Lies, Damn Lies, No. 2

My favorite blogger has been on hiatus for a bit.  As a result, I've welcomed some new bloggers into my life, and I've been feeling the urge to write again myself.  If I'm not finding motivation and inspiration in my usual sources, I'm going to create it on my own.  Cuz that's how I roll.  I'm going easy on myself though - not making any rules about whether and when and how often and how much to write, but today I had one of those inner-dialogue type of moments and I'd like to write it down while I'm thinking about it.  Blogging, #wycwyc style.

SO!

LIES I TELL MYSELF

(and proof they're not real)

No. 2

"I wake up STARVING every morning!"

LIES.

There are times when I think "I'm hungry" and later realize it's something else.  I'm not really talking about that.  There are TONS of great blog posts on the topic and I'm sure I have my own take on it if I think about it for a while, but for ME, specifically, I always eat breakfast. 

Like, ALWAYS. 

Not as a diet / nutrition axiom (everything I've EVER read on the subject insists you must never, never skip meals if you aim for long-term weight management and fitness - FUEL YOUR BODY!), but because it's pretty much the first thing I think about when I wake up most days. 

"What's for breakfast?"

"Oh, I have to pee.  What's for breakfast?"

And I'm not talking about having a nice fruit smoothie.  Or a bowl of high-fiber cereal and a bit of Greek yogurt.  I wake up thinking about eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits.  Basically I wake up thinking about a Hardee's breakfast sandwich.

I've learned over the years that I'm not really all that hungry first thing in the morning.

Don't get me wrong, if you put that breakfast sandwich in front of me, I'm GOING to eat it.  I will not hesitate.  (Gotta work on that...)  But if I have a shower, a cup of coffee, it wanes.  The urgency fades.  And, like a morning fog being burned off in my brain, the urge to eat ALL THE FOODS subsides and a more reasonable desire for breakfast takes its place. 

Then I can enjoy my Greek yogurt with some granola or nuts.  Maybe some dried fruit.  Or maybe on a Saturday morning, a couple of eggs and a single piece of toast.  Especially on a Saturday, when typically I'll get a fair amount of exercise and I need that extra bit of fat and protein to keep me going.

I've also learned that if I can get through this early morning desperate desire for food thing, I can control the rest of my day pretty well.  I have VERY weak Resistance Muscles in the morning.  Coffee helps, a LOT, but that usually doesn't come into play until after I've gotten to work.  Until I've had my coffee... I'm vulnerable.

Oh... what got me thinking about this today?  Here's what greeted me when I came in.  This is not even lunchtime, people!  Those aren't MUFFINS (at least that would be a breakfast food!) they're just DESSERTS.

REALLY????

I have developed a strategy to calm, pacify, and sometimes control this monster that is released each morning. (Jillian Michaels and a bunch of scientists have some sciency explanations for all this in her book and elsewhere, if you're interested.  It IS nice to find I'm sorta normal.)  It's not fool-proof, but most days I can count on it to keep me away from the drive-thru.

It's a three-step process:

Step 1) Get up late so I don't have time to make sausage and eggs and bacon and biscuits for breakfast.  This is the easiest step.

Step 2) Keep ready-to-grab breakfast foods available at all times.  This includes but is not limited to: 

• Greek yogurt in tasty flavors that I'm likely to actually EAT.  (Not that revolting banana atrocity I tried last week.  Not that.)
• Cottage cheese - take 10 minutes on Sunday and put cottage cheese in 5 or 10 of those tiny Tupperware containers that hold a half-cup each.  And don't forget to buy a vat of the stuff at Sam's Club.  (And while I'm on the subject, I personally don't bother with Low-Fat or Non-Fat cottage cheese.  It saves you TEN lousy calories per serving, and something delicious somehow gets turned into something noxious when they remove the fat.  Just eat good tasty cottage cheese in an actual half-cup portion and you'll be fine.)
• Home-made granola bars or loose granola - tons of great recipes out there, take 45 minutes out of your weekend and you'll have a month's supply and it's delicious.
• Hard-boiled eggs.  Who doesn't love a hard-boiled egg?
• I have been known, on occasion, to make ahead things like egg cups or hearty muffins, but lately that's not been my thing.  Has worked just fine when I've done it, though.
• Protein bars - I keep a stash of them in my desk drawer, and I've been known to keep some in the trunk of my car and/ or in my purse.

