One of the hardest things about going on vacation is that you usually come back heavier than you started. You lose your routine and access to all of your favorite healthy foods. However, I did not realize my juggling and fighting to keep some trace of normalcy was actually paying off. When I say juggling, I mean I was really juggling. At times my weight would look like it wanted to drop, but would go up or stay the same. In end, I started the trip weighing 258lbs and came home weighing 238lbs.
Working Out on Vacation:
I had a glorious time away from Winston-Salem, NC, with my family down in Thomaston, GA. I cannot believe I spent nearly a month down there. In the beginning it was very hard maintaining my training schedule and my new eating habits. I rarely had access to a gym and the gym I did go to (about three times) had rusted equipment, no air conditioning, lukewarm water, and it was dirty. Can you imagine trying to push yourself to the next level physiologically and you get to reward yourself with lukewarm water? Eventually, I had no desire to go there.
So I hit the pavement and I hit it hard. Running about 3.5-6 miles a day depending on how much energy and motivation I had. Even when we went to World Changers, I would get up in the morning and run before going to the worksite to paint the house. My Mom-A would get up with me some days at World Changers and workout with me. I mean we were getting up at 4:50am doing cardio and then hitting the road at 6:50am to arrive at our worksites at 7:00am. Craziness!
When we got home from World Changers I kept running. Eventually, all the running on a not-so-giving-surface took a toll and I developed tendonitis in my hip. So I started speed walking after that to let my hip recover. I also combined this running and speed walking with Jillian’s 30 Day Shred workout. This DVD is a great workout especially for those you who do not like gyms or cannot make it to one.
Eating on Vacation:
Maintaining my healthy eating habits was hard. Mom-A and I did a good job of cooking healthy dishes like turkey meatloaf with garlic & spinach and chicken supreme, but it was the awful things that would sneak in through the back door. Free fatty food what could be worse for a recovering food addict? For example, one day the church had a “Cookout Lunch” and we received hotdogs, processed hotdog buns, baked beans, and apple cobbler. I am a dessert addict so you know I ate at least half the pan of the apple cobbler before gaining the strength to throw it away. In the past, I would have easily eaten the whole pan; at least, I have taken a baby step with dessert.
One day for lunch, I took 2 hotdogs (280 calories) and placed them on 2 slices of wheat bread (100 calories) with ketchup (30 calories). When I was eating I thought the hotdogs would be the worst part of my meal. I also had 1.5-2 cups of baked beans thinking I was doing okay, eating within my 500-800 calorie range per meal. I checked out the nutritional info on baked beans (esp. doctored up baked beans that only southerners know how to make . . . lol) and found out they were 170 calories. You ask what is wrong with 170 calories. Well, I did not finish (I have to leave you hanging on). 170 calories per 0.5 cup of baked beans so that added an additional 510-680 to my meal, pushing it into the range of 910-1090.
When I had learned this I was so disappointed because I feel like we are food prisoners in America. Having been to the Ukraine and the Dominican Republic, I am very thankful to live in this country, but I feel like people are forced to eat high calorie meals if they do not know anything about nutrition. I mean I used to eat three double cheeseburgers at McDonald’s for a meal thinking I was doing okay. It only cost $3.00 so it must be okay. Each double cheeseburger is 440 calories (I’m mad I have that memorized lol), so I would eat 1320 calories not including if I decided to get fries or a Mc Flurry. Let’s not talk about the processed carbohydrates and fat I was eating in that one meal, no wonder I used to weigh 328lbs.
Going out to eat is always a struggle whether you are on vacation or not. I had to learn how to use the half rule, which is splitting your meal in half unless you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is a healthy meal. For example, we went to Applebee’s one day for lunch. I ordered the Weight Watcher’s salmon with rice pilaf and vegetables which is estimated to be less than 400 calories with two mozzarella cheese sticks which were about 120 calories. Mom-A ordered a salad that was over 1000 calories if you ate the whole thing. So she halved it and took the rest home. Many of us would have eaten the whole salad thinking we were doing good; however, that influx of calories would have left your calories in/calories out budget whacked for the day if you were not paying attention to the rest of your meals.
Also, do not pour the salad dressing all over the salad; dip your fork in the dressing between bites because salad dressing can easily add hundreds of calories to a nutritious meal. You may say I will not be able to taste the dressing, yes you will. The dressing will be the last thing to touch your tongue and it will fulfill that craving. It works for me.
Often times when I would lose all control and keep eating, Mom-A would simply tell me “You are not a football player anymore.” That statement helped me realize that she was right and I do not require 4000 calories a day. In all honesty, I did not need 4000 calories then because I wouldn’t have climb from 295 to 328lbs in two years if I burned it all practicing.
Realization on Vacation:
I did not think what I was doing was working, but on our beach trip we went clothes shopping. I knew my waist had dropped to a size 36, but I am also blessed with a rear from both sides of my family . . . so I had to wear size 38 jeans. Well, Mom-A had me try some 36x34, which used to be tight on me before the trip. I walked out the dressing room and we both teared up, the fit me perfectly. She saw that I had more room in my jeans and brought me back a pair of 34x34s. I fit those as well. When I was in middle school and high school the only store in the mall in which I could shop was Old Navy because they carried large enough sizes. Occasionally, American Eagle if all the 3x’s had not been purchased. I cannot believe I have come this far.
The last time I wore a size 34 jeans was in . . . brace yourself . . . not middle school. I was in elementary school.
The thing I learned from this trip is to be consistent. If you think that 20 minutes of walking is not doing anything, do it anyway. If you think you do not want to deprive yourself from another piece of apple pie, think about how your current weight is depriving you from who you want to be.
BELIEVE IN THE PROCESS.
No comments:
Post a Comment