It's Been a While

So sue me, I've been busy, try to survive in the Obama economy and all. 

On the cheery side, my A1c (glycated hemoglobin) number is a very good doctor pleasing 5.8.  The American Diabetes Association says anything under 7.0 is good and the Society of Endocrinologists says anything under 6.5 is good.  My doctor says any thing under 6.0 is good and several doctors says good should be under 5.0, preferably around 4.5. 

My fasting glucose level is consistently under 120 mg/dl, which according to the diabetes educator I met with last year is normal. My doctor is fine with it, though others say it should be under 100 mg/dl.  My weight is consistent.  It stays at 189 or 190 lbs.  At least I am not gaining, but I should have been around my goal weight of 150 lbs. by now.  My doctor, however is okay with it and further adding to his joy is that my blood pressure is now in the 120/70 range. He likes that, so I must be doing something right. Just not enough of the right stuff in the weight department, as far as I am concerned.  The Charming Mrs. SWMBO is happy pleased and that's good.  She remarks at how much thinner my face looks.  I guess that means I don't look like Peter Griffin anymore. 

The number for today:

I am a determined bike rider now.  Come hell or high water, I ride my bike in the morning.  The one advantage of a severe drought like the one here in Texas is that good riding weather is a given, assuming the rider likes heat.  I do.

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  115 mg/dl.  Had a large bowl of rice and split peas last night late and a bunch of some Kroger's brand of multigrain chips, which were pretty tasty.  
• Weight:  189 lbs.  Sigh.  Damn scale must be broken.
• Blood Pressure:  113/73, pulse was 56 bpm. 
• Exercise:  45 minute bike ride.  There is a fall nip in the air.  Feels great after a month and half of 100+ degree days here in Houston, TX.  Rain would be nice.
• Mood:  7.00  Feel good, economy sucks.  

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal with prunes (no I don't have regularity problem) and soy milk, flavored with a blueberry herbal tea and strawberries. 
• Lunch:  Left over brown rice and split peas.  It's a favorite with me and the Charming Mrs. SWMBO. 
• Dinner:  Homemade pizza while watching the NFL opener and Project Runway, after the grass is cut and the back patio cleaned up.  Weekend coming.
• Snacks.  Pretzels. 

Monday Moanin'

First off, the numbers:

• Fasting blood glucose reading:  92 mg/dl   (92, yahoo!)
• Weight: 190.  Bummer.
• Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer.  
• Blood Pressure:  159/80  Heart rate:  61 bpm.  
• Mood:  7.0.  Nice long Memorial Day weekend, don't think I ate too much, but I guess I did and the BP number is a bit distressing.  

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, orange, cup of oatmeal with craisins and soy milk.
• Lunch:  Beans and rice, about a cup of each.
• Dinner:  Left over hamburger on a whole wheat bun, a small bowl of pinto beans and a cups worth of potato salad.  
• Snacks:  One serving of small pretzels, which is about 10 of them. 

The diastolic reading and the heart rate is okay for my blood pressure., but the systolic read is worrisome.  I do take some BP meds normally.  I usually order them online, but I haven't taken them for about a week now.  The prescription has expired and I am waiting for the renewal and the medicine to be sent to me. 

I guess this is a good time to really double down on the diet, watch the proportions and in general be good. One of my goals is to get to a weight that gets me off the BP medicine.  It also gives me a good opportunity to see how effective the medicine is. 

I have also been reading about blood glucose levels, namely what is a fasting level to have. The diabetes councilor I had met with last year said the normal range is between 70 mg/dl and 120 mg/dl.  So, for awhile now I thought I was doing well by being in the low 100.  I have read that 130 mg/dl is good.  I have also read that it should be below 100 mg/dl.  So, what should it be?  Who knows because the experts can't seem to agree. 

Why am I not surprised? 

My numbers for today:

• Fasting blood glucose:  112 mg/dl.  
• Weight 189 lbs.  Must be the cheeseburger from yesterday
• Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer. We actually had rain last night.  Not a lot, but some and everything is green this morning around the house. 
• Mood:  8.0. A little rain and decent night's sleep will do that. 

