I need a vacation from my vacation.

My 3 week vacation hasn't been much of a vacation. I mean, it has been in terms of getting out of town and not being at work, but not so much in terms of sitting on my ass doing absolutely nothing (which is my preferred vacationing method).

The first week, I went out of town with some girlfriends. We rent a house in a beautiful little town. With it being October, the leaves are changing and the view is amazing.

Except this year. It was kind of rainy so I didn't take many scenery pictures.

The first few years we would get massages and spa stuff and shop one day and then go home after a little weekend excursion. Seven years later we go for almost a whole week, maybe get a massage, sometimes shop, and definitiley get very drunk. One year we went to Florida. Next year we are planning on Vegas. It is nice to get out of town and the best part is while we travel as a group, once we get there, we can do whatever we want. We are not attached at the hip.

Dinner!

The worst part is...the food. My diet took a backseat. Kind of. As a group my friends are in various stages of healthy lifestyles (just beginning, vegetarian, mostly healthy, etc) so it wasn't too difficult. I just ate a massive amount of food and got off the routine I had gotten my body used to. That change resulted in a heinous side effect. Let's just leave it at...there were certain movements I was not experiencing.

This past week I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Between moving out of my house and into my parents' house it has been nuts. I've also been eating out a LOT. I feel super bloated. But I'm finally out of my apartment and handed the keys back to the landlord. I'm pretty much settled into my parents' house.

Road trip snacks

Now I'm getting ready to go out of town again to visit family in Texas. My brother and I are road tripping a whole 26 hours. I went shopping today for some snacks. I'm determined to not rely on gas stations and fast food.

I'm overall pleased with my choices. Could they be better? Sure. But this has to last in a cooler. And hopefully in the hotel fridge. And hopefully keep me from losing my damn mind with grandma's cooking.




So now a couple wins:

• I've hit/blown out of the water my goals on my FitBit consistently the past couple of weeks.

• I did work out one day while out of town with my friends. I wish I could've done another but it didn't happen.

The view. from the gym..ignore the terrible picture.

• I am packing to work out in Texas. The hotel has a small gym.

• I went to a doctor's appointment earlier this week. I haven't weighed myself the last couple weeks (and I usually do it naked) but when they weighed me, fully clothed (including my shoes and we know shoes easily weigh 10lbs lol), I was actually happy with what I saw. I expected it to be worse. Overall I was pleased.

And now onto....

Random Things that Change After Weight Loss

• Shopping for clothes is weird. I kept reaching for my old size. It's strange to wrap your mind around being smaller...

• Now that my waist is smaller my pants now overall fit better. At a larger waist size, the leg holes were HUGE (not good for my body shape...an egg on two toothpicks) so I always had saggy butt.

• I got a massage with my mom. For the first time in years I actually fit on the massage table. Usually I had to tuck my hands under my hips or hang my arms off because I wasn't comfortable with them next to me on the table. Now, I was totally comfortable.

• I had to wear a stupid paper gown for my doctor's appointment. In previous years, it barely every covered me and it was embarrassing trying to have a conversation with the doctor while fidgeting and trying to keep everything corralled. This time there was over lap, a little bit, but it was there and I wasn't fidgeting. I was able to focus on what we were discussing.

So yeah, I'm sure I've gained but I'm not beating myself up. I'm also not just throwing in the towel. This is a small detour and I'm absolutely fighting to stay/get back on track.

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Ok we played this game one night...hilarious. This was probably the most appropriate one I could share.

                                       

Working out is working out.

I've been working out for a couple weeks now doing weights and walking.

I'm not sure how soon you are supposed to notice results but I can feel it in my legs and arms. I had this roll of fat on my right upper arm that is not as bulgey as before. I did some scientific testing (me standing in front of a mirror poking at it and moving my arm different ways) and it appears smaller. I also noticed that my butt seems...firmer? Perkier? I don't know.

There was a little a little roll under my butt cheeks that is gone now. So, yay squats and lunges.

Today I worked out and when I sat on the leg press I actually thought my thighs looked nice. They had a nice shape to them that wasn't there before.

It may just be in my head. But even if that's the case I will take it. I've spent so much of my time hating my body that it feels nice to see things I like. It's an odd shock to feel that way after spending so much time feeling bad.

I'm going to stick to it. I feel awesome.

Plus, on workout days, I get to eat more. Bonus!