Distracted eating.

The other day, for no particular reason I decided to reward myself with food.  Not because I had eaten well for weeks and weeks and should be allowed a cheat day, I just thought to myself, pizza sounds good, eat pizza.  So I ordered an individual bacon pizza, because frankly bacon pizza is the only way to go, it's the dog bullocks, the mutts nuts, the bees knees, whichever colloquialism you deem necessary to describe something that is the shiznit.  So I sat at my desk and ate my pizza while mindlessly searching the madness that is the internet.  Click here, scroll here, watch a funny video there, and before I knew it the pizza was gone, kaput, no mas señor.  Where could it have gone?  I had a vague memory of eating it but no way could I have already finished this delightful pizza that was my reward for being me.  Literally the memory is gone, I could not remember the flavors, forgotten was the feeling inside that you get with you eat something that is pure deliciousness.  All I had was a full unsatisfied belly, I am Jack's broken heart.  Until last week's Weight Watchers meeting I never put a term to what I was then referring to as "the time someone stole my damn pizza", go figure they talked about this and called it distracted eating, that was lesson number one.

Last week I was sitting with Hila enjoying a lovely breakfast of eggs, Canadian Bacon, fruit, and my good friend the hash brown, toasted to complete perfection.  The deliciousness of this alone forces it to be eaten last, that is just how we eat food, save the best bite for last.  As we were talking, the was phone ringing, the baby was crying, and Hila looks as me, eyes wide with an empty plate, "I don't even remember eating my hash brown".  Once again utter heartbreak.  Lesson number two in distracted eating.

We are busy people, tied to our cell phones, our iPads, God forbid we don't reply to a text message within seconds of receiving one.  We have become a people controlled by this technology and it is making us fatter.  I can eat, a lot, if I am distracted I can eat even more because I am paying zero attention to what I am doing I am just shoveling.  As a family we have decided to try and disconnect, unplug, put the damn phone down during meals.  We used to eat all our meals in front of the TV, zone out and veg and eat.  Now eating at the table is the rule not the exception.  I enjoy my meal more when I am focused on what I am eating, I find that I feel fuller longer being more aware of what I just ate.  Go figure I also know more about how my wife is doing, we talk, we look each other in the face and talk.  Don't get more wrong, I love instant messaging, text messages, email, etc. just are much as the next guy but I am now working on a way so these easy means of communication do not run my life.  

In one instance above the interwebs distracted me because I let it and I cannot remember just how delicious my pizza tasted, or figure out who stole it.  In the other instance, life was the distraction and it got the better of Hila through no fault of her own.  It just happened, life that is.

The lesson here is to avoid distractions, disconnect, focus on what it is you are eating, sit and enjoy your meals.  Life will still be there afterwards, I can promise you that.

Let's go.

Oh how I hate Monday's.  I work as hard as I do so the days seem shorter, when the days seem shorter they go by faster, all in the hope that Friday comes along even sooner than expected so I can get a friggin day off.  We are not meant to work 40-50 hour weeks, it just makes no sense to me.  On a good day I get four hours home, other than sleep.  Four friggin hours.  That sucks.  We have become a people who work for the weekend, Loverboy had it right all along.

Ok, I am done bitching, at least for the next seven days.  So let's recap on the goals from this weekend.

1. Back on track - This was tough.  We had dinner out, we have friends over, and we had wine.  Not necessarily in that order but you get the picture.  I wrote down for the most part and I can easily say that I went over, by a lot.  We will see how badly tonight at the weigh in but I am still expecting a loss.  Fingers crossed for a half a pound.

2. Working out - Goal was four times.  Boom.  Goal met.  Bootcamp Monday and Thursday, driveway bootcamp class with Hila and our ever cheerful spectator Eli, and a bike ride yesterday at Wakefield Park.  The bike ride was not necessarily a sweat to the core type work out but I was active and it was beyond beautiful yesterday.

3. Help Hila - Check.  She has started Insanity while at home and if she didn't fit in a workout while I was at work, I made sure Eli was taken care of so should could once I got home.  At this point in time she cannot make it to her bootcamp class, not until we can find someone to watch Eli.  For lack of a better word Insanity is an insane workout so she is at least getting the best workout possible under the circumstances.  So that is good.

4. Blog - This one was tough.  I have been beyond busy at work and I find it harder to come in early to blog with a newborn at the house.  Regardless I did what I could when I could, and I am okay with that.

Plan this week is to keep up with writing down my food and continuing my four workouts a week.  Bootcamp and Weight Watchers tonight.  No more excuses....Let's do this.

Keep moving forward.

Just as I suspected, gained 5.4 pounds.  Ouch.  I now weigh 220 pounds.  Essentially in three months I have gained back all the weight I have lost since I started writing this blog.  Well one pound less, whoopdedoo...

