A special message from Elizabeth

Hi Healthy Chasers,

Thanks for your patience as we've been MIA in the blogosphere as of late. I have to admit, I fell off the Healthy Chaser horse last week. The good news is that I've managed to find my way back up with support from my fellow Healthy Chasers, my friends, and my CrossFit community.

Last weekend, I received the heart-wrenching, but inevitable news that my friend's dad's body was found in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami wreckage. He had been missing since March 11, but we had not given up hope despite being conscious that with each passing day, our worst fears might soon become our reality. My friend's dad had been working at Sendai airport recently (as part of his position as an aviation engineer), although when I initially heard from her, I completely misunderstood when she told me that he was supposed to be at the airport. I assumed he was at Tokyo/Narita airport returning from a business trip or from visiting her, her two adorable little girls, and her husband, (who live just outside of Tokyo) before heading to his U.S. home in Seattle. My own dad, shocked, saddened, and feeling helpless upon hearing this news had the fleeting idea that he should go to Japan to help look for Keiko's father.

So my sadness at this news, coupled with a long and stressful work week, some relationship ups and downs, and some hormonal fluctuations (TMI, perhaps?), put me at risk for munching last weekend (Thank goodness, the UConn Men won...oops, not winning any friends in the mid-west, with that comment). Fortunately, my house is junk-food free (for the most part), so I indulged in some Edy's Slow Churned French Silk ice cream, more than my normal serving size of almonds, squares of Dove dark chocolate, and sugary fruits like bananas and pineapple...Oh and some Girl Scout Cookies, because someone had brought them into work. :) It might not sound like total "off-diet" eating but since I've been following the meal plan since the summer and in recent weeks greatly reduced my carb and dairy intake to follow a close approximation of the paleo diet suggested by CrossFit exercise, it was plenty indulgent for me and made me feel worse, instead of better. I even contemplated baking some chocolate chip cookies or one of my favorite raspberry/almond coffee cakes to perk my spirits but thankfully, I was too emotionally exhausted to take out the mixer. :(

Monday came; I packed my workout clothes, checked the CrossFit "Workout of the Day", and didn't even make it to the gym. On Tuesday, I contemplated driving past the gym exit and tried to convince myself that I'd go to "the next class" an hour later and I'd just run into Target and Border's to do some errands first, but I knew that I wasn't kidding anyone, including myself. It wasn't the greatest workout, and I didn't necessarily leave the gym feeling much better than when I arrived, but I was proud of myself for going, for making the effort, and for doing something that would benefit my emotional and physical self. As I was stretching at the end of my workout, the woman next to me sighed and told me that she didn't want to come to the gym today, but she didn't go yesterday (Monday) and she was getting married a week from Saturday and she had to get her workouts this week. We laughed at my similar situation and attitude (except fyi: I'm not getting married next Saturday) and went our separate ways.

As I was leaving the gym, there was a message from a friend and coworker asking if she would see me at the next hour's class and although it would have been great to workout with her, I was ecstatic that my workout was done...until the next day.

I guess the message I’m trying to get at with this post is that everyone has triggers that cause them to fall off course now and then. There are stresses and strains from everyday life that sometimes feel too much and we look for a means of comfort...many times that comfort is food; but food is not the answer. Sometimes, you might not know what the answer is, but what you do know is that you have friends, family, loved ones, and your fellow Chasers to get you through the rough patches, to help pull you up, to get back on the healthy meal plan, to get back in the gym...to get you HEALTHY.

Special thanks this week to my co-blogger and friend, Jillian Ashton, and life-long friends Natanya Marracino, Jocelyn Mercado, Chelsea Foxwell, and Keiko Nakano. Also, thank you to Shaina for making my variation of the Japanese flag in honor and remembrance of all those who have been affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Please continue to keep my friend Keiko and her family, especially her mom and sixteen year old sister, in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to mourn the loss of their husband and father.  JAPAN <3