Entry 10/8/09

Weight: 232 lbs.

Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs, slice whole wheat toast. Coffee with creamer, and splenda. Dannon Activa yogurt. Omega 3, Acetyl L-Carnitine and Lipoic Acid, Multivitamin. A combination of alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine may be more effective than either nutrient individually in improving cellular fat burning. Acetyl L-Carnitine is a neuroprotectant and Lipoic Acid is a antioxidnat.

Snack: 1 square 86% cocoa Chocolate bar

Lunch: Grilled chicken thigh and leg, grilled vegatables, beans, 1/2 cup pico di gallo. Diet Coke

Snack: 3 walnuts I ran out :( , 1 square 86% cocoa Chocolate bar.

Dinner: 2 thighs, 1 wing KFC original chicken, 1 cup green beans. Diet Dr. Pepper.

DanActive

Exercise:Lifted weights for 1 hour (made the mistake of asking a lady how she liked a new machine got a 15 minute answer, messed up my routine) 14 minute cool down walk and 8 minute stretch. Avg. Hrt Rate 111 beats per minute Max HR 136 bpm.

Entry 10/7/09

Weight: 231.5 lbs It is tedious trying to think of all the reasons, why we have weight fluctuations like we do. On 9/29 I weighed 234. On 10/5 I weighed 230 which I didn't believe was permanent. Sure enough I weighed 1.5 lbs more today. Two days ago I lifted weights. Some of that 1.5 is from muscle gain. I would estimate about .5 lbs or less. The other is probably due to difference in glycogen storage. Simply stated glycogen is the readily available sugar stored mainly in muscle and the liver. During exercise if you are burning more sugar than the body can convert from carbohydrates the glycogen is burned. On average there is 1 - 1.5 lbs of glycogen in your body. Fluctuations in hydration also account for weight swings. This is why people who weigh daily are easily discouraged if they don't understand the factors involved. It causes a lot of people to lose motivation. What you must look at is the trend over a 4-5 day period. If you have an unexpected shoot up in weight and you have been doing all the "right" things, wait 4-5 days before deciding that you may be doing something wrong. You know when you are cheating.

Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs, slice of whole wheat toast, tomato was "mushy" so I didn't eat it. One container of DanActive. Coffee with creamer and splenda. Omega 3, Lipoic Acid and Multi-vitamin

Lunch: Grilled Chicken salad with 1/2 cup of Ranch dressing and some good company. Iced tea.

Snack: 5 walnuts, 1 square of 86% cocoa chocolate bar

Dinner: Pork Chop, 1.5 cup green beans. 1/2 new potato. Diet Dr. Pepper One small bite of cheese cake. One small bite of Blue Bell Cookies and Cream. Don't plan to eat anything else but the night is still young.

Exercise: Walked/jogged 1.1 mile with cool down. Avg Heart Rate 109 bpm Max 132 bpm
I always stretch for about 8-10 minutes, after I exercise. Reduces next day soreness and helps flexibility.

Entry 10/6/2009

Weight: Didn't weigh this morining. I always trie to weigh at the same time before I eat anything.

Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs, 6 ounces skim milk and 1 DanActive (14 grams carb, 80 calories). Omega 3 capsule, Alpha Lipoic Acid (antioxidant), Multivitamin. 1 sguare 86% cocoa chocolate bar (Flavanoids an antioxidant) Chocolate also dialates blood vessels and lowers pulse rate.

Lunch: Five ounce Turkey breast, mac and cheese, green beans, water

Snack: 5 walnuts

Dinner; 3 pork chops, green beans and 1 small potatoe, 1/4 cup of fried okra, 8 ounces of buttermilk

Exercise: Walked/jogged 2.43 miles in 39 min including cool down. Avg speed 3.7 mph Max speed 4.8 mph Total calories burned 300, Avg heartrate 121 bpm Max Heartrate 142 bpm

Firemen know about the "Fire Triangle". To have a fire there must be fuel, oxygen, and heat. Remove any of those and the fire goes out. I think the weight loss triangle is food, activity, and motivation. You have to eat right and be active. Remove the motivation and you won't do any of the other two. You must determine what motivates you. It can be appearance, long term health benefits, and feeling good. Set reasonable goals like 1 pound a week, 4 pounds a month, 48 pounds in a year.

Entry 10/5/2009

Weight: 230 lbs.

Breakfast: 1.5 oz. cheddar cheese. Half cup of Special K with quarter cup of skim milk. Danon yogurt.

Snack: Apple

Lunch: Thigh and drumstick grilled chicken, beans,grilled veggies, half cup pico de gallo, diet coke.

Snack: 1 square 86% cocoa chocolate bar.

Dinner: Canned salmon, steam broccoli,cauliflower,squash (1 cup total) 8 oz buttermilk. I like buttermilk plus it has beneficial bacteria for healthy colon flora which helps reduce free radicals and prevent colon cancer.

Exercise: 1hr 1 min weight lifting 20 minute cool down walk. Avg pulse rate 116 bpm max 141 bpm.

Walking 1 to 2 miles 2 to 3 times spread evenly through the day at a moderate pace is excellent fat burning exercise. It keeps the metabolism revved up.

Entry 9/29/2009

Weight:234

Breakfast: 2 eggs with cheese, slice of sugarless whole wheat toast and slice of tomato. 2 cups of coffe with cream. Multivitamin, Alpha Lipoic Acid (antioxidant) and Omega 3 capsule.

Lunch: 2 small tacos, bean burrito and diet coke

Snack: 8 walnuts

Dinner; Ham sandwich with cheese on whole wheat. Mayo and mustard. Diet Fresca.

Exercise: Lifted weights for 45 minutes with a 10 minute cool down walk.

Entry 5/13/09

Weight: 234.5 lbs.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs and 2 slices whole wheat toast. Cup of coffee with sweetener and creamer.

Entry 5/11/09

Weight 236

Breakfast: Two fried eggs in canola oil and 2 slices of whole wheat toast. Cup of coffee with sweetener and creamer. Omega 3, Alpha lipoic Acid (anti-oxidant) and vitamin.

Lunch Charo Chicken (dark meat), grilled vegatables and Charo beans with half cup of pico de gallo. Diet coke

Dinner: 10 oz. Fish and cup of cole slaw. Diet Persi.

Exercise: Walked/jogged 2.32 mi. in 37 min 44 sec including 7 min cool down and 3 min warm up. Avg. HR 122 Bpm Max. 138 Bpm.

Entry 5/10/09

Weight: 236 lbs. I have picked up 3 lbs over the past 2 weeks. But I have been loosing fat. I have steadily increased lifting weights until I'm almost back to the weight I used on most exercises before the last hiastis I had. So I've added some muscle for sure. I'm also using the last or first loop, depending on how you think about it (the one that makes the belt the tightest), in my "fat" belt.

Breakfast: Two eggs fried in canola oil, 2 slices of toast. Two cups of coffee with creamer and sweetener.

Snack: 10 blueberries

Lunch: Five oz. turkey, green beans and veggie medley (carrots, squash, green beans) water with lemon.

Dinner: 4 oz salmon, 2 cups of brocolli and 8 oz. of skim milk

Exercise: 2.29 miles in 38 min. 22 sec. cool down took 7 min 16 secs. Avg HR 125 bpm Max HR 153 bpm.

How much exercise is enough?

For health purposes, all adults should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days. That is in addition to your light-intensity chores and any physical activity of less than 10 minutes. Moderate-intensity activity includes jogging and leisurely bicycling. In addition, strength-training 2 days a week is recommended for everyone. If you were exercising too much, you would feel persistent fatigue, muscle soreness, and experience injuries and infections. Psychologically, you might feel weary, irritable, and depressed.

Entry 05/04/09

Breakfast: All Bran with 6 oz. skim milk. Cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener.
Omega 3 capsule, Vitamin.

Lunch: Ham sandwich and 8 oz. skim milk

Dinner: Two fried eggs and sausage patty 8oz. of milk.

Exercise: Weight workout for 1 hour 36 min which included 6 min. warm up and 11 min cool down. Avg heart rate 114 bpm max 141 bpm. went up another 10 pound on leg presses and 5 lbs on other leg and back exercise. Went up 5 lbs on most small muscle group exercises.

Saw a man at the gym for first time ...he wasn't using a trainer and it was his third time to workout. It was apparent he was not using enough weight. He said he used to much the first time and he was sore so someone told him to use less weight so he wouldn't get sore. That was bad information. If you use the correct amount of weight and you've never lifted or you've laid off for a long time, you are going to be sore after the first workout . After the 2nd workout, much of that soreness will go away. To get the best result from weight exercise you need to do 2 sets of 8 reps with enough weight so that the 8th rep is very difficult or impossible to complete . After at least a 1 day rest use the same weight the next session and try to do 9 reps. Don't decrease the weight if you were able to complete or almost complete 8 reps. Use the same weight until you can do 12 reps. At that point, increase the weight by 2- 5 pounds and start the cycle over. Don't use soreness that occurs a day or two after a workout as a guide to how much weight to use. Even after you have worked out for a long time a little soreness is an indication that you are using the proper weight. To gain muscle growth you must actually produce micro tears in the muscle fiber so they will grow back larger. While much of the soreness will go away after the 2nd or 3 rd workout, a little soreness only means you are producing the micro tears. Make sure you rest at least 1 day between workouts but not more than 3 days. Stretching AFTER a workout will also reduce soreness that may occur the next 1-3 days.

Entry 4/30/09

Weight: 235.5 lbs

Breakfast: Two eggs, sausage patty, 2 slices of whole wheat toast and coffee with creamer and sweetener. Omega 3 capsule and Alpha Lipoic acid cap. and vitamin.

Lunch: 4 oz turkey sandwich mayon and mustard on whole wheat. 8 oz. skim milk

Entry 4/28/09

Weight:235 lbs. I've increased my workout resistance by 20 pounds on the small groups and 25-30 on all most leg exercises and back and 40 pounds on squats. I'm also in the last loop on my "Fat Belts" (the belts I wear when I've gained weight). So hopefully this is mostly muscle gain. Remember muscles is heavier than fat by volume. I haven't been eating like I should though and that concerns me. Had a shortened workout with weights yesterday but hit the legs hard so thought I would have at least .5 lb loss today from glycogen loss.

