If the Shapin' Up project started with a bang, it's ending with a whimper.

It's early Tuesday morning as I write this from my father's house in Laramie. I haven't been to the gym in eight days, and I'll be lucky to make it there before heading home to Missouri right after New Year's.

I managed to get in a walk on Christmas Day, but my plan to do crunches and pushups every morning has yet to happen on this trip.

On top of that, I haven't been the smartest eater since making it back to the region to visit friends and family for the holidays. Christmas Eve, for instance, was an all-day eating extravaganza of chips, dips, smoked turkey, oyster stew, cheesecake, candy, pie and other assorted munchies.

And then there are my future mother-in-law's chocolate-covered cherries. They're delicious, but they don't do much good for the old waistline.

Food has far and away been my biggest weakness during this project. I'm a classic case of someone whose eyes are bigger than his stomach. But I also can't stand the idea of wasting food, so even though I may be full, I plow through until I've cleaned my plate.

I would like to believe part of the problem lies with my upbringing.

As a kid, my great-grandma Lil would only let me have dessert if I cleaned my plate, which was usually heavy in fat content and light on vegetables. Piling dessert on top wasn't the best idea.

When I visited my Grandma Shirlee, she told me I had to clean my plate because "there are kids starving in Ethiopia." I still don't see how cleaning my plate prevents Ethiopians from starving.

They also told me not to take up smoking, but that didn't stop me from developing a 12-year habit. So I can't blame them for my food fetish.

Tina Hayes-Siltzer, a Cheyenne dietitian who donated a lot of her time to coach me on better eating habits, told me over and over again that I need to look at food as a treat. Rather than gobble it and then go back for seconds, I need to savor each bite and appreciate the full flavor.

I like that idea a lot, but I have yet to fully embrace it. That's my first resolution for the new year: eat more slowly and enjoy it more so that I eat less.

From a workout standpoint, I was more active this year than any other year of my life.

I began working out with a personal trainer, Ira Palmer, who taught me the benefits of core fitness. If the core - the center of your body - is strong, you'll get more from your workouts, Palmer said.

My core isn't as strong as it could be, and it will be something I focus on during my workouts in 2006. Call that Resolution No. 2.

I'm stronger today than I was a year ago, and a lot of that has to do with the emphasis I put on weights the last few months.

When I first joined Gold's Gym after moving from Cheyenne to Columbia, Mo., I struggled to handle 60 pounds on lateral pull downs. Now I'm up to 110 for my first set, 130 on my second and 150 for my final set.

I'm also in better cardiovascular shape than ever before. When I first started, 20 minutes on the elliptical at anything above level 5 was impossible. Now, level 8 is my warm-up; I do the lion's share of my workout between levels 10 and 12. A lot of that gain came from Lorraine Fresquez's cardio kickboxing class at the Cheyenne Family YMCA.

But in the end, I didn't get quite as far as I wanted to. I never set any kind of weight goal; I simply wanted to look good with my shirt off.

I do look better: My waist has shrunk almost six inches, and fortunately baggy jeans are still in style. I've also lost a lot of fat off my chest - at least a cup size.

In my mind I figured I would be turning down offers to model after a year at this. But it was too ambitious to think I could turn my lifestyle completely around in one year after spending 29 years cultivating bad fitness habits.

In the end, the Shapin' Up project was a good start down the road to better fitness. I may not have become the hottie I had hoped, but I learned a lot about nutrition, exercise, my body and myself. I have the knowledge to reach my fitness goals, but the struggle will continue to be in the execution.

Living a healthy lifestyle isn't complicated. Diet and exercise are not tough concepts to master. Actually doing it is the hard part.

My motivation for doing this project has been you, the Shapin' Up readers. I didn't want to admit my failings, especially in public. Like when I set the goal to eat vegetarian for an entire month but cracked after 25 days.

But even my failings taught me something. Like with the vegetarian experiment: I gained a new appreciation for all things green, and that has helped me get closer to eating a balanced diet.

And that brings me to Resolution No. 3: Eat a balanced diet six days per week. The seventh day will be my "treat" day. That could mean having a Coke, a bowl of ice cream, a slice of cheesecake or a slice or two of pizza.

Now that the project is over, it's up to me to turn these healthy new habits into a lifetime of good choices. You've helped me make the turnaround, now it's up to me to keep the momentum going.

I would like to begin this column with a "Happy Holidays" to you and your loved ones.

Why "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas?" It's because Christmas isn't the only holiday happening this time of year. We also have Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and my personal favorite, The Day Jake Quit Smoking.

Celebrated on Jan. 8, The Day Jake Quit Smoking isn't sponsored by the government or any religion. But it's still an important holiday on my calendar because it signifies the greatest accomplishment in my life.

