At the end of April I went away on vacation to Florida. I was determined to stay on plan, enjoy myself and hopefully
lose weight/stay the same by the end of the week. I packed a few
essentials in my carry on that I knew I would use during the week. There
were a few essential items I brought with me to help me during the
meals I was going to have and ake myself. These items were: tablespoon
measuring spoon, 1/4 cup & 1/3 cup measuring cups, food scale, food
tracker and my cell phone/tablet. I also packed a few food items in my
carry on: wheat flax pita bread, sugar free instant oatmeal packages,
Luna bar, Trader Joe's brownie bar, Weight Watchers aloha bar, Weight
Watchers smoothie package, and a few sugar free Hawaiian punch water
packages.
The items themself didn't take up a lot
of space in my carry on ... but they made me have peace of mind going
into my vacation with a plan of action. I had my breakfast packed for
the week and it was something I enjoyed at home. I had some of my
favorite pita bread for sandwiches, I had snack bars that were "point
comfortable" for me because I knew I'd want a little treat while others
were snacking on goodies like Hostess cupcakes, bags of chips and donuts
from Dunkins.
I went into it stating that I'd go
with the flow ... but I'd eat a simple meal, like breakfast, at the
house. A filling, satisfying breakfast that would put me on the right
foot at the jump start of the day. I also said I'd probably eat out 1 if
not both meals a day. Truthfully, I tried to stick to eating out 1 meal
per day (if at all each day), not only to save some cash but to be able
to have a back-up plan just in case.
Upon landing
in Florida and dropping off luggage, we made a trip to the grocery
store to get some items for the week. I did some minor grocery shopping
to make some foods for myself. I picked up items like: Salad stuff,
hamburger, deli meat, veggies, fruit, soda, water, chips, frozen
vegetarian burger patties, condiments, etc. Foods I could have on hand,
that were foods I enjoyed and found to be satisfying.
Then
when it came to going out to dinner/lunch and even eating in an
amusement park I decided to order what I felt like eating, enjoying
myself, but making smarter choices instead of going all
in and feeling sluggish and gross afterwards. I didn't want to truly go
"balls to the wall" and make it an eating fest. Afterall I do want to
still be able to fit into my clothes ... and I don't necessarily like
being sick for days after eating foods my body isn't used to eating.
The
"trickiest" part of my plan of attack was the long hours at the
airport. Truthfully, there aren't very many "healthy" restaurants or
really even "healthy restaurants" at airports. There are some, but from
the three airports I visited they were overwhelmed with customers and
the folks waiting on the customers were less than thrilled to be serving
pretty much anyone. My plan of attack was to scan all available options
in the area of the airport I was in ... see what was available and
weigh my options. What did I want to eat not "had to eat"
because if I went with "I HAVE to eat this" I would have ordered the
fattiest thing on the menu ... you know, just because!
Boston
airport, I opted for Wolf Gang Puck's chain and ordered the barbecue
chicken salad - opting for no dressing, no tortilla chips, no cheese
(and asked for more lettuce). I popped over to Red Robin and asked if I
could have a fat free italian/light italian dressing and my lunch was
set. In the New Jersey airport I found a restaurant that sold tex-mex
type foods and after having to wait 10 minutes for the lunch menu - I
order my salad bowl ... the way I wanted it. Unfortunately this meant
the person who took my order put it into the computer wrong and I was
presented the wrong meal three times. But instead of just eating it, I
politely asked for my money back, and when the manager had to step in to
reconcile my transaction my meal was completed the way I ordered it.
Here are some of the food choices I made while on vacation.
Boston Airport - Wolf Gang Puck - Barbecue chicken salad (skipping on some additions to the salad to make it 'friendlier')
Dinner "in" - 2 Morningstar quinoa burger patties, sour cream fat free pringles and pickles.
Lunch
- Sonic. Chargrilled chicken sandwich (no mayo, or toppings - ketchup
on the side), apple slices (I had to pay extra for these) and a medium
diet coke.
Dinner at a Steak house (they did not
have sirloin so I opted for chicken). Chargrilled chicken breast with
steamed veggies (requested plain - no butter).
Orlando
Studios - Simpson cafe. Grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fruit
salad (instead of tater tots) and a large fruit salad and re-fill of
diet coke. The bread on this was SO thick I ended up tearing most of it
off because it made it awkward to even try to eat.
Lunch
at Chick-fil-A. I have Chick-fil-A when I can at home ... but I noticed
they came out with a new chargrilled chicken nuggets (they used to only
be on the kids meal). So I opted for an 8-piece, a side salad with fat
free honey mustard ... and since I really wanted waffle fries I ate
those as well as my "indulgence."
Late night dinner at a BBQ restaurant - pulled chicken salad.
Lunch at New Jersey airport - burrito bowl (no rice, extra lettuce).
In
between these meals I ate - hamburger, deli meat, oatmeal, frozen
veggie burgers, etc. I just kind of ate what I liked and enjoyed what I
felt like when we went out to eat. While at Disney I spotted a huge
gigantic donut in the Simpson section of universal ... and a small part
of me wanted it. That is, until I saw the grease stains on the bottom of
the boxes. Whoa nelly! And no, I did not eat this:
I opted to buy myself a mug at Disney because it made me laugh and is totally me. A carbivore.
Better yet when I got on the planes (both down and back - including lay overs) I was able to fasten the seat belt - a normal size airplane seat belt. When I was 17 I went on a plane for the first time and had to have a seat extender. There was absolutely NO need for one now ... and I actually had room in my seat to be as comfortable as one can be on a plane. Now that was a rewarding NSV and it's one I'm grateful for ... because after all it's the little things!