My mantra was once, "Life is too short to eat diet food!" So I ate McDonalds every day in high school along with everything fatty, greasy and unhealthy. Due to great genes or dumb luck or a fast metabolism, I weighed under 100 pounds despite eating all that junk and NEVER exercising but wore a size 10. During university, I would often eat a entire large bag of Doritos for dinner and drink several cans of Coke a day. Double portions in the dining hall followed by late night pizza and candy. ...

My mantra was once, "Life is too short to eat diet food!" So I ate McDonalds every day in high school along with everything fatty, greasy and unhealthy. Due to great genes or dumb luck or a fast metabolism, I weighed under 100 pounds despite eating all that junk and NEVER exercising but wore a size 10. During university, I would often eat a entire large bag of Doritos for dinner and drink several cans of Coke a day. Double portions in the dining hall followed by late night pizza and candy.
Don't you dare call me skinny, I'm FIT!
Those awful habits led to a 40 pound weight gain. I would get sweaty walking from my bed to the fridge in my one bedroom apartment! In September 2000, I joined a gym and have never looked back. Now I wear a size 2 or 0, 18% body fat and work as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. Thank goodness I look nowhere near my age.

Favourite quotes:

"I think I'll try defying gravity, and you can't pull me down."

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't,
I give myself reasons why I can.
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Until you become fit and healthy, you really have NO IDEA what you're really missing in life."

- random SP board post (not by me)

"OBSESSED is just a word the LAZY use to describe the DEDICATED."

- Russell Warren

"A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse."

- Stephan Dolley Jr.

"Once you cross that finish line, no matter how slow, no matter how fast, it will change your life FOREVER."

- Dick Beardsley, Spirit of the Marathon

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

- 2 Timothy 4:7

"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

- Hebrews 12:1

"Whether you believe you can, or you can't, you are right."

- Henry Ford

"...and when I run I feel His pleasure."

- Eric Liddell

"The music of a marathon is a powerful strain, one of those tunes of glory. It asks us to forsake pleasures, to discipline the body, to find courage, to renew faith and to become one's own person, utterly and completely."

-George Sheehan

"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse."

- Ann Trason

"The faster you run, the sooner it stops hurting."

- seen on a kilometer marker sign during ATB 2009

"Why couldn't Pheidippides have died at mile 20?"

- Frank Shorter


N.B. - if you are looking at my fitness tracker and wonder why it is so sporadic, I don't track regularly because I am very focused and dedicated to my workouts - I don't need to be accountable to anyone but myself. My fitness program consists of 2 days of strength training, 4-5 days of running and at least 1 yoga session per week. Yoga is wonderful for flexibility and recovery and I find I don't need to take a day off completely from exercise anymore.

I eat according to my hunger 5 or 6 times a day - that is, if I am really hungry at my meal times, I eat larger portions. All meals and snacks have carbs (in the form of a fruit/veggie or whole grain), protein and fat. And guess what? On the odd occasion when I have tracked my food, the macronutrients AND the calorie count have fallen perfectly in line with Spark's guidelines for me.

Cheat meals are usually on Saturday nights and may include up to 3 courses: an appetizer, main course and dessert. They don't have to be eaten all at the same meal; for example I'll have a healthy dinner on Saturday but have an ice cream sundae for dessert. And then if I'm in the mood, I'll eat a greasy spoon diner breakfast on Sunday. I also allow myself to eat out for lunch once a week.

Featured Motivator on December 21, 2008.

Read More About ZORBS13 (Updated June 19)

Member Comments Page (503 total):  123Next >Last >>