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After five days of smooth sailing, sun bathing and the most fun that I have ever had, I’m back.
I may be quite a bit tanner and happier than when I first left, but I learned an important lesson this week: dieting is SO hard to do while on vacation, (particularly when you’re cruisin’) but it’s definitely doable.
As I told you all before I left on Monday, I set some goals for myself to help get me through this week without gaining an obscence amount of weight. (I’ve heard horror stories about people gaining 5+ pounds on cruises, and I was not about to fall prey to that statistic)
I can’t confidently say whether or not I gained any weight, because I’ll be using the next four days or so to get myself back to where I started pre-cruise (I was down to 151.5 on Monday, as I lost .5 pounds last week). But, I do know that I did my best to get through this week without doing TOO much damage to all the hardwork I’ve put in these last few weeks.
So you’re probably all wondering just how my dieting went. Well, like I said, it was one of the BEST weeks of my life – I had so much fun with my best friends enjoying the beach, boat and Bahamas, but I also enjoyed the food…maybe a little too much.
I’ll admit that I wasn’t counting my calories to a tee, (it’s nearly impossible to do so when you’re enjoying a 24-hour buffet for five days) but, I did watch what I ate. And, I treated myself to a little splurging, but not too much splurging.
For breakfast every morning we would hit up the buffet. I automatically stayed away from anything fried, smothered in butter and grease or heavy in sugar and carbs. I usually enjoyed some fresh fruit, eggs and yogurt with granola every morning, so I was definitely able to start my day off right with a meal like that.
Lunch was a different story. We were docked at different island ports in the Bahamas each day, so we’d eat a large breakfast and then come back onto the ship later in the day (around 4 p.m. or so) and grab something from the buffet.
For those meals, I found it harder to eat healthier – there were endless options and everything looked amazing. But I made sure to stay away from burgers, pizza and french fries. They often had premade little turkey or tuna sandwiches, so I would always grab one of those. I also ate more fruit, because it was fresh and delicious. And then I’d eat some type of side dish, like rice or pasta salad.
Dinner was interesting, because it was a three-course meal every day, and I’m definitely not used to eating that big of a meal for dinner. They had appetizers, main dishes and dessert. However, I am proud to say that I did not eat dessert one single night (I’m not a huge dessert fan to begin with, but I would rather spend my daily calories on something else).
I managed to remember to take a picture of my dinner every night except Thursday night. On Monday, I enjoyed baken chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. On Tuesday, I ventured to try chicken jumbalaya. On Wednesday, I ate pan seared salmon and veggie pasta. And on Thursday, I had cheese tortellini.
Eating dinner was one of my favorite parts of the day, because the food was delicious. And I’m happy with the choices I made, because they were all relatively healthy, yet still super yummy.
All-in-all, I can’t say that I did a terrible dieting job this week. I said earlier that I splurged one day, and that splurge included eating some french fries, a small ice cream cone, a late night chicken tender snack and a fruity mixed drink in the Bahamas. So if that’s the worst damage that I did on this cruise, I’m okay with it.
And, I even made it to the gym….one day. And one day is better than no days at all.
I’d have to say that it was one successful vacation, and hopefully I won’t be kicking myself in the butt for the food I enjoyed when I’m weighing myself on Tuesday.
Regardless, one this is for sure: I am back and ready to get down to business. This trip has motivated me beyond belief, and I can’t wait to get back to school and in the gym, all the while eating super healthy. I’m pumped and ready to lose more weight!