Mountain Trip II (The Tempting of Steve)

I just had to do a follow up post on my trip to Mt. Airy, NC. The post yesterday was basically an itinerary, it did not fully tell the story. Here's the link to my previous post, http://ow.ly/jFbN.

Tammy (my wife) has been supportive of my efforts to lose weight, get fit and to fight diabetes…Here's a link to the post I discuss this, http://ow.ly/jFdv.

…but she still buys “sugar drinks” and “empty carb snacks” for herself and her “babies”. I was joking around that she was "testing me", she really isn't. She's just buying what she and the boys want to eat and drink. It doesn't bother me as far as my meal plan is concerned, I do wish they would learn to eat more healthy foods...they are slowly moving in the right direction.

But ....If you think I am tested at home, it was nothing compared to the way I was tested this weekend in Mt. Airy, NC.

Recap:

First test, Dad cooked some healthy items like grilled pork tenderloin, fresh tomato and green beans, but then he also cooked fried potatoes, fried apples and homemade strawberry short cake with whipped cream of course....

I only ate the grilled pork, tomato and green beans so all was well.

Next we headed to Virginia and along the way he turned a Candy Store into a tourist stop at Meadows of Dan, VA.

I do the family's grocery shopping so every week I walk through grocery stores at least once a week. Weekly, I walk past beer (I STILL LOVE BEER!), candy bars, Twinkies, potato chips etc etc nothing phases me.

Well…when you walk into this store…

...the smell of chocolate overwhelms you. To be as accurate as possible, calling it the “smell of chocolate” does not do the sensation justice. I think they were pumping chocolate dust into the air!! Much like JR’s Humidor Room is for Cigars, Nancy’s Candy Co. is for chocolate. ….in a word, it's AWESOME!

They have everything imaginable pecan nut rolls, fudge, chocolate covered peanuts, pretzels etc etc. They even sold dishes and bowls made of chocolate. I did not buy nor eat free samples of anything in the store. ...yes, they offer free samples...

When everyone got back into the car, Brad didn't want all of his SUGAR FREE Pecan Cluster, so I did eat about half of his leftover cluster.

As if that were not enough, dad stopped in Cana, VA at one of those tourist trap "general store" type places, it had many items for sale ...some that I wanted but not at their prices. I walked outside and there was dad, he had purchased an ice cream cone and ate it in front of me….

Bottom line: the only thing I had to eat that wasn’t primal or “clean” …I ate half of my son’s sugar free pecan cluster.

I wonder…if I’d been a reforming alcoholic…do you think Dad would have taken me to every beer joint and liquor store in Mt. Airy???? LOL!

P90X Update - For the record…today was day 78…12 days left and counting.

Exercise

I haven't mentioned this in a while, so I wanted to restate this.

At minimum you should exercise 30-45 minutes a day, four times a week.

…at minimum….

The quote below was copied from the AHA website, it took me 10 minutes to find this. The quote was actually 4 pages deep….I got so aggravated. You would think this would be on the front page in bold letters, you know…because they want people to get fit!

“Don't overdo it. Do low to moderate level activities, especially at first. You can slowly increase the duration and intensity of your activities as you become more fit. Over time, work up to exercising on most days of the week for 30-60 minutes.”

Take care all and "peace out",

Steve