Great recipe

Found a wonderful recipe for Oatmeal Cranberry Flaxseed Cookies on the Baking Bites blog. Made a batch and brought them into work to share. I think two or three of these would be a great breakfast option.

Round 3

It's always welcome news to hear that caffeine has a few health benefits, aside from the one that keeps me sane before noon. If it boosts my metabolism as well as my attention span, it has to be good!

BMI is 33.9 = BAD. Would definitely improve if I got daily exercise. Must resume daily lunchtime walk...

Conscious eating round 2

To try to snack in a more healthy manner, I've been keeping the house stocked with apples. When I start checking the refrigerator for a little something, I consciously say "Eat an apple, then see how you feel." It's kept me from eating an additional meal's worth of food for a "snack" on more than one occasion.

I've looked into food allergies since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I believe I have a sensitivity to wheat; I feel much better when I avoid bread & cereal products, and have lost a bit of weight as well. It's amazing to find common allergens as (seemingly unnecessary) additives in so many foods. A friend's sister has three children with gluten and dairy issues, and has to pack a cooler of food to go ANYWHERE.

Round One - Not down for the count

I tried a few of the nutrition quizzes suggested in the H&W blog, and discovered I need to avoid fast food joints all together - I made every possible wrong choice between selections meant to sound healthy and actual healthy choices. I'm better off packing some homemade hummus and carrots than hitting Taco Bell during lunchtime.

I also am trying to eat a little something for breakfast. I usually go without, but since I'm boiling water for coffee or tea, I'm now putting together a small bowl of organic, old-fashioned oats with a little honey and cinnamon. Another option that I've tried is this Swiss Oats and Fruit recipe my coworker Mary found and shared. Instead of all milk, I add half milk, half plain lowfat yogurt.

1/2 & 1/2, on the double

Fixing my coffee at Wawa today, I wondered how many calories I'm actually consuming since I like it rather light, and half-and-half is my additive of choice. Each little tub is 20 calories, but since I pour from the jugs, I have no idea how much I'm using. I always think that I've got a low-cal drink because I don't add sugar, but I could be adding a couple hundred calories without really thinking about it.

I guess what I'm aiming for is to be conscious of all the invisible calories I'm ingesting without becoming an obsessed, measure-everything-to-the-microgram diet psycho.

Weigh In

Stepped on the nice digital scale here at work: 209.4 lbs

I've been up as far as 235, and I've held steady at this weight for about a year. I'm going to try to wean myself off bread & pasta over the next few weeks and see if it has any effect. Also going to try a few moves in the am&pm to tone up a bit.

Lunch is now typically hummus, carrots & an apple. Easy to prepare in advance and package up in little tubs. I've got a leftover pork chop for dinner, and maybe some spinach & feta cheese on the side.

A new challenge

I've signed up for Ocean County Library's 2009 Health and Wellness Challenge in the hopes that it will help me gain some new (and good) habits.