Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Vacation

Fact: You will cheat. The real question is: How will you bounce back? It doesn't mean that your diet is over or that you failed; just a hiccup. Recognize it was a bad choice and move on.

We went to Disneyland in April, while we were in full force with our diet and I had 10 more pounds to lose. I was petrified that I would gain weight while we were there - so many yummy treats. We decided we would do our best to eat well and indulge in some must-have treats. We bought our breakfast sandwiches to eat before we went to the park. We packed Uncrustables (frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches 5 points) or turkey sandwiches with pop chips and a fiber one bar. For most dinners we ate at the hotel, trying to stick with lean and green options - except the nights that were our turn to cook.  We had pizza and In-N-Out Burger. Yeah, don't judge me; we packed twin infants through Disneyland all day, fed them every 3 hours and tried to get some rides in too. =) After the first day I realized my ideas of making a yummy healthy dinner for a group of people was a joke and totally not going to happen. It was quite an accomplishment for us to take the girls to Disneyland; I feel like I can take them anywhere now. I stuck to my 2 slices of pizza rule and just had the burger and ate a few fries.  We ate Churros, Rice Krispy Treats and Ice Cream sandwiches. So the point that I'm trying to get across is: You can have those cheat items if you are good the rest of the day. Before I would have told myself "You're packing a 15 pound baby through Disneyland eat whatever you want". Exercise does burn calories and gives you extra points, but not as much as you would think. When I exercise I think of it more as toning and muscle building, not as a weight loss method. Yes, you can work out and lose weight, but I'm saying don't justify bad decisions because you're working out. I lost 1.5 pounds that week.

My birthday weekend we went to the coast. I made all kinds of bad choices while we were there. I did, however, try to eat my smaller portions. Lots of fried food, chowder, waffles and desserts. I'd tell you the details, but I don't remember what all I ate, but it was bad. We were so happy to get home and get back on the band wagon.  I notice that when I eat poorly I have less energy and feel gross. It feels so good to get your body fueled back up with the good stuff. I gained 2 pounds and was able to get rid of it within 2 weeks.

I also had weeks with no weight loss. This was really frustrating especially when I was really good all week - I hadn't cheated or anything. Your body isn't going to drop 1.5 pounds every week like clockwork. Well, maybe you're lucky and it does; not super likely. I went back and looked at my stats on the Weight Watchers app - about every 3 weeks I would have a poor weight loss, but then the next week I would have a great loss.

No one is PERFECT! To assume that anyone is perfect or even close to being perfect is just absurd. It may seem from the outside that it's perfect, but perhaps what you're noticing is that they are content and happy with what they have. Happiness is what you should shoot for, not perfection. I have let happiness be my guide in life and I'm really happy with where I am. With weight loss it's easy to compare yourself to others; just remember this is your journey and in the end it's all about you. Don't sell yourself short, set that goal and go get it.

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