My First Change: Packing Lunch

I’m sitting up… past my bedtime… refreshing the CFWR schedule website for the 37^th time to see if tomorrow’s WOD has been posted yet.  Alas, it has not.  I’m not sure why I’m so curious about the workout’s makeup.  There is nothing they could post that would inspire me to stay home and skip it.  I’ll be there at 8 a.m., even though the coach who planned the WOD described it (with his trademark wry smile) as “…going to be tough.  Yeah, it’s gonna suck for you guys.”  Um, when I asked about Saturday’s workout, I was looking for specifics… not smirking and vagueness.  Checking for the 38^th time (still nothing), I vow not to check again tonight… to let it be a “pleasant” surprise tomorrow morning.  I know that early tomorrow morning I will be presented with the challenge to overcome.  A 5k? Murph? Filthy Fifty?  Or perhaps a uniquely designed Chipper?  Our coaches can be so creative.

As I (pointlessly) refresh for the 39^th time, I begin to wonder, “What has come over me?  When did I become consumed by this way of life?”  This has prompted a bit of even deeper reflection…which has me thinking back on my life a year ago today.

It was roughly a year ago that I made my first of many “changes.”  I hadn’t yet reached my breaking point, but it was within sight.  I knew that my fast food, vending machine diet was doing me no favors.  And I knew my eating patterns were based on convenience… and I thought vending machines and drive thru lanes were very convenient. 

To change this recipe for disaster, I started bringing my lunch to work. 

I figured it had to be drastically better for me than a value-sized combo meal from Chick-fil-a, maybe even cheaper.  Every Sunday, I would make 8 sandwiches (… I was eating 2 a day), portion out four bags of Kettle chips, and make sure I had a Larabar and maybe a piece of fruit for each day.  Four days a week I would pack my lunch, leaving myself one day a week to eat out or order in with co-workers.

In hindsight, not the best way to feed myself, but it was a step in the right direction.  Many more changes later, I still prep my lunches on Sunday for the week.  My lunches are drastically different now, but then… so am I.

So, for the 40^th and final time, I see that tomorrow’s WOD will be a mystery right up until 8 a.m..  But, I’ll be ready for it… whatever it is.