Buzz Kill

I knew I wasn’t going to like the number on the scale before I even got home from Maui. I was expecting it. I’d been sick for a week before the wedding (no gym, poor appetite), then the wedding frenzy with lots of restaurant eating and just plain eating things I don’t normally eat (i.e. cake). We went to Maui and I didn’t count my calories at all. I just kind of went with the flow, ate whatever I felt like, didn’t think about it and ignored the consequences.

Honestly I had needed a break. I’d been stressing about some weight gain this year, the wedding stress, the chaos that followed, I just needed a break. So for about 2 weeks I stopped tracking my food.

In Maui we stayed in a condo and we cooked breakfast every day (scrambled eggs and fresh watermelon or pineapple, tea and coffee). Then we’d go to the beach for a few hours. I’d say out of the 9 days we packed lunches like 7 of the days. It wasn’t the healthiest of foods–sandwiches on sandwich thins with some fresh fruit and chips–but it was better than eating out every day. As for dinner, we cooked at the condo I think 4 or 5 of the nights we were there. I’m glad we did because I definitely needed a break from the restaurant eating and expense.

I worked out in Hawaii but not consistently. I was swimming and snorkeling in the ocean every single day of our trip (and we went for a run twice) but I don’t know how much of a workout that actually was. When we got back home I weighed myself and I was up 5 pounds. Yep, I’d gained 5 pounds this month!

I was definitely disappointed seeing such a jump. Especially considering I have not been OVER my goal weight (150 pounds) in like 4 years. Even with my fluctuations I’d always been able to stay under 150. It was a bummer for sure.

My diet on vacation wasn’t great. Didn’t eat the normal amount of fruits and vegetables I usually eat. Definitely ate things I don’t normally eat. And I drank fruity umbrella drinks like this:

In Maui I discovered Mai Tais! I’d never had one before and absolutely loved it. The passionfruit juice was to die for. These fruity drinks are packed with calories and something I rarely ever indulge in. Once I started to lose weight I switched to lower calorie options for drinks (1 or 2 glasses of wine, 1 beer, or a vodka tonic), things that were in the 100-200 calorie range. These mixed cocktails though can be up in the 400 calorie range depending on what you get!

So yeah, I drank a lot of those. I made Bloody Mary’s at the condo to enjoy on the beach. While I wasn’t drinking a ton (and never really got drunk) I did have at least one beverage a day. Those calories definitely added up fast I’m sure!

I’m not beating myself up too badly because I mean come on, it was my wedding! And honeymoon! It was a once in a lifetime trip and I enjoyed every second of it and I do NOT regret any of the experiences we had. But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with the gain. I knew I was starting on a slippery slope and that it would be easy to fall into bad old habits if I didn’t correct it ASAP.

We got home from Hawaii late on a Wednesday night and I weighed myself first thing Thursday morning. <whomp whomp> Then I got dressed and went for a run. It was a short run and nothing special but I wanted to get out there and start getting consistent with my fitness again.

I took Bella with me so she got a little exercise too and was able to explore a new route. It felt so good to just MOVE. Especially after being cramped on a plane for so long the day before. In addition to the run I got back on track logging my calories on my MyFitnessPal app. Every bite, sip, nibble, I logged it. I felt relieved to be doing it again!

I had a healthy lunch–sandwich on a sandwich thin and cucumber slices on the side. For dinner we had baked chicken breast with sauteed Brussels sprouts and onions. I made a salad with romaine and spinach, yellow peppers and some tomatoes from the garden (there are still tomatoes!!).

It felt good to eat healthy again. And vegetables! I missed you!

Michael was out of town all weekend for a friend’s wedding. I stuck home because I had to go to work and I also wanted to stay home with the animals. It was also a good time to de-compress after the wedding and honeymoon and try and unpack some of the stuff we accumulated!

On Friday I went to the pool after work and got an okay swim in and then I suddenly started to feel sick. Not sure what was going on there but I cut my swim about 10 minutes short and went home. I waited a few hours to eat dinner because I just felt sick. When I decided to try and eat I stuck with some veggies and a cooked up one chicken spring roll from Trader Joe’s. Dinner was less than 400 calories total.

The next morning I was feeling better so I went to the gym to try and get back into my weight training. I hadn’t lifted weights in over 3 weeks! I was slightly scared at how sore I would be afterward (and I was but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, so that was good.)

It felt nice to be back into the routine, even though I was feeling slightly bored with it. I need to re-evaluate soon and see what I can mix up to get my mojo back. But at the very least, I am back going through the motions and that will help.

Sunday I went to the gym and used the spin bike for a bit then hit the yoga class. I hadn’t been to yoga in about a month. I can’t believe how much I had missed it. It felt so good to be back at class and get some stretching in. (And I was reminded of my regret that I never got around to doing some yoga in Maui…)

Sunday night I made a crockpot dinner for when Michael got home. It was a super easy dinner and really low in calories. I had a seaoning packet for the chicken and mixed that up, put the chicken breasts, carrots, onions, red potatoes and green beans in the crockpot and let it cook for about 4.5 hours.

Dinner was delicious. I made a green salad with tomatoes from the garden to go with it. It felt good to be back eating “normal” foods and I just felt healthier and better all around.

I am continuing all of this and will weigh in again soon! Stay tuned for progress…