Monday, April 15, 2013

OOPS! I Ate It Again!



What can I say? I love pizza. And tacos. And mac and cheese. And chocolate-dipped anything.

I’m facing that problem faced by all those who attempt to watch what they put in their face. I’M JUST TOO FREAKING POPULAR! Kidding. But it has been a very social Spring around these parts. People want me to visit them, and I want them to come visit me. And when that happens, it’s not just a consortium of reminiscing, catching up and making fun of one another’s stupidity laughter—it’s also a minor-leagues food festival. We eat! A lot! And it’s not Paleo! And when that happens for, no lie, five consecutive weekends, well, this happens (prepare for data overload):

As of 3/8/13:
Percent Body Fat:   27.1%
Percent Total Body Water:   51.8%
Percent Muscle Mass:   36.4%
Bone Mass:   4.4lbs

As of 3/15/13:
In Boston stuffing face. Did not log in. Wrote about in last post. Wow, I am sucking at posting.

As of 3/22/13:
Percent Body Fat:   26.8% (WOOT WOOT! Broke 27%, new low!)
Percent Total Body Water:   51.9%
Percent Muscle Mass:   36.8%
Bone Mass:   4.6lbs

As of 3/29/13:
Stuffing face with pizza as family visited for NCAA tourney games. Did not log in.

As of 4/5/13:
Percent Body Fat:   27.2% (WOMP WOMP! Back over 27%, first increase in percentage since starting)
Percent Total Body Water:   51.6%
Percent Muscle Mass:   36.3%
Bone Mass:   4.4lbs

As of 4/12/13:
Percent Body Fat:   27.1% (slight redemption)
Percent Total Body Water:   51.8%
Percent Muscle Mass:   36.4%
Bone Mass:   4.4lbs

As you can deduce, I’m having a few breakdowns. The first is that I missed another log-in. That one hurt. And, I’ve had a slight regression in my body fat percentage and total muscle mass for the past three weeks. Needless to say, I’m not feeling very successful. I feel like I’m falling behind, but I can’t say that I don’t deserve it. After all, your body responds to what you do to it.

My diet has been really out of whack, and I feel it both physically and psychologically. Any change in my routine—like traveling or having company visit—really throws me out of whack. This is largely due to: not being prepared to eat in, not making smart choices when eating out, and my new worst enemy, LEFTOVERS! I hate to see food go to waste, and it just stares me down every time I open the fridge! Easily solution: put it in your stomach! At the start of every week, I would make a recommitment to staying Paleo/Primal, but by week’s end, as company showed up, all rules went out the window and my week’s worth of efforts were quickly washed away by grease, gluten, and good times. It’s been hard getting back on track, and I’m nervous because my weekends don’t free up until the first week of June! I know, I’m popular.

Obviously, I need a better game plan—and for once, I don’t have an answer quite yet. Perhaps it is just stone-cold determination. (Note: if you are reading and you have visited me/had me visit you, the above paragraphs are in no way eligible to be used as an excuse to stay away from my seven kinds of crazy.)

Now, I realize that my lack of blogging and yo-yo metric numbers might suggest I am falling off of the exercise wagon. Au contraire, ya lil’ pessimist (okay—maybe I am projecting onto you). I do have some positives to share. I am still making it to the gym. Consistently. 5-6 days per week to be exact. And I am trying new things. I have finally made it to my first Spin class and it was a total ass kicker blast! I have thrown in a few Zumba classes for humility cross-training. I am dominating my strength workout card and am anxiously awaiting the new one. I’m feeling stronger, even though my metrics aren’t moving around much. AND! I bought 4 canisters of tennis balls—Spring is here, and so is my competitive drive to crush opponents that far exceeds my actual skill level on the court! All good things.

Enter paranoia. My teammate and I have decided to modify our plan slightly. We’re switching from a triathlon to a duathlon—though it’s on the same day, same time. The biking section has increased only slightly, from 9.5 to 10 miles. BUT THIS IS IN 26 DAYS, PEOPLE!!! And my bike is still sitting in my basement! I’ve been cycling like a fiend indoors, but have yet to get rolling on the concrete. Ack!!!

That being said, here are my goals for this week:

  • Dig bike out of basement, check for any living creatures that may have called it “home” during the winter months.
  • Buy some bike cages to keep my beastly legs in their pedal holes.
  • Find a good route where certain death by crazy CT drivers is less certain.
  • GET ROLLING!
  • Develop thoughts around better food game plan. Until then, stay Paleo/Primal for ONE FULL DAY and run away from leftovers and any/all pizza!!! They’re kryptonite.

I've got my work cut out for me! Until next time, happy Monday, and may you feel a little like this dude at some point this week: