And it wasn’t my own for once. Husband, child and I were in Colorado recently for vacation. Rocky Mountain National Park to be exact. I’d been using the upcoming trip as a major motivator since I started doing Weight Watchers and working out back in May. As much as I wish it was, health and looks alone are not enough to keep me motivated. However, the experience of vacationing in the mountains and acting as if I was fit for the past several years, when I clearly was not, was a very good motivator. I also hoped to get my weight below the limits set for the various activities in which I planned to participate. And you know what? I freakin’ DID IT!
I felt good, GREAT! We were on quite a few hikes, that resulted in me having to bite my tongue and not give hubby and kid a hard time because they were sooooo slow. Now in reality, I know me. If their fitness level had been to mine, or I had gone on ahead, I would have gone faster for a while…and then probably pooped out and/or been sore at night like I’d always been in the past. The pace we went, I’m pretty sure, was actually the pace I needed to hike. But Gosh-Damn if it wasn’t awesome to go on a long hike and not regret the decisions 1/4 of the way through. Woot!
Despite walking 2 to 5.5 miles a day, up and down mountains most of 10 days, I still came home with 5 lb gain. A week later however, I am less than a pound away from when I left. Not surprisingly, I did not count points while we were away. I was ok with that decision, then and now. It was an experiment, if you will. While we were away we ate wisely for breakfast and lunch. However, at dinner I ate whatever I wanted. We also had some kind of treat midday almost every day. We, uh, visited the local Cupcakery several times. So one of the lessons learned? If you get consistent exercise and eat “less than perfect” foods every few days, sure, you can probably maintain. But if you do it everyday, no amount of exercise is going to help you.
Before I drown in a sea of “Well, DUH!” Let me explain. Despite being a college graduate, librarian for a good sized library system, and overall responsible adult, I am only really just learning that lesson. Or to be more truthful, I am learning how to put that lesson into practice. Which of course is a lot of what WW tries to teach us.
Be mindful and be moderate.
I started a binge the other nigh. Thankfully I was able to stop before it got out of control. Just another event that really makes me realize what a Food Addict I am. But (to me) it’s not about never allowing yourself that piece of you son’s birthday cake. It’s about being mindful of what you eat and then being moderate in your eating before and after that piece of cake. You know, like what sane people do?When I got back from vacation, there was a part of me that was hopeful that I hadn’t gained at all…hell, we were climbing mountains most days! But when I really sat and thought about what I ate, between the treats and dinners there was no hope. If I had been logging points the whole time it would have been abundantly obvious. Therefore without forcing myself to be mindful, via a food diary, there is NO hope in being moderate. The brain, or mine anyways, unless forced to face reality via something like WW Points will just rationalize like there is no tomorrow. Which is exactly why I was and am as heavy as I am.
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