THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY

I was in Cincinnati with nearly 2 hours between my morning and my afternoon appointments. I drove to a shopping center, and parked my car in the 'Target' parking lot, and I took a mid-day 4 mile urban hike by zigging and zagging around the stores and nearby streets. This was the only chance I had to get any exercise in on Wednesday, as I had to zip home back to Chicago and get prepared for a trip to Houston in the pre-dawn hours on Friday morning. I could have accomplished some kind of hike at 6:00AM prior to my morning appointment, but I will admit, I was just not up to it at that hour. Nevertheless, I did get my steps in for the day. There is always a way. 

I changed my shirt after my four mile mid-day hike, so I think I was still fresh for my afternoon sales call.

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal - Apples & Cinammon	320	66	4	8	400	24
Kellogg's Raisin Bran	225	55	1	6	249	21
Red Delicious Apple	100	26	0	1	2	20
	645	147	5	15	651	65
L U N C H
Squid Salad	300	44	6	16	2,046	12
Melting Chocolate Wafers	300	25	21	3	31	24
	600	69	27	19	2,077	36
D I N N E R
Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water/Pulp	120	26	2	0	100	19
Spring Rolls-Teriyaki Chicken	250	32	10	9	750	10
	370	58	12	9	850	29
S N A C K S
Harvest Snaps - Green Pea Snaps	420	56	18	18	263	7
Snackwells - Devils Food Cookie Cake	100	24	0	2	50	14
	520	80	18	20	313	21
Totals	2,135	354	62	63	3,891	151
Your Daily Goal	2,545	318	85	128	2,300	95
Remaining	410	-36	23	65	-1,591	-56
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 615 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 222.2 lbs in 5 weeks

POWDER VALLEY CONSERVATION NATURE CENTER

After driving more than 300 miles to see an important new quilt shop fabric customer in Sparta, Illinois I headed up north again to Hannibal, Missouri in order to be within 15 miles of my Friday morning appointment in Quincy, Illinois. First there was a stop at the Power Valley Nature Conservation Center for some hiking on some short, paved yet deeply elevated trails. The three trails were less than 3 miles added up together. My solution was to hike them all twice. This gave me a 6 mile hike. And the accumulated 'floors' climbed according to my fitbit were more than 100. 

Powder Valley has 112 acres of oak hickory forest. The name comes from the historical use of the general vicinity for manufacture and storage of explosive powder used in the Civil War and World War II.

A large frog stands guard at the entrance to the  conservation center building.

Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, October 13, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Costco - Bagel, 2 Bagel	700	146	5	26	1,540	16
Kirkland Signature - Smoked Salmon	225	0	13	29	1,017	0
Philadelphia Cream Cheese - Original	100	1	9	2	105	1
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 3 packet	300	66	0	6	930	0
	1,325	213	27	63	3,592	17
L U N C H
Jacks Links Original - Beef Jerkey, 3 oz	240	15	3	36	1,770	12
Met-rx Colossal Protein Bar - Cookie Crunch	410	41	14	32	400	26
DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT CHEWS	400	40	28	4	50	26
	1,050	96	45	72	2,220	64
D I N N E R
Whole Foods Market - Tsunami Sushi Combo	590	102	10	24	770	14
Zico - Pure Premium Coconut Water (1 Liter) Tetra Pak	180	44	0	0	260	36
	770	146	10	24	1,030	50
S N A C K S
Bugles - Nacho Cheese	130	15	7	1	250	1
Kelloggs - Rice Krispies Treats	250	46	6	2	280	21
	380	61	13	3	530	22
Totals	3,525	516	95	162	7,372	153
Your Daily Goal	2,846	356	95	143	2,300	106
Remaining	-679	-160	0	-19	-5,072	-47
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 916 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 220.9 lbs in 5 weeks.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
SIX MILE NATURE HIKE ON PAVED PATH	94	990
Daily Total / Goal	94 / 30	990 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	375 / 210	4,121 / 4,130

