This list item means a lot to me because it centers around two principal aspects of my life: my family and my nutrition. Let me begin by elaborating on the latter.
In my last post, I alluded to my “new way of life” that spawned from a New Year’s Resolution to lose a few pounds (what a cliche). Not only did I miss my cheerleading body, but I realized how unhealthy my lifestyle really was… eating an entire frozen pizza while watching two hours of Friends every day wouldn’t exactly put me on the cover of Fitness magazine. After hours upon hours of research, I came to the conclusion that I needed to completely rethink my eating and exercise habits. I would like to make it clear that I did not attempt to adopt some miracle diet, I simply changed my preexisting diet. This meant cutting out red meat (beef and pork), switching to whole wheat grains (bread, pasta, rice, etc.), using fat-free dairy or soy products, replacing butter, margarine, and canola/vegetable oil with olive oil (or a similar substitute) , and incorporating more fruits and vegetables into every meal. Plus, I began running on the treadmill 2-4 times per week at varied intervals. It wasn’t easy at first; the one thing the internet can’t teach you is will power. Nevertheless, each week it became easier and easier to find self-motivation as I began to not only see, but feel the results. Although my exercise regimen has been on the back burner for the past couple of months, I have continued to eat as healthy as possible, and this is something that I wanted to share with my family.
Therefore, I prepared a full menu for them tonight. To start off with, they were presented with hummus on whole wheat crackers along with a salad drizzled in fat-free Italian dressing. For the main course, I served whole wheat spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs in a classic tomato sauce, and multi-grain garlic toast and skim milk on the side. In conclusion, they were given two choices for dessert: a mocha vegan cupcake or sugar-free ice cream. Overall, it was quite a success! The general consensus sounded like although it was different from the usual, it was nonetheless edible… taking into account that my family still considers fast food to be a part of the food pyramid, I believe that is quite an accomplishment.
Now this is the mushy part. My family has always been there for me. Throughout all of the moves from state to state, city to city, they were the only constant the remained at the end of the day. Throughout my lifestyle change to become healthier, they were the ones that put up with my quirky “health food” and weekly runs. Throughout all of the little things, from soccer games to cheerleading competitions and theatre productions to student government elections, they were always my biggest fans. Throughout all of the big things, from trips across the country to making the President’s List at school, they were able to make me feel as proud of myself as they were of me. Throughout all of the craziness that comes with my bucket listing and blogging, they’ve been supportive in whatever ways they can. This is my way of saying thank you, and I can only hope that I can be there for all of them the same way that they have been there for me, no matter what gets thrown our way. Always.
Now, dear reader, this is the part where I thank you. In the past week or so, GWTS has hit SO many highs! Most notably, yesterday we were able to hit 1,000 views in a day, breaking the previous record of 970 (set last June), and today we are prepared to clear 1,500! Plus, we’ve made to to over 225 total followers, 100 likes on Facebook, and 100 followers on Tumblr and Twitter. These numbers are absolutely incredible! I cannot say thank you enough, whether you’ve been following along since last summer or you’re just stopping by for the first time. It makes me ecstatic to see where things are headed for the rest of the season! Thanks again!
Love & Summer,
Sarah
