LEAP DAY

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Leap Day does not come around too often.... in fact, it comes around once every four years... I was curious how much I weighed on the last leap day 2016.... I looked it up... Actually it was a bit depressing... on Leap Day 2016 - I was 228 lbs.  On this Leap Day morning 2020 I weighed myself and I was 265.8 lbs.  Better I should remind myself that I was 297 lbs on New Years Day 2020.... I should celebrate that I have successfully lost 31.2 lbs this year. It's going to be a great Leap Year this year. I am going to lose a lot of weight. And the year will be capped off by an epic election in November!  (Hint: I am not rooting for Bernie, Bloomberg, or Biden!)

NO SNACKS!

23 days in.... and I have 'survived' with no snacks (not even a relatively healthy snack like an apple)
Nothing... no snacks!
No wonder I am dropping some weight.
In a recent typical day prior to January 1st,  my snacking exceeded unbelievably high calories every single day. It could make you sick.  Actually it did.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

This is a day for politics.

Today, February 9, is the 'First in the Nation' New Hampshire primary.  It appears that the two winners are set if the polls are even remotely correct: Bernie Sanders (D) and Donald Trump (R).  I wish I could make a sensible prediction for the top vote getters in the Republican side - but the race is simply too close to really know.  Since Ted Cruz is the guy that I support the most - I will predict (hope) that he comes in second place.  I will not be surprised if Marco Rubio comes in 2nd.  Anything else will be a big surprise.  I will predict too, that Jeb Bush is not in the top five. And my final prediction is that Bernie wins by double digits. See you tomorrow.

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BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker Oats - Oatmeal Apples & Cinnamon	640	132	8	16	800	48
Morningstar Farms - Sausage Patty	240	9	9	30	780	3
KELLOGGS - RAISIN BRAN	380	92	2	10	420	36
	1,260	233	19	56	2,000	87
L U N C H
HYVEE -SPINACH SALAD, 1.5 salad	750	0	0	0	0	0
Mcintosh - Apple, 2 medium apple	160	44	0	0	0	34
Kellogg's - Rice Krispies, 1 bar	150	28	4	1	170	13
Outtakes - Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, 2	235	35	10	3	236	19
	1,295	107	14	4	406	66
D I N N E R
HYVEE -SPINACH SALAD, 1.5 salad	750	0	0	0	0	0
Yoplait - Yogart/ Harvest Peach	150	25	2	6	95	18
	900	25	2	6	95	18
Totals	3,455	365	35	66	2,501	171
Your Daily Goal	3,832	479	127	192	2,300	143
Remaining	377	114	92	125	-200	-27
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 1,902 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, February 8, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Elliptical Trainer	90	1,945
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-43
Daily Total / Goal	91 / 30	1,902 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	91 / 210	1,902 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3455 calories

total calories burned (elliptical) 1945 calories

total net 1510 calories

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fitbit day 155

13072 steps
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Today is April 2.   On April 2, 1935, my Mom was born.  She is 80 years old today.  Happy Birthday, Mom.  I should not be so shocked that my own Mom is 80 years old...since I am 57 years old.   What is shocking to me is that at my age, I am not so far away from being 80 years old myself.  That IS shocking.  The good news for me is that I have changed my lifestyle so that I have a good chance of achieving this age (and beyond) in good health.  The path that I had been on previously was not leading to a good outcome.

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY, MOM!
 I am so pleased to be here to help you celebrate!

The direction that my life took changed somehow while I was visiting the doctor for a 'wellness' exam on December 24, 2014.  When I awoke that morning, I had no plans and no real desire to make the decisions that would change my life.  During my consultation with the doctor, I summoned the desire to change my lifestyle.  During the summer of 2014, my Mom was suggesting that I should try to lose weight.   The only real reason that I had made that appointment was that I promised my Mom that I would 'at the very least' see a doctor for a checkup prior to the end of the year.  That promise was made during previous summer.  Obviously I was not in a big hurry to fulfill that promise to my Mom - but I am glad I did as the visit to the doctor has propelled me to a new freedom - the freedom to be fit and healthy.  It feels great.  Thanks, Mom!  And Happy Birthday!

Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to spend the entire day with my Mom in Lynbrook, Long Island in the home that I grew up in.  It was a thoroughly delightful day.  As soon as i arrived home, we had lunch.   if there was any doubt, and there was none, my Mom is a regular reader of my blog. My Mom prepared two perfect meals for me yesterday. Isn't that what Moms do?

 LUNCH: spinach salad w/tomato and Panera Bread Tortilla soup (purchased from a supermarket) 305 calories

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DINNER: spinach salad w/cucumber & tomato, 4 Trader Joe's turkey meatballs,
one cup broccoli, one potato pancake, CABBAGE SOUP 416 calories

WEDNESDAY MENU
breakfast   two hard-boiled eggs, one apple, three slices turkey 'bacon'                   326 calories
lunch         spinach salad w/tomato, Panera Bread chicken tortilla soup.                  305 calories
dinner        spinach salad w/tomato & cucumber, turkey meatballs, cup broccoli     416 calories
               

total calories consumed  1047 calories

calories burned
late Tuesday night   elliptical 42min  478 calories

TUESDAY NET CALORIES   569 CALORIES

CALORIES, CARBOHYDRATES and INSULIN

When I started my weight loss journey I completely believed that it was ONLY calories that counted.  Certainly calories do count.  I have now learned that ALL CALORIES WERE NOT CREATED EQUAL.   I have learned that carbohydrates cause the body to produce insulin.

