The peril that is a weekend at the coast

Hey y'all

So I trust my American pals had a good Memorial Weekend? We had a long weekend as well, yesterday was Africa day here in the Southern African region and so me and a few friends decided to head to the coats for some r&r. It was lovely, as well as a peril to my hair and health journeys.

On the hair side - salty humidity is NOT cool. Even though I am freshly relaxed, my hair puffed up like yeasty dough before being beat down with fists. My ends indicated to me that they need extreme TLC as they puffed more, indicating dryness and lack of protein, so I am on those missions. I will relay exactly how in my #WashdayExperience post later this week. 

The BIG peril was of course to my diet and routine. Holy Moses!!! Vacations, even mini ones can prove fatal to a structured eating plan, even if you stay in a self catering chalet and not a hotel. It was an entire cheat weekend, but one learns from one's mistakes and thus I wish to tell you guys what I picked up this past few day:

• Have your "cheat" meal consist of 75% lean protein and then 25% veggies. This weekend I managed to still steer clear of carbs and starches. High protein meals means feeling fuller for longer so you won't be tempted with ice cream stands on the beach. I did slip slightly and realised my body really doesn't like carbs anymore so it really isn't a big loss. I felt annoyed and irritated from the sugar spikes it caused and I'm so over it.
• It may be a vacation, but don't sleep in too late. Sleeping in too late means missing breakfast, heading straight into brunch/lunch and over eating. It happened to me both mornings of my weekend away and it led to the most guilt. So, next time, I am going to get up at the same time as always, have my usual breakfast and thus eat normally over lunch. Over eating piles on the calories. 
• Small coastal towns are awesome for walking, so leave the car and actually walk around. I did manage to get some of this in, but after a certain time in the afternoon the weather didn't really permit it. the mist and the fog was so dense, I would have walked straight into the sea, lol. 
• Have 100cal snack packs on hand, depending of course on your itinerary whilst on holiday. It helps you to keep within your calorie limits without feeling like you're starving or depraving yourself on vacation. And I'm talking healthy snacks like nuts, seeds, biltong. NOT sweets and candy and cookies and biscuits. 
• Last but not least, don't beat yourself up if you've crossed the calorie line a few times. Just pick yourself up and start over. Today is Day 1 for me all over again, but it's not like I gained back the 18 pounds I've lost so far in the space of a single weekend. So my attitude will be as if I did, keeping myself in check and being as strict with myself as I was when I started my program 6 weeks ago. And the result will be that hopefully I will shed another 7-9 pounds in the next couple of weeks. 

Essentially at the end of the day, never give up, I've learned that now. Just because one cheats once in a while (and now I'm talking only about food people!!! Don't go getting ideas, lol!) does not mean that all efforts up till that point has been a waste. Trust me, it has not. Don't beat yourself up, accept that you're only human, that mistakes will be made AND that you didn't gain the weight in a month, so stop expecting to lose all of it in a month. To lose and KEEP the weight off requires a life style change, and those are pretty hard if it's too drastic, so slipping here and there is not the end of the world. Just remember that you need to keep a handle on yourself otherwise it turns into the slippery slope and you end up gaining 20 pounds. 

Anyhoo, this journey kicks my butt sometimes, but I'm not giving up, in any way, sense or form. 18 pounds down, 63 pounds to go. There's no stopping me any time soon. 

Have a great week everybody!!!