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal infused with blueberry herbal tea and craisins.
• Lunch:  South-Carolina Style BBQ tempeh sandwich and cole slaw. 
• Dinner:  Pizza.  Cut the grass, clean up the backyard for the long weekend to come and make pizza for dinner. 
• Snacks:  Dates.  Love those things. 

Finally opened up the blood pressure gizmo thing I bought almost a year ago.  I am not sure how to interpret the readings. Systolic pressure was 149 mmHG, which is high.  Diastolic pressure was 75, which is normal.  Heart beat was 56 beats per minute.  That is staring at Lance Armstrong territory.  Time to make the long over due doctors appointment and maybe get some answers.

Wow, It's' Been a While.

First my numbers for today.

• Fasting blood glucose:  109 mg/dl.  She's real fine my 109!  Sorry, can't resist and I've done it before. 
• Weight:  189.  Well, I am consistent. 
• Exercise:  45 minute bike ride.
• Mood:  7.5.  Good glucose numbers continue be good, weight just seems forever stuck.  My sister-in-law Frances, an American fashion icon, this past weekend did remind me that I don't snore anymore. Gee, that's encouraging. 

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana and an English muffin. Well, two English muffins. 
• Lunch: Cheeseburger and fries from 5 Guys Hamburgers
• Dinner:  Grilled cheese sandwich.  Had a plumbing problem to fix and that made for a very late dinner. The glass of wine was very welcome
• Snacks: Dates and a few baked Cheetos.

We had a rep in town and he bought lunch.  Five Guys Burgers.  Decent, hot and fresh burgers, but not exceptional, not a burger from our favorite, the Petrol Station.  I haven't had a cheeseburger in seemingly forever and never mind the french fries.  I felt a bit guilty eating them, but one such meal every now and then won't hurt anything, I guess.  Grilled onions or fresh jalapenos were the closest thing to a fresh vegetable there.   

Twenty-four Ways to Lose Weight

I like the sleep more, lose weight idea.  You have  no idea how many times I want to just roll over and go back to sleep instead of prying myself out of bed to go ride.  Of course once I do it I am glad I did it.  Yet another small little victory. 

The Numbers:

• Fasting blood glucose:  119 mg/dl.  At least I am under 120.  
• Weight:  188 lbs.
• Exercise:  None.  Spent the morning getting rust off of an old skillet.  Don't ask, long story.  Felt guilty the whole day. 
• Mood:  6.5.  No exercise, felt bad all day. Get over it. All in all, a bit of a down day, despite a decent sale.

Menu:

• Breakfast: Banana, orange, oatmeal with dates. 
• Lunch:  Last nights 4 bean southwest chili
• Dinner:  Late, some whole wheat pasta with some slice leftover sausage from Sunday and a bit of pesto.  Not the best, but I did not have much of it.  
• Snacks:  A few potato chips and a rice cake with some peanut butter.  

Better day tomorrow, right? 

Out of My Mind on a Monday Moanin'

Busy weekend and I did absolutely nothing but goof off.  Not complaining too much because come Monday morning I felt pretty relaxed and that is the whole point of a weekend, right?  So relaxed I did not want to get out of bed this morning.  Isn't it Memorial Day yet?

The Numbers for Today:

•  Fasting Blood Glucose:  108 mg/dl. Very good.  
• Weight:  188 lbs.  Have I finally gotten off of the schnide? 
• Exercise:  45 minutes.  It's been warm in Houston and I love the sweat.
• Mood:  8.5: Down a pound and relaxing weekend. Only down side is I have left a lot things undone.

Menu for Today:

• Breakfast:  Banana, orange, and oatmeal flavored with herbal blueberry tea and dried fruit.  
• Lunch:  Leftover stuff.  A bit of split pea hummus, a whole wheat pita round and some red pepper.  Filling.
• Dinner:  Four Bean Southwest Chili with brown rice and sliced avocado.  Tasty stuff if I do say so  myself.  It's from a McDougall "Quick & Easy Cookbook" and the recipes he and his wife developed are indeed quick, easy to make, tasty, low fat and good for me. Also cheap to make. That's important right now.  
• Snacks. Some kind of party mix stuff that probably was not in the health food category.  Not much of it, if that helps. Tasty, though.  Probably negated the benefits of the my good boy lunch and dinner.

