I have an Eating Disorder PART IV

It is not new information that Americans live in extremes. We don't only have hamburgers, we have quarter-pounders. We can't just have a roller-coaster, we have to have the tallest, fasted roller coaster. We can't just have flat screens, we have to have 52" 3D flat screens. We can't just give out one loan, we have to give a loan out to EVERYONE regardless of income, assets, or any reimbursement potential of any kind....oh, no...getting off topic.

We live in a place where, "work hard, play hard" was invented!! The busy nature of our lives had no choice but to roll over into our eating habits. The American Dream is not attained by napping in hammocks, long strolls on the beach, and daily gourmet cooked meals from mom. (Well, maybe the old American Dream was). Now, we have replaced aprons with business suits, family dinner with DS Nintendos and competitive soccer, a hard day of labor with emails, and a walk to a friends house with 30 minutes at 6.2 on a treadmill.

I can g-chat, email, skype and text my friend who lives in Nigeria literally instantly! That's the way life is now. Instant. I can't shower without taking my phone in the bathroom with me because it is now expected for me to be available 24 hours a day...because I can be!! I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off all day because of the increased amount of productivity that is now available to my generation. I don't have to wait 3-4 business days for this or that to arrive in the mail. I print it off my email, and it needs to be filled out and faxed back within the hour. IT'S TOO MUCH!!!!

I liked Willy Loman's (Death of a Salesman) look at the American Dream. He didn't think it took hard work, but just being well liked. There was one scene where his son gets in trouble at school (can't remember what he did) but Willy's response was "Did the kids laugh?!" He was more interested in BIFF's (that's his name!!) popularity than anything. If only it was that easy. Now you have to have a doctorate in social media to get anything done.

My point is, we are seen as having to be ON all of the time. We can't miss a beat. We have to be in a meeting, on a conference call, and texting our BFF simultaneously, or we're seen as a poor co-working, a lazy volunteer, or a bad friend. In this life of extremes, no wonder our eating takes on the same pattern.

When I am done with my work-week, I have to shut down. Sometimes, the only way to get the ringing of the cellphone or the "beep, bu, bleep" of an incoming e-mail out of my head is to party...hard. So, how can we get some balance back in our lives, back in our eating habits?

Here are my thoughts...

• Have an hour a day be designated no phone, no computer hour
• Eat while sitting at a table...not in the car, not in front of the TV, not at your desk!!!
• Learn to say NO when something isn't a priority. When you are young and just getting started, you feel like you have to be the designated Nascar racer at your work. You're on every committee, you run the softball league, you take on outside projects...you have your limits too...find them.
• Leave your office for lunch. (I need to take my own advice on this.)
• Meet a friend during the week to do something fun!
• Play on a sports league (I've been playing on a kickball team (Go Donks!) for a few years now, and it really breaks up the week. It gets me outside, and it makes me socialize.
• Take a nap on Friday when you get home from work. Sometimes I'll come home on Fridays from work so over life that I immediately go to the fridge for a beer to start the evening. You need to relax. I have ruined many of Friday nights because I was tired and irritable - you don't want to ruin half of your weekend.
• Plan something fun on the weekends that doesn't involve drinking. Go to a movie, go hiking, plan a picnic, go to your little cousin's ballgame! Anything!!

There are many other things that you can do!! Just try to keep the word "balance" in your head. Make a note and put it somewhere were you look every day!!

Happy balancing, America!!