owners diet

Wow, just went to an Iowa Cubs game the other night for my business networking group.  The game was great, conversation was wonderful.  I lost a total of 11 lbs so far.  What is it time for???  To PIG OUT.  I am a sucker for mexican food.  My food portions were out of control and did not follow my own advice of “eat first, then network.”  Food was so good and the desert, even better.  We are talking chirros and ice cream.  What strange thing I had the next morning, a food hangover.  It was not good.  I didn’t run or lift weights.  My whole body chemistry was off whack and I felt terrible.  Weight gain: 3lbs.

Am I going to deal on this?  Nah.  However, I did gain 5 new business contacts.  So everything was not too bad.  I got a  business lunch meeting out of the whole eating disaster.  Next time, “eat first, then network.”  My body can’t take another night like that again.   Today, I ran 3 miles so my body is finally feeling better again.

To get over a night of bad eating, here are some tips:

1. Get over it.  We tend to dwell on what we ate.  Who cares.  Just acknowledge it and move on.
2. Exercise as soon as you are able.  Trust me. You will feel tons better.
3. Eat healthy again.  Boring advice, but you will function at a higher level than living on junk food.

Healthy lifestyle is not rocket science.

All that discipline, eating, exercise, and surviving a sprained ankle paid off.  I ran my first 20K since 1998.  My finish time?  3:28.  Sure, it took a while, but I finished.  BTW.  I lost 9lbs along the process.  Here’s the thing, if you can survive the daily rigor of being around “business-food” 5 days a week, you can loose weight eventually.  Dam to Dam was held last Saturday, June 5, 2010.  It starts just north of Des Moines, Iowa at Saylorville dam and ends downtown.  About 6860 finished the 20K.  I tell you, miles 7-9 were all uphill and tough.  However, I ran it with my very fit running coach (who finished 2:09 the previous year). 

It was so interesting.  There were many with personal trainers coaching runners in my area of the pack.  You trainers out there have no idea how encouraging that is to us beginning runnings.  Myself being a reborn runner.  It was quite inspiring to see all sizes, fitness levels, and ages to be running the same race.  If there’s a few pointers to prepare for another 20K or 1/2 marathon are these tips:

1. Positive Attitude – Just go out there and get started.  Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t exercise or ate that double-fudge-thingy over lunch.  Pick yourself back up and keep going.
2. Food mind tricks – If you grab a couple of chips and find yourself in the “zone” of eating more, tell yourself , “Stop it, stop it, stop it.”  That usually works for me.
3. Exercise performance, have fun with it  – really does anyone care about your previous PRs? Kick back and enjoy the journey.  Not a lot of folks want to do it, but they admire YOUR DETERMINATION. 

See, not a lot of tips.   Thanks to my running group, “The Runs” at the Altoona Campus and Joe Decker for helping me get through Dam to Dam.  Next goal: Des Moines 1/2 Marathon.  That will be October 17, 2010.  This portion of the Owner’s Diet, I am switching gears and doing a plan I found in the 1990′s.  It’s called the Kalicki Plan.  Stay Tuned.  More on tomorrow’s post on that.