I pulled a 1/2 eaten sandwich out of my tool pouch the other day....a moment of realization of some poor dietary habits when it gets busy, my 'dining edicate' also lacks.
How do most of you manage?

[This message has been edited by sparky (edited 10-21-2001).]

My sandwich doesn't even get packed. I just start with a large coffee and go until dinner most times. Especially when I'm doing a service change. does this explain why I still weigh 145?

[This message has been edited by Jim M (edited 10-21-2001).]

Two Chili Dogs for 99 cents at a local Convenience store...

Hard to find lunch for less than a buck!

(I wait til I'm hungry enough to actually eat them too)

I am told to add a disclaimer saying that my wife does offer to pack me a lunch... (but 99 cents is hard to beat for a hot meal...)

Otherwise I survive chiefly on Mt. Dew and Winstons...

Jim, gotcha beat by 5 lbs... 140 and 6'1"...
High "aspect ratio"...

[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 10-21-2001).]

Virgil,

Sounds like you're so thin that if you turned sideways & stuck your tongue out you'd look like a zipper.

There is darn little work out there that is more important than my mealtime & I rarely skip lunch. Lunchtime also allows me to relax & shoot the breeze with the other men on the job.

I do weigh a little more than I used to, but a good chunk of that came when I quit smoking a little over a year ago. I'm 6'3" & 190

I try to stay as far as possible away from them chili dogs. Seems like any small town in WV has at least 4 hot dog joints & the one where I live is no exception.

Tom

I usually stock up on a big breakfast and last out with coffee and sometimes a sandwich until packing-up time.

If I'm in a town I might use a local cafe for lunch, but eating out here is much more expensive than in America, so it's only an occasional thing.

Oh yes: 5' 9" and 160 lb. I gained about 20 lb when I was working in the States and have never lost it since!

I used to skip lunch in my younger days and just work through it, especially in the summer when it was too hot to eat. Genetics finally caught up with me a couple of years ago and I developed typeII diabetes. Now I have to stop for lunch or else take an unexpected nap I may not wake up from. I take a sandwich with me most days unless I know I'll be working close to some place I can eat semi-healthy. 6'4" and 235lbs.

I'm 5'10, 175 lbs on a good day, I must confess to eating while working which is why i pulled the sandwich out of my pouch. I've made up many panels with a lunch nearby. I've been told driving & eating is illegal, but i ride around with a sandwich hanging outta my face using the baggie to keep my no-lox hands off anyways. I suppose this is all my own lack of discipline, but i just can't stand still when it's this busy.
Fred,
wear that med-alert tag there...mine should read 'keep hands & feet away from mouth'

Eat ? Who's got time, especially on a service, just suck it up until you are done, right? When I would do a service change power cut old rope down, thats when you really kick it into high gear, push, push and d*** it it better all go right the first time. Well one day my son brought my lunch by at the job-site, and I was flying around as usual he took one look at me and said, "Pop, Chill out", I cut him off short and sent him on his way, what do kids know anyway.
After complaining to my Doctor about stomach problems and finding out I had an ulcer, it all catches up with you, Tom's right nothing is more important than your health.
So I make sure I eat now, and I have slowed down the job will get done and it goes much smoother when I am calm.

I'm way better than I used to be.
Lunch used to consist of a full (shrimp, fries, salad, roll for instance) dinner meal. Of course I'd become tired, so I'd eat a candy bar or 2 in the afternoon, before coming home for dinner. If I packed a lunch I'd eat in on the way to the job.
It got me @ 5'8" to over 210 lbs.
Now I just eat something at break in the morning. We're required by law to take a 1/2 hour lunch break, which I usually use "exploring" neighborhood pawn shops, sporting goods stores, and the like.
Still love my dinners, and still drink a whole pot of muddy coffee in the morn, but the weight's comin' off fairly quickly.

Ever wonder why so many people who have worked hard to build a business either die young and leave it to spoiled kids or are not in good enough health to enjoy their fruits in old age?
Had I stayed in contracting I may have been one of those. The only medical exams I had when contracting was for a Class II flight physical and after I fell through a ceiling. The flight physical just determined I could see and breathe. The fall examination showed I had a tumor on a kidney.

