Back to the Grindstone

After a lengthy gap in posts, I am back to yammer on about the journey that starves, shapes and frankly irritates when it's 11:20 at night and you want something to nosh but know you can't eat until the next A.M.

The last few weeks have been very stressful (in truth the last few months have been) and as an all too human human, that means I can fall victim to stress eating. That undermining urge to graze on all manner of food stuffs that are unfortunate enough to cross one's path. For me it tends to be trips to Tim Horton's and Nutella on white toast too late at night. For others it can be anything and everything else, but what all stress eaters have in common is a need to feel anchored by the treat and maybe even a sense of "oh well, everything's going to hell right now, maybe I don't care about a little extra something on my frame."

The reality is that everyone can be, and at times is, a stress eater. I am by no means obese, or have an eating disorder, but can certainly acknowledge a backslide. The tough part for people who are severely overweight (I think) is that there is perhaps a more fatalistic view - that at that size, there is no getting out so why try? Yet there are countless stories of people who have emerged happier and healthier. One has to remember that no end result comes without a first step. Even if one spends five minutes walking or working out, it's five minutes more than yesterday! If you are ever questioning yourself, please know that you can do it, it just takes that first step.

I found that the best first step is a commitment to a new lifestyle. Day one a year and a half ago, I threw out everything in our home that contained preservatives or was processed. It's not just a question of changing a few things, but remaining in the same basic life. The more drastic the change, the more likely the success. I am back on my natural lifestyle with one exception: I still allow myself a little Nutella, but on homemade whole wheat bread and earlier in the evening!

Being active, halving portions, eating food made from scratch and not munching after 7 - 8 PM will put anyone on the right track. How far you want to go will depend on you! Happy eating and happy health!

The Concept

Okay, so here's the deal. Starting January 1, 2008 I decided that I needed to get healthier. I decided to go back to basics and made the change to organic foods and making as much food from scratch as I could. I stopped buying bread and pasta and began making my own. I started making my own BBQ sauces and cooking everything from basics. The main caveat was to avoid processed foods and preservatives. I got back to the gym. I was militant. I lost 50 lbs in about 8 months. It was a much needed weight shed and I dropped down to a low of 148lbs. The one thing that still dogged me however was an inability to drop the last layer of fat over what had become pretty solid muscle. It was the usual suspects at work: love handles and man boobs.

Over the last couple of months with a new baby in the house and stress from the work front, some of our tough principles gave way to ease and I've put back on probably 15 or 20 lbs from my low. Frankly it's something that has really been bugging me because we're still eating healthy and I'm still at the gym, it's just the laxness of the eating habits plus a change in medication.

Today however I turn a new leaf, a leaf I've been very excited about and one that I've been planning for a while now. Watching "Quantum of Solace" the other day with my wife (I'm a huge Bond fan), I looked at Daniel Craig and thought "I wonder if I can get myself looking like that?" For some reason my wife seemed eager for me to try, so I resolved to get back to my more militant eating habits while upping the ante (fewer carbs, no refined foods) and back to the gym with a new emphasis on cardio (which I already hit fairly hard). I also decided to log my journey from blah to a physique worthy of Bond in this blog to keep me motivated, but also to have a record for myself and hopefully enthuse others about healthy eating and exercise!

Now, I'm under no illusions that I will challenge Mr. Craig for the Bond crown, nor that I will even achieve the same level of fitness as we don't have the same genetics (and I'm not using any fat burners), but I think that at the very least this will be an entertaining trip to take with friends. I promise I don't, and won't, take myself too seriously in all of this, and I promise to be funny as I keep you appraised of my progress. Please join me and leave comments, and if you decide to undertake your own trip, let us know how you're journey is going!