On Travel and the Zero Hunger Zone (rambling a bit, sorry!)

[Guest guest]

I was out of town this weekend, traveling to an old

friend's retirement party, and was so very surprised

at my eating while on the road. I had actually been

thinking, before the trip, that I was going to have

to prepare myself for crappy eating, road-trip food

grabbed at the local drive thru, etc. What happened

instead really suprised me. I hardly ate at all.

Weird! I got up Sunday morning, before hitting the

road, and fixed a good, protein heavy breakfast. Got

on the road and made the 5 hour trip with only a stop

for a Coke Zero. Got to the hotel and had a iced tea

and then went to the retirement thing that was HEAVY

laden with food and didn't touch a bit of it. Didn't

get back to the hotel until after 9pm, and ordered a

burger, the first thing I'd had really since breakfast.

Up until that point, I had not even been HUNGRY, at all.

Not in the least. I hadn't been not eating because I

was TRYING not to eat - I just wasn't hungry.

Same thing on the way back - had a very light breakfast

at the hotel, nothing at all during the 5 hour trip

back home, came in and went to the gym, and then had

(gasp! the food police would be appalled!) just some

tortilla chips and spinach dip (with a glass of wine)

for " dinner. " That was it.

So I was trying to think about what in the world was so

different - what knocked me out of my " normal " routine

of three squares and snacks? WHY was I not even remotely

hungry? What was behind me getting home after the gym

last night at 6pm and STILL not even really being hungry

at all? I've puzzled over it, and the only thing I can

think of to explain it was that I was INVOLVED. I spent

all weekend in that same " zone " I get in when I'm just

so intent on a project that I forget time and hunger and

everything else.

Which of course leads me to this question - how UNinvolved

am I " normally, " that my hours are spent thinking about my

next meal instead of thinking about whatever I'm doing,

participating in, or whatever? Am I " normally " so disconnected

from what I'm doing at the time that my mind CAN focus on

food, continually? I think the answer is YES. I think most

of my time I'm doing whatever I'm doing on " auto pilot, "

mindlessly, instead of being completely focused on it. This

weekend I was so completely focused on the trip, the chance

to see old friends, the socializing, the joy of visiting

old haunts, etc, that I was PRESENT in those moments in a way

I'm not normally.

This probably makes zero sense, I think I'm writing just to

process this so ignore it if it's rambling. But there's an

important truth in here somewhere for me - maybe for someone

else, too. How disconnected do I live my life? How weird is

it that when I FOCUS on my life instead of droning my way

through it, the food issue resolves itself, if only for the

time I stay focused?

Anyway,,, I warned I was rambling!