"I'm trying to learn to live every moment, because these moments are not promised to us, " she said of her excitement, recalling how she took off her shoes and ran the first time she set foot on the Superdome field.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

We live in a society that values doing, but I had to learn to find peace in being.

CNN: Living with a 'borrowed brain'

"I'm not saying technology is junk food, but you learn to live without certain things in life, " says Zschappel, who trimmed 20 pounds this year by swearing off snacks and soft drinks.

FORBES: Lynch Redux