What a journey it has been.

I originally had planned to quit on New Year's Day last year, just like thousands of other smokers who make that resolution. But I found I needed just a little more incentive to get the job done, which came on the night of Jan. 8.

I spent that evening on a date with a young woman I had met at my New Year's Eve party. As I kissed her goodnight, she made a face and told me she wasn't kissing me again until I kicked my cigarette habit for good.

I promptly drove home, smoked my last four cigarettes and drank the last two beers in the fridge. As I snuffed out that last butt, I remember thinking I was in for some tough times trying to break a 12-year addiction.

The first two weeks were hell, pure and simple. I was fidgety and irritable, which culminated in a panic attack one night while I was still the night editor at the Tribune-Eagle.

Unable to focus, I tried walking around the building for a while before finally stopping in the men's room to bang my head against the wall until I felt like I had regained control.

I ended up going on the antidepressant Wellbutrin to handle the increased nervousness quitting brought on. For the nicotine fits, I turned to nicotine gum. And for support, I attended Butt Busters meetings through United Medical Center. I also met a few folks through this column who encouraged me to stay away from tobacco.

I remember one night in particular when I was so close to snapping that one of the WTE copy editors offered to bum me a cigarette. At the time, this editor was about six weeks pregnant. I told myself right then and there that real men don't bum cigarettes from pregnant women. After that, quitting got easier.

I was really put to the test in March when I saw Modest Mouse in Denver. I had forgotten my nicotine gum, and I knew there would be a ton of tempting cigarette smoke in the air.

But once the music started and I got a few drinks in me, I forgot all about my desires for a cigarette. After that night, I was pretty much done with nicotine gum.

Ever since then, quitting has gotten a lot easier. I had some moments of temptation, but never did I seriously consider starting up again. I just remembered the mantra I learned at Butt Busters: "You're a puff away from a pack a day."

I remember one of my history teachers at Laramie High telling me he had one cigarette a year on the anniversary of his quit date. He did this to remind himself what a disgusting habit it was and how he could never go back.

I don't think I'll be doing anything like that. For one, the last few times I've found myself in smoke-filled bars, I've become ill. I get a headache and I feel like I'm going to throw up - pretty much the same reaction I get listening to Ashlee Simpson.

For two, have you seen how much a pack costs these days? I'm not spending $4 just to smoke one cigarette as a reminder that they're disgusting.

But seriously, the fact I've gone from 12-year habit to getting sick by being around smoking tells me that, as far as this habit is concerned, the Shapin' Up project was a success.

As for the weight loss and getting into shape, that's another story. It's also next week's final column.

I have picked up a bad habit lately. It's called "me time."

"Me time" is something invented by my best friend, John. That's when he tries to sneak off to the nearest mirror so he can admire his body. For John, it's about a 100-times-a-day habit.

But frankly, the guy has quite a bit to admire. He's a demon at the gym, which is evident by bulging biceps and washboard abs.

When I think of my long-term fitness goals, John is pretty much what I have in mind. Fortunately, my own body is starting to take that shape. I still have a long way to go, but I'm finally understanding John's desire for "me time."

I used to mock the man. I thought it was ridiculous - not to mention quite vain - to admire one's body in the mirror like that all the time. It wasn't until I finally put in the work John does regularly that I understood that "me time" isn't about vanity; it's about taking credit for hard work.

My "me time" isn't nearly as fulfilling as John's is for him.

When I have my "me time," I admire and appreciate the fact my biceps are no longer covered in flab but actually have a hint of definition. I admire the fact the fat in my chest is slowly evolving into pectoral muscles. I admire the stretch marks I have on my body from the heavy lifting I do not because they're particularly attractive but because I know I'm laying the groundwork to eventually have a body like John's.

When John has his "me time," he sees an Adonis. When I have my "me time," I see a fat guy who has potential if he can just keep away from Christmas treats and other such fare while keeping up a regular gym routine.

Staying away from high-calorie foods takes discipline. Keeping a regular gym routine requires focus. And that's something I'm missing right now.

I had focus in the form of the Quick Start program offered by Gold's Gym. But I completed the 12-week plan a few weeks ago, and now I find myself without a definitive program when I go to work out.

Dwayne Salmon, my Quick Start trainer, had a routine for me each time I came in. I would lift three days per week on a variety of leg, arm, chest and abs machines, then I'd do cardio three other days per week. While it was great having a plan to follow, I would get bored with it and often ask him to switch things up.

Now that I'm out of the program, I make a tentative workout plan in my head on my way to the gym then modify it during the workout, depending on how I'm feeling. Usually this means cutting back on what I had planned.

