Real Life Always Gets In The Way

^{That's them. Also, check it out, I was less fat then!}

 

The wedding was in Saskatoon, so we knew we'd be staying in a hotel. This meant that I would have to bring all my meals with me. Luckily, I have an amazing wife who put in a marathon cooking session to get it all ready. We packed the car, and hit the road, avoiding the standard gas station munchie stop that comes with most road trips. When we got to the hotel, I hit my first hurdle of the weekend. Our room didn't have a fridge in it! We had cooler bags full of chicken, salads, grapefruits, and more, and suddenly no way to properly keep them cool. We had to improvise with garbage bags and ice from the machine in the hallway. Also, we had no microwave, which would prove to be a pain in the morning. 

 

We got packed away, and went downstairs to meet some friends in the bar. Now, I'm no alcoholic, but I like a cold one on occasion, so I'd already checked with Jenna, who told me it was ok to drink beer, or liquor mixed with water, but not a lot. She said that anything passed three drinks is the equivalent of scrapping a week of training, because of the calories, and the dehydration caused by alcohol. A whole week! Considering I'd only been training for a week, that's a big deal. So for this first night, I had my three beers, chased by a lot of water, and called it a night. Man, am I ever responsible!

 

I stole this picture from Hyperbole and a Half, because it's awesome, just like the website.

 

Day 2 posed many more problems. First of all, with no microwave, I had to be resourceful about how I was going to heat up my doorstop pancakes. I used the in room coffee maker as an impromptu frying pan, which helped make them edible. They did let us switch to a room with a fridge though, so the constant ice runs came to an end. I was also able to have lunch and one of my snacks before it was time to head to the church. My second snack would fall right during the service, so I packed a protein shake that was just add water, so I could drink it right after the I Do's. Great plan, poor execution. I left the shake mix in a friends car, and after the wedding, they ended up nowhere near where we were. I won't lie, I got a little choked. Here I was, busting my butt to stay on track, then due to a miscommunication, I was in a restaurant with no options for food, and I was getting hungry. I refused to cheat though. It would have been too easy to just say "Screw it!" and get a burger, but I didn't want to give up. I kept drinking water, and just gutted it out. Jenna has given me some tips for next time something like this happens, but at the time, I just had to rely on willpower. 

 

I was reunited with my protein, got it down, and then headed to the reception for what I'd been looking forward to all week, my first real cheat meal. Again, twice a week I can eat whatever I want for one meal. This wedding dinner was amazing. I had salad with real dressing, potatoes, perogies, and an amazing cut of pork, dripping in juices. I'm making myself hungry again just writing all this. It was AWESOME. But here's the thing. I found it really easy to be satisfied with one helping. Normally, I'm a two plate minimum guy at the buffet, but this time was different. I didn't feel like I had to go rushing back for more. I will admit though, I also had a bun with some ham and mustard during the midnight lunch. I'm not perfect. 

 

^{Unlike this guy. He's perfect. It's in his name.}

 

I'm sure you're wondering, and yes, I did end up having more than 3 drinks that night. Not a lot more, and I was sure to mix in a glass of water from time to time, but I decided that the point of this is proving that you don't have to stop living your life to get healthy. I made the choice to bust ass this week in training, and celebrate my friends' special day. I don't regret it, and as I write this, I still feel the energy and good health I've had since I started. If you're worried that getting healthy means living a boring life, trust me, you can still have your suger free low fat cake, and eat it too.

 

All weekend, people have asked me the same thing, "Isn't it hard to give up food?", and I tell them the same thing. I didn't give up food, I just started picking food better. And knowing what the payoff is, it has become easier than I ever would have guessed. I'm absolutely ready for a new week, and getting back in the gym. Oh, and quitting smoking, which so far isn't going as well as I'd hoped.

 

^{By the way, I wasn't kidding about the coffee maker...}

 

Thanks to everyone who has sent their encouragement. You guys make me want to keep going, no matter how hard it gets. And to those of you who have started doing your own plans because of this, let me know your progress! We might not be working out together, but I feel like we've become our own sort of club. We can help each other! Tell your story in the box, or e-mail me, drew@borderrock.com if you'd rather keep it on the down low.