In my case, yes, and for two main reasons. The first in the hustle and bustle associated with pre-vacation planning and organizing (not to mention all of the deadlines at work). My vacation will be in a place far from the arctic hell in which I currently find myself, so I'm having to find or buy things that are completely out of season. And things that do not cover as much as winter clothing does. Ugh.
Second, I'm not just going on any old vacation: I'm going on a cruise. Cruise = heaps and heaps and heaps of nonstop delicious food. There is a freaking CUPCAKE BAR for god's sake! There really could not be a more deadly form of vacation for a dieter/food addict. I have been fretting and worrying about this since before christmas, and it's now to the point where it's in danger of ruining my holiday. I've actually had dreams about coming back and having put on the same amount of weight that I've lost to date.
But I think that this stems from a greater mental block that has grown over the last couple of weeks. If I'm really honest, I guess I would have to admit that I don't currently picture myself ever being much smaller. The goal is scary, and this is absolutely fuelled by my own intense fear of failure, and the current (extremely slow) pace of loss. I don't have the confidence to talk about 'when' I'll be this size or that, because I don't think I really believe it is possible myself. I'll have to reconsider all of this when I get back.
On a positive note, I just got an IM from the Mister. He weighed this morning and is down 24 pounds! He hasn't been counting strictly like I have, but has been insisting that he's keeping track. And it's working!
Weigh-in: -0.8
Loss to date: 19.8
Activity Points: 4
Pounds to go: 62.2
Annie sez: I'm sad to hear you say that, because you have lost 20 POUNDS (don't hassle me about the 0.2, we both know that could be water!).
ReplyDeleteThat is HUGE. I know it isn't as much or as quickly as you had wanted it to be (or as you deserve), but it's still 20 pounds you're not carrying around today that you were at Thanksgiving.
Slow loss is still so much better than maintaining - or even worse, gaining - isn't it?
As for your vacation, I think you'd be nuts to try to maintain the full program on a cruise - not just because it would be hard, but because you wouldn't get the full benefit of your well-deserved vacation.
If you were looking for my advice (which you're not, but here it comes anyway!) I'd say enjoy the food on the cruise - just consider it a different phase of your program, in which you're not necessarily counting and you're enjoying the food, but you're not over-indulging.
By this point, you know (cognitively) what's reasonable and what's not - enjoy the food, but don't eat so much that you'll end up hating yourself for it afterwards. This is a vacation, there's no room for guilt!
Also, check out the ship's fitness facilities - it'll make you feel better about enjoying the food if you can burn a bit of it off. And it'll help you sleep better, hopefully allowing you to come home refreshed!
On your return, if you're up a pound or two (or five!) you'll just take it back off. No bigs; life is too long to worry about a week's enjoyment of free (well, pre-paid) delicious food!
But don't turn your back on all the hard work you did to lose those 20 pounds. You owe it to yourself to protect that victory in the long run.
Also, I have a pretty summer jacket you can take with you if you're still looking for summer-y things to take - let me know and I can drop it off for you on Wednesday! I'll take it to work in my car just in case.
You WILL lose more weight. It might not happen quickly, but it will happen. It's science - you believe in that, right? Energy in, energy out.
And along the way, you continue to inspire people like me. :o)
PS: Way to go, Mister!
Mae,
ReplyDeleteAnnie has some great comments but I also wanted to say something about your "this goal is scary" and "I don't believe it is possible myself" comments. I feel I am qualified to comment on this as I had a pretty scary personal goal myself last year!
First of all, I don't believe that you don't believe you can do it. If you don't believe in yourself, there is no chance you will succeed. If you didn't believe in yourself, you wouldn't have started down this path. Enough about that, Annie and I will have none of this self-doubt B.S.!
Last year, there were many times it was really tough and I wanted to quit but I didn't. I'd love to say it's because I'm such a tough cookie but that's crapola. There is a lot to attaining a very difficult goal even if you do have hoards of determination. You need things to get yourself through the tough times.
One important thing is to keep your eye on the ultimate prize. When things get tough, remember why you started down this path. You want to be healthier, you want to feel better about yourself, you want to look great in an outfit you used to wear... whatever the reasons are. Never lose sight of that.
Almost more important than that is to give yourself prizes along the way. Each milestone is an incredible achievement and should be recognized. Any goal that is hard to reach is scary but I believe the key to reaching it is breaking it down into smaller goals and rewarding yourself when you reach each smaller goal. Make those rewards non-food related. Every 10lbs should be a celebration - do something for yourself - buy a new article of clothing or get a mani/pedi. Do something that makes you feel better about yourself and that will keep driving you forward because you will only feel better and better as you come closer to your goal.
You're owed 2 rewards already!
Oh yeah and don't worry about the cruise. Ditto what Annie said. It's just a week. Enjoy yourself responsibly and we'll be here for you when you get back.
:)
Mo