Two years ago today, I received a call no one ever wants to answer.
I heard the results of my breast biopsy.
Stage 0 breast cancer.
Surgery and radiation therapy needed.
Thankfully, I had begun to listen to my fitness coach, Kristine, and had begun to change my eating habits and was working out pretty consistently at the Y and doing crazy things like push ups and squats for fun. It wasn't Shakeology and Tony Horton, yet; that would come later, but I had made a decision to make small, consistent changes and was seeing some positive results.
The fast ball that came straight over the plate. Cancer.
Strike one.
I dug in deeper with my workouts. I relied on sweat, more than tears, to clear out the fog trying to permanently set in. When I was at the Y, I was in a safe place. A place in which people did not know me as a cancer patient, but just as Janet, the regular workout girl.
Then, the curve ball that caught me off guard. Radiation Therapy.
Strike two.
You see, however, by now, my workouts were more therapeutic than radiation "therapy" ever could or would be. I made time to workout for my mental stability more than my physical. There were days all I could muster up energy for were a couple of reps and some light cardio, but I went anyway.
The days came eventually, when I was too exhausted to go workout.
Radiation had taken its toll on my body.
I rested my body, but my mind was in overdrive.
A crazy notion turned into an even crazier plan.
God had been putting all the pieces in place well before I even had an idea I needed them to complete this puzzle called life. Remembering conversations had in passing with friends, reading more and more about Shakeology, wanting to feel alive again...they all fell into place for the at bat of a lifetime.
One month after my final radiation treatment, I pushed play on P90X for the first time.
I did not know what the X stood for.
I did not have weights or bands.
I had borrowed dvds.
I pushed play anyway and made something happen that I had never tried before in my life.
Home Run.
Janet 1 - Cancer 0
Where I am going with this is here...you never know what tomorrow holds.
Good, bad, or indifferent, there are life events that are going to throw you a curveball.
It is going to see what you are made of and test how strong you are...mentally and physically.
Be prepared. Get your foundation set now BEFORE the news comes, whatever it may be. Even awesome news like a new job, moving, or a baby on the way can throw off your normal. (For the record...I am NOT getting a new job, moving, or pregnant.) Make your health a priority before the major stressors come. It is not a matter of if they come...they will come in some form or another.
Exercise and clean eating has become my new lifestyle. It helps me stay focused and determined.
Think of it this way...
You need your health for the rest of your life.
The rest of your life depends upon your daily decisions now.
Your daily decisions are composed of little choices made hour by hour, sometimes minute by minute.
My story did not end with cancer.
It simply began Volume 2 of this thing I call life.
Be awesome today!
I heard the results of my breast biopsy.
Stage 0 breast cancer.
Surgery and radiation therapy needed.
Thankfully, I had begun to listen to my fitness coach, Kristine, and had begun to change my eating habits and was working out pretty consistently at the Y and doing crazy things like push ups and squats for fun. It wasn't Shakeology and Tony Horton, yet; that would come later, but I had made a decision to make small, consistent changes and was seeing some positive results.
The fast ball that came straight over the plate. Cancer.
Strike one.
I dug in deeper with my workouts. I relied on sweat, more than tears, to clear out the fog trying to permanently set in. When I was at the Y, I was in a safe place. A place in which people did not know me as a cancer patient, but just as Janet, the regular workout girl.
Then, the curve ball that caught me off guard. Radiation Therapy.
Strike two.
You see, however, by now, my workouts were more therapeutic than radiation "therapy" ever could or would be. I made time to workout for my mental stability more than my physical. There were days all I could muster up energy for were a couple of reps and some light cardio, but I went anyway.
The days came eventually, when I was too exhausted to go workout.
Radiation had taken its toll on my body.
I rested my body, but my mind was in overdrive.
A crazy notion turned into an even crazier plan.
God had been putting all the pieces in place well before I even had an idea I needed them to complete this puzzle called life. Remembering conversations had in passing with friends, reading more and more about Shakeology, wanting to feel alive again...they all fell into place for the at bat of a lifetime.
One month after my final radiation treatment, I pushed play on P90X for the first time.
I did not know what the X stood for.
I did not have weights or bands.
I had borrowed dvds.
I pushed play anyway and made something happen that I had never tried before in my life.
Home Run.
Janet 1 - Cancer 0
Where I am going with this is here...you never know what tomorrow holds.
Good, bad, or indifferent, there are life events that are going to throw you a curveball.
It is going to see what you are made of and test how strong you are...mentally and physically.
Be prepared. Get your foundation set now BEFORE the news comes, whatever it may be. Even awesome news like a new job, moving, or a baby on the way can throw off your normal. (For the record...I am NOT getting a new job, moving, or pregnant.) Make your health a priority before the major stressors come. It is not a matter of if they come...they will come in some form or another.
Exercise and clean eating has become my new lifestyle. It helps me stay focused and determined.
Think of it this way...
You need your health for the rest of your life.
The rest of your life depends upon your daily decisions now.
Your daily decisions are composed of little choices made hour by hour, sometimes minute by minute.
My story did not end with cancer.
It simply began Volume 2 of this thing I call life.
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