Fallen off the bandwagon and need to get back on...

The title pretty much explains how the end of my August has been. I was doing really well and then not so much. I need to get my butt back in gear and the only way that's going to happen is by sheer willpower. Nobody and nothing else can help me get back on track. I have the information I need, I have a plan, I have the tools to execute said plan. Now I just need to man up and do it. September starts tomorrow and with September comes a new beginning.

Having said that I need to move on. No need to drone on about my laziness. Today I actually want to write about and discuss a very serious topic. I've been thinking about this for a while and I need to get it out there. So class, today we are going to talk about the dangers of 'gateway drugs.'

I remember in middle school, high school and college sitting in class, usually a health type class, and being lectured on about the dangers and evils of gateway drugs. While we might have though that smoking cigarettes and drinking Boone's Farm wine on the weekends was just part of being a teenager, our teachers highly stressed that this was only the first step on the road to trying pot, meth and other harder drugs. Not only could these seemingly less than dangerous drugs (if they could even be called that) lead to harder, more dangerous substances, it could also ruin your life. I had a teacher in high school who could pretty much draw a straight line from sneaking beer from your parents to pimping yourself out for coke on a street corner. We were taught young and we were taught vigilantly to just say no. It could save your life after all.

You'll be happy to know that through middle school and high school I was able to stave off the evils of gateway drugs. I have never, to this day, even taken one puff of a cigarette and I managed to survive my college years without becoming a binge drinker. Now, you might be sitting there asking yourselves why I'm talking about a random topic like gateway drugs in a weight loss blog. Fear not, I'm not planning on becoming a meth addict to help me lose weight, it's much to expensive. I have, however had a revelation.

First, let's define gateway drug. A gateway drug is a fairly benign substance who's use may lead to a future risk of using more dangerous hard drugs. In school gateway drugs were only ever talked about in reference to controlled substances. What if, however, we applied this gateway concept to other aspects of life. Maybe we can look at all facets of life in the gateway perspective. In my life right now, I know that I have a major gateway drug, pop. It might sound odd but I feel like by allowing myself to give into my pop temptations I find it more difficult to stand firm in my eating overall. What is it about this cold, bubbly drink that makes me so weak? I don't understand how a beverage with no alcohol can be so addicting. I can't even claim the caffeine is what's making me crave it because I often opt for pops without caffeine in them. However, whether I understand it or not, I can clearly see how this substance can lead to my downfall in regards to weight loss. Once I start drinking pop, I start to eat out. Once I get in the habit of letting myself eat out two or three times a week, it's easier to eat out three of four times a week. Suddenly I've left my world and passed into Gluttonville. I'm thinking that's what this gateway business is all about.

I can see it with my physical activity as well. I'll be doing really well in regards to appropriate activity levels and then something will happen. I'll get sick and spend a few days in bed or have a trip home where I don't do a lot of exercising per se. Or I'll just be really tired and opt for another 40 minutes of sleep as opposed to getting in an early morning workout. Whatever the reason, I take a break in my routine and I suddenly lose motivation and desire to continue. I leave the right track and take a nosedive into Slothville. Gateway...AGAIN!! While these examples might not look like the stories we heard in our school days, I think that they accurately represent the gateway theory.

So, what is a girl supposed to do? As I've been thinking about the negative side affects of the gateway theory, I've been wondering if we could have positive applications of it in our lives as well. I know that when I gave up eating out for Lent last year it was very difficult for me to eat out again when I could let myself. I had gone a full 40 days and nights without going to a restaurant of any kind and when the family went out when I was home for Dean's wedding and Easter I was actually wishing we had just eaten in. I know when I was really persistent with my daily work outs I was really frustrated when I missed a day for whatever reason. I don't know if you can count cooking at home and daily work outs as a gateway drug but maybe we just need to become away of the fact that we are suceptible to these gateway demons and try and cut them out of our lives as much as possible. Unlike with real drugs it's probably not possible to cut them out entirely. We have to eat and there are situations where we are going to have to eat out (for a family or work function possibly) but I think the idea is to work on really limiting the exposure to this temptation. The same goes with pop consumption and days off from our work out. I guess the ultimate goal is to just be really aware of these distractions and to make sure that we stay the course even in the face of temptation.

OK, I think that's it for now. I know you ladies have been busy getting back to work. I hope that your September slows down and you're able to get back into a routine that makes you happy with all areas of your life. Have a great week and month!