Day #210 - Surviving Vacation

The scale might say I put a couple pounds on during vacation, but I know the real story...

I just got back from a great vacation.  I traveled up to the northeast to visit family this last week.  The vacation was great, and despite having to drive 14 hours to get there and 14 hours back, it was nice to get away for a while.

Traveling always poses challenges when you are trying to eat right.  However, if I had to grade myself on how well I ate during the trip I would have to give myself a solid "A".  I avoided sugar entirely during the trip and I did not go over my carb limits.  The only area where I could have done a little better was drinking more water.

I'm thrilled that I did so well, especially given the amount of opportunities I had to eat sugar.  During the last week I celebrated my 43rd birthday followed by my daughter's 12th birthday just 2 days later.  In the last 10 days I was exposed to birthday cake and ice cream 3 times!  The first was on the night just before we left.  My daughter researched low carb cakes and made me a low carb cheesecake for my birthday.  I had 1 slice at only 10 carbs!  The other 2 times were regular cakes served with ice cream; I passed on both occasions and never had a second thought!  What's more, I never even considered having cake; I just wasn't interested.

So now I'm back from vacation and ready to take things to the next level.  As I said in the beginning the scale says I put a couple pounds on during vacation, but I suspect that's just water retention since I didn't get enough water.  I expect that in a few days that weight will be gone.  In August I want to lose 15 more pounds.  This will get me very close to dropping under 300.  I will be back to update my progress from time to time. 

Stay Strong!

Exercise in "Good Enough"

Just a quick post tonight; I want to exercise my brain to learn that it is OK to just put something out there without making it perfect.  Ok so I'll probably read this once or twice before I click "submit", but you gotta crawl before you walk right?

I'm surprised how I feel today... I haven't done particularly great so far this week, but at the same time I could be doing worse.  There's no guilt and even though the work is piling up, not really much stress either.  Today I made two big plans that will help me to relax a little and enjoy life.

First, my buddy and I are organizing a poker night this weekend.  Since we moved here I haven't had any "me" time so I'm excited to get with the guys for a little Texas Holdem.  Yes there will be bad food there, but I won't be drinking since I already agreed to be the DD for another guy that lives near me. 

Second, Mrs. FogDog and I agreed to take a trip right after Christmas.  We're going to drop the kids off in NJ with the in-laws and then fly away to New Orleans.  We haven't had a vacation alone for almost 3 years now, so I'm looking forward to it.  The kids are thrilled too; they would rather stay with their grandparents for a week than go with us on a trip!

Anyway, I'm probably not losing weight this week, but my mind "feels" so much better right now.  This is the one difference I'm noticing this time... In the past I would be filled with guilt over screwing up on the weekend, but now it's more about just working my way back up onto the wagon.  I'm out of the ditch and climbing back up!  Thanks to everyone who commented on my last few posts; it's great to have some support.

-Stay Strong!

[Photo: Flickr / Viri G]