4

Four days in... and I am imagining that I am on the right track.
Once again, I am determined.
I can not easily explain why I needed to go so very far backwards before reversing course.
Right now, that is irrelevant.
Monday morning I weighed 283.6 lbs and that's what is important.
My current reality.
Four days in, I am already assuming that at least a few ounces have vanished into thin air.
I am going to try to resist stepping on the scale for day or so more.

.

3

After months and months of eating progressively worse, of watching my willpower erode to zero... I have now strung together a grand total of 3 days of curbing my caloric intake. I think I am starting to make the transition from fat-creating machine to fat-burning machine... Three days does not prove that I am committed.... but it's a start.

.

.

.

177,733 STEPS

After three consecutive days of accumulating 30000+ steps, I had thought that I might take it easy on Saturday. I freely admit that my legs felt a bit sore. The 'problem' was that the weather was glorious in Chicago. Crisp clear blue skies, with a temperature hovering around 65°F beckoned me outside. When my urban hike was completed, I had logged ten miles. I have been making much better choices lately in the food department, and as a result, I have increased energy and desire to get off the couch. 

I have found yet another 'secret' to looking thinner. A major haircut can come in handy. I have never gone for the shaved head. My new haircut which I got on Friday kept my few hair follicles to a snappy .5mm.  This certainly makes one head appear thinner.

Saturday capped off a week where I accumulated 177,733 steps. This is the most I have walked (stepped) since Dec 25-Dec 31, 2016 when my steps were 178,158.  I think that I will take it easy today. I am fairly certain that my legs could use a rest.

This is me standing in front of a painted wall mural on a storefront  on Armitage Avenue.

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, September 9, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Arnold - Multi-grain Sandwich Thin	100	21	1	4	170	1
Honey Smoked Ham - Deli Style	60	4	2	10	420	3
Quaker Oats instant grits - Instant Grits	300	66	5	6	930	0
	460	91	8	20	1,520	4
L U N C H
Smoked Turkey Sausage With Cheddar	240	8	12	20	1,480	4
Little Salad Bar - Asian Chopped Salad	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
	625	54	33	27	2,670	29
D I N N E R
Asian Chopped Salad	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
Chicken breast strips	200	0	3	42	117	0
	585	46	24	49	1,307	25
S N A C K S
Tuna Roll Maki With Avocado	300	39	6	24	0	0
	300	39	6	24	0	0
Totals	1,970	230	71	120	5,497	58
Your Daily Goal	3,507	438	117	176	2,300	131
Remaining	1,537	208	46	56	-3,197	73
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,577 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 227.4 lbs in 5 weeks 

HIATUS

I am not going to blog every day anymore. First of all, my weight loss blog has recently turned into a weight gain blog. It has also turned very political. Maybe I crank up a new political blog in the future, as I have enjoyed railing against all those things that I rail on about. I am also not shutting down my blog. I think I will blog on those days that I actually 'do' something interesting. For me, interesting things include hiking in some new place, or taking an extra long hike close to home. That's my current plan. Regarding my weight, which began at 309 lbs on December 24, 2014 and fell 90 pounds at one point, I am currently hovering around 250 lbs. This is still nearly 60 pounds less than my starting weight, but far from my best weight. At some point, I need to get back to where I was one year ago, but not where I was nearly three years ago.  In conclusion, my blog is going to continue, but it will not be every day. Other than my Mom and a couple of brothers, a friend in New York and friends in Pennsylvania and San Francisco, I am not too sure who cares. But that's the story for now... See you soon, but likely not tomorrow.   

This is my 890th post. I have so far, accumulated 87,230 pageviews.... So it is clear that someone has been reading this stuff. I am definitely going to blog a few times per month, but I am releasing myself from the self-imposed obligation of posting daily.

MANY SMALL IMPROVEMENTS

A loss of less than 1/2 a pound this week, is not exactly something to brag about. However, since it is a far superior outcome to a gain of a 1/2 pound. I will take it.

Saturday weight 243.7 lbs

This week I had a small improvement in my weight.
I am going to require many small improvements to get where I want to be.

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, February 24, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Eggs - Poached, 4	294	2	20	25	588	2
Kirkland - Bacon	200	0	15	15	875	0
	494	2	35	40	1,463	2
L U N C H
Tuna Fish Sandwich	500	73	15	35	1,437	0
Garden Salad	100	6	0	4	400	4
	600	79	15	39	1,837	4
D I N N E R
Cheddar Bay Biscuits, 2	300	32	14	4	700	2
Mild Chicken Tenders	500	38	21	40	1,985	0
	800	70	35	44	2,685	2
S N A C K S
Cliff Bar - Chocolate Chip Bar	300	54	6	12	180	26
	300	54	6	12	180	26
Totals	2,194	205	91	135	6,165	34
Your Daily Goal	3,642	455	121	183	2,300	136
Remaining	1,448	250	30	48	-3,865	102
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,712 extra calories from exercise today

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, February 24, 2017

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Six Mile Urban Hike	86	1,081
Treadmill 3.4mph, incline 15	60	755
Daily Total / Goal	146 / 30	1,836 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	646 / 210	7,011 / 4,130

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DAY 1 of PLAN A

On Saturday, my goal was to be closer to 1000 calories.

I did manage to stay under 1500 calories.

I didn't 'forget' not to eat chocolate.

And any chocolate that I might have eaten, which I didn't, I didn't forget to log in my food diary.

Day 1 of Plan A was a success.

.

Something that I really do not understand.

I did step on the scale this morning, Sunday.

My weight was 241.0 lbs.

.

I am well aware that I did not lose 4 pounds in one day.

