Gah.... I Need a New Drug....

Ok, so yesterday I wrote about a new emphasis on health, blah blah blah blah.  I had a great day while I was at work.  I ate the good dinner I brought with me, and that seemed to be sufficient.

Until I left work and headed home.  

Oh, how my stomach started to growl!  Now, I know that reaction is partly Pavlovian.  In fact its mostly if not all  Pavlovian. (For those of you just entering college this year and have no idea who Pavlov is or his Pavlovian ideas, see this link and this link.)

When I leave work and drive down the street, there's a McDonald's one block over. The glistening yellow glow from the Golden Arches beacons to me every time I pass by.  

Each night the aroma of fresh French fries cooking two blocks away down-wind wafts through the closed windows of my car.  Their decadent fragrance blows gently through the recirculated air of the car's air conditioning.  

I think of a juicy double-cheeseburger and actually begin to taste cheese.  And ketchup.

My mouth waters, and I think I see Ronald McDonald riding a cloud in the night sky, waving to me and smiling.

So last night as I left work, I was detoured away from McDonald's by some road work. As I waved goodbye to Ronald (I think he actually began to cry) I got on the freeway and headed home.

My stomach didn't stop growling though. As I drove on, I began to hear a very faint, but familiar tune.  I couldn't quite make it out at first, but as I drove, it became louder and more clear. Soon, I found myself listening to a slightly off-key tune being sung by Carl Jr.

Now, I'm well acquainted with Carl, having worked for him for several years as a teenager.  He and I are buddies, after a fashion.  I know, he's dead, but he still talks to me every so often.  About as often as Ronald does.

But..... Carl's song is different.  Where Ronald sings of cheese and ketchup, Carl sings of mayonnaise and bar-b-que.    And, oh... what a sweet tune it is!

Ok, so it wasn't Audrina Patridge singing.  I think I was hearing Carl himself, channeled from the great beyond.

Anyway, I got off the freeway and followed the song to Carl's Jr, where I loaded up on a western bacon cheese burger and onion rings.  Wait, did I say just one burger? My bad...... make that two burgers.

Hey, that Carl can sing.  He deserved a tip!

So, after doing so well for most of yesterday, shall we say, I exceeded by goal by a bit.  If you look at the food diary for yesterday, you'll see it was QUITE a bit.  I'm not shy.  It is what is it, as one of my co-workers would say.

So, instead of kicking myself today and never listening to music again (gotta have SOME music in my life, ya know?), I will again try today to change the music station.  I stopped by Subway this morning and picked up a breakfast sandwich and a BLT for later.

Subway's music is a little lighter, with not so much bass, if you understand my meaning.  Subway is like a soothing Norah Jones lick as opposed to Ronald and Carl's more Bad Company-ish rifts?  More melody and less pounding rhythm.

So... I still gotta have music in my life. I still gotta rock but I guess I gotta learn to avoid the tunes that will make me roll, ya know?

I need to undo the presets on the radio of my life.  Delete Carl and Ronald, and rip off the knob!

Well, maybe not rip, because I don't want to break anything, but maybe duct tape it so I can't press those buttons anymore.

Is there such thing as Pop-up Blockers for fast food joints?

Hmmmmmmmmmm.........

A New Emphasis

Since my daughter Lindsey has decided to open a blog and try to keep the family informed of her doings, I've decided to do the same with my blog,...... again...... too

As everyone who knows me knows, I'm a big man.  Obese is the better word, but because that word sorta hurts me when I say it, I tend to shy away from it.  To help with the ease of writing, I'll stick with "big".

Big to the tune of around 400lbs, which is way too much.  I've joined a gym, which is helpful when I go, but I haven't been going very regularly as of late, which is to say "not at all as of late".

So, I've decided to re-double my efforts to eat less better, exercise more some, and live a more hea.... cough cough.... a more health..... cough! cough!..... a more ..... h-e-a-l-t-h-y life.

I swear, I think I gag on that word.  Healthy.  The very mention brings to mind unbuttered toast and dry baked potatoes.  It makes me think of soy nuts and wheat grass and unsalted butter.

(I'm at work as I write this, and a shooting call just came in.  A robbery at a  drug store went bad, and two people are shot, one very badly.  Hmmmm puts that "healthy" issue in a little bit different perspective.)

Anywho, in my effort to live a more healthy lifestyle, I've joined up on a website called Live Strong. Live Strong is associated with Lance Armstrong's effort to promote healthier living.  On this website they have a really cool food diary/calorie/nutrition tracker that I'm going to be using to track my eating.  I started this back in February, but my efforts tailed off.  As of today I'm going to renew my efforts and redouble my resolve.

Probably.

Anyway, you can track my progress if you like, by clicking on the link I'm going to put on the sidebar of this blog, or by simply checking back here from time to time as I write about my efforts.

I don't want to "diet".  We all know diets only work so long as one stays committed to eating in the prescribed fashion.  I really want to change my life.

We'll see how it goes.

P.S. Alene made a wonderful balsamic vinegar & honey glazed peach pork chops the other night.  Healthier, right?