Yesterday my gym officially launched LiveSTRONG at the YMCA!
The program is a free 12-week, small group program designed for adult cancer survivors or those currently undergoing treatment for cancer. I will be working with a group twice a week to increase their endurance, flexibly, strength and balance and cannot wait to get started. (If you know anyone who might be interested in participating in LiveSTRONG at the YMCA, you can visit this map to find a YMCA near you that offers the free program!)
I arrived at the gym bright and early to talk to anyone and everyone about the program and encourage sign ups. I heard many, many stories about how cancer has impacted the lives of our gym members and I can only hope this program will be enriching and empowering. I think it has so much potential!
To encourage enthusiasm about the event, we created a scavenger hunt with facts about cancer around the gym and everyone seemed to have fun while they learned about cancer statistics and cancer prevention tips.
And a BIG thank you goes to Reebok for kindly donating our grand prize! Thank you!!!
Once lunchtime rolled around, a speaker from the American Cancer Society spoke to everyone about the importance of proper nutrition and exercise while we ate subs donated from Subway.
A little after 6 p.m., we pulled out a delicious evening snack donated by Chobani to display on the table to encourage people to stop by and learn more about the program.
The yogurt was a huge hit and people flocked to our table when they saw us pulling the containers out of our cooler. Thank you very much for your generosity, Chobani!
One of the flavors Chobani sent to us to give away was their new key lime Greek yogurt. Have you guys tried it? Oh my gosh, it is delicious! It got rave reviews from everyone once I dug into a cup and encouraged them to try it. So good!
Eventually it was time for me to head home to eat dinner with Ryan.
Dinner
Dinner last night featured chicken sausage, onion and broccoli sautéed in coconut oil and served with a sweet potato.
The coconut oil added so much flavor to the dish. We both loved it!
After dinner, we hopped in Ryan’s car and drove to the dog park for some playtime with our favorite little lady.
The weather was gorgeous outside! Even though we don’t have your typical chilly autumn weather in Florida, it’s finally not ridiculously hot at night anymore, so we are happy campers.
Now it’s off to work for this girl! See ya after lunch!
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That sounds like such a cool program! After my mom’s breast cancer surgeries her DR recommended only working out with trainers familiar with her surgeries and it helped her so much. Exercise was one of the things that really kept her positive throughout it all.
yes! we actually spent a lot of time learning about breast cancer-related surgeries and lymphedema. i hope lymphedema is something your mom doesn’t have to manage (my mom actually has lymphedema, too, which is a daily struggle), and it is definitely important to work with people who have specialized training.
Sounds like the launch was a huge success! Congrats! That picture of Sadie is too cute.
Wow! Great job helping to launch such an amazing campaign! This seems like the perfect fit.
Key Lime Greek yogurt!? Sign me up!! I haven’t seen it in stores around here yet!
we JUST got it in ocala a week or so ago! hopefully it is coming your way soon!
I’m so happy it was such a success! It sounds like such a great program and I’m happy so many sponsors have got behind the program as well 🙂
I’ve only just started cooking with coconut oil and maybe I’m not using enough but I hadn’t noticed a taste difference.
Random question, do you eat dessert every night??
Hi Julie – I was curious if your mom dealt with any neuropathy after her chemo treatments? My mom is three months out and developed it in her feet she is on pain pills but it hasn’t helped yet – I’m hoping it goes away – any input would be appreciated ! I love your blog thank you so much !
Hi Destiny! I’m so sorry to hear that your mom is in pain. My mom dealt with neuropathy in her feet as well and was also prescribed pain pills. She said they helped, but she didn’t love taking them. I’m not sure exactly what she did to help with that pain, but I do know it seemed to lessen over time. Sending big hugs to your mom!
That’s awesome that you guys had such a great turn out! Yum to that dinner!! I remember the first time I cooked my eggs in coconut oil, oh my gosh it was a whole different world!! They had an amazing taste (in my opinion). Now I really want to recreate your dinner haha.
Another random question: What type of chicken sausage so you use? I’ve been wanting to try it for ages but I what to get lol.
Also, Congrats on the successful launch! 😀
That sounds like such a great program. I didn’t know you worked at a YMCA. I don’t know why I find that interesting but I do. The YMCA is the first gym I signed up at a million years ago when I was first starting to try and get in shape.
I was actually trying to keep it secret (for safety reasons), but with the launch of this program, it would be really easy to figure it out, so the cat’s out of the bag. I LOVE the Y and have been a member since 2007. It’s the best!!!
I LOVE the Key Lime flavor! Apple Cinnamon is also one of my favorites. 🙂
Congrats on the launch of your program, it’s always great to be able to do what you love and help a good cause at the same time!
What a fantastic program! I will have to learn more and maybe try to do something similar at my gym, we are trying to do a fundraiser for lymphoma in the near future….
