GRAND RIVER TRAIL

My day started with an appointment in Grand Rapids. My afternoon appointment took me to the capital city, Lansing.  After selling some buttons, I parked my car at a trailhead for the Grand River Trail. The weather was highly un-cooperative. I don't think that I had walked 200 steps before it started raining.  This did not stop me. The rain was intermittent, sometimes, pouring, and sometimes the clouds zipped away unwrapping a blue sky.  The blue skies were short-lived and it would start raining again. I chose to get wet rather than pack it in and race back to my car. I managed a 90 minute urban hike along the Grand River which would have been spectacularly more enjoyable had it been a nice day. I did log six miles. I realize that I have not exercised indoors since July 25th which was the last time that I spent time on an elliptical machine. I really enjoy being outdoors, and I am going to keep my outdoor streak going as long as I can.

One thing that I see everywhere...It appears that every topographical formation in the midwest can trace its existence to the melting of the continental glacier 12,000 years ago.  Back in those days was a time before the world's greatest hoax was foisted on mankind by un-educated and over-educated pseudo-scientists with a political agenda. Thank Goodness, Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, had not yet been released - or else the world's leaders, would have spent years trying to pass laws to prevent the glaciers from melting by outlawing carbon emissions caused by the wanton use of gasoline powered automobiles, boats and jet airplanes. Surely they would have tried to close all  of the numerous coal-burning power plants of the day. They probably would not have had to worry about the deforestation of North America as it is unlikely that there were too many forests thriving atop the glacier. Perhaps with the melting of the mile high glaciers, the sea levels did rise - lucky break for Mesolithic Era humans living inland who found themselves with more valuable ocean front property after a few decades. Global Warming may be real. It was certainly real in the past. Global Warming will likely be real in the future. That we can cause it or that we can prevent it - That is the hoax. The greatest hoax ever sold.

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kelloggs - Raisin Bran Cereal, 248.39 g	800	194	4	21	884	76
Simple Super 8 Cinnamon Roll - Cinnamon	500	77	24	6	887	40
	1,300	271	28	27	1,771	116
L U N C H
Tesco - Smoked Ham Salad Sandwich	630	82	17	38	1	7
Kelloggs - Special K 12g protein meal bar	180	22	6	12	210	13
	810	104	23	50	211	20
D I N N E R
Subway - Footlong Turkey Breast on Wheat	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
S N A C K S
VANILLA MACAROON GRANOLA	600	91	22	12	144	34
	600	91	22	12	144	34
Totals	3,270	558	90	125	4,016	181
Your Daily Goal	3,010	376	100	151	2,300	113
Remaining	-260	-182	10	26	-1,716	-68
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,080 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 205.4 lbs in 5 weeks     

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
6 Mile Urban Hike	90	1,100
Daily Total / Goal	90 / 30	1,100 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	451 / 210	5,554 / 4,130

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SORE LOSERMAN

This election cycle is going to be a wild ride. Two of the most unpopular candidates ever, are running against each other. One's a liar, the other one is a bigger liar. One is often accused of being a dishonest crook, the other one actually is a dishonest crook.  One is accused of committing all kinds of crimes by the media and like-minded surrogates, and yet has never been close to being arrested, the other one has evaded arrest by the sheer force of her charisma (which oddly enough she does not have).  All this reminds me of another 'winning team' that did manage to win the popular vote in 2000, but lost the election due to the rules of that pesky Constitution (you know, that document that Democrats abhor - especially some of the more liberal Supreme Court Justices)  You see, back in 2000 George Bush and Dick Cheney competed against Al Gore and Joe Lieberman for the Presidency. To say that the election was close is a bit of an understatement. Gore and Lieberman did win more votes, unfortunately, Presidential elections are not determined by raw votes.  They are determined by the winner of the Electoral College. Gore and Lieberman lost the election.  But they cried about recounts in Florida for for a few weeks - that was the time that they became the SORE LOSERMAN ticket. I purchased this SORE LOSERMAN t-shirt nearly one dozen years ago at a yard sale. It did not fit. It was 'only' a size 'XL'. For many years, even a size XXL did not insure a proper fit.  Yesterday I proudly wore my shirt during a 21 mile hike through the streets of Chicago. I think I did get a few doubletakes from some of my fellow Chicagoans as I passed them along the way. This is my new favorite shirt, I think I will give this shirt a quite a few wearings for the next 100 days as we approach election day 2016.

