I signed off last night at 11:06, tired, and acting like it. As I walk into the bedroom Yvonne says to me: "OK, the alarm is set for 5:45."

"5:45!"

"That's only six and a half hours from right now!" I thought. So, with complete clarity of mind I announced, "I'm sleeping in to 6:30, lets reset the alarm." "That's your left-brain speaking Mike" were the words of wisdom coming from my wife, into my right brain, causing me to begin to think rationally, as my head crashes upon my memory-foam pillow.

I didn't want to get up at 5:45 to work out this morning. I only slept about five hours the previous night, and wanted to get as much sleep as I could. That was the left-brain's idea. That was the emotional response. That was not the plan. That was not what was decided when I was planning out the week, rested, alert, and nowhere near grumpy.

At 5:45 the alarm sounded. Yvonne sprung out of bed and I soon followed. It really wasn't that bad. By 6:30 I was near completion of my upper body workout. I thought to myself, that it was a good thing to get up and work out as planned. As I headed toward the shower Yvonne said something like: "There, you got up and did it. Much better than having to start your workout at 5:30 tonight." As usual, she was right.

It's not always easy to stay on the plan. I did vary away tonight from my diet. I was very hungry and had two very small pieces of left-over thin-crust pizza. I haven't been eating enough carbs, so I had some. Not the perfect choice, but it could have been worse. The positive is that I am exercising every day. I am eating six, smaller meals each day. And, my snacking is down to almost nothing - the remnant of nuts in the kitchen cabinets are gone.

Today's menu:

Scrambled eggs and Coaches Oats
Myoplex-lite nutrition bar
Small tuna sandwich
Low-fat yogurt
Barbecued chicken breast, potatoes (cooked on grill)
Pizza (as mentioned above)
Berry smoothie

Not bad... Actually, pretty good.