McDougall's whole approach is that acquiring or adhering to a diet, a way of eating, is a life long commitment.  His particular view is a low fat, vegan diet based on whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables.  It's not unlike Jack LaLanne's preferred diet.  I will say this, the food is tasty, filling, nutritious and satisfying.  No added fat, no meat, no dairy and if I remember correctly, no nuts.  People who do adhere to his diet philosophy lose a lot of weight and seem to get their health back.  It's a hard diet to be on if only because the world is so very unfriendly to his approach.  Finding a restaurant that fits his guidelines is not easy, but sticking as close as possible, generally, will have it's have a salubrious outcome.

With McDougall's diet plan in mind, I was not surprised to see a contradictory view, namely, grains are making us fat.  If there is one thing I have learned, take a diet statement or rule or idea or philosophy or plan backed by research and facts and you can find the opposite somewhere else that is backed up by equally compelling research and facts. 

Me, I don't buy grains are making us fat only because food is just so available, easy to get and cheap.  Who doesn't like to eat?  We eat more because we can.  Because we can eat more and do; we get fatter.  We don't exercise much.  It's fun to sit around, watch some TV and eat.  We have developed a whole segment of our culture around eating and doing nothing.  Are grains to blame?  I doubt it, no more than the cheeseburger is to blame. 

Others say grains, particularly whole grains, are good because they are low in fat, filling and breakdown slowly so they do not cause a spike in blood glucose.  I read such an article today.  That is all seems good, yet it is not hard finding results and opinions backed by research that this is not what really happens and eating grains is bad.  Look at Atkins and "The Drinking Man's Diet."  Both diets are backed by facts and research, proving carbohydrates are bad and fat is good. That is the exact opposite of McDougall's diet,  based on research and facts, proving  carbohydrates are good and fat is bad. 

What is a person to do?

Easy.  Find a diet you like and works for you and stick to it.   It's your life, enjoy it. Just remember the Twinkie's diet.

Friday Eve

Friday Eve, that's Thursday on the calender.  Tomorrow's the big day to usher in the weekend and Tony's night and his blessed margaritas.  Some may regard that as a bit of a blasphemy, but I feel so much better after my usual two of them.

My Numbers for Friday Eve.

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  98 mg/dl.  Schwing!
• Weight:  189 lbs.  Still there.
• Exercise:  45 minutes on the bike.  Good ride.
• Mood:  8.0.  Pizza night tonight and Tony's tomorrow. What could be better?

 The Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit, oatmeal infused with blueberry herbal tea and chopped apricots and prunes. 
• Lunch:  A Veggie Delite sandwich at Subway.
• Dinner:  Pizza, one slice, and two glasses of wine. 
• Snacks:  A can of V8 (two servings of vegetables and all of the salt needed for a week) and a handful of Triscuits. 

And You Thought It Was Just Good in Cookies.
Cinnamon may be good for people with type 2 diabetics.  It may not cure it, but it can help stabilize a patients blood sugar according to some research, and provided the patient takes enough of it daily.  That amount would be about a teaspoon daily..  There are worse dietary supplements.  Hey, it it makes oatmeal and bran muffins taste good.  My guess is that in combination with a sensible diet and exercise, it does help, as most dietary supplements would do.

I Think I Just Scored

Wednesday, posted late on Friday Eve. 
 
Today's Numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  117 mg/dl.  Late night beans and rice dinner.  Still good.  
• Weight:  189 1/2 pounds.  I am almost at 188.  I have stuck at this for so long that I feel hitting 188 will some major breakthrough.  
• Exercise:  55 minutes.  Working in some resistance band work.  Gotta pump up the arms. 
• Mood:  8.0.  Tomorrow, the big move to 188 lbs?  

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit, oatmeal with blueberry herbal tea, chopped prunes and apricots.
• Lunch:
• Dinner:  
• Snacks:

I Guess I Am a Healthy Guy:
Going by this article on Fox News, hey, I am scoring ok.  Pink nails, sufficient vital bodily fluids, good resting heart rate, elastic skin and proper colored, and smelling, urine.

That last sign reminded me of my bad old type 2 diabetes days.  I would notice then that my urine did have a slightly sweet smell.  Okay, I know, it's a bit off putting discussing the smell of someone's urine, but it was a sign that I had a problem and I didn't now it that it was a sign that I had problem.  Message sent, received and not understood.

