Diet Fail

The word "diet" of course used in the context of nutritious eating.  The last few months I have been somewhat diligent about what I've been ingesting during the course of my day.  Although far from refined I have eliminated most of the crap, including fast food and sodas, that I would normally eat and have replaced it with much more nutritious offerings.  I've also increased my water intake, which for me is a very good thing considering the problems that I've had earlier this year.

Yesterday, however, was a huge fail with my eating.  Breakfast started out well, but then I met friends for lunch.  At McDonald's.  That's when everything went downhill.  A Quarter Pounder meal and two-thirds of the way through I knew I had made a mistake.  I have found that the funny thing about eating healthy is that at some point your body begins to know when you are taking in crap and there is a switch in your head that gets flipped.  When that happens it's as though your body naturally rejects the garbage, and in my instance, left my stomach feeling off for most of the rest of the day.

To add insult to injury, I ended up having a dinner consisting of Arizona Green Tea and a package of Skittles.  Yep, Skittles.  Maybe I was pressed for time.  Maybe I just didn't feel like eating because of the residual stomach issues from the pre-fab burger.  Or maybe it had just been a dreary, over-cast day and I really needed to taste the rainbow.  Really, there is no good excuse.

Dinner courtesy of CVS Pharmacy.

This morning has once again started off positively.  A good solid leg workout in the gym and a nice MetRx ProteinPlus bar.  Provided all hell doesn't break loose, I should have a good lunch and with any luck a decent dinner.

Falling off of the nutrition wagon from time to time isn't necessarily a bad thing.  There are even some nutrition plans that call for a strict diet during the week and let you have whatever you'd like during the weekends.  And after all, we are human.  Indulging ourselves from time-to-time should be quite acceptable.  I'm not trying to justify anything, mind you; merely making the observation that anything to excess has its downside.

So I'll permit myself this minor slip of hedonistic behavior and renew my commitment to keeping the fast food shut-down and only permitting the Skittles a limited audience.

Much Ado About Nothing

It has been over a month since my last blog post.  When I started this blog back in April, I had this idea that I was suppose to be hammering out an entry at least every other day filled with some intellectual musings or poignantly introspective works; as though I were to make some contribution to the literary world with my blogging.  A very grandiose idea indeed.

Instead what I have discovered by digitally traipsing through others' blogs is that such a high bar certainly isn't necessary.  Not only unnecessary but in some sense defeats the purpose of what the casual blog - such as mine - is really all about: connecting and sharing.  While my blog has (mostly) been about running, it is also about life and in the month or so that I've neglected making an entry here life did not pause to wait for me to record its happenings.

Not the One Man's blog.

The problem is the very bar that I set for myself in every endeavor.  It is high.  Loftily so.  To a degree that I more often than not fail myself.  Instead of enjoying the sharing of the day-to-day running, fitness, and living experiences, I set myself up for failure by expecting shades of Thoreau in my blogging.  However, I do not live near forests or ponds, and the only minimalist living that I'm the least bit interested in involves only my Vibrams.  Therefore to expect poetry and prose within the One Man's blog at such an august level is more than pure folly.  An expectation that I will consciously have to work to dismiss.

So in an effort to make up for my lack of sharing, I offer the following synopsis of the last month:

In the month since my last posting I have worked more, ran less, spent more time in the gym strength training, and given much better attention to my diet.  I have found fulfillment in a few successes, suffered through the disappointment of many more failures (most at a political and bureaucratic level), and at times floated in the melancholy of daily repetition.  I have been disgusted, angered, stressed, sleep-deprived, and assailed.  I have also passed through quiet moments of contentment, experienced self-satisfaction, and felt my heart fill to over-flowing.  In short, I have been living my life.

As I have committed to this blogging venture, in the future I will strive to make more regular entries; some perhaps with no intrinsic value (contrary to my innate expectations).  Regardless of the quantity or quality that may or may not come, one thing is certain: the One Man remains.