GREAT BARRIER REEF

Today's post will be a bit frivolous.  Aren't many of them?  (That's a rhetorical question, please do not feel you need to answer!) I have said on occasion that I enjoy getting emails from my apps. Twenty years ago one received actual physical letters and cards (mail) from real people.  That joy transformed into getting electronic mail (email) from real people.  Nowadays, we get email from our 'apps.'  An 'app' never forgets a birthday, or anniversary or anything now that I think of it. This is called progress. Today, my fitbit app sent me an email and the email announced the fact that I earned another honor. This honor was a badge for walking 1600 miles since my fitbit was activated on September 3rd of this year. This badge is the GREAT BARRIER REEF badge.

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Each time that I receive one of these so-called lifetime achievement badges it is always a surprise. I just don't know what the next level is. For example, I currently don't know what the next badge to be earned will be. A friend of mine who has had his fitbit for three years recently earned the 'Africa' badge (that was for walking 5000 miles - the length of Africa)  I am assuming that there will be a number of badges to be earned before I complete my imaginary trek from the northernmost part of Africa to Capetown.

List of 'lifetime' mileage badges that I have received so far... with the dates that they were earned:

MARATHON BADGE               26 MILES earned September 6, 2015
PENGUIN MARCH BADGE    70 MILES  earned September 9, 2015
LONDON UNDERGROUND 250 MILES  earned September 24, 2015
SERENGETI                            500 MILES  earned October 11, 2015
ITALY                                       736 MILES  earned October 28, 2015
NEW ZEALAND                     990 MILES  earned November 14, 2015
GREAT BARRIER REEF      1600 MILES  earned December 29, 2015

The Girl Scouts have perfected this 'badge' idea. When a Girl Scout earns a badge - she actually get a badge (patch) which she can sew onto her Girl Scout vest.  Where's my patch?  No, seriously... I want my patch! I would proudly sew it onto my backpack. There might an idea for a product launch for the fitbit company.  Hey, FITBIT, are you listening?
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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Calbee - Baked Shrimp Chips	390	57	18	6	690	3
Generic - Yamasa Narutomaki, 6 oz	180	27	0	15	2,160	9
	570	84	18	21	2,850	12
L U N C H
Generic - Whitefish, Lightly Blackened, 8 z filet	244	0	2	53	2,312	0
Generic  - Buttered Cabbage, 6.2 oz.	246	10	23	3	196	6
WHOLE FOODS 8890 - STRAWBERRY VANILLA HEMP GRANOLA, 88.0 g (3/4 cup)	400	64	13	8	96	24
WHOLE FOODS 5536 - YOGURT ALMONDS	220	22	14	4	20	19
	1,110	96	52	68	2,624	49
D I N N E R
Generic - Bulgogi (Korean Bbq), 2 Serving	186	9	7	22	634	0
White Rice - White Rice, 1.5 cup	308	66	0	2	0	0
	494	75	7	24	634	0
S N A C K S
Kelloggs-Corn Flakes - Cereal, 2 cup (28g)	200	48	0	4	400	6
	200	48	0	4	400	6
Totals	2,374	303	77	117	6,508	67
Your Daily Goal	4,095	512	136	205	2,300	153
Remaining	1,721	209	59	88	-4,208	85
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 2,165 extra calories from exercise today

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	Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	92	1,984
MATRIX TREADMILL	13	100
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	81
Daily Total / Goal	106 / 30	2,165 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	199 / 210	3,881 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 2374 calories

total calories (92 minutes elliptical, walking) 2084 calories

total net calories 290 calories

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fitbit day 117
21046 steps
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MARATHON BADGE - 26 MILES

PENGUIN MARCH BADGE - 70 MILES

LONDON UNDERGROUND BADGE - 250 MILES

SERENGETI BADGE - 500 MILES

ITALY BADGE - 736 MILES 

NEW ZEALAND BADGE - 990 MILES 

GREAT BARRIER REEF BADGE - 1600 MILES

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THE NEXT BADGE? - ? MILES (I do not know what the next badge is... I will find out when I earn it)

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I had not realized how rusty I was when I started using the elliptical machine again after a few months hiatus. I almost always set my home elliptical machine to 90 minutes (plus a two minute 'cooldown') and set the 'resistance' to level 20. I simply peddle as hard as I can at a rate that seems comfortable and that I can maintain for the full 90 minutes. I had forgotten how effective a calorie burn was to be had on this machine as I have just begun to regain the levels of my previous workouts.  

