Our last “official” blog was to be yesterday (votes will no longer be counted as of Saturday Night at midnight), but I wanted to thank everyone, one last time, for every single word of encouragement.  They have been priceless!

Chloe and I (along with a few friends from church) ran our first 5K yesterday morning.  It was a run/walk, but we finished!

This are my official results:

Time: 46:11.40

Overall Place: 159 out of 195 toal entrants

Gender Place: 87 out of 115 women entrants

Age Group Place: 24 our of 31 entrants ages 30-39

Our goal was to finish…and we did that.  Our next goal is to run an entire 5K, then improve our speed, then run/walk a 10K, then run the entire thing, then improve our speed, then…you get where I going…Chloe and I would LOVE to run the St. Jude 1/2 Marathon at the end of the year.  That would have NEVER  been an option for me if not for the Genghis Grill Health Kwest.

I’ve learned a few things over the last 60 days:

1.  My family is amazing.  The most prayerful, supportive, patient, encouraging people on God’s Earth.

2.  People are so supportive, always willing to speak life into others (or even run an impromptu 5K).

3.  GG food is not only delicious, but healthy…I enjoyed every single meal I ate there.

4. Lastly, I CAN achieve health and maintain it realistically.

Thanks GG…as we say to the youth at our church….YOU ROCK!!!

Blessings,

Sherrie

Hello Everyone,

I hope your day has been great.  It’s absolutely beautiful here in Memphis and I have been out and about seeing our sweet patients.

I am so grateful for what I get to do every day…I am a Family Nurse Practitioner for Crossroads Hospice http://www.crossroadshospice.com/.  I love to talk about Hospice because so many people have a skewed view of what we do.  If I had to sum up what we do as a company, I’d say we have the privilege of escorting amazing people to the gates of Heaven.  Where else do you get to do that???  No where!!

I have worked a lot of places and never have I seen so many balloons, flowers, cakes, etc leave an office on any given day.  Our team is made up of volunteers, home health aides, nurses, social workers, chaplains, a nurse practitioner (yours’ truly), and medical directors.  We celebrate Veteran’s for their service to our country, birthdays, anniversary’s, provide Ultimate Gifts to our patients, etc, etc, etc…this is by far the most generous company I have ever been a part of!

Once a patient is appropriate for our services…it’s like they (and their families) now have a whole team of folks walking them though this season of life with them…it’s awesome!  So, spread the word…Hospice is an amazing insurance benefit that all of us will need one day.

Hope this isn’t too heavy for you guys, I just love what I get to do everyday and wanted to share it with you.

Blessings,

Sherrie

It seems like these 2 months has absolutely flown by.  Going to GG has become part of who we are as a family…every night one of my kids will say, “Momma, have you been to Genghis Grill today?” or “Momma, have you written your blog for the day??”.  I appreciate their support and encouragement so much.

I have been thinking of creative ways that I can show my gratitude at the end of this Health Kwest…not only to my kids and family, but also to the tons of friends who have regular words of encouragement.  I really can’t think of a way to show my appreciation to the hundreds of people at church, at work, at Genghis who I’ve interacted with.  I wish I could take you all on a mini vacay or make a thousand Oreo truffles to say “thanks”…

I guess what I can do is continue to live a healthy lifestyle and make great choices.  That’s one way I can honor the fact that you guys have believed in my, prayed for me, voted for me, eaten with me, etc.

I will run my first 5K this Saturday (9am at Shelby Farms) then later that night I am planning ot have my very last Saturday Night Partay at the GG in Cordova (830pm).  I’d love for you to come out and have dinner with me and my family.  I had a goal of losing 45 pounds by the end of the Khantest…probably won’t make that, BUT…I’ve come a long way and I’d love to celebrate with YOU!!

Love Ya!
Sherrie

While trying to figure out how to fit my daily GG into our schedule has been a bit challenging at times, I have yet to grow tired of the food.  I have not had a bad bowl yet.  I still meet people everyday who are amazed when I tell them about the GG Health Kwest…I hear questions like, “wait a minute…you eat there for free?!?!  How can I sign up next year???”, “You’ve lost how much???”, and “How’d you hear about this and how can I do it??”.  Most people are incredulous.

