One of the perks of bicycle commuting that people tout is that you lose weight. With all the excitement about gas prices lately, this is running a distant second in reasons to commute by bike, but it's still a constant contender. However, what people never talk about is the fact that you can eat, a lot, without gaining weight. And even worse, you want to eat. All the time. I'm constantly hungry. I don't seem to be losing weight, but I'm not gaining either. And I don't always make the best choices when it comes to food. But I try.
Case in point. I notice that when I get to work in the morning after riding 12 miles, I'm a bit peckish. Never mind that I ate breakfast just before leaving home. I could eat again. We have a cafeteria on the main floor of our building. They have yummy things like eggs, hashbrowns and sausages. We also have a convenience store which has yummy things like chips. I try to avoid both places. It's easier if I know I have a little something I can nibble at my desk.
A few weeks ago I started buying some trail mix to keep at home. Each day, when I would make my lunch I would pack a little snack bag of trail mix. I would then eat this at my desk in the morning while reading my e-mail. The advantage of this system was that I had built in portion control. Once the little baggie was empty, I was done. The disadvantage of this system was that my wife and children also like trail mix and I would find my supply chain unexpectedly interrupted (Who ate all my trail mix?!). So, change of plan. To keep the goodies all to my selfish self, I could either invest in a locking cupboard or bring them to work. A locking cupboard seemed a little too drastic, so I now have a bag of Planters Sweet & Nutty on my desk.
Remember portion control? I do too, but it's a hazy memory. My 21 ounce bag of Sweet & Nutty has decreased in size by about 50% in three days. It's just way too easy to reach for "just one more" handful when it's sitting right there on my desktop. I admit it, I'm weak. I'm powerless over the little Planters Peanut guy.
Date: May 5
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 76
Year to date mileage: 1263
Date: May 8
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 1288
Date: May 9
Mileage: 25 (barring no issues on the way home tonight)
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 1313
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6 comments:
I totally hear ya.
I tend to get on the scale every few months and one time over the winter a couple weeks after I'd weighed myself I went to put my pants on and was really having to cinch my belt up. I got the scale out again and found that I'd lost ten pounds. I can not afford to be losing ten pounds. I had to start consciously eating more than I'm comfortable with just to keep from wasting away. Of course, what I'm comfortable with is slowly changing so there's going to have to be some balancing there.
Reese's Pieces are my current vice. I can literally eat them until I'm sick to my stomach and still want more. When I told my wife that she said something like "Welcome to how it is for everyone else, Skinny!"
Due to some severe diet restrictions for reasons I won't bore you with here, my pickings are slim. But my current munch food at work is chocolate chips and peanuts. Like Nathan and his Reese's Peices, I can eat them until I'm sick, so I too limit my supply at work. One half cup container a day. Once that's gone, that's it.
*I* haven't touched your trail mix. But I've caught the kids scaling the counter to get into that cupboard...
All I know is that I came home one day to find an empty trail mix bag on the counter.
Maybe we need to find a new hiding place for the goodies...
I have the ultimate solution for you, amigo. Buy an old gumball machine and put it in your office. Fill it with the trail mix, and buy your handfulls. Not so easy to cheat, and it would be a great conversation piece. ;)
As soon as I get into a regular schedule I've gotta' get on a bike. I need to lose some weight!
LOL, Nancy!
I think Sparky's onto something. Might even be a way to have your snacks pay for themselves! :)
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