Boo Hoo!!Back to Work!

I was dismissed today from jury duty. I was certain that I would be selected. I spent 2 days in the jury box as "#7" only to be cut. I am disappointed. However, good things did come from an early dismissal.

I met my friend for lunch and she shared about her trip to New York, he 6-month anniversary with her girlfriend and her return to the gym. She also mentioned that she noticed my weight loss. That made me feel great.

It was great not to have to be anywhere until 9:30. I would very much enjoy a 9:30 to 4:30 schedule daily. My current schedule is 7:30 to 4. I changed it recently so that I can make it to step as well as get my workout into my day before I am starving. It is incredible what the hour does for my psyche. I am at the office for about an hour before my supervisor and am leaving right as my energy is waning. This has been a great lift to my spirit. The schedule change also allows me to enjoy more sun during the day.

So, tomorrow, I'll be back in the office. Fortunately, it is only for part of the day. I will probably take a solo trip to another county for some work on Monday as my co-worker's mother is set for surgery and there is pressure from our supervisor to do all of these tasks. Sadly, my co-worker and I see a lot of this work as "wasted energy." Oh well, it's better than being in the office.

My friend from work emailed me to share that she had a dream about me. She said that we were running. (She is an avid runner and agreed to run the half with me.) Well, she said that while we were running, I was talking about MY wedding. The strange thing is that last night, Matt shared that he was thinking about our future together and that he was thinking about what our kids would look like. It's as if she sensed this. I thought it was pretty neat.

I have a wacky couple of hours to take care of some work things. I have to drop off my car at the dealership for air conditioning repair, then, get a rental car for work purposes then hit the gym. I should just bring all of my workout items and head to the gym close to the dealership. It stays a bit less crowded than the one closer to my house.

Here's a wacky story: Matt comes out to watch me play my last game. I told my friend, Mark, who is on the opposing team, that I was going to introduce them. I call Mark over and Matt and he look at each other and say, "Don't you work out in MV?!" How crazy is that! They already have crossed paths MANY times. It was pretty cool. So, all this time I have been sharing about Matt to Mark and they know of each other. LOL Small world!!

Jury Selection

Today, I had jury duty. Luckily, we did not have to report until 10 AM which allowed me to get plenty of sleep and play around the house in the morning. That is always a fun thing for me. Well, I am currently juror #7 in the jury selection process. We will know by tomorrow the complete jury and 2 alternates. I hope to get selected. The entire process is supposed to last through next week.

It is interesting the types of questions that you are asked. Most people say that they will be impartial to the attorneys and to the defendant. There were a few that were dismissed because of prior experiences. I sat there wondering if I could be 100% impartial. I think that it would be a lie for most people to say that they are.

I saw myself looking at the prosecution attorney who had a nose brace on in the morning. Did she have a nose job? I looked at the defense attorney. He's cute. I wonder if that makes me impartial. The other fact is that the prosecution is being run by a law student. How serious are they taking this case? Interesting.

Anyway, I met a women who happens to live in my city who is of the selection pool. I ended up driving her to where her car was as it was on my way home. I am always quick to offer convenience to others even if they are strangers. I have been told that I trust too easily. I think that my intuition is pretty strong and allows me to stay out of harms way. I like how quickly I connect with good people.

I am having dinner with Matt tonight before my last softball game which is at 9 PM. I am happy to have Matt see me in action. Hopefully, I have my best game yet. LOL

Eating today has been relatively good. I did get a dulce de leche latte from Starbucks. I had to laugh that my Vietnamese lunch cost me $4.50 and that the coffee cost $3.15. What is wrong with that picture?! LOL

I also stopped in to not one, but two Chinese bakeries during our lunch break. The first bakery didn't have the coconut bread that I love. For four items, my total was $1.90. If I am ever down and out, I will be eating well in Chinatown. LOL

Jury Duty and Progress

I report for jury duty today at 10 AM. Every time that I share with people that I have jury duty, they ask, "Did you try to get out of it?". I must be an anomaly. I enjoy getting the day off from work and going to get excused from jury duty for another 18 months.

About 3 years ago, I served as a jury member on a civil trial. It was quite an experience and led me to meeting a good friend of mine. I was just thinking about her and how we drifted after a couple of years. That friendship was definitely a "season" in my life. I am so appreciative of my friend and what a wonderful person she is.

Step class was awesome last night. I arrived right before class started so I was not able to get my normal--by-the-mirror spot that I enjoy. It ensures that no one is on my right side and I get to look at myself while I am sweating. LOL I like to check my form and see the progress that I am making.

I was definitely tired from 2 back-to-back step classes. I am giving myself today off to recuperate and will be hitting it hard tomorrow with my new Turbulence Training workout. It is a 4-week rotation for shedding fat and building muscle. Woo Hoo!!

I have to go get ready now. I plan to take the train, but if parking is non-existent at the station, I will be driving.