Basically, you can't make me happy. If a routine is put together for me, I get bored. If I'm left on my own, I don't work out as hard as I should.

I've decided to begin writing down a weekly plan on Sundays to follow for the rest of the week. I know I won't always stick to it exactly, but it's a good start to figuring out this dilemma.

Here's a sample:

• Monday - 15 minutes of cardio followed by the free weights exercises - biceps, triceps, lats, lat pull down, row, bench press, squats.

• Tuesday - 15 minutes of cardio followed by abdominal work - 25 sit-ups on the physio ball, 25 front sit-ups on the physio ball, 25 reverse crunches, 25 flat crunches. Conclude with another 15 minutes of cardio.

• Wednesday - 30 minutes of cardio.

• Thursday - Repeat Monday's routine.

• Friday - Repeat Tuesday's routine.

• Saturday - 45 minutes of cardio followed time in the therapy tubs.

If this idea works, I just may increase the satisfaction of my "me time."

Editor's note - This is the second in a two-part series on holiday gift ideas for the fitness enthusiast in your life.

The best present you can give the health and fitness fan in your life doesn't cost a penny.

It's participation.

There are times I like to work out alone. Like after a really stressful day. I can hit the gym, bust my butt on the elliptical trainer for 30 or 45 minutes, silently cuss out whoever or whatever is getting me down and go home a healthy and happy guy.

But other times, it's fun to have someone there with you. After all, isn't a walk in the park more pleasant with good company?

One of the things I miss most about Cheyenne is working out with my best friend, John.

Before I left town, I was doing a mix of cardio workouts and lifting weights. While I would do my cardio solo (it's hard to converse when you're on the elliptical), having John there to push me on the weights meant I was working harder and getting more out of my workout times.

Unless you prefer the hermit lifestyle, camaraderie is every bit as important to a workout routine as nutrition and proper form. You're more inclined to stick to it if you know someone else is depending on you to show up.

So while you may use this gift guide to fill stockings and space under the tree, remember that the best present of all is going with that special someone to the gym, on that walk in the park or that hike in the mountains.

Salad shooter

What it will run you: About $25 to $50, depending on the make and model.

Who to buy it for: Anyone who hates chopping vegetables.

The advice: According to the government's new food pyramid, we need to be eating five fruits and veggies per day. Why don't we? Probably because it's easier to grab a pre-packaged food high in calories and fat than it is to chop vegetables. A good salad shooter can take some of the steam out of that argument by cutting chopping time in half.

Cassette Walkman

What it will run you: Around $20.

Who to buy it for: People who love books on tape and those who still rock to Bon Jovi on cassette.

The advice: If the fitness buff in your life gets overwhelmed at Circuit City, this low-tech option is the way to go. One other advantage: You can check out books on tape at the local library.

Electric steamer

What it will run you: About $20 to $50.

Who to buy it for: Anyone who likes to cook real food.

The advice: Cheyenne dietitian Tina Hayes-Siltzer recommends the Black and Decker model for rice and vegetables, which retails for about $20. Remember, steamed vegetables retain more nutrients than boiled, plus boiling often leads to food that is either too mushy or undercooked.

Energy drinks, nutrition bars

What they will run you: A 12-pack of the energy drink is $23.99; energy bars are $20.99 for a box of nine.

Who to buy it for: The workout nut on the go. These are designed to tide you over between meals and give energy boosts as needed throughout the day.

The advice: This makes a great stocking stuffer. My former personal trainer, Ira Palmer, turned me on to these, and I loved them. Where most of these types of products taste like chalk, these bars actually taste more like candy but without the empty calories. The energy drinks work about as well as a Red Bull, but the taste is a lot better.

Pedometer

What they will run you: If you're looking for a cheap stocking stuffer, you can get something simple for as little as $2. If you want to go more high-tech, you can spend up to $50 and get one with a built-in heart monitor.

Who to buy it for: Somebody who is already in a walking or running habit. Otherwise, your good intentions will probably not be taken that way.

The advice: This is a fun gadget for people who are into low-impact exercise; it's a handy way to track just how much walking is done all day long, not just during the 30 minutes set aside for exercise.

Nalgene water bottle

What they will run you: About $8.

Who to buy it for: Anyone who drinks water.

The advice: I like the Nalgene bottles best because they're almost impossible to break, and they're bigger than most squeeze bottles. The hard plastic doesn't leave the funny aftertaste like the cheap plastic bottles you can often get at a dollar store.

There are only 11 weeks left for the Shapin' Up project.

It's hard to believe it is already mid-October when just yesterday it seemed like I was struggling to quit smoking and make it to the gym on time every day.

Now I've officially been a non-smoker for just over nine months, and making it to the gym every day isn't a chore; it's a way of life.

