That’s after 3 weeks of quasi-vacation. I didn’t gain an ounce, but I still managed to have fun and eat what I wanted, without feeling deprived.
How did I conquer the vacation waist-expansion?*
–I kept exercising. I’m starting to build for a December marathon, so I felt some pressure to stick to the training plan, but I would’ve gotten at least some exercise even without the schedule. We found it worked well to just organize our days around movement. Admittedly, this involved my showering** in a complete stranger’s back yard (several times), but hey–it was an adventure. On my non-running days we went for long walks in the woods, which served as both exercise and hanging-out-holding-hands time.
–We shared meals. I know I’ve harped on this before, but it really helps. Restaurant portions are almost always bigger than one person should eat. We (usually) ordered one appetizer and one entree and split them, saving both calories and dollars.
–We took “breaks.” On this particular trip, that meant we ate breakfast in*** (cereal–nothing heavy or fussy), and every day or two we stayed in for one other meal, lunch or dinner, and ate Lean Cuisines. Obviously, that’s harder to do if you don’t have access to a kitchen, but be creative–have a fruit lunch, or a salad dinner.
–When we did eat out, we stuck to interesting places. I refuse to go out of town and eat food that I can get at home. I do lots of research ahead of time, and make a list of restaurants I want to try. Planning ahead is key–that way we’re never desperately hungry and forced to resort to mediocre food that isn’t worth the calories.
–Small plates. I’m convinced that the Spanish tapas tradition is the best way to a health-conscious foodie’s heart. You get to order six or eight items (that’s the number that generally works best for me and Lee; your mileage may vary), which means you get lots of different interesting nibbles, and you walk away sated but not stuffed. Luckily for me, small plates seem to be the trend of the moment. And when all else fails, I just stick to the appetizer menu. Those dishes tend to be more creative, as well as more appropriately sized.
*Vacation can be a death trap–Lee gained 7 pounds on our week-long honeymoon. Don’t do that.
**Long story. You know the whole fear-of-dogs thing? It was crippling. Panic-inducing. We had to drive 25 minutes into the nearest town for me to run in town (where they have sensible things like leash-laws). Which meant that after my run, I needed a shower, and if we were going to do anything in town, it didn’t make sense to drive back to the house. Thus I found myself showering in the “bathhouse” of a campground–really just a large backyard equipped for several RVs. But I have to admit–the shower was perfectly nice. Probably better than a truck stop, which was my first idea.
***Except for, you know, the day we ate chocolate croissants and cinnamon rolls at the farmer’s market. Worth every bite.