BUFFALO ROCK STATE PARK

My first appointment on Tuesday was at 8:30AM in Morton, Illinois (Peoria area) and my customer was right on time and it was close to 11:00AM when I was finished. My second appointment was in LaSalle Illinois which is right on Route 80 which cuts through the northern part of the state. By 3:30 PM I was finished and headed to Buffalo Rock State Park. This park turned out to be very small, and many of the forested trails were closed. I hiked one loop inside the park and then exited the park and walked across the street to a part of the I&M Canal Trail. The I&M trail runs about 90 miles. I entered the trail and hiked about 3.5 miles west, before I turned around and hiked the 3.5 miles back east to re-enter Buffalo Rock State Park, complete my days hike, retrieve my car, all before sunset. When I was done, I had logged 9 miles. 

from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

Buffalo Rock State Park is located on a bluff which once was an island in the Illinois River. Now standing majestically on the north bank, this promontory affords a magnificent, sweeping view of the Illinois River. Located approximately 3 miles west of Ottawa in LaSalle County, this 298-acre park has long been a favorite picnic area, as well as a nature lovers’ delight. The area of Buffalo Rock was the home of the Illinois Indians when Louis Jolliet, the French explorer, and the Jesuit missionary priest Father Jacques Marquette made their trip up the Illinois River in 1673. Later, the Illinois tribe was virtually annihilated in protracted warfare with the aggressive Iroquois.

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Baymont Hotel Scrambled Eggs w/two Sausages	500	0	0	0	0	0
	500	0	0	0	0	0
L U N C H
Subway - Chicken Chopped Salad	220	10	5	36	490	4
Landshire Sandwiches - Ham & Cheese Wedge	260	32	8	18	1,240	7
	480	42	13	54	1,730	11
D I N N E R
Eel and Avocodo Sushi Roll	400	33	18	22	0	0
	400	33	18	22	0	0
S N A C K S
Cliff Builder's 20g Protein Bar Chocolate Mint	270	30	9	20	200	21
Fresh Thyme - Dark Chocolate Coconut Bites	200	21	13	2	25	18
General Mills - Pumpkin Spice Cheerios	150	30	3	3	163	11
	620	81	25	25	388	50
Totals	2,000	156	56	101	2,118	61
Your Daily Goal	3,240	405	108	163	2,300	121
Remaining	1,240	249	52	62	182	60
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,310 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 215.1 lbs in 5 weeks     

YMCA TOUR OF AMERICA CONTINUES...

Today I am headed to Madison, Wisconsin for an overnight trip.  I have secured my hotel and mapped out the closest YMCA which I intend to visit.  Of course, 'mapped out' is just an expression these days - I have not used an actual map in nearly 10 years.  I guess I could be more precise by writing that I have entered the address into my Garmin GPS device.  This seems like a good time to list the various YMCA facilities that I have visited so far.

YMCA Marshfield Avenue Chicago (This is my 'home' YMCA)
YMCA Danville, Illinois
YMCA Indianapolis Indiana (Baxter location)
YMCA Ann Arbor, Michigan
YMCA Jacksonville, Illinois
YMCA Maumee, Ohio
YMCA Onalaska, Wisconsin
YMCA Royal Oak, Michigan (This is the only one that charges guests $5 per visit)
YMCA Marquette, Michigan
YMCA Lyndhurst, Ohio (Hillcrest location)
YMCA New Hope, Minnesota
YMCA St Paul, Minnesota

It does appear that I am making good use of my membership fees since I (re)joined the YMCA in February.   Each facility is different and some have been superior.  In every case, without exception, the people that work at the YMCA have been terrific.  It is wonderful and amazing that so many employees that I have come in contact with have been so friendly, warm and helpful.

Some of these facilities have steam rooms, some have whirlpool hot tubs.   All have adequate lockers with access to great showers with hot water and soap.   It has become quite fun to visit one of these facilities for the first time and see how different they are.   So far, the absolute nicest one has been in Onalaska, Wisconsin.   The facility is very new, having been constructed within the past 10 years.  In contrast, my home YMCA was constructed within the past century - and just barely!  The pool at the Onalaska YMCA looked like the pool one might see at a recently constructed water park.  I think that without exception, each of these facilities opens in the morning no later than 5:30AM - so they really cater to those that need to get a workout and shower in before heading off to work.  As you can see, I have really become a fan of the YMCA.

MONDAY MENU

breakfast three eggs, three slices turkey 'bacon'   cup oatmeal                    460 calories
lunch       spinach salad w/hearts of palm, tomato, mushroom, beets
                bay scallops, one giant sea scallop, 3 ounces shrimp,  asparagus
                Costco Chicken Tortilla Soup                                                        459 calories
dinner     spinach salad w/hearts of palm, tomato, mushroom, beets
                Trader Joe's Turkey burger, 28 almonds, 100 grams cucumber salad   479 calories

TOTAL CALORIC CONSUMPTION  1399 CALORIES

calories burned
6PM elliptical 32 minutes 442 calories

MONDAY NET CALORIES   957 CALORIES

RED LOBSTER

Sometimes it takes me a second time to order a food item at a restaurant in order to get precisely what I want.  For example, the first time I ordered a Jimmy John's Unwich, it automatically came with mayonnaise which practically doubled the calories of the lunch.  After that mistake, I switched to mustard and have cut out hundreds of calories considering how often I now go to Jimmy John's.  Another example was the first time I ordered a salad at Applebee's, it came drenched in sugar enriched high calorie dressing, and this meal too, practically doubled my calories that I had planned.  These days, I ask for the salad on the side, sometimes I dip my fork in the salad to get a small taste, other times I skip the dressing altogether.