I've had my ups and downs. I lost a lot of weight early on in the project, gained some of it back when I fell off the fitness wagon, lost some more weight, gained some back when I moved from Cheyenne to Missouri, and now I find myself stuck on a plateau.

So today begins what I call the home stretch. Starting next week I'll be including a box with each column that details where I'm at as far as weight and how well my diet and workouts have gone as this project winds down.

That's not to suggest I'm going to go out and buy a carton of smokes and a case of Twinkies on Jan. 1. If this project has taught me anything, it's that fitness isn't something you can just do for a while; it's a lifetime commitment.

Considering how much I like the new me, I'm planning to stay on the fitness train even after this project ends.

But I do want to get off the plateau and start seeing some progress again. For the last six weeks, my weight has largely stagnated. And the reason is my diet.

When I had my weigh-in on Aug. 19, I measured 23.7 percent body fat and had a 42.5-inch waist, and my weight was 223.8.

Six weeks later, on Oct. 4, those numbers all had gone up. My weight is 226, my waist is 43 inches and my body fat has increased to 33 percent. All this despite the fact I'm faithfully at the gym five to six days per week.

So what am I doing wrong?

I talked to Tina Hayes-Siltzer, a registered dietician in Cheyenne, and my trainer here in Missouri, Dwayne Salmon, to figure out what is going on.

The increase in weight didn't bother me too much. Even though it's the most I've weighed since the start of the project, I also know I'm the strongest I ever have been.

Salmon had me lifting three days per week for the last six weeks, and I'm beginning to see a real difference. My arms are no longer flabby; in fact, there's even a hint of some definition.

And I was dismayed to learn my waist has increased by a half-inch, but Hayes-Siltzer says I simply could have been bloated the day Salmon took that measurement.

The body fat measurement, on the other hand, was cause for concern. Granted, there is always the chance for human error. While the numbers say I've gained, I actually look slimmer. I've noticed it, and so has Salmon.

Salmon says the key to fitness is 80 percent diet, 10 percent physical and 10 percent mental. He is certain my problems lie with my diet - and he's right.

My diet has slowly improved over the last six weeks. The first two weeks saw me eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I ate chocolate; I drank Coke. All the hard work I did at the gym was undone in junk food.

Think of it this way: A 20-ounce bottle of Coke will cost you 250 calories. That equals about 15-20 minutes' worth of time on the elliptical, depending on how hard you're working. If I drank two Cokes in a day, which was often the case, I had undone everything I had worked so hard for.

Once I quit Coke again, I lost two pounds within a week.

So for the last four weeks, I've struggled to eat smart. I have gotten a bit better each week.

At first, my focus was simply taking Coke out of the equation. Then I started concentrating on portion sizes and avoiding foods high in empty calories. I'm still struggling with this, but the dietary supplements I'm on - ephedrine and caffeine - help suppress my appetite.

For the home stretch, I want to concentrate on eating as smart as possible. I've gotten over the exercise hump, but I have yet to adopt a healthy diet for any substantial length of time. I love to eat, and that's my biggest problem: I make too many exceptions to my diet so that I can still indulge in foods I love.

That's the hardest thing about dieting: You can wipe out months' worth of hard work and discipline with just a few poor choices. And I've made more than a few poor choices over the course of this project.

My goal for these last 11 weeks will be to adopt healthy eating habits that I can carry into 2006. Otherwise, all my hard work this year will have been for nothing.

For the first time since the start of this project, I'm going against the advice of my former personal trainer.

I called up Ira Palmer a few weeks ago to seek his counsel. I had been working hard at the gym, but I wasn't losing any weight. So I went out and bought a bottle of multivitamins that included green tea extract, which is marketed as a multivitamin that also will boost your metabolism.

Palmer told me he didn't think I would see much difference. So far, he is correct.

"They only work for a certain amount of time," he said. "I wouldn't take a multivitamin for that. You can eat five or six small meals a day and boost your metabolism that way.

"That is part of a crash diet, and a crash diet will ruin your metabolism. I found that out personally."

Palmer added that the supplements he tried worked for about six weeks, and then his metabolism crashed.

Instead, Palmer says eating five or six smaller meals instead of three traditional square meals will do the trick better. He also told me to get my lazy action out of bed earlier and fix a hot breakfast instead of always going for fruit, granola and coffee in the morning.

"Heat lights your core, it turns your core on," Palmer said. "The higher your core is, the more fat you'll burn. A hot breakfast heats your core. Once your core temperature starts to rise a tenth of a point, you'll start burning fat. Everything gets going because that heat makes energy."

Despite Palmer's advice, I have taken the supplements thing one step further. I stopped in at the local shop last week to inquire about fat burners. I left with a month's supply and a receipt for $18.

