Day 55 and 56...

Gradually rebuilding things.  Still not totally on track but getting regular activity and eating from each of the food groups.  Hanging in there but still looking for the big break through where the food guide becomes automatic!!

Day 54...

Back on track!  Not perfect but I pretty much followed the Food Guide (a few too many extras) and had a great walk this evening.  Still a long way to go but feeling good about being back on track.  Eating 5/10 Exercise 6/10 R&R 4/10 and Work and learning 6/10!!!

Day 49 to 53...

I started to doubt if I can really do this, I have totally abandoned the food guide and have been eating at random again.  But I am determined to do this!!  So I am extending the goal until July 20 and will start in the morning with redoubled efforts to make this happen.

June 25-July 20  Canada's Food Guide and the Canadian Guide to Physical Activity will be my bibles!!

Day 46... 47....48

Okay, apparently things had to get worse to get better, and they have.  It was a total wash on the weekend and Monday wasn't much better.  However, today I started to crawl back out of the abyss.  No, not a fantastic day but much improved.  I am going to redouble my efforts to bring this ship into port on July 2 as planned with some much improved results... stay tuned!

Day 43... 44... 45

Man, the wheels have come off this train altogether!  Lost all semblance of the food guide, feeble efforts at exercise and life is in general disarray.  I'm going to go with it for the weekend because everything will be crazy with the Ultra on Sunday but Monday marks a renewed effort!  

Day 42...

As they would say in Newfoundland, the arse end's come right out of 'er.  Nothing good to say about today, awful eating, no exercise... a really bad day.  Eating 2/10 Exercise 2/10 R&R 2/10 Work and Learning 4/10
 Kind of depressing.....

Day 41...

Struggling today, eating has gotten worse, but I did exercise.  Don't a good day at all Eating 4/10 Exercise 5/10 R&R 4/10 Work and Learning 5/10

Day 40...

The weekends still seem to be the bane of my eating existence.  I just can't seem to get them under control.  The worst part is that it then makes Monday tougher.  I am determined to get back on track tomorrow!  I have a lot of travelling this week so will need to plan for that, that is the other time I run into problems... there are a lot of things to trip on doing this.  It does make me realize how often I was tripping on them without even knowing.  Exercise wasn't too bad, did the 5 km Ultra Marathon course this afternoon.  So Eating 4/10, Exercise 5/10 R&R 4/10 and work and learning 4/10.

Day 39...

This was an interesting day, haven't had one quite like it.  Eating was not good but everything else was great.  Started the day with a nice hike then did a few errands.  It was a wet day so I took some reading and sat in the car down by the river. Had a nap :-) So Eating 4/10 Exercise 6/10 R and R 7/10 Work and Learning 6/10

Day 38...

Free Fridays are the best time of the week ;-). The truth is that although I do enjoy it,  Free Friday is less important each week,  I think that is a good sign.

Day 37...

A good day.  Ran some hills this evening and ate pretty well.  Nothing special but a good day.   Overall Eating 6 / 10 Exercise 6 / 10 R & R 5 / 10 Work and learning 5 / 10.

Day 36...

Pretty good day today.  Eating went reasonably well and I took time at lunch to get out on a trail for a few minutes at least.  Great workout this evening run/walk almost 10k.  Took some training on LEAN/Six Sigma that was very good.  Overall Eating 6/10 Exercise 7/10 R&R 6/10 Work & Learning 7/10

Day 35...

Eating went well today but still not getting the whole food guide in.  No exercise today at all, wet and cold and after coaching at track didn't feel like going out.  Overall not a great day Eating 5/10 Exercise 3/10 R&R 5/10 Work and Learning 5/10

Day 34...

Much better eating today.  Exercise was a little light but at least I got out for a few kilometers.  A busy evening reading and writing.  Eating 6/10 Exercise 5/10 R&R 4/10 Work and Learning 6/10

Day 33...

Not too bad again for exercise and overall a very productive day baking.  However, I did eat a lot today.  Overall eating was a 5/10 exercise 6/10 R&R 6/10 and Work and learning 5/10

Day 32...

