CHAI

Yesterday, I walked 10 miles in the morning before breakfast, and I walked another eight miles right around the time the sun set. 18 miles for the day. Chai. That's good luck! I will confess, that I will be very disappointed if I don't see some drop in my weight this week. I have learned that mountains of exercise do not necessarily translate into big weight loss - but I am hoping for something more than a pound. On Saturday morning, I will know how much progress I have made this week. 

I found this article by Ariela Pelaia about.judaism.com

Definition:Chai (חי) is a Hebrew word and symbol that means “life.” It is spelled with the Hebrew letters Het (ח) and Yud (י). Jews will often wear a Chai on a necklace, sometimes with a Star of David or Hamsa.
Chai is pronounced as if you were saying “hi” in English. 

The Symbolic Meaning of Chai
Judaism is a religion that emphasizes the importance of life. Jews are encouraged to be good, ethical people (mensches) and enjoy the time they are given on Earth. A common Jewish toast is “l’chaim!,” which means, “to life!.” It is said at celebrations in anticipation of all the good things to come. Because it means “life,” the Chai is consequently a symbol that captures an important aspect of Judaism. According to the gematria, which is a mystical tradition that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters, the letters Het (ח) and Yud (י) add up to the number 18. The Het has a value of 8 and the yud has a value of 10. As a result, 18 is a popular number that represents good luck. At weddings, bar mitzvahs and other events Jews often give gifts of money in multiples of 18, symbolically giving the recipient the gift of “life” or luck.

My day started with a 10 mile hike in the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve which is part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District. My initial visit here was back in November. The first 6 miles of my hike were spent crisscrossing across various trails and the final 4 miles of my hike was spent walking along county roads. By 9:00AM, I was back in my hotel room ready to start my day, with 17,000 steps 'banked' according to my fitbit.

.
After a one hour drive back to my hotel in Champaign from Mt Zion, I quickly changed and set out for an evening walk. I had more or less mapped out a course and when I arrived back at my hotel, I had logged an additional eight miles.

.

.

I took this photo of myself overlooking Interstate Highway 57, I was within a half mile of my hotel during my second hike of the day..

.

Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, June 9, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 5 packet	500	110	0	10	1,550	0
	500	110	0	10	1,550	0
L U N C H
Skippy - Creamy Peanut Butter	463	15	39	17	366	7
Clover Valley - Whole Wheat Bread	480	88	4	32	880	8
Smucker's - Concord Grape - Jelly	150	39	0	0	15	36
	1,093	142	43	49	1,261	51
D I N N E R
Big Daddy Charbroil and Cheese	780	65	43	32	1,460	11
Jack Links - Teriyaki Jerky, 3.5 oz	280	21	4	42	1,680	18
	1,060	86	47	74	3,140	29
S N A C K S
Oats 'n Honey Crunchy Granola	190	29	6	4	160	12
Banana - Banana, 2 medium banana (126 g)	248	60	0	2	2	38
Chunk Light Tuna In Water, 3 oz in can	60	0	1	13	250	0
	498	89	7	19	412	50
Totals	3,151	427	96	152	6,363	130
Your Daily Goal	5,950	744	198	298	2,300	223
Remaining	2,799	317	101	145	-4,062	93
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 4,020 extra calories from exercise today

.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
WALKING	135	1,903
WALKING	107	1,544
Daily Total / Goal	242 / 30	3,447 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	856 / 210	10,965 / 4,130

.

.

and finally... a discussion about my lunch... My 'lunch' yesterday was really my second breakfast. The first breakfast was at 6AM. After I walked 10 miles, I was feeling a bit hungry. So my second breakfast, was consumed around 10AM. I chose to consider it lunch. I know that I did not have to have four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. I had intended to have two and perhaps save the other two for a snack later in the day. But before you judge me...Ask yourself: DID YOU WALK 18 MILES YESTERDAY? Still, I know that I should not have had four sandwiches.  But you know what?  I was hungry.

ZIONSVILLE RAIL TRAIL

For the second day in a row in Indianapolis, it rained most of the day, and stopped in the late afternoon.  This worked out well for me.  I had selected a trail location that I wanted to check out that I had 'discovered' using the traillinks app that I recently downloaded.

I started on this trail and veered off into Starkey Nature Park... and from there I veered off into a residential neighborhood.  At some point, I rejoined the trail and when I was done, I did what I set out to do.  That is, walk ten miles.  I didn't 'save' my route on my app, so I cannot show it on the blog today.  I may return to this trail today, Thursday, early in the morning before my late morning appointment in Kokomo, Indiana.

.

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

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 (dry cereal, no milk), 1 cup	190	46	1	5	210	18
	830	178	9	21	1,010	66
L U N C H
Whole Foods - Turkey Gravy, 1 1/2 Cup. 60g	210	18	12	6	1,560	0
WHOLE FOODS - TAMARI ROASTED ALMONDS, 1/4 cup	170	7	16	5	80	0
WHOLE FOODS 7608 - YOGURT PRETZELS, 20 g (approx 8 pcs)	95	14	4	1	90	10
WHOLE FOODS 9246 - 100% RAW CACAO GOJI, 46.2 g (approx 2 chunks)	165	25	10	3	8	16
WHOLE FOODS 5938 - UNSWEETENED BANANA CHIPS, 30 g (1/4 cup)	170	16	10	2	5	1
Whole Foods - Traditional New England Stuffing, 84.75 g	113	14	5	3	173	2
	923	93	57	20	1,916	28
D I N N E R
Wasa - Crisp'n Light 7 Grains, 24 Crackers	560	112	4	16	720	8
WHOLE FOODS 7241 - UNSALTED SPROUTED RAW PUMPKIN SEEDS, 46.2 g. (1/4 cup)	249	8	21	12	8	0
WHOLE FOODS 8890 - STRAWBERRY VANILLA HEMP GRANOLA, 68.75 g (3/4 cup)	313	50	10	6	75	19
Campbell's Chunky - Manhattan Clam Chowder, 2 cup	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
	1,362	206	41	44	2,403	33
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS 7089 - 42% CACAO SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS, 27.75 g (approx 2 TBSP)	130	19	7	2	0	15
Whole Foods - Milk Chocolate Covered Cranberries, 12 pieces	180	27	8	1	15	23
	310	46	15	3	15	38
Totals	3,425	523	123	88	5,344	165
Your Daily Goal	3,729	466	124	187	2,300	139
Remaining	304	-56	1	99	-3,043	-26
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 1,799 extra calories from exercise today

