Okay, still on track.  586 calories on the elliptical this morning in my 31 minutes.

Yesterday was not bad.  Today should be good too.

And it was.  Except for the vente latte at Starbucks, it was a strictly program day.  My belt is now comfortable in the forth hole back.  It was in the last hole when I started this program.

We went to the dentist today and got our teeth cleaned.  It’s much cheaper here than back in Canada, the new facilities are very well equipped and modern.  In fact, I’ll be surprised if facilities back home are generally as good.  I’ve been having a terrible time with sore gums this past term.  The nice lady at the clinic, Feng Chen Chen, assures me there is nothing serious happening so I can put thoughts of oral cancer out of my mind.  She seems to have a lot of faith in Listerine.

No exercise this morning.  Later for that.  We have Panda, our young Chinese friend, visiting and I feel inhibited.

But I did have my standard brown rice, qing cai, and skinless chicken breast breakfast.  Feels good.  Tastes good.

I’ll exercise later.  The good news is I have nothing to do until Sunday but get ready for my trip home.  Finished all my paperwork last night and am about to go and hand it in.  Big job.  Much worries.  Done.

Okay, late in the evening and I got on the elliptical and cranked out 583 calories in 31 minutes.  Cooled down.  Had my shower. Now I’m ready for bed.

Today we finished up all our paperwork for the term and submitted our marks.  Tomorrow we take out our Chinese money so we can exchange it for Canadian.  Then we’re going downtown to have our teeth cleaned.  It’s a lot cheaper here in China than it would be back home, and they do a good job.  Nothing left to do now but get ready to go home.  Ruth booked our train from Saskatoon back to Winnipeg.  The summer is falling into place.

No time this morning.  Must leave in thirty five minutes to catch the train to Nanjing.

Just a note to say that I’m feeling skinny, though the fat on my belly is still there.

Back from Nanjing now.  We had a lunch that was only slightly off the program.  I had a coffee at MacDonald’s and a vente latte at Starbucks.  Then we came home to a totally program dinner.  Not too bad.  Nanjing was great.  We bought some silk shirts in the market and I found a couple of Pi Shou (ninth son of the dragon carvings) I’ve been looking for.

Yes, we’re extending past the 11 week official program time.  I’m still carrying flab on my belly.

And this morning… get me back on the program.  Too much to drink yesterday.  I didn’t quite finish the bottle of huang jiu, and have one Breezer left.  But still, it was enough.  Toxic.  Time to hit the elliptical.

616 calories in my 31 minutes this morning.

And the slippery slope gets steeper.   This evening my students took us out for dinner.  A great Chinese feast, but not on the program by any means.  Pork with two inches of melt in your mouth fat.  Wuxi cuisine is sweet, and all the dishes were either sweet or deep fried.  I have no idea how many calories I ate, but I did manage to avoid drinking anything but the green tea.

And when I think about it, I had nothing but a banana and a nectarine between breakfast and dinner, so maybe the day’s total wasn’t so bad.  Not a healthy way to eat though.

Tomorrow we leave for the train station at the crack of dawn. No time for the exercise machine.  We’re off for a day trip to Nanjing.  And the slippery slope continues….

It’s a cheater day, but I’m going to make it a light one because I wasn’t strict last week.   I started the day with a peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread.  That was quite a calorie hit.

We skipped the elliptical this morning in favor of a bike ride to Starbucks in Wanda Plaza where I had two grande lattes.  We stopped at the supermarket before riding home, and I bought a small durian, most of which we ate before riding away.

Then for lunch we had BLT sandwiches, which were almost within the program… no they weren’t.  Not with bacon in them, and mayonnaise.  I’ve just finished my second Breezer.  The day is unfolding nicely.

Okay, so much for making this a lighter cheater day.  I’ve had chocolate.  I’ve had Breezers.  I’m currently sipping huang jiu.  Ruth made a lovely salmon dinner that was totally on the program.  But I think that was nothing compared to the calories I’ve ingested since.  Sigh..   Oh well, it’s a cheater day.  Big time.