As recently as two weeks ago,  Monday December 14, I worked out on this machine for 92 minutes, level 20 and logged only 1435 calories burned. At the time, I did not realize how poorly this compared to the calorie burn output level of my workouts on this machine a few months back.

Yesterday, December 29, I worked out on this machines for the same 92 minutes, at the same level 20 and logged nearly 2000 calories burned.  (That is a huge difference, and the assumption is that I will continue to improve as I continue to use this machine more and more often)

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map of the actual Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia

FASHION POLICE ON HIGH ALERT

The question today: Should a 58 year old man be wearing spandex shorts?  This 58 year old man did wear spandex shorts for his 10 mile trek through Chicago yesterday morning.  In fact, I had my most successful effort yet... I completed my 10 miles in two hours, forty-five seconds.  I do not attibute this improvement to the spandex shorts.  I do attribute it to an improvement in my leg strength and endurance. I thought it was OK for me to wear spandex shorts.  Nevertheless, the FASHION POLICE WERE ON HIGH ALERT!

One thing that I unambiguously know for sure:  The Fashion Police would certainly have arrested me if I had been wearing spandex shorts back in the days when I weighed north of 300 lbs.  Back in those days, that was not an issue that concerned me - I never would have owned a pair of spandex shorts.

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I set out today for my 10 mile walk with the idea of walking straight in one direction as long as I could.  The first part of my walk had me walking north on Halstead Avenue and then sliding over to the lakefront trail to return home.  The weather was beautiful, and I was able to wear shorts for the first time in a week.

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Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, November 15, 2015

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Kashi - Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar, 3 bar	360	63	11	12	150	21
General Mills - Kix Cereal, 2.5 cup	220	50	2	4	360	6
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 3 medium apple (170g)	285	75	1	2	5	57
	865	188	13	18	515	84
L U N C H
John Mc Cann's - Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal (Certificate of Award Uniformity of Granulation), 160 g (1/4 Cup)	600	108	10	16	0	2
Kashi - Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar, 1 bar	120	21	4	4	50	7
Central Market - Chipotle lime Salmon, 6.4 oz	304	3	18	29	1,168	0
	1,024	132	31	49	1,218	9
D I N N E R
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 3 medium apple	285	75	1	2	5	57
Campbells Home Style Soup - Italian Wedding Soup, 2 cup	200	26	5	12	820	8
	485	101	6	14	825	65
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS 8738 - DRIED MANGO SLICES, 52.0 g (approx 6 pieces)	143	36	0	3	1	26
Whole Foods - Garlic Sesame Sticks, 0.5 cup	160	12	11	3	350	0
	303	48	11	6	351	26
Totals	2,677	470	61	85	2,910	183
Your Daily Goal	5,412	676	180	271	2,300	203
Remaining	2,735	205	118	185	-610	19
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 3,482 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking, 5.0 mph	121	2,173
Walking, 3.5 mph, brisk pace	175	1,562
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-253
Daily Total / Goal	297 / 30	3,482 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1190 / 210	16,424 / 4,130

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TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 2677 CALORIES
TOTAL CALORIES BURNED (10 MILE WALK @ 5MPH) 2173 CALORIES
TOTAL NET CALORIES 504 CALORIES

With the return of my daughter from her trip to Paris, we were able to take 10 mile stroll in the afternoon.  We visited Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park and Navy Pier. We certainly were not motoring along at 5mph (but still accumulating plenty of steps to 'feed' the fitbit.)   The beautiful morning became a picture perfect, stunningly warm November day. Picture perfect days require pictures.

No special camera effects were used to enhance the blue color of the Chicago sky.

Father and Daughter happy to be re-united after daughter returned home from Paris less than 24 hours ago.

A brand new TARGET recently opened in the Streeterville section of downtown Chicago, along with a brand-new Starbucks.

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Setting aside that I was wearing spandex shorts... It was nice to be wearing any type of shorts on a November day in Chicago

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fitbit day 74

35075 steps

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