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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DAY THREE

It's a bit early for me to announce, even if only to myself, that this time (yet again) I am serious. However, I have eaten 'properly' for three days, and it has been a very long, long time since I have been able to say that. Yesterday in a hotel room while watching Star Wars Rougue One on netflix, I did what I used to do. In lieu of a taking a walk, I stepped in place during the two hour movie. By the time the rebels has successfully taken ownership of the plans to the Death Star, I had accumulated 15000 steps. I am sure that this bit of exercise is not quite the same thing as actually walking, but I am also convinced that this bit of exercise is better than sitting on a couch while watching TV.

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Essential Everyday - Butter Flavored Grits	200	42	2	4	680	2
	200	42	2	4	680	2
L U N C H
Real Foods - Corn Thins - Original, 25 slices	575	100	5	15	388	0
Oki Sushi - Spicy California Maki	300	37	7	7	390	8
	875	137	12	22	778	8
D I N N E R
Pampa Brand - Asparagus Spears	30	4	0	4	680	0
Campbell's Chunky Soup  Hearty Beef Barley	280	48	3	16	1,580	12
	310	52	3	20	2,260	12
S N A C K S
Red Delicious Apple, 1 medium apple	95	25	0	1	2	19
	95	25	0	1	2	19
Totals	1,480	256	17	47	3,720	41
Your Daily Goal	1,983	248	66	100	2,300	74
Remaining	503	-8	49	53	-1,420	33
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 53 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 243.7 lbs in 5 weeks     

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ACCUMULATED ACTIVITY 26 MINUTES @ 8:30PM

Yesterday involved seeing a customer that I had to drive approximately three hours one way to visit. Last evening, I finally carved out 97 minutes to get a workout on the elliptical machine. Somehow it shocked me to review my fitbit stats right before I started. My total accumulated steps prior to 8:30PM just going about and living life were 4287 and the total accumulated active minutes were only 26.  It was a bit shocking to see quantitative proof of how inactive people can be. Considering that my previous lifestyle included no workouts at all for nearly a decade, it is easy to see how my weight so easily was able to surpass 300 pounds given the quantity of food I was shoveling into my mouth  each day. Over the past two years or so, I do believe that not only have I dropped weight but that I have gained some toning in my body, certainly my legs. These days, once midnight strikes I never have accumulated minutes of activity that are so near zero.

My accumulated steps and active minutes at 8:30PM were quite anemic.

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At the conclusion of a 97 minute workout, my fitbit stats were a bit more respectable.

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Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, October 6, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 5 packet	500	110	0	10	1,550	0
Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates & Pecans	500	98	10	10	321	31
	1,000	208	10	20	1,871	31
L U N C H
Chef Salad w/ham, chicken, roast beef	500	10	7	18	455	0
Pineapple, Melon, Orange Fruit Salad	500	117	0	8	83	108
	1,000	127	7	26	538	108
D I N N E R
Deep Dish Pizza, 1 slice	470	50	24	15	980	9
Nestle Peanut Butter Choc Nutrition Bar	400	44	14	22	340	24
	870	94	38	37	1,320	33
S N A C K S
Hersheys Dark Chocolate Bar	500	28	38	9	100	11
	500	28	38	9	100	11
Totals	3,370	457	93	92	3,829	183
Your Daily Goal	3,122	390	104	157	2,300	117
Remaining	-248	-67	11	65	-1,529	-66
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,192 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 211.3 lbs in 5 weeks.

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	97	1,192
Daily Total / Goal	97 / 30	1,192 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	308 / 210	4,860 / 4,130

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RAIN DELAY

I have hiked, walked, marched, stepped, traipsed, strolled, rambled, sauntered, and schlepped on  trails, beaches, hills, mountains, valleys and roads for the past many weeks and months. Mostly I have been lucky and avoided rain. Remarkably, during my epic Half Dome Hike in Yosemite last October, our group actually did manage to catch rain, which was no small accomplishment since it more or less, 'never' rains in California and rains even less during droughts. On that hike we beat the odds. On my hikes closer to home I have been very lucky and mostly avoided getting wet other than from own sweat which is not inconsequential on days when the temperatures are north of 90°F.  I was caught in real thunderstorm during a recent hike in Wisconsin, but that was memorable as it was so rare for that to happen to me. So, is there a point to any of this preamble? Yesterday when I woke up, the skies somehow managed to look darker after the dawn than they had during the actual night. This is an optical illusion of course, but it is still very unsettling to see such darkness when a new day is first unwrapping itself. Still, I thought I might take a little walk. Sometimes, dark skies, are blown away and rains don't come. Yesterday was not one of those days. An early morning hike was curtailed when the rains started when I was only 1 mile from home. I took refuge in a grocery store thinking I could wait out the storm, but the forecast was for a few hours of continuous rain - so I simply walked back the one mile in the pouring rain.  In the late afternoon, the rains had completely dissipated, although the threat for more had not. Still I ventured out, managed an eight mile hike which was marred only by a mild drizzle towards the end. When the day was done, I still had managed to walk ten miles. Always an accomplishment, no matter how dubious. 

