Note to all, it has come to my attention that the comments section has been having an issue I didn’t know about. Apparently comments were receiving a “blocked as a suspected bot”. This issue has been resolved, so feel free to comment away!
Since I’ve started making a concerted effort to reduce how much processed sugar I consume (see here), I became very aware of how much our grocery stores are sabotaging our weight loss efforts by making it impossible to shop without tripping over items chock full of sugar.
They make sure that there are numerous aisles scattered throughout the store stocked with sugary confections. For example, the candy aisles are in a separate location from the cookie aisles. The cupcakes and Twinkies are in the bakery section right next to the donut display, while ice cream and frozen novelties have their own row in the refrigerated section. Even in the sections set aside for protein bars and other “healthful” snacks are placed next to Pop tarts and lunchbox sized cookie servings. Just in case you managed to avoid these temptations, scattered throughout the store in aisles devoted to something other than sugar loaded items are little cardboard displays designed to tempt us yet again.
Let us not forget the “seasonal” aisle, located in the middle of the store, which always seems to be larded up with some sort of candies throughout most of the year. Starting in September it’s stocked with Halloween candy, soon to be followed by Christmas candy which gives way to Valentines Day candy and finally closes out with Easter goodies. The only season that seems exempt is summer. Which is kind of ironic, since summer is “swimsuit season” and after tempting us with caloric dense food all year long, stores finally provide us with healthier alternatives.
Finally, should you successfully navigate all these pitfalls, there awaits at the checkout counter one last tempting blitz of candy bars and m&m’s.
We can’t really blame the grocery stores, they’re just giving us what we want and what helps their profit margins. It’s not their job to help us watch our weight and blood glucose levels. That is up to us.
But it pays to be aware of what they are doing. You want comfort food and they know you want comfort food and are going to give you every opportunity to buy it. A couple of ways to resist these temptations is to make sure you are not hungry when you grocery shop, and to spend most of your time shopping the perimeter of the store. The reasoning for this is because most of the junk food is in the middle sections while the healthier items tend to be placed around the outer sections. While far from foolproof, these suggestions should minimize the impact of the temptation traps.
Keep in mind the old saying: caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).
(Editors note: I am doing some minor housecleaning to my blog. Mostly I am updating the focus on several of the pages that you see at the top of the blog. My writing has improved a bit since I started MrVintageMan and I felt that there needed to be some improvements. However, I don’t want to lose my older writing, so I am converting these pages to posts for posterity. Be sure to check out the new About Me page here!)
Men going through a mid-life crisis are usually portrayed on T.V and in the movies as objects of jokes and ridicule. Well, I am here to tell you that a mid-life crisis blows dead goats. A mid-life crisis can be painful, depressing, bewildering and sometimes downright scary.
So the purpose of this blog is to share my search for happiness and purpose as I deal with my own mid-life crisis and it’s evil twin the empty-nest syndrome. Raising my children and taking care of my parents provided me with a major sense of purpose for the past 20+ years. But with my kids having grown-up and moved out and my parents passing away, I felt a need to take my life in new directions. I am hoping that others will share their stories and their wisdom with me as I go along.
* I should note that the two things that bring the most meaning to my life are my family and my relationship with the Big Guy. These are private matters to me and, with rare exceptions, I will not be including them in my blog. *
A few of the things I have learned so far in my quest: being physically active, mentally engaged and having a willingness to try new things are very important to having a happy senior life.
So why is my blog called Mr. Vintage Man? Because, like fine wine, I have aged reasonably well and I’m full of character (some might say I’m full of bull…stuff). I have been around the block a time or two. I suppose I could have called my blog Mr. Antique Man, but I haven’t been around the block that many times!
Who am I? My given name is John Kevin Hickey, but I have also gone by Son, Sweetheart (that’s from my wife, the esteemed Mrs. Vintage), Daddy/Dad, Grandpa, Sergeant, Hickmeister, Frankenhickey, Hickey Moose, knucklehead, that goofy looking guy standing over there, and even “hey, you”.
I retired from the Air Force/Air National Guard after 30 years of service. I am an Iraqi Freedom veteran. My service took me all over the United States and to five continents.
I am also a retired aircraft avionics technician.
I’m a fourth-generation Colorado native, and truly feel that Colorado is God’s Own Country.
I am a fan of the Denver Broncos and the Colorado Rockies.
I’m an autodidact (no, I’m not going to tell you what it means – look it up yourself) and a voracious reader of numerous genres. I am a big history buff, with an emphasis on the histories of the ancient world, the United States military and the Old West. I enjoy craft beer, bicycle riding, reading, writing, gardening, traveling and a whole bunch of other stuff. I’m also something of a raconteur.
During the warmer months of the year I can usually be found in my office.
The Office
