RIP...

I try to keep this blog funny and entertaining for the most part but some times, with the shit life throws at the world, there really isn't anything funny to say.  Case in point...

The woman pictured above is Sarah Leaf.  Sarah was the person responsible for the incredible weight loss and fitness level I achieved before I let it all go back to hell.  The 'program' I am on now and a lot of the things I post about on my blog are straight from her and, when followed, seem to universally make people lose weight and get healthy.  Point being, this perfectly healthy, beautiful, 29 year old certified nutritionist was killed yesterday while riding her bike on PCH.

Without getting too dramatic, I'd like to point out that Sarah was a true professional, someone who was passionate about her client's health, and an all around good person.  Sarah could be a hardass and that was exactly what me, and about ten of my good friends needed to get our collective asses into shape.  If its possible to add some levity to this situation, some of my favorite interactions with Sarah when I was one of her clients (I lost 54 pounds in four months and was in the best shape of my life since high school when I saw her) went as follows:

Sarah:  "So what are some of your favorite things to eat when you're snacking?"

Me:  "Saltines"

Sarah:  "OK, so how many saltines do you eat?"

Me:  "A sleeve"

Sarah:  "What?  You can sit down and eat a whole entire sleeve of saltines?"

Me:  "Yep...just open one end and don't stop until I'm done"

Sarah:  "HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU EAT AN ENTIRE SLEEVE OF SALTINES???"

Me:  "Like I want more"

Sarah:  "ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!??"
------------------------------------------

A voicemail from Sarah when I was her client:  "Hi, its Sarah.  I'm just calling to confirm our appointment for Thursday this week.  By the way, I saw Alisha today and she told me about last weekend so you can just forget about trying to lie about it because I already know."

------------------------------------------

On my first consultation with Sarah, I told her I was going on a road trip to Chicago and on one of the days I was going to be there I was doing a big day/night out that included a Cubs game and all the awesome stuff that comes after.  Sarah told me that was perfect and that I should keep track of what I ate and drank on the day of the Cubs game so it could give her a good idea of what my work travel was like.  When I got back and met with Sarah, the conversations was:

Sarah:  "Ok, so lets start with the drinking.  List for me what you had to drink the day you went to the game and then out with customers after."

Me:  "So we got to Murphy's Bleachers at around 10:00am, had a few old styles..."

Sarah:  "How many Old Styles?"

Me:  "I don't know, probably four or five"

Sarah:  "This was before noon..."

Me:  "Yeah, it was at Wrigley, a day game...you know about baseball?"

Sarah:  "OK...just keep going"

Me:  "So we did the game, then went to some place called Sheffields or something and I had a couple of car bombs.  After that, we went to this bar that had batting cages and I did a bunch of jello shots while I was taking swings in the cages.  Let me tell you, I can still hit.  From there we hit Hugos Frog Bar and I had a couple of Woodford reserves before dinner and then probably like a bottle of wine during dinner with my steak.  Then we had a Wild Turkey and ginger for a night cap and went to bed around 2:30am..."

Sarah, interupting me:  "You seriously had that much to drink?"

Me:  "Yeah.  You should probably throw in another twelve beers or so that I had during the game"

Sarah:  "OH...MY.....GOD!"

Me:  "What?  You ever been to Chicago?  You should go."

--------------------------------------------------

Long story short, Sarah was freaking awesome.  I fully admit I'm not the healthiest guy on the planet but Sarah changed my life in that fully understand now that when I decide to be healthy, I can do it and she gave me the tools to understand what actually eating healthy and being healthy is.

Rest in peace Sarah, you were one of a kind.