"I am too busy," that is what I tell everyone. The excuse that I use to make myself feel better about what I do. Working 55hrs a week and driving for 15 hours leaves me tired and helpless with little time to do anything. I wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and leave for work shortly after. I get to work around 8 a.m. and I work until 4 p.m. I leave my job just to drive to the next one. I get there between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and begin to set up for camp. Children come emerging from the parking lot, and we begin training. I also begin my personal training since I am a two sport collegiate athlete I have to use some of this time wisely.
Camp ends around 8:00 p.m. and soon after herds of parents come my way to pick up their children. Usually about 30 minutes later all of the kids are picked up and on their way home. Luckily, for the rest of us, we start cleaning up and putting everything away so we can finally go home ourselves. Which means another half an hour goes by. I leave camp and go work out for a more intense workout. By the time I get home it is usually about 10:30 p.m. I shower and go to bed.
That is my usual weekly schedule. Although, sometimes it is different, the only difference is the time I get home--sometimes it is a little later sometimes it is a little earlier.
(Now you might be wondering why I just told you all this especially considering that this is supposed to be about why I do not have an eating disorder. I promise I will get to that.)
In the beginning of the summer it is extremely difficult to adjust to this schedule. But I eventually do, I adjust so well that by the end of the summer it is almost hard to go back to the way I was before summer began.
Now due to the lack of free seconds in my day I don't eat much at all, yes I know this is bad.... but just hear me out. I eat a small breakfast because I want to sleep in as much as possible, so I grab something to go.
I eat lunch at my office around 12:30/1 o'clock. Lunch is whatever I have packed for the day, sometimes there isn't much food in the house or nothing really sounds appetizing. I don't like sandwiches so a quick lunch option is thrown out the window. I choose to be as healthy and nutritious as I can be with the little amount of resources that I have. I used to eat leftovers for lunch, but since I don't eat dinner there are no leftovers.
Once I eat lunch that is pretty much one of the last times I will eat during the day. At soccer camp we do have snacks for the kids. Sometimes if they are healthy I'll grab a piece of fruit for myself. Otherwise, I don't eat anything. You see in the beginning of the summer my stomach growls and moans for food but is never fed due to the time at which I get home. By 10:30, I forget about being hungry and focus on getting to sleep as fast as possible. I go to bed and do it all over again without eating and I survive.
As the summer goes on it becomes easier and easier to skip dinner, it is almost something I don't even think about anymore. I think it has something to do with the fact that my body adjusts and grabs as much nutrients that it needs from the food I do eat. You see I don't skip meals because I want to loose weight or anything like that, but I am skipping a meal after all. This could be categorized as an eating disorder because on the weekends now I find myself not even hungry at dinnertime. I do not believe I have and eating disorder…at least not yet.
Eating disorders are serious and often-fatal illnesses that cause severe disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors. Which I based on this definition then I fall under this category, but I think to myself and say it is not my fault I did not choose this lifestyle. People often tell me 'oh why don't you grab a bite on the way to the gym, just something quick?' Now If you didn't know this let me explain it to you, athletes are on a stricter diet (well at least I am) eating at fast food places just makes me sick. Plus that is spending money that I need for school. So buying it on my drive home isn't exactly an option.
The reality is that I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I know that if I am not careful it could easily turn into one. Eating is very important but sometimes when you have a busy schedule such as mine you all too often forget about simple necessities such as eating. So watch yourself because someday you could get where I am and not eat dinner any day of the week. Now that would be bad, it is disordered eating which is not healthy and could potentially lead to a serious issue if one hasn't begun all ready.
