SEATTLE - At a meeting in the global headquarters of Starbucks in Seattle this week, Howard Schultz himself LEAPED up to greet the small group of us, looking the picture of  good health: Extremely fit and appearing to have lost considerable weight.

I commented about it, and he said, "good. Glad you noticed."

He said he'd lost at least 10 pounds and decreased his total BMI (body mass index) using a new program called  Kinetix Living, which combines working out with a carbohydrate and protein diet. He said he exercises muscle groups "to the point of pain." (He's probably better at the pain tolerance thing than most of us, given the recent decline in Starbucks' stock price and the less than super publicity about his former Sonics.)

But the proof of the program he said is that Starbucks employees using the program not only improved their own personal bottom lines, but that of the company, in quantifiable savings on health care costs.

That's serious money, because Starbucks, he says, spends more on health care than on beans!

By the way, we did have coffee. Howard poured. And that's a good picture, too.