Vacation – Don’t Let Your Goals Get Derailed

May 2015 vac - train

(A precious grandparent moment – taking 2-year-old Caden on his first big train ride. I’m not sure who was more excited – the child or the adults?)

Summertime is made for vacations.  Back in May, I had a wonderful getaway with my family.  It was extra special because we haven’t had a chance to have this experience with our now grown children in many years.  Going places, sharing new experiences, laughing and being away from the normal routine is good for us.  I hope you’ve had a chance to get away or have a plan in mind soon.

 At the time of our vacation, I was 4 months into using the 21-Day Fix Program and was seeing results.  I wondered how this time away would translate with the new lifestyle habits regarding nutrition and fitness I had been implementing.  I ended up having a good experience while away.  Here are my insights about how not to get derailed with taking care of yourself when you are away from home.

Remember the week before vacation will customarily been busy.  

 I created checklists to help me get things organized:

What needs to be done before I leave in regards to my home?

  • Mail, garbage, newspaper, plants watered, animals, clean out fridge, etc.

What needs to be done before the trip?

  • Packing list (clothes, medications, exercise equipment, electronics, chargers, workout DVDs, food, tickets, money, etc.)

vac2015-view from condo
(This was the view from our condo in Oceanside – it was perfect.)

I asked myself what did I want to experience when I came home from vacation.  Would I remember that I had a vacation experience but I was still on course with my goals or would I regret some of the decisions I made in regards to my fitness and nutrition.Okay – so now it was time to test myself –

  • After 4 months, did I have a diet or a new lifestyle mentality?  A diet often has an end date attached to it – we think once I reach this weight or wear this size clothing I’m done and then we are right back to where we started.  But a lifestyle change is different – it’s action incorporated in wherever our life is – even on vacation.
  • I decided before vacation what I wanted to happen when I got home.  I envisioned where I wanted to be when I took my stats (weight and measurements) at the end of the 3-week challenge group which happened to land on my last day of my vacation.  I was down 3 lbs the day before we left.  I decided I’d give one of those pounds away during vacation but wanted to strive toward a 2 lb weight loss.  What I didn’t want to happen was to take several steps backward in my journey. 

Chocolate Banana Almond Smoothie
Chocolate Banana Almond Smoothie Recipe

So now I needed to determine how I was going to make that happen..

  • I took my Shakeology with me because it is a portable and is a delicious meal replacement. This helped offset the occasional treat food and give me balanced nutrition.
  • I packed nuts in individual baggies – again because they are portable.
  • We were driving so I packed some sliced cooked chicken, cut up veggies, and fruit.
  • I researched restaurants before we arrived and decided ahead of time what I would order.  I usually ate half of what was served. 
  • I took my 21-Day Fix portion containers with me to be used when I wasn’t at a restaurant.  Happily I realized that the 4 months of practicing this system had cemented into my mind and I was able to portion out my food without them most of the time.
  • I ate several of my favorites but modified what the restaurant wanted to serve me.  For instance I love Fish and Chips (mainly the fish) so when I ordered it, I ate all my fish, 10 french fries and substituted the coleslaw for a side salad with oil and vinegar and you know what?  I was just fine with that.  Eat mindfully – choose your favorites and determine how much you will eat.  It may taste awesome but it won’t be awesome if you have to live with the results for months to come.
  • I chose iced tea or water instead of alcohol for several reasons – it doesn’t work well with my Interstitial Cystitis.  A glass of wine or beer isn’t worth several days of pain plus it gives me the munchies and I tend to overeat and that isn’t going to support my goals.
  • I brought my laptop and used Beachbody on Demand for my workouts (I forgot my dvds – very glad to be able to stream my workouts) and a set of 8 lb weights.  Don’t have weights – use 2 water bottles or 2 cans of vegetables.
  • Drink Water and then drink more water – we should be drinking ½ of our body weight in ounces.  For example a 160 lb person would drink 80 ounces of water a day.  I found this the most challenging.  I would get busy having fun and forget.  Take your favorite water bottle with you.
  • If you are staying somewhere where you have a kitchen, take a few easy to prepare recipes.  Spend a few minutes shopping and cooking so you have nutritious food to eat while away.  This will also save money.  Pumpkin Turkey Chili is a great choice.  You can even premeasure your spices at home and put them in a ziplock bag.  
  • Yes –  I had desserts – caramel cheesecake, crème brulee and a flourless chocolate cake with coconut sorbet but each time one dessert was ordered and shared with multiple people.  
  • I did my workouts early each morning before the day got started and I could find 10 reasons why I didn’t need to do it.  I decided before vacation that my workouts were non-negotiable.  It was 30 minutes and I’m worth 30 minutes.  I’m fortunate I have a supportive family but we can often find ourselves with others that aren’t on the same journey as us.  Not everyone is going to be your cheerleader.  Be true to your values and goals – you just don’t know who you might inspire.  
  • I stayed connected to my support system (challenge group – women who have like minded fitness goals).  What a help to know they were available on line so I could document my progress and look to them for encouragement when needed.
  • Stick to your eating routine as much as you can…Breakfast, AM Snack, Lunch, PM Snack, Dinner, Evening Snack.  Eating nutritious – real food left me content and satisfied.  We were in California so I allowed myself an extra serving of fruit.  Oh why oh why can’t the fruit in Arizona taste like the fruit in California?
  • I created a self-made calendar so I could map out my workouts before I ever went on vacation.

        vac2015-Evan and Rhi (We celebrated my son’s birthday by going to Stone Brewery for lunch, tour and dessert. The food was amazing as well as the memories. The engaged couple will soon be Mr and Mrs in a few short months.)

