Vacation ended up being a disaster

TimothyPhoenix

So I was five and a half months in when I left for vacation last Sunday. I had lost 66 pounds since early February with the weight loss breaking down as follows:

Month one - 20 pounds
Month two - 15 pounds
Month three - 13 pounds
Month four - 6 pounds
Month five - 9 pounds
Month Six (first half) - 3 pounds

I went on vacation to the lake. I had things planned out to where I could take a break from my strict workout regiment and be a little more relaxed with my eating. That very quickly just fell by the way side. I remained active and continued to drink a lot of water but I was eating pretty bad. No binging or anything like that,but I was snacking a lot and eating stuff like Pizza, burgers and fries, etc. The last day of the vacation I went off. I had a baconator from Wendys and fries for lunch with a huge coke, and then pizza for dinner with soda. I also had two king size peanut butter cups and a half gallon of milk before I went to bed. I knew I was going to be up some weight when I got back but I was astonished when I stepped on the scale. I had gained 8 pounds.

Yesterday was the most difficult day I have had since I started this journey in early February. I got a big time case of the "**** its" and just wanted to give up. I managed to fight through it it though and had a good day. I even tried to turn this around and make it something new, make it a brand new challenge. Since I started this I let my beard grow. Besides some small trimming and shaving my neck I let that son of a ***** go full on mountain man. Yesterday I shaved it off and shaved my head with a straight razor. I kind of felt like I needed to reinvent this whole thing and myself at this point. I have already lost 1 pound back and i am bound and determined to (if nothing else) lose 4 more pounds by next Sunday which would end the 6th month and get me back to where I was at the start of the month and then I can go from there.

I am a sports fanatic and one sports cliche I have always held onto is "you learn more about a champion not with how they respond when things are going well, but how they respond when things go bad". I have worked so hard and come so far and I won't let this get away from me. For the time being I am back to the basics of taking this one situation at a time, one meal at a time, and one day at a time.

I honestly believe I can make this a learning experience and positive and that I will be stronger for this. I have had some weeks along the way where I only lost a pound, even a couple where I maintained my weight. I haven't gained any weight since I started this up until now and I am really going to be tested here. Any kind words, encouragment, etc would be greastly appreciated.

Stefanie7125

i was on vacation last week and i am not planning on getting on the scale for another couple of weeks. Otherwise it would be too depressing. Even though I did not go crazy, I did eat food that I had been avoiding. I know I gained, I can tell the difference in the way my clothes fit. Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and start over. Today is a new day!

HellySuccess

Don't give up or be too hard on yourself. We're aiming for improvement here, not perfection. It sounds like you had a good vacation from both your regular life and your diet. You enjoyed yourself at the lake, now enjoy getting back into your program! You're doing so well, an inspiration to me even with your "disaster". Thanks so much for sharing.

welsh_lass86

Don't beat yourself up about straying on your holiday, it happens to the best of us.

I put 11lbs on whilst on vacation in May and was gutted, but once I was home the weight just started falling off me. I was loosing 3-4 lbs a week with out having to starve myself.

Just keep going and before you know it the holiday weight will have melted away and you'll be back on track

Afterblue

Enh. I don't mean to be unsympathetic but what is a few days in the face of an otherwise spectacular record? You have done so well thus far, and you have learned about factors that may throw your eating habits off tangent. You see getting healthy as a journey and not a "now it is all over because I flubbed this one time!"

I think you are doing remarkably well. People with your mindset, who don't let a setback derail them completely are the ones who make it in the long haul, I think.

Good luck!

sgall123

if you cant eat and drink what you want when on holiday when can you!!!!.... a few pounds at least will be water weight so dont sweat it just get straight back on track and the 8lbs will be gone quicker than you think

cmriverside

Most of that eight pounds is going to drop back off in about ten days. You didn't eat 28,000 calories over your maintenance calories - that is a bunch of water retention due to the salty foods.

You have to have snacky foods and pizza and coke and cheeseburgers now and then. You won't go the rest of you life without them. Don't beat yourself up, get back in the saddle, and carry on. You're a big mountain man. You're tough.

TimothyPhoenix

Thanks everyone

DanaDark

Eating like that must have made your sodium go through the roof! I am sure it is not 8 pounds of fat you put on. Probably a LOT of water weight due to the sodium.

Anyway, you said you lost 66 pounds... putting 8 on means you've lost 54 pounds... still a loss overall. Don't fret. We all deserve vacations now and then! :-D

TimothyPhoenix

Lost 3 of the 8 pounds back already in a couple of days.

cmccorma

I gained 5 in Vegas last weekend, and it took until Friday to lose it. So it's definitely water weight! You will lose it all.

ljaroch

You're doing great and will get the rest of the extra weight off in no time. You're story is very inspirational!