Recently in Health & Fitness Category

Sigh.

Well, the final results were 6lbs and 19.75". Yes -- I lost almost 20 inches. Pretty darn good, I must say. Sexier than ever. HA! You have to know me to know that I'm 100% kidding.

Things I still want to eat...

1. Santa Fe Salad w/ Blackened Salmon at BJ's (menu - site).

2. Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap at Red Robin (menu - PDF).

3. Pineapple spears.

4. Flaming Hot Cheetos.

5. Santa Fe Chopped Salad w/ Apple Chipotle Vinaigrette at Chevys (menu - PDF).

6. A hot dog.

7. Veggie Delite Sandwich at Subway (menu - site).

8. Jalapeno Pretzel w/ Light Cream Cheese Dip at Auntie Anne's (site).

9. Bagoong Fried Rice at Tribu Grill (menu - site).

10. S'mores.

By the way, I think I owe it to society to officially announce that Pineapple Spears and Flaming Hot Cheetos should NOT be consumed together EVER! Let's just say it was a cleansing of another kind. I know, I know... too much information. You've been warned!

It's day #4 of my 9-day cleanse and I'm feeling great despite the fact that I've been absent online. Things have been busy, busy, busy especially at work. Scott and Jenn welcomed their baby girl into the world on July 2nd, so I've been helping cover for him while he's spending the next few weeks with his family. Don't worry -- I'm back and will hopefully be in full effect now.

Our company (Coupons, Inc.) was featured on the Today Show this morning and I'm quite proud of how far we've come.

Click here to see us on TV. Well, the company... and Michele's back. Haha.

(Embedding the video was not working. Sorry!)

Congratulations Steven and team! You know, when I started, I would have been able to name everyone off the top of my head. It's amazing to think that we've grown so much. Good things, good things.

By the way, I kept waiting for Meredith Viera to ask Steven, "Is that your final answer?" Didn't happen. Boo.

Quick plug: Visit Coupons.com to print a wide range of coupons from food, to beauty products, to DVDs, to Auntie Anne's Pretzels!

So I managed to snag a flu. Woo hoo, big winner.

After a long night out celebrating Darlene's birthday and watching the Mango Kingz perform at Da Hukilau in San Francisco on Saturday, I woke up on Sunday morning with a feeling beyond worse than a hangover. No, really.

I'm normally one of those "I-don't-like-to-take-medicine" kind of people. In fact, I rarely get sick yet when I do, it's always extremely bad. Walking pneumonia, sinus infection, you name it. But this time, I lucked out. So to speak, anyway. It's just a flu. A good ol' flu.

Of course it comes the week I have so much to do. Tomorrow night we're watching the Mango Kingz perform at the DNA Lounge. Friday, I have to take a stupid test at school -- I won't even go there. Blasted, San Jose State University. My Saturday is booked ALL DAY. I've got a picnic, a graduation party, and a birthday party to go to. OY.

Thank God for Nyquil. Have you guys every tried this stuff? If only it tasted better, I might've given up Jagermeister.

It's been a while since I've updated on my 101 in 1001 progress. Since my last update, I've purchased a couple more albums, went on a one-on-one date with Alyssa, threw a surprise baby shower for my co-worker, and I've scheduled another Isagenix Cleansebeginning July 7th through July 15th. I felt like the results from the last cleanse were great, so I'm really looking forward to this one. Both my brother and sister-in-law will be doing it with me this time around.

I'm hoping to document this upcoming cleanse a little better than I did last time. I know, you're probably saying "But you didn't document it AT ALL last time!" Well, now that I at least have an idea of what to expect, I think it will be much easier. I'm hoping...

Upon completion of the 9-day cleanse, I'm considering moving right into another cleanse of a sort. Heather has started the same 21-day cleanse that Oprah recently did and I'm quite intrigued. Inspired by the book Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston, the cleanse eliminates sugar, caffeine, animal products and... gulp... alcohol! Meanwhile, you can still eat -- you just have to make conscious decisions about what you put in your body.

See, my problem isn't really related to exercise. I tend to workout about 5 times a week. My problem is that I make poor decisions about what I eat. If I could go a whole 21 days making conscious decisions about the food I'm consuming, perhaps I'll make a habit out of it.