I purchased caffeine pills and ephedrine, which the guy at the store said was almost as good as ephedra but is all natural.

Ephedra, you may recall, is the fat-burning substance that has been banned by the Food and Drug Administration because it was linked to some 155 deaths, according to wikipedia.org. Palmer says that ephedra worked pretty fast for weight loss, but he doesn't think imitation supplements that claim to be just as effective really are.

"I don't think they work as well as they say they do," he said. "Once your body gets used to it, it's not going to shock (you) like it did the first time. I think it's bunk."

So why did I go against the advice of a guy who hasn't yet steered me wrong on my road to better fitness?

A few weeks back I confessed that I had once spent a lot of money on diet pills. But I didn't try to change my diet habits or exercise, and I ended up with nothing to show for it except for a huge credit card charge.

This time, I want to see if they can work with diet and exercise. Palmer said not to hold my breath.

"That's the key: 'With proper diet.' They say it for legal reasons, but they know that people aren't going to eat a balanced meal every meal," Palmer said. "That's why you start buying two or three bottles. It's all money-driven.

"When you take supplements, if you stay active they're going to work. But it's not because of the supplements; it's because you're staying active."

And that's where I disagree with Palmer. I'm routinely hitting the gym five to six days per week. I'm hitting the weights hard, and my strength is increasing. Yet my weight remains the same.

I'm on a plateau, and considering I'm entering the home stretch on this project - not to mention the fact my 30th birthday is less than a month away - I'm anxious to do something.

Besides, one of the goals of this project was to try as much variety as possible and report back to you on my successes and failures. I'll run out of supplements right before my birthday - I'll let you know then how well they work.

I'm hardly proud of this, but I once dropped about $250 on diet pills. I had seen the TrimSpa commercials for a couple of weeks. The ads featured Anna Nicole Smith, the former Guess Jeans model and Playboy Playmate of the Year whose weight ballooned following her modeling days.

Smith reportedly lost 80 pounds using TrimSpa, which was enough for me to log onto the Web site with credit card in hand. If Smith could lose that kind of weight, why couldn't I?

After all, I had seen her reality show on E! and I knew she wasn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer. Surely a reasonably intelligent man like me could make the diet work just as well as she could.

Wrong.

I took the pills as directed with one major exception: I ignored the part about diet and exercise. Seems the pills are only effective if you're exercising and dieting, which of course begs the question: If I was already committed to diet and exercise, why would I need the pills to begin with?

I can laugh about it now, except for those times when I could use that $250 back. But that's not to say I didn't learn a couple of important lessons.

For one, I finally learned that supplements are just that - supplements to diet and exercise, not to fried foods and desserts. No pill in the world is going to allow you to eat like William "The Refrigerator" Perry and still lose weight. But the person who invents one will make a ton of money.

Secondly, my TrimSpa experience got me in the habit of taking multivitamins, which the company recommends along with the diet and exercise. Even though I never got off the ground with those two, I did manage to get into the multivitamin habit, and that habit continues today.

But here's the funny thing about multivitamins: You don't really need one if you're eating right.

According to eatright.org, if you follow the federal government's Food Guide Pyramid, you should get all the nutrients you need that are otherwise supplemented (there's that word again) by a multivitamin.

So do you eat 6-11 servings of grain; at least two servings of fruit; three servings of vegetables; and 2-3 servings of lean meat, poultry, fish, dry beans eggs or nuts each and every day? If yes, you probably don't need a multivitamin.

On the other hand, if you are that faithful with your nutrition, you probably aren't an average American.

For instance, my former personal trainer at United Medical Center Health and Fitness, Ira Palmer, reports that he takes two multivitamins per day - once when he wakes up and once before bed.

Why is he such a vitamin fan? Being a trainer means he works out a lot, both with clients and on his own. That also means he uses a lot of vitamins, which is why he goes for the double dose.

But Palmer does recommend taking multivitamins according to body weight. He says only take two if you weigh more than 250 pounds and are active. And don't use multivitamins as an excuse not to eat right.

"They are a supplement; they supplement for the foods you don't eat on a regular basis," he said.

There are negative effects to too many vitamins. Too much Vitamin C, for instance, can cause diarrhea, nausea and headaches. Too much iron can mean liver and heart damage.

Just like when treating yourself to a rich dessert or something fried, the key is moderation. Even when it's something you normally think of as good for you, the old clich‚ of "too much of a good thing" is certainly true.

When I quit smoking nearly nine months ago, I thought one of the benefits would be that I'd save some money. Granted, being able to breathe and lessening my chances for lung cancer were the better reasons to quit. But saving money is never a bad thing, and when one does the math, you see that you can save a lot of money by kicking the habit.