Breakfast: Two eggs, sausage and 2 slices whole wheat toast. Coffee with creamer and sweetenr. Omega 3 and Alpha Lipoic Acid capsule (antioxidant) and vitamin.

Snack: 5 walnuts. I've been eating too many walnuts. While they are excellent source of omega 3 they are still calories.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich 4 oz. on whole wheat, tspn mayo, mustard. Diet Dr. Pepper.

Been trying to catch up on entries but my memory of what I ate is fading so maybe I can work backwards and bring up to date the best I can.

Entry 4/21/09

Weight: 232.5 lbs

Breakfast: Cheese toast...2 slices American cheese and 2 slices of honey wheat. Coffee with creamer and sweetener. American is not the best cheese nutritionally because it has more fat than hard cheeses like cheddar but I like it better for cheese toast and I don't worry that much about fat if I keep carbs low and I'm in Ketosis (body chemically "setup" to use fat as primary energy source). Honey wheat is not the best bread either but it was all that we had.

Snack: 5 grapes 1 strawberry

Lunch: Salmon with steamed brocolli

Entry 4/20/09

Weight: 232.5

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in canola oil, 2 slices whole wheat toast. Coffee with creamer and sweetner. Omega 3 , Alpha Lipoic Acid, vitamin.

Snack: tspn of crunchy peanut butter.

Lunch: Wendy's classic double with cheese. Diet coke

Snack: 10 walnuts

Dinner: Ham and cheese sandwich on whole wheat. Eight oz. skim milk

Snack: tblsp of cruchy peanut butter.

Not a red letter day for good nutrition

Exercise: Lifted food to my month several times!

Entry 4/19/09

Weight: 232 lbs.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with cheese, 2 slices whole wheat toast, two cups of coffee with cocoa, sweetener, creamer.

Snack: Red delicious apple. They have highest Reseveratrol (antioxidant...and responsible for the "French Paradox") of all apple but I like Fuji better as far as taste. I'm not going to buy any more Red Delicious.

Lunch: Salmon fried in Canola oil, and steam brocolli.

Dinner: CiCi pizza. All you can eat buffet. Grandkids like it. I ate 3 slices of thin crust with sausage, pepperoni while waiting on my crustless pizza. Crustless is cooked in a pan with all desired ingredients but no crust. I've ordered it at other pizza places but they sometimes give me static. One owner said he was going to add to menu. I haven't recieved a single royalty check from him. Oh ...also had Italian salad and half of cinnmon roll. They sure are good there...hot buttery, lots of cinnamon glaze.

Exercise: Was going to jog but grandkids wanted to go to CiCis ...too late when we returned. Actually not too late but enough of an excuse.

Entry 4/18/09

Weight: 231 lbs.

Breakfast: Oatmeal and crasins, 2 slices of whole wheat with margarine. Coffee with cocoa, sweetener and creamer. Cocoa contains flavonals and it dilates blood vessels thus improving circulation. That is no excuse to eat a milk chocolate bar which contains little flavonal and of course has refined sweeteners- sorry to be a killjoy.

Lunch: Four wieners with 2 slices of American cheese melted on top with mayonnaise and mustard, glass of skim milk. It was fast and the first thing I came to in fridge. Better bad choice.

Snack: tspn of crunchy peanut butter.

Dinner: Wild Salmon fried in canola oil with steamed broccoli. 8 oz. skim milk. Milk has all eleven essential amino acids. These 11 are needed to metabolize the the remaining 10 amino acids. I worked out earlier with weights so I the milk is insurance toward optimizing recovery and achieving maximum benefit of the workout.

Exercise: Weight workout for 1 hour 28 minutes including a 5 minute warm up, 10 minute cool down and 10 minutes of stretching after the workout. Added 5 lbs to small muscle group workout and 10 lbs to leg and back exercises and added more small muscle groups. Did not intend to add as many exercises but felt good so I went for it. Have to be careful about doing that though. Can lead to over training which is counterproductive. But I'm not back to that level yet. It's also easier to over train as you get older because your production of growth hormone decreases. Avg heart rate during workout was 120 bpm and max was 144. Another point abut growth hormone. Its best to wait 30 to 45 minutes after a workout to consume any calories because they reduce the amount of growth hormone that is produced after strenuous exercise.

Entry 4/17/09

Weight: 231.5 lbs

Breakfast: Two fried eggs, sausage patty and 2 slices of whole wheat toast. Coffee with creamer, sweetener and creamer. Omega 3 capsule (1200mg), Alpha Lipoic Acid (antioxidant), and vitamin.

Traditional nutritionist would frown on my breakfast choice but my cholesterol and triglyceride levels are better than they have ever been and are now safely in normal range. In the past,even when I reduced fats and limited eggs and the other high cholesterol foods my levels were slightly over normal. Since I've reduced carbs and continued exercise, although spotty at times, my levels improved. I'm not advising you to do the same without monitoring by your doctor. However, keep in mind that doctors for the most part only fix you after something goes wrong. Many don't have the time to keep up with new studies or are biased by their medical training. More and more are catching on though. Some of the cholesterol drugs have bad side effects so its worthwhile to try a diet adjustment to see if it works for you. The genius of my conversion to the high protein diet occurred after reading "Protein Power" by Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades several years ago. I slowly began to incorporate their advice after reading other studies on the subject. While the Drs. sell them , I have never taken any of their supplements. I do try to limit fats but I don't go way out of my way to do so. Remember weight loss = Calories in - Calories out.

Lunch: Turkey (4 oz.) & cheese sandwich on whole wheat and 8 oz. skim milk.

Snack: 8 walnuts

Dinner: Blackened salmon (6 oz.) on bed of rice, steamed broccoli, and Italian green beans. I ate about 2 teaspoons of rice just because it was there - that's the way weight management gets sabotaged but that was a small violation. I did resist my wife temptation of her apple pie ala mode with butterscotch sauce. I know it was butterscotch because I sampled a little on my finger (redneck).

Snack: Two teaspoons of cookies and cream ice cream. Was having visions of the wife's desert.

Exercise: My plan to have a weight workout was postponed because a dear family friend was now taking visitors at the hospital. Get well Gaye!

Entry 4/16/09

Weight: 231.5 lbs. The muscle growth and recovery of glycogen stores from the weight session two days ago could account for at least .5 lbs. Remember I use a 4 day average to identify a trend in fat loss. Didn't get to exercise yesterday because I went to a Tea Party.

Breakfast: Two eggs fried in canola oil, 2 slices of whole wheat toast cup of coffe with creamer and sweetener. The usual Omega 3 fish oil capsule, Alpha Lipoic Acid capsule and vitamin.

Snack: 8 blueberries. Someone got into my blueberries that is all that was left.

Lunch: Five oz. turkey, creamed spinach, and green beans. Water with lemon to drink.

Snack: About 10 walnuts. I usually don't eat that many but they tasted good. I started buying Diamond brand about 6 months ago. I used to buy the grocery store flat packs that are shrink wrapped but by spring of the year you get a lot of stale ones in them. The Diamond always stay fresh. They may have some preservatives in them. Oh well I'm not going to worry about that.

Dinner: 4 oz Salmon steak, green beans with teaspoon of margarine. The margarine doesn't concern me because my cholesterol is very good. If you have a problem you may want to eliminate it. I attribute my good cholesterol and triglyceride levels to a high protein, low carb diet and including more omega 3 among and some other minor modifications. I was always a little over border line levels before making those changes.

Exercise: Walked/Jogged 2.23 miles in 36:08 minutes,4:30 minutes of that is a cool down section. Max heart rate 156 beats/minute, Avg was 126 bpm. I'm above 90% (144 bpm) of my max heart rate (160bpm) for about 6 min. 15 seconds. I spike up above 150bpm for about 1 minute. If you are older and have not had a recent EKG I recommend you not get over 80% of your max heart rate.

Entry 4/15/09

Weight: 231 lbs. That's 1.5 lbs less than yesterday if you're following. But, that is not all fat. After I work out with weights, I usually lose a pound or two which is mostly glycogen. Some of it could be hydration even though I increase my water consumption beginning early in the day in anticipation of my work out and I drink plenty of water during and after the workout. Glycogen is a readily available source of energy stored in muscles and called upon when the muscle begins to approach an anaerobic (lack of oxygen)condition. This state of "glycolysis" produces lactic acid which causes the burning sensation you feel in the muscles when approaching exhaustion.

Breakfast: Raisin Bran with 6 oz. of skim milk. Raisin Bran is not the best cereal to eat for weight loss, but, I haven't eaten it in a while and I wanted some. It is a better bad choice for breakfast food. Cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener. Omeaga 3 capsule and Alpha Lipoic Acid (antioxidant) capsule, and vitamin.

Snack: 15 blueberries, a few peanuts

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with Ranch Dressing. Iced tea to drink Actually with as much ranch I put on I should order it and get a salad to go with it. I probably had about 400 calories in the ranch. However over 90% comes from fat and about 6% from carbs. The concern over fat is overrated. If your body is in a fat burning configuration chemically, the fat is readily converted into energy. I've discussed the chemicals before. Since I've been eating like this my cholesterol is lower than any point in my life. I'm not advocating that everyone eat the same way if they have a cholesterol problem, but if nothing else is working you might try it. Much of it is genetics.

Snack: About 10 walnuts

Dinner: Charro Grilled chicken (about 8-10 oz. dark meat), beans, grilled vegetables. No tortillas Diet coke.