A STRANGER 'MADE MY DAY'

While I was picking up dinner at a St Louis Whole Foods on the way to Hannibal, Missouri an older man stopped me and said something to me like this: "You're in great shape. Do you work out?" The man appeared to be much older than me, but I suppose he might have only been in his sixties (which is NOT MUCH older than me)  I think I shocked him when I told him, that I 'ONLY' walk.  His response was "I walk too."  (I think he might have been wondering to himself why his walking was not giving him the same results that I apparently was getting.) I answered him, that I walk fast. I thanked him for the compliment, and that was the end of the encounter. Still, this guy 'made my day.'  I was thinking that this has never happened before, but then I remembered some young kid gave me a similar compliment when I was shopping for sneakers a few weeks ago. I will tell you this, whatever people thought about my physique when I was 309 pounds - and I'll be they privately had some wicked unkind thoughts, they surely kept them to themselves. 

...and here is the 'O.Henry' twist to this story.  I actually agree that I look pretty good. Still I am officially obese as determined by standard height and weight charts posted by the government. It's not like the government can ever make a mistake - so I guess I am obese.  I am 6'1" and my last weight was 225.1 lbs.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY...

...to just skip my exercise walk yesterday. (Regular readers of my blog know that I don't always do things that are easy.) I was up at 4:00AM Central Time, to be on my way by 5:30AM for a 10:00AM appointment in Indianapolis. (I 'lose' an hour going east from Chicago to Indiana as I cross from the Central Time Zone into the Eastern Time Zone.) My appointment was productive and there was plenty of good conversation that made the day zip by quickly. Although my customer and I are on opposite sides of the political fence, we were even able to discuss the deeply flawed candidates representing the two major parties. We discussed all kinds of selling, including internet selling and we discussed diet, exercise and weight loss.  In between all of that, buttons, trims and fabrics were shown and sold.  When I left the store, I made a quick detour to Whole Foods to pick up a couple of snacks. Then I had to drive about three hours to my hotel in Columbus, Ohio. By the time I checked in, I flipped on the TV to see what was going on at the DNC (Democratic National Convention)  Megyn Kelly of Fox News was busy promoting the upcoming speech by Bill Clinton. I probably could have excused myself if I decided not to lace up my sneakers and head out for a walk in the darkness. The allure of watching President Clinton extolling the virtues of his wife was not enough to keep me inside. I would have been easy to just skip the walk - but that is not my way. So, at 10PM (Eastern Time) in a day that had begun for me 17 hours earlier - I headed out for a five mile walk. 

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The late night walk around the 'neighborhood', surrounding the Travelodge Motel in Reynoldsburg, Ohio did not offer too many sight seeing opportunities. I guess the high point of interesting things I saw was this JCPennys Distribution center. There must have been a lot of people working inside this huge facility as one of the parking lots was filled with cars.

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
3 Egg Omelette - Ham Cheese, 1 Omelette	400	1	30	40	1,225	0
Volpi - Mozzarella and Prosciutto Roltini	120	1	8	12	790	0
Trader Joes - Strawberry Cereal Bar, 2 bar	280	56	5	4	180	34
	800	58	43	56	2,195	34
L U N C H
JIMMY JOHN's #14 Bootlegger Unwich	280	4	13	36	1,335	0
Louis Kemp - Crab Delights Leg Style	210	33	0	18	1,290	3
Baby Spinach, Organic	40	6	0	4	130	0
	530	43	13	58	2,755	3
D I N N E R
Read - 3 Bean Salad	600	130	0	10	3,000	80
	600	130	0	10	3,000	80
S N A C K S
Nestle 100 Grand - Candy Bar	190	30	8	1	90	22
Go Macro - Peanut Butter Bar	540	68	20	24	90	22
	730	98	28	25	180	44
Totals	2,660	329	84	149	8,130	161
Your Daily Goal	2,642	330	88	133	2,300	99
Remaining	-18	1	4	-16	-5,830	-62
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 712 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 216.2 lbs in 5 weeks.