My Weight Loss Site

I've decided to share with you my past: www.geocities.com/mikkame77/weight_loss1

This is where I've come from. Now, is where I am going...

Monday Morning

I had an interesting night's sleep, waking up multiple times during the evening. Finally, I awoke to my alarm at 5 AM and got out of bed at 5:04. I contemplated hitting the gym early, instead choosing to play with my new TTmembers.com membership. I downloaded some of the awesome Fat Loss manuals and one of the fat loss teleseminars. I plan on listening to the teleseminar on the way home this evening.

On the way in to the office, I listened to half of Scott Tousignant's (www.unstoppablefatloss.com) interview of John Allen Mollenhauer "JAM" www.performancelifestyle.com. The topic of the call was how we can use the ways of a peak performer (athlete, top business person, etc.) to make lifestyle changes in our lives. The key point that I took away is that "non-performers" tend to think that we have to perform at 100% all the time in our lives. No wonder it is so daunting. It made me think about top athletes: they have an "on-season" and "off-season" for good reason. The on-season is for performing and achieving the benefits of all of the work in the off-season. In the off-season, they are practicing and training, tweaking and revisiting their performances from the on-season. They are working hard, but they are also recuperating and getting the "game face" perfected. They allow for slip-ups, screw-ups and set-ups.

Why don't I follow the same game plan? I wonder when my "on-season" is and when I have my "off-season". I think, easily, on-season for fitness is summer when I vacation, participating in summer sports and activities and am wearing less clothing. :) If I were a winter-sport enthusiast, I would assume that my on-season would be winter and my off would be spring-summer. I am going to play with this idea and see where it takes me.

My gym time will be at 5:30 PM with my advanced step class. The instructor, Renee, decided to offer a 9 AM class yesterday morning. Boy, that class is fun, but MAN, it kicks my ass. I am wondering if two step class days in a row is a bit for me because I am just getting back to it. Enjoying it so much, I think that I will be okay. I will still monitor my energy throughout the class and for the rest of the week.

Overall, the weekend was fantastic. Matt met my mom on Saturday evening as planned. When she first saw him, she exclaimed, "Oh, he is so cute!" He really is! I asked her later about him and again she said, "I cannot believe how cute he is. I didn't expect him to look anything like that. I thought that he would look much older." I laughed. So, an old, ugly man for your daughter? LOL

After dinner on Saturday, Matt and I had an incredible time lounging on my couch talking about "us". It feels great to be where 'we' are in our relationship. It's been a long time since I've had such a solid sense of direction in a relationship.

We ended up going to my friend's 70's themed party in the city. Wow! Her home is gorgeous. We stayed for about an hour and a half before I got too tired to continue. (We didn't leave my house until 10 PM.)

When we got back to my house, we went to bed. What I didn't was such a rush of intense emotion to overwhelm me. I cannot even remember experiencing anything like it with anyone else. I do remember having such an experience while meditating. I am glad that he was there to experience it with me.

So, today's plan is to have about 1400-1600 calories and do my step class this evening. I am very excited to review Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Manual. I'll have a review of it here.

Friday!

So, I am happy! Do you know why?! It's Friday of a long weekend. I am so excited to go running shoe shopping, get my butt kicked at step on Saturday morning, have mom me Matt and attend a friend's party on Saturday. Yes, I did say that my mom is about to meet my new "boy". She is preparing dinner for us. I hope that the weather is great so that we can eat outside.

I spent the night at Matt's. This was my first time doing so. It was a great way to spend time with him and still get to work on time. There is nothing like having to get out of a warm bed with a warm body and head out for work. He said, "I could get used to waking up to you."

Last night, as we were drifting off to sleep, I had terrible stomach cramps. There is nothing like having to use the bathroom at your new guy's place. Fortunately, there was little embarrassment on my part. I remember one time actually leaving a guy's house because of 'having the stomach flu'. I talked to him the next day and told him why. He said, "You should have just gone here." Yeah right!! LOL

I didn't train last night for my half. I need to create or find a training schedule so that I am not just shooting in the dark. I like having a plan as well as flexibility. I am definitely going to make sure that I am doing plenty of cross-training for different reasons. I want to have fun and stay healthy while I am training. Doing much of one thing is never good. When I was losing weight the first time, I did a little of everything workout wise. Walking, running, elliptical, step aerobics, circuit training, heavy lifting, high-reps were all a part of my weekly routine. I think that is how I was able to love my workouts. I worked out indoors and out, at home and in the gym. Wherever, whenever, however, I always was well-equipped with a contingency plan.

