100,000

On December 26. 2014 I began blogging. I weighed 309 lbs on that day. Today's post is more about the blog than my weight. As I started to blog, it did appear that I was hitting a chord with some people. In fact, there were some people all over the world who were clicking on my blog. Whether it was purposeful or by accident, I do not know. What I do know is that this weekend, my aggregate clicks on this blog surpassed 100,000! For a dopey blog about a guy who has posted his daily menu, daily exercise and political rantings (and ravings) 100,000 clicks may seem like a lot. It is not. I have been blogging for a bit more than 31 months.

I personally visit 'DRUDGEREPORT' each day. This website posts its daily clicks. In the past 24 hours, the drudge report had 30,427,298 visits. This works out to 1,267,804 per hour, and 21,130 per minute. The drudge report in FIVE MINUTES gets more clicks than my blog has accumulated in nearly 3 years. Within the past year, the drudge report has accumulated 11,038,196,480 clicks. If current trends continue it would take my blog about 3.5 million years to reach this number. You know what, the blog has one very important reader. That is me. I personally need this blog to keep me on course. Since I have rededicated myself after a period of slothfulness, I have lost 13 pounds. Of course, I am responsible for my success, but without the blog, I wouldn't have a chance. Go figure.

I took a fairly leisurely stroll with my daughter in the morning. We walked 7 miles. My MapMyWalk app reported a calorie burn of 1045. I know that this number is inflated, but a person had to burn a few calories walking seven miles, yes?

In the evening, I set out by myself and walked an additional 10 miles.

Hey look, it's me and Jerry Seinfeld (courtesy of a lifesize poster adorning a storefront window)

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, September 23, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Eggs - Poached, 4	300	2	20	26	600	2
Bacon, 4 slices	160	0	12	12	700	0
Chewy Oat & Honey Cranola Bar, 1 bar	100	19	2	2	55	7
	560	21	34	40	1,355	9
L U N C H
Hot Dog with Bun	300	22	18	10	820	3
Whole Foods - Pulp-free Coconut Water	100	26	0	0	110	22
	400	48	18	10	930	25
D I N N E R
Little Salad Bar - Asian Chopped Salad	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
S N A C K S
Costco - Cheese Pizza Slice, 1 Slice	700	70	28	44	1,370	7
	700	70	28	44	1,370	7
Totals	2,045	185	101	101	4,845	66
Your Daily Goal	4,920	615	164	247	2,300	184
Remaining	2,875	430	63	146	-2,545	118
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,990 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 208.8 lbs in 5 weeks     

.

THIS SCREENSHOT OF MY BLOG STATS SHOWS THAT I HAVE 'CATAPULTED' OVER THE 100,000 PAGEVIEWS. (AND IT ONLY TOOK ME NEARLY THREE YEARS!)

THIS CHART ABOVE LISTS MY MOST POPULAR (MOST CLICKED) BLOG POSTS.

THIS CHART ABOVE LISTS THE TOP TEN COUNTRIES WHERE MY CLICKS ORIGINATED.

I did not enjoy the way I looked one month ago when I was 263  lbs.  I am only down 13 pounds from that disaster, but I feel so much better.

HALFTIME REPORT

When this blog began on December 26, 2014, I posted photos of myself weighing in at 309 lbs.  At that time I made a point of saying that these were 'BEFORE' pictures.  Obviously no 'AFTER' pictures were available.  It is now March 1, 2015.  I am about HALFWAY to where I think I am heading. When I started, I had the idea of losing at least 100 lbs. My thinking has recently crystallized into thinking that I might want to get down to about 195 lbs. If I achieve that goal, I will have lost 114 lbs.  I am now down 57 lbs.  I am halfway there...  which means....

IT IS TIME FOR THE HALFTIME REPORT.

I am measuring halftime based on the 57 lbs lost that I have lost in the first 66 days. I can not and do not expect that the next 57 lbs will be lost in the same amount of days. It is illogical to think that, therefore I don't. It really does not matter how long it takes, as this is not a race. It more akin to an endless marathon.

I have accomplished what I have accomplished so far by limiting myself to 1000 calories per day each day since December 24th. Since last Friday, I have been willing to let my caloric intake go a little bit higher each day.  So far, I have not once exceeded 1050 calories for any one day.  I have exercised every day since January 3. On January 3rd my 'workout' was a 4mph treadmill 'walk' for a whole 20 minutes before I became winded. My endurance has improved dramatically since then. I can increasingly often spend a full hour on an elliptical machine.

I have seen my blood pressure which was elevated at 158/82 reduced to 123/75 which my doctor says is completely normal and healthy.

I have seen my 'fasting glucose' level which were elevated at 114 mg/dL reduced to a normal and healthy 74 mg/dL.  I had been in danger of being pre-diabetic - that issue has been erased.

I have watched my BMI which was 42.0 (CLASS III OBESITY) drop down to 33.72 (CLASS I OBESITY)  I still have to get down to 224 lbs just to be considered only 'overweight.'  Although my BMI still has me classified as 'obese' - I am a lot less obese than I was.

I have watched my waist which was getting ready to go beyond 50" contract to a an extremely comfortable 44" and I see that I will be fitting into 42" likely within a week or two.

I have now learned to shop for shirts that are size L or XL.   I could only wear  XXL when I started, and they were not always big enough.  Some of my old shirts would look like tents if I were to wear them now.

I have watched my personal energy levels increase.  I thought I used to wake up early when I arose at 7AM.  Nowadays, I set my alarm for 5:30AM and I am often on an elliptical machine by 6AM.

I was becoming increasingly reliant on BLINK lubricating eye drops to combat 'dry eye' prior to December 24th.  I have noticed that I have not had the urge to irrigate my eyes in the last two months.  Is it possible that an improved diet has solved dryness of the eyes?  It appears so.

I have been told that I have cured myself of snoring.  Apparently being more than 100 lbs overweight is not very conducive for breathing well while sleeping.

I have cured a pain in my right knee that I felt every morning when I woke up.  This pain dissipated as the morning progressed.  That knee pain has been eradicated and is now a distant memory.

I have noticed that my skin is healthier.  I can see it most clearly in my elbows which look less like sun-drenched dry lizard skin.

And finally, I no longer hate mirrors.   In fact, I kinda like them.

The two sets of photos that appear below were taken on December 26, 2014 (two days after I made the decision to change my life and lifestyle) and yesterday, 67 days after that same decision.

A final note about these photos.  One might conclude that my weight loss has stimulated hair growth. Sadly, this is not the case. I got a buzzcut haircut right before the December 24th pictures were taken. I have not had a haircut since then. Although I look even 'balder' in the December pictures - I am just as bald today. My healthy diet and cardio exercise have not stimulated any hair follicles.

SATURDAY MENU

breakfast     OAT MEAL w/PRUNE, 2 poached eggs, 1/2 salmon burger      350 CALORIES

lunch           TWO CUPS SIRLOIN BURGER SOUP, Mixed Green Salad    320 CALORIES

dinner         Costco Turkey Burger, *Spring Mix Salad, Tortilla Soup    370 CALORIES

*(no longer do I always add dressing to my menu as I have purchased ZERO calorie dressings)

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED  1040 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

6AM   elliptical machine 32 minutes                    440 CALORIES

2PM    elliptical machine 33 minutes                    460 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED  900 CALORIES

NET CALORIES     140 CALORIES   

This is the chart from my app, MyFitnessPal, which shows a fairly steady decline in weight over the past two months.   I started at 309 lbs and as of yesterday, I was 252.1 lbs.   I would have never believed that I could have had this much success so quickly.  I wonder what the next two months will bring?