New Toys I Have Yet to Play With

Almost two months ago I bought this blood pressure monitor from WalMart and these Altus fitness bands from a local sporting good store.  I have yet to use the blood pressure monitor and I have fiddled a bit with the fitness bands.  They are both just sitting around, getting dusty. 

The problem is time and making it a habit.  Yes, finding the time is a lame excuse. I am not sure when or how often I should check the my blood pressure.  Once a week, every day? Don't know and there is nothing I can find on the Internet for guide other than it is a good idea to do it regularly.  There is also a bit a trepidation factor, like stepping on a scale. I should keep track of my BP, but I am sometime a little nervous about what I might learn. Of course, it could also be good.  I hope it has improved over the past few months.  The readings are highest in the morning and drop from there.  If am good early in the a. m., it's good for the rest of the day.  I guess that is why people tend do in the morning from heart problems.

My problem with the bands is similar.  From what I have read, the bands are an effective and a not-likely-to-cause-injury form of resistance training, good for my arms and abs and Lord knows I need help there.  The problem is again making it part of the routine, a habit like riding the bike and stepping on the scale.  I usually test the BG, ride for 45 minutes, water the backyard the water demanding plants, eat breakfast, shower and get off to work.  Can I work in 15 to 20 minutes more in the morning?  Arrgh, I guess.   I think I will have to start getting up at 4 a. m. to get it all done.

Well that's the time Jack LaLanne gets up to get his work out done. 
  
Just do it, right?  Stop the whining and the fretting and just start doing it.  It will all work itself out.  Soon it will all be part of my day and I will be the better for it.

Something I also did last week, despite my trepidation, is have my eyes checked.  For the most part, this is pretty easy:  Can you see better with A or B, B or C, B or D.  Piece of cake if that were all there was to it.

The part that makes me nervous is the what I might find out when the pressure is checked.  Both my mom and dad have had glaucoma and I am a good candidate to get it.  Last year my pressure was right at the border between normal and high with the need to start putting drops in my eyes to bring it back down to normal. 

I needn't have worried. The pressure is now half of what it was last time, the visual field test was fine as was the condition of the optic nerve.  Whew, dodged another bullet.  Why did it drop?  Dr. Thomas, the optometrist, didn't know.  Might be the weight loss, might be the exercise, who knows?  One of life's little mysteries, I guess.  I am due to have it checked in six months to see if was just a fluke.

The joys of getting older.

The numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  125 mg/dl
2. Weight:  191 mg/dl
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the bike
4. Mood:  6.  I seem to be stuck and business sucks. 

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal with soy milk and craisins and a Texas peach.  None better. 
• Lunch:  One leg and one wing of chicken, leftovers at work (it's free and I am not proud), tomato and cucumber. 
• Dinner:  Taco salad.
• Snacks:  Last of the hummus. Have to make some more.

The Link Between Brown Rice and Sleep.

Last night Mary and I celebrated my late father's birthday at Goode Company Seafood.  I had the usual two martinis, the grilled shrimp dinner and a we split a slice of chocolate pie.  Oh, that was good.  I miss deserts. That was his favorite desert and my mom would make it for his birthday.  We left full but not stuff. 

I got up this morning actually a bit hungry.  The BG was not too bad, considering.  My weight was a bit up, but I did have a big eating splurge weekend.  Too much eating out.  Have to get back on the modest, sensible diet routine starting today to be ready for the coming holiday weekend.

The numbers:

1. Blood glucose:  132 mg/dl.  I am not as sensitive and I thought.  Could be worse, however.
2. Weight:  192 lbs. To much splurging these last few days.  Have to get back on the program.
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer. 
4. Mood:  6.  Been slacking and eating too much this past weekend and now I am paying for it.

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal flavored with cinnamon and craisins, a kiwi fruit. Good source of vitamin C, kiwi fruit. 
• Lunch:  Hummus, pita bread, cucumber and sliced tomato
• Dinner:  Hamburger and a salad with a bit too much ranch dressing.
• Snacks:  A few sour cream and habanero pretzels from Pretzel Pete and soy yogurt and applesauce.  The pretzels are really not that bad in terms of calories, carbs and fat.

