make this world a better place! In my interview, I told my now-boss that my dream job was to work somewhere that promotes good, which is hard for someone to find in PR and Marketing. His response was “well…that’s what you’ll be doing.” That’s when I knew this was the beginning of something great. Now that I have been there for a few weeks, I have had to let it all sink in a little. And I realized that it is time to invest my heart and soul into this position because it is what I’m being called to do. When I made that decision to fully invest in this job, the spark to continue my weight loss journey was rekindled.

Now, the journey continues and I control my future. I have worked way too hard to plateau the way I have for the past year and half. I have been resting on my past victories for too long. I’m ready to post some new victories and go into unchartered weight loss waters.

So what does that mean for the blog?

Well…that’s a good question.

You see, I like writing these long self-reflecting essays about my life, but I have been trying to do that with every post. That’s not feasible for a daily blog (yes…this blog used to be daily.) I like writing them because it’s the kind of thing I like to read, but it’s not the best for me as a blogger because writing 800+ words a night gets exhausting.

So the new blog layout until further notice is the following

Monday, Thursday and Friday: Entries with points with a little reflection. It might now always be interesting, but I need that kind of accountability right now. I’m brining back the food journal side of the FFK.

Tuesday: Still my Weigh-In Day. I’ll reflect on how I feel and how I can do better.

Wednesday: Still Wordless Wednesday. Get stoked.

Saturday and Sunday: A post like this one. More reflective on the week, along with other cool things like giveaways, reviews, guest posts, and more!

It feels good to be back. See ya tomorrow.

Day 935: Welcome to Weigh-In Day!

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I’M ALIVE!!!!!!!!

My awful bronchopneumonia (yeah…that’s what I had) has finally subsided and I feel sooooo much better. Hooray for NyQuil and antibiotics!

So I didn’t really post my weigh in last week pseudo-unintentionally. Frankly, I wasn’t sure if it was going to “take”. You see, when I REALLY sick, I tend to drop weight pretty quickly (like the time I lost 9 pounds in 24 hours from the Great Flu Fiasco of 2011). I thought this was the same case. I was down to 226.6, which is was my lowest recorded weight. I had FINALLY gotten past the 227 threshold that I’ve been flirting with since this time last year, and I figured I would just go back to where I was.

Well…that wasn’t the case!!!

I stuck well within my points last week and I drank water like it was going out of style! I really didn’t exercise much since I was sick, but I did randomly run a 5k on Saturday which was awesometastic as well! Anyway, with all of that I got on the scale this morning and I did a double take I weigh 224.6 freakin’ pounds! I lost 2 pounds this week!!!! I cannot describe how much better I feel! I was wondering if I was ever going to get through that 227 barrier that really has been haunting me. (Oh yeah…I’ve lost 132.4 pounds since September 2010. WHAT UP!!!!!)

Today, I started to evaluate my weight loss journey so far and how things are going. Like a lot of people, after I broke through the 100-pound milestone, my weight loss start to slow down quite a bit. I thought I had hit a plateau (which was half true) but the other part of it was that I got complacent with the whole journey. I started to let some things slide. An extra piece of dessert here and there, that kind of stuff. The biggest thing was I kind of just stopped counting points for a long time. It was just getting strenuous. All I knew is that I wasn’t going to backtrack back to 357, but what happened instead was I just got stuck: first in the 240’s and then in the 230’s, which is where I have been for about a year now. I was dieting but not dieting. I wasn’t fully committed. Now, I’m back at it. I realized that if I wanted to see results, I have to be a lot more stringent than I ever have. I’m not depriving myself, I’m just actually tracking and being sensible (that’s why there’s weekly points.) Sure counting and configuring points does take some work, but when you just think of it in the context of just another step in your food prep, it makes it easier. So to summarize, I’m back, baby! And it feels great. Thank you all for being so awesome. Your support means much more than you ever know. Thanks for being awesome.

Now, in lieu of photos of food and things, here’s a Vine of me making delicious Healthy Cookies from Skinnytaste.

Enjoy!

 Click Here To Watch Me Make All The Delicious Things

See ya tomorrow.

[PRODUCT REVIEW] Hanadas!!!

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(I was trying to think of a clever title like “Raise Your Handana if You Like Handanas!” or something like that. Awe well.)
Like most of you know, I live in Florida. A hot, humid, and incredibly sunny, state that can make life miserable. While I did grow up in the furnace known as Texas, it was a dry and miserable heat, none of this “oh hey, let’s go live in a sauna from May to October” business. What I’m trying to say is…I sweat. A lot. Even though I have lost 125 pounds, I still profusely sweat like George Constanza eating Kung Po (George likes his chicken spicy!) What’s worse is that sometimes (well…all of the time) sweat gets in my eyes and it hurts so much that I have to stop exercising for a few minutes. This happened countless times on my long runs when I was training for my half marathon. IT SUCKED.

