AND LOVING IT!

Thursday was an extremely productive day. My first appointment was at 8:00AM Eastern Time in Bremen, Indiana.  By the time that I that I finished my third appointment, it was still only early afternoon. As I had crossed back into the extreme northwestern part of the Indiana where the time changes and I was back in Central Time. I had 'gained' an hour. I had time to visit Indiana Dunes (for the first time in a long time) and log a ten mile hike.  Before I got to the Indiana Dunes Visitors Center, I stopped at Jimmy Johns for an 'Unwich' (low-calorie lettuce wrap)  It has been ages since I have had one of these. I am being reminded how good food tastes when one is legitimately hungry. All the things that I learned during my initial journey from 309 lbs all the way down to 220 lbs, I didn't forget... I had simply ignored them. I am feeling so good lately, that I can scarcely believe it. I am once again making a serious effort to exercise, controlling my portions and to making good culinary choices - and loving it!

"...and loving it" was a catchphrase of Agent 86, Maxwell Smart from the 1960's TV Show, Get Smart

Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, September 7, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker Oats instant grits - Instant Grits	200	44	3	4	620	0
	200	44	3	4	620	0
L U N C H
Jimmy John's - Bootlegger Unwich	320	3	22	28	1,120	0
	320	3	22	28	1,120	0
D I N N E R
Asian Chopped Salad	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
Two Cups of Chili	400	14	28	22	1,060	4
Jacobs - Cream Cracker (2 crackers)	70	11	2	2	80	0
	855	71	51	31	2,330	29
S N A C K S
Red Delicious Apple, 2 medium apple	190	50	1	1	4	38
	190	50	1	1	4	38
Totals	1,565	168	77	64	4,074	67
Your Daily Goal	3,270	409	109	164	2,300	122
Remaining	1,705	241	32	100	-1,774	55
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,340 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 226.6 lbs in 5 weeks.

Two days in a row, my steps exceeded 30,000

I have really enjoyed photos of myself with my brand new walking stick.

MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH

Get Smart was a 1960's television comedy that satirized the secret agent movies that were so popular at the time.  The show was created by comedy legends Mel Brooks and Buck Henry and starred Don Adams at secret agent Maxwell Smart, Agent 86.  The show popularized many catchphrases including: "Would you believe...", , "Sorry about that, Chief", "The Old (such-and-such) Trick", "And ... loving it", "I asked you not to tell me that", "Missed it by that much!"

It was the phrase "Missed it by that much!" that I was thinking about yesterday.  I took my bike to the YMCA for my two-hour elliptical workout. Each time I step onto the elliptical machine at my hometown YMCA I set my 'goal' for the session to log 10 miles.  Yesterday afternoon, I felt that I was not running 'on a full tank' when my session started and apparently I was right.   I failed to achieve my 10 miles, in fact, the machine recorded that I logged 9.99 miles.  I was furiously pedaling away for the last ten minutes in order to reach my goal.  Nevertheless... I....'missed it by that much!'

.

After my 125 minute workout on the elliptical machine, I failed to  log 10 miles.  I missed it by that much!

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 Sunday MENU

breakfast   popped caramel corn, turkey bacon                             475 calories
lunch         brisket, borscht, ginger, two fuji apples                       697 calories
dinner        spinach salad, borscht, steak, coconut balls                770 calories
SNACK    YOGURT RAISINS. popped caramel corn                 768 calories

total calories consumed 2710 calories

calories burned

elliptical machine 125 minutes, 4:3 interval,  level 20              1654  calories

CALORIES BURNED 1654 CALORIES

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Saturday net calories 1056 calories

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.

KAOS assassin, associate of The Shark, who kills Agent 46 and the informer he was to contact, then sets his sights on Maxwell Smart.  [Episode #18: "The Dead Spy Scrawls"].  If the actor looks familiar to you, it is because he is Leonard Nimoy, much more well-known for playing Spock in Star Trek.

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fitbit day 18

16935 steps

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OUT OF CONTROL

OUT OF CONTROL is one on the more 'recent' songs from the Rolling Stones.  This particular song was released on their 'Bridges to Babylon' album in 1997 (considering the relative anemic output of new music for the past 20 years...this qualifies as recent)   Nevertheless, the song is terrific.  It sounded great on their studio recording and this song works well live in concert.  It does not work well as a lifestyle choice.

I know that I have been OUT OF CONTROL for the past few weeks.

I have been eating too many wrong foods too often.  I have (re)learned that it is true that one cannot use exercise to erase these types of mistakes.  This week I am going to make a conscious effort to keep my calories WELL UNDER 2500 per day and still keep up my aggressive exercising.   My recent caloric consumptions of 3000 and nearly 4000 calories are indicative of an out of control man. I want to regain control.  Now.  I will regain control.  Now.

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225.6 lbs

I weigh 225.6 lbs.

I gained 3.3 lbs this week

I have lost 83.4 lbs in 220 days. Today begins Day 221.

I have lost nearly 16 inches from my waist. 

I will always be at the beginning of a journey that never ends.

I weigh 225.6 lbs. (220 days ago I weighed 309 lbs)

I have lost 27.0% of my weight since Dec 24.