Only because it seems mathematically and physiologically nearly impossible and certainly unlikely.

However, if I am going to believe my scale when it annoys me, Saturday 245.2 lbs, am I not compelled to believe same scale on the following day when it registers 241.0 lbs?

.

The plan today is to continue to greatly reduce my caloric intake over where it has been for the past weeks and months. In fact, this is the plan for at least a long string of days.

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, February 4, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon, 4 slices	160	0	12	12	700	0
Egg - Poached Eggs, 4	284	2	19	24	596	1
	444	2	31	36	1,296	1
L U N C H
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 2	190	50	1	1	4	38
	190	50	1	1	4	38
D I N N E R
Costco Hot Dog, No Bun	370	5	31	18	0	0
	370	5	31	18	0	0
S N A C K S
Lucerne - Provolone Cheese Slice, 4	280	0	20	20	680	0
Savoritz Crackers, 10 Crackers	120	16	6	2	210	2
	400	16	26	22	890	2
Totals	1,404	73	89	77	2,190	41
Your Daily Goal	3,706	463	123	186	2,300	139
Remaining	2,302	390	34	109	110	98
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,776 extra calories from exercise today

Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
11 Mile Urban Hike	176	1,776
Daily Total / Goal	176 / 30	1,776 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	572 / 210	6,223 / 4,130

EXERCISE IS 1 STEP FORWARD

As I have tried to remind myself often, the secret to weight loss is alleged to be diet and exercise.  Less food in the diet combined with more time with exercise. Although I have falling short in the diet part of the equation lately, I had remained steadfast in my adherence to daily exercise. And then I skipped two days in a row on Monday and Tuesday. My fitbit step counter showed a grand total of 3842 steps on Tuesday. That anemic number is hard to achieve.  Assuming that one can move about and find the refrigerator or bathroom a few times over the course of a day, it is truly hard to accumulate such a small number of steps. I did much better yesterday.  My eating improved. My exercise recovered. Although it was 17°F when I set out for my urban hike with the idea of logging 10 miles, its as not until that I had logged 20 miles that I finished. My daughter who knows that I will never say 'no' to a request to 'take a walk' asked to walk to the store once I returned home from my twenty mile jaunt. By this time at night the temperature had fallen to about 14°F and we managed a late evening 3 mile hike. Sure, my legs felt like jelly at the end of the day. The feeling of accomplishment, no matter how dubious, is a good feeling indeed. I am on my way back from my short-lived despair. Exercise is 1 step forward...BUT a poor diet is 2 steps Back! If you are going to be eating poorly, you better at least be exercising. Everyone knows what to do. It's the 'doing' part that is so challenging.

This is what a 20 Mile Urban hike in Chicago looks like.

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon	200	0	15	15	875	0
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original	600	132	0	12	1,860	0
	800	132	15	27	2,735	0
L U N C H
Medium - Anjou Pear, 2 pear	200	50	0	2	0	34
Kind - Blueberry Vanilla and Cashew Bar, 2	380	46	20	8	50	22
Sushi Spicy Shrimp With Brown Rice	400	46	18	19	640	6
	980	142	38	29	690	62
D I N N E R
Cream corn	120	28	0	0	0	0
Turkey Bolognese	300	15	15	23	1,550	8
Polish Kielbasa Smoked Sausage	400	5	35	16	1,342	2
	820	48	50	39	2,892	10
S N A C K S
Vita Coco - Pure Coconut Water, 32 oz	180	44	0	0	300	44
	180	44	0	0	300	44
Totals	2,780	366	103	95	6,617	116
Your Daily Goal	5,972	746	199	299	2,300	224
Remaining	3,192	380	96	204	-4,317	108
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 4,042 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 188 lbs in 5 weeks     

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Twenty Mile Urban Hike	289	3,571
Three Mile Urban Hike	50	471
Daily Total / Goal	339 / 30	4,042 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	340 / 210	4,092 / 4,130

Don't let the sunny blue skies fool you. It was bitter cold in Chicago on Wednesday.

That is not a flying saucer behind me. It is the Adler Planetarium.

It's not everyday that I go outside wearing two hats. Yesterday I wore my  balaclava under my ski cap.

ALL BAD THINGS MUST END

My blog has (mostly) documented a successful weight loss journey and (mostly) documented the change of a complete couch potato to a person who values exercise.  There have been a few periods within the past two years when I have strayed very far from the eating habits that I was aspiring to and veered back into the eating habits that I was trying to leave behind. Today, right now, Wednesday, January 4th, will mark the turning point when I remember to (re)learn all the good things that I originally did to guide my success and discontinue my reckless eating.  It is true, I have been eating badly recently. Fortunately, just like we all know that: all good things must end, it is also true that all bad things must end. 

Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Arrowhead Mills - Gluten Free Puffed Corn Cereal	720	144	12	24	60	0
	720	144	12	24	60	0
L U N C H
Landshire Sandwiches - Ham & Cheese Wedge	520	64	16	36	2,480	14
Fit Crunch - Cookies and Cream	380	27	16	30	490	6
	900	91	32	66	2,970	20
D I N N E R
Panda Express - Panda Express Orange Chicken	380	45	18	14	620	19
Panda Express - Mushroom Chicken	180	10	9	14	0	4
Panda Express - Chow Mein	510	65	22	13	980	9
	1,070	120	49	41	1,600	32
S N A C K S
Energy Granola Bar Cherry Dark Chocolate	400	60	10	20	300	30
	400	60	10	20	300	30
Totals	3,090	415	103	151	4,930	82
Your Daily Goal	1,930	241	64	97	2,300	72
Remaining	-1,160	-174	-39	-54	-2,630	-10
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g