Last week I went away on vacation with my family. We took a trip to the mountains in Quebec to visit St. Anne-de-Beaupre. The landscape was absolutely beautiful and gave us some amazing memories. We went whale watching in Baie St. Catherine, got to visit one of the oldest Catholic Basilicas in Northa America (which was stunning), toured Quebec City, took a gondola up Mont St. Anne where we took a hike for a couple of kilometers at the top of the mountain, visited the local aquarium and we even got to see Amaluna (a Cirque du Soleil show)!
Our resort was nestled about 3 minutes from the base of Mont St. Anne so the view from our balcony was of the gorgeous mountain and we got to watch the sun set behind the mountain every night. There was an outdoor pool that we enjoyed every day because the weather was beautiful, hot and sunny every single day we were there. It was a fabulous vacation full of sweet memories and wonderful photos to help preserve them (including my 5 year old daughter learning to swim without a floatation device)!
I will cherish my memories of that vacation for a long time but going away for a week has taught me several vaulable lessons on my journey:
1. I cannot go a week without going to the gym. Even if I am walking a lot, that's just not enoug to keep my body moving and keep myself in shape.
2. Going a week without training allowed my RA to begin to flare. This has resultd in pain, stiffness and extrme fatigue. It may now take me several weeks to recover.
3. Eating (and drinking) things that are not on the plan allows for temporary satisfaction but long-term suffering! Not only did I end up feeling guilty for indulging, I also ended up feeling physically ill because my stomach was very unsettled. Even though I am home, I am still having trouble getting it to settle even though I'm back on the plan. It could take me days to weeks to get back to feeling normal again.
4. Indulging for a week makes it hard to get back on the plan again. I am craving things again which I had stopped craving ages ago. Turns out having sugar just makes you crave more sugar. Having salt just makes you crave more salt. I'm looking forward to leaving my cravings behind.
5. The thought that my journey may end in a few weeks terrifies me more than ever! I am not ready to do this on my own without guidance. I have come so far but as my body has quickly reminded me, I still have so far to go. I will need help from every one I know and every one that they know so that I can win enough votes to stay in this program for another 3 months. Hopefully we all know enough people!
While I was away last week I missed our weigh-in and measurements. Because I indulged on vacation the thought of weighing in tonight made me feel sick to my stomache. My allergies and RA are flaring, my stomache feels awful and the workout was going to be tough. I felt like I was starting back at square one when I walked in to the gym today. Only a week away from the gym and I was already having trouble keeping up with the intensity level of the workout. By the time weigh-ins came I just wanted to get it over with. I knew that I was so close to getting into the 270's two weeks ago but I knew that anthing that started with a "27" this week would take a miracle. I watched the scale as it jumped around through the 270's and climbed. I almost screamed when it stopped at 277! I lost another 3.4 lbs giving me a total loss to date of 29.6 lbs (9.65%)!!
I went into the gym feeling terrible but left there feeling better than I ever imagined I could. I also left there thanking my lucky stars that we at least did a lot of walking and swimming on vacation. More importantly, I've learned my lesson...to stay on plan and keep moving!!!
