Staying Healthy on Vacation

In case you didn't know, I was on vacation this week and arrived home last night. To meet the scale. and to figure out what to eat for dinner.

This conversation actually did happen:

Husband: "So what do you want to do for dinner tonight?"
Me: "I don't know yet. Let's see what the scale says."

But let's be honest, did I change my dinner decision based on what the scale said: No.

I gained weight. What do you mean I gained weight? I went on a 3 hour hike! And it required swimming, and climbing over big piles of rocks! I saw across the bay! Grrr!

One thing I will say, is that I didn't throw it all out the window as soon as I clocked out of work and hopped in the car for the trek to the lake... I counted my points until we actually got on the water. Meaning: when we went to McDonalds and Subway, I made good decisions and I was aware of the nutrition facts of the foods that I ate. That's something to be applauded, I think. However, I didn't start caring about what I ate once we got off the lake. I had a burger, fries, and a shake for lunch and pizza for dinner. DOH. But man, it sure is good to eat those things every once in a while.

I am lucky that I have trained myself well. I no longer hate myself for little hiccups or mishaps. I don't beat myself up about it. I looked at the week and looked at what could have caused my unanticipated weight gain.

Gross as it is, I was camping. I didn't want to use the outdoor toilet that was in too plain of view. I likely hadn't eliminated everything out of my intestines. I'm pretty sure that this is the reason every time I "gain weight". Because I drop the 3-4 lbs within a few days and if it were "real" weight, I doubt that would happen.

Things I will do differently next time we go camping:

#1. Plan ahead better. My husband does ALL of the cooking for us on these trips. Which means that he decides what we eat. This means that I have a lot of influence on what we eat. If I would have planned ahead better, I could have known the points values of the meals, snacks, and side dishes.

#2. Be less passive. This means that I need to make absolutely sure that we bring the things that I need to be successful. Even if I'm the only person that wants them. It's my vacation too, and I don't want my vacation to be ruined when I come home by having gained weight.
#2a. Bring crystal light packets. I mentioned getting crystal light packets when we were shopping for the trip, but I didn't outright say, "we will get some." That was a mistake. I drank a lot of gatorade. Gatorade has a lot of calories in it. I liked the taste of the gatorade and didn't want as much plain water as I should have had. I'm pretty sure that gatorade is the #1 reason I gained weight. Crystal light would have given me the flavored drink, without the calories. :-( It's really easy for me to forget about the calories I've consumed in beverages if I don't write them down.
#2b. Bring 100 calorie snack packs. I ate 260 calorie bags of cookies. I ate goldfish and Cheetos and jerky. If I were in the "real world" instead of "vacation land," I would NEVER have eaten those things. Because there were limited options for snacks, I had no choice but to snack on the "bad" stuff. I'll fix this next time.
#2c. Force someone to buy diet soda. Buy my own damn diet soda for my husband and I and hide it in our own separate cooler in our tent. I'm going to need to get a bigger tent for all the food-hording that I'm planning. ;) I didn't open a single soda while we were on the trip. But I did have sips of my husbands. Empty wasted calories. A diet sprite or coke would have been great and refreshing and would have mixed things up nicely, but I didn't have any. So I drank a lot more calorie-laden Gatorade than I should have. (The only times I drink sodas are when I am having specific cravings for one. or if I need caffeine. I avoid Gatorade like the plague in the real-world too.)

#3. Be meaner. Not really, but bring my own foods and don't share them. Why am I sharing ALL the snacks we brought? -When we have to wheedle to get anything from your store of snacks? Huh? Huh? Rude. If the other people on the trip don't care about their eating choices, I should bring along my special healthier foods and bring only enough for me, in my own bag, and keep them only for me. This will keep me from "over-snacking." If I plan ahead and know the points values of the meals, I can then decide how many extra points I have for snacks.

#4. Be cognizant of why I'm eating. I'm pretty sure I did a lot of "boredom" eating while floating around on the fishing boat. I should have had chewing gum mixed in with the snack boxes. or remembered to drink more water to determine if I was really hungry.

#5. Remember that it is NOT "too much work" to track what I eat (and drink) and the nutritional information for it, and the added food I can eat for being more active.

Hopefully next time I can remember these things and do better!