Traveling without Falling Off the Wagon

I’m going to be honest here- now that I have changed my nutrition and exercise habits, going away for a weekend or on a vacation freaks me out a little.  It is not that I do not want to get away (trust me, I LOVE vacations and traveling) but I have gotten into such a dedicated habitual routine that going into a situation where I will not necessarily have 100% control over my food and exercise makes me a little nervous. The good news is that I have learned that it is possible to go on vacation or on a weekend getaway without sacrificing your entire diet and exercise routine!

Carrie's top ten tips for how to enjoy your vacation without completely falling off the wagon:

1. Plan ahead: Even though I sometimes drive my family crazy with this, I have found that if I plan ahead of time, I am able to have a much more enjoyable and relaxing vacation. I try to have a basic game plan of an itinerary that way I have an idea of which meals I will need to pack or what days I might have more time to squeeze in a quick run. Also, it allows me to look up healthy, local or organic restaurants I may want to try and have that information on hand so I do not have to waste precious beach time trying to find a place to eat!

2. Be flexible and adapt to the circumstances: No matter how much planning you have done ahead of time, you cannot control or plan for every situation. As an example, in February I was a chaperone at a youth retreat- since I would be missing running group, I brought my shoes and running clothes and planned to run the scheduled 5 mile run on the hotel treadmill.  When I arrived at the hotel, there was a big sign stating that the fitness center was under construction. Instead of letting this roadblock sabotage my run, I decided to run laps outside of the hotel.  Now was this the most fun run that I have ever had? Not by any means!  But I still did it and now every time my youth group goes on another trip, my youth girls always laughingly ask me whether I’m going to run laps around the hotel again- to which I respond, “yes, if that is my only option, that is what I will do!”

3. Make educated choices: If you are going on a business trip or vacation where you are unable to select the restaurant (or if you are at a convention where the food is served to you) do not worry, you do not need to starve yourself or only drink water. Most restaurants have their nutrition information online- so grab your smart phone and quickly look up some healthy options (fyi this might surprise you- I have found that a lot of the entrees I actually wanted were a lot healthier than the salads I almost ordered because I thought they were “healthy”). Simple choices such as only eating the chicken breast and vegetables and skipping the white bread dinner roll/margarine can make a big difference.

My pre-packaged and labelled snacks prepared for youth group convention

4. Pack snacks: This has been a huge life saver for me! Before I go on a trip, I make sure to stock up on some tasty snacks that do not require refrigeration.  That way, if I am faced with an unhealthy meal that I do not want or get hungry during the middle of the afternoon, I do not have to resort to the vending machine.  I try to find snacks that offer protein (for energy) and other nutrients that my body may not be getting while I am away.  Some of my favorite traveling snacks are pistachios, single serving packs of Justin’s almond butter, Suzie’s Spelt Puffed Cakes (like rice cakes, but packed with more nutrients- on a recent trip I would use these and the almond butter packets to make an almond butter sandwich as a meal replacement), granola, pita chips, sweet potato chips, Clif Mojo bars, and Lara bars.  Also, if you get the individual serving size packs of organic milk, they do not need to be refrigerated until you open them- so you can buy a couple of those and bring with you for cereal.

5. Pre-package/label snacks: Even when you bring healthy snacks, you have to be mindful of how much you are eating- but while I am on vacation I certainly don’t want to be measuring out my food or trying to figure out how many calories are in something.  So before I go, I divide and package all of my snacks into individual portion sizes and label it with the number of calories it contains.  Trust me the 30 minutes it takes to do this ahead of time will be well worth it!
 

Elizabeth and I- yes we did get up super early and run the next day!

6. Make time for exercise: Even if it means exercising at odd hours, do not sacrifice your exercise routine. If you can, connect with someone else who wants to get their exercise in- recently while chaperoning a youth convention, my friend Elizabeth and I got up 45 minutes early and went running together. Not only did we get our calorie burn in, we also got some extra time to talk and catch up! If you are not a runner, check out the fitness center at the hotel, bring a work out dvd to play in  your laptop, or if you are desperate walk up and down flights of stairs. As they say on Project Runway, “make it work!”

Dealing with Negative Nellies, Jealous Janes and Ignorant Idas

June 2012-  my "extra skin" in a size 6 dress

Have you ever wondered why one negative or insensitive comment can create so much havoc on your weight loss or health journey?

