What Have I Learned?

I messed up this weekend. It was bound to happen. After all, I am merely human.

Sunday we had a big family dinner; a full blown Thanksgiving style turkey dinner with all the fixings. Before dinner, coincidentally timed to start with the Seahawk’s game, were an assortment of chips, dips and other snacks to tide us over until the main meal. I’d like to say I stuck to my plan. I’d like to, but I can’t.

Here’s the problem: for the first time in 186 days I did not log every bite I ate in my calorie app. 

I logged my breakfast. I logged the cereal bar I ate on the way to church. Once we were home and the snacks started appearing, I stopped. I had good intentions. I thought, I’ll have a few chips and then log what I ate. WRONG. I ate a few chips. Then I ate a few more. Then I ate dinner; a very small and reasonable meal I might add. Then I had a piece of apple pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. When the evening was over and my bloated stomach was nagging me, I thought I should log my intake. Log what? I had long since lost track of how many chips, dip, shrimp and other nibbles and bits I ate. I knew what I ate for dinner. I could figure the pie and ice cream, but all the nibbles and bits? There’s no entry in my food app for, hey stupid, you ate too much!

This morning I woke up with a chip hang-over. I remember these from the old days. I’m pretty in-tune with my body and I know the effects of too much sodium, i.e. salty chips. Today I’m back on the wagon. The protocol of the day: flush, water in, water out, repeat.

What have I learned?

To say I am merely human is too easy; a cop-out. Weight loss surgery is a tool not a cure. No procedure can overcome human nature. I have the tools. I could go back to my old ways and compound failure with self-pity and then more failure. I could, but I wont. 

I have a good plan. No one can execute the plan but me. I know this. For 185 days I have claimed success. I refuse to allow one bad day to sabotage the rest of my life. I have come too far and gain so much that I refuse to look back. My life is in front of me, not behind me. Yesterday’s gone; today is a new opportunity for success.

Simple math tells me my success rate so far is 99.5% (185/186=99.46) I’ll take that and keep marching forward.