Vacation... Detox anyone?

We are back from a long week in Paradise.  It was an amazing week!  I think it goes along the lines of having toes in the water and my ass in the sand?  Not much of a country music fan, but that song I could relate to.  Although my ass was in a chair, my ass and sand really don't mix!

I think everyone can relate to going on vacation with the intention of making good food choices and working out.  I had these same feelings.  Our family has been doing so great with what they have been eating and feeling really good.  I also knew that the way we have been eating would be very difficult to do when going to an all inclusive resort on a small island.

The first couple of days were very difficult for me.  Every time we came back with our plates from the buffet, I would look around and cringe at what I saw.  My personal plan of attack was to eat a huge breakfast of eggs and bacon.  I was hoping that would carry me through the majority of the day, and it did.   At dinner, I would try to eat any vegetables available and meat.  I noticed that the "steamed vegetables" did not seem steamed.  When a restaurant claims they are steamed, but there is a saucy/oily look to them, who knows what they are steaming them in.  They did have some good selections of meat whether it was steak or fish.  Who knows where in the heck it came from! They had some great coconut shrimp... non-paleo, more like faileo (yes, it is a word) coconut shrimp.  I limited my dessert intake as much as possible but they had some amazing dark chocolate mousse.  Mmmm!!! 

The kids plates scared me!  They started eating the chicken fingers, grilled cheeses, mac n cheese, french fries and of course dessert.  Again, the first couple of days I wanted to puke because it was so frustrating!  By the second or third day, Courtney and Charlie started telling me how much their tummies hurt.  Is it bad that I was a little excited about this?  I used those opportunities to ask them why they thought their tummies hurt and explained to them that they are not used to eating these things.  I continued to let them make their own food choices because I also came to the conclusion that vacation with family and that their Grandparents were with us is a blessing.  These are awesome memories that are being created!  The last thing I want them to remember is their Mother telling them not to eat certain foods.  I want to teach the kids that the foods we ate there make us feel icky but when you are on vacation it is OK to enjoy those foods if you want. Can you understand why it is so important to control their diets outside of vacations and the junk they get at school?  Don't even get me started on the junk they get at school!

By the third day, I cannot tell you how miserable I felt.  My stomach was so bloated!  I haven't felt like this in a long time and it felt awful.  You don't realize the effect that processed foods, grains, oils and sugar have on your body until they are eliminated from your diet and then eat them again.  I am usually that person that packs the workout clothes and never uses them. To keep myself sane, I worked out more last week than I have in a long time.   I did some intense workouts and even ran one day.  I haven't ran in a long time and was hoping to knock out 3 miles.  Instead I ran almost 6 miles!  This was really eye opening to me.  Starting back in November, I had been averaging  2 times a week of working out.  It is that time of year!  So, to jump on a treadmill and hammer out almost 6 miles was amazing!  It proves to me that when you eat a good diet you can sustain the strength/muscle you have. #Thisshitworks!!!  Sorry, that was hashtagable... yes it is a word!  My point is that in the past, if I was barely working out and eating the way I did, I would have never made it that far!    Work out less + Paleo diet = sustainble cardio strength?!   I can't imagine how much stronger I am going to get when I get back on a regular workout schedule and my detox is over!  I get excited just thinking about it.  I have been reading tons on the Paleo Lifestyle and have heard a lot of these things, so to feel it and experience it is amazing!

Back to life, back to reality... I don't know what's with the lyrics today... I digress...

One week until Christmas, lots to do, and lots of stress coming off of a great vacation with lots of Faileo foods.  My goal this week is to eat 100% Paleo, drink lots of water and get myself feeling better physically by Christmas.  My 100% days by the way are Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday.  From there, we have Christmas functions every night through Christmas Day.  I will do the best I can, I hope you will try too.  For those of us that don't, detox is right around the corner.  That's how I am kicking off the New Year..

Detox anyone?  Stayed tuned for details!