This definition came directly from wikipedia:

Insulin regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats by promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood to skeletal muscles and fat tissue and by causing fat to be stored rather than used for energy.

The more carbohydrate consumption increases, so does insulin production increase.  Insulin causes fat to be stored - not burned for energy.  I think that I have had the success that I have had, as I have greatly reduced by carbohydrates simply by limiting calories.    With a 1000 calories per day diet, there is not too much room to be loading up on carbohydrates.

Now that I am aware of this, I will be ever more vigilant in the future to insure that my carbohydrates are kept to a minimum.   This will be just as important, once I get down to my desired weight and increase my daily calorie consumption to 2400 calories per day which are enough calories to maintain a weight of 195 lbs.   CARBS DO COUNT.   They are not to be completely avoided - but one does not want to overdo it.

I can think of many times, sitting in a restaurant and practically eating a half loaf of bread before my meal arrived.  Those days are over.  Once I get down to 195 lbs - I intend to stay there!

THURSDAY MENU

breakfast     three small apples                                                                       165 calories
lunch           SUBWAY double chicken spinach salad w/tomato & onion     220 calories
dinner         sirloin soup, turkey burger, spinach salad with tomato              360 calories

total calories consumed  745 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED
630AM elliptical machine 40 minutes 325 calories

THURSDAY NET CALORIES  420 CALORIES

dinner: turkey burger, spinach salad w/tomato, sirloin burger soup 360 CALORIES

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Late Saturday evening I drove from Chicago to Bloomington, Illinois for a two-day mini wholesale fabric show.   I am staying at a LaQuinta Hotel because it has a fitness room.   I don't think that my morning workout on the elliptical machine was as strenuous as the workouts that I have had at home, as I am dealing with a different machine and different settings - nevertheless, the machine reported that my half hour workout burned 300 calories yesterday morning at 6:00AM.   I will be using this machine for the next two days, so I started with my evening workout to increase some settings to make it more challenging.

The hotel offered a 'free breakfast.'  However there was absolutely nothing that was suitable for me.   I did 'harvest' a couple of apples, just in case, I needed them for an 'emergency' meal.   I had planned on trying a breakfast item at Subway which was directly across the street.   Apparently Subway is not open at 7:00AM on a Sunday.  So, I started driving.  I found a Bob Evans restaurant.  After I sat down, I visited the nutritional website for Bob Evans and found a Western Omelette.  And that is precisely what I ordered for breakfast.  It was a sizable portion and was only 278 CALORIES.  Of course, I avoided home fries, and toast and jam - the kinds of things that could easily have doubled the calorie count of this breakfast.

Bob Evans - 10.4 oz Western Omelette w/Egg Lites  278 CALORIES

Within a 5 minute drive of the location of my mini wholesale fabric show is a Jason's Deli.  I had lunch and dinner at Jason's Deli yesterday, and I am sure to have lunch and dinner there again today.  Jason's is my favorite restaurant!


The Jason's Deli in Bloomington, Illinois had a drive-thru window.  I was able to scoot away from my show for just 15 minutes to get my lunch to-go.

Jason's Deli - Spicy Seafood Gumbo (to-go) 230 CALORIES

After my show and before I returned to my hotel, I stopped at Jason's Deli again for dinner.  (The only thing that kept me away Jason's for breakfast was that the restaurant didn't open until 10AM.  For Dinner, I tried something new: ASIAGO POT ROAST SANDWICH (half) with Fire Roasted Tortilla Soup. The meal was absolutely delicious.

Jason's Deli - Fire Roasted Tortilla Soup & Asiago Pot Roast Sandwich (half)     460 CALORIES

SUNDAY MENU

breakfast  BOB EVANS western omelette w/egg lites                            268 CALORIES

lunch        JASON'S DELI spicy seafood gumbo                                    230 CALORIES

dinner       JASON'S DELI Asiago Pot Roast, Tortilla Soup                   460 CALORIES

total calories consumed 958

CALORIES BURNED

6AM   LaQuinta Elliptical Machine 30 minutes               300 CALORIES

7PM    LaQuinta Elliptical Machine 30 minutes               500 CALORIES (I increased settings)

(The elliptical machine at the LaQuinta Hotel has a feature that my home elliptical does not have. This machine counts the number of steps taken during a workout. This machine indicated that in my 30 minute evening workout, I had taken 2030 step.  I have nothing to compare this to, but it seems like a lot!)

total calories burned      800 CALORIES

NET CALORIC INTAKE  158 CALORIES