THIRTY MILES!

Sometimes I set out for a walk and I leave with the goal of walking 5 miles minimum. Sometimes I set out for a walk and leave with the goal of walking a bit more. I think that yesterday was one of those days. The weather was spectacular, and kept chugging along until I had walked 30 miles. I was convinced that this week, a week where I was well aware that I hadn't eaten too well, that I would  show weight gain when I stepped on my scale. I think I might have erased a pound or two yesterday. My Saturday weight was 239.2 lbs. I lost a half pound from last week. Considering how poorly I ate this week, I am actually happy about this.

My 30 mile hike only registered as 28.8 miles on my app, as I had to 'save' the workout as my iPhone battery was about to  die. Just so there is no dispute about my claim that I walked 30 miles yesterday, I took an additional 2 mile trip to the grocery store with my daughter late last night. Now that it is Saturday morning, me thinks me legs are a bit sore.  

My hike included a visit to Northerly Island

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, December 1, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Grits	400	88	6	8	1,240	4
Vita Coco - Pure Coconut Water	100	25	0	0	167	25
	500	113	6	8	1,407	29
L U N C H
Philadelphia Roll - Sushi	300	60	14	14	120	0
	300	60	14	14	120	0
D I N N E R
Taco Bell - Soft Taco, 4	760	68	36	36	2,000	4
	760	68	36	36	2,000	4
S N A C K S
Roasted Seaweed Snacks	320	60	6	0	760	4
	320	60	6	0	760	4
Totals	1,880	301	62	58	4,287	37
Your Daily Goal	6,629	828	221	332	2,300	248
Remaining	4,749	527	159	274	-1,987	211
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 4,699 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 180 lbs in 5 weeks.

Yesterday, I earned my second 'genie shoe' badge from fitbit. I had earned my first one on October 11, 2015.  On that day, I had mirrored the path of the Chicago Marathon coupled with some additional walking on that same day.

30,000 VISITS

As I have written before, I have recently developed new hobbies. Last year, my new hobby was losing weight. This year, that hobby has been altered somewhat, now I am simply trying to maintain that weight loss and perhaps eventually lose a bit more. Another two new hobbies that began last year was the inauguration of this blog and my daily exercise. The daily exercise has absolutely positively become part of my daily routine. Before I started exercising, I was actually very worried that I would start and fail to keep up with it. That simply has not been a problem - I enjoy too much the self-satisfaction of completing some kind of workout each day - whether it is brisk walking, treadmilling, or time spent ellipticalling. It makes no difference, the good feeling that I feel upon completion of a workout is too good of a feeling to give up. It does take effort to make time for exercise each day. Sometimes in order to get this accomplished I have to be at it as 5:00AM, other times, I have had to get to it prior to midnight. It takes way more effort to skip a day than it does to workout on any day. In fact, skipping a day, has continued to be an ongoing problem as I try so hard to avoid that.  The last hobby that began last year was this blog.

The blog has been my own personal diary. For example, it is great fun for me to read some of the things that I was writing as my weight dipped below 300 lbs for the first time. There have been many blog entries that have been fun for me to revisit. It has been great fun seeing from what countries the readers of this blog live. It is truly amazing that somehow, there have been visitors to this page from all over the world.  I did not know when I started if there would be anyone beside myself and my immediate family that might be interested in my daily musings. It turns out, there have been.  Today, February 4, 2016 will be the day that this blog will have its 30,000th visitor.  As a comparison, the popular drudgereport.com website had about 8.5 BILLION visitors last year.  So, evidently, I still have room to grow. Anyway, the true purpose of this blog has never been about other people reading it...It has always been my own personal diary which I have tried to make mildly amusing in case anyone else wanted to read it.

My intention is to keep going with it... I am afraid to stop, just posting (most) of the things that I eat on a daily basis is a helpful thing to remind me to ratchet down my caloric intake. I suppose that I could continue to record my calories without actually posting them - but as I have written, I enjoy it. I thought today I would post some of the stats from my blog as I approach my 30000th visitor.

February 4, 2016 is the day that this blog will record its 30000th visitor

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THESE ARE THE TOP-TEN MOST VISITED POSTS

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My most favorite post aside from my DAY 365 | BEFORE/AFTER PHOTOS posted on December 23, 2015 was LOST WEIGHT? WHERE DID IT GO (posted on July 5, 2015). I am also partial to the number 1 most popular post, RABBI HILLEL DIET as my daughter supplied the artwork for this post. In essence, it was a commissioned work of art.  I have no recall that I actually paid her for it, but nevertheless, it was commissioned.

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This chart shows where the visits have come from since the inception of the blog.  I wish that there was some way to make a list of countries that was more than just the top ten - as I have noticed visits from many countries, including some that I have barely even heard of before.

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I find it a bit interesting to see the various operating systems around the world that people are using to view the blog.  Looking at this list, it does appear that the iPod touch might soon be going extinct!

