Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Although I cannot partake in the green beer ritual this year, I decided to make my own "Irish HMR shake". I attempted to make a shamrock with fat-free pistachio pudding powder yesterday. It didn't turn out as well as expected, so I switched it up today. This time, I turned the pistachio pudding into a paste (HMR diet-friendly) and painted a shamrock onto wax paper. The shamrock set in the freezer while I went for a walk/run. Then I made a blended HMR shake, let it set for about 12 minutes in the freezer, and VoilĂ ! Sham Shake!
I have been missing my California oranges as I drive by the numerous fruit stands on my daily commute to work. That inspired my new favorite shake recipe of the week: Lemon orange cheesecake. (Ingredients: HMR shake mix, lemon fat-free pudding mix, fat-free cheesecake pudding mix, & orange extract, water & 8+ ice-cubes blended.) Very refreshing! (Wouldn't it look nice with a slice of orange on the glass?) Did you happen to notice the tulips blooming in the background?
I still am amazed that they bloom in March! I guess I am still mentally accustom to the Midwest growing season.
I am happy to report that I met my St. Patty's Day goal of getting into the 160's! Two weeks ago I had a minor setback on the scale. It reflected a gain of 0.6 pounds. My HMR educator reminded me that we can still be losing weight but not see it on the scale, due to normal fluctuations in the water that our body retains. That's why it is SO important for weight loss progress to be focused on a 4-week total, rather than week to week. Last Thursday's weigh-in resulted in a 4.4 pound loss on the scale, for a total weight of 166! That more than made up for the slight gain. I have lost a grand total of 79.2 pounds, of which the last 47.9 was lost on the HMR Program. I am one pound shy of moving from the "obese" category to the "overweight" category. That is a huge milestone for me in my quest to get healthier!
I wanted to say a special word to my friends and family who are suffering health problems right now. Unfortunately, there are too many of you, but my heart goes out to you in your struggles. Several people are going through surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. It seems so many lives are touched by cancer in one way or another. Know that you are not alone and that you teach us how to be brave. You teach the rest of us what it means to be strong and fight! You teach us that whining over the little things in life is not worth it. That we need to look at the bigger picture from time to time, and always put our best foot forward. And as a colleague/friend put it, "It makes one take toll of the fact that each day could be your last, and, therefore it is really important to say I love you, do a kind deed, and spend time with the people in your life who really matter" (C.M.). Sometimes we cannot always manage to be there in person, with those who matter, but there are numerous other ways to stay connected.
Be the best you that you can be today! Be a little "selfish" with your time on occasion, taking time out to rejuvenate & play! Take care of you so that you can also reach out and do good for others!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to join this site? Click on the link on the right hand side of your screen.
Click HERE for additional Weight/Nutrition/Health resources.
Click HERE for Hep C resources.