FIT or FAT

Two things

Sleep right, eat right. Fitness will follow.

It’s over!

Bad habits die hard. In my case, they came back stronger. If avoiding one piece of junk means trading it up for another (usually in greater quantity) then there’s not much point, is there?

That’s exactly what’s happened during these last three weeks. I feel worse off than ever. Sure, the burgers have dropped off a bit but the Coke & Chips cravings have piled on hard. Then, there’s massive amounts of PB&J or bowls of yoghurt. 

What I’ve realised is that it’s more than just removing one bad element. Something runs deeper that keeps me eating senselessly. Until I can curb that habit, this exercise is futile.

Death and Trying

Death is constant. We see it every day. We experience it every day; but, we rarely recognize its many other shapes and forms. The obvious one would be the death of a loved one, the kind that hits us the hardest. It’s apparent, gripping and undeniable. However, the smaller kinds of death tend to go unnoticed, as I’m slowly discovering. In my case, it’s the death of a bad habit.

Habits, damn bad habits. Mine just happens to be closely aligned with the majority of the American people—overeating. Currently, it is estimated that a two-thirds of Americans over 20 are overweight and a third are obese (worldometer). Whatever it’s attributed to the fact is that we’re eating too much (and most of it is crap). My biggest weakness is my love of burgers. Specifically, I ♥ Mcdonalds. I can’t explain why but I keep on coming back for more.

Now back to death and lying. I’ve realized that much like people who grieve over the loss of a loved one, I too am experiencing the five stages of grief (Kübler-Ross model) over the slow death of my one true love. According to the Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross who first wrote on the topic, the fives stages are:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Each of the stages are self-explanatory. Each of us at one point in our lives has experienced any one of the stages, if not all. Personally, I’m shocked at the speed at which I’ve progressed through the stages. Within the last week,  I’ve manage to jump from the denial to bargaining almost instantly. I take that as an indicator of how bad-to-the-bone my habit has become.

First, I told myself I’ll be fine without fast food. No worries. I can do this. Easy. Mostly, I was right. But I just couldn’t stay away from those beautiful golden arches. They kept calling to me and I happily answered with cash in hand.

Then, when Patty was trying to keep me on track it agitated me. I became thoroughly upset that she was keeping me from the burger meal, even though she clearly meant well. I was probably more upset about not having a burger when I wanted than at her, but when you’re stomach yearns the lines get blurred.

Now, a week later, I’ve managed to bargain a fortnightly allowance for a burger meal. Patty’s agreed to it because it makes closing down the bad habits a bit more manageable (going cold turkey hasn’t really panned out in the past). So, I quickly ate my first fortnightly allowance—just gobbled it up, smiles all around.

Soon after, I realized it wasn’t enough. So, I played Patty for it through card games. I gambled for a penalty-free burger meal and won. That same day I happily but quickly gobbled some more. A day after I wanted it again but this time she wouldn’t have any more of the betting (she knew what I was up to). So, I asked her if I could cash in advance my next fortnightly burger allowance. She agreed.

She was right to doubt that I could last til the end of the month without getting another burger meal. Given my recent history, it wouldn’t surprise anybody if I went to the mall and just drooled in front of the people queuing up to get a meal. I suspect that before April arrives I will have experience the fourth stage, depression.

My only hope is that I don’t get stuck there. I do actually hope that I can accept a fortnightly allowance of fast food. Eventually, maybe I could even get used to not having it at all. But in my current state I’ll be happy if I just survive until the end of the month. God help me.

Week 2 Update

I can’t believe it’s just the second week.

We’ve had deals and compromised the challenge quite a couple of times, but I’m hopeful that we’ll be successful in this journey to fitness. 

We’ve arranged for the first rule to be changed to:

• One burger fortnightly for Nick
• A line of chocolates fortnightly for Patty

So far, I’ve been successful in saying NO to chocolates after my fix for the fortnight. I’ve been eating more sundaes from McDonald’s, unfortunately. Nick has also pointed out my unnecessary desire to put salt/soy sauce on most meals, so for the second week onwards, it will be my goal to have less salt in my meals.

Nick is not supposed to have a burger until the end of March! :p

Into the belly of the beast

All men are tempted.  There is no man that lives that can’t be broken down, provided it is the right temptation, put in the right spot.  ~Henry Ward Beecher,Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit, 1887

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.  ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

Of the two minds, I like Wilde’s the most. Honestly, if it weren’t for Patty steering me away from another happy meal I would have already succumbed. With respect to Beecher’s quote, my place of temptation is where the golden arches lie: McDonald’s. I can’t explain why but I love my burgers and fries.

I know they’re low-end burgers as far as they go but damnit they make ‘em fast! And there’s nothing better to me than a quick, hot meal. 

Today, I had to wait in the Mcdonald’s nearby the Auckland International Airport while my sister attended an interview. It was gut-wrenching to be right where I wanted to and not claim my prize. To think it’s only been three days… Can I really stave off fast food forever?

Transferring addictions

It’s the 2nd day on the challenge and so far I’ve not had the urge to go out and get some fast food. The problem is I find myself substituting my craving for fast food with something else. In this case: chocolate.

Last night, I helped myself to generous serving of about 4 to 5 rows of Whittaker’s Roast Almond chocolate. It was great! But, not as great as Butler’s Mint Truffle that my brother, Tino, brought home for me from Wellington. At $5 a bar, it’s one of the more expensive stuff out there but I say ‘well done’, Ireland.

I hope this isn’t a trend that I’m actually transposing one addiction for another. Next week, we’ll add another thing to the list of things we’re cutting out. Hope it goes well.

Hi! I’m FIT. I look and feel great!

Hi! I’m FAT! I hate it but I can’t stop eating.

We’ve decided that for this month, we’re going to do something differently. For the next week, we are going start cutting the fat out of our lives. Here’s how:

Week 1

I will forgo fast food altogether. – Nick (FAT)

I will limit my exposure to chocolate down to monthly fortnightly intakes only. – Patty (FIT)

For every failure, $20 will be given whole-heartedly to the other person.

Exercise bonus:

For every daily exercise completed, the person earns a $1 reduction to their running total. Exercise must be a minimum of 20 minutes or more. Reductions only count toward the same month they are earned.