One of the first things we did when I found out I had type 2 diabetes is switch to brown rice and to eat more whole grains.  That turned out to be the right thing to do: Brown Rice vs. White Rice.

While my internist left it up to me, one of the choices I did have was taking medication to get the BG down.  Another choice was to control it with diet and exercise, and that is route I chose.  One reason was cost.  Diet and exercise demand little, if any, extra money from the budget.  The other is a little nagging fear I have of taking medications long term.  Turns out my little nagging fear was well placed.  A popular diabetes drug is linked to stroke, heart attacks and death.  That is not good.

Before my diagnosis, I would get so very sleepy late in the afternoon, sometimes to the point I would nod off.  This went on for several years and I really got used to having to fight to stay awake.  There were many times I would get to work and just want to fall asleep. I dreaded long drives during the afternoon because of the struggle to stay awake. Dangerous when you think about it.  I frequently found a reason to pull over for a break. 

I just chalked it up to any number of things, including getting older or Mary not sleeping well and therefore me not sleeping well.  I was also getting up a couple of times a night to urinate.  I didn't think much of that, either, chalking that up to age as well.  What I had and didn't know it was a classic symptom of  type 2 diabetes.  Apparently, lack of sleep can both cause and aggravate diabetes, the proverbial vicious circle.  

Since I have been exercising and dieting, I have been sleeping much better, better than I had in years.  I usually sleep through the night and I don't have to fight to stay awake in the afternoon and more importantly on long drives.The exercise, I thought.  Partially right.  Now I know it was getting my diabetes under control, which is diet and exercise. 

See, brown rice helped me to sleep better.

Monday and Back to It.

Only a masochist likes to exercise
                                     -Jack LaLanne, fitness superstar  

This is from a guy who goes through a brutul, three hour workout every morning and he is well into his 90's.  He gets up at 4 am to workout and never mind the time he may have gone to bed.  He is up and exercising. He likes the results from his exercise, the broad shoulders, the slim waist, the long, enjoyable life.  He accepts the discipline and the routine to get what he wants.  

That's become my philosophy.  Think past the sheer bother of it all and think about the results.

On Monday mornings the routine starts anew.  After a relaxing weekend, even if it was just working on the yard with my lovely wife, doing the grunt work in 95+ degree heat, I drag myself out of my bed early  in the morning to exercise. When I often get the urge to say the heck with it and go back to bed for even a few more minutes, or just grab a cup of coffee and watch some morning news, I think of Jack LaLanne.  It's my little bit of morning motivation. 

Jack wanted the big muscles.  I am more modest.  I just want a slim waist,  a normal weight (which is translating into a medium sized shirt or a 32 inch waist and normal glucose level that responds, well, normally.  Any added muscle definition is just a bonus. 

The numbers:

1. Blood Glucsose:  122 mg/dl.  Gettin' better.  Still not where I want it to be, but anything under 130 mg/dl is good, I have read.  Below 110 ml/dg is great, which is to say normal. 
2. Weight:  190 lbs.  Broke training for second martini on Saturday and second manhattan on Sunday.  Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. 
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on trainer. 
4. Mood (on a scale of 1 to 10):  8.  Could be worse and the sun is shinning. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal with craisins and cinnamon and a pear.
2. Lunch:  Hummus, pita bread, sliced tomato and cucumber.  
3. Grilled shrimp and two martitnis, my dad's favorite at Goode Company Seafood.  Today would have been his 85th birthday, so Mary and I are going to Goode Company to celebrate his birthday and we will finish up by sharing a slice of their chocolate pie. Chocolate pie was Dad's favorite desert. Happy birthday, Dad.  You have no idea how much I miss you.

Friday, Splurge Day...