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rain-shortened early morning walk, not even three miles.

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar	380	58	14	6	270	22
Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal	600	108	10	16	0	4
	980	166	24	22	270	26
L U N C H
Home Made - Garden Salad, 1 bowl	100	6	0	4	400	4
Fried Chicken Tenders	300	17	20	14	766	2
Hash browns - Hash Browns	200	46	0	6	86	3
Quaker Chewy - Chocolate Chunk	180	38	4	2	160	14
	780	107	24	26	1,412	23
D I N N E R
Curry Chicken With Rice	800	233	23	46	1,740	9
	800	233	23	46	1,740	9
S N A C K S
Generic - Hersheys Dark Chocolate	500	28	38	9	100	11
Roundy's - Honey Nut Tasteeos, 3 cup	440	88	6	8	560	36
	940	116	44	17	660	47
Totals	3,500	622	115	111	4,082	105
Your Daily Goal	4,298	537	143	215	2,300	161
Remaining	798	-85	28	104	-1,782	56
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,368 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
2.6 mile rain-shortened hike	34	512
EIGHT MILE afternoon hike	96	1,770
Add Exercise Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	130 / 30	2,282 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	400 / 210	6,436 / 4,130

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200,000 STEPS

Finally, after 9 weeks, I have logged a week of 200,000+ steps. Most normal fitbit people are happy if they can get in their 5 miles per day, which translates to 10,000 steps per days which further translates to 70,000 steps for a week. I am not a normal person. I have never been accused of being a normal person. Normal people do not allow their weight to crest over 300 pounds as I had as of December 2014. I have always been a person who goes a bit overboard. At least when one is going overboard with regard to fitness activity there is far more benefit than harm. I am a person that is likely to take 10 mile walk before breakfast or after dinner, or perhaps spend more than two hours on fitness equipment. A person that does this can 'easily' rack up 200,000 steps within a 7 days week. I just completed my second week of full recovery from the hernia surgery. It is with great personal pleasure that I was able to exceed 200,000 steps this week. I am the master of dubious achievements. Surely there are worse things that one can do with their time.

Finally, after a 9 weeks, I logged a week of 200,000+ steps.

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For one week that ran from Sunday May 29 thru Saturday June 4, I logged 201,931 steps.  It was the first time that I have logged that many steps in 9 weeks.  During most of those 9 weeks, I was injured or recovering from my hernia surgery.

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BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Cream of Rice - Hot Cereal, 1 cup	160	36	0	3	0	0
Egg, whole, cooked, poached, 3 large	215	1	14	19	446	1
Butterball - Bacon Style Turkey, 4 slices	140	2	12	8	600	0
Sweet & Salty Trail Mix, 62 g	320	30	20	8	110	22
	835	69	46	38	1,156	23
L U N C H
Taco Bell - Crunchy Taco Shells	160	21	7	2	0	0
Breaded Pork Chop, 2 Chop	472	18	30	31	510	2
Earthbound Farm - Baby Spinach, Organic	20	3	0	2	65	0
Oyster Crackers, 28 crackers	140	22	4	2	120	0
Crab - Imitation	80	14	0	6	450	3
Sliced Beets, 1/2 cup	40	8	0	1	250	6
	912	86	41	44	1,395	11
D I N N E R
Turkey Pot Roast, 9 oz	390	9	21	42	1,590	3
Broccoli - Broccoli Steamed, 1 cup	31	6	0	3	30	2
Butternut Squash, 170 g	80	20	0	2	0	4
85% Dark Chocolate, 1 bar	420	34	38	8	0	14
	921	69	59	55	1,620	23
S N A C K S
Candy Bar, 1/2 bar	95	15	4	1	45	11
Jif - to Go Chocolate Silk, 1 cup	250	18	19	5	100	14
	345	33	23	6	145	25
Totals	3,013	257	170	142	4,316	81
Your Daily Goal	4,804	600	160	241	2,300	180
Remaining	1,791	342	-9	99	-2,015	99
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 2,874 extra calories from exercise today

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	1,388
MATRIX TREADMILL	60	554
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	60	911
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	21
Add Exercise Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	213 / 30	2,874 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1173 / 210	15,556 / 4,130

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I started my day with a 92 minute session on the elliptical machine set to resistance '13'

It was a rainy afternoon in Chicago, so what better way to spend it than  on a treadmill for an hour?

After my one hour on the treadmill, I still had some 'gas' in the tank (although not too much) and logged another hour back on the elliptical machine with the resistance now set to '14'  (I had set the machine for a 90 minute workout - but I just didnt have it inn me...)

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