Exercise: Was going to walk/jog but I went to a Tea Party in Plano. It was energizing. There was two different groups along Preston Road, which is one of the main feeds out of North Dallas into Plano and Frisco. One was at the intersection of Park and Preston and the other at Parker and Preston. Park and Parker are main east-west cross-streets. There was 500-600 people at Park I'm told. I was at Parker and there was about 300-400 people total on all four corners of the intersection. It was between 5pm-7pm and probably 5000-6000 cars passed by. Out of all those I only saw 2 give a thumbs down. Everyone else was honking horns, giving thumbs up and shouting out support. Many had signs and flags on their cars. I met and talked with a lawyer, doctor, 2 teachers, an IT manager from Frito Lay, an electrician and some others. It was a spontaneous event. Everyone was just like me, they found out where everyone was meeting through the internet or word of mouth. Everyone just showed up not knowing what to expect, nothing was organized. Most people had signs. I didn't. Next time I will. As people gathered there was a growing esprit de corps. It was the first time most of us had ever "demonstrated". There was several jokes about us being old hippies. One lady with the Conservative Republicans of Plano came around with forms collecting email addresses and information about what people wanted to see happen next and how we wanted to participate. It felt good to get out and do something even if only to encourage each other to do more.

Entry 4/14/09

Weight: 232.5 lbs.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs, sausage patty, 2 slices whole wheat toast. Coffee with creamer and sweetener. Capsule of omega 3 and Alpha Lipoic Acid (antioxidant) and vitamin. Two peanuts ( bag was setting out)surprised I didn't eat more its hard for me to eat just one. That's the way weight management gets sabotaged.

Lunch: Six oz. salmon and steamed vegetables (sugar snap peas, potatoes, and red peppers). One food I try to avoid is white potatoes but there was only a few. Will try to avoid any more carbs for the day. The worst diet is lots of carbs and fats. The 2nd worst is little protein and lots of carbs, 3rd protein and carbs. Better diet consist of protein,fats and little carbs, and best is high protien, low fats and little carbs (less than 50 grams). Carbs should come from low glycemic (index lower than 55)sources.

Snack: 10 walnuts

Dinner: 4 oz. turkey and 8 oz. skim milk. Too many carbs at dinner decrease growth hormones which is important for cell repair and muscle growth that occurs primarily while asleep.

Exercise: Went to the gym and lifted weights. It's been over a month so I dropped weight on each exercise about 10-15 lbs and shortened workout to 33 minutes by cutting out some of the upper body exercises. I always get in a good leg and back workout. That's were the largest muscles are located. Also do some abdomen work to balance the back muscles for proper spine alignment. I could really tell its been awhile. I thought I was going to pass out when I finished the leg presses. I walk after I lift until my heart rate gets back to about 65% then I stretch. Its just as important to bring the heart rate down slowly as it is to increase it slowly. It took about 10 minutes to recover tonight. My avg heart rate during the workout was 117 bpm and max was 142 bpm. I try to move quick enough from exercise to exercise to keep my HR above 112 bpm, 65% of max HR for my age.

Entry 4/13/09

Weight: 233 lb Ho Hum.

Running behind on my post. Not gonna try to go back and recap since I've not got back with the program and no change in the weight. Just haven't been motivated lately. Plan on hitting the weights tomorrow. Will see how that goes. I really intend to do that. Maybe that will get me fired up. Walked around the park yesterday, about 1 mile, with my Granddaughter. She has gone with me before when I jogged and she keeps up with me but I have to stop and walk fast for awhile to let her rest. But yesterday was just a stroll.... she wanted to pick a wildflower bouquet for her mommy.

Breakfast: Two eggs fried in canola oil, 2 slices whole wheat toast with teaspoon of jam and margarine, coffee with cream and sweetener. The usual omega 3 capsule, Alpha Lipoic Acid capsule, vitamin.

Snack: 2 squares of Lindt 85% Cocoa chocolate (chocolate contains flavonols and has other benefits) Milk chocolate does not have the same benefits.... sad to say.

Lunch: Five oz. turkey, creamed spinach, green beans and water with lemon.

Dinner: 8 oz. chicken, carrot and celery sticks. Diet coke.

Snack: 12 blue berries about 10 peanuts. Peanuts are high in trytophan

Exercise: Nothing today. Gonna get with the program tomorrow.

Entry 4/11/09

Weight: 233 lbs

Breakfast: Cinnamon Roll with coffee, sweetener, creamer. One omeag3 and one lipoic acid capsule and vitamin.

Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, tbsp of Miracle whip and mustard. Eight ounces of skim milk

Dinner: Cheese nachos and peanut and strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat. (Not together!...about 20 minutes apart) Eight ounces of skim milk. Not a banner day on the nutrition front.

Exercise: Walked/jogged 2.22 miles in 35.25 minutes. Max Heart Rate 151 bpm, Avg HR 119 minutes. Finally got some exercise. That should burn off half that cinnamon roll.

Entry 4/10/09

Weight: 233 lbs.

Breakfast: All Bran, blueberries, skim milk. Capsule of omega 3, capsule of lipoic acid(antioxidant) and vitamin.

Entry 4/9/09

Weight: 233 lbs. The binge from last night may not show up until tommorrow. Maybe I can get some exercise in today.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs in canola oil, 2 slices whole wheat toast with a tsp of margarine and strawberry preserves. Coffee with sweetener, and creamer. One omega 3 and lipoic acid (antioxidant)capsule, vitamin.

Lunch: Eight oz. Fajita, lots of pico de gallo, sour cream and cheese. My son grilled those fajita. They sure were good. The meat came from a Snuffy's restaurant and it was as tender as any I've ever had. The restaurants get the good stuff-the rest goes to the public.

Snack: 10 walnuts...probably too many

Dinner: Shlotzsky's original small with mayonnaise. Have to have a Shlotzsky's ever so often. Diet coke.



no exercise...Texas is on fire and the smoke is heavy in DFW area. Good excuse as any.

Entry 4/8/09

Weight: 233 lbs.

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs and 2 slices of whole wheat toast. One cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener. One omega 3 capsule, vitamin and 1 Lipoic acid capsule(antixodinat) 1 oz of Resvinatrol(antioxidant)

Saw another article on Resveratrol today:

This is an article from Newsmax Health:

Red Wine Helps You Think


Resveratrol, the chemical in red wine that has been shown to
have numerous health benefits, is giving you another reason to kick
back and have a glass of red wine. It increases blood flow to the brain
and helps you think.

Researchers at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK, gave
24 people a series of arithmetic tests while blood flow to their brains
was monitored. Before testing, they were given 500 mg or 1,000 mg of
resveratrol or a placebo. Those who had been given resveratrol showed
significant changes in brain flow and improved performance on the
tests. Additional tests will seek to discover the optimal dose needed
for reveratrol’s brain-boosting effects.


An earlier study at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found
that moderate amounts of wine — 5 to 10 ounces daily — might slow the
accumulation of amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s
disease. Other tests have shown that resveratrol lowers the risk of
cardiovascular disease by increasing the levels of “good” cholesterol,
and also fights cancer, obesity, and diabetes.


Resveratrol is found not only in red grape skins but also in
cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, and peanuts. “It is interesting
to see that a component you come across in many everyday foods can have
a positive effect on brain function,” said researcher Emma Wightman.

Newsmax.


I try to drink a little red wine often. Some other
literature I've read suggest you would have to drink many bottles of wine per day
to derive some of the benefits of Resveratrol. That's why I have been
taking Resvinatrol. It is made from muscadine grape skins and seeds, pomegranate and other concentrated sources of Resveratrol.
 
The recommended dosage by the makers is 2 ounces which
supplies 200mg of Reseveratrol. The  studies I've read
conclude that 400mg per day is needed to achieve the beneficial results
discovered in the test. This means one would need to take 4 ounces of
Resvinatrol to achieve that amount. I'm looking for a more concentrated
source but this is as close as i've come. If you find a more
concentrated product please let me know. 


BTW: I don't believe drinking alcohol is a sin. Drunkeness is the sin. Drink with control.

Lunch: 8-10 oz of fajita meat, lots of pico de gallo, jalapeno and salsa. Diet Dr. Pepper to drink.

Snack: 10 walnuts. Too many

Dinner: Taco salad and a taco. Diet coke.

Snack: Went on a binge! 3 Brownies, 4 lemon cup cakes glass of skim milk,to cancel out the calories. You can fool your mind but not your body.

Entry 4/5/09

Weight: 233 lbs. Lost a lb from 2 days ago. That's mostly due to other factors than fat loss. There is a lot of stuff in our bodies other than fat. Since we are mostly water, hydration levels contribute a lot to weight variations. For any new readers- I use a four day period to determine a trend in fat loss along with other factors.

Entry 4/4/09

Weight: Forgot to weigh before eating today so I didn't weigh.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs in canola oil, 2 slices of whole wheat toast, cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener. Omega 3 and Lipoic acid (antioxidant)capsule, vitamin.

Lunch: Turkey 3 oz. on whole wheat, miracle whip, mustard and Dr. Pepper to drink. Miracle whip has more bad calories than mayonnaise but we were out of mayonnaise.

Dinner: Beef fajitas (3 oz.) in tortilla, tbsp of sour cream and guacamole, 1-2 oz. cheddar cheese and salsa (it was hot but not too hot-just right). Diet coke.

No exercise today. Went to a memorial service for my step father-n-law, Perry Adams. Perry was a Tank Commander in WWII. He landed on the beaches of France on D-day. He received the Silver Cross for Gallantry. We lost another member of the "Greatest Generation". God bless you Perry. Thank you for your help in making the World a safer place.

Entry 4/3/09

Weight: 234 lbs. My weight loss efforts are not a high priority for me at this time. That does not mean that I throw what I know is good nutrition completely out the window. That is why I'm not gaining. But I need to get more motivated if I want to lose. No "diet" will change that.

A word about "Spot Reducing"-trying to lose fat in a specific area of the body. You can't do it. People carry fat in different areas of their body based on their genetic make-up. Some are fortunate to have weight distributed evenly throughout their body. But most of us will have a predominate area where most of our fat is distributed. Some may have as much as 90-95% deposited in a single ares, usually in their abdomen for men, buttocks for women. As you can see all around you there are many variations in how people "carry" their fat. If you lose fat, you will lose it proportionately all over your body. Even if you become comparatively lean, the last place you will lose the excess fat is in from the area where most of your fat is stored. Exercising the muscles in that area is only going to increase the size of the muscles in that area. Your body will process fat from ALL areas of your body based on your genetic make-up.

