Post Vacation Blues

There is nothing better than vacation.  As a teacher, the schedule offers a break just when you need it.  I was so ready to just kick back and let go for a week.  No grading, no cleaning, no worrying.  For the second year in a row, we drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Andrew, myself, and two of his single guy friends.  I know you must think I am crazy for traveling with three guys solo... BUT... you have not lived until you do.  They went golfing... and I did WHATEVER I WANTED.  The first day I splurged at the spa thanks to my amazing boyfriend.  On another day I sat at the beach, basked in the warm sun, and plowed through a good book.  If you are behind the times like I am, read Girl on the Train, you're welcome.  I was happily able to finish an adult book for the first time in a long time.  Talk about relaxing!

But, truth be told, I took doing whatever I wanted a little too far.  I drank more than I have since I was fresh out of college and ate like I was still 21.  Big mistake.  The night we got back I awoke from a NyQuil induced sleep at 4 am and thought I was dying.  It literally felt like I had swallowed a brick and it was lodged in my stomach, unable to move.  Hello painful reflux.  I had never felt pain like this before.  I got myself so worked up that I could barely breathe.  With the combination of severe stomach pain and lack of sleep I have been down and out for a few days.  I am slowly getting back into it, but am a little disappointed in myself.  I gave myself the excuse that I was on vacation.  I took a vacation from my goals in the process, not one of my better choices.  I take the responsibility.  Waaaahh...

My face always thins out first!

My saving grace?  Shakeology.  I do not even really need to blend it.  I put it in my shaker with a little cold water and enjoy.  I cannot imagine how I would feel if I had not had my shake.  We spent five days tearing up Dirty Myrtle and I managed not to gain any weight.  Phew!  I also managed 10,000 steps each day with the exception of the driving days.  I'm thankful the competition ended just days beforehand.  The five remaining contestants, including myself, split the money.  Yippee!

Talk about a wake-up call.  I really had not realized how much of my lifestyle I had already changed.  My body was adjusting to so many positive changes, increased water, clean eating, no gluten, no dairy.  In just five short days I managed to undo all of my hard work and send my body into literal shock.  Lesson learned.  

Here goes nothing!

So this leads me to my next large endeavor... 

Ultimate Reset.

Yikes.

But I plan on purchasing this bad Larry today.  I am quite thankful for my coach discount, it will not hurt my wallet so much!  So from May 2nd until May 23rd I will fully commit to my reset.  I will ease into week one before becoming vegan for 2 weeks.  21 days.  I did A LOT of research and asked my own coach A LOT of questions.  I think I am making a good decision.  It will involve a lot of prep work and a lot of focus.  The downer... no wine.  Womp Womp.  The motivation?  It ends just before memorial day weekend.

I am already preparing.  I have a killer accountability group filled with people I admire to help me.  They want you to consume close to a gallon of water a day.  CHECK.  They want you to cook and prepare all your meals.  CHECK.  No caffeine... well...  I do not actually need coffee everyday.  I am not so worried about that one!  The other thing, no workout.  I can take about a 30 minute walk each day.  Your body is 80% nutrition and 20% gym.  I have already seen success in changing what I eat.  The number on the scale is changing ever so slowly, but measurement wise things are a lot better.

La Belle Amie Winery

I could not recommend enough taking pictures every few weeks.  I took pictures on my first day and then two weeks in.  I lost close to 7 pounds the first week and next to nothing the second week.  I was so bummed!  But I took those pictures and was shocked.  From the side you could see that a lot of bloat had gone away.  It was incredible.  I am not quite confident enough to be posting those pictures for the world to see quite yet.  But I did show them to one person.  Oddly enough, our school nurse.  We are constantly chit chatting about weight loss and different things we are trying.

Want to try it with me?  Want to join our clean eating groups?  Thinking about trying Shakeology?  Ask me today!  We have a TON of different groups preparing to start on May 2nd.  

In health and happiness,

G.