The Calgary Stampede is over. This city’s ten-day endorsement of sin has left us for another year, and as the cowboy hats and boots are stowed away, out come the regrets of succumbing to our human weaknesses. I managed to avoid the alcohol-and-hot-weather induced lust, the greed of big and easy wins, and even the wrath of sticky and impatient crowds. The one I couldn’t avoid is a weakness of any foodie-wannabe: Gluttony.
After camping in luxury and enjoying Applied’s Stampede breakfast and its get-rid-of-leftovers repeat, I continued to enjoy and share the annual carnival favorites. The result? Well, let’s say that owning a Wii Fit means I can be reprimanded by a video game as well as my conscience. So, the week plus three tomorrows after the Stampede, it’s time to get back on track.
In perspective, I haven’t strayed too far. After all, in 2005 I was over 165 lbs which meant that for my height I was entering obese-land. Since then I’ve dropped (and kept off!) two clothing sizes, not through drastic dieting but through some changes that weren’t difficult to do:
- Keeping a diet log. This is effective it makes me accountable for what I put in my mouth, and guilt is a good deterrent for me. Diet Blog also has a good article with added benefits.
- Cut back on sweetened beverages. When I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to have pop with our meals, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. Juice, however, sometimes contains as much sugar as pop and some “cocktails” don’t even contain vitamin C. I weaned myself off using tea (green/black/white/herbal) and honey, then dropped the honey altogether. It might not seem like a lot, but even going with the default medium coke from McDonalds can add up after a while.
- Some foods aren’t worth it. I don’t calorie count religiously, but I do know when some foods just aren’t worth it. I’m talking about foods with empty nutrition that I can avoid and not miss. If I absolutely have to have something, I’ll just steal a bite of someone else’s or just do it once a year.
- Quality over quantity. If you notice that it takes me 60% longer to eat a meal, you can see the effect that Mireille Guiliano’s book French Women Don’t Get Fat had on me. It has more sensible tips for long term lifestyle changes than these four points (and I’m sure these four points are crude regurgitations of her originals).
So, I’m back to having to follow my own advice, but at least writing this blog entry was good in revisiting some of the basics, kind of like writing lines in detention. Just picture me repeating gluttony’s countervirtue over and over: Temperance.
It's tough to think of a blurb for myself when I'm also on 
