Changing your eating habits

I play tennis at least twice a week, with a good friend of mine. This Tuesday, we were talking about eating habits. This would be a good time to mention that my girlfriend is 5' nothing and weights 140 (or so she says). I really don't see any fat in her but she feels she could loose about 20 pounds. That is why she walks an hour every morning and plays tennis at least 5 times a week.

As we are discussing improvements in play and lifestyle, we get into the subject of eating habits. She tells me that if I get into a schedule (6 meals a day at the hours of 7,10,1,4,7 and 10) I should start seeing a difference and that my body is acting out because it feels like it is always on starvation mode. I tell her that when my niece leave on Monday, I will start. Then she proceeds to give me "THE SPEECH".

We all know "the speech". It is when someone gives you a lecture on something that you know well and that you hate getting a speech on. This one was about starting now and not when life is "perfect". And of course, I mentioned that when I quit smoking I just did it. But now, I wanted life to be a little more balanced.

When I got home, I started thinking about "THE SPEECH". And you know what? Too many times we wait for perfect conditions, a better schedule, or a lighter workload, or Monday...whatever, in search of the "perfect" time to do things right, and then, we never get around to it.

So, guess what? Yesterday, I started eating on a schedule. I did not concern myself so much with whether or not it was completely healthy ( although I included yogurt and fruits in my choices). What I was most concerned with was making sure that I got my body used to eating at certain times of the day, and controlling portions based on how full I felt when it was time to eat.

The day was fantastic. I look forward to many days like that. So should you. Keep trying.

Holiday - and I am up early

I have been trying to take my body back to the original internal clock, which was about 7 AM to 11 PM. This week I have been making it pretty regularly. The first three days of the week, I was in bed by 10 PM and I would wake up at different times, between 5:40 and 6:10 AM. Yesterday I went to bed close to midnight and woke up at 10 to 8 AM. All in all, not a bad week.

Today, however, it is 4th of July. I could have slept in, but I want to keep going and re-training my body. I am looking forward to spending a day in a bikini, in traffic, going to a cool hangout with some old friends...well, everything except for the bikini part. I am nowhere near the size I need to be to wear a bikini. Nothing that a good, long, t-shirt cannot solve. Ironically, when I was 16 and had a great body, it spent most of the summer under a t-shirt as well. Back then I was embarrassed about my curves.... I guess some things never change.

So why am I saying all this. For one, simple reason. No matter where you are in life, or how you feel, don't let that stop you from enjoying each and every day, embarrassment or not. We only get one chance to enjoy the 4th of July of 2008, after that, this day is gone. Enjoy it!!!
Keep trying.

There has to be an easier way to adjust your internal clock

Here I am, on the second day of my new experiment. For those who know me personally, I have been complaining about my internal clock being out of whack since I started the graveyard shift 6 months ago. I stopped working in May, but I was still staying awake past 11:00 PM. I decided to do a little experiment. For the last couple of days I have been getting up early, not taking a nap and going to bed at 10:00 PM. It seems to be working. It is 9:49 PM and I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

Last night I went to bed at 10:00 PM and today I woke up at 5:45 AM. I am not going to lie. I was dead tired when I woke up, and there were a couple of times during the day that I wanted to just take a nap, but I persisted. I figured that if I keep this up, eventually I will go back to my normal 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM routine without any clocks or alarms. Wish me luck!
Keep trying.