SISYPHUS

Sisyphus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In Greek mythology Sisyphus (/ˈsɪsᵻfəs/; Greek: Σίσυφος, Sísuphos) was the king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He was punished for his self-aggrandizing craftiness and deceitfulness by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it come back to hit him, repeating this action for eternity. Through the classical influence on modern culture, tasks that are both laborious and futile are therefore described as Sisyphean (/ˌsɪsᵻˈfiːən/).

Weight loss.  Down 10 pounds. Up 12 pounds. Down 4 pounds. Up 3 pounds. Down 1 pound. Up five pounds. It occurred to me just the other day that losing weight is sisyphean task.  This is not meant to be a negative statement. It is just accurate. Unlike Sisyphus, the task of losing weight and maintaining weight is not a punishment. In fact, for people who need to lose weight, NOT BEING ON THE METAPHORICAL HILL WITH A ROCK TO ROLL is the punishment. As said in the 2004 movie, DODGEBALL, by White Goodman  'So now you're a philosophizer?'  I guess today I am.

My point is this. I would rather be trying to roll the metaphorical rock up the hill trying to reach a destination that can and never will be reached than simply sitting around doing nothing and getting more and more out of shape and fatter as was my previous condition prior to December 2014. It is better to be Sisyphus than to not be engaged at all.

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, December 10, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Spinach & Kale Whole Grain Chips	280	30	14	4	140	0
Butter Flavored Grits	400	84	4	8	1,360	4
	680	114	18	12	1,500	4
L U N C H
Nathan's Skinless Beef Frank	560	4	52	20	1,920	0
Butternut - Enriched Hot Dog Bun, 2	220	42	3	6	440	4
Trader Joe's - Sauerkraut	50	20	0	0	2,000	10
Dark Cocoa Melting Wafers	440	48	26	6	90	42
	1,270	114	81	32	4,450	56
D I N N E R
Manhattan Clam Chowder	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
Dorito's - Cool Ranch	150	18	8	2	180	1
	390	54	14	12	1,780	7
S N A C K S
Nestle - Milk Chocolate Bar	210	27	12	2	20	25
Kelloggs - Rice Krispies Treats	375	69	9	3	420	32
	585	96	21	5	440	57
Totals	2,925	378	134	61	8,170	124
Your Daily Goal	4,045	505	135	203	2,300	151
Remaining	1,120	127	1	142	-5,870	27
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,115 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Elliptical Trainer	99	1,264
Elliptical Trainer	97	1,010
Daily Total / Goal	196 / 30	2,274 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1107 / 210	10,963 / 4,130

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DRIVE TO MINNEAPOLIS

Yesterday, my daughter and I drove to Minneapolis.  We arrived around 9:00PM.  Our first stop was at Whole Foods to pick up a dinner. The ride confirmed what I have long known. My daughter has questionable taste in music. Here I am thinking how lucky she is that her Dad owns virtually everything from Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kinks, Blue Öyster Cult, The Who, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Mott the Hoople, and The Rolling Stones. My daughter simply could not care less. Why should she care? She likes Taylor Swift! Nevertheless, the ride was enjoyable and today we will visit the Mall of America before we see some of my customers starting tomorrow.

Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, April 17, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Egg, whole, cooked, poached	300	1	20	26	624	1
Butterball - Bacon Style Turkey	210	3	18	12	900	0
Nice! - Honey Grahams	650	120	15	10	850	40
	1,160	124	53	48	2,374	41
L U N C H
Apple - Apple, Red Delicious, Medium	285	75	0	0	6	57
Select Choice - Chewy Oat & Honey Granola Bar	200	36	5	2	110	14
	485	111	5	2	116	71
D I N N E R
Whole Foods - Chicken Breast, Baked, 5 oz.	184	0	4	34	444	0
Turkey - White Meat, 12 oz.	420	14	1	58	3,452	12
Generic - Grilled Brussel Sprouts, 2 cup	130	26	5	11	46	0
	734	40	10	104	3,942	12
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS 8497 - CHERRY VANILLA GRANOLA, 82.5 g (3/4 cup)	360	60	11	8	90	23
	360	60	11	8	90	23
Totals	2,739	336	78	162	6,522	146
Your Daily Goal	2,038	255	68	102	2,300	76
Remaining	-701	-80	-10	-59	-4,221	-70
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 108 extra calories from exercise today

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HALF DOME PLANNING GUIDE

Today I am going to share some tips for making a summit on Half Dome in Yosemite Park.  I start by duplicating my own facebook post from a couple of days ago.  This represents my attempt to be at least mildly amusing.

