I went on an Alaskan cruise last week, but prior to that, I stayed 3 days in Canada, then 2 days in Alaska after we got off the boat. We took a plane to Canada, so obviously I couldn’t pack all the foods I normally eat at home. I couldn’t bring my all my health foods and sweet potatoes and sugar free snacks with me, nor could I bring my exercise bike.
We planned this cruise for almost a year. I’ve lost roughly 88 pounds in a year by changing my lifestyle, fasting, and exercising. As I lost more and more and the cruise got closer, I was in a huge panic because I knew I couldn’t pack this lifestyle in a suitcase. What would I do for food on the boat and the hotel? I’d been on a cruise before but wasn’t concerned about my weight at all back then (hence why I was 230 pounds at 16 years old). This would be my very first time going without my diet and exercise regime. Hell, I even packed my food in a huge cooler when we drove to Memphis last winter. I have been so dedicated and loyal to my weight loss that being 2 weeks without my strict diet regime terrified me. I even considered staying behind so I wouldn’t have to worry about the dun dun dun weight gain.
Nevertheless, I did go. I had a wonderful time. Did I eat more than I usually do? Yes. Did I break my fasting when I wasn’t supposed to? Sure did. Did I feel bad? Yup.
This is what happened during my vacation. In Canada, we stayed at Blue Horizon hotel in Vancouver. No room service but they had a very nice restaurant (Abode) in the lobby. I stuck to my fasting window but was at a loss of what to eat. The restaurant was a little more upper class and had mostly dishes with meats and cheese, but I don’t eat any meat except for chicken and I stay away from dairy because it breaks me out. Lucky for me, they had the Beyond Meat plant based burger. It was AMAZING. It came with a huge side of fries, which I was hesitant to consume because I don’t eat much foods cooked in oil like that. However, I decided “I’m here on vacation, enjoy a little.” I had that meal 3 times. In addition to that, I purchased candy and foreign snacks. I went to Safeway and saw that Canadian foods are lower in sugar and carbs than American, so I bought a whole bunch to bring back to the US. Alaskan Airlines left the bag with those snacks in Seattle during my layover and I should get them back soon, unfortunate, because I really wanted a low sugar blueberry bagel.
The ship:
We sailed on a Norwegian cruise ship. Their food is pretty good, especially the buffet. That buffet was filled with all sorts of foods, namely vegetables and fruit. Rarely anything deep fried. But there was a problem! How would I count calories to ensure I was at 1200 every day? Did I just stick to vegetables and fruit? It’s a buffet. Of course not. I recall getting 4 plates of steamed vegetables, grilled chicken, and fruit. Seems healthy, right? No! Because I also consumed French bread, cookies, ice cream, fries, chicken tenders, pita bread, jello, and that’s the half of it! I used the excuse “I don’t get out often, let me indulge.” I tried so desperately to count calories, waiting for WiFi so I could google how many calories I was consuming. I even brought my food scale to weigh my snacks. By day 3 on the cruise struggling to count my calories, I said “Screw it. I’ll just eyeball it.” I did overeat. And I was barely fasting because everyone else wanted to eat outside of my eating window. I felt so incredibly guilty and compulsively tried on my size 8 shorts to ensure they still fit. I was so sure I gained about 10 pounds.
Alaska:
I was only here for 2 days but I consumed more calories there than I do in 4 days at home. We went to a restaurant that serves the best vegan personal sized pizza. Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s low in calories and fat. One slice clocks in at about 200 calories, give or take depending on what you put on it. My personal pizza came with 6 slices. I ate the whole thing. Earlier in the day I had chicken tenders and fries during a tour. That day I would say I consumed 2500 calories or more. The next day I had another vegan pizza but split it between two meals. For lunch I opted to have my very first salad. It was good but I could only consume half. I also had 4 cookies, two oatmeal raisin and two chocolate fudge. I did eat the entire pizza. Calories for the day: about 2500. Again.
