Do I Overreact or Just Overeat?

So here’s what happened.

On Saturday morning, I decided against running on the closed off trails. I’d violated the rules last winter after a rainstorm, but that was before I lived close by. I have a different kinship with this place now, and easier access. I can run any other time, I thought.

Then, inspired by so many of your comments, I decided to go for it Sunday morning, when it’s even less likely someone will see me head in or head out. I got about a half mile in when I was stopped in my tracks by this shrill, primal scream coming from the dense foliage that lines the main creek bed. It most definitely came from a four-legged animal, but it was hard to tell whether it was domestic or feral. Most likely, a dog or a coyote was caught or struck, even killed, by a rattlesnake. In any case, if that’s what happened when you broke the rules, I wanted no part of it. So I ran hard as I could back to the suddenly attractive roadside, vowing to not return until it was sanctioned by the city’s parks and rec.

On another note, today I read an interesting article in the Los Angeles Times about how much environment might factor into the current obesity epidemic. Scientists are now wondering if the proliferation and easy access to processed foods is behind the spike in weight gains during the past 25 years. I personally think there’s some merit to that claim. Our portions have grown, as has the number of fast food offerings. There’s a section in the article about how difficult habits are to break that’s worth considering. I know that I tend to get hungry at specific times of the day, regardless of when and what I eat. And that if I splurge on snacks at the grocer, they get eaten within a few days despite my resolve to parse them out to last a week. At best, I might be able to trick myself into delaying a Costco-sized craving for a day or two. But I’m working on it, one banana chip and corn nut at a time.

News link: Cue the gluttony