Sunday 11 November 2007

Day 42: Equilibrium

I am going to get or try to be a bit scientific in today's post but it does relate back to my goal. I wanted to touch more on something Joni mentioned in one of her recent posts. I have always stated it like it is and if I have not been eating well or training well I have said so but I really wanted bring it to the forefront again as I know that many others have posted about their problems with binges etc. I had major blowout last night!! I stated yesterday that I was going to have a few drinks and I did, which then lead to a few bags of crisps, which then lead to ice cream , chocolates etc etc.

I am great believer in moderation and variety and this the first big blowout I have had in about 17 weeks now. I am not proud of it and offer no excuses but it does beg the question why now, what caused it to happen when it has not happened for such a long period....

Equilibrium (3 definitions)

1. bodily balance: a physical state or sense of being able to maintain bodily balance
2. emotional stability: a mental state of calmness and composure
3. situation of balance: a state or situation in which opposing forces or factors balance each other out and stability is attained

Above are 3 slightly different definitions of the term equilibrium, there are many others but I thought that all of these were key to getting in shape, bodily balance, a positive mindset and stability.

I think that my body has been knocked out of equilibrium, maybe it was the illness, maybe it was a couple of days of not eating that clean due to illness. I think however it was down to being too strict. Everyone's body is different and over the past 6 months I have spent a lot of time as you all have tweaking workouts and nutrition and learning to listen to my body. Over the past 2 weeks we have all put 110% into the group shred and I went all out during this 2 weeks and pretty much forgot a lot of things that I shouldn't have. Yes I trained hard and ate clean but I did not afford my body or mind any breaks and I think it was this that has knocked the equilibrium.

Personally I thrive on variety and moderation and my body reacts well to this, the give and take of good foods and bad, training and rest. There is nothing wrong with eating clean 100% of the time but I have found time and time again that this does not work best for me and eventually you have a major set back like last night.

So today was a new day and I have re-adjusted my mindset. Tomorrow is a new week and I will get back to my basics and hopefully get my body back to it's equilibrium. As I said there are many other definitions of this term and I am not meaning that my body is going to stay static or remain unchanged as is one such definition.

As I said, I am not trying to make excuses for this but such is life, very rarely are things straight forward or do they run to plan. The important part is how we deal with these situations. I really beat myself up about this when I woke up but that wasn't going to change anything.

I got my Sunday chores completed and then headed down to the gym for a hard workout. I now have some catching up to do as I will complete the 10 weeks with the rest of you and I will continue to hold myself accountable through the good and the bad.

Today's Workout

Supersets were back today. This is the first weights session since I was ill and it felt great, the usual 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill:

Barbell Bench Press x 10 superset with
Seated rows x 10
4 sets

Standing shoulder press x 10 superset with
Wide grip lat pulldown x 10
4 sets

Close grip barbel bench press x10 superset with
Upright row x 10
4 sets

1 minute rest between exercises and then straight on to the next.


My head is now clear and I will get back to give and take with regards to my nutrition. My workouts will remain tough but I know when to rest up. Another personal training session tomorrow.

Until tomorrow....

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

very good post today, Andrew. I have felt the same way since i got my little cold at the end of the group shred. it actually started with halloween. i didn't pig out or anything just ate a little bit of the kids candy everyday for a few days until the "good" stuff was gone. i haven't even worked out since tuesday. but i am not fretting over it. i have decided to not let it get me down as i know when i get back to it i'll give 110%!

Sammy said...

Hey andrew, I'm definitely not proud of this but I had two uncontrollable binges for the past two days. Each binge was approximately 6 tim tams, 5 ferrero rocher, some chocolate cookies and some chocolate.. (okay, whatever chocolate was available)

it's was horrible I'm telling ya, and it scares me that I may have to live with this crap for the rest of my life so I'm trying as hard as I can to stop these binges.

Sammy said...

Oh yeah I also wanted to tell you that I did a few searches on binging and why it happens and one of the factors is the lack of "happy messengers" in the brain. Therefore, when the level gets really low we tend to go for these kind of stimulants (chocolate, sugar, alchohol etc.) until we tip the balance and every binge gets worse because we need more n more stimulants.

Joni said...

Hey nice talking to you earlier. Hope tea with the kids is good! Stay away from the crisps! :)
-JP

dougal said...

Andrew, bud, personally I think you are being way over analytical about this especially since you advocate moderation. Your progress is measured by results not what you eat and if you are going forward..as you are..no harm, no foul...you KNOW you are not going back to binge eating..you know that so "no worries". I agree with you, I will never not have a free day. Sundays are mine and although I use them less and less they are still there if I need them and that frees my mind. If you have a function like you did use it as a free day and move on. Dude you're in this for life. No end. Also, alcohol helps you drop your guard and makes you hungry, and bad habits will always be waiting to whack you on the back of the head. Man you are not perfect. Let it go.

Andrew said...

Hey Suzette,

And that is the most important part, knowing that you will be back to 110% pretty soon.

Thanks,

Andrew