After five days with endless amounts of food, fruity drinks, sunbathing and midnight buffets, it’s back to reality.
Like I said before I left, I did not bring my diet with me.
And I do not regret one midnight cookie, chicken finger or ice cream cone.
But just because I indulged in some of my unhealthy favorites, does not mean I gained five pounds on vacation. I did have some self-control.
I easily could have eaten five meals a day, but I stuck to the traditional three. I am a dessert snob, and most of the desserts were sub par, so I didn’t order most of them because I knew I would be eating a just OK piece of chocolate cake.
To be honest, it is a habit to order healthier food because I have been eating well for so long. In fact, I enjoy eating healthy. I would order grilled mushrooms as opposed to fried mushrooms any day because I think the healthy option simply tastes better.
Every morning at the breakfast buffet I had the option to eat pastries, waffles, French toast, pancakes and bagels. But even though I had all of these options, every morning I ate an egg-white omelet with a piece of whole-wheat toast. It wasn’t that I was avoiding the other foods; the healthier breakfast was just more appealing to me.
I didn’t always think like this. There was a time when I would choose pancakes over an egg-white omelet any day. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be forced. I think over time you stop craving unhealthy foods and start craving healthier foods. My egg-white omelet every morning was delicious!
However, I did not make it to the gym every day, and I didn’t expect to. After spending all day in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, I was too exhausted to make it to the gym. However, on the days at sea exercise was the first thing I did when I woke up. I motivated myself by putting my gym clothes on before breakfast so I wouldn’t be tempted to follow the majority of my friends to the pool. I may have missed a couple hours of sun, but I felt great after sweating at the gym. (And to be honest, I turn into a cherry tomato very quickly, so my skin was probably thankful for a break from the sun.)
I enjoyed my break from reality, but I am ready to get back into routine. It’s time to turn in that ice cream for yogurt and sunbathing for long runs in the sun.