Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Allright, Confession Time

Over the past three months, between the wonderful joys of working my day job, doing the Seniors Guide, handling Throkette during the evenings and nights, getting ThinkTank Designs off the ground, and generally making sure we have enough money to keep us from becoming destitute, I've let my diet and activity levels slide.  Those of you who knew me before are probably thinking "Yeah, but you were already at rock bottom, how much could you have slid?"

Quite a bit.

I myself have noticed quite a bit of chunking-up in the past few months, something I've never actually NOTICED before (it's never happened fast enough for me to ever look down and think "I look bigger than I did not too long ago...") It's always been a slow, steady climb.  Lately, though, I have most definitely noticed extra weight.  I'll spare you all any gross details, but needless to say... it's there.  Now, Throkky has somewhere between bupkis and zero self-censoring ability, so either she actually hasn't noticed that I've gained weight (and volume), or she has discovered the ability to be tactful about it (insofar as her constant jabs about my weight and excercise haven't increased, but stayed at their steady roughly-one-a-day pace). 

Zalgite had been on a tremendous excercise-and-healthy-eating kick lately, due in no small part to a couple books we've read together as well as the discovery that healthy foods TASTE good (mangoes! asparagus! red onions! nine different kinds of apple!)  He is constantly asking me who is winning the "Trying New Food Race, Where Whoever Tries Everything Except Brussel Sprouts Wins" (he hates brussel sprouts), and I reply that he is.   I am moving less and less from my desk at work, and there are painful and persistent leg-kinks whenever I actually get up to get coffee, or walk to the car.  I estimate I walk less than 3000 steps in a day (probably nearer 2000, and that's generous), and my diet consists mostly of:  coffee, coffee, coffee, fast-food or restaraunt-food, maybe a sandwich, coffee, pop, coffee, coffee, dinner, then assorted snacks, then bed.  Periodically throw in cookies, Easter candy, more pop, and occaisionally a banana.

Throkette is FINALLY sleeping through the nights (most nights, diaper-permitting) with a better than 50% rate, to the point where if I wake up at six am, it's because I WANTED to, not because someone is screaming at me.  Because of this, I am going to start excercising in the morning, which is really my only time to get stuff done (evenings are taken up with chores, kids, the occaisional must-see TV show, e-mail, and sleeping).  Now, I know I've said this before, but the stabbing pains in my knees, ankles, and entire gastrointestinal tract are sort of gently reminding me that if I don't do it now, I'm probably never going to start.

Does anyone out there have any advice to actually STICKING with a diet and excercise regime?  I do it for, tops, four days at a time and then backslide back to my neutral position (or right now, backslide to my fat-ass-McAmerican position), and I fully acknowledge that I suck when it comes to quitting food, and moving when I don't have to.

I'll be checking ShinyStat to see if anyone reads this.


Huh, it seems that my bad diet stemmed from this sickness and this response to it. That was the last time I felt "good", when I got over that... whatever the hell it was. I feel the same way now, for some reason.... at Coopers, wandering the aisles, all I bought was juice and yogurt. EVERYTHING ELSE looked nasty (even microwave popcorn... and I'm a man who loves his microwave popcorn).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Easiest way to stick with it is to have fun doing it, and have somebody to get in shape with. dont do hours of boring cardio at the gym, take seb for a walk every morning. things like that. you dont need to "change" things, just adjust things. humans react poorly to change, but have an incredible ability to adapt to adjustment.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you that the morning is the only time to get exercise. If I haven't done it before I leave for work, I won't do it at all. Mostly because I'm lazy, and I hate showering twice in the same day.

Making it fun really helps. Mix up what you do a lot. Doesn't Throkky walk a lot. You could join her.

Marblehead Johnson said...

She walks a lot... while I'm at work.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I guess that wasn't a good idea after all, then. I tried! :)

Anonymous said...

I did about the same thing. I figure, somewhere around Labor Day I sat down on the couch and hardly moved all winter (barring going to work, of course; need pay). I added about 15 lb. Now I'm getting in about a mile a day walking. Haven't lost any yet, but my diet still sucks.

Unknown said...

For me, I've found it's easiest when I make it part of my normal routine. Like, I have to walk to the bus in order to get to work, then from the bus stop to the office and then reverse it at the end of the day.

For you, if you're buying lunch already, you might want to walk some place close by (ish) so that you're forcing yourself to walk before you eat.

And maybe small steps to change? Depending on how you are, full scale changes might not be the best way to cope with everything. Maybe just one change for the first while, then just start adding things. But you have to make it part of your routine.