When I’m on a “healthy eating & exercise” program, I generally set aside one evening a week, usually Friday, as “Cheat Night,” meaning I can eat whatever I want without guilt or repercussions during a set period. I limit myself to a time block, because I could, and would, very seriously abuse an entire “cheat day.” I like to set 8pm until midnight as my “Cheat Night,” which usually consists of some sort of serious concoction of ice cream, cookies, candy, and basically anything resembling chocolate or sugar. Then I sit down in front of the TV and watch old “B” noir or sci-fi movies from the 1950s. It’s awesome. The next morning I go for an extra-long run or walk.

Today, though, I kind of started early. As in, at lunch time, with an extra Coca Cola. You see, I was stuck in a work-related “training” all day today, sitting in an alternately freezing cold or stuffy and hot conference room being bored out of my mind and feeling irritable and annoyed by my not-so-professional peers. I mean, c’mon, people, can you just shut up already and politely listen to the presentation? It got so noisy the last half of the day with all the “side-bar conversations” and people messing around on their phones that I could barely hear parts of what the speaker was saying. And it just so happened that the last part of the day was the “important part” we were supposedly there to learn. Ah, but I digress. In short, I resorted to Coca Cola to keep me going through the day, and then, on the way home, I drove through the drive-up window at McDonald’s and picked up two double-cheeseburgers and a small fry, which I devoured at home along with yet another Coke.

And boy, did it taste good! And that supposedly unhealthy meal dramatically improved my mood and my general sense of well-being. Most of my frustration and despair evaporated. I say “most” because I’m feeling a little bit badly about not running now for two days.

But it’s the weekend! I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Then I will run. Or walk-jog. I’ll go further than I have been. No, it won’t entirely make up for the higher-calorie, lower-quality food or for the two days of not exercising. But I’m not giving up. And unlike previous times I’ve “fallen off the wagon,” I’m not going to let one blown day totally derail my efforts.

Oh, as for “Triple Cheat,” yeah, one was the extra Coca Cola; two was the McD’s; three will be the “regularly scheduled Cheat Night” ice cream and chocolate feast later this evening.

For now, I’m going to take a nap.