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Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, July 31, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kroger - Grits	500	105	5	10	1,700	5
	500	105	5	10	1,700	5
L U N C H
Sushi Track - Salmon Roll	500	334	75	125	0	0
Yogurt Pretzels	300	42	12	4	90	26
	800	376	87	129	90	26
D I N N E R
Homemade - Crockpot Pot Roast	400	0	7	19	364	0
Earthbound Farm - Organic baby spinach	40	6	0	4	130	0
Trader Joes -Extra Dark Chocolate Wedges	320	28	20	4	40	16
	760	34	27	27	534	16
S N A C K S
Natural Dark Chocolate With Cherries	500	44	32	6	0	22
	500	44	32	6	0	22
Totals	2,560	559	151	172	2,324	69
Your Daily Goal	5,592	699	186	280	2,300	209
Remaining	3,032	140	35	108	-24	140
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,662 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 183.5 lbs in 5 weeks .


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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	293	3,875
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-213
Daily Total / Goal	294 / 30	3,662 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1825 / 210	23,257 / 4,130

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POLAR VORTEX

That is exactly what we have been missing this winter. It was just last year when my daughter had 4 (four) days of school cancelled due to excessive cold as Chicago was visited by two polar vortexes two weeks apart.  This year's Chicago winter has been largely snowless and much warmer than last year's record breaking cold.  A Polar Vortex will be visiting the United States this weekend.

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Here is the five-day forecast for Chicago... It appears that our coldest day will only get down to minus two degrees fahrenheit on Friday.

I suppose we should all be thankful that we do not live in International Falls, Minnesota... They will have a low of minus twenty-three degrees fahrenheit on Friday! THAT IS COLD!

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker Oats - Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cinnamon, 4 Bowl (43g)	640	132	8	16	800	48
Kelloggs - Raisin Bran Cereal, 118 g	380	92	2	10	420	36
Mcintosh - Apple, 2 medium apple (150 g)	160	44	0	0	0	34
	1,180	268	10	26	1,220	118
L U N C H
Jason's Deli - SPICY SEAFOOD GUMBO, 1 Bowl	230	26	8	12	1,710	3
Jason's Deli - Amy's Turkey-o, 1 sandwich	480	56	17	29	1,380	11
Jason's Deli - Small Chef Salad, 464 Gr. (1 Salad)	500	13	30	50	1,660	5
	1,210	95	55	91	4,750	19
D I N N E R
HYVEE - HUGE SPINACH SALAD, 1.5 salad	750	0	0	0	0	0
WHOLE FOODS - YOGURT PRETZELS	190	28	0	2	180	19
	940	28	0	2	180	19
S N A C K S
Jason's Deli - Flatbread Cracker, 8 cracker	400	48	16	16	760	8
	400	48	16	16	760	8
Totals	3,730	439	81	135	6,910	164
Your Daily Goal	3,742	468	124	188	2,300	140
Remaining	12	29	43	53	-4,610	-24
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 1,812 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	62	907
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	65	998
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-93
Daily Total / Goal	128 / 30	1,812 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	310 / 210	5,576 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3730 calories

total calories burned (elliptical) 1905 calories

total net 1825 calories

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fitbit day 157

17363 steps
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First Session: 65 minutes: 907 calories burned

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Second Session: 65 minutes: 998 calories burned

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THE 3500 CALORIE MYTH

This was part of an interesting article that I found on WebMD.com.  I actually had thought that the 3500 calorie rule was 'settled science'  (you know, like global warming....)

OK, I am absolutely not being serious here.... THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SETTLED SCIENCE.  Unless, your scientific beliefs are based on some kind of quasi religion, science is never settled. (If you think science can be settled, go back to your 9th grade general science textbook and look up how many planets there were back in the old days - a book published today will give a different answer.  SPOILER ALERT: Although the new settled science will list one planet less, no planets were destroyed by the Borg or Darth Vader's Death Star.) As new discoveries, are made, so-called settled science can become quite unsettled.  If anyone argues a scientific point and uses as their argument that the science is settled - you can be sure that you are talking to Al Gore or a left-wing college professor or someone equally ignorant. The most agreed upon scientific theories are born from research not self-important guru politicians or polls. The next time someone tries to prove a point advising you that 97% of scientists agree on anything - just know that you are talking to someone who does not know the first thing about science. Science is determined by hypothesis, and experimentation - not the editorial page of the New York Times. That is way more pontificating than necessary for today... Today, I am going to discuss something that I admit I did think was settled science - and like much of settled science - research has unsettled it.