...sorta kinda.  I am now officially frustrated by the rise in my BG and I don't know why.  Mary and I did go to an art opening yesterday for a painter named Chris Cloud and a hors d'oeuvres were served. That became our dinner. Served was a tasty tomato/mozzarella salad, ravioli, a chicken and bow tie pasta.  I had some of each and glass of wine, just enough to feel satisfied after about 20 minutes.  And one small chocolate chip cookie.  I did feel guilty about the cookie.  It's the first one I have had in I don't know how long.   

Am I just in a spike up for a while?  Does that make sense?  Not a clue.

Oh, yeah, the painting were very interesting.  A contemporary impression of images of the Gulf of Mexico around Galveston.  One even had something of a blob painted in brown, gold colors, not unlike pictures of the oil now in the Gulf.  Coincidence?  Don't know.  The one painting I liked and could reasonably afford to purchase was already sold.  Life is sometimes like that.

The numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  140 mg/dl.  My body seems to be drawn to this higher leverl
2. Weight:  189 1/2.  
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on trainer.  It rained hard last evening and the humidity is heavy.  That means I was sweating off who know how much water weight.  Drank it all back, though.  
4. Mood:  6.  Damned BG.  Down dammit. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal infused with herbal blueberry/vanilla tea. We are out of fruit and we need to go shopping.
2. Lunch.  Not sure.  I am not meeting with the Big Dogs today, they have other engagements, so Mary and I will have lunch today.  Keep it light, what ever it is. 
3. Dinner:  I am going to have two margaritas tonight at Tony's Mexican Restaurant and Cantina.  That will be my splurge.  I think the grilled fish dinner or the vegetarian fajitas (yes, such things exist) will be my choices. 
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt and applesauce.   

Arrrgh, the BG remains up.  And I was, well,  I could have been better.  It was 142 mg/dl this morning.  Last night Mary wanted to go out after a frustrating day at the office.  I was happy just to make taco salads.  We wound up going to a place called El Tiempo because she like their margaritas.  They are good and more than a bit potent.  I had one too, although my initial thought was to have a glass of wine.  Should have gone with my gut.  Margaritas can have too much sugar in them.  I also probably ate too much fruit yesterday.  I love fruit.

I read a thread recently about fruit on WebMD.  So is fruit bad?  Seems to very.  This is summer and the good, fresh fruits are coming in and it all seems so innocent.  I have had dried fruit in the past, every nearly for with breakfast, and I didn't really have a problem.  I don't think I have eaten too much to cause a spike, but it is happening.  Maybe my portion size is too big and I have to scale it back. I don't know.

Well, there is always today to make amends.  Maybe that is the lesson out of all of this.  It's an continuum and I just have to move along with it.

The numbers for today: 

1. Blood Glucose:  142 mg/dl.  
2. Weight:  190 lbs.  So much for bidding the 190's so long and farewell. 
3. Exercise:  45+ minutes on the trainer.  All the tunes my iPod Shuffle came up with were just wonderful and I was having too good a time pedaling and listening to stop.  
4. Mood:  6.  Frustrated and a little down.  Good music kept it from being a 5. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal infused with blueberry/vanilla herbal tea and craisins, organge
2. Lunch:  Leftover pizza and something else I have not figured out what yet. 
3. Dinner:  Hors d'oeuvres and wine at some art gallery opening Mary wants to attend this evening. Normally I cut the grass on Thursday evening, but it is raining today and the grass may be too wet.  I am getting old.  I like to maintain a schedule.  It seems to be the best way for me to get things done.
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt and applesauce.  I love this stuff.  Unsweetened applesauce, of course. 

The Good and Bad and How to Deal with It

This morning's Blood Glucose reading was better than it has been for the past few days.  It was 130 mg/dl. Not where I want it to be, that is for sure.  It was just a week ago it hit 106 mg/dl and I was as happy as could be.  The next day it was above 140 mg/dl and I have no idea why.  It am eating the same stuff I now usually do and doing the things I now usually do, namely eating low fat foods and exercising.  My big break from exercising is working way too many hours in the hot, humid Houston summer on the flower beds and lawn on the weekends.

