Adding Insult to Injury--A Confession

This is a nonfiction account of something that occured in my actual life.

  I have a confession to make. I don't really need to tell you, but I do. It will make us all feel a little better about things. Because I coach cross country and track people assume I am a health freak and only eat the best for me. I wish this were true.I do try so hard, but I like cake and french fries far too much. Parents and kids act strange around me or confess that they had a soft drink or a ate a piece of cake and ask how many miles does that equal. This always makes me feel a little weird. I am never sure what to say and I wonder if they ever take a good look at me. I need to lose some pounds (about 10-15 to be exact). I eat dessert right out there in the open. I drink Coke. I talk about ice cream like it is my best friend.

   Saturday, I did a favor for a friend. I coached a varsity track meet for the school I work at. This is above my pay grade and security clearance. I live in the land of middle school. I am most comfortable there. This friend's grandma passed away. He had to do the funeral. He couldn't do both the meet and the funeral. They were going to have to cancel the trip to the meet and they would lose their entry fee. I accepted. I fall for guilt everytime and the track meet was only supposed to last from 9:20 am till 3:30 pm. How bad could it be, right? As Mel would say to me...it takes a friend to make a friend. Not an easy concept to accept as a Dark.

  At the meet, they fed us. They didn't just feed us the usual filler food, they fed us well. Too well. And here is where we get to the bad stuff. So, here is the confession and make sure you know that from 8:30 am till 8:30 pm, I was watching people exert themselves and burn calories. I, on the other hand, walked slowly around from event to event or stood in one place with a stop watch in hand and only moved my fingers and neck. Needles to say, I was not burning many calories. Here is what I ate and know I had good intentions of denial, but it didn't quite work out:

Breakfast: coffee, a Fiber One bar, two (2) McDonald's sausage biscuits, three mini-cinnamon rolls, a cup of OJ, and two waters. (Don't add the calories. It will break your calculator.)

3 hours later:

Lunch: Two slices of cheese pizza, two chocolate cookies, a small piece of pound cake, and a Coke.

3 hours later:

Snack: Another Coke and a donut.

5 hours later:

Dinner: A medium Arby's roast beef sandwich, 6 cheese sticks, and sweet tea.

2 hours later:

Snack: A tall glass of chocolate milk.

And here is where we add insult to injury: I had given up drinking Coke/carbonated beverages for Lent. I didn't remember that decision until after I sucked down Coke #2. I guess I will need to extend my period of Lent.

Well, now you know. Hope you are doing better than I did and will remember that burning calories isn't something you can do through osmosis. I've tried and failed. Badly.

   David