Ron Swanson – What? A Week Makes A Difference? (continued)

September 26, 2011 By: Ron "Commish" Swanson

Ron "Commish" Swanson

Unless you  read last month’s blog this will make little or no sense to you and, in addition, all of my attempts at levity will be totally missed. What a pity. By the way, my week is going to have more than 7 days in it ‘cause I need just a little more time.

Continuing on, Day 4, the day after stirring up a hornet’s nest…

Tuesday, Day 4:
Weight 208, up a bit but the 3rd notch on my belt feels comfortable. Swelling not too bad except for my knee so I pack my gym bag just in case. If all goes well I plan on the gym after work and then some more work on the wall, but without the hornet rock. I’ll wait until winter to get that one.

As I write this it is after midnight and I am still at the office. With my knee blown up twice its size and my neck looking like I have quite the goiter, I found it an easy call to miss the gym and continue working on the rush job that came in this afternoon. Tomorrow is golf so no gym on Day 5 either.

Wednesday, Day 5:
Weight: 207. Work ‘til 1:30 a.m.; have a can of tuna and an English muffin for dinner and still at the same weight. What’s wrong with this? Oh well, maybe the swelling that has progressed from knee to ankle is the reason. Tonight 5:34 is tee time followed by a few cold ones and a cheeseburger at The Crackpot. Maybe I’ll walk the course if my leg lets me.

Thursday, Day 6
:
Weight: 205 and 3rd Notch from the End is still good. Had forgotten how nice it is to walk a golf course. 9-holes of “Army Golf” (left, right, left, etc.) is close to a 5K walk. Looking forward to Brick Bodies workout and then home to watch Ravens beat the ‘Skins tonight.

Friday, Day 7:
Weight: 203.  Whoo-hoo. A minor milestone. Tried 2nd Notch from the End and definitely not ready for that one. Good workout last night. The more I work out  the less I want my evening cocktail. Just give me water. Smaller portions for dinner seem satisfying. Made rare steak with peppers and onions and would have been content with about 2/3 of what I fixed…but ate it all anyway. Tonight no gym as we have another all-you-can-eat and drink affair…a crab feast. Beginning to think that this might not have been the best week to journal about getting into better shape.

Saturday, Day 8:

Weight: 210. Holy Molely. I knew there would be a price to pay for such a great crab feast. Best one ever! Great food. Open bar, live music, desserts…you know the drill. I suspect that tomorrow things may be slightly better as all of that Old Bay seasoning works its way through the system. Skipped Brick Bodies today in order to prepare for Hurricane Irene. Moved outdoor furniture and plants into one of the barns and a couple hours work on “The Wall” so that a retainer would hold in any mudflows. Completed what had to be done without any more yellow jacket attacks. We are as ready as we can be for Irene.

Sunday, Day 9
:
Weight: 206. That’s certainly a little better. Is the gym closed? Doesn’t really matter as cleanup is on the agenda. One large tree down, missed barn but took out some rabbit cages and the electric fencing. TBND, Gwaltney and our tractor get the tree off the fencing. Return all of the furniture, orchids, and plants stored in the barn to their proper places. Gwaltney and her husband end the day by loading the goats into the trailer and taking them to the State Fair. For our little corner of the globe, things return to normal.

Monday, Day 10
:
Weight: 204. Not too bad for an extended week. Three pounds down from when it began.

Did I learn anything. Actually, yes, I did. First of all I am never planning on going on a “slenderizing” diet. That’s just not something I am interested in doing. Secondly, even though I let events prevent me from going to Brick Bodies as often as I had planned, every day I did do something of a physical nature. Even the Saturday before Irene when I just moved things around. Thinking back on it I had to move, by hand, over 2,000 pounds of rubble for the retaining wall. Most importantly, because I was aware of journaling my week, I really did consider whether or not I wanted “that second cookie” and most times I did not take it. My mouth desired it, but my stomach really didn’t want it. This week I listened to the stomach more often and the results were a loss of 3 pounds even though there were two pig-out nights. At least they were spaced out.

I guess even excess is okay if done in moderation.