BACK IN THE 240's (DAY 47)

For the 47th consecutive day, my caloric consumption was in the neighborhood of 1000.
Saturday is the day that I weigh myself to gauge my progress.

ST. JOSEPH RIVER ELKHART DAY 45

Arrived in Elkhart for the second time in as many weeks with about one hour of sunlight left in the day. Immediately changed into some walking clothes and left my hotel. It appeared that I could reach the St Joseph River in downtown Elkhart, so I basically headed that way, crossed a couple of bridges to turn around and when I was done, I had logged a six mile hike.

Meanwhile.... Day 46 of calorie consumption in the neighborhood of 1000 was successful.

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REVISITING THE HOMER SIMPSON CALORIE CONUNDRUM

Saturday was the 41st consecutive day that I have kept my calorie consumption within the neighborhood of 1000. This 'program' has been successful. I have lost more than 30 pounds in those 41 days.... Today I look back at my own blog post from February 7, 2015 when I had first started to lose weight from a starting point of 309 lbs.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

HOMER SIMPSON CALORIE CONUNDRUM 

There are some people who might feel that I am eating too little.   I am in Day 15 of my new program.   My program does not have a sexy name like Paleo, Slim Fast, Biggest Loser, Atkins, South-Beach, Mediterranean, Weight-Watchers, Jenny Craig or scores of other plans.  Each one has its own book (or books) and each has its legions of followers.  My diet plan is EAT LESS.  For fourteen consecutive days I have consumed less than 1000 calories per day.   Some days I have been under 800 calories.   The small amount of literature that I have seen indicates that this might be too low.  Would it have been really helpful if I had a hot dog roll with my hot dog (+100 Calories)? Would it have been helpful if I had had ranch dressing on any of my salads (+300 Calories)? Would it have been helpful if I had had my baguette with my Turkey Chili (+100 Calories)? Would it have been helpful if I had had only one piece of cake as some kind of misguided reward (+400 Calories)? 

I am convinced that my body is sending signals to me thanking me for finally giving it the fuel to operate properly.   In the past, I might have consumed 3000, 4000 or even 5000 calories per day. What nutritional benefit did the Ho Ho's, Oreos, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Klondike Bars, or M&M's provide?  Homer Simpson eats a lot of calories, but how much of what he eats is actual food?

I never ate as badly as Homer.  In my defense, it is hard to compete with a cartoon character.

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Saturday in Chicago....
The day started with a great weight 252.1 lbs (down 6.3 lbs for the seven day week!)
The day included a two hour study session with my daughter in her first days of Pre-Calculus
The day also included an 11 mile urban hike...
and for the 41st consecutive day, my calorie consumption was in the neighborhood of 1000.

DAY 32

A virtual re-run of Tuesday and Wednesday.
I visited two customers in Indiana today and arrived in Fort Wayne before 6PM.
I took advantage of the sunlight and managed to squeeze in a SIX MILE urban hike.


Day 31 that I have curtailed my caloric consumption to something in the neighborhood of 1000 calories.

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28 DAYS

Sunday was the 28th consecutive day that I have drastically curtailed my caloric intake.
ONE MONTH
I wonder where I will be one month from now if I can repeat this success...
I hope to find out in 28 days.

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IT'S DIET NOT EXERCISE

If you look carefully over my left shoulder in this photo you will see a lion sitting atop a rock in the Lincoln Park Zoo in a 'selfie' that I snapped yesterday during a 9 mile urban hike.

Here is a closeup of the same lion. This time I flipped the phone around and used the better of the two lenses.

I have never thought about it before yesterday. Why are not all zoo animals wildly overweight? How much exercise is this lion getting. When was the last time that this lion got to really 'stretch his legs' and zip around at 30 mph across a tall grass field chasing a pack of zebras? Only one thing must be keeping him looking fit and trim. Diet. I am 'guilty' as anyone who thinks that calories can be erased by exercise. I suppose given enough activity there is some possibility of that, but the stubborn truth is that the best way to lose weight or keep weight off is to reduce calories. The formula is simple. It's just not easy. I know that I have been over-eating this past week and that I have been especially generous 'rewarding' myself with chocolate in various forms. I was not shocked when the scale indicated that I am back up to 225.1 lbs. (Still down 85 lbs from the day I started this weight loss journey)  I just need to do better. I will continue to exercise as that brings its own rewards. I just need to ratchet down the eating. That's the plan. I suppose a plan can never fail if you don't have one. Still, it is always better to have a plan.

Yesterday my physical activity was augmented with a 97 minute session on the elliptical machine .

Here is a rather petrifying reminder that summer really is over, and that Halloween is just around the corner.

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, October 7, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Great Grains Cranberry Almond Crunch	420	82	7	10	230	24
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 5 packet	500	110	0	10	1,550	0
	920	192	7	20	1,780	24
L U N C H
Fried Okra	300	24	10	3	210	3
Fried Shrimp	100	4	0	42	0	0
	400	28	10	45	210	3
D I N N E R
Ground Beef Buritto, 1 Buritto	675	0	32	42	0	1
Taco Bell - Hard Shell Taco	510	36	30	24	930	3
	1,185	36	62	66	930	4
S N A C K S
Hersheys Dark Chocolate Bar	500	28	38	9	100	11
	500	28	38	9	100	11
Totals	3,005	284	117	140	3,020	42
Your Daily Goal	4,718	590	157	236	2,300	177
Remaining	1,713	306	40	96	-720	135
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,788 extra calories from exercise today

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, October 7, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
9 MILE URBAN HIKE	124	1,683
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	97	1,082
Daily Total / Goal	221 / 30	2,765 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	530 / 210	7,627 / 4,130

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