NEWS FLASH....FROM WebMD (I have reproduced just the beginning of the article from their website)
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Do You Have to Cut 3,500 Calories to Lose a Pound?
The idea that dieters need to cut this many calories -- with diet, exercise or both -- to lose 1 pound of weight comes from an influential scientific paper published in 1958. Max Wishnofsky, MD, a doctor who lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., tried to sum up everything we knew about how calories are stored by the body. He concluded that when the body is in a steady caloric state -- meaning it isn’t fasting or starving -- extra calories will be stored as fat, and it would take 3,500 extra calories to create a pound of fat. In that same steady state, he also said it would take a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose a pound of weight. For decades, the “Wishnofsky Rule” has been math that determined dieters live by.

The trouble is that it’s wrong.

The 3,500-calorie rule doesn’t work because the body adjusts to weight loss. It quickly decreases the number of calories it needs to maintain its new, lighter size, says Corby Martin, PhD, director of the Ingestive Behavior Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA. That means weight loss slows down over time. People who expect to drop a pound for every 3,500 calories they cut will soon become frustrated when the scale doesn’t cooperate.

Let’s say a dieter knows they need to eat 2,500 calories a day to maintain their current weight. But they want to slim down. So they decide to shave 500 calories off their daily intake. According to the Wishnofsky Rule, after about a week of doing that, they should lose a pound.

“For the first week or two, the 3,500 calorie-per-pound rule kind of works, roughly, but after the first couple of weeks it doesn’t work,” Martin says.

Here’s why: In 3 or 4 weeks, you need less food to maintain that new, svelter shape.

The good news is that researchers have been working hard to update Wishnofsky’s formula. There are new calculators, like the Body Weight Planner available from the NIH and the Weight Loss Predictor from Pennington. Give them a few key details, like your sex, age, weight, height, activity level, and the date you want to hit your goal, and they’ll give you a more realistic daily calorie goal to get you there.

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In the next couple of days we are going to explore the BODY WEIGHT PLANNER from NIH as well as the WEIGHT LOSS PREDICTOR from Pennington.
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The studies that prove that 3500 calories do not always result in a net gain or loss remind me of a comment that I have heard Dennis Prager, radio host, columnist and book author, say many times on the radio.  "Ever since I attended college, I have been convinced that either “studies” confirm what common sense suggests or that they are mistaken."  Most of us already knew that the 3500 calorie rule could not have been exactly right.  Common sense should have told us, as so many of us already knew from our own experiences, that the 3500 calorie rule was simply was not completely true.
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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Safeway Eating Right - Granola Cereal, 1.0 cup	330	66	4	8	300	21
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters, 150 g	600	120	8	15	1,050	45
	930	186	11	23	1,350	66
L U N C H
American Cheese - Kraft Single Milk..mine, 2 slice (21g)	140	4	9	8	440	2
Eggs - Grade A Large, 3 egg (50g)	210	0	15	18	210	0
Kroger - Deli Sliced Ham, 3 slices	45	2	2	8	488	2
S. Rosen's - 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 1 slice	100	19	1	5	190	3
	495	25	27	39	1,328	7
D I N N E R
Doctor Kracker - Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Crisp Bread, 8 Piece	800	104	36	32	1,200	0
Campbells Home Style Soup - Italian Wedding Soup, 2.5 cup	250	33	6	15	1,025	10
	1,050	137	42	47	2,225	10
S N A C K S
ROBERTO - GRISSINI TORINESI (BREADSTICKS), 16 BREADSTICKS	140	22	3	4	280	0
the Fresh Market - Cranberry Oat Sweet & Savory Crisps, 40 -10 crisp	400	80	8	10	575	30
	540	102	11	14	855	30
Totals	3,015	450	91	122	5,758	113
Your Daily Goal	2,564	320	85	129	2,300	96
Remaining	-451	-129	-5	7	-3,457	-17
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 634 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
MATRIX TREADMILL	75	730
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-96
Daily Total / Goal	76 / 30	634 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	261 / 210	4,739 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3015 calories

total calories (75 minutes treadmill) 730 calories

total net calories 2285 calories

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fitbit day 124

14747 steps
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