Day 32 : "Cured?"

Today, I had to travel between two offices over lunchtime and wanted to eat in my car.  So I found myself in Tesco in a bit of a quandry.  Tins of mackerel don't really lend themselves well to being eaten in a car - unless, of course, one wants to arrive at ones destination covered in stains and smelling like Billingsgate Fish Market on a sunny afternoon.  And salad's not a very viable option for the M4 either.  Five weeks ago I might have grabbed a sandwich or a wrap but - as you may have realised by now - I've almost totally cut starchy carbs out of my diet.  So that was a no go.

Then I spotted some packs of Biltong.  I remembered reading once that cured meat is really good for you, as it's low in fat and high in protein.  So I checked it out and yes, indeed, it is.  So I ended up enjoying two 50g packs of Biltong whilst driving, and it was delicious - with only 2.4g of saturated fat per 100g, 2.7g of carbohydrate, and a whopping 46g of protein.

Back to fish tomorrow though, no doubt.  I have this weird mindset that I can't treat my taste buds too much or too often - even if the tasty food is fairly healthy - as otherwise it might be Biltong today and half a pound of chocolate tomorrow.

So my diet today has consisted of:

- Breakfast:  An apple and a banana;
- Lunch:  100g of Biltong;
- Dinner:  Poached salmon and veg.

At the gym tonight, I did a triceps and forearm workout, and 30 minutes on the exercise bike.

Since my Men's Health Big Book of Exercises arrived on Friday, I've dipped into it most days for ideas (like the forearms workout!).  And something weird is happening.  I've started to find myself laying in bed at night, or driving along in my car, with my mind drifting to thinking about my next trip to the gym and looking forward - really looking forward - to working out.  I honestly thought that forcing myself to go to the gym every day would become a real drag, but it's amazingly turning out to be quite the opposite - I think I might actually be becoming addicted to exercise.  That is something that I've heard people say before but really, genuinely, could never imagine myself ever saying - let alone feeling.

Now, bear in mind that when I set myself this challenge and committed to it in my first blog post - five weeks ago - it was four days before I even began the challenge, and I had no idea how it would turn out, or even if I'd be able to stick to it.  Like many people, throughout the years I would force myself to exercise at times, but I could never say I loved it, and it would always slip after a few days or weeks.

But I can now genuinely say that by forcing myself for a few weeks to work out every single day, it seems that I have actually started to become a bit obsessed with doing it - whereas I never felt like that at the points in my life where I maybe just worked out, a bit half-heartedly, 2-3 times a week.

Remember, I'm not some fitness addict saying this.  Or, at least, five weeks ago I wasn't: I had turned into an overweight, unfit, over-eating, non-exercising slob.  However, I am genuinely starting to think that by really forcing myself do this challenge in an almost obsessive way, I actually may have found a way to actually want to have a changed lifestyle, for good.  (Well, I can only hope.)


God, after that little speech, I'm going to look like such a twat if I stop going to the gym in three-and-half-weeks time and stuff my face with pies instead...