I have been submitting job applications daily for jobs that I am qualified for that arrive in my inbox.  As much as I want Determination to happen, it's at a point where I can build it out on my free time.  The effort required to initially build out this program is behind me now.  The program is created.  Now I just need to find the financial backing to truly get me started.

It was just after noon when I saw that I had a voicemail.  I checked the message, and sure enough, it was the woman I talked to on Monday with Northwestern Mutual.  I called her back and we eventually got each other on the phone.

They have an office 20 minutes south of where I live.  I always seem to do well with talking to women and telling them about Determination and where I see it going, but when I talked to them at the job fair on Monday, I knew I gave a solid pitch.  I just didn't realize how excited they seem to be about it until Shawn and I talked on the phone today.

She wanted to set up a meeting to see if we can find a mutually beneficial situation.  I'm not sure exactly what the meeting is going to be about or entail.  All I know is that I told them that I am not qualified for the positions they were hiring for at the career fair.  They may have a job for me or it may be entirely about Determination, but whatever it is it must be important because I am meeting with Shawn and a General Manager on Wednesday morning.

This could be the initial break I need.  Worst case scenario, this meeting sounds like it could very well lead to me getting a job again.  It's just exciting to know that people who have never met me before are interested and are taking the program and advocacy I am trying to create seriously.  I've always known that I will be able to make a difference.  Because I went to that job fair and wasn't afraid to express my passion for what I created, I'm now realizing other people are taking it seriously too.  And that is exactly how Determination is going to be transformed into a very real reality.

To think, all it may need is one phone call.

The Washington Post had a job fair today.  I looked online at the positions the companies were hiring for and most of them were outside of my area of expertise.  Still, even though there weren't many jobs that I could apply for, I decided to go and make the job fair a worthwhile experience for me.

Determination is still developing, but this speaking and advocacy program is definitely what I want to do with my life.  I've seen the positive reactions people have just from hearing me speak.  They have told me directly that I've got something that other people don't seem to have.  If strangers have that much confidence in me, I owe it to myself to sell this program for all that I believe it's worth...and I would stake my life on this program.

That's all the confidence I needed going into this job fair and I pitched it to every table that was there.  The National Guard is going to call me next week; the colonel gave me her word.  This small group of stockbrokers blew me off, but the way you know how passionate you are about something is how you handle things when people don't care and show you that to your face.  I thanked them for their time and simply moved on to the next table.

I spoke to a local college who had a booth set up and to a credit union group, a mutual fund and even a few others.  Overall, the only group who blew me off were those young male stockbrokers...poor guys.

It was a solid day.  I found a couple jobs at The Post that I have applied for and I was able to successfully pitch Determination to 6 or 7 different groups in both the government and public sectors.  Not a bad day for promoting my dream.

The best things, the things you care about the most, take the longest to develop.  You do everything you can to nurture the product and make it the best it is capable of being.  Determination is coming around.  I feel like big things are going to start happening.  All this prep work is going to pay off.

First of all, let me say that Kelli Hawthorne looks fantastic!  I'm not sure how many people expected to see the star of the event at the event, but she was there and all smiles :)

I'm not going to go into details about what happened to her (her family has had to deal with it enough and I want my website to remain positive and optimistic!) but Kelli suffered a very tragic accident that left her and her family with soaring medical bills that we are trying to help pay off!

I had a great run.  I think I finished top 10, but man 3.1 miles sure kicked my ass.  That's enough about me though...back to Kelli and the Hawthorne family.

Here is all the more I am going to say about what happened to Kelli (and if any of the Hawthornes see this and want me to edit this post please let me know!).  She goes to physical therapy regularly and is coping with the realization that things aren't going to be the same anymore.

It's a theme I talk about regularly: the pain of remembering BEFORE; how things used to be before, how easy you could perform and execute tasks before and just a lifestyle you have grown accustomed to for your entire life up until now.

Here is what I ask of everyone.  First off, to any of my survivor friends (surgery, brain aneurysm, brain surgery, whatever) lets embrace Kelli in our community.  Let's help her through this barrier and show her that her life isn't over.  Let's show her that as long as she can move a step further today than she did yesterday then she is improving and getting stronger.  As long as you can at least match what you did yesterday, you are making gains and strides towards additional progression and independence.

