(GIMME) SHELTER AT HOME

Coronavirus is basically the only thing people are talking about.
On Saturday at 5PM, the state of Illinois 'shut down' with the "Shelter at Home' directive.

Sunday morning weight: 258 lbs.

I kinda hope I live long enough to enjoy the sacrifice of eating health(per)

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Illinois residents adjusting to life after stay at home order goes into effect

NEWS

by: Michelle Madaras

Posted: Mar 21, 2020 / 11:01 PM CDT / Updated: Mar 21, 2020 / 11:01 PM CDTIllinois Governor 

JB Pritzker says the decision to order residents to shelter at home was one that was not made lightly but he says it is what is necessary to flatten the curve of the coronavirus in the state.

Well before the order to shelter at home was given in Illinois, many residents started preparing for this moment.

Things like grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, gas stations, and medical offices will remain open. Restaurants will only be open for takeout and delivery.

But no matter where you are health officials are stressing social distancing, so folks are trying to find a safe way to keep busy.

For now, folks say they’re trying to make it through and help out where they can, but the uncertainty of how long this pandemic could last and what will happen in the meantime is in the back of their minds.

The order to shelter at home is expected to last at least until April 7th in Illinois.

GUILTY PLEASURE

guilty pleasure

Something that you shouldn't like, but like anyway.

'JACK IN THE BOX' tacos every now and then is a guilty pleasure for me.

Although I have been slipping backwards for the past few weeks in my battles with my weight, I still take pride in the fact that I have stayed away from Burger King and McDonald's since December 24, 2014.  For many people, this would hardly be an accomplishment. For me, it was life-changing. Back in the 'bad-old-days' of being 309 lbs, I used to eat at either of these two establishments approximately one dozen times per week. Breakfasts. Lunches. Dinners. Bacon Egg Cheese Bagels. Double Cheeseburgers, Quarter Pounders with cheese. Big Macs. McChickens. Whoppers. High on calories. Low on nutrition. I have not eaten any of this for more than two years. To be clear, I did enjoy this food. I even expect that if I had a Big Mac or Whopper again, I would enjoy it. That is precisely why I don't tempt myself. I no longer think about this food. And I don't want to think about it.

This week while I was in Missouri, I did eat something that I used to enjoy 45 years ago when I was a teenager living in Long Island. Jack in the Box tacos. I know that Jack in the Box tacos are not particularly healthy. However, since Jack in the Box restaurants are not nearly as ubiquitous in my normal travels, I was not concerned about developing a new bad habit. It was just a guilty pleasure this week.

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal- Maple	800	160	10	20	1,300	60
	800	160	10	20	1,300	60
L U N C H
Jack In the Box - Taco, 4 taco	760	68	44	24	1,280	12
	760	68	44	24	1,280	12
D I N N E R
Caseys - Turkey Club Wrap	400	43	15	22	1,343	0
	400	43	15	22	1,343	0
S N A C K S
Starbucks - Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon	230	28	6	13	560	3
Powerbar - Protein Plus Bar Vanilla	210	27	5	20	130	14
	440	55	11	33	690	17
Totals	2,400	326	80	99	4,613	89
Your Daily Goal	2,044	255	68	103	2,300	76
Remaining	-356	-71	-12	4	-2,313	-13
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 114 extra calories from exercise today

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FRENCH FRIES IN THE NEWS

From New York Daily News

BY KERI BLAKINGER       

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS      Wednesday, January 20, 2016, 11:40 AM

Micky D's has figured out a way to make its food even unhealthier. McDonald's Japan just announced the launch of a new menu item — chocolate French fries. Dubbed McChoco Potatoes, the high-calorie concoction features two sauces — chocolate with cacao flavor and white milk chocolate — drizzled over crispy fries. "The combination creates a wonderful salty and sweet harmonious taste," the company said in a statement. The new side is a limited-time menu addition available in the Land of the Rising Sun starting Tuesday. Sadly, there's no mention of whether this artery-clogging awesomeness will ever be available stateside.

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This seems to me to be a ridiculous combination.... I suppose if McDonald's could create a menu item where chocolate and vanilla sauces were drizzled over an order of Spinach or Kale - perhaps then, there could be a benefit to society. Seriously, how many people don't already find the taste of French Fries compelling enough?  Anyone who pays attention to financial news knows that McDonald's has faced real problems with increased competition as well as a shift to healthier foods by more and more people. This might be an example of a company going in the wrong direction. Then again.... chocolate covered potato chips have already been available for some time...

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal - Original, 6 packet (28 g)	600	114	12	24	450	0
Thomas Cinammon Raisin Bread - Cinammon Raisin Bread, 2 slice	220	44	3	8	340	0
KELLOGGS - RAISIN BRAN (dry cereal)	380	92	2	10	420	36
	1,200	250	17	42	1,210	36
L U N C H
Jason's Deli - SPICY SEAFOOD GUMBO, 1 Bowl	230	26	8	12	1,710	3
Jason's Deli - Flatbread Crackers	500	60	20	20	950	10
Jason's Deli - Amy's Turkey-o, 1 sandwich	480	56	17	29	1,380	11
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 1 medium apple	95	25	0	1	2	19
	1,305	167	45	62	4,042	43
D I N N E R
Whole Foods - Creamed Kale, 14 oz	280	32	12	18	180	6
Whole Foods - Blackened Trout, 3 fillet	660	63	24	54	1,950	0
	940	95	36	72	2,130	6
Totals	3,445	512	98	176	7,382	85
Your Daily Goal	3,450	431	115	173	2,300	129
Remaining	5	-81	16	-2	-5,081	44
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 1,520 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR EFX576i ELLIPTICAL	125	1,668
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-148
Daily Total / Goal	126 / 30	1,520 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	350 / 210	5,084 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3445 calories

total calories burned (125 min elliptical) 1668 calories

total net 1777 calories

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fitbit day 139

17960 steps
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Today, Thursday January 15, is DAY 23.   For twenty-three days I have broken my habit of eating at  McDonalds, Burger King, Panda Express, and White Castle.  For twenty-three days I have broken my habit of eating an unending river of snacks including Hershey Bars, M&M's, Hostess Ho-Ho's, Klondike Bars, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Nestles Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lays Potato Chips, and quite a few other unhealthy things.   (You understand, that it took some real 'effort' to balloon up to 309 lbs.  You just don't wake up one day 100 lbs overweight - you really have to 'work' at it!)

I have some GREAT EXPECTATIONS of GREAT SUCCESS in my quest to look healthy and more importantly to be healthier.   As much as I would like to snap my fingers and lose all my weight by tomorrow - it does not work that way.    My 'BIG' Ralph Lauren slacks which are waist size 48 and were too small, when I first fished them out of my closet two weeks ago,  have become loose.   It is ironic that these slacks which have been patiently awaiting the day when their owner could wear them again, may soon be packed off and donated as they will soon be too big for me.   It appears that their window of opportunity to be worn will last only three weeks. Good. Time to go shopping!

I must remember to manage my expectations with regard to the speed of my weight shedding.   I cannot expect to lose weight going forward as fast I have in the initial stages of my new lifestyle.

A friend posted this amusing New Yorker Magazine cartoon on her facebook page a couple of days ago.   I told her that I was going to use it for my blog.   This cartoon basically sums up the importance of having great expectations, but also emphasizes that the expectations should be reasonable.   I would like to lose one hundred pounds before next New Year's Eve.   I have two things going for me.  I only have to lose one hundred pounds not thirty-eight thousand pounds. New Year's Eve is nearly twelve months away.  I believe that I can manage my great expectations!

This morning started off well.  The treadmill at my hotel was out-of-order.  I hopped onto an elliptical machine for the first time in seven years.  This machine didn't power on.  I had no measurement of distance or calories burned or resistance level.   I know this.  I spent twenty minutes on it and it was a struggle.   Therefore it was a good workout.   My next goal is to start using an elliptical more often and increase the amount of time I can spend on it.   My all-inclusive Days Inn breakfast was two hard-boiled egg and one orange.  (Approximately 240 calories)

My next weigh-in will be early Saturday morning.   
I can't weight!  (<----- not a typo - just a minor attempt at humor)

New Yorker Cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez

CONFESSIONS

It is said that confession is good for the soul.  I will use this post to confess the sins of eating like a moron.   On the road, my lunches and dinners were really not too varied.  Favorite spots were McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Panda Express or White Castle.   The purpose of this blog is ultimately to share secrets of successful weight loss.   But before I get to that subject I am going to share the 'secrets' of successful weight gain.   Here were some of my favorite meals with the calories as provided on various websites that I checked today.

