If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you know that I've been running quite a bit lately. And not surprisingly, that running has provided some health benefits. A friend of mine actually used the word "svelte" to describe me the other day (then again, someone else said I lost a bunch of muscle mass, so it's not going to my head anytime soon). To me, though, the most noticeable change has been a different metabolism. I drink a lot more water, I get hungry more often, and my appetite has picked up.
Now that's all well and good if you're consistently running, since the caloric expenditure and the extra caloric intake balance each other out. If, on the other hand, you've been a) lazy, b) busy, or c) sick lately, this can pose a problem. Want to guess which of the three apply to me (hint: no matter what you guess, you'll be right)? I haven't slowed down the running enough to the point where I've lost all of the running benefits, but I'm also not running enough to balance things out. The end result is that I'm in this weird state between being fit & being out of shape.
Meal time is when this becomes the most obvious. When I was running consistently, I'd eat two full portions. When I wasn't running, I'd eat my regular meal (i.e., a single portion) and call it a day. In the last week or so, I've been wanting to eat a portion and a half. This is problematic. I finish the food on my plate, and I'm suddenly faced with a decision of whether to go back for seconds or not.
The obvious answer is to serve myself a smaller portion for the second helping, right? Wrong. Some foods are served in discrete packets, and it doesn't make much sense to chop them in two. For example, how does one eat half of a drumstick? And even if I were to cut the regular portion size in two (say I stripped the drumstick of its meat and only ate half of that meat), who'd eat the other half? I know that if I were on the receiving end of half of a drumstick, I'd raise an eyebrow, at the very least. Even if it was my half of a drumstick from a previous meal, future-me would get annoyed at past-me for being a pansy. All of which is basically my way of saying that a half-portion isn't always feasible.
Okay, so back to my meal-time dilemma. At this point, I'm hungry, but I'm hesitant to serve myself more food. Growing up, my siblings and I were always told/encouraged to eat until we were full. I suspect it's a mentality that comes from humble beginnings; if you grew up in a household where you couldn't always get seconds, you're far more likely to extend that privilege to your kids. So, because my momma taught me that way and I'm a good little boy, I always end up deciding to serve myself more food. And every time, I eat a full second portion, and I end up stuffed.
Frankly, the whole thing seems like one of the outermost circles of Hell to me. It's like my version of Sisyphus, thinking that this is the time I'll eat just enough to be full. I have that brief moment of hope, and then I realize there's more food left in my second helping. And I can't very well skip meals, so I'm destined to have this internal battle about once a day.
If it weren't for that whole half-marathon coming up, I'd almost be tempted to stop working out for a while to remedy this situation. Like Sisyphus, though, I'm compelled to keep going. In my case, it's my pride, instead of a pissed-off god, that's pushing me to keep going. Either way, the end result is the same.
So, um, anybody up for a run? Or twelve of them?
Now that's all well and good if you're consistently running, since the caloric expenditure and the extra caloric intake balance each other out. If, on the other hand, you've been a) lazy, b) busy, or c) sick lately, this can pose a problem. Want to guess which of the three apply to me (hint: no matter what you guess, you'll be right)? I haven't slowed down the running enough to the point where I've lost all of the running benefits, but I'm also not running enough to balance things out. The end result is that I'm in this weird state between being fit & being out of shape.
Meal time is when this becomes the most obvious. When I was running consistently, I'd eat two full portions. When I wasn't running, I'd eat my regular meal (i.e., a single portion) and call it a day. In the last week or so, I've been wanting to eat a portion and a half. This is problematic. I finish the food on my plate, and I'm suddenly faced with a decision of whether to go back for seconds or not.
The obvious answer is to serve myself a smaller portion for the second helping, right? Wrong. Some foods are served in discrete packets, and it doesn't make much sense to chop them in two. For example, how does one eat half of a drumstick? And even if I were to cut the regular portion size in two (say I stripped the drumstick of its meat and only ate half of that meat), who'd eat the other half? I know that if I were on the receiving end of half of a drumstick, I'd raise an eyebrow, at the very least. Even if it was my half of a drumstick from a previous meal, future-me would get annoyed at past-me for being a pansy. All of which is basically my way of saying that a half-portion isn't always feasible.
Okay, so back to my meal-time dilemma. At this point, I'm hungry, but I'm hesitant to serve myself more food. Growing up, my siblings and I were always told/encouraged to eat until we were full. I suspect it's a mentality that comes from humble beginnings; if you grew up in a household where you couldn't always get seconds, you're far more likely to extend that privilege to your kids. So, because my momma taught me that way and I'm a good little boy, I always end up deciding to serve myself more food. And every time, I eat a full second portion, and I end up stuffed.
Frankly, the whole thing seems like one of the outermost circles of Hell to me. It's like my version of Sisyphus, thinking that this is the time I'll eat just enough to be full. I have that brief moment of hope, and then I realize there's more food left in my second helping. And I can't very well skip meals, so I'm destined to have this internal battle about once a day.
If it weren't for that whole half-marathon coming up, I'd almost be tempted to stop working out for a while to remedy this situation. Like Sisyphus, though, I'm compelled to keep going. In my case, it's my pride, instead of a pissed-off god, that's pushing me to keep going. Either way, the end result is the same.
So, um, anybody up for a run? Or twelve of them?
That's always been one of my issues with running: I want to be able to run, but I don't want to look like a runner. (the other issue of course, is that running sucks)
ReplyDeleteEh, so long as I don't lose all tone, I don't mind looking like a runner. Being half-fit and not quite being sure how much to eat, though, is annoying.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, running long distances repeatedly sucks. I'm planning on sticking to 3-4 miles for routine exercise once the half-marathon is done.