ANOTHER DAY LIKE SO MANY OTHERS (DAY 83)

Saturday was another day like so many others.
I ate. (although a bit too much)
I walked. (nine miles before most people wake up in the morning)

DAY 53

I am sounding like a broken record. I know that.
Another day in the neighborhood of 1000 calories.
Another day when a 'walk' for exercise was accomplished.
I want this broken record to continue for at least a few weeks more.
Once I get it in my mind NOT to be a FAT PIG as I certainly was on July 31 (283.6 lbs) I am focused.
I am enjoying being a far-skinnier pig, as I am now, about 248 lbs...
And the goal is to NOT be a pig at all.

DAY 35

Sunday September 2 was Day 35 of Exreme Low Calorie consumption.

After my 18 mile urban hike on Saturday, I was sure that I would walk very little, if at all, on Sunday.
When I ventured out around 2PM, I found that I was feeling pretty good and I logged 6 miles.

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IT'S DIET NOT EXERCISE

If you look carefully over my left shoulder in this photo you will see a lion sitting atop a rock in the Lincoln Park Zoo in a 'selfie' that I snapped yesterday during a 9 mile urban hike.

Here is a closeup of the same lion. This time I flipped the phone around and used the better of the two lenses.

I have never thought about it before yesterday. Why are not all zoo animals wildly overweight? How much exercise is this lion getting. When was the last time that this lion got to really 'stretch his legs' and zip around at 30 mph across a tall grass field chasing a pack of zebras? Only one thing must be keeping him looking fit and trim. Diet. I am 'guilty' as anyone who thinks that calories can be erased by exercise. I suppose given enough activity there is some possibility of that, but the stubborn truth is that the best way to lose weight or keep weight off is to reduce calories. The formula is simple. It's just not easy. I know that I have been over-eating this past week and that I have been especially generous 'rewarding' myself with chocolate in various forms. I was not shocked when the scale indicated that I am back up to 225.1 lbs. (Still down 85 lbs from the day I started this weight loss journey)  I just need to do better. I will continue to exercise as that brings its own rewards. I just need to ratchet down the eating. That's the plan. I suppose a plan can never fail if you don't have one. Still, it is always better to have a plan.

Yesterday my physical activity was augmented with a 97 minute session on the elliptical machine .

Here is a rather petrifying reminder that summer really is over, and that Halloween is just around the corner.

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, October 7, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Great Grains Cranberry Almond Crunch	420	82	7	10	230	24
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 5 packet	500	110	0	10	1,550	0
	920	192	7	20	1,780	24
L U N C H
Fried Okra	300	24	10	3	210	3
Fried Shrimp	100	4	0	42	0	0
	400	28	10	45	210	3
D I N N E R
Ground Beef Buritto, 1 Buritto	675	0	32	42	0	1
Taco Bell - Hard Shell Taco	510	36	30	24	930	3
	1,185	36	62	66	930	4
S N A C K S
Hersheys Dark Chocolate Bar	500	28	38	9	100	11
	500	28	38	9	100	11
Totals	3,005	284	117	140	3,020	42
Your Daily Goal	4,718	590	157	236	2,300	177
Remaining	1,713	306	40	96	-720	135
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,788 extra calories from exercise today

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, October 7, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
9 MILE URBAN HIKE	124	1,683
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	97	1,082
Daily Total / Goal	221 / 30	2,765 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	530 / 210	7,627 / 4,130

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MapMyWALK ACKNOWLEDGES ANNIVERSARY

I downloaded the MapMyWALK app on December 26, 2014.  Yesterday morning, when I awoke I was greeted by an email from my app wishing me a Happy Anniversary.

I am so touched that my app remembered (although I am still waiting for my bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers - I just read that FedEx has been unable to deliver all their packages on time during this holiday season, so I will keep a sharp lookout today!)  The email had a link to review my 'stats' for the year.

What I remember so well about this app was that after I downloaded it, I made no effort to use it until the following April.  When I started exercising, back in December 2014, all my efforts were confined to an indoor treadmill. After a few months of 'treadmilling,' I graduated to an elliptical machine.  It was only after three months, during a visit to New York to see my Mom for her 80th Birthday did I find myself without easy access to an indoor fitness facility. On April 2, 2014 I used MapMyWALK for the first time.  I recall that  on that day I took a five mile roundtrip walk to my old high school. Still I did not start using this app on a regular basis until AFTER my return trip down from the peak of HALF DOME on October 1st.  Since that time, the app has been invaluable to me.  On the yearend stats it recorded a couple of bike rides - but during the course of the year I discovered that there was a specific app for bike riding (MapMyRIDE)  I think that MapMyWALK only started recording the hours and calories of my generic (indoor) workouts once I synced this app with MyFitnessPAL. Without further introduction, here are the stats as reported from MapMyWALK in the first year that I had downloaded the app.  I can imagine that next year, I will use the app for even more walking miles than I did this year.  At least that's the plan.

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When I left the home today, my plan was to go and buy some socks at the Columbia Store on Michigan Avenue.  I detoured first to Navy Pier, then Northerly Island, then Chinatown.  I never did get to the Columbia store.  When I returned home, I had walked 17 miles. Perhaps today I will make it to the store to buy some some thick white socks...

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Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, December 26, 2015

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
steel cut oatmeal - steel cut oat meal, 1 cup	600	108	10	20	0	4
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters, 90 g	360	72	5	9	630	27
	960	180	15	29	630	31
L U N C H
Pampa - Canned Asparagus, 1 cups	30	4	0	4	680	0
Deli Ham - Ham, 4 oz	120	1	3	24	920	0
Chinese Almond Cookie, 1 cookie	100	11	6	1	20	0
	250	16	9	29	1,620	0
D I N N E R
Stuffed Pork 1 cut pork chop w/ stuffing	368	23	22	19	812	0
ORGANIC BABY SPINACH, 255 g	60	0	0	6	195	0
STRAWBERRY VANILLA GRANOLA	275	44	9	6	66	17
	703	67	31	31	1,073	17
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS DRIED MANGO	126	32	0	2	1	23
WHOLE FOODS YOGURT ALMONDS	220	22	14	4	20	19
WHOLE FOODS - NATURAL WASABI	138	22	3	5	276	2
Chinese Almond Cookie (two big cookies)	460	52	26	4	90	17
	944	128	43	15	387	61
Totals	2,857	391	98	103	3,710	109
Your Daily Goal	8,558	1,070	285	428	2,300	321
Remaining	5,701	678	187	324	-1,410	212
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 6,628 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	90	1,596
Walking, 5.0 mph	193	3,503
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	1,529
Daily Total / Goal	284 / 30	6,628 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1497 / 210	23,772 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 2857 calories

total calories (90 minutes elliptical, walking) 5099 calories

total net calories 2242 calorie deficit

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

fitbit day 115

45115 steps

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It is a real blessing that I find different types of exercising enjoyable.  For a while there, I was exclusively strapping on my backpack and walking (and walking and walking).  Months had gone by and I was afraid that I might have lost my ability to have a good workout on an elliptical machine and/or that I might have lost my ability to enjoy such an endeavor.  Both premises were proved to be untrue.  There are of course, pros and cons of both types of workouts - and it is terrific that I can find enjoyment from both.  

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THIS IS A PAIR OF BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES (Lincoln Park Zoo)
The first picture is before my daughter had her first birthday.
The second picture was taken 13 years later!

2002

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December 26, 2015

The photos were taken at the 'Farm in the Zoo' at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  The 'egg' appears to be in the need of a washing or painting or something.  I think it was new in 2002 when the first photo was taken.