Now, I never like to think of myself as old… Maybe I’m just WISE. Yes, let’s go with that. I have just grown WISER with time.
The reality is that with the addition of years, there are things that I just can’t do anymore. I used to be able to go out any night of the week, drink like a fish, eat anything I wanted… and the only thing I needed to help with the recovery was a Wendy’s combo meal.
Oh, how the times have changed… And, in reality, I don’t really want to do those things anymore.
In my WISE advanced age though, I have identified another type of hangover that I need to be cognizant of: The Food Hangover.
Friday night, I went to a team builder at a local brewery. One of the teams I support was gathering together for a pool tournament and dinner together. On a Friday afternoon, I was more than happy to escape leave the office a few hours earlier for some fun with co-workers.
I actually worked with one of the managers to put together the menu, so I knew that it was going to be a little indulgent. The menu included crab cakes, southwestern egg rolls, margarita mini pizettes, chips and queso… and that was just the beginning. The evening was rounded out with roasted turkey and prime rib sandwiches, as well as cupcakes for dessert. This was my dinner.
Having spent the entire week completely and 100% on plan, I was not ready for this at all. While I knew it was coming, I still ate way more than I should have. I ate too many chips and queso, a few glasses of wine, 2 mini pizza slices, and then finished the evening off with a turkey sandwich and a cupcake.
Here’s the part where the rest of America chimes in with their opinion, attempting to help me justify this type of eating:
It was just one night.
You have to allow yourself to “have fun” sometimes.
You can’t always eat healthy.
You should just relax. It’s not going to kill you.
The fact that I ate my day’s worth of calories in one meal wasn’t as concerning to me as what I knew would follow…
In reality, my tastebuds LOVE eating all that junk, but my body has grown WISE and now rejects it. And, worse, punishes me for the poor choices I’ve made in the form of a “food hangover”
I went home on Friday night and I felt lethargic. Exhausted. Slow. Lazy. I left the party certain that I was going to go to the gym to work off some of those calories, but I couldn’t muster up the energy to do it. I felt too much like this…
For the six days prior when I was eating healthy and staying on plan, I would have used words like: Happy, Energetic, Accomplished, Excited. The way I felt on Friday night couldn’t have been more different…
Feeding my body fresh vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy sources of energy truly is what my body knows, loves, and appreciates. Much like I’m getting to the age where drinking too much on an evening out can cripple me, so can an evening of indulgence.
My plan for future events like this: Eat beforehand, and just say no. My body will thank me for this…
Have you ever experienced a “food hangover”?