Absentee

August 15th. Five and a half weeks. 40 Days since my last blog.

I guess you can say I have been a little absent. Maybe a tad bit distracted.

Over the past 40 days, so much has changed. The "lasts of the firsts" and that "bittersweet" feeling I've always heard about has become so real to me. (btw, there is a fitness point to this blog.)

I went to my final HS orientation, halleluiah! On August 20, I started the last year of my high school career. I am now at the top of the food chain. The big dawg. The Senior. I have had days that make me so sad that I am about at the end of my journey here; I've also had days when I was thankful that I am about to start a new chapter. I have had days where I look forward to the future and days where my future seems to crumble. I have had more laughs than tears. More hellos than goodbyes. Even a nice to meet you. Through all of that, I have realized something- maybe Senior year is my year.

I started my job back at CAST; I have missed my kids and coworkers very very much! I am in the middle of my senior project and I have college deadlines as long as my arm that are quickly approaching. I am a student athletic trainer with the football team. I was just informed that I am a mentor of the 2013 Bibb County Youth Leadership. I am editor of the yearbook, president of the Honor Society, member of Anchor Club, participate in Fellowship of Christian Student, peer leader, active at New Life Baptist, and run my own photography business. 

I just wanted you all to know that I have not forgotten about you and I have actually been busy.  I would also like to apologize in advanced for not being able to blog as much as I would like.

Most of you don't give a rip about my personal life, which is okay because I probably don't care about yours either. Maybe I am kidding, maybe I am not. Here comes the actual fitness part.

I have a wide variety of followers that keep up with this blog. (Thank you!) From HS students, to college students, parents, teachers, nurses, dreamers, and everything in between. For the most part, our day to day schedule changes about the end of August when school starts back.

From August-May, it is so easy to get lost in a schedule, drown in paper work, run out of time to breath, and completely forget about fitness. The easiest thing to do during these months is this- "Hey! Can I get a Quarter Pounder and a Sweet Tea! Would you like frieds with that? Heck yeah! Medium fries!" Does this sound like you? It used to sound a whole lot like me.

A medium order of fries contain 380 calories; 170 from pure fat. Chicken nuggets? 470; 270 from fat. Do you have a sweet tooth? Let throw in a chocolate milkshake. 570 calories; 160 from fat. That's 1,470 calories. Most of us only need about 1,500 calories per day.

Not only are meals from fast food restaurants high is calories and fat, they are also fake. Chicken nuggets, fake. Hamburgers, soy. Everything processed, packaged, and perfectly advertised to make you want it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy chicken nuggets and sweet tea just as much as the next person. But I avoid it. I never have fast food, unless it's Chick-Fil-A. Or Subway every once in a blue moon. But I know people who eat fast food every single day. Take a second to think about what you're pumping into your body.

Restaurant meals are not much better. Meals served to you are two times the regular serving. I'm not saying don't eat out because that would totally make me a hypocrite. But I am saying, be smart. Order something healthier than red meat and fries every once in a while. And here's another secret, restaurants have to-go boxes! Save some for later!

The moral of the story is, a pound of fat is 3,500 calories. If you eat out every single day, I'm going to guesstimate that that's about 10,500 calories. 3 pounds just from eating out. That doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. How many calories can you eliminate from fast food?

Here's the challenge. Skip the fast food! Give it up for a month. See what happens. And as a bonus, get outside and walk a few times a week. It doesn't have to be for long or everyday. This weather is just too perfect to spend it indoors!