Of Regrets and Resolutions

[Mmmm . . . . forbidden donut]

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.  The second best time is now."

I'm a big fan of New Year's resolutions.  Not necessarily because I'm particularly good at keeping them, but because of the hope they offer: the chance start with a clean slate and do better than I did yesterday.  And for me, there is something rather empowering about the start of a new year, though years have taught me to temper my expectations some (at least in terms of the number of resolutions).

This year, I've thought carefully about two resolutions, but part of seeing them through I think will require making them public (and thereby making me accountable to someone other than myself).

So, here they are:

The first is that I'm aiming to do a physique competition in October 2016.  Many know that this was one of my goals for 2015 (and made up a good part of efforts through September of last year).  But, I started cutting a bit too late given how much fat I needed to lose.  Beyond that, I was also dealing with a rather limiting elbow injury (that I'm actually still dealing with), that lead me to abandon my efforts in the fall.

The second is that I intend to go without sugary treats for the entirety of 2016.* 

If you know me at all, this latter goal will be at least as difficult (if not more so) than the first.  I have a strong attachment to sugary treats: donuts, cookies, brownies, ice cream, cereal, Peanut M&M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and so on.  I love them.  I also hate them.  As I've noted elsewhere, when I start in on eating them, it's very hard to stop.  And the overconsumption leaves me feeling miserable, if not often downright depressed (and a bit overweight).

So this latter goal, as much as it will help with contest prep, is at least as important to me on an emotional and spiritual level as a physical one.  I want to see what happens to me physically, spiritually, and emotionally as I completely give up sweets.  For a year.

And I expect to document those results here.

Now, given what's happened between September and January (i.e., the repeated and prolonged indulgence), I'm not quite comfortable yet to publicly give up where I'm at physically, much less share any photos.  That may come at some point later on when where I'm at now is sufficiently in the rear view mirror.

As for the ground rules -- what constitutes "sugary treats" -- I can say that it includes everything I mentioned above (donuts, cookies, brownies, ice cream, sugary cereal, candy), and the general test for me is if it's something sugary that I'm inclined to reach for (and potentially over consume) to satisfy my sweet tooth.  That means it also includes gray area items like graham crackers (and animal crackers) and most granola bars (I generally exempt protein bars -- unless and until they become a problem, too), as well as gray area cereals like granola and Honey Bunches of Oats.

Eventually, given my contest prep, I'll work back into regimented carb cycling to cut.  But the baseline for the year will be to avoid sweets entirely.

Of course, by laying out these goals publicly here, I expose myself to the possibility of failing rather publicly.  It's happened before here, and here.  But on the whole, I'm comfortable with the calculated risk. It's one that I've been weighing for weeks now, and I tend to believe I have learned a thing or two from my past failures. 

I look forward to sharing the year's journey with you.

* The irony of sharing this resolution on a blog entitled "The Forbidden Donut" is not lost on me.
  

A Lesson In Ice Cream

We had our friends the Kjelstroms over for dinner last night. For dessert, I took John with me to the Ralph's across the street to buy some ice cream. This is one of the rare weeks at Ralphs when all of the different brands of ice cream are on sale for $3 a half gallon. This creates a rather serious potential dilemma for ice cream enthusiasts like myself.

The almost universal first rule of ice cream selection is that it has to be on sale to be considered. Rare indeed is the occassion when I'm willing to pay full price for a half gallon.

If price isn't a consideration, however, then the selection obviously comes down to taste. As we stood in front of the ice cream, I couldn't help but note to John the difficulty of the situation.

You see, with all brands of ice cream on sale that meant that the Private Selection Moose Tracks would be on sale. (For the uninitiated, Moose Tracks is a vanilla based ice cream packed with Chocolate Fudge Swirls and Miniature Peanut Butter Cups. In short, it's delicious.) On any other night I'd have been delighted to purchase it.

The sale also meant, though, that all flavors of Breyer's Ice Cream were on sale as well. You see, Breyers is a higher form of ice cream. It needs no mix-ins or toppings to provide a pleasurable experience. Whereas lesser ice creams, like the Private Selection (generic) brand, require mix-ins to be palatable at all, Breyer's unabashedly stands alone. You buy other ice creams for what's added to the ice cream, or what you can top them with. You buy Breyer's ice cream for the ice cream itself--and the simple pleasure of letting it melt in your mouth.

So how does one decide? Well, on this particular evening there really was no dilemma since I'd been given explicit instructions to get the Moose Tracks. It seemed like a sacrilege, though, to give Breyer's so little consideration. That's probably why I felt compelled to explain all this to John as we stood in front of the ice cream freezers--to soothe my guilt-ridden conscience. The second rule of ice cream buying until then had been to buy Breyer's when it's on sale. Now my world was being turned upside down.

John's response to my oratory, unfortunately, resembled more the dismissive humoring of a talkative grandparent than of appreciation. I wasn't sure any of it had sunk in.

Once home with the Moose Tracks, I told our wives that I'd shared with John all my knowledge on ice cream selection. I then looked to John expectantly, hoping for some affirmation that the lesson had not been in vain. Seeing that I was looking for a reaction, John noted "Oh yeah, Breyer's ice cream doesn't need any mix-ins to taste good."

I was so proud, it almost made me forget we'd passed up Breyers.