Image Source: fitnessgoblin

So the past couple days have been, let’s just say BAD when referring to my eating. Whew. Really bad.

I think I have my snacking issue under control now. I’m much better with my lunch when at work. I still have my sandwich, and now I snack on fruit (lately strawberries and grapes) and then if I’m still hungry I snack on the plethora of Trail Mix concoctions that we have created and/or purchased.

I still run into the ‘since it’s there let’s eat it’ phenomena. Even after I eat my sandwich and all my fruit that I’ve packed, I still seem to reach for something else. It’s a work in progress.

It’s always what I eat at work. My eating habits at home are pretty secure. The only time I really ‘snack’ at home is when I’m watching my weekly TV shows with my beautiful wife. But even then I only either have dinner in front of the TV, or I am snacking on the Trail Mix.

At work, when there is down time, I’m eating, I’m snacking, I’m drinking (diet pepsi max that is). I HAVE to figure out a better way of handling my down time. I’m thinking of reverting to gum-chewing and seeing how that pans out for me. Grr.

I tell ya, when I’m busy it’s not an issue. In fact when things get busy I’m only eating simply because I have hunger pangs. I mean I’m still eating a snack at least every 2hrs regardless of the pulse of the day. That will probably never change due to me and my metabolism. I’m a firm believer in eating more frequently to healthfully maintain a steady leveled blood glucose/insulin/basal metabolic rate.

So here’s the BAD part of this week. The REALLY bad part. This week we had dinner with my father-in-law at one of the local ‘Italian-style’ restaurants. Now, I know better. I know I should have ordered something light. I should have been a lil’ more health-conscious with my food choices, but I had quite the brain-fart.

I had bread for an appetizer (heavy Italian bread and buttered). Then there was the salad with Ranch dressing (probably the most healthy portion of my meal). The main course was a Tortellini dish with gobs of mozzarella cheese and of course chicken pieces spliced amongst the mound of cheese-pasta.

It was a large serving, and I ate 3/4 of it.

Talk about heavy. I knew as I was eating the darn thing, I was going to regret the after math.

It was so heavy on my stomach that it lasted 2 days! The strange part is that I used to be able to eat that whole plate, and not think twice about it. Now my body kindly likes to yell at me for eating something so calorie-heavy.

But, it doesn’t stop there.

At the beginning of the week I was craving some Dairy Queen blizzard. Thankfully my wife was not interested. Well, last night she wanted to cash in her chips from earlier. She suggested the DQ, and I think I resisted…uuhh.. For maybe 10 minutes.

So last night I slept like total crap. I tossed and turned. I couldn’t get comfortable, I surely couldn’t lay on my stomach (it was too damn full!), so I flip-flopped all night.

When I went to bed I promised myself I would do the guilt-run burn for my workout the next day.

Sure enough this afternoon I ran my tail off. And it felt great. I think I actually missed running.

Side note: I don’t actually run outside, or on a treadmill. I ‘run’ on the ARC Trainer-elliptical machine due to the damaged knees and ankles. This way I can still reap the benefits of running with cardiovascular exercise and Interval training without being in pain and causing any additional damage to my joints.

I did 30 minutes of intervals. Intervals of various times. Everything from 30 sec sprints with 30 sec rest, to 45 sec sprints with a 15 sec rest, and of course some sustained max sprints. 30 minutes later my legs were like spaghetti, and I loved it.

I’ve been staying away from intervals and ‘cardio’ due to the boredom factor lately. I’ve been substituting total-bodyweight exercises and run-of-the-mill callisthenic work. The reality is I don’t feel the same benefits. I don’t feel the same gratitude and fulfillment I feel after a good ‘run’.

So I think I’ll go back to the HIIT work on the ARC Trainer. If for anything else, for my mental health.

‘Feeling’ fat really messes with your mind. It’s amazing how you look and feel different just by convincing yourself of how fat food has made you. When in reality I didn’t gain a frackin’ pound (I weighed myself) over that span of days.

I was able to ‘run’ the guilt out of my mind.

Stay strong, train strong.

Carpe Diem