If you recall, I have been on a super health kick for the last three months (more than usual) as a little experiment. The experiment came to a head as I met a huge goal on Wednesday, conveniently right before Thanksgiving. I am contemplating divulging more about the WHY behind my experiment (a “do the pros outweigh the cons” type of deal here), BUT the point of this post is my intentional falling off the wagon.
I decided that with the goal met (for now) that I would be a gluttonous fiend for the Thanksgiving weekend. That said, I probably just behaved the way every other American did. If it had been a regular day in my life, I would’ve eaten the turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, had some water and left it at that. But, seeing as how I decided to just follow my stomach, this was a different story. I ate stuffing til I was stuffed, white rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, super sweet cranberries, ice cream and I do believe I finished off the whipped cream. I drank hot chocolate (with whipped cream), coffee and I had some wine. So that, to me, was being a gluttonous fiend. Does it sound that gluttonous to you? Or did you do the same thing? For most people, I think, this is normal, at least on a ‘food’ holiday.
The first thing I noticed was that my energy dropped. You don’t realize how much energy you have until you start to lose it. On Thanksgiving I found myself sitting on the couch, unable to sleep yet unable to do anything remotely productive. I doubt it was the triptophan- I really didn’t consume that much turkey. I think it was more the insulin spike from the combination of rolls, stuffing, ice cream, wine, whipped cream and pies. I was ok with this comatose feeling, just observing the effects of eating like this.
The next day I noticed my first zit in 3 months. That’s pretty fast acting! Also noticed that my left hip became super sore and painful. Putting sugar in my system like that starts up all sorts of inflammation and leads to low levels of energy. I basically poisoned myself.
The next day was the caffeine experiment. I had my first cup of coffee in three months. It took me WAY up and then dropped me flat on my ass. I was super energetic for about 5 hours and then was lethargic for the next 12. The energy roller coaster ride was worth it on this particular weekend, but in my daily life it is NOT!
Was it worth it? Yes. I had a great weekend and I learned some things about myself. I love the new ‘health(ier)’ me, and now I see even more clearly the difference between how I was living before and how I am living now. I have more than enough energy to get through my days, my skin is SO much better, and my body is functioning overall more productively. I don’t really need stuffing and whipped cream. The pros do not outweigh the cons, simple as that.
So my gluttonous weekend was worth it. But I made a conscious decision to do this. It didn’t happen to me, I did it to myself and I accept responsibility. Feeling guilty doesn’t help, purposely not learning about nutrition doesn’t help, ignoring your common sense doesn’t help, and thinking that it is happening TO you and you have nothing to do with how you look and feel CERTAINLY doesn’t help. All of these things take away your power. You have the power to create the life you want and live it with abundant energy in a body that you love.
These “all you can eat weekends” can be fun. But if you want to have energy and live a long and happy life, they need to be the exception and not the norm.
How do you live a healthy life with all the crap that society pushes on you? It’s all just a matter of choice. Determine what motivates you. Usually, and surprisingly, it isn’t our health. If it were, we wouldn’t all be out running for the cure, but instead we’d prevent the problem in the first place.
We will take care of ourselves if we think it will help us take care of others better. So, who or what do you take care of? Your children? Your clients? Your business? You’ve got to be in tip top shape in order to best be able to serve.
So how was your weekend? What did you discover about yourself? What part of this post can you relate to and what parts do you have questions about?
Here’s hoping you’re feeling GREAT!!!
Your Fitness Coach,
Miranda Zukowski