Last week, my husband and I went on a fabulous vacation to the beach. Our days were spent laying out, taking a quick dip in the ocean, perhaps putzing around a small town center, and eating. Eating featured front and center of our lovely trip away, and for the first time in a year, I liberally ate foods I had spent the last 12 months avoiding like the plague.
In a nutshell, I ate:
English muffins
Cereal
Chicken tenders
More french fries than I can count
Bakery muffins
Ice cream (well, I eat that one at least a couple times a month)
Brownies
Dinner rolls
Croissants
Sandwiches
Mashed potatoes...
And the list goes on. And it seemed that the more I ate, the more I wanted it. How did this happen? Even though my body was in such distress (to the point where I was up at night), I still wanted more. Most of it wasn't that tasty, but man, that croissant was AMAZING. I totally abandoned Mark Sisson's 80/20 rule (eat 80 primal, 20 percent cheat) and turned it into 20/80. According to msnbc.com, fatty foods produce a chemical response in our body similar to the chemicals found in marijuana. Eating fatty foods makes us feel good. This was partly for evolutionary purposes; we need fat to survive. But fat in the form of muffins does nothing to benefit our health. And honestly, I feel pretty disgusting after my vacation choices, and I feel a bit desperate to get back to how I felt before I left. I don't necessarily regret falling off the horse a bit; I guess I wish I had shown a bit more restraint.
Now, I am in the slow process of detoxing. Why? I know those foods have little benefit for me, but it's been a rough process. (Confession: lunch yesterday was a huge plate of gnocchi and bread; my snack was a cupcake). Today has been easier as I've started to retreat back to my old standards of eggs, Greek yogurt with fruit, almond butter, cottage cheese, salad, and meat. But it's the first time in a long time that I've felt like I'm struggling with my food choices. Vacation was a lovely respite, but it's time to get back into the swing of things -- and that includes eating fresh, local, and clean foods. And to start, I'm committing myself to not eating out and not bringing processed foods into the house. Out of sight, out of mind -- right?
When you go on vacation, do you stick to your normal food routine, or do you throw it out the window? How do you get back on track?
We often psuedo throw it out, we'll get what we want, but try to skip the easy things like the rolls that come with dinner. the boozing doesnt help us either, but often by the end of the vacation we feel so gross inside that we crave veggies and healthier food!
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