Vacation binging, and recovery (my encouraging results!)

Due to generally feeling gross and out of shape, in January 2014 I began tracking my steps (thanks Fitbit Force!), my daily weight (thanks FitBit Aria!), logging my food (first in FitBit, then in MyFitnessPal), and gradually increasing my exercise. I started at 217 lbs and 27% body fat, and began to see progress pretty quickly. I lost about 10 lbs in the first month, before switching over to MyFitnessPal in February for food logging (much better than FitBit, which I had been using from the start).

At the beginning of July, I was down to ~192 lbs and ~22% bodyfat. I felt the best I had in years, and I was steadily increasing my workout activities (longer and longer walks, started StrongLifts 5x5, etc.). Then, it came time for a vacation, and I was really worried about how to approach it. Should I try to continue my diet and exercise plan, and be "that guy" on vacation? Or just completely give in to vacation eating/drinking, and suffer the consequences? If the latter, how much damage could I do in 12 days to the progress I had proudly made so far this year?

Well, I decided to take the "eat/drink whatever I want" approach, with the confidence that I could lose whatever I gained due to the healthy lifestyle I have adopted. I want to share my results with this forum, as I think they are encouraging to anyone else facing the same pre-vacation dilemma.

From the time I got on the plane (I'm a US expat living overseas) to head home, to the time I got back, I ate and drank whatever I wanted. Ice cream (hello Cold Stone Creamery!), beer (I averaged just slightly less than a 6-pack per day), chocolate chip cookies, pasta, etc. I indulged, and enjoyed every single bite/sip for 12 days. While I had been averaging around 1800-2000 calories a day, I realistically at least doubled that amount each day. I tried to track occasionally during this extended binge, but I eventually gave up, so there are not records in my food log for each day (sorry). I was very active during the trip, but no moreso than I normally am, and I did not do any weight training.

When I returned from my trip, I was a little hesitant to step on the scale the next morning. It wasn't as bad as I expected-- a gain of about 10 lbs. It also showed a drop to 19% bodyfat, which was a clue to me that there was likely something going on with my water retention (which normally happens to me when taking long flights). Sure enough, the next morning I had dropped 5 lbs-- obviously mostly water, and my BF% ticked up slightly. Great, I thought-- only a 5 lb real gain, which I can lose over the next couple of weeks. However, the next morning I was down an additional 3.3 lbs, and again, with a slight uptick in BF%. And the next morning (this morning), over another 1 lb lost. Now, 4 days post-vacation and back into my normal eating/exercise routine, I am back to my pre-vacation weight and BF%!

I am finding this very encouraging, and hopefully it helps some of you in similar situations if you are fretting over an upcoming planned indulgence. Enjoy yourself without guilt, and hop back on the wagon strictly once the break is over (i.e. don't use a break as an opportunity to re-adopt bad habits).

For those of you with experience/expertise in this area, any thoughts on these results? Having been in a cutting mode for 6 months, did my body need this shock, and that's why my results were so positive?