JANUARY

JANUARY
SUCCESS
one complete month eating well
no chocolate chip cookies, no Oreos, no Hot Chocolate, no chocolate cake, no Hi Ho's, No M&M's (plain or peanut) No Potato Chips, no Bugles, no Hamburger, no Pizza, no Soft Pretzel, no gas-station hot dogs, no free cookies at the hotel, no flavored oatmeal, no Culver's, no Chick-Fil-A, no bacon, egg, cheese bagels at McDonald's, no White Castle, no Tacos at Taco Bell, no Whoppers, no cheeseburgers, no Klondike Bars, no milk shakes, no Brownies, no Hershey chocolate bar, no donuts, no doughnuts either.... In fact, no snacks since this decade began!

I will weigh myself Sunday to see just how much progress I have made.
January was a success!

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EGGS

It is not uncommon that people buy eggs at the store, keep them refrigerated and consume them before a couple of weeks have passed. Yesterday, I learned something that really surprised me. I learned that farm fresh eggs, that is, a recently laid egg, an egg one has 'plucked' from directly under the chicken who laid it can be safely stored without refrigeration for up to nine months. This seemed preposterous to me. 

I visited a customer in Kankakee, Illinois, way out in the country who maintains both a quilt shop, a pumpkin farm and chickens. During my visit we discussed, fabrics, politics and her eggs (more precisely her chickens' eggs)  She explained to me that chicken eggs will spoil if air gets through the porous shell. A freshly laid egg already has a natural protection that prevents this. Most farmers will wash eggs once they are collected and this removes this natural protection. An egg that has been covered in mineral oil will once again protect the porous shell from allowing air inside and will keep UNrefrigerated fresh and ready to eat for up to nine months. I learned that the eggs my customer collects each day will not be uniform in size or even color, as each chicken is from a so-called heritage line of real chickens not bred and cross bred as 'factory' chickens are. I was sent home with a few fabric orders and with a dozen eggs. My wife made me a delicious omelette today with three of these eggs, and although I will admit I could not taste the difference, I am told that these are truly more protein enriched than the eggs one would purchase at the local Kroger's.

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon	300	0	23	23	1,313	0
Protein Plus Protein Bar - MET-Rx	310	29	10	32	95	1
Creamy Wheat - Enriched Farina	700	146	0	23	496	6
	1,310	175	33	78	1,904	7
L U N C H
Subway - Sun Chips- Harvest Cheddar	210	27	9	4	320	3
Subway - Turkey Sub Sandwich	560	92	7	36	1,620	14
	770	119	16	40	1,940	17
D I N N E R
Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich	900	77	45	42	1,166	3
DARK COCOA MELTING WAFERS	400	44	24	5	82	38
	1,300	121	69	47	1,248	41
S N A C K S
Chewy Chocolated Chip Granola	400	63	14	3	129	37
	400	63	14	3	129	37
Totals	3,780	478	132	168	5,221	102
Your Daily Goal	2,961	370	98	149	2,300	111
Remaining	-819	-108	-34	-19	-2,921	9
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,031 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Elliptical Trainer	99	1,031
Daily Total / Goal	99 / 30	1,031 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	349 / 210	3,307 / 4,130

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FIRST DAY OF SPRING ONE MONTH EARLY

The actual first day of spring will be March 20. Yesterday in Chicago we were treated to 'coming attractions.'  Apparently those 36 mph winds of Friday blew away the last vestiges of the last polar vortex and brought Chicago some warmer weather from the south. The cloudless sky was deep blue, the temperatures were approaching 60 degrees and it seemed that everyone in the city was out and about. I was out for three hours enjoying what became a 15 mile walk throughout the city. The sidewalks were quite crowded with people enjoying the day. The unseasonably mild spring day was apparently only a one day phenomenon as today, Sunday, the temperatures are dipping into the high 30's. It has been a long time since I took one of my 10+ mile jaunts through the city - it felt great to be outdoors again. I had become quite used to my elliptical machine workouts. And although a 2 hour elliptical machine workout offers a great opportunity to catch up on netflix videos - nothing beats being out and about in a beautiful city.

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 This photo was taken in front of my favorite retail store in Chicago and shows off my recent haircut.

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Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, February 20, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 5 packet (28 g)	500	110	0	10	1,550	0
Roundy's - Honey Nut Tasteeos, 2 1/4 cup	330	66	5	6	420	27
	830	176	5	16	1,970	27
L U N C H
Whole Foods - Banana Chips, 0.25 cup	150	17	10	1	0	10
WHOLE FOODS. 8497 - CHERRY VANILLA GRANOLA, 110 g (3/4 cup)	480	80	14	10	120	30
	630	97	24	11	120	40
D I N N E R
EARTHBOUND FARM - ORGANIC BABY SPINACH, 85 g (approx 3 oz, two cups)	20	0	0	2	65	0
365 - Hearts of Palm: Salad Cut, 1 cup	50	10	0	4	580	0
Louis Kemp - Crab Delights Leg Style, 3 legs (85g)	70	11	0	6	430	1
Eggs - Hard Boiled - Large, 1 egg	78	1	5	6	62	1
	218	22	5	18	1,137	2
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS 7700 - ORGANIC DATE PIECES w/OAT FLOWER, 60 g (2 TBSP)	180	45	0	2	15	33
	180	45	0	2	15	33
Totals	1,858	340	34	47	3,242	102
Your Daily Goal	5,051	631	168	253	2,300	189
Remaining	3,193	291	134	206	-942	87
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,121 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 5.0 mph	183	3,238
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-117
Daily Total / Goal	184 / 30	3,121 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	839 / 210	13,445 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 1858 calories

total calories burned (fifteen mile walk) 3238 calories

total net 1380 calorie defecit

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fitbit day 171

26061 steps  

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This is the 'panoramic' view taken with my phone of the Chicago skyline. Taken from the Adler Planetarium waterfront

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