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	78	822
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-110
Daily Total / Goal	79 / 30	712 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	530 / 210	6,585 / 4,130

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WEIGHT LOSS PREDICTOR

Today I want to learn about the Pennington Weight Loss Predictor which was mentioned in the 3500 Calorie Myth article from WebMD that I referenced in yesterday's blog post. The first step on this journey of discovery is to find out what is Pennington. Here is their 'About Us' information from their webpage.

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center puts science to work for a healthier Louisiana. A world research leader right here in Louisiana, our mission is to discover the triggers of chronic diseases through innovative research that improves human health across the lifespan. At the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the causes of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia, Pennington Biomedical is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at the center includes approximately 70 faculty and more than 15 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 40 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. The center’s 450 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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The Pennington Weight Loss Predictor applet can be found on the Pennington website.  One enters their gender, age, height, weight and the number of calories to be subtracted from one's diet.
I entered male, 58, 218lbs, and 73inches and 500 calorie reduction.

The app assumed that a male 58 years old, 73" tall and 218 lbs that was neither gaining or losing weight was likely consuming 3457 calories.  The Predictor therefore predicts, that someone at this starting point who reduced their daily caloric intake by 500 calories could expect to lose nearly 15 lbs in one year.  The website give the formula used and I have posted it at the bottom of this post... It makes E=mc2 seem like kindergarten mathematics.

I punched in my gender, age, weight and height with a 600 calorie daily reductions and the Predictor indicates that I would finally dip below 200 lbs in one year.

Current intake is 3457 calories.

Month	Weight (lb)	Wt. Loss	% Loss
0	218.0	0.0	0.0
1	215.3	2.7	1.3
2	213.0	5.0	2.3
3	211.0	7.0	3.2
4	209.4	8.6	3.9
5	208.1	9.9	4.5
6	207.0	11.0	5.1
7	206.0	12.0	5.5
8	205.3	12.7	5.8
9	204.7	13.3	6.1
10	204.1	13.9	6.4
11	203.7	14.3	6.5
12	203.4	14.6	6.7

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (taken directly from the Pennington site)

Q: How is my current calorie intake at the bottom of the calculator determined?  

A: This estimate is determined using a formula that depends on your age, height, gender, and current weight. The formula assumes you are weight stable.  This means that you're not currently losing or gaining weight. 

Q: The current calorie intake at the bottom of the calculator seems a lot higher than what I think it should be.  Why?

A: The current intake formula was fit to data from a large group of individuals that varied in age, gender, height, and weight. However, despite the quality of the database, the formula still only explains about 60% of the variation in intake between individuals. What this means is that remaining 40% of the variation in calorie intake between individuals is due to factors other than age, height, gender, and weight. For example, variation may be due to how much routine physical activity you conduct on a daily basis or fluctuations in your weight that deviate from weight stability. With a physical examination and more direct clinical measurements, we could provide improved estimates than the one provided here with only knowledge of your age, height, weight, and gender.

Q: Does the calculator include the effect of my metabolism slowing during weight loss?

A: Yes, it does.  However, keep in mind that that the magnitude of calories conserved due to the slowing of your metabolism, referred to as “metabolic adaptation”, is not very large and ranges between  50 and 100 Calories per day.

Q: If the lack of weight loss I see is not due to the slowing of my metabolism, why am I not losing weight?