That sounds like such an inspirational program! Congrats on helping people 🙂
I agree everything taste better with coconut oil 😉
What a great program. My cousin is fighting lymphoma currently… I can’t wait to tell her about this.
I think it’s great your job launched a dedicated program for cancer survivors. I work for an oncology website (geared towards professionals) and I see so many articles about the benefits of exercise both during and after cancer.
That is so great!! We need more programs like that in our area. Oh Sadie, what a ham!
What a great program! So many of us are, unfortunately, affected by cancer. That’s a wonderful resource for people to have.
Key lime greek yogurt sounds amazing.. I bet you’ll come up with some bomb-diggity protein shake recipes with that as a base!!
Hahahah Sadie, I can never handle her faces! 🙂 That Livestrong program is so awesome. That’s great you can share your love for that program locally!
What an amazing program! It’s such a shame Sadie has no personality ha 🙂 she’s hilarious!
I know. She’s a big, dull dud. 😉
That key lime Chobani is ah-maaaaaazing! Love that you have worked so hard to help launch this program. Exercise can be so beneficial to people who face a cancer diagnosis, and it definitely helps to have professionals there to help them. Awesome way to get involved!
Haha Sadie is so funny! I haven’t tried the Chobani version, but I’ve had another brand in key lime. It’s so refreshing!
I love the apricot and coconut flavors! All of the new ones are definitely delicious. It’s so great for these companies to donate things for a good cause. I think it’s one of the reasons Chobani is one of my favorite Greek yogurts. They have such a good relationship with their consumers.
Love the idea of the program! I’m sure a ton of people will be taking advantage of it :). Great sponsors as well!
That is SO cool that you’ve launched that at your gym and that you’re a part of it. What a neat idea & a great way to help people out. Love it!
What an amazing program!! My husbands mom did a program like this at Yale when she was recovering from breast cancer. She said it was so helpful!
I never knew you worked with the YMCA! So do I! I just did a whole post on why I love my job. Livestrong is an amazing program, so glad you are involved in it.
That program is amazing! Great job – looks like the launch was a success! You will be brightening so many people’s lives! And they so deserve it!!
-Sammy @ peaceandloveandicecream.blogspot.com
That’s so cool that you’re able to participate in such a great program! My mom survived stage 4 ovarian cancer and for the past few years I’ve done everything possible to avoid thinking about it in an effort to avoid all the negative memories, but I think it’s time I turn it into something positive and volunteer with a program like this!
wow, that sounds like a GREAT program! i’m sure the program will be a huge success and help a ton of people 🙂
Julie, this sounds like such a wonderful program. Ever since my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, it has become such an important topic to me. I’ve always wanted to find a way to make an impact on people who are suffering with cancer. So glad you’re getting involved!
I’m obsessed with that new key lime chobani! The coconut is pretty good too.
Such a great initiative!!! Must be great to be a part of it!!! You should try sweet potato roasted with coconut oil…SO GOOD!
The launch event looks like it went really well! I’ve tried the Key Lime Chobani before, and I agree that it is the bomb.
Your dinner also looks fantastic! My mom and I are huge fans of coconut oil, but we haven’t used it in our savory cooking for a while. Must do that again soon!
Okay now I need to find some Key Lime Chobani! That’s so great that they donated, and this sounds like an amazing program that your gym is doing! Anything to encourage people to learn about nutrition and health (and that’s FREE) sounds great to me!
Sounds like a great program to offer gym goers! Love the positive message.
Key lime Chobani sounds amazing!
Just curious…what brand chicken sausage do you buy? I notice you cook with it a lot 🙂
That is pretty amazing that your gym launched a free program for cancer survivors or those currently undergoing treatment for cancer! It sounds like the launch was a success too!
I work at the y too! I wonder when we will get that program where I live!?
Sounds like a great program! Glad the launch was a success!
wow! this sounds like such a fantastic program. After reading this post, I HAD to check and see if there is a similar program offered in Canada. Sadly, this program is not offered, but YMCA is still so awesome.
When I was growing up, there was a YMCA right across the street from my grandparents house (who had 10 kids themselves). We loved spending time there, swimming, playing sports, hanging out. I have a few lifeguards, triathletes and basketball stars in my family because of this lol
P.S. I adore this photo of you and Sadie!! I love seeing a dog and it’s owner in an embrace like this. You always have the best pics 🙂
P.S.S The weather here in Canada (I’m in Ottawa) has been the best (ever since you came for a visit). Better weather now compared to the weather we’ve had all summer.
Keep coming back! 🙂 Canada obviously loves you here, Julie!
I was a coach at the YMCA in Tampa for one of the very first pilot Livestrong Programs a few years ago! You will meet some amazing people and love it!!!!! Glad to see its still going strong and spreading!
Love the Y! I’m currently looking into becoming a Pilates instructor there. I know my Y offers this program too.
My dad completed the live strong program at our Y and he loved it so much that he has gone back for every rotation since his to help out. Such a great program and how awesome that you are involved with it!!