It’s been one week since I abandoned my workout regimen in favor of giving my body time to recuperate from whatever creeping crud I’d picked up. In that short time period I have reverted to all of my bad habits. It’s unsettling to me how fast that can happen.

It started with not going to the gym and then it cascaded:

• I changed my alarm clock to 6am (an hour before work).
• I stayed up later because there was nothing demanding my attention first thing in the morning.
• I didn’t eat breakfast due to the “don’t care” feeling that comes with poor rest.
• I skipped trying to figure out what the new eating routine should be given that I’m rising 3 hours later and reverted back to “eh I’m hungry and people are going to lunch, so I will too” routine.
• I served myself larger portions (and seconds!) at dinner because it had been 5-6 hours since I’d had whatever passed for food at lunch.

As I write this, I’m eating club crackers with chive & onion cream cheese on them. Granted, it’s light cream cheese, but this is a treat that I reserve for an afternoon when I’m relaxing in front of the TV after a) I’ve been to the gym that morning, b) had a light lunch, and c) it’s been a while since I’ve indulged. Why did I choose it? I was hungry and it required the least preparation. That certainly sounds like the old me.

I could have eased back into the gym on Thursday. I didn’t because I allowed myself to be convinced that it would be better to “start fresh” Monday morning. Blame anal-retentiveness, a new routine (it had been adjusted by a personal trainer the previous Wednesday), or that I’d regressed.

Monday morning can’t come quickly enough. I’m excited to start my new workout routine and to get back to feeling good.

Update: I’ve been keeping a daily food journal since early September that I’ve been updating faithfully. I missed the second half of Thursday and completely missed Friday.