Fit Geek

Note: This is an article I wrote as part of a job application (didn’t get the gig). I spent a butt-load of time looking up research for it, so I felt it would be a waste if it never saw the light of day. Even though it’s, you know, A REJECT.

A couple of weeks ago I bet David $100 that he couldn’t go a week without eating any added sugar. This was while he was in the depths of a pastry and candy binge fest that must’ve lasted at least a fortnight. Ashamed of himself (not really), he accepted.

I was originally not participating in the bet, and because of that he didn’t have to pay me if he lost. I don’t know what my (lack of) logic was to agree to that, but so it goes.

In typical David fashion, he started talking crap. Saying things like, “I’m gonna win that bet so hard. I can’t wait to buy candy with that money. You might as well just pay up now. It’s hopeless for you.” Okay, so that’s not what he said verbatim, but close enough.

Crap talking makes me nervous. I realized that I did not want to pay him that money. But I couldn’t back out of the bet. So he said if I do the no sugar thing with him, and I go the week without any added sugar, I don’t have to pay him. However, if he loses he still doesn’t pay me any money. Which doesn’t really make any sense to me, but whatever. Why did I agree to this again?

Oh yeah. Because I want to cut down my sugar consumption, and this is a good, albeit not exactly fair, way to get me started. And if you think about it, I have more incentive to win, because the fear of loss (of money!) is a bigger motivator than winning something. He doesn’t have anything to lose. I do.

So the rules are that we can’t have anything with added sugar. Obviously that means no cookies, cakes, brownies, candy or desserts of any kind. Fruit is okay, juice is not. David is a milk junkie, so I told him milk was fine since it doesn’t technically have any added sugar.

Grossss.

You’d be surprise how many things have added sugar in them. Bread, dressing, soup, marinated meats and so on. David works at Whole Foods and always eats lunch from the prepared foods section. It took him a few days to find options that fit the guidelines of our bet.

Today was Day 1 and all went well. I almooost slipped up and ate a butterscotch candy, but that’s only because I forgot about the bet for a second. Good thing I remembered before the candy bowl at work got the better of me.

I’m feeling pretty good about the bet so far. I’d say luck is on my side, but I don’t need luck for this one. When I really want something, my resolve is solid as stone! Too bad I won’t get any money out of it though

My Festivus pole.

Oh yeah, and Festivus was a success. I had a blast. However, somebody decided to jump on the pole with a running start, and it was knocked out of place and put this little dent in my wall. But hey, that’s how you know it was a good party

This is a hole in the wall.

Ps. On a completely random note–I made beet burgers the other day and I couldn’t help but wonder if it’d be possible to make a variation of red velvet cake with them. Hmmm…

This weekend was a doozy.

You see, David works at Whole Foods. And sometimes he brings home “goodies” (although I think it’d be more fitting to call them “badies.”) This week’s batch of evil temptation came in the form of cornbread. And not the dry, crumbly kind they used to sell in the school cafeteria. No, this was glorious, moist, SWEET as sin cornbread. I ended up eating enough to send me crashing into a sugar coma several times. There was also fried chicken (when will my parents stop buying this?), sugar-free energy beverages (the legal, liquid equivalent of designer drugs), a cheeseburger and cake. That’s as much as I’m willing to admit, anyway.

I also bailed on some of my workouts, making my resistance training total for the week a measly two sessions. (Although I was good about cardio…and I sprinted, too!)

By Sunday night, I was feeling pretty gross. I brooded for a bit, and then I forced myself out of it. There was no point in dwelling on the fact that I ate like total crap and didn’t exercise all weekend. It happens. I could let it depress me and send me into a vortex of gluttony because, what the hell, I already blew it.

But I don’t work like that. I know a weekend of overindulgence is not a sentence that dooms me to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Instead, it becomes a breaking point for me, an opportunity to turn something negative into something positive. And that’s what I did.

I read up on some exercise stuff (I seriously enjoy that) then set my alarm clock for a rather ambitious hour. Today I made it to the gym bright and early for a good workout. I put together all my lunches for today when I got home, and even prepped some stuff for later tonight. This past weekend’s offenses aren’t bothering me in the least right now because today has gone so swimmingly.

It’s all about perception. I didn’t let my negativity consume me. Instead, my weekend of reckless abandon reset me for the week. It motivated me to clean up my act.

