Tuesday, Mar. 30, 2010
Off the wagon
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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I’ve never really figured out if the saying is “off the wagon” or “on the wagon.” And really, I don’t even think I am using it correctly when I do say it.
Of course, I am not referring to drinking or any of those “wagon” related vices.
I’m talking about food.
My weight has fluctuated ever since college. I have gotten as high as 330 or so and down to around 220. The 220 was during my great weight loss victory of 2003, a year when I lost over 100 pounds and finally started to feel a little better about myself.
Since then, some of the pounds have crept back on, but I have done a decent job, for the most part, of keeping them off.
Now, my 2 and-a-half year stint in Iowa didn’t help any. There were lots of home-cooked meals, breakfasts at the Bunkhouse (the local eatery in Logan, Iowa) and, sometimes, longer periods than normal of hitting the gym.
I decided to get real serious about it again this year and on Jan. 6, started tracking what I eat, how many carbs and calories I intake a day and how much I am working out.
Before you stop reading, I am not on some crazy, low-carb diet. I do my own version that still includes fruits and veggies and, occasionally, something sweet.
For 11 straight weeks this year, I have been down. Some weeks it’s a pound or two, other weeks, it’s a little less. But I haven’t had a gain yet and am, I hope, back in the 240s now. My 38-waist jeans are fitting again, which is great news.
But over the weekend, at my wife’s birthday, I sort of fell off the wagon. Or got on it. Or something.
Heck, I should have just let the wagon roll by, I suppose.
I bought a cookie cake to go with the celebration and ended up with at least one piece. She says I ate more than that. I suppose I am not going to argue with her.
My guilt set in on Saturday, though, as I tried to eat a little better that day. Unfortunately, my guilt carried over into Sunday.
See, this is what bothers me about this kind of pressure. I know I messed up, but it’s not like I ate a dozen donuts or went a week without working out. I shouldn’t kick myself needlessly when I have been doing so well since the beginning of the year.
But, I am human. I slipped a little. I recognized it and am going to fix it.
And if I pay for it by not losing any weight this week or breaking even, I can live with that.
I just need to remember that months of hard work generally cannot be washed away with a little cookie cake.
But man, that stuff is so good.
John Beaudoin is publisher of the Blue Springs Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@ bluespringsjournal.com.