May 2015 Vac - Family
(One last picture before we hit the road home. I have learned over the past few years how important it is to take time to vacation, to build memories. It’s not just about what’s happening during the time away but about the joy you have in dreaming about beforehand and being able to carry those times with you afterwards.)

When vacation was over I am happy to say that I was down 2.4 lbs and this experience encouraged me that I’d be ready for the next get away.

These are my latest before and after photos.   I forgot the “t” in strength but I decided not to take the time to fix it because I continue to learn it doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.

 Feb - June 2015 Before and After Pics
I keep making progress – you can too. (Getting close to 15 lbs and 20 inches gone since Feb 16, 2015) We are halfway through 2015. Make the second part of this year time you build strength and learn to fuel your body with nutritious food. The next challenge group starts on August 3rd.  For more information on how you can get started working toward your healthy lifestyle goals, please fill in the form below and I will personally contact you.  The decision is the hardest part. I am here to help you.
 

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Coming Soon

The tea kettle just went off…so be patient with me while I get up to hunt for a tea bag to immerse into the hot water.  Okay – I’m back and my Caramel Chai Herbal Tea is seeping.  

9-27-14 Tea and Writing

It is early and the house is quiet.  I smell a rainy scent left over from Saturday’ storm and hear the hum of the refrigerator.  Crazy the amount of rain and wind we received.  Our lantana look like they have been beaten with a stick but it’s dark right now as I sit at my kitchen table and I can’t see if they are still slumped over or they have rested and are erect once again.  Sometimes we just need to wait and see.

I thought it would be fun to share a few snapshots of the past few weeks and what my hopes are to share with you in the future.

A few weeks ago my husband and I headed to Oceanside, CA  for vacation and we rode a train, took long walks on the beach, watched the sunset, went to a movie, and ate amazing  meals.  (More pictures to come) We didn’t get the weather we had hoped for – it was hot and our rental condo had no air-conditioning  but life is seldom perfect and we were thankful it worked out so we could go. 

One of salads I ate out was a Chopped Chicken Cashew Salad with a soy reduction and a miso vinaigrette which of course, I came home inspired and started trying to recreate.  I needed to learn how to may a soy reduction and a dressing which incorporates miso paste.  I’ve been successful and will be sharing how to make this soon.  First you’ll see a recipe for the soy reduction, then the miso vinaigrette and finally the salad.  The first two can be done ahead and this way the recipe won’t seem overwhelming.  

Chopped Cashew Chicken Salad - K. Strauss

The picture of the sky was taken while driving home – so pretty.

Oceanside 2014 - driving home (Maricopa)

I was asked this week how to make “homemade” iced tea.  Sometimes we are asked things that we’ve been doing so long we don’t even think about writing directions down for. So a short blog post will be coming soon.  

Green Tea3

Lastly I was asked to answer a few questions regarding my faith walk with Jesus over at Pouring Down Like Rain this past week.  Here is a bit of the post – the link to continue reading is listed at the bottom.

Was God always present in your life? Was it consistent?  Yes – I grew up in a Christian home and Jesus was introduced to me as a child. But I believe there is a time when your belief in God has to become personal and embraced as your own.

At what age did you really understand and start to have a personal relationship with Him?  I was 9 years old. My mom was very ill, my dad was working to provide for our family and I had 3 little brothers.  I spent a Friday night at my grandmother’s house.  This was great fun because she was an amazing cook and let me choose what was for dinner.  Pinto Beans and Cornbread – yum!  She then asked if I wanted to stay another night. I had to think about this because this meant going to church with grandma the next morning but choosing another dinner won out.  She surprised me when she said after dinner to go get cleaned up; we were going to church for a Saturday Special.   I thought “Church tonight too?”  Soon we were sitting in a church pew listening to a men’s quartet.  To this day – I don’t remember the name of their group; but I can tell you the words of a song they sang that changed me “Don’t try to tell me that God is dead.  I just talked to Him this morning.  Don’t try to tell me He’s not alive He lives within my heart.  His words are always by my side.  He brightens up my day.  Don’t try to tell me that God is dead.  I just talked to him today.”   I walked down the center aisle and accepted Jesus into my heart that night and knew I would never be alone.

Was God present in your parent’s life?  Yes

Do you attend church? Is this where you feel closest to God?  Yes – we float a bit between churches and sometimes when needed we are ministered to at home. But there are times when I am in the woods or sitting quietly by the ocean that my heart is quieted and I listen better.  I think being in His creation is a glimpse of His power.  I am awed by it.

Have you ever had a God moment or felt/seen the presence of God?  Yes – several times but this is the one making me smile as I write. Years ago I was a stay-at-home mom and my heart yearned to help make our house a home by doing some decorating.  Monetarily I didn’t have much to work with.  I took a piece of lined binder paper and drew 3 columns listing my heart desires, what I thought it would cost and then I left the 3rd column blank.  I gave this list to God – asked him to brainstorm and go shopping with me.  I would then place the actual cost in the column when the desire had been met.  One example:  New slip covers for outside furniture – Waverly fabric – I needed 10 yards (Regularly $26.00/yard – I received for $1.08/yard)  In a years time – everything on my list was complete with the monies I had to work with.

  To continue reading – please click HERE

Hoping you have a great week.  

 

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