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.

Entry 1/27/09

Weight: Didn't get to weigh this morning. I was running late for a Business Blitz meeting.

Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal, 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar, tablespoon of raisin, 3 packs of Splenda, 1 oz. cream. Drank 3 cups of coffee with Splenda and cream.

Ate at Original Pancake House. I used to frequent the place often, usually with the family but haven't been there in about 8 years. Don't really have an explanation. I suppose it's the location because the food is great. They have a special pancake called the Sugar Baby. The pancake is actually formed into a bowl. Inside is melted butter, confectionery sugar and fresh lemon juice. It is delicious. My children loved them when we frequented the place. I resisted this time. That's a good thing about doing this blog. I have some accountability for what I eat. Otherwise I might have had me a Sugar Baby this morning.

Entry 01/26/09

Weight: 236.5 Lbs.

Breakfast: 3 strips of turkey bacon, 2 fried eggs, 2 slices of whole wheat with margarine. 1.5 cups of coffee with creamer and sweetener. 2 fish oil capsules.

Snack: 2 walnuts

Lunch: Three oz. of chicken breast, 2 slices of American cheese on whole wheat with mayonnaise and mustard. 8 oz. skim milk.

Snack; 8 walnuts I eat too many but it's a better bad choice. Better than eating a candy bar or pastry.

Dinner: Cup of Chilli, with two slices of American cheese melted on top amd some soda crackers. It sure was good. I should have left off the crackers. Green tea to drink.

Entry 1/25/09

Weight: Didn't weigh this morning...was running late for church.

Breakfast: Cup of All Bran, 6 oz. Skim milk, coffee with creamer and sweetener.

Lunch: My wife left this morning for a convention in Austin so I had to eat by myself. I decided to go to Poor Richards with the intention of getting a vegetable plate. I don't eat enough vegetables.

While waiting to order, the thought occurred to me to tell you about Poor Richards. It really is interesting. Poor Richards is a simple Home style cooking restaurant in Plano that has connections to the whole world....Japan, England, France, Russia ..the whole world. It is frequented by many regulars who have been coming weekly for many years. Dave Manders, center for the Dallas Cowboys in the early seventies, still frequents the place. So does Bill Donahue, a local plain speaking farmer dressed usually in his dirty overalls, who still raises wheat and hay on what little land he still owns and leases around Plano - anything large enough on which he can turn one of his giant John Deere tractors with their 30 yard wide plows. He's probably got more money than he can count but he's still a down-to-earth country good-ole boy, who frequently explores caves in New Mexico and hunts bear and fishes in Alaska. Howeve, most of the patrons, who stand in a line that winds around once in the resturant and usually out the door and down the side walk, are just ordinary people. So how is Poor Richard's connected to the whole world?
Poor Richard's started in 1973 as Park Mall Restaurant. Plano was still just a little town of 12,000 on the southern border of Collin County about 20 miles from downtown Dallas. Plano was just beginning to feel the growth created by Texas Instruments, which was the first to make transistors in the early sixties for less than $1.00 a piece out of a converted farm house in Richardson. By 1970 there were 3 large buildings spanning over 100 acres of the land surrounding the farm house which had since been torn down. They had become an international company. It had also spurned the growth of numerous small start up companies in the area. Plano was surrounded by thousands of acres of farm land that was being developed by many builders. Many of those would meet at the Park Mall Restaurant for coffee in the morning before starting their busy day. That is the time that Richard, an school teacher of 15 years, bought the restaurant and renamed it Poor Richard's after Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Quotes from the almanac like "Don't criticize your husband's judgment, he married you" appear on the menu and walls. It was already becoming a very busy place firmly established by the repeat business of the builders and their workers.

One of those builders was Joe Duncan, a Plano Fireman who started his building business on his off days. Joe was very successful as a builder in the seventies, but during the real estate down-turn during the Carter years of the late Seventies he fell on hard times. He had contracted to build a large house on fifty acres in Parker which is east of Plano and just before he completed it the customer ran out of money and Joe was stuck with the house. Joe had to sell everything else and move into the house himself and complete it. I moved to Parker in 1979. Joe's place was a a mile from my house as the crow flies and I could see the 2nd story across the fields on which Bill Donahue raised wheat.

The highway in front of Joe's house was one of the ways to my office. While not the quickest I would often go that way and admire the beauty of the place. It was a beautiful 2 story frame house set on 50 acres of lush green coastal bermuda pasture. There were a 3 white horse stables behind the house. A black wooden fence surrounded the entire 50 acres and about ten horses and a few cattle grazed on the bermuda. There was a long paved driveway to the house lined with oak trees and at the highway was a wrought iron fence and a wrought iron arch above the drive that read "Duncan Farm". I fantasized about having such a place. I didn't know Joe at the time and I thought he must be very wealthy. Actually he was nearly bankrupt and about to lose the farm. Fortunately for him a film studio located in Los Colinas a industrial development near Dallas, wanted to use his house to make a film. There was now enough money for him to hang on to the farm.

I first met Joe at a meeting between he and officers of the then recently formed Parker Volunteer Fire Department. I was the Fire Marshall. The meeting was to discuss how Joe could help the fire department. Having been a fireman himself he had empathy for our efforts. He was a big help. Through his indirect generosity we were able to purchase a modern refurbished FMC fire engine to replace the 1949 LaFrance, which had seen its better days. Joe later sold his place for $18 million and retained a note for 25 acres south of the house. When the new owner lost the house and defaulted on the note to him, Joe built pads on the acreage and turned it into a "Trade Days" facility. The last time I saw Joe, he was riding on a four wheeler, dressed in his usual western clothes and boots with a red bandanna around his neck. He told me the Trade Days effort was not going to make it. He and his son who recently graduated from college, were trading in commodities. He proudly pointed to the satellite antenna installed on the office he had built for the Trade Day venture and how they were linked to real-time market data. I don't know how that venture turned out, the last time I saw Joe he was riding away on the four wheeler.

How does all this relate to Poor Richards connection to the whole world? Well one day before I had ever met Joe, I drove past his farm and to my surprise there was a new sign above the drive. The sign above the driveway, belonging to this builder that drank coffee and ate breakfast everyday at Poor Richards, instead of reading "Duncan Farms" had been changed by the film company to read "Southfork Ranch".

By the way since they serve breakfast all the time, I ended up ordering the Protein Lovers Breakfast, four scrambled eggs with cheese (I ordered extra cheese), 2 sausage patties and a sliced tomato and drank 3 cups of coffee while reminiscing. Maybe a vegetable plate another day.

Dinner: Salmon steak marinated in lemon juice and fried in a little Granola oil, stirr fried vegetables and slice of whole wheat with a little margarine. Diet Lipton Green Tea to drink. I miss my wife.

Exercise: Lifted weights for 40 minutes. Peak Heartrate 140 beats per minute, Avg HR 112 bpm. The equipment at the gym is equipped with Fitlynx sensors and workout monitoring system. Since the new software was installed ,I stopped getting the emails with my elephants, deisel locomotives and Statue of Libertys. I really miss them. Leave me a comment if you want to know more.