BACK TO THE STAIRMASTER

After my three hour workout on Tuesday, I didn't have much 'gas' for my workout on Wednesday.   I found myself back in Fort Wayne, Indiana where I know that the YMCA there has a stairmaster.  I did figure that it might be a good time to do something a bit different after a few consecutive weeks pounding the elliptical machine.

I managed to spend one hour on the stairmaster and the calories burned that the machine reported were only 629.  I feel that this is a low estimate.  I was drenched in sweat after just one hour and although it sometimes seems like I can take my strides on an elliptical machine in my sleep - the stairmaster requires full concentration or else you can actually fall of the neverending stairs.   When the workout was complete, the machine recorded that I had 'climbed' 234 floors.  I like to remind myself that I used to be unbelievably out-of-breath climbing the twelve flights of stairs to my apartment that few times that I tried to skip the elevator.

I am going to carefully monitor my workouts as the trek up Half Dome (Yosemite) is no longer in the far distant future.   My flight to California to rendezvous with the members of the 'expedition' is just a little more than one month away.  My time on the stairmaster assured me that my legs were capable of moving and gaining altitude.

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 Wednesday MENU

breakfast   oatmeal                                                                          450 calories
lunch         Panera BBQ chicken flatbread, onion soup, baguette
                  apple, oat n' honey granola bar                                     1081 calories
dinner       spinach salad                                                                   750 calories
SNACKS  vegetable chips, banana chips, almonds                        1108 calories

total calories consumed 3389 calories

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Fort Wayne YMCA Stairmaster 60 minutes, 234 floors  629 calories

Wednesday net calories 2760 calories

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BLOOD TEST RESULTS

During my initial 'wellness' visit, December 24, 2014, my blood was tested.   I will confess that I was concerned when the results indicated that my glucose levels were elevated.   The report that I received from my doctor last December had my 'fasting glucose' level at 114 mg/dL.   The initial report came with the advice to visit www.diabetes.org for more information.   If I was not officially pre-diabetic, I was on the wrong track and headed in that direction.

Two months later, after I had dropped more than 50 lbs, my blood was tested again.   I was most interested in this glucose level.    This time the reading was 74 mg/dL   (normal range is 70-99)

I am no longer speeding down the tracks headed into a diabetes or pre-diabetes.   I successfully switched tracks.

I was speeding  straight towards pre-diabetes, my efforts

over the past two months, had me 'switch tracks' and now
I am on a very different path headed in a new direction.

However, my blood tests, show a new minor problem, 'Mild Anemia.'   All of a sudden my Vitamin D level is 'insufficient.'  (Maybe McDonald's McChickens, Burger King hamburgers, Hershey's chocolate milk and Klondike ice-cream have lots of Vitamin D!)   The recommendation is to eat foods rich in Vitamin D, or foods fortified with Vitamin D or increase Sun Exposure.   Sun Exposure might be problematical while it is 10 degrees outside.   Considering what was going on with my body and by body chemistry two months ago - this report was very satisfying.

I consulted the 'Vitamin D Council' website to find out why people might not be getting enough Vitamin D

For a number of reasons, many people aren’t getting enough vitamin D to stay healthy. This is called vitamin D deficiency. You may not get enough vitamin D if:

• You don’t get enough sunlight. Your body is usually able to get all the vitamin D it needs if you regularly expose enough bare skin to the sun. However, many people don’t get enough sunlight because they spend a lot of time inside and because they use sunscreen. It’s also difficult for some people to get enough vitamin D from the sun during the winter.

• You don’t take supplements. It’s very difficult to get enough vitamin D from the foods you eat alone.

• Your body needs more vitamin D than usual, for example if you’re obese or pregnant.

I can see that getting enough sunlight might have been a problem for the past few wintry months in Chicago.   I had recently been taking a Vitamin D supplement.  I have now increased the amount from 1000 IU to 2000 IU.  I am still considered obese although I am nearly certain that I am not pregnant.

Next thing to do was get a list of foods rich in Vitamin D - so I know what foods to add to my menu.
I consulted webMD.com:

Foods that provide vitamin D include:

• Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon

• Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals

• Beef liver

• Cheese

• Egg yolks

To get vitamin D from food, fish is a good option. Six ounces of cooked salmon has more than 600 international units (IU).

MONDAY MENU

breakfast  2 poached eggs, 2 slices turkey 'bacon' cup OAT MEAL, 1 prune          355 CALORIES

lunch        Jimmy John's #14 Bootlegger Club UNWICH w/provolone cheese       280 CALORIES

dinner       APPLEBEE'S Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (no dressing)                    370 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED     1005 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

6AM    elliptical machine 32 minutes             440 calories

7PM     DAYS INN Stairmaster 30 minutes   400 calories

total calories burned     840 calories

NET CALORIES     165 CALORIES

APPLEBEE'S GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR
SALAD (NO DRESSING) 370 CALORIES