16 days til Christmas!

What do I want from the big fat man in the red suit? 

Chocolate.

Peanut Butter. Covered in chocolate...

More chocolate.

But I'm a practical person. So what do I really want?

Grace. More than I have already been shown.

Love. More than has already been given to me.

An abundant life. Actually, that I wouldn't forget I have an abundant life.

I realized just the other day that I was envious of other's lives. I had a case of Madam Blueberry. I wasn't content with what I had. It took one moment of complaining to God about it then He promptly slapped me in the face, "You have a good life, Elizabeth. I just made yours to look different". My life is good. It's just a different good. How selfish of me to forget what God has given me. To forget how awesome this life I have is even though it does look like I want it to sometimes.

I mean, Hello! Look at all the cool things I've gotten to do! I have to, have to, have to focus on the good and not the bad. Even though it all plays it's part in life. 

That being said, I'm ready for this new year. I remember saying at the start of 2013 that I was going to make this year MY year. I think I've done it. First marathon, 50 mile bike ride, first mission trip since having cancer, first overall female survivor in the Buddy's Race Against Cancer, began studying to be a personal trainer, and the latest development of becoming a member of a running team in Knoxville. All because of grace. 

Can't wait to see what 2014 holds.

I hope it holds a 22 minute, and eventually faster, 5k. A job at the gym that I interviewed at, I really liked it there. And Olympic & Half Iron man triathlons. Those are the "big ticket" items. Along with again, learning to love the life I have been given.

Will run for food.

Will run for food! Namely protein, like BBQ for Buddy's 5k!

Which I have to say: NAILED IT. I was first overall female survivor (23:09). That is also my fastest 5k to date. I'm hoping by next 5k I'll hit my goal of 22 something for two reasons: 1) progress is cool and 2) come January 1st, though I will still be 24 til July, I'll be in the 25-29 age category. And there are some pretty fast mid to late 20 females. Am I really mid 20s? Didn't I just graduate highschool?

No. And I must say: after graduating college I didn't ever want to go to school again. But here I am more than a week into personal training school. And Dad and I have job interviews Tuesday to work basically as payed interns. Ah! This change is becoming more real.

I've questioned this change a lot lately. Mainly because I have known for a good two years now that missions will never be the same for me. I thought that a survivor testimony would be the only change in how I did missions. Years before that I had someone prophetically tell me I had a gift of healing. It never made since to me even through there has always been opportunities to pray for the sick while I've been on trips. Then I thought my greater understanding of God as a healer would play a part in that. But it still didn't seem right. I kept thinking of how your God given gifts and talents are a major part of how you do missions. Then it hit me. I know what it's like to be sick. I know how to rebuild your health and your body. Around 70% of people live with chronic diseases that are preventable with diet and exercise. I know how to help people reverse their health situation! That is where the gift of healing comes in. It comes in a very tangible way. So here I am. Back in school with a new missions statement. Never think you have your life and God's plans figured out peeps.

So where do you start in taking control of your health? I posted on our TRI level fitness Facebook page the other day that 70% of your immune system is in your digestive system. You either feed yourself healthy, or you feed yourself sick. Your body will only function well if you fuel it well. Whether you are looking for better athletic performance or wanting to lose weight, correct nutrition is key. Ever heard, "Eat for the body you want"? I'm going to add "Eat for the health you want", too.

Things you should never eat:

Foods with long, unpronounceable ingredient lists.

Why? Simply, it's not real food.

High fructose corn syrup.

High fructose corn syrup, and any other unnatural sweeteners, are chemically altered and cannot be processed by your body. It also leads to diabetes, weight gain, and many other chronic diseases.

Trans Fats.

Trans fats have no nutritional significance, raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good.

Things you should always eat:

Fruits and Vegetables.

Why? They are full of vitamins, nutrients, fibre and are low calorie, so eat up.

Lean proteins (Meat, eggs, low fat diary, beans).

Protein, like fiber, helps keep you full and helps build muscle. You want to eat lean proteins to keep your bad fat intake down.

Good fats (Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts).

There are bad fats and good fats. The correct portion of good fats will raise your good cholesterol and help you lose fat. (Yes! Healthy fat makes you LOSE fat!).