Well at least I had a good start to my first day back on.  Boot camp last night was miserable, I mean marvelous.  The goal was to do as many rounds as possible in the 60 min of class (less warm up and stretching) so really 45 minutes.  Yeah... I saw on Facebook that other clients were able to get in 4 plus rounds, oh how I miss the good old days. I was able to do a little over two.  Others in class did three or a little over.  I will get back there its just going to take sometime.  At least now I know where I stand, next time I will do better.  That is the outlook I am going to have from this point on.  I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday.  Thanks Tom for the motivational words earlier today.  You honestly made me feel better, its about establishing a base and then keep moving forward.  I knew there was a reason we kept you around...  I have set a reminder in Outlook for thirty days from now, I will try this again in a month and see how I do.

Try the workout yourself and let me know how many rounds you get in.

I have a meeting this afternoon and cannot make it to class but my goal is to get in at least a quick (again the term is used loosely here) three miler.  I am ready and motivated after seeing the scale last night.  Back to counting and writing everything down today!  One step at a time but those steps keep me moving forward.

Sabbatical

²sabbatical

 noun

: a period of time during which someone does not work at his or her regular job and is able to rest, travel, do research, etc.

Yeah, yeah, that's a good one, I think that is the best word to describe my last two weeks.  Better than Suck-Ass-Lazy-Dipshit, because frankly that is not appropriate for a blog post headline.  Regardless I am back and ready.  

Goals for the week:

Get the frig back on track - Start by going to Weight Watchers tonight to get an initial weigh in on the books.  Estimated weight gain to be 5 pounds.  I will report back tomorrow with complete details.

Work the frig out - Starting tonight with a boot camp class, I truly hope I can even remember how to get there...  Four workouts, that is my goal for the week.  Maybe two boot camps and two runs.  Runs are easier (I use the term loosely here since I am fat and out of shape again) for me since I can do them at the house which allows me more time at home with Hila and Eli, or Heli as I am now going to start referring to them as a single unit.  Look, it makes sense in my head okay.

Help Hila to work the frig out - She has been cleared to workout now and I want to help her just as she has helped me.  I will do whatever shes needs with Eli so she can start back on the workout hot tamale train.  She is someone who greatly benefits from a good workout.  Much like me it's her stress reliever and for the past eight weeks she has not been granted that luxury.  That time has come to an end, I am here to help my love.  Let me know what you need and consider it done.

Blog the frig daily - I think that one is pretty much self explanatory, please feel free to reach me by phone, email, or facsimile transmission if you need further explanation.  Thank you.

Looks like a pretty good plan for the next 7 days.  Wish me luck, although at this point I don't need luck, once my mind is made up it's as good as done...

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one...

Okay, I have much to discuss.  First things first.

My trainer Tom Kalka with Custom Fitness Concepts (my boot camp program) is up for The Next Top Trainer with Men's Health Magazine.  Many of you may not know who he is but you can take my word for it that he deserves this nomination.  Other than the minor effort it takes to show up to class on time, I contribute all of my success to Tom and the program he has created.  Please, please, please visit the link below and vote for Tom!  Plus you can vote once a day, we need to work together to get as many votes as possible.

Vote Here!

Secondly, it's only been four days of eating well but I can honestly say I feel fantastic.  Just getting back on track for a few days has changed my general attitude recently.  That and one night of eight hours of sleep!  Monday was a rough day for me.  No sleep the night before, Eli was just fussy and awake for just about the entire night.  Even with two hours sleep I still decided to try and go for a run with Brent.  Big mistake.  I was beyond exhausted and the run was hard, real hard.  I had to walk three times, I could not get up any momentum, it was just a bad run.  That night the girls had book club at the house, to escape the chaos that is twelve women I went the room to read.  This was about 9 PM.  Exactly three sentences in I was passed out cold, dead to the world asleep.  Hila, bless her heart, let me keep sleeping.  She handled all the night feedings, changes, etc. and let me sleep the entire night.  I seemed to have forgotten what a full night sleep was like after five weeks.  It was glorious.  I woke up Tuesday morning feeling more refreshed than I have felt in many moons.  I was more productive at work, I was more patient with people, and I sat down and wrote my best assignment for writing class yet!  I felt like me again.  The past couple of weeks have been hard on me and I am beginning to think that so much of that has to do with lack of sleep.  Life with a newborn is tough and I am grateful for a wife who noticed that I was falling apart at the seams and allowed me the much needed sleep I was lacking.  Thank you very much Hila, one night I will bottle feed Eli and let you sleep the night, you deserve so much more but it's a start!

I am going to keep with the proper eating and hopefully make a weigh in on Monday night.  Goal for the weekend is to get in a run.  The weather should be frickin fantastic this weekend.  There will definitely be a Burke Lake run in my futu...wait a dang minute here...it may just be nice enough to bust out the old mountain bike.  New goal for the weekend, a trip to Laurel Hill.  Boom.