Hey Stangers

It has been a long time since I posted last but since no one reads yet, I don't feel so bad.  The part I do feel bad about is that in the last 2 months, I have worked out a total of 3 times.  Three.  Tres.  Drei.  Yeah, it was not a good stretch.  I do have an excuse and I don't plan on using it again.  My wife and I welcomed a new little one into our lives and it has been a great 2 months.  She is happy and healthy and we love every minute with both our kiddos.  In trying to be a good husband and dad, I wanted to be there and available at all costs.  Plus, it gave me a chance to recharge.  I hear that every great once in a while (6 months or so) you should take a week or so to recharge your batteries.  For me, it was 1.5 years and 2 months so oh well.  Now that I am back at work and able to hit the classes offered, I am getting back into eating healthy as well.  While out (we'll call it A Time Required Only for Purposes to Help You or ATROPHY - seems about right), I didn't watch what I ate on top of not working out so things got all out of kilter.  I started drinking pop (yes, pop.  I have a sweet tooth that will not stop and beer does not scratch that itch) along with eating any candy I could get my hands on.  That didn't feel good after a while and my body told me about it.  Day after day I would feel disgusting and wasn't processing why.  Not I know because after being back for only 3 days and watching what I eat and pushing myself, I am feeling back to normal.
The biggest thing I noticed when I started working out again was my stress would go down for the day.  Not matter if I worked out over lunch or in the morning, the rest of the day felt more relaxed and I felt like I had more energy.  I am not sure if only a few days can make me feel that way again but I'll take the placebo effort.  Taking time away did have it's benefits though.  I started understanding how quickly I could lose what I have worked really hard to gain and it was tough to see.  I had made the commitment to myself and to see all of that go away in a matter of 8 weeks was eye opening.  At my age (36), I realize that eating whatever I want may be offset a little by working out but when you pile that on top of not moving my ass for weeks on end, it became more real.
The moral of the story is take enough time to give your body a break but don't let yourself see the old you creep back in.  It is not worth it to throw away what you have worked hard to gain.

-N