Case in point: I was smoking about a pack a day when I quit, and I was spending between $3.50 and $4 per pack. At $3.50 per pack, I've been saving around $105 per month since I quit back in January.

That's nearly $900 saved so far. But it's nothing compared to how much I've spent on cigarettes over the years.

If you figure a pack a day over the 12 years I smoked at $3.50 per pack, I spent more than $15,000 on cigarettes in my lifetime. Just to lend a little perspective: The first year I made more than $15,000 was 1999; I worked full-time for eight months as a sports writer at the Laramie Boomerang before going to a part-time schedule and entering graduate school at the University of Wyoming.

• According to my last Social Security statement, I've made $221,303 from the time I began working in 1990 through last year. That means I spent about 14 percent of my lifetime income on cigarettes before quitting.

• The amount of money I spent on cigarettes is about $3,000 more than I spent on student loans to fund both my bachelor's and my master's.

• Even at $3 per gallon, that's still enough money to buy 5,000 gallons of gas.

• You could buy me everything on my Amazon.com wish list and still have more than $10,000 left over. And that includes the $4,000 big-screen TV (that's why it's called a wish list).

• That $15,000 means I've bought around 87,360 cigarettes in my life. And the few I did bum to others I probably bummed back, which means I likely have smoked 87,360 cigarettes, give or take a few.

Talk about some sobering stats. But on the positive side of things, saving $105 per month over the next 47 years will produce a savings of around $60,000. That's not enough to get Christina Aguilera to sing at my funeral, but I wouldn't want to subject my loved ones to such torture anyway.

Most important to me is the number 47. That's the number of years I have left on this earth, according to Microsoft's life expectancy calculator. While I currently can expect to live until age 77, the calculator says I'll only live to be 74 if I were to resume smoking.

A more in-depth calculator at agingresearch.org estimates that I'll make it to age 79. The site also offers a whole slew of tips for longer life, including losing weight (still trying), living closer to family (they've obviously never met certain members of mine), and drinking less coffee (are they insane?).

Fortunately, I'll have an extra $60,000 over the next couple of decades to help me increase that life expectancy. That should at least cover some gym dues.

Online

To calculate how much money you've spent on cigarettes, go to:

http://blueprint.bluecrossmn.com/topic/smokingcost?sitestartribune&from/health

To calculate your life expectancy, go to:

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/calcs/n_expect/main.asp

Or for a more involved life expectancy calculation, go to:

http://shapinupwithsherlock.spaces.live.com/www.agingresearch.org

I never thought I would see the day that I would crave a salad. Then I discovered Icy Hot Chicken Salad. Served at CB & Potts, this little marvel captured my taste buds with its blend of fresh vegetables, tender chicken, pico de gallo and ranch dressing.

But the key ingredient is the hot sauce - it's what separates really great salad from any other old chicken salad.

When I left Cheyenne for my new job in Columbia, Mo., several weeks back, I figured I only would be able to enjoy this taste treat when I came home to visit. And since a visit won't be financially possible for a while, I set out to recreate it in my own kitchen.

This recipe isn't an exact match, nor was it intended to be. What I did try to do, however, was come up with a simple, easy recipe that was comparable in taste. The beauty of this salad - or really, almost any salad - is that you can substitute veggies at will.

For the chicken, I bought a package of boneless thigh meat and grilled it on my George Forman griller. I then allowed the pieces to cool, cut them into bite-size pieces and doused them with Frank's Hot Sauce.

For the salad I used a ready-made bag of Italian greens and added some cucumber slices and chopped tomato. Rather than ranch dressing, I went with a low-fat creamy Caesar.

Mix the chicken and the salad, pour on the dressing, salt and pepper to taste and voila! Not quite as good as Potts', but good enough to satisfy my craving until I can get home for a visit.

Now if I could only recreate Potts' beer. Especially Amber Ale - but with fewer calories.

Sweet tooth

One of the downsides of moving to Columbia is that this town is crazy for ice cream.

OK, maybe that's not such a bad thing for most people. But for someone like myself, who is absolutely crazy for ice cream yet is trying to lose weight, it's not such a good thing.

I walk past an ice cream shop every day as I make my way from the parking garage to my office. When I walk from my office to the gym, I'll pass two others. As if that wasn't bad enough, the University of Missouri (my employer) produces its own ice cream - Tiger Stripe.

Thirty minutes of work on the elliptical nets me around 400 calories burned. A cup of ice cream often holds around 268 calories, according to FitDay.com. Talk about undoing your hard work in a hurry.

Fortunately, I have two ways of satisfying your sweet tooth without running up the calories as badly. I'm not recommending you eat these every day when you're dieting, just when you feel like you deserve a nice treat.