From time to time I provide "Answers" in Yahoo's Answers. I'm amused by the number of people, mostly young men, who want a "six-pack"-rippled muscles in their abdomen. It has become the "In" muscle group these days. Some will state they have been doing a 1000 crunches a day for 3 months but they still don't have a "six-pack". The first thing I tell them is that they probably already have a great looking "six-pack". However it is covered up by a layer of fat. And unless they achieve a very low Body Mass Index(look at the chart in the sidebar) they will never see that six-pack. Some of them were paying no attention to their diet or overall weight loss. Many thought because they were concentrating their exercise on their abdomen, the fat there would melt away and their muscles would build up. Only the latter is the case. Unfortunately, unless you achieve a very low BMI you will still have some excess fat in those areas where you carry the most fat.

Breakfast: Bowl of Whole Grain Cheerios with cup of whole milk. Cheerios are not a good choice for cereal because they have a high glycemic index (how fast carbs are converted to sugar and thus more likely to be stored as fat)but I was out of All Bran. Cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener. Omega-3 (1200mg), vitamin, 1 capsule Lipoic Acid (antioxidant).

Entry 4/1/09

Weight: 234 lbs Lost a pound of fat overnight?...no...just weight...I've discussed this in earlier post. Several factors affect weight besides fat. Muscle, hydration level, density of food ingested, etc. Unless you are using balance scales, there will be a little variation in their accuracy on occasion.

Entry 3/31/09

Weight: 235 lbs. Gained a pound since yesterday. Not alarmed .... yet. Remember it takes about 4 days to spot a trend.

Entry 3/30/09

Weight: 234 lbs.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs, 2 slices of whole wheat toast, and cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener. Omega 3 capsule, vitamin. I take the omega 3 and vitamin every day but don't always mention them here. See my earlier post about my blood work. I attribute a lot of the good result to the omega 3.

I haven't been doing a good job of breaking up my meals into smaller amounts, like dividing lunch in half and eating 2 hours apart. Nor have I been getting enough snacks. I will try to do better.

Lunch: Chicken BLT Salad from Wendy's with Ranch dressing. Diet coke.

Dinner: Burrito, Taco. Diet coke.

Entry 3/29/09

Weight: 234 lbs.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs (canola oil), two slices whole wheat toast with tiny bit of strawberry preserve, and cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener

Lunch: Sardines with Franks Red Hot sauce. Hush ....hold your nose and eat them. They are high on omega 3. I was introduced to them at very young age when I would go fishing with my dad. They were delicious after being on the lake all morning.

Dinner: 8 oz white fish and cole slaw. Diet Pepsi

Exercise: Walked/jogged 2.26 miles in 36 mins 49 seconds, avg Heart Rate 119 bpm, Max HR 155 bpm. Burned approximately 280 calories. If you don't have a heart rate monitor count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. You can count for 12 seconds and multiply by 5, 10 seconds and multiply by 6 and so forth. However the shorter the counting period the less accurate the measurement. A heart monitor is so much easier. It's hard for me to count while I'm moving. Once you get in good shape your pulse will decrease quickly as soon as you stop your exercise. A heart monitor will capture the exact rate at any point but if you stop to count you may be off a bit.

Entry 3/28/09

Weight: 233.5 Still haven't exercised in while. Cold front come through yesterday so I won't be outside (what a whuss...someone please tell me correct spelling if there is one)and I just can't get motivated to go lift weights.

While I am having less and less respect for Barbara Walters these days, I did find this interesting. I take a antioxidant product called Resvinatrol as a liquid. I'm searching for an even more concentrated source of Resveratrol. View and make up your own mind.



May God's will be done in all things . If it's time for you to go you will go. But there is no reason not to feel better while we're here.

Lunch: Chicken breast and less than 1/2 cup of rice in some kid of concoction my wife made. Dr. Pepper

Dinner: Two hot dogs with mustard and one wiener. That's three wieners. Not a good day for the ole weight loss program. Oh well, there are days like this. One just tries to get through them without totally throwing good judgment out the window. There is always tomorrow to do a better job.

"Anonymous" left me a comment that they had lost their job and they went on a binge. That's perfectly ok. Just as you are not going to lose a lot of fat in a day or two you are not going to gain a lot of fat in a day or two. Please note I say "fat". I didn't say weight. There are a lot of things other than just fat that affect your weight. I've discussed those in earlier post. The important thing is to not get discouraged and give up on your weight management for an extended period of time. As soon as you can get back with the program. Here's a few things to do to get you through these type days.

Include a little more chocolate (preferably plain cocoa or 82 % cocoa chocolate bars not milk chocolate), oats, bananas, mangoes, dried dates, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, spirulina, peanuts and a lot more turkey and milk in your diet. If you have reduced your carbs add a few more back for a few days . Try to include more foods that contain omega3 like salmon, mackerel, sardines. Take an omega3 supplement-about a 1000mg a day. The first group of foods above especially milk and turkey contain high amounts of the protein Trytophan which is a precursor to Serotonin. Serotonin helps prevent depression and is the precursor to melatonin which helps us sleep. The carbs will raise the blood sugar a little, which improves the mood a bit. However try to consume low glycemic carbs so you don't through peaks and valleys of blood sugar and resulting mood swings. The omega 3 foods will help with mood. Since they are fats they will satisfy the hunger and omega 3 is the good fat. These foods will help you get through these periods of "emotional eating" with less damage to the waistline.

Lastly try motivate yourself to get some moderate exercise. This will help a lot with your mood and if you do eat more it will offset some of the extra calories.

I hope all my readers will keep "Anonymous" in your prayers. All things are possible through good. Many times loss of one job opens an opportunity for a better one. One that you would have not found if you were not looking.

Entry: 3/27/09

Weight: 233.5 lbs. I haven't exercised in the last 5 days so therefore I haven't lost any weight. At least for me, exercise is essential if I'm going to lose weight. When I was younger this was not the case. I could modify my eating habits and lose. I even bought into the diet psychology and would lose and maintain for awhile only to go off the "diet" and gain the weight back. Successful weight loss and management,barring some physical problem like diabetes or thyroid dysfunction, is a combination of psychology, exercise and eating habits (not dieting). Some people try to modify their eating habits and have mixed success because they don't exercise. Some think all they have to do is exercise and they don't pay proper attention to how they eat. Exercise and diet effects psychology and psychology determines our motivation to exercise and eat right. They are all inseparably dependent on each other. I have to pay attention to all three to achieve success.

I'm glad to hear that Phil, one of the regular readers of my blog, had a good report on his blood work, cholesterol included, and physical. It appears he is doing a good job of exercising and eating right. Way to go Phil! BTW he says he has incorporated walnuts as a snack in his diet.

Breakfast: Slice of American cheese on whole wheat toast and All-bran cereal with cup of whole milk. One fish oil capsule and vitamin. Cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener. Eight O'clock Colombian coffee beat out Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and all other coffees in a recent taste test. Just their Colombian.

Lunch: Had a craving for Kentucky Fried Chicken Original. Ordered 3 thighs with coleslaw. Only ate the top crust off the biscuit. Diet Dr. Pepper. I could have done worse but sure could have chosen better. When I have a craving like this one of my favorite lines from the Desiderata comes to mind: "Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself".

Dinner: Taco Bueno nacho salad and taco. If it were not for the chips this wouldn't be a bad choice. But if a from had wings! Bueno is very close to my office so I tend to eat there a lot.

Entry 3/20/09

Entry: 3/19/09

Weight: Forgot to weigh this morning. Must start eating more "brain" food.

Breakfast: Two tbsp. of peanut butter on two slices of whole wheat toast. Cup of coffe, with creamer and sweetener

Lunch: Ate at Hutchins Barbecue in "Historic Downtown Mckinney". Had 10 ounces of pulled pork. I'm guessing. NO I didn't ask the man to weigh it. I bet you can't find a scale in a GOOD barbecue restaurants. Also had green beans, and barbecue beans. One cup of barbecue sauce (350 calories). It's in the sauce! All the good stuff has the calories. Without the sauce this would have been a good choice. The sauce makes it not even a "Better Bad Choice" but a bad choice for a meal.

Dinner: Schlotzki's small original sandwich and diet coke. Too many carbs but I was craving it.

Snack: 4 walnuts.

Yesterday I attributed my lower than normal cholesterol results to omega 3. While I don't "diet", if you pay attention to what I eat, you'll notice there is not a lot of carbohydrates. Low carbohydrates forces your body to use fat for energy. To do that your body has to have the right chemical make up to convert that fat. That is another reason for my lower cholesterol. I've discussed these chemicals in earlier post.

Entry 3/18/09

Weight: 233.5 lb I haven't been eating the right foods and no moderate exercise. Now that warmer weather is here I won't have an excuse for not going on at least a 30 minute walk.

This is an article out of Newsmax.com:

“Moderate Intensity” Physical Activity Defined

The benefits of moderate physical activity to general health and well-being are well known. It is recommended that people engage in 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity, equivalent to 30 minutes each day 5 times a week. Although pedometers are widely used as a physical activity monitoring tool, they are unable to measure activity intensity. Researchers have determined that a rate of at least 100 steps per minute achieves moderate intensity activity. Therefore a simple pedometer-based recommendation of 3000 steps in 30 minutes can get people started on a meaningful exercise program. The study is published in the May 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

While being monitored for oxygen uptake during walking on a treadmill, 58 woman and 39 men completed four 6-minute sessions at different treadmill speeds between 65 and 110 meters per minute. All wore pedometers and their heart rates were recorded. Using 3 METs, or metabolic equivalents, as the minimum level of oxygen demand which approximates moderate exercise, participants were monitored to determine whether they had reached the moderate-exercise level at a given treadmill speed. From these data, the researchers found that for men, step counts associated with walking at 3 METs were between 92 and 102 steps per minute. For women, the range was between 91 and 115 steps per minute.

Although a main finding of this study is that considerable error exists when using pedometer step counts to measure METs during treadmill walking, with only 50% of individuals correctly classified as walking at moderate intensity using step rate alone, the authors suggest that the pedometer can be used as a simple technique for anyone trying to meet exercise guidelines. (This comment is my own: If you find this statement contradictory to the rest of the article, you're not alone.)

