2 down, 2 to go

Of the holidays during the holiday stretch (Halloween to Valentine's Day), I think Thanksgiving is the hardest to survive successfully.  Not only is the house often filled with fun-loving relatives (who might or might not want to join in your exercise routine), but the day is also food-centric.  The combination (family, friends, and fun instead of exercise + ridiculously huge meals) can easily derail even the best laid plans.  As a result I decided to let the chips fall where they may and didn't track my weight as closely as I have.  Last night B and I enjoyed an amazing dinner with his family at the chef's table, which was actually in the kitchen, at the local swanky hotel.  It was a seven course meal (complete with 7 glasses of wine) and I was sure that scallops, lobster, duck, Kobe steak, sorbet, lamb, and dessert would serve as next week's motivation to reaffirm my exercise intentions.  It was fantastic and what was absolutely amazing was that while I was pleasantly satiated, I was not nasty full.  The portions were perfect.  So when I emerged this morning from a week long buffet and a much reduced exercise routine, I was pleased to discover that I had pretty much stayed the course on all fronts.  I think my new regime has also reigned in my eating-out-of-boredom in a positive way.  Since beginning this experiment, I have noticed that I eat only when I am hungry and often I am not crazy hungry -- I think walking has replaced the boredom that brought on eating -- particularly over weekends or long holidays.  I am excited to launch in to week nine tomorrow morning!

Travel Tips

Well I'm just a few hours short of boarding a plane for a full day of traveling.  As such, I will be off my beloved treadmill desk for the week, but will be working to find good alternatives.  Because I have a 2 hour layover, I thought I would start by walking the concourse for an hour or so while listening to a podcast I am hoping to get caught up on.

Television & Treadmilling

I've set up my treadmill desk to face the television. I've found that I can walk off several miles while watching my favorite shows. I have also found that if I am tired and don't want to walk, watching a show or the news takes my mind off of either my tiredness or my boredom and once I am a few minutes in to it the stress, tiredness, and boredom melt away. Being on sabbatical, I was worried that I might just sit hours on end in front of my computer - and with such a scenario - I might eat out of boredom rather than out of necessity. Walking on the treadmill when I am in front of the computer or television not only lessens the body boredom, but also makes it nearly impossible to engage in mindless eating. I have actually discovered that I am eating only when I am hungry and that it is purposeful. Today is day #16 and by the end of this current session, I will have walked more than 100 miles!

Monday Update

So today is day 15 of my treadmill desk project. I continue to be making good progress. Since the first day I have walked 79.6 miles @ 1.2 mph. On average I have walked for 4.36 hours per day, covered 5.83 miles, and burnt 692 calories. In the second week I lost an additional 2 pounds, bringing my total to 7 pounds. and find myself being much better about drinking water than I ever have in the past. I have noticed that I am continuing to drink more water than normal and that I have replaced eating to combat boredom with jumping on the treadmill. Because my treadmill stops at 99.99 minutes, my work day is nicely broken in to four chunks -- early treading -- breakfast -- mid-morning treading -- lunch -- early afternoon treading -- the kids get home. I am usually able to get in one more stint after the kids go to bed.