Responsibility 199, what is it?

Responsibility 199 is a belief; I believe that to be healthy and to increase my longevity I need to weigh 199 pounds or less...
Responsibility 199 is a need; I need to reduce my weight, reduce my percentage of body fat, and the elevated threat of disease my present condition presents...
Responsibility 199 is a mission; I recognize that achieving 199 will be a challenge, perhaps the hardest I have ever undertaken...
Responsibility 199 is a commitment; I acknowledge that I must commit to action, commit to change, commit to myself and those I love to achieve this mission, to increase my longevity...
Responsibility 199 is ME.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Day 384 - Beware Of Good

What it is about May I have no idea. But one constant at work each May is that co-workers bring in candy to sell for their kids various school or social causes. Boxes like the one pictured there are all over the office here. That one sits at the end of the aisle I work in so I have to pass it a dozen or more times a day.

And pass it I do. Nothing of value there, nothing good.

Well, for sure it looks good, tastes good, even the packaging appeals to me as good. But I know better, in the end eating anything out of that box will be no-good for me.

So many things in life appear to be good, but in reality are no-good for us if used. Candy is just one example. There must be others, here are a few that come to mind...

The easy ones along the same line as candy would be ice cream, cake, pie, basically all desserts. They look amazing, smell divine, tempt us as sinful without doom; but sin is what they are waistline doom is what they get us.

Fast Food applies here. It is not that it's appearance is what looks good, but the convenience of the meal is what appeals as good to us. However convenience is not good for us in all aspects of life. Convenience in food preparation, e.g. electric blender vs. hand mixing utensil, good way to go more often than not. Convenience in food via a meal in a bag in a jiffy; not so much.

How about meal-replacement bars/protein-bars? Probably not fair to lump all into a single judgement here. First lets state that these come off as looking good to us for many reasons; they are packaged to look like they are beneficial for us, they are described as a better choice amongst alternatives, and they too are sold as a convenience item. Actually I think the 2nd of those three selling points is more true than shady; choosing most such bars over a candy bar is a better choice given just those two; usually. Instead, the lesson here is that there are many varieties of these bars out there. Some are actually almost-good for you. But when you get into the nitty-gritty of the ingredients, most are not good for you. Certainly not a good alternative to a whole food meal or snack.

Here is a good one from my lunch yesterday...
Broiled salmon with squash & green beans. Looks good smells great. You see what else is there, lower-right; that white sauce is cucumber sauce. "Cucumber" sauce! Cukes are healthy veggies right, sounds like a good sauce, it is made from cucumbers after all! But NO, cream is the base of this sauce, not-good! I ditched it and replaced it with some pico de gallo. Sauces, dressings and the like are notorious for being packaged & described as good choices, safe choices to use in your diet. Reality however is that a vast majority of them only deliver good flavor at the expense of good nutrition.

Of course, any of the above can be enjoyed in moderation. Moderation is something I am a believer in as it falls in line with my belief that we need to have fun, enjoy each day fully. If on any given day you truly feel you need to satisfy your want for some candy, have it. But beware that candy is a bad thing that looks good, so think before you indulge and determine when to stop before you start. Two Snickers, a Kit-Kat and a Three-Musketeers is well past the point of moderation; trust me I know from experience.


What examples do you have of 'good' we need to beware of?


Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

9 comments:

  1. Oh, Patrick!
    There is so much less of you - to *poke*!

    I think for me - In the weight loss /training phase....
    Moderation is out. If I could practice moderation,
    I wouldn't need the diet now! Especially on some
    so-called "treat" that I don't ever really need !

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  2. "Good" to be aware of - 100 calorie packs....they are still fattening and nothing nutritional in them.

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  3. Not a 'bad' pretending to be 'good' but serving sizes irritate me! Crystal light has the packets to flavor a 16.9 oz bottle of water as TWO servings!!

    Then there is the whole artificial sweetener thing. Who to believe there??
    Lori

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  4. Good to read labels and to notice the serving size for the nutrients listed. Just a glance is not enough. We need to be aware of exactly what we are eating.

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  5. Awesome job passing on the candy. I work in a bakery and sometimes it can be tempting to take a bite here and there but i always feel bad when i eat that junk.

    Have a great day

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  6. I think I got caught up in the low fat, thinking it was good for me, but then realizing that the sugar content could still be nuts. nuts are good though right. lol. And your testing of the chocolate bars, yeah I have done that route a time or two...are you surprised. have a great weekend. thanks for continuing to inspire.

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  7. Salad Bars in restaurants can be a problem. A salad sounds and looks like a healthy thing. But recently I was at a restaurant where I could hardly find a healthy thing to eat. This was a huge salad bar, but it was full of prepared salads and sides in creamy fat and sodium laden dressings and sauces. There was only a bowl of iceberg lettuce and some tomato slices for vegetables in a tossed salad. It was frustrating.

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  8. No food fun for me. I just don't know how to eat the fun stuff in moderation. Tried to learn, over and over, but always failed at it. Now I just accept that it's something unachievable for me and go no without it. The good news is, there are so many other ways to get the fun fix every day.

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  9. Great post Patrick! Yes, if you are a person that can practice moderation OR have your treat & move on - that is the way to do it. I can do it but I know others can't. I make my own protein bars & protein cookies now... I used to buy & never was happy with any one bar due to ingredients & stats so... yes, I still may buy here & there but I mostly eat my own.

    Pass on - I hate to say this, good friends that try to sabotage you - you have to put yourself first.

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