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May 17, 2007
There's Never Going To Be A Better Time
I've gotten some questions about whether I can relax for awhile now. The answer is a resounding no. Between the contract campaign at the new place we won yesterday, the Scranton campaign, and one of my staff out on paternity leave, I am swamped. The house is in desperate need of a clean, I've gotten about five hours of sleep in the last forty-eight, and my CR is going well today (now that I'm home) but was far from perfect while I was out. I ate mostly *good* food, but too much, and indulged in bread and cheese at my co-worker' house between vote times yesterday when he set out a huge lunch for me and my team so that we could work though lunch without starving to death. Shrimp, turkey sandwiches, brie (ah, the evil brie!), salad, fruit salad, homemade guacamole (he once won the office guacamole cook-off), olives. It was great. I was starving having eating a tiny eggwhite omlette in the hotel restaurant like seven hours before and been up since 4 am. So I ate a big lunch, then had one piece of bruchetta and a mussel at the victory party late last night.
My job is hard on my CR, but I sometimes think that I just use work as an excuse for being less disciplined than I know I could be. I mean, it's perfectly possible to eat the turkey, shrimp, salad and fruit salad without the bread or brie. Did the election make me eat the brie? Did the anti-union consultants hold a gun to my head and threaten to fire more of my nurses if I didn't eat the brie? No, they did not. Though perhaps they should, since de-railing my CR would cause me to die earlier, eliminating some of their prime competition. Point being, the devil did not make me do it. I ate the brie (and a lot of guacamole, which is very healthy in small amounts but adds up fast as avocadoes are very high calorie) of my own free will. Yes, it was the day of the vote. But so what? Did my consuming more calories somehow aid my nurses in winning? I don't think so!
If one is looking for excuses for why one can not eat properly, there will always be an excuse. From the holidays to the weather, there is always some ostensible reason why the brie finds its way from a buffet table into our mouths and hence to our digestive tracts.
I've been thinking about the upcoming Scranton campaign, and how to stay CR'd on the road. Basically, I need to stop whining about how hard it is and pack my food and eat right. And exercise. There's a hotel gym, there for the using. I know my Pilates routine well enough to do it in my room in the mornings. I can stay CR'd and stay in shape, and I know I'll feel better and function better all around. Time to get past the excuses.
Fact is, there's no good time for a life change. There's always going to be something. The best time for a life change is always now.
But in my own defense, that guacamole was really good. And avacadoes are a healthy fat.
Posted by april at May 17, 2007 1:08 PM
Comments
Knowing I will incur the mild wrath of MR ;-), I am going to say this: stop being so hard on yourself, April! Surely it must be acceptable to occasionally eat things that are less than great (like Brie or too much guacamole) or even kind of bad (bread). Forgive yourself. Tomorrow is another day. MoMR :-)
Posted by: Judith at May 17, 2007 2:48 PM
Hey April. I totally agree. The reason I come up with for eating ad lib are all mine. They are just simply excuses. Thanks for this post. It's nice to know that cronies have the same experiences. Have a great night and rest up!
Posted by: carolyn at May 17, 2007 7:15 PM
"Did my consuming more calories somehow aid my nurses in winning? I don't think so!"
But it didn't stop them from winning either. You say you had something rather small to eat *seven whole hours* before the lunch of brie and other fine food.
Frankly, I am rather shocked that you did not eat everything in sight, on site, at that point! (Lack of sleep is known to increase appetite, for instance, and by your own admission you've had very little sleep).
Brie and guacamole. That's what you had, not twinkies or french fries. I don't see why you need to beat yourself up about this, even though your CR is important to you.
Posted by: Julie at May 18, 2007 1:46 PM
I know what you mean about the stress thing and work. You impress me so much that you can do CR and still manage what you do... very often I have this feeling of pressure from being in the USAF and fixing planes non-stop that I feel like I "deserve" to eat junk food, which is just silly... there are plenty of healthy foods to eat that I enjoy even more.
Posted by: Jake Silver at May 18, 2007 3:10 PM
Wonderful honest April -
thank you for your posting from May 17 -I needed to "hear" it -- I often use my CR as an excuse not to exercise (oh - it burns too many calories and I'm so low on them already and if I do exercise I"ll have to increase my calories so I'm better off not exercising... blah blah blah - you should hear the things I come up with to skip - even going for a short walk! And I agree with you - exercise is just as important as sound nutrition -- So thanks to your honesty and post today - I am getting off my behind right now and going for a walk! thanks for motivating me!
Irit
Posted by: Irit at May 18, 2007 3:39 PM
What I find really helps me with sticking to an exercise routine is dvds. There are some great pilates dvds available and this is also perfect for travel because you can use them on your laptop. Plus it really helps with motivation because you just put the dvd on and keep going until it finishes.
Thanks for the great post!
Posted by: Mizzi at May 18, 2007 10:01 PM