Lead investigator Simon J. Marshall, PhD, School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, states, "We believe that these data support a general recommendation of walking at more than 100 steps per minute on level terrain to meet the minimum of the moderate-intensity guideline. Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3000 steps in 30 minutes. Individuals can monitor their progress using a simple pedometer and a wristwatch."

Newsmax

I think a heart monitor is by far the best way to measure your exercise intensity. You can buy a heart rate monitor you wear on you wrist for about $30. That's not much more than a quality pedometer. Your heart rate should be 65-70% of maximum to be classified as moderate. I do agree that duration of your exercise should be close to 30 minutes to be defined as "moderate".

Also "moderate" is a relative term. If you are in good shape, you will have to do more work to reach the "moderate" level of exercise. This is another reason why a heart monitor is a superior measure. When you start exercising after being sedentary for a long time, your muscles will be smaller. Your heart will have to work harder for you to walk a given distance at a given rate. After a couple of weeks of regular moderate exercise your muscles will be bigger and your blood capillaries will have increased. While this is a good thing, your heart will not have to work as hard as it did in the beginning. So unless you increase your rate and/or time of exercise, the intensity of your heart or cardiovascular workout will begin to flatten out. But if you are monitoring your heartbeat you will always know if you are working your heart and cardiovascular system at a moderate level. You will find that you have to increase the rate of work in a given period to reach the "moderate" level for your heart.

It is also good to have a heart monitor the day you start exercising so you know that you are not working your heart too much and risking a heart attack. This becomes more important as we age. If you have exercised a lot during your life and you've paid attention to the amount of work you did and how you felt you will have an idea of the intensity without a heart monitor but I still recommend one. I wear my monitor almost every time I exercise moderately or aggressively.

Lunch: Five oz. turkey breast, green beans, and garlic spinach. Water with lemon to drink. Ate at Boston Market

Snack: 8 walnuts

Dinner: Grilled chicken (dark meat), beans, grilled veggies,and lots of pico de gallo. Diet coke to drink. Ate at Charro Chicken.

Entry 3/17/09

Weight: Didn't weigh this morning. If I can't weigh at the same time everyday I just skip it. I weigh first thing when I go to the kitchen in the morning before I eat.

Breakfast: Cup of All Bran and half cup of raisens with whole milk. Was out of Skim Milk. A vitamin and 1 DHEA tablet. Still haven't thought to pick up some Omega 3 capsules. Been eating walnuts (good source of omega3) throughout the day though.

My family makes fun of my walnuts. But I got my results back from my physical yesterday. The Doctor told me that I wasted my money. My blood work was perfect. I was surprised to say the least. In the past my Cholesterol has been too high. This was the first physical I've had since I started eating walnuts almost daily, taking omega3 capsules and eating fish rich in omega 3. My total Cholesterol this time was 159 (acceptable range is 125-200. LDL (I call it Least Desirable Level so I remember which is good and which is bad) was 104 (less than 130 is acceptable) and my HDL(Highly Desirable Level) was 42 (greater than 40 is acceptable). This was the best I've ever tested. My Triglycerides were 65 (less than 150 is acceptable). Make fun of my walnuts now why don't you!

I did get a scare though. Doctor said there was a problem with my EKG. He went into a detailed description of the waveform and what each blip indicated. He drew a diagram of the heart and how the electrical signals function.


The "pacemaker" is the Sinus Node. That is where the heart beat starts. It sends signals to the rest of the heart so the muscles will contract. First, the atrium (top chambers)contracts. Next, the electrical signal travels to the area that connects the atria with the ventricles. This electrical connection is critical. Without it, the signal would never reach the ventricles, the major pumping chambers of the heart. The first structure it reaches is another natural pacemaker called the atrioventricular (AV node). A structure called the bundle of His emerges from the AV node and divides into thin, wire-like structures called bundle branches that extend into the right and left ventricles. The electrical signal travels down the bundle branches to thin filaments known as Purkinje fibers. These fibers distribute the electrical impulse to the muscles of the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood into the arteries.

Doctor then told me that in my heart, the time that the electrical signal traveling from the sinus node to the AV node was longer than normal. The condition is called First Degree Blockage. His explanation took about 10 minutes during which I was holding my breath. He THEN states that this is nothing to worry about. I can run, lift, do strenuous work.. anything physical without any worry. Whew... thanks doc now I can breathe. He did say that it wasn't critical but to "put a bow around the package" I should consider wearing a Holter pack for 24 hours to record my heartbeats to make sure I was not dropping more than the normal amount of beats. Yeah doc I want to do that.

Entry 3/14/09

Weight: 233 Lbs. Ho hum.

Entry 3/13/09

Weight: 233 Lbs. Holding my own. Only one walking day in 7 days. Not eating well just making "Better bad choices". Extremely busy. Went for bloodwork and EKG Tuesday...results on Monday.

Friday the 13th! So what...This is a day the Lord has made, rejoice in it!

Entry 3/9/09

Weight: 233 lbs.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, 2 slices whole wheat toast, coffe with creamer, sweetener.
Vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet

Entry 3/6/09

Weight: 233.5 Although my weight is stable it's not all good news. While it does mean I've lost fat since last week, I probably have lost a little muscle since I haven't worked out significantly since Thursday one week ago. Therefore I haven't lost as much fat as the scales indicate. After 3-4 days your muscles begin to atrophy if they are not exercised to at least 80 % of their capacity.

Breakfast: Two fried eggs with only one yolk. That was unintentional. I don't have the "Waffle House Flip" perfected. One yolk came out of the pan. Fortunately most of the white stayed in. One sausage patty, 2 slices of whole wheat toast and 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, sweetener and creamer. I'm out of fish oil capsules! A vitamin and 1 DHEA tablet.

Entry 3/5/09

Weight: 233.5 At least I'm not gaining. That's good especially since I haven't been eating well. I have been making some better bad choices mostly due to time constraints. Hopefully I can go back and update the last few days.

I'm excited that Fitlynxx has again started sending me Elephants. Are you curious?
Stay tuned.

Entry 3/3/09

Weight: 233.5 lbs No change from yesterday. Haven't exercised since last Thursday. That's no good.

3/2/09

Weight: 233.5 lb Down 1/2 lb from yesterday. I'll take it!

Entry 3/1/09

March already. The more experience you have with it the faster time slides by.

Weight: 234 lbs. That is about one pound of absolute weight loss for the week, but I figure about 2 pounds of fat loss. I worked out with weights a couple of times this week, so there was some muscle gain. I can also tell by the way my clothes fit.

Entry 2/28/09

Weight: 234.5 lbs. That's a 1 lb gain from yesterday but still 1 lb below this time last week. I didn't workout last night and my glycogen stores are restored to normal.

Breakfast: Sausage patty,2 fried eggs, 2 slices whole wheat toast and cup of coffee with creamer and sweetener, 3 walnuts.

Snack: 20 blueberries. I'm eating mostly blueberries last few days because you have to eat them while you find good ones in the store.

Lunch: Turkey breast with 2 slices of melted cheese. Water to drink.

Thanks to Marlene Affeld for her comment yesterday. Barring a medical problem, losing weight is mostly about motivation. Anyone can lose when they are motivated to do so. It is so true that as I age it is more difficult to lose weight. I really have to be dedicated to eating well and exercising regularly to make it happen. Visit Marlene's website and blog. It is very interesting.

Dinner: Taco Bueno #2.....oh you may not know what that is....Nacho salad with a lot of pico de gallo on it and a taco with large diet coke. I was bad.

Entry 02/27/09

Weight: 233.5 lbs. That is a 1.5 lb loss from yesterday. The fat loss is probably about .25 pounds. The rest is glycogen and water loss. I sweated a lot last night. I'll probably workout with weights today and rest either tomorrow or Sunday. After the day of rest I'll have a better idea of how much fat I have lost over the week. My glycogen will be restored to normal levels. I mention all this because it illustrate how wildly our weight can fluctuate from day to day, how over-training without rest can mislead one to think they are losing a lot of fat and finally the importance of getting plenty of water. Sixty-four ounces a day, spread evenly throughout the day, is the MINIMUM amount of water anyone should consume. If you are overweight you should consume an extra 8 ounces for every 25 lbs that you are over weight. If you exercise that means EXTRA water above these MINIMUMS.

Breakfast: Two ounces of cheddar cheese, 2 slices of whole wheat toast, coffee with creamer and sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin, and 1 DHEA tablet.

Snack: Bowl of Special K with about an oz. of milk, 10 blueberries, 2 walnuts

Lunch: Turkey (3 slices)sandwich on whole wheat bread and 6 oz. of Soy milk.

Snack: Twenty blueberries, 4 walnuts.

Dinner: Tuna salad with mayonaise (tbspn), one egg on whole wheat with a slice of cheese and 6 oz. of Soy milk.

Exercise: I was getting dressed to lift weights but I mistakenly picked up a tank top. The gym does not allow tank tops. Well ok, I needed the rest anyway. Maybe I'll get the workout in tomorrow. A cold front came through today so I won't be walking tomorrow. I'm such a whus!(is that the way it's spelled?)

Entry 02/26/09

Weight: 235 lbs. Hopefully the 1 lb gain is partly muscle, hydration levels and food ingested yesterday. This shouldn't include any fat because of the calories consumed and the level of exercise over the last 2 days.

Breakfast: Two eggs with only 1 yolk, 2 slices of whole wheat toast and 2 cups of coffee with creamer, sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin and 1 DHEA tablet. I left out one of the yolks to reduce the cholestrol level in the eggs. If I was a fanatic I would only eat the whites since they are pure protein. But who wants to eat a fried egg with no yolk! We are all going to die of something, so, while taking reasonable care we should take pleasure in the little thin.

Our fat measuring calipers have been misplaced so I plan to buy another soon. These are scales used to take measurements of the fat that you pinch up around your waist and other parts of the body. These measurements are put into equations (there are several) which determine the percentage of fat the body contains.

There are other ways to measure this with a simple tailors measuring tape also. It involves measuring around the waist, hips, wrist, forearm and neck. These measurements are entered into different equations than mentioned above. It doesn't hurt to measure using both methods. I plan to do that and post here so you can compare the difference yourself and apply the method your prefer.

