Sadly my best friend’s father fell down the stairs at his home and ended up dying from his injuries.  I practically grew up at his house and he was a nice man.  I’ve lived far away from my friends for almost 20 years and feel badly that I wasn’t there to help them through this.  Normally I would have flown home to be with them, but of course this happened right at Christmas and his memorial was on the 26th.  If my kids were grown I would have gone, plus it was impossible to get a plane ticket.  What a heartbreak for his family!  He was in good health and was the primary caregiver for his wife, who has many health problems and a failing memory.  I worry about how they will care for their mom, now that dad is gone.

My 2012 New Year’s Resolution is to be as healthy as I can. I’ve heard several times that you are more likely to succeed at a goal if you write it done.  So there…I’ve written it down.  More specifically, I need to lose about 25 pounds and become physically stronger.  The detail of my resolution is as follows:

1.  Stick to my diet – low carb (not no carb), moderate protein and lots of veges

2. Exercise at least 3 times per week.  I have a gym membership, home videos and classes available at work.  I should be able to do this!  Also, the building I work in is at the base of a huge hill that has a 6% grade.  Some of my coworkers and I walk up and down the hill at lunch for exercise.  It’s a killer.

3.  Make sure I have food in my refrigerator at work so I am not tempted to order out, or go to the cafeteria and eat something naughty.

I don’t want to set more than 3 steps to my goal -the more steps you set, the less likely you are to succeed because you become overwhelmed.

I’ve already lost 145 pounds, so this last 25 should just fall off!  Not so.  I’ve been hanging onto it for about a year.  I need to get it off for my health.  I was lucky – even as a really heavy woman I never had diabetes or high blood pressure.  Now that I am close to my normal weight, I feel really good but am frustrated that I still have sleep apnea.  Even though it is mild.

In the spirit of my resolution, I will periodically review some diet related products.  Today I am reviewing Julian Bakery Smart Carb #1 bread.  This is a bread with 1 net carb per slice.  You can order off of several sites on the internet, but I was able to buy my locally at a health food store in the freezer section.  It is NOT gluten free.

This is a dense, heavy loaf of light brown bread.  It has a crumbly, heavy texture.  Honestly, it doesn’t have a lot of taste to it, so if you are expecting a light fluffy loaf of moist, yeasty bread you will be disappointed.  However, of you are staying away from bread and miss it too much, then this is the product for you.  It makes good toast – but it does need to toast longer than regular bread.  I also made a toasted turkey sandwich today and it was pretty good.  I have also tried the loaf #2, which is a raisin bread.  Clearly not as versatile, but if you want raisin bread it is good.  Here is the nutritional breakdown for loaf #1:

Carb Smart Bread #1

Serving Size: 1 slice
Servings per loaf: 14
Calories: 109
Total Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 140mg
Total Carbohydrate: 13g
Dietary Fiber: 12g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 12g

The store where I buy the bread frequently runs out because it is so popular.  It is also quite expensive, at $8 per loaf.  I keep the loaf I am currently eating in the refrigerator and another in the freezer.  It has no preservatives, so you can’t just leave it on the counter.

Yesterday I ordered a low carb baking mix which I will review later.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!