Recently, I came face to face with this exact situation. Two weeks ago, I hit a major milestone- I weighed in at 149.4, which put me in the normal BMI range for my height! Finally I was in the home stretch where all I had to do was keep going until my body plateaued and then I would officially be in maintenance mode. I was feeling great about my body- after all, for the first time ever I was wearing size 6’s!  I headed off to an annual state convention, excited to show off the results of my hard work and perseverance to friends and acquaintances who had not seen me since the very beginning of my weight loss journey.  While most people were extremely complimentary, I was caught totally off guard when an individual grabbed the loose skin of my upper arm and stated “that is going to take a long time to firm up, isn’t it?”  

While I wish that I could say I responded with something clever or confident, the truth is that I was speechless and am not sure that I even uttered a response.  Even though I eventually dismissed the comment and even laughed about it with friends, the truth is that the comment was extremely hurtful and all of the sudden every time I looked in the mirror I was now fixated on my upper arms and the lack of tone in them, rather than focusing on the ways in which my body looked strong and healthy.   (Just as a side note- once you get really big, even when you lose a bunch of weight, the extra skin does not miraculously disappear- however the way I look at it is that extra skin hanging off a size 6 body is WAY better than my old size 24 self).

So true! Dedication is not obsession!

One of the hardest parts of my weight loss journey has been dealing with the reactions (or lack thereof) of other people and learning to not make decisions for my life based on these reactions. Losing weight results in physical changes that are more evident to the naked eye than other life changes, which seems to invite the comments or critiques of friends, co-workers, family members and other acquaintances. Many times these comments were supportive and encouraging, but there were also times during my journey when the words of people in my life actually had the potential to sabotage all of the changes I was making. What I have found is that sometimes the most damaging comments are not necessarily as blatant as the scenario I described above; for me, the hardest part was sticking to the eating and exercise plan that I had determined was right for me, in the face of other people making comments such as “organic is overrated” or “exercising 5 days a week is excessive” or “one extra cupcake won’t hurt you.”  I am sure that some of those  comments were made with good intentions, but other times I truly believe those comments were meant, either consciously or subconsciously, to attack the progress that I had made.

I am definitely not a psychologist, but here are some of my observations of how other people react to someone successfully losing weight:

•  Negative Nellie: Let’s face it, life is not a Hallmark movie, and there are just some people who are mean-spirited and who for some reason get a kick out of making nasty or negative comments. No matter what you do, Negative Nellie will never be happy and her goal in life is to try to bring you down with her. Even if she won the lottery she would still complain about paying the taxes on it!
• Jealous Jane: I honestly believe so many hurtful comments are made by people who are secretly envious of someone else’s success at something that they have been unable to accomplish.  Instead of seeing another person's success as inspiring or motivational, Jealous Jane sees it as a reflection of a personal failure.  Thus, instead of asking for help or advice, it is often much easier for Jealous Jane to make a disparaging comment instead.
• Ignorant Ida: Ida does not intend to be harmful, however she offers tips and advice that are not based on research or knowledge, but rather on what she has heard or the latest fad.  Ignorant Ida is the kind of gal who will tell you that you can eat anything you want and lose 20 lbs in 2 days as long as you sprinkle special powder on your food.  Ignorant Ida is only dangerous if you take what she says at face value instead of questioning her source of information.

When one of these pesky ladies appears in my life, I try to remember the following things:

•  I am definitely not an expert and by no means perfect and so I need to be receptive to new ideas/suggestions without immediately shooting them down
•  Hurt people hurt people and often the negative comments are less about me and more about something the person is internally struggling with
• Our relationship/identity is often based in comparison with other people (right, wrong or indifferent) and when one person in the relationship changes this dynamic it can be really disconcerting for the person who has not changed
• There have been times in my life where I have spoken without thinking and I need to not automatically assume the person is trying to be hurtful
• I have done my research and chosen the path that is right for me and just because someone has a different approach it does not mean that my approach is wrong 
• It is important to not base self-worth on others opinions’- either positive or negative- because the opinions of others can be extremely fickle

So what is the take away here?   I do not have a perfect answer to this question because this is something that I am still working on. However, I think it is important that no matter what the situation, it should be handled with grace, empathy (if possible;), and a balance of humility/confidence.  Except for Negative Nellie- I think you should just kick her to the curb!