Entry 2/4/09

Breakfast: 2 poached egg, 2 slices whole wheat toast, 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, creamer, sweetener. I prefer to drink coffee without the cocoa, but cocoa is a good antioxidant and it dilates the blood vessels thereby lowering heart rate. I poach the eggs in the microwave, a tricky proposition without the contraption by wife bought. It has to cups with a top that snaps closed like a waffle iron. If the egg explodes it is contained. I microwave it at 60% power for 1 min 50 sec.. They don't explode. Your microwave will be different. I found that setting by trial and error.

In 1995 I worked at a company that did engineering work for Turbo Chef. Turbo Chef was an oven that used high speed heated air and microwaves to cook food-such as a perfect pizza in 50 seconds. I had trouble controlling my weight there because the food testers where constantly performing cooking test and coming up with the perfect setting for each food. They cooked scrimp, steak, lobster, cakes, pastries, pies, chicken ....every kind of food. The entire facility was filled with the aroma of good food and it had to be eaten or thrown away. I can't stand to see food go to waste.

While writing this I Googled Turbo Chef. Wow they have really grown. I designed microwave feeds and waveguides for them. The guy that invented the oven was a friend of mine, Earl Winkelman, one of the smartest men I know. He, 3 other guys and I co-founded another company in 1973. TC is making residential ovens now. It use only high speed heated air to cook. Looks like they had to take the microwaves out to control the cost. The problem is that while a convectional oven and microwave oven are cheap, the engineering issues make combining the two very expensive, only affordable in a commercial environment. I copied a picture off their web site. 3 is the heated air moving at about 88 ft. per second and 5 is the microwave burst.



Lunch: Ham & cheese on wheat with mayo & mustard and 8 oz. Soy milk.

Snack: 2 walnuts, Medium apple

Dinner: Boston Market 5 oz. turkey breast, creamed spinach, green beans and the top crust off the cornbread. Water with lemon to drink. My bride is home!

Entry 2/3/09

Breakfast: Bowl of Kellogs Special K with 4 oz. of skim milk, 2 cups of coffee with cocoa, creamer and sweetener.

Snacks: 3 walnuts Cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer and sweetner

Lunch: 6 oz. of Salmon....directly out of the can. Cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer,sweetener.

Snack: 10 walnuts. I was experimenting with roasting them. I eat too many Walnuts. Even though they contain the good fat, Omega 3, it's still fat and represents calories. I could do worse. I could eat a Twinkie.

Dinner: Wanted KFC Chicken but decided to be good and go to Golden Chick and get roasted chicken. After I placed my order the lady informed me that they didn't have roasted thighs. One of my pet peeves is a for a business of any kind to run out of a product. I told her just to give me a refund. I decided to go to KFC after all. That would teach Golden Chick to run out of my food.

Had 2 Original thighs, Cole slaw and just the top crust off a biscuit. Diet Pepsi to drink. That will teach them. I'll gain 5 lbs, go back to GC and tell them it's all their fault.

Saw a man in KFC that looked just like Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor, forgot the characters name. A lady with one arm came in. Wanted to ask her how she lost her arm but I worry how it makes people feel in those situations.

The reason I'm eating alone is because my bride is in North Carolina, getting my mom situated in her new place. She'll be back tomorrow...yippee...I miss her.

Entry 02/2/09

Losing weight is all about motivation. We can have all knowledge about food and exercise but without motivation we're not going to lose weight. The only good thing that can be said about the different "diets" is they may give us temporary motivation. If we think it is an easy way to lose weight, we are excited about doing it. If the diet works it is because it reduces calories to the necessary level to cause the body to burn fat for energy. It is not because it is some miracle discovery. Some foods may tweak our digestive system or our metabolism to slightly increase calories burned but never enough to make a significant difference. In the end it is the amount of calories we consume.