Whole grains & other carbohydrates (Whole grain pasta, bread, oats, fruit, beans and most vegetables).

Like fats there are good and bad carbs. Bad carbs are things like white bread and pasta that are made with enriched (nutrition-less) flour. Good carbs will keep your blood sugar level and give you sustainable energy. Carbs will also contribute to your fiber intake.

Health eating means finding a balance of proteins, carbs & fats.

Low calorie DOES NOT mean healthy for you. There is a major difference in a 100 calorie cookie pack and 100 calories worth of fruit. You should monitor nutrient intake as well as calories whether you are losing or maintaining weight. If you need help to track the calories you eat and the calories you burn there are many phone apps that make this easy. Like the free versions of "My Fitness Pal" and "My Plate". Or you can go the old pen and paper route.

Here is a guideline for what a plate/meal should look like: 

As for potatoes, I'm going to say a serving of sweet or red potatoes would be good for you. All things in moderation. Like these broccoli and salmon stuffed sweet potatoes that I just pulled out of the oven. I made some BBQ sauce to go with them, too. That will be in the next blog post. ;)

And let's talk about sugar for a second. Sugar has no nutritional value what so ever. Which is why you should never eat processed sugars. Get some organic sugar. Even then, it still has no nutritional value but at least its natural. Honey is also a good natural sweetener. And if you work towards not eating added sugar you'll find that your taste buds will adjust and you just might like eating less sugar. And to be honest, I struggle with this change. But coffee with just almond milk is growing on me.

Start to make small changes here and there in your new healthy diet and you'll find that it gets easier to make better choices after a while. Start telling yourself that your and your family's health is worth the effort!

Then make time for 30-60 minutes of exercise a day and you've got it made. Get out and walk, run, bike, whatever you like. Find something that you love to do so that you'll stick with it. Exercise shouldn't have to be boring! And again, there are phone apps to help you get moving. Like Sworkit App. It has strength, core, and aerobic exercise routines you can do anywhere.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sort out my training plan starting December 1st for marathon season. ;-)

Elizabeth Jambor, CPT... almost.

It's November already? Goodness. That means its that time of year again...

"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: Candy, candy canes, candy corn, & syrup."

Don't forget turkey, biscuits, and pies. Oh my. Don't forget to exercise that will power either. January, a.k.a. resolution time, is coming, too! ;) Its not too early to start those resolutions and lifestyle changes now. Get the ball rolling and you'll be ahead come January.

Resolution time or not, there's never a bad time to think about your health. I heard a quote the other day, "Want a slow, painless death? Focus on your health." Or to put it less morbidly, "Want to live life to the fullest? Focus on your health." Whether you want to run a 5k in 20 minutes or want to slow down the aging process, the key is to take care of yourself.

I was asked to make a plug for Mesothelioma awareness. Figured I'd make a general health and prevention plug while I was at it: Why do I push health? Because prevention is better than a cure. Whether its type 2 diabetes or, heaven forbid, cancer. Most things can be prevented by eating right, staying active, monitoring exposure to health hazards, and early detection. No, you should not live in fear of ever being sick. But you should actively work on keeping your body in the best shape possible as a steward of the body God has given you. This is also why I have officially signed up to be a certified personal trainer! Woo! I plan to take the test in February of next year. Until then it's study time.

I'm also responsible for the plateau I've hit with swimming. I've swam the same pace for months. Time to step it up for the month of November while my running mileage will be down til Marathon training. Not 100% positive which half and/or full I'll do. But I've got some time.

And Ragnar! Ran from Chattanooga to Nashville relay style with my team of 6. Had a blast.I thought that the 36 hours we were about to run would seem like an eternity but it went by pretty quick. Ran a total of 34 miles (196 total for the team) in 6 legs. All my two a day training paid off as none of the runs did me in. I didn't have to take walk breaks. And even though my hamstring was shot by the end my legs were only a tad tight for 2 days. I think the hardest part was the cold. I would much rather run in the heat myself. It was more of a mental battle for me as well. Had to focus on the miles behind me, not the ones ahead. That helped a lot.

Next race is Buddy's 5k. Which I hope to PR(Personal Record) in like nobody's business. Then that might be my last race til February.We'll see.

