Having My Cake

“I had a very detailed retirement plan, and I feel like I’ve met every aspect of it: a lot of golf, a lot of carbs, a lot of fried food, and some booze, occasionally – I’ve been completely committed… The results have shown.” 

~ Andy Roddick

What a crazy week this has been… and it isn’t over yet!

I’ve been working on a project for a nonprofit this week. As a result, my butt has been glued to the chair for DAYS. At least that’s how it feels.

If it weren’t for a couple of short walk/jogs I squeezed in, my poor Fitbit activity band step counter would be falling to all-time lows… or possibly calling 9-1-1.

Not only has my daily activity level been low this week, my consumption of carbohydrates has been high.

Off the chart.

Of course, they’ve mostly been “good” carbs… as in whole grains and vegetables.

I’m not sure “good” matters when the amount is so high….

And I haven’t been very structured about my eating, either.

One of my biggest mistakes this week was losing track of time and ignoring my hunger cues… and then ending up so hungry I end up grabbing the first thing I can find. Like a bowl of cereal. Or a preworkout PowerBar… full of carbs.

Yesterday afternoon I spent five hours at church, distributing medical supplies to faith community nurses. I forgot to pack a lunch.

So I went scavenging for something to eat. Anything I could find. I was hungry. Almost faint with hunger. Desperate.

And the only food I could find was cake.

The church is where I go to feed my soul…. but nobody ever claimed the church is the place to go for nutritious FOOD.

“Let them eat cake.”

Eat cake? I certainly did. At church. Yesterday. Pumpkin pecan.

It was delicious.

And as soon as I finished enjoying that cake, while I sat at my station at the church, I saw a friend’s post on Facebook about menopausal weight loss… and how eating too many carbohydrates can result in belly fat in middle-aged women.

Oops.

I knew that. I just have years and years of enjoying my starchy carbs and staying thin embedded in my brain. In my being.

I forget I’m not that person anymore.

I need to figure out how many carbs I can handle without adding to my bodyfat percentage. Ugh.

And I need to get my butt off the couch.

My workouts this week have been on point. I lifted weights on Monday. I ran Tuesday and Thursday. I did a short (8-minutes) bodyweight circuit on Wednesday.

But sitting on the couch for the rest of the day is killing me… and any results I might otherwise get.

Did you hear the recent news that sitting is linked to early death?

Wow.

I can feel a difference when I sit all day. It’s like my lower body/hips/thighs are spreading across the width of the chair… or sofa cushion. I also tend to feel a little depressed when I don’t move much during the day.

And I’ve been doing plenty of sitting lately. For sure.

I missed my workout today. Sometimes I have to weigh the options… Because if I end up more stressed when I squeeze in a workout I didn’t have time for OR I insist on doing a workout when I’m already tired, what will I gain?

Today I was more worried about my deadline than my waistline. Right or wrong. It’s the truth.

Now that I got everything off my chest, I’m going to take the rest of the day off… and go to bed early so I can get up early and run in the morning… before I spend the day sitting while I work. 😉

Do you like cake? Why or why not? If so, what’s your favorite? Maybe we can share….