EXERCISE IN FUTILITY

What is an exercise in futility?

1. a useless action that cannot succeed
   

   Synonyms and related words

   
   

   Likely to fail:

   hopeless, unworkable, unpromising....

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This definition of an exercise in futility works for me.  Two days ago, on Thursday, I felt badly that I 'only' exercised for one hour.  My reason was pretty lame too.  I was staying at a Baymont Hotel in Fishers, Indiana.  I did wake up early enough to spend two hours on their very adequate hotel elliptical machine - but instead I chose to work out for just one hour and make use of my inroom jacuzzi.

On Friday, back in Chicago, my appointment cancelled at the last minute.  So, I made lemonade out of lemons.  I went to my local YMCA for a two hour workout and came home for a very enjoyable lunch of cabbage soup.  However, I still had energy, and I returned to the fitness room in my own building for another 92 minute workout.  Right about this time, I thought about breaking my personal record of exercising for five hours in one day.  When the day was over, the record was crushed.  After a quick break, I returned for a third workout of the day, another 92 minutes in the late afternoon.  My family went grocery shopping in the evening, and when I returned, I worked out for a fourth time for another set of 92 minutes.  And right before midnight, I completed a short 19 minute workout which meant my total for the day was 420 minutes which translates to 7 hours on an elliptical machine in one day.  Please do not tell me that this is moronic - I already know that.  I think that this is a personal record that I will never break.  I am glad to have accomplished this dubious feat once.

One cannot exercise the pounds away.  It is an exercise in futility to think that that is possible. But hey, it couldn't hurt!

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Your Food Diary For:

Friday, March 11, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon, 6 slices	240	0	18	18	1,050	0
2 Egg Omelette With Ham and Cheese, 1 Omelette	383	2	21	32	810	2
	623	2	39	50	1,860	2
L U N C H
Weight Watcher's - Cabbage Soup	500	51	1	11	392	28
Roundy's - Medium Peas, 1.75 cup	245	42	2	14	1,120	21
	745	93	3	25	1,512	49
D I N N E R
Generic - Teriyaki Salmon Steaks, 3 oz	135	2	4	23	183	3
Southwest Roasted Corn, 0.67 c	160	17	9	3	260	3
Roasted Lemon Pepper Cod, 1 Fillet	140	2	4	25	360	0
Cranberry and Carrot Quinoa Salad, 1/2 cup	140	23	5	3	0	0
	575	44	21	54	803	6
S N A C K S
72% Dark Chocolate Bar With Mint, 0.5 bar	220	20	18	3	0	11
Kind - Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan Bar	200	16	16	5	20	5
Dang - Coconut Flakes, 0.7 oz	115	12	7	1	115	8
	535	48	41	9	135	24
Totals	2,478	186	104	139	4,309	81
Your Daily Goal	8,913	1,114	297	446	2,300	334
Remaining	6,435	927	192	307	-2,009	253
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 6,983 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, March 11, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,346
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	1,610
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	1,562
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	1,633
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	19	318
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-486
Daily Total / Goal	421 / 30	6,983 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	920 / 210	14,623 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 2478 calories

total calories burned (7 HOURS elliptical) 7469 calories

total net 4991 calorie deficit

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fitbit day 191

45774 steps  

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SATURDAY WEIGHT

I stepped on my scale this morning, and the imaginary needle on my digital scale stopped at 227.3 lbs.  This is 3 pounds less than my weight last Saturday.  I sincerely hope that my solution to weight loss does not include the requirement to work out for 7 hours in a day!  Of course, I know that it does not.  Nevertheless, there is an extra bounce in my step today... I feel great that I am a bit more comfortably under 230 lbs again.  I feel great that I had the stamina to actually spend 420 minutes on an elliptical machine in one day.  Of course it was a somewhat ridiculous endeavor.  But still, I did it. I was physically able to do it.  I am pretty sure that I am unlikely to be doing something like that again.  However, I know myself pretty well... Maybe I will.  I know that I won't be trying to break that record today.  I think today might be a good day to talk a walk.

