Before people go thinking I'm crazier than I actually am due to my last post on Monday, I feel like I must explain a few things.
As an Ironman in training, teacher, and coach, I have very little time to do much of anything else M-F aside from what absolutely needs to be done (ie. training, working, and coaching) and so I must do all that I can to make sure that I don't need to do anything 'extra'. I have learned to be extremely efficient in the things that I do. For me, grocery shopping any day aside from Sunday is 'extra'. I buy exactly what I need for the week every Sunday so that during the week I can be sure that I have enough to last me until at least Saturday without having to go to the store. Of course, stuff happens and sometimes I have to go anyway, like when I need to get a new supply of my 15-pound bag of carrots, but for the most part my 1 trip weekly suffices. The way I count my food for my salads is partly because I love even numbers (okay, I have OCD) but also because I know that I can use that much in my salad every day and still have enough for the week. Until I have more time during the week to actually cook things, I don't see this changing. Plus, I just really love salads.
Naturally the weekends afford me the ability to do more of what I want. I still eat oatmeal every morning, but I relax a little bit on what else I'm eating. I ate an entire pie of pizza last Friday night and had a couple glasses of wine when I went out with coworkers. It was thin crust and no cheese (because I deeply loathe cheese), but it was worth it and nice to eat something different. I work with what I have leftover from the week and go from there. I try to get in smoothies on the weekends because I don't have the time to enjoy them during the week The weekends are more 'a little bit of this, a little bit of that'.
As Heather pointed out, I can't forget about the froyo. I have a serious obsession with frozen yogurt, and though I gave up dairy a year or so ago, I can't ever give up the fro. That is one treat that I will never deprive myself of, mostly because I see it as being 'healthy' if I want, or really more of a treat.
I don't weigh myself everyday. I pretty much go by what I look like and how my clothes fit, but I do own a scale and will step on it from time to time to check in. I use it more in the summer to make sure I'm rehydrating enough after extremely sweaty runs, and to be sure that I'm not dropping too much weight.
My early mornings are indeed a bit crazy, but I really like it. I would MUCH rather run on the roads at 3:30am when there aren't many cars than at 5:30 when everybody is racing to get home. I feel safer and also more at peace since there isn't much going on around me. It's especially nice as the spring is coming and I get to sometimes watch the sunrise. It's refreshing and rejuvenating and sometimes my best runs come in the wee hours of dawn.
I am a Type A person through and through and getting into triathlons and being a teacher has only exacerbated it over the years. Some may think it's unhealthy and crazy to live on such a regimented schedule, but I say: to each their own.