The smell was caused by excess glucose being excreted.  My body was attempting to get rid of the excess, the hard way, through the kidneys.  Whatever abuse I put those two guys through,  I can only hope there is no issues to come from my past stupidity.

Monday Moanin'

Busy weekend around the house and flower beds.  My arms are so sore.  As the Charming Mrs. SWMBO says, it's nice to go back to work so we can  relax.

The Numbers to Start the Week.

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  103 ml/dg.  Good. I am normal.
• Weight:  189 lbs.
• Exercise: 55 minutes, 45 minutes on the bike and 10 on the Stretchbands.  The Charming Mrs. SWMBO has been complaining that my arms are too thin. 
• Mood:  7.5.  Gotta bulk up the arms a bit. 

 The Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit, Oatmeal with craisins. 
• Lunch:  Leftover split pea hummus on two thin slices of Italian bread, apple, 1/2 cup of cantaloupe.  The hummus is really good. Made a great appetizer on Sunday afternoon. 
• Dinner:  Grilled chicken salad.   
• Snacks:  A few Triscuits.  They were whole wheat or grain.  Lots of fat, though.  Tasty, too. 

Fry Nazis:  No Fries for You!
As much as I agree with the thought that no fries makes good dietary sense, what to eat for lunch is not business of the NYC Mayor's office.  The nanny state grows.  Like faith, one has to come his diet on his own.  Me, I try to go low fat.  Someone else, that's up to the individual.  We all live and die and eventually die by our own decisions.  

I'm Stuck on You

Before we get to the gross out news of the day, The Numbers for Thursday, March 31.  I just forgot to post it:

• Fasting Blood Glucose level:  100 ml/dg. Sweet.
• Weight:  190 lbs.  Sigh
• Exercise:  45 minutes on the bike.  Nice, sweaty ride.
• Mood:  7.00.  Damned pound is ruining my day. 

Today's Menu:

• Breakfast: Texas Ruby Red grapefruit, two wedges of corn bread.  The Charming Mrs. SWMBO made some corn bread last Sunday and it is time it were gone.  Fresh baked goods - the real stuff, the stuff not design to sit on a store's shelf for more than a day or the that made at home - do not have a long shelf life.
• Lunch:  Leftover pasta and sauce
• Dinner:  Pizza.  One slice. 
• Snacks:  A few chips and cracker

Gross Out Story of the Day.
Welcome to Ohio:  A morbidly obese man two years ago plopped himself on his recliner and stayed there, as in did not get out of it, as in decided not to move off of it. He chose to live that way. Heck of a decision there, guy.

He lived with two other adults, one described as his girlfriend, and neither did anything to help him.  There was no signs of abuse.  He just wanted to sit in that chair and he became part of it. The fabric from the recliner fused to his behind.  I guess that is the body part fused to the fabric, as the article does not say where it fused.

He and the recliner, one.

When he became even more ill and need to go to the hospital, paramedics had to cut a hole in the wall to get him out of the house and the part of the recliner's fabric that had fused to his behind went to the hospital with him.

The filth and the stench were overpowering it is reported.  Imagine that.

I guess the guy has never heard of Michelle Obama's get up and move program.

Monday Moanin'

All we did all weekend is work around the yard, getting it cleaned up.  More to do still, but we got a lot done.  The problem for us both is we got to bed late each night and are getting too old for lights off at midnight and up by five to go for a ride.  Work was a struggle and I just wanted to find a quiet corner and take a nap.

Numbers after the weekend:

• Fasting blood glucose:  116 mg/dl.  Good, particularly after a very late supper of pinto beans, brown rice and corn bread.  Remember the old carboing up?  Well, that's what we did late last night. 
• Weight: 190 lbs.  Arrrgh. 
• Exercise:  45 minute ride, hard.  Got some carbs and pounds to burn. 
• Mood:  6.5.  Tired and up a pound.  