Got some great exercise today with a run through the trails in Rothesay.  The eating on the other hand was still that weekend problem.  It almost seems insurmountable but I'm not giving up get.  Eating 5/10 Exercise 6/10 R&R 5/10 Work and Learning 5/10

Day 31...

Another. Free Friday!  I find it interesting that I don't have as much drive for junk food as I did the first few Free Fridays.   That has to be a good thing!  Had a nice stroll this evening so it wasn't a total wash out!

Day 30...

I'm Feeling Good about today.  Made a better tracking tool for eating using my Playbook and it will certainly help. Did some hills this evening and a little core work (finally) and finished a bag of salad with no waste (not common for me).  Still need to get to the weights a couple of times a week.  Tried some meditation today but think I may have dosed off a bit.  So for today Eating 6/10, Exercise 6/10 R&R 6/10 and Work and Learning 6/10

Day 29...

Pretty good day today.  I had a productive day at work, did a great 5 km walk (43 mins, I was moving pretty good) and a little reading this evening.  Overall Eating was a 6/10 Exercise 6/10 R&R 5/10 Work and learning 6/10

Day 28...

This really is hard!   I have a good day then fall right off the wagon.   This is an off the wagon day.  Nothing good to report. Eating 3 / 10 Exercise 3/10 R & R 3 /10 Work and learning 6 / 10

Day 27...

Not a bad day. Ate pretty well, had a great walk with friends and did some programs this evening.  So, eating 6/10 Exercise 6/10 R & R 5 / 10 Work and learning 6 /10

Day 26...

Okay, not the greatest day... ate a lot and exercised a little.  The bright light was that I had some R&R including social time and a nice nap.  Did a short trail run this morning but nothing this evening.  So it shapes up like this Eating 4/10 Exercise 4/10 R&R 7/10 and Work and learning 5/10.

Day 25...

Not a bad day, didn't quite manage the Food Guide but considering the trouble I have been having with weekends it was pretty good.  My daughter dragged me to Cora's for lunch and it was really very good.  Might be a good solution to managing the urge to eat out on the weekend, I eat out but still eat well.  Had a great run/walk in Rockwood Park on Moose Trax trail.  So for the day: eating 6/10 exercise 6/10 R&R 5/10 Work and learning 5/10.

Day 24...

 I love "Free Fridays".  Even though it was my free day I ate pretty well all day.  It is a planned day off of exercise and I spent the evening watching the Seadogs (lose unfortunately).  However, it was nice to have an easy day.  Interestingly the free eating was not all that rewarding... could it be possible I am liking to eat healthier... man that would be a strange turn of events :-)
Bring on the weekend!

Day 23...

Oh Yeah!  I clobbered the Food Guide today! Nothing missing at all, loved the fruit and veggies!  Did some good hills with the Waddlers, read some and now getting to bed early.  A good day and you guessed it... I feel Good!  I knew that I would.

Eating 8/10 Exercise 7/10 R&R 6/10 and Work and Learning 7/10  Yeah... dats right, I feel good, I feel I could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee :-)

Day 22...

This is hard, not even close to the food Guide today.  I need to plan better to have food ready.  In the absence of good food I head right to the junk!  This was a planned day off from exercise.  Score for today Eating 4/10 Exercise NA R&R 4/10 Work and learning 7/10

Day 21..

Not a bad day.  Managed a travel day without getting off track too much. Had a great run workout!  Eating 6/10. Exercise 6/10 R&R 5/10 Work and learning 5/10

Day 20...

 Yeah, back on track!  Had a good day today.  Ate much better, had a great trail run in the morning and a very nice walk with good friends this evening.  Overall this weekend I did 30 km walk/run and had a triple jump workout.  Today was 5 km of single track that was tough but fun (only got lost once).  Spent some time reading and relaxing in the backyard.  So overall Eating was a 7/10 Exercise a 7/10 R&R a 7/10 and Work and Learning 7/10  I'm feeling good about bouncing back from a couple of bad days!

Day 19...