A: This is a challenging question whose answer may be dependent on an individual’s characteristics  that are out of the scope of a model's capacity to predict.  The best recommendation is to contact your healthcare provider and discuss your weight patterns with them..
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another successful 92 minute workout on the elliptical machine

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters	600	120	8	15	1,050	45
	600	120	8	15	1,050	45
L U N C H
Generic - Teriyaki Salmon Steaks, 6 oz	270	3	8	47	365	5
Generic - Grilled Brussel Sprouts	65	13	3	6	23	0
Generic - Southwest Roasted Corn	160	17	9	3	260	3
	495	33	20	55	648	8
D I N N E R
Trader Joe's - Pumpkin Soup	200	36	5	2	940	20
Brad's Raw Crunchy Kale - Nacho	330	30	23	13	350	5
Akmak - Cracker, 20 cracker	440	80	8	20	560	0
	970	146	36	35	1,850	25
S N A C K S
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters	480	96	6	12	840	36
WHOLE FOODS YOGURT PRETZELS	380	56	0	4	360	38
	860	152	6	16	1,200	74
Totals	2,925	451	69	121	4,748	152
Your Daily Goal	4,056	507	135	203	2,300	152
Remaining	1,131	56	66	82	-2,448	0
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 2,126 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	2,173
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-47
Daily Total / Goal	93 / 30	2,126 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	354 / 210	6,865 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 2925 calories

total calories burned (92 minutes elliptical) 2173 calories

total net calories 752 calories

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fitbit day 125

12089 steps
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I honestly wonder how many human beings on earth can look at this formula and know what it all means.  In case you are wondering...I am not one of them.

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This was reproduced directly from the Pennington website...

About the Model...

A validated dynamic mathematical energy balance model that predicts weight change (1) was developed from the energy balance equation based on the first law of thermodynamics (2) which states that the rate of energy stored/lost, ES, is equal to the difference of rate of energy intake, EI, and the rate of energy expended,EE,

ES = EI - EE

The model considered the rate of energy stored/lost as the rate of change of fat free mass (FFM) energy and fat mass energy (FM). The energy densities of FFM and FM, derived from chemical tissue analysis, is estimated as 1020 kcal/kg and 9500 kcal/kg respectively (3,4)
Hence:

ES = 1020	dFFM	+9500	dFM
	dt		dt

EE was modeled as the sum of resting metabolic rate (RMR), voluntary physical activity (PA), dietary induced thermogenesis (DIT), and spontaneous physical activity (SPA)

EE = RMR + PA + DIT + SPA

The non-linear function of weight, gender, and age proposed by Livingston and Kohlstadt (5) was applied for the RMR term (Table 1):

RMR = c_i W^pi -y_iA

where c_i ,p_i ,y_i are constants depending on gender: i = F,M. The Livingston-Kohlstadt model was developed using cross-sectional RMR subject data (N>600) and validated on over 700 subject data points (R² > 0.71).

PA is modeled by a term that is directly proportional to weight:

PA = mW

and DIT is modeled as a direct proportion of energy intake (6) :

DIT=0.075EI

SPA was related to total energy expenditures using both overfeeding and underfeeding experimental conclusions. Specifically, it was observed that

∆SPA=(2/3)∆EE

during weight loss (7-9) and

∆SPA=0.56∆EE

during weight gain (10).

Combining all terms yields the full one dimensional differential equation energy balance model:

FFM-FM equations developed from NHANES data (N>10,000) (13).

Females:
FFM = -72.1+ 2.5FM - 0.04A + 0.7H - 0.002FM(A) - 0.01FM(H) - 0.04FM² + 0.00003FM²A + 0.0000004FM⁴ + 0.0002FM³ + 0.0003FM²H - 0.000002FM³H
Males:
FFM = -71.7+ 3.6FM - 0.04A + 0.7H - 0.002FM(A) - 0.01FM(H) - 0.07FM² + 0.00003FM²A - 0.000002FM⁴ + 0.0006FM³ + 0.0003FM²H - 0.000002FM³H

FFM is related to FM through a model derived from the recently released National Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey (NHANES) (13) which contained over 10,000 dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measured body composition values, along with subject age, height race and gender (Table 1). We developed the FFM-FM relationship for specific use within the Heymsfield energy balance equation (15).

The model has been recently applied and validated as a tool to assess energy intake during weight loss (16).

