EASY WAY vs. HARD WAY

Just one week ago I was 'celebrating' the dubious achievement of working out for 7 hours in one day. I am not advocating this regiment for anyone.  I am not even advocating this for myself. And yet, yesterday, I repeated this 'dubious achievement.'

There are two ways of getting anywhere. It appears that I have chosen the hard way.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, March 18, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,327
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	65	1,226
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	65	1,235
MATRIX TREADMILL	22	208
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	62	1,042
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	1,469
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-493
Daily Total / Goal	432 / 30	7,014 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1429 / 210	22,814 / 4,130

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Apparently, I broke my record of exercising for 7 hours in one day.  My totals yesterday were:

TIME SPENT EXERCISING:  431 minutes   (7 hours, 11 minutes)
STEPS CALCULATED BY FITBIT: 52,010
CALORIES BURNED CALCULATED BY FITBIT: 10,250 CALORIES BURNED
(The fitbit counts calories burned during during the entire day - including sleeping)

I have not registered this many steps in one day since late December. Most normal people strive and hope to reach 10,000 steps per day.  I am not a normal person. I have never been a normal person. And the prospects for normalcy for me in the future remain dim.

Only three other times since I became a fitbitter back in September have I seen my fitbit calculate a calorie burn above 10,000.  And here's the weird thing: The day that I made the summit at Half Dome in Yosemite Park was NOT one of those days!  (Think about it...half of that hike WAS downhill...and how hard is that? It may be difficult on one's knees to walk downhill, but as I remember it, it was not particularly stressful)

There are usually two ways of accomplishing anything.  There is the easy (easier) way and the hard (more difficult) way.  I am trying to recapture the the feeling that I felt when my weight loss was closer to 90 pounds, not the 80 pounds that it has been in recent weeks.  It appears that I am halfway to that interim goal.  This morning, I weighed myself as I have done every Saturday since December 24th, 2014.  The imaginary needle on my completely digital scale rested at 224.2 lbs. I apparently managed to lose three pounds this week.  I did it the hard way. I might consider eating less. That would be a more normal way of approaching this desire to shed some excess poundage.  Apparently, though, this is not my weigh!

After flirting with 230 lbs in recent weeks, I am very glad to be on  route 224.

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Your Food Diary For:

Friday, March 18, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
2 Egg Omelette With Ham and Cheese	383	2	21	32	810	2
Tuna Salad on Rye, 0.5 Sandwich	117	15	2	8	360	0
	500	17	23	40	1,170	2
L U N C H
Pasta - Orechiette Pasta	280	59	1	9	0	3
Teriyaki Salmon Steaks, 6 oz	270	3	8	47	365	5
Cranberry Walnut Cabbage Slaw	124	12	9	2	104	0
Trader Joes - Roasted Coconut Chips	480	45	30	3	390	27
	1,154	119	48	61	859	35
D I N N E R
Beef, cured, corned beef, brisket	427	1	32	31	1,654	0
Cabbage	88	22	0	4	64	12
Potatoes, red, flesh and skin, baked	132	29	0	3	18	2
	647	51	32	39	1,736	14
S N A C K S
Natural Dark Chocolate With Cherries	500	44	32	6	0	22
Banana Chips	200	23	13	1	0	13
YOGURT PRETZELS	300	44	0	3	284	30
	1,000	111	45	10	284	65
Totals	3,301	298	149	150	4,049	116
Your Daily Goal	8,944	1,118	298	448	2,300	335
Remaining	5,643	820	148	297	-1,748	218
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 7,014 extra calories from exercise today

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total calories consumed 3301 calories

total calories burned (elliptical) 7507 calories

total net 4206 calorie deficit

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fitbit day 198

52010 steps  

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first two hour session at YMCA

before I left the YMCA, I stepped right back on the elliptical machine for another hour

This was my third session (fourth hour) spent at the YMCA.
Later in the evening, I spent some additional time (3 hours) on my home elliptical machine.
THERE ARE WORSE WAYS TO SPEND TIME DURING A DAY (That's what I tell myself, anyway)

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CASTING A LONG SHADOW

Over the course of the past 10 months that I have been blogging, I do occasionally get comments from people expressing their gratitude for the experiences and  'wisdom' that I share each day. I like to imagine that I have inspired some people to make changes in their lives. The purpose of this blog is to record my progress for its most loyal reader, that is, me. (Don't worry, Jack...after me, you have been the most loyal!) It has been my hope that I would continue to inspire myself, my family, and my readers. I hope that my blog casts a long, and positive shadow over people's lives, besides my own.

