Dad's Losing It: Slow Motion

by Jeff Bogle | More from this Blogger

27 Feb 2007 08:41 PM

I am in slow motion. There is not too much positive happening with this Dad right now. It has been eight days since my last workout and I feel large and not-so-much-in-charge. On Saturday, I was in Manhattan, a walker's paradise, and did a fair amount of urban hiking - about 30 blocks in total - during the two mealtime breaks from the marathon performance of Tom Stoppard's epic trilogy The Coast of Utopia. We decided to drive up to New York and park across the street from Lincoln Center, as opposed to taking the train - so the long Penn Station to Upper West Side stroll I was eagerly anticipating, and had previously mentioned, did not occur. Probably a good thing after all, as the early morning sun was not providing much in the way of warmth, making the concrete jungle feel bitter, bitter cold. Still, it felt great being there, holding hands with my lovely wife and walking up and down the streets of the finest city on Earth.

This coming Saturday is my daughter's third birthday party. This means, among other things, an abundant supply of cake, ice cream and cookies in the house - my weaknesses, every one of them. Considering how poor the week has started from an eating standpoint, Saturday's pizza party and dessert feast will just be adding to what is lining up to be a forgettable six-day stretch.

I am forecasting a poor week because as of yet we have not been able to get back on track cooking full, nutritious dinners. We didn't even make a full grocery trip this weekend. When that happens, the week is usually filled with pizza, breakfast for dinner (more than once) and something frozen - like ravioli. Par for the course, the first two nights of the workweek have seen us sitting down to a large plain pizza and egg sandwiches on English muffins. Something I have not been very successful at, which would surely come in handy in times like these, is raiding the pantry and coming up with a cheap (you already own the stuff after all), fairly healthy (most likely) and creative menu plan. In our house, what goes in the pantry tends to stay in the pantry until the expiration date is from another era.

I am struggling right now and could use some support, easy to prepare dinner ideas (preferably those that will also serve up leftovers) and tips on quick exercises to get the momentum back.

Until Saturday...

Enjoy your week!

Dad's Losing It articles are published every Saturday and Tuesday. Follow Jeff's journey during the rest of the week in the Dad's Losing It Forum. In the Forum, Jeff discusses his individual workout routines and soundtracks, among other tidbits and musings from the week.

Jeff is a Family Fun blogger. Read more of his posts here.

Learn more about Jeff Bogle

Jeff is married to a lovely redhead and is fortunate to have in his life an amazing young lady, age three.

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Lisa P (24013) 28 Feb 2007 06:42 AM

Hang in there Jeff! If you can take 20 minutes a day at home or at work to do some walking, the Body-for-Life aerobic workout could help you from dropping the ball altogether. I've been doing the BfL program for two weeks now and have lost 10 pounds of bodyfat already. Check it out here: http://www.bodyforlife.com/exercise/cardiotraining.asp Don't give up!

Jeff Bogle (1022) 28 Feb 2007 06:43 AM

I have an update in the Dad's Losing It Forum!

...and in addition to that update... While in the gym this morning I spotted, on one of the two dozen television sets hanging from the wall, a story about an obese 8 year old boy. He was huge, had to be over 300 lbs - and only 8! I was listening to the fine new album from Dr. Dog ("We All Belong"), so I did not hear the report but the images told the whole story. Shots of him playing video games (naturally) and eating enormous meals while his mom sat on the couch next to him smoking away. Not the ideal family scene, for sure. I was encouraged by these images though, for my own family's health and welfare. I feel even better about the way we parent and the decisions we make regarding food and passive, sedetary activities.