Range of Percent Body Fat in Different People
(Percent body fat found through the method of underwater immersion testing)

	Men	Women
Fattest Covert has tested	55%	68%
Average American	22%	32%
Healthy normal*:
African-American	12%	19%
Asian	18%	25%
Caucasian	15%	22%
Top Athletes	3-12%	10-18%
Leanest Covert has tested	1%	6%

Lunch: Skipped today. Not a good idea. It lowers your metabolism and raises the effort of your body to store the calories consumed at the next meal as fat to protect itself from starvation. I'm not talking about a major deal here but a little tweak if you are trying to maximize your weight loss.

Snack: 10 blueberries

Dinner: Salmon 6oz. steak fried in Canola oil, steamed mixed vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli),a slice of whole wheat bread and 8 oz. of Soy milk.

Exercise: 2.33 miles in 36 min 10 sec. avg hr 129 max hr 158 This includes a 5 minute warm up and a 10 cool down.

Entry 2/25/09

Weight: 234 lbs. My absolute weight loss since 2/18/09 is 2 lbs. I'm sure that is not all fat loss. For instance I lost 1/2 pound from yesterday. For sure that was not all fat loss. It was mostly glycogen and water loss since I walked/jogged for over 30 minutes last night. But I have 2 good workouts with weights in this period therefore I have added some muscle gain which weighs more than fat per volume. Regrettably I didn't take my measurement around my waist, buttocks, thighs, and neck at the beginning of this period. However I have a scootch more room in my clothes. Taking a stab at my fat loss I would guess 1 pound.

Breakfast: Sausage patty, 2 fried eggs, 2 slices of sugar-free whole wheat toast and cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer, and sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet.

Snack: 18 Blueberries (blueberries are high in antioxidants)

Lunch: Blackeyed peas, fresh collard greens, broccoli and a salad with Ranch dressing. What no meat? I need to eat more vegetables.

I ate at Luby's a cafeteria. The collard greens were not as good as my mom's but they were good.

Blackeyed peas are a southern food. I add mayonaise to them ....that's a family thing. During the depression my mom found a case of mayonaise that had fallen off a truck. She was the oldest of 7 brothers and sisters. There was little to eat. They put mayonaise on everything. The blackeyed peas taste good with mayonaise on them ....it stuck. I wouldn't think of eating blackeyes without it.

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Six ounces of something like meatloaf that my wife made last night, collard greens left over from last night and 8 oz. of Soy milk.


Exercise: Lifted weights for 48 mins. Avg. heart rate 108 bpm. Max. HR 138 bpm. Did a cool down walk for 5 min. and stretch for 10 min. Stretching after a weight workout is good for the joints and reduce soreness that sometimes follows the day or two afterwards.

I have reduced the time of my weight workouts from 1hr. to 45-50 mins. That means cutting out a few muscle groups. These are always the small groups. I make sure that I work all the large muscles - thighs, glutes(butt), back, and lats. I alternate the small groups I miss every other workout.

The reason I've reduced the time is because at my age longer workouts may be over training. When you work with weights properly you are creating micro tears in the muscle fibers. As part of the body's adaptation process the muscle creates more fibers and repairs the torn ones making them larger. This requires a rest of 1-2 days between workouts. It also requires the correct nutrition and the presence of growth harmones. As we age those growth harmones are not as plentiful as they were when younger. If you over train there is not enough "stuff" to properly repair the muscle and carry on the normal body functions. This can lead to less than optimum muscle growth and fatigue.

Entry 2/24/09

Weight: 234.5 lbs Lost 1 lb from yesterday. Most of this is probably glycogen (energy stores) loss, since I worked out last night. It's hard to guess how much fat I lost but taking a stab at it, I would say .25 lbs at the most.

Breakfast: Sausage patty, 2 fried eggs, 2 sugar-free whole grain toast, and coffee with cocoa, sweetener, and creamer. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin, DHEA tablet, Joint Care and Resvinatrol (antioxidants).

Snack: 2 Walnuts, 8 blueberries

Lunch: Grilled chicken thigh and drumstick, grilled vegetables, red beans topped off with cup of pico de gallo and cilantro. Diet coke to drink. I ate at Charro Chicken. If you have one in your neighborhood you should try it.

Went to the doctor and scheduled a physical including an EKG, thyroid and diabetes test. My father, 4 uncles and my Grandfather had Type 2 diabetes so there is a high risk that I will develop it if I don't get the weight off and keep exercising. They never exercised.

Dinner: Ham (6oz), navy beans (1 cup), and collard greens. The canned collard greens that I bought and ate last week were nothing to brag about - they tasted like canned collard greens. My wife bought some "Old Glory" collard greens and they taste almost as good as fresh. I prefer collard greens over turnip greens though I like both.

Exercise: Walked/Jogged 2.33 miles in 36 min. 43 sec. Average Heart Rate was 126 bpm and Max HR was 158 bpm.

This is one of my short courses. The first part starts out downhill for 1/2 mile followed by a couple of up-down grades for the the next half mile. There is 40 yard downgrade after the mile mark. After that is the steepest upgrade of the course for about 50 yards followed by a gentle up grade for about 4/10 mile then a increased up grade for 40 yards. These up grades can really peak out your heart rate if you keep up your pace. The last part of the course is down grade for a good cool down. I do jog short distances during the cool off if I think my heart rate is falling too fast. I prefer these up down courses over a flat track or flat terrain which contains little grade.

Entry 2/23/09

Weight: 235.5 Haven't exercised since Thursday.

Breakfast: Peanut butter (2 tablespoons) on 2 slices of Sugar-free whole grain bread, and coffee with cocoa, sweetener and creamer. 1 Fish oil capsule, vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet.

Snack: 12 blueberries. 5 walnuts

Lunch: Turkey (3 oz.) sandwich on sugar-free whole grain bread, tbspn of mayo, lettuce. 6 oz. of skim milk.

Snack: Apple (Jazz)

Dinner: Ham (8 oz.) and cup of navy beans. 8 oz of skim milk.

Snack: 5 walnuts

Exercise: Lifted weights for 55 min. , walked 5 min. and stretched for 10 mins. Avg Heart rate was 108 bpm, and Max HR was 134 bpm. It was hard to keep my heart rate above 112 between sets tonight. The good side is I'm in better shape the bad side is that some people try to do aerobics on weight machines and I can't get on the machine soon enough. They do 30-50 reps then rest 10- 15 seconds and do 30- 50 more reps. While that may techically burn a little more fat its' very little. If they used the time to maximize muscle tear down the resulting growth of muscle will born a lot more fat. If you don't use enough weight so that you are very close to or at total fatigue between 8-15 reps you are not causing the micro tears in your muscle fiber that cause them to grow back bigger and stronger.

Walk, jog or use the stairmaster or eliptical trainer to get your areobic workout in while burning calories. Leave the weights to build up your muscles to remain strong and burn more calories. I do try to move quickly enough between sets to get somewhat of an areobic workout in while I'm lifting weights. But you have to make sure you don't go anareobic because you won't be able to get the maximum muscle work out.

Entry 2/22/09

Weight: Didn't weigh. Forgot

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sugar-free whole grain toast, teaspoon of strawberry jam, and coffee with creamer, cocoa, sweetener.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on sugar-free whole grain, tablespoon of mayo, leaf of lettuce, and 8 oz. skim milk.

Snack: Apple (Fuji)

Dinner: Chicken spaghetti, salad with ranch dressing, and 6 oz. milk

Exercise: No exercise today. Between church, The Truth Project and the NASCAR race I didn't have time.

The Truth Project is a 12 week study and last about 2.5 hours per study.

Entry 2/21/09

Weight: 235.5 lbs. I normally weigh before I eat breakfast. So that 1/2 lb I gained can be blamed on my wife who served me breakfast in bed this morning. Don't worry, I'll get even with her!

Breakfast: Poached egg, top of a homemade buttermilk biscuit(straight out of Mary B's frozen bag)and 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, sweetener and creamer. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin.

Snack: 12 blueberries. That's all that were left. I need to make a run back to Walmart. I hope they have some more of the good ones. They came from Naturipe of Naples Florida. I don't know if they are grown in Florida but they sure are good. Four years ago I spent a lot of time in Naples. It is wonderful there this time of year.

Went to my 5 yr old Granddaughters first soccer game this morning. She wouldn't play. It was 42 degrees and the wind was gusting up to 40 mph. She may have been the only smart one out there.

Lunch: Chic-fil-la chicken strips (3) and Cole slaw, bottom of 1/4 of my wife's leftover (took the top bread off) sandwich and 1/4 cup of carrott salad. Diet coke to drink. I resisted their homemade style ice cream, peppermint chocolate chip milkshake and lemon ice box pie.....I was so close. I think I have finally shaken that sugar craving I developed over the holidays.

Entry 1/20/09

Weight: 234 lbs Yeah, another pound! I bet that is mostly water and glycogen loss. Not muscle because I've been exercising this week, including weights. Some of it may be brain matter as my wife will attest.

I've found it takes 4 days to spot a trend in FAT loss. If you are daily eating at least 1200 calories for females or 1800 for males on average and exercising at least at a moderate level at least 4 times a week, you're loss in weight over a 4 day period is at least partially fat. Since your scales weigh everything- food ingested, water, glycogen, muscle and fat, measurements around the thighs, hips, waist and neck can be used along with the scales, to more accurately access the amount of fat you are losing.

I know this is off subject but I thought important enough to include here. I just received an email containing a story about a couple in Austin Texas who were involved in an accident. They were rear-ended by a 17 year old teenager who was going 70 at the time of impact. There were no skid marks no evidence of an attempt to avoid the car in front. Phone records indicate she was texting a friend at the time. Folks, generations of people got by just fine without phone texting even cell phones for thousands of years! Some things can wait!

The family before the accident:


The little boy after the accident:


After four hours of brain surgery:


The little boy is going to be fine with no disabilities. The parents and the teenager had minor injuries and are okay. Praise God

Snack: 16 blueberries

I would like to thank everyone for your comments. The information from Phil about "runner stitches" was helpful. And regarding his statement about being in good shape for two old dudes I would have to agree. When I was younger and observing people the age I am now, I never thought that I could be doing the physical things I do now. I'm 61, maybe Phil would share his age with us.:)

Snack: Medium Jazz apple. They are good-sweet/tart taste and very crisp.