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace	130	1,985
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-186
Daily Total / Goal	131 / 30	1,799 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	400 / 210	6,453 / 4,130

.
total calories consumed 3425 calories
total calories burned (10 mile walk) 1985 calories
total net calories 1440 calories

.

.......................

fitbit day 77

25155 steps

........................
ten mile walking streak reached 10 days

.

MACLURA POMIFERA

OK, I know what you are thinking.... Maclura Pomifera?  What the heck is Macular Porifera?  That's why I am here today.   To tell you all about Maclura Pomifera.

On Tuesday morning, I returned to the Lake in the Woods Forest Preserve in Mahomet, Illinois.  On Monday I was there at sunset.  Yesterday, I visited the more natural part of the preserve, this time at pre-dawn.  I parked my car precisely where I had parked it the day before.  This time I spent all my time on the western side of the preserve.  It was not too long before I spotted some very odd looking softball sized freaky looking round balls on the trail.  These were something that I had never seen before.  I made a mental note where on the trail I found these so that I might go back and investigate later.  In the course of my 10 mile walk through the forest preserve, there were multiple places where these round balls were found along the trail.  I had no idea what these were.  I picked one up, I stuffed it in my backpack and a few miles later I came across a couple walking their dogs and I asked them if they knew what this was.  They did.  They told me that they were called HEDGE APPLES.

.

The nice thing about walking/hiking through the woods in the year 2015 is that one travels with complete and total access to the all the information in the world in the palm of your hand.  I googled Hedge Apple and found that the scientific name for this is MACLURA POMIFERA.  These Hedge Apples, the fruit of the Osage-Orange Tree are said to be kept by folks as an insect repellant.  The female trees produce this odd looking fruit.  These hedge apples can be between 3 and 5 inches in diameter.  They ripen in September and October and then fall to the ground.  During my hike there were very few fruits still in the trees.  They were all along the trail.  The hedge apple is not an important food source for wildlife.  The theory that hedge apples can be used as a insect repellant are widely believed, although not true.

The last thing that I want to share with my readers about hedge apples are the many colorful names that these fruit are known: HEDGE BALL, HORSE APPLE, GREEN BRAINS, MONKEY BALLS, and MOCK ORANGE.

This is why I am a walker/hiker these days.  This is why I have discovered a new hobby: walking outdoors.  It is because I am seeing all kinds of things that I never knew existed.

My walk started just before sunrise and there was a distinct chill in the air. I was prepared with my ski cap and leather gloves.  It did not take long for me to warm up as I was zipping along haphazardly following the many different trails in the forest preserve.

The last four miles of my ten mile walk took me north outside of the forest preserve, then eastward and finally south along the highway until I returned to my origin point where my car was parked.

.

Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Great Value - Cereal Crunchy Oat Squares, 1.5 cup	240	52	3	6	280	12
Quaker - Instant Original Flavor Oatmeal, 4 pack	400	76	8	16	300	0
Banana - One Piece - Banana (One Whole), 100 g	120	20	0	1	1	15
	760	148	11	23	581	27
L U N C H
KROGER 54535 - VEGGIE CHIPS, 100 g (approx 1/2 cup)	460	78	14	4	440	14
KROGER 54060 - SOY NUTS, 63.5 g (approx 1/2 cup)	305	18	17	23	140	4
Wasa - Crisp'n Light 7 Grains, 24 Crackers	560	112	4	16	720	8
	1,325	208	35	43	1,300	26
D I N N E R
Campbell's Chunky - Manhattan Clam Chowder, 2 cup	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 2 medium apple	190	50	1	1	4	38
	430	86	7	11	1,604	44
S N A C K S
General Mills - Nature Valley - Oats 'n Honey Crunchy Granola Bar, 2 bars	190	29	6	4	160	12
KROGER 90078 - BANANACHIPS, 50 g (approx 3/4 cup)	270	31	15	1	0	6
Cheerios - Dry, 2 cup cereal	200	40	4	6	320	2
	660	100	25	11	480	20
Totals	3,175	542	77	88	3,964	117
Your Daily Goal	3,563	445	118	179	2,300	133
Remaining	388	-97	40	90	-1,664	16
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace	140	1,834
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-201
Daily Total / Goal	141 / 30	1,633 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	281 / 210	3,328 / 4,130

.
TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 3175 CALORIES
TOTAL CALORIES BURNED (10 MILE HIKE) 1834 CALORIES
TOTAL NET CALORIES 1341 CALORIES
.

.......................

fitbit day 69

40016 steps

........................

I guess today, you could have called me "LITTLE GREEN RIDING HOOD"   Actually, there may be many days in the coming weeks when I will be wearing my snug, warm, zippered green hoodie.  Anyway, here are a few scenes from the trail yesterday.

It was a bit chilly at 6:30AM when I set out for my ten mile walk...I tried to take a photo of my breath.

The shadow on my face is from my iphone as I took this selfie looking in the direction of the sun

My shadow follows me everywhere... 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 


.