chase daylight

About Me

My name is Ryan (yes, despite my name, I am a girl! :D). I am a 22-year-old student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. I am in my final semester of completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. After graduation I plan on attending graduate school either for Elementary Education or Instructional Design/Educational Technology somewhere in Florida. We’ll see where life takes me!

College Eats

I used to be very concerned about the kinds of foods I was putting in my body. I loved the idea of eating an all-organic, whole foods diet in high school while I was still living with my parents. When college started I was unsure of how that lifestyle fit in with my new dorm environment. I had little place to put my food and literally no place to cook it. Even though I now live in a condo with a fully-functional kitchen, those eating habits have stuck with me. I’m excited to get back on track eating wholesome, nutritious foods that will give me the energy to get through my busy and hectic days.

I tend to be strictly a recipe follower. I haven’t really ventured out on my own to create recipes that are original enough to call mine. Reading food blogs has given me a lot of great ideas and helps me make better decisions about what I’m going to make each day. I’m certainly not afraid of cooking itself, just steering away from the original recipe. I’m hoping to get better at going out on a limb and creating something entirely unique, but until then I will be trying all of your wonderful recipes 🙂

On this blog you will see a lot of organic produce and other organic products. You will not see products with partially hydrogenated oils (trans fat), monosodium glutamate (MSG), or sodium nitrites. You will see a flexitarian diet because while I am not a vegetarian, I do enjoy the occasional meat-centered meal (approx. 2-3 times a month).

Fitness

Most of my pre-adult life was spent either swimming or rowing. I never had to worry about anything that I ate because I was in the best shape and any amount of calories didn’t phase me. Unfortunately, what came along with that was a lack of control and moderation. When I started college, I immediately joined the rowing club and was practicing 5-6 times a week for 2 hours at a time. Again, didn’t have to worry about what I was eating. After a semester of such an intense practice schedule, my grades weren’t so hot and I had to quit the team. It’s been downhill ever since.

I’ll refer to my exercise routine for the last 3 years as more of something that resembles a yo-yo. I’m sure many of you can relate to starting an exercise routine all motivated, only to throw in the towel the following week. I’ve been there too many times to count. When life got hectic and busy, exercise was the first thing to go.

All of this led me to stepping on the scale at my boyfriend’s house in November of 2008 and discovering that my weight was hovering around 150 lbs (I’m 5′ 8″). When I was in GOOD shape, I was between 130-135 lbs. The point of this blog has never been to focus so much on my weight as I do on eating healthy and staying as active as possible. If the weight came off, that was all the better for me.

When it came down to choosing a way to stay active, I really didn’t think twice about choosing running. When I was in shape, I LOVED running. The problem has always been, getting to that point. I decided to commit to getting past that threshold once again and never look back.

Why I am Blogging

I love this online blogging community. I love reading everyone’s great ideas about food, new products, and fitness tips. What I love even more is being held accountable by all of you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I definitely partially credit blogging for my success in this wonderful journey to health. I’ve also met some incredible, inspiring people through this blog and I cannot wait to meet more! Everyone is so supportive here, so I say, what’s not to love?!

The Results

Since I started this blog in November 2008, I have been very successful in my running training, making healthier food choices and ultimately watching the weight disappear.

I chose the C25K plan (check it out, it’s great!) to slowly ease myself into running. Soon after I began the plan, I signed up for my first 5K race. I have to say that having registered and paid for a race, before even being able to run 3.1 miles non-stop, was the perfect motivation to get me out the door and moving. If you’re having trouble getting into a running routine, I highly recommend two things: a training plan and being registered for a race. I successfully completed my first 5K race in January 2009 and ran my second 5K at the end of February. I’m currently training for and have plans to run the Take Stock in Children 10K on March 29, 2009. I also recently set a goal of running my first half marathon by the end of November 2009 (my 1 year anniversary of running).

Along with training for my races, I started to make healthier food choices. I stopped eating out all of the time and focused on what I could create in my kitchen with high quality ingredients. The journey has been a slow, successful one. I never imagined I’d make any transformations in my diet overnight and I certainly haven’t. However, I’m continually growing as a healthy eater and feel that I’ll never stop learning what it means to be this way. Over time I have learned how to integrate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins and fiber into my diet without depriving myself of what I love: good food! The results have been wonderful too. The horrible stomach aches and bloating I was plagued with at least 3-4 times a week have completely disappeared. My digestive system is working regularly. I have more energy. And I feel like I’m standing taller every day I continue this journey. It’s truly contagious and I don’t think I will ever return to my old lifestyle.

All of this sounds good and great, right? But most people want the cold, hard facts and results. I am no different and like to check my progress from time to time via my weight and body fat scale. I want to reemphasize what was stated above, that my sole focus has never been my weight. I do believe it’s a good indicator (particularly the body fat percentage) of whether or not the changes you’ve made are the right ones for your body. I knew that if I changed my eating and exercise habits, the lost weight would be an extra bonus and it definitely has been! Since I started this change I have lost ~10 pounds (it fluctuates) and 2% of my body fat. I notice this mostly in my stomach/hip area, thighs and arms. I have no idea where I will level off as far as my weight loss but, again, that’s not as important as the healthy changes I’ve made in my life.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at chasedaylight.blog@gmail.com.