Dinner: Two pork chops (maybe the best I've ever had), grilled mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, cauliflower,broccoli) and iced tea.

Ate with three great friends, brothers and sister in Christ, Laurie, Kyle and their son Kevin. Always pleasant to be with them. They were making a re-run of Home Alone with their other son Jason, who is arriving home from a school trip to D.C. :)

Entry 2/19/09

Weight: 235 lbs. The one pound loss today is probably mostly due to water and glycogen loss from yesterday. There may be a little fat loss.

For the body to burn fat the body must produce chemicals to convert the fat into energy. When this happens ketones are present in the blood. The ketones are excreted in urine. You can measure these ketones with test strips. When wet with urine, these strips will turn various shades of color. You match the color of the strips to a scale on the bottle to determine how much ketone is in the blood. The only way to lose fat is to burn it. If you are burning fat for energy you will have some ketones in the blood - no way around that fact. I know several people who think ketosis, which is the condition of having ketones in the blood, is a bad thing. They are confusing this with ketoacidosis which is a condition that develops in some people with Type 1 diabetes. That condition is bad for the kidneys. The confusion of ketosis with ketoacidosis is one of the reasons some misinformed people think low carbohydrate diets are bad for you.

Breakfast: 2 oz of Cheddar cheese and 2 slices of sugar-free whole wheat toast. 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, creamer and sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin and 1 DHEA tablet.

Snack: 12 Blueberries and 1 grape (just because it was there)Cup of Salada green tea

Lunch: Six oz. canned salmon in a salad with Ranch Dressing. Lipton Diet Citrus green tea.

Snack: Medium Apple. Usually eat Fuji but bought some Jazz. They are very good.

Dinner: Grilled chicken salad with Ranch dressing and 2 oz. of grated cheddar cheese. Diet Dr. Pepper to drink.

Exercise; Lifted weight for 54 minutes did a cool down walk for half mile and a 10 minute stretch. Max heart rate 134 bpm average HR 108 bpm. Found out that Fitlynx computer had my wrong email address after they upgraded the software. That is why I haven't been receiving my elephants, locomotives and Statue of Libertys. What???? Stay tuned.

Entry 2/18/09

Weight: 236 lbs I am well on the way to establishing a solid plateau.

Remember your scales are not just weighing fat. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

It is supposed to be 72 degrees here today. Good day for a long walk!

Breakfast: Two boiled eggs, two grapes (they were sitting out so I "grazed"), two cups of coffee, cocoa, creamer, and sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet.

Snack: Bowl of Kellogg Special k with 5 oz. of skim milk. Twelve blueberries. I've got to make a run back to WalMart. I hope they have more of those great blueberries.

Lunch: Five oz. Salmon steak (unintentionally cooked in microwave. That's what happens when you don't properly set the defrost setting.) It was good though. I didn't overcook it and browned it in canola oil. Two cups of steamed mixed vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli and carrots) and tspn of margarine. Six oz. of Soy milk.

Snack: Apple and six blueberries

Dinner: Baked chicken 8 oz., salad with ranch dressing, 5 baby carrots and 6 oz. of skim milk.

Exercise: Walked/jogged 2.31 mi in 37 min, 17 sec. including warm up and cool down. Average heart rate was 127 bpm and max was 159 bpm. All per my Garmin Forerunner 405. I don't normally go over 144 bpm but I felt good and full of energy, so I pushed it up a notch. I didn't have shin splints as bad as I usually do when I don't exercise regularly. I shortened by stride, took faster steps and landed slightly more on the front of my foot. It helped. Shin splints are supposed to occur because of the relative weakness of the muscles on the anterior of the lower leg compared to those in the calf. I try to exercise those muscles but its hard for me to pick up weights with my toes. Actually while lying down, I have someone resist while I flex my toes toward my head.

Entry 2/17/09

Weight: 236 lbs.

Breakfast: Two eggs fried in a little canola oil, 2 slices of dry whole wheat toast, cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer, and sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet.

Snack: Twelve Blueberries. (very good antioxidant source)

Lunch: Baked chicken breast, steamed broccoli with teaspoon of margarine, 5 grape tomatoes, 1 slice of whole wheat bread, and 6 oz. of skim milk.

Dinner: Baked chicken thigh and leg, celery sticks, 8 grape tomatoes, and 6 oz. of skim milk.

It's important to remember that the number on the scale isn't the whole key to your fitness. Even thin people are at increased risk of heart disease if they're not active. Exercise helps improve your overall health even if you are at or near your ideal weight.

Exercise: Having said the above....I did nothing today

bacchus became my first follower today! He is a connoisseur of fine wines. Check him out on his site: The Blog Wine Cellar Watch his videos as he samples wine.

Wine in moderation is good for you. Not only does it contain antioxidants, studies are showing that a little alcohol has other health benefits.

Entry: 2/16/09

Weight: 236 lbs. Opps, I'm paying for yesterday!

Breakfast: Two poached eggs, 2 slices whole wheat toast, 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, sweetener, creamer. 2 fish oil capsules, vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet.

Are you getting enough water?
Your liver converts stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs.

Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, you're setting yourself up to store fat.

If you haven’t been drinking enough water when you start getting an ample amount each day, you could see a significant weight drop, 3-4 pounds. When you start getting enough water, your body gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing it to return to a normal life. This is called the "breakthrough point."

In addition, it improves muscle tone. Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your workout more effective. Muscle is the major calorie burner. I refer to it as the fat burning engine.

You should drink at least 64 ounces a day. Eight 8-ounce glasses amount to about two quarts of water. This is okay for the average person, but if you're overweight, you should drink another eight ounces for every 25 pounds of excess weight you carry. You should also up this if you live in a hot climate or exercise very intensely.

This water consumption should be spread out throughout the day. It's not healthy at all to drink too much water at one time. Try to pick three or four times a day when you can have a big glass of water, and then sip in between. Don't let yourself get thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you're already becoming dehydrated. Drink when you're not thirsty yet.

When you drink all the water you need, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite, possibly even on the first day! If you're serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. If you're doing everything else right and still not seeing results, this might just be what's missing.

Snack: 15 blueberries. They are really good. Bought them at Walmart. Best I've had in a looooong time. Can't eat blueberries without thinking about my sister, God rest her soul. She loved them. She raised them...had about 5 bushes.

Lunch: 3.5 oz. of sardines. (I can hear it now...yuke!)Sardines are high in omega 3 the good fat. Diet Dr. Pepper

I cover them up with Franks Red Hot cayenne pepper sauce. Sometimes I use green pepper sauce.

Snack: Medium apple

Dinner: Chicken breat, collard greens, grape tomatoes, and Diet Dr. Pepper.

Snack: Bowl of special K with skim milk.

Exercise: 45 minutes of weight. Moderate workout since I have missed working out for a few weeks. Walked half mile as cool down. Stretched for 10 minutes. That's good for the joints and reduces soreness especially if you haven't worked out in a while.
Max heart rate was 137 and average was 112. After each set I wait till my heart rate drops to 110-115 then I do the next set. In the beginning of the workout it drops quickly and I move from one muscle group to the next as soon as possible. When I get to the larger muscle group it takes longer between repetitions for the heart rate to get back down to 115.

Entry 2/15/09

Weight: 235.5 Lbs. Well at least I'm not gaining.

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs in 1/4 tspn of canola oil, 2 slice whole wheat toast, cup of coffee, with cocoa, sweetener and creamer.

Lunch: 3 slices of sausage and cheese pizza, 1 slice pepperoni and cheese, 1 slice of cheese topping only (scraped it off), salad with ranch dressing, diet coke. Hey, it was a birthday party what do you expect. Oh yeah, half piece of cake.

Birthday celebrations in our family are a week long affair. Payton's birthday was last Monday. Meme, mommie, daddy, Kyliegh and I took her to CiCis and they played (kyliegh and Payton). The whole family went to Chuck E. Cheese's yesterday, including great grandparents, great uncle and aunt, three uncles and 1 aunt. Always good to be with family.

Dinner; Fajitas (sour cream, pico de gallo, salsa wrapped in tortillas) and 1 basket of chips and two cups of salsa.

I can't go to Mexican restaurants and expect ot lose weight.

Exercise; Parked as far as I could from the door of church. That's pathetic. While always a good idea to spread physical activity throughout the day whenever the opportunity arises, this alone is not going to do it for me. I'll be glad when it warms up so I can get out and walk regularly. Now that is just an excuse. There is no reason I can't go to the gym and workout. There's weights (it's important to build muscle so more calories will be burned even while resting) and a track there. It's all about motivation and priority. It won't happen untill you and I are committed.

Entrry 2/14/09

Happy Valentines Day Bean! I love you!
Weight: 235.5 My scales are evidently stuck!

Breakfast: Oatmeal, 2 slices of toast with margarine, 1 cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer, sweetener. Only 1 fish oil capsule(normally take 2 when I consume foods with higher saturated fat, I'll take another later in the day), vitamen, 1 DHEA tablet.

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with Ranch. Also had 3 french fries and 3 apple slices taken from my grandchildren's leftovers. We went to McDs to let them play. The only thing I like at McDonalds is the coffee, sausage, egg and cheese biscuit or the Deluxe breakfast with sausage. Their sausage is pretty good and its hard to mess up a scrambled egg.

Dinner: Steak and Shrimp, green beans, mushrooms and salad. Had tea to drink. Tt was delicious. The steak had a special seasoning and grilled over mesquite wood. The shrimp was wrapped in bacon and grilled on a kabob. It was so good I even tried to eat the stick. Desert was their Texas Love Bites. A little round moist Chocolate cake with gooey chocolate caramel center and covered with a Chocolate shell.

Bean and I went to "Love and War In Texas" with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Brother-n-law had a wild game plate of antelope, quail, and venison sausage. Sister-n-law had a habanero stuffed portabella mushroom. I like spicey but can't go the Habenero level. My limit is when it is so hot I can't taste. She said it wasn't that hot. It was a very pleasant evening.

