Ron Swanson
Summer. It is that time of year that we naturally seem to get more fit as we enjoy the outdoors. Fresh vegetables, Maryland tomatoes, all of the farm-fresh goodness that our bodies thrive on and good old fashioned outdoors activities.
Then along comes vacation. This year things were going to be different. I have worked very hard at Brick Bodies to get in better shape and, by golly, I was not going to let a week’s vacation set me back to where I was at the beginning of the year. We have a timeshare in the Virginia mountains and this year Mrs. Commish packed groceries for about 5 or 6 of the days so that we actually sort of planned what we would eat. Breakfasts were easy since she likes sausage, eggs, and bagels. Dinners would be some fresh vegetables from our garden and the local farmers’ market plus whatever chicken or meat we wanted. One night we would eat out at a local barbeque joint that has been there for over 60 years and another night we were going to go out with our daughter, Gwaltney, and her husband to celebrate her birthday. We were ready to go with one last addition…we borrowed their Wii console and games so that we could monitor ourselves on Wii Fit and also play some of the balance and other games that they have collected.
One of the sand traps I missed
Off for a week of doing nothing but nothing and eating healthy meals and “recharging the old batteries.” We went to the pool, we visited a Presidential Library and Museum, we played some golf, we walked and walked. Mrs. Commish was often famished after our activities while I wasn’t as hungry for some reason. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked more than once. “I dunno, just not hungry,” I would reply. This doesn’t mean I didn’t eat but it does mean that I skipped some meals (particularly breakfast) and ate less than Mrs. Commish at many other meals.
We never could hook up the Wii Fit game but we figured when Gwaltney and her husband arrived mid-week that they would figure that out for us and then we could see how good we were doing. I continued to stretch and do some of the simple things that the Personal Trainers have shown and all in all felt quite pleased with myself. Usually we walk two or three times to an ice cream parlor at the bottom of the cliff that our condo is perched on, but not this year. In fact, the only dessert I had was at the barbeque joint. They make the old fashioned milkshakes and Mrs. Commish just can’t resist them. She got a chocolate shake (vanilla ice cream and syrup, of course) and when she poured it from that cold metal mixing container into her 24 ounce glass there were a few ounces left over that I quickly scarfed up. Oh yeah, it was good!
Our technologically-advanced kids never could get the Wii Fit to work, either, so at the end of the week we were really anxious to see how well we had done with maintaining or, perhaps, even losing a little bit, on our vacation. We waited until the next morning so that we could get a true reading and the results were….Mrs. Commish didn’t lose anything. She had, after all, eaten more than I had. Gwaltney stayed exactly the same weight, too. And now it was time for me to read the tale of the scale. Quite unexpectedly, in fact, I had gained SEVEN pounds! Now that is not fair. In fact it was downright disappointing.
So, it is back to Brick Bodies I go. See you all at the gym.