It all may be "one of the those things" that happens.  I still have way too much fat on me and I have to lose at 26 pounds just to get my body back to the high end of the normal range of the body mass index.  To get where I was before when I felt my best, I have to lose another 39 pounds.  As Dr. Mouton said, it took time to get fat and out of shape and it will take time to get thin and back into shape. 

That's all in the bad stuff category.  The good stuff is I am now under 190 lbs.  I finally did it.  I weighted 189 lbs this morning. 

How to deal with it?  Keep on doing what will work.  Don't think about now, think about the future and the end result.  This is not a set back, really, on the blood glucose.  It is a blip up on an otherwise down trend.  My weight proves that. 

With that bit of wistful philosophy, the numbers:

1. Blood Glucose:  130 mg/dl  Still not bad, but not where I want it to be. And I thought I was a sensitive guy.
2. Weight:  189 lbs.  Now on to 188 lbs.  With my luck it will go back up to 190 lbs. 
3. Exercise:  40 minutes on trainer.  
4. Mood:  7 out of 10.  Could be an 8 if the BG were lower. 

The Menu for today:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal infused with a blueberry/vanilla herbal tea and sweetened with craisins, orange.
2. Lunch:  Split pea sauce with brown rice (tasty McDougall stuff) and strawberries 
3. Dinner:  Taco salad
4. Snacks:  Some craisins and soy yogurt with applesauce. 

Friday Splurge Day -- Highest Highs to the Lowest Lows.

Finally, Friday.  Yesterday was great.  BG was 106mg/dl.  Beautiful.

I had a good day on the food consumption, no extremes and only one late-in-the-evening slice of pizza for dinner after cutting the grass and cleaning up the back to make everything all nice and neat for the weekend.

I expected the meter to read nice and low.  So what did I get?  141mg/dl.  Mary was still sleeping and it was just after 5:00am when I took my morning reading, so I merely thought where in Hades did that number come from?  I was such a good boy.   Was it from the pizza, singular slice?  The work I did cutting the grass and cleaning the back and street?  That will make demands on the muscles and it will release glucose.  Was it just bum reading, yesterday or today?  No clue.

Frustrating though. I saw that number and peddled to within an inch of life this morning.  Still this is Splurge Friday, my day to lighten up a bit, and by gosh I am going to splurge, if sensibly.

The numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  141 mg/dl. Aaargh. 
2. Weight:  190 lbs.  The good with the bad, and not just 190, but ever so slightly to the left of the 190 reading.  That's the good side, the left side. 
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer.
4. Mood:  6.  Again, aaargh. I thought that kind of BG number was well in he past. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  banana oatmeal, an orange and coffee
2. Lunch:  Grilled Portobella Mushroom sandwich at the Mason Jar with the Big Dogs.  It does have jack cheese and a goodly smear of their articoke dip.  Probably not low fat, but very good.  I did have the steamed asparagus, so I do feel somewhat virtuous. 
3. Dinner:  Tony's night, so that means two margaritas, frozen, a few chips, fried, and probably the fish, grilled with rice and steamed vegetables.  Some splurge, but I am in diet discipline groove.  
4. Snacks:  Cherries. Have to eat them now.

Crossing the Threshold

In the past few days I have crossed an important threshold.  I have gone from obese to merely overweight.  It's on the high side of overweight, but merely overweight none the less. 

I was on the Abbott Laboratory's  website for it's Freestyle Meter customers.  I put in my weight (190 1/2, a new low) and height (5'8" the same this I was about 15) and it gave me a rating of 28.9.  Anything above 29.9 is obese, so I have now have a bit to spare. My next big goal is to get to 164.  That puts me at 24.9 and I will be merely normal.  That is just 26 pounds away.  Just.

The numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  119 dl/mg.
2. Weight:  190 1/2 lbs.
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer
4. Mood:  8.  Now I can hold my head up high and tell the world I am overweight.  That's good and it's getting better.

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, grapefruit, oatmeal and coffee.
2. Lunch:  Beans sauce, Mary's hunchback potatoes and a peach.
3. Dinner:  Hamburger leftover from the weekend and a salad.
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt with applesauce and a touch of honey.  Good stuff.