The first is chocolate-covered strawberries. Ten berries dipped in Dolce chocolate (it's often sold in the produce section specifically so you can dip your fruit) will net around 187 calories. Again, not something to be eaten every day but fewer calories than ice cream.

The other idea is a frozen fruit sundae. It's really simple: Just buy a bag of frozen fruit, let it mostly but not completely thaw, put some fat-free whipped topping on top and enjoy.

The fact that it's still cold coupled with the whipped topping makes it feel enough like ice cream to satisfy the sweet tooth without the excess calories: 1« cups of fruit and four tablespoons of whipped topping are only about 150 calories.

And if you really want to jazz up your frozen fruit sundae, add half a cup of mandarin oranges. That's only 35 calories, and it complements the sweet taste of other fruits well.

Plenty of resources

There is no shortage of low-calorie recipes out there. And some of them aren't half bad.

I've included a few of my favorite Web sites in the accompanying box. Google has proven to be a great tool for looking for low-calorie food ideas as well.

If you have a recipe or discover a dish you want to share with the rest of the community, post it on the Shapin' Up message board at www.WyomingNews.com.

Online

For more great recipe ideas, check out these Web sites:

www.vegweb.com

www.low-fat-recipes.com

www.fatfree.com

www.foodfit.com

I'm back to where I started.

I recently joined Gold's Gym as I try to kick-start the second half of the Shapin' Up with Sherlock project.

The first half went pretty well. Before moving to Columbia, Mo., a few weeks ago, I had lost six inches and 27.5 pounds since starting this project around the first of the year.

But taking a few weeks off for the move did some damage.

Specifically, I gained about 16 pounds and 2.5 inches from my last health assessment on July 1 to Aug. 19, the day I had my official weigh-in at Gold's. I also went from 16.8 percent body fat to 23.7 percent.

I would like to believe that there was some human error or an inaccurate reading taken somewhere in there. After all, that's a pretty dramatic weight gain.

But I also know how little I worked out and how much I ate. I did it to myself eating things like Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Supremes and Milk Duds.

Fortunately, one of the perks of a Gold's membership is the Quick Start program. It's a free 12-week program with a personal trainer. But because it's free, the trainer isn't there every day working out with you like the trainer I hired earlier this year in Cheyenne did.

My trainer back in Cheyenne, Ira Palmer, proved to be a miracle worker. I never would have had the kind of success losing weight that I had with him. So when I was shopping for a gym and realized I could get a free trainer for 12 weeks, the decision to join Gold's became pretty easy.

But unlike Ira, Dwayne will meet with me only three times over the 12 weeks; Ira and I used to work out together two to three times per week for the first three months of the project.

But I'm OK with that. Ira had the task of showing a complete novice how to exercise; Dwayne doesn't. I'll be fine on my own - as long as I have my iPod to keep me going.

During our initial consultation, Dwayne set me on a diet and workout plan then told me he will check in with me over the next six weeks by phone until I'm ready for my new workout plan, at which time we'll have our second meeting.

After that second six weeks, he will meet with me one more time, and then I'm on my own.

He set my weight loss goal at 190 pounds, and he adjusted my diet. I'm capped at 2,280 calories per day, more stringent than the 2,500 to 2,700 recommended to me earlier this year by United Medical Center Health and Fitness dietician Tina Hayes-Siltzer.

Dwayne's reasoning: If I'm going to weigh 190 pounds, I have to eat like a 190-pounder.

As far as exercise, he wants me in the gym doing a weight-lifting routine three days per week. He wants me to warm up for five minutes with some cardio, do a combination of circuit training and stretching that should take no more than 30 minutes and then finish up with 30 minutes of cardio.

I followed the routine for the first time the next day. I warmed up for five minutes on the stair climber then followed the circuit. I managed to do two sets of 15 for each exercise. Those included the leg press, chest press, rear row, leg extension, lateral pull down, lateral raise, leg curl and rear deltoid.

After that it was on to 30 minutes on the elliptical, which I kept at level six to ensure I could go the entire time.

Before I left Cheyenne, my elliptical level was usually around eight or nine, and my hope is to be back at that level again within the next week.

The 12-week program will end on Nov. 4 - my 30th birthday.

One of the goals of this project was to be in the best shape of my life by the time I hit 30. Hopefully Dwayne's guidance will get me there.

When it comes to sex, we too often hear only about the dangers – diseases, unwanted pregnancies and, if you’re reading Dear Abby, infidelities that destroy marriages.

But there are health benefits to sex besides the obvious feeling of euphoria. There is no shortage of articles on the Internet touting the health benefits - just do a Google search.

Here is a list of those said benefits I discovered from my own research.

