July 17th, 2011 - Day 08 of 60

It is Sunday and since I'm still drinking some kind of slurry in a glass, I guess that means I am continuing on with non-solid foods.  Last Sunday was the only day of the weekend that I needed to focus on what I ate.  This first full weekend was mentally challenging as the work week gave me a blessed distraction from some of the cravings and struggles. This last week has given me an opportunity to examine myself and my food life.  Like most of you, I've had a strange relationship with food.  Growing up I was lucky to be in a home where food was important.  I never saw a frozen dinner and never went to a fast-food restaurant until I was in my teens.  Mom cooked everything and did it well.  Now, we ate your traditional American dinners (meat, potato, veg, dessert), but even our protein-heavy, fat-skewed meals were nutritionally light-years ahead of the standard fare today.  When I went to college I indulged my various appetites and some of those habits stuck.  After we married, my wife and I started out as marginal vegetarians, but after the child came along we reverted to a more traditional meal plan.  We went through times of making our own bread from the wheat we'd grind (we still do that), having a nice garden, etc.  I'd go through times where I was eating way, way, way too much protein when I was lifting weights seriously for many years.  Word of caution to any reading this and thinking you need massive doses of protein to gain muscle mass:  You don't.  Stay away from chemicals and non-food items.  Eat food.  Eat good food.  Whatever happens after that is alright.

Anyway, where was I?  Oh, observing my relationship with food.  I tend to enjoy coming home to a couple beers and a snack (nuts, cheese and crackers, etc.).  The snacks are usually health food store products, but they still have calories and fat.  I like to have a handful of pistachios or some raw crackers with my brews.  I think the beers are the worst problem.  They add up over time.  No need to belabor that point. Most mornings I'll have fruit for breakfast and maybe a hard-boiled egg or two.  Lunch may be the same.  But once in a while I'd hit the restaurant for a burger.  I find once I start doing that it becomes way too easy to keep doing it.  It costs me money and adds weight.  I feel worse.  Not helpful for my life. This week away from all that has given me perspective.

So, I bring this all up as this has been the first full weekend on the Reboot.  With sports on the TV and friends over, it can be rough.  Not because I can't do it or feel too tempted.  I think it is just the environment.  When I am at work I am busy and I don't worry about food.  But when you are home or with friends, that is the time you relax, celebrate and allow yourself a drink or questionable food.  We mindlessly do things because it is what we've learned and it is ingrained behavior. Maybe there is some ancient shared memory that the cold weather isn't too far away, so we'd better eat all we can now while it is warm?  Once a week isn't bad, but several days a week will wear you out.  Living on the Reboot has shown me how food is more than just nutrition and calories for me.  It is all part of the social trappings.  It is the comforting portion of my returning home from a stressful day.  With the freedom of the weekend in front of me, I needed to busy myself a bit.  It wasn't too bad as I think I am in the groove enough I understand a little better what is going on in my body and my head.  It is hard to break habits and I don't know if these sixty days will do that.  I guess I've not worked out what I really want the result to be over these sixty days.  I just knew I wanted to change some things and this Reboot rung true in my spirit.  So far I am very happy with the result.  I'm through my first full weekend and my first week.  I am entering my second week with a lot of optimism and confidence.  I've already won this battle.

Had juice twice today and I think that might be my last juice for the remainder of the "drinking" portion of the Reboot.  Juice affects me strangely.  I think the sugars hit me too quickly and I get that insulin rush.  Not pleasant.  But, I had a nice juice with several fruits and vegetables along with a shot of wheat grass and ginger.  Very snappy and very good.  I also picked up some coconut water and used that in lieu of regular water with my smoothie.  I'd rather be drinking coconut water from a shell on a beach in Thailand, but I'll take what I can get.

Progress:

I am 10% through the 60 days.

Weight: 161.2 lbs.

Food: Fruit/Veg Smoothie With Hemp Seed, Fruit/Veg Juice