WALK ON

I guess in recent weeks I have adopted the song, Walk On, by the band, BOSTON, as my personal anthem. I am amazed at what I have accomplished in the past two weeks. Two consecutive weeks walking 100 miles. Unlike my earlier marathon walks from hours spent on a treadmill seeing and experiencing nothing other than than the four walls of the fitness room, these days I am seeing my hometown, my state, my country. I am discovering city, county, state and national parks that I never knew existed. I am discovering waterfalls and rock formations in the unlikeliest of places. I have walked into deep gorges and walked up ski slopes. I am discovering that walking is a viable mode of travel. I am discovering that walking is one of the best workouts one can do, as the human body was well designed for this function. 

Walk On ends with these words.  

Walk On
There's no turning back
Walk On
Get your train on the track

For me, there is no turning back. I have long left the couch sitting, TV-watching, potato chip eating, fat slob blob that I was. I have got my train on the track. Walk on.

The weather in Chicago on Friday was highly un-cooperatvive for any kind of lengthy urban hike. I did manage to walk nine miles from three separate outings just running some errands. I (mostly) dodged the rain.  I carefully kept my calories well below 3000, as there was no vigorous hike to balance a higher consumption.  It was a good day, in a string of good days.

It is 'fun' to remind myself that I was 309 lbs on December 24, 2014. No matter how far I let my weight slip backwards in recent months, I was always able to say to myself, "At least I am still down X pounds from where I started." That kind of rationalization, is useful for a short time, but it is precisely what leads to a person gaining back every pound lost. I know this, I was that guy.  Around the time that my high schooler was starting kindergarten, I went from 300 pounds to 220 pounds.  As I gained back the weight, I could always say, "At least I am still down X pounds from where I started." This self-soothing statement loses its punch once you have regained 70 of the 80 pounds lost. "At least I am still down 10 pounds from where I started."

About three months ago, I had once again begun to veer down this path of failure. During the time that I dealt with my hernia, I had reached 241.9 lbs on May 7.  And now you know what I was saying to myself as my clothes were becoming impossible to squeeze into: "At least I am still down 67 pounds from where I started."  

Renewed effort has paid off. This morning, I weighed myself, as I have done each Saturday since December 24, 2014.

221.1 lbs

I lost another 2.6 lbs this week.
In the past four weeks I have lost 7.9 lbs.
In the past eight weeks I have lost 10.8 lbs.
In the past twelve weeks I have lost 17.9 lbs.
In the past thirteen weeks, since I ballooned up to 241.9 lbs, I have lost 20.8 lbs.

I did get my train back on the track.
There's no turning back.
Walk on.

Earlier this year, I was derailed.

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These days, I am back on track

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, August 12, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kroger - Grits, 2 cup	200	42	2	4	680	2
Maltomeal - Honey Nut Scooters, 3 cup	360	72	5	9	630	27
	560	114	7	13	1,310	29
L U N C H
Read - 3 Bean Salad	300	65	0	5	1,500	40
Okami - Surimi Roll Sushi	320	52	10	6	640	12
Dark Chocolate Chip Chew Granola	130	27	2	2	80	11
	750	144	12	13	2,220	63
D I N N E R
Shrimp - Fried (Medium), 6 Shrimps	150	7	8	12	295	0
Codfish	100	0	1	22	74	0
Cream Corn, 0.5 cup	100	22	1	2	360	8
Fried Chicken Breast	320	9	16	33	1,100	0
	670	38	26	69	1,829	8
S N A C K S
UNSWEETENED BANANA CHIPS	200	19	12	2	6	1
YOGURT PRETZELS	310	46	0	3	293	31
	510	65	12	5	299	32
Totals	2,490	361	57	100	5,658	132
Your Daily Goal	3,598	450	120	180	2,300	135
Remaining	1,108	89	63	80	-3,358	3
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,668 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 201.7 lbs in 5 weeks.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, August 12, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking 4 miles	53	780
Walking 3 miles	45	520
Walking 2 miles	28	368
Daily Total / Goal	126 / 30	1,668 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1034 / 210	10,507 / 4,130

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MISSISSIPPI RIVER - INTERSTATE HIKING

Any dolt can take a hike within a state. It takes a special 'flight plan' to cross over into another state. Yesterday, I 'parked' myself at a hotel in Hannibal, Missouri right across the Mississippi River so that I could travel a quick 15 miles to Quincy, Illinois for my Tuesday 9AM appointment. It occurred to me that I could walk across a bridge from Missouri and re-enter Illinois, and then turn right around an re-enter Missouri. It was my first interstate hike. Hannibal, Missouri is the hometown of Samuel Clemens, aka, Mark Twain. My hike included a stop at a statue of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as well as a the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse. After arriving in Hannibal at 5PM, I had a very rewarding 12 mile hike which lasted nearly three hours. Recently I have been seeing America like I have never seen it before. I have stayed in this town before, and I had never seen the Mark Twain inspired statue or the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse. I had never noticed the topography of the town that rises 200 feet above the river bank. It was as if I had never been here before. My new hobby of walking is a hobby that I enjoy very much. I get some fresh air, I get in some steps, I get in some cardio, and I get in some local history. It is a win-win-win-win hobby.  My old hobby would have me arrive in a town, grab some McDonald's 'food' and settle in for 5 hours of Fox News. That was clearly a very unproductive hobby. And as Fox News has now been rebranded as TNN (Trump New Network) - I can't even bear watching it for more than a few minutes. My fascination with Donald Trump does not rise to the level of the Fox News executives. I am going to vote for him - but I don't care to hear about his daily tweets and misguided statements. 

Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse

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Approaching the bridge to leave Missouri, cross the Mississippi and enter Illinois

On the bridge, looking south at the Mighty Mississippi River

Entering Illinois

After turning around on the bridge, re-entering Missouri

From Hannibal, Missouri looking at the bridge from a distance

Mark Twain inspired statue in Hannibal, Missouri

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Your Food Diary For:

Monday, June 6, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Restaurant - 3 Egg Omelette - Ham and Cheese	400	1	30	40	1,225	0
Bacon Style Turkey, 6 slices	210	3	18	12	900	0
Cream of Rice - Hot Cereal, 2 cup	320	72	0	6	0	0
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 1 medium apple (170g)	95	25	0	1	2	19
	1,025	101	48	59	2,127	19
L U N C H
Stuffed Shells, 1.36 meal	600	55	30	26	1,541	10
Earthbound Farm - Baby Spinach, Organic, 6 oz	40	6	0	4	130	0
Crab - Imitation	100	18	0	8	563	4
WHOLE CASHEWS (RAW)(approx 1/4 cup)	300	13	23	8	0	3
	1,040	91	53	46	2,234	17
D I N N E R
Rice Cake-White Cheddar	630	112	7	14	1,470	0
	630	112	7	14	1,470	0
S N A C K S
YOGURT ALMONDS, 80 g (approx 12 pcs)	440	44	28	8	40	38
	440	44	28	8	40	38
Totals	3,135	348	137	126	5,871	74
Your Daily Goal	6,401	800	213	321	2,300	240
Remaining	3,266	451	76	194	-3,570	166
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 4,471 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, June 6, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	90	1,200
Walking	174	2,130
Add Exercise Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	264 / 30	3,330 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	264 / 210	3,330 / 4,130

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CONDITIONS IN HANNIBAL AS I SET OUT FOR MY 12 MILE HIKE