If one wants to make the 4800 foot ascent up to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Park, I can offer these seven simple steps. STEP 1. Lose approximately 85 pounds (only necessary if one starts at 309 lbs) STEP 2. Train for six months: treadmill, elliptical machine, stairmaster STEP 3. Train to increase upper body strength (actually I skipped this step - I only wished I hadn't as I navigated the Half Dome cables to make the final 425 foot ascent) STEP 4. Be fearless (STEP 4 is actually impossible - so skip that one) STEP 5. Somehow manage to climb your way down from the mountain because cell phone coverage at 8842 feet elevation atop Half Dome is spotty at best...so if you want people to be aware of your accomplishment you are going to need to return! STEP 6. Allow at least 12 hours for the approximately 18 mile day hike from Curry Village in Yosemite Park. STEP 7. Don't forget your FitBit as you will get a kick out of learning that you have climbed the equivalent of 550+ flights of stairs. (Imagine climbing from street level to the top of the Empire State Building... Then imagine doing it nearly 5 more times)

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I found a website, yosemitehikes.com which also offered some helpful advice.

Hike Distance:  14.2 miles (22.7 km) round trip via Mist Trail

Half Dome Elevation:  8,842 feet (2,695 meters)

Total Elevation Gain:  4,800 feet (1,600 meters) from Yosemite Valley

Hiking Time:  10 - 14 hours

Why climb the trail to Half Dome?  Half Dome is the ultimate Yosemite day hike - the one you can't die without doing, and the one you're most likely to die while doing.  t's got 900 feet (300 meters) worth of spectacular waterfalls at the bottom if you take the Mist Trail route; bigger-than-life panoramic vistas at the top; and a knee-knocking, hand-clamming cable ascent that will test your courage, your strength, and the tread on your shoes.

Permit Alert:  You'll need a permit to access the cable section of the trail. 

Crowd Factor:  High - so high, in fact, that the park service has instituted a permit system for the cable route, a perennial source of bottlenecks. In 2012 the park service switched to a lottery system, which remains in place. While getting a permit can be a challenge, the permit system has definitely reduced crowding, and the days of 45-minute waits to get onto the cables seem to be over.

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and finally... Here is some detail information on acquiring a Half Dome permit lifted directly from the official United States Government National Park Service website:  http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm

(The information duplicated below was for the 2015 season which will conclude in 9 days.... My advice would be to use the nps.gov.yose/planyourvisit website as it is updated for the 2016 season.

Half Dome Permits for Day Hikers

Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are required seven days per week when the cables are up (as called for in the Half Dome Plan in order to protect wilderness character, reduce crowding, protect natural and cultural resources, and improve safety).

A maximum of 300 hikers are allowed (about 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers) each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond the base of the subdome.

Permits are distributed by lottery via Recreation.gov, with one preseason lottery with an application period in March and and daily lotteries during the hiking season. Backpackers—including those who want to spend the night in Little Yosemite Valley—should apply for Half Dome permits with their wilderness permit rather than using the process described below.

On each preseason lottery application, people can apply for up to six permits (six people) and for up to seven dates. Applications will only be successful if the number of permits requested is available on at least one of the requested dates. If enough permits are available for more than one of the requested dates, permits will be automatically awarded to the highest priority date, as entered by the applicant.

The applicant must specify the name of the trip leader and may specify the name of an alternate. Each person may apply as a trip leader only once per lottery. People applying multiple times as trip leader will have all their lottery applications canceled. Permits will only be valid if the trip leader and/or alternate specified on the permit is part of the group using the permits. The group with trip leader or alternate must be present together at the base of the subdome, where rangers will check for permits. The names of the trip leader and alternate may not be changed once the application is submitted, and their permits are not transferable.