Weigh in this morning.

Ruth:  64.1 kg, no change from the last weigh in, though we are seeing a huge change in her body shape and muscle definition.  I think this is just water retention, or an anomaly of the weigh in.

Zale weighed in at 95.5 kg.

Starting weight = 109.6 kg = 241.6 lbs.
XXXXXXtoday =   95.5 kg = 210.5 lbs.
XXloss to date =   14.1 kg =   31.1 lbs.

Okay, that’s pretty gratifying.  Time to climb on the elliptical trainer.

581 calories in 31 minutes this morning.  That’s enough.

Just spent three or four hours cleaning up my office.  It needed it.  What a filthy mess…it was.  Now it’s beautiful.

We’ve done the photographs for this evening.  Here they are.

I’m still seeing improvement in the profile shots.  Not so much in the front on pictures.

Maybe the bit above the belt is narrowing though.  That’s it for tonight. I’m fried. Time for bed.

557 on the elliptical this morning in my 31 minutes.  Lowest number ever, or at least the lowest number on record here.  No worries.  I got on the machine, I got my heart rate up, I pumped out some sweat a bit. (for some reason the spell checker doesn’t think sweated is legitimate.)  That’s good enough.

This is our last day of classes for the term.  Another week and a bit and we’ll be back in Canada.  I’m sure glad I started this program before the summer started.  It’s going to be harder to stay on it over the summer, with all the travel and eating at restaurants and with friends.

Celebrated the end of classes with a glass of tea and a glass of milk at the cafe.  Then later ate some watermelon at the fruit store.  Oh yeah, and one banana today.  How many calories is all that?  Who cares.  I’m not being all that strict.  I feel a slippery slope beneath my feet, and I’m nowhere near where I want to be for belly flab.  Must resist this slide.

Tomorrow morning is a weigh in.  We’ll see….

605 calories in my 31 minutes on the elliptical this morning.  Started late.  Rushed my shower and barely made it to class on time.

599 calories on the elliptical this morning.

I’m not feeling much effect from the cheater day yesterday.  I do wish I knew how many calories I ate.  I know I ate a lot of good protein, but the cooked in butter aspect just have kicked the calorie count through the roof, as did the ice cream on the fried bananas.  Oh well, what’s done is done.  Time to move on.

I shall be strict with myself for the rest of this week, and see how I look on Friday, which is a photos day and weigh in.

We at the lobsters, though I’d call them crayfish, for dinner.  Tasty morsels.

623 on the elliptical this morning in my 31 minutes.  A good workout.

I feel like I’m running for my life.  A friend of mine died last night.  Cardiac arrest.  So long, Dusty Rhodes.  You will be missed.

As I approach my 65th birthday, I start to wonder how many of these great years I have left, these years of still feeling like I’m in my thirties.  Okay, maybe not my thirties.  But definitely my forties.  I don’t feel old yet.  But them I see my friends dropping to room temperature and I realize there is a bell tolling somewhere for me too.

And suddenly I feel so selfish.  It isn’t about Dusty Rhodes, you see, though I do feel for his son.  It’s about me.  Dusty isn’t worried about anything anymore. He’s dead.  But I get to see it coming for some time yet.  All about me.

And then suddenly our day turned into another cheater day.  A friend wanted to meet us downtown, an old friend, former student, and I wanted to buy her dinner.  That took us to the Tepanyaki Japanese restaurant.  My initial intention was to just have a sashimi snack, but when we looked at the menu we realized that all you could eat would probably be cheaper, and if I’m going for all you can eat and drink, I’m damn sure gonna have some hot sake.

I did manage to avoid the latte at Starbucks temptation, but not the fried bananas with ice cream.  Oh well.  Everything in moderation, including moderation.