Mom Works It Out by Angela Gillis

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Donate To St. Jude Children’s Hospital To Make A Difference

Donate To St. Jude Children’s Hospital To Make A Difference

We need your help! Cancer is something that has touched both of our lives this past year when my mom was diagnosed. We have seen the monetary cost of cancer and that is why we are choosing to run for a reason. On December 7, 2013, I will run my first marathon (26.2 miles) and Willie will run the half marathon (13.1 miles) but we want to be St. Jude heroes. To do that, we both must raise $500 EACH! We have changed others lives by sharing our story and this is how we want to change someone else’s life.…

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It’s not a diet. It’s healthy …

It’s not a diet. It’s healthy lifestyle changes to lose weight.

The biggest piece of advice we can give you is to stop dieting.  It’s not a diet; it’s healthy lifestyle CHANGES to lose weight and keep it off. A lifestyle change is very difficult, especially for the people in your life.  We had so many problems with our friends and family because it wasn’t only a change for us, it was a change for them too.  Both Willie and I were overweight our entire lives and our weight defined us.  When it was time to make a change things did get very sticky and possibly people didn’t take us too seriously. For people who…

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We haven’t left you hanging

We haven’t left you hanging

My grandmother passed and right now things are in a bit of chaos.  The blog has taken a backseat to the health of my grandmother.  Things will be back to normal very soon! Thanks for understanding, Angela

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A day of (state) resolutions

A day of (state) resolutions

After running the Austin 10/20, Willie and I were honored with state resolutions on the floor of the Texas State Capitol.  Our weight loss achievements are now a part of Texas state history!  This is/was such a honor for us and definitely a moment we won’t forget.  We were honored alongside our friend Richard and Amie James (for creating a healthier community by creating The Gusher Marathon), Iram Leon (for winning the Gusher Marathon while pushing his daughter and just plain winning at life), and Felix Lugo (who ran his 50th marathon holding the American flag at The Gusher).  We…

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Willie’s first long distance race: Austin 10/20

Willie’s first long distance race: Austin 10/20

I ran my first 10 mile race on April 14th! This was my first long distance run. Before this race I had only run 5K races with a finishing time around 36 or 37 minutes. A couple of days before the race, Angela bought me a new pair of running shoes, running socks, and calf compression sleeves. When I ran the previous 5Ks, I had been running in a pair of old Nike running shoes that really needed to be thrown in the trash. The new shoes were Brooks running shoes and when I first put them on I noticed…

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Why food could be ruining our attempt to …

Why food could be ruining our attempt to make friends

One of my April goals is to become more social.  Willie and I have spent a good chunk of our time hanging out with out of town friends but we did want to have more of social life in at home.  The older we get the harder it is to make friends though.  I wish we could return to the days when sharing a crayon or playing on the playground instantly rendered a best friend or playmate.  Adults just don’t make friends the same way and most of the time it does involve food. I have my own social hang…

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Foodie Friday: Salmon and a lesson on fish

Foodie Friday: Salmon and a lesson on fish

When it comes to fish most people are skeptical about making it at home, but it’s really simple. I don’t need to provide you with a recipe because it really is that easy. Usually, we have about a 4 oz serving of fish at a time, unless the 6 oz salmon fillets are on sale at the market. Fish doesn’t require much seasoning and is usually best when it’s simple. Here’s what I do for a salmon fillet: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Season with pepper (or any other salt free seasoning) 3. Place 1 tsp…

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Let’s kick tragedy in the face

Let’s kick tragedy in the face

We are runners!  I am proud to say this and I’m even more proud that I can say WE are runners!  The blog has been left silent for a couple of days because we have been busy doing some amazing things.  Now is not the time to talk about those things, because of the horrible things that happened in Boston yesterday.  It breaks our hearts to know people were out there doing something they trained and worked so hard for and someone took their lives…and their family’s lives. It’s hard to grasp! The running community is strong and we all…

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Don’t feed your emotions

Don’t feed your emotions

Emotions are a crazy thing and will make people do crazy things. I fed my emotions when I was having the best and worst days of my life. I rewarded myself with decadent meals starting with an appetizer or two all the way to dessert. I didn’t need self control because I was celebrating whatever I thought was the milestones. Sometimes it would be just making it through a stressful day and coming out unscathed at the end. Little every day things became big things to celebrate. When I was having a bad day, I turned to fried foods and…

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Don’t be afraid of strength training

Don’t be afraid of strength training

When I first started exercising I avoided strength training and just concentrated on cardio. I stayed away from strength training, like many others, because I thought strength training would make me bigger. Also, I shied away from it because I didn’t know where to begin and feared I would my hurt myself if I added it into my routine. For the first 13 months of my weight loss journey, I avoided weight training until I started researching what I needed for well-rounded workouts. I hired a trainer for a once a week session for four weeks and learned a lot…

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Our open letter to Subway:

Our open letter to Subway:

Dear Subway: We love you Subway because you allow me to eat fresh on the go! You’re our go-to meal when we travel the roads because we still need to be healthy when we’re away from my home. Subway has been a huge part of our weight loss success and we will own up to that. We may not be Jared, but we have our own weight loss story which Subway helped us along the way too. (May I mention that we love that most Subways are open late too! Angela recently got herself into a pickle while traveling, but…

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