After recently crossing the border and traveling on highway 230, I am very pleased to be back on highway 227.  My trip started on December 24, 2014.  On that day I weighed 309 lbs.  I had the stamina to remain on the treadmill for only 20 minutes before being completely winded.  I have come a long way and I am justified in feeling some pride in my accomplishments. It is clear that I have lost a few skirmishes and weight loss battles along the way, but I am winning the war.  That is the point, yes?

BEST WAY TO GET TO THE YMCA

I live in Chicago. My neighborhood YMCA is about 3 miles from my home. I remember discovering last year that riding my bicycle there was often times faster than driving. Lately, it's been a bit cold for bike riding. I finally figured out how to get there by subway train this week. The first time I took the subway, I exited the train one stop too early. This probably would not have been a big deal had it not been raining. Yesterday, I rediscovered the best way to get there, walking.

As the whole point of going to the YMCA is exercise, it does make sense to walk there, if time permits it. Since, I had not taken a so-called 'power-walk' for nearly two months, I walked there and carved out a path that made the 3 mile trip and 6.5 mile trip. I wasn't sure how my 90 minutes of brisk walking was going to affect my ability to spend 2 hours on the elliptical machine. As it turns out, being limbered up is helpful. I had my second best session of the week. I must admit that when I got off the elliptical machine, I was moving too fast. After showering, I walked another 1.5 miles to the grocery store to pick up a late, and well-deserved lunch.  I was pretty sure that my walking speed had deteriorated quite a bit from my morning speed. After walking home and taking a fresh shower, I was relaxed to the max. I slept very well last evening.

The route I took from home to the YMCA was not the quickest. If one remembers their geometry: The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  I was more interested in racking up a couple of miles on my personal odometer today, not arriving at the YMCA quickly.

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Your Food Diary For:

Friday, February 5, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal - Original, 2 packets	200	38	4	8	150	0
WHOLE FOODS DRIED MANGO SLICES	110	28	0	2	1	20
Cheerios - Honey Nut Cheerios Medley	480	96	6	12	480	36
	790	162	10	22	631	56
L U N C H
Chicken 3 oz - Chicken Breast, 9 oz	360	0	4	78	189	0
Schwan's - Southwest Roasted Corn	160	17	9	3	260	3
Generic - Grilled Brussel Sprouts, 1 cup	65	13	3	6	23	0
	585	30	16	87	472	3
D I N N E R
Campbell's Chunky - Manhattan Clam Chowder, 2 cup	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
Kind - Fruit & Nut - Almond & Coconut, 1 bar (40g)	190	21	12	3	25	12
	430	57	18	13	1,625	18
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS MILK CHOCOLATE CHERRIES, 20 g (approx 5 pieces)	90	13	5	1	5	11
Whole Foods 365 - Whole Cashews - Unsalted	160	9	12	5	0	2
	250	22	17	6	5	13
Totals	2,055	270	61	128	2,733	90
Your Daily Goal	5,787	723	193	290	2,300	217
Remaining	3,732	452	132	162	-433	127
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,857 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

      Friday, February 5, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace	91	1,234
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,554
Walking, 4.0 mph, very brisk pace	23	270
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace	39	517
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-168
Daily Total / Goal	279 / 30	4,407 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	810 / 210	15,583 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 2055 calories

total calories burned (elliptical & walking) 4575 calories

total net 2520 calorie deficit

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fitbit day 153

37315 steps
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SATURDAY WEIGHT 220.3

BLOG HUMOR

I BLOG, THEREFORE I AM (A BLOGGER)

I am aware that there are days when I have virtually nothing particularly interesting to say.

Does that stop me from blogging?

Nope.

I guess today is one of those days when I have nothing to say.

Today, I collected some cartoons which perfectly capture the world of blogging.