This and Data

Busy weekend and I think I did okay save a few too many carbs.  i continue to get compliments on the weight loss and how much thinner I look.  That pumps me up. 

Saturday I worked around the house:  cleaned the fountain, fertilized the grass with the Jerry Baker All Season Green-Up Tonic, cleaned out the fountain (nasty after about three month since I last cleaned it and I should do it every six weeks, max) and shredded a lot of leaves in the leaf shredder for mulch and spread it around the flower beds.  In the 90 degree heat, that was work.  Breakfast was two two slices of cold pizza, lunch some hummus, pita bread and cucumbers, dinner was grilled salmon and steamed squash with onions and garlic and what Mary calls hunchback potatoes:  red potatoes, part way sliced and in the slices in the potatoes put a couple of slices of garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and bake.  Very good.

My big reward for my hard work was a couple of martinis.  As Dr. Mouton said, "Martinis are a like lot breasts.  One is not enough and three is too many.  Wise man, Dr. Mouton.

Sunday really was a down day, a lot of relaxing and bit of shopping.  One martini, but that was enough.  Breakfast was some fruit, lunch was a chicken salad sandwich with fruit and dinner was a hamburger and grilled corn on the cob. 

For today, the numbers are:

1. Blood Glucose:  127 mg/dl.  This now seems to be a typical Monday reading.  Not where I want it, but still considered good.
2. Weight:  191.  Down a pound.  Good.
3. Exercise:  40 minutes on trainer. Really sweated this morning.  Always feels righteous.
4. Mood:  7.  Physically, I feel good, but worried about business.  There is none

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, strawberries, one slice of Star's spinach, garlic pizza (also known as Joe's Pizza).  Not ideal, maybe, but good 
2. Lunch:  Hummus, pita bread, cucumber, carrots and cherries. 
3. Dinner:  Chicken salad.
4. Snacks:  A handful of crackers from Whole Foods and a some plain soy yogurt with Kashi Oatmeal clusters.   Very tasty, the last one.  

There are several infomercials touting the benefits of "muscle confusion," the science, it is claimed, of building muscle quickly and losing weight fast.  The idea is to vary the type and intensity of  a series of exercises.  So does it work?  Fad or truth?  Find out here in the first installment:  Muscle Confusion Explained.  I have feeling getting those ripped abs is not as easy or quick as believed, as is scorching your fat.  Ripped abs and scorched fat.  It all sounds kind of painful.  

I am getting more and more compliments on my weight loss.  People are really starting to notice and it's good to know my efforts are paying off.  It's been slow, but it's been steady and I should not complain at all, so I won't. 

I had lunch today with the Big Dogs and both complimented me on the pounds I have lost.  I am happy for the steady progress, but there is still a long way to go, so I don't try to think about the big number.  I work in five pound divisions.  I was at 195 lbs, and now I am focused on getting to 189 lbs.  I want to leave the 190's behind for good.  The the focus will be on 185 lbs. and so on.  By Labor Day, I would like to be at 170 lbs.  It is doable. 

The numbers:

1. Blood Glucose:  117 mg/dl.  Hangin in the one teens.  Can be better, but good.
2. Weight:  192 lbs.  
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on trainer.  
4. Mood:  I will give it a 7.  Just wish business were better. 

Menu for today:

1. Breakfast:  One slice of pizza and a banana. 
2. Grilled Portobello sandwich with a side of broccoli.  Pretty good, but a little high in fat, probably. 
3. Tonight is splurge night and I am going to have the grilled catfish at Tony's, plus the usual two margaritas.  

Friday, Splurge Dave

Yep, it is Friday, the day I cast good nutrition and common sense aside, kick back, relax and give in to my inner fat guy.  With in reason, of course. It's our Tony's Mexican Restaurant and Cantina night and I am going to have two margaritas. 

