Showing posts with label Achieving Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Achieving Goals. Show all posts

Friday, October 12, 2012

Our bodies don't always need as much food as our mind tells us. #fact

It's amazing. I'm doing something that I let myself believe wasn't possible to do again.

It's been a little over three weeks since I radically changed my diet and focused on only eating clean, whole foods, and eating with portion control being top of mind.

The first couple weeks we're pretty tough. I was tired and got a little "hangry" around 5pm everyday. It wasn't my body that was hungry though. It was my mind. I was so used to stuffing myself full of fatty, sugar filled sweets and heavy caloric pastas and breads that I would literally go into a food coma every night. Similar to a drug or alcohol addiction I needed those bad foods to "feel good."

Well... I've finally broken free of that mentality.  At first my body was in total shock. "What the hell are you doing to me?" Then week three rolled around and my workouts got easier, my skin was glowing, and I'm waking up every morning to a delightfully decreasing number on the scale! I can hear my body thanking me every minute of every day and I respond with a swift, "you're welcome!"

I've had so much support over the past three weeks. From friends, family, and my husband. I'd even say that my dog, Google, is happier because that little girl has been getting a lot of leftover chicken and apple slices. She seems to have no problem supporting me in my weight loss journey.

I'm sharing because my mission and goal in life is to help people understand that they can have/do/be anything they want. I probably overuse this but almost 4 years ago I couldn't run a mile and now I'm training for my 5th full 26.2! I've lost 30lbs before and I can do it again. In fact, I'm DOING IT NOW. As of this morning I've lost 20lbs from clean eating and portion control. I'm getting sexy back, people!

Our bodies don't always need as much food as our mind tells us. #fact

Sunday, July 22, 2012

expedition balance...


Three years ago, I met Carl. Carl is the founder of a non-profit organization, Expedition Balance. Taken from their website, Expedition Balance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in Houston, Texas, dedicated to helping combat veterans cope with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Expedition Balance was created by combat veterans for combat veterans suffering from PTSD. Our staff is made up of veterans as well. Expedition Balance is funded entirely by donations.
This organization is near and dear to my heart. I have a dozen or so family members and friends who have served our country in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. They fought and continue to serve so that we can sleep tightly tucked into our beds at night.
I naturally gravitated to Carl and his cause and wanted to support in whatever way I could. A few months back we started the “Carl.” The “Carl” is a bi-weekly meet up where Carl, my friend Emily, and I meet up at a local outdoor bar and grill. We share ideas (and beer) and brainstorm ways to bring awareness to the cause. We’ve had several other friends and supporters over the months join us here and there too. It’s become a sort of thing… Something for me that doesn’t involve work, and something that brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction.
One of our first initiatives was to organize a 5K fun run. Houston has a big run community and running can be just as therapeutic as yoga and meditation for some. Planning and organizing a race is a lot of work, and we we’re up for the challenge and putting in the work, but when we heard of The Color Run (www.thecolorrun.com) we thought that would be perfect! So, four months ago we sent an e-mail to the organization purposing the come to Houston, Texas and host the race on November 11th, Veteran’s Day. We we’re shocked when we got a response from the founder of The Color Run showing interest. A few months went by and not much else came about… Until two weeks ago…we got an e-mail. It went something like this:
Hi Carl
Well, it’s official. We’re coming to Houston. We’d love to partner with your organization.
The Color Run
We. Are. Over. The. Moon.
Ask and you shall receive. The Color Run attracts thousands of people a race! The exposure alone is going to do amazing things for Expedition Balance but the proceeds are going to allow us to support our veterans.
So here we go! Our main work with The Color Run is going to be rounding up 250+ volunteers to put on this race this coming November 11th. If you're interested shoot me an e-mail at samantha.halkias@gmail.com.
I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to volunteer for Expedition Balance and support my good friend, Carl. The lessons I’m learning are so valuable and the work is gratifying. I may not be a veteran myself but through Expedition Balance I have an opportunity to serve the men and women who serve me and protect our country.
For ways to support Expedition Balance, please share and visit the following links:
Go out and achieve your goals!
S