And there are new recipes on my Cookoo account! Look me up on cookoo.co. My username is ElizabethAnn.

Run from it or learn from it. I can do both, right?

Flashback to 2009. First trip to Colombia, South America. I ran maybe 3 times a week (no swimming, very little cycling) while I was stateside. 30 min 5ks. 150 lbs. Craziness.

Fast forward to 2013. I run 3-5 times a week. Plus swimming, cycling, and weight training each twice a week. 24:09 5k time. 135lbs? (I haven't gotten on the scale in a while).

Interesting to look back and see how much life has changed in only four years. And I had typed out a long story about how I thought I had life figured out, got sick, saw how wrong I was, blah, blah, blah. Then blogger freaked out on me and deleted the whole thing. I don't even remember what all I wrote. Ha. So we'll skip ahead to the good part.

YOU SHOULD NEVER THINK YOU HAVE LIFE FIGURED OUT. I've learned God doesn't like to keep us in our comfort zones for long. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? I knew change was coming when I was in Colombia last in 2011. Didn't think it would be cancer. Didn't think it would be a rethinking of the missions calling. Didn't think I'd ever be fitness crazed. Didn't think that after working with Dad for 6 years in the family business he started 20 some years ago that we would think about completely changing our careers.

My dad started his weight loss journey in 2008 and has kept off 70 Lbs by running and eating right. If you've kept up with me on Facebook you know I've been working on losing the weight I gained during treatment, staying healthy, and have become a triathlete. We have talked for months about becoming personal trainers and we have started to take steps to make it happen. We're figuring out all the ends and outs of the business and are working on getting certified. Hopefully we'll have that up and running soon (Get it? Running?). We're going to test this out for a year and cut the carpentry business back to just playgrounds while we get the new business rolling. Should be interesting. *Fingers crossed*

On top of all the planning we've been doing for this new business venture we've been gearing up for RAGNAR TENESSEE!!! I've just gotta run 34ish miles next weekend (In 6 short runs instead of 3 long ones now). No biggie. I've also got to finish my race schedule for next year in the midst of all this other planning so I'm ready. I know I want to do Knoxville Half Marathon (March), Storm the Fort Olympic Triathlon (August), and Atomic Man Half Ironman (Sept) for sure. Then there are some little races that I could do if I wanted. Look at me, 10ks and sprint tris are now little races.Speaking of little races. I can taste a 22 min 5k for Buddy's Race Against Cancer this year.

And can we be real for a sec? I'm tapering (lowering my mileage before a race). And no, just because I run all the time DOES NOT mean I can eat whatever I want whenever I want. All things in moderation. But one would hope that your appetite would lower with lower mileage. WRONG. I've got a serious case of the runchies all the time. I need to remember: Keep it healthy! There will be much experimentation with vegetable chips in the near future.

But God...

I've realized that in writing a blog where you talk about your life you sound a little full of yourself. I hope you all realize I use my life as a testimony. And I'll be honest, complements are nice, but that's not my goal. My goal is to show the grace of God in my life. Which brings me to my first topic: But God...

That should not be read as a complaint. "But God... why?" It should be read after a problem and before a story of grace. I was planning on writing about this anyway. But then the teaching at church was very similar and got my gears turning. Take Joseph's story in the Bible. He was thrown into a pit by his brothers who then sold him into slavery. Then we fast forward a bit, BUT GOD made him second in command of Egypt because Joseph kept trusting in God's plan.

Another honesty moment: It is hard to keep sight of God's plan when life isn't going your way. But if you can keep focus, God will do His part. Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer. BUT GOD made her stronger and healthier as a cancer survivor. Why do I make health my focus? Because it's my "But God".

My "But God" has gone from cancer survivor; to needing to get back into shape after treatments; to wanting to be a swimming, biking, and running machine. I ran 30 miles this past weekend in case you missed that on Facebook and Instagram. ;) Anyway, I remember thinking during treatments, "After this I need to focus on my health. But I don't want to turn into one of those health freak survivor's who are all 'FOOD IS FUEL!'" Whoops. Ha! But I want to make something clear: I believe food is the slowest form of poison or the best medicine. BUT I do not live in fear of being sick again. If you are going to eat anyway, why not use it as fuel and not sabotage? Eat for health, eat for performance. Although I do enjoy milkshakes from Cookout and New York style pizza every once in a while. Moderation is key.

