My wife is out of town again, since Thursday night. Not that she has a lot to do with how I try to take care of myself but if you’re like me, you kind of relish those times when you feel a bit more free to do things that maybe you wouldn’t do on a regular basis.
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My thing is food. I don’t always have the best dietary habits in the world but I’m not bad. I don’t eat often enough, so I’ve been told by a counselor, but over the past few weeks I’ve been eating better food I have to admit. I’ve been eating many stir frys, with spinach and chicken the main ingredients in each. My wife taught me how to do this and it makes at least a couple of meals. I hate vegetables in general, but I’ve always had this fondness for spinach, thanks to Popeye. lol
But she’s gone, and thus, over the last couple of days I’ve pretty much thrown out good eating habits. I’m still not eating all that many meals, but what I’m eating… well, I’m kind of enjoying myself. Let’s see, what have I had…
* Burger King double whopper, McDonald’s big fries
* 8oz Filet Mignon (see picture above; not bad actually) with 2 baked potatoes (they messed up my order & gave me a free potato)
* 3 Kit Kat Bars
* 4 Nutty Bar’s (still have one left)
* 2 servings (different times) of quasi pasta primavera (I bought it elsewhere, it had mushrooms & other veggies I won’t eat so I took most of those out) that had oil in it that I couldn’t taste so I added my own alfredo sauce (yummy)
* 10oz steamed shrimp (love shrimp)
* a bag of chips with a tub of onion dip (2 sittings)
* 1/3rd of a cake (small) and a large scoop of ice cream
I feel great… and horrible! I should probably have said I felt great when eating this stuff and horrible a short time afterwards. I love hamburger and especially double beef whoppers, but shouldn’t have had the fries with it; way too much food the way I eat these days and it overloaded me. I should have brought home that second baked potato but it was nice and warm and they brought me lots of whipped butter, and that kicked my behind later on. The Kit Kats and Nutty Bar’s… yeah, I’m ashamed of that, but I loved it while I was eating it (I still think I’ve lost a Kit Kat somewhere around this room).
The pasta primavera was a bad move because I’m diabetic and greatly affected by certain carbs, one of which is pasta, and that both made me exhausted and drove my glucose up; not that the sweet stuff didn’t help. The chips I had were low salt, which used to be okay but since I started eating no salt potato chips it just seemed too salty for me, but I ate it anyway, drinking water; that still fills you up because salt makes you retain water. The ice cream and cake… I don’t usually buy ice cream to eat with my cake but in my mind cutting the cake into 3rds (I usually just cut it in half) justified in my mind that I was being good; oy!
The only thing I ate that a dietician would be happy about? That would be the shrimp, which I eat with ketchup, which she might not be as happy with. Man, I love boiled shrimp, but that stuff is expensive, too expensive to eat consistently. I also bought salmon along with it but that’s gone up drastically in price as well.
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So here I am on a Sunday morning, glucose higher than it should be (seems I’ve also forgotten to take all my medication when I’m supposed to; ugh), thinking about going for a walk but also thinking about eating; that’s a shame since I haven’t eaten yet I’ve been up 3 hours.
Here’s the thing. We may think we’re getting away with something when we go off on our own and eat and do things that we know we probably shouldn’t do but we’re not. Our bodies talk to us and make us realize later on that we over-exceeded our limits. Yesterday it was St. Patrick’s Day, which means a lot of people lost their minds and drank way too much (I don’t drink). I was watching Twitter all day and some of the local people were tweeting, or at least trying to tweet; it was a mess. They had fun, but I wonder how many of them felt bad this morning, or even late last night.
I could have been a lot worse. I certainly had some major plans for what I was going to do that I talked myself out of. I know I’m going to have some Chinese food at least one of these days, but other than that, once I’ve finished off the cake and ice cream and remaining Nutty Bar… I’m going to be good.
Well, not counting the fudge that a friend of mine is bringing over; hey, it’s fudge! 😉
I believe I witnessed the 3 Kit Kat Bars Mitch. lol It’s funny we get that regret going on within ourselves when we know we’re doing wrong, whether eating, spending or whatever. I guess that’s part of being an adult.
I spent a year losing 70 lbs and so far, I’ve gained 20 of that back over the winter since the holidays. That’s a horrible feeling even though I don’t feel physically bad, like you said.
We’re strange creatures Brian. Actually, the craving hits, we start in doing bad because our minds have convinced us that we can’t hurt ourselves, then it hits us once we start and there’s nothing we can do because our other minds say “well, you know you can’t just throw it away now”, and it’s right because we’ve already spent the money on it. I hate regret but I live with it sometimes. lol
Sinner! Haha.. man, that’s a lot of calories and sugar contents too. I too have the habit of eating irregular meals and fried stuff (and needless to say, alcohol too) when she’s away. I think you should get back to something like a little bit of rice, some lean yoghurt and salads for the next few days.
Ajith, I can tell you I’m not eating any yogurt, but I might move towards what I call “hot salads”, where I cook up some kind of meat, most of the time hamburger, then add it to a salad. Stir frys will work once I buy another chicken, but I have other food that, if I eat it, should help keep me out of trouble. Course I still have to eat that last piece of cake and finish the bit of ice cream I bought, but I have no plans on buying any more before she comes home… well, not buying any and bringing it into the house anyway. lol
I used to have good nutrition and diet habits until 2-3 years ago. Previously I used to have at least 4 meals a day and was doing regular workout, after I finish playing football. Right now, my diet is absolute chaos – late breakfast, often miss lunch and dinner very late at night and when you miss this with too much coffee, I am sure that there will be problems in the near future. About my weight, I’ve never really had a problem that I will gain weight, actually I am at the opposite corner, I want to, however my metabolism is very fast and I need to get at least 4-5gr or protein for each kilogram of body weight, which I definitely can not do as it is a lot of food, wow.