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Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, February 4, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal - Original	400	76	8	16	300	0
Scrambled Eggs - 2 Large Eggs	140	1	11	12	140	0
Whole Foods - Bacon, 3 slice	300	0	24	21	1,050	0
WHOLE FOODS - DRIED MANGO SLICES	110	28	0	2	1	20
	950	105	43	51	1,491	20
L U N C H
Outtakes - Red Quinoa Salad, 4 ounce	171	21	9	4	300	4
Cafeteria - Sweet Butternut Squash, 4.5 oz	120	20	5	0	8	6
Generic - Teriyaki Salmon Steaks, 3 oz	135	2	4	23	183	3
	426	42	17	27	490	13
D I N N E R
Jason's Deli - POT ROAST SANDWICH	620	50	20	56	1,200	4
Jason's Deli - SPICY SEAFOOD GUMBO	230	26	8	12	1,710	3
Jason's Deli - Salad Buffet	700	34	48	34	2,120	16
	1,550	110	76	102	5,030	23
S N A C K S
Dang Toasted Coconut Chips - Sea Salt	480	48	30	3	570	30
	480	48	30	3	570	30
Totals	3,406	304	166	183	7,581	86
Your Daily Goal	5,087	636	169	255	2,300	190
Remaining	1,681	331	2	72	-5,281	104
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,157 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,453
Walking, 5.0 mph	27	673
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	31
Daily Total / Goal	153 / 30	3,157 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	531 / 210	11,175 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3406 calories

total calories burned (125 min elliptical) 2453 calories

total net 953 calories

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fitbit day 152

14010 steps
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ELLIPTICAL MACHINE - ONE YEAR LATER

I spoke of using an elliptical machine for the first time on my blog post from February 1, 2015

ELLIPTICAL

Yesterday morning (January 31, 2015), after my 5AM weigh-in I hopped on the treadmill and spent one hour 'walking' at 4 mph for 60 minutes. I decided then that it was time to try something new.  I decided to start using the elliptical machine as much as possible.   Before lunch, I returned to the fitness room and set the elliptical machine to a 'calorie burn' program for 60 minutes.   I didn't have 60 minutes in me.   After 30 minutes I felt that I had had enough.   I have the rest of my life to improve my endurance - so there is no reason to try to do more than I am capable of doing.   After thirty minutes, the machine reported that I had 'burned' 322 calories.   I have a baseline from which I can improve.  I will continue to use the treadmill if the elliptical is not available during my workout times.

The very first time that I used an elliptical machine during this period of transition in my life, I had thought that I could go at it for 60 minutes. As it turned out, I maxed out at 30 minutes and the resistance must have been set so low and/or I was pedaling so gingerly, that the machine recorded a calorie burn of only 322 calories. Back then, one year ago on February 1, 2015, I weighed 273 lbs. I had only been exercising for about 30 days.  For the past few days, I have been using the PRECOR AMT (Adaptive Motion Trainer) Elliptical Machine at the YMCA for sessions of exactly 125 minutes and my calorie burn reported on that machine has been closer to 2400 calories, and yesterday, I managed to log a workout of 2661 calories with some additional effort.  As I have said many times (and I always need to reconvince myself of this)...the calories burned reported on various pieces of exercise equipment are overly optimistic. Here are two facts, I probably did not really burn 322 calories one year ago the very first time I used an elliptical machine, and I probably did not really  burn 2661 calories on the elliptical machine yesterday.  Nevertheless, it is indisputable that my legs and stamina have improved quite bit over the past year. As I continue to struggle with my hearty appetite, I also continue to experience great pride in my accomplishments in the fitness room. 

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This is the product description of the machine that I have been using... This was taken from amazon.com website.

