Dieting on Vacation

My niece's wedding is two weeks away. So last week, when I had a whopping three weeks, I decided to go back on Weight Watchers Points. In a perfect world, I would lose all 25 of the pounds I gained because of a bum knee. In a semi-perfect world, I'd lose 10. In this weird world we live in I'm shooting for seven. Seven pounds, three weeks. It didn't sound so hard. In fact, Monday was a breeze.

Tuesday my husband took me to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Staring at the menu filled with things that made my mouth water I realized I had a choice, give in, eat like a fool and start again tomorrow. Or order something realistic. (Realistic being a sketchy word.)

Anyway, just as I was about to succumb to temptation, I remembered that we were going to Gettysburg the following weekend. Was I going to quit every time something special happened? If I was, I certainly wouldn't hit my goal of seven pounds. And if I continued to indulge myself every time we got in the car and drove anywhere that served food, I'd soon be buying my clothes from Omar the Tentmaker.

So...last Tuesday morning, I took the plunge. I said, "You're not going to be a wuss anymore. You are going to do this."

It was actually very easy to order an egg and a biscuit and drink black coffee while my husband ate gritts, several eggs, biscuits, bacon, ham, and baked apples. (When I say easy, I actually mean possible.)

But we soon found ourselves in the golf store (he needed new golf shoes) and breakfast was quickly forgotten. With this success under my belt, I raced home and plotted my strategy for the trip to Gettysburg. I looked up our usual restaurant haunts online and found meals on the menus that I could eat without breaking my WW points bank. Then I planned what I'd order in the small mom and pop restaurants that don't have websites and menus online.

I also made some rules or guides for myself for traveling while trying to lose weight...or even trying to stay the same.

1. Go online and review the menus for the restaurants you know you'll frequent while you are away. If you're going to a new destination (Ocean City this year instead of Virginia Beach) find a website for your destination, see what restaurants are available...see if they have online menus. If they do, you're in luck!

2. Choose a few meals and figure out the calories, Points, or carbs...diet dependent. Eventually, you'll find something you can order and if you can't...at least you'll know what you are getting into! If you figure the Points for a meal at 25 and your total allotment of points for the day is 25, you have a choice. Eat only that one meal...Or be smart and eat half.

3. If you have determined that certain meals work for your diet DON'T LOOK AT THE MENU. Stick to the meal choices you've already made. Don't tempt yourself!

4. Take salad, fruit, diet bread, reduced fat peanut butter. If you're staying at a beach house, you'll have a fridge. Already made salad is better for lunch than the burgers or pizza your family will buy. Don't worry about feeling deprived. Feel smart. Feel empowered! Think of your heart, your arteries, that new black dress you bought!

5. Take a container of low fat Coffeemate. Most restaurants have cream. Don't drink your calories in a few cups of coffee! Get the low fat Coffeemate (and a big purse). Or get a small purse-size container of Coffeemate.

6. Focus on your goal. Do you need to fit into a new dress for a wedding, as I do? Do you need to get back into your skinny jeans? Are you fearful that your next shopping trip will be to a tent maker? Scare yourself! Motivate yourself!

...

So...

How did I do on my weekend trip to Gettysburg. Good and bad. I stuck with all of my pre-choices. Unfortunately, I made a "whopper" of a mistake. I misread the Weight Watchers points guide and thought Whopper Juniors had only six points (which is the number of points in a "small" fast food hamburger in the guide). Turns out Whopper Juniors are in a class by themselves and have 10 points! So I went over my points by 4 on two days.

Now, this doesn't mean I gained weight. I simply didn't lose. But, after a mini-vacation, I'll settle for not gaining! LOL

Enjoy the week!

susan meier
MAID IN MONTANA, still available!