W.I.M.H.W. 11.28.12

It seems like time is slipping away so fast and what had set out to be a long term project with plenty of breathing room is almost half-way through.  It's already the 43rd week and time for another braindump to discuss What's In My Head this Wednesday.



Perspective
I got an email on Monday that a colleague had passed away.  All of the typical cliche things run through your mind when you get news such as this.  "He was so young!" (54 in this case), "We just played golf together back in the summer and he was fine!", and "You can't take your health for granted."  These are all true, but they seem like reflex and we do actually take them for granted.  Randy was a fairly young man and his exit from my current company created the opening for me to join my firm five years ago.  He was diagnosed back in mid-October with Stage IV melanoma...just weeks ago.  It took him that quick.  The truth is that he didn't keep on eye on his health and this was brewing for a while.  This gives even more import my task at hand.  I've never had issues with physical disease, butI need to get in shape and not take my historic sense of wellness as a given.  It is a proactive process.  On Thursday I will go say goodbye to Randy.  In life we weren't close, just friendly associates that crossed paths on occasion, but his death is helping me in a way he could have, should have, helped himself.  He has given me valuable lesson learned to stay on top of things.  Thanks, R².

WTG Mom!
My mother has caught the weight loss bug in recent months as well.  She even brought herself into the new millennium this last year and is using a computer.  Mostly to read my blog I think, but perhaps she checks email intermittently.  She tells me these pages help her in her own fight against fat.  Mom bounced up and down the scale over the years and 2012 has been a big step in the right direction.  Congrats, Mom!  I'm proud of you for making better choices and sticking with it.

Not a Bad Snack!

First off, save the admonitions about eating these sorts of things.  I do my thing and it works for me.  The whole point of this process is not only for me to get healthier, but to provide a blueprint for others that is easy, livable and effective.  That means staying as close to the mainstream as possible within certain parameters.  People don't want to hear "Eat milk thistle rice paste extract flavored with goat's butt root."  They'd rather stay fat.  I know I would.  What some might see as junk (ie. Splenda), I view as an acceptable tool in aiding my weight loss.  The other day while checking out with my large cart of vegetation at the Shoprite, I noticed an end cap stocked with Quaker Banana Nut Bread Soft Baked Bars.  If something looks tasty to me, I inevitably pick it up and look at the nutritional values.  More often then not, I put it back down because the numbers or ingredients scare me off.  These I put in my cart.  The bars are filling, delicious and have 140 calories, 6g protein and 5g of fiber.  I normally eschew corn syrup, but it is very far down the list of ingredients.  I'd definitely buy these again.  Hopefully, that stockpile wasn't there as a closeout.

Cya Thursday for an easy delicious risotto for fall,
M
What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Kashi Island Vanilla cereal w/almond milk
Lunch ~ A grilled chicken and roasted pepper w/balsamic sandwich
Snack ~ The aforementioned banana nut bar
Dinner ~ Pumpkin Mushroom Risotto and a simple pear and bitter greens salad (both pictured here). Recipes tomorrow.
Exercise ~ none