What do you think? Do I stand a chance? Ha!

One of my new blog reads wrote a great post entitled How do you measure your fitness level? Well, to answer that question, I don't.

Okay, that's not entirely true. First, it is my womanly duty to measure my fitness level on the scale of all the women who hate me (and there are a lot). Thankfully, my "fitness level" -- as well as my "intelligence level" -- is higher than all these broads.

I also use my scale to "measure"... except when the number is higher than it was the last time I was on it. At that point, something is either wrong with the scale or "I'm building muscle".

I've actually been really good since I did the Isagenix cleanse almost three months ago. I've been working out an average of 4-5 days a week with my brother. You think having a trainer is hard? Try doing push-ups next to someone yelling, "Timmy can do better push-ups than you!! And he's 12!!!" Timmy's my nephew. Good times. (Note: This is the point where all the women mentioned above who hate me start boasting about how many push-ups they can do. Well, if my arms were that big...)

So I've finally got back into the rhythm of working out regularly. My brother also helped me create a workout schedule so that I get a full body workout by the end of each week which has helped tremendously. Women, the majority of us go about exercise in the wrong way, I tell ya! I've learned so much.

There is one setback to the idea of working out 4-5 days a week.. and that is simply that there are 7 days in a week. I've been trying to figure out how to manage those 2-3 days away from the gym so that I don't spend those 4-5 days working off all the crap I put on during the 2-3 days. Did you follow that?

So YES -- I ordered this new Nintendo DS "game" called My Weight Loss Coach. It's scheduled for release at the end of the month and is pretty unique. The actual cartridge that plugs into the DS also serves as a pedometer, so the "game" is really a means of keeping track of your daily activity, both exercise-related and food-related:

We'll see how it plays out. Hopefully this purchase isn't just evidence that I'm addicted to my DS. Ha!

This post is brought to you courtesy of my cell phone, so please pardon the typos.

After a hard hour long workout, I found myself at Popeye's chicken picking up food for the kids. I swear, greasy fried chicken must have a caloric value. It must.

Man, I've been semi-offline this past week in that I haven't been following my subscriptions at all. I logged in today and had 977 updates in my Google Reader. Sheesh. So my apologies if I've been MIA and haven't hit you up. I've got many posts and entries saved!

Well, I'm happy to announce that I successfully completed my first detox since I started the 101 in 1001 challenge.

031 | + | detox four times (1/4)
    1: 9-day Isagenix Cleanse (April 11-19, 2008)

Today was the first day I got to eat as normal. My first meal after 9 days of barely eating? A croissant. YUMMY. Yes, folks. Still love my carbs.

I've been on a bit of a health and well-being kick these days. After hitting a point where I just felt my life was being clouded with one too many "negative" things, I've decided I need to take control as best I can. The detox was a good way to kick this off. My body feels and looks better. I've been energized. My regular workouts will start again tomorrow. I've been craving mainly healthy foods, too. So watch out -- it's on like Donkey Kong. Ha!

As I said, I'm focusing both on health and well-being. I came across an article that describes something called the Joy Diet. Now, it's not a diet in the sense that you might think. In fact, the only rules this "diet" has about eating are:

1. You must eat only what you really enjoy.
2. You must really enjoy everything you eat.

Now THAT, I can do. Haha. Anyway, the article discusses different ways to feast on the little things in life that bring us joy... beauty, love, etc. I thought it was a great article without getting too hippyish. Read it if you're interested.

So I've decided to focus more on my site. Now that I've sort of laid down some groundwork, it's time I build up. You can expect to see changes in the next few months... nothing drastic, but I have a goal and need to get there slowly but surely. This means that my design may change again (but only slightly)... my writing will change... y'know, I'll put my rhythm in place. I'm excited and hopefully it won't be a setback for any readers!

Okay, that's all for me today. Iron Chef is on. Ha! Later.

This guy.

So, I got an email from a certain guy who, in an effort to protect the stupid, will remain nameless. Apparently, he was confident that the "you" in my Six Word Story was him. Sorry, dear. You couldn't be further from the truth. Seriously. You're light-years away from the truth. Man. Way off.

