Where have I been? I don’t even know where to begin…but let’s start with the first project. After extending my donation period for sometime, I was finally able to get $200 raised for Free Arts of Arizona. I want to sincerely thanks those who donated and helped motivate me to keep working. Though I hoped we could have made that amount larger, I hope that it helps Free Arts in some way. Small it may be, but we have to start somewhere, right?

The past several weeks have been devoted to my doctoral work. Just yesterday I presented and defended my dissertation prospectus, passed my exam, and reached ABD status (or “all requirements completed but the dissertation” for those not familiar with the academic lingo. And though the real work begins now with me finishing my dissertation and finding a job, the time has also come to bring my focus back to my health. It’s time for a new project, so if you have a worthy cause, or a favorite, smaller charity that would appreciate a donation, I would like to know! Just comment below or send me an e-mail at john [at] fitlanthropist [dot] com.

Also, I have decided to make two concrete goals with my wife that are going into effect immediately:

1. Eliminate carbonated beverages from my diet.
2. Eliminate sugar from my diet.

Holli has never been much of a consumer of carbonated beverages, but I have. I gave them up once, and don’t know how I managed to incorporate them so heavily into my daily consumption. In terms of sodas, those were heavily reduced some time ago, and now they’re completely gone. However, in lieu of Diet Coke and other diet sodas, I drank a lot of the calorie-free, flavored sparkling water-type drinks. As “healthy” as they may seem, I just don’t think my body needs them. It’s going to be water, water, water from now on.

And in terms of sugar…it’s just horrible. I mean, I applaud those of you who can regulate it just fine, but I don’t want to crave it anymore. So, Holli and I are going to do a sugar detox first before introducing foods back into our diet that have natural sugars in them (like fruits).

Sorry for the long pause, but I’m back, and Holli, Christy, and I hope to post some interesting and vital posts over the next few weeks!

And again, give me your recommendations for our next fundraiser!!