Wednesday, October 29, 2008

One more day

(didn't weigh before boot camp)

After this morning, I have only one more day left of my fitness boot camp. I am really looking forward to no longer having to wake up at 4:55 a.m. three days a week! It is almost 11:30 here, and I'm still frickin' tired after drinking a cup of coffee and a cup of green tea.

On a positive note, I learned a lot of new and different strength training exercises through participating in the boot camp. I am sure I worked out a lot harder in the boot camp than I usually work out on my own at the gym. I enjoyed the physical challenge of the boot camp and feel stronger for having (almost) finished it. And I really enjoyed the energy of my group and meeting the other women there.

I may attend another boot camp with this trainer again in the future. She has several participants who have been with her for as long as three years, and many of the other ladies attending were repeaters, so that's not uncommon. For the next couple of months, I feel I'm going to be too busy with work, the holidays, my mom's visit, and our Maui trip to fit it into my schedule. . . but I might feel differently after the first of the year.

I haven't lost any weight during the boot camp, and the reason is obvious: I've been eating like crap! In addition to my usual "sins" of not getting in enough fruits & veggies and overeating, I've also been craving starchy carbs a lot and have been indulging my taste for them far more often than I should.

Well, you know the old saying: fall down ten times, get up eleven. I've reordered the South Beach Diet book; somewhere along the way, I gave away the copy I had. South Beach is a style of eating that has worked well for me in the past and is also the style of eating that my PCP recommended for weight loss and lowering my cholesterol levels. Once the book arrives, I plan to go back on Phase One for two weeks.

Of course I am ALWAYS wanting to lose weight, but I am wanting to get back on track eating-wise for other reasons, too. I'm tired of feeling out of control about my eating and letting my cravings rule me. I'm also tired of feeling tired (again) most of the time: I have slowly slipped back into the habit of having a cup of coffee each morning, primarily because I "need" it to get started mentally. And I continue to be concerned about my high cholesterol (though my behavior may not necessarily demonstrate this concern!).

I've often pondered the differences between those of us who struggle with our weight--currently overweight or not--and those who do not struggle with their weight. It seems to me that these two groups approach food and eating in fundamentally different ways.

MM falls into the second category, so living with him and observing his habits has been a unique experience for me. MM's eating habits aren't what I would consider good or healthy, but in spite of this fact, he has never been more than 5 lbs overweight. He eats candy or other "treats" (HoHo's, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream) once or twice a day; the only vegetables he will eat are romaine lettuce, peas, and cooked tomatoes; he drinks 2-3 cans of Mountain Dew a day; and the list of foods that he won't touch at all is long.

Aside from the fact that the actual foods we eat are quite different in general, I've made a few other observations of ways in which MM's eating habits differ from mine. One is that, unless we have a special night out planned at one of his favorite restaurants, MM rarely looks forward to meals. I, on the other hand, often start looking forward to my next meal just as I've finished my current meal. This is especially true if I know that I am going to be having a food at my next meal that I particularly enjoy.

MM has no problem skipping or delaying meals. If he gets busy, he can "forget" to eat or put it off to the point where he is just starving. I have to eat every 3-4 hours. If I don't, I get physically uncomfortable and get headaches and become entirely consumed with the idea of food. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've "forgotten" to eat, and most of those were associated with periods of extreme stress or grief.

If MM doesn't like the food on his plate, he will leave it there, even if he's hungry. This phenomenon does not occur with me, ever. Many, many times I have finished the food in front of me, even if I didn't love it, or even really like it, simply because I was hungry and the food was there.

MM really doesn't spend any time thinking about food. Sure, he has favorite foods and things that he enjoys eating. . . but he orders the same things at each restaurant we frequent and pretty much buys the same items at the grocery store every week. He never has to make a "grocery list" because his selections don't change much from week to week.

I don't know that MM's behaviors are something I can (or even should) emulate, but they certainly seem to work for him. . . and it's interesting to me how we differ in our approach to food.

4 comments:

jen said...

I think I'm a little of the both of you. While I enjoy eating, I don't HAVE to eat RIGHT NOW! I have a friend who gets SCARY when she's hungry. I always call it Feeding the Beast.
And I have another friend who said that if she didnt HAVE to eat to live, she never would. Eating is a waste of precious time to her. People are funny, and different things work for different people...

Anonymous said...

I def. agree with Jen that different things work for different people.

I did a bootcamp routine for about 8 months last year and this year. I eventually got bored with it, but it was the first time I ever exercised consistently. I joined a gym in my office, and actually have stuck with it. I learned a ton at bootcamp. With a mat and two five point weights, I now know how to do a ton of exercises on my own. I also enjoyed the women in my group. I am so glad you gave this a try.

I also did not loose any weight though. But I slept so much better and just felt great all around. I think I ate more, because I felt like I was entitled to it because I was working out.

Food is such an emotional thing for everyone. I also struggle to eat fruits and vegetables. I'm kind of a meat, cheese, bread, and wine gal. Since I'm always struggling to get some veggies in, I force myself to have one salad a day, even if its a little side salad or something. Thats the best I can do. My husband likes to tell me, its about progress, not perfection.

Anyway, sorry if I made this comment all about me. I don't think eating regularly is a bad idea at all. Skipping meals isn't a good way to loose weight. I'll skip all the assvice about healthy snacks, etc. Like you probably do, I know a lot of tips and tricks (courtesy of Oprah), however, my problem is executing them.

Hugs to you.

Land family said...

I'm just like you. :( I guess it will always be a struggle. My husband eats constantly-he also never fluxuates in weight and has never been overweight..but he eats/snacks constantly. That said, he doesn't over eat. I have a major problem stopping and being satisfied.

Good for you for making it through boot camp!

Cindy said...

Wow - you described myself and my husband. To the T.

I ALWAYS know what I want to eat next, or at least am always thinking about my options. And I'm always worried I'll miss a meal and get hungry - like if we're going out to run errands on a Saturday morning and I haven't eaten yet, I'll grab a power bar and eat it right then, even if I'm not hungry, just to be sure I don't "starve" while we're out - something that is highly unlikely.

Erik on the other hand, frequently misses dinner if he works late and will come home and eat out of a box of wheat thins in bed for a bit and be ok with that.

The way we have described this makes it really seem more of a psychological thing than anything. I'm not one to want to find a solution in drugs, but if it really is psychological? Why haven't they found a medical treatment to balance us out?

So frustrating. We so frequently seem to be going through the same stuff. Keep posting - I'm trying to - it's good to know I'm not alone in this struggle.