Menu for today:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit, two blueberry muffins.  The Charming Mrs. SWMBO made blueberry muffins yesterday and I love blueberry muffins, so I had two.
• Lunch:  Hamburger and a baked potato. 
• Dinner:  A leftover of some variety.  It was going to be fish tacos, but that sounds like too much effort right and no dishes to clean. 
• Snacks:  An apple and a handful of Chex Mix at work.  Good for me, the apple, not so good, the Chex Mix. Both tasty. 

Dis 'n' Data

First, my data.

The Numbers for Today:

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  104 mg/dl.  Yea, me. 
• Weight 189.  Still.  Really like 188 1/2, but that could have been an optical illusion. 
• Exercise:  45 minutes and the humidity is back in Houston, which means I really sweated.
• Mood:  7.0  Business sucks.

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit, oatmeal with craisins and soy milk
• Lunch:  Tuna sandwich (I use mustard instead of mayo) and an apple.  The bread was a whole wheat pita.
• Dinner:  A veggie sandwich and a cup of black bean soup.
• Snacks:  Busy day.  None.

In case you were wondering:  Cholesterol 101 What Your Levels Mean  The body does make all of the cholesterol that it needs, and 75% of the stuff in our blood is made by our body.  The rest is from food.  Ingesting foods that contain cholesterol, however, doesn't significantly raise the levels in the blood; foods containing saturated fats and transfats do raise the levels in the blood.  Eggs are good, Twinkies are bad, expect when the center piece of the diet.

It's easy to get the wrong levels and sometimes hard to get the right levels.  Also a diet low in carbs helps lower blood cholesterol and a diet high in fiber, which comes from high carbohydrate sources, helps lower blood cholesterol. I guess this means stay away from the cakes and cookies and pastries, you know, the really good stuff, but eat beans and whole grains.  Ultimately, a carb is a carb.  Like a lot of dietary advice, sometimes it gets confusing and contradictory.

Best advice to follow:  get tested and find a diet that works, that you like and stick with it, if you need it.

Surviving Girl Scout Cookie Season.  See above on cholesterol.  I have many times opened a box and ate the whole thing before getting home from work.  They are overpriced and predictable, but they are darned good.

The Numbers First:

• Blood Glucose: 107 mg/dl  Sweet. 
• Weight:  189 lbs.
• Exercise:  45 minute ride on bike.  Nippy. 
• Mood:  7.00 Tax time approaches and I have dental appointment. 

The Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Ruby Red grapefruit, Oatmeal with craisins.
• Lunch:  Red beans and rice.
• Dinner:  Leftovers again.  It's okay, I like leftovers and we have a fridge full of them. 
• Snacks:  These rice cake things with a bit of peanut butter.

How to Wreck Your Heart:  I was good at number 7.  Letting my pants out or just getting new ones was just easier.  I have to admit it is more fun to take them to the tailor to have them taken in or just get new ones in a smaller size. 

Why I try eat a grapefruit nearly everyday. The chemical that grapefruit it's sour taste can act like a diabetic drug by helping to control fat and glucose metabolism.  "Naringenin, an antioxidant derived from the sour flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing sensitivity to insulin – a process that naturally occurs during long periods of fasting."  To the body, it acts a lot like the Adkins Diet in one tasty fruit.  Good excuse to enjoy Texas's sweet and sour Ruby Red's, as if any excuse is actually needed beyond their delightful taste.

The Shape of Thing to Come.

Why thin is always in

Fat matters, but not to your shape. 

For a long time, I have read that belly fat is worse than fat that collects somewhere else, usually around the waist thighs and buttocks.  The people with fat bellies were labeled as apple shaped. The people who got it around the thighs and buttocks were labeled as pear shaped. Being apple shaped was worse than being pear shaped, the idea being that the fat crammed in and around the vital organs was more likely to cause insulin resistance, which would lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

I was apple shaped.

Now, from an article in Science Daily on two related studies by the University of Washington Medical School in St. Louis and Nutrition Support Service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, shape, or where the body puts the fat, is a poor predictor of heart disease. 

The real predictor is too much fat stored in the liver, called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The fat in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease comes from ingesting, and being, fat.  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease affects metabolism by putting to much fatty acid into the blood stream, which leads to poor glucose and fat metabolism by muscles and organs, which leads to type 2 diabetes, low levels of HDL and high levels of triglycerides and that leads to heart disease.

We are getting fatter.  We eat too much fat.  The numbers simply mean we are more likely to get nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

People can be fat, in the belly or elsewhere, but if free from fatty liver disease, they will metabolize more or less normally and not get heart disease.  I infer from the article that the odds for a fat person is to not be free of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.  The key is a fat free liver, and that is the good news.  Lose some weight, consume less fat, even by just a bit, and the problem begins to decline. This seem to go back to support for a low fat diet approach.

Lose the fat and lose the problem as I have always said.

The numbers shape up for me today as:

• Fasting blood glucose:  101mg/dl*.  Very, very good. 
• Weight:  189 lbs.  Well, I am consistent. 
• Exercise:  45 minute bike ride in very humid weather.  Loved the sweat. 
• Mood:  7.5.  Good glucose level offset by crappy mood at work. 

 Menu for today:

•  Breakfast:  Banana, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit, oatmeal with craisins.
• Lunch:  Red beans and rice
• Dinner:  Stuff and stuff, what we call eating leftovers that are taking over the fridge. 
• Snacks:  Too much of some stuff  called Pub Mix from Utz pretzels.  Probably too high in fat and empty carbs.

* I hit that number this morning and the jingle from the Chesterfield's 101 Cigarettes popped into my head and pretty much stayed there all day long.  It was a catchy tune.  Now I feel old.

Monday...and I'm draggin'

Spent most of yesterday, my wedding anniversary, thank you very much, working in the yard, mostly on oxalis eradication patrol.  Oxalis is a weed, once referred to as a weed nightmare by some frustrated gardener, that grows in 98% of the earth's temperate zones, I think I read once.  It does grow very well in a Houston spring, that is for sure.

Our flower beds are covered in it and the only way I have found to really get rid of it is to get on my hands and knees and dig it up.  At the base is a bulb and if I don't get the blub, it comes back the following year bigger and badder than ever. It looks like a shamrock and for all I know it is called a shamrock in some areas.  It is edible and has been used from everything as a desert to an aphrodisiac.

I just want it gone. 

Getting on my hands and knees is what I did yesterday and I am as sore as can be.  I have lots more to pick. And I thought I was in decent shape.  Wrong.

The numbers for today:

• Fasting blood glucose:  121 mg/dl.  Good, considering the sheer volume of cracker's I ate last night as part of the evenings hors d'oeuvres with champagne, plus dinner and desert.   
• Weight:  189. Same old same old. 
• Exercise:  45 minutes on the bike.  It was rough, trust me. 
• Mood:  7.  Damn it, I am sore. 

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, grapefruit, one mini blueberry/mango scone left over from Sunday
• Lunch:  Leftovers, little bits of BBQ tempeh, brown rice, green beans and sweet potato. 
• Dinner:  Taco soup. 
• Snacks:

Good bye, Jack, and thanks for every thing.

First, the numbers.

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  115 mg/dl.  Not bad considering the big piece of rum cake I had with Tabor Hill Winery's hot fudge sauce made with their Merlot.  Boy, was it rich, which means fattening.  
• Weight:  189 lbs. 
• Exercise: 45 minutes of furious peddling.  
• Mood:  7.0  Okay. It's rainy and cold and overall generally dreary. And my weight is depressingly not going down.

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas ruby red grapefruit, corn flakes with craisins and soy milk.
• Lunch:  Three left over BBQ'ed spare ribs from Cotten's Barbecue in Robstown, TX, a cup sized blog of sweet potatoes and an apple.
• Dinner:  Fish Taco with fat free refried beans.  The sauce we make for this stuff is easy and delicious.  We use low fat mayo, sour cream and yogurt. 
• Snacks:  A few dried dates and apricots. 

So long, Jack, and thanks for the inspiration. 
I usually get up at 5:00 am to exercise.  Some days it's admittedly to get out of bed than others, and when it's one of those days when getting up is hard, I think of Jack LaLanne.  He always got up at 4:00 am, everyday, for a 2 to 3 hour workout, 7 days a week.  At the time I get out of bed, he's already been at it for an hour.  When I am heading out the door for work, showered, shaved and fed, he's still at it.  When I didn't want to get up, I thought of him and his dedication.  That gave me the boost to up and get going. 

But no longer.