1. D. M. Thomas, C. K. Martin, S. B. Heymsfield, L. M. Redman, D. A. Schoeller, et al, A simple model predicting individual weight change in humans. J. Biol. Dyn., in press (2010).
2. W.D. McArdle, F.J. Katch, V.L. Katch (eds). Exercise Physiology (Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, 2009) [seventh edition].
3. S.B. Heymsfield, M. Waki, J. Kehayias, S. Lichtman S, F.A. Dilmanian, Y. Kamen, J. Wang J, R.N. Pierson Jr. Chemical and elemental analysis of humans in vivo using improved body composition models. Am. J. Physiol. 261, 191-198 (1991).
4. Y. Schutz, Glossary of energy terms and factors used for calculations of energy metabolism in human studies. Human Energy Metabolism: Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure Measurements in Epidemiological Research Based Upon Direct and Indirect Calorimetry. A. J. H. van Es, Ed. (The Hague, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1984). pp. 169-181.
5. E.H. Livingston, I. Kohlstadt, Simplified resting metabolic rate—predicting formulas for normal-sized and obese individuals. Obes. Res. 13, 1255-1262 (2005).
6. K.R. Westerterp, KR. Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutr. Metab. 1, 1-5 (2004).
7. S.B Roberts, I. Rosenberg, Nutrition and aging:changes in the regulation of energy metabolism with aging. Physiol. Rev. 86, 651-667 (2005).
8. L.G. Bandini, D.A. Schoeller, J. Edwards, V.R. Young, S.H. Oh, W.H. Dietz, Energy expenditure during carbohydrate overfeeding in obese and nonobese adolescents. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 256, E357-E36 (1989).
9. E.O. Diaz, A.M. Prentice, G.R. Goldberg, P.R. Murgatroyd, W.A. Coward, Metabolic response to experimental overfeeding in lean and overweight healthy volunteers. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 56, 641-655 (1993).
10. J.A Levine, L.M. Lanningham-Foster, S.K. McCrady, A.C. Krizan, L.R. Olson, P.H. Kane, M.D. Jensen, M.M. Clark, Interindividual variation in posture allocation: possible role in human obesity. Science 307, 530-531 (2005). 
11. L.K. Heilbronn, L. de Jonge, M.I. Frisard, J.P. DeLany, D.E. Larson-Meyer, J. Rood, T. Nguyen, C.K. Martin, J. Volaufova, M.M. Most, F.L Greenway, S.R. Smith, W.A. Deutsch, D.A. Williamson, E. Ravussin and Team, Pennington CALERIE. Effect of 6-Month Calorie Restriction on Biomarkers of Longevity, Metabolic Adaptation, and Oxidative Stress in Overweight Individuals. JAMA 295, 1539-48 (2006). 
12. S.B Racette, D.A. Schoeller, R.F. Kushner, K.M. Neil, K. Herling-Iaffaldano K. Effects of aerobicexercise and dietary carbohydrate on energy expenditure and body composition during weight reduction in obese women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 61, 486-494 (1995).
13. G.L. Blackburn, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: where nutrition meets medicine for the benefit of health. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78, 197 – 198 (2003).
14. D. Thomas, S. Das, J. Levine, C.K. Martin. L. Mayer, A. McDougall B.J. Strauss, S.B. Heymsfield, New fat free mass - fat mass model for use in physiological energy balance equations. Nutr. Metab. 7, 1-11 (2010).
15. D. M. Thomas, C. K. Martin, S. B. Heymsfield, L. M. Redman, D. A. Schoeller, et al, A simple model predicting individual weight change in humans. J. Biol. Dyn., in press (2010).
16. D. M. Thomas, D. A. Schoeller, L. A. Redman, C. K. Martin, J. A. Levine, et al, A computational model to determine energy intake during weight loss. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.29687 (2010). 

Disclaimer: Information provided by this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice specific to the reader's particular situation. The information is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any health concerns you may have. The reader is advised to seek prompt professional medical advice from a doctor or other healthcare practitioner about any health question, symptom, treatment, disease, or medical condition.

The java applet was made by Carl Bredlau and Steven Lettieri.