After this happened a couple times, I finally tried a few different things.
I wore a hat. Fail.
I wore a sweatband. Fail.
I wore a bandana. Fail.
I wore my hood up on my hoodie. Fail.

Nothing seemed to do the trick. Then, I found the Handana.
26 years ago, Katie Niemeyer suffered from a horrible disease called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome that caused her skin to blister out in to second and third degree burns all over her body. Unlike a lot of patients afflicted with this condition, Katie survived with minimal scarring and she wasn’t blinded from it, which is common. However, SJS did make her eyes very sensitive. So like me (except for the fact that I’m just a crybaby and Katie is a stud) when she was able to exercise again, getting sweat in her eyes was incredibly painful. Since she was training for an upcoming marathon, she needed a solution.

Handana 2
That is when she invented the Handana! A moisture-absorbing sweatband that wraps around your hand! The Handana is like a glove with a space for your thumb and your fingers. It’s soft. It’s durable. And man, does it mop up your sweat! I think the biggest advantage of the Handana is its mobility per se. You can absorb any sweat on your body that you can reach. Definitely awesome for me since I can’t stand having sweat on the front and on the back of my neck.

Product Testing Time!
You may not know this, but I’m a HUGE Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen fan. One of the coolest things they do on the show is product testing. Since this is my first equipment review, I’ve taken their testing model to review the Handana. So, I tried the Handana in three sports that I regularly do: racquetball, spinning, and running.

I could wear it with my Polar watch with no problem too!

I could wear it with my Polar watch with no problem too!

In racquetball, you sweat like a maniac. It’s useless to try to wipe the sweat off of your shirt…because it’s full of sweat too. I wore the Handana on my non-racquet hand, not because I was worried about gripping the racquet, but because I knew I would need it. It mopped up the sweat perfectly. A great thing about it is even if you’ve used all the places on the Handana, you can go over it again and it still feels dry. No gross sweat-on-sweat action here!

Spinning is another thing I used the Handana for. At first, I was a little worried about gripping the handlebars on the bike, but that wasn’t an issue at all! It perfect for a quick swipe here and there to feel human again.

Post-race photo. Photo Credit to Andrea Wolf of Wolf Industries.

Post-race photo.
Photo Credit to Andrea Wolf of Wolf Industries.

Finally, I used the Handana for running. Lots and lots of running. It was perfect for those times that I needed a quickly swipe the sweat on my forehead to prevent it from getting in my eyes. This kept me from having to stop which in turn kept my run times accurate. I used the Handana during the Tallahassee Half Marathon, which made sweat one less thing to worry about. That way, I could worry about other things…like my calves cramping or my toenails falling off.

Overall, I have been impressed with the Handana. If you think about it, it just makes sense! When I first read about it, I was worried that it would be a nuisance, but it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all! Nothing at all! Nothing at all! (Stupid sexy Flanders!) Frankly, my only complaint is that I needed a size smaller. I thought I would need an XL Handana, but in reality I needed a large. It wasn’t an issue, but it was just a little too loose for my liking.

So, now that you know all about Handana, go to www.myhandana.com and check them out! They are available in five sizes and a copious amount of color combinations from red and black (like mine) to burnt orange (ewww) and black. Also, be sure to like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! Start your own Handana story today!

Note: I have received products from Handana. All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

Day 867: #FFKPLANKADAY YO!

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So much to talk about!

First of all, I went to an amazing presentation on social media by Inside Higher Ed writer Eric Stoller tonight. Mind. Blown. Check him out.

So at this point, between that, other crazy social media things I have been working for work and for the FFK if you will, I am about to reach cerebral critical mass.

AND I’M RUNNING A HALF MARATHON IN A FEW DAYS!!!!! MY MIND IS GOING BIZONKERS!!!!!!!

In lieu of talking about my food, here is a photo of me eating a sandwich.
SamwitchOkay… #FFKPLANKADAY TIME!!!!!

I have to start off by saying this is not my original idea. I know plenty of bloggers who put on PlankaDay challenges, but I thought it was time to bring it to the FFK community!

Here are the basics:

What is PlankaDay? 

Every day in the month of February, you are challenged to hold a plank position for as long as you can. Your first one might not be a great time, but it’s your starting point. Your launching pad to greatness if you will. Each day, you’ll begin to see progress as you get stronger. Did I mention that a plank is amazing for your body? It works almost all of the major muscle areas! (Search for a video on YouTube if you need instructions on how to do it.)

Since I am a social being, I want people to post their times, their feelings, their success and their issues. I’ll be posting photos and Tweets and posts about it all through out the month using the hashtag #FFKPLANKADAY AND YOU SHOULD TOO! I’ll be collecting the creative posts and putting them in my Wordless Wednesday posts!

HOW TO JOIN:
Go to the event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/593172934031314/)
Attend said events page
Get planking!
It’s as simple as that!

Any questions? Comment below. GET STOKED! See ya tomorrow!
planking hurts so good