This morning, I have what I hope will be my last visit with my gastroenterologist for a long time. The search for the cause of the iron deficiency in my blood has been fruitless so far. I am grateful that nothing has been found - I now believe myself to be in excellent health. Why shouldn't I think this....in the past few months I have been examined through seemingly every orifice in my body, I have swallowed a camera that took pictures of my digestive system, I have had my blood tested and re-tested, even my stool has been tested and I have had full body cat scan. (It is the results of the cat scan and stool sample test which will be discussed at my appointment later today) Since I have NOT received a phone call from my doctor to report for an emergency consultation - I am fairly confident that even this last test will have found nothing significant.
After a two hour workout at the YMCA on Wednesday, I rushed out and drove to the pool where my daughter has been involved in water polo this summer in order to pick her and my wife up to take them home. By the time I got out of the car, I could not put any weight on my right foot and I was walking with an extreme limp. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain was coming from and the pain disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. Yesterday morning, there was still some lingering pain (or discomfort) in my right foot. It did not prevent me from my 92 minute session on my home elliptical machine. As the day wore on, the pain disappeared completely.
This is a reminder to myself that I need to be extra careful during the last month prior to my Half Dome Hike. Half Dome is 2000 miles from my home in Chicago and the reservation (permission) to climb the mountain was secured nearly 6 months ago. This may not be a one-in-a-lifetime event - but it is certainly rare enough that I would be crushed if I missed the chance due to some freak accident or injury. Perhaps yesterdays pain was some kind of muscle strain in my foot from removing my sneakers too quickly - or twisting my feet the wrong way when I was putting on my street shoes. The lesson today: don't get hurt too close to October 1. It would be a devastating setback.
I need to avoid injury before October 1
Thursday MENU
breakfast oatmeal, poached eggs, center cut bacon, corn thins, ginger 866 calories
lunch pink lady apples, sesame snaps, cherry cashew bar 644 calories
dinner spinach salad, hearts of palm, beets, clam chowder, cracovia 723 calories
SNACKS ginger, granola, wasabi peas 830 calories
lunch pink lady apples, sesame snaps, cherry cashew bar 644 calories
dinner spinach salad, hearts of palm, beets, clam chowder, cracovia 723 calories
SNACKS ginger, granola, wasabi peas 830 calories
total calories consumed 3064 calories
calories burned
home elliptical machine 92 minutes, level 20 2193 calories
Wednesday net calories 871 calories
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Wednesday net calories 871 calories
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| Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California |
My Garmin GPS tell me that Half Dome in Yosemite Park is 2013 miles from my home in Chicago. I know better. As October 1 approaches - Half Dome is getting closer and closer each day!
2 comments:
Hi Marc,
I'm very impressed with what you have accomplished. I too am on a weight loss and healthy living journey. In 3 months I've lost 45 lbs and have gained some muscle. One thing I would like to know is how you are calculating your calories burned on the elliptical. I understand you are doing over 1 and 1/2 hours of cardio at a high level of intensity (lvl 20), but I have a hard time believing that 2000+ calories per session is accurate. You may want to look into that, by using a heart rate monitor and app (runtastic, mapmyrun, etc.). These are not exact either, but based on your height, weight, and BP, they give a decent measurement. The only reason I'm even writing this to you is to help you. I think you are burning less calories than you are - i.e., you could be losing even more weight. Your calorie intake should probably be no more than around 2000 calories. Just some thoughts. I'd love to hear back from you. Take care and continued success!
Hello Spiro,
You should know that I know that the calories burned that I report each day is surely inflated. One of my earlier blog posts discussed this. What I do know is that a 90 minute workout at the highest level offered by this particular machine is surely burning some high number. Just as I know that I am overstating the calories burned, I hope that I am sometimes overstating the calories consumed. I have no idea how many calories are in the supermarket salads that I often eat. (I don't use any dressing - but I do add chicken, ham, turkey and other delicious 'toppings' so I usually just guess a high number hopeful that I am overstating it) Different machines give vastly different results. I know this from my travels to different YMCA's around the country. Your accomplishment is sensational and I salute you for it. My struggle lately has been trying to cut back on my calories. The workout side of the equation is excellent. Again, I know that the numbers are inflated - but they are surely fairly high - just not quite as high as the machine reports. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I wish you continued success with your own weight loss. Marc
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