Day 11 - Temptation, Submission, Restraint, Reality, and Sleep (or the lack thereof)

The scale treated me to good news this morning, still slowly fighting my way to the 240's. Small goals contained within one large voyage. But as I've stated, this documentation of my personal quest will contain all the glorious highs, combined with the miserable lows. Today's chapter will primarily contain the latter.

Let's just skip right to the evening. I had finished visiting with some friends that I hadn't seen in far too long, and the time was around 10:15. My brain and body both told me it was time to go home, bedtime was fast approaching and I still had to hit the mat and treadmill. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option, as I had another engagement to attend. A few old bandmates were performing with their new group tonight, and there was no way I was going to miss the show. I headed over to catch up with another close friend before we walked over to the venue. Sitting down on his now disheveled and tattered couch, many memories came flooding back of past festivities, overindulgence, and general mayhem. We reminisced about the days gone by, he with his beer and I with my water. Temptation. He offers a drink of Southern Comfort. I initially refuse, and we have a brief, but thorough conversation. Submission. I subsequently tip one back. It tastes fantastic, and I don't feel too bad about having it. Restraint. Satisfied with that, we head to the show. Throughout the evening, we discussed many facets of why I haven't been successful with the weight loss issue in the past, and changes I've made to help ensure that this time is the last. Reality. It seems very much an impossible mission to completely eliminate all temptations. So instead of pushing, fighting, and hiding from them, I'm learning to embrace temptation, and with it, moderation.

My primary dilemma with Day 11 was the fact that it bled into Day 12. Since ramping up the amount of physical activity, I'd been in bed at or before 11:30 every night. That's still quite late, but is nothing compared to the lack of sleep I burdened myself with in the past. Late nights were almost mandatory, there's just too much information to be had out there, and I wanted it all. News, books, music, movies, games, research, into the wee hours...and then I would wonder why I felt so awful the following morning. Since I had begun the regular workout routine, my body hadn't allowed me to stay up very late at all, and that had become a problem on the night of Day 11. The main attraction hit the stage as Day 12 began, and I was thoroughly entertained. It was great to finally see them playing on stage again. After catching up with the guys and the many familiar faces in the crowd after the show, Day 12 was already well underway, and I could barely keep my eyes open, still trying to conclude Day 11. We walked back, I hopped in my car, and made my way home. As I pulled into the driveway, I peeked down at the radio to catch a glimpse of the illuminated display staring back at me. The small LED arrays had positioned themselves in a manner that I hadn't seen for some time. They combined their efforts to form "1:47am". Oh boy.

The pillow is soft, and the bed is warm. I snuggle up to my wife, it's good to be home. Sleep.