GOOD LUCK, JACK

Last night, I met my young friend Jack at my Chabad House for a final evening of L'Chaims prior to him packing his car and moving back to Brooklyn, New York after 3 years in Chicago.

Jack is a special friend, as we had many shared experiences at the Chabad House.  For some reason, a lot of those experiences seemed to revolve around 'L'Chaims.'  It is true that my renewed enthusiasm for Judaism seemed to be in direct proportion to my discovery that Orthodox Jews like to 'weaken' their bodies with alcohol just a bit, to more easily allow greater inspirational spiritual thoughts enter the mind. Anyway, that's the theory.

from the Chabad.org website:

This "weakening of the body" allows the soul to shine through. After taking a l'chaim one is more easily inspired, because the body offers less resistance. This obviously applies only when one drinks in moderation, and on special, holy occasions in an attempt to make them a bit more festive and to introduce an inspirational ambiance

I am going to miss my friend Jack.  Jack and his bride are about to start the best journey that anyone can ever start. The journey of parenthood. Their doctor has given them a date in February, so I will be keeping an eye out for confirmation of this wonderful blessing to come.  Among the things that I liked about Jack is that we had plenty of things in common despite the fact that I was old enough to be his father's older brother. I don't know if he considered me his unusual 'old' friend or just a friend. It matters not. He is a good guy. Jack I wish you the best.

My friend Jack and I had one last memorable evening at the Chabad House last night. I expected to have plenty of L'Chaims. I actually do try to count them as I intend to log them into my food diary.  (Although, when I do, I usually get a disapproving email from my Mom, who is among my most regular blog readers)  Nevertheless, I think we didn't quite get into double digits last night - but I do know that our bodies were weakened plenty to discuss some big issues.  All kidding aside, the discussions last night included discussing quantum physics and God.  This is precisely what the 'L'Chaims' are purported to do - open pathways to new inspirational ideas.

I will simply look forward to my next L'Chaim with my friend...whether it is in one year or ten years.

I was well aware that last evening was going to be an evening of eating and drinking... although it is more or less useless to try to pre-burn calories prior to overindulging... It is something that one can't be blamed for trying.... Yesterday, my first workout on the elliptical machine was from 5:00AM until 6:30AM and my second workout was from 3:00PM until 4:30PM which was prior to my 7 hour visit to the Chabad House.

5:00AM elliptical workout

3:00PM elliptical workout

.

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, January 15, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Walgreens - Nutritional Shake, 2 Bottle	500	80	12	18	380	44
Nice - Quick Oats	600	112	10	20	0	0
	1,100	192	22	38	380	44
L U N C H
Cafeteria - Sweet Butternut Squash, 4.5 oz	120	20	5	0	8	6
Tender Greens - Kale Salad With Albacore Tuna	195	4	15	12	224	0
Generic - Teriyaki Salmon Steaks, 6 oz	270	3	8	47	365	5
	585	27	27	58	596	11
D I N N E R
Homemade - Challah Bread, 3 slice	351	57	8	12	312	0
Home Made - Matzah Ball Soup, 1 cup	118	10	6	0	450	0
Home - Boiled Chicken Breast	262	0	6	49	0	0
Homemade - Chocolate Birthday Cake, 1 Slice	294	35	10	0	0	35
	1,025	102	29	61	762	35
S N A C K S
Cliff Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt - Trail Mix Bar, 1 bar	200	19	13	5	160	9
Roundy's - Oats & More With Honey & Almonds	520	104	8	12	600	24
Crown Royal - Crown Royal, 9 ounce	576	0	0	0	0	0
	1,296	123	21	17	760	33
Totals	4,006	444	100	175	2,498	123
Your Daily Goal	5,901	737	196	296	2,300	221
Remaining	1,895	293	96	121	-198	98
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,971 extra calories from exercise today

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, January 15, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	2,166
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	2,128
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-323
Daily Total / Goal	185 / 30	3,971 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	656 / 210	13,013 / 4,130

.
.

total calories consumed 4006 calories

total calories burned (184 min elliptical) 4294 calories

total net 288 calorie deficit

.....................

fitbit day 134

19382 steps
. . . . . . . .
SATURDAY WEIGH/IN   219 LBS.

. . . . . . . .
I just now noticed the date...January 16.  I do not have the strongest faith that my Dad will receive this message in heaven...but just in case... Happy Birthday, Dad.

L'CHAIM! TO LIFE!

Could anything be more true?

Some of my best friends are Jewish.   This is really not so amazing as I am Jewish.  When Jews gather together to celebrate Shabbat (the Sabbath) and other happy life events - we toast, "To Life." (L'chaim)   Many people familiar with the musical, Fiddler on the Roof,  remember the song, "To Life"  (L'chaim)  In fact, L'chaim is really plural, and the toast is better understood as 'To Lives.'   None of us lives alone, we all count on each other to experience meaningful lives.  So, why am I telling you all this?  In two weeks, I will be attending the birthday party of my dear friend, and Rabbi at my neighborhood Chabad House.   I know that there will be many 'L'chaims' during this celebration. When we toast L'chaim it is usually with 1oz of vodka or whiskey or scotch.  I need to plan in advance how I can participate in the 'L'chaims' without busting my calorie budget. It is not complicated. I will just fill my 'L'chaim' cup only 1/3 full, so that I can enjoy the camaraderie of sharing 'L'chaims' with my friends.

I am lucky that I am not a regular drinker.  Alcohol consumption can greatly interfere with weight loss.   I was curious how many calories are in some of the drinks that I have enjoyed in the past.

GREY GOOSE VODKA 1oz               69 CALORIES
MAKER'S MARK BOURBON 1 oz.  69 CALORIES

It appears that if I only 'fill' my cup 1/3 full, I will be able to fully enjoy myself.  And that, is my plan.
L'Chaim!

Tevye and Lazer Wolf toast 'L'Chaim' as they have sealed the deal on the marriage of Tevye's daughter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I have enjoyed virtually every meal I have eaten since December 24th, when I started my lifestyle changes.   Today, at Costco, something caught my eye that I would never have seen or considered in my previous life.   Something called: Vegetable Yakisoba (Japanese Noodles)  

This product was described as "Japanese-style stir fried noodles with crisp vegetables and a savory sauce."   It sounded good to me.   A 4.5 oz serving has 250 calories.   On Wednesday evening, I tried the Yakisoba and it was in fact, delicious!  Experimentation is fun.  

WEDNESDAY MENU

breakfast  3 poached eggs, 2 strips turkey 'bacon'                                280 CALORIES

lunch        3 oz beef, sweet potato bisque soup, spinach w/balsamic   327 CALORIES

dinner      4.5 oz YAKISOBA JAPANESE NOODLES

                sweet potato bisque soup                                                       350 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES      957 CALORIES

calories burned

6AM  30 minutes elliptical  380 CALORIES

6PM   30 minutes elliptical  390 CALORIES

total calories burned 770 CALORIES

NET CALORIES 187 CALORIES

YAKISOBA JAPANESE NOODLES w/Sweet Potato Bisque Soup  350 CALORIES

And finally.... a last word

A favorite quote from my Rabbi, goes something like this:  "Jews don't drink, we L'chaim!"   I think he means that there is a spiritual benefit when we L'chaim.   I have to admit, it does sometimes kinda feel like drinking!

More dubious 'wisdom' from Homer Simpson