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
steel cut oatmeal - steel cut oat meal, 1/2 cup	300	54	5	10	0	2
Apple - Macintosh, 154 gram (medium Apple)	80	22	0	0	0	17
WHOLE FOODS - DRIED MANGO SLICES	110	28	0	2	1	20
Cheerios - Honey Nut Cheerios Medley	240	48	3	6	240	18
	730	152	8	18	241	57
L U N C H
MARIANO'S SPINACH SALAD	375	0	0	0	0	0
Cashews - Dry Roasted & Unsalted	320	18	26	8	0	2
	695	18	26	8	0	2
D I N N E R
Roasted Beet & Quinoa Salad, 100 g	200	13	15	3	60	3
Southwest Roasted Corn, 0.67 c	160	17	9	3	260	3
Teriyaki Salmon Steaks, 6 oz	270	3	8	47	365	5
WHOLE FOODS YOGURT ALMONDS (24 pcs)	440	44	28	8	40	38
	1,070	77	60	61	725	49
S N A C K S
Kind - Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate, 1 bar	200	16	15	5	120	5
WHOLE FOODS - YOGURT PRETZELS  (approx 16 pcs	380	56	0	4	360	38
	580	72	15	9	480	43
Totals	3,075	319	109	96	1,446	151
Your Daily Goal	4,978	622	166	249	2,300	186
Remaining	1,903	303	57	153	854	35
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,048 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,418
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	630
Daily Total / Goal	126 / 30	3,048 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	378 / 210	7,980 / 4,130

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. . . . . . . . . . . .

total calories consumed 3075 calories

total calories burned (125 min elliptical) 2418 calories

total net 657 calories

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fitbit day 151

26790 steps
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PERSONAL 30 YEAR DROUGHT WILL OFFICIALLY END TOMORROW

Tomorrow, for my customary Saturday weigh-in, I will be comfortably under 220 pounds.  The last time that my weight was in the 'two hundred teens' was during the Reagan Administration.  I can recall that the last time that I dipped below 220 lbs, I continued all the way to 199 lbs and that was way back around 1985.  I remained at 199 lbs for 'about five minutes.'  It has been thirty years since my weight was south of 220 lbs.  I am going to be very happy to this streak end.

Three times in my life I have lost some significant weight.  I don't think of myself as a YO-YO dieter as my three weight loss trips have been separated by such extreme long periods of time.  Perhaps, I can be labeled as a Yo-Yo dieter based on the fact that this is the third time in my life I have lost lots of weight.  Nevertheless, I am hoping to make this my final trip from fat to thin. 

In 1985, about a decade after graduating form high school, I had ballooned up to 250 pounds, and sometime during that year I dropped 51 pounds and reached 199 pounds although it was a brief visit.  I remember that I remained at 199 lbs for just a few days.

In the Spring of 2007 before my 13 year old daughter started Kindergarten I had ballooned all the way up to 300 pounds.  For only the second time in my life, I made some changes and watched my weight decline all the way to 220 lbs before whatever willpower allowed me to get there - simply vanished.  I was 220 pounds for a few weeks before the long march back to 300 pounds and beyond.

Currently, I am in the middle of my third (and hopefully final) giant weight loss journey.  This journey began on December 24, 2014 when I visited my doctor for 'wellness exam' and 'discovered' that my weight had exploded all the way to 309 lbs.  Since, that date, and through last Saturday, I have shed 89 lbs. I expect that tomorrow, when I step onto my scale I will be where I have not been for thirty years.

It is my belief that the last time that I was under 199 pounds might be sometime when I was a Freshman in college in 1976.   My goal has been to comfortably duck under 200 lbs and if/when I am successful getting there - it will be the first time that I am comfortably under 200 lbs in 40 years. That is really a streak that I am looking forward to ending!

Since I easily remembered losing 80 pounds in 2007 that I felt sure that I could do it again once my willpower ended its near decade-long hibernation.  This time things will be different.  I started this journey with a rudimentary plan to lose the weight and then maintain the weight loss.

Today is Friday morning, time for one more day on the self-named, Rabbi Hillel Diet/Lifestyle before my weekly weigh-in tomorrow.  Each week, I look forward to the Saturday weigh-in with great anticipation - and tomorrow - will be especially meaningful to me.  See you tomorrow!

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THURSDAY MENU
breakfast oatmeal w/prune, two poached eggs, two slices turkey 'bacon'                          355 calories
lunch       spinach salad, with chicken and cherry tomatoes
                JIMMY JOHN'S TURKEY TOM UNWICH, one deli pickle                           315 calories
dinner     salmon burger, spinach salad w/9 cherry tomato, cup Tortilla Soup                   308 calories

total calorie consumed  978 CALORIES

calories burned
7AM elliptical 32 minutes 451 calories

THURSDAY NET CALORIES 527 CALORIES