I’ve been on vacation in Atlanta Georgia! I absolutely love to travel, but oddly enough, I had never been to Atlanta. I found a super cheap flight for $75 round-trip, so there was no way that I was passing that up. This past weekend my Lawyer Friend and I flew down and had a blast. I was a little worried about my food plan. But, I didn’t want to stress and worry about what I was going to eat while I was on vacation. So, I decided to mostly eat what I wanted and pay for the consequences later.  I honestly had no idea exactly what those “consequences” might be, but this is a learning process, so I decided to try it out.

I stayed away from cookies which I knew would make me go completely overboard and spin out-of-control. And I did not eat with reckless abandon indulging in a dozen cupcakes for breakfast or eating stuff just because it smelled good, but I did allow myself to have chocolate chip Belgian waffles with pecans for breakfast and diner food at 3AM. The 24 hour Majestic diner is where I found Waldo LOL!

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The fried chicken with sautéed garlic spinach and macaroni and cheese for dinner one night was pretty good too. I ate it all guilt free. I figured that I might gain a couple of pounds, but it was worth it to me to just relax and have fun and enjoy eating what I wanted for a few days.

Of course we did lots of shopping and even a little partying.  We went to The BODIES Exhibition where they have real human bodies on display, that was creepy, yet super cool and informative.  

Bodies Exhibition

Our last day in Atlanta, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. That was quite an experience. We visited where MLK and Coretta are buried and we were able to sit in the pews of Ebenezer Baptist Church while MLK’s voice boomed over the loud speakers as if we were attending one of his sermons. And the part that was the most emotional for me was the wall of Jim Crow laws that said things like “No white nurse shall be alone in a room with a Negro man” and “No white student shall have a textbook after a Negro student has handled it.” Wow! And there were more laws that said you would pay a fine and go to jail for six months if you violated these laws or distributed materials to the contrary. It’s scary that these laws were in effect during my parents lifetime, but it made me feel proud that MLK and his supporters both black and white were bold enough to stand up and have the courage to do something about it, so that people who look like me can be treated fairly…It was an awesome vacation filled with food, fun, and culture.   Anybody that travels with me knows that you might need a vacation after your vacation, my policy is “You can sleep at home!”

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I told myself that once my feet hit the pavement in St. Louis I would be back to my food plan. However everyone was gathered at my parent’s house in party mode watching the St. Louis Cardinals play in the Major League Baseball World Series. I ate Chinese food, because “technically” it was my Cheat Day. Not the good kind of Chinese with stir-fried vegetables but, fried rice and a St. Paul Sandwich.  I started to get a little nervous; I wondered did I mess up by thinking that it was okay to go off my food plan for a few days. Maybe I wasn’t as “reformed” and “as healed” as I thought I was. I started sharing my food with my Dad, My Uncles and anybody else that wanted some.

I hoped that Monday would be a fresh start. Sometimes sleeping it off gives everything a chance to rest and reset internally. I woke up and I kind of wanted unhealthy foods, but I wasn’t craving it, thank God. I ate whole-wheat toast with Greek yogurt and a fruit cup for breakfast. I had a huge salad with tilapia on top for lunch and a banana and some peanuts for an afternoon snack. I had to meet with Dan my trainer tonight after a whole week of not training. As soon as I walked in the gym, he was as energetic as ever, and asked how Atlanta was.   I told him I had a great time and he said “Let’s see how you did,” and he pulled out his notebook with all my measurements. “What?!” I was SO confused “this definitely is not a measurements day.” He said “Oh, no that’s only once a month, I just need to see how you did on vacation.” I was horrified, I intentionally stayed away from the scale at home, even though I was very tempted see how much damage I had done. I thought I had a few days of eating right until my regular weigh in Wednesday before I would be subjected to the scale. But, no such luck. I stepped up and he announced that I gained a pound and a half.  “Not as bad as I thought” he said “Not bad at all, I thought it would be worse he said, but, I would still like for you to stick to your 8 pound per month goal.” Actually, I was totally okay with a one and a half pound gain. I can do a couple extra workouts and with in less than a week I can be back where I was. So, to me it was worth it to just completely let my hair down, relax and enjoy my trip. If I could do it all over again, I would do it the exact same way.  Dan was so focused on getting me back on track that we probably burned off that pound and a half off with today’s workout alone! … For dinner I had grilled chicken, corn and green beans.  So, after vacation, I gained a little weight, it was worth it, I feel like I’m back in control of my food plan and I’m moving forward.

 

 

 

 

 

1 Comment
  1. I think you did wonderful! People can usually gain up tp 10 pounds on vacation. Congrats on your self control. You did fantastic!!!

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