If one is out and about shortly after sunrise, one is guaranteed to cast a long shadow.

It was eight days ago when I joined the Chicago Marathon and walked 26.2 miles.  In the subsequent days, I took it easy. I finally bounced back on Friday morning with a 6.5 mile walk, on Saturday with a 7 mile walk and yesterday, Sunday, my rebound was complete as I walked a half-marathon, 13.1 miles before lunch. I think that this photograph which I took with a self-timer encapsulates how I am feeling these days: thin, fit and happy.

in the middle of my half marathon walk on Sunday - I just felt good!

When I walked out of my front door on Sunday morning, I had no plan on which direction I was headed. On a whim, I started heading south...when this particular walk was completed, I had travelled  just slightly more than 13.1 miles. (half marathon distance)  The temperature at 7:00AM when I started was cold. Unlike Saturday morning, I was better prepared. Yesterday morning, I was wearing gloves to keep my hands warm.

Your Food Diary For:

 

Sunday, October 18, 2015 

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Apple - - Honey Crisp - Small, 3 apple	165	44	1	1	0	45
Select Choice - Chewy Oat & Honey Granola Bar, 1 Bar	100	18	3	1	55	7
Add Food  Quick Tools	265	62	3	2	55	52
L U N C H
Campbell's Chunky - Manhattan Clam Chowder, 2 cup	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
Johnsonville 170 - Polish Kielbasa Sausage, 4 oz (56g)	340	4	30	14	1,140	2
Crystal Farms - Simply Potatoes O'brien Hash Browns, 1.33 cup (80g)	160	34	0	4	660	2
Add Food  Quick Tools	740	74	36	28	3,400	10
D I N N E R
Snap Kitchen - Shrimp Fra Diavolo (MED), 357.15 g	380	54	6	28	620	8
Add Food  Quick Tools	380	54	6	28	620	8
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS 7842 - BAOBAB COCONUT GRANOLA, 86.35 g (1/2 cup)	408	61	14	6	94	22
WHOLE FOODS 8738 - DRIED MANGO SLICES, 42.8 g (approx 6 pieces)	118	30	0	2	1	21
WHOLE FOODS 8609 - KAHUNA CRUNCH TRAIL MIX, 93.8 g (approx 1/4 cup)	435	54	27	7	84	33
Add Food  Quick Tools	961	145	41	15	179	77
Totals	2,346	335	86	73	4,254	147
Your Daily Goal	5,583	698	186	280	2,300	209
Remaining	3,237	363	100	207	-1,954	62
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

Your Exercise Diary for: 

Sunday, October 18, 2015 

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 5.0 mph	166	2,717
Walking, 3.5 mph, brisk pace	109	892
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	44
Add Exercise  Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	276 / 30	3,653 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	590 / 210	10,327 / 4,130

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 2346 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED 3609 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES 1263 CALORIE DEFECIT

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The path of this walk was predicated by my family attending an OPEN HOUSE about a prospective High School for our daughter as she contemplates what school to attend next year.  As the 'walk' stopped and restarted many times, I simply put the 'workout' on 'PAUSE' and/or 'RESUME WORKOUT' as the day progressed. Still, my family walked together for 6 miles. I am beginning to have some influence on transportation behavior of my family.  In the 'old days' we would have driven to the high school for the open house.  Any additional stops would have been made by driving. If this same need to visit this high school has occurred six months ago; our family would have likely walked zero miles. This new mode of transportation is much healthier!

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fitbit day 46
50503 steps
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Idiom: Cast a long shadow
Idiom Definitions for 'Cast a long shadow'

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Something or someone that casts a long shadow has considerable influence on other people or events.