Lesson Upon Lesson From My Weekend Road Trip

I learned lesson upon lesson on my road trip last weekend. This is not a post to trumpet how well I handled my diet while traveling.  Instead it’s about what I learned from the experience.  Friday morning I packed my cooler as usual for the 600 mile drive to Maryland.  That’s about a 9-10 hour drive and my eating schedule works out to about 15 hours.  No big deal right? Not exactly.

Lesson 1

I didn’t factor in my diabetic son when I packed food. So that’s how we ended up at Hambino’s Pizza Company in Bristol, TN.  Also related is the fact that my son gets offended whenever I’ve been to a good food location but I’ve never taken him.  I was good though.  Substituted salad and wings for my turkey meal.  Not great but I upped my water intake as well. Call it a better bad choice.  Next time I need to get a bigger cooler and pack food that we can both eat.  Alternatively, I can check the menu ahead of time for where we plan to stop (I don’t do random stops on road trips. Too dangerous. I look up the rest stops and assess them for potential dangers. Blame Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children for that behavioral quirk.) and find something that fits in my diet ahead of time or come up with a suitable alternative.

Lesson 2

We stayed at my uncle and aunt’s and I thought I’d be safe because I’d told him about my diet. Ehn, not so much. He’s also the proud parent of teenagers who are the proud owners of stomachs.  They devoured the rice that was set aside and then tore through my grilled ground beef. I compensated with some grilled chicken breast.  I should have gone grocery shopping when I got in town per my original plan.  I didn’t want to make my aunt feel bad, she did cook for us two days in a row after all.  The food was not bad and it was awesomely West African.  I increased my physical activity the next day to compensate. I don’t think you can out eat a bad diet but I also know that by increasing my calories out vs calories in I will eventually get where I want to be.  I also went to the gym the next morning and pulled a beltless PR in the deadlift despite having been in a car for 10 straight hours.  Yes that was before breakfast.  I followed that up with a 2 mile brisk walk on an outdoor track in 90 degree heat before lunch. Pretty sure I burned some calories in there somewhere. Lesson learned, look for the positive.

Lesson 3

I was out of food because I didn’t go grocery shopping so I ended up eating out for lunch.  I had baked chicken at Nando Peri Peri a nice South African eatery and a Coke.  Having not had caffeine in a month, it really affected my appetite in addition to making me really wired.  The plus side was I knew that I was going to be eating Liberian food that afternoon and that evening so I called one of them a cheat meal.  Afternoon meal was Liberian fried spinach greens and the evening meal was Liberian pepper soup with chicken and salted beef.  Downside was I didn’t drink nearly enough water.  Probably 32 ounces instead of my scheduled gallon and a half. That stopped the plumbing until I got back to Georgia.  Lesson learned: drink water

I’m back in Georgia now. Back on my diet. Water intake is back to normal. My weight went up to 202 during my trip. It’s already back down to where it was.  I’m four weeks out from my meet and I’m due to take photos and measurements in three days.  Maybe I’d already be where I should be if I’d stayed on point but there’s the last lesson.

Lesson 4

Don’t let life derail you.  Life happens and you’ve got to adapt to the fact that the rest of the world isn’t going on a diet just because you did. If you stumble along the way, adjust for it and re establish a strong position  as soon as possible.

Height: 5’9      Age 42

Goal: Physique recomposition.
Weight:
Goal: 190-195lbs    Starting Weight: 202lbs  Current Weight: 200lbs
Waist
Goal: 31 inch         Current Measurement: 38 inches Starting Measurement:  39 inches
Chest: relaxed
Goal: 44 inches  Current Measurement:                      Starting Measurement: 43
Arms:
Goal: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed Starting Measurement: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed  unchanged

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