Dancing, Dieting and Divas

I love Dancing with the Stars. I think it is a wonderful show that illustrates what hard work and dedication can do in a short period of time. It is also just plain entertainment at its best. What I really enjoyed on the last show was when the producers showed clips from the people around the two finalists: Apolo Anton Ohno and Joey Fatone. What struck me about Apolo's corner was that each person talked about how hard Apolo works at everything that he does. That spoke so loudly to me in so many ways, the most impactful being that he trains in life to be great. I reflected on my own life and wondered where I was giving 100%. I was startled to think that I rarely give 100% honest effort anywhere. Luckily, I feel I am giving what it takes with my relationship with Matt. I am going to assess where I stand in each important area and see what it will take for me to give 90-100% more consistently.

So, my food journalling continues to be successful. I am excited to add some video to my blog of my workouts, thoughts and experiences as I train for my first road race and get back to goal.

I was proud of myself for making a better choice with dinner yesterday. I went to my mom's house for dinner last night. She prepared tacos! Yummy! Well, I normally eat two, but instead and because of my goals, I ate one with an ear of corn. I ended up being hungry later so I had a fruit juice bar 70 cal (for something sweet) and a mango dried fruit bar (60 cal). I held off on eating veggies chips and chocolate which would have not been good for my day. I made better choices and I am proud of that.

I was pleased that Jordin Sparks won AI last night. She was the better singer of the two. Blake was AWESOME last night as he performed with Doug E. Fresh. I will go on record and say that Blake stole the performance from D.E.F! His range of talent is incredible. I wonder where he is going to be able to go with being runner-up AI and his beat-boxing.

So, I officially started training for my 1/2 marathon on Tuesday, but I haven't started running yet. I plan to do some run/walking this evening. I have a lot of questions about training and of course, there are thousands of links for HOW to train for a road race. I plan on getting some new shoes this weekend to assist me in staying healthy as I train. Woo HOO!!

Weight Loss Blogs, Half Marathon and My Boy!

I love weight loss-related blogs! And I love RSS! Some days, I check my favorites 2-3 times in hopes of news messages, photos and, my absolute favorite, VIDEO. I love seeing video of people in their weight loss/maintenance journey. One of my current faves is Tracy Reifkind. http://tracyrif.blogspot.com/ She has lost over 100 lbs through a modified diet and kettlebell training.



Oh, speaking of kettlebells, I just won my first one on Ebay. Those suckers are pretty pricey. I just won mine for $10. There wasn't any competition unlike most other auctions. This one is shiny and red. I have a couple of DVDs that I purchased first. I hear that you can get a KB from GNC for $10. I'd like to check that out.



I have been journalling my food for the last 5 days which is a new current record. I used to keep my food journal so accurate it was amazing. It also was the reason that I was able to lose 85 pounds in about a year and a half. This time around, I am making no judgement on my food choices quite yet. The funny thing is that I automatically look for healthier alternatives when I know that I am writing it down. I like that...a lot!



I have been studying a lot on nutrition and exercise in desire of creating a lifestyle change that will last. I am a lot more interested in how foods affect overall health and discovering the most effective ways to get fit, shed fat and build muscle. It is such a complicated mess of information but I like reading and APPLYING the information that I am learning. I will probably lean to a 80/20% (healthy/'extras) rule and create my meals around vegetation, cut back on refined products and keep a small amount of animal products in my diet. I have contemplated becoming a vegetarian for about a year now. I will see how my diet evolves through my lifestyle change.



October 16th marks my 30th birthday. In celebration, I have decided to run the San Jose Rock and Roll Half-Marathon on October 14th, 2007. I have never done a road race before. I am excited that I have begun to enlist a team to join me in my training and my race. What a wonderful way to get healthier together and celebrate a new decade.



So, Matt and I officially are exclusive. He was so cute on Sunday. He knows that I am working to release my excess fat. He wanted to make it very clear to me that he "loves" my body as it is and that he would still "love" it if I didn't lose any weight. That gave me such energy to continue my program. To have someone that you care about express his feelings of acceptance to something that you may not totally accept is an awesome feeling. Thank you, Matt!

I will update my blog with training, progress photos and VIDEO!! since I know how fun it is to see a transformation.

Always a new day

Good Tuesday morning! I am about to listen in on a conference call that will discuss "Emergency Turn Around Tactics" for weight loss. I have been working out and watching my food intake for about 5 weeks. Well, last week, I was sent out of town on a work assignment. I didn't continue my workouts nor my better eating habits. Why is it that when I am not home, all goes out the window? That is how I gained all but 15 pounds back from the 85 that I lost over a 14-month period.

This is crazy.

I am hitting the step class today at 5:30. This will DEFINITELY get me on a positive track. The step class is 60 minutes of pure sweat and I need it. I am also going to hit the gym in the morning again. I know that this is the only way that I ensure that I am getting my workout done.

My workout schedule was also messed up due to the collapse of the interchange. Who knew how a road condition could screw up one's day so immensely. LOL

I am seriously considering a return to Weight Watchers. I know that this program works for me and I can reconsider my program as I approach goal. I need the support. I need the accountability. I am looking at starting this evening or in the next 2 days. I am not going to wait for the time to be right. I am just going to get started!