Return To Reality

Last Week's Recap:

7 days on the lake -

- Every morning but one (when Erin wasn't feeling well and it was raining) I went on a 1 mile run as soon as I woke up, prior to breakfast.

- Every day I went for a bike ride, ranging from 2 to 5 miles in length.

- Every morning but one I lifted weights, right after the mile run so I was POURING sweat while doing so.

- I swam, played tennis or golf most days, and was VERY active this week, up to and including someone there calling me the "resident health nut" (perhaps an insult to some, but a compliment to me).

Total Weight Loss: 0 pounds.
Weigh In: 283

When I woke up this morning, my first one in my own bed, I went right to the gym. I couldn't wait to weigh in and get a workout in so that I could see how much weight I had lost this week. I really thought that I was going to see two or three pounds come off - as I said, I had worked my ass off this week, made plenty of sacrifices, and I was ready to collect.

It was completely frustrating when I stepped on the scale and it was the exact same weight as I had seen the last time I stepped on the scale, 9 days earlier. I immediately felt like I had wasted my time this week. I was going to come right home and blog - bitching about the entire thing.

As the day has gone on, I've been thinking about this all day. There's a lesson that I have apparently not learned yet - probably the hardest lesson for me since I started. I've said it a million times - it's 80% food, and 20% exercise - at best.

See, when I posted my first blog on vacation, I was proud of how I was able to skip "Moosetracks" ice cream. I was eating super healthy. As the week went on, now that I'm looking back, the 'cheats' were sneaking in. First, it was a ice cream cone. Then, a smores. Just the little thing - even in hindsight they aren't really much. The thing to me is, I'm used to eating a BUNCH of this on this vacation we take every year. I always had these things. For me to have "less than last year", while still an accomplishment, isn't enough. I never thought about the calorie content in this stuff, and I only considered it good because it was "MUCH less than I had last year".

That says something to me, both bad AND good. Bad, because of something I already know - I'll be fighting this battle for the rest of my life. I like food, and it's always a temptation that I'll have to be conscious of. I'm not going to be the guy who automatically eats perfectly and never has to worry about it. It's always going to be who I am - so I better get used to it sooner or later.

However, it's good too. I made it work in a tempting situation - and I maintained. I may not have lost, and as frustrating as it is, I didn't gain either. A week on the lake, with food coming at me from every angle - and the biggest past time being sitting around and eating and drinking - and I came out without gaining a pound.

So, I'll call it a draw. It's not what I wanted, but I suppose it could be worse. I could be making up ground. I keep reminding myself how far I've come since this time last year - and how much farther I'll be next year.

In the meantime - back to the grind.