I remember the day that I was getting ready for bed. I was taking my clothes off to put some ratty shorts and my favorite old t-shirt on when I noticed that I no longer had that sleek, slim, and toned body that I did when I started college. It is not like this was the first time I had ever noticed this. I am sure that I had noticed the slow progression (or should I say regression) of my physic. It kind of slowly creped up on me and then one day…bam…you realize you are out of shape.
As I stood there I almost was in awe at how I looked. How could I have let this happen? Why did I let this happen? I knew it was just not one thing that caused my metamorphosis into a body that I was no longer proud of. It was a compounding effect of life. Work schedule, lack of exercise, eating the wrong foods and too much of them, to much soda pop, and chips. Oh, and don’t forget about the occasional partaking of alcohol…that probably did not help.
Since it taken me years and years to get to this point I should have mentally been prepared for the effort it would take to get back in shape. More importantly, I should have realized how much effort it would take to make the lifestyle changes that would be long lasting…but I didn’t.
My solution was to cut out the bad stuff cold turkey. I made the decision that in the morning that it would all stop. I would quit the soda pop, the red licorice, the chips, the hamburgers, etc. I also would start eating more sensibly. Now that is all great, until you realize that you have to replace all those unhealthy meals with healthy meals. What more if you are like me you need replace those unhealthy meals with tasty meals that actually feel you up.
So in one day, I did quit the soda pop and red licorice. I also told myself that I would not snack on the chips at night when I got home and plopped down in front of the television. I told myself enough is enough and that I was going to make a change. I knew I could do this.
This lasted about three days. Let me tell you, the struggle with junk food is real. My body craved the sweets, the sugar, the salts, the fats. I had the worst headache of my life for three days. My body was revolting against what I had decided to due and it wanted to win. For three days I held steady. It was one of the most unpleasant experiences I have had. Soon my friends and family wanted to know what demon had taken hold of me because my personality had changed. I was one grumpy, cranky, and had a short fused temper to go with it. Talk about a short fuse…I would go off at the drop of a hat over the littlest things. In reality, I probably should have lost my job over the way that I treated my co-workers. However, I had told my boss what I was doing the first day. Thankfully, they were gracious enough to give me a free pass – for a few days anyways.
Three days dragged onto four and then five and then it happened. I decided that I had been so good that I could just cheat just a little. I thought to myself that one little soda pop – just a 12 ounce can – would be okay. Heck, if I could stop cold turkey for 5 days than one little soda pop would be fine. The issue was that one little soda pop led to one few pieces of red licorice, one little bag of chips, and on and on.
It was not like I was binge eating. I just started to slip into my old habits after 5 days.
Soon I was back on the same slow boat to worsening health that I had just jumped off. What the heck? Was I that weak? Did I have the little will power? I thought to myself, “No wonder so many people ping pong back an forth in their weight”. That is when I started to self reflect and look for answers. I knew that it had to be more that physiological that there had to be a psychological component to it too. Maybe even an environmental component to it (social norms, the way we are raised, the media, etc.).
I started to educate myself and test new methods within my physical and psyche to see if I what worked for me for getting fit mentally and physically.
