The Skinny on Vacation--Part I

There's nothing like a long vacation to make you appreciate home sweet home! We had a wonderful time traveling to Virginia for Andrea and Paul's wedding, and staying with vacationing with family in Maine was incredible fun. If you're wondering why you haven't heard from me during all that time, it's because though I could construct blogs in my word processor, I was blissfully disconnected from the internet, so I've been saving them up. So here it is, the skinny on how I managed to stay skinny on, even on vacation.

Day 1

In all honesty, as I write, today is not Day 1, it is more like Day 5. Our grand exodus from home took place on Wednesday night (August 4), and the beginning of the week was chalked full of preparations. One can't exactly leave for a two week family sabbatical without some heavy fore-planning. On the same note, one cannot leave on a two week out-of-towner without some serious contemplation in regards to eating and activity—at least not if one desires to return home without extra pounds as souvenirs.

My goal for this vacation has simply been to maintain my weight. I want to enjoy the vacation, and I definitely had every intention of eating wedding cake on my friend's big day. After all, it would be a crime for the Matron of Honor NOT to sample the cake; however, I was determined to track like an angel right up to the rehearsal dinner at 6:00 on Friday. But Friday is Day 3; let's stick with Day 1.

Wednesday, I'm pretty sure I earned some activity points with all that packing and hauling luggage out to the car, but I didn't track or eat any activity points there. That's sure to be a plus. By early afternoon, I had everything packed into the car except the family and the cooler. On Monday and Tuesday I'd taken care of grocery shopping, and I had taken special care to plan for foods that would keep the family and my tracker happy.

When we arrived at our hotel early Thursday morning (we didn't crash until 3am!) I had only eaten 21 points since Wednesday at 7:00 am. Success during this very LONG day was attributable to two things—products and planning.

First of all, I had things in my cooler that were going to help me be successful—water, diet sodas, fiber one bars, Weight Watchers Multi-grain Crisps, fat free yogurts, whole grain pitas, hummos, and hard boiled eggs—just to name a few. Secondly, I had rationed my points during the first part of the day (up until we left) to just what was necessary to stay well fueled with filling foods. I'd had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, a three point salad for lunch, and a fiber one bar when I needed a boost in the middle of loading the car.

Secondly, before we left, I took time to plan how often and how much I was going to eat as we traveled. We pulled out at 4:10 in the afternoon, and my tracker pulled out with me. My plan was already written out, to help me stay true to what I WANTED while we traveled. At 5:30, I ate 6 points for dinner in the form of an egg salad pita and an apple. At 7:30, I had my Multi-grain Crisps and a Diet Dr. Pepper. At 10:30, I had one oatmeal raisin cookie and a fat free yogurt. My final three points—a fiber one bar and ½ cup of 1% milk—I held onto for right before bed, so I wouldn't be kept up by the hungries. For the notorious highway munchies, I went armed with a bag of baby carrots.

I won't say I wasn't tempted by gas station goodies, and the aroma of French fries during McDonald's potty stops, but because I had a plan, it was much easier not to sabotage myself in those situations. Mentally I won some battles too, because when I started to have those negative thoughts of deprivation, (you know, “But you're on VACATION! Don't you deserve to have some fun in the form of a big fat greasy burger and a large fry . . .) I was able to make a pretty quick comeback. I was able to remind myself that what was better than the big burger and fries, was not having to pack my big jeans because my life is run by an uncontrollable cycle of food and guilt. Yep. This vacation, I'm running the show—not the value menu!