Tapers are key, too. And thank God for them. I've built up to my 30 miles and it's time to bring it down. I may throw in added long runs between now and Ragnar. But nothing more than 18. I've also reworked my training schedule for after Ragnar. There's always a rest day, but this new plan has two mornings and two evenings off. My body says, "Yesssss", my addicted mind says, "You're gonna skip FOUR TRAINING OPORTUNITIES?!?". Yeah, we'll see how that goes. Ha.

And switching back to "food is fuel" for a sec, look at this beautiful loaf of sweet potato sandwich bread I made! I used to be terrible at making breads. And considering I winged this recipe I'm quite pleased.

1 cup Sweet potato puree
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
1 banana
1 cup applesauce
4 eggs

Mix wet ingredients together, that includes sugar and the banana. Mix dry ingredients. Then combine the two. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle some oats on top if you'd like. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Ta-Da!

Change.

"...last published on Dec 31, 2012" Oh my.

Ahora esta un boton para la traduccion en el lado de la pagina -->
He vuelto perezosa, yo se... jaja ;)

Guess I had better do a recap of this ENTIRE year...

Ran my first marathon in April to celebrate being cancer free for a year.
Did a half century ride in June to celebrate being done with chemo for a year. Thanks again to everyone who supported me on that ride! Went on my first since cancer to, and my first ever trip to, Nicaragua the end of June. Felt like I needed to switch churches yet again which was a decision months in the making. And now here we are in SEPTEMBER. Crazy stuff. And I'm about to do my third sprint distance triathlon which will mark a year of triathlons for me!

Also, figured it was time for a name change as life is COMPLETELY different. (What's with the caps today Elizabeth?) His redeeming BLOOD, my SWEAT while running, and one of my favorite things: FOOD!

We'll start with blood: So I'm a cancer survivor, right? The fact that God is a healer should be constantly in my mind, right? So why did it take til last Sunday's life group to think about praying for the ridiculous eczema on my face? No clue. My face would get so red and dry it would look like I had black eyes at times. I was about to get extreme with getting rid of it and on top of the cream I put on it, I was going to stop eating yogurt. NOOOOO! Long story short, got prayer Sunday, skin has cleared up. Not 100%, but it is better. I just might overdose on yogurt to test it out. Kidding, but seriously. Now, there is a fine line between asking God for his will and treating him like a vending machine: "God, I'm hungry. Make a sandwich appear." But prayer works peeps.

No body ever drowned in sweat! Which is good news for me with the amount I sweat. Ew. I've started running everyday on top of regular tri training in preparation for: RAGNAR TENNESSEE 2013!!! Oct 25-26. One van, 6 runners, Chattanooga to Nashville (196.3 miles). I have three different runs for a total of 34ish miles. I'm pretty pumped.

I usually post about food and different recipes on my Instagram. But which foods to highlight on the blog... Hmm.. Bananas and corn!

Bananas. Sprinkle some cinnamon on it, add some peanut butter and BAM! "Fast Food" snack. I peel and freeze a lot of bananas so I can blend it with coffee or green tea to make a pre workout frappe! Because I'm big on "food is fuel" and don't use a pre workout powder. Also, you can make ice cream with frozen bananas. And another good reason to always have bananas: if you're ever out of eggs when baking something most times you can sub a banana.

Corn. When organic, corn is an excellent whole grain to add to your diet. Yep, corn is a grain. NOT a vegetable like some people think. Did you know you can make microwave popcorn without buying prepackaged kernels? I bought some kernels at Earthfare the other day because I wanted to try it for myself. You take a 1/4 cup kernels, whatever seasonings you want, put it in a paper bag folded over once and stapled (The staple isn't big enough to spark), then set it up (not on its side) and microwave for 2 1/2-3 mins. Some recipes say to add a teaspoon of olive oil, but I think that just makes a mess and it will pop without the oil.

And maybe I won't wait so long to post a blog next time ;)