Don't get me wrong -- the "you" was a guy. He was the first and only guy I swore I loved right off the bat. Sigh. He was the first guy to take me on an official "date". He came to my house, met my parents, took me to dinner, and then to a make-out spot. True story! Anyway. The sight of him, the mention of his name, the sound of his voice (which is actually very annoying) gave me butterflies!! Before then and well, since then, I'd been a very guarded person. (And when I say "guarded", I don't mean it lightly. It took me almost 4 years to tell my last boyfriend that I loved him. Then we broke up. Ha!) So yeah, among other things, I always called him my Kryptonite. He had the capability of breaking me and frankly, he did break me.

So yeah, "Romeo"... not you. Sorry.

I'm getting ready for my detox. I had to push it back a week and a half because of a few prior commitments I'd forgot about. Friday, April 11th is the new date and I'm very excited! Every time I cleanse or detox, I also try to follow it with a change in diet and general health. I came across two articles this week related to health and well-being and I thought they were worth sharing!

This article suggests 10 ways to boost your energy. Some of them would work better for me than others, but we're all different, no? I'm highlighting the ones I am going to try and make habit. Feel free to read it in its entirety here.

1. See the light
Go outside as often as you can during the day (especially right before you need to be extra-alert), says Scott Campbell, Ph.D., director of the Human Chronobiology Laboratory at New York--Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Westchester, New York.

2. Get pumped with protein
Eat plant- and animal-based protein throughout the day -- an egg or high-protein cereal for breakfast, 10 almonds midmorning, a cup of low-sugar yogurt in the afternoon -- and your stamina should stabilize.

3. Lend a hand
"When you make someone happy, you feel filled up again," Orloff says. You can find volunteer opportunities that suit you at www.idealist.org.

4. Breathe hard -- more often

5. Bag a new brew
Boost your energy with white tea, which has a delicate flavor that requires little sweetening. "Of all the teas, white tea goes through the least processing," says Iman Hakim, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona in Tucson and a leading researcher on the benefits of tea.

6. Tackle the blahs in bursts

7. Get hands-on help

8. Take a tech-free break
Give yourself at least an hour a day when you completely unplug from electronic devices. That chance to check in and connect with yourself will re-energize you, she says.

9. Meditate for a minute
Find a quiet place (even if it's the bathroom) and mentally focus on an image that brings you pleasure: the ocean, a flower, the sun, your cat; continue to keep the image in your mind's eye as you breathe deeply (roughly 10 seconds for each inhale and exhale). With a little practice, Orloff says, you'll become more skilled at maintaining focus and can add more short meditations to your day, whenever you need revitalizing.

10. Clean up your sleep
The buzzword in sleep science these days is "sleep hygiene," and it's about more than clean sheets -- it helps you create an atmosphere that's restful, so you'll sleep well and wake up energized without the need for sleeping pills, Campbell says.

Copyright 2007 HEALTH Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The second article offers some interesting ideas to cut fat from your everyday cooking. Please keep in mind that I haven't tried any of these suggestions yet!! Again, I'll offer the ones I find most appealing, but for the full list, click here.

1. Substitute the vegetable oil in any baking recipe with mashed bananas (or similar fruits) and it will add moisture while cutting the fat and calories.
"If people have never done any kind of substitutions like oil and applesauce, I tell them to do it half and half. Do half the amount of oil and half the amount of applesauce."

2. When using nuts, use half the amount.
"I take the amount of nuts that are called for in a recipe, cut it in half and I toast those nuts," Doyle explained. "Toasting brings out a lot of flavor and a lot of crunch."

3. Substitute evaporated milk for cream in sauces and soups.

4. Choose meat cuts with the words "loin" or "round" on the package.

5. Cook chicken or turkey with the skin on to keep it moist, but always pull the skin off before eating to reduce the fat.

I'm really curious about the mashed bananas. I must say, thanks to this article, I think brownies may just be one of the first things I cook after my detox. Ha!

Okay, I think this is it for today. I need to practice! I'm singing Journey's "Faithfully" at Jarred's mom and step-dad's 30th wedding anniversary on Friday. I'm sooooo nervous! I haven't done this since just after high school!!

Note to self: Take 2 shots of Jager just before you hit the stage.

I'm working on a project for the J-O-B and I can't seem to dig up the motivation from "inside". I swear, I'm trying so hard that I'm ready to vomit. So I decided I needed a break and here I am. My new motto in life... When life gives you lemons, blog.