Fat is stored fuel. When we eat, some food is converted into fuel throughout the day for immediate use. If there is more fuel than the body needs for that day, the excess is stored as fat. The reverse happens if there is not enough food consumed. Our body will convert the stored fat into the needed fuel. The unit of measure for the amount of fuel is calories. A pound of fat contains 3500 calories. If we store 3500 calories we gain a pound. If we convert stored fat into 3500 calories we lose a pound. It is that simple. No diet is going to change that. All the diet does is motivate us to consume less calories than we need for fuel each day.

Starvation diets or diets that allow only one food are counter productive. If the diet has less than approximately 1800 calories a day for males or 1200 for females, there may be a quick initial weight loss but then the body starts to consume muscle for energy. Muscle is the fat burning engine. If the diet is continued, the person will finally get discouraged because of low energy or some health issue and discontinue the diet. The weight will come back rapidly because the fat burning engine is smaller. I'm not talking about anorexia here. That is a whole other issue. I'm talking about the normal struggle that most people have with managing their weight.

Breakfast: Boiled egg, slice of whole wheat toast, coffee with cocoa,creamer and sweetener.

Lunch: Ham sandwich with slice of cheese, 8 oz. skim milk

Snack: 3 walnuts.

Dinner: Taco Bueno Nacho Salad and Taco , Diet coke. Not enough motivation to resist the ease and temptation.

Entry 2/1/09

Weight: 235 lbs. Weighed 237 yesterday. Most of the loss is due to hydration level- the day before and today. I walked 1.8 miles yesterday. Exercise flushes out a lot of toxins. Even though I drink a lot of water before during and after I exercise, between the sweat and urine a lot of water comes out of cells and is lost.

Breakfast: Hard boiled egg, slice of wheat toast, coffee with cocoa, creamer and sweetener. 3 walnuts, fish oil capsule.

Lunch: Boston Market 5 oz. turkey breast, cream spinach, green beans, water with lemon. Turkey is a good source of Tryptophan the protein building block of Serotonin. Serotonin gives us a sense of well being and reduces susceptibility to depression. I try to eat it a lot. I find it helps with "emotional eating" - eating to make one feel better... it is a subconscious thing. Their serving of creamed spinach contains 280 calories...that's a lot for a vegetable..but it tastes good... I could do worse.

Entry 1/31/09

Weight: 237 lbs. Holding in there. I've got to get in some exercise!

Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is how fast food turns in to sugar in your blood. If you have peaks of sugar the excess is stored as fat. Healthy meals would include larger amounts of carbohydrates with a low glycemic index and smaller amounts of carbohydrates with a high glycemic index. I don't eat many carbs. When I do, I try to eat carbs with an index below 55. Anyone trying to lose weight and diabetics should eat very small amounts of any food over 55 or stay away from them entirely.

Breads
Rye (crispbread) 95
Rye (whole grain, i.e., pumpernickel) 68
Wheat (white) 100
Wheat (wholemeal) 100
Pasta
Macaroni (white, boiled 5 min.) 64
Spaghetti (brown, boiled 15 min.) 61
Spaghetti (white, boiled 15 min.) 67
Cereal Grains
Barley (pearled) 36
Buckwheat 78
Spanky 101 (I just put this in for fun)
Bulgur 65
Millet 103
Rice (brown) 81
Rice (instant, boiled 1 min.) 65
Rice (parboiled, boiled 5 min.) 54
Rice (polished, boiled 5 min.) 58
Rice (polished, boiled 10-25 min.) 81
Rye kernels 47
Sweet corn 80
Wheat kernels 63
Legumes
Baked Beans (canned) 70
Butter beans 46
Chick peas (canned) 47
Chick peas (dried) 60
Frozen peas 74
Garden peas (frozen) 65
Green peas (canned) 50
Green peas (dried) 65
Haricot beans (white, dried) 54
Kidney beans (dried) 43
Kidney beans (canned) 74
Lentils (green, canned) 74
Lentils (red, dried) 38
Peanuts 15
Pinto beans (canned) 64
Pinto beans (dried) 80
Soy beans (canned) 22
Soy beans (dried) 20
Breakfast Cereals
"All Bran" 74
Cornflakes 121
Muesli 96
Porridge Oats 89
Puffed rice 132
Puffed wheat 110
Shredded wheat 97
Fruit
Apple 52
Apple juice 45
Banana 84
Grapefruit 36
Grapes 62
Orange 59
Orange juice 71
Peach 40
Pear 74
Plum 34
Raisins 93
Dairy Products
Custard 59
Ice Cream 69
Skim Milk 46
Whole Milk 44
Yogurt 52
Potato
Potato (instant) 120
Potato (mashed) 98
Potato (new/white boiled) 80
Potato (Russet, baked) 118
Potato (sweet) 70
Yam 74
Sugars
Fructose 26
Glucose 138
Honey 126
Lactose 57
Maltose 152
Sucrose 83
Cookies
Crackers (water biscuits) 100
Oatmeal 78
Shortbread cookies 88