Jack LaLanne passed away yesterday of pneumonia. He was 96 years old.  I had hoped he was going to make it to 100, but 96 of mostly robust, healthy years is amazing.  Here he is on his 95th birthday.



I remember my mom watching and exercising with him back in the 50's and 60's.  The organ in the background, the hokey sets, his dogs wandering around on the set, all on glorious black and white TV.  I think the only equipment he used was a chair.  Who knew it was tool to get in shape?  If he didn't start the health and exercise industry, he sure got it revved up.  His enthusiasm and passion was contagious.



So long Jack.  I want to make it to my 50th wedding anniversary in good health.  That is my goal and I will be 95 if I do make it.  Jack, if I do, you helped give me the inspiration to get there.  

Blue Monday

Well, not really.  Other than the gray, damp weather, that sales are way down, that several of the businesses that I call on who are  now out of business or struggling in a losing battle with the economy and the passing of a wonderful neighbor, it was a good Monday.

Well, not really. As days go, this sucked.  This was just a depressing, dreary day and people everywhere seemed to be in a grumpy mood, and to top it all off, the Charming Mrs. SWMBO is coming home late and in a tense, stressed mood herself.   In the nick of time, WebMD posted this bit about 10 easy ways to brighten your day.  I am now pumping up the music. Not sure about the lemons, but a glass of wine with dinner can't hurt.  Does that count? 

Today by the numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  116 mg/dl.  Must have been the buttermilk pie the Charming Mrs. SWMBO made. Some leftovers pulled out of the freezer and while we did get rid of some more Christmas foods, we did over-serve ourselves a goodly bit. 
• Weight:  189 lbs.  Well, not up.  We did have a fine dinner at Fratelli's Saturday night.  
• Exercise:  45 minutes of some serious peddling.  I felt great when it was over.  The day sort of drooped from there. 
• Mood:  8.0. Started of okay and declined steadily there after.

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, grapefruit, oatmeal with chopped apricots, prunes and flavored with cinnamon.  
• Lunch:  Leftovers from Saturday's dinner from Fratelli's, a half of two chicken breasts with goat cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes with a white wine sauce (I think it was) a few green beans and carrots and a bit of spaghetti with an apple for desert. 
• Dinner:  Turkey soup and corn bread with the aforementioned wine.  
• Snacks:  A serving of baked barbecue potato chips and a few baby carrots. 

Delayed because of equipment failure

Well, that the excuse the airlines use when their planes don't work.  My computer died, and I have finally got it and my data more or less back.  Losing the PC is like losing a vital sense. 

Christmas was good and I was bad on the diet. 

So, let's get on with the important numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  107 mg/dl.  Good, real good.
• Weight:  189 lbs.  Did creep up a couple of pounds, but those are now gone.  So I am pretty much back to what I was before the holidays, which is too high, but it could be worse.
• Exercise:  45 minutes riding the bike.  Baby, it's cold out there, even for Houston.
• Mood:  7.5.  Okay, could be better. 

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, Texas ruby red grapefruit, the finest in the world, oatmeal with chopped prunes and apricots. 
• Lunch:  Leftover meatloaf and an apple.
• Dinner:  Pizza, homemade.  It's clean night.
• Snacks:  Leftover Christmas candy.  The BG is going to be miserable tomorrow.

Daily Beast's Most Effective Diets for 2011.
As Captain Renault said in Casablanca,  "...round up the usual suspects."  Mostly, it's the popular diet plans that get recycled year after year. 

In increasing order of effectiveness as measured by the Daily Beast:  the Slim Fast Diet, the Atkins Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, the low-fat diet and the number one diet, the one I had not heard of, the Volumetrics diet.  That is a diet that from what I have read could also be the Soup diet.  It seems to be eating a lot of watery stuff, like soups.  As one who dies like soups, I can see why it would work.  Eating a lot of soups will fill you up, will be relatively light on calories and nutritionally sound. Just avoid the heavy cream stuff, I would imagine.  It says to also avoid calorie dense foods like chips and cookies.  No kidding.

As with all the diet plans, it a matter of just cutting calories.  How you do it and how you stick to is up to you.

No mention was made of the Drinking Man's Diet, Paleo Diet or the Twinkie Diet.