DINNER MARRIOTT COURTYARD - MARGHERITA FLATBREAD

Arrived kinda late at the Marriott Courtyard.
Dinner:

Margherita Flatbread 710 CAL
roasted tomatoes, basil + cheese

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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236.6 lbs (DAY 124)

Weighed myself this morning... 236.6 lbs

I think that is enough gaining for a bit...

NOTE TO SELF: DON'T PANIC (DAY 109)

I know that I have recently been 'off my game.' 

I know that I have not been walking as much as I did in the summer and fall.

I know that I will not be able to walk as much as I did for the next few months.

I know that I have 'forgotten' portion control recently.

I know that I have 'forgotten' to record each and every candy bar that I have eaten recently.

I know that I have been snacking way too much recently.

I know that I have given in to temptation and made friends with hotel vending machines.

I know that I should not panic and that I should again start doing what I had been doing so well.

How about I start today?

Weighed myself Saturday morning and I am at 234 lbs. 

No particular reason to panic.... I weighed 283.6 lbs on July 31 of this year.

I have every reason to be proud of my accomplishment....

and I am.

SHOOTING STAR (DAY 101)

Do you remember, 'Shooting Star' (Bad Company song)?

Don't you know
That you are a shooting star, (don't you know, don't you know)
Don't you know that you are
A shooting star
And all the world will love you
Just as long, as long as you are?

During my hike on Wednesday...
...I 'officially' became a SHOOTING STAR (according to fitbit, that is)

According to Fitbit, a 'floor' is about 10 feet measured by the fitbit's altimeter.... so if my lifetime 'floors' are 20,000, then that translates to 200,000 feet, which translates to approximately 38 miles... 

PRE-DAWN HIKE INDIANA (DAY 86)

Before the sunrise on Wednesday morning, I was out and about and had mapped out the walk that I wanted to take. It turned out to be a ten mile hike. The scenery was a bit sparse, walking past the dead stalks of cornfields. I did see five deer, and I do always enjoy seeing these animals. The photo that I took of myself was when I crossed I-65.

early in the morning, the sun casts a long shadow

I am on a bridge crossing I-65 in Indiana

ANOTHER DAY 2000 CALORIES (DAY 79)

In general, a 2000 calorie daily consumption should be very compatible with some weight loss when combined with the level of activity that I have recently maintained, that is hikes averaging 7 miles per day.  However, that level may be harder and harder to maintain as the temperature drops and it gets darker earlier and earlier. Still, 2000 calories is still not exactly overdoing it for a guy who currently weighs 235 lbs. I should try to cut back more if I want to lose more weight which I do. At some point, I am going to have to master maintenance. This is not easy.

BACK IN CHICAGO THURSDAY (DAY 74)

I have upped my calories no into the neighborhood of 1800 for the past few days.
After my rain shortened four mile walk on Wednesday I bounced back Thursday with a 10 miler.
The weather has finally changed....
Monday it was 90° and during my Chicago hike on Thursday it was 40° cooler!

PRE-DAWN URBAN HIKE (DAY 65)

On Tuesday, I needed to pick up a colleague at the airport, and immediately travel 100 miles west to visit a customer. After that visit we traveled another 100 miles to be in place for a Wednesday morning appointment in Forsyth, Illinois. I knew there would be very little time to get a walk accomplished as the day unfolded. So, for the first time, in a very long time, I popped out of bed and set out for a pre-dawn 5:30AM walk. That's not to shabby to have logged a seven mile urban hike prior to eating breakfast.

HUMBOLDT PARK (DAY 48)

On the 48th day that I maintained my low calorie consumption, I took a TEN MILE urban hike before lunch. I headed out to Humboldt Park (not a particularly wise place to visit at night, but ostensibly OK in the height of mid-morning on a gorgeous late summer day in September)

7 SECRETS TO TURN YOUR BODY INTO A FAT BURNING MACHINE

1. Reduce your calories on Monday and cut out all sweets

2. Reduce your calories on Tuesday and cut out all sweets

3. Reduce your calories on Wednesday and cut out all sweets

4. Reduce your calories on Thursday and cut out all sweets

5. Reduce your calories on Friday and cut out all sweets

6. Reduce your calories on Saturday and cut out all sweets

7. Reduce your calories on Sunday and cut out all sweets

BONUS SECRET: SPRINKLE IN SOME EXERCISE 

(Exercise doesn't make up for over-eating, but it is healthy)

My daughter works at Wrigley Field. She is one of the people who scans tickets allowing entry into the ballpark. She often gets driven to Wrigley Field before work - but she enjoys walking home afterwards. The walk is a bit more than two miles. I often walk to Wrigley and watch the game on the giant outdoor screen at Gallagher's Place. It is a quite enjoyable place to catch some baseball and rays. On Saturday, I thought I would s-t-r-e-t-c-h that 2.6 mile walk to about five miles.  Instead,  I stretched it to twelve miles.  After the game, my daughter wanted to go to Costco eatery for dinner, so we walked there too.  My wife picked us up after that, which was good, because I could barely walk after walking 14+ miles between lunch and dinner. It was the most I had walked in more than half a year. My fitbit recorded more than 30,000 steps, also the most in more than half a year. Three weeks ago in the depths of my weight-gaining stupidity it was painful to walk half a block to the local bank. I thought that I had gone too far backwards and that I would never regain my ability to put on a pair of shoes and log some serious miles.  Thankfully, as far backwards as I had gone... my reversal seems to be taking place and once again, I have become a walking, talking, fat-burning machine. Oh yeah!

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TWELVE MILE HIKE FROM HOME TO WRIGLEY FIELD
(apparently without using GPS!)

Wrigley Field to Costco for dinner

If you order the Costco Chicken Caesar Salad AND USE THE DRESSING CONTAINER THAT THEY GIVE YOU WITH THE MEAL... YOU CAN ADD ABOUT 400 CALORIES TO THAT MEAL!

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Direct route from the corner where we live to Wrigley Field is only 2.6 miles.  I made it a twelve mile walk on Saturday.

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I am still 260+ pounds. By definition, that is morbidly obese. I honestly think that with my ridiculously short haircut and now a healthy looking tan earned while logging some serious outdoor time - I look much better than the 260+ pounds says I should. I am looking forward to getting into the 250's and well below that too... One (fitbit) step at a time... What I know is this... three weeks ago, I couldn't stand looking at myself in the mirror... I can stand it now.

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