Red Lobster offers a limited number of choices for a low calorie meal.

One must be careful about the various side dishes, sauces, and dressings

that might be added to anything that one orders.

Two nights ago I decided to see what I could select for a dinner at a Red Lobster.  I ordered a Wood-Grilled Shrimp Taco meal which came with Wild Rice Pilaf.  I did not realize that the side dish of wild rice pilaf added an additional 170 calories that I wasn't counting on.  The nutritional guide published by Red Lobster listed the Wood-Grilled Shrimp Taco as 600 calories - but once ordered, it automatically came with the rice which I hadn't realized was not part of the listing showing 600 calories.  No harm was done, my total calories on Monday were still only 1180.

On Tuesday, I had a plan.  Did I mention that the Wood-Grilled Shrimp Tacos were absolutely delicious?  On Tuesday, I started with breakfast at Starbucks and skipped the blueberry topping with my oatmeal.  I made a point of having an 80 calorie Turkey Tom Unwich at Jimmy John's.   As dinner approached my calories consumed were a mere 240.   This left plenty of calories to 'spend' at Red Lobster.  My Tuesday night Red Lobster Meal started with 70 calorie Garden Salad as appetizer.  My main course did include one side dish of 50 calories of broccoli and the high point of my meal was the 600 calorie Wood-Grilled Shrimp Tacos!  By days end on Tuesday, I was still under 1000 calories.

RED LOBSTER GARDEN SALAD, NO DRESSING 70 CALORIES

RED LOBSTER WOOD GRILLED SHRIMP TACOS w/BROCCOLI   $11.65    650 CALORIES

Yesterday, my day began again at 7AM in the Eastern Time Zone darkness at the Marquette YMCA.  I had a little better luck setting the machine for the kind of workout that I wanted.   I successfully set the machine for the resistance, my age, my weight but failed to properly set the time.  So after 21 minutes, I made note of my progress, took a five minute break, and got right back on the machine for another session lasting 24 minutes.  My total workout was 45 minutes and the total calories burned was 627.  Perhaps this morning, when I return to the YMCA,  I will get all the settings correct.

An early morning elliptical selfie...I take an twisted joy wearing my WHITE CASTLE cap when I workout.  I expect it is going to be a very long time before I experience the legendary WHITE CASTLE CRAVE again - now that I am a health conscious fat burning machine. 

MENU

breakfast    STARBUCKS classic oatmeal (no toppings)                                 160 calories

lunch          JIMMY JOHNS turkey tom unwich                                                80 calories

dinner        RED LOBSTER   Three Wood-Grilled Shrimp Tacos w/broccoli                   

                                                Garden Salad w/smidge of Caesar Dressing     720 calories

  

total calories consumed     960 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

7:00AM YMCA elliptical machine 21 minutes     292 calories

five minute break

7:26AM YMCA ellpitcal machine 24 minutes      335 calories

total calories burned    627 CALORIES

TOTAL NET CALORIES     333 CALORIES

WHAT'S UP?

What's up?  Me.  I am in the UP.  Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This is the part of Michigan that is directly north of Wisconsin.  Specifically, I am in Marquette, Michigan.  During winter, November thru April, Marquette averages nearly 120" of snow.  In March, Marquette averages 22" of snow.  How about this?  In April, yes, you read that correctly, Marquette averages 8" of snow.  During May, Marquette averages 1" of snow.

Upper Peninsula, Michigan
Winter in the Upper Peninsula runs from November thru April

Somehow, I got lucky.   I am here in the UP and when I woke up yesterday morning and went to the YMCA in total darkness at 7AM, it was 36 degrees.   Remarkably, back home, nearly 400 miles south, Chicago was 28 degrees, nearly 10 degrees colder than Marquette.  I apparently picked a very good week for my visit to see some customers up this way.  I guess somebody 'UP' there likes me.

Marquette, Michigan YMCA after my workout

Every time I use a different elliptical machine, there is the challenge to set it so that I can maximize the benefit.  This morning, at the YMCA, I set the machine and I found the entire workout very challenging.  Although the calories burned figure was less than my home machine, I am sure that was the beneficiary of a solid workout as the 36 minute experience was not easy.

36 minutes on the PRECOR EFX546 elliptical machine

MONDAY MENU

breakfast    STARBUCKS   cup of oatmeal w/dried blueberries                            260 calories
lunch          JIMMY JOHNS turkey tom unwich                                                      80 calories
dinner         RED LOBSTER 3 shrimp tacos, garden salad, wild rice pilaf            840 calories

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 1180

CALORIES BURNED
7AM YMCA elliptical machine 36 minutes                           437 calories

MONDAY NET CALORIES  743 CALORIES

Wood-Grilled Taco

Three flour shrimp tortillas, cilantro slaw, jalapeño ranch and house-made pico de gallo. Served with wild rice pilaf.  $10.99

RED LOBSTER: 3 WOOD-GRILLED SHRIMP TACOS w/Wild Rice Pilaf  770 CALORIES.  My calories consumed might have been more than 100 less as I withheld the jalapeño ranch dressing. The next time I order these, likely today, I will skip the wild rice pilaf and reduce dinner by another 170 calories