After talking about it to several people every day for the last 55 days, I’ve come up with short “spiel” that I have gotten sued to saying…it goes like this, “Genghis Grill wants people to see that you can eat out AND make great choices, so they have created the Health Kwest…it’s sort of like The Biggest Loser meets The Subway Challenge…I eat there once a day for free, exercise like crazy, and blog about it all! ”.  When asked my advice about healthy choices at GG, I always encourage people to load up on veggies and skimp on the salts and sauces.

Transparency time!!!  Back in the day (7 weeks ago-before the Health Kwest started) when I would go to GG, I would pile my bowl full of meat, generously sprinkle the salts over all that meat, get a few veggies, get 1 (or maybe 2) eggs, AND 2 cups of sauces.  When I found out you could ask for extra starches…I thought it was a dream come true!!   I would usually finish all of that and feel absolutely, miserably, disgustingly full for the rest of the day!!!  I know…it’s not pretty!

Fast forward 7 weeks…when I go now, I get 1/2 meat, 1/2 veggies, 3/4 cup of sauce, and brown rice.  I usually eat about 1/2 of my bowl and take the rest home (much to my kids enjoyment).  I feel better that I have in years and I am so excited to see what the future holds.  It’d be cool to do a “Health Kwest 2012 Reunion” in 1 year. Some of the Khantestants may have achieved amazing goals by  then…I hope to have a 1/2 marathon under my belt…pray for me.

Have a great night!

Sherrie

Last night we celebrated my sweet husband’s 43rd birthday at a great place…(wait for it)…the GG in Cordova!  Surprised??  It was a blast!  I sent out texts to all of our amazing family and friends and they packed out the house.  Thanks to you guys and to the GG staff for accommodating us all!  There were a couple of friends who had never been to GG so I did a fun tutorial…everyone enjoyed their bowls.

I am still ramping up for my first 5K.  I have had a another friend agree to run with us, we’re gonna have a fun team…we’re starting together and finishing together.  Hoping to continue to do some 5K’s over the summer and…I actually printed out the running schedule for someone who might possibly, maybe, perhaps, desire to run a marathon one day…not saying I’ll  run the St. Jude 1/2 marathon on December 1st, 2012, but it’s an amazing goal and my complete respect goes out to anyone who makes that goal and sees it through to fruition!!

I have less than 1 week until the end of the Health Kwest.  It has been a journey for sure.  I had someone say to me the other day, “As soon as this is over, you can eat cake again!”  I don’t look at this like a destination. I still have a long way to go to get to a state of better health, so I have made it my goal during this Khantest to make realistic changes…ones that I can maintain.  If I go back to making terrible choices, I have wasted a whole lot of time (your’s and mine’s).  Nope…I believe I have not just changed my weight, but changed my mind as well.  Thanks for your support!!

Sherrie

This is a summary of my day thus far:

5:59 woke Up (Thanks April)

6:50 arrived at Shelby Farms with 2 sweet friends, enjoyed the sunrise

7:11-8:10 run/walk 3.4 miles

Check out the 3.43 mi run/walk I did with RunKeeper

http://tinyurl.com/796mjwb

Duration 1:04:08 | Calories Burned 283

8:25-9:20 worked out with Andy, Teresa, and Gabrielle at Pincer Gym (Versa Climber, Abs, “300′s”???, Circuit Training)

9:40-10 breakfast at home

10-1:30 napped! (Thanks Vasan)

Now I’m up and at’em…preparing for church tonight, loving on my girls, and letting Vasan nap.

We WILL be meeting tonight at the GG in Cordova around 8:30 for the Saturday Night Partay…just a fun get-together.  Come if you can!