I really had a lot more to say in my last blog, but I didn't have much time. First off, some updates on my 101 in 1001 progress!

Carol and I went to an orientation for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. We've decided to register for the San Francisco walk scheduled for July 12th and 13th.

It is a two day walk, targeting a total of 39 miles -- about 26 miles the first day and 13 miles the second. Our decision to participate was completely "selfless" for lack of a better word. Neither of us have knowingly been affected by breast cancer (not directly at least), but we know the statistics. We know the next person could be one of us. It could be someone in our family. It could be one of our friends. And it could be one of you and/or one of your loved ones.

We're looking to raise a minimum of $1800 each as contributions to this cause. The majority of this money will be funded to the breast cancer clinic at San Francisco's General Hospital. There are many other participating cities, so if you're interested, check out the website for information on how you can get involved and help out your local Avon-sponsored breast cancer clinic.

Some facts that I found interesting about breast cancer:

• Every 3 minutes, there is a new diagnosis of invasive breast cancer


• Every 13 minutes, a life is lost to breast cancer


• Approximately 178,480 women and 2,030 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year

Kind of crazy that someone dies every 13 minutes from breast cancer. I never knew how much of a problem it was... that's more than 100 people a day. So sad.

Next Monday, I'll be starting a 9-day Isagenix cleanse. Ever since my first detox using The Master Cleanser, I've been very conscious about the crap in my body. And I mean that in the most literal sense you can imagine.

Lastly, I finally updated my resume for the first time since I'd taken on this last position more than two years ago.

026 | + | participate in a charity walk/run
    1: Scheduled for July 12-13, 2008
031 | + | detox four times (0/4)
    1: Scheduled for March 31, 2008
099 | X | update resume

Easter is here -- finally another excuse for my crazy family to get together. I can't wait. Our family's gotten so big that we decided not to try and go out in public. Ha! After church, we'll just be hanging out at my brother's house driving each other crazy and causing trouble in the privacy of our own home. Good times -- and good food -- guaranteed. Yay!

I guess that's it. I was going to blog a little about the book and how it currently applies in my life, but we can save that one for another day. This blog is way longer than I'd planned for.

Happy Easter all! Be blessed.

A few weeks ago, Carol and I came to the conclusion that we weren't really getting our money's worth at the gym without trying out some of the classes they have to offer. Since we focus mainly on cardio and weight-training, we decided not to get all 'gung-ho' about it and sort of work our way up the ladder. Yoga is definitely not our cup of tea -- we have issues with being quiet -- so that wasn't an option. We opted for a Latin dance class and figured we'd be pretty safe.

We took the class for the first time about a month ago. LORD. Neither of us could barely walk for an entire week. In fact, I actually fell completely on the floor trying to get out of my bed a few mornings that week. (Keep in mind, my bed is about 5 feet above the ground so it requires a slight 'jump' to get my feet on the floor -- yes, I'm short!) As soon as my feet would hit the ground, both legs would just give in and I would eat it hard-core. Kodak moment, for sure.

In the interest of inflicting pain upon ourselves, we continue to take the class. Thankfully, the pain lessens each time although it is definitely in our blood to make the salsa, merengue, samba, and even afro-brazilian dances look like the cha-cha. I've come to the conclusion that it's our arms -- they don't move the right way and it throws off the whole thing.

I really really really really really REALLY can't stand when people lack a sense of their peripheral environment. Everyone should have a sense of every person or object within a 3 foot radius. I mean, it is already a pet peeve of mine to have people at clubs or bars bumping into me. Yohana can attest to that -- there have been times when someone will bump into me and I'll demand to go home. Still, they have the excuse of being intoxicated. In these Latin dance classes, I can't quite grasp how, in a room with wall-to-wall mirrors, people can still salsa right into me... multiple times!

Anyway, on to bigger and better things. I meant to blog yesterday, but I got caught up reading random blogs. I caught on to this idea of '101 Things in 1001 Days'. Basically, you make a list of 101 random things that you hope to accomplish within the next 1001 days. I ended up completing my list and, just because I always like to start projects on easy-to-remember dates, I will officially post my list and kick off this journey on March 1st. I'm excited!