That Was Then This Is Now

Last week may have been one of the best “feeling” weeks in my life.
I had energy.
In fact I was exploding with energy.
Boot Camp was fun, the music was great, the running was “easy” almost a “lope”.
The Stair Master was my friend; the weights just didn’t seem all that heavy.
I was “eating clean” the whole week. No fat enriched snacks, no extra helping of anything except for three large bowls of cooked spinach on Wednesday.
No red meat, only fish and four ounces of chicken with large amounts of L-Glutamine in between and whey protein shakes.
The brain and the muscles were on “fire” or as “on fire” as a sixty three year old muscles and brains can be on fire.
To the younger set it may have looked like smoldering rags, but to me, I was at the top of my game.
Even the trainer commented on it but attributed it to mental instability.
What a great way to feel; I didn’t want to let it go.
Then the reality of Mexican Friday, wedding Saturday, too much Tai Sunday and suddenly as if someone turned off the power, it was gone.
It hasn’t been the same this week.
My steps are slower and the Stair Master is no longer friend.
The “fire” is now just smoking embers and I think more about sleep.
I am clean again but it takes a few weeks to get “starved down”.
Each week I re-commit to the new lifestyle and even went so far as to look up foods that have a low glycemic index (less than zero is better) and high anti-inflammatory properties (closer to one thousand is ideal).
I come up with the following menu:
Breakfast: One scrambled egg (whites only) smothered in Salsa or one half cup of oatmeal.
Mid day snack: Protein Bar or Go Lean cereal, 12 grams of protein and lots of fiber
Lunch: Bag-o-tuna smothered in Salsa with pickled beets or even more desirable asparagus.
Mid afternoon snap: Hand full of Almonds or possibly 12 to 20 Blackberries (no sweetener)
Dinner: 4 ounces of Salmon or a Black Bean Burger, Brussels sprouts or spinach and 3 to 4 ounces of Red Wine preferably Merlot or Pinot Noir.
The next thing I need to remember, leave the caffeine behind and hydrate with water all day long.
I am wondering, can I can finally stick to the above diet or something very close and achieve my goal weight of 168 pounds or is it only the “dream” of an aging mind that is not quite, as “on fire” as it believes it is?
Oh, could you please pass the chicken fried steak?