We all have a few days, a few weeks, maybe even a few months where our habits are…off the chain.

*cough cough the holidays*

But instead of beating yourself up, try to shift the way you think, even if it feels like flat-out lying. For example:

Ugghhh. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. I’m so disgusting. I feel gross. I just want to faceplant into a pint of icecreambecause what does it even matter anymore? I’m a failure.

Or:

Eh. I overate. More than usual. Whatever. I feel kind of full and bloated right now, and I don’t like feeling that way, so tomorrow I’m going to do a bunch of things that will make me feel better. Yes, I will feel awesome after a glorious day of walking, veggies and water.

Oftentimes, it’s dwelling in our own negativity and guilt that prevents us from shedding bad habits. Just remember that messing up doesn’t have to be the end all, be all of your healthy habits. Sometimes all it takes is a little gumption and positivity to get you on the right track. Be good to yourself. It pays off.

And because I’m a cheese ball who loves Gone with the Wind, I can’t help but posting this:

Don’t hate

The first order of business: photo re-cap of the weekend.

Had another boot camp this weekend. Two new recruits came. Sweat was sweated. Groans were groaned. Puke was puked. All in all, good times.

We're not even half way done and Chris is dead.

One-leg bench squats.

When I dip, you dip, we dip.

Then after the boot camp we gathered at my parents’ house for a pool party. Unfortunately I cannot divulge the details of this pool party because…just because

I lost the chicken fight. I blame David.

The second order of business: relationship weight. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Two people start dating and they gain weight. You know, because “they’re happy.” And happy usually means going out to eat, sitting around watching movies and cuddling and um…yeah. That’s pretty much it (not counting doing the nasty.) Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But when you first start dating someone it seems that leisure, fun and indulgences tend to trump other priorities. Some might argue that while in a relationship we’re also less motivated to “look good” in order to attract a partner, which translates to us becoming more lax about our healthy eating and exercising habits. In short, when we’re in the throes of love, we tend to eat more and move less. That’s my theory anyway.

I’ve never been the type to give up exercising and healthy eating because I have a boyfriend. My motivation to do those things transcends attracting a guy. I actually like being healthy. I did gain a little weight when I first started dating my boyfriend, but eventually I went back to my previous size. What I do struggle with is the introduction of someone else’s habits into my life. Like when they start coming over and buying food and leaving it here, food that I would never buy myself because I just can’t deal with the temptation. Like Fruity Pebbles and cookies.

I’m sure my boyfriend would appreciate me putting up this disclaimer: While he does sometimes buy junk food to eat at my place, I eat more of it than he does. If there is anything sweet in the house, it’s not going to last so long as I’m under the roof. Like I said, that’s why I don’t buy treats. He jokes that he has to have a secret cookie stash if he actually wants to enjoy any of the junk he buys.

He says that I should just…NOT EAT IT. Duh, right? Unfortunately it’s not that easy for me. I truly sympathize for mothers who are trying to eat healthy while avoiding a cabinet full of cereal, cookies and sugary carb goodness intended for their children. It’s hard. And it’s not really fair for me to ask him to stop eating that food (at least in my presence.)

I think people who live at home also have this problem with their parents. They’re trying to eat healthy, but if their parents do the shopping they buy whatever they want to buy, and it’s not usually the best stuff. I know when I go to my visit my parents’ I’d have to muzzle myself to stay away from the fried chicken and ice cream.

He's not always eating Swedish Fish.

It can be a tricky situation. The only solution I have is to be an inspiration to your partner (and not a nag.) Start making better choices, and hopefully they’ll follow along. If eating healthy is really that important to you, then I’m sure you and your partner can come to some kind of agreement. I don’t forbid my boyfriend from bring junk food over. But when he does, I try to just eat a little and not go overboard. At the same time I think my healthy eating habits have rubbed off on him. When we go shopping together he is much more likely to buy healthy food that he likes rather than junk food. Either way, lucky for him he’s a skinny ass mofo who doesn’t have much of an appetite, so he doesn’t eat that much. Unfortunately that aspect of his eating personality has not rubbed off on me

So, how have your partner’s eating habits affected you? Are you more likely to adopt their habits? What do you do when they don’t place as much importance on being healthy as you do?