Blessings,

Sherrie

For some reason, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep.  i really felt rested so I got up and did some things at home.  I waited until it was almost sunrise then went out for a short run.  I did about 1.8 miles.  It’s still not easy, by any means, but it feels better.  I am setting some pretty lofty goals for myself.  I turn 40 this year, so I am believing that this is the year that I will run my first 5k and hoepfully my 1st 1/2 marathon.  The St. Jude Marathon is on Decemeber 1st this year.  http://www.stjudemarathon.org/marathon.htm

Now, mind you, I have NEVER run more than a mile in a race, so this is a HUGE step of faith.  But, I figure if I just keep on putting one foot in front of the other, I’ll finish at some point.  I actually ran long distance in high school, but I was pretty slow, it was nothing to write home about, LOL.  I really do enjoy running now more than I did then.  Maybe, one day, I’ll actulally experience that “runner’s high” that I hear people talk about…when they feel like they could run forever…haven’t had that yet .

It’s not too late for you to jump in on the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K.  It’s next Saturday (3/31) at 9am and Shelby Farms.  I’d L-O-V-E to see you there!

Looking forward to genghis tonight…still not tired of it

Have a wonderful day!

Sherrie

Hello Health Kwest Friends,

A friend from work brought in the March edition of the Memphis health and Fitness Magazine and guess what was on the front???  The Physician who played an integral role in bringing the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K to Memphis.  This 5K is ran in several different cities and Dr. Justin Monroe has spearheaded the efforts here.  The link to this article is http://issuu.com/pickleit/docs/hf_march_2012_web1?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage

I’ve had a few more friends join the race…it’s going to be exciting.  Now mind you…we are not running it competitively or to get a “great time”.  I just want to get a 5K “under my belt” and I believe this will be the first of many!!  I jokingly tell people it’s a “walk/run” because my run pace is pretty slow and they can walk and keep up with me, LOL!  So..if you’re doubting your ability to complete a 5K…this is the one for you, no pressure, just a fun time for a great cause.  The website to register is http://events.getyourrearingear.com/site/TR?fr_id=1260&pg=entry

I’m at church now and planning to go to GG on the way home tonight.  On Wednesday nights at church we have Axis, our youth group.  If you have a teenager in the Memphis area…they will love it!  It’s age appropriate and the kids learn, in fun and simple ways, how to apply God’s Word to their lives.  We have Axis at our Cordova, Collierville, and Jackson Campuses…check us out!  www.thelifechurch.com

Have a great night!
Sherrie

Happy 1st day of spring.  It also happens to be the 43rd birthday of the love of my life, Vasan Serca!!!!!!  I will be posting 43 reasons that I’m thankful for him throughout the day on FB (Sherrie Renee Serca)…feel free to chime in.

I am OFFICIALLY registered for the GET YOUR REAR IN GEAR 5K!!!  Yayyyyyy!  I’m doing it with my 14 year old, my friends April Dandridge and David Howard, and hopefully a few more folks.  This will be my first 5k…we’re going to do a mostly run/walk and finish together.  I’m so excited.  This would NOT have been an option 2 months ago…yet another reason for me to be oh so thankful to Genghis Grill!

If you’re interested, we’d love to have you run/walk with us!!!  It’ll be amazing.  Here’s the link to get more info:  http://www.getyourrearingear.com/events/list/2012/memphis-tn-2012/

Blessings,

Sherrie

I just got home from MAN NITE at The Life Church of Memphis.  It was an amazing night…hundreds of men having a great time, fun competitive basketball, awesome worship, and a STRONG word from Pastors John Siebeling and Travis Moody.  Wow!  There were several other chicks, along with myself, serving like crazy.  There were perfectly seasoned 100% ground steak burgers that were as big as my hand and 2 inches thick!  The gourmet buns were HUGE.  It was a win, win, win!!!

Here’s some photos I took yesterday.  Trainer Joe is in Central America so Trainer Andy (his partner) graciously trained me yesterday morning.  I did a quick warm up on the elliptical..this is what I saw lined up for me when I got off…

It was all pretty tough, but it was an amazing workout…so thankful for Andy and Joe.

Let me show you what I got to do next!!!

I LOVED sparring, first time ever and I’ve had the Rocky theme song in my head ever since, LOL!

It was one great weekend!  I had two wonderful bowls from GG and took the crew in some Coconut and Oreo truffles that I made to attempt to show my gratitude for all that they’ve done for me.

Gonna get some rest now!

Blessings!

Sherrie