I am fascinated and at the same time appalled at how easily things go off the rails.  There are a few days of motivation, high spirits and drive but when you get in the day to day trenches it seems to dissolve into rationale, weakness and lack of commitment.  There is a quote somewhere that says it is about how often you fall but how often you get up.  Well, I fell again... eating deteriorated into almost exactly where I was before I started this.  I would like to say how bad it felt but it didn't, it felt good.  The bad food tasted good, the internal battle between what I know to be right and what feels good was lost.  But the war won't be.  I will get back up and start again.   Score for today 2/10 Eating 6/10 exercise 4/10 R&R and 4/10 work and learning.  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again!

Day 18...

Sometimes you just blow it.   That was today!  Had a good run but everything else was bad.  Ate terribly, really bad.  No semblance to the Food Guide.   Eating 3/10 Exercise 5/10 R &R 5/10 Work and learning 3/10. Bring on tomorrow.

Day 17...

HELLO FRIDAY!  I take a little break on Fridays.  I ate well during the day but had some junk tonight... no scoring on Fridays!!!  Food Revolution Day tomorrow... get out there and eat!

Day 16...

Day 16 and I am still working on nailing the Food Guide, this takes some effort :-)  I need to plan better in the morning to have enough food with me.  The good news is that I am starting to enjoy the variety which for me is something totally new.  So, the score for today is Eating 6/10, Exercise 6/10, R&R 5/10 and Work and Learning 6/10.  Not too bad overall.

Day 15...

Not a bad day but I really need to focus on getting the food groups all covered.  It is actually hard to fit all the great food in during the day.  I did have a little slip with a bad supper which was bad enough, but I realize it also throws off your evening and you end up not getting proper food.  On the good side I did get some exercise including some weight training.  The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend weights at least twice a week.  I have only done them once a week so time to pick that up.  So for today Eating is a 5/10 Exercise a 6/10 R&R 4/10 and Work and Learning 5/10.    Maybe I can fit in a little bit of studying before bed...

Day 14...

Great day for eating and a planned exercise day off.  Getting to bed pretty early and I did some work on the Ultra, not bad all in all.  The Food Guide is really a good way to eat!  Eating 7/10, Exercise N/A R&R 6/10 and work and learning 6/10

Day 13...

Municipal elections today.  I did well eating all day but had people over to watch the election results and eating went bad quickly.  I did exercise and wrote a column so not a total slack day.  For eating 4/10 Exercise 6/10 R&R 4/10 (up too late) and work & learning 4/10.

Day 12...

Sunday... still struggling with weekend eating but working on it.  Still much better than before I started this adventure.  I did have a great walk with the Waddlers in the morning and baked all afternoon.  Shapes up like 6/10 for eating, 6/10 for exercise, 6/10 for R&R and 5/10 for work and learning.

Day 11...

Not a bad day at all.  Had a great 13 km run that felt good.  Had a little snooze in the afternoon and a great social event this evening.  Made some very nice Italian Peasant Bread that I will do again.  Eating was a little off but could have been a lot worse.  Weekends are definitively more challenging.  So it looks like this 5/10 for eating, 7/10 for exercise 6/10 for R&R and 3/10 for work and learning.  

Day 10...

  Ahhh... Screw It!  It's Friday!  I'm eating junk food and watching TV!!!

Day 9...

A Good Day.  I ate well today and I enjoyed it!  Although I didn't get out to exercise I had a great workout in our home fitness centre.  Spent a little relaxing time with EK watching Jeopardy.  This evening I registered for my exam with the American College of Sports Medicine and began studying.  So eating was 7/10 exercise 7/10 R&R 6/10 and work and learning 7/10  BEST DAY YET!

Day 8...

Last day on the road for a while and I definitely cleaned up my act.  I took a sandwich and an apple to have for lunch, a bag of mixed nuts on the car seat (I felt right at home with mixed nuts) and a big breakfast before heading out.  It worked like a charm.  Thanks to those who recommended the idea of healthy snacks packed in advance!  Exercise was a casualty of the day but Wednesday is an optional day for me so not a big deal.  If I can get to bed in the next 10 mins it will be early to bed.  So... eating is 7/10 exercise 0/10 R&R 6/10 and work and learning a 6/10.  I now have a nice stretch of days in Saint John to get some routine going.

