VEGETARIAN SALAD - YEAH, I WON'T BE DOING THAT AGAIN

I was a bit experimental on Saturday at Whole Foods - I hand-selected some low calorie vegetarian treats from the self-serve salad bar. Yeah, I won't be doing that again.  Just not that satisfying.
,

.

NEWEST CHICAGO WHOLE FOODS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE

I have a few favorite supermarkets: Hy-Vee, Mariano's, Kroger, Fresh Thyme, and Whole Foods. So many people who I speak to always tell me how difficult it must be for me to eat on the road. It can be difficult. However, during the past 15 months I have discovered that there are plenty of places to make a great salad - and it is these types of markets that offer that option.  The newest Whole Foods that will open some time in 2017 is finally starting to take shape at the triple corners of Ashland/Lincoln/Belmont Avenues in Chicago.  This two story structure will be the second largest Whole Foods in Chicago.  Basically, it is moving across the street from a much smaller store which has been in the neighborhood since 1996.  A few months back this blog posted a photo of the empty lot.  Things are finally starting to take shape (literally).

This is what Chicago's newest Whole Foods looks like now

.

This is what Chicago's newest Whole Foods will look like in one year

The first time I spoke of this new location was Tuesday, July 7, 2015.  The title of that blog post was:
TWO THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2017.  Aside from looking forward to a new Whole Foods in 2017, I was speaking about how I was looking forward to a new President in 2017 as well. If Donald Trump gets the nomination for the Republican Party - I will no longer be looking forward to the Presidential Election at all. A November general election between two progressive Democrats will not make me very enthusiastic.

Your Food Diary For:

Monday, March 7, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
2 Egg Omelette With Ham and Cheese, 1 Omelette	383	2	21	32	810	2
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon, 6 slices	240	0	18	18	1,050	0
Homemade - Egg and Cheese Sandwich, 1 sandwich	260	28	11	14	550	2
	883	30	50	64	2,410	4
L U N C H
EARTHBOUND FARM - ORGANIC BABY SPINACH, 85 g (approx 3 oz, two cups)	20	0	0	2	65	0
Louis Kemp - Crab Delights Leg Style, 3 legs (85g)	70	11	0	6	430	1
Roundy's - Sliced Beets, 1/2 cup	40	8	0	1	250	6
Hard Boiled Egg, 1 Large Egg (50 g)	78	1	5	6	62	1
DRIED MANGO SLICES	220	56	0	4	2	40
	428	76	5	19	809	48
D I N N E R
Spaghetti With Meat Sauce	320	84	2	14	0	0
	320	84	2	14	0	0
S N A C K S
Malt O Meal - Honey Nut Scooters	240	48	3	6	420	18
YOGURT PRETZELS	190	28	0	2	180	19
ORGANIC SOY NUTS ROASTED & SALTED	300	21	17	23	105	3
	730	97	20	31	705	40
Totals	2,361	286	76	128	3,924	92
Your Daily Goal	5,753	719	191	288	2,300	215
Remaining	3,392	432	114	160	-1,623	123
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,823 extra calories from exercise today

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, March 7, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace	40	636
PRECOR AMT (ADAPTIVE MOTION TRAINER)	125	2,241
Walking, 5.0 mph	17	638
Walking, 4.0 mph, very brisk pace	17	176
Walking, 5.0 mph	9	137
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-5
Daily Total / Goal	209 / 30	3,823 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	209 / 210	3,823 / 4,130

.

total calories consumed 2361 calories

total calories burned (elliptical) 3828 calories

total net 1467 calorie defecit

. . . . . . . . . . .   

fitbit day 187

30134 steps  
. . . . . . . ...

.

I have been talking about it for weeks now... While I have continued to congratulate myself for maintaining a rigorous adherence to a workout schedule - I have definitely 'dropped the ball' when it comes to curbing my appetite.  One problem is that it true that one who works out, increases one's one appetite which can negate the whole point of working out in the first place. But here's the thing.  At one point, I will get it together.... and....

It might be a few days before I get this 'bitmoji' thing out of my system....!

MYSTERIOUS WEIGHS

Mysterious Ways is a song released in 1991 by the rock band, U2 in 1991.  Mysterious Ways was released as a single in November 1991 and was originally released on their album, Achtung Baby.

Mysterious Ways - U2

I have had a few MYSTERIOUS WEIGH(INS) over the past few months.  Some weeks when I expected to drop a lot of weight, I dropped very little.  Other weeks, I had no expectation of showing great progress, and nevertheless, weight had melted off me in that week.  This week I really upped my calorie count.   I have been unsuccessfully fighting the urge to eat a lot as I was experiencing cravings all week.  I know that I have been eating too many apples.  I think I have been eating too many almonds.  I think I might have loaded my salad bar salads a bit too much.  Todays weigh-in will guide me - it will show me if I have over eaten too much or if I am still going according to a schedule.  I would like to continue losing weight.  I am absolutely ready to lose weight much more slowly and much more steadily than I did in the initial four months.  That said, it's time to hop onto the scale and see where I am.

216.1 lbs

I weigh 216.1 lbs.
I lost 6.1 lbs this week.
I lost 92.9 lbs in 136 days. Today begins Day 137.
I averaged .68 lbs lost/day since Dec 24, 2014.
I have lost 14 inches from my waist. 
This week I wore 36" waist Ralph Lauren Jeans for 1st time.
I also can now wear a pair of 36"Banana Republic dress pants.
I will always be at the beginning of a journey that never ends.
I weigh 216.1 lbs. (137 days ago I weighed 309 lbs)
I have lost 30.1% of my weight since Dec 24.
I have lost 2.7% of my weight since last Saturday.
(Last week was the week that my weight mysteriously popped up.)
I have had an amazingly wildly successful week losing 6.1 lbs.
I have a BMI, body mass index of 28.91 (far away from obesity!)
I had a 42.0 BMI on 12.24.14 just 115 days ago (Class III obesity)
I wonder about achieving a 'normal weight' - the charts say 186.8 lbs - I'm not too sure about that...
I know this, regardless of what the BMI charts show - Marc Jacobs is no longer a fat man!
I have two words to describe how I feel right now - very good
...I know how to begin this week... 
32 minutes ELLIPTICAL

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

FRIDAY MENU

breakfast  two poached eggs, 2 cups oat meal w/prune, two slices turkey 'bacon'               505 calories
lunch        MARIANO'S HUGE SPINACH SALAD                                                           500 calories
dinner      7 ounces Salon Fillet, asparagus, two cups MISO SOUP
                Spinach Salad w/hearts of palm, tomato, mushrooms, artichoke hearts
                28 almonds                                                                                                            699 calories  

TOTAL CALORIC CONSUMPTION 1704  CALORIES

calories burned
2:30PM elliptical 32 minutes 460 calories

FRIDAY NET CALORIES 1244 CALORIES

It is a challenge to NOT to find a subject spoofed by The Simpsonns

HUGE SPINACH SALAD from MARIANO'S
loaded up with lots of healthy, albeit low calorie foods:
cucumbers, tomato, ham, chicken, imitation crab, celery, artichokes,
 hard boiled egg, mushrooms, onions,  sunflower seeds and one stuffed grape leaf
(somewhere buried below is quite a lot of spinach as well)
I randomly assign 500 calories to such a salad - It surely can't be much more if more at all.
I used only squeezed lemon as my dressing.