Additionally, what I am asking is that anyone who is willing to donate any money, whether it be 50 cents or $50, please send me a message on Facebook or email me at greg@gregwagnerdetermination.com.  I will give you more details about Kelli's situation and we can figure out the easiest and best way for you to donate to this worthy cause.

I went to college with Kelli.  She has always been a sweet girl, and through it all she was nothing but smiles all day yesterday.  I'm giving as much as I can with my limited income I'm on at the moment, but if we can help her family in any way I know they will be absolutely grateful.

I'm looking forward to talking to all of you about how we can help and embracing Kelli in our family of survivors.  As for now, I am going to go and heat my right glute...I only ran 3 miles and I'm limping like I ran at least a half marathon, stiff ass and everything...so embarassing, but I'll get a physical therapist to heal me soon enough.  I know what I need to do to get myself back where I need to be; I just want to help Kelli the same way, so please let me know if you will help in any way.

Best and Healthfully,
Greg

This detox diet is not fun.  After a few days my body starts fighting me because I'm depriving it of certain nutrients it is used to having and my brain is telling me it needs those nutrients.  As active as I am I burn carbs and fat easily, but the amount I get while eating only fruits and vegetables comes in a very different quantity than I am used to with eating sandwiches, steak and, yes, cookies (I know, I'm so horrible!)

Here is the better way to go about weight loss, or even maintaining where you are at.  It is called the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  Let me show you how to calulate this using my weight as an example.  When I weigh myself tomorrow I should weigh about 210.  (I lost about 10 pounds on this detox diet, but I was very active and got a couple headaches along the way, so I don't recommend it if you are going to be as active as me.)  Anyways, BMR...

BMR = your current weight x 24 (for hours in a day) / 2.2
My BMR = 210 x 24 / 2.2 = 2291 calories
Now, if I were female I multiply my 2291 by .9.  This makes my BMR = 2062

What this means is that I, as a 210 pound male, can eat 2291 calories AT REST and maintain my weight.  The more active I am, the more calories I burn.

Running for an hour burns between 900 and 1000 calories.  So that means if you run for a half hour you will burn 450 to 500 calories, so on and so forth.  If I run an hour, I can eat 3300 calories and maintain my weight.  However, if I eat my original 2291 calories I will lose approximately 2 pounds each week.

One pound = 3500 calories

If YOU eat 300-500 calories under your BMR you will lose a pound a week.  If you eat 300-500 calories under your BMR WITH daily exercise, you can lose 3 and even maybe 4 pounds a week.

Steady weight loss is the easiest to maintain because you aren't shocking your body.  Everything happens gradually so once you switch your diet from losing weight to maintaining your weight, you don't have to fear regaining what you lost.  Why not?

All you have to do is simply recalculate your BMR and eat appropriately!  And the more you exercise, the more you then get to eat =)

Happy workouts!  Let me know how they go and keep me posted.

I think I may start up running again for fun. Instead of pressuring myself to run a certain time or stressing over how many miles my body feels able to run, I am just going to coast and use running as a way to clear my mind versus constantly wracking my mind with splits and strides and muscle cramps.

Marathon training was definitely hard on my body and I’m using this week prior to running again as a way to cleanse my body. That way my body is healthy as I start running in a healthier way.

They say that it is beneficial to have two detox weeks every year. They are hard to stick to since the only food you are allowed to eat for the week are fruits and vegetables, but once you get through the first 24 hours you are pretty much home free. My parents are supporting me with this crazy diet, and support definitely helps. It makes things a lot easier.

I’m just eating a little bit at a time across the day, and even though I do get hungry sometimes, the hunger subsides with only eating a few grapes. It’s the third day of my diet and two things have really stuck out at me thus far.

First off, I feel better. They do say that you are what you eat and, after the hunger subsides, I feel fantastic, and it is probably in large part due to the fact that everything I am eating is natural. The other thing that has happened is that I didn’t intend not to drink anything other than water, but so far water is the only liquid I have consumed. It kinda happened on accident, but after going two days without drinking anything besides water, I don’t miss the beverages that I used to so readily consume.

Don’t be fooled though. I will be extremely happy once this diet ends on Monday, but it’s good to know that going one week eating nothing but natural food isn’t too hard to stick to…at least it hasn’t been for these three days. I’ll let you know how I feel once the weekend has arrived, haha!