Panda Express Two-Entree Dinner HONEY WALNUT SHRIMP, ORANGE CHICKEN, CHOW MEIN and an EGG ROLL   1480 calories

Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Teriyaki and Harvest Sun Chips 950 calories
              or
              Footlong Seafood Sensation and Harvest Sun Chips 1050 calories
              or
              Footlong Meatball Marinara and Harvest Sun Chips 1170 calories
             (Jared famously lost weight at Subway, surely he made better choices!)

McDonalds Four (4) Hamburgers (almost never ordered fries) 960 Calories
                     or
                    Three (3) McChicken Sandwiches 1110 Calories
                    (I had thought that chicken was a somewhat 'healthy choice'  WRONG!)

Burger King Four (4) Hamburgers (almost never ordered fries) 960 Calories

White Castle Ten (10) Hamburgers (140 calories per burger)    1400 Calories

Ok, that's it... I have officially bared my 'diet' of the past many years.   In between these breakfasts, lunches and dinners would be an array of chocolate cakes, candy bars and ice-cream.   Now that I have finished divulging my secrets of weight gain, the secrets of my upcoming weight loss are fairly obvious.   STOP EATING THIS CRAP!   My brother, has asked me many times if I enjoyed eating at these places.   My answer was always the same: Yes.   It is time for me to find some new alternatives.

In order to end this post on an upbeat note:  I made friends with a nearby treadmill and walked 1.9 miles in 30 minutes.   The machine indicates that I burned approximately 190 calories.   That is not the amount of calories in one chocolate bar!   It will serve to make me think long and hard before I stick another chocolate bar in my mouth.

               

MyFitnessPal

Yesterday I downloaded an app from iTunes: MyFitnessPal.   Among the things that it does is allows you to enter all the food you eat in a day.   Psychologically this is a very good idea.   Fat people like me don't like to eat in front of friends and family.  It has always been more enjoyable to stuff my face in privacy.  This cuts down on the shame and guilt - sadly it does not cut down on the waistline.  This app destroys the privacy factor - now as long as I use this app - privacy is gone.   Today, Saturday, I woke up late and by 10AM - The App alerted me to the fact that I hadn't entered my breakfast yet and asked if I wanted to do so.   It appears forgetting to think about this app is also out of the question.   There is a 'game' component to this which may be enjoyable.   It will be a challenge to see how little I can eat without being hungry.   Hunger is an interesting thing.   The 'secret' to ballooning to 315lbs is to always be hungry.   Always be eating. Non-stop eating never cured my false feeling of hunger - I might as well be a little be hungry and be losing weight instead of being constantly hungry and piling on the pounds.   Truth is, I don't think I was any hungrier yesterday than I  have been on any typical day - in fact, I might have been less hungrier during most of the day.  At the conclusion of the day, the app indicated that I consumed less than 900 calories.   It is not my goal to go through life on only 900 calories per day - it is completely unrealistic - but I see no harm in going a bit overboard in the very beginning of this new lifestyle.   Part of the new lifestyle is to think about everything that I stuff in my mouth.   I certainly was not giving that much thought prior to three days ago.
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I am a salesman who spends an average of 10 nights per month on the road in hotel rooms. This is a good place to commit to admitting what a pretty typical breakfast has been for me 'on the road'.    Two (2) Bacon, Egg, Cheese Bagels from McDonalds (620 Calories EACH) followed by a package of Three (3) Hostess Ho Ho's (120 calories EACH) all enjoyed with a DIET COKE! Total Calories for an extremely common breakfast that I had been eating recently 1600 CALORIES. I knew I was eating poorly, but as God is my witness, I never did the math until this very moment.
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I will reserve a future post to reveal my typical lunch and dinner.    It won't be anything to brag about.