Brother-in-law would not let us pay without causing a scene. He's a good man. (Not just because he paid for dinner!)

Oh yeah.....had chips and salsa before the meal. Oh well, except for chips and Love Bites I was disciplined. Dosen't matter how one rationalizes it , its all about the calories, no way to fudge.

Snack; Twenty blueberries. I intended to eat only a couple but they were exceptionally good blueberries. Bought them at Walmart. They were much better than the ones I bought at Tom Thumb 3 weeks before. The "don't shop at Walmart" snobs are going to miss out on some very good blueberries. Blueberries contain very high amounts of antioxidant. I try to eat them often when I can find good ones.

02/13/09

Weight: 235.5 lbs

Breakfast: Two poached eggs ( No explosion in the Microwave today-took off a couple of seconds of cooking time), two slices of dry whole wheat toast, 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, creamer, and sweetener. Two fish oil capsules, vitamin, 1 DHEA tablet.

The response to exercise is dependent upon level of fitness. More dramatic increases in fitness can occur when fitness is initially low. So if you have been sedentary for a while you'll see major improvement after a couple of weeks of regular exercise (at least 20 minutes, 4-5 times a week)!

Lunch: No lunch today. .... the hurrier I go the behinder I get.

Dinner: Left over Dickies BBQ Brisket and chicken, cole slaw and beans, 6 oz. skim milk....Honey where is the BBQ sauce? You THREW IT OUT!

2/12/09

Weight: 236 lbs.
Going to try and walk today.

I wish I was as dedicated as my friend and brother-in-Christ, Kyle. While consistently walking 4-6 miles a day, through rain, sleet and snow,has not improved his looks or singing; it has helped him control Type 2 diabetes for more than a year now. That is without any medication and as far as I tell no self-discipline in his eating habits. He is an inspiration in more ways than one.

Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal, slice of whole wheat toast, 4 oz. skim milk. Cup of coffee with creamer, sweetener, and cocoa.

Lunch: No Lunch today. Didn't have time. Not a good idea to skip a meal.

Snack: Medium apple

Dinner: Taco Bueno burrito and taco, diet coke.

Exercise: Walked 2.22 miles in 35 min 52 sec., Avg Speed 3.7 mph, Max spd 4.9 mph, Avg Heart Rate 115, Max HR 143. Measurements by Garmin Forerunner 405.

Good to get in a walk.

Heard a lady on radio talking about chocolate. Milk chocolate doses not have the flavonoids that dark chocolate contains. I use Hershey's cocoa everyday in coffee for the health benefit not for the taste. I try to keep a stock of 70% cocoa bars around also. While I love Dove milk chocolate, it has very small amount of antioxidant benefits compared to dark chocolate. Remember as good as chocolate may be for you, it has calories, that you need to account for- "all things in moderation".

Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is a measure of antioxidant power.

Entry 2/11/09

Weight: 235.5 Lbs

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, slice of whole wheat toast, cup of coffee with creamer, sweetener, cocoa. Breakfast is usually the only time I eat bread.

While I'm not on a low carb "diet" I've learned that I can't consume a lot of carbs and keep off the weight. We need to eat something from each food group each day. I try to consume most of my carbs in the morning. Eating simple carbs will cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels which in turn causes insulin spikes. Excess insulin promotes fat storage and this is something you want to avoid. It’s important that when eating carbohydrates they are of the complex kind like whole wheat.



Lunch: Chicken breast sandwich, 6 oz skim milk.

Dinner: Taco Bueno taco salad. Diet coke. It's close to office and I was in a rush ....losing weight has to be high priority for me to be effective.. It has been slipping in priority for me...a bad habit. At times like this it's good to think about the "better bad choices" eating.

Entry 2/10/09

Weight: 235.5 lbs It's just so hard for me to lose now without exercising. It's not that I can't. It's just that I'm not motivated enough to eat like I should to compensate for inactivity. Exercise in addition to burning extra calories produces the chemical condition, physically and mentally, that helps us eat right to lose.

I just found out that a High School Classmate of mine is the head of Physical Education at Auburn University-Montgomery. I'll have to buy some of his DVD's. Here is his bio:

Henry N. Williford, Ph.D., FACSM, is the head of the Department of Foundations, Secondary, and Physical Education at Auburn University-Montgomery. A faculty member at Auburn since 1982, Dr. Williford has been designated as a distinguished research professor by his institution. His active professional involvement includes serving as a reviewer for the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise editorial board, The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, and ACSM뭆 Health and Fitness Journal.

Atta boy Hank!

Breakfast: Two poached eggs (1 exploded..need to tweak the power a little), 2 slices of whole wheat with a hint of strawberry preserves and margarine...bet Hank would get on to me about the preserves and margarine. Cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer and sweetener. 2 fish oil capsules, vitamin, 1 DHEA Tablet.

Snack: 3 waluts

Lunch: Grilled Chicken salad at Country Burger. Diet coke. Haven't been to CB in a while. I missed seeing my little friend Gordon who works there. He went to school with my son-in-law. My son-in-law took up time with Gordon in school so Gordon really liked him. Gordon is a swimmer in the Special Olympics. He's trying to raise money to go to Greece to be in the SO games there.He wasn't his cheerful self today...his mom is back in the hospital with heart troubled. I managed to get a smile out of him before I had to leave. Hadn't been to CB in while...wanted to go by and see Gordon today...wonderful how God moves us.

Dinner: Double cheese burger at Wendy's ....Diet coke. Lot on my mind ....I'll eat better tomorrow.

Entry 2/6/09

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, 2 slices of toast, 2cups of coffee with cocoa,creamer and sweetener. 2 fish oil capsules, 1 vitamin,1 Dhea tablet.

Lunch: Grilled chicken breast,vegetables and salad with ranch dressing. Iced Tea. This was at Spaghetti Warehouse where another business networking Meetup occurred The guest speaker was Jeff Crilley a former Channel 4 News reporter in Dallas, who now owns a PR company. His speech was about how to get free advertising. His 16 yr old just wrote a book about how to pay your way through college. He has sold 1100 so far at $20 a piece. I just Googled Jeff and went to his My Space. www.myspace.com/jeffcrilley

Stumbled on this while on Jeff's Space (amazing how we the internet expands our information exponentially, wish it was all good):

The Cross Movie - Arthur Blessitt Movie Trailer


Wow, I just realized that I gave two entities, free advertising! So, that's how it works.

Dinner: Blackened Salmon steak on bed of rice (only ate couple bites of rice), green beans, Broccoli, three mushrooms off wife's plate (perturbed her because I didn't ask. I'll do better next time. Remember honey, pick your battles carefully :)) and iced tea.

Snack: teaspoonful of crunchy peanut butter. I understand that the Salmonella is not in peanut butter itself but in other products that contain it.

I've been invited to Annual Wild Game dinner tomorrow night. It's at a Baptist Church so I'm not sure if that means there will be wild game to eat or if they'll be playing wild games while we eat!

Exercise: None today... will probably walk tomorrow since it is going to be 72 degrees. Sorry if any Kentuckians are reading this. I'll say a prayer for you.. hope you thaw out soon.

Entry 2/5/09

Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal, slice of whole wheat toast, 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, sweetener, creamer.

I usually cook the oatmeal, but since my wife just returned to town, I let her do it this morning. I am a very considerate husband. My 5 yr old granddaughter came back to ask for "Meme" how to prepare the oatmeal. I told her 2 cups of oatmeal and 4 cups of water (I add a 1/2 cup of skim milk while cooking also, but thought that might overload Kylie's memory). My instructions were translated to 4 cups of oatmeal. Would you like to come over for a bowl of oatmeal? We have plenty.

I try to eat oatmeal a couple of times a week. It helps lower cholesterol and the chance of colon cancer.

Snack: 3 walnuts

Lunch: 6 oz. Salmon steak fried in tablespoon of Canola oil, steamed broccoli and 7 oz. skim milk.

Exercise: 2 miles in 30 min, 17 sec. 2.22 miles total in 35.22 min. (cool down and part of the time I forgot to stop time after I stopped walking) Peak Heart Rate 147 bpm., Avg HR 118 bpm. My total ascent was 539 ft. and my total descent was 550 ft. That means I am now underground 11 ft.! Guess I over did it. All measurements by the Garmin Forerunner 405. It's really a good idea to have a pulse monitor when exercising especially as we age. While those with a chest band are better you can purchase a wristwatch type that will do the job. Here's one from Body by Jake for $40:


The Forerunner 405 was a gift from my wife and kids. It is 80 percent useful and 20% toy. I love the toy part. Here's a description from the Garmin web site:

Long runs, tempo runs, speed drills. You expect a lot from your body…and from your training gear. Meet Forerunner 405. This GPS-enabled sport watch tracks your training, then wirelessly sends your data to your computer. The ultimate in training technology, its sleek design features a touch bezel that lets you quickly scroll and select features on the run.

Heart Monitor Chest strapWrist Device

Dinner: 2 Pork Chops, 2 bites of hash browns, salad with Ranch dressing, 2 bites of toast, small bite of grits. The wife and I ended up at Waffle House after driving around town for 20 minutes. She went to exercise class and called me on the way home - "I don't want to come in so come out when I blow the horn". Yes ma'am. She was wound up about exercise class and office politics and I thought she had a place in mind as she was driving. As we made different turns I was trying to guess where we were going to eat. When we drove past the turn I thought she would take I eliminated the last place on my list. After driving another 2 blocks, she exclaimed:"Where am I going?" That's when she asked the dreaded question; "Where do you want to go?" Dreaded, because as I go through the 100 places she either rejects them outright or by the inflection of her voice signals that she doesn't want to go there. We finally agreed on a place - Big Easy's, a New Orleans style Bistro. As we walk up to the counter, they announced they closed at 8 o'clock. It was 8:00 and 1 microsecond. In fairness it was 8:05. After agreeing on another place, I was informed that we had just driven by it. Being on a service road, we would have to drive 20 miles to get back to it. We passed by our favorite Mexican place, but I knew I couldn't resist eating two bowls of chips. To shorten the story we ended up at Waffle House.