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.