After I became an employee last February (and aquired access to the deep pockets of Aetna) I had a physical. High Triglycreides. Prime candidate to Type II diabetes. Was put on megadosages of Niacin, told to exercise, told to eat regular meals and nutritious snacks, no caffeine, few sweets and lots of vegetables, and referred to a nutritionist. Also was sent to a sleep specialist for a sleep apnea study. Am now using a CPAP when I sleep to keep snoring from causing my blood oxygen from dropping too low. I have lost 30 pounds in the last 5 months and do not fall asleep at the computer as bad. I generally feel a lot better than I ever felt during the last 20 years. I wouldn't give up the way I feel now for any successful business.

I am not saying business will always ruin your health. It will if you let it, just like any habit or lifestyle that is not good for you. Keep your eye on the prize, but know what you are paying for it.

Boy, you're so right, gpowellpec...

The good news:

I got to go back to work today, a little tight, sore and slow, but being out of the house makes me feel alot better...

Seriously considering going the full-time inspection route... My current inspector is retired, and would rather not be doing 5 or 6 inspections per day... My last inspector more or less quit, his EC biz was enough for him... Looks like there's actually a market for me...

Not sure... the team-up with Musser Electric on the Greenbrier job looks good too...

I didn't mean to kill this thread with my last post. I was hoping there would be more discussion on the importance of good health habits for electrical workers.

Gerald,
It's a definite issue, as we are in a rather physical trade. I am seeing many 1/2 my age go the distance, so if the competitive edge is diet, then i'll do ginsing & tea while they do pounders all night.

You're not going to believe this...

I lost a fight with a Bosch Rotary Hammer today... Core drilling a 2" hole for 1-1/4" Conduit and hit rebar... leaning into it with my face in the way (stupid... that mistake threw me off a ladder once... don't I ever learn?) Severely chipped two front teeth...

Boy, with my new 7mm heel riser in my right boot and two teeth knocked out, I've become a true West Virginian...

Lessee... two weeks ago a $200 profit job gets me an $800 back injury, now this $500 profit job is going to cost me $1000 in caps...

Definitely can't make money this way!



[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 10-25-2001).]

Geez Virgil! you've had a bad month !
your post makes me wonder if there has ever been a poll of this trades retirees general health.

How many of you self-employed have health insurance? I know a couple of tradesmen that have worked all their lives without any, just to have an accident or illness kill their whole business, and leave them broke & oweing.
Virgil,
What has 100 boots and 6 teeth?
The front row of a Willie Nelson concert.
(This is not supposed to include the bass player). I sure hope your luck takes a 180° turnaround for the better.

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 10-25-2001).]

Virgil,
Hope that $200 and $500 profit you spoke about was pure profit to the company after material, equipment cost and rental, your wages, taxes, insurance, etc. If that profit was just labor and markup on materials you definitely need a good health and disability policy.

Gerald

The problem is you can't write off health insurance

Affordable health insurance does not exist for me. Smoker 51 6' 295lb no insurance co will offer anything for less than $900.00/mo To expensive for my small co.
Hope you get beter soon virgil.

$900 per month?! Ouch! That's more than I make a month at the moment.

My health insurance while over there worked out about $550 per YEAR, with 20% excess up to $5000 and $2 million max. cover.

Despite the problems it has, I guess this is one thing that makes our NHS look good.

Virgil:
Speedy recovery!

The Clinton's had mostly a vocal to-do about health care over here, but amounted to nothing more than a cigar story. We are slowly evolving towards your old 'cast' system, as pertains to the issue Paul. Without further sour grapes, I'm convinced the rich will get it, the poor will not, and the middle class will slowly side with said poor. The little 'organ donor' box on our licenses here will probably be obligatory in lieu of health related expenses soon.

I had, for a while read the Donohue reports, which is an e-mail newsletter about the national Chamber of Commerce's rantings in Congress. The issue of simply being able to write off health care as a sole-proprietor or type S corp has come up a number of times, only to be shot down. Orginizations like the SBA lobby for this. While it is often said the small biz is the backbone of our economy, political support amounts to nothing more than lip service, while the fortune 500's get what is known as 'corporate welfare' with very little whining.

fairly digress from the original 'indiscriminate palate' post eh?

[This message has been edited by sparky (edited 10-28-2001).]