Day 7...

Okay, I'm becoming an excuse machine.  Another day on the road and more junk food.  I really need to learn to not do that.  Tomorrow I'm on the road one more time and I WILL EAT WELL!!  I did have a nice run early this morning along the Miramichi River that felt great.  Got to spend a little time with Charlotte and helped her pick out some new running shoes.  So the day scores like this 5/10 eating 6/10 exercise 2/10 R&R and 4/10 work and learning.  I need a couple of good days here pretty darn soon...

Day 6...

Another travel day and more challenges.  I did hit the Chip Wagon here in Miramichi but hey, I'm marking that up to "a guilty pleasure".  Other than that not too bad, I need to get more veggies, that has been the biggest issue to date.  A planned day off of exercise.  Eating 6/10 Exercise N/A R&R 6/10 (went to see The Avengers) and 4/10 for work and learning.

Day 5...

The Grand Manan adventure continued and so did the poor eating.  But I worked the trails very hard.  I did have some fun this evening learning how to get all the pictures and videos from my devices to the internet so I feel pretty good about that.  Overall 5/10 eating, 7/10 exercise, 4/10 R&R and 7/10 for work and learning.

Day 4...

Well, this was challenging from the get-go.  We went to Grand Manan and of course had to have the toast and homefries on the new boat.  It went down hill from there when we hit the bakery and half a baguette was gone before we got down the island.  On the up side, I did some great hiking on the trails and went to bed early for a great sleep listening to the surf!  Overall, eating was a 5/10 exercise an 8/10, R&R 8/10 and 5/10 for work and learning.  Could have been worse.

Day 3...

A few challenges for day 3.  A very long day, work at 7:00 am until 5:30 then volunteer at the Library sale until 8:15.  No exercise :-(  Food wasn't too bad, I resisted temptations many times so feel pretty good about that.  Had my first "treat" (a plan for Friday nights), some Special K cracker chips (delicious and not too unhealthy) and a Coke Zero.  Score for today 6/10 for eating, 3/10 for exercise (I did several sets of stairs at work), 3/10 for R&R and 6/10 for work and learning.  Bring on the weekend.

Day 2...

Day two went well.  A bit of a challenge driving to a meeting in Fredericton.  Driving is one of my worst times for junk food but I totally avoided the temptation.  I managed to eat all of my Canada's Food Guide servings and had a good hour of exercise.  Still missed out on R&R so that is my next goal.  Score for today 8/10 for eating, 7/10 for exercise, 3/10 for R&R and 7/10 for work and learning... I'll take that!  Feeling Good!

Day One...

It was a pretty good start to things.  You can eat a lot of food on Canada's Food Guide!  The day is over and I still have a milk, a couple of grains and a couple of veggie servings still available.  I had a great salad for supper and an excellent walk on the trails by Q-Plex.  No real relaxation but I am hoping to get to bed early.  I score it 7/10 for eating 6/10 for exercise 5/10 for R&R  and 6/10 for work and learning.  Not a bad day at all!

My friend Mark Thomas passed this along, I couldn't resist posting it here... hopefully this will be me on July 2 :-)

The Night before...

Okay, the night before day one!  I must admit I am kind of nervous.  Usually I am trying to help someone else get fitter and healthier but this time I need to do it for myself.  After years of telling people "you can do it" it is quite scary to try to say "I can do it".  But here I go.  Of course I just had a big plate of fries to celebrate the last night of the "old way".  I have reminded myself of the details of Canada's Food Guide and created my personalized guide (more about that another day) and I am ready to roll.  Healthy food is in the house (unfortunately so are some leftovers from a fairly rowdy weekend but temptation is part of the challenge.  Is that hunger I feel... no I just ate... a lot!  Maybe not knowing full from empty is part of the problem.  This is it... I AM COMMITTED!!