OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWEIGH

Today is Saturday February 14.   So, let me wish a Happy Valentine's Day to my wife, Jennifer.  I would also like to wish a Happy Valentine's Day to my daughter, Sara.   And a special Happy Valentine's Day to the one woman I have known for my entire life - My Mom!  I love you all.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saturday February 14 means that I have completed 52 days on my new program, which I have named the 'Rabbi Hillel Diet.'  Since I began this journey on December 24, 2014 I have crossed a few hills and I am far 'aweigh' (away) from where I started.  Today begins Day 53.  Saturday is the day to weigh myself.  It is my favorite day of the week.

I am far 'aweigh' (away) from where I was 52 days ago

262.6 lbs

I weigh 262.6 lbs.
I lost 5.4 lbs this week.
I lost 46.4 lbs in 52 days. Today begins Day 53.
I have lost 6 inches on my waist.  
I am still at the beginning of a journey that never ends.
I weigh 262.6 lbs. (52 days ago I weighed 309 lbs)
I have lost 15.0% of my weight since Dec 24.
I have lost 2.0% of my weight since last Saturday!
I have had an extremely successful week losing lost 5.4 lbs.
I have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 35.13 (still Class II obesity)
I had a 42.0 BMI on December 24, 45 days ago (Class III obesity)
I will 'graduate' from Class II obesity into Class I obesity by the middle of this week. (261 lbs)
I have one word to describe how I feel right now - euphoric
...I know how to begin this week... 
ELLIPTICAL MACHINE


FRIDAY MENU
breakfast   three poached eggs, two slice turkey 'bacon'                                     280 calories
lunch         Maryland style crab cake, creamy tomato soup, spinach, balsamic  332 calories
dinner        8 oz ALASKA COD FILLET, tomato soup, spinach, balsamic        302 calories

total calories consumed   917 calories

CALORIES BURNED
6AM   ELLIPTICAL MACHINE 32 minutes         430 calories
3PM    ELLIPTICAL MACHINE 60 minutes         775 calories

(I was pleased to be able to workout for a full hour on my elliptical machine - every time I step onto the machine I set the controls for a one hour workout.   Yesterday, I was able to actually complete it.)  Still, it is my current goal to continue 30 minute workouts, which I am currently doing twice per day.

total calories burned    1205 calories

CALORIC DEFICIT  388 CALORIES

LUNCH: MARYLAND STYLE CRAB CAKE, SPINACH SALAD, TOMATO SOUP   332 CALORIES

DINNER: 8 oz ALASKAN COD FILLET, SPINACH w/BALSAMIC, TOMATO SOUP    302 CALORIES

This Friday, February 20, I have my follow-up appointment with my doctor.   On my initial 'wellness' exam on December 24, 2014 I weighed 309 lbs.   By the time that I return to him, about 60 days after that appointment, I apparently will have lost nearly 50 lbs.  OK, I admit it, I am looking forward to this visit.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Late Saturday evening I drove from Chicago to Bloomington, Illinois for a two-day mini wholesale fabric show.   I am staying at a LaQuinta Hotel because it has a fitness room.   I don't think that my morning workout on the elliptical machine was as strenuous as the workouts that I have had at home, as I am dealing with a different machine and different settings - nevertheless, the machine reported that my half hour workout burned 300 calories yesterday morning at 6:00AM.   I will be using this machine for the next two days, so I started with my evening workout to increase some settings to make it more challenging.

The hotel offered a 'free breakfast.'  However there was absolutely nothing that was suitable for me.   I did 'harvest' a couple of apples, just in case, I needed them for an 'emergency' meal.   I had planned on trying a breakfast item at Subway which was directly across the street.   Apparently Subway is not open at 7:00AM on a Sunday.  So, I started driving.  I found a Bob Evans restaurant.  After I sat down, I visited the nutritional website for Bob Evans and found a Western Omelette.  And that is precisely what I ordered for breakfast.  It was a sizable portion and was only 278 CALORIES.  Of course, I avoided home fries, and toast and jam - the kinds of things that could easily have doubled the calorie count of this breakfast.

Bob Evans - 10.4 oz Western Omelette w/Egg Lites  278 CALORIES

Within a 5 minute drive of the location of my mini wholesale fabric show is a Jason's Deli.  I had lunch and dinner at Jason's Deli yesterday, and I am sure to have lunch and dinner there again today.  Jason's is my favorite restaurant!


The Jason's Deli in Bloomington, Illinois had a drive-thru window.  I was able to scoot away from my show for just 15 minutes to get my lunch to-go.

Jason's Deli - Spicy Seafood Gumbo (to-go) 230 CALORIES

After my show and before I returned to my hotel, I stopped at Jason's Deli again for dinner.  (The only thing that kept me away Jason's for breakfast was that the restaurant didn't open until 10AM.  For Dinner, I tried something new: ASIAGO POT ROAST SANDWICH (half) with Fire Roasted Tortilla Soup. The meal was absolutely delicious.

