Splurge Friday and a Little Reflection.

This is Labor Day weekend.  I had a big goal set this weekend.  I planned to weight 170 lbs.  Why that weight on this date?  When I set it in the winter, it seemed a reasonable goal to obtain.  This morning I am 15 lbs. above that. Earlier in the summer when I suspected that I would not get to 170 lbs by Labor Day, I readjusted to be happy with somewhere in the 170's.  That did seem reasonable back in June and even that easier goal I missed.

Still, I am not down.  I did hit 185 lbs this morning.  I finally got off the 186-187 mark, if only by a pound or two.  I seem to have at this weight for an eternity.  Well, OK, not eternity, but for a too long anyway.  I continue to get compliments from people on my weight loss.  That feels great. I get lots of questions on how am I doing it.  Eat less and exercise I say. That always gets a funny look and the question, "that's it?"  Yep.

I know several people who have had some sort of operation to tie up their stomach as a way to lose weight, lost weight, and then gained it all back.  I am not sure how that works, but I bet it's uncomfortable.  We me I just want to develop the right habits to get to the right weight and stay there.

The Charming Mrs. SWMBO asked me the other day if I am going to keep getting up early to exercise when and if I lose all the weight I want to lose.  Yes was the answer.  I don't exercise now just to lose weight.  I exercise to stay fit.  I don't like to exercise, really, and in a perfect world I could just roll over and go back to sleep instead of getting up to peddle my bike.  It's not really bad once I start.  It's nice to plug in the iPod, peddle and get into that zen zone. The time goes by pretty quickly.  When I am done I feel great.  Why stop? 

My final goal was to get to 150 lbs. by my birthday of 2011.  That's in February.  Will I get there?  I hope so, but I don't know.  With the proper habits I will get there sooner or later.

The numbers for today:

• Blood Glucose:  119 mg/dl.  OK, nothing to write home about. 
• Weight:  185 lbs.  Not 170 lbs. but better than 186  lbs. 
• Exercise:  45 minutes on my bike. 
• Mood:  8.0.  It's Friday before a long weekend, I am meeting my good friend Bob Miears for lunch at the Mason Jar Restaurant, the Charming Mrs. SWMBO and I are going to Tony's Mexican Restaurant and Cantina for a meal and some strong margaritas with friends and I have the the reasonable expectation of going back to work on Tuesday.  Life's good. 

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Fruit salad of a banana, strawberries and blueberries and one slice of leftover pizza. 
• Lunch:  The grilled portobello mushroom sandwich with a side of butternut squash at the Mason Jar.
• Dinner:  Leaning to the fish tacos at Tony's and two margaritas.  I have been waiting all week for this moment.
• Snacks:  Pretzels.

Hello. My name is Dave and I am pudgy.

Hello world. For anyone interested, this my diary to you about my effort to get skinny again, to lose weight, to get healthy, to not look pudgy. About three weeks ago I found out I was a diabetic. For the record, I joined that growing bunch of Americans who are a statistic from our collective bad eating habits. For the record, I had a lot of fun getting there. For the record, that all has to change. This my part of my effort to get a program and get with the program to get skinny again, back down to slim 32 inch waist.

The sad truth of my life is that I like to eat and I like drink. I like to be around people who like to eat and drink. I like to cook. I like to find new recipes. I like to find new restaurants. Heck, I like McDonald's. I love martinis, gin, straight up and with two olives. One for me and one for my wife. I am not particularly fond of exercise. That brings me to my sad state of affairs.

This my notice to the world that I am changing. This is my notice to the world I am going to be better. I am 56, soon to be 57, and I figure I have a lot more years to go. I want to spend them, as many as I can, in good health. I am 5' 8" tall. I weighed 214 lbs this morning. My goal is to get back down to 150 lbs. That is what I weighed when I felt my best, so 150 lbs is my goal. That is down a pound from yesterday.

Wish me luck. It's mine to succeed or fail. If I fail, I want you to call me out. If I succeed, I want your cheers. So get ready to cheer, World.