I was so damn bloated because I just stuffed myself like crazy. The group of people I went with were telling me that I couldn’t have possibly gained because I was walking so much and climbing stairs instead of using elevators and “its carrots, it’s healthy!” Not when you scoff down five dinner plates worth and your body is used to 1200 calories.
When all was said and done and I returned home last night, I took off my clothes and stepped on my scale I hadn’t seen for nearly 14 days. I was horrified, closing my eyes, expecting to see that I’d gained 10 pounds and set myself back a month in progress. Opened my eyes to find I’d only gained 4 and was still in the 140s. Was I thrilled I gained? No. But was I going to beat myself up? No. I had decided beforehand that I was going to do my longest fast yet when I returned, even if I didn’t gain weight during my trip. I’m currently 44 hours without food. However, I do not consider this a punishment. I’ve always wanted to try water fasting and this was a perfect opportunity. I started the water fast in Alaska on the 20th and it will end here tomorrow. I’m trying to shoot for 3 days but I might cut it a little short since I’ve never done it before. This afternoon I stepped on the scale and have lost 2 pounds.
Here’s what I learned. You will sometimes find yourself in a place where you can’t stick to your normal regime. Vacations, business trips, emergencies, family outings...whatever it may be, if there’s temptation around, you’re likely to get off track a little. I’ve been known by my family to be a hard ass with my diet, skipping family dinners because of fasting, eating by myself most of the time, and I still indulged. However, if there’s healthy options available, please try and stick with those as best you can. My only regret is not sticking with vegetables and going for more cookies than I should have. But hey, if you wanna try a piece of that cake, try it.
But
Know your limits. This is the key to not gaining a ton when you’ve let loose on your diet. If you know sampling that cake will make you eat five slices, don’t do it. If you know you can’t have just one cookie, skip the cookies. If you know you can’t indulge in a glass of wine without chugging the whole bottle, don’t do it. Know what you can handle. Especially if you have history of binging. I would advise with a professional before letting loose on your diet. There is nothing wrong with indulging a little, but you need to remember a little. Weight loss is about discipline; if you don’t have that, you are likely to suffer more consequences.
Do not punish yourself if you find you’ve gained. Do not start saying “well I guess I can’t eat for a week” or “time to workout til I’m blue in the face.” Dont straight up starve yourself for a week because uh-oh, gained 3 pounds! This is something I would have done when I first started losing weight. I’m happy I know different now. What you do is get back on track. When you return to your normal routine, just do what you’d been doing before. Diet, exercise, whatever it is, just get back to it. Do what you know works. And you’ll bounce back.
There are consequences to everything we do. My measly 4 pounds were a consequence of me giving up on calorie counting and have too much sugar. But I’m not going to punish or hurt myself. I indulged, I gained a little, that’s the way it goes. I can’t go back in time to that buffet and make different choices. All I can do is get back on track, and I’ve already lost half of the weight I gained. And some of it could be fluctuation and part of my cycle (I gain a pound around ovulation time). I didn’t lose 88 pounds in 2 weeks, why would I gain that in 2 weeks? Be realistic with yourself when you’re letting loose. Be honest when you know you’re going overboard with food. But most of all, be kind to yourself.
This is NOT an invitation or encouragement for you to go to the nearest buffet and shovel down 5000 calories of food because “I can lose it in a day anyway!” I hope that’s not the message you got from this. What I’m saying is, we all have moments where we indulge and get off track. It happens. But when and if that does and you think it’s the end of the world that you’re now 5 pounds heavier, relax. Get back to your routine, and I promise you, you’ll be okay. If you are otherwise disciplined, you shouldn’t have much trouble bouncing back into your normal lifestyle.
Love yourself enough to know your limits and treat yourself with respect but also know that you need to have structure to be successful even when you fall off the wagon. If you’ve got that down, there’s nothing you can’t do.
—Sierra
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