Tuesday January 28

The month is coming to an end... and I keep rolling along...
Had a great meal today at Red Lobster.
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It turns out that it is far more rewarding to sit down, eat a decent meal than go through the drive-thru at Burger King, Chick Fil A, McDonalds, Culvers, White Castle.... Wow, when I slip, I really slip!

So far this DECADE, I have had no slips!

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Salmon New Orleans

This delicious New Orleans-style seafood recipe features pan-seared salmon topped with shrimp in a rich Cajun butter sauce. 

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Thursday May 30

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Not a spectacular day, I've eaten better, definitely eaten worse

Wednesday was an all day tradeshow in Shipshewana, Indiana.  At the conclusion of that show, I packed my bags and headed to Rockford, Illinois, in order to be in place for an appointment in Pecatonica on Thursday morning.





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It is actually surprising that I reached 10,000 steps yesterday without making an effort... I simply walked 10,000 steps living my life... walking back and forth during a tradeshow, and walking back and forth to the car to load and unload my samples.

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MORE EATING, NO WALKING (DAY 122)

ANOTHER DAY WHEN WORK INTERFERES WITH HIKING TIME (DAY 121)

I did not find time to hike yesterday... In fact, I was particularly INACTIVE - check out my 'steps' for the day - I didn't get past 7000.  On the other hand, I am a salesman. It is my selling career that propels me about the state and affords me the opportunity to hike in all kinds of different locales. Wednesday was a hikeless day, but it was a particularly fruitful day at work - and that is important too.

ELLIPTICAL (DAY 106)

It has been a very, very long time since I have spent time on an elliptical machine... I am guessing that it's been way more than one year... And yet, that is precisely where I found myself for one hour on Tuesday night... 

one hour on an elliptical machine, allegedly burned 535 calories

ANOTHER DAY LIKE SO MANY OTHERS (DAY 83)

Saturday was another day like so many others.
I ate. (although a bit too much)
I walked. (nine miles before most people wake up in the morning)

ELKHART, INDIANA (DAY 73)

On Wednesday I let my appetite take control.
I have been trying to keep my calories in the neighborhood of 1000.
On Wednesday, I think I left my neighborhood and went into the neighboring town.
My walk was curtailed by rain. Still I managed a four mile hike in Elkhart, Indiana.

BROWNSBURG, INDIANA (DAY 50)

For the 50th consecutive day I have kept my calorie consumption in the neighborhood of 1000. I found time to see customers, and I found time to squeeze in a nine mile hike in Brownsburg, Indiana. A good way to start the week.

DAY 29

Monday was the 29th consecutive day that my caloric consumption was in the neighborhood of 1000. Weight is melting off me... I weighed myself on Monday morning... and I had dipped (ever so slightly) under 260. considering that I was 283.6 four Mondays ago.... That's good!

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SANITY QUESTION

It took a lot of effort to get my five mile walk in on Wednesday. My day started in Lafayette, Indiana and ended in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I visited two customers in Indiana and then scooted north to visit a customer in Ann Arbor on Thursday morning. It wasn't until 7PM until I could get outside to get in my steps. It had rained all day as I traversed the two states, but finally around 7PM, the rain had stopped. It takes a lot of mental willpower to get outside for a five mile hike in unfamiliar surroundings, in the darkness. Amazingly, I still have that willpower. But I do question my sanity.
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Even I am self-aware enough to see that this is a photo that does not look like the depiction of sanity.  But you know what, the feeling of accomplishment that I feel each and every day that I take my daily hike, is something that would be too painful to miss. At least that's how I feel these days.

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Svenhard's - Cinnamon Horn, 1 pastry 2oz	240	32	12	3	230	19
Toast and Butter - Toast and Butter, 2 slice	200	0	22	0	0	0
Kellogg's - Fruit Loops Cereal	220	52	2	2	270	24
	660	84	36	5	500	43
L U N C H
Speedy Ham Salad Sandwich on Wheat Bread	310	42	10	14	990	7
Chobani - Fruit on the Bottom - Pineapple	260	34	5	22	100	28
	570	76	15	36	1,090	35
D I N N E R
Campbell's Sirloin Burger Soup	520	68	16	28	3,160	12
	520	68	16	28	3,160	12
S N A C K S
Klondike - Klondike Bar, 1 bar	250	29	14	3	70	23
Milky Way - Midnight Dark, 1 bar	220	36	8	1	65	29
	470	65	22	4	135	52
Totals	2,220	293	89	73	4,885	142
Your Daily Goal	2,905	363	97	146	2,300	109
Remaining	685	70	8	73	-2,585	-33
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 975 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 217.1 lbs in 5 weeks     

BAD PARKING SPOT

This picture is one type of bad parking.  My 'bad' parking spot yesterday morning was nothing like this.

Yesterday morning, before my appointment, I wanted to buy  coconut water at a Walmart in the suburbs. I parked my car and I walked three miles before I entered through the front door. One might think that I had found a particularly bad parking spot. That was not the case at all. I simply found a way to squeeze in a three mile walk before I crossed through the front door of the store.  As it turned out, this mini three mile suburban hike was my longest walk of the day, so I was glad to have squeezed it into my schedule.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line - but  that's no way to accumulate steps on your fitbit.

