Change is Strange...

Strange to Change

It is strange to think back on my previous view of eating and fitness.  Negotiation and rationalization were king.  I wanted to be thinner and in better shape, but my habits were laughable in context of the goal.  Poor eating, crappy exercise and drinking.  I had the "trifecta" of couch potato fitness.

"Exercise"
"Exercise" was 40 mins on the elliptical 3x per week while watching Sportscenter.  How the hell can you watch something and get an effective workout?  I don't think it's possible... unless you count my life flashing before my eyes in the third round of Fight Gone Bad.  (Editor's note, I'm damn glad CF540 still hasn't gotten another rower or that bastard of a WOD would be coming around again).

Some days, I remember convincing myself that playing the drums on Rock Band for an hour would sub for a workout.  Of course by the time I got home, I didn't even do that.  BTW, an hour of Halo3 definitely does not count as a workout.  Oh and my "runs" were laughable.  My wife bought me a "Nike+ Run-o-meter" because, you know, my distances were so long I couldn't count that high.  Anyway,  I couldn't get it to calibrate so I sent it back.  In all honesty, I should have kept it and just taped a note on the watch that said.... "hey fat ass, you didn't go very far!"

Eating (also known as Exercising My Storage Capacity)

My idea of eating restraint was pretty perverse too.  I remember feeling proud to leave two chicken wings on my plate (out of a dozen).  Of course the fact that I was full from 48oz of "light" beer, 2 yeast rolls, 2 dozen peanuts and the first 10 wings didn't occur to me as the reason for my awesome restraint. 

Somehow I felt great when I ate a salad but rationalized that I could swill down a couple of Coors Lights and a brownie as a "treat".  I'm sitting here laughing about it now.  My eating habits are corrected.  Now, some meals really suck.  I mean they are healthy but taste like the underside of a dirty sock.  But most are good, some are great and I don't really miss pizza, wings, and BBQ.  Well maybe BBQ but I sincerely don't miss wings and pizza. I was not a glutton at every meal by any means, but I could throw down when starvation was on the line.  I figured it up the other days and one of my favorite meals contained 1800 calories.  Jebesus....

I see food as fuel.  Every time I think about cheating, my brain automatically tells me how much progress I will lose because of it.   G R E A T... my own damn brain won't let me enjoy a little indulgence.

Social Lubrication

My favorite habit was my drinking.  I still love the taste of wine, beer, and liquor.  It's a habit that I will occasionally allow.  However, I was in this crazy cycle of two drinks at night (you know, because they are good for you!) and then heavy caffeine in the morning.  In a moment of reflection, it became clear that my 2 were about the size of 4 and it was becoming an invasive habit.  My family has a small short history (read as: my dad) of alcoholism.  I was practicing well but decided I needed to change before I wound up naked on I-540.  But I never made the change and I drank daily for years.  Then I stopped.... cold.

Becoming a teetotaler broke the cycle and it was unbelievable.  It immediately led to better sleep, better workouts, less eating and more water.  But most importantly, I genuinely started enjoying more about life.  Alcohol is a destructive force for people that consume it regularly, they just don't know it.  It really is one of those things you can't see until you come out on the other side.  If you are someone that has a few beers on the weekend but nothing during the week, I'm not talking to you. :D  I'm talking to the "Every. Single. Day." person.  Trust me.  Stop for a month and see what happens.

Now for the most controversial change yet.  Caffeine!  I've gotten way more "WTF?" from people about stopping caffeine than any other change.  I did it because.... well I wanted to follow the Zone Diet as completely as possible.  It really wasn't any more dramatic than that.  However, it was the single hardest change of all the ones I made.  I weaned myself slowly over a 2 week period.  I got down to a 1/2 cup of coffee with little pain.  So then I cut the last 1/2 out and holy hell.  It took another 2 weeks for the hot pokers to be removed from my occipital lobe.  I'm pretty sure that even if I stop exercising, ate like crap and started drinking again... I still won't drink caffeine again.  It was just too damn hard to quit.

That said, I'm supremely glad I stopped.  It is such a freeing feeling to not worry about where/when the morning's fix will occur.  It is hard to explain, but I'm REALLY glad I stopped drinking it.

Final Thought:
I'm 40.  I am close to being in better physical shape than at any other point in my life.  I hope to make that bold claim before the end of this year.  However, with 40 comes the understanding you are not indestructible.  Mortality now warrants an occasional serious thought.  Luckily, morality is still of no concern...