Finally Back to Normal
I have really struggled with my eating habits since the holidays. I went in with the best of intentions but came out of the holiday season rediscovering my love for eating big, social meals and baked goods. I thought that I could jump right back on the health wagon once January came around but that was easier said/thought than done.
I’m having to train my body to eat smaller meals again and eat just one cookie or brownie instead of a dozen. There’s a reason why I needed to lose weight a year ago when I was 30 lbs heavier and it centers around self-control, or lack thereof.
Surprisingly, I have had no issues keeping my activity level up. I’m back to doing bootcamp two times a week, running two-three times a week, and have even added yoga back into the mix once a week. Not bad huh? Well, with all that activity comes a healthy appetite. How do you balance a need to eat smaller, better portioned meals with an increased level of hunger due to (hopefully) a sped-up metabolism? It’s a fine line to walk because I don’t want to risk slowing down the metabolism I have worked painstakingly hard to kickstart, but at the same time I need to shrink my stomach down from it’s Thanksgiving/Christmas size.
After experiencing fail (MLK weekend) after fail (the discovery of Gourdough’s) after fail (a return to happy hours with friends), I think I may finally be back to my normal, rational appetite self. It only took 6 weeks and several unsuccessful attempts but I’m finally here.
What’s crazy is what brought it on…a ridiculous FAIL. Yup, that FAIL deserves all caps. On Saturday night I attended a belated work Christmas party (yes, the holiday season was so crazy for all of us that we had to schedule out the party to February) where I totally threw all of the fatroll rules out the window. The menu consisted of:
- Beef/Chicken Fajita Meat
- Flour Tortillas
- Guacamole
- Queso and Chips
- Rice
- Sour Cream
- Shortbread Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
- Brownies
- Donut Holes
…and guess what I ate? All of the above…and I went for seconds (and thirds for the queso)! I don’t know what got into me. I know better. Seriously! What was I thinking?!?!
Needless to say, I was miserable for the rest of the night and I woke up the next morning STILL full. You know you’ve committed an epic fail when you aren’t hungry 12 hours later. This was the turning point for me. I realized that no food was worth making me feel that gross and guilty. I’ve worked too hard over the past year to fall back into old habits so the buck stops here.
I acted immediately. I woke up Sunday and went straight to the trail where I ran 6.2 miles to hopefully burn off some of the fullness I still felt. Once I got back to my car I realized I had just enough time to make it to yoga with @cesart so I hauled it over to the studio and did an hour-long class. I was spent by noon but it was totally worth it. The run jumpstarted my metabolism and the yoga reawakened my muscles. All in all, a very productive and refreshing Sunday morning after my epic fail.
I’ve truly felt like my pre-holiday self ever since. My appetite has seems more “normal” and I’m back to relishing my healthier food options. I even chose a cup of hot chocolate Monday night over baking brownies. WIN!
The moral of my story: It’s never too late to rediscover your wagon of health and fitness and jump right back on it. Even if it takes a ridiculous fail to bring you back to nutrition and clarity. 
