I Want My Sweet Tea!!!

I never really gave it much thought in my youth, the thought that the older that you get, the faster time and life seemed to travel. But now that I am a mature pup as Garfield would say, “I resemble that remark.” The first month of 2012 is jetting toward the finish line, full speed ahead. 2012, the year that I FINALLY get my body back into shape, not “game weight” shape from back in the day, but at least a healthy 50 year old kind of shape. That’s right; there you have it the cat is out of the bag. Later this year in September I will turn 50 years old. And yes when 2012 ends I will weigh considerably less, my endurance will be improved and I will be able to tell you, “I told you so.” Or else, I will just hit delete button and erase this post from the archives, FOREVER. Just kidding, I won’t be doing that.

The end of January serves as a reminder to me, that you just can’t will yourself to better health. Oh of course, I have been faithful to my goal of doing a 2.6 mile walk/run four days per week. I had hoped to begin my life as an ESAC (East Shore Athletic Club) Member but the new Summerville location isn’t quite ready yet, soon, I hope, soon. So while I wait patiently for spin class and weight training opportunities I continue to walk and attempt to mix in a little jogging here and there. While I have been a little more conscious of attempting to eat “healthier” the casual approach to my diet that I have taken for the first three weeks of the New Year just isn’t going to cut it. So, this week, I have called out the reinforcements. I have made a tremendous commitment from a dietary standpoint. I am eliminating bread, that’s right, ALL forms of bread from every meal and/or snack, but that’s not all. I am also begging off of sugar and sweets, not in a total carb restriction way, but an aggressive sugar busting approach to what I eat.

The bread thing, oh that’s a minor inconvenience, although I will miss those morning bagels and cream cheese. But, the sugar thing? Oh my, I want my sweet tea!!! I can deal with breaking off from the relationship I had developed with Little Debbie. I can even adjust to not using those delectable flavored coffee creamers (Almond Joy and Italian Sweet Cream) in my daily cup of coffee. (NOTE: After my last episode of A-Fib I went from 6-8 cups a day to ONE) But no sweet tea is a major sacrifice for this guy. Oh I know there are always other sweeteners that can be added to a big old glass of iced tea. Yeah Right. It’s not the same, and YOU KNOW IT. So, I will rally around the cause, I can do this, at least I think I can. No, I must. And, I will. That’s all. I will, you will see.