Preseason Lottery

During the preseason lottery, 225 permits are available for each day. The application period for this lottery is from March 1 through March 31 (eastern time). Applicants will receive an email with lottery results in mid-April (or can get results online or by calling Recreation.gov). We are planning on the Half Dome cables being up May 22, 2015 through October 13, 2015, but these dates could change based on conditions.Update: The Half Dome cables will be installed and available for use beginning on May 2. All 225 day hiking permits will be available via the daily lottery, as described below.

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Can you see that little RED DOT in the center of this photograph?  That is me, sitting on a ledge at the summit of Half Dome. It was a bit lonely out there! The word, 'awesome' is often overused - I am pretty sure it applied last Thursday, only five days ago,  around noon when I was soaking in the vastness of Yosemite.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~    Tuesday MENU breakfast      Multigrain Rice Cakes, Chocolate Granola Bar  495 calories lunch            two large apples, center cut bacon 6 slices         400 calories dinner          Manhattan Clam Chowder, Oat+Honey bars       620 calories SNACK       Multigrain Rice Cakes, gala apple                       440 calories TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 1955 CALORIES                                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  CALORIES BURNED MapMyWalk 1 hour, 2 minute walk 5 MILES                          1052 CALORIES Tuesday net calories 903 calories ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   fitbit day 34 17374 steps ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Each time I take a 'workout walk' outside... I like to snap at least a photo or two of something that I see that is interesting.... Today, It was the giant carved pumpkin at the Lincoln Park Zoo ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  GREEN DOT - STARTING POINT RED DOT - ENDING POINT

KEEP YOURSELF ALIVE

QUEEN.  Freddie Mercury. Brian May. Roger Taylor. John Deacon.  What a great band! EVERYONE knows them for some of the HUGE HITS: We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites the Dust. QUEEN was much more than that. They were a great sounding band right out of the gate with their first release in 1973.  Queen.  The song, Keep Yourself Alive, sounds as good today as it ever did. The lyrics start like this...


I was told a million times
Of all the troubles in my way
How I had to keep on trying
And get better every day
But if I crossed a million rivers
And I rode a million miles
Then I'd still be where I started
Bread and butter for a smile

KEEP YOURSELF ALIVE - QUEEN 1973

I was told a million times that I should take better care of my health.  I was told by my wife, my brother, my mother and my father,  I was told through reports in the media and I was told by myself. For the longest time, I did not listen (or if I did listen - I did not act)  I think I know why. Pure laziness.  Pure inertia.  It takes effort to change a lifestyle.  It takes no effort to continue all the bad habits that one is engaged in. It takes no effort to eat cake, candy, cookies and ice-cream.  It takes no effort to sit on a couch and watch TV endlessly.  It takes no effort to refrain from exercise.  Things that take no effort, bring results that are indicative of the lack of effort.  That amazing thing about losing nearly 90 lbs in a little over 3 months time - is that while it took some effort, it did not take some kind of super-extraordinary effort.  I am convinced that anyone can do this. And yet, for eight years while I roamed in the obesity wilderness, this belief eluded me.  It appears that no one was able to reach me until I found the ability to reach myself.  I am glad that I finally did.  You can too.  The formula is simple, although it is not easy.  It is also not impossibly difficult either. Cliches are cliches because they are true. A weight loss journey truly begins with one step - the decision to make smart choices today - at your next meal.

WEDNESDAY MENU

breakfast   two hard-boiled eggs, one apple                                                              236 calories
lunch         Jimmy John's Bootlegger UNWICH                                                       230 calories
dinner       PANERA BREAD Asiago Steak 1/2 sandwich, Caesar Salad 1/2, Apple 640 calories

total caloric consumption 1106 calories

CALORIES BURNED
Ann Arbor Elliptical 7AM 40 minutes 517 calories

WEDNESDAY NET CALORIES 589 CALORIES

PANERA BREAD: HALF CAESAR SALAD (no dressing) 160  CALORIES

PANERA BREAD: HALF SANDWICH ASIAGO STEAK 400 CALORIES

QUEEN - SIMPSONS STYLE