Carl, the reason I know that certain eating plans work is that I’ve been on them and had them work. There’s something in us that makes us fall off the wagon, whether it’s laziness or arrogance. Lucky for you that you don’t have the weight issue.
Sure, I think with me is related to work, just don’t have enough time to keep regular diet. About the issue with my weight and metabolism, pretty sure that it is genetic, all male from my father side have been slim until they have reached the age of 35.
Carl, there is this thing with having enough time to do things, that’s for sure. It takes a commitment to eat right and then to exercise; thing is I know I should be better at it, as should everyone else, because its for our benefit in the end.
If a dietician gets to read this post, she might say that you are going to end up in the hospital if you don’t change your menu.
Probably Alisa, but the lucky thing is that I don’t eat like this all the time, so I’ll be fine long term. And as the body starts talking to me I’ll start listening better as well.
Hey man its one step at a time.
What I found worked best for me was to go to farmers markets. They have all the fresh fruits and veggies as well as good ole country snacks that are better for you. Like roasted pecans, almonds, and peanuts.
I buy fresh fruit freeze it and then blend it into fresh smoothies. Ends up tasting like sherbet but its 100% fruit.
Jacko, I actually do go to the farmer’s market here and there, but they don’t have anything for me other than the guy that sells fudge. lol
While reading your post, I couldn’t help but think of my uncle. He’s diabetic, but by the way he eats, you can’t tell. He eats whatever he wants, just gives himself the insulin. I’ve gotten onto him many times, but he ain’t hearing it.
Glad you know that you’re going to be good. Now how long will that last? 🙂 But seriously, at least you know what you should be doing and knowing is half the battle.
Thanks Evelyn. Normally when she goes away I only get bad the day before she comes back. I figure I must have had some residual stuff on my mind, and since I’ve been charting what I’ve been eating the last few weeks I think that’s a part of it.
Hey Mitch,
When you’re by yourself, I think it’s easier to be bad. When I’m alone my thing is that I ‘don’t’ eat. For example I’ll skip breakfast and lunch and then at 4:00 I’m famished, then I’ll eat potato chips or a candy bar. Sometimes I’ll go back and read a post I wrote earlier in the day and wonder why it doesn’t make any sense – I was writing on hungry brain cells :-\
With working as much as we do, we need to take care of ourselves, that includes getting out of our chairs once in awhile and eating right. Bad habits do take their toll sooner or later.
Liz
Liz, I don’t eat often enough most of the time, and not eating balanced drives us to eat badly as well. Like today, I had 3 meatballs around 10:30 then didn’t eat again until 4PM, and I know better than that but I was out and about and didn’t have a chance to eat any sooner.
You hate vegetables, but you love spinach? That’s the weirdest thing I’ve heard in a long time. I’m with you on the mushrooms, though.
Does your wife read your blog?
Charles, my wife doesn’t read anything I write, pretty much like most wives, but even if she did she’s know what the truth was. And I do have vegetables in general but spinach and beets are two things I’m fine with. I’m also okay with string beans, but I’m finding that they’re not always prepared the same way and that’s bothering me.
Yes Mitch it is easy to convince ourselves this little bit won’t hurt. At least you new what you ate. Most of us eat more crap than we are aware of. But my doctor has made it clear I can’t cheat any more.
If you want some inspiration watch Fat sick and almost dead on Hulu.com
No thanks Ned; in my case misery doesn’t love company. lol And I know better, but every once in awhile my mind says I deserve a break today; hey, that’s the McDonald’s theme! lol
Hey Mitch,
You have such an entertaining way about how you share your messages. lol I really enjoyed this because you brought some fun to the tough-love message!
You’re right, we really need just grow up all ready. Cheating only hurts us in the longrun. Sure, it feels good to “get away” with things sometimes, but longterm we really should be paying more attention to extending our lives rather than temporary satisfactions that undermine our health and objectives.
I hope you can get back into your groove with the healthy stuff soon. You’re so worth it! 🙂 You can always schedule yourself a nice cheat day every week!
I agree with Ned that watching Fat Sick and Nearly Dead is a great idea. I know not everyone will be down with going on a juice fast, but the movie was really cool. It’s amazing what these guys did for themselves with a bit of stick-to-it-ivness!
Hope you have an awesome weekend, Mitch! Keep in touch!
Cat
Thanks Cat. I don’t drink juice so I know I’m not going on that kind of regimen. Now, if I could go on a chocolate milkshake diet I’d do that. lol But you’re right, when we cheat we’re really only hurting ourselves. I’ll be better, especially now that my wife is back home.
Oh Mitch you are so bad! LMAO! This was great because I am no better myself. I love food and trying to make better choices about what I put in my mouth. Ok, I admit I had McDonalds yesterday (so bad), but today I swear will be a better day.
When my man goes golfing I am like you, I hit the pantry full of goodies because I don’t have him watching me. Most times its out of boredom, but I know in order for me to eat better I have to buying it for my house. All in due time perhaps. LOL!
Sonia, it’s boredom and also yearning for something that tastes great, not something that makes us healthy. Today is a great example. I knew that my wife would be around for dinner, which meant healthier eating, so I took myself out for lunch where I had too much food, though I thought I was ordering something light. I could have stopped eating but I didn’t want to bring anything home, and at least I had broccoli with my lunch. So that mattered, right? 😉
LMAO! I am in tears laughing, because I did almost the same thing today at lunch with my coworkers. When I got home, I was too full to eat anything and ended up not eating at all.
Amazing isn’t it Sonia? All it took was 6 hours to get over it. lol