The Numbers Today

• Fasting Blood Glucose Level:  95 mg/dl.
• Weight: 189ish
• Exercise:  45 minute of a pleasant ride.  Okay I dogged it a bit, but so what. 
• Mood: 8.5.  It hits 9.5 at 5 o'clock in the PM. 

The Menu:

•  Breakfast:  Breakfast fruit salad, one banana, one Texas Rio Star grapefruit and about 1/2 cup of strawberries, one slice of leftover pizza from last night. 
• Lunch: Red beans and rice and an orange.  Lent, you know, Friday's no meat.
• Dinner:  Grilled Catfish
• Snacks:  A few almonds and a Chewy bar.  The bar was too sweet for me, but really all that high in sugar.

Does a Protean Cause Type Two Diabetes? 

It's possible that a protein produced by the fat cells surrounding other cells may inhibit glucose absorption according to a study.  This protein acts like a guard by blocking stopping all attempts of the glucose molecules to get absorbed by other cell. 

The study was conducted on rats, but I am going to guess the same applies to humans.

This fat produced protean just goes back to my rule of lose the fat, lose the problem.  No fat, no glucose guard.  This discovery does suggest a new possible therapy to treat type two diabetes by developing a drug, I guess, to regulate the bodies production of this p75NTR.

In the long run, I think it would be easier and cheaper just to lose weight.  Even better would be to just to not get fat at all.  You can read about it here.

Chocolate. Is There Anything It Can't Do?

Today's Numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose Level:  103 mg/dl 
• Weight:  190 lbs
• Exercise:  45 minutes on the bike
• Mood:  7.0

Today's Menu

• Breakfast:  Fruit salad of a banana, Texas Rio Star grapefruit and strawberries, last of the tofu black bean salsa stuff on a corn bread pancake. It's tasty, filling and easy to make,  recipe here. 
• Lunch: Stuff and stuff, all tied together with lots of hot sauce
• Dinner:  Red beans and rice, carrots. 
• Snacks:   Handful of almonds and dark chocolate.  Lots of dark chocolate. 

Chocolate, Is There Anything It Can't Do?

People who ate chocolate regularly have a lower body mass index (BMI) than non-chocolate eaters, according to this study. In other words, chocolate helps keep your weight down.

This is just a study that notes a correlation and it proves nothing.  One possibility mentioned are the anti-oxidants found in chocolate, but that's really just a guess.  I think a small chocolate snack is satisfying and filling and may prevent more unnecessary snacking later on, so the total calories consumed are less. Lower calories, lower weight.  Easy.

I am going to guess that dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate, milk chocolate has more fat and calories than dark, and since dark is my preferred chocolate.  I am going to add it to my regimen. 

Chocolate is a complex food with compounds that affect almost any mood or situation.  It's mental health properties have been long recognized, if that not exactly understood.   Chocolate can calm you down, mellow you out, enhance a romantic mood, sooth you, be something to celebrate with to make the good times roll, bring you up, bring you down and in general make life more fun and satisfying.  That it is also good for weight control and maybe overall physical health just makes consumption of this wonderful stuff all the more compelling.

Time for a trip to World Market and splurge, in moderation of course.  It's probably the healthiest thing I will do all day.

It's not my fault, I have a bug problem

 March 22, 2012

Numbers for Today:

• Fasting Blood Glucose Level:  93 mg/dl. 
• Weight:  189ish. 
• Exercise:  45 minutes of just a sweet, wonder full ride. Over before I knew it. Warm and no wind to speak of. 
• Mood:  7.0  Work and business could be better. 

Menu for Today:

• Breakfast:  Fruit salad of grapefruit, a banana and strawberries and oatmeal with craisins. 
• Lunch:  Leftover stuff made good with a big dollop of low fat sour cream.
• Dinner:  Thursday night, pizza and salad night.  Going to make two small ones because, a Mary and Dave The Works and a margarita because I can have a the margarita for breakfast tomorrow, fast day and all. 
•  Snacks:  Some almonds. 

Bacteria Caused My Diabetes.  

Well, really, I have no idea if it did or not.  My guess is no.  I had an over eating problem and too much fat caused the insulin resistance and suddenly I was a type two diabetic.  Lose the fat, lose the problem, simple as that. 