Last night, Mary and I went to a favorite spot for dinner.  Thursday is usually pizza night (one slice only), but I didn't have any dough made up and it was getting late after my Thursday evening chores.  During the summer, Thursday evening is usually the day I mow the grass and vacuum the back patio.  By the time I had finished that and showered up it was nearly 9:00 pm and we are very low on food right now.  So we decided to go out and the Petrol Station was the unanimous choice.  They serve excellent wines, craft beers and serve some A-1, top flight, best-in-city cheese burgers, a lamb burger to die for, the best meatloaf sandwich I have ever had, and a thick corned beef sandwich that can compete with anyone's corned beef sandwich from anywhere.

We like the place. The atmosphere has a college vibe to it.  It's usually noisy and crowed and friendly. 

Ever true to my diet and making sensible choices I forwent  the fattening bar food stuff for the humus plate.  It's big dollop of hummus, toasted pita bread, red pepper, sliced tomatoes and cucumber.  Filling and sensible. I topped it off with two glasses of two different and two very fine India Pale Ales, one from Houston's own St. Arnold's brewery and one brewed by I now forget.  Mary had the caesar salad and a cabernet sauvignon.  I don't know who made that one either. The wine list, like the beer list, changes all of the time.  It is always all good.  The guys who run this place know their beer and wine. 

So what does this have to Spurge Day?  Well this morning my blood glucose tested at 120 ml/dg.  It's not bad, really, but a tad higher then yesterday's proud-to-show-it-off 106 ml/dg.  Must have been the beer.  For all I know it is not that unusual for anyone to have that kind of reading after a day oatmeal, pasta and pinto beans, hummus and beer.  Lots of carbs.  The good news is I dropped about a half pound, or at least the scale was suggesting a 192 1/2.  Tickling it if you will. 

So what does this to do with Splurge Day?  I am doing a miserable job of splurging.  I have the 120 number stuck in my head.  Have to get it back down to below 110 mg/dl.  That is where I want to be when I get up in the morning. That is considered normal.

Breakfast was the usual oatmeal and fruit.  Lunch was a small bowl of soup and two pieces of Texas toast from Houston's (those two pieces of toast may be a splurge of sorts), and dinner will be most likely the grilled fish, which is served with an appropriate serving size of rice and some steamed vegetables. I am going to have my two margaritas. I guess that is my wild abandon. 

Sigh.  It is what it are and I really I can't complain.  Splurge with discipline.  It could be a lot worse and I will have a good meal and enjoy the company of my lovely wife. Hey, life is good.

The numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  120 mg/dl. Still not bad, considering. 
2. Weight:  I am going with 193, but I could make a case for 192 1/2. I can't wait until I hit 189.  That will mean 39 lbs more to drop. 
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer. 
4. Mood:  7.  Work sucks, the health is getting better, Mary said my chin is getting smaller.  All in all, not bad. 

Menu:  Some splurge.

1. Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal infused with vanilla/blueberry herb tea and an orange.
2. Lunch.  With the Dogs, Aubrey and Bob at Houston's.  The chilled mango soup with Texas toast.  That's partying.  
3. Dinner:  Grilled fish at Tony's and two margaritas.  
4. Snacks:  Only a few carrots.  Party!

Turning My Body into a Fat Burning Machine

Last week I heard an interview on a local radio station of a gentleman who is a local fitness, nutrition guru type of guy.  I don't remember his name.  He said when working out that it's best to eat nothing.  Eating something interferes with the body using it's fat to fuel the workout.  He said he sees people working out at a gym to lose weight, yet the power bar they are munching is preventing the body from drawing on its own caloric reserves.  It doesn't really hurt, but it doesn't help, either. Okay, that kinda makes sense.

He also said exercising in the morning is best.  The aerobic fat burning effect carries through for the whole day.  That also makes some sense and I have heard or read that before.  I ride first thing in the morning both for that reason and it gets the exercise bit out of the way for the rest of the day.  One less thing to worry about all day. 