Lunch: Potted Meat sandwich....that's right a potted meat sandwich. I like potted meat. When I was a little boy we had to eat a lot of potted meat.. you might say I'm a conosewer, I have a sophisticated palate for it. It also brings back fond memories of my dad. He and I would out at 5 am in a old wooden John boat built by Joe. Joe had a fishing camp on Lake Jordan, Alabama. After fishing all morning we'd go back to Joe's camp buy some sardines, potted meat, Vienna sausage, soda crackers, a soft drink and usually a Moon Pie for desert. Joe and dad would exchange fishing reports and talk. Nothing has ever tasted as good. I miss you dad.

I had 6 oz. skim milk for lunch.

Snack: 3 walnuts.

Exercise: My 5 yr. old granddaughter and I went for a walk. I tried to talk her out of it. I told her she would have to walk fast. She kept up with me the whole time. Several times she would have to break into a run. It's funny how you take for granted some things. Like everybody knows the concept of "short-cut". She was breathing very hard and I would tell her to go that way and I would go this way and I would meet her over there - "Kylie its' a "short-cut" you will get a chance to rest. You won't be as tired". She just didn't get it. Went 1.83 miles in 32 min. Kylie slowed me down but I loved her being with me...she is such a joy. Max heart rate 134 Avg. Hr 113. All according to my Garmin Forerunner 405.

Entry 1/30/09

Weight: 237 lbs. Been doing a lot of stressful eating lately. I've got to get back on track.

Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal with 2oz milk, slice of wheat toast. Cup of coffee with cocoa, creamer and sweetener. I make Starbucks House Blend but it does not taste the same as it does in the store. I've tried to make different strengths and at different temperatures in a French Press. My wife hates the press so she uses a drip maker. I use half and half like I get at Starbucks. I just can't get it to taste as good no matter how we brew it. I wonder if they reserve their better coffee for the stores. A Pox on Starbucks! Before they came along I was perfectly happy with Maxwell House!

Lunch: Salmon steak, fresh green beans, steam vegetable medley, iced tea with sweetener. Business Blitz meeting. Good group.

Dinner: KFC two orignal recipe thighs, cole slaw. Diet Dr. Pepper.

Entry 1/28/09

After a tour sponsored by McDonalds, Wendys, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and some other fast food chains, Michelangelo's David is being returned to Italy. Grazie Italy.

Thanks Cuz for the newsflash

No that is not a before and after of me!





Weight: 236 lbs.

Breakfast: 4 slices of Turkey Bacon, 2 fried eggs (just a tad of grease from the bacon. Turkey bacon has little grease) Cup of coffee with cream, sweetener and cocoa

Lunch: Bowl of chilli, with 2 slices of cheese on top, grilled cheese sandwich and 8 oz. skim milk.

Dinner: 2 pieces of fried fish, 3 popcorn shrimp my granddaughter didn't eat, and cole slaw. Diet Pepsi. One spoonful of ice cream sundae my wife made me eat.