This is a funny story. Gilberto (there are thousands of “Gilberto’s” out there but for this story, the name works) got inspired to take on running from a co-worker who got inspired by another co-worker.

Gilberto was amazed that his co-worker out of nowhere could run a 5K, 10K, half-marathon and then run the Chicago marathon this fall all in the matter of a few short years.

This inspired him to try out running. Like all new runners, the first mile was treacherous. But Gilberto didn’t give up and persevered. No way did he want to give up and let his co-worker make fun of him.

Through a lot of courage, he signed up for his first 5K and climbed his way from jogger status to runner status. He beat his goal of 30 minutes and felt wonderful. Gilberto was so excited, so happy, so elated, so he was ready to take it to the next level.

But one thing that continued to nag on him was his weight. Being 15-20 pounds over his ideal running weight, he really didn’t pay much attention to it all these years. Now, the weight became a factor and he couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t losing any of it since he took up running.

Now comes the funny story.

So I’m working with Gilberto on a small project and he tells me the story about his weight. I ask him what he eats, what time he eats and other simple questions. Gilberto answers innocently enough that he eats 6 times a day and eats plenty of fruit and veggies.

I said that was perfect but you must be eating something more than fruit and veggies. That’s when he told me his fifth meal was dinner which was at 8:00PM (after working out). I asked, “Are you eating bread, potatoes, and pasta?” His eyes opened wide and said “I eat lots of bread, potatoes, pasta and everything else.” Not good Gilberto.

Now what about your sixth meal? “Right before bed at around 10:30PM, I have a bowl of ice cream (he shows me the size of the bowl with his two hands making a large oval circle) and a banana (I think he omitted the whipped cream).” I shudder. Mind you, not low fat ice cream either. I said, “Gilberto, do you realize you are eating 500 calories every night and over a period of one year that equals 180,000 added calories?” He was shaken. He had no idea. No more ice cream at 10:30PM.

The next morning I see Gilberto to find out if he gave up his ice cream the night before. He says sheepishly, “Yes, but I am starving.” And what is he doing while I ask him this? Chowing down on a foot long sub made with white bread, and stuffed with ham, cheese and oozing with mayo.

Gilberto took a large bite and then calmly looked at the sandwich and then me and said, “I guess this is my last ham and cheese sandwich.”

Right on Gilberto. Now you can make plans for that 10K.

Happy Thursday!

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2010 at 8:04 am and is filed under Gilberto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.