Jason's Deli - Fire Roasted Tortilla Soup & Asiago Pot Roast Sandwich (half)     460 CALORIES

SUNDAY MENU

breakfast  BOB EVANS western omelette w/egg lites                            268 CALORIES

lunch        JASON'S DELI spicy seafood gumbo                                    230 CALORIES

dinner       JASON'S DELI Asiago Pot Roast, Tortilla Soup                   460 CALORIES

total calories consumed 958

CALORIES BURNED

6AM   LaQuinta Elliptical Machine 30 minutes               300 CALORIES

7PM    LaQuinta Elliptical Machine 30 minutes               500 CALORIES (I increased settings)

(The elliptical machine at the LaQuinta Hotel has a feature that my home elliptical does not have. This machine counts the number of steps taken during a workout. This machine indicated that in my 30 minute evening workout, I had taken 2030 step.  I have nothing to compare this to, but it seems like a lot!)

total calories burned      800 CALORIES

NET CALORIC INTAKE  158 CALORIES

LESS IS MORE

I have had one day to celebrate and contemplate the fact that I currently 'only' weigh 268 lbs.  For many human beings living on this planet, this would be an insanely high number.   Considering that I arrived at 268 lbs from 309 lbs only 46 days ago, it seems like a good number.

This past week, I continued my daily sub-1000 calorie consumption as I have been doing since December 24, 2014.  Since I began this journey I have not had one snack.   I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.  That's it. When I sit down to breakfast each and every day, I am truly breaking my fast from the night before.  This was the first week that I almost exclusively worked out on the ELLIPTICAL TRAINER. (I 'walked' on the treadmill only on Saturday morning.)

I worked out for a total of 7.5 hours (one 60 minute walk and thirteen 30 minute sessions on the elliptical machine) which burned 5397 CALORIES.

My weight loss for the week was 4.7 lbs

The previous week I was just a little bit 'psychotic'.   I 'walked' 80 miles on the treadmill.   I spent 20 hours, 'walking' at 4 mph for 60 minutes each session. (twenty sessions total)  I calculated that I should have burned 12,000 CALORIES.

My weight loss for the week that I 'walked' 80 miles, burning 12000 CALORIES was 'only' 3.7 lbs.

CONCLUSION: REGARDING EXERCISE....
                            ...S O M E T I M E S...
                            L E S S  I S  M O R E

I decreased the hours spent working out, and experienced better results.   Conclusion: LESS IS MORE!

SATURDAY MENU

breakfast    three poached eggs, two strips turkey 'bacon'                                     280 CALORIES

lunch          4 oz salmon filet, spinach, vinaigrette dressing, pumpkin soup          364 CALORIES

dinner        Mahi Mahi burger, spinach pancake, iceberg lettuce, pumpkin soup  282 CALORIES  

total consumption        926 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

6AM  ELLIPTICAL 30 minutes  400 CALORIES

1PM   ELLIPTICAL 30 minutes  400 CALORIES

total burned  800 CALORIES

NET CALORIC INTAKE        126 CALORIES

Mahi Mahi burger, spinach pancake, lettuce wedge w/vinaigrette, Pumpkin Soup        282 CALORIES

ELLIPTICAL

Yesterday morning, after my 5AM weigh-in I hopped on the treadmill and spent one hour 'walking' at 4 mph for 60 minutes. I decided then that it was time to try something new.  I decided to start using the elliptical machine as much as possible.   Before lunch, I returned to the fitness room and set the elliptical machine to a 'calorie burn' program for 60 minutes.   I didn't have 60 minutes in me.   After 30 minutes I felt that I had had enough.   I have the rest of my life to improve my endurance - so there is no reason to try to do more than I am capable of doing.   After thirty minutes, the machine reported that I had 'burned' 322 calories.   I have a baseline from which I can improve.  I will continue to use the treadmill if the elliptical is not available during my workout times.

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

The chart below only shows the last 30 days.  From January 1 (297 lbs) to January 31 (272.2) progress has been very steady.  If I keep doing what I have been doing - I should find myself in the 260's next week.   From the 'starting gate' of December 24, I have lost 36.3 lbs (11.7% of my body weight)

I have been giving more thought to my moderate weight loss this past week.   Although I was disappointed, I really had no reason to be.   When I analyze the graph produced by MyFitnessPal, I see that my weight has been dropping very regularly in practically a straight line for the past 30 days.   I have re-assessed and I realize that everything is going according to schedule.  I do think that the human body is programmed to try (try hard) to hold onto its warehouse of energy (energy stored in fat cells) as long as possible in the event of real famine.   I have learned that I should not try to predict weight loss in a specific week. Nevertheless, I am very hopeful that next Saturday I will break the '270' barrier and get into the '260's'    My overall weight loss from the 309 lb  'starting gate' is 36.3 lbs.

SATURDAY MENU

BREAKFAST   three poached eggs, 2 strips turkey 'bacon'                                           280 CALORIES

LUNCH             Panera Soba Noodle Bowl with Chicken (new menu item)                   390 CALORIES
DINNER           Salmon Burger, Creamy Corn Pepper Soup, Spinach w/Vinaigrette      257 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIC CONSUMPTION         927 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

5AM  TREADMILL: 60 minutes @ 4 mph (4 miles) 600 CALORIES
11AM ELLIPTICAL MACHINE 30 minutes              322 CALORIES
7PM   ELLIPTICAL MACHINE  30 minutes              330 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED                                    1252  CALORIES

NET CALORIC DEFICIT      325 CALORIES

PANERA BREAD SOBA NOODLE WITH CHICKEN: Chicken raised without antibiotics, soba buckwheat noodles, fresh spinach, napa cabbage blend, roasted mushroom and onion blend, sesame seeds and cilantro in an umami soy-miso broth.  390 CALORIES