Vacation NSV's - It *can* be done!

I got back yesterday from a FABULOUS vacation. I visited some friends and family in Southern California and then met up with some friends in Las Vegas. Most of these people haven't seen me in more than a year. All of them have known me for more than 25 years. Over the years they have seen me in my wedding dress, graduation gown, various swim suits, club clothes, etc. They love me for who I am, and because they love me, they want me healthy and around for at least 25 more years. Some of my friends and family, like me, have tried every diet under the sun, (except Medifast, I am the first to do this one). A couple of times I had to share a bite of this or that MF packet; a lot of the time I just got to be happy that I could do things that I wouldn't have been able to do 4 months ago. Like:

• Sit on a plane comfortably; I not only didn't need an extension, I had to cinch it in. ;)
• One friend looked at me and said, "You look good." I said thanks. Then she looked me up and down and said, "No really, You look GOOD. What are you doing?" heh heh. :)
• Walk for MILES in Las Vegas - literally. I wore my fitbit and one day we logged 9.5 miles because we walked the entire strip. TWICE. plus a lot of the escalators were broken/out of service. Which brings me to;
• Climb flights of stairs without huffing and puffing. Even after a day of walking.
• Do the Dance Revolution game with my friend who MINORED IN DANCE in college, for 40+ minutes. and hold my own.
• SAVE TONS OF MONEY - because although MF might be expensive, it is extremely cheap compared to eating out in Las Vegas.
• Chase and play with my nieces (who are 7 and 3); and chase and play with my friend's boys who are 8, 8, and 9.
• Feel comfortable in a swimsuit. Actually, my swimsuit was a little worrisome because I have lost so much weight since I bought it that I was afraid it would fall off. I ended up leaving it and not bringing it back with me. And it was practically new. Oh well.
• Ride in our excursion flight over Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. When my husband first mentioned it, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go because of my weight. But no worries! And we had a grand time!
• Go to a buffet and not feel bloated when I left. I was able to *not* focus on getting my money's worth and instead just ate what was my on plan option for the day.
• Love the pictures we all took rather than lament about how I looked!

So, when people wonder: Can I stay on plan on vacation? I scoff. OF COURSE I can! That was my biggest NSV. I had one meal that had more fat than I should have. And I had two meals that had some sort of sauce on my protein and I had one day when I didn't get all 3 of my greens. Other than that, and the fact that I couldn't measure a thing, I stayed on plan. I have been playing a game where I eyeball my protein and veggies at home, and THEN I put them on my plate on the scale. So, I have had practice figuring out what appropriate servings are. I figure I did very well. I logged my food every day. I tracked my exercise using my fitbit.

After our particularly grueling day of walking 9.5 miles and 20 flights of stairs, one of my friends was complaining about how much her feet hurt. And I jokingly asked, "You mean you didn't train for vacation?" But inside, I knew that that was exactly what I've been doing - training for this vacation. And this morning, I was rewarded with a scale victory of 4 pounds gone. FOUR POUNDS GONE. ON VACATION! That is a non-scale victory AND a scale victory all wrapped up in one big big huge package. 

So, as of my weigh in this morning, I have lost 41.5 pounds and am in a new "decade". This is what staying on program will do for you. :)