Just before I start my ride, I had been eating a piece of fruit, usually a banana, for a bit of energy.  I once heard Arnold Schwarzenegger recommend this for a bit of energy before a work out.  That makes sense and Arnold was still popular then.  The carbs from the fruit gave the energy to go the distance on my bike.  Now, that local guru has replaced Arnold's advice and I see that piece fruit sabotaging my weight loss efforts.

Has it made a difference?  Not that I have noticed.  I had images of this furnace being stoked and my weight falling dramatically from this one little change.  I hoped I could see the scale going down every day.  Instead it's still going down in its usual plodding way.  This morning I was 193 1/2.  Yes, it's down a bit from last week,  but I want that fat burning, fat melting, supercharged fat fire burning up the avoirdupois machine kind of thing.  I am still getting the slow but steady plodding along kind of thing.  I am plow horse and I want to be the exotic fueled dragster.

Oh, well.

The numbers:

1. Blood Glucose:  106 mg/dl.  Maybe this is where the fat burning machine starts.  Whatever, good number.  Gotta work to keep it at this level.  I think my insulin sensitivity is coming around.  I a guy who is not afraid to be sensitive.
2. Weight:  193 1/2.  To stay positive, I believe I will be dipping below 190 in this month and I will be bidding adieu to that number for the rest of my life.  That's exciting, isn't it?
3. Exercise:  45 + minutes on the trainer. 
4. Mood:  Pleased and hopeful.  Gotta stay positive. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  The usual.  Banana for the potassium, oatmeal infused with blueberry/herbal tea and an orange. 
2. Lunch:  Beans and Pasta with some veggies.
3. Dinner, not sure. Tonight is usually pizza night, but I  have not made any dough. It's also the night I cut the grass and vacuum the back, but it may be raining.  I will have to see how things work out.
4. Snacks.  Soy yogurt.  I like this stuff and it's supposed to be good for the heart. 

Update:  This was reported in USA Today.  According a study by the University of Birmingham in England, not eating will force the body to draw on fat to fuel the workout.  Eating something before exercising prevents that from happening.   Your body draws on the fuel you've just given it.  I guess when I hit the ideal weight and body mass, eating is OK.  Until then, don't eat.

How to Stay Focused...For Me, Anyway

I have often read that the problem many have with diets or attempts to lose weight is keeping on the program, whatever that happens to be:  low carb, low fat, high protein, all meat, no meat, whatever.  After awhile enthusiasm for the mission flags.  In a world filled with wonderful, tempting fare, I understand this.  Food is great stuff and the freedom we enjoy in the United States means there are a lot of smart, dedicated people working day in and and day out to satisfy each and every one or our cravings. 

Some days I would love to forget the whole thing for a fat, juicy cheese burger, a hot fudge sundae and some chocolate chip cookies, all washed down with a couple of cold beers.  For desert, pizza.  Vegetables?  Do thick-cut crispy fries count?

The main thing I do to stay encouraged is something a lot of diet experts say not to do, step on the scale everyday.  Seeing that number pop up every day, good, bad or indifferent, seems to help me keep the goal in mind.  In my case, the goal is 150 lbs.  Every time I get the urge to let go, relax and say heck with the whole thing, I think about where I am and where I want to be.  That seems to keep me on going.

Keeping at it does have it's rewards.  I don't get tired of hearing the compliments of how good I look and how much weight I have lost.  I get a sense of smug satisfaction when I can fit into clothes I haven't worn for years because I was too fat. I fondly review the improved and downright healthful numbers from my blood work showing the progress I have and made the number of years I have added to my life.  The doctor's glowing compliments didn't hurt either.  Then of course there is the sweet soul satisfaction of looking in the mirror and realizing I am looking pretty good, or good looking for me, anyway.  

This morning the scale dipped to 193 lbs.  Well, 193 1/2.  There are two ways to look at this number.  How much further I have to go, which can be a little dispiriting, or how far I have come.  The later is much better.

The numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  119 mg/dl.  Not too bad.  Could be better. Could also be worse coming off of a holiday weekend.
2. Weight:  193 1/2 lbs. 
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on trainer. 
4. Mood. Resolute, with a hint of smug satisfaction.