See?

Step 3) and some days this is actually the hardest step for me, even though it sounds simple.  I do my very best not to drive to work through the Gauntlet of Fast Foot Joints that lies between my house and my office.  I can't eliminate every possible bad choice - even the gas station has doughnuts every morning - but skipping the main drag that takes me past all the breakfast sandwiches keeps me relatively safe until I've had my coffee and I'm thinking straight. 

So, once again, Screw you, lying voice inside my head.  I'm gonna eat this yogurt and enjoy every bite.  And later, I'm going to have a sensible lunch.

Lies, Damn Lies, No. 1

I don't know if this is going to be a series of posts or not, but let's just assume it is - there's certainly plenty of material for it:

LIES I TELL MYSELF

(and proof they're not real)

No. 1

"I never get to do anything!  I'm working all the time and it leaves me with no time for fun stuff."

LIES.

I needed to write this today because I heard this complaint in my head.  Sometimes it's useful to remind myself that there's no need to be down - there's light at the end of the Tunnel that is Busy Season, and meanwhile, I regularly participate in some REALLY neat, enriching and satisfying activities that have absolutely nothing to do with work.

Here's some cool shit I've done in the past 6 months, despite my busy work schedule while enjoying my demanding and engaging career, and in no particular order:

1. I helped lead a group of beginner runners to successfully complete a 4.37-mile race through a 10-week program.
2. I went to a concert.  On a TUESDAY night.  If that's not living-on-the-edge, I just don't know what is.
3. I participated in a 12-week running program myself to help improve my own speed and endurance.
4. I filed my taxes on time (ok this doesn't really fall into the category of "fun", but I did.)
5. I went to an Easter Parade Party.  Now, who else gets to say that?!?
6. I ran not one but TWO half-marathons.
7. I baked an amazing, basically perfect, blueberry pie.
8. I celebrated 10 years of marriage.
9. We went to a beach party with friends.
10. I attended the wedding of a woman whom I've known since she was three months old. That's right I said MONTHS.
11. I celebrated my brother-in-law's graduation from graduate school.
12. I went to the Jaycees Beerfest - another great day with friends.
13. I attended an event honoring women of distinction in our community and met a dear old friend of my mother's - and she received one of the awards!
14. I spent two weeks attending a daily swimming class and learned a new skill.
15. I went to community theater and saw the musical SHREK.
16. I spent an evening out of town listening to my friends' band play until the wee hours of the morning.
17. I volunteered as a leader in a women-only running group for 8 weeks.  There I met bunches of great ladies and running partners!
18. I went to a fundraiser for a great local charity and simultaneously got to visit with a dear friend and her mom.  And we accidentally got her mom pretty drunk.  She was hilarious.
19. I ran a race with one of my very best friends and then spent the rest of the day together.
20. I volunteered answering phones during the spring fund drive for my local public radio station.  (Donate today for the fall fund drive - click here!)
21. I hosted a birthday party and had all our friends over, hanging out and enjoying each other's company until (again) the wee hours of the morning.

And #22:  The past few weeks, I have been helping promote an upcoming concert.  My very favorite singer-songwriter is coming to town and I have the privledge of helping get the word out.  By the way, here's where you can get tickets and info.  It's going to be a fantastic, intimate show; one not to be missed.

So screw you, lying voice inside my head.  I have a pretty great, fun-filled and enriching life outside of my office (and the hotel rooms I stay in so often).  I just need a little reminder once in a while.

Back to work, you!