I have a BMI, body mass index of 30.18 

I had a 42.0 BMI on Dec 24 just 220 days ago (Class III obesity)

I have two words of advice for myself today: GET SERIOUS

...I know how to begin this week... I think it might be another good day to to burn 2000+ calories with a strenuous session on the elliptical machine.  

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 FRIDAY MENU

breakfast   center cut bacon, oat meal                                                   440 calories
lunch         1/2 four cheese Roundy's Pizza                                           450 calories
dinner        Mariano's Huge Spinach Salad, codfish, brussel sprouts  1169 calories
SNACK    mango, apples, ginger, medjool, coco curry cashews        1686 calories

total calories consumed 3745 calories

calories burned

HOME ELLIPTICAL 92 MINUTES, MANUAL SETTING, LEVEL '20'  2205 CALORIES

Friday net calories  1540 calories

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In the 1960's TV Show, GET SMART, the good guys - CONTROL always battled wits with the bad guys - KAOS.  (AS YOU CAN SEE KAOS HAD A MUCH COOLER LOGO!)

MAXWELL SMART SAYS - MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH

When I weighed myself this past Saturday, I thought that there was an outside chance that I might slip into a new obesity category.  CLASS I OBESITY.  I was still 1.6 lbs away.

Today is Tuesday morning, by the end of the day, which will be four days after my last weigh in - I can reasonably assume that I will have lost the 1.6 lbs to be officially in the class I obesity.   I am aware that most people aren't screaming from the rooftops about such a dubious achievement.   Considering where I started from, you might forgive me for being happy about this.

Obesity classes are determined by BMI (Body Mass Index)

On December 24, 2014 I weighed 309 lbs and my BMI was 41.3  (Obese Class III)

On January 17, 2015 I weighted 284.7 lbs and my BMI was 38.08 (Obese Class II)

I will assume that by days end today, Tuesday,  I will be right around 261 lbs or slightly less and my BMI would then 34.9 which would squeeze me into the Obese Class I category.   

The next stop on this chart would be to be considered 'only' overweight.   In order to be only overweight, I will need get my BMI down to 29.9.  This will translate to a weight of 224 lbs.

So, I will have a quite a few weeks to go before I get there.

BMI	Classification
< 18.5	underweight
18.5–24.9	normal weight
25.0–29.9	overweight
30.0–34.9	class I obesity
35.0–39.9	class II obesity
≥ 40.0	class III obesity

MONDAY MENU

MONDAY MENU

breakfast   three poached eggs, two strips turkey 'bacon'      280 CALORIES
lunch         Panera Bread Turkey Chili Bowl                         280 CALORIES
dinner       5 oz Mahi Mahi, Mixed Veggies, Potato Pancake
                 Organic Cashew Carrot Ginger Bisque Soup       435 CALORIES

total consumption    995 CALORIES

calories burned
6AM    Elliptical Machine  31 minutes           410 calories
5PM     Elliptical Machine  30 minutes           400 calories

total calories burned    810 calories

net caloric consumption    185 CALORIES

dinner: 5 oz Mahi Mahi, 2/3 cup mixed vegetables, potato pancake, Carrot Ginger Bisque Soup  435 CALORIES

THREE COURSE MEAL - 510 CALORIES

Yesterday I started out with two apples for breakfast and Jason's Deli spicy shrimp gumbo for lunch.  Since I have established a routine of keeping my caloric intake under 1000 calories per day, I still had more than 500 calories 'in the bank."

I returned to Jason's Deli (Lawrence, Kansas) and was able to order what I now define as a three-course meal.   There is nothing that I have ordered at Jason's which has not been delicious and satisfying.   I am trying to make an effort to explore the many possibilities available to me.   Last night I ordered something new:

BEEF STEW - BOWL    250 CALORIES

TURKEY WRAP HALF  200 CALORIES 

FRUIT SIDE ORDER        60 CALORIES (served with a creamy fruit dip which I ignored!)

TOTAL DINNER (three-course meal) 510 CALORIES         ($9.98)

After I was finished with this delicious dinner I was completely satisfied.   The chances of me ordering a fruit side with my meal prior to this lifestyle adjustment would have been zero.   Surely I would have ordered chips.   Basically every decision I ever made with regard to food was usually either wrong or very wrong.   If I may borrow the title from a Jim Carrey movie, my choices were 'Dumb and Dumber.'  The time has been long overdue for me to 'Get Smart.'  These days I feel like I am in CONTROL.

I visited two websites this morning, WebMD.com and healthstatus.com which both have a CALORIE BURN CALCULATOR.   I discovered that I might have been underestimating the caloric benefit of exercise.   This morning I walked 3 miles, @ 4 mph (45 minutes).  Both calorie calculators on these two websites indicated that my calories burned was 500!   This is amazing.   I guess it goes a long way to explain my weight loss results with my 1000 calorie per day intake.
 
Weight loss is supposed to be simple (exercise more, eat less) but not easy (it takes perseverance) These days it does seem easy. So where was I the last 7 years?   I'll tell you.... I don't know.

Jason's Deli: 3-course meal: beef stew, half turkey wrap, side order fruit: 510 calories