It burns calories

According to an article at Forbes.com, "a vigorous bout burns some 200 calories." FitDay.com, however, only credits 44 calories for an hour of sex. An article at www.tantra-sex.com claims you can burn 150 calories in 30 minutes.

Ira Palmer, a personal trainer at United Medical Center Health and Fitness, says the cardio benefits depend on how hard the participants are working. For instance, I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine earlier this week and burned 450 calories with the setting at level 8. Had I left the setting at level 4, I'd have burned considerably fewer calories.

The moral: The harder you work, the more calories you'll burn. And that holds true for any exercise.

It works your muscles

Cardio training, improved flexibility and body weight resistance are just a few of the benefits of sex, Palmer says, adding that the primary muscles involved are all core muscles - lower back, abs, hips, hamstrings and glutes. He says the secondary muscles involved include triceps, abductors, chest, hamstrings and quads.

It's good for your heart

A 2002 study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that middle-aged men who have sex more than twice per week were at a lower risk for heart disease.

It promotes mental health

Deb Levine, author of "The Joy of Cybersex: A Guide for Creative Lovers" and executive director of Internet Sexuality Information Services, offers several health benefits for sex on her Yahoo! blog. She notes that a regular, healthy sex life can lead to lower stress levels, higher self-esteem and confidence, relief from migraines and an increased feeling of youthfulness.

While sex does have some health benefits, it's best to think of them as side effects. Traditional exercises will give you much better results in the long run, and it doesn't require a willing partner.

Besides, how romantic is to say "But honey, it's a calorie-burner" when trying to coerce your significant other? Better stick to your Barry White album.

If our bodies are, on average, 60 percent water, then simply sweating away some of that water weight should be a handy way to lose weight, right?

If only it were that simple.

No, you can't just lay out in the sun, sweat from the heat and lose weight in a healthy manner. But that doesn't mean the dog days of August can't help you in your quest to lose weight, at least a little bit.

"Weight loss through perspiration is temporary. As soon as you take in fluids and electrolytes, you will gain back that weight," said Tina Hayes-Siltzer, a dietician at United Medical Center Health and Fitness. "Bear in mind, however, that unless you are overdoing it on Ben and Jerry's and other high-calorie cold treats, you might have less of an appetite in the heat."

The calorie factor is just one reason to pick water over soda, lemonade or other such beverages on hot days. Another reason is to replace the electrolytes lost through sweating, regardless of whether it's from the heat of the sun or the heat of good exercise.

"(Sweating) is your body's way of cooling itself to protect important things like brains and other internal organs," Hayes-Siltzer says. "You just need to be sure to replace fluids and electrolytes lost with the sweat. If you aren't necessarily working hard or working out, water or unsweetened drinks will do the trick. You will get necessary electrolytes at meal time.

"However, if you are burning calories, you will also need to replace electrolytes, and adding some carbohydrate will keep your energy level up. That's why sports drinks are so popular."

How much to drink?

You've likely heard the adage that adults need to drink eight glasses of water per day. Or maybe you've heard the statistic that 75 percent of us are chronically dehydrated because we don't drink those eight glasses.

The eight-glasses recommendation, along with the chronically dehydrated stat, are both urban legends, reports snopes.com. MayoClinic.com says the levels vary for all of us, but as long as we keep our thirsts quenched and we produce a normal amount of urine that is either colorless or slightly yellow, we're probably doing OK.

For those who prefer a hard number, the Institute of Medicine suggests three liters of fluid per day for men and 2.2 for women. And that doesn't have to just be water - your body also gets water from coffee, soda and food, among other sources.

Too much of a good thing

What happens when you retain too much water? It's probably a sign there's something wrong with your kidneys, says Hayes-Siltzer.

"You see excess water weight in certain disease states such as congestive heart failure and kidney failure. A major characteristic of these states is the body's (the kidneys) inability to get rid of extra bodily fluid," she said. "In many of these cases, it is recommended that these patients follow a very low-sodium and often low-electrolyte diet. If dietary and fluid restrictions don't work, then the individual may have to have a machine act as a kidney, which is the process called dialysis."

Another danger of too much water is taking in too much at once.

"You can actually disrupt your normal serum electrolyte balance by drinking excessive amounts of water," Hayes-Siltzer says. "And you can die!"

That's what happened to Cynthia Lucero, 28, after the Boston Marathon in 2002, according to the Web site Boston.com. She simply drank too many fluids - as many as 16 ounces, according to some news reports - five minutes before she collapsed at mile 22.

"Serum electrolyte imbalances can disrupt the normal rhythm of your heart and you can just keel over," Hayes-Siltzer says. ".So too much of a good thing can kill you."