Excuses

My favorite excuse to over-eat on crappy food has always, as long as I can remember, been not getting enough sleep and having to function the next day. Add one more little factoid - I've been an insomniac since I was a kid.  This excuse is deeply rooted in my childhood.

As an adult my pattern has been: Swing through McD's drive-through on the way to work for a couple of breakfast sandwiches (I need the protein and carbs) and a quick stop at Starbucks for a vente macchiato or frappuccino (I need the sugar and caffeine).  Back to Starbucks a few hours later for another (oh man, I really need the sugar and caffeine for this meeting) and maybe another trip through McD's for more food (this'll help me stay awake). Toss in a run to 7-11 for some chocolate in the afternoon (just gotta make it two more hours and I can go home and crash).

Anyone else see a problem here? More than one problem, maybe? Yeah, not just the empty calories but serious self-inflicted carb/sugar crashes all day. Nasty little vicious circle here.

What prompted this post was waking up at midnight to the tune of my beloved resident feline heaving her little guts out on my bed. Loudly. She's always hated throwing up (can't blame her there) and adds plenty of sound effects before and during to demonstrate that. Hell, she cries like a baby at the top of her lungs. You'd think she was dying right then and there. Nahhh, she's just tossing a hairball. Ugh.

Needless to say I was wide awake. Tried to get some more sleep and did drift in and out a little, but once I'm awake that's usually pretty much it for my ability to sleep that night.

Funny thing is I'm not feeling a whole lot of urge to break my diet. Maybe grab an extra chicken thigh to take to work with me in case I get extra-hungry, but the thought of McD's doesn't even appeal right now. Yeah, I'll probably run by Starbucks but I'm learning to really like their iced coffee with a pump of sugar-free syrup and a splash of half-and-half.

Oh, follow-up on the office mate and her bloody protein shakes: She tried to hand me one yesterday morning again, so I gently explained that I really appreciate the thought but each time I've had one there's something in it that really spikes my cravings for sugar and carbs so I really don't dare drink it. Gods, but my inner child was drooling and whimpering, but I held strong. Yay me! *back-pat*