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, October 20, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Grits	300	66	5	6	930	3
	300	66	5	6	930	3
L U N C H
Mostaccioli w/Meat Sauce	350	51	9	16	728	9
Shrimp - Cooked, breaded and fried	250	12	13	22	355	0
	600	63	22	38	1,083	9
D I N N E R
Shrimp Spring Rolls	250	26	13	6	647	1
Vita Coco - Pure Coconut Water	270	66	0	0	450	66
	520	92	13	6	1,097	67
S N A C K S
Colby & Monterey Jack cheese	160	0	14	10	260	0
Dark Chocolate Almonds	220	17	15	4	0	12
	380	17	29	14	260	12
Totals	1,800	238	69	64	3,370	91
Your Daily Goal	2,597	324	86	130	2,300	97
Remaining	797	86	17	66	-1,070	6
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 667 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 219.5 lbs in 5 weeks     

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SATURDAY - WEIGH IN

238.0 lbs

underwhelming progress for the week, but progress nevertheless.

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I am down 24 pounds in the last two months. This is a testament to how far backwards I had gone. The good thing is that I finally reversed course and I am now skiing downhill!

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TOMORROW NEVER DIES

Thursday my 1:00PM appointment was about two hours northwest of Chicago (in traffic), which gave me the opportunity to take an urban hike of six miles right after an early breakfast. I still cannot figure myself out. How did I fail to exercise at all for so many weeks this past summer? And yet, since the beginning of September, I have not missed even one day? How did I manage to go so far backwards in my weight management before I finally reversed course?  Have you ever heard of someone losing 80 pounds and then putting them all back on, and sometimes more? It's a very stupid thing to do. I did  it around 10 years ago. I had vowed to myself that I would never let that happen again. Nevertheless, I was recently heading for the same stupidity, but this time, I did manage to stop myself. This serves as one more reminder, that the best day to make a life change is today. And if you let today, slip by, then tomorrow. Just don't let too many tomorrows pile up. Tomorrow never dies. There is always a tomorrow.

Tomorrow never dies, there is always another tomorrow

Just fooling around with the 'black & white' filtering with my photo application.

Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, September 28, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Eggs - Poached, 4	300	2	20	26	599	2
Quaker - Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal	480	96	8	12	540	30
	780	98	28	38	1,139	32
L U N C H
Bagel With Cream Cheese	400	58	12	13	780	4
	400	58	12	13	780	4
D I N N E R
Johnsonville Polish Kielbasa Sausage	340	4	30	14	1,140	2
Campbell's Manhattan Clam Chowder	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
	580	40	36	24	2,740	8
S N A C K S
Fresh Thyme - Praline Pecans	151	16	9	1	64	14
	151	16	9	1	64	14
Totals	1,911	212	85	76	4,723	58
Your Daily Goal	2,946	368	98	148	2,300	110
Remaining	1,035	156	13	72	-2,423	52
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,016 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 227.2 lbs in 5 weeks     

100,000

On December 26. 2014 I began blogging. I weighed 309 lbs on that day. Today's post is more about the blog than my weight. As I started to blog, it did appear that I was hitting a chord with some people. In fact, there were some people all over the world who were clicking on my blog. Whether it was purposeful or by accident, I do not know. What I do know is that this weekend, my aggregate clicks on this blog surpassed 100,000! For a dopey blog about a guy who has posted his daily menu, daily exercise and political rantings (and ravings) 100,000 clicks may seem like a lot. It is not. I have been blogging for a bit more than 31 months.

I personally visit 'DRUDGEREPORT' each day. This website posts its daily clicks. In the past 24 hours, the drudge report had 30,427,298 visits. This works out to 1,267,804 per hour, and 21,130 per minute. The drudge report in FIVE MINUTES gets more clicks than my blog has accumulated in nearly 3 years. Within the past year, the drudge report has accumulated 11,038,196,480 clicks. If current trends continue it would take my blog about 3.5 million years to reach this number. You know what, the blog has one very important reader. That is me. I personally need this blog to keep me on course. Since I have rededicated myself after a period of slothfulness, I have lost 13 pounds. Of course, I am responsible for my success, but without the blog, I wouldn't have a chance. Go figure.

I took a fairly leisurely stroll with my daughter in the morning. We walked 7 miles. My MapMyWalk app reported a calorie burn of 1045. I know that this number is inflated, but a person had to burn a few calories walking seven miles, yes?

In the evening, I set out by myself and walked an additional 10 miles.

Hey look, it's me and Jerry Seinfeld (courtesy of a lifesize poster adorning a storefront window)

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, September 23, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Eggs - Poached, 4	300	2	20	26	600	2
Bacon, 4 slices	160	0	12	12	700	0
Chewy Oat & Honey Cranola Bar, 1 bar	100	19	2	2	55	7
	560	21	34	40	1,355	9
L U N C H
Hot Dog with Bun	300	22	18	10	820	3
Whole Foods - Pulp-free Coconut Water	100	26	0	0	110	22
	400	48	18	10	930	25
D I N N E R
Little Salad Bar - Asian Chopped Salad	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
	385	46	21	7	1,190	25
S N A C K S
Costco - Cheese Pizza Slice, 1 Slice	700	70	28	44	1,370	7
	700	70	28	44	1,370	7
Totals	2,045	185	101	101	4,845	66
Your Daily Goal	4,920	615	164	247	2,300	184
Remaining	2,875	430	63	146	-2,545	118
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,990 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 208.8 lbs in 5 weeks     

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THIS SCREENSHOT OF MY BLOG STATS SHOWS THAT I HAVE 'CATAPULTED' OVER THE 100,000 PAGEVIEWS. (AND IT ONLY TOOK ME NEARLY THREE YEARS!)

THIS CHART ABOVE LISTS MY MOST POPULAR (MOST CLICKED) BLOG POSTS.

THIS CHART ABOVE LISTS THE TOP TEN COUNTRIES WHERE MY CLICKS ORIGINATED.

I did not enjoy the way I looked one month ago when I was 263  lbs.  I am only down 13 pounds from that disaster, but I feel so much better.