Product Description

The AMT 835 with Open Stride is the 3rd generation of Adaptive Motion Trainers from Precor and is the exact same unit as the commercial machines you'll find in fitness clubs worldwide. A machine as versatile as the human body and different from any other type of exercise machine, the award-winning Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT) is designed to not only work your body, but also your imagination. Go from short strides to long strides, walking to running, regular stair climber to deep lunges - all on-the-fly. The AMT gives you the freedom to customize a challenging and completely unique workout every time. Imagine getting a treadmill, bike and elliptical all in one piece of equipment. The AMT delivers similar workouts to all 3 of these machines. This single piece of equipment fully engages exercisers of all fitness levels with an infinite range of stride paths to create a uniquely effective low-impact workout, making every workout a personalized experience. Open Stride lets you not only change the length of your stride but also the height, providing an infinite variety of motion paths. Go vertical and it’s a stepper. Increase resistance and it’s a climber. Then go more horizontal and walk, jog or sprint with a stride length that goes up to 36 inches (91 cm). Three distinct positions on the moving handlebars provide a comfortable fit for nearly every user. The rodeo grip has a heart rate sensor built-in that provides monitoring and a stable, comfortable position when focusing on the lower body. Trusted by fitness professionals, Precor makes innovative equipment that meets the most demanding needs. The AMT 835 is backed by a 10-year warranty on all parts.

I really do enjoy using this machine.  My YMCA only has two of them.  Sometimes I need to wait until one of them becomes available. It is fairly uncommon for anyone to spend two hours on this machine - so my wait is not usually too long.  

PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER) w/OPEN STRIDE
THIS IS MY FAVORITE ELLIPTICAL MACHINE TO USE WHEN AVAILABLE.

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Your Food Diary For:

Monday, February 1, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters, 60 g	240	48	3	6	420	18
Homemade - 2 Egg Omelette Ham Cheese, 1 Omelette	383	2	21	32	810	2
Roundy's - Center Cut Bacon, 9 Slices	210	0	12	21	660	0
	833	50	36	59	1,890	20
L U N C H
Johnsonville 170 - Polish Kielbasa Sausage, 3.5 oz (56g)	298	4	26	12	998	2
Chunky Campbell's - New England Clam Chowder, 2 cup (240 ml.)	360	36	20	10	1,780	2
Essential Everyday - Peas & Diced Carrots (8.5oz), 1.75 cup	210	35	0	11	1,050	18
	868	75	46	33	3,828	21
D I N N E R
EARTHBOUND FARM - ORGANIC BABY SPINACH, 85 g (approx 3 oz, two cups)	20	0	0	2	65	0
libby's - Sweet Corn, 0.88 cup	105	16	3	4	350	12
365 - Hearts of Palm: Salad Cut, 1 cup	50	10	0	4	580	0
Louis Kemp - Crab Delights Leg Style, 3 legs (85g)	70	11	0	6	430	1
Roundy's - Asparagus Spears, 1.75 Cup	70	11	0	7	1,225	11
Eggs - Hard Boiled - Large, 1 egg	78	1	5	6	62	1
Ham slices - Ham pieces, 3 oz	160	4	10	14	1,000	2
Bacon - Real Bits, 3 tbsp	75	0	5	9	660	0
Goya - Chick Peas, 0.25 cup	50	10	1	3	180	1
Campbell's Chunky - Manhattan Clam Chowder, 2 cup	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
	918	98	29	65	6,152	33
S N A C K S
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters, 90 g	360	72	5	9	630	27
WHOLE FOODS. 8497 - CHERRY VANILLA GRANOLA, 110 g (3/4 cup)	480	80	14	10	120	30
	840	152	19	19	750	57
Totals	3,459	374	130	176	12,619	131
Your Daily Goal	4,527	566	151	227	2,300	169
Remaining	1,068	191	20	51	-10,319	37
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 2,597 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, February 1, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,661
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-64
Daily Total / Goal	126 / 30	2,597 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	127 / 210	2,597 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3459 calories

total calories burned (125 min elliptical) 2661 calories

total net 798 calories

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fitbit day 149

19082 steps
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