Tonight, I ate pizza. It was the first time in three months. It was amazing!
Don’t worry, I promise I’m not here to write about my dinner choices. July is a slow month in my sportscasting life and I figured now was as good a time as any to follow up on my February 2016 article. It’s about why sportscasters, including myself, can be susceptible to weight gain, and what we can do about it.
Well, I didn’t do anything until three months ago. I continued to balloon until I started seeing numbers on the scale that I’ve never seen before. I got in a rut and instead of getting better I just kept getting worse. The frustration of that weight gain, along with my pending nuptials, and the fact that there is a weight limit to go skydiving for my bachelor party finally got me motivated to kick start my way to a healthier lifestyle. Which brings me back to the pizza, a celebration of finishing off the P90X program I completed Friday. I lost 17 pounds in 90 days, which is short of my goal, but a hell of a good start.
I promise, I’m not trying to turn this into a fitness blog or a humble brag session. My biggest concern is maintaining my gains and healthier lifestyle once football, and especially basketball, seasons start back up. I’ve put a lot of thought into that question over the last few weeks and here are the solutions that hopefully will help along the way.
1.) Pack A Lunch Every Day: One of my biggest problems on a consistent basis was eating fast food for lunch and in many cases for a quick pregame meal. During the last three months, I’ve developed the habit of packing my own lunch and healthy snacks for the day. This makes it much easier to avoid the temptation of stopping in for a foot-long sub sandwich or a slice of pizza.
2.) Be Disciplined During The Day: The reality is that some nights after a game, especially on a multi-day trip, you may have to stop for convenience store/fast food because after the game it’s late and they are the only thing that is open. However, I’m hoping that if I’m disciplined enough to eat a healthy breakfast and pack healthy lunches/snacks, that the occasional late-night grub session will not kill my goals.
3.) When You Have To Be Bad, Don’t Be Awful: When I do get a quick road meal, I need to start picking the less unhealthy options. Go for the six-inch sub or a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a double cheeseburger. These may not be great options, but when you have no choice, try and negate the damage as much as possible.
4.) Drink Water: I personally was a diet soda junkie for a long time. It’s been hard to kick but now that I don’t rely on caffeine to keep myself alert for games, or anything else for that matter, I find I have so much more energy during the day. Water is great for the voice, helps keep me from feeling hungry, and saves me a lot of money over time.
5.) Commit To Working Out: During the season I found it difficult to find time during the day to work out. However, it’s critical to find a way to get it done. Whether it’s working out early in the morning, taking a walk during lunch hour, or just doing five minutes of pushups/jumping jacks in your office. Just find a way to do something as many days as possible.
6.) Don’t Get Down When You Miss Time: In the past, I would have bad days or even weeks and instead of getting back on the horse with my good habits I would say “screw it,” and just let the missed days snowball into more bad habits. It’s important to realize that nobody is perfect and that we as sportscasters face challenges that most people don’t. There will be times where a long multi day road trip leads to less than ideal diet and fitness decisions. Deal with it and don’t get frustrated.
These are my goals to get me through the next sports season with minimal weight gain. I’m not sure if they will work. I’m very curious to hear what has worked for other people! Please share what has worked for you in the comments section below.
3 Comments
Excellent keep up the good (hard) work. And never ever work in Pella/Knoxville ?
Congratulations on your renewed fitness dedication, Logan!
Last fall, I was diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes. While it was a shock, it really wasn’t a big surprise. Poor diet, times when I would go up to 10 hours between meals due to my schedule, and little to no activity. Sadly, this profession is a breeding ground for health issues, including diabetes.
What I’ve done is basically eat better… eating clean with lots of fruits and veggies, lean protein (chicken, turkey and pork are really good for this), very little starch (carbs aren’t always my friend). Don’t be afraid of frozen fruits and veggies. They are relatively cheap, they don’t have all the salt and additives that canned foods have, and they don’t spoil and quickly as the fresh stuff. There are lots of great Keto and Paleo recipes out there that one can really pig out on and not feel TOO guilty!
During “March Madness”, make sure you take a baggie with healthy snacks… nuts, cheese, stuff like that. That’ll keep you satisfied until you can get home (and not pig-out like I used to! LOL). If worse comes to worse, a small bag of popcorn can also help too.
Sounds like you’re doing well with getting active; that’s really tough when you’re doing 4-5 games a week. The key is to stay active. But you have that down pat!
As for the diet soda, there are lots of really good options to replace that fix. Walmart has their store-brand unsweetened flavored water that’s pretty good (I like the blackberry, and it’s only about 3-bucks for a 12-pack). Also, brewing flavored coffee, adding some fat-free half-and-half and a teaspoon of Splenda, give you a gas station cappuccino that’s inexpensive, gives you a shot of caffeine, and is relatively healthy.
Anyway, these are some of the things I’m doing. So far it seems to be working. I’ve lost about 50 pounds and several pants sizes and I’m getting my blood sugar back under control. This is a tough business to be healthy in, but it can be done!
As Red Green says “I’m pullin’ for ya… We’re all in this together!”
Great suggestions Matt. Keep up the good work!