Been A While

Wow! It’s been some time. Since I last posted, my husband and I participated in a 5k mud run, visited Japan and relaxed on the beach in St.Lucia.

We’ve been non stop – on-the-run and I am trying to understand how to balance me time, free time, work, and relaxation. Isn’t adulting so hard? Sometimes I want to be a kid and have nap time. Why don’t grown ups get nap time?

Anyway, let’s discuss vacations and food. Worry and panic over food and weight gain is an understatement. It consumes me…all day, every day and these vacations were no exception…oh, my poor husband. Bless his beautiful, sweet, loving, patient soul. He listens to me talk about food all the time. Unfortunately its my reality. It’s my life and my struggle.

Japan was our first vacation since I’ve lost 100 + pounds. Can I tell you how good it felt to sit on the plane?! There was so much seat belt left, so much butt room and leg room. I felt like I was in my own personal first class seat.

Food that I packed:

I packed the food in a small lunch bag that can stay cool up to 10 hours. It worked perfectly and did not take up much space.

Japan was great in the sense that we walked 8-10 miles a day… so I never had any guilt about not going to the gym. Vacation breakfast is always the best meal of the day (IMO) because there is always eggs and bacon/sausage, fruit, and oatmeal. Lunch and dinner were the hardest- 1. Main ingredient in most dishes was fish (I don’t eat fish) 2. I am very picky with meat and most of the meat was either doused in sauces/gravies or fried…It was good because my food choices were limited but bad because I was tempted to eat udon noodles. But I prevailed. No noodles for me. I just limited my portions of fried/saucy meat and loaded up on veggies. The strangest thing in all of this is, I gained 6 pounds but lost it within 2 days of returning. Maybe it was the long travel, time difference, etc… It all went back to normal right away.

St.Lucia was another beast to tackle. This was my first island trip… first bathing suit trip…We did not exercise as much as I had wanted but come on… I need some R&R! I approached this trip the same way but made sure not to snack at all since there was very little working out. I did not gain one pound. NOT ONE PEOPLE!

Aside from the food battles, both trips were amazing. Japan was incredible and life changing and so beautiful. We will definitely visit again.

This was our second trip to St.Lucia and just as beautiful and romantic as the first time. We climbed one of the Pitons which was crazy. Rock climbing is definitely not my thing but the view was worth it.

 

Owl.jpg
My Husband petting an Owl at an Owl Cafe in Japan
Universal Japan.jpg
Universal Studios in Japan!

 

 

Shrine in Japan.jpg
We climbed the longest staircase to get to this shrine. Felt like we were on top of the world!
Pitons.jpg
We climbed that! Pitons in St.Lucia
St Lucia Sunset.jpg
And finally, a sunset Kiss

xoxo,

Rachel

Advertisement

Vacations and food

I will start by saying this- I love food but I am scared of it. My whole life food fed me emotionally rather than my body needing it to stay alive. But with making the lifestyle change that I did, I had to learn to eat food because I need it and not because I want it.

One of my biggest reasons for success is my food journal. It is my everything. While some people feel lost without their phones, I feel lost without my food journal. I feel more in control because of it. I guess it is my security blanket. It keeps me in check and holds me accountable for my actions. When people ask me for recommendations on weight loss and how I was able to lose 100 + pounds and keep it off, my first response: food journal. 

I haven’t been on vacation since I’ve been on this journey until this past weekend. My husband took me on a mini-getaway to the Poconos. While I was super excited for some relaxation, hiking, gambling, and a massage, I also feared the food situation. I have a weekly routine with food. All my food for breakfast and lunch is packed for work in advance and we have a set menu for our weeknight dinners. What was I going to do being away?! I kid you not, I began to panic. I started having irrational fears that everything I worked for all this time will go down the tubes and I will become the old me.

It took me a few moments but I gathered my thoughts. First thing I did was write a list of things we need. I like lists. I like being organized. I felt a bit calmer after that and that’s when I told myself to pack non perishable foods and I made a mental list of what I can eat when we eat out.

Foods I packed:

  • Protein bars… you all know I am always obsessing over different bars. My newest obsession is Oatmega
20160227_114507.jpg
Here I am doing a free Oatmega advertisement. The company didn’t ask me to do this. I just love this bar so much, I had to take this picture.
  • Nuts
  • Bananas and apples
  • Jerky

Tips for better eating while on vacation:

  • Make a mental list of what you’re going to eat while you are away. Doing this you psych yourself out and know what to look forward to.
    • Breakfast: Eggs and Fruit
    • Snack: Something that I packed
    • Lunch: Lots of greens and protein
    • Dinner: Same as lunch
      • Research restaurants and local food joints. I did research before we left. I looked at the menus and knew what I was going to eat even before we got there. 
  • Exercise/stay active. I get it, you’re on vacation and you want to relax. Personally, I find exercise to be relaxing. I also feel better about myself, Like I’ve done a good thing for myself for the day.
  • Portion control. I’m sorry, call it tough love but you don’t need to pig out while you are away. Pigging out because “you are on vacation” is stupid and you’ll regret it when you get home.
    • I know I’ve said this before…but can the restaurants PLEASE stop serving bread? WHY oh WHY must you do this to me? Next time I am going to “accidentally” hit it off the table.
  • Drink water to fill up. No juice… Juice = empty calories. I know you all know that alcohol is also empty calories. I’d strongly advise you to watch yourself. I don’t drink at all so it’s not a problem for me but I know people love to drink, especially on vacation.

The weather was too nice to spend time indoors so we visited The Seven Tubs Natural Area and did a good 4 mile walk.

20160227_115221.jpg
Moments after this picture was taken, I was crawling back up the hill, looking down and almost fell into the water. Thankfully my Husband was watching out for me and told me to stop crawling to my death.

We slept in a bit. Don’t judge me! I wake up the same time every day even if it isn’t a work day.

We had an AMAZING dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. 

Gambled and lost but we played craps for the first time ever!

What do you guys do when you go on vacation? Do you say, “ah, what the hell, I am going to do whatever I want?” Do you pack snacks? Plan in advance? Exercise? Have you gained weight while away? Have you lost weight while being away?

Our next trip is to Japan. This should be interesting…. *If you’ve been to Japan, give me some food advise! I don’t like fish or pork!

unspecified-82111211.png

If you love Fat Girls Fitness, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter.
(We won’t spam you)

And/or follow Fat Girls Fitness on Facebook 🙂