There is however some evidence that a bateria, H. pylori bacteria, may be responsible for some people becoming type 2 diabetics. Read about it here and here.  The bacteria seem to affect a1c, a three month measurement of blood glucose.  It is also responsible for stomach ulcers.  

I worked with a lady who was a bit zaftig.  She often said she had a thyroid problem to explain her plumpness.  For all I know, she did.  I wonder, assuming a bacteria can cause type two diabetes, if that will be the new excuse regardless of the facts. 
 I do remember also reading of thin, older people getting diabetes.  It was thought that the problems was caused by lack of exercise.  Bad muscle tone may be causing diabetes in older middle aged people was the thought.  Maybe that had nothing to do with it and the problem was an undiagnosed bacterial infection.

The treatment is antibiotics.
   

Diet Myths Busted and Who Really Cares on a Warm and Pleasant Evening

The Numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  103 mg/dl.
• Weight 189 lbs.
• Exercise:  45 minutes on trainer.  Rain this morning. 
• Mood:  7.0.  Rainy days and Wednesday always bring me down.  A a challenging business climate. 

The Menu:

• Breakfast:  Oatmeal with craisins, fruit salad of a banana, strawberries and a Texas Rio Star grapefruit. 
• Lunch:  Stuff and stuff, cleaning out the fridge
• Dinner:  More stuff and stuff and less stuff in the fridge
• Snacks: A few pretzels and a few almonds

WebMD, Busting Diet Myths.  Hey, anytime a myth involving carbs is busted, I good with it. It even allows that some fats are good. As I have always thought, it all comes down to portion size.

I am a bit tired this evening and I am keeping this short.  The Charming Ms. SWMBO and I enjoyed the early evening pleasant weather by sitting outside on the patio, enjoying a glass of white wine and a few leftovers from the fridge (stuff and stuff) artfully arranged on a plate to make a fine presentation.  The flowers are blooming here in Houston, TX, the birds are singing and the fountain is gurgling.  Hard to find a more pleasant what to spend an hour or two.  Of course the company was exceptional.

Monday Moanin'

The Numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose:  103 mg/dl.  Beer, late, see below
• Weight:  189 lbs.  Oh, may as well see below.
• Exercise:  Too sore, none this morning, see below
• Mood.  7.5  Too sore, see below.

The Menu:

•  Breakfast:  Breakfast fruit salad of banana, strawberries, Rio Star grapefruit, oatmeal  with craisins, cinnamon and soy milk.
• Lunch:  A slice of left over pizza while waiting for a foundation repair salesman hand me the bad news about how much it will cost to get our foundation repaired.  Could have been worse.
• Dinner:  Taco salad
• Snacks:  A few Kroger imitation Doritos and a small bowl of leftover mash potatoes when I go home.  The fake Doritos were a kind of a work-is-getting-way-too-frustrating indulgence.

Below

This past weekend, in of St. Pat's Day on Saturday, the Charming Mrs. SWMBO and I decided to clean out the flower beds.   Mostly it is a session to dig up a weed called oxsalis.  Some think of it as the charming four leaf clover.  I think of it as a nuisance.

Oxsalis is a bulb plant, invasive as all heck, and it seems to come back every spring, each year worse than the last.  The only way I can find to get rid of it and not kill everything else in the flower bed is to dig it up.  So that is what we did.  I  spent way too many hours on my knees patiently digging one clump after another, little spade in hand, trying to be as careful as possible not to dig up or kill the plants we do want to keep.  My back, my thighs, my knees, my arms, my hands, my shoulders, my neck, my seemingly everything is sore and stiff.  I got up this morning and just said to the heck with my ride.

People actually buy this stuff.  If they came here I would give them all they could dig up for free. Someone show me the luck.

My only real relief I have had has been the better part of a six pack of a very good IPA from Full Sail brewery this past weekend.  This morning I am switching to Tylenol.

Maybe it also helps Monday Morning Grumpiness: Four hours of exercise per week prevents burnout and depression.  Can it help me spend hours on my knees digging up Oxsalis without getting stiff and sore?